Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 833

Eternal Hole(5)

Clack, clack.

I strolled through the flames, rolling a fairly large pebble between my fingers. The scout had found it earlier using his Luck Detection skill and given it to me. Needless to say, it wasn’t an ordinary stone.

Though it wasn’t anything extraordinary either.

Selling it feels like a waste…

Yeah. I might as well use it myself.

They say elixirs aren’t something you casually give away, even to family.

Having made my decision, I crushed the stone between my thumb and index finger.

[Character has destroyed the “Earth Soul Stone]

[Earth Resistance permanently increased by +3.]

[Soul Power permanently increased by +10.]

While the effects weren’t dramatic enough to be immediately noticeable, they were permanent gains that would remain useful for life.

Still, after all that searching with Luck Detection, this was the only thing he had managed to find, so I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

Well, I suppose finding something was still better than finding nothing.

Though I have no idea how things will turn out from here.

“I-I think that’s it!”

The scout running at the front suddenly stopped and pointed ahead.

The people behind me immediately began murmuring.

That was only natural.

After all, every explorer knew exactly what the thing standing before us was.

“A portal…?”

Beyond the wavering flames, a portal pulsed in place.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary one. Red, blue, green, and gray swirled together inside it in a chaotic mix.

Fwooosh!

The Spirit Gate.

The only exit from Eternal Hole…

And, at the same time, a path to countless other destinations.

As I stepped forward, brushing past the scout, the others quickly called out behind me.

“Be careful! We don’t even know where that portal leads—!”

To me, someone who already knew what this portal was, the warning felt almost amusing.

“…Ah! Do you know something about it?”

“A little.”

The portal wavering before me now—

The Spirit Gate was literally a doorway to anywhere.

As long as two conditions were met:

The destination was below the Ninth Floor, and it was a place the user had visited at least once—the portal could transport them there instantly.

A dimensional rift.

A hidden field.

Even a floor that was normally inaccessible.

All of it was possible.

Of course, some of these required special circumstances. For example, the portal had to be activated on the day the Ninth Floor closed, and certain hidden areas could only be accessed through it.

But none of that mattered right now.

There was no point worrying about the Ninth Floor’s closing day while a dimensional collapse was happening.

What happens if I use it now…?

Everything I knew about the Spirit Gate applied under normal conditions.

Yet despite spending nearly a decade playing Dungeon and Stone, I had never once used one during a dimensional collapse.

Still…

Wouldn’t it be a waste to just leave it behind?

Having made up my mind, I addressed the others.

“I’ll go through first. Once the portal changes color, follow after me.”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry. It shouldn’t be dangerous. This portal can take us anywhere in the labyrinth.”

After I gave them a brief explanation of the Spirit Gate, the wariness in their eyes eased considerably.

Though another question soon appeared.

“Is there any reason to use it? Once the stabilization period ends, the collapse will begin again anyway.”

“The safe period lasts at least eight hours, but there’s no guarantee it’ll end after only eight.”

“So you’re saying we’d benefit from using that time to explore?”

“Exactly. And if I remember correctly, simply passing through this portal grants a blessing.”

“A blessing…? Ah, you mean a baptism!”

“Uh, right. That.”

For the record, the evil spirits… No, the players who crossed over to Dungeon and Stone called baptisms “achievements.”

“Then we have to take it!”

“Don’t worry! We’ll follow right after you!”

Just like that, the survivors changed their minds in an instant. The moment they heard there was an achievement involved, their opinions flipped completely.

Well, there probably wasn’t a single explorer out there who disliked free bonus stats.

Tsk. Greedy bunch.

“If nobody has any objections…”

Taking a step forward, I entered the portal.

“See you on the other side.”

Now then… where should I go?

***

「Character has entered ‘Shortcut’.」

***

Shortcut.

To be honest, there wasn’t anything particularly special about this field.

In the game, the map opened the moment you stepped into the Spirit Gate. From there, all you had to do was choose the location you wanted to go to.

But…

So this is what it feels like in real life…

Unlike the game’s 2D pixel graphics, this place had actual substance.

This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced a difference like this, either. It had been the same when I entered the Room of Balance after using Restrained Wish in the Labyrinth of Larcaz, and also when I visited the temple to erase an essence.

Reality was quite different from the game.

Just like now.

So that’s the map…

Inside the black room, which resembled a miniature universe, I raised my head and saw a large board divided into sections representing each floor.

The top one should be the Ninth Floor…

Alright, but how was I supposed to get over there?

Thinking that, I looked down to check my body.

What the hell is this?

Only then did I notice the strange-looking flag in my hand. I had a rough idea of how it was supposed to be used.

Do I get teleported to wherever I plant the flag?

Well, it wasn’t that important right now.

Fwoosh!

My entire body glowed with blue light, as if I had turned into a ghost. I was also completely naked, with none of my hard-earned equipment anywhere in sight.

Like a wandering spirit, I floated through the air. Honestly, it felt so natural that I didn’t even realize I was floating at first. It was more like I had gained a new organ.

Without using my feet, I could move just by thinking—

Whoa! What the…?

The moment I thought about moving, my body shot forward. My mind could tell I was moving at an absurd speed, but my body didn’t feel it at all. It was as if I had become a being that had escaped the laws of physics.

So that’s how it works.

Once I got used to moving around, I quickly headed toward the top of the floors. It felt like looking down at the world from thousands of meters in the air, and I could see the entirety of the ninth floor, the Tomb of Stars.

