Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 132

136

As soon as I opened my eyes, the setting sun filled my vision.

A moment ago, I was outside the castle walls under the bright sun. But after closing my eyes briefly and opening them again, both time and space had shifted.

Looking at the castle walls from inside the city, the battle I had just fought felt like a distant dream.

“Welcome to the second shelter, the Sand City of Scavenger.”

As it was a shelter, there were no time limits or specific goals.

This place was literally a haven, a space created for players exhausted from the grueling trials up to the 10th floor to rest and recuperate.

Of course, beyond mere rest, players also exchanged equipment salvaged from trials, sought out new clans, and engaged in various social activities.

Before long, members of the Diablo Clan began gathering around Seun.

“Shelter! We’re in a shelter!”

“How long has it been since we had a break like this!”

“We’re alive!!”

The clan members cheered, reveling in the word ‘shelter’ and admiring the peaceful-looking interior of the city.

Although they had enjoyed a break in the residence in the middle of their climb, the trials following that respite had felt particularly arduous.

‘Well, we climbed five floors in a row.’

As one ascended the tower, the difficulty of the trials increased, while the individual themes tended to become shorter.

This had the advantage of allowing for rest in the clan’s residence after each completed theme, but it also meant risking one’s life with each new trial.

Heads or tails? A constant gamble.

Either way, it forced the player to make a choice, but at this moment, I wanted to let everyone savor the joy of survival.

Seun approached Yoo Seo-ah, who still looked dazed in the center of the group.

“Good job.”

“Seun! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Of course not. I was just about to go help, but it didn’t seem necessary.”

“It was all thanks to Baekhyun. He devised the plan and sacrificed all the undead he had worked so hard to create.”

The operation, as she described it, was simple.

A strategy to bind the boss monster’s movements using their combined powers, followed by Baekhyun detonating his undead from the inside.

Knowing how diligently Baekhyun studied corpses and created undead during every break, it made his contribution all the more impressive.

“Haha, no. No matter how important the undead are, you guys are far more important to us, right? And the most important Manticore is still intact.”

“If you need anything, tell me anytime. I’ll do my best to help.”

“Thank you! Then, could I get the Queen Ant you got from the 9th floor? There are so many things I want to experiment with!”

“Of course.”

They were in the middle of the city, and everyone was exhausted.

I couldn’t retrieve it here, so I decided to hand over the Queen Ant’s corpse as soon as dawn broke the next day.

While I was wondering whether to return to the clan’s residence or find a place to stay here, a new message popped up in front of the Diablo Clan.

-The commander of the South Gate, Yasha, invites the Diablo Clan to ‘Dayban’s Tavern’.

‘Dayban’s Tavern?’

Even if no one else did, Seun remembered the name.

Dayban’s Tavern was the place where the soldiers of the South Gate traditionally gathered once a year, every time they successfully fended off a monster attack.

The problem wasn’t the tavern itself.

‘It’s connected to the 10th floor trial?’

Seun retraced his memories from before his regression [his time travel].

At that time, he had managed to complete the trials reasonably well, but upon arriving at the shelter, the soldiers had completely ignored the players.

They treated the players as mere ‘outsiders,’ just as they had when they first arrived at the castle walls. It was as if they had forgotten that they had fought alongside them to repel the monster attack.

But now, the story of the 10th floor trial and the shelter seemed inextricably linked.

Is it because of the hidden quest? Or is it because of my relationship with Yasha?

I had to attend to uncover the reason.

And fortunately, the Diablo Clan’s reaction was also positive.

“Oh, a tavern!”

“Wouldn’t it be okay to have a beer before resting……?”

“I think it would be good too…… cough.”

Of course, they couldn’t openly clamor to go and were carefully watching Seun and Yoo Seo-ah’s reactions. Even Park Jung-pil was looking at Seun with sparkling eyes.

So, Seun stepped forward first and addressed them.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going?”

“Awesome! Our clan leader!”

“Let’s go!”

* * *

Dayban’s Tavern wasn’t far away.

In the first place, the Diablo Clan had been summoned near the South Gate where Dayban’s Tavern was located, and thanks to the system kindly providing directions, they could easily find it.

“Wow, it’s bigger than I thought? Hyungnim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]?”

Considering the name of the tavern, I had imagined a small establishment run by a retired soldier, but it turned out to be one of the largest taverns in Scavenger.

Seun before his regression hadn’t had much interest in taverns, so he didn’t know about this place.

When I opened the door and went inside, I saw soldiers already occupying more than half of the seats.

They must have rushed to the tavern as soon as they had roughly cleaned up the battlefield, with monster fluids and sand still clinging to their clothes.

Nevertheless, no one seemed to mind.

Everyone was raising their beer glasses high and shouting excitedly.

In the midst of the revelry, one of the soldiers spotted Seun and banged on the table with an empty beer glass, shouting towards the back.

“Everyone, pay attention! The hero has arrived!”

“What? Oh, he’s here!”

“Commander! Where’s the commander!”

“Come out quickly!”

Everyone who followed Seun was taken aback by the unexpected enthusiastic welcome.

I had thought I could just slip into a seat and enjoy a drink, but judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like the Diablo Clan had become the center of attention.

Before long, Yasha, having heard the commotion, emerged through the crowd of soldiers.

