The six-rank adventurer Droff Itoms was like any other ordinary maze adventurer. He did not belong to a large clan, and his current group was brokered by the Adventurer's Guild. If there was something strange about him, it was that he was replacing his previous team leader, who recently died. But that didn't change the fact that he was ordinary.
His group was active on the fourth floor. His teammates were mediocre talent and their attitudes and mentality were no different from most others. They normally worked hard to collect mana stones, but like any other adventurer, they did not hesitate to get their hands dirty if the right opportunity presented itself, which is why Droff and his team were currently in a dilemma.
"¡Oh, be so kind!"
Meeting this barbarian was pure coincidence. As they crossed the reed field on their way to the Witch's Forest, they discovered him asking for help. Apparently, he separated from his group trying to drink secretly during his break.
What kind of stupid bastard...?
At first it was almost incredible, but the man didn't seem to be pretending. After all, he was a barbarian. Something completely illogical like this was more than possible for someone like him. More importantly, his race did not lie often, nor did it do well.
So that means he's really lost...
«Droff, what are you going to do?»
«You're not going to send him for a walk, are you? I think the ring that guy is wearing is a sub-space.»
«He said he also left his gun. If we're going to do this, let's do it quickly. His companions could come looking for him».
Everyone's eyes were shining with greed. It was natural, because a subspace ring was sold at practically the same price at which it had been purchased. It had no expiration date, nor was it like other equipment that could only be worn by someone of the same size as the original owner. The standard price was several million stones.
His armor also appears to be of good quality...
«Why are you all there talking? You said you would help me find my companions!»
«Jackson, go there and calm that barbaric bastard down.»
«That's easy. Hey, barbarian! You're hungry? Eat some dried meat!»
«Oh! Dried meat! But... don't you have alcohol?»
«Haha, here it is. If you're bored, let's drink together».
Droff assigned one of his party members to the barbarian and exchanged glances with the rest. When their gazes met, everyone nodded silently to indicate that they agreed with the plan. Unanimity was reached in an instant.
«Ugh, I'm so tired of running all day... You have something to discuss, right? Can I take a nap while you do it?»
«Haha, do what you want».
As if nothing had happened, the barbarian announced that he was tired and lay down on the ground, and soon the sound of snoring was heard.
¡Honk! ¡Hooonk!
Seeing him, Droff let go of what was left of his guilt. This was the guy's fault. Who could resist when he was crying out to be mugged? Droff waved to his companions and they slowly approached the barbarian.
Now.
Weapons were fired from all directions at once. But... what the hell?
"Kak!
The tip of his sword was obstructed by something hard. His blade bounced as if he had just tried to stab some kind of barrier, and the noise it made was strange too. Unlike the sound he normally heard when cutting meat and leather, a sound similar to scraping a stone wall was heard.
"...¿Q-Que-?"
While everyone was fighting, the barbarian stood up without a single drop of blood, raised his fist and shouted as if he had been waiting for him: «We have a problem!»
***
«Ha... I didn't think that would really work». After his first looter hunt was successful, Felic Barker snorted a laugh. He had hesitated as the game continued, but after seeing the results, he had to admit that it was worth it.
«Commander, there was no loot in the bags, but they have a considerable amount of equipment».
«I'm sure. Looks like it's not his first rodeo».
This was the unfair thing about this world. Instead of hunting monsters to grow organically, stabbing other adventurers in the back took you much further. Although if you did it wrong, you could end up getting too far ahead and dying early.
«Now what do you think? About my strategy», I asked, straightening my shoulders proudly.
Felic nodded charitably. «Not bad. No, to be honest, it's innovative». He was very impressed and continued to praise me for a long time. «To begin with, having someone like you to act as a shepherd and infiltrate the teams is already great. Who can react to both an ambush from within and an attack from without?».
In fact, during the battle we just fought, all the members of that group looked me in the face. As soon as the clan members hiding in the Reed Forest attacked, they all fell like dominoes. The entire battle lasted about ten seconds.
«Anyway, the barbarian race is truly amazing! People often suspect a child in the maze, but this time none of that happened!»
Was it a compliment? The question came to mind, but I dismissed it. It wasn't like I was a real barbarian, so I could take it as high praise.
Anyway, that should be enough to show how great this method is...
Now it was time to move on to the next stage of my plan. There was only one reason I shared this strategy with them. «I'm glad you like it! So will you use my method too?». I'd probably have to work with these guys for a while, but I didn't want to loot good, innocent adventurers. And I didn't like being a spectator while they were murdered either. That's why I was trying to persuade these guys to hunt looters instead.
«I wish we could, but...» To my question, Felic expressed his concern. «Unfortunately, this method has a fatal flaw».
«Which is?»
«You're the only barbarian here. It's a good strategy, but it's not efficient for us all to get together every time...»
«Don't worry. I already have a solution for that. Hey, you, and you there». I smiled and called the men I had located beforehand from teams one and two, ordering them to take off their clothes.
