A magic circle bloomed from the sewer floor. As he stood motionless there, receiving the light it emitted, the musty smell of dirt disappeared into nothingness.
«You're here».
It was the dragon temple I was in last time. I could see Mr. Dragon in front and six members of the dragon tribe standing behind him. They must have been the old men he mentioned before. They had reptilian eyes that opened vertically, but it was not difficult to realize that their gazes were not so friendly.
That required a war cry. «Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!»
I didn't use Wild Burst since I hadn't come to start a fight, but it was enough to attract aggression. The elders frowned as they watched me. Their expressions seemed to ask what was going on.
«I'm sorry. I just wanted to do that».
When I scratched the back of my neck and apologized, Mr. Dragon, the only one here with previous experience with me, began with a strange look in his eyes. «You... have not changed».
Was it a compliment? Now that the cry of self-presentation was over, I got straight to the point. «So what do I have to do now?»
Could the Dragon Blessing be granted to me, a barbarian? Mr. Dragon said that the elders would decide on this matter after meeting me, but it wouldn't be because they were truly curious about my face. What kind of verification did they want from me?
«It's nothing», said Mr. Dragon. «Before you reach a final decision together, the elders will take turns asking you questions or requests».
«I understand the questions, but what do you mean by the requests?».
«Well, I don't know that yet either. But if you want, you should know that you can refuse».
Yes of course. Then they will vote no. Is it because it is a Dragon Blessing? They are being ridiculously strict.
«What do you think? You will?»
I grumbled to myself, but nodded, although I was beginning to think that they were asking too much of someone to return the Dragon Slayer sword... but a Dragon Blessing was worth so much.
«Okay, so it's decided. There's no point in wasting time, so shall we start right away?»
"Good."
At my response, Mr. Dragon looked at the elders behind him to begin to verify me. The first to step forward was one of only two dragons.
«I'm going to start». Due to the nature of the dragon tribe it made no sense to guess their age based on their appearance, but from the atmosphere their eyes gave off and their tone of voice it was the youngest among them. «Bjorn, son of Yandel. What is your greatest wish?»
As soon as I heard that question, I had an idea of the purpose of this hearing. It was really a check, to the letter, to know what kind of person I was before passing on the secret art of the Dragon Blessing to someone of another race.
Contemplating this for a moment, I answered honestly. Was it to return to Earth? Still, that was only a secondary goal. «Survive». My top priority had always been survival, but that had changed a little. Survival was still the top priority, but now there was something to add. «If possible, with my teammates».
Even as I responded like this, I felt a strange emotion. Since I landed in this strange world, this could have been my biggest transformation. So what about the feedback for this answer?
«...I see.» The dragon woman looked at me with meaningful eyes and asked one more question. «If your sacrifice could save a teammate, what would you choose?»
«I thought everyone would ask a question».
«You don't have to answer if you don't want to». The dragon woman spoke with a voice as if that didn't really matter.
I just answered honestly one more time. «I still don't know». If you asked me if I would make the same decision as the Half-Wit team wizard, Riol Warb Dwalkie, this was my only answer. I knew that no words or resolutions made sense before that situation came. Death always put humans on a test bed. «But when that time comes, I will choose what I have to choose».
«...Then you could have just answered 'yes'». The dragon looked at me with questioning eyes.
I briefly dismissed it, saying: «I didn't want to answer the question like that».
That wouldn't be right against him either.
The dragon woman, who would have no idea what I had been through, stared at me for a moment before taking a step back. «My questions end here». It was difficult to discern whether or not he liked my response from her expression.
Before he could catch his breath, the next shift began. «I'm Geornavehanuteres». A middle-aged man with a physique almost as robust as mine made a request instead of a question. «Fight with me».
It was a proposal made with an underlying release of Fear of the Dragon. I responded without a moment's hesitation. «Okay».
As a barbarian warrior, it would be ridiculous to reject that offer. Plus, it was also a good opportunity. An elder from the dragon tribe would be at least equivalent to a seventh-floor explorer. If he could fight him without fear of dying, there was no reason not to. That was my judgment.
«Everyone stop», Mr. Dragon interrupted. «We agree not to make such requests».
«What's safer than clinking fists? Isn't that right, barbarian warrior?»
Eh, river a usar una mace...
I personally thought that equipment was also a skill, but I affirmed his words. «Of course.»
«Hahaha! I like you!» I guess my answer satisfied him as the male dragonman burst into laughter.
«...Although I didn't think he would accept without hesitation». The other elders also seemed to find this situation interesting.
«So what will you do?»
«Then I'll ask a question before continuing». The male dragon asked in a disappointed voice: «Barbarian, what do you fear most?».
The first thing that came to mind was death. However, giving the same answer as the first question would not be good for an interview in many ways. I responded to this with a little more specificity. «Fight someone stronger than me».
