Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 127

For explorers who risked their lives daily in the labyrinth, taverns were indispensable. Alcohol, often called the water of life, eased their frustrations and exhaustion while fostering new connections. Sometimes, fists replaced words as a form of communication, providing spontaneous entertainment for the other guests.

The party of Paleuze, on the verge of leaving their rookie status behind, used the tavern as a nighttime dining hall, a place to socialize with other explorers, and gather information. However, even Paleuze, who frequently visited the tavern, couldn’t ignore the heavy shift in the atmosphere over the past few days.

Though the usual loud, foolish banter persisted, one topic dominated all others: the manhunts rumored within the labyrinth. No one remembered who had started the rumors, but Paleuze had heard stories of entire parties being mysteriously wiped out beyond the middle floors. Corpses vanished without a trace in a labyrinth that typically devoured flesh and bone indiscriminately. Scars from battles left in safe rooms fueled these tales of hidden predators.

It had been just a rumor until the Three Magic Attack party exposed the truth, throwing the entire guild into chaos. The manhunter turned out to be none other than Faust himself.

As a veteran adventurer at the Bergana branch, Faust had even served as an instructor for newer explorers. Known for his approachable attitude and willingness to offer advice, he had brought considerable wealth to the city. The revelation that such a man was a manhunter left many, including Paleuze, deeply shaken.

“Did you see that notice?”

“You mean the one about that mercenary?”

The brief exchange between two mid-tier adventurers was enough for Paleuze to understand the topic. In the labyrinth, ‘that mercenary’ could only mean Walm, the wandering soldier.

“Yeah. Apparently, he’s recruiting a party to delve into the lower floors.”

“Recruiting, huh? But that Walm guy isn’t even an adventurer. It sounds more like he’s looking for porters or high-paying guides. Besides, the guild doesn’t even have proper records on his skills or background—he’s too much of an unknown.”

“Still, anyone who gets to the 30th floor alone is bound to attract interest from profit-driven three- or four-person parties.”

“You think it’ll be that easy? He killed two people, remember?”

“It was self-defense. And those two were manhunters. Are you really going to defend those scumbags?”

“No, I get it… I know that mercenary isn’t in the wrong; he was just defending himself. But still, Faust was the one who mentored me when I was clueless. Damn it, why did it have to be this way?”

“Probably the same reason bedtime stories lull you into letting your guard down—he fattened you up before going in for the kill.”

Perhaps fueled by alcohol, the drunk adventurer sneered as he spoke. Paleuze noticed the other adventurer’s sharp glare—an ominous sign. He quickly stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, bracing for trouble.

“You bastard… Can’t you show some respect? Faust was a first-rate adventurer without needing to stoop to manhunting. He wasn’t desperate for money.”

“First-rate? More like a deranged killer. I’ll be cheering when he’s swinging from a noose in the city square. You’re a fool for falling for his act.”

“You can’t take those words back, you know?!”

“Bring it on, you clueless idiot!”

Their verbal exchange escalated into a physical brawl. Metal cups and containers scattered across the floor, turning into makeshift instruments signaling the start of the fight. Onlookers egged them on, while Paleuze gave orders to his party to avoid getting dragged into the mess.

“Grab the table and move it to the side!”

Leek and Dona, moving in perfect sync, lifted the table while Paleuze carried the fragile bottles of liquor to safety. Meanwhile, Mattio was, as usual, entirely absorbed in his meal, stuffing his mouth and clutching a large plate of food. Dona’s furious voice cut through the commotion.

“Mattio! How long are you going to keep eating?!”

“It’s useless. That guy’s got a bottomless pit for a stomach,” Leek remarked.

Paleuze wholeheartedly agreed. His party often joked that Mattio’s insatiable appetite was the result of some curse or malicious spirit. Just as they finished moving the table, the two brawling adventurers tumbled over into the area where Paleuze’s group had been sitting moments before.

“That was close.”

“Yeah… But didn’t the same thing happen yesterday over this exact topic?”

Mid-tier adventurers were supposed to set a better example, yet here they were, brawling on the tavern floor. Faust had once served as a peacemaker in places like this—now his absence had become the spark for such conflicts. It was clear this chaos wouldn’t be dying in the near future.

“Looks like this topic won’t fade away anytime soon.”

“But that mercenary’s recruiting a party, huh…”

Leek’s suggestive comment wasn’t hard for Paleuze to decipher.

“Forget it. We’re not at his level.”

In purely profit-driven terms, there was no more reliable explorer than Walm. But factoring in the risks was another matter entirely. The power gap would make any reward distribution uneven, and with monsters beyond the middle floors, Paleuze’s still-inexperienced party would likely die instantly. If any conflicts arose, none of his current teammates would be able to handle them. Besides, they had no real connection to Walm, the wandering mercenary.

Even Faust, with all his years of trust and experience, had ultimately betrayed both the guild and the city. Who could trust a mercenary who had only recently arrived? As the party leader, Paleuze couldn’t approve of joining Walm’s party. Frankly, they weren’t even a particularly appealing group to begin with. Walm would probably reject them outright.

“I know… Still, one day I wish I could say something like, ‘We’re forming a party to dive into the lower floors.’”

“A far-off dream. I heard people used to recruit for those expeditions a long time ago.”

Paleuze dug through distant memories. The village elder, a former soldier, often recounted old stories during the harvest festival. Paleuze had been his captive audience every year, and one tale involved militias and discharged soldiers venturing into the labyrinth after the Unification War for food and supplies.

“Yeah, after the Unification War ended, demobilized soldiers and dismissed officers used the labyrinth to earn a living.”

“I don’t know much about it, but wasn’t that war over eighty years ago?”

“Bergana was the fiercest battleground during the Unification War. Over 100,000 soldiers died there—you should at least know that much.”

The brutal urban warfare had been so horrific that even the normally long-winded village elder struggled to speak about it.

“Old war stories won’t help us now.”

Leek exaggerated a sigh, shaking his head. His irritating expression almost tempted Paleuze to smash a bottle over his head.

“Don’t lump me in with him.”

Dona likely shared the same sentiment as Paleuze. After a brief struggle between temptation and restraint, Paleuze’s self-control won out by the narrowest margin, and he placed the bottle back on the table they had moved earlier. The fight between the two adventurers raged on, their limbs tangled in a messy brawl. It seemed the chaos in the tavern wouldn’t be ending any time soon.

Translator – Lyxxna