A Name Known by All

* 〈Blood-Colored Awl is now storing blood.〉

After extracting blood from the corpse, I shifted my gaze to the body sprawled out on the ground.

'What on earth was there to gain from attacking a barbarian?'

Ah.

After pondering for a moment, I realized it must be because of the 'Red Wolf Hide Armor' I was wearing.

Armor made from carefully selected hides, its color was excellent, and at a glance, it looked quite valuable.

'Serves them right.'

The encounter that started well but ended poorly. Even though it was a relationship filled with malice, meeting those (fake) merchants was still a stroke of luck for us.

The main point: we got their horses and wagon. In other words, we now had an easy means of traveling to the city of 'Iushil'.

Even better, we managed to obtain a compass from the body of the (fake) merchant.

With this, it seemed unlikely we would get lost.

"Brother, there's a lot of this stuff in the cargo compartment."

Barkal rummaged through the cargo compartment and pulled out one of the many spices packed inside.

It was a green fruit.

I took a sniff—it smelled similar to wasabi.

'So this is the Waruk Fruit?'

Naturally, in the world of 《Dungeon God》, there was no such thing as 'wasabi'.

However, perhaps because it was a game crafted with modern knowledge, there were things just like it.

This 'Waruk Fruit' was exactly that. When dried, it had a flavor almost identical to wasabi. If eaten raw, it was said to be so spicy your nose would tingle.

"Kuuaaaaaaagh!!"

Suddenly, Barkal began to scream. Checking what had happened, I saw a handful of Waruk Fruit in his grasp.

Wait—did he eat that much at once? Of what's essentially wasabi?

"Dmihtan! The fruit must be poisonous!"

Groaning in pain, Barkal shoved his hand (that had held the fruit) into his skull helmet.

From the looks of it, he was trying to wipe away his tears and snot.

"Kuuaaaagh! Thrag!!"

Once more, a piercing scream escaped him.

Honestly, he never ceases to amaze me. Leaving Barkal to roll around on the ground, I gave the pile of spices another look.

"Don't go near that, brother! It's a fruit that shoots poison!"

"Barkal, this is a spice."

"Spice?"

As I nodded, Barkal stared at the fruit with suspicion. Thankfully, it seemed he at least understood the concept of spices.

Barkal suddenly smacked his skull helmet as if struck by an idea.

"I've heard spices are expensive! We should try to sell these!"

"That'll be tough."

"Why?!"

It's going to be difficult to explain. I'll do my best to put it in barbarian terms.

"Barkal, while you were out hunting, a sleeping axe you left at home disappeared. When you searched, you found it in the priest's home. Whose doing was it?"

"How could the priest do such a thing!!"

"If! Just hypothetically, Barkal!"

I calmed Barkal, who had swung his axe through the air.

"...... It's the priest's wrongdoing!"

"That's the problem, Barkal."

"Hmm?"

Looks like I'll have to explain a little more.

"In truth, the priest didn't steal your axe. But because your axe was found in the priest's home, you were suspicious."

"Hmm."

"If we, rather than merchants, sell these spices, how do you think others will see us?"

"...... They'll think we stole the spices?"

"More precisely, they'll think we killed the merchants."

Fortunately, Barkal wasn't lacking for brains, only for knowledge.

Rare ingredients like 'spices' could easily be traced by the merchants' guild.

If we try to profit from this, it might turn into a hassle.

"Waging war with a city is no deed of honor, Barkal."

"Dmihtan, my brother! You even thought that far ahead—impressive!"

Barkal nodded vigorously and turned his gaze back to the cargo compartment.

"So, what shall we do with all this?!"

We'll just have to dump it all.

* * *

After traversing a mind-numbing red wasteland, lush greenery began to appear in our sights. Not long after, we reached the city of 'Iushil'.

The journey wasn't smooth. Neither Barkal nor I knew anything about handling horses.

Thankfully, the horses were docile and responded well to gentle coaxing.

At one point, Barkal even shouted something about 'putting the horses in line by cutting off one of their legs!' but, well, in the end, it worked out.

"Hmm......"

As we entered the city's gates with our wagon, a guard greeted us.

He began to glance back and forth between Barkal, me, and the wagon.

Could it be he knew the merchant who owned this wagon?

"Barbarians......driving a wagon?"

Was that what puzzled him? On reflection, considering the usual behavior patterns of barbarians, his suspicion made sense.

"A smart barbarian can make a horse submit!"

"...... Hmm."

"Dmihtan is exactly such a barbarian! He's a sage!"

Barkal's booming voice made the guards scowl.

In the end, whether wanting to avoid any more conversation, they let us pass.

"So this is a city?"

Barkal exclaimed in awe at the cityscape of Iushil. I too found the scene incredible.

It wasn't the desolate red wasteland—it was vibrant air and buildings. For the first time, I felt like we were somewhere people truly lived.

"My blood is starting to boil, brother! Come! Lead me to the place of blood duels!"

Calm yourself, tenguri.Dungeons are wonderful, but today, I just wanted a day of rest.

* 〈Thrag desires a new offering.〉

No.

* 〈Thrag demands a new proof!〉

I said no.

* 〈Thrag wants the return of the divine weapon.〉

Insane.

I cursed silently.

I thought if I refused long enough, Thrag would back off, but now he was threatening to take back what he had given.

Seriously, this bastard is so petty.

