Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Evil Spirit (2)

I felt strange.

It wasn’t sympathy or regret for smashing her head with my mace.

It was an unsettling feeling.

“You don’t look well.”

“…….”

“Did you know her?”

I shook my head at Amelia’s question.

And I asked her something I was curious about.

“What happens to those kids when they grow up?”

“They become explorers.”

“There’s no other option? They could work at the Lord’s Castle.”

“Impossible. They’re here because they made a promise.”

“Promise?”

“To do whatever he tells them to in exchange for being raised.”

I was dumbfounded.

“You’re saying that using them for chores and as bait for looting is considered ‘raising’ them?”

“Children who survive hell grow up strong.”

I suddenly remembered what the chieftain had said to me.

[You know, don’t you? Only those who survive become strong warriors.]

It was a similar context.

An environment where you had to be strong to survive.

The Lord intentionally put the children in that environment.

“But the mortality rate decreases as they get older and stop being used as bait. And the treatment they receive from their assigned team also improves.”

Amelia continued.

She said that if they survived for about three years as bait, they would be acknowledged for their talent and start receiving combat training.

And if an unclaimed essence dropped during a hunt, they could even absorb it…

“They become usable assets as soon as they become adults.”

“What if they want to quit after becoming adults?”

“That won’t happen. They’re brainwashed from a young age. By the time they become adults, they’re completely loyal to the Lord.”

“But what if they come to their senses and quit?”

Amelia frowned and then answered,

“They’ll be re-educated. To be loyal again.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry too much. No child would join the Lord without knowing that.”

The conversation ended there.

But I continued thinking about it.

What kind of life did the player who possessed ‘Zencia Nayfrin’ have to live?

Well, maybe it wasn’t that bad.

They didn’t kill evil spirits in Noark.

‘…But they wouldn’t let her go free.’

From the Lord’s perspective, an evil spirit had possessed the body of a valuable asset he had raised for years, feeding her essences.

He would have made the evil spirit, whoever it was, live as ‘Zencia’.

Even if it meant ‘re-educating’ her.

‘Anyway, she would have had to start looting as soon as she arrived, whether she was exposed or not. Then maybe the fact that she treated everyone like NPCs was also a defense mechanism…’

Wait, why am I even curious about this?

‘Stop thinking about it.’

I stopped thinking.

It didn’t matter what kind of environment that player had to survive in.

She tried to kill me.

Yeah, so…

‘I just did what I had to do.’

That was all there was to it.

Phew, I feel better now.

“Come on, Amelia. Let’s go. We have work to do.”

“You… why are your emotions so unstable?”

“Because I’m a barbarian!”

I dismissed my unsettling feelings and continued using my secret technique, ‘Those who come are not good’, to lure looters.

And after a few more days…

“Oh, another subspace ring.”

…I was casually organizing the equipment we had looted from another team when…

Rumble.

…the ground suddenly shook as if there was an earthquake.

Honestly, I was quite flustered.

Damn it, I didn’t even consider this possibility.

Rumble!

A rift had opened on the 3rd floor.

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A rift opening on the floor you’re currently on.

Although it was sudden, it wasn’t something to be surprised or amazed by.

It was something that could happen at any time during exploration.

But the problem was…

‘Why now?’

We didn’t enter the labyrinth for normal exploration.

And besides, there weren’t any essences I could absorb in the 3rd-floor rift.

No, in the first place, I couldn’t even absorb essences unless I removed the Corpse Golem essence since all my slots were full.

You’re saying there are Numbered Items and rift stones?

I couldn’t take them back to the future anyway.

Well, I could sell them and use the money to live here…

‘Let’s stop getting ahead of ourselves and confirm first.’

I quickly made a decision.

Opening a rift and being able to enter it were two different things.

“Amelia, where is it?”

A Guide could sense the location of a rift when it opened.

Then where did it open?

If it was hours away, we wouldn’t be able to enter it, no matter what we did.

So there wouldn’t even be a need to—

“Five minutes north.”

Damn it, it’s right next to us.

It should have opened here from the beginning.

The last time we were on the 5th floor, it opened in a completely different area.

“What are you waiting for! Let’s go!”

Amelia asked as I was about to run.

“You’re going in?”

What the hell.

Of course, we are.

You have to enter a rift if you can.

Essences, items, whatever.

It had experience points that you could only obtain in rifts…

‘Wait a minute.’

“Amelia, have you ever been to the 3rd-floor rift?”

“Once, a long time ago.”

Right, so you’ve already gotten all the experience points.

No wonder she wasn’t enthusiastic.

“I haven’t! So let’s go!”

“…….”

“We’ve practically succeeded in impressing the Lord! Nothing will change even if we miss out on a few loot!”

“But what if something happens if we go to the rift…?”

“I won’t cause any trouble! And we’re companions! Just help me out this once! I’ll just get the achievement points and come out!”

