How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 9: Beginner Party

"By now, it should be morning."

Jeong Yushin mumbled while yawning.

He spent his time drifting in and out of shallow sleep.

The narrow entrance to their shared space was only covered with a single blanket, making it difficult to fall into a deep sleep.

The damp, cold floor was also one of the reasons for his insomnia.

The coldness from the floor crept up his bones and stabbed at his heart.

Ka'al’s party seemed to be having trouble sleeping as well, tossing and turning several times.

Especially when he was on watch.

Well, it was understandable. A party formed by people from the same village was suddenly joined by an outsider, so it was natural to feel uneasy.

"Today, Syr should take the lead."

As they finished their meal and began to pack their gear to leave the shared space, Ka'al approached and spoke. His tiredness was evident, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Sure."

Jeong Yushin took the torch from him, leading the way. Dean followed closely behind, guiding them on which way to go.

"Go down the right path."

"Okay."

There was no sign of anyone else going down. Yesterday, they had encountered several other parties, but today, they saw no one.

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the narrow corridor.

As they walked, Jeong Yushin realized something.

The light was weak.

Normally, the distance the light should reach was consumed by a strange darkness.

So, if they moved too far, even the faintest silhouette would vanish.

He walked as if hypnotized, gazing into the darkness.

"Screech!"

"Keekee!!"

Jeong Yushin's shoulders jerked.

Hobgoblins.

"Prepare for battle!"

He quickly shouted and drew his longsword.

Screech!!

The sound of the air being ripped apart.

Jeong Yushin instinctively raised his shield.

Thud!

An arrow flew from the darkness and struck his shield.

Screech!!

Multiple similar sounds overlapped.

Thud! Clang!!

He barely blocked it. The force striking his shield was no small thing.

That meant the arrows were being shot from much closer than expected.

At that moment, Ka'al darted out.

He was surprised by his sudden rush into the darkness.

"Marie!"

Ka'al shouted.

"Light!"

Holy light pushed away the darkness, filling the cave.

Everything was visible.

Five hobgoblins.

The hobgoblins screamed in agony as they shielded their eyes from the sudden light.

Ka'al dashed forward with incredible speed, swinging his sword.

Swaaack!!

The goblin's head flew off, and blood splattered against the cave wall.

‘I need to stay close to Ka'al.’

He couldn’t let himself get surrounded alone.

Jeong Yushin quickly rushed over.

Swoosh!

An arrow brushed past his left shoulder and struck the goblin's chest. Looking back, he saw Anne holding a bow.

By the time he arrived, Ka'al had already swung his sword and decapitated another hobgoblin.

Two left.

The remaining hobgoblins regained their senses and swung their daggers, charging at the group.

Their target was obvious—the vulnerable side of Ka'al.

Clang! Clang!

Shield block.

Jeong Yushin deflected every dagger the hobgoblins swung.

Thrust.

He stabbed his longsword into the chest of the goblin, which had lost its balance. The blade pierced through the sternum, right beneath the solid bone.

"Kehk!"

The goblin collapsed backward. Immediately, Jeong Yushin slapped the goblin standing next to Pommel on the cheek.

"Keek!"

The hobgoblin's teeth shattered, and one side of its face was crushed.

Just as Jeong Yushin was about to finish off the goblin, Ka'al rushed in and severed its neck.

Blood erupted from the neck and splattered on Jeong Yushin's face and body.

"Phew. Skar, you’re a good match," Ka'al said, laughing. His eyes gleamed, probably from the excitement of the battle.

"Yeah."

Jeong Yushin wiped the blood from his face as he replied.

He had been startled when Ka'al rushed into the darkness earlier.

He thought he was crazy.

‘You had a plan all along.’

"Ugh! So disgusting."

Marie grimaced as she approached. The holy light gradually lost its power and soon faded away.

When the rest of the party joined them, Ka'al spoke.

"Ka'al said we should cut off their ears as proof of the hobgoblin hunt. Dean, Skar, would you help?"

"Mm."

"Sure."

Dean and Jeong Yushin helped Ka'al cut off the hobgoblin ears. Dean’s face was pale as he tried to cut the ears with trembling hands.

In contrast, Jeong Yushin efficiently cut them off, his hands moving as though it was just another routine. There was no sense of guilt about killing the monsters. It just felt like an extension of his work at the monster dissection house.

With Jeong Yushin’s help, they quickly gathered the ears. There were five hobgoblins, so they had a total of ten ears.

"Here, Skar, you can take this."

Ka'al handed Jeong Yushin the pouch containing the goblin ears.

"Are you sure I can have this?" Jeong Yushin asked, looking at the pouch, which smelled of rot and blood.

"I trust you’ll take good care of it."

It was a bit absurd.

‘Is this the same friend who couldn’t sleep when I was on watch?’

He couldn’t refuse. At least not right now.

Ka'al was the party leader, and the others were their long-time friends.

Moreover, his swordsmanship was no joke.

A single swing of his sword severed the goblin's neck.

That wasn’t something anyone could do without innate strength and skill.

"Okay."

Jeong Yushin accepted the pouch and tucked it into his backpack.

The group continued walking. Jeong Yushin led the way as usual.

Following Dean’s guidance, they left the central area.

They encountered more monsters.

"Black slimes!"

Three slimes were stuck to the cave walls, squirming.

"I’ll handle this."

Anne, with her red hair, stepped forward with her bow.

Thwip!

A fast-moving arrow pierced the slime’s core in an instant.

The slime, its core damaged, trembled and dropped to the ground.

‘Wow.’

Anne was also impressive with her archery skills.

