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＜ 12. Into the Rift (5) ＞
Bagratu is a warrior who knows honor, but sometimes he commits eccentricities that are difficult for ordinary people to understand. It was because of the unwritten rules that had come down from long ago to the Atala people .
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Never forget grace or grudge. Even if your feelings for him have already faded away. As long as there is unrequited favor and resentment, your soul will forever wander the nine heavens, unable to reach the fruitful land .
You may wonder if it is not such an unusual unwritten rule. But that’s what I’m saying because I don’t know. The Atala people’s feelings for grace and resentment were close to obsession .
He said that he paid back gold for a glass of water he had drunk a long time ago, that he broke the fingers of a merchant after finding out that he was overcharged on an item he bought years ago, and that he pulled out the tongues of people who bumped into each other on the road. The rumors about the Atala people were so absurd or insidious .
Most of them were exaggerated or fabricated rumors, but there were also facts based in between. Because of this, people were afraid or reluctant on the continent, calling the Atala people a cruel savage tribe that did not have common sense .
Bagratu in the game was a person who fit that impression to some extent. A person who is reticent and keeps his honor and trust, but if he goes wrong even a little, he shows a seething rage .
Above all, based on the same level, Bagratu had strength that was incomparable to any other character. It was the reason why Andrea had no choice but to feel awkward about meeting Bagratu .
However, Andrea, who met Bagratu for the first time in real life, was speechless for another reason .
“ Ha ha ha! nice to meet you My name is Bagrati. I came from eating sand in the great desert beyond the Windswept Mountains !”
As for the appearance, it was the same as the one seen in the game. Uniformly broad shoulders, angry muscles as if they were wearing armor even though they were naked, wild auburn hair and tanned skin, and a large scar across their face. A vicious figure that never wants to get into a fight, even by mistake .
But what was inside was different. In the game, Bagratu is a lone wolf-like warrior. Jeong-hyeon had never seen Bagratu speak so boldly and friendly during the 5,000 hours of playing the game .
Andrea shyly accepts Bagratu’s words .
“ Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too …”
“ This is also a fate, let’s do it well! ah! Please take good care of the hunter lady and the warrior on the other side. Now, let me introduce you to the people who came earlier .”
The names of the first two challengers were Gravel and Julia, respectively. Grabel was a warrior holding a long spear with a somewhat self-righteous impression, and Julia was a priestess with an arrogant look. Perhaps from the beginning, Julia stuck close to Gravel .
Grabel stepped forward past Bagratu and said it all .
“ I have already told this lesser savage, but I will be the leader on this journey. Dissenting opinions are not accepted. Those who are dissatisfied should leave immediately .”
Andrea could not easily understand what bullsh*t this was, and only blinked her eyes. Meanwhile, Julia joined in .
“ Everyone, you’d better follow Gravel-nim’s words. Grabel and I are skilled people who have climbed the dungeon to the 40th floor. Is there anyone here who has climbed the dungeon more than us ?”
“ We also went up to the 40th floor .”
Tricia, who was behind, threw a word. Julia made a very funny face .
“… Um. I’m not ignoring it, but we’ve come up overcoming qualitatively different hardships from you. Gravel-nim and I applied 10 ordeals before climbing up .”
Gravel raised one corner of his mouth and smiled crookedly. I am such a person, proudly and very triumphantly .
If it was a game, there would have been instant ridicule. However, because it was a reality right in front of her eyes, Andrea felt that her mind was becoming distant. Just as the thick curse from under Trisha’s tongue was about to burst out, Bagratu intervened .
“ Wow, we didn’t know a great person! However, shouldn’t there be a problem when the leader is selected under mutual agreement? What do you think, Mr. Grabel ?”
“ Didn’t you hear what I said? I would have said no dissent, savage .”
Suddenly, Bagratu’s eyes lit up. Although it was such a short time, I only saw Andrea. However, Bagratu quickly hid his emotions skillfully .
“ Ha ha ha! Damn, that’s troublesome. Then… how about doing this? We accompany them all the way to the Red Valley Cave, and from there we go separately. The client is a desperate father in a situation where he lost his daughter. Shouldn’t we at least come up with an assortment of cooperation ?”
Marco, who was listening from behind, silently nodded. Gravel, who actually heard the story, didn’t even pretend to hear it .
“ Julia, let’s go. Let’s just let these guys do their thing .”
“ Yes, Mr. Gravel !”
As Julia followed Gravel to the wasteland, she looked back. And with a single word, I took a picture of the hwaryongjeongjeong .
“ Don’t even think about asking for rewards later on when you see that we’ve caught monsters !”
Andrea’s party and Bagratu couldn’t take their eyes off the two of them until they were at a point far away. This kind of rudeness was a level that could be said to be on the level of a master .
Trisha struggles to open her mouth after overcoming the shock .
“ Andrea, isn’t the arrow of the explosion a card that has to be put in the head of those kites ?”
“ My thoughts are the same, but… Nevertheless, avoiding friction as much as possible
good .”
I had to make a clear distinction between what I wanted to do and what I had to do. Andrea also wanted to smash the heads of those two people, but it was an action that did not benefit much. If a situation arises where it is necessary, I will do so without hesitation .
Andrea and the others had no choice but to head to the Red Valley Cave with Bagratu. Bagratu continued to ask questions all the way across the wasteland. How old are they, where is their hometown, how many floors did they climb to in the dungeon, how did the three of them come together ?
Andrea gave a rough answer and asked about Bagratu. It was my intention to find out what caused this change in personality. However, the information about Bagratu was not much different from what I knew in the game .
