STGB Chapter 534

Chapter 534: Rainbow (1)

The main street leading from the village chief’s house to the entrance.

I’m sprinting down it at full speed.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

My “Gigantism” skill is active, and each step I take reverberates like a construction site, but I don’t consider it a nuisance.

It’s not like it’s a quiet hour…

“Fire, fire…!”

“Bring water!”

They’re already frantic, dealing with the fire.

No one’s going to get upset over the sound of a barbarian’s footsteps in this chaos.

Oh, not a person?

As I ponder the same question I’ve asked myself many times…

“…Is this really okay?”

Perched on Ainar’s shoulder, Bercil, a mage with a respect for tradition, voices his concern.

“What do you mean, ‘is it okay?'”

Confused, I ask for clarification. Bercil looks back. A flame that started in the center of the village, along with the smoke, has now consumed the entire area.

“There were quite a few non-warriors among the villagers…”

This kid, he’s more sensitive than I thought.

Treating that fish-head like a human.

“So?”

I reply, hinting him not to bother me while I’m busy, and Bercil falls silent.

And then…

“Um…”

Misha seems to pick up the conversation where Bercil left off.

“Why are you doing this? This isn’t like you, Bjorn…”

Not like me.

That’s the second time I’ve heard that today.

“Yeah! I’m curious too! I saw what you did down there, why did you do that?”

Prompted by Misha’s words, Ainar asks me, his curiosity piqued. So, his barbarian curiosity remains, even though his combative spirit has diminished?

‘Human corpses.’

If I had to answer, that’s all I saw down there.

The village chief showed me the corpses and explained how they came to possess them, hoping to clear up any misunderstanding.

Until then, there was no issue.

However…

“We’ve kept some things from you, so we won’t hold you or your companion responsible for breaking our village law or for your ‘mistake’. How does that sound?”

They said they would pretend that Amelia’s intrusion and my cleaving of Nue’s head never happened.

Isn’t that odd?

My first ‘friend’, Hans A, acted just like this.

“…Fortunately, nothing happened while we were asleep, so we won’t bring it up.”

Anyway, I learned a valuable lesson then.

If a stranger is kind to me, it’s because they have something to gain from me.

And there are more lessons I’ve learned through experience.

“Why! Why did you hurt Lady Elisa! What did we do…!”

Elisa, a priestess of Karui I met in the labyrinth.

While beating that ordinary acting priestess’s head, I had a realization.

When in doubt, split their head first.

However, I didn’t feel the need to explain all of this in detail. While providing a logical explanation and convincing them isn’t impossible.

“Please tell us. What did you see down there that led you to this?”

I said,

“It’s nothing.”

Just as I told the village chief earlier.

Once again, a single phrase was sufficient.

“I just felt like doing it.”

That statement, without any significant rationale.

Upon hearing this, Misha muttered under her breath.

“You mean… instinct?”

Instinct.

A calculated value derived from a huge amount of data accumulated unconsciously through experience.

“Instinct!”

Ainar nods as if satisfied with that answer.

“Oh, well then, we can’t help it!”

“Turns out, your hunches are usually right, sir. They’ve saved our lives more than once or twice.”

Erwin chuckled in agreement, and Bertholdt, who had been observing, chimed in.

“Certainly… there must be a reason why you had that gut feeling. Actually, I was also worried about that village head.”

Armin and the White Hekts, who had pretended not to listen while running alongside us, joined the conversation.

Well, they haven’t known me for long, but….

“Rather, I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

“Your beast-like instincts, Lord Yandel, are well known after all.”

They seemed to trust my reputation.

After all, for most explorers, as long as the outcome is good, it’s OK….

Explorers are often superstitious.

“Everyone did seem a bit off.”

“I feel rather relieved, actually. Honestly, I haven’t been able to sleep because of anxiety.”

“And you had that gut feeling? It might be a sign, it’s much more unsettling to ignore it!”

“Yeah… I know. Every time we ignored such a feeling, something bad happened.”

It seems they all had their suspicions.

It wasn’t that I anticipated this and gave such a response.

“Let’s move!”

“Damn monsters! Burn them more!”

For some reason, this boosted our morale.

Did my words alone have to erase all doubts? They seemed firmly convinced this was the right choice.

Well, I wasn’t exactly confident.

“….Funny guys.”

I couldn’t help but say it out loud.

But did they hear it too?

“The funny one is you, Yandel. You convinced everyone with a not-so-funny remark.”

Ah, what?

This voice is….

“Then again, you’ve always been like that. You always had the knack of making us believe that wherever you go is the right way….”

“Amelia?”

I quickly turned my head to see Amelia, carried by Aouen, looking at me with her eyes open.

“If you’re awake, say so. When did you wake up?”

“Just now.”

“How’s your body? Are you okay?”

“Nothing wrong.”

With that, Amelia immediately jumped off Aouen’s back and started running.

“So, we’re trying to escape this village?”

“That’s right.”

“Haah… causing such trouble while I was asleep. Explain in detail. What happened?”

This wasn’t a conversation to have over tea, so I quickly briefed her on the crucial parts.

“The village chief showed us the basement, but something seemed off, so I hit him over the head. And we set the village on fire while escaping. The village chief is probably chasing us through the flames by now.”

“A thorough rundown of the information to be conveyed.

At this, Amelia seemed lost for words for a moment before opening her mouth.

“…Just like you.”

Somehow, her comment brought a smile to my face.

Come to think of it, this was probably the first time today someone said something was like me.

“Anyway, now it’s your turn. What happened to you?”

“I was caught and detained after descending into the basement. They interrogated me and that was it.”

Hmm, so that’s what happened……

As expected, there wasn’t any additional information.

