Mafia (Part 1)

“What, what’s going on! All of a sudden…”

“An earthquake…?”

Shaken awake by the tremors rippling through the ground, the explorers wake up from their slumber.

I realized something then.

Once a Hans, always a Hans.

‘Who would have thought that changing a name would be futile.’

I sighed heavily, and went to Hans……

No, the man who would now be remembered as HansG.

“I, I didn’t do anything!”

Yeah, that’s likely.

How could you, present here, have opened the rift?

It’s just my damn luck acting up.

“Bjorn?”

“Run!”

I grabbed Misha and started running.

Well, we were out of time.

Without any further explanation, Misha asked.

“…Don’t tell me a rift has opened, nyang?”

“Yes.”

Just like my life, another shitty situation unfolds.

Of course, it’s not the life-threatening kind of crap.

But still…

‘Damn it, after all the money I spent.’

Choosing a rift to enter, buying supplies to match.

Excitedly, I even enchanted with lightning attributes.

And now, what in the world is this mess?

“Bjorn! Over there!”

I don’t know who it was, but someone had royally shit on my plan.

A player, maybe?

Or just someone well-versed in the ways of this world?

Well, I’ll know when I get in there.

Whoosh!

A portal formed in the direction Misha pointed.

By now, there must be thousands of portals opened throughout the first floor.

“Misha!”

I pulled Misha into my arms, just in case she fell.

Then, I plunged into the portal.

「Your character has entered the rift on the first floor.」

Boom!

Landing with a heavy thud, I set Misha down.

Then, I immediately scanned the surroundings.

Seems like I just caught the last train, as three people, men and women, had already entered the rift.

I carefully observed each one.

“Oh, a barbarian and a beast human, already looking solid. Pleased to meet you, call me Carlson.”

The first, a human male.

Around 170cm tall and his weapon is a sword.

If I had to describe his first impression as an animal…….

Hmm, a rat would be about right.

“…I won’t be a burden. I am Abman Urichfried.”

The second, a male of the beast human tribe.

Judging by the round ears on his head, he seemed to be from one of the seven major tribes, probably the Black Bear tribe.

Characterized by a bulky, muscular build and a massive crossbow reminiscent of a siege weapon.

“Hello. I’m Jencia Neaprin. This sword here is my weapon. I’ll try not to be a nuisance.”

The last, a human female.

She was about mid-160s in height with a delicate face.

Surprisingly, she had styled her black hair into a pair of twin tails.

Not that she doesn’t look good, but I can’t believe anyone actually goes around with that hairstyle.

Anyway, it was our turn to introduce ourselves, so I took the lead.

“I’m Bjorn, son of Thor. This here is Michelle. As you can see, we are companions.”

“Huh?”

What’s with the ‘huh’?

I signaled for her to keep quiet, Misha seemed to catch on and pursed her lips. Her eyes relaxed and stared into space.

…Is that her poker face?

It looked odd enough to attract attention, so I took control of the conversation.

“I took on the role of guardian within the labyrinth, and I’m quite confident in it. “What are you guys good at?”

When entering a rift, checking each other’s strengths is a basic procedure.

“I’m good with a sword! Oh, and I’ve consumed the essence of a goblin archer. I’ve been trained as a scout since I was young, so I have some knowledge of traps and mechanical devices.”

The woman named Jencia elaborated a bit more about herself.

Essence of a goblin archer, not even a swordsman?

As soon as I heard that, I thought, “What kind of shit is that?” but it wasn’t something to fuss over.

It’s not like I’m the one leveling her character.

Just by looking at her gear, it was clear she was a newbie.

“I’m more of a sword and shield kind of fighter. Uh… Bjorn, was it? I may not be as skilled as you, but in a team, I usually take on the role of withstanding attacks in the front line.”

Sword and shield warrior Carlson was better than Jencia, but ultimately similar.

At best, mid-second level?

Still, unlike the woman, he didn’t naively reveal his essence, so he seemed more experienced.

Hmm, or maybe he just hadn’t consumed any.

‘Two beginners in terms of strength…’

Well, I had somewhat expected this.

The situation was different from when I met Hikurod and Raven.The rift just opened recently, so there’s no way to know in advance and wait.

And since it opened on the first day, it would have been filled with locals who hadn’t even made it to the second floor.

‘In that sense, it’s still suspicious.’

I turned my gaze to the last one in line.

Maybe he took it as a cue to introduce himself?

“As you can see.”

The macho, bearded, muscular bear-like man casually lifted the giant crossbow on his back.

He was the only mid-level explorer among the three.

I asked him straight, as befitting a barbarian.

“I’d appreciate it if you could clearly tell me how reliable you are.”

“Shouldn’t you start by saying that about yourself?”

Oh, right.

“I’m a 6th rank, and Misha is a 7th rank explorer. We usually operate on the 4th floor.”

“Oh, I see. I’m 5th rank.”

Damn, not a mid-level but an upper-level explorer.

Typically, 6th rank is considered mid-level, 5th rank is upper-level, and 4th rank is top-level explorers.

From 6th rank onwards, the gap between ranks widens significantly, even requiring guild promotion exams.

Shit, this is getting more suspicious.

“Why would a 6th rank explorer be here?”

“Isn’t that the same for you?”

Shoot, why does this guy have to be so sharp?

“…We used to operate as a team, but due to some circumstances, we had to enter as a duo. We haven’t been able to move to the second floor yet because we lack a scout, but we came in when the rift opened.”

