How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 51: Night guard request

Jarik immediately grabbed the scabbard of his longsword, which was placed beside his bed, and unsheathed the blade.

He jumped off the bed and stood on the floor.

"Who's there?"

There was no response from under the bed.

"Come out before I split the bed in two. This is your last warning."

Rustling.

Once again, a sound came from beneath the bed.

Jarik tightened his grip on the sword.

Something peeked out from under the bed.

Jarik's eyes widened when he confirmed its identity.

"A rat?"

The words slipped out of his mouth in a stunned voice.

"Chirp chirp."

A plump, white rat carefully crawled out.

"Well, what do I know... I got all tense for no reason."

Jarik lowered his sword and chuckled before his expression hardened.

"You're a human, aren't you?"

"Chirp?"

The rat tilted its head.

"Can you understand me? Are you listening?"

Jarik quickly lunged and grabbed the rat.

"Chirp chirp!!"

The rat struggled in Jarik's grip.

"Stay still!"

Jarik held the rat with one hand while rummaging through his things with the other. He pulled out some rope and bound the rat tightly.

"Who sent you? Was it the dark alley thugs?"

Jarik lowered his voice as he spoke.

"Chirp!"

The rat flailed its arms, wriggling in Jarik's hand.

"Who sent you!?"

Thud!!!

"Owner! Let me get some sleep!"

The tenant in the next room banged on the wall and shouted.

"Sorry about that."

Jarik apologized and glared back at the rat.

"I'll interrogate you tomorrow. If you chirp once more, you're dead."

Jarik hung the rat by the rope from the ceiling and stared at it for a while before closing his eyes.

The next morning.

Jarik called Taruman and Anne to sit at the table.

"So... are you saying this rat is a human?"

"Yes. Look closely. Doesn't its behavior seem suspicious?"

Taruman scratched his head.

"I don't really know."

"It is kind of cute, though."

Anne rested her chin in her hands, looking at the rat.

Jarik folded his arms and glared at the rat, which was sprawled out on the table, tied up with rope.

To find out if it was a human with a rat's mark or just a real rat, they would have to go to the temple for confirmation.

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But it would cost one silver coin.

Given the store's difficult financial situation, Jarik didn't want to waste money on this.

"Put it in a jar or a pot and keep a close eye on it."

"There’s a small cage in the storage, right?"

Anne's words made Jarik nod.

It was a small cage for keeping little animals.

Not bad.

"Then lock it in there. Watch it closely. If it does anything human-like, let me know immediately."

"Understood."

Jarik stood up from his seat. No matter what the situation, there was a mountain of things to do.

Two weeks passed.

The early summer heat grew more intense.

Jarik's routine had not changed.

After his morning exercises, he would go to the orphanage to study. Around lunchtime, he would practice swordsmanship at the guild until he was completely exhausted, then collapse into sleep at night. It was a repeating cycle.

He thought today would go the same way.

While eating breakfast, Jarik turned his head.

Someone was standing by the inn’s door.

"Silva!"

Jarik jumped to his feet.

Silva looked quite disheveled.

Jarik walked toward Silva.

"How's your health?"

Silva smiled faintly.

"I had a rough time with the medicine, but I'm much better now. Lord Aldain helped me get rid of the addiction."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Skah."

Silva called out Jarik's name with a serious look in his eyes.

"Yes?"

Jarik responded.

"I’m going to visit Karin."

"Right now? Why don’t you rest a bit first?"

Silva glanced at Anne and Taruman before turning back to look at Jarik.

"You've been running the inn just fine without any major issues. I don't think you need me. Besides, one of my tasks is to contact Karin if anything happens to you."

"Can't you just contact her by letter?"

"I'm the messenger."

The white wolf beastman smiled.

"I see."

"Understood. Then I won’t stop you. Just be careful."

"Thank you. I’ll see you later."

Silva bowed his head and left the inn.

Jarik watched Silva’s figure as he walked away.

Karin was about two months away from here, so it would take about four months for a round trip.

He decided to wait calmly.

Aside from the village on the pilgrimage road and the labyrinth city, he didn’t know any other areas. There was nothing he could do even if he went out.

Returning to the inn, he sat at the table.

On the table was a small cage.

Inside it, the white rat was sprawled out.

