Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

There’s no need to wonder who the owner of these traces is. There couldn’t be any other explorers on this island.

They must be among the survivors.

“There are two people in total. Judging from the size of the tracks, both of them seem to be men. Furthermore, they seem to be moving very discreetly.”

“Discreetly? Does that mean it’s difficult to track them?”

“No, not really. There doesn’t seem to be any attempt to erase the tracks. I’m just telling you that there are traces of them moving cautiously, lowering their posture and looking around. They were probably cautious because of the monsters they encountered.”

Mikhail Lectus.

A middle-aged explorer who used to work for the Royal Investigation Bureau.

It seems that he holds a position similar to Ameliah’s within the Armin Exploration Corps….

“It would be better to leave the tracking to you. If you’re a former member of the Royal Investigation Bureau, you should be better than me at tracking.”

Ameliah said in a weak voice, suggesting that Lectus’s reputation as an investigator is more impressive than she thought.

“You said your name was Lectus?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I’ll leave the tracking to you.”

“Yes, I will complete it without making any mistakes.”

After that, I took the lead, and we moved with Lectus guiding me.

And how much time had passed?

As we followed the tracks, we stopped and stood still for a moment.

It was because we unexpectedly encountered something.

No, should I say we discovered something?

“That is…”

A body lying in the middle of the forest.

By the way, it was not a human body but a giant’s.

“That’s the giant we saw in the sea….”

It had been dead for quite a while, with no fresh spots anywhere and a rotten smell permeating the air.

How did the giant die?

“Judging from the wounds… It seems like it was not killed by a human but by another monster.”

Could it be that the other monsters that poured down during the rainy season were the culprits? As I thought about that, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Yandel, you look unhappy. Is something wrong?”

“Well… The body is still here.”

If the body doesn’t disappear, it means we won’t be able to obtain the essence from it.

“Ah….”

I had high expectations, but it turned out to be a disappointment.

As soon as I saw the body, all my excitement vanished, but there were others who cheered.

“…A giant! It’s the body of a giant!”

“It’s not just a giant! Didn’t Lord say it? This giant’s name is Hiprama Jyonte.”

“What are you all doing? Shouldn’t we remove it before it decomposes further?”

The mages of the exploration team enthusiastically dissected the giant’s body as if they had obtained an unprecedented treasure.

“Wait! Be careful! Even if you remove it, make sure to properly record the original structure of the body!”

“Internal organs! What’s inside the internal organs? Well, are there even any internal organs to begin with?”

It seems that these guys would be happy even with just one book they’ve never seen before, even in hell.

“It seems like we have an enthusiastic mage as a companion.”

Mule, the head of the exploration team, responded with an awkward smile to my comment, which seemed to imply disbelief.

“They are the mages who joined our exploration team, always looking for dangerous tasks despite not paying much. Haha….”

Well, that’s true.

Although I wasn’t as interested as they

were, I watched the mages dissecting and enjoying the giant’s body.

“What about the skin?”

“…It’s quite tough. When I tested its basic resistance, it didn’t show any signs of anti-magic properties either.”

“Is it impossible to make equipment with the materials?”

“Yes… It seems like a lot of research would be needed to use them as materials.”

In interpretation, it means that leather doesn’t have much value as a material.

“What about bones?”

In response to my next question, the wizard answered with a brighter face.

“Oh! Bones are very hard and lightweight. Moreover, bones themselves are incredibly large, so if a skilled blacksmith could weave them together, it might be possible to make armor. However…”

“Oh, really? In terms of materials, what level would it be?”

“Well… It’s lightweight, so it would have some value as a material compared to ordinary steel…”

Well, that’s disappointing.

I had hoped that bones would be more promising.

If it’s just slightly better than steel, it would be more reasonable to use steel, which is cheaper and easier to produce.

“But, there are advantages to making equipment with bones. First of all, they don’t rust, and…”

The wizard appealed to me like a researcher who wanted more time and budget, but it was a story that I didn’t need to pay much attention to.

“Alright. Let me know if you find anything unusual.”

