Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 59

Episode 59(Rules for Survival(2)) 

What’s most important in a survival situation?

Water? Food? Stamina? Tools?

Well, they’re all very important, but…….

If I had to choose just one, I would pick mental strength.

“No way… I can’t die like this, no way! After all the desperate struggles I’ve endured, to end like this…!”

“Misha, calm down.”

When you’re in a shitty situation, you need to have the courage to face it without denying it.

That’s the only way to make an objective assessment.

So, I discarded all doubts.

“It doesn’t matter what happened over there.”

It could be the appearance of a strange monster, or perhaps Elisha and her gang launched a surprise attack in that brief moment.

All possibilities are open.

But what I need to focus on right now isn’t that.

‘Think.’

I’m currently separated from the group.

I have one beasthuman ally beside me.

Sadly, She’s a warrior who’s only good in physical combat.

And the chances of my lost companions returning to this place are slim to none.

In short, we’re screwed.

Physically immune monsters dominate this area, also known as the Warrior Graveyard.

It’s nearly impossible for a barbarian and a beast human warrior to make it through.
On top of that, we’re being pursued by plunderers.

Actually, that’s the biggest problem.

If we encounter them, it’s game over.

But if I don’t want to bite my tongue and die, I have to think.

Not about how screwed up the situation is—

‘What should I do now?’

What actions should I take?

Even if it’s a mere struggle for survival, what should I prioritize and what should I give up?
In other words, what’s the best course of action right now?

“…Move.”

“What? But even if we do—”

“It’s better to leave this place, even if we can’t find the way.”

After objectively assessing the situation, I realized there are things we must do, even in the worst conditions.

I decided to prioritize them and solve them in order of importance.

The first thing is…

“This place is dangerous.”

We need to get out of here.

The reason is simple.

We have absolutely no information about what the dwarf’s party encountered nearby, other than it was dangerous enough to prevent them from coming for us.

“If she did play a trick, we’ll find her eventually.”

“But shouldn’t they have shown up by now?”

Maybe we just weren’t their priority, or the dwarf had to run in the opposite direction for some reason.

I didn’t plan to argue for long.

The first thing to give up for survival is intangible values like compassion and consideration.

“So what are you going to do? The choice is yours.”

I have no intention of carrying a burden just because we’re allies.

After all, that’s not what allies are.

I drew a clear line.

“If you don’t like my decision, then we’ll move separately from now on.”

“What, what do you mean!”

“Answer me.”

I had no time to waste on arguments.

Yes or No.

Misha, who had been silently staring into my eyes, bit her lip and made a choice.

“…I will follow your orders completely. After all, there’s nothing much a wounded person like me can do.”

A perfect response, considering the circumstances.

Turns out she’s quite sharp. A five-year veteran explorer indeed.

“But still, that’s too harsh…!”

As Misha’s face softened, she started to whine as if hurt, but that didn’t matter to me…

As long as she follows my orders.

“Drink this.”

I opened the vial of potion and handed it to her, she slowly drank it, making a face as if it were poison.

And then she started groaning.

Not in a suggestive way.

After all, a potion can’t do that.

“Hiccup, ugh!!”

Hearing her painful groans, it seemed like the potion was working.

So, I carried Misha on my shoulder.

A sprained ankle should heal in about 5 minutes with the potion…

But saving even that much time is good.

“Ugh, ah! Please, walk slowly! Or, at least gently!”

As I started to move briskly, Misha groaned and begged.

Seems like she’s getting motion sickness.

But all I could say was this.

“Just hang in there, even if it’s hard.”

Sorry, but right now, I’m a barbarian who has forgotten kindness and consideration.

In a survival situation, efficiency comes first.

Motion sickness won’t kill you, right?

Tadadadat-!

Anyway, that’s how it was when we were randomly dashing through the forest.

Misha, slung over my shoulder, began pounding on my back like crazy.

“Put me down, quick! I’m, I’m fine now!”

“Don’t lie.”

“I swear on the guardian deity of my tribe, it’s true!”

“Hmm, then why does your voice lack strength?”

I pointed out the logical flaw in Misha’s words.

Somehow, it felt like I was being scolded.

“How can I have strength after all this, you barbaric brute!! Enough, just put me down!”
“Alright.”

Given the back-smashing she was doing, she seemed capable of moving, so I gently set Misha down.

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die!”

What an exaggeration.

She seemed fine, but I asked just to be sure.

“So, is your foot okay now?”

“As you can see.”

“Speak clearly. Does that mean you can fight now?”

