How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World

Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed his head as he stood up. 

His head throbbed from a hangover. 

It was no surprise, considering he and his companion had been drinking strong dwarven liquor back and forth. 

He held back the nausea and changed his clothes. He put on the linen shirt and pants he had bought at the market and laced up the boots he received as a gift yesterday.

When he went down to the first floor, Daramon was there.

“Why’re you so slow like a lazy bear?”

“It’s the first relaxing morning I’ve had in three months.”

Daramon brought out the food; a sandwich stuffed with meat and potato soup. 

The taste was unbelievably good. 

Even though there was a lot of bear fur floating in the soup, he treated it like willow leaves floating in cold water. 

He figured it was Daramon’s way of making sure he didn’t eat too fast and end up with an upset stomach.

Jeong Yoo-shin stood up, pulling out the bear fur stuck in his teeth.

“I’m off.”

“Alright.”

He stepped outside and began walking down the street. 

The inn where Jeong Yoo-shin was staying was located in the southern district of the city, an area for ordinary people—not poor but not wealthy either. It was the area where those making a living from the labyrinth city had settled.

After about 30 minutes of walking, a fairly large wooden building came into view; the Labyrinth Explorers’ Guild branch. 

He had seen it a few times on his way home from work but had never gone inside. So, though it felt familiar, it also seemed strange.

He pushed open the wooden revolving door and stepped inside. 

The building was relatively quiet; it appeared that those who were going to leave had already done so. 

As he approached the counter, a female receptionist was there.

“How may I help you?”

“I heard there’s a class for new explorers. Can I register?”

The woman smiled brightly. 

She was a dog beastman with drooped ears, and her smile was adorable.

“Of course! May I see your identification?”

“Here it is.”

“Yes, Mr. Skaro. Confirmed. The registration fee is five silver coins.”

He pulled out the silver coins and handed them over.

‘She’s cute.’

The receptionist kindly explained the class times and content. At some point, he felt the sharp gaze of a human woman at the next counter, but he ignored it.

The first errand was done. 

Now for the second.

He left the Explorers’ Guild branch and headed to the western smithy district. 

After showing the note given to him by Malon and wandering around asking people, he finally found the place.

“A longsword will cost you ten silver coins.”

Malon’s cousin, Boron, said.

“What?!”

His hands trembled. 

That was an entire month’s salary!

“I heard you’d give me a discount.”

“This is the discount. It’s usually fifteen silver coins.”

There was no point arguing. 

Besides, Boron’s expression had turned rather sour. If he wasn’t careful, he might be kicked out.

“How much is this shield?”

“That’ll be five silver coins.”

“Alright, I’ll take the sword and the shield.”

“What about a helmet?”

“Sorry?”

“The helmet’s the most important. This one’s five silver coins.”

The dwarf brought over a steel helmet. It had a T-shaped opening and was quite narrow, similar to a barbute. 

Their eyes briefly met.

Boron let out a heavy sigh.

“Listen up. If you weren’t introduced by my cousin, I’d have kicked your ass out of here long ago. Don’t haggle or look for cheap stuff in front of a dwarf blacksmith. It’s insulting.”

No wonder he was upset.

“I apologize.”

Jeong Yoo-shin sincerely apologized. 

The dwarf’s anger slightly subsided. He muttered.

“One of the reasons new explorers die so often is the lack of proper armor, especially for the head. It’s uncomfortable, restricts your view, and amplifies sound, making it disorienting. It’s cumbersome and expensive, so people don’t like to wear it. Then they take a hit to the head and die. It’s the most rookie kind of death.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Glad you understand. What about other armor?”

“I have hardened leather armor and gauntlets.”

“Good. Here, I’ll throw in a scabbard and whetstone for free.”

Jeong Yoo-shin gathered up the equipment given by the dwarf. He strapped the longsword to his waist and held the shield in his left hand. 

When he put on the helmet, his field of vision narrowed considerably. 

The dwarf was right.

“I’ll be back later.”

“Don’t bother.”

Jeong Yoo-shin left the smithy with the dwarf’s farewell. 

The way back to the inn, with the helmet on, was quite the ordeal. His narrowed vision made him almost bump into people several times. Still, he kept it on. He needed to get used to it.

“I’m back.”

Daramon, who was sitting at the counter, looked up.

“Back already? You’ve already got your gear?”

“Yes.”

“Buy the rest after the class. Still, you made a good choice with the helmet.”

“My class starts tomorrow.”

He had managed to quit his monster dissection job at just the right time—not too early, not too late. 

Was it luck? 

Or was it part of Daramon’s plan?

Could it be that Daramon had a journal in his room, full of detailed plans for training him? 

The thought gave him a slight chill. 

No way, right? 

Still, he was curious, so he asked honestly.

Daramon looked at him with disdain.

“You’re overthinking.”

“Oh, right.”

———-

The next morning, Jeong Yoo-shin went to the Explorers’ Guild building early. 

The place was bustling with people. 

The job request board was crowded, and all the tables in the corner were full. The counters were much busier than they had been yesterday, so he stood in line to wait.

Bang!!

Someone slammed the reception desk. 

It was the boy standing right in front of Jeong Yoo-shin.

“Why do you keep pushing this class on me?”

“It’s for new explorers. It’s important for survival and exploration…”

It was the human woman who had glared at him yesterday. Her voice was calm, but her eyes, reflected through her round glasses, were cold.

The boy interrupted her.

