How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 93: Got caught?

Jeong Yushin stepped out of the red portal and planted his feet on the ground.

Immediately, the dusty air entered through the helmet.

He lifted his head and looked up.

The hazy, yellowish sky.

It was filled with red and yellow particles, as if a dust storm were approaching.

Why does the labyrinth have a sky?

The book he had read with Miwon didn’t provide an answer.

Questions about the origin were cut off entirely, and only explanations of the phenomena were written.

This meant that most of the content was written based on experiences gained through direct encounters, since the principles couldn't be understood.

While attending Miwon's class, he didn’t show it, but he could smell the faint scent of blood in the air.

How many people must have perished before the unknown of the labyrinth?

Thanks to that, he had succeeded in discovering the 'law' governing the "forest" zone of the labyrinth.

It was called "Pain."

The 'darkness' law, which existed between floors 1 and 5, drove those without light to madness.

The 'pain' law of the 6th-floor forest zone drove those who had injuries or were sick into madness.

The higher one's tolerance to pain, the less likely they were to lose their sanity, but those with low tolerance would experience auditory and visual hallucinations, eventually succumbing to madness and dying.

Madness and death brought on by poisons and diseases.

Truly vicious.

Jeong Yushin lowered his head and looked around.

All he saw were numerous vines tangled here and there, and coniferous and broadleaf trees.

Various plants crowded together, casting dark shadows.

It was strange. Even though it was a dense forest, not a single sound could be heard.

탁!

While looking around and admiring the forest area.

The party members emerged from the red portal behind him.

“Skah.”

The iron mask called out to Jeong Yushin.

“No problems.”

Jeong Yushin replied.

“The torches... should not be extinguished.”

“That’s right. It’s too dark.”

“A wide open sky and forest. This is truly an amazing area, just as I heard.”

The dwarf priest, Kubo, marveled while looking around.

“...”

The rat beastman, Mas, scrunched his face seriously and silently stared at a new map.

“Mas, is something wrong?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“...It’s hard to figure out where we are. I’ve never been to the forest zone either.”

“Let’s just go slowly for now.”

Under the iron mask’s command, the party members began advancing through the forest.

Fortunately, there was a narrow path between the trees, so they didn’t have to cut through thick grass.

They walked slowly in silence.

The party members, perhaps due to tension, didn’t speak a word. The silence of the forest made them even more cautious.

For several hours, they quietly made their way through the forest path.

“Ah! Over there.”

After walking for a while, the rat beastman Mas raised his hand and pointed to a place.

A small watchtower, barely poking out from between the bushes, came into view.

The stone-built watchtower, whether from the passing of time or the unknown of the labyrinth, appeared to have collapsed.

“What should we do?”

Mas whispered to the party members as he got closer.

The iron mask spoke.

“We need to check it out. By the way, Mas, do you know where we are?”

“It’s just a guess, but I think we’re in the Merk Wood area, on the outskirts of the forest zone. Looks like we’re out of luck this time.”

After hearing Mas’s words, the iron mask pulled out a few sheets of parchment from his pocket.

Curious, Jeong Yushin approached the iron mask.

“What are these papers?”

“Quest list. Just in case, I wrote them down.”

“You didn’t take them all, did you?”

“No. I just wrote them down. How would I have received all those quests if I didn’t know which area I’d end up in?”

“Fair enough.”

Jeong Yushin nodded as Mas leaned over next to him.

“I don’t think that’s important, Iron Mask. Are we going to that watchtower?”

“We have to. We can’t just leave a potential threat behind and keep going.”

“Alright. Hoo.”

Mas took a deep breath and crouched low, crawling into the bushes.

Fussss...

Jeong Yushin heard the faint rustling of leaves and gripped his sword and shield tightly. If anything happened, he planned to bolt immediately.

How much time had passed?

The dark forest.

The only sound was the occasional quiet breath of the party members.

Each minute felt like an eternity.

Fussss...

From the bushes, Mas’s face appeared.