Anne fired another arrow and pierced the core of the remaining slime.

As they approached, they saw the slimy part was oozing like liquid, spilling onto the floor. There was a stone gleaming next to the core.

"Wow, magic stone. It’s beautiful."

Marie crouched down in front of it. Ka'al picked up the magic stone and placed it in his pouch.

"I’ll take this one. I can’t leave everything to Skar."

"Ka'al, you’re kind."

Ka'al smiled and ruffled Marie’s head.

‘What’s with the sudden flirting?’

Jeong Yushin’s stomach churned.

That night, they camped at a nearby resting spot.

Jeong Yushin’s watch was the same as the previous night, and there was no ambush.

‘I’m so damn tired.’

He rubbed his dry eyes and lifted the torch.

"Skar, just a little more to go."

"Yeah."

Jeong Yushin responded absentmindedly to Dean’s encouragement and walked. Of the torches Jeong Yushin had brought, only one remained. After excluding the one Ka'al had used, the other party members still had their torches intact.

A few hours later, they encountered five black slimes. As before, Anne stepped forward and took care of them with her bow.

Five hobgoblins hunted / ten ears

Magic stones harvested 8 / 10

They had nearly completed the request.

As they walked, the end of the cave appeared.

At the end of the cave, there was a large clearing with a massive stone tablet in the center.

As they approached the stone tablet, a blue portal and a red portal opened.

Jeong Yushin remembered from the new explorer class.

To exit the labyrinth, they had to enter the blue portal, and to move to the next level, they needed to take the red portal.

"Let’s go to the next level."

Ka'al took the lead.

"Wait a moment."

Jeong Yushin stepped forward.

He couldn’t bear it.

Wasn’t this going off-plan?

They were supposed to be a party for exploring the first level. That’s what the receptionist had told them, and Ka'al had said the same.

"Why?"

"Isn’t this contradictory? We were told we were a first-level exploration party, weren’t we?"

"Hah!"

Ka'al’s lips twisted.

"Skar, don’t we need to finish the request?"

"We can do that here. There’s no need to go down."

"Because there are no monsters on the first level. The senior explorers told us, and we know from experience that the second level is no different from here. Why waste time and resources chasing invisible monsters?"

"The basic principle taught in the new explorer class..."

"Hah, damn it."

Ka'al cursed.

"Skar, no, Skar. Have you wasted your years? I told you, learn living knowledge. Go out and talk to people, engage with them. Explorer class? Principles? What are you, an idiot? Do you think they’ll die if they say so?"

"...."

"Just admit you’re scared. It’ll make you look less like an idiot."

‘What the hell is this sudden outburst?’

It seemed like something had been touched in a bad way.

"Since we have different opinions, let’s part here. I’m going back."

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Ka'al drew his sword and blocked the way.

"You're crossing the line."

Jeong Yushin also drew his sword. The cold blade of the longsword gleamed under the torchlight like a snake.

"Move."

"Pay me back. How much time and money have we wasted because of you? Are you just going to run away?"

"Shut up."

Jeong Yushin raised his shield and prepared his stance.

"Skar, calm down."

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He glanced over and saw Anne aiming her bow at him.

Dean held a dagger, and Marie was muttering and preparing a spell.

‘This is messed up.’

"How much do you want?"

"20 silver."

Ka'al’s answer was so absurd it almost made him laugh.

It was the amount he could earn from working at the monster dissection house for two months without rest.

"I don’t have that much."

Jeong Yushin said honestly. After deducting the cost of staying [N O V E L I G H T] at the inn, he had spent most of his earnings on weapons, armor, exploration supplies, and tuition fees.

All he had left were 2 silver and a few copper coins.

"You’ll find out when you search."

Damn it.

‘I’m getting extorted by kids younger than me in this other world.’

"Ka'al, shut your mouth."

Anne glared coldly, and Ka'al fell silent.

"Skar, I’ll be honest with you. We really need to complete this request. One of our friends is injured, and we need the treatment fee."

"We can do it here, can’t we?"

"At the minimum cost. We came here from the countryside with nothing, and it’s tight."

"Why are you so sure? We might not even encounter monsters on the second level and could get lost, right?"

"A senior explorer told me at the tavern. Monsters start to appear on the second level. If we surpass the designated monster kill quota, we’ll get extra payment, so it’s okay if we get lost a little."

"Still, this is off-plan, isn’t it?"

Jeong Yushin asked half-heartedly.

"Plans change all the time, and the explorer guild is aware of it. They said they decide by majority vote."

Majority vote?

It was clear that everyone except him would vote to go to the second level.

He decided not to ask further.

If they left the party without following the majority vote, the guild would not be lenient. There would definitely be consequences. It was written in the rules.

What would happen if the advice given by ‘someone’ in the guild conflicted with the official guild regulations?

Would the advice override the rules?

He didn’t know.

"Then what if I still refuse?"

"Your sword looks pretty nice."

"Isn’t that robbery?"

"Getting it transferred through the guild wouldn’t be bad either. Skar, you’ll lose your sword and get the punishment on top of it."

It was a perfect trap.

Damn it.

He sighed deeply.

"Fine."

‘What’s the big deal? It’s the second level.’

He was a bit too lenient. Even though Ka'al and his party looked awkward, they seemed skilled. Plus, he had no money left.

Ka'al came over and patted Jeong Yushin on the shoulder.

"That’s the spirit, right? Let’s do well again. Sorry for the casual talk earlier. It just looked stupid to see you crying and refusing."

"...."

"I’ll go ahead."

Ka'al pointed to the red portal with his sword.

Jeong Yushin stepped into the red portal.