SGB: Episode 5
Episode 5 Give and Take (1)
Looking back, I was a funny person.
While I always thought life was boring, I never once thought about killing myself.
Boredom was just an emotion after all, and life was more precious to me than anything else.
I thought it was a bad deal in many ways, and that thought still remains.
That's why...
I'm crawling through the darkness on three legs.
It might sound strange, but it's literally what I'm doing.
I'm dragging my completely wrecked right foot and moving by crawling on the ground with three limbs.
If someone saw me now, they would definitely think of an abandoned dog with a broken leg.
How do I know?
'Because that's what I'm thinking right now.'
The reward for giving up human dignity was sweet.
First of all, I don't have to use my injured foot, so it doesn't hurt, and my movement speed is actually faster than before.
And most importantly, there's no chance of stepping on a trap.
On the other hand, my elbows and knees are sore, but well...
I can bear it. I can endure it.
What can't I do to survive?
I can even eat dog poop with a smile.
Hmm... if I'm given enough time to prepare myself, I'm sure I can.
'But what happened to that guy?'
"Guy" is just what I call him.
I don't know his gender, age, or name.
I'm just guessing from his way of speaking.
I have a feeling he was a 30-something white guy with glasses.
Whatever.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
Anyway, what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Orm, son of Kadua? Did he die? Or did he wake up in his original body?
It's a question I've been carrying since I opened my eyes.
Even if I try not to think about it, the more fucked up the situation gets, the more I think about that guy.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
I think I understand why humans believe in religion.
Reality is too harsh to live through alone.
When despair strikes, you need somewhere to turn your gaze. Just like I am now.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
「Warning: Character's vitality is below 5%. If not treated promptly, the character may die.」
Phew, I've come quite a way while thinking about other things.
It's a subtle difference, but I can feel my surroundings getting brighter.
It's a positive situation in many ways.
At least it means I'm going in the right direction, and my hypothesis that the entire 1st floor wouldn't be this dark was correct.
Let's just get to a bright place somehow.
There will be people there. Let's ask them for help by giving them this magic stone. And then somehow...
'Bullshit, who am I kidding.'
While I'm whispering positive things to myself and giving myself carrots, another version of me appears.
'Hey you idiot, as if they'd be willing to help for just one piece of bread when they're busy. They might just take the magic stone and shield and kill you.'
Is it because it's me?
This guy is smart.
'And what are you going to do if you encounter a goblin before a person anyway? Do you have no brain? Huh?'
As the original, I can't stand any more insults.
'Idiot, then what are you going to do? You still have to go, right? At least you can see there. Wouldn't it be better than fighting here even if a goblin pops out?'
'...That's true.'
My other self agrees, and my mind becomes quiet again.
I keep crawling.
"Keuheuheuheu..."
I feel like I'm going crazy.
No, maybe I'm already crazy.
Well, it's natural after losing this much blood, right?
My self keeps splitting into two, then merging again, and then repeating the process of becoming numb.
It's a kind of positive cycle.
If I become any more numb, I'll definitely never open my eyes again.
"Heuheuheuheu..."
I laugh out loud.
I don't even have the energy for that, but I laugh anyway.
My surroundings are bright now.
I can see a crystal shining brightly at the end of the passage in the distance.
And more importantly, I can see the silhouette of a person standing in front of it, backlit.
I'm not mistaking it for a goblin.
It's definitely the silhouette of a person.
"He...lp..."
I want to shout something, but my voice won't come out.
I desperately crawl and blink my eyes open and closed.
And what do you know?
The silhouette of the person has gotten closer. As if they teleported.
Surprised by this, I blink my eyes open and closed again.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
This time, they're even closer.
There are about five or six people standing in front of me.
I can't be seeing things, right? I blink my eyes open and closed again.
「Achievement Unlocked」
Condition: Vitality falls below 2%.
Reward: Mental stat permanently increases by +1.
Then I see a blonde man kneeling.
Our eyes meet right in front of me, but he just observes me and my surroundings with a strange look, without asking anything.
Like a veteran, he's making a judgment based on his own experience and intuition rather than listening to others.
He quickly comes to a conclusion.
