How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 1: Transition

At 23 years old, Jeong Yushin fell into another world.

It was an unexpected event.

He was on his way back home from a convenience store in the early morning, having bought cigarettes and drinks.

It was the time when everyone was asleep.

Jeong Yushin stood in the middle of the road, cigarette in mouth.

Chiik, chiik.

The lighter wouldn’t work.

"Dammit, why isn’t it working?"

He grumbled, pulling the lighter again, and finally, a flame appeared.

He lit the cigarette and took a long drag, the smoke filling his lungs.

"Fhww... Hmm?"

When he looked up and exhaled the smoke, he realized he was standing in the middle of a forest.

There were women with long ears and beautiful features, bound by ropes, kneeling on the ground.

They resembled the elves depicted in books and movies. Turning his head, he saw some humans standing nearby, their faces rough, holding swords and bows, making them appear even more menacing.

A one-eyed man cautiously asked, looking at Jeong Yushin.

"Who are you?"

"And who are you? Where is this place?"

"...."

The men stared at him with suspicion but didn’t move.

"Where is this? I was on my way home for sure. What the heck."

With a sharp sound, his head became hot. The ground suddenly rushed up to his face. As his mind flickered and darkness crept in, a loud, frivolous voice came from behind.

"Boss! I caught him."

"That fool of a magician, huh? Well done."

Jeong Yushin lost consciousness.

Clattering.

Jeong Yushin opened his eyes due to the shaking. A gag was in his mouth, and his hands and feet were bound in shackles. He had been hanging his head down for so long that his neck ached.

"Mmm."

Looking around, he saw the elves. They too had gags in their mouths and were staring blankly at the floor of the cart.

Clack!

The cart stopped, and a coarse voice rang out.

"We camp here for the night!"

"Ah, I’m dying. This is tough, real tough."

Jeong Yushin could hear grumbling from around him.

Screech.

The back door of the cart opened, and the one-eyed man from earlier appeared.

"Drag out that magician. We need to interrogate him."

At the one-eyed man’s command, two young men stepped forward and roughly dragged Jeong Yushin out of the cart.

The men forcefully pulled Jeong Yushin and threw him to the ground.

"Ugh!"

Skrriiing.

A sharp sword was pointed at Jeong Yushin’s throat.

"Hey, magician. If you talk wrong, you’re done. Don’t even think about casting a spell."

The gag in Jeong Yushin’s mouth was removed.

"I’m not a magician."

"Then what’s this artifact?"

The one-eyed man pulled out the lighter.

"That’s a tool for starting fires."

"How do you use it?"

"Just turn the round part while pressing the button."

After a few failed attempts, the one-eyed man finally managed to create a flame with the lighter.

"Heh! This is a pretty interesting thing. But you say you’re not a magician?"

"What’s a magician? Where exactly am I?"

The one-eyed man chuckled.

"This guy’s really funny."

"Eh?"

"Buddy, let’s think about this logically. If someone suddenly falls from the air, and he’s not a magician, what is he? Do I look funny to you?"

Jeong Yushin felt a headache.

The one-eyed man’s tone grew more menacing.

‘Should I just tell the truth?’

Looking at the one-eyed man’s face, Jeong Yushin didn’t think he would believe him.

"Answer me."

Jeong Yushin swallowed.

"It seems I came from another world. I don’t really know either."

"Hahaha!!"

The one-eyed man and his subordinates burst into loud laughter.

They laughed heartily for a while, unable to stop.

When the laughter stopped abruptly, the one-eyed man grabbed Jeong Yushin by the hair.

"Kneel."

The subordinates kicked Jeong Yushin’s knees, forcing him to kneel. The one-eyed man pressed his gleaming sword to Jeong Yushin’s throat.

"Do you know what I hate most after ten years of being a slave hunter?"

"....."

Jeong Yushin froze at the sudden threat to his life.

"Lying. They say things like, 'I’m this kind of person, I have this kind of ability, I’m worth something, so please let me go, save me.'"

The one-eyed man continued.

"Lying bastards have a very poor ability to see themselves objectively. They have no reason to be confident in deceiving others."

The one-eyed man went on.

"Magician, if you want to deceive others, at least try."

"I’m telling the truth! I fell from somewhere else!!"

The one-eyed man let out a soft laugh.

"The magician still doesn’t get it. I can see you’re stalling, thinking your friends are coming to save you, but it’s too late. Farewell."

"Dammit."

The blade dug into his throat. The one remaining eye of the one-eyed man was cold.

Is this how it ends?

Whoosh. Thud!

An arrow shot from somewhere pierced the one-eyed man’s head. He fell without even screaming.

"Boss!"

"A surprise attack!"

The men hit the ground and quickly crawled toward their weapons and shields.

But the arrows were faster. Every time the sound of air slicing through could be heard, screams followed.

Thud!

A large wolf beastman landed in front of Jeong Yushin.

"Don’t move a muscle, human."

"Eh?"

As the evening sky began to darken, a wolf beastman with red ears and tail emerged from the forest.

