How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 8: Entering the Labyrinth

The new adventurer class lasted for a week.

There was certainly a lot to learn.

Of course, it was knowledge in the head, not knowledge absorbed by the body.

But there were a few things that could be applied right away.

Like how to pack a backpack or simple first-aid techniques.

How to form formations, and the rules that must be followed in each tier.

Simple trap detection and types of hand signals.

Once he learned these, things started to become more visible.

It could be called the guild's philosophy.

A direction began to take shape.

Entering the labyrinth, slaying monsters, and advancing through the levels wasn’t everything.

That alone wouldn’t be enough.

It was about reducing risks through thorough preparation and advancing steadily, even if slowly.

This was the part emphasized throughout the entire week of classes.

The next morning.

“Is today the day?” Darmong asked.

“Yes. I’m heading out,” Jeong Yushin replied.

“Don’t expect much.”

Darmong poured cold water on his excitement, but the fluttering in Jeong Yushin's chest couldn’t be helped.

Finally, it was time for the party match.

Five people gathered to form one party. Sometimes four formed a party, but that was rare.

Most adventurers joined parties by responding to recruitment notices on the bulletin board.

However, new explorers could have the guild arrange the party for them.

Darmong recommended the latter. Although it was up to the receptionist, he had heard that the guild helped new explorers who took the class form parties together.

The guild building was packed with people.

To save time, Jeong Yushin stood in the shortest line.

Then he immediately regretted it.

It was the receptionist with the venomous expression he had seen last time.

‘Ah, shit. That face again.’

There was a reason the line was short.

Now, he didn’t want to switch to another line.

Before long, more people crowded in, and the line grew longer.

He didn’t want to wait any longer.

‘Guess I’ll just think of it as stepping in shit. It’s not like I’m dying.’

His turn came.

“New explorer party matching, please.”

“Confirmed. There is only one party looking for a vanguard right now. I’ll place you there. Go to table 6.”

“Yes.”

He quickly left the counter and made his way to table 6.

The tables were filled with about 30 groups, and it was noisy.

He finally found the table marked with a number 6.

Familiar faces were sitting there.

It was the boy who had slammed the counter and shouted last time.

At the table, there was the boy and one man and two women.

One man from last week’s group was missing.

“Hello. I’m Ska. I was referred by the guild.”

“Hello. I’m Kaal, the party leader.”

His voice was bold and full of confidence. Kaal introduced each of his party members.

The other man’s name was Dean, the scout.

The red-haired woman’s name was Anne. She was one of the rear guards and used a bow.

The other rear guard was a brown-haired woman named Marie. She was a trainee priest of the Earth God from the Spirit Guild.

Kaal briefly explained the party situation.

They had entered the labyrinth for the first time last week and had successfully overcome the first level without much difficulty. However, on the second level, one of the members injured their foot, so they were looking for a temporary replacement.

That person was Jeong Yushin.

The party had two quests:

The payment would be fairly divided into five parts.

The activity scope would be limited to the first level of the labyrinth.

After all the agreements were made, Jeong Yushin and Kaal’s party members decided to meet at the guild branch tomorrow morning and left the table.

Jeong Yushin returned to the inn and met Darmong to talk about Kaal and the party members.

“Darmong, didn’t you say most new explorers are matched with people who took the same class?”

“That’s strange.”

Darmong rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, anyway, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Be careful, Ska.”

Jeong Yushin nodded at Darmong’s serious warning.

The night passed, and morning came.

The day he had been waiting for, to enter the labyrinth.

He woke up early and checked his equipment.

He checked if the sword drew smoothly and if the shield straps weren’t too loose.

He checked the joints of his hard leather armor to make sure they weren’t too stiff.

He inspected everything he could, even though it was a bit lacking.

He gathered all his gear and packed the items necessary for the first level of the labyrinth.

“Alright.”

He strapped his helmet to his waist and went downstairs to the dining area, where Darmong had prepared breakfast.