"A newbie."
Damn it, then help me, you bastard.
As you can see, I'm just a shitty barbarian with only a shield, and the only other thing I have is a goblin magic stone that I traded my leg for.
I'll give you everything I have if you want. So...
"Suspicious. How did a newbie get here faster than us?"
I quickly open my mouth. But what comes out is a sound similar to phlegm gurgling.
"Grrr..."
No, honestly, it sounds more like the sound a goblin made...
But it's enough to let them know that I can't answer.
Soon, the blonde man asks his companion.
"Priestess Ersina, would you be able to heal him?"
A priestess? Is there really a priestess in the party?
I look to the side with the eyes of a believer who has just witnessed a miracle. And there she is, a red-haired priestess in a white robe.
The priestess, whose eyes meet mine, speaks clearly with her delicate lips.
"I refuse."
Huh? What did you say?
"I see. Alright."
Why are you agreeing so easily?
I feel wronged. Damn it, I don't understand why I was dragged here and am being treated like this.
As frustration wells up within me...
"Partslan, will you give him a potion?"
"The one we saved for when you can't use divine power?"
"You have plenty anyway. I'll pay you back later."
"Tch."
Only then does the man with a sword at his waist click his tongue and pull out a potion from his bag and throw it.
My heart sinks, knowing that this is my lifeline.
Thud.
Fortunately, the blonde man catches the potion properly.
"It will hurt a bit since it's not divine power."
The blonde man opens the lid and pours half of it on the wound and the other half directly into my mouth.
Soon, I feel unbearable pain.
Is this what it feels like when all the pain that has accumulated in my body without me realizing comes rushing in at once?
「[Recovery (Medium)] effect rapidly regenerates the body.」
My whole body feels like it's melting.
This is why potion use was disabled during combat in the game.
I thought they just blocked it in the system, but it turns out it was a pretty accurate reflection of reality.
Damn it.
"Heuk, heuk, heuk..."
How many minutes have passed?
The pain gradually subsides, and I come to my senses.
"Now, will you tell us, barbarian? How did you, a mere newbie, get here before us? If you know of a new passage, I'd like to buy the information."
So that was their purpose.
I don't feel bad. In fact, it's reassuring to think that they treated me well because they had a purpose.
There's nothing more ominous than kindness without reason.
I feel a bit sorry though.
I don't know of any secret passages.
"...This is where I was as soon as I entered the labyrinth."
Honestly, I tell them exactly what happened.
The blonde man tilts his head and then nods as if he understands something.
"Indeed... I've read about it in books. It seems that sometimes, due to dimensional instability, such cases occur."
My heart pounds heavily.
I ask back as if I misheard.
"You've never seen it before...?"
I can't believe it.
This party has a priestess and a mage. This means they're a proper group that operates at least on the middle floors.
But they've never seen this before?
"Yes, the book said it's a case that might happen once every 100 years. To end up this far out in the outer area..."
Ah, I see. It's something that might happen once every 100 years. And I experienced it the moment I entered the labyrinth for the first time.
Now I understand why the other barbarians weren't carrying torches.
Just because it rains, no one worries about getting struck by lightning, right?
"From the looks of it, you seem like a first-timer, but to experience such a rare event, that must have been a disaster."
The blonde man looks at me with a pitying gaze.
"Although it wasn't the information we were looking for, it was still an interesting story. Don't worry about the potion cost and be on your way."
His tone is a bit annoying, but he seems like a decent guy at heart.
"Oh, and take that shield that fell over there."
The blonde man points to where I see my shield lying on the ground. It's about 20 meters away. I must have tied it to my waist well, but it seems to have slipped off.
"Then we'll be on our way."
They pass me by without even giving me a chance to thank them.
I can understand, as time is money in the labyrinth.
No, in the first place, it's close to a miracle that they even spent this much time on me.
I stare at the spot where they left for a moment, then quickly run over and pick up the shield that had fallen on the ground.
It's definitely a happy thing that I survived...
But I still feel strange somehow.
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 1.
Physical: 25 / Mental: 36 (New +1) / Ability: 1
Item Level: 24
Total Combat Index: 68 (New +1)
"That barbarian from earlier is lucky."