Anne, cutting some vegetables into small pieces, placed them one by one into the cage. The white rat accepted them with its two hands and chewed them meticulously.

"So, has it been acting more human-like?"

"...It seems smart, but it doesn't look human."

Anne replied.

Jarik continued to glare at the rat in the cage. The rat was so focused on eating that it didn’t even bother to turn its head.

"It looks human to me."

"If you really think so, I guess it's not a bad idea to visit the temple and get it checked."

Taruman said, looking at Jarik with concern.

Seeing Jarik constantly doubting whether it was human or not made him worry that Jarik might be slipping into madness again.

"I guess I’ll have to. I’m going crazy thinking about this."

After talking to the rat every morning for nearly two weeks, it felt like he might be losing his mind.

He had been holding back because of the money, but it wasn't worth risking his mental health over.

Jarik finished his meal, grabbed the cage with the rat, and left the inn to head to the Earth Goddess Temple.

He showed the cage to the receptionist at the temple.

"I want to confirm if this rat is human."

"I see."

The receptionist looked at Jarik with a sympathetic expression.

"The identification fee is one silver coin."

"Here you go."

After paying the fee, Jarik immediately went with a male priest into a small room.

The male priest recited a spell in front of the cage, but it didn't reach Jarik’s ears at all.

"Is it a human or a rat? A rat or a human?"

Jarik continued to glare at the rat.

A small light glowed from the priest's hand and enveloped the rat.

After a moment.

The priest tilted his head.

"...No markings detected. It seems to be just a rat."

Jarik staggered at the sound of the thunderstruck words.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It seems you were mistaken."

Jarik staggered out of the room, gripping his dizzying mind.

He went outside the temple and squatted down.

Looking into the rat's eyes, he thought about various things.

Maybe his reactions had been too sensitive due to all the things piling up.

The inn was struggling, and with the barbarians starting to show themselves, maybe his nerves had been frayed.

Jarik closed his eyes for a moment, meditating, then slapped his cheek.

Squeak.

He opened the cage.

"Go."

The rat slowly crawled out of the cage.

It had gained weight over the past two weeks, and its little butt was now plump.

The rat looked up and down at Jarik’s face before scurrying into the underbrush.

"What am I doing..."

Jarik ran his hand through his hair and looked up at the sky before heading back to the orphanage.

Today's lesson was taught by Diego.

It had been two weeks since he last saw Mion.

Coming this far, he felt a pang of guilt. Had he pushed Mion too hard?

"Sigh."

After finishing the class at the orphanage, Jarik had a meal at the temple restaurant and approached the receptionist.

"Skah, is there anything else I can assist you with? If you need counseling, I can call someone for you."

The receptionist’s words seemed different now, probably because of the events earlier in the morning.

"I wrote a letter to Priest Mion. Could you please deliver it?"

It was a clumsy letter with a few poorly chosen words.

He only hoped it conveyed his apology.

"Understood. We’ve been quite worried about Mion’s health lately. Thank you."

The receptionist smiled.

"Yes. Thank you."

Jarik left the temple and ran toward the swordsmanship guild.

"Your face looks like you just got dumped «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» by your girlfriend."

Ashur grinned and said.

"It’s not like that."

"Then keep running with the sandbag on."

"Yes."

The increasingly tough training was starting to feel like second nature.

Since the third trip to the labyrinth, his body had grown even stronger, absorbing every training session like dry land soaking up water.

Clang!!!

Ashur and Jarik's swords clashed.

Clang clang clang!!!

The intense sparring filled with strength and technique.

Sparks flew from the practice swords.

Ashur looked into Jarik’s eyes.

Whoooosh!!!

Ashur swung his sword down. Jarik's sword lowered.

Thud!

Jarik’s upper body was completely emptied.

Ashur’s shoulder crashed into Jarik’s chest.

"Ugh."

Jarik staggered back.

"Good."

Ashur said as he looked down at Jarik, who had collapsed on the ground.

"Can we enter the labyrinth now?"

Jarik wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.

"Just a bit more. But do we really need to enter the labyrinth? Did you smear honey on it or something?"

"Now that we’re in the labyrinth city, we should go in. Besides, I need some money."

Jarik said nonchalantly, brushing off Ashur's question.