* 〈The second Proof shall begin.〉* 〈Proclaim the god's name widely, and collect the Runes of the Abyss.〉

* 〈Faith Level: 2 [Warrior of Thrag]〉* 〈Rune of the Abyss Progress: Stage 1〉

* 〈If the 'Proof' is not undertaken, Thrag will become enraged.〉

The system windows popped up chaotically before my eyes. All I could do was resent my own fate for ending up worshipping a god like this.

I had intended to take a day's rest, but I had no choice but to head for the city's 'Adventurer's Guild' in Iushil.

I thought finding it would be a hassle, but it was easy—practically sitting right in the city center.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Gu—"

As soon as I entered, the receptionist looked flustered. Understandable.

'Barkal' had quite an unforgettable face.

A figure close to two meters tall, wearing a skull helmet. Who wouldn't be frightened? But work is work.

"We're here to register a party."

The Adventurer's Guild, which shares information across the entire continent. Thanks to this, there's no better place to learn about the emergence of 'dungeons'.

Accordingly, in 《Dungeon God》, if you want to explore a dungeon, forming a party at the 'Adventurer's Guild' was essential.

"...... T-Two barbarians?"

"That's right."

"Any other companions......?"

"We are it."

At my answer, the receptionist's pupils shook greatly. Why? Because we were 'barbarians'? Or more precisely, because there were only barbarians—he clearly didn't know how to handle it.

Gulp.

Steadying himself, the receptionist spoke up.

"S-sorry, but you need at least three members to register a party...."

"Hmm!"

Barkal stepped forward.

"We are barbarians of the Red Wolf Tribe! Each of us is worth a hundred warriors!"

"A-aah...."

"A barbarian does the work of a hundred alone!"

The receptionist looked even more troubled.

"He does not believe us!"

Barkal drew the axe strapped to his back.

"Dmihtan! There's no need for you to step up—I will handle this! Thrag! Let me show my bravery!"

Whoa—what are you doing, you maniac?

"Come one, come all! I will prove my strength as a member of the Red Wolf Barbarians!"

Barkal shouted so loud the whole building seemed to shake. Watching this deranged barbarian, I turned my gaze to the receptionist.

Looking at his expression, I now understood why he had panicked on hearing we were only barbarians.

Barbarians truly had a reputation for being impossible to reason with.

Thanks to that, every adventurer in the building stared at us at once.

How embarrassing.

"What's going on?"

"Isn't that a barbarian? Looks like another muscle-brain making a scene."

"Why are barbarian bastards all so savage?"

Naturally, not everyone welcomed the ruckus—some frowned. Barkal's voice was certainly disruptive.

Barkal now started striding toward the three who had spoken.

"Calm down, Barkal."

"Brother! I can bear being insulted, but they've insulted you, Dmihtan!"

Your sentiment's nice, but you're the one causing the chaos here.

"They're coming this way?"

"Judging from their appearance, they're barbarians from the wastelands."

"Aren't those guys famous for worshipping some lunatic god?"

"Wasn't it the God of Blood and Revelry? Yeah, they're notorious."

I really didn't want to make any more of a scene. With that in mind, I tried to stop Barkal.

* 〈Thrag wants the blood of those men.〉

What's his problem now?

* 〈Thrag desires battle with those men.〉

I said no.

* 〈Thrag makes a vow.〉

* 〈If you win in battle against those men, you will receive faith.〉* 〈As faith increases, the power of 'Blood-Colored Awl' may awaken.〉

"Barkal."

"What is it, brother!"

'Faith' was difficult to obtain, but I still wanted to avoid causing any more trouble.

"Prove yourself not with your axe, but with your bare hands."

* * *

* 〈Thrag is pleased.〉* 〈You have obtained faith.〉

I didn't even have to step in to subdue the adventurers. Barkal, charging at them, took care of it in a flash with a few punches.

"Uugh...ahhh..."

The adventurers groaned in pain, but I didn't feel any particular sympathy.

In the world of 《Dungeon God》, 'gods' were not something one mentioned lightly. Especially not ones as foul-tempered as 'Thrag'—they might even send an 'apostle' to kill you for speaking carelessly.

You should be grateful it ended with just this.

"Is this still not enough?!"

Barkal, having knocked down the adventurers, turned to the receptionist.

It looked like he was saying, "I did the work of three people by myself, so numbers shouldn't be an issue."

"...... E-even so, you still need three members."

"I defeated three men!"

"But that doesn't mean you've become three people yourself!"

He was right. As a 'player' playing the game, I hadn't needed to worry about such rules, but there was nothing for it.

"I want to recruit another member. Can the guild arrange this for us?"

When I asked, the receptionist looked at me. He seemed to realize I was someone he could actually talk to.

"Yes, yes! We can do that for you!"

"Will it cost extra?"

"No, not at all! The Adventurer's Guild covers everything!"

Sounds good.

"Then, please do."

"P-please wait just a moment!"

As I turned to leave the adventurer's guild, the receptionist stopped us with a surprised voice.

"Would you like to enter your party name? We need it to arrange for another member."

A party name, huh. What should I put?

"Red Wolf Tribe."

Barkal chimed in, but I shook my head.

"Sons of Thrag."

No way.

* 〈Thrag is enraged.〉

"Then, how about the Great Sage Dmihtan!"

No way, you fool.

If I left it to Barkal, he'd suggest something terrible. Not that I ever planned to leave it to him, anyway.

What would be good? I doubted anything brilliant would come to mind, but I thought it over.

Ah, I just thought of a good name.

"Have you decided?"

I nodded at the receptionist's question.

"Dungeon God."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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