Hey! Mr. Yandel! Wake up!"
As Raven shook Bjorn's shoulder, the other companions begin to wake up one by one.
"Miss Raven? What happened...?"
"Bjorn! Is Bjorn dead?!"
"Miss Raven! I'm glad you're alri..."
Questions arise here and there, and only Raven could provide answers...
Because she had never fainted before.
"The vampire is dead. Mr. Yandel is alive. Tarzine, I'm fine, can you stop yelling at me?"
"Incredible! To kill a vampire with a magic blow!"
Upon hearing Murad's exclamation, she pursed her lips. That infuriated her for some reason.
It wasn't the "Sunspot Sphere" that killed the vampire. In terms of contribution, it wasn't without its effort, but...
"It wasn't me, it was Mr. Yandel."
"What do you mean?"
"It was Mr. Yandel who killed the vampire."
Murad raised his eyesbrows.
"This guy here?"
Although he had praised him in the past as "special" and a "great warrior," he couldn't believe that Bjorn had killed a rank 5 monster.
And Raven understood how he felt.
If only I had heard it... I would think so too.
Perhaps it was due to the long distance. Unaffected by "Sharing the Pain," she had observed the entirety of the event that no one else knew about.
Yes, literally. Just observed.
What else could a mage do who had run out of mana?
"Everyone, thank you to Mr. Yandel. Without him, none of you would have been able to open your eyes in this world."
"W-well, yes... But can you tell us a little more about what happened?"
He was wondering how he should explain it when Ainar intervened.
"So what happened to Bjorn?! Aren't we supposed to give him a potion now?"
In other words: "If you have a potion, bring it out."
Raven shook his head and answered.
"A potion is... useless. It seems that most of his body has already healed."
If he dared to predict, there wouldn't be much need for potions for this man in the future. Most of his waves would heal quickly.
"So why hasn't he woken up yet?"
"I don't know why either. However..."
"What do you know?! What is it? Magician! Speak!"
Raven took a deep breath and answered.
"It's probably... exhaustion."
"...Exhaustion? Didn't you just say that his body has recovered?"
Ainar placed a hand covered in dirt and thick blood on Raven's shoulder. It felt like the world was ending.
"What, are you really lovers?" Raven asked.
"Oh no! Why this sudden conclusion?" Ainar retorted sharply.
"Huh, anyway, I don't know for sure either. I'm not a priestess. I only know of a few similar cases."
"Cases? Miss Raven, is this common?"
"It's not common, but... from time to time, it happens. The body has recovered, but the mind not enough to awaken."
Warriors who had suffered extreme stress that left them with traumatic memories, or who had actually poured it all into battle, sometimes fell into this state.
After explaining this, Ainar raised his voice.
«I've never heard anything like it! Plus, it doesn't even make sense! Too mentally tired to wake up? Bjorn is not that weak!»
Not so weak, huh...
On that, Raven completely agreed. A few hours ago, he would have snorted inwardly at that comment, but right now, he couldn't. Indeed, only she had seen him fight the vampire until the end.
But...
That's why I could be sure.
«To be honest, I'm almost sure. The reason Mr. Yandel doesn't wake up is because he is mentally exhausted».
Too exhausted to wake up? This was beyond the realm of being weak and strong.
It was a natural fight.
This woman wouldn't have said that if she had seen it herself.
She could have witnessed an incredibly priceless scene today.
«Wizard! When will Bjorn wake up?»
«I'm not sure. It may take at least a day or two at most».
«Then he will wake up in a few hours! Since Bjorn is a great warrior!»
...So why did you ask?
Raven was getting upset again, but for some reason, she didn't feel the urge to argue. More precisely, she didn't have the energy for that. In fact, the barbarian's words no longer sounded as pretentious as before.
«A great warrior...»
Since ancient history, there were fewer than ten barbarians who had officially received that title from the king.
Well, it seems that nowadays it is used more as a compliment among barbarians.
He organized his thoughts one last time before continuing.
Corpse Golem Essence and Vampire Essence. And the Essence of a Guardian. The barbarian had consumed both.
His coming-of-age ceremony had been completed last month, and hadn't he said that this was his second time entering the maze? Looking at the barbarian who was sleeping dead for the world, he opened his mouth.
«...Truly, it may one day be like this».
Of course, for that to happen, it would have to survive dozens more crises like today's.
***
Have I survived .....?
When I woke up, it was late at night. For some reason I was lying on Ainar's lap and as soon as our eyes met, she screamed, leaving me wide awake.
«Bjorn!!!»
«... Where are the others?»
«Everyone is gone! Bjorn, are you okay? I was worried because you were passed out for three whole days!»
It's been three days? So today is the seventh day?
That made me sober and I lifted my body immediately. And then I analyzed the current situation. No visible external trauma. In terms of health, except for hunger, he was generally fine.
«By the way, Ainar, what are these pants I'm wearing?»
«Pants» was the simplified description. A cloth that could have served as a handkerchief wrapped around my lower body, covering only the important parts.
To be precise, it was more like a skirt than pants...
... and a very minimalist size.
«Oh! The magician gave me some leftover cloth».
«... And you put it on me?»
«Of course!»
A hint of embarrassment appeared, but it dimmed a little because Ainar didn't seem to flinch. True, it would be funny if warriors felt uncomfortable about something like that.
