How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 36: Ori, Jeong Yu-shin and Mi-on

Jung Yoo-shin was guided by the guards to the explorer's guild exchange office, which was located right in front of the labyrinth.

Since the labyrinth closure order hadn't been fully lifted, there were no people inside the exchange office, and it was quite empty.

He entered a small office in the corner of the exchange.

An elf was sitting at a desk, scribbling on a scroll with a pen.

The elf raised their head. Dark circles lingered under their eyes.

"The Labyrinth Exploration Team 12, the leader would be Karin, right? Are you the only one who survived?"

Jung Yoo-shin approached and plopped down onto the chair opposite the elf.

"No, but who are you?"

"I'm the head secretary of the Labyrinth Exploration Team. I'm with the committee. My job is to take the team's reports. Tell me what happened."

The elf glanced at Jung Yoo-shin’s hair and added,

"Leave out the mating stories."

"Yes."

Jung Yoo-shin began speaking.

He summarized what had happened in the labyrinth, leaving out the emotions and sticking to the facts.

Thirty minutes passed.

"...And so, Karin ran off somewhere, and two party members turned into animals. One of them seems a bit out of it. They seem to have some sort of idiot imprint."

"Where are those party members?"

"They’re waiting outside the exchange office."

"Then I’ll go check..."

"Quack quack!!"

The sound from outside made the elf stop standing up and sit back down.

"I heard that. Good work. Go back and get some rest now."

After reporting everything that had happened in the labyrinth, Jung Yoo-shin now had some questions of his own.

He asked,

"What happened to the other exploration teams?"

The elf sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Some of them have finished their investigations and returned. Some haven’t come back yet. It’ll take a little more time before we can know for sure. An announcement will be made soon, so wait for that."

The elf spoke vaguely, skirting around the core issues. It didn’t seem like they were going to tell him anything more.

Jung Yoo-shin stood up and left the office.

Creak.

Thud.

The door closed, and silence returned to the office.

The elf muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead.

"Hoo. Destroying the tower, digging a hole, and making a portal on top? Even a strong-minded person wouldn’t be able to do that. This guy’s completely crazy."

The elf’s pen moved quickly across the parchment.

A moment later, he finished writing the report and added his opinion at the bottom.

"Further investigation needed."

The elf put the pen down and scanned the entire report once more.

Seemingly satisfied, he nodded a few times and leaned back in his chair.

It was a quiet noon, unusual for a labyrinth city.

Jung Yoo-shin, guided by the guards, left the exchange office.

At the entrance of the exchange, Ory and Lizardman, along with Gil Syeon, were waiting and greeted Jung Yoo-shin.

Jung Yoo-shin quickly scanned his party members and spoke.

"Well, see you later. Stay healthy."

Just as he was about to leave, Roynell, who had transformed into a duck, bit Jung Yoo-shin’s foot.

"Ugh! What is this?"

"Quack quack!!"

‘What is it?’

"Are you asking me to take you to the temple? To erase your imprint?"

The duck shook its head.

"Then what are you asking for? Speak, like a human."

"Quack."

The duck gathered its two wings and pretended to sleep.

"You want to be put to sleep?"

"Quack!"

"And money?"

The duck stuck out its plump belly.

Jung Yoo-shin stared at the soft, white fur on the duck’s belly for a moment and spoke.

"Shall I cut your belly open?"

The duck nodded.

Jung Yoo-shin couldn’t help but laugh.

"Come here for a moment. Don't back off. This elf really."

As if it were instinct, the duck, who had once been an elf archer, quickly backed away and began loudly quacking.

A passing guard saw the situation and approached.

"What’s going on?"

"The duck is making fun of me."

"You must be tired. Were you with an exploration team? Go and rest."

"Understood. Come on, duck. Let’s go home. Oh, you’re cute."

The duck slowly approached.

‘Now.’

Chomp!

Jung Yoo-shin grabbed the duck's body firmly.

"Roynell, stop this. Get a grip. You’re an elf."

