Chapter 73 – Ghostbusters (Part 2)

 

In a quiet office, the man was sipping tea and muttering something to himself.

"Little Balkan, huh?"

It was the first tempting story in recent times. After all, how many researchers have received such a nickname in just 3 months? Not more than three since he had taken up this task.

— Interesting.

Even the details of the essence confirmed through the guild were interesting. Usually, explorers would start with a rank 9 essence and slowly work their way up. But this man? Corpse Golem, Vampire, and this time even the essence of the Orc Hero.

"It can't be explained by pure luck.

As if he was using a cheat code. If you look back at history, you could find many people who have left similar traces. In this world, there were definitely people who were born with a special destiny, talent, and luck.

"I wonder which one of them is this guy...

Most of these people were recorded and celebrated as heroes or great names in history. And what about this barbarian? Judging by his achievements, there was definitely such an opportunity. Of course, he had to prove his fundamentals first.

"I'll have to test him before he gets any smarter."

This issue will have to be dealt with more carefully and carefully than usual.

***

As soon as I opened the door to a typical upscale pub, Hikurod (on the dwarven seat) and Dvalki greeted us warmly.

"Oh, you're here!" Sit down! Hahaha!

"I'm very glad you're both okay.

I sat down opposite Misha, who had come with me.

"What about Rothmiller?"

"He should come soon."

Indeed, after ordering food and chatting for a while, Brown arrived at 8 p.m. Maybe it's a kind of occupational disease to be on time?

"Bjorn, Miss Karlštejn. I'm glad you're safe.

"No!" I'm glad you're okay too, Rothmiller. I heard you were wounded when you ran away...

"Ugh... I feel that I have offended you because of this. If I hadn't been wounded, we wouldn't have had to leave you-...

I stopped him, knowing that if I didn't, there would be no end to the party of pity.

"Why don't you sit down first?" The food is here.

— ... Ok.

As soon as Brown sat down, the entire team gathered in one place for the first time in a long time. It's a miracle that despite the fact that the team was scattered in the maze, we all came back alive.

"The gods must be watching over us.

A full-fledged conversation began with Brown's indiscreet words. The main topic of discussion was, of course, the news.

"So, Hikurod, what happened to you guys?"

"Oh, that's what you mean?"

In response to my question, the dwarf explained step by step in chronological order what had happened in the labyrinth.

As soon as they separated from us, Brown was startled by the surprise attack. However, with a decisive counterattack, they managed to escape, killing the enemy scout. The beginning was not much different from the story I had heard in the cabin, but since the narrator was Hikurod, I was able to hear the details.

"I then used [Emergency Restoration] to apply the Guardian Protective Bracelet once more and buy us time.

So this is the combination he used.

"Wow, I didn't know you could associate numbered items with such abilities.

"Hahaha, I wouldn't know either. This is all the wisdom passed down by my ancestors.

[Emergency Restoration] was not a repair, but a skill that returned the equipment to the state it was in 5 minutes ago. The numbered item was no exception, although there was a minus - more MP was spent on it than usual.

The wisdom of the ancestors...

It seems that as important as numbered items were to the dwarves, the information was also inherited. In any case, if we briefly summarize the rest of the story, it looked like this.

"First we ran away, then we treated Brown. Then we tried to find you, but...

Because of the great distance between us, Brown could not find us. However, they did not give up and continued to roam the Witch Forest. But on the 3rd day, they came across Eliza.

"What?" Have you met that crazy woman again?!

— That's right. I don't know what tricks she used, but she stubbornly pursued us in the forest.

"And what did you do?"

"Hahaha, what could we do?" We ran away!

They had escaped Eliza's pursuit, and they had no choice but to climb into the portal and go up to the 4th floor, and that was the end. The Tower of Heaven on the 4th floor was a stepped type structure.

After completing the 1st stage, they decided to stay there until the maze was closed, reasoning that if a rank 6 monster appeared next time, they might be destroyed.

"It was quite difficult to kill time for more than 10 days, but... Still, I was able to hold out thanks to Rothmiller and Dvalka.

It's hard, damn it. That's what we have to say.

Ha... And even after that, they said they were tired and went to bed?

For some reason, my stomach hurt again.

To rest while we worked hard... Ok. But...

"Oh, by the way, I didn't mention that. Miraculously, in the first battle, an essence appeared.

"There is... essence?

What kind of fucking game was that? The essence that didn't come out despite countless battles with monsters in the Witchwood and our desires accidentally popped up there? And the essence of a rank 7 monster, Mimic, and a rare monster known for dropping at least mid-rank essence.