“No one’s here. It’s empty.”

“Is that so?”

“But...”

Mas scratched his head.

“There’s something suspicious inside the watchtower. It looked like a sign, but it was too dark to see clearly.”

“I see. Let’s check it out, and then rest for a bit.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with the iron mask’s words.

Mas took the lead, with Jeong Yushin following behind.

As they pushed through the dense foliage, an overgrown clearing and a fortress came into view.

The watchtower looked older than expected.

The cracked and collapsed stone walls were covered in green moss.

At the entrance, a decayed wooden door hung loosely, rotting away.

“...”

The party members cautiously approached the wooden door. Although Mas had scouted ahead, their cautious movements indicated they were all being extra careful in the face of something new.

Jeong Yushin took the torch from the iron mask, approached the entrance, and opened the wooden door.

Creeeek...

Whooosh.

With the torch, he illuminated the dark interior of the fortress.

There was nothing inside, only thick layers of dust.

Except for one thing.

In the middle of the fortress, a strange leather panel fixed with branches...

“Everyone, turn your heads!!! Don’t look!!!”

The dwarf priest shouted loudly.

His voice was unnervingly filled with fear.

The party members quickly turned their heads away, avoiding the leather panel.

“...Kubo, what is that?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“That... that’s a curse written in profane language. Just seeing it or reading it will drive you insane or possess you!”

“Who... who gets possessed?”

Jeong Yushin’s question made the dwarf priest tremble his lips.

“I... I can’t speak. It’s too hard to even put it into words. Please, understand.”

“So what should we do? Should we burn it?”

“No... no! Just leave it. That cursed object is surely cursed. Don’t touch it or read the words on it!”

Kubo, the dwarf priest, urgently stopped them.

“I understand. Calm down.”

Jeong Yushin placed his hand on Kubo’s shoulder. After a long moment of heavy breathing, Kubo finally exhaled deeply.

“Then we can rest outside the fortress. As long as we don’t look at those strange words.”

“No!!!”

Kubo shouted desperately.

The iron mask intervened.

“Calm down. Mas did a perimeter check. As long as we avoid traps like that, this area is safe. And haven’t we been walking for hours?”

The leader’s gentle tone calmed Kubo down.

“Khrh... I understand. I got too worked up. Sorry.”

Jeong Yushin and the party members sat around the torch and took a break.

Jeong Yushin looked at the dense forest.

Coming out of the labyrinth-like layers and into a wide-open sky, it felt disorienting.

Was he struggling to adapt?

It was a completely different sight than what he had imagined for the labyrinth.

He had read about it in books, but it was different from what he had pictured.

The other party members seemed to feel the same.

‘Maybe it’s because there’s no roof above.’

The changed 'law' still bothered him.

Recalling the 'law' of the forest zone, Jeong Yushin began to understand why the iron mask had chosen the party members.

A priest with strong defenses who would rarely get injured—though he had never seen him fight.

A beastman skilled in moving through the forest with excellent sense of smell.

An iron mask with great character and leadership.

Himself, with a high tolerance for pain, strong mental fortitude, combat skills, and intellect.

‘He has a keen eye.’

Jeong Yushin nodded to himself and looked at the party leader.

The iron mask pulled out a parchment from his pocket and started looking over it. Was it the quest list?

“Iron Mask, are we in a position to make money?”

“There are a few herbs worth something in the Merk Wood area. If we’re lucky, we might even complete a promotion quest.”

“Are you planning to get promoted too?”

“I can, and there’s no reason not to. After all, we’ll have to go deeper into the labyrinth. I need to get the necessary marks.”

Jeong Yushin nodded.

Whether positive or negative, ‘strong’ power marks could only be obtained by going deeper into the labyrinth.

A memory from the beginner explorer class came to him when the guild leader had casually mentioned it.

Jeong Yushin didn’t push further. He could guess why they wanted it.

‘Do they want to live?’

To climb up in the labyrinth, full of death, just to survive.

It was a bitter irony.

