After running for about thirty minutes, I encountered a team of five people. The members were three humans, a dwarf and an elf. Judging by their team, they were estimated to be fifth-floor or higher scouts.
«Have you gotten lost? Calm down and rest here». Seeing me approaching their camp, they sat me down and gave me jerky instead of raising their guard. At first I thought the jerky might be poisoned.
«Hmm, what to do? We don't have time to go around floor three looking for your team».
None of them expressed any greed throughout the conversation, nor did they ask for equipment in exchange for saving my life. This was more or less the norm.
«Haha, will you give us your gun? Alright. If you give us all your equipment, how will you do this expedition?»
«Alright. If it really bothers you, return the favor by helping another in a similar state instead of being stingy».
These were people with too strong a character to simply call them good people. That made me more suspicious, so I sat by the bonfire and pretended to doze to show weakness.
«I must have been very tired».
«Jess, what are you going to do? It bothers me a little to leave this man like this. It's the same as letting him die».
«Why don't we tour the area just for a few hours and see if his comrades are nearby?»
«What if we don't find them?»
«Hmm, so why don't we take him upstairs with us for this expedition? It can be cumbersome, but we can't let it die in a place like this».
There was no point in continuing to test these people. It seemed like it would only cause them trouble. So I signaled that we had agreed in advance to Amelia, who would be nearby, to come pick me up.
«Today many people come to look for us. Who are you?»
«...I'm sorry to bother you. I'm looking for my comrade».
«Comrade? Oh, could it be?»
As Amelia approached the bonfire, I jumped up and ran towards her. «Oh! Emily! I've missed you! Why did it take you so long?»
«I-I'm sorry... But, this is a bit...»
«Emilyyyy!» I hugged her tightly to prevent the act from being exposed, while still watching my back. They seemed like good people, but I judged that they might change their minds after seeing Amelia.
«I'm glad you met your comrade».
As a result, there was no plot twist.
«Haha, stick well to your teammate from now on.»
«You have a good comrade. It's not easy to find people scattered in the maze like this. You should appreciate each other».
These people were friendly from start to finish, so it was time for the unwanted guests to leave.
«Come on, let's go. Everyone... is worried... about you...» Amelia took me, saying that our team had promised to meet us somewhere, and people said goodbye with a warm smile.
Yo… ¿regresé really sin problemas?
Although on the one hand I felt bewildered, on the other I was very moved. Was this what they called healing? What kind of life had he been living all this time? There were still so many wonderful people in the world.
«Unfortunately, your method didn't work». Although I was deeply moved, Amelia looked at me with eyes that questioned my next move.
Geez, what a shame. Did I know it would end like this?
«Are you going to continue?»
At Amelia's next question, I began to think seriously about it.
Then five explorers emerged from the darkness. «Hello, have you separated from your colleagues? What are you doing? If so, come. We will help you».
Everyone was smiling happily, like someone discovering gold on the side of the road. I then finished my praise of humanity and approached them with a smile. «Oh, really! We just needed help».
The rule was that these guys came looking for you, even if you weren't going to look for them.
The second team we met was much harsher than we thought. As soon as we got closer, they surrounded us naturally.
«Oh, isn't this a subspace ring? A valuable item compared to your low quality equipment». Pulling my hand towards them to touch the subspace ring, the group created an intimidating atmosphere.
«So where are your comrades?»
«Hmm, ¿es así?»
After getting some information, I figured they realized we weren't much of a threat. Soon, one of them approached Amelia and put his hand on her exposed thigh.
Stab.
His dagger pierced the back of his hand before he could touch it.
«Ahh! Crazy bitch!»
«¡Matadla!»
Just like that, the battle began before three minutes had passed.
¡Latigo!
Seeing that he counterattacked without the slightest hesitation as soon as he was stabbed, it seemed that he had quite a bit of experience in interpersonal combat. Of course, this wasn't a problem because we were equal.
Gigantization, swing, etc. As soon as I started to definitively destroy using my skills, the fight was quickly decided. The fact that they formed a grip formation to prevent us from escaping worked effectively.
¡Crunch!
It may have been effective to hit goblins after capturing them, but not trolls and ogres. Pointing to the back row with bows and staffs to start, everyone was on the ground in no time.
«Have you deceived us...? Fuck.»
¡Crunch!
The moment I crushed the head of the one who seemed to be the leader, there was a pleasant silence. Now, it was time to collect these objects that lacked an owner. Dismantling the equipment and opening the bags, there was evidence of looting everywhere. There wasn't much equipment since it was only the third day, but they had sleeping pills, poison, mental scrolls, and more. The bag was full of consumables that could be used on people, not monsters. There were also several IDs that appeared to have been stolen.
But was it because we increased our income all at once? «We only have to do this about ten more times».
Amelia no longer questioned my methods. He also realized that there was no more effective method than this. Killing a looter who looted got you several pieces of equipment, as well as several IDs, which meant you got much greater results in terms of time versus effort.
«Then let's clean the blood and continue».
Anyway, after that, we continued playing with the same strategy and found ourselves with several teams. The reactions were varied, but to classify them on a larger scale...
«I'm not interested, keep going». When I was alone, the number of people who did not allow any type of approach reached 90%.
«Since you're in a bad situation, we'll let you stay a while». Those who heard my story and asked for reasonable compensation in exchange for letting me rest were 5%.
