How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World - Chapter 9

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“It must be morning by now.”

Jeong Yoo-shin muttered with a yawn.

He had spent the night in a light sleep and woke up frequently.

With only a blanket covering the entrance to the small cave, it was hard to fall into a deep sleep.

The cold, damp floor was another reason for his restlessness. The chill from the ground seeped into his bones, making his heart ache with cold.

Carl’s group had also struggled to sleep, tossing and turning several times, especially while Jeong Yoo-shin was on watch.

It made sense. After all, an outsider had joined a party made up entirely of childhood friends from the same village, so there was bound to be some unease.

“Today, Skaro, why don’t you take the lead?”

Carl suggested as they packed up their gear after breakfast, preparing to leave the cave. He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes.

“Sure.”

Jeong Yoo-shin took the torch and positioned himself at the front, leading the way.

Dean followed closely behind, giving directions.

“Take the path on the right.”

“Got it.”

The dungeon was eerily quiet, with no signs of other explorers.

The day before, they had passed several parties, but today, there was no one.

Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the long, narrow passage.

As Jeong Yoo-shin held the torch, he noticed something unsettling.

The light was weak.

The distance that should have been illuminated by the torch was devoured by a strange darkness.

Just a short distance away, even the faintest outlines disappeared.

He found himself almost mesmerized by the darkness as he walked.

“Eek! Eek!”

“Kekeke!!”

Jeong Yoo-shin’s shoulders tensed.

Hobgoblins.

“Prepare for battle!”

He quickly drew his longsword.

Ssssh!

The sound of something cutting through the air echoed.

Jeong Yoo-shin instinctively raised his shield.

Thud!

An arrow struck his shield. It came from the darkness.

Ssssh! Ssssh!

More arrows followed.

Thud! Thud!

He barely managed to block them.

The force behind the arrows was strong, indicating the goblins were closer than he had anticipated.

Just then, Carl dashed forward into the darkness, catching Jeong Yoo-shin off guard.

“Marie!” Carl shouted.

“Light!”

A burst of holy light radiated from Marie, pushing back the darkness and flooding the cave with light.

Now, everything was visible.

Five hobgoblins.

Blinded by the sudden light, the hobgoblins screeched and covered their eyes.

Carl sprinted toward them with incredible speed and slashed with his sword.

Slash!

One goblin’s head flew off, splattering blood against the cave wall.

‘I need to stick close to Carl.’

Jeong Yoo-shin couldn’t let Carl be surrounded alone. He sprinted toward him.

Swish!

An arrow grazed Jeong Yoo-shin’s left shoulder and embedded itself in a goblin’s chest. He glanced back and saw Anne holding her bow.

When Jeong Yoo-shin arrived, Carl had already decapitated another hobgoblin.

Two were left.

The remaining hobgoblins recovered from their shock and charged at the same time with their daggers raised, aiming for Carl’s unprotected side.

Clang! Clang!

Jeong Yoo-shin blocked their attacks with his shield, deflecting all the strikes.

Thrust.

He drove his longsword into the chest of one of the hobgoblins, piercing just below the sternum and into its solar plexus.

“Ugh!”

The hobgoblin collapsed backward, and Jeong Yoo-shin quickly followed up by striking the goblin next to it with the pommel of his sword.

“Ugh!”

The hobgoblin’s teeth shattered, and one side of its face was crushed.

Just as Jeong Yoo-shin was about to finish it off, Carl dashed in and severed the goblin’s head with a swift stroke.

Blood spurted from its neck, splattering onto Jeong Yoo-shin’s face and body.

“Whew. Skaro, we work well together, don’t we?”

Carl said with a grin, his eyes gleaming with excitement. It was likely from the adrenaline of battle.

“Yes.”

Jeong Yoo-shin wiped the blood from his face.

When Carl had charged into the darkness earlier, Jeong Yoo-shin had been caught off guard, thinking Carl was reckless.

‘Turns out, he had it all planned.’

“Ugh! Gross.”

Marie muttered as she approached.

She was visibly disgusted.

The divine light she had summoned began to fade, and soon the cave was plunged back into darkness.

Once the rest of the party gathered, Carl spoke again.

“We need to cut off their ears as proof of the hobgoblin subjugation. Skaro, Dean, can you help?”

“Sure.”

“Yes.”

Dean and Jeong Yoo-shin helped Carl cut off the hobgoblins’ ears.

Dean’s face was pale, and his hands shook as he tried to slice the ears.

In contrast, Jeong Yoo-shin worked swiftly and cleanly. As a matter of fact, his experience at the monster dissection facility was paying off.

He felt no guilt over taking lives—it just felt like an extension of his old job.

Thanks to Jeong Yoo-shin’s efficiency, they quickly collected all ten ears from the five hobgoblins.

“Here Skaro, please hold onto this.”

Carl handed Jeong Yoo-shin the pouch filled with goblin ears.

“Are you sure you want me to carry this?”

Jeong Yoo-shin eyed the foul-smelling, blood-soaked pouch.

“I trust you’ll take good care of it.”

Jeong Yoo-shin couldn’t help but feel a bit taken aback.

‘Is this really the same guy who couldn’t sleep during my watch?’

But there was no point in arguing.

For now, Carl was the leader, and the rest of the party were his long-time friends.

Besides, Carl’s skill with a sword was no joke—he could decapitate a goblin with a single swing, something that required both strength and technique.

“Alright.”

Jeong Yoo-shin placed the pouch into his backpack.

The group resumed walking with Jeong Yoo-shin still leading the way.

Following Dean’s directions, they moved out of the central zone.

Before long, they encountered more monsters.

“It’s black slimes!”

