Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Evil Spirit (3)

Barbarians have a very straightforward naming system.

If a child is a son, they use their father’s name as their last name, and if they’re a daughter, they use their mother’s name.

Therefore, there are no family names within the tribe, and all barbarians consider each other as family.

Well, that wasn’t important right now.

‘Yandel Jarku.’

The probability of it being a coincidence was very low.

After all, how many ‘Yandels, third son of Jarku’, could there be?

It was practically confirmed that he was my biological father.

But…

“Hahaha! How long are you going to leave my hand hanging?!”

…right, let’s get a grip first.

My father? So what?

I could be surprised and flustered, but I shouldn’t be this dazed.

It’s not like I’m the real Bjorn Yandel.

“Ah, I was lost in thought.”

I shook his hand and stepped back.

The introductions were over.

Kalton laughed awkwardly and got to the point.

The first thing explorers from different factions should do when they meet in a rift.

“Haha, that’s enough introductions. We’ll be exploring together, so let’s discuss how we’ll distribute the loot.”

Amelia grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside as soon as loot distribution was mentioned.

“Let’s discuss this with our companion for a moment.”

Huh? Discuss?

I tilted my head but followed her.

And I quietly asked her when we were alone,

“Why do we have to discuss this? We already decided on the loot distribution.”

“It’s not about the loot.”

“Then what is it?”

Amelia asked cautiously,

“Are you okay…?”

Now I understood why she pulled me aside.

She probably knew why I had frozen.

“I’m fine. I was a bit surprised, but I won’t cause any trouble.”

“I’m not worried about you causing trouble…”

Huh? Then what is she worried about?

Amelia trailed off as I stared at her.

“Never mind, it’s none of my business if you’re fine. Let’s go back. We’ll stick to the loot distribution we decided on earlier.”

We returned to the center and started discussing the loot distribution, and it ended quickly without any conflict.

After all, we weren’t here to absorb essences.

“…Are you really okay with just taking the magic stones?”

We decided to take all the magic stones, Numbered Items, and rift stones, and give them all the essences.

“Not just the magic stones, but the Numbered Items and rift stones too.”

“But we’re not even sure if we can defeat the Guardian.”

“That’s our problem, don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm, if you say so.”

Kalton seemed bewildered by the favorable conditions, but he didn’t say anything more.

That settled the loot issue.

“…Yandel, come here!”

Damn it, this is so awkward.

I flinch every time I hear that name.

“Huh? I was going to talk to them more…”

“You can do that later. Your axe blade seemed dull, so sharpen it with the whetstone.”

“Huh? It seems fine… Alright!”

Anyway, Yandel Jarku was called over by his companions as soon as the loot conversation ended, and we didn’t approach them.

An awkward silence fell as we kept our distance.

“What are they talking about?”

“They’re guessing why we’re not absorbing essences.”

“Guessing?”

I thought it was a bit much, but it was understandable from their perspective.

After all, the fact that we weren’t absorbing essences could be interpreted as us being strong enough that we didn’t need the 3rd-floor rift essences.

They must be uneasy because they didn’t know what kind of people we were…

“Bjorn, what kind of person is your father?”

…when Amelia suddenly asked me a question.

I chuckled at her obvious intention.

My father?

“Are you curious about my father?”

“A little.”

“Then I’m sorry. I don’t know much about him either. I just know that he died in the labyrinth when I was very young.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Even the original owner of this body didn’t know much about his father.

It was a common occurrence in barbarian society.

After all, 99% of the tribe members made a living by exploring the labyrinth.

The mortality rate was naturally high.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Amelia didn’t pry further and leaned against the wall, chewing on jerky, as I spoke firmly.

After some time…

Rumble.

…the stone door, which hadn’t budged no matter how hard we pushed, started to open.

“It seems like the portals on the other side are all closed.”

It was time to start exploring the rift.

____________________

The Hundred Colors Temple was a competitive rift.

Only one team could enter the boss room, and it was decided on a first-come, first-served basis.

We had a good start.

The 5-person entry deadline ended quickly, so we were able to take care of the loot distribution beforehand…

“Alright, then let’s go. Ah, but who’s going first?”

Geez, they’re going to waste time arguing about the formation?

“I’ll go first.”

“Ah! Then I’ll be next to—”

“Yandel!”

“……?”

“Come here. Monsters can also appear from behind.”

“Ah, okay!”

The battle formation was naturally formed as I took the lead.

Jarku was at the back, and the other three were in the center.

Of course, the formation didn’t really matter to us.

This was just a 3rd-floor rift.

And the difficulty was based on 5 people.

‘Let’s clear this quickly and get out of here before something troublesome happens.’

I entered the room beyond the door with that thought, and another stone chamber with the same structure as the previous one appeared.

It was about the same size, but there was only one statue.

And…

Swaaaaaaaaaa.

…a blue jewel in the statue’s hand emitted light that spread throughout the room like fog.

‘It’s a boss type from the beginning.’

I cleared my throat and stepped into the fog after confirming the room’s characteristic from the color.

Kalton panicked and warned me,

“H, hey! We don’t even know what’s going to appear…”

Hmm, right, they don’t know much about this place.

I had a hunch, but…

It seemed like they had only heard a little about the Hundred Colors Temple.