«...How suspicious. Get your ID». Those who mistook us for looters and took out a vigilante mace were the 3%.
«No matter how valuable an object is, it is no more valuable than life.»
«I'm sorry. My rule is to prevent something from going wrong later».
Those who tried to take all my equipment from me whether the monsters killed me or not, and those who tried to take my life just by seeing their faces, were about 1% each.
The batting average is much lower than I expected.
There was maybe one team in a hundred that was useful. So why had he met so many of these bastards until now? They say that what is important is never there when you need it. I didn't know it, but even after time passed and it became the eighth day, we found ourselves with a new type of team.
«Oh, is it good to see those famous new recruits here?» It was a team of looters from Noark.
To talk only about the results, there was no battle. It's not that we had no intention of it, it's rather that the opponent didn't give us any chance.
«Haha, it's nice to see you here but I hope you stay in your lane». The looters didn't even allow us any distance, and Amelia didn't exactly show hostility either. Rather, they warned us. «We are on the side of the lord of the castle, so do not act recklessly».
Wow, it hadn't even occurred to me to do that. But we should at least pretend we were on the same side, right? If we attacked first and one of them came back alive to testify, our plan would go to waste.
«Wait, can we talk?», the Noark team suggested.
«Good». Amelia accepted without hesitation. It didn't take me long to realize why he acted like this. Since we needed to join forces with the castle lord, the current situation was actually an opportunity to appeal to ourselves.
«Soy Beck.»
«We are…»
«I am aware. Emily, and you're Iron Mask, right?»
«Iron Mask?»
«Oh, didn't you know that? It's the nickname they gave you».
I didn't know he had a nickname like that. Well, it looked good on me considering I always covered my face with a thick helmet.
«But your face is prettier than I thought».
Oh sure. I was in the middle of fishing so I wasn't wearing a helmet. That shocked me but I didn't bother putting one on. What difference did it make to show my face to a few? Anyway, I wasn't going to change anything.
«But was that your boys' tactic? I was very impressed. You made good use of the preconceived notions of a barbarian».
«... What do you mean by that?»
«Oh, it was just a compliment with no other meaning, so don't send me that look. We could end up being comrades, right?».
Amelia intervened at that. «Comrades?»
«Oh, I hadn't told you. I didn't mention it, as I'm sure you need time to adjust to the city, but the lord of the castle has a good opinion of you two».
When playing him, we seemed capable, but he kept an eye on us because he didn't know what kind of people we were.
«The lord of the castle likes daring people. Especially people without moral ties, like you».
This would mean that there was no need for further testing.
«They'll be in touch by the time you get back, so think carefully in the meantime. It's a strange city, after all. You need at least a resting place, right?».
«...I will think ».
«Haha, that's it then». The man then smiled happily and looked at me. «Oh, and you. It doesn't look like you've been in the human world long, but it stuck to you, huh?».
«And you must have been in the world too long, since all your hair has fallen out.»
«...What?» It clearly seemed like a retrograde comment, so those words came out on their own. But wasn't that really his intention? «Ah! It was a compliment, a compliment! I apologize if you took this the wrong way». Instead of expressing his displeasure, the guy simply apologized.
And then it was my turn. «Oh, mine was a compliment too. I apologize if you took this the wrong way».
«...I see?» The man laughed awkwardly and I followed his example. Still, I kept looking at him. It was a strange feeling.
His name was Beck, right? Why do my hands itch when I look at him?
Feeling an unknown discomfort, I looked away and saw the only scout in the group wearing a robe. His physique was small, like that of a child.
«I guess you don't know». As I stared, Beck thought I was curious and took off the boy's robe. «It's a similar tactic to the one you used, in a way. We use this child as bait. Most people let their guard down like this. If we send it beforehand, it becomes a way to confirm the opponent's strength in advance. She is surprisingly useful in battle, too. Most people have a psychological resistance to killing children like these».
Beck described the girl as if she was going to sell a product, but none of the explanations entered my ears. It was all he had heard from Amelia.
Hey? Where had I seen her before?
Watching the girl standing expressionlessly under her robe gave me déjà vu. But had he misinterpreted my look? «Hmm, it seems like you're not curious, do you just like what you see?».
Beck said something crazy. Normally I would have crushed his head and cleared up the misunderstanding, but I didn't deny anything and asked: «What's his name?».
«Name?» Beck tilted his head as if it were a strange question. It seemed like he didn't understand the importance of the name, but he still answered the question. «Jencia Nephrin».
So it was you. No wonder I felt weird.
«S-we're real people, right? Wouldn't it be murder?»
I met this girl in Glacier Cave and she was the first evil spirit I killed. Of course, the Jencia I killed was different from this girl. Evil spirits only inhabited native adults, and no other cases had yet been discovered.
The moment I recorded this, I realized one thing. As a girl born in Noark, it was very likely that she lived underground even as an adult. In other words, it finally made sense why that woman was so upset.
«I want to go home. I can't die in a place like this. You have no idea... what I've had to do to survive in this fucking world. Yeah? Please...»
Human characters tended to survive easily. Their taxes were much lower than those of the other races, so they had no problem surviving at least a few years, even without doing scouting jobs. That's why I couldn't really agree with that statement then. All I saw was a woman looting others to have an easy life.
«M-Mom...»
But she had started from this hell. I had always thought that barbarians had the worst start. It turned out that there was a bottom below the bottom.