Three slimes clung to the cave wall and slowly oozed along.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Anne stepped forward with her bow in hand.

Swish!

Her arrow flew swiftly, piercing the core of one of the slimes.

The slime shuddered and fell from the wall, dead.

‘Wow.’

Jeong Yoo-shin was impressed by her archery skills.

Anne loosened another arrow, and the remaining slimes met the same fate.

As they approached, the remaining goo from the slimes spilled onto the ground like liquid. Amidst the mess, a stone glistened brightly.

“Wow. It’s a magic stone. It’s so pretty.”

Marie squatted down in front of the shimmering stone.

Carl picked it up and placed it in his pouch.

“I’ll hold onto this. I can’t leave everything with skaro.”

“Aww, Carl, you’re so considerate.”

Marie teased, and Carl patted her head affectionately.

‘What’s with the sudden flirting?’

Jeong Yoo-shin felt a bit out of place at the moment.

Jeong Yoo-shin, who was still single and had never been in a relationship, felt his stomach twist in discomfort.

That night, Jeong Yoo-shin and the party camped at a nearby resting area. His watch rotation remained the same as the night before, and luckily, there were no ambushes.

‘I’m so damn tired.’

He rubbed his lethargic eyes and raised the torch.

“Skaro, just a little longer to go.”

Dean encouraged him.

“Yeah.”

Jeong Yoo-shin replied half-heartedly and continued to walk.

Of the torches he brought, only one remained.

Aside from the one Carl used, the other party members still had all of their torches intact.

They walked for several more hours.

They encountered five more black slimes, which were quickly dispatched by Anne with her bow, just like the previous day.

The hobgoblin subjugation count stood at 5/10, and they had collected 8/10 magic stones.

The quest was nearly complete.

As he walked, he noticed the end of the cave.

At the end, there was a large clearing with a massive stone in the center.

As they approached the stone, two portals opened—one blue, the other red.

Jeong Yoo-shin remembered from the new explorer course: the blue portal led out of the labyrinth, while the red one took you to the next floor.

“Let’s head to the next floor.”

Carl took the lead.

“Wait a minute.”

Jeong Yoo-shin stepped in.

This was something he couldn’t ignore.

Wasn’t this deviating from the plan?

They were supposed to be exploring the first floor.

That’s what the receptionist had said, and Carl had confirmed it.

“What’s the problem?”

“Isn’t this different from what we agreed on? I was told this was a first-floor exploration party.”

“Hah!”

“Skaro, we need to complete the quest, don’t we?”

“We can do that here. There’s no need to go down further.”

“You think that because we haven’t seen any monsters here. But I’ve talked to senior explorers, and I’ve experienced it myself—the second floor isn’t much different from this one. Do we really need to waste time and resources wandering around looking for monsters that don’t even appear?”

“The new explorer course emphasized the importance of…”

“Ah! For fuck’s sake.”

“Skar—no, skaro. Have you lived all these years without learning a damn thing? I told you before, you need to learn from real experience. Go outside, talk to people, and get real-world knowledge. Explorer courses? Rules? Are you seriously going to follow everything they say even if it means walking into death?”

“…”

“Just admit you’re scared. At least then you won’t look like such an idiot.”

‘What’s with this sudden outburst?’

He must have hit a nerve.

“I don’t agree so let’s part ways here. I’m going back.”

“Go back? Where do you think you’re going?” Carl drew his sword, blocking Jeong Yoo-shin’s path.

“You’re crossing the line.”

Jeong Yoo-shin drew his own sword.

The cold steel of the longsword glimmered in the torchlight like a flickering serpent.

“Move.”

“Compensate me first. Because of you, we haven’t completed the quest, and we’ve wasted time and money. You think you can just leave?”

“You’re full of shit.”

Jeong Yoo-shin raised his shield, preparing himself.

“Skaro, calm down.”

When Jeong Yoo-shin glanced at Anne, she had her bow aimed at him.

Dean was holding a dagger, and Marie was muttering something, likely casting a spell.

‘This is seriously messed up.’

“How much do you want?”

“Twenty silver coins.”

Jeong Yoo-shin couldn’t help but laugh at Carl’s response.

The amount he was asking for was something he would have to work two months straight at the monster dissection facility to earn.

“I don’t have that kind of money.”

He spoke truthfully. Most of his earnings had already been spent on weapons, armor, exploration supplies, and the course fees, not to mention the cost of staying at the inn.

All he had left were two silver coins and a handful of copper.

“We’ll see about that after we check.”

Damn.

‘Getting shaken down by kids younger than me in another world—great.’

“Carl, shut up.”

Anne cut in coldly, leaving Carl speechless.

“Skaro, let me be honest with you. We have to complete this quest. We have a friend who’s injured, and we need the money for their treatment.”

“You can finish it here, can’t you?”

“Not for the bare minimum reward. We came here from the countryside with no money, and we’re running short.”

“And how are you so sure? You might not encounter any monsters on the second floor either, or you could just get lost.”

“A senior explorer told us at the tavern that monsters become more frequent starting from the second floor. If we exceed the number of required subjugations, we can get bonus rewards, so it’s worth the risk.”

“Still, doesn’t this go against the original plan?”

He asked, half resigned.

“Plans change. The guild knows that. In such cases, it’s decided by a majority vote.”

A majority vote?

It was obvious that everyone else would vote to go down to the second floor.

There was no point in asking further.

The guild wasn’t kind to those who left a party without permission.

There would be consequences—guaranteed.

The rules made that clear.

What if the advice given during training conflicted with the official regulations of the guild? Which would prevail—the advice or the rules?

He didn’t know.

“What if I still refuse?”