They must have been wary of us.
They didn't know how strong we were.
That's why they ca in a group of over ten.
How kind of them.
“Take it off.”
“……?”
“Before it gets blood on it.”
The guy looked confused when I spoke.
But he soon understood.
“…….”
Everyone, including him, shut their mouths.
It's a common occurrence in the animal kingdom.
They chase prey when they think it's weaker, but they instinctively sense danger when it fights back.
They know from experience.
That it's dangerous.
Swoosh.
They retreated, wary of an ambush.
It didn't matter to .
It was a dead-end alley.
And it was too narrow to even use [Gigantification].
‘This is better.’
There was nothing to obstruct from above.
‘Leap.’
I leaped over their heads and landed on the other side.
Okay, I blocked their escape route.
“…Kill him first!”
They panicked and charged towards .
They probably judged that they had to break through since their escape route was blocked…
Whoosh!
…but they dodged my mace.
“Dodge, don’t block!”
“No one’s going to get hit by that slow attack.”
The three in front of dodged my mace like eels and swung their weapons.
I endured most of their attacks with my Physical Resistance, but a few skill-enhanced attacks managed to pierce my thick skin.
Thud.
Damn it, that stings.
I wouldn't have even bled if I had activated [Gigantification].
Well, 'defense' wasn't the only way to protect myself.
'Transcendence.'
I raised my mace and ntally input the command.
The target for [Transcendence] was already decided.
'Swing.'
The combo that was effective against multiple enemies, thanks to the added 'Strike range tripled' characteristic.
Whooosh!
I slamd my mace down, and it elongated like a magical staff, growing in size.
Although the range was much smaller than when combined with [Gigantification]...
"Cr, crazy...!"
"Dodge!"
Where would they dodge?
In this narrow alley?
Kaboom!
Although they hurriedly retreated, the three in the front couldn't escape the range.
Ah, that's satisfying.
Thud.
They retreated as I stepped over the three who had been turned into ground at.
They were surprisingly good at escaping.
"The woman! Grab the woman!"
They charged towards Alia, trying to take her hostage.
But they couldn't even reach her.
Thwack, thwack, thud!
Alia quickly subdued two of them with punches and kicks and then drew her dagger, swinging it at another one's neck.
Although he raised his arm to block, his wrist protected by a steel bracer...
Slash!
…it was useless against a woman who could use Aura.
Thud. Thud.
His severed wrist and head fell to the ground almost simultaneously.
And…
"A, Aura..."
…that was the end of the fight.
They all dropped their weapons as soon as Alia used Aura. They realized they couldn't win and decided to beg for their lives.
Well, it was too late.
"Pl, please spare . I'll give you everything I have..."
"What are you going to do?"
"Kill them, of course."
Alia answered without hesitation. The looters hurriedly picked up their weapons and tried to fight back…
"Die!"
…but it was futile.
They were all 6th-grade at most.
Thwack, kwagic.
Slash!
Alia and I quickly cleaned up the remaining survivors, like a two-person looting party.
It took less than five minutes.
'It's reassuring to have a strong damage dealer.'
It was a level of security I had never felt before in any team.
How can I keep her from joining our team?
I continued looting as I thought about that.
That's when...
"Ugh..."
…the guy whose Laetium chestplate I was taking off twitched.
What, was he unconscious?
Thwack!
I knocked him out and then asked Alia,
"Why did you just knock him out?"
"...You said you didn't like blood."
Ah...
"Th, thank you?"
"..."
"Ahem."
It was a bit awkward, but we finished looting after a few minutes.
Looting took longer than the actual fight.
But the profit was higher than ever.
'This is worth at least 70 million stones on the surface.'
I felt a surge of excitent as I looked at the loot before putting it in my expandable backpack.
This was the result of just a few minutes of fighting?
'I didn't expect there to be such a good hunting ground in the underground.'
Maybe Noark was a good place to live.
_____________________
Click.
I put on the Laetium chestplate and then equipped the greaves and other equipnt from his set.
They fit perfectly.
Damn right, a warrior should have proper armor, barbarian or not.
"Then let's go."
"Ah, right."
I felt uncomfortable under the wary gazes of the nearby residents, which I could feel even through the closed curtains, so we quickly left the alley and entered the main street.
And I followed Alia, casually looking around. It was a rational judgnt that if I acted like a newbie, I might get another opportunity to loot.
Well, that was the plan…
“Are we being followed?”
“No.”
…but there was no one taking the bait, even after walking for a while.
“Even now?”
“…No.”
What the hell is going on?
