SGB: Episode 24
Episode 24: The Marauder (1)
A 9th-grade magic stone is worth one stone bread.
In other words, each one has a value of about 20 stones.
Then what about an 8th-grade magic stone?
Unfortunately, one Death Fiend is only worth five goblins.
“What? It’s only worth a hundred stones?!”
“...If you include the ones dropped by the summoned ghouls, it’s 300 stones.”
Of course, even considering that, it’s a low amount.
We just risked our lives.
“Bjorn… how much was that bread we ate at the inn?”
“...I remember it being around 300 stones.”
“Then… that means we can enjoy one sweetness each time we catch a Death Fiend!”
It seems the cream pie we ate earlier has become Ainar’s new unit of measurement.
Of course, if we split it 8:2, it would be 0.2 sweetness per monster, but…
It’s probably better not to mention that.
“Bjorn! We don’t have time for this. Let’s hunt! Let’s hunt!”
Disappointed by the smaller-than-expected amount, Ainar quickly becomes enthusiastic again.
Seeing her like this, I smile.
In this aspect, it’s not bad to have a barbarian as a companion.
Erwen, my former companion, was good in many ways, but she had the disadvantage of being passive in everything.
Motivation is much simpler with Ainar.
“Alright, let’s go!”
After that, we continue to roam the vicinity, hunting Death Fiends.
It takes over 20 minutes to hunt one, so even if we earn 300 stones, it’s almost a loss, but…
The first try is always an exception.
“KuoOOOOO!”
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
Whenever we encounter a Death Fiend, we charge together, shouting the name of our ancestor god.
And we each grab one of its legs and lift it up, slamming it onto the ground.
It’s called the Double Barbarian Takedown.
Thud!
Once it’s down, the Death Fiend becomes easy prey.
We take turns pounding its head from a position where its arms can’t reach, and it soon disappears into light.
The whole process takes about 3 minutes.
It’s hard to shorten the time any further because the Death Fiend, sensing danger once it’s on the ground, summons ghouls.
“Uooooooh!”
The more we hunt, the faster our magic stone pouch fills up, but we’re not satisfied and push ourselves even harder.
Hunting Death Fiends becomes impossible from Day 3 onwards.
In the first place, if we hadn’t used a bug to reach the 2nd floor faster than anyone else, I wouldn’t have dared to fight this thing.
These guys don’t usually travel alone.
We can manage up to two, but three or four of them together are too much for just the two of us.
[14:27]
I check the time and take a short break.
There’s a saying, “strike while the iron is hot,” but accidents always happen when you’re in a hurry.
“Bjorn, I’m thirsty.”
“Drink sparingly. We won’t find corpse flowers until tomorrow.”
“Corpse flowers?”
They’re the only source of hydration in the Land of the Dead. When the time comes, flowers bloom on the vines covering the remains of stone buildings. If you split them open, there’s water inside.
Ainar makes a face when I explain this.
“Bjorn, isn’t that a bit unsanitary?”
That’s definitely true.
I heard it’s okay to drink, but even I find it gross.
However, that’s not something someone who slept in a 5-person room with ten other people without showering should be saying.
“Then do you have another way?”
“No! I’ll drink it!”
After resting for about 20 minutes and replenishing our stamina, we resume hunting.
And by the time we’re about to collapse from exhaustion, we’ve hunted a total of 70 Death Fiends.
That’s over 20,000 stones in earnings per day.
‘This is better than just catching 9th-grade monsters, right?’
However, the essence I was secretly hoping for didn’t appear.
___________________________________
The drop rate for essences is abysmal.
Therefore, in the early stages of the game, building your character based on the essences that drop is the basic strategy, and…
Your skill as a player depends on how well you do that.
In that sense, I had some expectations.
The Death Fiend’s essence is among the top-tier ones you can get in the early stages.
‘The problem is, there’s no sign of it dropping.’
The active skill ‘Call of the Dead,’ which summons ghouls, is honestly a bit ambiguous, but the passive skill ‘Physical Preservation’ more than makes up for it.
Of course, eating the essence wouldn’t give me the same ridiculous regeneration ability as the Death Fiend, but…
It would synergize well with me, whose regeneration coefficient has increased due to the Undying Engraving.
[02:57]
I check the time while listening to Ainar’s snores.
Day 2 has begun.
From now on, we’ll have to fight two Death Fiends at a time, but there’s something that puts my mind at ease.
At least we won’t look strange when we encounter other explorers.
As I’ve said many times, I’m most scared of explorers.
“Ainar, wake up.”
“…I didn’t eat it!”