“For now… Yes! But why do you ask?”

Because we’re about to get into a fight.

“Good, there’s a monster over there.”

Misha’s head moved in the direction I pointed, and at the end of it was a giant tree rooted to the ground, moving.

An 8th-grade monster, ‘Snetree’.

A nasty monster that uses its tentacle-like branches to attack explorers.

By the way, it’s one of the few regular monsters that inhabit the Witch’s Forest, along with the Half Troll.

In simple terms, it can be hunted with just physical damage.

“But do we really have to catch it? It’s slow, it won’t be able to follow us… Oh! I’m not saying I won’t follow your orders!”

Well, that’s a relief.

Anyway, her question was valid, so I gave her a brief answer.

“There might be a core.”

“A core?”

Misha tilted her head, puzzled by the unexpected term.

Understandably so.

I wouldn’t have come up with such a plan if it weren’t for this situation.

“Monsters in the Witch’s Forest all have elemental abilities.”

Well, except for the Half Troll.

But I’m going to skip it if I come across it.

Misha understood the gist of my plan and stiffened.

“You mean, you want to catch it for that?”

Yep, not just this one but as many as possible.

We have to get our hands on elemental abilities somehow.

Dodging ghost-type monsters is fine for a day or two, but we can’t even sleep properly like this.

Of course, it would be unnecessary if we luckily find our way out of the forest…

‘But such a miracle happening to me is unlikely.’

Of course, the drop rate for cores is just as low.

But in a way, this is like an optional quest.

I’m not pinning all my hopes on this plan.

If it comes out, great, if it doesn’t, so be it.

Just something like that.

‘Anyway, the moment Elisha’s group finds us, all of this will be meaningless.’

Whether their scouts catch the dwarf or start looking for us because they lost him.

When that time came, all of our current efforts would be for nothing.

But…

That’s not a reason not to struggle.

“Anyway, get ready to fight.”

“Got it!”

Misha then drew her weapon.

“Gurglegurglegurgle!”

She charged at the Snetree, which had been crawling on the ground with its roots.

Survival rule number one,

“To survive, one must fight.”
***
[You have killed a Snetree. EXP +2」
***
I’m wandering through the Witch’s Forest without a scout.

And if someone were to ask how I feel, I would definitely reply like this:

It’s like wandering all day in the room of mirrors at an amusement park.

Oh, and by the way, there’s always BGM playing in the mirror room.

[Kill her! Or enjoy her! Why are you being so nice to a useless bitch?]

[“Heehee, heeheeheehee!”]

[“It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you!”]

Are these hallucinations getting more detailed, or is it just my imagination?

No, it seems not.

The illusions have become clearer than before.

[Hans, why are you the only one who survived?]

Unlike before, when they just had the form of monsters, now people etched in my memory appear.

People I can never meet in this world.

[“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!”]

[“When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl?”]

Every once in a while, they’d show up in the form of a hallucination and start talking shit to me.

Gradually, the hallucinations and auditory hallucinations start to merge.

“Field effects can’t suddenly become stronger, it’s just me getting weaker.”

I calmly assessed my condition.

But that was all.

I stayed up all night.

In the meantime, I had a fierce battle.

I was half-dead from a curse, and now I’m wandering in a hopeless situation.

Naturally, my mental strength is at its limit.

But what can I do about it?

“I just have to endure.”

That’s what life has always been.

At least for me.

Enduring, enduring, and enduring more, not dwelling on what I can’t change, and doing what I can.

“Misha, use this instead of a dagger.”

“Huh? I haven’t used a spear before…”

After defeating the Snetree, I took a break and checked the expandable backpack. Then, I handed Tyson’s spear to Misha.

I was supposed to sell it and divide it up when we got to the city, but now would not be the time for that.

“Just use it without complaining.”

“Heh, okay…….”

Until now, I respected each person’s individuality and their accumulated experience.

But as a general rule, the longer the weapon, the more practical it is.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for the dagger earlier, we could have penetrated deeper and shattered the core in one go.

“Ugh, it feels awkward! Why not give me a sword instead?”

That’s not possible.

I’m not sure which is easier to handle, a sword or a spear.

But one thing’s for sure – the spear is definitely longer.

When I create a wall with my shield, it would be much easier for you to help from behind.

“Anyway, you haven’t used either weapon before. Just use that.”

“Hmph.”

What’s with the whining?

She keeps acting up, draining my energy.

I don’t know what she thinks of me, but I don’t feel that close to her.

After all, we’ve only known each other for less than two weeks.