“Yes…!”

After that, I lost interest in the corpses and spent my time on guard duty. When I used “Enlarge” and ran towards a group of monsters, it happened around the time I caught about ten of them.

Thud.

At the moment I heard a sound coming from beyond the bushes, I instinctively stopped swinging my hammer.

“Uh, ugh!”

As I heard the scream, I quickly halted my hammer.

“…Huff, huff…”

It was a person.

And a familiar face at that.

***

The hammer stopped right above his forehead.

And as if the force was released, the man fell backward and landed with a thud, making a sound like a sigh.

The first one to recognize the man’s face was Versil.

“Miss Mirtane?”

Ah, that was the name.

The five-member team who couldn’t enter the first basement level together. They later went to the Human Island, and there was a disturbance, so they relied on the Hext Clan, he said.

“…Huff, huff…”

“Calm down. No one can harm you.”

“S-Sir Galland…!”

As soon as Versil tapped his back, the man regained his senses and quickly prostrated himself.

And the first words he said were this.

“P-Please, help us. Berryon was fighting the monsters and got… got seriously injured…”

Now that I looked closely, there was a small man tied up behind him. We quickly untied the ropes and laid the man on the ground.

And just as I was about to call for a healer.

“…It’s already too late.”

At Amelia’s words as she placed her ear on his chest to check his breathing, the man collapsed.

“T-That can’t be…! We… we were just talking until a moment ago…!”

The man pushed Amelia away and clung to his comrade’s body. And he denied the truth, trying to confirm the breathing himself.

“…”

Although it was rude, Amelia didn’t say anything to the man, and I did the same.

For adventurers, it was something that happened at least once.

Losing a comrade in a labyrinth.

Whether it’s fast or slow, it takes time to accept it.

“…Have you calmed down a bit?”

“Yes… First of all, let me express my gratitude. Thank you for… saving my life.”

“It’s regrettable about your comrade. Can he be saved?”

“Yes, it’s my… duty. Can I ask you to use distortion magic…?”

“Of course.”

Afterward, the man collected all the belongings, including equipment, from the deceased and then cast distortion magic on the body before putting it into a spatial bag.

In this situation, it was a bit awkward to talk, but still, this guy was somewhat fortunate.

At that time, we were in a situation where the mage had died.

We had no choice but to leave the body in the labyrinth.

Well, that’s one thing, and this is another.

“…Now, let’s have a talk.”

If we had waited until the completion of the rescue, we could consider everything done.

“Are there others who are still alive?”

“…The survivors are hiding in a hideout.”

From what I heard, the hideout was not far from here.

“How about the safety of the hideout?”

“…So far, it has been safe.”

“Really? But why were you two outside?”

“We thought we needed to know about the island in order to escape from it. So… I and Beryon, who are the fastest, were sent out.”

I see, they were a sort of reconnaissance team.

Well, if they had just stayed hidden inside, none of this would have happened.

‘…It’s better not to say that.’

I decided not to say anything and just listened to the remaining story in the hideout.

It turned out that the information about the proximity of the hideout was true, and we followed the guide and soon came across a hidden rock in the bushes.

“The rock is disguised as a wall using magic.”

“I will send the signal now.”

The man tapped the rock and sent a signal inside. After waiting for a moment, the wall disappeared, and a person came out from inside.

“Mirtane! Why are you so late… Oh, Lord Yandel?”

Hexts Clan’s leader, who was scolding the worried companion, opened his eyes wide when he saw me.

“It’s been a while, White Hexts.”

“Oh, my gods…!”

“Can we come in?”

“Y-Yes, please come in!”

We all entered the cave together, and the interior was much larger than what we had seen from the outside.

“I… I was truly surprised. I never expected to meet Lord Yandel here…”

“Is that so? Surprising?”

“Surprising…?”

“I thought you would be the first to ask about the other adventurers who came with me.”

“Ah…! W-Well, of course! We were originally a group of 60 people who came down together…”

He said it as if he just realized it, but it didn’t seem like he was sincerely saying it.

