Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Sacrificial Pawn (4)

Sacrificial Pawn (4)

Sacrificial Pawn (4)

The knight who gave me this ring said…

…that if I showed it to them and told them about him, it would immediately vouch for my identity.

Right, that’s all he said.

“It’s a message ring. And… it’s Sir Garfizel’s, who went to search the 2nd-floor portal.”

One of the knights recognized the ring before I could even say who gave it to me.

And he chuckled, looking at my reaction.

“Message ring…?”

“It seems like you didn’t even know what this is. Wait a moment. We’ll know soon enough whether you’re telling the truth or not.”

The knight turned the jewel on the ring, and a blue light seeped out and flowed into his body.

“…….”

The knight closed his eyes and remained silent, as if savoring the afterglow.

He opened his mouth after about 3 minutes.

“The Corpse Collector is near the portal…”

The entire chain of events played out in my head at that single sentence.

Damn it, so it was a ‘message’ ring.

No wonder he just gave it to me without even asking for a reward.

‘Now I understand why he gave it to me.’

The knight named Garfizel wanted to convey information.

Using me, whom he happened to encounter.

That must have been why he gave us information about this place.

[By dark zone of the center, do you mean the place with the monument?]

[Yes, go there. You’ll be safe if you can reach it.]

It would be good if it was delivered, and there’s no loss if it wasn’t.

But he could have just told me honestly.

This really feels like I was tricked.

‘Why are there so many bastards who play with people in this world?’

I feel a bitter taste in my mouth…

But I’m grateful that the ring at least served its purpose of vouching for our identities.

“Little Balkan, Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

The knight, whom I’ve never even introduced myself to, calls my name.

“Are you no longer suspicious?”

“It seems certain that you’re not from Noark. Although I’m a bit curious how you managed to break through that path… Come in. We’ll talk more at the central temporary headquarters.”

“That’s a relief. Is there a priest here?”

I asked indirectly, even though it was obvious there would be one.

Fortunately, the knight seemed to understand what I meant.

“Right, you need to be treated first.”

He nodded, looking at our condition.

It was a bit unexpected.

I thought he would be inflexible and interrogate us first—

“I’ll have my men take your companions to the temporary infirmary.”

“…What about me?”

“Interrogation first.”

Well, I guess this is as good as it gets.

“I’m fine, you guys go rest.”

“But…!”

Misha objected to my decision, but I just looked at one spot.

Where a patient in a more serious condition than me, who’s missing an arm, was.

“Is Daria okay?”

“I, I don’t know. Raven cast a curse removal spell, but she’s still unconscious…”

“She’ll be fine if she sees a priest. So, go now.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Sorry for what?

I chuckled and patted Erwen’s shoulder, who looked like she had committed a sin. And I approached Raven and had a brief conversation.

“You’re the leader while I’m gone. I know it’s difficult because of mana exhaustion, but I’m asking you.”

“…Don’t worry about the team. I’ll take care of it. It can’t be harder than what you went through, Mr. Yandel.”

Hmm, is that something a one-armed guy should say?

“If you’re done, follow me. My men will take your companions to the infirmary.”

“Okay.”

I then parted ways with my companions and followed the knight inside.

It was a strange sight.

The dark zone, which was originally pitch-black, was now illuminated by torches.

‘It’s like a temporary shelter.’

The outside was guarded by knights and explorers, but the inside was different. Explorers were sitting or lying down, resting in the narrow passages.

“By the way, there’s no fog here?”

“Because we set up a defensive magic circle.”

“Defensive magic circle…?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know since you came from outside. That fog is a poison-type dark spell. It’s not that dangerous since it’s spread out over a wide area.”

A dark spell in the form of fog…

Then is it [Feast of Evil]?

I thought it was just an ordinary fog spell to obscure vision since there was no problem breathing and it covered the entire 1st floor.

‘Just how many dark mages did they sacrifice?’

I shudder.

What would have happened if we had decided to endure in the sparsely populated outer areas?

‘…We would have been screwed.’

No matter how weak it is, the symptoms would have appeared after a few days of exposure. I would have realized the true nature of the fog and tried to find a solution.

But the choices would have been limited since we were late.

“Hey, you, it’s good to rest, but move to the side so you’re not in the way.”

“Ah, yes… I’m sorry.”

That’s when, after about 20 minutes of navigating the narrow passage…

…the central cavern finally appeared.

No, should I call it a plaza?

“…How did they do this?”

“They used mages to collapse the nearby walls and expand the space. They couldn’t accommodate everyone in that small space.”

Huh, is this military-style civil engineering?

There’s nothing you can’t do when this many people gather.