A response I had prepared in case anyone suspected us when the rift opened.

However…

“It’s a coincidence. I’m similar. Well, it’s been a while since I left my original team.”

Phew, damn.

‘Is it true or a lie?’

I wondered if there really was a tough archer who could go solo, but looking at this macho man’s face, it seemed believable.

‘Still, I should be more cautious of this guy.’

I marked the bear-like man as my primary suspect.

Not only because of his strength but also because every bit of the situation was suspicious.

‘After all, if not for this guy, there would be no one else to mine grade 8 magic stones on the second floor at this time.’

Of course, this is all based on the circumstances that have been revealed so far.
Carlson and Jencia.

It’s not impossible that these two are hiding their true abilities.

“Ah, but who entered the rift first?”

I casually asked, pretending it was just out of curiosity.

Who really opened the rift?

Unless the three of them were in cahoots, this single question could potentially reveal their true identities.

But…

“I’m not sure? It seemed like we all entered at the same time…”

“It was so simultaneous that it’s hard to say who was first.”

“You care about strange things.”

Maybe smooth talking isn’t allowed for me.

Whoa, fuck.

This isn’t some kind of mafia game.

***

An unknown someone had opened the rift.

This greatly disrupted many parts of my plan.

For starters, the distribution.

“Well, then, it’s settled.”

After some discussion, it was agreed that me, Misha, and Mr Bear would each get three shares, and Carlson and Jencia… or Jenson for short, would share one.

The world of explorers is a ruthless one.

“It’s not a bad deal. We’ll give you any remaining essences.”

“Yes…”

The classic ladder-kicking.

It’s the same thing I suffered at the hands of Dwarf and Raven in the Blood Tinted Castle.

And, for the record, I was planning to do the same.

After all, what’s the point of being generous and considerate in such a place?

‘Jeez, despite appearances, he’s quite generous. I wouldn’t even have given away the magic stones.’

My plan was to open the rift around the third day.

Then, monopolize everything among the first-floor locals and only deal with the low-level ones.

But the variable of Mr. Bear appeared, and I had to make significant concessions in the distribution.

For now, we agreed Misha would consume the guardian essence…

But if a Numbered item or a rift stone drops, I would have to roll dice with Mr. Bear.

‘Ha, I’m not confident with dice.’

I’m already feeling nauseous.

It’s not that I’m afraid of losing; I’m not confident of winning.

That’s why I didn’t want to introduce the variable of dice in the first place…

“Well then, let’s get going.”

Shaking off any lingering thoughts, I move forward.

Behind me in formation, ‘Jenson’ flanks either side, followed by Mr. Bear, and then Misha.

Crack.

Like walking on thin ice, every step we took made a cracking sound.

It wasn’t an inaccurate description.

We were actually crossing over a frozen lake.

In a way, it was a stroke of luck.

‘Looks like the items I prepared will come in handy.’

There are four types of rifts on the first floor.

Depending on the type, the monsters that appear, the difficulty, and even the rewards differ.

So, where should we head to?

After much thought, I chose one, and coincidentally, it was this very place we were walking on.

[Glacial Cavern]

A rift that opens by offering the magic stones of 8th rank monsters from the beast’s den on the second floor.

My sole criterion for choosing was Misha.

Well, I also had a vacant slot for an essence since I reached level 4, but…

‘There’s nothing worth consuming here.’

Even though it’s a rift, it’s just a first-floor rift.

The guardians are barely 7th rank, and none of them drop essences suitable for me.

‘Probably why Mr Bear generously offered to give up the essences.’

Anyway, for now, the plan was to strengthen Misha and use this opportunity to later fill the vacant slot with a better essence. But wait, something feels familiar.

Didn’t something similar happen last time before Aynar left for the sanctuary?

‘Surely it won’t happen again, right?’

“Why have you stopped suddenly?”

“It’s nothing.”

Shaking off the budding thoughts, I refocused on my surroundings.

After all, we were inside a rift.

And with an unknown ‘mafia’ among us, it’s not the time to lose focus.

Whoosh.

The frozen snow-capped mountains.

Snowflakes scattering from above.

And the sun’s rays, reflecting off the ice, felt even sharper.

‘It’s strange to be in a place like this after being in the dark all the time’

After about half an hour of walking, the lake area ended and a strange cave appeared, leading into the ground.

Of course, a monster was blocking our path.

“Groooar!”

A 7th rank Yeti monster.

An elite guardian-type monster that appears only in the ‘Glacial Cavern’, making its presence known from the start.

Jencia muttered as she saw the threatening beast.

“Do, do we have to defeat it to go down?”

The response came from Mr. Bear.

“I don’t know about this place, but in rifts, where there are monsters, there usually lies the path.”

A reply that made me, a gamer, instinctively nod.

Somehow it gets even more suspicious…….

“Don’t jump in recklessly and get yourselves killed. You guys stay back.”

“…Is that really okay?”

Jencia and Carlson looked at Misha and me, relieved by Mr Bear’s kind consideration. After all, risking our lives against such a beast for just 10% of the magic stones didn’t seem fair.

So, I just let it be.

Besides, having them fidget around would only be a nuisance.

“I’ll go first.”

Then Mr Bear finally took down his giant crossbow from his back.

And…

Whoosh!

With the firing of the arrow, the battle began.

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