Was he the ghost who requested the rescue?

Well, since there was no need to find out, I didn’t dig deeper into the matter.

“So, w-what happened exactly?”

White asked, and I briefly explained the situation.

Starting from the fact that time in the city continued to pass while we were here, to the recent opening of the labyrinth and the influx of more adventurers into the first basement floor.

“One of you requested a rescue from the gathering of ghosts, and it seems like the news spread in the city as well. Thanks to that, we learned about the location of this island and were able to come here.”

“T-That’s…?”

“The question is, does anyone know who the ghost is?”

“I’m not sure. B-But… maybe it could be one of the deceased.”

“Like the person who died today?”

“….”

White Hexts tightly sealed his lips, perhaps to protect his comrades. I also stopped probing into the matter.

Come to think of it, it was a bad habit of mine.

Even when there’s no need for it, I keep blurting out words without realizing it.

“Alright, forget about that. Let’s talk about what happened after we parted ways.”

We decided to end the conversation about the spirits and brought up another topic.

However, their exploration didn’t yield much.

They explored the library we left behind, but there was nothing to be found, so they changed their plans and returned to the sea?

“We were sailing, searching for new areas without any particular plan. Suddenly, demons rained down from the sky like a downpour.”

Unlike us, who spent the rain safely in the village, they encountered the rain on the sea.

And just before their ship broke, they arrived on this island.

After that, they frantically escaped and found this cave, where they took shelter.

“No wonder the numbers were less than half. They must have died during the rain.”

It was fortunate that they found a hiding place in just a few hours. If they had spent more time outside, they would have suffered total annihilation.

“You went through a great ordeal. Thank you for your hard work.”

“What about you, Lord Yandel? If time is passing outside as well, then you must be searching for a way to escape from here… Have you found anything?”

“Not yet. I’m still searching.”

White Hexts pressed his lips together at my honest response, then cautiously asked:

“…There must be something, right?”

“Yes. There surely is. I will definitely find a way.”

Those words would provide comfort to those who were seeking a place to rely on.

“…We will also assist you, Lord Yandel. Even though we may not have great power.”

With a determined voice that seemed to imply that I was the only one they could trust, White spoke, and I counted the number of adventurers he led before replying:

“Thank you for saying that. Let’s stay strong together.”

We now had twelve unpaid servants.

Although there was still some time left until our usual camping time, we decided to end today’s exploration at this point.

“Everyone, rest as you please. We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we will stay here for the day.”

With the addition of new members, it was deemed necessary to take a moment for maintenance and preparations.

There was also the need for preliminary investigations.

“White, do you have any information about this island?”

Despite hiding in the cave, White, who had visited this island long before us, could provide helpful information.

Currently, apart from knowing that the demons were using the [Gigantification] ability, we had no other information.

“When the rain ended, Beryon, who went out for reconnaissance, saw a giant monster from a distance.”

A giant monster.

But from the description, it didn’t seem like they were referring to Hipporamant.

“At the first sighting, its height was easily over 40 meters…”

Hipporamant was nowhere near that size.

“He said it was tearing apart Balcsus with its bare hands.”

It’s impossible for a Grade 2 monster to tear it apart like that.

“To be honest, it might have been a demon using illusion abilities… But still, I thought it would be important for you to know.”

“I see. You did well. At least we should be aware of it.”

Since it was witnessed by someone who was already dead, we couldn’t inquire further. So, for now, we kept this issue aside and continued with the rest of the conversation.

Maps of the surrounding area drawn by the reconnaissance team, or information about new types of monsters that we hadn’t encountered yet.

There were several pieces of information that would be quite helpful for the upcoming exploration that would resume tomorrow.

Well, we had our own problems to deal with.

“And finally… I have something to show you, Lord Yandel.”

“Something to show me?”

“Would you come with me for a moment?”

Afterward, I followed White into a small chamber inside the cave, where an artificial monument existed.

As soon as I saw it, my mouth dropped open.

“This is…”

It was a portal monument.