"I’ve found him, Karin."

The beastman, named Karin, wagged his tail.

"Release him."

A few beastmen who followed Karin entered the cart.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The sound of shackles breaking echoed. Everyone inside the cart was freed.

"Ugh."

The red wolf beastman stretched his arms up, and the top of his leather armor almost burst open, revealing his full chest.

The situation was quickly handled. Ten muscular wolf beastmen gathered and used swords to cut down the humans hit by the arrows.

There were many screams, but few sounds of swords clashing, and no groaning.

Jeong Yushin, who came from the modern world, could feel it. There was an enormous difference in skill between the slave hunters and those wolf beastmen.

Thud.

Human heads rolled in front of Jeong Yushin’s eyes.

"Black hair? Why is a northern barbarian here?"

Jeong Yushin, kneeling, looked up.

A red-haired wolf beastman, arms crossed, was looking down at him. Was his name Karin?

"Kneel."

A rough hand grabbed Jeong Yushin’s head and slammed it into the ground.

"Ugh."

Blood from the slave hunters' necks flowed onto the floor, and Jeong Yushin’s face became smeared with it.

The blood of the hunters tasted fishy and sticky, like iron.

"Speak."

As the grip on his head tightened, Jeong Yushin’s face was pushed deeper into the ground.

"Randolf, take your hand off his head."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"But Karin..."

"Randolf."

"Understood."

The grip loosened, and Jeong Yushin lifted his head.

"So you’re not going to speak? What’s a northern barbarian doing here?"

Barbarian.

It meant a savage.

These people were already defining him as someone from this world.

He had seen both elves and beastmen. With evidence right in front of him, he couldn’t deny the reality.

He had # Nоvеlight # fallen into another world.

And people were treating this fact almost like a joke.

He didn’t want to go down the same path again.

He didn’t want to be threatened again.

Especially not by someone stronger than the slave hunters.

It was better to give a simple answer.

"I was walking through the forest and got caught."

"Heh!"

Karin scoffed. Then, he picked up the lighter that the one-eyed man had dropped.

Click. Click.

Karin easily made a fire with the lighter.

"Interesting. Randolf, release this human’s chains."

"Yes."

With a short reply, the sound of chains breaking filled the air, and Jeong Yushin’s hands and feet were freed.

"Alright, human. Let’s go our separate ways. I’ll take this artifact."

Karin pocketed the lighter and led the elves and wolf beastmen away from the clearing.

Jeong Yushin straightened up from his kneeling position and sat down on the ground. He wiped his face, covered in dirt and blood, with his palm. Looking around, he only saw severed heads and bodies. The only one alive was himself.

"Spicy, damn it, another world."

He had no clue why he ended up in this world.

"Status window!"

Nothing came to mind.

"Status."

No response.

"Damn it."

Jeong Yushin stood up. He couldn’t just sit still. He had to gather resources to survive. He couldn’t solve the mystery unless he stayed alive.

He rummaged through the headless corpses. He found coins, water, jerky, and hard bread, stuffing them into his bag.

He took the best condition hard leather armor and wore it. It was easier to take off since there was no head.

Among the decent weapons, he grabbed a bastard sword and strapped it to his waist, holding a round shield in his left hand.

He was about to leave the clearing, but it was already dark. Night had come.

He had enough courage to sit calmly by the severed heads, but not enough to walk through the forest in the pitch-black night.

Tonight, he would stay in the cart. Jeong Yushin decided this and entered the cart.

The night passed, and dawn broke. Jeong Yushin opened the cart door and stepped outside.

The surroundings were just as they had been yesterday. The severed heads and bodies were scattered all around.

Jeong Yushin sat down on the ground, leaning against the wheel of the cart.

Grrr.

His stomach growled.

He drank from his canteen and chewed on a piece of jerky to quell his hunger.

Where should he go?

A sense of helplessness made it hard to breathe.

Slap!

Jeong Yushin slapped his own cheek.

"After leaving the forest, I’ll head to a nearby village."

He voiced what needed to be done. The rest, he would figure out when he got there.

Jeong Yushin stood up, packed his belongings, and didn’t venture into the dense forest for adventure.

Instead, he retraced his steps along the cart’s wheel tracks. He thought that safety was more important than adventure.

The two horses that had been pulling the cart were ridden by Karin, the red-haired wolf beastwoman, and a massive male wolf beastman named Randolf. He couldn’t forget the name of the one who had smeared his face with blood-soaked mud.

Had they turned back along the cart’s wheel tracks as well? He saw the horse tracks in the dirt.

Jeong Yushin frowned.

Following Karin and her group didn’t sit right with him. But he was sure it was the better choice. He walked for a long time. It must have been about three or four hours, he guessed.

Instead of the usual smell of grass, a fishy, metallic scent of blood filled the air.

Jeong Yushin immediately drew the bastard sword from his waist.

The weight of the sword, different from a kitchen knife, made his body tremble with tension.

He moved into the bushes along the side of the path, moving as slowly as possible.

The scene of the massacre on the road became clear before his eyes.