WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 23: Sewer (4)

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"I gave one to the guards. They said they'd use it as evidence when they called for reinforcements."

"...So it's true."

The moment Ruben saw the tail, he believed him. Gerik felt he had made the right call in risking himself to cut off and bring back several Rat Man tails.

"Did you get bitten anywhere?"

"No. A frontliner risked their life to hold them back, so I wasn't bitten."

"Phew... Just in case, I'll let you use the Guild's bathhouse. Wash yourself there, then have a staff member examine you."

Adventurers hiding their condition because they could not afford treatment for a beastification curse infection were all too common. Ruben was doing Gerik a favor while also confirming his condition. Gerik had nothing to lose, so he readily agreed.

"Please wait a moment. Another employee will show you to the bathhouse."

"All right..."

Now that he had a little room to breathe, Gerik looked down at his blood-soaked body and fell silent. All kinds of thoughts rose to the surface.

Relief that he had survived, the thrill of defeating an enemy, and guilt over failing to protect companions who had died so miserably. The tangled emotions left him confused.

"Would you follow me?"

"Ah, yes."

A Guild employee appeared before Gerik as he stared blankly at the floor, lost in thought, and called out to him.

Gerik quietly followed the employee out the rear entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild. There, he saw a courtyard enclosed by high walls.

'There's a lot here.'

A dining hall for Guild members, buildings that appeared to be lodgings, warehouses, and more. The high-walled grounds were well equipped with all sorts of facilities.

The attendant led Gerik to the stone building on the far right, where steam billowed out beside a water channel.

'It's an actual bathhouse...?'

Inside were a sauna and baths filled with hot water. Gerik's eyes widened at the sight of a convenience he could never have imagined in the life he had lived since his reincarnation.

"Since you're covered in blood, we'd appreciate it if you washed some of it off before entering the bath. Too much blood makes it difficult to clean..."

"Ah, okay. I'll be careful."

"Yes. If you leave your armor with us, we'll give it some basic maintenance for now."

Gerik nodded in understanding and assured the employee he would be careful.

The employee looked slightly suspicious, but left without giving him any warnings or placing him under watch, simply telling him to wash up properly.

"Phew..."

After rinsing off much of the Rat Man blood with hot water, Gerik lowered himself into a round wooden tub.

The sensation of hot water, something he had not felt in a long time, drew a sigh from his lips.

"Goddamn it..."

The pleasant feeling of his body loosening up lasted only a moment. Gerik remembered his companions, their bodies torn apart by Rat Man incisors, and gloom washed over him.

'Who knows? Maybe they started a new life too, like I did.'

Gerik had already experienced death once and even the miracle of reincarnation. The thought that they might have begun new lives just as he had eased his gloom a little.

"Huh?! It's soap!?"

After soaking in the hot water long enough, Gerik spotted a familiar object.

Until now, he had only washed with the hot water prepared by inns. Seeing soap for the first time in so long made his eyes light up.

"Thankfully, there aren't any wounds."

Once he had scrubbed every part of himself with hot water and soap, Gerik inspected his now-clean body.

Aside from a few scrapes and blisters, there were no wounds from the Rat Men. Gerik let out a relieved breath.

"We've finished maintaining your armor... Have you finished washing?"

At that moment, the voice of a Guild employee echoed through the bathhouse. Gerik answered that he had finished as well.

"Fortunately... you don't have any wounds. You won't have to worry about infection."

The employee seemed relieved too, now that Gerik appeared safe from the beastification curse.

"The deputy branch manager has gathered the other staff and is currently in a meeting based on what you reported."

When Gerik returned to the first-floor reception hall of the Adventurers’ Guild, the employee who had guided him handed over his maintained equipment and explained the situation.

"Could you come back to the Guild tomorrow? Your reward is scheduled to be settled then."

"...There's a reward?"

Gerik was surprised. He had never expected to receive compensation for reporting the Rat Men.

"Of course. The problem has arisen directly beneath Stonecreek, after all. Whenever our Guild receives an important report like this, we make sure to reward the adventurer."

The unexpected windfall eased Gerik's gloom, if only a little.

After thanking the employee, he made his way back to the inn with heavy steps.

'What a hellish day.'

Once he arrived, Gerik forced down the meal the inn had prepared before heading to bed.

Cursing the terrible events of the day inwardly, he closed his weary eyes.

『Screee...!! Squeak!!』

"...?!"

Gerik had been sleeping at the inn when he realized that, somehow, he had returned to the site of the terrible Rat Man battle from earlier that day.

Worse still, it was the desperate moment after Olin and Wilber had died, when he had faced the remaining three Rat Men.

Startled, he quickly raised his sword and took up a fighting stance. Just as before, the Rat Man leader placed one injured subordinate in front, and the Rat Men began coordinating an attack from three sides.

Gerik gritted his teeth. As before, he charged forward, killed the injured Rat Man in front, then made a bid to take down the Rat Man leader with him.

Just as before, the leader's head soared into the air. This time, though, Skyler's Quintet did not activate. A huge Rat Man tooth sank into Gerik's neck.

"Ghk... Khk...!!"

