It was evening when I returned to the inn.
“You’re late.”
Whoa, that startled .
I clearly locked the door when I left, how did she get in?
‘At least turn on the light…’
I lit the lamp, and I saw Alia sitting on my bed.
Hmm, what should I say?
She didn’t seem to be in a good mood…
‘Since when did I care about that?’
I wasn’t in a good mood either.
I just stared at her, as if telling her to speak if she had sothing to say, and she slowly got up and walked past .
“We have to go to the eting point by midnight, so get ready.”
Right, it was almost ti to leave.
I had to get my equipnt ready.
Slam.
As soon as Alia left, I started putting on my equipnt.
Swoosh.
Boots made of 2nd-tier Wyvern leather.
Click.
An all-in-one belt with expandable pockets for potions and scrolls.
‘It feels empty.’
I didn’t buy any greaves or a chestplate.
I couldn’t get a full set just from looting five looters.
I decided to focus on my shield and weapon.
So I had a mace made of 3rd-tier Idium, 100% purity.
‘The grip feels good.’
And a 5th-tier Adamantium large battle shield.
‘Yeah, a shield should be this big.’
The budget Alia gave was depleted after buying those two items because of their weight.
So my helt was just ordinary steel.
Well, steel wouldn’t provide much protection at this point…
‘But I didn’t buy it for defense anyway.’
I had a lot of worries about the future when I ordered this equipnt three weeks ago.
So I had a full-face steel helt made.
It was similar to the one I used in the early days, with only a T-shaped slit for vision.
Of course, there were differences.
The design was different because it was made by a different blacksmith…
‘Maybe because the slit is narrower? It’s very uncomfortable.’
…and less of my face was exposed.
I was worried that there might be problems if I revealed my face, as we would be eting many people in the labyrinth.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter now…’
I sighed and dismissed my thoughts.
And I looked in the mirror and left the room.
Alia was sitting on a chair at the end of the hallway, as if she was ready.
“You’re finally here.”
Geez, ‘finally’?
It didn’t even take ten minutes.
“……You.”
Alia flinched as she turned to look at .
And she asked in an interrogating tone,
“Where did you get that helt?”
“I had it custom-made. Is there a problem?”
“…Custom-made?”
Alia stood there silently for a while after hearing my answer.
Her expression was cold, and her gaze was sharp.
Like when she first saw ‘Nibels Enche’s’ ID card on Parune Island.
Ah, of course, the situation was different.
“Why are you just staring at after asking a question?”
“…It’s nothing.”
She didn’t tell the reason, just like always.
But…
“We don’t have ti, so let’s go.”
…I think I knew why.
_______________________
A broker wearing a black robe was waiting for us at the sewer entrance, our eting point.
It was a strange feeling.
Like we were illegal immigrants.
“…….”
“…….”
The broker didn’t greet us, and neither did Alia. She just placed a pouch of money on his outstretched hand.
“I’ll tell you one last ti, but it’s not easy to return to the surface once you go down.”
The broker gave us a formal warning after the paynt was made.
It was a bit ridiculous.
He should have said that before taking the money.
It didn’t seem like he would give us a refund.
“That’s our problem.”
“Huhu, if you say so.”
The broker laughed unpleasantly as Alia spoke coldly, and then he took out a key and opened the sewer grate.
And he led us inside.
“Don’t fall behind.”
The journey to Noark was longer than expected.
We walked through the labyrinthine sewers for hours before reaching the entrance.
“This is as far as I go. If you follow this map, you’ll see a door. Show this badge to the guard, and he’ll let you in.”
The broker handed us what would be our ID badges and then opened the entrance with a magic tool.
Rumble.
A stone door, disguised as an ordinary wall, slid open, revealing stairs leading down.
But just as we were about to go down…
“Can I ask you sothing?”
…the broker, who had been silent except for the necessary information, spoke.
“It’s not common for a barbarian to go down to Noark, so what’s your story? It can’t be an elopent—”
“Stop.”
Alia cut him off firmly.
“Your job is done, so go now.”
It was a professional tone.
It seed like she even mixed in so killing intent…
“…I apologize for my rudeness. Please go ahead. I have to make sure the door closes.”
The broker backed down, and Alia strode down the stairs. I slowly followed her.
Rumble, thud!
The door closed behind us.
Phew, this feels like we’re going to hell.
“Wait, let see the map.”
I tried to open the map after we reached the bottom of the stairs, but Alia stopped .
“There’s no need. I know the way to the castle.”
Ah, right, she’s from here.
Anyway, I followed her, enjoying the rare opportunity to not have to navigate. And we soon reached our destination.
A vast cavern, hard to believe it was underground.
A giant stone gate, even bigger than the gate of the Lafdonia royal palace, was visible in the distance.
“Hahaha, co here! Don’t just stand there!”
There was only one man at the gate, a human male with a physique as sturdy as a barbarian’s.
Alia whispered to ,
“Don’t do anything stupid. He might sound casual, but he’s one of the strongest people in this city.”
“Do you know him?”
“You can’t not know him if you’ve lived in Noark.”