"Well, I'm not sure if it's luck. To experience something like that on his first time..."
The blonde man smiles awkwardly in response, and the male swordsman scoffs.
"If he's the type to step on a goblin trap, it would have been the same even if this hadn't happened. In the first place, he's lucky he met us."
"More accurately, he met the Drow. You were reluctant to even use a potion, weren't you?"
The female archer, who had been listening quietly, joins in, and the male swordsman shrugs his shoulders.
"Well, guys like that are everywhere. They won't survive long anyway. I'm sure our priestess was thinking the same thing, right?"
The priestess smiles bitterly and doesn't answer, and the female archer retorts instead.
"Lady Ersina would have healed him if it weren't for the temple rules. No, if there hadn't been a potion, she might have broken the rules herself. Do you think everyone is like you?"
"Well, you never know. I've seen too many people with two faces."
"...Partslan, you need to learn a little from the Drow."
"Like, the consideration of asking if he knew of a secret passage?"
"Yes. I've heard that barbarians don't welcome the help of others. He probably did that out of consideration for that."
"...Hey, it feels like you're praising me too much."
As the topic shifts to him, the blonde man smiles awkwardly and scratches his head.
But even he doesn't deny the word 'consideration'.
"Ah, we need to turn here to take the shortcut."
"It's really convenient having a guide in the party."
"Lady Ersina! Guides usually only know the way to the portal. This is just Drow being amazing. He memorized all the terrain features of the 1st floor."
The male swordsman, looking at the female archer, shakes his head.
"But just how far does that blood trail go? Haven't we already walked quite a bit?"
"Who knows. But just looking at the mental strength it took to crawl this far, it seems like your words about him being just lucky are wrong."
"Huh, what's the big deal about that... It's probably just around here anyway."
The group, following the blood trail, takes a shortcut and changes direction. And about 15 minutes later, they reach their destination.
"Looks like we're the first to arrive through this route. It was worth hurrying. Let's activate it quickly."
As the blonde man places his hand on the stele in front of the dead end, a strong light erupts, taking the shape of a sphere.
It's the portal leading to the 2nd floor.
"Wait a minute."
Just as everyone is about to throw themselves into the portal, the female archer stops them.
"Isn't that what the barbarian was wearing earlier?"
"What?"
The group, looking in the direction the female archer points, falls silent for a moment.
In the darkness revealed by the light emanating from the portal, there's a bloodstained trap and a strange sandal lying alone.
"...It seems to be the case."
The mage makes an interesting expression and creates a new sphere of light, moving it beyond the passage.
Whoooooooooosh!
The blood trail, starting from the trap, stretches along the curved passage.
No matter how much they move the sphere of light, they can't even estimate its end from this position.
A brief silence falls.
"...Hey Drow, how long would it take to get from here to where we were earlier?"
"...Assuming we don't use the shortcut, it would be about 15 kilometers."
"Heuheuheu, what a monstrous body. To crawl that far alone in this darkness."
The mage just lets out a hollow laugh, as if it's amusing.
However, the male swordsman next to him can't do the same.
"...He's out of his mind."
To him, this is a matter of the mind, not the body. He thinks to himself.
'...If I were in that situation, how many hours could I have crawled? With no certainty that I would meet someone and receive help?'
He doesn't know.
But one thing is certain, the barbarian was still crawling when they first found him. He kept moving his arms and legs, even though he seemed unconscious.
And what happened after that?
He held out his hand, even though he could barely speak.
In his hand, he was clutching a small magic stone.
At the time, he didn't think much of it, but now he thinks he understands what that action meant.
'He must have been saying, "I'll give you this, so please help me."'
Because that's all he had to offer.
That's why the barbarian held the magic stone tightly in his hand as he crawled the long distance. So that if he met someone, he could show it to them right away.
Soon, the man comes to a conclusion.
"...I have to take back what I said earlier."
Just lucky?
Those guys die early anyway?
No way.
He knows from long experience.
"Drow, what was that barbarian's name again?"
Crazy bastards like that don't die easily.
No matter how harsh and desperate the present moment may be.
They never choose death as an escape.