The duck flapped its wings wildly.

"Quack quack!"

The guard laughed and said,

"That one’s tough. He’s getting some good rest."

The duck’s body stiffened.

Jung Yoo-shin’s face became serious.

"Really, you’re an elf."

"I know. I saw you from afar. Just playing around. But be careful. It might not just be a game when you go out on the street."

Upon hearing this, Jung Yoo-shin’s mind snapped to attention.

Earlier, the priests had come to check if he was in his right mind and had asked him a few questions, which now made sense.

It was a procedure to confirm if he could fulfill his duty as the protector of the party.

Jung Yoo-shin unpacked his things and searched through Roynell’s clothes.

His fingers brushed something cold.

When he took it out, it was a silver badge.

A silver badge symbolizing a mid-level explorer.

Jung Yoo-shin hung the badge around the duck's neck.

The guard's words felt strangely serious.

He barely survived, only to be kidnapped by a passerby and end up with a duck meat ending. How tragic could that be?

Jung Yoo-shin looked around, but Ahiman was nowhere to be seen.

"Chirrup."

Ahiman, who had turned into a lizard, was already sitting on Jung Yoo-shin’s shoulder.

"Ahiman, are you going to erase your imprint? Should I take you to the temple?"

The lizard bit Jung Yoo-shin’s earlobe.

"Let’s talk. If you don’t like that, just slap my palm twice."

Jung Yoo-shin held out his palm. The lizard stared at it for a moment before biting it.

Once. Twice.

"You don’t like it? Confirmed."

He couldn’t understand what these people were thinking.

Jung Yoo-shin sighed as he looked at Gil Syeon and took his hand.

"Let’s go."

The strange procession began.

At the front, the duck, with its silver badge hanging around its neck, waddled proudly.

Following behind, Barbaro was holding the hand of a warrior in plate armor. A lizard sat on the warrior’s black-haired head.

The street was crowded with people, all chattering.

"Could it be the Labyrinth Exploration Team?"

"Did they fail?"

"I don’t know. But it's really unusual to have two animal transformation imprints."

The people whispered to each other but didn’t approach.

Jung Yoo-shin’s face turned red.

‘Stop looking. I’m embarrassed.’

The duck shook its bottom proudly, swinging its silver badge as it walked.

Receiving attention from the people, they passed through the southern street and arrived at the Dar Mong inn.

"We’re back."

Dar Mong, who was sitting at the counter, jumped up.

"You made it back alive."

"Yes. How long has it been since I left?"

"It’s been about a week."

Has it really been that long?

‘Time really flies.’

Dar Mong looked around Jung Yoo-shin and spoke.

"Duck, lizard, paladin. Quite the unusual combination. Where’s Karin?"

"She suddenly started talking about towels and then ran off somewhere."

"I see. Well, welcome back."

When Jung Yoo-shin sat at the counter, Dar Mong pulled out a cup and poured some liquor.

"Wait a moment. I’ll bring something to eat."

"Okay."

The duck flapped its wings beside him, so Jung Yoo-shin sat it down in a chair.

He gently took Gil Syeon’s hand and led him to sit next to the duck.

The lizard, who had already descended to the counter table, was licking its tongue.

"Haah."

An unknown sigh escaped him.

Dar Mong came out of the kitchen holding bread, cheese, and dried sausages.

"The earthquake made it impossible to start a fire. Apologies."

"It’s fine. Thank you."

Jung Yoo-shin slowly ate the food.

When Roynell, with its eyes shining, pressed its beak against the bread and cheese, Jung Yoo-shin tore off a small piece and gave it to him.

‘It should be fine, right?’

Since he wasn’t sure what the duck usually ate, he was anxious, but he felt reassured when Roynell gulped it down happily.

He also gave some bread pieces to the lizard, which licked them up with its tongue.

‘It eats well.’

Feeling relieved, Jung Yoo-shin also took off Gil Syeon’s helmet and fed him the food. Thankfully, Gil Syeon ate it without issue.

