Chapter 19

19th Episode

The waters of the Styx River flow majestically.

019 – <The Waters of the Styx River Flow Majestically #2>

“Seems like there were many difficult passages for Barbaroi to understand, huh?”

The librarian said to me as I returned to the library less than half a day after borrowing the book.

Actually, it wasn’t so much that there were many difficult passages as I was afraid of accidentally damaging the expensive volume and wanted to return it quickly, but I opted to remain silent.

“Good, then there’s no problem.”

Only after being thoroughly inspected by the skeletal-thin librarian could I finally breathe a sigh of relief. d*mn, why does reading a book in this world have to make my heart race so much?

“If you’re going to return books this quickly next time, you should just read them here. There are desks and chairs over there, you know.”

“I’ll do that.”

Who knows if I’ll have any more dealings with this librarian in the future. I just gave a noncommittal answer and stepped out of the library into the street.

Clouds gathered, but it was still a bright afternoon. It would be best to take care of all the tasks I had planned to handle today before evening falls.

I need to either mend or replace my loose-fitting clothes that are flapping in the wind,

And more importantly, it seems like now would be a good time to purchase armor while I have some spare time.

In my first mission, I was caught off guard by an unexpected goblin attack and had to endure the pain from numerous wounds inflicted all over my body.

It is quite evident that as I continue to operate as an adventurer to earn money and level up, I will be exposed to situations where I have to push my body to its limits more and more.

The adventurer job title is, in a sense, another 3D industry, but there’s none like this.

Without any precaution before stepping into the field would just increase the chances of getting hurt. In that regard, armor would be a great way to protect my body.

In fact, Elpride and her colleagues, in particular, put great effort into wearing armor. They’re almost finicky about it.

… Come to think of it, the knowledge I’ve picked up here and there from her actually comes in handy.

Since I had planned to visit the library, I had already scouted out an armor shop while wandering around the streets. Without hesitation, I headed over there.

“Welcome.”

An unprompted response as I stepped into the shop.

Inside, breastplates, helmets, greaves, and the like, made of bones, iron plates, and wooden panels, were hanging around haphazardly. The smell of iron and oil was strong, but tolerable enough to endure.

“What are you here to buy?”

A man about half my height approached me and spoke, but his eyes were not on me. He sat in a chair, constantly polishing a steel breastplate until it gleamed.

Unlike the thin Platan Old Man who resembled a scallion, this one looked solid like a well-packed sweet potato or a pebble with a full beard.

A Dwarf. So d*mn fascinating.

“What are you staring at? Is this the first time you’ve seen a dwarf? Gentleman giant. You’re not here to gawk at me, are you? What brings you here?”

There are many places that handle armor and weapons, but supposedly, Dwarf-owned shops have the best value for money. Anyway, I addressed the seemingly shop owner Dwarf.

“I’m looking for wearable armor.”

“Figures. That’s why you’re at my shop. Though, with your towering size, I’m not sure if we have something that fits. Custom orders might be required.”

“Custom orders?”

“While the price varies depending on the materials, considering your immense size, it’ll probably cost about 20 silver overall. There are cheaper alternatives, but they’re practically useless.”

20 silver? I don’t have that much money.

Of course, that must be a low estimate. After all, it’s common knowledge that Temple Knights from shrines or silver-tier adventurers and above often spend dozens of silver coins just on a single greave.

Therefore, I settled for purchasing a bracer to protect my wrist and greaves for my shins, striking a reasonable compromise.

“Luckily, I have one large size. It’s a perfect fit. No one could use it because of how heavy and big it is. As it’s been stored here for a while, I’ll give you a discount.”

Oh, discount – pure gold. Moreover, I really like the armor itself; it gleams with a dark sheen like the carapace of a horned insect.

The dark bracer extends from parts of the back of the hand to the elbow.

The greaves cover from the shin to slightly above the knee, protecting the joints without hindering my footwear.

The band-style straps fit a bit snugly, and they are heavier than they look, slightly slowing down my movements.

Apparently, these are the best items available here that fit my body and that I can afford.

