Chapter: 14
Eugene retraced the path he had taken in.
He had already obtained what he came for, so there was no reason to remain any longer in this disgusting place known as the Abyss.
Besides, if he lingered, there was no telling what that deranged pervert might decide to do.
With the teddy bear hanging from his arm, he stepped onto the skill zone engraved with ăLeap [E]ă.
“Take me to the first floor.”
Wooooooongâ
The skill inscribed into the floor activated, and the scenery around him twisted.
Flash!
In an instant, he arrived on the first floor.
At the same time, the women’s sharp gazes all turned toward him.
Judging by the faint surprise in their eyes, they seemed genuinely amazed that he had returned alive.
Just then, the manager who had guided him to the thirteenth floor approached him.
“…Did you meet Lady Cupiditas?”
“Yeah, I met her just fine. She even gave me a present.”
“Kkeuaaaang!”
As Eugene swung his arm, the teddy bear opened its mouth and let out an adorable cry.
Flinch!
The manager immediately recoiled and took several steps back.
From the look on her face, she seemed to know exactly what the bear was.
‘Is this thing more impressive than I thought?’
Seeing her reaction, Eugene looked down at the bear with newfound interest.
Then again, simply swallowing and spitting out items shouldn’t be enough to earn an A-rank.
There was probably something else about it that he didn’t know.
Or perhaps Cupiditas had secretly done something to it.
‘I’ll check it out later.’
With that thought, he started walking.
“Well then, I’m leaving.”
He waved casually and left the Alchemists’ Guild.
“…I look forward to seeing you again.”
It was nothing more than a polite farewell.
For some reason, she seemed uncomfortable around Eugene.
Whether that was because of Cupiditas, because of the teddy bear…
Or simply because it was Eugene himself, he had no idea.
“Yeah, sure.”
He answered absentmindedly before stepping outside, where the bustling atmosphere greeted him.
‘Oh? Looks like more people arrived while I was inside.’
Eugene hadn’t spent very long on the thirteenth floor.
He had only exchanged a few words, thrown around a few threats, and received the teddy bear.
Even at the longest, it couldn’t have been more than an hour.
Yet during that brief time, the number of players had noticeably increased.
It seemed that the other tutorial floors were gradually being completed as well.
‘Don’t see any familiar faces.’
As he walked through the streets, he looked around, but no one particularly useful caught his eye.
The more he looked, the more he regretted letting the Sword Empress slip away earlier.
‘Where could she be hiding?’
He needed to find her quickly, hand over ăBlack Wings [A]ă as a gift, and recruit her.
As he scratched the back of his head, the teddy bear hanging from his arm like a koala let out another cry.
“Kkeuaaaang!”
Eugene stared at it with mixed feelings before letting out a sigh.
Still, it could function as an Inventory Space.
According to Cupiditas, it was even better than hers.
There was no way he could throw it away.
“I can’t keep calling you ‘teddy bear’ forever. I should at least give you a name.”
What should it be?
As he walked down the middle of the street, he considered several possibilities.
“Teddy”… probably not. “Pooh” feels a little weird too…
After walking a little farther, Eugene raised his arm and met the bear’s eyes.
“Kkeuaaaang!”
“Alright. I’ve decided.”
A name wasn’t that important.
As long as it was easy to say and sounded familiar.
“From now on, your name is Chunbae.”
“Kkeuaaaang!”
The way it frantically shook its head made it seem like it hated the name, but Eugene didn’t care.
The one giving the name got to decide it.
“Let’s go, Chunbae!”
Ignoring Chunbae’s tear-filled eyes, Eugene strode forward energetically.
“Now it’s time to find myself a mount.”
Isia held her breath as she hid in a narrow alley.
She had barely calmed herself down after leaving the bar, only to run into that insane psychopath again.
A grown man was walking around with a noisy teddy bear hanging from his arm.
He had even given it a name.
A strange name, too.
Chunbae.
‘He’s definitely not normal.’
If she ran into him again, she was certain something terrible would happen.
He looked like the kind of man who would draw that black sword at his waist and commit a random murder without hesitation.
Determined not to let him notice her, Isia remained hidden in the alley until he completely disappeared from sight.
Only after quite some time…
Once she confirmed he was truly gone, she finally let out a relieved sigh and stepped back into the street.
Even then, she didn’t lower her guard as she carefully made her way through Terra.
‘They said I have to hunt monsters if I want to become stronger, right?’
She pulled the business card out of her pocket.
âMullen, Branch Manager of the Terra Information Guild
If it was an Information Guild, it was probably the sort of organization she’d seen in games or anime.
And if someone who ran such a guild had told her that…
Then it couldn’t be wrong.
No.
She wanted to believe it wasn’t wrong.
After arriving in the Tower of Radiance, he had been the first truly kind person she had met.
“Brimstone Deer… Brimstone Deer…”
She repeated the monster’s name to herself.
Mullen had said hunting one was the fastest way to level up.
The problem was that Isia had absolutely no chance of defeating one by herself.
She needed companions.
At least five of them.
She looked around.
There were already quite a few players who clearly weren’t residents of Terra.
‘This won’t work.’
Every single one of them wore gloomy expressions.
No…
They were terrified.
