Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 396

Expedition Team (1)

I stared at the knight for a while in silence, then changed my expression.

“It seems I was mistaken.”

The knight seemed relieved at my change in expression but still looked confused, as if wondering what I was talking about.

“Oh, I’m just glad there seems to be nothing wrong with your head.”

I patted the knight’s shoulder, then checked with the other three to confirm if they had any objections to me being the leader.

They probably didn’t have the guts to break a promise that was notarized in front of the Marquis, but you never know.

However…

“No objections.”

“Same here. It was that kind of bet, after all.”

“Since it’s come to this, please call me whenever you need my help.”

Unexpectedly, the other three, excluding the knight, did not express any objections.

Maybe they were more easy going than I’d thought. 

I figured at least one would push back, given the political stakes involved.

“Well, if there are no complaints, that’s great. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“What? You’re leaving already?”

As I turned to go, all four of them gave me puzzled looks. 

They seemed to think that since the leader was decided, we’d have more to talk about…

“I’m hungry, you see.”

“……?”

“Well then, see you later.”

With that, I walked out of the room, leaving behind four puzzled faces.

It’s a kind of build-up.

I’m not going to live as Rihen Schuiz forever, and it’ll be revealed in three months, right?

If I show them this kind of behavior in advance, it’ll be easier for them to accept it then.

They might think, “No wonder he acted like some kind of barbarian. So that’s why.”

“You’ve come.”

The next stop was the Marquis’s office.

“You’ve returned.”

I thought it was proper to report in before leaving.

“How did it go?”

“Nothing special.”

“So, they accepted you as their leader?”

“It’s not like they had much choice.”

“True, I suppose. If you need any assistance, just let me know.”

“Good to know.”

And that wrapped up my mid-mission report—almost.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“…?”

“Now that we have a commander, there’s to be a initiation ceremony soon.”

“An initiation ceremony?”

“Yes. Before entering the labyrinth, it’s only fitting to gather everyone involved. The patrons sponsoring this project would also like to see you.”

“When is this?”

“I’ll inform you as soon as it’s scheduled.”

I found it a bit amusing.

There are less than ten days left before entering the labyrinth, and only now are we having an initiation ceremony and getting acquainted before heading straight in?  

It’s like roasting beans over a flash of lightning.

‘Why are they pushing things so hastily?’

I suddenly asked myself, and the answer quickly became clear.

‘He probably wants to make sure it all happens after the 15th. That’s when information is most likely to leak to the Noark side.’

The Higher-ups would want to minimize information exposure as much as possible.

When I asked more about the initiation ceremony, the marquis answered that it was impossible to hold a grand event inviting hundreds of people due to security reasons.

“Anyway, I understand about the initiation ceremony, But what about my two team members?  Will I only meet them at the ceremony?”

“Not at all. If you’re okay with it, I can arrange for you to meet them as early as tomorrow.”

“Then could you send them to my house tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

At my request, the Marquis readily nodded.

So that’s all we have to talk about, then.

As I was about to wrap up the conversation, the Marquis suddenly brought up a new topic.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“When you made that bet at the banquet…”

The marquis paused, catching his breath, then asked,

“Were you confident that you could win against the four of them?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but wonder. You’d reviewed the files I prepared, so you must have known how formidable they were. I assumed you’d made the bet because you were sure you could beat them all.”

“So?”

“But watching you, it didn’t seem that way. Do you know how many times I held my breath watching?”

I roughly understood what he was trying to ask.

He was probably curious how I could make such a bet if I wasn’t certain of victory.

I decided to answer honestly.

“Marquis, you’re right.”

The key to my victory was the Stage 7 Immortal engraving.

The special stat ‘regeneration ‘ that increases regeneration efficiency.

Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to endure for such a long time with my basic natural regeneration.

More importantly, I might have run out of MP first.

‘Regeneration’ also applies to MP recovery.

In other words, it increases the MP recovery rate from [Soul Diving].

With this, I thought I could compete with those four.

But…

“I wasn’t absolutely sure I’d win.”

Even so, I wasn’t 100% confident of victory.

That’s how fights are, after all.

There are countless cases where people get knocked out by a lucky punch.

“I just can’t understand. How could you act so boldly without certainty?”