“I’ve been waiting! Come this way…….”

Yasha was about to guide them to their seats, but there weren’t enough available for everyone in the Diablo Clan to sit together.

Just as I was contemplating squeezing in between the soldiers while trying to gauge the situation, her voice boomed throughout the tavern.

“Hey! What are you doing, not making room!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Everyone on that side, stand up!”

“Ah, why this side!”

“If you haven’t earned as much experience as me, shut up and stand up!”

Thump!

The soldiers on the right side moved with surprising speed, and about eight tables were cleared in an instant.

Some soldiers even rolled on the floor while hurriedly vacating their seats, but instead of being asked if they were okay, they were grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged away for not moving quickly enough.

Yasha, the commander of the South Gate.

I had only known her as a calm and cool-headed individual, but I hadn’t realized she possessed such charisma.

As expected, there was a good reason why the soldiers followed her so diligently.

Well, thanks to that, the Diablo Clan, including Seun, was able to settle down comfortably.

“Thank you for coming. Have you had a rest?”

“No, we were just wondering if we should find a place to stay.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. There’s a nice accommodation behind the tavern, so we’ll make a reservation for you.”

The members of the Diablo Clan cheered at her words.

Even if they returned to the residence, they would have a place to sleep and wash, but it still couldn’t compare to the fluffy bedding of a proper accommodation.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy a lot of living supplies this time and decorate the residence.

“Oh, are these the people? Certainly, they all look like they have some strength!”

While I was talking with Yasha, a large man approached with drinks and food.

One of his legs looked noticeably impaired, and I could easily deduce that he was a retired soldier.

“This is the owner of the tavern, Dayban.”

“I heard the news! Everyone’s performance was amazing, and I can’t just stand still! Hey, John! Bread!”

“Yes, boss!”

“Let’s put some extra effort into today’s dishes! Set up the most popular ones!”

“Hehehe, I’ll show off my cooking skills for the first time in a while! Don’t say anything even if the table breaks!”

“Of course! If I see any of the drinks or food on this side run out, you’re all fired!”

“Yes, sir!”

Although he was a retired soldier, perhaps because he understood the feeling of successfully repelling a monster attack? Everyone at the tavern, including Dayban, seemed even happier than the active soldiers.

Before long, all sorts of food piled up on the table.

Scorpion skewers, lizard skewers, cactus steaks, etc. They were unusual and unfamiliar foods, but judging by the atmosphere, they seemed to be quite popular here.

People hesitated to eat at first.

Gulp.

“This is so delicious! Hyungnim!”

“Oh, it’s edible?”

“How long has it been since I’ve had proper food!”

-The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince’, is drooling so much that the floor is getting wet.

People soon began to fall in love with Scavenger’s cuisine.

It didn’t seem like magic was developed here, but somehow there was ice floating in the beer.

Perhaps because the soldiers’ cheerful atmosphere was contagious, laughter soon erupted loudly from the Diablo Clan’s table as well.

As the atmosphere warmed up, soldiers approached and began to raise their glasses in toasts, and the awkwardness completely vanished.

Some of the more outgoing members of the clan initiated conversations with the soldiers, and soon everyone was mingling and clinking glasses together.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“I heard you’ve been defending well so far.”

“That’s true, but casualties were inevitable every time a monster attacked. This is the first time there have been no deaths or injuries.”

Yasha’s face, who had just emptied a fresh glass of beer, was slightly flushed.

She was in the position of commander, and perhaps because of that very position, the joy of protecting her soldiers must have been even greater.

“Moreover, this attack was particularly powerful. We might not have been able to defend the castle walls without you.”

Certainly, the Diablo Clan’s contribution to this defense was significant.

Thanks to Seun’s completion of the hidden quest, the difficulty had increased, but in the first place, that investigation had been requested by Yasha.

The fact that they had achieved first place proved the Diablo Clan’s substantial contribution.

While we were talking, the words I had been waiting for finally came from her mouth.

It was something Seun couldn’t bring up first because of the festive atmosphere.

“Ah, I’ll give you a reward as soon as things are settled.”

“Thank you.”

“However, I think I need to report directly to the lord about your contribution this time, as well as the matter of the sorcerer.”

“Will it take long?”

“It won’t take long. I’m going to visit you tomorrow morning.”

The hidden quest Seun had completed, the exiled sorcerer.

This was by no means a trivial matter.

The sorcerer who had been banished from the city was plotting its destruction.

What would happen when that news reached the lord’s ears?

Perhaps I would be invited to Scavenger’s inner castle, a place I had never seen before my regression.

‘Come to think of it, there was a mural in the inner castle that looked like a statue.’

If I get the chance, I should examine the mural.

Seun was convinced that the statue was related to the Outer Gods, but the more information he had, the better.

While he was organizing his thoughts, a familiar voice echoed from the center of the tavern.

When I turned my head, Park Jung-pil was raising a glass full of beer and shouting.

“Okay, everyone, focus! Hold up your glasses!”

“You know how to drink!”

“Everyone worked hard today, so let’s forget all the hardships and drink like crazy for today only!”

“Cheers!”

Clink!

That night, Dayban’s Tavern kept its lights on until the first hint of dawn arrived.