Hmm, really? He doesn’t look that strong…
Anyway, I handed the badge I received to the man at the gate.
“Oh! They finally brought so decent people! Welco. I’m Rex Aures, the gatekeeper!”
“…….”
“Ah, are you uncomfortable with real nas? Don’t worry, no one here uses their real nas. Have you decided on your new nas?”
Rex Aures, who introduced himself as the gatekeeper, then asked for our nas, and we told him the nas we had decided on beforehand.
Alia was ‘Emily’.
And I…
“Bjorn, son of Thor.”
…just used the alias I had used before.
I decided to create a new one, just in case, since ‘Nibels Enche’ was also an alias.
Of course, it didn’t really matter.
It was just a na to engrave on the badge, and they rarely asked for your na in the city.
“Huhu, it’s been about five years since I engraved a barbarian na on a badge.”
The nas we had given him were engraved on the badges he returned.
“Anything else?”
“No, the entry procedure is complete. Go that way.”
“…Aren’t you going to open that gate?”
“Hahaha, it would be a waste to open and close that giant gate just for two people, wouldn’t it?”
The gatekeeper then opened a side door.
Rumble.
I suddenly rembered the first day I ca to this world as I watched the stone door slide open.
Yeah, it was like this back then.
Thud.
The gate fully opened, revealing an unfamiliar city.
“Emily, and Thor Bjorn.”
“Thor is the last na, and Bjorn is the first na.”
“Haha! Ah, right? Anyway! Welco to Noark!”
I finally made it here.
______________________
People usually think of Noark as a den of criminals.
It’s only natural.
This was where those who had committed cris so severe that they couldn’t live on the surface ended up. And it was also the hideout of ‘Orculus’.
But…
“It’s surprisingly normal.”
…there were no bloodstains on the walls, the streets were clean, and the people didn’t look that gloomy.
“I don’t know what you were expecting, but this is also a place where people live.”
Geez, a newbie can be curious.
“Follow .”
I first followed Alia, who was a local, and looked around the city. And I asked her questions.
“What are those stones embedded in the ceiling?”
“Magic tools. They emit light using magic stones as fuel.”
“What about those moving dolls?”
“They’re golems called ‘patrols’. They all belong to the Lord.”
“Ah, and is there a market here?”
“There is, but it’s not big. There’s only one alchemist in this city. Most of the food is distributed in a few standardized items.”
Hmm, I see.
“Then what if you want sothing else?”
“You can request it from the alchemy workshop with magic stones. But it takes about two days, and it’s much more expensive than on the surface. Are you done with your questions?”
“…For now.”
“That’s good. It seems like we’re attracting attention because of you.”
“Huh?”
“We have a tail. Let’s speed up.”
Alia then increased her pace without even asking , and I hurriedly followed her.
“A tail? We’ve only been here for ten minutes.”
“Barbarians are especially rare in this city. They must have realized that you just ca down from the surface.”
I roughly understood what she ant.
Noark was a place where there were even rumors that demons lived on the surface.
I could imagine how tempting the pockets of newbies who had just co down from the surface would be. They would definitely be filled with all their assets from the surface.
But…
“Didn’t you say this was also a place where people live?”
Alia tilted her head at my question.
“What’s so strange about that? It’s only natural that there are people like this since it’s a place where people live.”
Uh, is that so?
“That’s true.”
I couldn’t refute her logic, so I just agreed.
After all, Lafdonia wasn’t much different.
There were three types of people who wandered around the outer districts of Lafdonia at night.
Criminals.
Explorers who could protect themselves.
Or those who had nothing to lose.
“So what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to the back alleys where the patrols can’t see us.”
“Huh? Back alleys?”
I thought I misheard, but Alia gave a rational explanation.
Harming ‘ordinary people’ born in Noark was taboo, and the Lord would find and punish them, but everything else was okay?
“They specialize in targeting newbies, so they’ll have a lot of valuables.”
Damn it, she should have told sooner.
As expected, locals have a different mindset.
Yeah, farming is always the priority, no matter the situation.
Step.
We entered the back alleys and wandered around for a while.
And then we naturally stopped at a dead end.
We turned around…
“Where are you going? You’re not going to get far.”
…and a group of fifteen looters appeared.
“Did you think you could escape if you went into the back alleys?”
“I can’t believe you ca here on your own. Newbies are so naive.”
“We all went through this when we were newbies, so don’t resent us too much.”
The veterans of the city, excited to loot newbies.
It was like watching a dead ga right before it shut down.
Tsk, they should be taking care of newbies.
“Huh?”
I scanned the group and froze as I spotted a human male.
But I wasn’t sure yet, so I had to confirm.
“Hey, you.”
“?”
He stepped forward, curious, as I pointed at him. He was wearing a shiny chestplate, his physique as large as a barbarian’s.
It was a material I couldn’t mistake.
“…Laetium.”
“So?”
What do you an ‘so’?
Have you never heard of giving hand--downs?
It’s common sense for veterans to give their items to newbies.
I was already embarrassed because I wasn’t wearing a shirt, so this was perfect.
“Take it off.”
“…?”
“Before it gets blood on it.”
It was ti to evolve into a civilized person.
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