32 years old, from the Atala tribe, the class is a barbaric warrior, wandering in the desert and seeing the entrance of the dungeon, came in, the 30th floor, the 25th level of the ordeal .
“ hahahaha! Climbing up to the 30th floor, I thought I was really dying. But if you have to jump into a pit of fire, a proud warrior of Atala jumps into the hottest pit of fire! Even if given a chance to choose again, I would choose the 25th level without hesitation !”
Andrea constantly felt out of place. I couldn’t fathom why the taciturn barbarian had become such a passionate man .
In the meantime, Zira Marco, who is similar in age and has a good temper, quickly got into a fight with Bagratu .
“ No, I came in from outside the dungeon, but I’m not a challenger, but a summoned beast? ha ha ha! You, too, are living a pretty miserable life! Don’t you regret entering the dungeon ?”
“ There was no other way. Didn’t they say that this life is better even if you roll in dog poop? This place is beyond a field of dog poop and is about to be fried in dung water, but …”
“ Ha ha ha! It’s a word that fits every phrase .”
Tricia seemed somehow tired of the conversation that smelled like her uncle. Maybe it was because it reminded me of my days among hunters .
While talking for a while, the topic turned to cracks. It was a good thing. Andrea asked Bagratu insinuatingly .
“ Mr. Bagratu, do you know the shanty town east of Hersheba ?”
“ Hmm? I’m not sure. I come from the side of the setting sun Why ?”
“ . I was wondering if you knew anything, but …”
“… is that true ?”
Bagratu’s eyes widened in pure astonishment. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed that I was the first person to hear this news. Then Bagratu’s face turned into a mixed mood .
“ Is it the work of monsters? It’s the same with the village chief who asked us to rescue his daughter, and this place really goes through a lot of trouble because of the monsters. Our tribe outside the dungeon has suffered a lot from monsters before, so it doesn’t seem like anyone else .”
Andrea silently nodded. I didn’t say that it might not be the monster’s work. It wasn’t because there was a clear reason for it, but rather, it was because of my intuition that I had to do it for some reason .
‘ Anyway, I didn’t expect Arpan’s words to reach me this much. It’s so different from the cracks I used to know. I have no idea what happened or what will happen. ···I have to reduce the farming target and speed up the time to leave the rift .’
In the midst of talking and thinking about this and that, we arrived in front of the Red Valley Cave. It looks like a deep-sea monster with its mouth wide open. On the dirt floor at the entrance of the cave, footprints that had just been taken were lined up side by side .
Trisha confirmed what everyone was guessing .
“ Looks like the kitties came first .”
“… Let’s hope I didn’t stir up monsters for nothing .”
With Andrea’s words as a signal, everyone entered the cave together .
The inside of the cave was unexpectedly not so dark. A turquoise light was emanating from the ceiling and walls. Tricia took out the rainbow lantern and put it back .
“ What is that?”
” It’s a luminous stone, hunter lady. It is a mysterious stone that shines like that when it is attached to the wall, but loses its light once it is removed .”
“… just call me Trisha, Mr. Bagratu .”
“ Oh, can I? Then I’ll call you Miss Trisha, ha ha ha !”
Trisha couldn’t adapt to the attitude of a barbarian, somewhere between politeness and grandiosity, and put on an awkward expression .
The scene continued as if it were inside the mouth of a monster full of thick porridge. The luminous stones melted into the stalactites and stalagmites, and the cave became a dwarf of mottled light. There was no sign of the monster appearing yet, but Andrea and the others did not relax .
It wasn’t long before the signs appeared. To be precise, it was not a trace, but a corpse. Giant bats with fist-sized holes in their bodies, and blue-backed centipedes frozen to pieces .
Bagratu lifted up the corpse and examined it .
“ Well, just looking at it, it seems like the two people who went before did what they did. It’s enough to take care of myself !”
Andrea shook her head slightly. All the monsters on the way were nothing more than filth. The reason this quest is dangerous is because of the single monster that resides in the deepest part .
In any case, since they had less work to do, it wasn’t too bad for Andrea and the others. He had to reserve his strength so that he wouldn’t be exhausted when fighting the deepest monsters .
There was nothing more to look into. Andrea’s party moved on again .
How long had I walked? As I followed the winding passage, a crossroads of choice appeared. A fork in the road that splits into two .
It was a passageway that seemed indistinguishable at first glance, but a subtle difference soon appeared in Andrea’s eyes. On the wall of the aisle to the left, something like mold had sprouted. Andrea took a closer look .
‘ This is …’
Looking closely, I could see for sure what it was. Andrea turned her head. He was about to open his mouth to tell me which direction to go .
aaagh !
Suddenly, a sharp scream rang out. The source of the scream was inside the aisle on the left. Andrea and the others looked at each other’s faces. Except for Andrea, everyone looked puzzled as to what had happened .
The first to move was Bagratu .
Bagratu drew a card from the deck. A large ax with sharp blue blades was summoned. Carrying his own giant bottle, Bagratu tried to run towards the left without hesitation .
Had it not been for Andrea’s blocking, Bagratu would surely have gone on .
“ Wait a minute, Mr. Bagratu. Just stop .”
“ Why? Clearly someone is in danger! We have to go and help !”
An answer full of justice like a warrior who knows honor. But it’s not realistic. The current situation was completely different from finding and helping a person who had fallen down the street .
Moreover, Andrea could almost certainly guess what was going to happen when they headed that way .
Andrea looked Bagratu straight in the eyes and nailed it with a firm tone .
“ No, you can’t go that way. You have to go right .”
＜ 12. Into the cracks (5) ＞ End