Looking back, I was a funny person.
While I always thought life was boring, I never once thought about killing myself.
Boredom was just an emotion after all, and life was more precious to me than anything else.
I thought it was a bad deal in many ways, and that thought still remains.
That's why...
I'm crawling through the darkness on three legs.
It might sound strange, but it's literally what I'm doing.
I'm dragging my completely wrecked right foot and moving by crawling on the ground with three limbs.
If someone saw me now, they would definitely think of an abandoned dog with a broken leg.
How do I know?
'Because that's what I'm thinking right now.'
The reward for giving up human dignity was sweet.
First of all, I don't have to use my injured foot, so it doesn't hurt, and my movement speed is actually faster than before.
And most importantly, there's no chance of stepping on a trap.
On the other hand, my elbows and knees are sore, but well...
I can bear it. I can endure it.
What can't I do to survive?
I can even eat dog poop with a smile.
Hmm... if I'm given enough time to prepare myself, I'm sure I can.
'But what happened to that guy?'
"Guy" is just what I call him.
I don't know his gender, age, or name.
I'm just guessing from his way of speaking.
I have a feeling he was a 30-something white guy with glasses.
Whatever.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
Anyway, what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Orm, son of Kadua? Did he die? Or did he wake up in his original body?
It's a question I've been carrying since I opened my eyes.
Even if I try not to think about it, the more fucked up the situation gets, the more I think about that guy.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
I think I understand why humans believe in religion.
Reality is too harsh to live through alone.
When despair strikes, you need somewhere to turn your gaze. Just like I am now.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
「Warning: Character's vitality is below 5%. If not treated promptly, the character may die.」
Phew, I've come quite a way while thinking about other things.
It's a subtle difference, but I can feel my surroundings getting brighter.
It's a positive situation in many ways.
At least it means I'm going in the right direction, and my hypothesis that the entire 1st floor wouldn't be this dark was correct.
Let's just get to a bright place somehow.
There will be people there. Let's ask them for help by giving them this magic stone. And then somehow...
'Bullshit, who am I kidding.'
While I'm whispering positive things to myself and giving myself carrots, another version of me appears.
'Hey you idiot, as if they'd be willing to help for just one piece of bread when they're busy. They might just take the magic stone and shield and kill you.'
Is it because it's me?
This guy is smart.
'And what are you going to do if you encounter a goblin before a person anyway? Do you have no brain? Huh?'
As the original, I can't stand any more insults.
'Idiot, then what are you going to do? You still have to go, right? At least you can see there. Wouldn't it be better than fighting here even if a goblin pops out?'
'...That's true.'
My other self agrees, and my mind becomes quiet again.
I keep crawling.
"Keuheuheuheu..."
I feel like I'm going crazy.
No, maybe I'm already crazy.
Well, it's natural after losing this much blood, right?
My self keeps splitting into two, then merging again, and then repeating the process of becoming numb.
It's a kind of positive cycle.
If I become any more numb, I'll definitely never open my eyes again.
"Heuheuheuheu..."
I laugh out loud.
I don't even have the energy for that, but I laugh anyway.
My surroundings are bright now.
I can see a crystal shining brightly at the end of the passage in the distance.
And more importantly, I can see the silhouette of a person standing in front of it, backlit.
I'm not mistaking it for a goblin.
It's definitely the silhouette of a person.
"He...lp..."
I want to shout something, but my voice won't come out.
I desperately crawl and blink my eyes open and closed.
And what do you know?
The silhouette of the person has gotten closer. As if they teleported.
Surprised by this, I blink my eyes open and closed again.
「[Bleeding] is ongoing.」
This time, they're even closer.
There are about five or six people standing in front of me.
I can't be seeing things, right? I blink my eyes open and closed again.
「Achievement Unlocked」
Condition: Vitality falls below 2%.
Reward: Mental stat permanently increases by +1.
Then I see a blonde man kneeling.
Our eyes meet right in front of me, but he just observes me and my surroundings with a strange look, without asking anything.
Like a veteran, he's making a judgment based on his own experience and intuition rather than listening to others.
He quickly comes to a conclusion.
"A newbie."