Gerik's carotid artery was severed, and a horrific amount of blood began pouring from his throat.

As Gerik lay paralyzed by pain and blood loss, the Rat Man gave a cruel smile and began gnawing at his neck.

Horrific pain overwhelmed Gerik as he died. With his throat torn open, he let out a soundless scream and slowly died.

"...!!"

He had clearly died, yet Gerik realized he had returned to the same situation again. He was still facing the Rat Men one against three.

He could not understand what was happening, but he picked up his sword and fought the Rat Men again.

Unfortunately, the result was not much different. He somehow subdued two of them, but the opening created in the process let the last Rat Man deal him a fatal wound. He died again.

"...Again?!"

Gerik realized death was repeating itself. Then came another fight. After several attempts, he paradoxically began to grow accustomed to dying.

'I can't use a move that takes us both down.'

As though his life belonged to someone else, Gerik felt his mind turn ice-cold despite the desperate situation. His composure returned.

'Instead of killing the injured Rat Man...'

Unlike before, Gerik spun around with all his strength and charged at the Rat Man on the flank.

Perhaps it had never expected its prey to target it, because confusion and shock filled the Rat Man's face.

'Slash...!!'

Having memorized their patterns through countless repeated battles, Gerik cleanly dodged its attack. As the Rat Man flew past him, he brought down Slash as though beheading it.

Slash!!

The ugly rat beastman's body and head separated in midair, scattering disgusting blood in every direction.

Gerik did not flinch at the sight. He simply turned his head and stared coldly at the Rat Man leader.

The seasoned leader was charging with all its might to exploit Gerik's opening.

Another two or three steps, and its sharp incisors and claws could reach Gerik.

'Slash...!!'

Gerik backed away, unleashing Slash again and again from the fastest stance he could take.

Naturally, the attacks were not properly formed, so none of them landed a meaningful hit on the Rat Man leader.

"But you can't ambush me anymore, can you? What are you going to do now?"

The Rat Man leader had needed to duck and twist into various positions to avoid Slash. Its momentum was gone, and with it, the advantage of its surprise attack.

"Go on. Catch me."

With that, Gerik kept his eyes on it and sprang backward in quick steps. The Rat Man leader roared and charged at Gerik.

But a problem it had not expected arose. Its subordinate was injured and could not keep pace with the leader.

In the end, they could not take advantage of their numbers. Gerik, with the longer reach, toyed with them thoroughly, and they fell one after another.

'Even in a battle where death is only a moment away... if I can stay calm, I can survive.'

Once the battle ended, Gerik realized something through his repeated deaths.

As long as he did not fear death and could remain calm, there was still a chance to survive.

The moment he understood that, Gerik noticed a familiar notebook in his hand.

『Achievement Name: One Who Crossed the Line of Death (Passive)』

『Rank: Rare』

『Effect: Once per day, when pushed into an extreme combat situation, removes all mental status conditions.』

『Note: Fear is the privilege of the living. But only one who abandons that privilege becomes a true warrior. - Amir, One Who Survived Ten Times -』

"Huff... Huff...!!"

Gerik woke up sitting upright in bed, gasping as he looked around.

His entire body was drenched in sweat. He realized that the battle from earlier had driven him into a nightmare.

'...Could the skill have been a dream too?'

Just in case, Gerik raised his hand to open his status window and inspect it.

Then he realized he was holding something familiar.

'This is... the key?!'

Gerik remembered that after arriving at the inn, he had taken off his armor and clothes, then collapsed into bed clutching the pouch of valuables he usually kept at his chest.

He also realized that, while asleep, he had unconsciously opened the pouch and gripped the key inside.

'Something about this is creepy...'

For some reason, Gerik felt as though the goddess engraved on the key's bow was watching him.

"Kh... Ngh...!!"

The more he looked directly at her, the more his mind sank into a warm haze, as if his reason might slip away.

Just as he felt that something seriously wrong would happen if this continued, Gerik's mind suddenly became ice-cold, and he began calmly analyzing everything.

"...?!"

It felt as though the unknown fear he had felt until now had never existed. What had he even been so frightened of?

Gerik looked down at the key in confusion. For some reason, the goddess engraved on it seemed to be smiling gently at him.

'...Did the passive activate?'

From the sequence of events, Gerik concluded that the unidentified goddess had been pleased with the trial he had endured today and blessed him by making him repeat it.

The goddess's watchful gaze had also shown Gerik how to use the skill. Even so, Gerik felt that something about the blessing was twisted. He quickly shoved the key back into his pouch and opened his status window.

[Name: Gerik]

[Class: Unemployed]

[Attributes]

Strength (3), Agility (3), Health (3), Intelligence (3), Perception (3)

[Skill] Lv. 2 Slash (10/100)

[Achievement] One Who Crossed the Line of Death (Passive / Rare) - Once per day, removes all mental status conditions in an extreme combat situation.

Upon checking his status window, Gerik discovered that a new category called [Achievement] had appeared.

Seeing that Slash had reached Level 2, he finally understood why his sword strikes had suddenly become faster in the previous battle.

Footnotes:

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