The cavern, which was about 30 meters in radius, had been expanded to hundreds of times its original size. Tents with clan emblems were pitched throughout the expanded area.

“Come in.”

The knight led us to a large tent in the center.

The Lafdonia royal family’s flag was planted at the entrance, and inside, I saw people having a meeting around a round table.

‘It’s a meeting of the leaders…’

Although it was the royal family’s tent, there weren’t just knights.

Explorers with emblems of famous clans were also present, discussing something.

For reference, there was a familiar face among them.

“Oh, you’re…!”

The woman looked at me as if she had seen a ghost.

I smiled bitterly and greeted her.

“It’s good to see you again, Versil Gowland.”

I didn’t expect to see her again so soon.

___________________

“How are you here…? Did you find a mage who can use teleportation?”

There’s no way.

I just waved my arm, which was missing everything but the elbow, instead of answering.

It seemed like she understood what it meant, judging by her expression.

“You really broke through that path…?”

Versil muttered incredulously.

It seemed like she didn’t expect us to break through the route they gave up on and even succeed.

“How did you do it?”

Well, it’s not something I can proudly brag about.

I used a similar method to what she did.

I discarded what I had to discard, based on priority.

“Enough with the small talk.”

A man intervened, and silence fell as Versil and I were catching up.

Right, this man is the boss here.

“Sir Ergos, what are you doing here when you should be on the front lines? And who’s this barbarian?”

“I have something to report.”

“Tell me.”

“I obtained Sir Garfizel’s message ring.”

“…Sir Garfizel’s?”

“Yes. And this is an explorer named Bjorn Yandel, he’s the one who gave me the ring.”

The knight handed him the message ring, and the man activated it.

And after some time…

“I’m Marco Elburn, the captain of the 3rd Royal Knight Order.”

The man looked at me and spoke.

It seemed like he was finally interested in me, who was standing behind the knight.

“I’ll ask you a few questions, will you answer truthfully?”

“…Alright.”

“First, if the contents of this ring are true, it means the ‘Corpse Collector’ is stationed north of the Goblin Forest.”

A few explorers exclaimed, ‘Corpse Collector!’ at his words, but it wasn’t enough to interrupt the conversation.

It wasn’t something I should be concerned about right now.

“So what’s your point?”

“Is it confirmed information?”

“It’s confirmed. We fought, although he ran away.”

“Fought? May I ask what your team’s rank is?”

“…5th grade.”

The knight commander touched his chin with a strange expression as I revealed our rank.

“If that’s true, it’s safe to say that he let you go.”

“Probably.”

I readily agreed.

Indeed, it seemed like his only interest was blocking the 2nd-floor portal. If it weren’t for that, we would have had a hard time escaping.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“No, one more thing. From what I heard, it seems like you entered through the path that Sir Ergos was in charge of. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“I want to hear the details. Is there a way to avoid them and move?”

“Do you think I would be in this state if there was?”

“…That’s true. Then can you tell me the details of how you got here? It might be helpful for our strategy.”

Although it seemed like my identity as a non-Noark explorer had already been confirmed…

…there was no need to refuse and cause trouble.

I briefly summarized the 20-minute bloodbath.

But was that enough to convey how desperate our journey was?

“That was an impressive story.”

The knight commander’s gaze became more favorable.

The clan explorers who were listening to my story were also looking at me with curiosity.

“I see the qualities of a commander in you.”

“If I had those qualities, half of us wouldn’t have died.”

“That’s why I said I see those qualities. All of your companions survived.”

“…….”

“A good commander isn’t someone who makes perfect choices. It’s someone who makes the choices they have to make.”

Although it seemed like he meant it sincerely, it wasn’t a topic I wanted to talk about.

I wasn’t even happy about the compliment.

I changed the subject.

“If you don’t have any more questions, I’d like to leave.”

“Actually, there’s one more thing I want to ask. The guy you met at the end, did he have a scar on his chin?”

A scar…

“He did.”

The knight commander laughed as I nodded.

“I thought it might be the case since he was using an Adamantium greatsword, but it really was the Serpent Knight.”

“Serpent Knight?”

“He’s the guy who stabbed his lord’s son with a sword and ran away. He’s a famous guy, don’t you know him?”

No wonder he was using Aura, he was a former knight.

Judging by the murmurs of the surrounding explorers, he must have been quite famous.

“Anyway, congratulations. Your fame will increase even further since you killed someone like that.”

“Fame…”

“Why, don’t barbarians like that kind of thing?”

He wasn’t wrong, but I’m different from ordinary barbarians.

Of course, it wouldn’t be bad if my fame increased.

I have to obtain permission to enter Karnon, the Imperial City, after all.

But…

“If I return alive.”