Damn it, then help me, you bastard.
As you can see, I'm just a shitty barbarian with only a shield, and the only other thing I have is a goblin magic stone that I traded my leg for.
I'll give you everything I have if you want. So...
"Suspicious. How did a newbie get here faster than us?"
I quickly open my mouth. But what comes out is a sound similar to phlegm gurgling.
"Grrr..."
No, honestly, it sounds more like the sound a goblin made...
But it's enough to let them know that I can't answer.
Soon, the blonde man asks his companion.
"Priestess Ersina, would you be able to heal him?"
A priestess? Is there really a priestess in the party?
I look to the side with the eyes of a believer who has just witnessed a miracle. And there she is, a red-haired priestess in a white robe.
The priestess, whose eyes meet mine, speaks clearly with her delicate lips.
"I refuse."
Huh? What did you say?
"I see. Alright."
Why are you agreeing so easily?
I feel wronged. Damn it, I don't understand why I was dragged here and am being treated like this.
As frustration wells up within me...
"Partslan, will you give him a potion?"
"The one we saved for when you can't use divine power?"
"You have plenty anyway. I'll pay you back later."
"Tch."
Only then does the man with a sword at his waist click his tongue and pull out a potion from his bag and throw it.
My heart sinks, knowing that this is my lifeline.
Thud.
Fortunately, the blonde man catches the potion properly.
"It will hurt a bit since it's not divine power."
The blonde man opens the lid and pours half of it on the wound and the other half directly into my mouth.
Soon, I feel unbearable pain.
Is this what it feels like when all the pain that has accumulated in my body without me realizing comes rushing in at once?
「[Recovery (Medium)] effect rapidly regenerates the body.」
My whole body feels like it's melting.
This is why potion use was disabled during combat in the game.
I thought they just blocked it in the system, but it turns out it was a pretty accurate reflection of reality.
Damn it.
"Heuk, heuk, heuk..."
How many minutes have passed?
The pain gradually subsides, and I come to my senses.
"Now, will you tell us, barbarian? How did you, a mere newbie, get here before us? If you know of a new passage, I'd like to buy the information."
So that was their purpose.
I don't feel bad. In fact, it's reassuring to think that they treated me well because they had a purpose.
There's nothing more ominous than kindness without reason.
I feel a bit sorry though.
I don't know of any secret passages.
"...This is where I was as soon as I entered the labyrinth."
Honestly, I tell them exactly what happened.
The blonde man tilts his head and then nods as if he understands something.
"Indeed... I've read about it in books. It seems that sometimes, due to dimensional instability, such cases occur."
My heart pounds heavily.
I ask back as if I misheard.
"You've never seen it before...?"
I can't believe it.
This party has a priestess and a mage. This means they're a proper group that operates at least on the middle floors.
But they've never seen this before?
"Yes, the book said it's a case that might happen once every 100 years. To end up this far out in the outer area..."
Ah, I see. It's something that might happen once every 100 years. And I experienced it the moment I entered the labyrinth for the first time.
Now I understand why the other barbarians weren't carrying torches.
Just because it rains, no one worries about getting struck by lightning, right?
"From the looks of it, you seem like a first-timer, but to experience such a rare event, that must have been a disaster."
The blonde man looks at me with a pitying gaze.
"Although it wasn't the information we were looking for, it was still an interesting story. Don't worry about the potion cost and be on your way."
His tone is a bit annoying, but he seems like a decent guy at heart.
"Oh, and take that shield that fell over there."
The blonde man points to where I see my shield lying on the ground. It's about 20 meters away. I must have tied it to my waist well, but it seems to have slipped off.
"Then we'll be on our way."
They pass me by without even giving me a chance to thank them.
I can understand, as time is money in the labyrinth.
No, in the first place, it's close to a miracle that they even spent this much time on me.
I stare at the spot where they left for a moment, then quickly run over and pick up the shield that had fallen on the ground.
It's definitely a happy thing that I survived...
But I still feel strange somehow.
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 1.
Physical: 25 / Mental: 36 (New +1) / Ability: 1
Item Level: 24
Total Combat Index: 68 (New +1)
"That barbarian from earlier is lucky."
