Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 829

Eternal Hole(1)

There was no need to debate whether this was the right choice.

In a survival audition like this, only the toughest and quickest-witted had any chance of making it through.

Luckily, the six survivors of the Illuma Clan we had encountered on Saturnus seemed to understand that rule well.

Rather than appealing to emotions, they immediately began selling themselves with enthusiasm.

“I’m a regeneration-type guardian. Rank 3. Even in expedition-sized groups, I’ve always served as the main guardian. I also possess the Essence of Malaise.”

“As you can see, I’m a warrior who uses blunt weapons. Rank 2. I specialize more in taking down large enemies than dealing with swarms. While exploring a 7th-floor rift, I even fought a rank 2 monster, and I’d say I more than held my own.”

One was a main tank with a fairly rare essence, and the other was a rank 2 black bear beastman warrior.

“I’m a summoner. Since I’ve combined several plant-related essences, I usually introduce myself as a plant mage. I’m particularly confident in large-scale battles.”

“I’m a scout with leadership skills. I can handle myself in a fight, and since my abilities specialize in stealth and detection, I’ve always worked as a scout. Thanks to an ability called Luck Detection, I’ve also discovered quite a few Achievements of Gabrielius.”

The plant mage did not interest me much, but the scout seemed like a real professional.

In terms of ability alone, he was basically an upgraded version of Rotmiller.

“I serve Reatlas…”

“I may not be as powerful as the Blood Spirit, but I’m confident with a bow.”

In any case, there was also a priest and a fairy archer.

It was unfortunate that there was no mage among them, but each of them was skilled, and their party composition was solid enough that they would not become a burden.

It didn’t take me long to make up my mind.

“Is any one of you named Hans? Or have you ever gone by that name?”

“…No!”

Good enough. You’re all in.

***

As soon as the interviews were over, Elvain completed the incantation for his Mass Teleportation spell.

“…Who are these people?” he asked, noticing the newcomers.

“Things turned out this way. How much longer?” I replied, dodging the question.

“…Wait another five minutes.”

“If possible, make it faster. Things are starting to get tight.”

“Haah… Just so you know, if they drift much farther away from us, even I won’t be able to include them in the spell.”

“I know. If that happens, it’s their fate.”

Elvain looked drained after working through the spell calculations, but despite his fatigue, he immediately began recalculating everything to account for the six additional survivors.

One minute passed.

Then two.

Then three.

As time went on, the flow grew stronger, carrying us farther downward.

Though, could it really be called a current when it was an enormous mass of earth moving beneath us? I wasn’t sure.

I wasn’t sure, but aside from me, everyone had already been swallowed by the ground up to their waists.

Fortunately, the scattered survivors weren’t drifting farther away.

Instead, they were actually getting closer.

“W-We survived…”

Well, it was still too early to relax.

If Elvain failed to complete the spell, we would still be trapped in this nightmare.

And judging by the sensation around us, we were likely approaching the center by now.

Four minutes.

Only sixty seconds remained before the deadline Elvain had given us, yet he showed no sign of opening his eyes.

Haah… Let’s think positively.

Ever since I had been separated from my companions, fortune had been strangely kind to me. If I hadn’t found this mage before ending up here, I wouldn’t even have a sliver of hope for survival.

And so far, I still hadn’t run into a Hans.

Thirty seconds.

Even in that short span of time, I could feel the current growing noticeably faster and stronger.

The labyrinth remained shrouded in darkness, and no new sounds reached my ears. Yet I could still sense it.

The Primordial Spirit.

Curled up somewhere deep within the darkness ahead.

A cold shiver crawled down my spine.

And judging by everyone’s expressions, I wasn’t the only one who felt it.

Before I knew it, silence had fallen over the group.

No one dared speak.

It was as if even the slightest sound might attract that monster’s attention from beyond the darkness.

Holding their breath, everyone stared in the same direction.

Fifteen seconds.

Then someone finally broke the silence.

