STGB Episode 492

Declaration of War(4)

“I slept for a little over 30 hours…”

Although the final day had been exhausting, I hadn’t used up much stamina inside the Labyrinth, so this amount of sleep left me feeling surprisingly refreshed.

Snore!!!

I groggily made my way down to the first floor and found Aynar still lying on the couch—exactly the same as she’d been when I fell asleep.

“She really can sleep…”

I headed to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat—and found a few simple meals already prepared.

Had he made these in case someone woke up hungry?

‘…Maybe this guy’s better suited to be a butler than an explorer.’

I paused for a moment, impressed by Auyen’s thoughtfulness, then dug into the food he’d left.

Afterward, I stepped out onto the porch to check the mailbox and realized a lot of mail had piled up while I was asleep.

“What’s all this…”

As I looked through them one by one, most turned out to be invitations.

They started with all sorts of fancy wording and praise, only to end with a request for a meeting.

Somehow it reminded me of the past.

Come to think of it, when I first gained some fame back then, I had a similar influx of letters.

“…Quite a lot of applications, too.”

Out of curiosity, I skimmed through the CVs and they were surprisingly high quality. The most impressive was that of an old man who had apparently reached the 9th floor in his prime.

‘Too bad he’s a tank, or I might have considered it…’

I planned to grow the clan eventually, but for now, we only had one team, and we didn’t need another tank.

Sven Parab and Kaislan were set to fill the tank line in team two.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to contact him when I’m ready to form a third team.’

Anyway, I was pretty flattered that such a high level explorer wanted to join without me scouting first.

Wasn’t Team Half-Ling the first team I created by making that dwarf the figurehead leader?

‘…We didn’t have much back then, but it was really fun.’

I chuckled and continued to check the letters.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single priest in all these applications.

Even after building up so much reputation, do I still have to fill up public points to recruit a priest?

It’s a bit ironic.

After all this time and overcoming so many hardships, I’ve never had a priest officially join the team.

Well, I do need a healer since potions aren’t as effective anymore—

“…Huh?”

While reading through the letters in the morning breeze, one letter made me pause.

‘The Alminas Count’s family…?’

As soon as I saw the familiar golden wax seal, I quickly tore open the seal and checked the contents.

As expected from a noble family, the letter was long-winded.

To summarize briefly:

[We would like to clear up the misunderstanding between us. Please visit us at your earliest convenience.]

The Count was extending an olive branch.

****

“A misunderstanding…”

I wondered why the Count had suddenly changed his stance.

The only thing that came to mind was the Stone of Honor.

Perhaps he realized that my influence was growing much faster than expected, and that being my enemy would bring more losses than gains.

It was probably a matter of pride from the start; the Count wouldn’t have been too concerned about the money anyway

Well, there could be some other motive, but—

“I’ll just set up a meeting with the Count next time.”

With nothing else to do until nightfall, I went back upstairs and slept some more. When evening came, I left the mansion while Amelia said goodbye and jumped over the wall.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“It’s easier alone.”

“Hmm, if you say so.”

Covered in a metal helmet, I moved stealthily to avoid attracting attention, finally stopping at a pub in the outskirts of Commelby.

“This place looks more like a construction site than a pub..”

The building was in such a state of disrepair that it seemed on the verge of collapse.

Naturally, the pub wasn’t open for business, and the sign was so rusted it was barely hanging on.

Creak—

The inside of the pub was in even worse condition than the exterior.

It was filled with construction debris and covered in dust.

Except for the path leading further inside.

‘Look at all these footprints.’

Without bothering to look around, I followed the footprints and soon found a staircase leading underground.

At the bottom of the stairs was a single iron door, with no guards in sight.

Such a system didn’t require guards in the first place.

‘What’s behind this door?’

It was something I had been curious about while playing the game, so I put some strength into prying the door open.

Creak, crack, boom—!

The door, along with its hinges, came off the wall.

But contrary to my expectations, there was just a wall behind the door.

‘Well, that’s anticlimactic.’

Realizing there was no hidden piece behind it, I quickly lost interest.

Next to where the door had been, there was a slot for a mana stone. I inserted the one I’d prepared and held up my pass.

And immediately—

Flash—!

My location changed.

The black market could only be accessed through teleportation.

That’s why there could be hundreds of entrances to the black market scattered around the city.

“Hard to believe it’s taken me this long to finally come here.”

A small stone room, about a square metre across.