‘This would be better for me to use.’

Upgrading the equipment wasn’t just for Misha, but for me as well.

[Character has equipped steel plate greaves]

[Overall item level increases by +45.]

First, I strapped HansC’s greaves over my calves.

Leather on the inside and steel wrapped on the outside.

I wish there were thigh parts too, but unfortunately, they seem to be in the dwarf’s backpack.

[Character has equipped war boots.]

[Overall item level increases by +38.]

I also changed my shoes.

Similarly, they were what HansC had been wearing.

They’re pretty good-looking leather boots, but interestingly, there’s a steel plate on the top.
And it’s shaped like a sharp spike.

‘These explorers are only practical in such matters.’

I looked further, but there were no more items that Misha or I could use.

However, I found something unexpected.

“Huh? Bjorn! Is this holy water?”

“…Seems like it.”

After a string of misfortunes, maybe it’s finally time to turn things around.

It was more delightful than all the equipment.

After all, with holy water, we could enchant weapons.

“Equipment is imbued with holy energy.”

“Deals additional damage to evil monsters.”

Holy attribute additional damage.

In other words, we can now beat up ghost-type monsters without needing attribute powers.

It’s limited to evil attributes, but…

Since most ghost-type monsters in the Witch’s Forest are evil, it’s not a big deal.

‘The problem is there are only five bottles.’

Holy water has no duration.

It simply disappears after dealing the set additional damage.

How many monsters can we defeat with five bottles?

Well, it’s hard to say, but it will definitely be insufficient to use generously until the 15th day when the third floor closes.

‘…I better use it sparingly.’

Still, it’s a piece of good news after a long time.

Therefore, I searched the backpack again thoroughly.

I hadn’t properly checked the exploration supplies before due to the chaos.

There might be something else useful.

“Hmm? Bjorn!”

While rummaging through the bags, Misha called out to me.

“I found something weird, do you know what this is?”

It was a pendant with an unusual pattern.

And I recognized the symbol.

‘Isn’t this the symbol of the Carui faith?’

Regrettably, that was all I could figure out.

Beyond its relation to the Carui faith, I had no idea what purpose this item served.

‘Anyway, it seems I’ve checked everything I need to…’

I put the items back and organized my backpack.

Considering the newfound variable of the ‘holy water,’ I also revisited the plan I had tentatively formed.

Initially, I had thought of three options.

1) Seek help from a random explorer.

The Witch’s Forest is vast.

And due to its geographic features, it’s rare to come across other explorers. But if we keep wandering, we’re bound to run into someone eventually.

If we offer them the equipment as a reward, any explorer would be tempted.

‘The problem is, they can’t be trusted.’

Many of these explorer folks are just efficiency freaks.

Why bother helping when they can just kill and steal? Some of them might think that way.

‘Besides, she’s a woman, after all…….

As I thought of this, I glanced at Misha, who was picking at a piece of jerky, hungrily, I continued to think.

2)Wander around until you find yourself outside the forest or at a portal on the fourth floor.

This option was purely based on luck.

So, I decided it wasn’t necessary to set this as our final goal. Like it or not, we had to keep wandering through the forest anyway.

Hoping for it doesn’t guarantee it’ll happen, and not hoping doesn’t mean it won’t.
Anyway, next.

3)Focus on survival until the closure date.

We had enough food and water.

And now, with the acquisition of the holy water, we have secured at least minimal safety.

If we happen to find an elemental essence along the way, our chances of survival in this damned forest would skyrocket.

‘All this assumes those bastards don’t find us first.’

I let out a long sigh.

It had only been four days since we entered the labyrinth.

There was still a much longer journey ahead than what we had already endured.

Considering what we’d been through these past four days, it was hard to expect the remaining days to go smoothly.

‘It doesn’t seem like we’ll find any essence, and if it’s going to happen anyway, better to do it now.’

So, I made my decision.

“Misha, have you ever been married?”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

Misha, who was chewing on jerky, was taken aback by my question.

It seemed like she didn’t understand why I was asking.

But, as she had said she would listen to me, she answered amidst her confusion.

“Well, I haven’t, but…”

Okay.

I asked again, more directly this time.

“Then, do you have any beliefs about not showing your naked body to other men or anything like that?”

“Well, I don’t think I have any… beliefs like that…”

“Good.”

“What do you mean, good? Ahh! Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

A choice I could never have made if I hadn’t been playing [Dungeon & Stone] for nearly ten years.

It’s a pity to use that item so soon…

Awakening Misha.

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