"As soon as Rothmiller absorbed it, he opened the [Treasure Vault].

[Treasure Vault] was Mimic's active skill. It was not combat, but when used, it could open a personal subspace vault.

"And?" What happened?

The key point here was that when you first used the [Treasure Vault], various items were randomly placed inside. If you're unlucky, you might end up with just a few high-rank potions. I really wanted it to be the same with them.

"It contained about 2 million mana stones, 3 advanced potions, and 2 numbered items.

"Not a damn thing.

— ... Why are you suddenly swearing?

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised.

I kept feeling nauseous, but I stifled my vomit and asked,

"So what are these numbered items?"

"Unfortunately, one of them is of the 8000th series, and the other is of the 9000th series.

This meant that they had still earned more than 10 million stones. Of course, since the two of us were not there, they divided this amount among the three. Why was this dwarf bastard so lucky?

"It turned out that we didn't really need them, so we decided to sell them. Rothmiller, who had absorbed the essence, decided to deduct this amount from the standard price of the essence announced by the guild.

"I see... Congratulations...

Brown had a new essence, and Hikuroda and Dvalki hit the jackpot. Therefore? I was able to smile and congratulate with words, but...

*Crackle!*

The spoon I was holding was bent in half.

"B-Bjorn?" Why are you suddenly breaking a spoon?!

"I couldn't control my strength because of the essence of the Orc Hero.

"Huh?" This has never happened until now!

This is because nothing like this has happened so far.

Those damned freeloaders...

After hearing the dwarf's version, it was our turn.

"Actually, we're more interested in what happened on your side. I heard some rumors about it yesterday, but... What exactly happened to you? Hikurod asked.

If I give explanations to Misha, she may spill the beans and say things that she shouldn't, so I've briefly summarized the gist. Events after we were left. Misha's "accidental" awakening.

"Miss Karlstein, congratulations. It must have weighed on your heart for so long...

— No, I don't. I didn't do anything, it's all thanks to Bjorn.

— ... Bjorn?

"Oh, no!" I mean, without Bjorn, I wouldn't have come back alive!

There were moments when history also lost its way. For example, with the three religious idiots we met in the cabin, and how when we left the cabin, for some reason, the Lord of the Floor was wandering around. As the fast-paced story continued (as opposed to the story of those who killed time on the 4th floor), the three of them listened carefully.

"Ha, you were very smart to go to the Orc colony.

"If I were you, I wouldn't even have time to think about the Zarvi clan.

"And?" What happened after that?

The sincere reaction prompted me to tell the rest. However, instead of exaggerating and inflating, I continued the story from an objective point of view, making exceptions.

"Ha, do you mean that in that situation, they asked for a defense fee?"

"You two paid 2 million stones... I'm so ashamed. Hey Rothmiller, Dvalki, why don't we raise some money for them?

— Good idea. We cannot say that we are not responsible.

I think I sounded a little more pitiful after that. After mentioning the defense fee, the equipment destroyed, and the 500,000 stones spent on repairs, the three of them collected 1 million stones. To be honest, I didn't know how to react.

— ... Do you really give it to us?

— Of course. We've made so much money, do you really think we can't give you that much?

What was that? Could it be that he is not a dwarf, but an angel?

"Hikurod, you are indeed a great leader..."

"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment." But tell us the rest.

"Good.

After thinking about myself for calling such a wonderful dwarf a freeloader, I decided to continue the story more sincerely.

"Ha, are you saying that the Floor Lord even arrived in such a situation?"

I told them about the appearance of the Lord of Chaos when there were 5 hours left.

"To think that they were pouring in all these supplies—" Now it is clear why they charged a fee.

Then about the war for enslavement, which required enormous resources; about the internal rebellion that broke out; about the beginning [of the Abyss of Evil].

- I see. I was wondering what the rumors about the Orc Hero's essence meant, but it seemed that they were talking about it.

Then I made arrangements with the Zarvi, who didn't have a tank, for the essence and escape. For the record, I even talked about the presence of the Vampire essence, but the dwarf reacted rather generously.

"At first, I didn't want to talk about my numbered item either. We're fine, so there's no need to bow your head.

Bow your head? I was just staring at the food that I accidentally defended on the ground. But I did not feel the need to correct him.

— In any case, congratulations. You already have two rank 5 essences. The foundation for becoming a better researcher has already been laid.