“Well, I don’t know why.”

I responded to the Marquis’s question with a shrug and left the room.

‘What kind of question is that? If I lost, I never planned to admit defeat in the first place’

Plan B should always be kept hidden.

***

The next day at lunchtime, Two team members, contacted by the Marquis, visited our house.

“You must be Mr. Rihen Schuiz. I am Riard Ashid, a Rank 3 mage from the Lengman School.”

A mage(Male) in his mid-30s, unusually tall and radiating a warm aura.

And…

“Young, aren’t you? My name is Gerold Aldidi.”

A sixty-something year old support type who seemed to be in much better shape than I expected (male).

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rihen Schuiz.”

“…Are you perhaps a former soldier?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“You speak informally so naturally.”

Is he subtly complaining because he wants to be respected due to his age?

I wondered, but didn’t think deeply about it.

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t that important.

“Aldidi, if you came here thinking this is a typical exploration team, it’s not too late to back out now. We’ll be operating under a military chain of command for some time, and the hierarchy is strict.”

In first meetings, establishing dominance is crucial.

When I drew a firm line, Gerold Aldidi, or Old Didi for short, graciously backed off. .

“Haha, don’t misunderstand. I was just curious. I’ve worked under younger folks before and am quite used to it.”

“Then that’s good. Mage…”

“Riard Ashid. You may call me by my first or last name, whichever is more convenient for you.”

“Then let’s do Ashid. Are you also comfortable with this?”

“Of course. In the Mage Tower, it’s natural to be treated according to ability. Besides, joining this team is an opportunity I don’t want to miss.”

“Opportunity, huh…”

“Even just joining the expedition is rewarding enough. But I also heard from the Marquis that you’ll be leading the expedition, Mr. Schuiz.”

Ah, so the Marquis already told them that.

“It seems we’ve chosen well. Serving directly under the expedition leader should offer more chances for achievement,  Isn’t that right, Mr. Aldidi?”

“Mm-hmm, you could say that…”

When Ashid asked with a gentle smile, Old Didi cleared his throat and agreed.

I glanced over the two.

‘Their first impressions aren’t bad.’

First, the mage Ashid.

Although we haven’t exchanged many words, he seems competent.

Well, there aren’t any stupid mages anyway.

But social skills and intelligence are different things.

‘The old man doesn’t seem stubborn about his age.’

Of course, this is partly thanks to Ashid.

By emphasizing things like opportunities and the expedition leader, he imprinted on the old man that they are in a subordinate position.

“Then Mr. Schuiz, if you don’t mind, could you introduce the people behind you?”

Ashid spoke in a cautious tone, and at my signal Erwin and Amelia introduced themselves briefly.

“I’m Erwin Fornacci di Tercia.”

“I’m Emily Raines.”

When Erwin introduced herself, the two reacted with a startled expression and muttered “Blood Spirit Queen!” but at Amelia’s turn, they just tilted their heads at the unfamiliar name.

Still…

‘They are curious about her, but do not ask unnecessary questions. That’s good’

It seemed my luck with teammates was holding up.

“Come on in.”

After we finished introductions, I invited them inside and led them to the table where I’d set out a generous meal.

“Did you eat?”

“Since we were called to a private residence, we thought it best to come on an empty stomach.”

“Before an important matter, it’s better to stay hungry.”

So both of them haven’t eaten yet.

“I haven’t prepared much, but eat as much as you like. If there’s anything you want to say, we can talk while eating.”

I seated everyone at the dining table, and we began to eat and chat.

“I don’t know who cooked this, but the food tastes excellent.” 

“Hehe, I prepared it. Thank you.” 

“It’s us who should be grateful.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really.”

Ashid and Erwin’s conversation made the atmosphere even more pleasant.

I just quietly ate my food.

Because all the dishes were bought from a restaurant.

I went out in the morning, bought them myself, put them on plates, and set them on the table, so saying we prepared them isn’t entirely a lie.

‘If it were Misha, she would’ve insisted on cooking herself from the morning…’

I suddenly thought of Misha, but I didn’t intend to belittle Erwin’s efforts.

I always preferred to go out and buy food because I didn’t like seeing her go through unnecessary trouble.