“It’s time to switch.”
Three hours each.
After a total of six hours of rest, we continue hunting Death Fiends on Day 2 as well.
“KuoOOOOO!”
Two of them.
There are twenty ghouls summoned by their active skill, but we can still manage somehow.
It’s thanks to the experience we gained on Day 1, where we fought them countless times.
Thud-!
We rush in like we’re stealing candy from a baby and slam one of them to the ground first.
Then we work together to take down the other one.
If we make even one mistake in this process, it could become quite troublesome, but…
In that case, we run away without looking back.
“Ainar, let’s get out of here!”
“Ow!”
Death Fiends have slow movement speed and don’t chase after you if you move away from their territory, so there haven’t been any dangerous situations yet.
Swaaaaaaaaa!
Each battle takes about 10 minutes.
We even failed about three times out of ten, but since we’re catching two at a time, the income is similar to Day 1.
On Day 1, it took quite a bit of time just to find groups.
However, as the afternoon passed, groups of three Death Fiends started appearing occasionally, and the frequency increased as time went on.
“It’s time to leave this place.”
“A wise warrior knows when to retreat.”
As Day 2 draws to a close, I reluctantly leave the Death Fiend territory. And we return to the muddy field and search for a suitable campsite.
That’s when…
“……!”
We encounter another group of explorers for the first time.
The group of three humans is wandering through the darkness, relying on a single torch like us, but…
We only notice each other after approaching within 10 meters.
“What are you looking at? Get lost if you have no business here.”
“Ahem, my apologies.”
When Ainar speaks coldly, the opposing group passes by us first and disappears back into the darkness.
It’s a bit strange.
Thud, thud.
They only moved about twenty steps away, and we can still faintly hear their footsteps.
But the light from their torch is already out of sight.
They say that most floors of the labyrinth have a property that absorbs light, so this is what they meant.
It seems like the brightness of a torch becomes invisible to the naked eye even at a distance of 10 meters...
As I’m thinking about this phenomenon…
“Bjorn, we need to move.”
Ainar speaks in a firm voice.
“They know our location. It’s convenient because there’s a wall behind us, but it’s safer to find a new campsite.”
That’s definitely true.
That’s what I was going to do.
But I can’t get used to it.
What’s with her, telling other explorers to get lost as soon as she sees them…
Her character has suddenly changed.
“Bjorn, humans are not to be trusted.”
“…I agree.”
Now that I think about it, besides being barbarians, we have one more thing in common.
It’s distrust of humans.
It seems like something must have happened to her during her first entry as well.
I should ask her about it later.
“Then let’s move.”
We pack our things again and move.
However, it’s difficult to find a campsite as good as the previous one. Should we just settle for a wall to cover our backs?
As I’m thinking that…
“Keueueu…”
We hear a moan not too far ahead.
“Keuheok! Heueueup!”
It’s not a banshee.
First of all, it’s not a female voice, and…
“…Wai, wait!”
They’re clearly speaking.
“Sa, save—”
Damn it.
I should have just camped anywhere and slept.
“…….”
Silence falls after the interrupted scream.
Ainar whispers,
“They weren’t killed by a monster.”
I have ears too, so I know.
People rarely beg for their lives from monsters.
The situation is clear. A person killed another person.
Damn it, what the hell is this shitty situation?
It’s not like I’m some kid detective.
I grab Ainar’s wrist and slowly step back, not wanting to get involved.
But did they sense something?
“Who’s there?”
A cold, low voice is heard.
It’s rough, but it’s a woman’s voice.
We both hold our breath and stay perfectly still.
But at that moment…
Phew! Bang!
Something like a flare shoots up into the sky, faintly illuminating a radius of about 50 meters.
Thanks to that, I can also see the owner of the voice.
She’s only about 15 meters away.
…If Erwen were here, she would have sensed their presence from afar and avoided them.
“Hmm, newbies?”
The mysterious woman makes a quick judgment, looking at us.
It’s the same for us.
A dagger dripping with blood.
Four corpses sprawled on the ground.
“…A marauder.”
The woman asks nonchalantly,
“First time seeing one?”
“Sort of.”
It’s the first time I’ve seen one as professional-looking as you.
“I see.”
Although the murder scene has been witnessed, she might be flustered, but the woman’s expression is strangely calm as she nods meaningfully.
Somehow, I think I know why.
_____________________________________
Marauders.
That’s what they call those who specifically hunt fellow explorers, not monsters.
They make a high income by looting explorers’ equipment, not magic stones.
Of course, if they’re caught, they’ll be executed as soon as they return to the city, but…
That rarely happens.