"Really? Then you should go to the Explorer’s Guild and find some work. There are plenty of things to do other than entering the labyrinth."

"I want to enter the labyrinth."

"You have to do it eventually."

"What do you mean?"

"Sigh, do I have to explain everything?"

Ashur rubbed his head and continued.

"Listen carefully. To rank up from a beginner explorer, you need to complete city missions. I don’t remember how many exactly, it’s been a while."

"Are there any missions other than labyrinth exploration?"

"Yes, plenty. Didn’t they tell you at the Explorer’s Guild?"

"No?"

"I don’t know what the Explorer’s Guild’s situation is. Go ask them. But you understand the point, right?"

"Yes. I’ll go check it out."

The next morning, Jarik went to the Explorer’s Guild branch.

It felt a bit awkward being surrounded by people after such a long time away.

He stopped for a moment in front of the guild and looked up at the sign.

Not much had changed.

When he entered, he was greeted by a crowd of people.

Those holding weapons.

Parties of adventurers packing up their bags.

Some of them were clearly new to the labyrinth city.

Jarik stood in line at the reception desk.

After a short wait, his turn came.

"How may I assist you?"

The dog beastman smiled.

Jarik fiddled with his ring for a moment before speaking.

"I heard there are missions other than labyrinth exploration."

"Oh! I see."

"I'm a beginner explorer, so I’m not familiar with the details. Why didn’t you tell me?"

At that moment, another receptionist interrupted.

"Beginners don't like it, so we couldn't mention it. Most of them prefer labyrinth exploration missions. There was some friction with beginners on this issue in the past few months."

Had it been during the time when a lot of beginner explorers flocked to the guild?

The dog beastman looked flustered, nervously fiddling with his fingers.

"I understand. Then please recommend a mission I can do in the city."

"Of course, please wait a moment."

The dog beastman dug through the stack of papers at the reception desk for a while.

"Found it!"

He pulled out several sheets of paper and shouted.

‘Really cute.’

Jarik rubbed his lips, trying to suppress his smile.

"Ahem. Right now, there’s a mission for guarding the labyrinth entrance."

"What's that? Isn’t that usually handled by the guards?"

"You know the magic circle in front of the labyrinth, right? That’s where the guards stand. During the day, the guards handle it fully, but from evening to dawn, we select a few outsiders to help with the night shift."

"Why’s that?"

"...Maybe because they’re tired?"

The dog beastman tilted his head and answered.

They selected outsiders for the night shift?

Jarik thought for a moment before coming to a decision.

"I’ll take that mission."

"Alright. Understood."

The dog beastman took Jarik’s explorer card, confirmed his name, and filled out the mission papers.

"Just go to the guard post at the labyrinth entrance tomorrow night. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes. I know."

It couldn’t be that hard to find.

He had visited the guard post for the Ditto incident once before.

He had even been threatened by Luke there.

Hadn't Luke warned him not to mention the disciple's name?

It was hard to understand why Luke reacted so sensitively.

If they met again, he wanted to ask.

"As a beginner explorer, you’ll be paid 20 copper coins a day."

That's a bit cheap.

If he worked for 30 days, he would earn 6 silver coins.

Wouldn’t it be better to work at the monster dismantling facility instead?

Jarik hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

He had to do this anyway. It was a requirement for leveling up.

Oh!

There was one more thing he needed to ask.

"Are there any conditions for a beginner explorer to rank up?"

"To rank up from a beginner explorer, you need to fulfill two conditions. Complete 10 guild missions. Reach the 5th floor."

"Is it okay as long as you reach it?"

"You must reach it with party members of the same rank. This is to prevent people from easily reaching the 5th floor by joining higher-level parties."

"I understand."

"Your work starts tomorrow."

"Yes, thank you."

Jarik nodded and left the Explorer’s Guild, heading west.

Since he had taken the guard post mission, he planned to visit Boron’s blacksmith to buy some equipment.

He also intended to check on how Ainhofer was doing.

Just the thought of spending the money he had saved made him feel uneasy.

After all the effort to save it.

Slap!!!

"Get a grip. Equipment is life."

Jarik muttered as he slapped his cheek.

He had felt stagnant after not entering the labyrinth for a while.

It felt like he was stuck in place.

But today, knowing that he could move forward, even if just a little.

Jarik’s steps felt lighter.