But Misha always insisted though.

‘I wonder if she’s doing well…’

Even though it was a temporary gathering, thinking about bringing in new team members made me feel a bit sentimental—

“Schuiz, what are you thinking about?”

Amelia poked me in the waist.

“Nothing. We were talking about careers, right?”

After momentarily letting my thoughts wander, I actively joined the conversation and began gathering information about my new colleagues.

There wasn’t much difference from what I had heard from the Marquis.

“The last time I entered the labyrinth was seven years ago. After the clan I was with for about five years disbanded, I’ve been focusing on research activities at the Mage Tower.”

“What made you change your mind now?”

“For the same reason explorers strive hard to go to higher floors.”

A better life.

More opportunities.

That’s a lot more credible than a bunch of weird beliefs.

“What can you do in the labyrinth?”

“For a mage in the labyrinth, it’s more important what they can’t do than what they can.”

With a sly smile at my question, Ashid shared his own cards.

“I can only use Level 5 or higher curse magic in a very limited way. Support and auxiliary spells up to Level 5. Other than that, I can do everything except for the unique spells of other schools. Oh, and I have quite extensive knowledge about gathering and materials in the labyrinth, which can be considered an advantage.”

Ashid was a kind of all-rounder.

A bit lacking in curse and support magic but not enough to be problematic.

“And if I had to name one specialty, it’d be offensive magic.”

“Any particular attribute?”

“No real preference.”

Wow, he covers a wide range of attributes too?

“Is the Lengman School a place that researches combat magic?”

“No, it specializes in curses.”

Wait, what? That’s an interesting twist—a curse specialist whose strength is in attack magic.

“Anyway, if you’re done with me, perhaps Didi would like to share?”

Just as I was debating whether to dig further, Ashid smoothly passed the spotlight to Didi.

‘…Did he plan that?’

Even if he did, I don’t feel bad about it.

I wasn’t going to ask anyway since it seemed to be a personal matter.

“I am a healer.” Old Didi said.

A healer is a subcategory of a support type mage.

If they mimic a priest’s healing abilities, they’re called a healer.

If they can substitute a mage’s firepower, they’re called a sorcerer.

If a sorcerer uses poison, they’re a poison sorcerer; if they use fire, they’re a flame sorcerer.

If their main focus is buff, they’re a support shaman.

If the opposite is true, they’re a curse shaman.

They are roughly classified in this way, and as one becomes a higher-level explorer, these classifications become more detailed and extensive.

Even for me, if I were to submit a resume to a guild, I’d have to write ‘Guardian’ instead of ‘Barbarian Warrior.’

“A healer… that rounds out the team nicely,”

Ashid nodded repeatedly, seeming pleased with the composition of our team.

Erwin’s status as an archer was already well known. Amelia’s outfit—a leather uniform paired with daggers—pretty much gave away her role.

They must have heard about me from the Marquis.

“I’ve mostly acquired healing-type abilities, but I also have two support shaman skills.”

In other words, he also has buff-type support skills.

Afterward, Old Didi explained to us the details of the essences he possessed and how he could utilize them, and then it was our turn.

Of course, since we weren’t Support type like him, we didn’t need to explain all the details of our essences.

It was enough to outline each person’s role and a few unique abilities, like Amelia’s ‘Aura’ and ‘Self-Replication,’ and Erwin’s ‘Dark Spirit.’

“Well, I think we’ve covered what we need to know for now. So, what’s the plan moving forward?” Ashid asked.

“If possible, I’d like us to meet every day to coordinate our teamwork.”

“Understood. Is there a training ground you regularly use?”

“There was, but it recently shut down.”I added

“In that case, I’ll arrange for a place I know. Oh, and could everyone provide me with their addresses in case we need to coordinate by letter?”

“Here,” I said, handing him my information.

Is this what it’s like to have a competent butler?

Ashid took on all the trivial organizational tasks for the team, making sure I didn’t have to worry about them. From the following day onward, we met at the training grounds daily to practice together.

Time passed, and then…

“Schuiz, we got word from the Marquis.”

The day of the initiation ceremony had finally arrived.

‘How do these bastards actually get things done?’

There were only three days left until we entered the labyrinth.