«There is no reason to be ashamed. Bjorn, you really are a great warrior!»
Well, that doesn't mean you can sexually harass me.
«...So what happened after that?»
I changed the subject to forget this humiliation. I was wondering what had happened after I passed out... Especially with the loot.
»The object of numbers»? Murad took it, and the Rift Stones were taken by the wizard».
«What?»
It was a series of surprises from the beginning.
The fact that he was alive now meant that he had absorbed the vampire's essence... Did that mean that the vampire had dropped the three released items?
What kind of special round was this?
«Oh, right! There was no dice roll when distributing the Rift Stones. The magician argued that she had to take them all to make up for the loss, so...»
Ainar continued as if he wanted to justify himself.
«Murad said he didn't care, but I said no! But then the magician said something strange».
«Strange?»
«He said that you had taken the biggest profit of all, so you won't be able to complain that he took the Rift Stones».
It seems that only the magician knows that I absorbed the Vampire Essence.
I nodded silently. I didn't regret this distribution. Whatever the reason, the mage had fed me the Corpse Golem Essence. Furthermore, considering the cost of the potion she had poured on me, the sorceress had practically only had losses in the Rift. Coveting the Rift Stones at this point would only make me an idiot.
However, Ainar seemed to think differently.
«W-well, I told her to wait until you woke up and then decide, but I couldn't stop her! After waiting more than half a day, you didn't get up so everyone walked through the portal and left!!!»
«You don't have to blame yourself. You couldn't have done anything».
To be honest, he could only imagine the expressions on the faces of those who were held captive for half a day by Ainar's coercion.
It would be better to just praise her here.
«Thank you. I'm glad you were on my side».
«... I did what was natural! We are comrades!»
I checked my belongings, which Ainar seemed to have gathered.
A backpack, a mace, some pieces of scrap metal that could have been my shield before...
Still, if I sell it, it may add up to the price of iron.
Once I put everything I could see in my backpack, I took out food and a canteen and filled my hungry stomach.
Then I looked at the time.
Eleven twenty at night.
Less than an hour before the stairs close.
«Bjorn! When you finish eating, how about we leave? There's not much time left!»
«We can't».
I firmly refused.
I desperately wanted to leave this nauseating place right now, but... After everything I went through, I should at least take everything I could with me. I also wanted to take a look at the boss's room.
The wizard took the Necronomicon, so only one remains.
Looks like I'll have to move quickly.
***
[You have entered the glass cave on the first floor.]
[The maze is closed.]
[The character will move to Rafdonia.]
***
Feeling the sunlight on my skin for the first time in a long time, I exhaled.
I barely made it...
Time was pressing harder than I expected. It had taken him less than ten minutes to find the object hidden in the roof of the outer wall watchtower after climbing the ladder...
But getting to the boss room had been a race against time.
...And it was all in vain.
Ainar said that the others had waited for me for half a day, but perhaps that actually meant time for the magician to carry out her investigation.
It would be strange if he let that go with his personality.
Broken walls here and there. A broken photo frame. There was even a box with a shape I had never seen before open and abandoned.
I'm sure there was an additional reward there, but she must have taken it for herself.
We ran at full speed towards the boss's room, which already had traces of a thorough investigation. However, instead of getting angry at having been dined on, I was more curious to know what the object had been. And rightly so, because this was an unusual Rift that had never been cleared before. An element that not even I, someone who had been playing this game for nine years, knew about?
My curiosity as a player was sprouting.
And it's not like he would have let me if I had asked him... I'll have to ask him when we meet later.
Anyway, I searched everywhere to see if there was anything the wizard had missed, and soon time was of the essence. In fact, the stairs closed as soon as we left the Rift, so we had it closer than close. We were almost trapped in the boss room without the boss monster, forever.
«Kenick's fourth son, Suero! Your injuries have increased! I envy you!»
«It's nothing! Karak, Fanun's third son!»
As I organized my thoughts, I heard the voices of the barbarians here and there.
Fortunately, they hadn't found me yet. I tilted my head out of sight and headed to the Rank 9 Scout Currency Exchange. Luckily, I arrived early, so the line wasn't long. There were no barbarians to bother me either.
When I gave them my mana stones, the worker exchanged them for money like last time.
«231,520 stones.»
230,000 stones.
It was an amount that seemed infinitely small compared to the hardships he had gone through.
But that's not all.
During this expedition, I had absorbed two essences. Furthermore, once I deal with the items, the benefit would be several times greater than that of the mana stones.
Somehow, mana stones always become supplemental income, not the main source.
I didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
With a bitter smile, I was about to pick up my bag when,
"That sum is too high for a rank 9 explorer."
The official picked up the bag he had left and looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"What are you carrying in your backpack?"
What's in my backpack?
It's not that I can't answer that, but...
"Why do you ask?"
I felt a chill down my spine.
I looked around and saw the guards approaching quickly from a distance. It seemed the worker had pressed something like an emergency call button he'd hidden under his desk.
"Is this man?"
"Yeah".
I raised my arms to express my intention to cooperate with the public authorities, but the guards exchanged a few words with the officials and recorded me forcefully by the arms.
Shit, did I come back from the dead just for this?
"Great, let's go chat over there."
Instinctively, I knew I was screwed.