Thud.

A giant shadow appeared from the fog.

It was bipedal and almost 5 meters tall.

Blue Armored Giant Soldier.

It was a mid-boss type enemy that 3rd or 4th-floor explorers usually had to fight in a 5-person team.

But it was just a 3rd-floor rift monster.

Its experience level was only 6th-grade…

‘And its combat power is lower than a 5th-grade monster.’

It wasn’t even comparable to a 5th-grade monster like a troll.

Therefore…

“Be—”

Ah, I shouldn’t do that.

“Ugaaaaaaaaaa!!”

I let out a primal scream and charged forward.

“Wait! We have to fight together…!”

I ignored Kalton’s words. It would be more convenient for everyone if I just showed my true strength instead of hiding it.

‘Gigantification.’

I first matched its size…

‘Leap.’

…and then closed the distance.

And…

‘Swing.’

I swung my mace with all my might.

Kwagic!

The giant soldier’s neck, clad in blue armor, bent at a grotesque angle.

“Wh, what kind of strength…!”

I heard the newbies’ compliments from behind, but I felt a bit bitter.

Is this the sorrow of a tank?

I couldn’t even kill it in one hit with my current Strength.

Damn it, how embarrassing.

I should have just left it to the damage dealer.

“Emily!”

I called the damage dealer, and I felt a presence behind me.

And…

Thud.

…a dagger imbued with Aura pierced the giant soldier’s heart.

Kwagic!

The giant soldier disappeared into particles of light, and the fog cleared.

The battle was over in 3 seconds.

“A, Aura…”

“Why are they on the 3rd floor…?”

The 20-year-ago newbies started to murmur.

It seemed like they finally realized.

“What are you waiting for? Follow me!”

“Ah, o, okay…!”

…that they were on an express bus.

_____________________

The Hundred Colors Temple had a stage-based structure.

You cleared one room, and then the next room would open. And the team that cleared it the fastest would get to enter the boss room.

Kwagic!

Amelia and I continued clearing the rooms at an incredible speed, showing our true strength, after clearing the first room in 3 seconds.

But it wasn’t always over in a few seconds like the first stage.

There were also waves of enemies.

“Ugaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Monsters would swarm the room for a set amount of time, or monsters that used traps or mental abilities would appear.

The difficulty of the stages increased as we progressed.

It was a characteristic of the Hundred Colors Temple.

It would inflict a status effect on you every time you cleared a stage, or give a permanent buff to the monsters in the next stage.

That’s why people usually didn’t rush like this.

“Wait! I’ve heard about that symbol before. There’s something hidden here that can lift the curse on us…”

As Kalton suggested, the standard strategy was to activate the hidden elements in each room.

After all, there were hints everywhere.

And at intersections, you could choose the room that could lift the curse based on the symbols.

But…

“It’s fine, I’m not in the mood.”

“Not in the mood? What the hell does that even—”

“You talk too much. Just follow me.”

“…….”

We skipped everything that took time.

I judged that the increased difficulty wouldn’t be a problem.

That’s when, as we were blazing through the rift…

“Emily, why isn’t this door opening?”

“It’s a characteristic of the Golden Room. I don’t know why, but it takes about three hours for it to open.”

“Oh, I see.”

We finally gathered and rested in the middle of the rift.

“We’re resting here?”

I asked, implying that it would be more comfortable to keep our distance like before, and Kalton laughed awkwardly.

“It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Hmm, that’s true.

But I didn’t expect him to be so honest.

Kalton apologized as I chuckled.

“I apologize. I was suspicious of you at first. I thought you might betray us.”

“But not anymore?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“If you had any ill intentions, we would have been dead by now. It’s not like you can’t clear this rift without us.”

Kalton, who gave a logical reason, then added,

“And most importantly, you don’t seem like the type to do that.”

“Intuition?”

“That’s right. Not mine, but his.”

Kalton’s gaze was on the barbarian warrior who was munching on jerky.

Now that I see it, his side profile does look a bit like mine.

“Rest.”

I got up after my brief conversation with Kalton and approached Jarku.

“Oh, what brings you here? Ah, do you want some?”

Jarku smiled innocently and offered me jerky as soon as I approached him.

I took it and put it in my mouth.

For reference, I didn’t have to take off my helmet. I had it made so that I could open and close my mouth.

“Isn’t that uncomfortable? I wouldn’t be able to endure it for a day.”

“You get used to it.”

“Haha! You mean that human adaptability everyone talks about!”

Jarku laughed heartily and then lay down on the ground, using his backpack as a pillow. And he asked an unexpected question.

“Bjorn, do you have any children?”

“…No.”

“Really? I do.”

“What’s his name?”

“Bjorn. Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

Right, so you really are the father of this body.

I felt a strange tightness in my chest as I received the most definite proof.

“What do you think? It’s a good name, right?”

“…I think so.”

Jarku then talked for a while. It was mostly about his son, and I just listened quietly.

That’s when…

Thump.

…I couldn’t look him in the eye anymore.

So I looked away.

Amelia was watching me with a pitiful gaze.

And I realized the emotion that was filling my heart.

“Huhu, he’ll definitely become a great warrior. The child who inherited my and her blood—”

“Stop!”

“Huh?”

“I, I’ll be going now…”

It was guilt.