CHAPTER 83
Team Registration Form.
It was a shame Horizon wasn't here, so I wrote the team name as Horizon.
With this, Horizon is with us in spirit.
Babiyen looked at me with absurd eyes from the side, but I ignored her.
After writing the team name, we leisurely headed toward the 2nd World.
My physical class had increased quite a bit recently.
Wouldn't I be able to play a significant role in the 2nd World now?
With my Divine Martial Arts, I could probably inflict damage even on a Fantasy Species.
Just then, the Mimyeongryeong (Unbidden Spirit) fluttered over and sat on my shoulder. It was puffing out light as if to say it would do its part, too.
This little guy is wonderful, just like its owner.
It was a spirit whose growth I looked forward to as time passed.
"Where is the 2nd World this time?"
The 2nd World changes periodically.
Just in time, it was the season for the location to shift.
"It's a place you'll like, Babiyen."
"This maiden?"
"You'll know when you get there."
While Babiyen expressed her doubts, we arrived at the entrance to the 2nd World.
As always, we presented our Pioneer IDs to the Regular Army and stepped inside.
A moment later, our vision shifted.
What entered our changed view was a red sand desert stretching out endlessly.
The Desert Inside the Waterway.
This was the 2nd World we were to pioneer this time.
"How is this a place this maiden would like?"
"It's red."
"Do you really want to die?"
"I don't die, though?"
Babiyen ground her teeth.
If I provoked her any further, she might not kill me, but she looked ready to sear my butt with fire.
Let's stop here.
I was also a first-timer in the Desert Inside the Waterway.
Since I hadn't been here during the five months I was with Bulldog, it was natural.
I hoped Bulldog would return by the time we finished with this 2nd World.
I prayed for his safe return.
"Arshel, please guide us."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to set the direction toward the Waterway Labyrinth, is that okay?"
"I'll leave it to you."
On a first-time path, you have to trust the Scout.
So, I willingly left it to her.
Arshel marched straight through the red desert without even a map.
Seeing her walk skillfully without sinking into the sand, it seemed she had been here before.
As expected of a mid-tier adventurer.
She was a Scout equipped with a certain level of combat ability.
As long as she wasn't a viper who preyed on men, Arshel was an excellent party member.
"Harua, what is the Waterway Labyrinth?"
Aranseol slid up next to me and asked.
She was weak against the heat.
So, before coming here, we had prepared thoroughly against the heat.
Thanks to that, she looked relatively okay even in the desert.
"In the Desert Inside the Waterway, there is literally a place called the Waterway Labyrinth. The labyrinth changes its location regularly, and the Fantasy Species living there produce quite expensive gems."
"Gems!?"
Suddenly, Babiyen poked her head out between us and shouted.
Her eyes were flashing fiercely.
It was a face where greed for money soared high the moment she heard the word 'gems'.
"If you say it like that, she'll misunderstand. The ones that produce expensive gems are a minority. Usually, the Magic Stones are more expensive."
Arshel corrected my story slightly.
Ah, so that was it.
That must be why adventurers rush in whenever the Desert Inside the Waterway opens up.
It’s a first-come, first-served game.
Far away, amidst the sand, I saw people walking.
It was the adventurers who had entered before us.
In the end, everyone was heading toward the Waterway Labyrinth.
"Come to think of it, I've heard of it. That the gems from the Waterway Labyrinth are so good. Ah, if only it wasn't for the money, this maiden would make one into a ring."
Did Arshel's words not reach Babiyen?
She was smiling broadly as if she had already obtained the gems.
"She's just going to come out with a pile of Magic Stones."
Nothing good ever happened when Babiyen got ahead of herself.
Money should be earned healthily and spent wisely.
Aiming for a windfall brings nothing good, tsk tsk.
"Woo-hehe, you never know if you're with me."
Hearing our conversation, Arshel gave a subtle smile.
Her expression looked quite confident.
"Have you gotten some gems before?"
"I got one last year. Thanks to that, I lived comfortably without worrying about money for a while."
So she’s experienced.
No wonder she stepped forward so confidently.
"Is that true! Is that really true!"
Babiyen caught fire, too.
The desert was already red, but Babiyen’s face flushed even redder.
"This is why people should stay away from money."
I must ensure I don't become a materialistic person like that.
"Harua, you like money too."
"That is... I only want to earn enough to eat and live."
Just eat some elixirs and live in a nice house.
Just that much.
Boom!
At that moment, a loud noise came from the front.
The adventurers who were ahead of us were engulfed in sand soaring from the ground.
I knew it as soon as I saw it.
It was a Fantasy Species.
The sound of weaponry clashing could be heard.
It seemed a Fantasy Species had appeared within the sandstorm.
"Arshel, there's no need to get involved."
"We should go around."
There was no need to intervene in other adventurers' fights.
Arshel tactfully changed direction.
However, Aranseol was staring blankly at the sandstorm.
Given her innate personality, she looked like she wanted to step in if it seemed dangerous over there.
She really is consistent.
A few hours into the desert.