There was a door leading to a corridor, with the number 217 written above it.

‘Tch, 217 means I’ve got a long way to go to reach the main street.

Thinking this, I was about to open the door when suddenly.

Bang.

The door on the opposite opened first, and three masked figures entered.

Hmm, no welcoming committee in the game.

“What do you want?”

“Did you damage the door before coming here?”

“Oh, that?”

I hadn’t expected them to notice so quickly, but I answered honestly.

“I was curious what was behind it.”

“You’ll have to come with us.”

“What if I refuse?”

“I wasn’t asking. Grab him!”

At the first figure’s shout, the other two approached.

I felt a twinge of regret.

…Did I really need to break the door?

‘I wanted to look around a bit since I’m here.’

Well, no helping it. Might as well get to work.

Flick.

I brushed the two figures aside like mosquitoes.

However, the two figures, now pressed against the wall, didn’t rush back at me but instead kept their distance.

“…So, you’re an explorer after all?”

“You’re being awfully quiet now?”

“You’re just a troublemaker. We’ll treat you accordingly.”

“Oh, is that so?”

‘Tch, 217 means I’ve got a long way to go to reach the main street.’

I scratched my ear with my pinky, and Thug #1 spoke in a low, menacing tone.

“Judging by your build, you’re either a barbarian or from the beast tribe. This must be your first time here.”

“How’d you know?”

“If you knew anything about this place, you wouldn’t have done something so reckless. Rookie.”

That stung a bit.

Come on, who knows more about the black market than me?

Tap.

Before getting down to business, I threw off my stifling helmet.

No need to hide my identity here.

“…So you’re a barbarian.”

Contrary to my expectations, he didn’t recognize me.

But it didn’t matter.

Whooosh!

The first figure’s sword glowed with aura.

This wasn’t the cave from before.

As long as my skills worked normally, aura was no threat to me.

Like this.

Swish—!

Perhaps because of the narrow space, he opted for a thrust instead of a slash.

I didn’t bother to dodge and just grabbed the blade.

“……!”

As always, the reaction of the aura users was the same.

His shock and confusion traveled right through the trembling blade.

I smirked and yanked the sword toward me.

And then—

Crunch—!

I slammed my fist into his face.

Okay, that’s one down.

“……Call for backup!”

As soon as he fell, the other two tried to escape , but I grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and rubbed them against the wall to finish them off.

‘Well, these two were surprising easy’

I shook my hand to flick off the blood.

Most of it was theirs, but some was mine too.

Since I hadn’t used [Gigantification], blocking the sword bare-handed left a deep wound…

But it wasn’t a big deal.

With my natural regeneration, a wound like this would heal in no time.

“Now, let’s see.”

Before heading into the corridor, I bent down and removed the mask from the first figure. Well, more like the shattered pieces of his mask.

However, with his nose crushed and his face covered in blood, it was impossible to recognize him.

“For a den of thieves. I didn’t expect the security to be this tight.”.

I muttered mockingly, and he responded in a broken voice.

“B, Baron… Jandel……?”

It seemed that taking a hit had jogged his memory

“H-How can… someone like you… be here…?”

“How? I came because I had business here. But since you’re awake, let me ask you a few things.”

“…….”

“Where’s the boss here……”

What, he passed out.

Dropping him carelessly on the floor, I headed out into the hallway where a few onlookers had gathered, all of them retreating when they saw me.

Judging by their attire, they were customers, not staff.

‘They probably don’t know anything…’

“Hey! What’s going on?”

Just then, another thug appeared from around the corner and ran over upon seeing the crowd.

And then…

“W, what the…”

As soon as he saw the open door, he shuddered. His reaction made me feel like I was the villain in a thriller movie.

“…Ah!”

As he started to back away, I quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

“Where do I go to meet the boss of the black market?”

“…I can’t tell you……”

“What if I said you’d die if you don’t speak?”

I tried to threaten him, but he just closed his eyes as if ready to accept death.

“Just… kill me. That’s better… then betraying them…”

“Is that so?”

Crack—!

I gave him a rough knock on the head, then placed his limp body down on the corridor floor. It seemed I wouldn’t get anywhere by threatening these people.

But that was a minor issue.

Ding—! Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!

Bells rang urgently as if a war had broken out.

“Intruder! It’s an intruder!”

It was as if a ‘burning event’ had begun, what’s with the thugs respawning so quickly?