Watching them, Dar Mong smiled faintly.

Once the meal was finished, Jung Yoo-shin began recounting the events in the labyrinth.

"...When we left the labyrinth, Roynell turned into a duck, Ahiman became a lizard, and Gil Syeon became an idiot. We reported everything to the explorer guild and returned."

"Ska, you’ve grown."

Dar Mong patted Jung Yoo-shin’s shoulder.

"I don’t know. I was just lucky."

"Luck is also a skill."

Splash!

Beer splashed on Jung Yoo-shin’s face.

Looking to the side, he saw Roynell swaying its bottom, its head in a beer mug, moving its beak rhythmically.

‘Oh, my head.’

The dizzying sight made him grab his head.

"Roynell, aren’t you an elf? A noble highborn? Let’s maintain some dignity."

"Quack!!"

Splash!

Beer splashed on his face again.

‘Is this guy insane?’

No wonder, he was laughing and crying at the end of the labyrinth, and it seemed his mind had snapped.

Anger flared up, but it quickly extinguished.

‘Ah, I don’t care anymore.’

He was so tired. It had been a series of shocks, both mentally and physically.

Jung Yoo-shin wiped the beer off his face and stood up.

"Dar Mong, I’m going up to rest."

Dar Mong smiled and nodded.

"Got it. Is this paladin serving the Light Spirit?"

"Yes."

"I’ll contact you separately. You look really tired."

"Yes. I’ll rest first."

Jung Yoo-shin bowed and went upstairs. The duck and the lizard followed him. The lizard was riding on the duck's back.

"Let’s get separated. Go to a different room."

"Quack!"

"I should’ve kept quiet."

Once inside the room, Jung Yoo-shin grabbed Roynell, who was squirming around, and wiped its feet with a damp towel. The lizard slowly avoided to the corner, so he just shared the towel.

Jung Yoo-shin also undressed, wiped his body with the towel, changed into new clothes, and lay down on the bed.

The lizard and the duck crawled into the blanket.

"Sigh."

Jung Yoo-shin sighed and closed his eyes.

Late lunch the next day.

Jung Yoo-shin woke up.

He lifted the blanket to find Roynell and the lizard, eyes closed, snoring gently.

"Wake up."

Jung Yoo-shin shook the duck and lizard awake and brought them downstairs to the inn’s first floor.

"Did you wake up? Gil Syeon was taken by the Earth Spirit priest last night."

"Yes. That’s a relief."

Jung Yoo-shin ate the food Dar Mong had prepared and went for a walk.

Ronnell, whining and pulling at his pants, was impossible to resist.

The street was still full of knights and guards glaring and controlling the area.

Several times, the guards stopped him and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° interrogated him, but each time Roynell stepped forward and poked the guards' knees with its beak.

The guard looked down at the duck with a pitying gaze.

"Is it your companion?"

"Yes. I’m an elf."

"Ha. For an elf, this is quite... go on. You've had a tough time."

"Yes. Take care."

After several sympathetic looks from the guards, they finally reached the park.

The park had many tents scattered around. People who had fled because of the earthquake had set up camp there.

Jung Yoo-shin sat on a bench, some distance away from the fountain.

Roynell was playing around the fountain, completely forgetting its dignity. Soon it seemed like it might even eat worms.

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Ahiman, on the other hand, was lying next to Jung Yoo-shin, enjoying the warm sunlight.

Jung Yoo-shin sat idly, watching the duck and the fountain.

He had a lot to do, but it was hard to take his eyes off his party.

‘Really having fun.’

"Ah? Ska!"

At the call, he turned his head and saw Mion standing there.

"Mion-sensei."

Jung Yoo-shin stood up and bowed to Mion, who also smiled softly and nodded.

"I heard you joined the Labyrinth Exploration Team. It’s a relief to see you safe."

"I was lucky."

Really. This time, he had barely escaped death, with the Grim Reaper slapping him on the cheek and dragging him away.

Had he not regained his senses, or if his luck had been just a little bit worse, he would have died.