Alia sighed, as if she couldn’t believe it, as I subtly expressed my disappointnt.
“Word travels fast in Noark.”
Ah, so no one dared to attack us because they knew that the guys who followed us in didn’t co back.
“…Ugh.”
I clutched my chest and collapsed to the ground, groaning.
Alia was startled and crouched down.
“Are you hurt? You didn’t have any external injuries earlier, don’t tell it’s poison?”
I whispered as she hurriedly tried to give an antidote.
“Don’t worry. I’m just pretending.”
“…What?”
“Maybe they’ll co if I do this.”
“Barbarian, you really…”
Alia looked at with disgust, so I quickly got up.
Damn it, she enjoyed looting too.
She’s making feel embarrassed.
“Just follow . We might have to sleep outside if we’re late.”
“Alright.”
We then headed towards the center of the city and found an inn.
Ah, of course, we got one room, not two.
If anyone was targeting us even after the rumors spread, they would be strong enough to handle us both.
“There are a lot of beds.”
“All inns in Noark are like this.”
“Huh?”
“No one cos here to sleep alone.”
It seed like it was common to live with your companions unless you had a family and bought a house…
I could understand.
It would be safer to move in groups in a place like this.
“You wash up first, Yandel. I’ll organize the loot.”
“Ah, I’ll be out soon.”
We took turns washing up, and then we talked while Alia was in the bathroom.
“What are we going to do with the loot?”
“We’re not selling it for now. It will be worth three tis more on the surface.”
“That’s a big difference.”
“It’s only natural since the supply is much greater than the demand.”
Hmm, that’s true.
Looters brought back more equipnt than magic stones.
“But I heard there are rchants who travel between the surface and the underground. Can’t we just sell it to them?”
“You must be mistaken. The price I ntioned is after selling it to a rchant.”
“…I see.”
“So if you need anything, use it instead of selling it. That’s how things are in this city.”
Anyway, that was the end of our conversation about the loot.
And then we got to the main topic.
“So what are we going to do now?”
We had successfully entered Noark.
And we had two goals here.
1. Steal the ‘Fragnt of Records’ from the Lord and return to our original ti.
2. Grant Alia’s wish.
Honestly, I didn’t tell her, but the second goal would be difficult to achieve. Because the past had to change for her wish to co true.
‘Judging by her expression back then, it seed like she realized it to so extent…’
Then what decision would Alia make?
“Why are you asking that?”
“Just in case you changed your mind.”
Alia answered without hesitation at my nonchalant question.
“That’s ridiculous. There’s no change in plans.”
Right, so you’re not giving up.
_____________________
There was day and night even in the underground city of Noark.
But there was no dawn or dusk.
The jewels embedded in the ceiling emitted light when it was ti to be active, and they switched to minimum output at night.
And in that sense…
“It’s dayti.”
…we left for the city as soon as the sky outside the window brightened.
The city felt unfamiliar.
After all, it wasn’t a common sight for people to pour out of all the buildings as soon as it was dayti.
“Stop sightseeing and co here. We’ll have to wait for a long ti if we’re late.”
“Ah, okay.”
I followed Alia and arrived at the Lord’s Castle in the center of Noark.
Unlike yesterday, when we saw it from afar, the giant gate was wide open, welcoming countless people.
“Why are they all going there?”
“Most of the jobs are at the Lord’s Castle. Those who don’t enter the labyrinth work there and get paid.”
This is like a communist country.
Well, that’s probably why people from Noark were so tenacious. They had to be to survive in a place like this.
[Labyrinth Managent Office]
We entered the building.
The interior was similar to the Explorer’s Guild.
And their work wasn’t much different either.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Ah, okay.”
We each found a short line to save ti.
There were a lot of things to do before you could enter the labyrinth in Noark.
First, newbies had to register, and it seed like they had to pay an entrance fee every ti they entered the labyrinth…
‘How is this place even worse than Lafdonia?’
It was ridiculous, considering that Noark was founded by the ‘Olmi Revolutionary Army’, who rebelled against the royal family.
‘When the hell is this line going to move? They should at least have a number system like Lafdonia. What’s the point of making everyone wait in line?’
That’s when, as I was complaining inwardly about the slow processing and outdated system after waiting in line for over 30 minutes…
“Oh, hey! You’re a newbie, judging by your registration form?”
…a group of five explorers approached .
And one of them put his hand on my shoulder.
“We’re in a bit of a hurry, so can you let us go first? Huh? We’re on the sa side now. We have to help each other.”
I was montarily confused.
‘What?’
Was this another hand--down situation?
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