Chapter 14: Frey (Middle Part)


TL: Scaramochi


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[Frey's POV]


I had become an adventurer and was tackling a beginner's labyrinth on my own.


To be honest, it was a bit of a letdown.


There were only slimes, goblins, orcs, and other small fry monsters. No matter how many of them there were, they were no match for me.


The wild animals and monsters outside the village were much stronger.


There were traps and other troublesome things in the labyrinth, but I was able to sniff them out by instinct, and "that guy" had taught me a lot, so it was easy to deal with them.


One good thing was that I could wield my power to the fullest.


Kicking monsters to the curb wasn't a bad feeling.


Soon, I was at the bottom of the labyrinth, fighting the master of the labyrinth.


He was pretty tough, and I got a little rattled and wounded, but I was able to beat him.


As word spread among adventurers that I had defeated the Lord of the Labyrinth, I began to hear my name mentioned more and more often.


I didn't get annoyed, because they weren't saying anything bad about me. I was just feeling good about being accepted like the others in the village.


Then I tried the intermediate level labyrinth.


The monsters in the intermediate level were tougher than those in the beginner level, and I couldn't get through them as fast as I wanted.


But I tried again and again to become stronger.


After six months as an adventurer, I was invited to join a party by a guy I had lost to in a fight.


He said, "You're doing a little better now, aren't you? If it's all right with you, why don't you join our party?"


"Eh? Well ...... if you insist, I can join you."


I wasn't too keen on the idea of being in a group, but it was common practice for adventurers to work in a party, and I figured I could join the party of the guy who beat me, so I accepted the invitation.


I was also determined to join the party because it was an all-Dragonian group. If you're from the same tribe, you should be able to get to know each other a little better, right?


The party I joined was Dragon Head. It was a silver-ranked party.


The leader was the big guy who beat me, named Sisid.


Sisid is by far the strongest, but the other guys aren't much better than me. I was smiling, thinking that I could soon become one of the best in the party.


However, fighting in a party wasn't my style.


What do you mean by "working together"? Why can't I fight as I please?


Don't blame me. It's just because you guys are slow.


You're always complaining and blaming me for your mistakes.


You've got to be kidding me.


I'd rather fight alone.


I was sick and tired of fighting in parties, but since we were outnumbered, the strategy was going better than I had expected.


So I started thinking.


The other gangsters are just tools to make me stronger. They are pawns to fight stronger monsters.


With that in mind, I became a little more reserved.


I would get pissed off and barge in from the side if I smelled something too smelly, but I would ignore it as much as possible. I didn't want Sisid to be bothered by my every word of caution.


I was called a "tyrannical dragon" among adventurers because of my deceptive behavior.


I complained to them that they shouldn't call me that, but it seemed that the second name is only given to strong adventurers.


I thought that might not be so bad. I thought I was being naive.


Well, I heard that "word" means both strong and a rampaging troublemaker. I didn't care about that, because it wasn't wrong either.


I know I am a problem child.


But it didn't matter.


When I turned 15, she appeared.


"Oh, it's Athena."


"For an adventurer, she's got all the grace of an aristocrat, doesn't she?"


"She's such a pretty girl and so strong, I can't believe it."


"She conquered the beginner's labyrinth right after she became an adventurer. And she's already conquered the middle level of the intermediate labyrinth."


"Rumor has it that she goes by two names, 'Golden Flower.'"


The woman's name was Athena.


She had long golden hair and sky-blue eyes. She had the most beautiful face I've ever seen.


She was a strange woman with a sparkling aura overflowing from all over her body.


When I first saw her, I couldn't believe my eyes that such a slender woman could be an adventurer. I would have believed her more if she had been a daughter of a noble family or a dancer.


But Athena was strong. Seriously, she's really strong.


When I saw her fighting for the first time, my whole body trembled.


I felt that she was worthy of being called "Golden," the way she slaughtered monsters with her sword dancing like a dancer, without even letting her attack be hit.


Athena's appearance made me rejoice.


I was happy from the bottom of my heart that there was finally someone my age who could compete with me.


At the same time, I felt frustrated.


Athena was getting stronger at an extraordinary speed, and she had passed the Dragon Head's attack point and defeated the intermediate level labyrinth master.


I couldn't lose, I never wanted to lose to her.


I went on a rampage as if I was unleashing everything I had been suppressing in order to become even stronger than before.


But Dragon Head didn't like that.


They kicked me out of Dragon Head, saying, "We can't keep up with you anymore."


I don't care, I don't want to be a part of this weak party anyway.


I'll join a stronger party and aim for the top.


With that, I left Dragon Head.


But no party would let me join.


I tried to sell myself to the gold-ranked parties, but they all turned me down, probably because they had heard bad rumors about me.


I was at my wit's end, drinking in frustration, when she asked me,


"Frey, if it's good enough for you, why don't you join Stardust?"


Athena, the leader of Stardust, which was at the peak of its popularity, asked me to join.


I never thought I'd be invited by someone I consider a rival.


Stardust was a party of four member.


But to put it bluntly, it's a one-man party with a strong Athena.


I heard that Mirialia, an elf and a magician, was a good player, but I never heard good things about her.


Dale, an old man with a scar on his left cheek, wasn't a great warrior. I knew him, too. He was a "deadbeat" who never formed a party and spent all his time in the beginner's labyrinth, earning pennies and drinking cheap beer.


He's such a hopeless guy that I don't understand why Athena invited him to the party.


And then, there's the problem with this kid Est, the enchanter. I've heard a lot about him. It's a bad rumor, though.


He was a useless guy who did nothing but chores after he had done the magic he had given to others. He was made fun of by being called Athena's lackey and a gold-digger, and I think they were right. The adventurers around me were making fun of Athena for keeping him in the party, and I agreed with them.


But since I was invited, I was willing to give it a try.


Besides, I thought Athena could keep up with my full strength.


So I took Athena up on her offer.


"Sure, I'll join you."


"Thank you."


That's how I joined Stardust.



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