“…Fine, follow me.”

Amelia sighed and then started guiding me.

She probably didn’t change her mind because of the word ‘companion’.

She probably judged that it was better to endure a few days of annoyance than to ruin her relationship with her ‘collaborator’.

After all, she was a rational woman.

‘She’s surprisingly compatible with barbarians.’

Amelia, who wasn’t emotional, was susceptible to a barbarian’s mindless ‘Do it for me’ tactic. It was more rational for her to just give in.

Tadat.

Anyway, we soon reached the portal.

“Yandel, think about it one more time…”

Think about what?

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”

I jumped into the portal without hesitation.

And…

Flash!

…we were in a white temple when I opened my eyes.

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A high ceiling.

White marble pillars.

And a hundred statues lined up along the walls.

‘We must be the first ones here since there’s no one else.’

I slowly looked around after confirming that there were no other explorers.

It wasn’t to figure out where we were, but out of pure curiosity.

After all, there was only one rift on the 3rd floor.

The Hundred Colors Temple.

Not white, but a temple with a hundred colors.

For reference, it was a place you had to visit at least once during your playthrough.

The experience points were incredible.

“Yandel, do you know about this place?”

“To some extent.”

“Then there’s no need for me to explain.”

The Hundred Colors Temple had three characteristics.

1. Elite monsters that didn’t appear in normal fields, like the Corpse Golem, swarmed the place.

You could get first-time kill experience points no matter what you killed…

2. Unlike ordinary rifts, you had to compete with other explorers instead of cooperating.

Only one team could enter the boss room.

And if they failed, the opportunity would pass to another team.

Ah, but that didn’t mean Amelia and I had to compete with other teams.

3. Five portals opened on the floor when a rift was generated, and those who entered through the same portal became a team.

This was the most annoying part in the game.

It was only natural.

What would you do if you found a rift while exploring as a 5-person team, but two people had already entered?

Two of your companions would be left behind.

Like this team of explorers who just entered.

“…Huh?”

“Damn it, there were already people here.”

The portal, which had been floating in the air, closed after spewing out three explorers.

It seemed like they had left their teammates outside…

“This is bad! Lemud and Hans didn’t get in!!”

Oh, nice.

“…Calm down! They might be separated from us, but Lemud and Hans can handle the 3rd floor even if they’re alone!”

A human swordsman, after calming his panicked companions, approached us.

“Greetings. You two came together?”

“That’s right.”

The man smiled kindly despite Amelia’s curt answer.

“Haha, we’ll be spending some time together. It’s fate that we met, so let’s introduce ourselves first. I’m Kalton Drek.”

“Emily.”

“Bjorn.”

Kalton then cautiously asked me,

“Bjorn, are you a barbarian?”

It was a natural question.

I was wearing a full set of plate armor.

My entire body was covered in metal, so he couldn’t even see if I had any tattoos.

Therefore…

“What does that have to do with anything?”

…I asked back defiantly. Kalton quickly apologized.

“I apologize. I was just curious, but I guess that was rude.”

It seemed like he thought I was just a large human.

Well, it’s usually the narrow-minded people who are sensitive to trivial questions.

“Kalton, come here for a moment.”

Anyway, the fairy called Kalton over as soon as we introduced ourselves.

And…

‘I can’t hear them.’

…they whispered to each other.

It seemed like they were discussing something…

“He says we’re suspicious.”

“Huh?”

“I can hear them from this distance. Unless they’re using magic.”

“…I see.”

So she has good hearing.

I didn’t know that.

I should be careful not to whisper in front of her.

“So what are they saying? They look serious.”

I then eavesdropped on their conversation through Amelia.

‘They’re just casually introducing themselves. And they’re exploring the 3rd floor as a two-person team on Day 13, and one of them is even wearing a mask. They might be looters.’

The fairy pointed out the suspicious aspects, and Kalton said,

‘But there’s nothing we can do. We can’t just attack them. Let’s just keep an eye on them and see what kind of people they are.’

Did their discussion end there?

“Ah! I apologize! My friend is worried about his companions who were left behind.”

Kalton laughed heartily and approached us.

And he gave the other two a chance to introduce themselves.

“Well, then this friend here, who’s from the fairy tribe…”

“I’ll do it. Aimburn Berta Garcia. As you can see, I’m an archer.”

Aimburn briefly introduced himself, only revealing his name and weapon. It seemed like he didn’t want to give us any more information.

Anyway, the barbarian warrior was next.

“Hahaha! Nice to meet you all!”

The warrior, who hadn’t even been included in the whispered discussion, approached us with a bright smile.

And he introduced himself without any hesitation.

“I’m Yandel, the third son of Jarku!”

“…………What?”

My mind went blank.

If I heard correctly…

“Ah, is it difficult for humans? Just call me Yandel Jarku!”

…he was my biological father.