Aranseol, who is weak to heat, showed a slightly exhausted face, while I was in relatively good condition.
I had been burned twice by the hands of the Red Flame Lord alone.
Thanks to that, most heat didn't bother me anymore.
In Babiyen's case, thanks to her passion for gems, she didn't feel the heat at all.
Muttering about gems for hours showed incredible tenacity.
"We're almost there."
Arshel knew the Fantasy Species routes of the Desert Inside the Waterway well.
So, we were able to arrive at the Waterway Labyrinth with virtually no combat.
"Arshel, can I ask you one thing?"
As I handed water to her while she walked ahead, Arshel glanced at me.
"Why? If it's a confession, I'm sorry, but you're not my type."
"Don't worry. That will absolutely never happen."
"But since you're a Holy Mage, I guess it might be okay to accept."
"I said don't worry, didn't I?"
Chatting about trivial things with her, the back of my head felt prickly for some reason.
Thinking it was Aranseol, I turned my head, but Babiyen was looking this way before flinching and averting her gaze.
Is she telling me not to disturb the gem hunt?
Looking now, Aranseol wasn't in a state to look anywhere else due to the heat.
I looked at Babiyen with slight suspicion for a moment, then turned back to Arshel.
"Cain. Do you know what happened to that guy?"
"That moron?"
Arshel's face instantly turned grim.
Since she only had bad memories with Cain, it was natural.
But I still had to ask what I needed to ask.
The Regular Army had searched for Cain.
After all, he was a person of interest when the No-Named murderer was caught.
I was trying to find him to see if I could learn anything.
However, Cain went missing afterward.
When I asked if she knew anything about this, Arshel pressed the back of her neck for a moment.
"That moron, his personality is incredibly twisted, you know? Even among the Transferees I've seen, he was severe. Those types usually have some trauma from the past."
Indeed, Cain was a character with a broken personality.
And Arshel, who had been by his side for a while, would know that best.
"Basically, he's a guy with hatred toward the world. The type who wants to do whatever he pleases and gets enraged when he can't."
Arshel offered a hypothesis.
"I'm sorry to say this, but he's a Transferee, right? I think the place where such world-hating Transferees head to is predetermined."
The conclusion was clear.
"Black Dawn."
The gathering place for mentally ill Transferees full of complaints about this world.
Anyway, they are a deficient bunch.
Even if this world isn't delightful, I try hard to live day by day.
But these guys just don't know satisfaction.
If Cain really headed to the Black Dawn, the hypothesis established so far fits perfectly.
His Ability itself is excellent, so it would make more sense for them to use him rather than kill him.
"Anyway, those Black Dawn bastards."
"You seem to hate the Black Dawn too?"
"I do. Because of them, the perception of Transferees is getting shattered."
Recently, the gaze looking at Transferees had become even more ferocious.
Since the Black Dawn bastards were causing chaos here and there, it couldn't be helped.
Discrimination against Transferees is rampant all over the world.
And this discrimination naturally drove Transferees to band together under the Black Dawn.
If you are discriminated against, join us.
Without knowing whose fault it is that they are being discriminated against more, they quickly throw themselves into the Black Dawn.
"That's strange. If you're a Transferee, isn't the Black Dawn better for you?"
"That is a very rude thing to say to a Transferee."
"Is it? But if the Black Dawn wins, it eventually becomes a world for Transferees."
Hearing that, a hollow laugh escaped me for some reason.
"Right, that must be the perspective of 'This-worlders' regarding Transferees. Transferees don't unite as easily as you think."
You can tell just by looking at Earth.
Right now, even Korea grinds its teeth at North Korea and the ethnic Koreans in China (Joseonjok), despite being the same ethnicity.
Not to mention China; lines are drawn against all neighboring countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Russia.
And it's the same for other countries.
Transferees are barely held together by the point that they are from the same Earth.
Eventually, as time passes, their wills will clash, and they'll start claiming 'what's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine.'
It meant that in the end, whether it's the uncivilized This-worlders or the Transferees, they would follow the same procedure.
If it's going to be like that, it's better to maintain a world that functions properly for now.
All I want to protect is a peaceful daily life without conflict.
It wasn't something grand like having to save this world.
"Is that so. Ah, we're here."
Just then, Arshel's steps stopped.
"Gems!"
The gem ghost Babiyen raised both arms and shouted.
A single rock placed alone in the red desert.
Beneath a crack in the rock.
There was an entrance large enough for a person to walk in.
It was the entrance to the Waterway Labyrinth.
There were already plenty of footprints around.
It was evidence that a significant number of adventurers had already entered.
"I can leave the pathfinding in the labyrinth to you, right?"
"That's what I came for."
Arshel stepped into the Waterway Labyrinth, exuding her competence to the fullest.
We immediately followed behind her.
As she said, Arshel marched straight through the Waterway Labyrinth.
We hunted Fantasy Species in between and gathered a decent amount of Magic Stones.
Up until then, we were doing quite well.
"Uh, huh?"
Until Arshel lost her way, that is.