Forget hunting monstersâthey didn’t even look willing to leave the safety of the city.
Not only did she lack the confidence to persuade people like that to go hunting with her…
Even if they agreed, it would still be a problem.
They’d probably freeze up in fear and be unable to do anything.
Everyone was afraid, of course.
But she needed people who at least possessed some courage and a desire to improve.
‘…Someone like that crazy guy from earlier.’
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Isia froze.
“…I must be losing my mind.”
Of all people…
Why did she think of that lunatic?
Without realizing it, she imagined herself going hunting alongside him.
“Urgh!”
She pictured her own severed head mounted on a wall beside the Brimstone Deer’s, both of them neatly decapitated.
“No matter how I think about it… definitely not him.”
Quickly shaking her head, she let out a sigh and resumed walking.
She needed to meet more people first.
Surely not every player was cowering in fear.
At least a few of them had to be brave.
Instinctively, she stroked the sword hanging from her waist.
â ăCrimson Lotus [E]ă: A sword crudely forged into the shape of a red lotus. It contains the faintest trace of fire-element energy.
Even the description made it sound like nothing more than a pitiful beginner’s weapon.
Still, simply having it with her made her feel calmer.
As if she had held it in her hands for years.
It felt natural.
Familiar.
Of course, when she actually swung it, her movements were terribly clumsy.
‘Which direction should I go?’
After a brief moment of thought, Isia decided to head toward Terra’s entrance.
That was where newly arrived players would appear first.
If she waited there long enough, she might eventually find someone with a decent expression.
Now that she had a destination, her steps felt much lighter.
“It was this way, right?”
She was retracing her memory when loud shouting suddenly echoed from ahead.
“Hand it over!”
“N-No!”
“You’ve got a death wish, huh?! Want me to punch a hole through your stomach before I take it? Or are you going to hand it over while I’m asking nicely?”
As she got closer, crude curses reached her ears.
Twitch.
Frowning, Isia pushed her way through the crowd of onlookers.
‘What’s going on?’
Three large, muscular men had surrounded a small, frail-looking boy and were aggressively threatening him.
‘This is…’
Just from their clothes, they were obviously players.
Both the robbers…
And the victim.
“You seriously think something like that suits a brat like you?”
One of the men pointed at the boy’s hand.
‘A glove?’
No.
It was far too large and rugged to simply be called a glove.
Made of black metal, it looked like it could easily kill someone with a single punch.
It was far too intimidating for such a small boy.
A faint glow radiated from it as well, making it obvious at a glance that it was an excellent item.
‘So that’s why they’re trying to steal it.’
The three men didn’t seem to possess any items themselves.
Either they hadn’t obtained any during the tutorial…
Or they simply hadn’t received weapon-type equipment.
So they had chosen to rob someone weaker.
“I-I already said no!”
Despite being badly intimidated, the boy refused to give in.
Instead, he bared his teeth and glared defiantly at the men.
‘I have to stop this.’
No matter how good the item was, there was no way one boy could handle three grown men alone.
So Isia prepared to step in.
Watching injustice from the sidelines wasn’t in her nature.
That was when it happened.
“…Those guys are dead.”
A middle-aged man standing beside her muttered the words while watching the scene.
“Huh?”
He hadn’t said that guy.
He had said those guys.
Which meant…
The ones about to die weren’t the boy.
It was the three men.
“I’m talking about those idiot thugs.”
The middle-aged man shuddered as though recalling something horrifying.
“What do you mean?”
“That kid came from the same place I did. Something almost identical happened there.”
When Isia asked, the man continued with a sigh.
“There were five of them back then. He didn’t even have those terrifying gauntlets yet because we were still in the middle of the treasure hunt.”
“…And?”
“All five died.”
What?
“He didn’t hesitate for even a second. He gouged out their eyes, bit off their noses, tore off their ears, twisted their necks… It was horrifying.”
The middle-aged man shivered again at the memory.
“They fought like they were trying to kill each other. In the end, the only one left alive was the kid. Though he was practically on death’s door himself.”
Isia instinctively turned to look at the boy.
There wasn’t a single injury visible on him.
He looked far too healthy for someone who had supposedly survived such a gruesome battle.
“A monster named Didaskalia took a liking to him and healed him. That’s how he got those gauntlets… and several other rewards before coming here.”
If that was true…
“Just die already, you little bastard!”
One of the men finally lost his patience and threw a punch.
It looked as though the boy’s face would be smashed to pieces.
But what happened next was nothing like anyone expected.
Craaaack!
There was no way the body of a mere Level 1 player could overcome solid metal.
Naturally…
The boy’s gauntleted fist shattered the man’s arm instead.
“A-AAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Clutching his completely crushed arm, the man screamed in agony.
“W-What the hell?! Kill the little bastard!”
The remaining two men rushed the boy in panic.
But the outcome didn’t change.
Crunch! Craaack!
One man’s face lost its original shape.
The other’s chest caved in.
Blood poured out like a waterfall as agonizing screams filled the air.
As Isia stood frozen by the horrifying sight, the middle-aged man’s voice reached her ears once more.
“That’s why everyone calls that kid the Battle Demon.”
“It means a demon possessed by the madness of combat.”