Just like I killed six explorers, even though it was self-defense, and wasn’t investigated.
There’s no way to know what happens in the labyrinth from the outside.
Unless someone tells the outside world.
“…She’s not wearing a mask.”
That’s the most fucked-up part of the current situation.
This psychopath bitch was going around as a marauder with her face exposed.
A little over 170 centimeters tall with a lean build.
Shoulder-length red hair, a tattoo under her eye, and a half-torn right earlobe.
With these features, it wouldn’t be difficult to identify her.
If this were the modern world, she could have just denied it and asked if there was any evidence, but…
The world I’m in is one where magic exists.
There are ways to distinguish truth from falsehood without physical evidence.
“…Were they companions?”
“Who knows.”
The woman shrugs as she looks at the corpses.
“Maybe this side thought so.”
So that’s why she wasn’t wearing a mask.
Even while asking a question with an obvious answer, I quickly organize the information I can see.
Four corpses in total.
Judging by the level of their equipment and the presence of a mage, they were explorers operating at least on the 5th floor or higher.
Also, three of the corpses have no external injuries.
However, they all have traces of blood and stomach fluids around their mouths, so…
‘Did she poison them? And the man she finished off at the end had some resistance, so he held out for a while?’
I hope this speculation is correct.
If she’s skilled enough to kill four mid-level explorers alone without any wounds, the situation is even more grim.
Clatter, clatter.
The woman squats down and skillfully removes the equipment from the corpses.
And she puts each piece into her bag.
It’s a magic bag, as even bulky items fit in easily.
Fear rises before envy.
Just the fact that she has something like that makes me feel the gap between her and us.
“Barbarians.”
The woman calls out to us.
I don’t answer.
Ainar quietly asks me,
“Are we going to fight?”
She’s really something.
If it were Erwen, she would have been scared shitless and stammering by now.
Is it warrior pride or something that makes her think of fighting first, regardless of the difference in strength?
I answer briefly.
“I’m thinking.”
Honestly, I want to avoid the option of fighting.
The difference in equipment alone is clear.
And if she’s as skilled as her equipment suggests, well… even with a 2:1 advantage, our chances of winning are much lower.
Whooooosh—!
The flare shot into the sky burns out, and darkness descends once more.
I immediately make a decision.
“We run. At full speed.”
Pride won’t save your life.
A 9th-grade magic stone is worth one stone bread.
In other words, each one has a value of about 20 stones.
Then what about an 8th-grade magic stone?
Unfortunately, one Death Fiend is only worth five goblins.
“What? It’s only worth a hundred stones?!”
“...If you include the ones dropped by the summoned ghouls, it’s 300 stones.”
Of course, even considering that, it’s a low amount.
We just risked our lives.
“Bjorn… how much was that bread we ate at the inn?”
“...I remember it being around 300 stones.”
“Then… that means we can enjoy one sweetness each time we catch a Death Fiend!”
It seems the cream pie we ate earlier has become Ainar’s new unit of measurement.
Of course, if we split it 8:2, it would be 0.2 sweetness per monster, but…
It’s probably better not to mention that.
“Bjorn! We don’t have time for this. Let’s hunt! Let’s hunt!”
Disappointed by the smaller-than-expected amount, Ainar quickly becomes enthusiastic again.
Seeing her like this, I smile.
In this aspect, it’s not bad to have a barbarian as a companion.
Erwen, my former companion, was good in many ways, but she had the disadvantage of being passive in everything.
Motivation is much simpler with Ainar.
“Alright, let’s go!”
After that, we continue to roam the vicinity, hunting Death Fiends.
It takes over 20 minutes to hunt one, so even if we earn 300 stones, it’s almost a loss, but…
The first try is always an exception.
“KuoOOOOO!”
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
Whenever we encounter a Death Fiend, we charge together, shouting the name of our ancestor god.
And we each grab one of its legs and lift it up, slamming it onto the ground.
It’s called the Double Barbarian Takedown.
Thud!
Once it’s down, the Death Fiend becomes easy prey.
We take turns pounding its head from a position where its arms can’t reach, and it soon disappears into light.
The whole process takes about 3 minutes.
It’s hard to shorten the time any further because the Death Fiend, sensing danger once it’s on the ground, summons ghouls.
“Uooooooh!”
The more we hunt, the faster our magic stone pouch fills up, but we’re not satisfied and push ourselves even harder.
Hunting Death Fiends becomes impossible from Day 3 onwards.
In the first place, if we hadn’t used a bug to reach the 2nd floor faster than anyone else, I wouldn’t have dared to fight this thing.