«...What?» The male dragon tilted his head as if he hadn't heard me correctly. Late he realized. «Do you think I'm weaker than you?», he asked in an angry voice.
I shook my head. «No, I don't think so».
«But you just...»
«You didn't mean to kill me, did you?».
«No, but...
I cut him off and murmured dryly: «I must fight because I am afraid. More and more».
I knew this might sound barbaric to some, but so what? This was the true essence of a barbarian.
Fortunately, it seemed that the meaning behind my words was conveyed well. «Prepare for that moment instead of running away because you are afraid... that is a reasonable answer without a doubt». The male dragon man smiled satisfied. «Interesting. Are all barbarians like you?»
«In a way».
In fact, it was Ainar who taught me what the life of a warrior was, and the advice he gave me later showed me the way forward when I found myself headed into a dead end.
«I see. My question ends here». Soon, the male dragonman returned to his position with a satisfied smile on his mouth. At least one thing could be known: he definitely had a vote.
The third was also a question, not a request, and a rather strange question, too. «Are you in love with someone?».
«…No.»
«Your answer came a little late. I guess you have someone in mind». The sleepy-eyed dragon woman returned to her position without further questions.
The fourth shift began like this. «I will test your insight». A gray-haired dragon grandfather handed me an object. As soon as I saw it I knew what it was for. It was a puzzle ring. «Now, dismantle everything.»
Huh, I never thought this would be one of the missions.
«To help you a little, you must use the correct order and method to separate them». When I received the ring puzzle, Grandpa Dragon smiled and even gave me a clue. He probably thought he would never be able to figure it out. Gosh, did he think I was a real barbarian or something? As a child I used to play with a lot of ring puzzles in the hospital. «I'll give you as much time as you want. Sometimes it is possible to get to the truth through persistence».
I took the ring puzzle and first checked the structure by looking up, down, left and right. If there was enough time, there was no way he couldn't figure it out.
Well, that should have been the case.
«Haha, it's been five minutes».
Damn. What the hell is this thing?
«Ten minutes have passed. Anything closer yet?»
I honestly admitted that receiving more time was not likely to lead to a response. So there was only one method left: Gigantization. My body swelled in an instant. I grabbed the rings with my enlarged hands and stretched them to the sides.
They cry.
I finally managed to separate the seven rings.
«W-What are you doing!»
«Los separé».
«...T-That doesn't make sense!»
«You never told me not to break it», I replied confidently. That was because I had already realized the trap of this puzzle. This old man said at first that he was testing my insight, not my intellect. He also hinted that it was a truth that was achieved through persistence. That meant that this ring was impossible to solve.
He probably gave it to me to see how it solved an unanswered problem.
«So! You can solve it like this...!» The dragon grandfather threw himself on the deadpan ground and fiddled with the puzzle that now had a few extra pieces. His eyes seemed very sad.
«Ejem ».
«This cannot be achieved anywhere...»
«Who's next?» I tried my best to ignore Grandpa Dragon and turned to the elders, who resumed checking.
The fifth question was about my past. «How many people have you killed so far?».
I remembered every person in my mind and gave them the exact number. Then the old man asked me why I had killed them. The answer was not difficult. The methods of murder varied, but the reason was really only one. «Because they tried to kill me».
«I see. The old man who asked the question nodded and took a step back, ending the fifth shift. Before long, the confirmation hearing was in its final stages. I couldn't tell if it had gone well.
Well, the old man who gave me the riddle will probably object... The sexist dragon man will probably vote yes. The rest? Well, I'm not sure.
«So now it's my turn». Soon, a handsome man in his twenties came forward and asked a question. «Has he only told the truth?»
As if he had the ability to discern the truth. That made me feel reluctant, but until now I had answered all the questions truthfully. My judgment was that if I was eliminated, then it wasn't too late to start KB (short for K-Barbarian) style negotiations. «I did.»
«Then we're done».
That was the end of the confirmation hearing. Mr. Dragon exchanged glances with the last man and opened his mouth. «Looks like we'll have to talk to each other some more, so you can rest».
«Do I have to wait long?»
«Well, looks like it will be over in an hour».
Well, in that case, guided by the dragon woman who asked the first question, I headed inside the temple and came to a room. Since they mentioned resting, I thought they would surely guide me to a reception for guests.
«Are you the barbarian who was supposed to come today?». The room had a previous occupant, a teenage-looking dragon boy. He looked at me and laughed. «Wow, you're super ugly!».
What the hell? Who was that insolent child? My mind went blank at the sudden blow, but I laughed calmly like an adult. «Haha, it looks like you don't have a mother».
«…¿Eh?»
«If you received a proper education at home you wouldn't tell such strange lies!» Bjorn Yandel was manly looking, but by no means ugly.