— ... Thank you for saying that.

After that, the story ended with a calm retelling of the escape from the [Abyss of Evil] and Lord Floor's pursuit of Misha.

All three listened attentively, and at the end, each expressed his admiration.

"Hahaha, I knew right away that this guy was going to do something great one day.

"Indeed!" It was the greatest and most sublime story I have heard in years. It's a pity that I didn't have a chance to be a part of this story!

"Truly... With an achievement of this magnitude, no one would dare to disagree to call you the Little Balkans.

My ear was attracted by only one thing, what Rothmiller said.

"Wait, little Balkan?"

When I lifted my head, the dwarf explained good-naturedly.

"Haven't you heard yet?" That's your nickname!

Little Balkan. After "Unchained Barbarian", it was a new title.

Nickname...

However, I couldn't be sure if this would have a positive effect in the future, or vice versa.

***

[Your reputation increased by +1]

[Your reputation increased by +1]

***

The day after the meeting, I met with Hikuroda early in the morning and visited the Guild to report on Eliza Behenk.

— ... The Priestess of Karui?

Since this was not an ordinary incident, the employees who received our report could not hide their bewilderment. However, their complexion changed when I presented my 5-star ID and the dashcam that Hikuroda wore on his head during the expedition as evidence.

"This... I don't think it can be solved with my authority. Could you wait a minute?

We were immediately called to the office of the branch manager, and there we explained what had happened. As a result, the news spread throughout the temple. Eliza was excommunicated from Reatlas, and she immediately became a wanted person.

"Judging by the checkpoint records, the villainess has returned to the city, so we will be able to catch her soon.

The representatives of the Guild and the Temple spoke confidently, but somehow it didn't seem that this was so easy to catch. I had no proof, but I had a hunch.

I don't know if it's a good idea to leave everything as it is.

So I decided to continue checking the news about Eliza later and closed the case. There was nothing more we could do now. We even received an unexpected award.

"Hahaha!" In any case, it was an unexpected income.

"Reward always follows justice.

The temple gave us about three million stones in exchange for our key evidence. I would have to divide by 5, but it's not bad anyway. Such an amount of luck could be taken at face value.

If there were more, it would start to scare me.

"Phew, there was a lot of evidence, so it took longer than I thought. Let's go. Everyone will be waiting.

Having finished our report on Eliza, we headed for the meeting place.

The final distribution was finalized after consultation.

"Let's just divide what we've got until we divide it into 5 equal parts." Everything that happens next can be discussed from any side.

We have divided the equipment and consumables received from Eliza's loyal servants, Hans, and mana stones until day 4 by the number of people. Anticipating this, I paid for the protection only with the equipment of religious jerks, so the calculation shouldn't be too complicated.

Oh, shoes.

I thought of Hans's shoes, which had been blown apart by a landmine, but I decided to just keep silent. Not only was it burdensome to count, but I also used up all of their holy water and potions.

"Dvalki?"

"I... I do the math. Oh! We get 1.22 million stones per person!

A total of 2.44 million stones for Misha and me, plus 1.2 million stones as a reward from the Temple and 1 million stones that the other three gave us as support. The sale price of the three religious idiots' expandable backpack and the remaining equipment after the defense fee is 3.11 million. Mana Gems for 15 days amounted to 800,000 Gems. Simply put... A total of 8.55 million stones. And if I shared this amount with Misha, then 4.27 million stones would become my profit from this exploration. But this is if not for one promise.

"Phew...

As one could understand, looking at Misha's eyes full of regret, all this profit was mine. That was the promise. Well, at the time, I basically agreed to the deal to ease her discomfort, but...

It is better if I store and manage it myself.

Misha was now my main comrade. All the essences, equipment to wear, and general growth methods will now go through my hands. Of course, they also spent a lot of money.

In this sense, if you subtract 300,000 stones for the repair of my and Misha's equipment and the cost of treatment...

The net profit from this expedition can be: 7.65 million stones. Even if you take into account the boots damaged in the labyrinth, the lost mace, and so on, it was an absurd profit. Considering all the pros and cons, it was still an amount that was significantly higher than what could be earned from a simple hunt.

That's not a lot when you consider how much money I'll spend in the future.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mike asked.

"Don't pay attention. Finish your food.

Everything has changed. After the Vampire Essence, I ate the Orc Hero Essence, which I thought could only be obtained in the late half. In addition, I found a companion who could grow with me.

I'll have to start with that when I get back.

Therefore, it was necessary to revise the plan.