How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 15: Lung party

The park was exactly in between the temple and the inn.

On his way back to the inn, Jeong Yushin stopped by the park.

He sat on a bench, resting his chin on his hand, and admired the scenery.

The beautiful flower beds and trees tinted with pink petals.

At the center of the park stood a marble statue. Surrounding it, fountains were arranged in a way that seemed to embrace the statue.

Was the water spirit playing around? The water from the fountains soared into the air, forming beautiful and strange shapes.

Around the fountains, children were running and playing.

A boy was swinging a branch and shouting.

"Hyah! I am the sage, Ezdras! Take that! You bad guys!"

Another child shouted at the top of his lungs.

"This time, I’m playing the role of Ezdras! Why do you always get the good roles?!"

Jeong Yushin, sitting on the bench, lowered his head as he watched the children argue.

His thoughts grew deeper.

He had paid for the opportunity to learn to read and write, but where could he afford to learn how to handle weapons cheaply?

The cost of a swordsmanship class was 30 silver coins.

That was the amount he would earn after working for three months straight at the monster dissection facility without taking a breath.

Jeong Yushin grabbed his hair and let out a long sigh.

There were also fixed costs.

The rent he paid to Dalmong alone was 1 silver coin and 50 copper coins per month.

A constant drain on his pocket, even when he just sat there breathing.

Having just paid for the class, he had only 4 silver coins and a few copper coins left.

If he planned to go back into the labyrinth, he needed to start saving money from now on. At the very least, he needed money to buy supplies.

Breakfast was free at the inn, and lunch was provided at the temple, so he was lucky in that regard, but dinner was definitely going to be skipped.

This was his current situation.

‘This is really tight.’

He wanted to grab Dalmong by the pants, but he didn’t want to add to the burden of someone already concerned about his situation.

‘Who would want to stay at an inn with a potential sex offender?’

If he had been the innkeeper, he would have kicked him out immediately, but Jeong Yushin respected Dalmong for worrying about the issue.

He整理 his thoughts.

Ultimately, he was left with two choices.

The first was to work at the monster dissection facility.

He could earn money, but it wouldn't improve his situation. There would be no time to enter the labyrinth, let alone learn how to read.

He would have to spend three months working there day and night without rest. Then, after working for three months, he would have to give all the money to the swordsmanship guild, learn a little for a month, and then work another three months in the dissection facility.

No matter how he looked at it, it was inefficient.

The second was to enter the labyrinth again.

As long as he didn’t suffer serious injuries or strange markings, he could avoid a serious deficit, so it was worth a shot.

When he thought about it, he wasn’t even earning that little money. He made 3 silver coins on his first exploration, which wasn’t bad for a week’s worth of work. Although he had to risk his life, didn’t eat well, sleep poorly, and spent more on supplies, making it a deficit.

But what did it matter? If he met a good party and worked hard exploring the labyrinth, his skills would improve, and if his skills improved, more opportunities to earn would come.

He had decided.

Jeong Yushin stood up from the bench.

Now that he had a plan, all that was left was to act.

"No."

"Why?"

The man sitting across from Jeong Yushin shook his head.

"You’re a barbarian. My party doesn’t take female hunters."

Jeong Yushin frowned.

"At least call me a bride hunter. Damn."

"It’s the same thing."

This was the fourth rejection.

After preparing his supplies and spending a day at the inn, he came to the explorer guild with high hopes, but every time, he was rejected in the interviews because he was a barbarian.

The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° man sighed.

"Go to a different party, not a normal one like ours."

The party member sitting next to the man shot a cold glance at Jeong Yushin.

"Is there even a non-normal party?"

"Don’t look at the recruitment posts on the guild board. Ask the receptionist. Say you want to join a ‘scrap’ party."

"What's a scrap party? Are you talking about a new explorer party?"

"No. Never mind. Ask the receptionist. Get lost."

The man waved his hand dismissively, showing he didn’t want to explain any further.

Jeong Yushin got up from his seat.

Wasn’t it lucky that he got into the clueless Kaal party?

He avoided the cold-looking female receptionist and went to another one.

"Hello, explorer. How can I help you?"

It was the cute earred dogkin he had seen earlier.

"What’s a scrap party?"

"Oh! That’s a party formed by people with negative markings. Are you thinking of joining one?"

"Yes. No one else will take me, so that’s my only choice."

"There’s a new explorer party that’s been formed. Why don’t you try joining them?"

"Is it a party made by young people from the countryside?"

"Yes. By the way, these people didn’t take the new explorer class. They thought it was too expensive, even though the fee was heavily discounted this time."

This was completely.

So ominous.

"Are you okay? Your hands are shaking."

The receptionist asked with a worried look.

"Please sign me up for the scrap party."

"Okay. There's a negative-marking party looking for a front-line member. You can go to table 21."

"Thank you."

Jeong Yushin turned and went to table 21.

‘They look normal.’

There were four people sitting at table 21.

An old human wizard.

A middle-aged gnome.

A dwarf with a bushy beard.

And.

A goblin.

Jeong Yushin’s mouth dropped open.

‘What the hell? A goblin?’

The goblin spoke.

"What are you looking at? First time seeing a talking goblin?"

"This is the first time I've seen a talking goblin."

"Are you a beginner explorer?"

"Yes."

"You’re lucky. Most beginner explorers would have pulled out their sword as soon as they saw me."

"This is Ska. Did I pass?"

"Eh. To be honest, we’re not picky. I’m Dell. I used to be an elf, but I got a goblin mark, so now I look like this. I’m still an elf, though. Remember that."