“It’s made from Giant Arachnid shells combined with oiled olive wood. You can expect it to be durable. It’s so tough that it’s hard to break on purpose. Aside from its weight, it doesn’t really have any downsides.”

The Giant Arachnid is a monster I used to catch frequently during the time I served as Elpride’s slave. I didn’t expect them to craft the shell with some wood panels into something that costs up to 5 silver. Expensive.

“Does the strap feel a bit tight? Is there anything wrong with that?”

“It’s made from horned alligator tendons. It will adjust perfectly after you keep wearing it for a while. That’s why it’s pricey.”

“Hmm…”

“Still, it’s always better to buy the expensive versions. Cheaper stuff just breaks and needs constant repair. You could end up spending more on maintenance and repairs. This one doesn’t need separate maintenance either. A barbarian type wouldn’t even bother with that, would you?”

While it’s true that I don’t really know how to maintain it, it does seem like this armor is worth the money based on the explanation.

From what he says, it seems more cost-efficient in the long term to use one piece of armor for a long time rather than constantly replacing and repairing cheap ones.

I lack knowledge about this world, plus this Dwarf is clearly a shrewd merchant who knows how to craft his words skillfully. It makes sense, but I still feel uneasy somewhere deep inside. Perhaps it’s because I’m not used to the prices yet.

“Among Iron-ranked adventurers, there won’t be anyone with better armor than what you’re wearing right now. You won’t regret it. I’ll repair it for free twice as a service, so come back if it breaks.”

Sure, it’s disheartening to spend a big amount of money at once, but let’s call this a preemptive investment for earning more money in the future.

I’ll quickly level up to silver and secure a loan from the bank to establish a health center here. Then I can sit comfortably and earn money too, right?

It’s too harsh to expect someone who receives a supposed blessing to keep rolling in the field.

Anyway, in the blink of an eye, half of my money has flown away. Now I have 5 silver and about 60 copper left. If converted to copper, it’d be 560 copper.

Three meals a day cost 15 copper. If we add lodging at 10 copper, that’s an average daily expense of 25 copper, meaning this money will last for about 25 days. If I skip breakfast, I could extend it further.

This sum of money is just about right for living expenses. However, it’s not much in this world where unexpected incidents can crop up so suddenly.

“Hey, you young brat. Finally found you. Barbarian, did you think you could get away with what you did?”

sh*t, man.

*

It happened in an instant. As I wore the newly purchased armor and stepped outside the shop to walk through the streets, a rather high-pitched male voice bellowed from behind.

“Brother Uter! That kid over there! That’s him! The black hair, the size! It’s definitely him!”

Black hair?

In terms of black-haired people, I am the only one around. Therefore, due to my appearance and size, I end up facing such confrontations quite often.

Still, there was something about their reaction that made my nerves tingle. It felt like they knew me.

The gang totaled three.

Their appearance was so rugged and distinctively unique it was tedious to describe them. Just from the numerous scars on their faces and the shoulder pads worn on their bodies, they looked like mercenaries. Each had weapons like axes or longswords strapped to their waists, forming a slight tension in the atmosphere.

Jingling.

I realized they were adventurers as well. They were wearing the iron identity chains (like dog tags) that symbolized Iron-tier adventurers around their necks.

“Where have you been running around so we couldn’t spot you? Here you are!”

A man, seemingly the leader, with an M-shaped balding crown, snarled at me.

He had such a distinctive face that if I’d seen him once, I would never forget it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any memory of it stored in my head.

“This b*stard, pretending not to know. Are you ignoring us on purpose? Huh?”

“Brother Uter, we need to teach him a lesson.”

Why are these people pretending to know me?

Did I inadvertently encounter or get into an altercation with them when I was drunk last night and blacked out? That was the only explanation I could think of at the moment.

They’re all smaller than me by a head, but they’re armed too.

Plus, since they are three in number, I couldn’t help but think that if I ended up in some troublesome altercation, I might get seriously injured.

“Son of a b*tch, did you think you could get away after doing what you did? Huh? Say something if you have a mouth, barbarian.”

Their constant cursing and insults directed at me were truly unsettling. So, I decided to ask them directly, keeping it harmless.