These guys don’t usually travel alone.
We can manage up to two, but three or four of them together are too much for just the two of us.
[14:27]
I check the time and take a short break.
There’s a saying, “strike while the iron is hot,” but accidents always happen when you’re in a hurry.
“Bjorn, I’m thirsty.”
“Drink sparingly. We won’t find corpse flowers until tomorrow.”
“Corpse flowers?”
They’re the only source of hydration in the Land of the Dead. When the time comes, flowers bloom on the vines covering the remains of stone buildings. If you split them open, there’s water inside.
Ainar makes a face when I explain this.
“Bjorn, isn’t that a bit unsanitary?”
That’s definitely true.
I heard it’s okay to drink, but even I find it gross.
However, that’s not something someone who slept in a 5-person room with ten other people without showering should be saying.
“Then do you have another way?”
“No! I’ll drink it!”
After resting for about 20 minutes and replenishing our stamina, we resume hunting.
And by the time we’re about to collapse from exhaustion, we’ve hunted a total of 70 Death Fiends.
That’s over 20,000 stones in earnings per day.
‘This is better than just catching 9th-grade monsters, right?’
However, the essence I was secretly hoping for didn’t appear.
___________________________________
The drop rate for essences is abysmal.
Therefore, in the early stages of the game, building your character based on the essences that drop is the basic strategy, and…
Your skill as a player depends on how well you do that.
In that sense, I had some expectations.
The Death Fiend’s essence is among the top-tier ones you can get in the early stages.
‘The problem is, there’s no sign of it dropping.’
The active skill ‘Call of the Dead,’ which summons ghouls, is honestly a bit ambiguous, but the passive skill ‘Physical Preservation’ more than makes up for it.
Of course, eating the essence wouldn’t give me the same ridiculous regeneration ability as the Death Fiend, but…
It would synergize well with me, whose regeneration coefficient has increased due to the Undying Engraving.
[02:57]
I check the time while listening to Ainar’s snores.
Day 2 has begun.
From now on, we’ll have to fight two Death Fiends at a time, but there’s something that puts my mind at ease.
At least we won’t look strange when we encounter other explorers.
As I’ve said many times, I’m most scared of explorers.
“Ainar, wake up.”
“…I didn’t eat it!”
“It’s time to switch.”
Three hours each.
After a total of six hours of rest, we continue hunting Death Fiends on Day 2 as well.
“KuoOOOOO!”
Two of them.
There are twenty ghouls summoned by their active skill, but we can still manage somehow.
It’s thanks to the experience we gained on Day 1, where we fought them countless times.
Thud-!
We rush in like we’re stealing candy from a baby and slam one of them to the ground first.
Then we work together to take down the other one.
If we make even one mistake in this process, it could become quite troublesome, but…
In that case, we run away without looking back.
“Ainar, let’s get out of here!”
“Ow!”
Death Fiends have slow movement speed and don’t chase after you if you move away from their territory, so there haven’t been any dangerous situations yet.
Swaaaaaaaaa!
Each battle takes about 10 minutes.
We even failed about three times out of ten, but since we’re catching two at a time, the income is similar to Day 1.
On Day 1, it took quite a bit of time just to find groups.
However, as the afternoon passed, groups of three Death Fiends started appearing occasionally, and the frequency increased as time went on.
“It’s time to leave this place.”
“A wise warrior knows when to retreat.”
As Day 2 draws to a close, I reluctantly leave the Death Fiend territory. And we return to the muddy field and search for a suitable campsite.
That’s when…
“……!”
We encounter another group of explorers for the first time.
The group of three humans is wandering through the darkness, relying on a single torch like us, but…
We only notice each other after approaching within 10 meters.
“What are you looking at? Get lost if you have no business here.”
“Ahem, my apologies.”
When Ainar speaks coldly, the opposing group passes by us first and disappears back into the darkness.
It’s a bit strange.
Thud, thud.
They only moved about twenty steps away, and we can still faintly hear their footsteps.
But the light from their torch is already out of sight.
They say that most floors of the labyrinth have a property that absorbs light, so this is what they meant.
It seems like the brightness of a torch becomes invisible to the naked eye even at a distance of 10 meters...
As I’m thinking about this phenomenon…
“Bjorn, we need to move.”
Ainar speaks in a firm voice.
“They know our location. It’s convenient because there’s a wall behind us, but it’s safer to find a new campsite.”
That’s definitely true.
That’s what I was going to do.
But I can’t get used to it.
What’s with her, telling other explorers to get lost as soon as she sees them…
Her character has suddenly changed.