«Um, why are we getting naked...?»
Like why? I'm trying to check your muscles. Okay, they have quite a bit of water weight but they should be big enough.
Deslick.
When I took a step forward, the two naked men stepped back, covering their upper bodies with their arms. What, I implied I was going to do something wrong?
«Um, if you could tell us what you're going to do...»
«I'm going to turn you both into warriors.»
«I'm going to turn you both into warriors.»
I took out the objects I had brought with me. Did you finally realize what you were trying to do? The two men's eyes widened and they shouted: «That's it...!».
«Can't be!»
It was a brush and a dye.
The surrealist painter Salvador Dalí once said: «I'm not strange. I'm just not normal». The impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh once said: «I don't know anything for sure, but the sight of the stars makes me dream». Pablo Picasso also once said: «Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up». I wondered if there would also come a day when I could leave behind words as famous as his.
Right now I had no way of knowing for sure, but I spoke anyway. «Stay still! Unless you want to die».
The two continued to squirm. Ugh, what tickling could it be? The lines kept ending crooked.
Brush, brush.
The more external distractions there were, the more I concentrated. Using four common colors - red, green, blue and black - I channeled the wisdom of my predecessors into my heart and concentrated it in my brushstrokes, expressing them in an art form that the average person could not hope to understand. Instead of paper, human skin served as a canvas for me.
Pincel, pincel.
The ordinary people around me kept murmuring.
«It looks like some kind of graffiti».
«Twisted tan…»
How barbaric. They don't even know what modern art is.
«Ahem!» When I coughed to show my displeasure, they fell silent.
That's much better. I should have done it centuries ago.
I continued my work in silence. It didn't take me long. It was fun at first, but the longer it went on, the more boring it became.
«That's it! You can get up now». When I wrapped the random things up and patted the two boys on the back, they stood up timidly.
Wow, you're killing the creative muse.
«Why do you cover your tattoos with your arms?». I removed their arms, which covered their upper body out of shame, so that my art would be visible. I was quite satisfied, although they weren't nearly as good as the tattoos on my body.
«...It's less obvious than I thought». The clan leader, who had previously been looking at me as if something was wrong with me, seemed surprised by the finished product. In the dark labyrinth, the small inaccuracies were not so noticeable. But as an artist, I couldn't help but notice the flaws in my creation.
«Why are you looking at the ground?» I asked. «Are you ashamed?».
Look at those meek expressions and attitudes. No one will believe that they are barbarians if they act like this.
«Come here. I will turn you into true warriors».
I asked the clan leader for understanding and began to correct them. It wasn't too difficult. It took me about thirty minutes.
«¡B-Behelahhh!»
«Higher!»
«¡Behel-ahhh!»
«¡Behel-ahhh!»
«Good. And what do you say when you run?»
«I'm lost! Help me!»
«¡Snoring!»
¡Honk! ¡Hooonk!
«Sit down!»
Slump.
Okay, now you're a bit like barbarians.
***
In the middle of the night, with the crescent moon high in the sky, Erwen Fornacci di Tersia knocked on the door of a house.
Toc, toc.
The door opened a minute later with a screech. The elf man who opened the door froze when he saw Erwen's face. His gloomy expression told him exactly why he had come to visit him at that time of night. «...You have made a decision».
«Yeah. His short response did not show the slightest hesitation, which made the man sigh sadly. It wasn't that he couldn't sympathize with how this girl felt.
«The process of obtaining the power of a pureblood is much more terrible than you imagine, and it is also not something you can achieve just because you want to».
«Lo sé.»
«Please, why don't you reconsider one last time?», the man asked, unable to see how this was happening. I could already clearly see the path that this girl would end up taking in the future.
But Erwen's determination did not change. «I'm sorry, but I've already made my decision. Please help me. Help me become pure blood». Erwen raised her head. His amber eyes, once always bright, now only contained a thirst for power.
The man felt tightness in his chest. She had seen people with eyes like hers come to an end too many times. However, he could not dare to reject Erwen's request. «Okay. I'll help you». Regardless of how powerful he became or whether his clan called him a hero or not, he would always remain a villain to the sisters of Tersia.
«Thank you. Now I'm leaving». Erwen turned around and began to slowly walk away.
As he watched her, the man found himself stopping her. «Wait».
«...Is there anything you want to say?»
«To... to... to...»
If there was a way to bring that man back to life, what would you do?
The man wanted to ask this question but did not dare to continue. «Nothing. I just thought of something stupid. It's late, you should go home. I will report your decision to the council of elders».
«Yeah.» Erwen, who had paused for a moment to bow her head, turned to leave. This time, the man didn't stop her.
No, I couldn't stop her.
Not only had that man, the one who knew about the Renaissance Stone, been absent from this month's meeting, but the person for whom the stone would be used to save had already been decided.