“Damn it…”

His voice trembled with despair.

“We’re finished.”

The first to lose his composure was the rank 3 scout from the Illuma Clan—the very man who should have possessed the sharpest senses among us.

The next was the elven archer.

“Aah! How can something so monstrous even exist…?!”

Maybe their heightened senses allowed them to instinctively feel the Primordial Spirit’s presence. Or perhaps the archer’s exceptional eyesight had already caught sight of it in the darkness.

I couldn’t be sure.

But one thing was obvious.

“Th-The spell! When is the spell going to activate?!”

By then, we had already crossed the point of no return and were being drawn toward its gaping maw.

[Character has entered Saturnus’s area of influence.]

[Earth resistance has been reduced to 0.]

That was proof enough.

The force binding our legs vanished instantly.

Of course, that didn’t mean we could move freely.

[Movement speed reduced according to Strength stat.]

The movement penalty scaled inversely with Strength.

[Character’s Strength exceeds 700.]

[Movement speed reduced by 50%.]

I had already reached the maximum threshold. Even if my Strength increased further, the penalty wouldn’t lessen.

“Fairy archer! Light it up!”

I brought everyone back to reality and issued the order.

“W-What?”

“We need to see what’s happening!”

“B-But…!”

But what?

Did he seriously think the monster couldn’t detect us just because we were surrounded by darkness?

Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to see what was waiting ahead.

Too bad.

“Do it!!”

I wasn’t the type to close my eyes because I was afraid.

Looking away never changes reality.

“BEHEEELAAAAAA!!!”

The moment I roared, the fairy archer summoned a fire spirit and illuminated the surroundings.

The sight revealed before us was horrifying.

At the heart of the spiraling vortex of earth and mud lurked a colossal creature with its jaws stretched wide, like a whale swallowing an entire ocean to catch a handful of krill.

Deep within that gaping maw, a single crimson eye gleamed in the reflected firelight.

The worst part was—

Zero seconds.

The spell should have finished by now.

Yet Elvain still stood there with his eyes closed.

Apparently, our special mage had miscalculated.

“Aah…”

The thief—the same man who had earlier begged me to tell him everything about the Primordial Spirit—couldn’t withstand its presence.

He stood frozen in terror.

The others weren’t much different.

For a brief moment, weakness crept into my mind.

If I hadn’t recruited those six…

If I had escaped at the first opportunity…

None of this would have—

Stop.

Smack!

I slammed my shield against my forehead and forced those thoughts away.

In the end, the choice had been mine.

Regretting it now would accomplish nothing.

I had to act.

No one else.

I had to do it.

Forcing my legs through the mud-like earth, I took a step forward.

“Wh-What are you doing…?”

“We need to hold it off until the spell is complete! Anyone who can still move, help those who can’t!”

No one responded.

Seriously? Did I have to call them out by name even now?

“Shield! Hammer! I’m talking to you two!”

“U-Understood!”

Good.

That problem was solved.

Now all that remained was buying time.

Splash.

I forced another step forward through the flowing earth.

At that moment, the monster’s crimson eye shifted.

It locked directly onto me.

The scarlet pupil reflected the firelight as it stared without blinking.

Perhaps it found the situation amusing.

After all, how often did prey willingly walk toward its predator?

BOOM—

The instant our gazes met, it felt as though a massive boulder had dropped into my chest.

My body froze.

[The character has witnessed a fragment of mythology.]

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t physical.

It was mental.

As though chains had wrapped around my brain.

Maybe it was because I understood better than anyone that facing a rank 1 monster head-on was basically suicide.

Even so—

[Achievement Unlocked]

Condition: Mythical Discovery (2/5)
Reward: Soul power permanently increased by +10.

A surge of satisfaction welled up inside me.

Yeah… I remember this achievement.

That was the kind of existence Primordial Spirits were.

They were monsters so absurd that merely seeing one was enough to earn an achievement.

They were natural disasters in living form, beings so overwhelming that once you came within half a mile of them, escape became impossible without a mage’s help.