“Bjorn, humans are not to be trusted.”
“…I agree.”
Now that I think about it, besides being barbarians, we have one more thing in common.
It’s distrust of humans.
It seems like something must have happened to her during her first entry as well.
I should ask her about it later.
“Then let’s move.”
We pack our things again and move.
However, it’s difficult to find a campsite as good as the previous one. Should we just settle for a wall to cover our backs?
As I’m thinking that…
“Keueueu…”
We hear a moan not too far ahead.
“Keuheok! Heueueup!”
It’s not a banshee.
First of all, it’s not a female voice, and…
“…Wai, wait!”
They’re clearly speaking.
“Sa, save—”
Damn it.
I should have just camped anywhere and slept.
“…….”
Silence falls after the interrupted scream.
Ainar whispers,
“They weren’t killed by a monster.”
I have ears too, so I know.
People rarely beg for their lives from monsters.
The situation is clear. A person killed another person.
Damn it, what the hell is this shitty situation?
It’s not like I’m some kid detective.
I grab Ainar’s wrist and slowly step back, not wanting to get involved.
But did they sense something?
“Who’s there?”
A cold, low voice is heard.
It’s rough, but it’s a woman’s voice.
We both hold our breath and stay perfectly still.
But at that moment…
Phew! Bang!
Something like a flare shoots up into the sky, faintly illuminating a radius of about 50 meters.
Thanks to that, I can also see the owner of the voice.
She’s only about 15 meters away.
…If Erwen were here, she would have sensed their presence from afar and avoided them.
“Hmm, newbies?”
The mysterious woman makes a quick judgment, looking at us.
It’s the same for us.
A dagger dripping with blood.
Four corpses sprawled on the ground.
“…A marauder.”
The woman asks nonchalantly,
“First time seeing one?”
“Sort of.”
It’s the first time I’ve seen one as professional-looking as you.
“I see.”
Although the murder scene has been witnessed, she might be flustered, but the woman’s expression is strangely calm as she nods meaningfully.
Somehow, I think I know why.
_____________________________________
Marauders.
That’s what they call those who specifically hunt fellow explorers, not monsters.
They make a high income by looting explorers’ equipment, not magic stones.
Of course, if they’re caught, they’ll be executed as soon as they return to the city, but…
That rarely happens.
Just like I killed six explorers, even though it was self-defense, and wasn’t investigated.
There’s no way to know what happens in the labyrinth from the outside.
Unless someone tells the outside world.
“…She’s not wearing a mask.”
That’s the most fucked-up part of the current situation.
This psychopath bitch was going around as a marauder with her face exposed.
A little over 170 centimeters tall with a lean build.
Shoulder-length red hair, a tattoo under her eye, and a half-torn right earlobe.
With these features, it wouldn’t be difficult to identify her.
If this were the modern world, she could have just denied it and asked if there was any evidence, but…
The world I’m in is one where magic exists.
There are ways to distinguish truth from falsehood without physical evidence.
“…Were they companions?”
“Who knows.”
The woman shrugs as she looks at the corpses.
“Maybe this side thought so.”
So that’s why she wasn’t wearing a mask.
Even while asking a question with an obvious answer, I quickly organize the information I can see.
Four corpses in total.
Judging by the level of their equipment and the presence of a mage, they were explorers operating at least on the 5th floor or higher.
Also, three of the corpses have no external injuries.
However, they all have traces of blood and stomach fluids around their mouths, so…
‘Did she poison them? And the man she finished off at the end had some resistance, so he held out for a while?’
I hope this speculation is correct.
If she’s skilled enough to kill four mid-level explorers alone without any wounds, the situation is even more grim.
Clatter, clatter.
The woman squats down and skillfully removes the equipment from the corpses.
And she puts each piece into her bag.
It’s a magic bag, as even bulky items fit in easily.
Fear rises before envy.
Just the fact that she has something like that makes me feel the gap between her and us.
“Barbarians.”
The woman calls out to us.
I don’t answer.
Ainar quietly asks me,
“Are we going to fight?”
She’s really something.
If it were Erwen, she would have been scared shitless and stammering by now.
Is it warrior pride or something that makes her think of fighting first, regardless of the difference in strength?
I answer briefly.
“I’m thinking.”
Honestly, I want to avoid the option of fighting.
The difference in equipment alone is clear.
And if she’s as skilled as her equipment suggests, well… even with a 2:1 advantage, our chances of winning are much lower.
Whooooosh—!
The flare shot into the sky burns out, and darkness descends once more.
I immediately make a decision.
“We run. At full speed.”
Pride won’t save your life.
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