Well, even if there were, it wouldn’t significantly alter our current situation.

“Sir, we’ve arrived!”

The real challenge starts now.

This village is built under the ground like Noah’s Ark. The only way out is through the exit…

“What do we do now?”

All we could see from behind the closed door was a solid rock wall.

Only the village head can open and close the entrance.

Well, officially, that is.

“Stand back.”

Holding a hammer, I walked towards the wall, eliciting a puzzled look from Versil, the former mage.

“Do you… think that will work?”

God, this is why greenhorns are a pain.

“You’ll see.”

With that, I swung the hammer down with all my might.

‘Your character has cast [Swing].’

BOOM!

A shock wave that temporarily dispersed the thick smoke around us.

However, the wall was unscathed.

“……”

“…It didn’t work, did it?”

Hmm, indeed it didn’t.

Feeling rather barbaric.

“Don’t worry. There’s a way.”

“A way?”

“Yeah.”

Whether it’s magic or a skill, or anything else for that matter.

Nothing is physically indestructible.

If it still doesn’t break, then it simply means we’re not strong enough.

Therefore, it’s time for Plan B.

“Eruen!”

Hit it harder.

***

‘Eruen Pournachia Tertia summons [The King of Dark Spirits, Dickloa].’

***

CRASH!

Hundreds of dark spheres struck the wall, causing a thunderous noise.

But still, the wall held firm.

So, it doesn’t work this way either?

‘Swinging was obviously useless.’

The wall was chipping and cracking where the spheres hit, but it seemed to recover quickly.

It looks like we need a single, powerful blow rather than sustained damage…

“Eruen.”

There was no need to issue detailed instructions.

As I called her name again, a fierce light began to form around Eruen’s arrow.

‘Yeah, when it comes to single-target damage, nothing beats [Focus Shot].’

The only drawback is that it takes quite some time to fully charge.

One second, two seconds, three seconds……

As time passes, the colors contained in the arrows become deeper and more intense.

I wonder how much time has passed.

“Yandel.”

“No need to say it. I can see it too.”

Something is rapidly approaching from the direction of the fiery and smoky village.

At first, it appeared as a small dot, but it didn’t take much time for it to become a large dot and assume a distinct shape.

‘…They’re not going to let us off easily, are they?’

Well, they did arrive later than I expected, so I won’t complain.

“Prepare for battle!!”

Shouting at the top of my lungs, I went out to greet them.

And the moment I put my weight on the shield covering my upper body…

Quaaaaaaaaang-!!

The thing charging towards us collided with the shield.

Huuuuuuung-!

Smoke scattered as if a bomb had exploded.

Immediately, our long-range dealers began their barrage.

Curses, wind spears, fireballs, arrows, energy waves, and more.

Projectiles shot rapidly in straight lines as cast by seasoned adventurers. Unfortunately, not a single one hit its target.

Soaaaaaaah-

Spells and abilities that turned into light and disappeared before reaching their target. It was somewhat similar to the [Word of Flames] used by Orphelius’ leader, but there was a clear difference.

I could use skills when I fought that guy earlier.

Yes, that’s right….

‘If this isn’t the Essence of Serenity…’

There’s only one skill that performs similarly.

‘Tol-Rapufa.’

A grade 1 monster’s grade 1 skill.

[Cosmic Sanctuary]

One of the scam skills known for preemptively blocking all long-range projectiles.

By the way, since [Cosmic Sanctuary] is a passive skill, I don’t know what active skill the village chief has from Tol-Rapufa.

‘I never expected it to have a grade 1 essence.’

Separate from the burden on my shoulders, I ordered the cessation of long-range attacks for now.

There’s no point in wasting MP by shooting in the current situation anyway.

‘…Even though it’s neutralized, they will still lose MP on their side.’

Since it’s not a situation that warrants a prolonged battle, there’s no reason to drain MP unnecessarily.

Especially if I plan to go up to the monster-infested highlands later.

Yes, that’s right….

“You’re later than I expected, Chief.”

I attempted to initiate a conversation.

Any free second gained is considered a profit.

“Somebody needs to clean up the mess you caused.”

Oh, I didn’t expect him to agree.

However, it seems the chief has no intention of giving me much time either.

“Why are you in such a hurry when it’s raining outside?”

“Well, being stuck in the village is suffocating.”

“Stop. It’s a message for your sake.”

“For my sake?”

With a wry smile, the chief spoke as if delivering a final notice.

“It’s not too late yet. If you stop now, I’ll make today’s events disappear as if they never happened.”

“If I were a cornered rat, the offer would have sounded so sweet.”

To me, it was just a reassurance.

“What if I made the wrong choice and kept worrying?”

I wasn’t wrong.

How could I forgive someone who blatantly brought down a hammer and set fire to the village?

Such a person couldn’t be considered normal.

Unless it was decided to flee immediately, nothing that happened would be surprising.

Therefore…

“Can I think about it for a moment?”

I pretended to hesitate to buy more time.

But the chief seemed to have already studied this Barbarian.

Judging by his immediate response.

“Do I… look like an idiot to you?”

Uh…

“Well, maybe a little?”

“…Count to three, and make your decision within.”

“Three is too few. Let’s make it four.”

The chief counted without retorting.

“…Three.”

Well, at least I bought a few seconds, right?

It might not have much significance to wait until he finishes counting, but…

“Two.”

As the chief continued, I dashed forward.

After all, there was still quite some time left for Erwen to complete the skill.

If it was an inevitable fight anyway…

“…!”

Let’s see how it goes.

With the eyes of a hardcore gamer who spent nine years playing the game and trying out various combinations.

To see how strong a character I meticulously raised over an eternity.

And…

“Beheeeelllaaaaa!!”

What are its weaknesses?