“This is the last meal you'll have in society,” Darmong joked.

“Stop with that nonsense.”

A well-cooked steak and a mountain of garlic were piled up.

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“Is it alright to give me this much?”

“You’re going to starve for a few days in the labyrinth, I’m sure. That’s why I’m giving it to you.”

“I’ll eat well.”

Jeong Yushin cleaned his plate without leaving anything behind.

“Phew.”

He patted his full stomach, and Darmong handed him something wrapped in paper.

“Jerky and biscuits. Eat them sparingly.”

“I’ll accept it gratefully.”

He didn’t refuse. He didn’t want to ignore the kindness of the cute tsundere bear-man. Plus, he didn’t have any money.

“I’m off now.”

He said his goodbye before packing up his things.

“I told you, be careful.”

“Yes.”

He took Darmong’s advice to heart and walked toward the explorer guild branch.

At the guild branch, he sat at an empty table and waited for Kaal’s group.

About 30 minutes later, they arrived, chatting as they walked in. One of their members had a small injury, but they seemed confident and relaxed, likely because they had successfully cleared the first level without much trouble.

“Ah! Ska, you came early,” Kaal greeted.

Their gear looked light. Kaal was wearing leather armor with a longsword at his waist. His backpack seemed light as well, but it was hard to tell whether it was because of his finances or another strategic reason.

All the party members looked similar to Kaal.

“Let’s go right now. It’s better to go first at this time before the crowds show up.”

“Got it.”

Jeong Yushin stood up and followed the party.

The great labyrinth was to the west of the city.

As they got closer to the labyrinth, the crowd grew larger. Among the many people, Jeong Yushin could finally see it.

The Great Labyrinth.

From outside the city, it looked like a small tower.

But up close, it was a sharp, towering rocky hill.

Before the hill, a magical circle was glowing brightly, large enough to accommodate thousands of people. Soldiers from the labyrinth city stood in front, controlling access.

“Alright, one party at a time. Enter calmly!”

A man in full plate armor shouted.

One party at a time stepped into the magical circle, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

The adventurers followed the soldiers’ instructions well.

The soldiers were stationed at various points, quickly ushering adventurers through.

After a short wait, it was finally Kaal’s party’s turn.

Jeong Yushin’s heart raced with a mix of nervousness and excitement.

As they stepped onto the magical circle, the light grew brighter and obscured his vision.

Flash!

Along with a flash of light, a floating sensation lifted his body.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

He lost his balance and landed hard on his butt. He could feel the cold, damp stone floor.

He had finally been teleported to the first level of the labyrinth.

Due to the labyrinth’s nature, everyone started from the first level, regardless of whether they reached the 50th or 80th level.

Once they left the labyrinth, they had to start from the beginning.

This meant that many people were now on the first level.

And right now, it was.

‘The safest time.’

They needed to quickly assess their position and form a formation.

“Ugh!”

A surprised voice echoed through the dark cave.

It was Kaal’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“I dropped the flint. Can you light it for me?”

“Got it.”

Jeong Yushin took out his flint and lit the torch.

The area around them was now somewhat illuminated.

The first to fifth levels of the labyrinth were called surface levels, and there was one rule they had to follow.

No matter what, they had to keep a light source.

There was a special reason for this.

It was because of the “darkness” characteristic of the surface levels.

The “darkness” of the surface levels drove people mad.

It was a strict and absolute law that applied to everyone.

No matter how skilled an adventurer, how legendary they were, it didn’t matter.

But even the smallest flicker of light, like fireflies, prevented madness, so skilled explorers quickly passed through the surface levels using the minimum light.

“We seem to have fallen to the outermost area, huh?”

Dean, the scout and guide, said as he looked at the map.

“Really? We weren’t as lucky this time.”

“Yeah, last time we teleported close to the entrance of the second level.”

At Dean’s sulking mumble, Kaal shrugged.

“Some days are like that. Let’s go.”