“What exactly did I do? Do I know you?”

“You b*stard, stop pretending. If you don’t know, let me jog your memory. Boys, escort him to that quiet alley over there.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Come on, brat!”

Is there a hierarchy even among Iron-tier adventurer gangs?

Anyway, as ordered by the balding man, the other two approached me from both sides to grab my arms. sh*t, I don’t know what they’ll do if I’m taken to some remote place.

So, I fiercely resisted by swinging my arms to break free from their restraint.

“This little b*stard is stronger than he looks!”

“Hey, calm down, kid! Guess trying to talk won’t work, huh?”

Swish, Swish.

Seemingly giving up on handling me with brute force, the two pulled out longswords and axes from their waistbands, getting into combat stances. sh*t, who would’ve thought it was going to come to this kind of trouble.

Tension naturally arose at the sight of sharp blades.

“You little b*stard!”

The axe-wielding man swung his weapon towards me with all his might.

Clearly aggressive and full of intent to k*ll.

This guy is trying to k*ll someone in broad daylight on the street! Even in this wild world, would such a thing be permissible?

As I quickly stepped back to dodge and looked around, the people on the street just exchanged glances here and there.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s a fight.”

“This should be interesting.”

It seemed like no one had any intention to get involved.

They would probably watch from a safe distance and leave once things got inconvenient.

This is the continent.

A place truly as chaotic and disordered as the continent itself!

“sh*t.”

All I could do was step back to evade the axes and blades flying towards me. However, the moment I couldn’t escape from the coordinated attacks coming from both sides, something happened.

“To the netherworld with Pluto!”

Thinking he’d found his moment, the axe-wielding guy brought his weapon down on me from high above.

Whoosh — cutting through the air, the rusty blade slowly approached my face, almost as if time had slowed down. Is this how it feels before dying?

sh*t, should I really d*e without knowing why? In that sense of desperate injustice, I instinctively raised my arm, figuring a broken arm would be better than a head injury.

Kclang!

“Huh… what the…?”

The axe, which was supposed to cut off my forearm, bounced off like it hit rock, making him lose his balance.

That was when I finally realized the presence of the bracer on my arm I had just bought. Still unfamiliar with it and caught up in the chaos, I had forgotten about it.

Anyway, sh*t, this bracer is worth the 5 silver. But it bent anyway! sh*t! It was just bought new!

“You little bastards!”

Did you have to mark my newly purchased item? There’s no way I could forgive that.

In an instant, a strong feeling of anger surged through my mind. By the time I regained my senses, I was already throwing a punch at the face of the man who had lost his balance.

Crack!

“Ughhh…!”

That punch was powerful enough to completely shatter his jaw.

Probably the added weight from the heavy bracer on my wrist enhanced the might of the punch. Honestly, even I was surprised by how intense the punch was.

“Kuh… kuh… heh…!”

“Whoa! Whoa! sh*t, you barbarian kid! Not only did you hit Lady Daphne’s cheek, but now you’ve broken Scythe’s jaw!”

“What… did you say… Daphne?”

“Not gonna pretend you don’t know, are you, barbarian? You slapped Lady Daphne’s cheek. That’s simply unacceptable behavior! We, the group that observes Lady Daphne from afar, will punish you for this!”

The group observing Daphne from afar? What the hell is that? sh*t, isn’t that a stalker?

Stalker.

The word “stalker” made my head swirl as if I was cramming for an exam the night before.

Daphne at the Mars Guild reception desk was suffering from delusions that someone was following and watching her. But what if those delusions were, to some extent, true?

What if there were really people who stalked Daphne, watched her, and put her under some sort of psychological strain?

Wouldn’t it be right to return the slap to the original owner?

“Because of you guys… well, anyway, this is a great encounter. Stalking is punishable by d*ath, you bastards!”

[Author’s Notes] Finally, chapter 20 that I had stored for next time is up! ㅠㅠ… I know uploading all at once might be the right thing to do, but the responsibility falls on Michuri of tomorrow, the Michuri of tomorrow’s sand, and the distant future Michuri. Hahahaha, consistent practice and updates!

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