Jeong Yushin and the party members rested for a while in front of the watchtower.

He would have preferred to stay longer, but seeing how anxious the priest was, they ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) packed up.

“The Merk Wood is on the outskirts. We need to be cautious, as the distance to the transfer stone is far.”

Mas spoke without even looking at the map.

The party members left the old watchtower and moved slowly.

Kubo, perhaps still shaken by the sights at the watchtower, occasionally trembled.

Mas, leading the way, stopped suddenly and pointed to a place.

“Ah?! That’s a purple forget-me-not. This flower is worth quite a bit, isn’t it?”

“How much?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“Wait a moment... It's worth ten Eonha coins per root.”

The iron mask, after reading a few sheets from his parchment, answered in place of Mas.

Jeong Yushin took out a small shovel from his backpack and ran towards the flower.

“Phew. This is awesome.”

“Be careful when digging. It says the roots mustn’t be damaged.”

The iron mask advised from the side.

“Trust me. I handle white rats every night... you think I don’t know how to handle this gently?”

“...Skah, I don’t understand what you mean. Just calm down.”

“I understand.”

Jeong Yushin crouched down and carefully began digging around the roots of the forget-me-not.

Slowly. Gently.

After about ten minutes of struggling, he managed to pull the forget-me-not out by the roots.

He shook the soil off the roots and carefully placed the plant into his leather pouch, stowing it in his backpack.

“Where to next?”

“...Let’s head there for now.”

Following Mas, they continued to gather various plants.

There were blue mushrooms used as catalysts for magical experiments.

Red and yellow flowers used for hemostatic agents.

Even weeds that looked like ordinary grass along the road were essential herbs for potions.

Jeong Yushin’s mouth curled into a smile.

‘Such a sweet farming spot, and only mid-tier explorers had access to it?’

Now he understood why people were obsessed with promotion. No amount of talk could convey it. They had to hold the money in their hands to truly realize it.

The iron mask’s voice had also changed, now filled with satisfaction.

“...This is a Taltar flower. I only saw this in gardens before, but here it is...”

Jeong Yushin suddenly leaned in.

“Oh! How much is that worth?”

“It’s just ornamental. Not that expensive.”

“Tch.”

Jeong Yushin quickly pulled his head back and looked around.

He realized it was even darker than before.

He had been so caught up in the money that he had been staring at the ground while walking.

“Mas, are we going the right way?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“We’re going the right way.”

Mas answered, still looking ahead.

“...”

Jeong Yushin watched Mas’s back.

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Something felt off.

Since a few hours ago, the dwarf priest Kubo had been shaking with fear, and now Mas was moving through the forest with much more skill than when they first arrived.

The iron mask also sensed the change in atmosphere and tucked the quest list back into his pocket.

“Mas, turn around.”

The iron mask urged.

“Why?”

“Let’s see your face.”

Mas turned around and looked at the party members.

“Why are you all acting so strange all of a sudden? You’re scaring me.”

Mas’s face, unchanged from the first time they met, looked just like any other rat beastman.

His voice was slightly lower, but that was it.

‘Was I wrong? Could it be a mistake?’

Perhaps it was just heightened vigilance from suddenly realizing reality while being too focused on money.

Jeong Yushin relaxed his tense body.

At that moment.

“You... You! Who are you?!”

Kubo, the dwarf priest, stepped forward and shouted.

“Kubo, what are you saying? It’s Mas!”

“No. The ominous energy didn’t disappear after leaving the fortress. It wasn’t an illusion!”

Mas shook his head vigorously.

“Ha... Iron Mask, Skah. Kubo seems really tired. Should we rest for a bit? There's a shelter not far ahead.”

Jeong Yushin stepped forward.

“No. Mas, we need to be sure. Something’s definitely off with you.”

“...”

Silence fell over the quiet forest. No one spoke, only watching Mas.

After a long period of silence, Mas opened his mouth.

“...You’ve caught me.”

His unnervingly low voice spread through the dark forest.