"Well, I'm not sure if it's luck. To experience something like that on his first time..."
The blonde man smiles awkwardly in response, and the male swordsman scoffs.
"If he's the type to step on a goblin trap, it would have been the same even if this hadn't happened. In the first place, he's lucky he met us."
"More accurately, he met the Drow. You were reluctant to even use a potion, weren't you?"
The female archer, who had been listening quietly, joins in, and the male swordsman shrugs his shoulders.
"Well, guys like that are everywhere. They won't survive long anyway. I'm sure our priestess was thinking the same thing, right?"
The priestess smiles bitterly and doesn't answer, and the female archer retorts instead.
"Lady Ersina would have healed him if it weren't for the temple rules. No, if there hadn't been a potion, she might have broken the rules herself. Do you think everyone is like you?"
"Well, you never know. I've seen too many people with two faces."
"...Partslan, you need to learn a little from the Drow."
"Like, the consideration of asking if he knew of a secret passage?"
"Yes. I've heard that barbarians don't welcome the help of others. He probably did that out of consideration for that."
"...Hey, it feels like you're praising me too much."
As the topic shifts to him, the blonde man smiles awkwardly and scratches his head.
But even he doesn't deny the word 'consideration'.
"Ah, we need to turn here to take the shortcut."
"It's really convenient having a guide in the party."
"Lady Ersina! Guides usually only know the way to the portal. This is just Drow being amazing. He memorized all the terrain features of the 1st floor."
The male swordsman, looking at the female archer, shakes his head.
"But just how far does that blood trail go? Haven't we already walked quite a bit?"
"Who knows. But just looking at the mental strength it took to crawl this far, it seems like your words about him being just lucky are wrong."
"Huh, what's the big deal about that... It's probably just around here anyway."
The group, following the blood trail, takes a shortcut and changes direction. And about 15 minutes later, they reach their destination.
"Looks like we're the first to arrive through this route. It was worth hurrying. Let's activate it quickly."
As the blonde man places his hand on the stele in front of the dead end, a strong light erupts, taking the shape of a sphere.
It's the portal leading to the 2nd floor.
"Wait a minute."
Just as everyone is about to throw themselves into the portal, the female archer stops them.
"Isn't that what the barbarian was wearing earlier?"
"What?"
The group, looking in the direction the female archer points, falls silent for a moment.
In the darkness revealed by the light emanating from the portal, there's a bloodstained trap and a strange sandal lying alone.
"...It seems to be the case."
The mage makes an interesting expression and creates a new sphere of light, moving it beyond the passage.
Whoooooooooosh!
The blood trail, starting from the trap, stretches along the curved passage.
No matter how much they move the sphere of light, they can't even estimate its end from this position.
A brief silence falls.
"...Hey Drow, how long would it take to get from here to where we were earlier?"
"...Assuming we don't use the shortcut, it would be about 15 kilometers."
"Heuheuheu, what a monstrous body. To crawl that far alone in this darkness."
The mage just lets out a hollow laugh, as if it's amusing.
However, the male swordsman next to him can't do the same.
"...He's out of his mind."
To him, this is a matter of the mind, not the body. He thinks to himself.
'...If I were in that situation, how many hours could I have crawled? With no certainty that I would meet someone and receive help?'
He doesn't know.
But one thing is certain, the barbarian was still crawling when they first found him. He kept moving his arms and legs, even though he seemed unconscious.
And what happened after that?
He held out his hand, even though he could barely speak.
In his hand, he was clutching a small magic stone.
At the time, he didn't think much of it, but now he thinks he understands what that action meant.
'He must have been saying, "I'll give you this, so please help me."'
Because that's all he had to offer.
That's why the barbarian held the magic stone tightly in his hand as he crawled the long distance. So that if he met someone, he could show it to them right away.
Soon, the man comes to a conclusion.
"...I have to take back what I said earlier."
Just lucky?
Those guys die early anyway?
No way.
He knows from long experience.
"Drow, what was that barbarian's name again?"
Crazy bastards like that don't die easily.
No matter how harsh and desperate the present moment may be.
They never choose death as an escape.
Comments
Post a Comment