“BETHEL—RAAAAAAA!!!!”

Well, if I destroy everything, something’s bound to come out.

[The character has cast [Gigantification].

[The character has used a transformation ability].

[The soul power consumption of the skill is reduced by half due to the effect of [Primeval Cell], and the highest ability value increases by 1.5 times.]

[Due to the effect of [Evolved Shell], the soul energy cost of the skill is halved, and the highest attribute increases by 1.5 times]
***

The black market exists somewhere underground.

No one knows its exact location, but the story is accepted as fact in this world.

It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.

If a building the size of three football stadiums were above ground, it would have been discovered long ago—

Ugh, so noisy.

When are they going to turn it off?

And when will I finally reach the main street?

‘It’s ridiculously huge.’

Ah, but the size of the building has its advantages.

Unlike the cramped stone room, the corridors are high and wide, so it’s not uncomfortable to use [Gigantification].

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

With [Gigantification] activated, I ran down the wide corridor, taking up all the space. The people around me fell into two categories.

“R, run away……!”

Customers who had come to buy a few things and fled in panic upon seeing me.

“Stop him……!”

And the group of thugs charging at me, pushing past the fleeing customers.

From the moment I saw the aura user earlier, I realised that the thugs were stronger than I expected.

‘They seem to average around the 4th floor…’

Of course, that’s just the average. Some of them seemed to be able to thrive even on the 6th floor.

Even I wouldn’t normally want to face an endlessly respawning horde like this on my own.

However, I felt as calm as if I were on a picnic.

Because they couldn’t kill me, not due to my strength, but for another reason.

“…Stop! Orders have come from above. We’re to capture him with minimal harm!”

“W-what? Capture him? Alive?”

Yeah, word about my arrival must’ve reached the higher-ups.

Boom–! Boom–! Boom–!

As I charged forward, the thug at the front shouted in a panicked voice.

“How are we supposed to capture that… monster!”

Trembling at the unreasonable orders from above, the thug swung his weapon.

But when I charged at him without hesitation, he desperately changed the trajectory of his weapon and slammed it into the wall.

Crash—!

His determination to follow orders was commendable, but it was also foolish.

At this rate, even if he went all out, he wouldn’t even scratch me.

“Hey, Baron Jandel! S, stop! The higher-ups want to talk to you—”

What are they saying? It’s just getting interesting.

Now that I’ve gained an invincible evasion skill, I charged forward even more boldly.

Crash! Thud! Clang!

The weapons swung by the thugs never touched me.

It was like a whole new world.

All I did was charge in a straight line, but every single attack slipped past me.

Is this what it feels like when an enlightened master in a martial arts novel realises the essence of movement?

“Hahahahahaha!!”

I charged forward even more exhilarated.

“Shield wall!!”

At some point, the thugs began lining up with heavy shields, creating a barrier to slow me down.

It was a desperate measure from the higher-ups.

Because if I were to die, the black market would be over.

They have a reputation for openly defying the nobility, but could a mere organization really stand above the nobility?

“I repeat, do not attack him!”

At the very least, the higher-ups here clearly knew one thing.

If harm were to come to a titled baron, there would be nothing left but ruin.

In the end, the only way for these guys to deal with me was to kill me without anyone noticing, but I had already met countless customers on my way here.

In other words, there were plenty of witnesses.

“Hiding behind shields, you cowards!”

“……?!”

“Leader of this den of evil, come out! I, Bjorn Jandel, will execute you in the name of the royal

family!”

“T, that’s what I’ve been saying! The boss also wishes to t, talk—”

“BETHEL—RAAAAAAAAH!!”

How far did I get through the thugs?

As their numbers grew, the shield wall became sturdier, and mages and ability users began to support them , and I began to feel the pressure.

Thud.

For the first time, I stopped and looked back. The corridor behind me was also filled with thugs.

‘Hmm, if I let myself get captured so easily, they’ll definitely look down on me…’

As I was thinking, a thug who seemed to be of high rank emerged from the shield wall.

“…Baron! Please calm down and let’s have a peaceful discussion—”

“I have no discussion to have with you evil scum!”

“…But you have nowhere to go now!”

Nowhere to go? What are you talking about?

These guys really don’t know about barbarians, do they?

‘Okay, then, decision made.’

I swung my hammer with all my might.

Not at the thugs hiding behind their shields, but at the left wall.

If there’s no path, I’ll make one.

 

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