Kaal lifted the torch and led the way.

Jeong Yushin walked right behind Kaal, and Dean, Marie, and Anne followed in order.

They walked for hours. Along the way, they encountered several other parties, but they quickly passed each other with a “move aside” and continued walking.

“Phew. Dean, where are we?”

“Wait a second.”

At Kaal’s question, Dean took out the map and unfolded it.

“Turn left at the next fork. That’ll lead us to the central area of the first level.”

“Good!”

Kaal cheered and encouraged the tired group.

“Let’s enter the central area quickly and rest. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Kaal looked at Jeong Yushin, waiting for an answer.

“Yes, I understand.”

With the hope of reaching the central area soon and being able to rest, they continued walking without pause. Luckily, they didn’t encounter any monsters.

However, their luck wasn’t on their side.

“Dean, what’s this? It’s a dead end!”

Kaal glared at Dean with frustration.

“Sorry.”

“Get a grip. This isn’t the village we used to live in. Stop acting thoughtlessly...”

“Kaal, stop. You’re being too harsh. This is only our second trip to the labyrinth.”

Anne, the redhead, interrupted and cut in.

Kaal sighed and shook his head.

“Alright, sorry Dean.”

“It’s okay. I should’ve been more careful.”

“I want to rest.”

Marie, the trainee priest, chimed in. She looked tired from the hours of walking.

“Alright, let’s rest.”

They leaned against the dead-end wall and sat down. Jeong Yushin sat a little away from them.

They began chatting and reminiscing.

They talked about how they would be sowing seeds in the village fields by now.

They also discussed how Dean’s childhood crush turned out to be a boy.

As he silently listened to their stories, Kaal approached and sat next to Jeong Yushin.

“We all come from the same village. Ah! The other member is probably resting at the inn.”

“I see.”

“We’ve done everything together since we were kids. The village was harsh and isolated, so there were many dangerous situations. But as long as we faced them together, we weren’t afraid. And once we overcame the threats, we realized something. You learn more from experience than from books.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yushin didn’t know what Kaal wanted to say, so he simply nodded in agreement.

“I saw you went to the new explorer class the other day. You seem older than me, but I thought you didn’t know much. You learn more from experience. It’s better to get information from street explorers than from those sitting comfortably inside the guild building.”

He understood now.

‘He’s here to give me advice.’

The life advice coming from a teenager in his late teens was certainly different from what older people would give.

It was more certain and definitive.

It felt like he had grasped the truths of life.

“And by the way, I think you...”

“Kaal, I’m tired. Can we sleep here for a bit?”

Marie suddenly interrupted and whined.

“Marie, we’ll find a resting place soon. We can rest there.”

Dean stepped forward to calm her down.

“Dean, you’re sure about this?”

“Yeah. I’ve looked at the map carefully. There’s a resting area in the central region.”

“Alright. Marie, just a bit more. Hang in there.”

“Ugh, fine.”

Kaal got up and patted Marie’s back before leading the group.

They walked for about two more hours. When Marie said she couldn’t go any further and sat down, they found the resting place.

There was a gap between the cave walls, and inside was a small chamber.

It was big enough for about ten ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) people to squeeze into.

They entered, unpacked their gear, and blocked the entrance with a blanket to keep the torchlight from escaping. They each leaned against the wall to sit.

Jeong Yushin took out the biscuits and jerky from his bag and ate them, then they immediately decided the watch schedule.

By now, it was probably evening outside.

The first watch was Marie, followed by Kaal, Jeong Yushin, Dean, and lastly Anne.

They laid a blanket on the cold cave floor.

‘This isn’t bad.’

It was a good atmosphere, probably because they were childhood friends. They made mistakes out of nervousness but were supportive and led each other well.

There were no ambushes, and no discord.

Jeong Yushin wrapped himself in the blanket, hoping that tomorrow(?) would go smoothly as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

In the dark depths of the Great Labyrinth.