…Well, not exactly.

I could make out the shape of the map, but most of the ninth floor was covered in dark fog. That made sense, since I had never actually visited the Tomb of Stars before.

Looks like my visit from the outside didn’t count…

Well, I had expected as much, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

Still, there were a few places poking out from the thick fog, revealed to my eyes. They were probably the parts of the labyrinth I had visited during the dimensional collapse.

Looks like the special fields are off to the side.

The ninth floor’s special fields floated nearby like satellites, and among them, one field had a large area cleared of fog.

It was the place I’d just left.

Eternal Hole.

Well, we had arrived during the safe period, so we ended up moving around quite a bit…

Vwoong!

With my curiosity about the map growing, I quickly moved down to the area we had been in.

As I’d noticed from above, it looked drastically different from reality.

Dull.

Almost like watching an old black-and-white film.

The burning red flames of the fiery field could only be distinguished by their white highlights, and even time itself seemed to have stopped.

Everything seemed frozen in time.

Just as I thought. I can’t enter areas covered by fog.

I tried anyway.

An invisible barrier blocked my way.

Like a transparent wall preventing passage.

Vwoooong!

So I followed the visible routes instead.

It was a route I had spent over six hours traveling without proper rest, but now, it only took me a moment to reach the place where the Spirit Gate was located.

For the record, my companions were frozen like stone statues in front of the portal.

What if I chose this place as my destination?

Would I be able to use the Spirit Gate as much as I wanted?

As I entertained those useless fantasies, I realized something belatedly.

No, wait… What the hell?

This wasn’t just a simple projection of the map. If it were, my companions shouldn’t be standing in front of the portal like this.

Then… is this live?

A chill ran down my spine. Well, it wasn’t a physical chill, since I was in spirit form, but that was how it felt.
Because if this was truly live—
Then I can find them.
It was possible.
I could locate the companions I’d been separated from during dimensional collapse.
…To think the Spirit Gate had a function like this.
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it became.
My first thought was to search for my companions because they were my highest priority.
But the implications of a live-view function were terrifying.
Far beyond what words could express.
Imagine secretly peeking under a priestess’s skirt.
Or catching someone in the act of looting and obtaining proof.
Or learning exactly where every clan was and what opportunities they were exploiting.
Setting aside all those petty and pointless applications…

In a war, someone could step in here and instantly gain a complete view of the battlefield.

A malicious person could track down a specific target and assassinate them with ease. The Dragon Slayer, for example, could have done exactly that. If he had entered this place, he could have appeared right in front of me and killed me before I had any chance to react.

Vwoong!

After realizing the absurd potential of the Spirit Gate, I immediately headed for the eighth floor.

I planned to perform a quick sweep of the entire labyrinth, from top to bottom.

This place is much smaller.

The eighth floor, the Land of Dawn, was far smaller than the ninth.

No, “smaller” didn’t even do it justice.

The satellite fields orbiting the eighth floor were probably larger than the floor itself when combined.

The eighth floor has a lot of rifts, so there should be a lot of people here.

All the rifts on the eighth floor were covered in fog, so there wasn’t much for me to see. However, I did spot a few dozen adventurers on the plains near the entrance to the Land of Dawn.

They were split into about three groups, keeping some distance from one another. I guessed they were simply waiting out the safe period together.

I don’t see anyone I recognize…

Pass.

To be completely honest, since I had been an explorer for quite some time, there were a few people here whom I at least remembered exchanging greetings with.

However, I wasn’t going to waste my flag on them.

Only someone around Mr. Bear’s level of familiarity would have made me seriously consider it, but none of them were close to that.

So this is what it looks like.

The seventh floor was divided into two large areas: the Dark Continent and Ice Rock. They were separated by some distance, almost like islands. Since I had once wandered around and gotten lost there, most of the floor was visible to me, unlike the previous two.

Still, more than a third of it was covered in fog.

It couldn’t really be helped.

When navigating the labyrinth, efficiency and quick route-finding were essential.

Since the continent is so wide, there are a lot of people here too…

Every few minutes of flight, I’d spot another group.

…And none of them realize there are other survivors so close by.

For a moment, it felt like being an omniscient god.

Though only for a moment.

I couldn’t warn nearby survivors.

I couldn’t tell them monsters lurked in the darkness.

I couldn’t interfere.

Because I wasn’t actually a god.

Next.

After quickly surveying the Seventh Floor, I moved down to the Sixth.

The Great Ocean was also mostly covered in fog, since this place could only be navigated by ship.

This place is more normal than I expected.

There were no massive tsunami-like waves. In fact, it looked much calmer than usual.

I then headed toward the place where the Lord of Tears had been summoned, but for some reason, there was nothing there. It wasn’t as if I had forgotten the location, either.

…Did that thing get caught up in the collapse too?

At the moment, that seemed like the most likely explanation.

Even the seventh floor I had just checked was full of monsters from other floors.

Then… that bastard must be somewhere on another floor.

The thought made me a little uneasy. The dimensional collapse was already enough of a headache, and now I had to watch out for that monster too.

…At least I haven’t run into it yet.

Refocusing on my task, I quickly continued scanning the sixth floor.

Maybe my allies were spending the safe period on one of these islands—

…Huh?

As I swept over the islands at incredible speed, I finally spotted a familiar face.

Unbelievable.

It was Lee Baek-ho’s party.

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