‘He really emphasizes that a lot.’

Dell looked around and said.

"Let’s introduce ourselves."

The old human wizard opened his mouth.

"I’m Kelton, a wizard. A weakling."

"...."

‘Weakling?’

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Jeong Yushin stared blankly at the old wizard who suddenly insulted him.

"I have the ‘mesgaki’ marking. I don’t want to say anything more, so I’ll end it here. Weakling."

"Yeah, yeah."

The old man frowned and crossed his arms.

Next was the dwarf.

"Ainhofer. I have the tremor marking and stamina reduction marking."

Jeong Yushin looked at the huge one-sided axe standing behind the dwarf.

"Sometimes my hands slip. Be careful."

He swallowed nervously.

The dwarf, who was serious about his weapon, had a sharp, gleaming axe.

Lastly, the middle-aged gnome.

"I’m Ditto. By the way, barbarian, you’re a virgin?"

‘What the hell, what marking do you have?’

Noticing Jeong Yushin’s anxious gaze, Ditto grinned.

"It’s a marking that shows how many times you’ve had sex. It shows up as a red number above your head."

"Wow, a virgin barbarian. This is rare."

The goblin interjected.

"Isn’t that marking not really a problem? It doesn’t affect combat."

Jeong Yushin raised an eyebrow.

"Female explorers hate it. It’s embarrassing and shameful when their private life is exposed like that."

"What about male explorers?"

Ditto laughed darkly.

"If an explorer is seen with me, that explorer’s career is over. They’ll be branded as a perverted creep and won’t be able to join any parties. They’ll go straight to the bottom."

‘That’s seriously terrifying.’

Now that he thought about it, he felt a cold stare from another table. Most of them were female explorers, and some male explorers were giving him the same look.

He realized the meaning of sitting with Ditto, a gnome with a visible sex count, and a barbarian famous for being a female hunter.

From now on, finding a party would be much harder.

"Nice to meet you, barbarian!"

Jeong Yushin blankly stared at Ditto’s hand as he reached out.

"Let’s not shake hands. It feels like I’ll regret it."

"Okay."

Ditto smiled broadly, a smile that seemed to know Jeong Yushin had already crossed a point of no return.

"So, who’s the leader here?"

"I am."

The goblin answered.

"When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Didn’t we usually leave in the morning?"

The goblin ran a finger across his throat.

"I’ll die if I leave in the morning."

"Suddenly? Is there a law against it?"

"Think about it. If a goblin’s there when you enter the labyrinth, mid-level or high-level explorers would just leave, but beginner explorers would unsheathe their swords immediately. Haven’t you heard? The number of beginner explorers has been increasing lately."

"Can’t we just stay together?"

"I’m a rear-liner, so I always stand at the back, and people think I’m trying to ambush them from behind. Because of that, I almost died thanks to a kind high-level explorer."

"Then..."

The goblin became irritable.

"I’ve thought about this more than you! There’s no answer. Besides, it’s customary for explorers who’ve turned into monsters to enter the labyrinth in the afternoon. If you don’t like it, leave."

‘That sudden outburst... That goblin.’

"Alright. Tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah. If you’re not there by then, I’ll come looking for you."

"You don’t need to go that far."

"Yeah, I will."

‘This goblin’s pretty obsessive.’

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Jeong Yushin got up from table 21 and left the guild building.

As for the party situation, he was lucky. He could go to the temple in the morning and secure some time to learn to read.

Of course, he couldn’t go every day, but he was grateful for the opportunity to learn even a little.

"Welcome back."

"Did you make it?"

When Jeong Yushin returned to the inn, Dalmong greeted him.

"It’s hard for a barbarian to find a party. Take it slow."

Dalmong’s words of comfort made Jeong Yushin scratch his head.

"I found a party, though."

"Why? What happened?"

"Do you know what a scrap party is?"

"Huh, no way?"

"Yeah. I’ve joined a party with some unique people. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds pretty unique."

"Yeah. There’s a goblin and a gnome with a visible sex count. It’s pretty diverse."

Jeong Yushin explained it in more detail.

Dalmong nodded.

"That’s an okay party. There are even more unique ones out there."

"....."

More unique parties?

Jeong Yushin didn’t want to ask. It was too scary.

Perhaps the darkness of the labyrinth city was deeper than expected?

Was that the thought showing on Jeong Yushin’s face?

Dalmong chuckled.

"You know that the more you erase a marking, the more it costs, right?"

"Yeah."

"Usually, it happens to mid-level or high-level explorers. When you erase a negative marking and leave the positive marking, you’ll eventually reach a point."

"The cost of erasing markings increases astronomically."

"Exactly. Even if you sell all your assets and weapons, you still can’t cover the cost. When it reaches that point, the explorer is expelled from their party."

"That’s cold."

"You can’t really look at it that way. Most negative markings can be passed over, but negative markings that seriously disrupt party management directly threaten the party’s safety. Neither the party members nor the person want it. And there are plenty of explorers rising from the bottom, so there’s no need to take risks."

"I see. So what happens to the expelled people?"

"It depends on the person. Some crawl their way back up, others accept their fate."

"So scrap parties?"

"Yeah. They’re the ones who climb their way back."

"Seems like a pretty healthy party, actually."

"That..."

Dalmong mumbled, not giving a clear answer.

It was strange. He always gave clear answers, but now he was being evasive.

‘Still, it’s better than a beginner explorer party.’

Jeong Yushin reassured himself.