“Do I look stupid? You charge five silver coins for common knowledge everyone knows? You should at least have some decency. Even though I’m a new explorer, I’m not clueless. Stop trying to rip me off and just do your job properly.”

“…”

The receptionist’s eyes briefly flashed with anger at the boy’s words.

“I’ve confirmed your request. It’s for the subjugation of ten hobgoblins and the collection of ten low-grade magic stones, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“You may submit the items here or at the exchange office in front of the labyrinth. Have a nice day.”

“Tch.”

The boy clicked his tongue and walked back to his party, who had been waiting for him—two men and two women, all of whom seemed to be new explorers.

Once the boy left, Jeong Yoo-shin stepped up to the counter and handed over his registration plate.

“I’m here for the new explorer class. Please confirm my attendance.”

Her gaze was still sharp, so he kept his words brief and to the point.

“Yes, Mr. Skaro. Confirmed. You can go to the basement.”

Thud!

‘Here we go.’

The receptionist dropped his registration plate onto the counter. It wasn’t hard enough for him to complain, but it wasn’t soft enough to ignore either. 

The sound bothered him, like it was an expression of restrained frustration.

It was an awkward way of venting anger. He understood her frustration, but taking it out on others didn’t seem fair.

Jeong Yoo-shin picked up his registration plate and put it in his pocket. He missed the cheerful smile of the cute dog beastman receptionist from yesterday.

He left the counter and headed down to the basement.

Three people were standing there: a mole beastman, a human male in his early twenties, and a chubby dwarven woman.

“Hello.”

Jeong Yoo-shin greeted them first. 

None of them returned his greeting; they just stared blankly at his face.

‘Awkward.’

“Are you a barbarian by any chance?” 

The human male asked cautiously.

“Yes.”

“Oh! I see. I was surprised because it’s the first time I’ve met a barbarian who greets people first. I’m Jackson.”

Jeong Yoo-shin was starting to dislike the whole Jackson label.

“I’m Skaro.”

The other two finally spoke up and introduced themselves.

“Tig.”

“I’m Alon.”

The mole-person was Tig, and the dwarf was Alon. 

Their names were simple and easy to remember. 

While they were chatting, someone came down from above—a silver-haired woman with tan skin. 

She wore a tank top and loose pants for easy movement. Her muscular physique and well-defined six-pack were clearly visible.

The woman stood in front of them.

“Is this all of you?”

She scanned the four of them with a lazy voice and an even more lethargic gaze. 

No one answered.

“Am I talking to myself?”

“I’m not sure if this is everyone. We’ve been waiting for quite a while.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Skaro.”

“I’m Ursula, the branch guild master here.”

It was surprising that a branch guild master was personally instructing new recruits.

Ursula scratched her head in frustration.

“Damn it. I heard there were a lot of new explorers, but this is all there is?”

No one answered. 

Honestly, they had no idea how many new explorers there were. This was the first they were hearing about a large influx.

“Ugh. Whatever. Let’s get started.”

Eight hours passed.

Despite her relaxed demeanor, Ursula conducted the lesson thoroughly and with great care. 

She encouraged them to ask questions whenever they didn’t understand, repeating explanations until they grasped the material.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go over the types of monsters found in the shallow layers and how to deal with them. You don’t need to bring your weapons; everything is prepared in the underground training grounds. Any questions?”

Jackson raised his hand.

“Will you be the one teaching us all the way through?”

“No. I’m only here until tomorrow. After that, another instructor will take over.”

“I see.”

“Don’t be disappointed. The others are just as skilled as I am.”

“Understood.”

Ursula turned and left ahead of them. 

Jackson wiped his forehead with his hand.

“I’m honestly surprised there’s so much to learn.”

“Indeed.”

“We did learn a lot, though. Some of it was quite shocking. Especially the part about how, in the last thousand years, only a handful of people have ever reached the depths of the Great Labyrinth.”

At Alon’s words, Tig nodded.

“Yeah. The part about parties collapsing due to negative imprints was especially shocking.”

Imprints.

They were abilities granted to those who entered the labyrinth. When they first heard about them, they seemed promising, but the reality was different.

There were three types of imprints: positive, neutral, and negative.

A positive imprint enhanced the owner’s talents or gave them new abilities.

A neutral imprint was more subjective, depending on the owner’s needs or preferences. 

For example, there was an imprint that made hair grow more. This might be useless to beastfolk but valuable to bald humans or dwarves.

Lastly, there were negative imprints. 

These imprints could harm the owner or the city. 

People with these imprints might suddenly crave blood or even transform into monsters.

Ursula hadn’t gone into detail about the negative imprints. She’d only given a few representative examples.

“What a screwed-up luck-based game.”

Jeong Yoo-shin grumbled under his breath.

“Sorry, what?” Alon asked.

“Nothing. Good work, everyone.”

Jeong Yoo-shin deflected the question and left the basement.

When he returned to the inn, Daramon was sitting at the counter, resting his chin in his hand.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome.”

Jeong Yoo-shin sat down across from Daramon.

“Daramon, I have a question.”

“The reason I seem to have a lot of fur isn’t because of an imprint. It’s just shedding season.”

That bear was sharp.

“How did you know?”

“The thoughts of a new explorer are all the same. Now, eat.”

“Yes, sir.”

After dinner, he went to his room and lay on the bed.

“What if I end up with one of those crappy imprints?”

Saying the thought out loud made him feel even more foolish.

Survival comes first. There was no point worrying about imprints.

Better just sleep.

Jeong Yoo-shin closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.