I could worry about that later.

It hasn’t even been a day since the labyrinth opened.

__________________

“Ah, I’ve kept you for too long. Go and rest. Sir Ergos will tell you about the rules here.”

I left the tent and then went to the temporary infirmary, guided by a knight, and reunited with my companions.

“Mister!!!”

“How’s Daria?”

“She’s completely healed after receiving purification from the priest. She’s sleeping now because she’s tired… Anyway, it’s all thanks to you!”

Erwen, who was back to her usual cheerful self now that her sister was treated, hugged me.

Misha approached and pulled Erwen away.

“Hey! Stop bothering him and get away.”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing? Can’t you see Bjorn is injured?”

“Ah…”

“Let me see. Are you okay? Nothing else hurts? You’ve worked hard, being called away like that. Let’s go and show the priest your arm.”

Since it seemed like my injuries were all treated, I followed Misha to the priest and received treatment.

Ah, for reference, it was free.

It’s a wartime situation.

All explorers have to follow the royal family’s orders.

In the first place, the infirmary here was probably set up by conscripting priests from other teams.

“You’ll feel a bit weak and strange for about a day. Well then, I have many other patients. May the radiance of the sun be with you.”

My arm regenerated in less than a few minutes after a single heal.

I’m reminded once again of the importance of priests.

I would have had to use two or three top-grade potions if it were me.

And besides…

…the potion’s effectiveness decreases as your physical abilities increase.

‘I have to get a priest as soon as I form a clan.’

After receiving treatment, I reunited with my companions and talked.

“Raven, did you hear about the situation here?”

“I heard a bit while we were getting our area assignments.”

“Area assignments?”

“The place where we’ll be sleeping. Looking at the map they gave us, it’s a passage in the outer area. I guess it’s because we came late. The safe areas inside are already full.”

I smiled silently at Raven’s words.

Only the tents of large clans were in the center, so I wonder if they were assigned there because they came early?

“Anyway, let’s go there quickly. They said we have to take turns keeping watch from tomorrow.”

Geez, it’s like we’re in the army.

That’s when, as I was looking around at the tense atmosphere…

“…But where’s Takelan?”

…I asked a question that suddenly came to mind.

Takelan Arbenon.

The 5th-grade explorer who was practically the only survivor of this plan.

“…….”

My companions all froze when I mentioned Takelan’s name.

“Ah, that person…”

Raven forced a smile and spoke.

“He went there as soon as he received his area assignment. They said explorers who are alone or in groups of two or less are assigned to teams with vacancies.”

“Really?”

But he could have just joined our team, right?

It seemed like clans were all sticking together.

And there were quite a few groups with six or more members that we passed by.

Raven smiled awkwardly and said as I expressed my doubts,

“He wanted to. So don’t worry about it, Mr. Yandel.”

“If that’s the case…”

I nodded nonchalantly and thought,

‘Something must have happened while I was gone.’

There was an incident.

Although I don’t know why they’re hiding it from me…

I can just subtly ask Ainar or Misha later…

“Erwen, you said you were joining the Blue Wall Clan, right?”

“Yes… I, I don’t want to, but my sister said I have to… She said there might be problems with the contract later.”

Well, leaving aside the contract, she probably thought it would be much safer. The Blue Wall is a clan that operates six teams.

Well, one of them disappeared on the way here, but…

“Then we’ll be going. You take care of your sister when she wakes up. And always be wary of your surroundings.”

“Okay…!”

We then parted ways with Erwen and headed towards the area we were assigned to.

It was a passage in the outer area, and the distance between us and the team next to us was less than 2 meters.

“It’s been a while since I slept on the 1st floor…”

But we spread out our sleeping bags on the ground and lay down next to each other, without any complaints, as expected of explorers.

We all knew.

That we should be grateful to even be able to sleep like this.

Snore!

Ainar started snoring as soon as she lay down.

I don’t know why, but listening to it reminded me of the things I had to do.

I had to check the loot I obtained today, inspect the equipment that was covered in lava, and clean my body that was soaked in blood and sweat.

Ah, and I have to find out what happened with Takelan.

There was a mountain of things to do.

But even though I did so much…

‘Ah, whatever, I’ll do it tomorrow.’

Strength drained from my body as soon as I closed my eyes.

As if I was sinking into water.

That’s when, as my consciousness slowly faded into sleep, I heard Misha’s voice next to me.

“Bjorn, you’ve worked hard.”

And I also heard Raven’s voice on the other side.

“Yes, you really did a great job.”

Avman also chuckled awkwardly and said,

“Rest, Yandel.”

Only then did I realize…

Snore!

…that the unusually long Day 1 had finally come to an end.