The gap between us was hopelessly vast.

Even if I spent eternity fighting it, I would never stand a chance of winning.

Badump!

But so what?

This was still the path with the highest chance of survival.

“One minute.”

“What?”

“Even after the spell is complete, wait for me for one minute. I’ll definitely make it back. Got it?”

“Wait, what are you even—”

I had no time to listen to the rest.

At any moment, a massive hand would burst out from the whirlpool.

The boss raid was about to begin for real.

So—

Dash!

I kicked off through the mud that had risen up to my thighs and charged straight toward the center of the vortex.

“Bethel—RAAAAAA!”

I’ll come back alive.

And while I’m at it—

I’ll take everything I can.

***

[You have accepted nature through your own choice.]
[The primordial spirit has developed strong interest in you.]
[The character has entered the Land of the Primordial Spirit.]

[Achievement Unlocked]

Condition: Enter the Land of the Primordial Spirit.
Reward: Earth resistance permanently increased by +10.

[TIP: As a being that has existed since the dawn of creation, the Primordial Spirit’s temperament is fickle. Be careful not to lose its interest!]

A land swallowed by complete darkness.

Even with the magic tool fixed to my helmet giving off light, I could barely see three meters ahead.

“Haah…”

The moment I opened my eyes, I only took a brief breath before forcing myself to stand.

It was not because of the one-minute limit I had placed on myself and the others.

Time flowed incredibly slowly in this place, so that would not be an issue.

But that did not mean I had time to waste.

[Character has entered a special area.]

[Field Effect — Land of the Primordial Spirit has been applied.]

The Land of the Primordial Spirit.

It was a hidden field that could only be accessed by willingly moving your character onto the boss tile that would normally kill you instantly.

[Status Effect — Nourish the Earth has been applied.]

[Health decreases every second.]
[The rate of decrease increases as time passes.]

The moment I opened my eyes, I could feel vitality being drained from my body.

For now, the effect was minor and easy to ignore, but that wouldn’t last.

I need to get out of here within an hour.

One hour was my limit.

After that point, the field’s effect would escalate and begin draining a percentage of my health every second.

Even with my absurd regeneration, surviving that would be impossible.

Boom! Boom!

Thanks to Giantization, I covered ground with enormous strides as I raced through the darkness.

Yet every time my feet touched the ground, I felt a faint prickling sensation.

I think I understand why the people of this world hate the earth.

Unlike modern people, the natives of this world did not view the earth kindly.

To them, the earth was something that swallowed everything.

Something that endlessly consumed.

Wasn’t there a passage about that in the creation scripture of the Three Gods Church?

Something about how crops and life only began to grow after the Sun God Tobera punished the selfish earth.

At least, I vaguely remembered something along those lines.

Ancient mythology aside, the land had never exactly been generous to the people of Rafdonia.

Natural resources were nearly nonexistent outside the area around the Gnometree.

Crops could not be cultivated within the city itself.

The city had been built on cramped, stingy land, divided by towering walls, with people packed into stacked homes like chickens in a coop.

Perhaps that was why their funeral customs were different.

When people died, they weren’t simply buried.

Their bodies were cremated first, and only their ashes were placed inside urns before being interred.

It was a way of preventing the earth’s greedy grasp from claiming them completely.

Boom!

After running endlessly through the darkness with only a few meters of visibility, I abruptly came to a halt.

Slide.

I’d found the first puzzle.

And much sooner than expected.

“Lucky.”

Amid the endless darkness and barren wasteland, a single blue stone protruded from the ground.

What I had to do with this suspicious rock was simple.

Isn’t it obvious?

The first rule of Dungeon and Stone:

If something looks suspicious…

Break it first and see what happens.

At least half the time, you’ll gain something.

Just like this.

[The character has destroyed a Fragment of the Moon.]
[The energy of the earth has grown slightly stronger.]
[The Primordial Spirit has become extremely interested.]

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