Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 539

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May 2, 2025 • 14 min read • 450 views

Rainbow (5)

Day 3 after the end of the second rainy season.

Counting from the day when we entered the labyrinth, it’s already the 74th day.

“From this island alone, we’ve collected about 1 billion mana stones. And from what we had before, that’s about 600 million…”

A total of 1.6 billion stones.

Of course, this money was pooled by dozens of people, so when we divide it up, my share will be much smaller…

Fortunately, we’ve already agreed on how to handle that.

So there’s only one thing left to do.

“Rest easy, everyone! We’re not going to do anything today!”

After searching the entire giant island for mana stones, I led the team back to the cave.

The cave, of course, was the one where the stranded Hex Clan had found the Portal Stone.

“Looking back now, we were seriously lucky to find this place.”

The mapping of the giant island was almost complete.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t any other caves.

But this was the only cave located so deep on the island, and for some reason, monsters didn’t approach it.

In other words, it was the safest place possible.

To think they found this place in that urgent situation…

‘I wish some of that luck would rub off on me.’

What I was about to do now was heavily influenced by ‘luck,’ so the psychological pressure was immense.

I’ve never been particularly lucky.

Or rather…

“I’d say I’m average.”

Actually, I only started thinking this way recently.

Since childhood, I’ve gone through all sorts of misfortunes, and there were times I thought I was born under an unlucky star.

But looking back, I wasn’t so unlucky after all.

After all, I survived all those hardships.

And most importantly…

“Looks like you’re about to start.”

“Bjorn! I don’t really get it, but good luck!”

Meeting good people like this was nothing short of unbelievable luck.

Erwin, who became my night companion during the first expedition.

Aynar, the warrior of my tribe whom I could trust.

Raven and Hikurod, who I teamed up with during the mutated monster incident at the Blood-Tinted Castle.

Misha, Rottmiller, and Dwalki from Team Halfling.

Back when I had nothing, meeting them was nothing short of magical luck.

Therefore…

“Let’s not rely on others.”

Aynar, Misha, and the others…

I won’t push responsibility onto them just because they have better luck. That’s weak.

And…

“I am a lucky person.”

I silently repeat this to myself over and over again.

Right now, the only thing I need is firm conviction, not doubt.

“I am…”

A lucky person.

The moment I repeated it once more—

“…I am…”

A sudden clarity hit me.

My clenched jaw relaxed and the slight trembling in my hands disappeared.

It was like a sudden moment of realization.

A half-full cup of water.

Whether that cup is happy or unhappy is not for others to decide.

Only you can determine that for yourself.

“I’m quite fortunate.”

“…Huh?”

“What is he talking about? He hasn’t even done anything yet…”

Haven’t done anything?

Everything in this world depends on one’s mindset.

Just like how the future written on the Record Stone inevitably comes to pass.

In other words, the moment I made up my mind, the future was already decided.

This is the truth of the world, an absolute, unchangeable law.

“Hehe…”

But there was no point explaining this to foolish mortals, so I just smiled and held back my words.

“The wind is cool today.”

A feeling as if the power of the universe, beyond nature, was warmly embracing me.

“The sunlight is gentle.”

Within me lies only conviction, and conviction alone.

“We’re in a cave, so where is this breeze coming from?”

“Maybe he just wants to say it’s cool?”

“Then why is he saying the sunshine is cozy?”

“Mister… Are you okay?”

Leaving behind the ignorant doubts of mortals, I picked up a mana stone scattered on the ground.

Then, I slowly brought it to the necklace.

There was no need to hurry.

‘Water is water, wind is wind.’

Whoosh—!

The future was already decided.

「The great alchemist Garphas’s power detects the energy of creation.」

「A stone bread is generated.」

Alright, let’s go.

***

No. 7777 Garpas’s Necklace.

The power of this necklace is simple.

When you touch the gemstone to the necklace, it melts and disappears, spitting out random bread, water, metal, and more.

Just like this.

Every time you inserted a mana stone, the item displayed inside the necklace’s gem would change, and if you saw something you wanted, you could take it out.

Of course, there was no reason to take out stone bread, so I kept rolling.

But…

‘Why isn’t the item changing?’

What’s going on?

「A stone bread is generated.」

「A stone bread is generat…」

Six stone breads in a row from the start?

What’s going on?

「A stone bread is generated.」

「A stone bread is generat…」

Six stone breads in a row from the start?

And these weren’t even low level mana stones—they were all Level 5 or higher!

‘The chance of Stone Bread appearing with a Level 5 mana stone is about 4%.’

And the chance of that happening six times in a row was…

“…Ghk!”

For a moment, I almost snapped out of my Barbarian’s Clear Mind mode, but I steadied myself with practiced mental control.

The early rolls were just for stacking anyway.

“Bjorn! Are you okay? You’re coughing like you’re about to throw up!”

“…Back off. I’m fine.”

…Doubt is poison.

「A stone bread is generated.」

I discarded my human emotions and mechanically repeated the process of pushing the magic stones into the necklace.

Nine stone breads in a row after six?

What did it matter?

The outcome had already been decided.

「A steel ingot is generated.」

See? Probability is just probability.

What’s meant to come out will come out eventually.

All I needed was faith.

Oh! Bjorn’s expression changed…!”

“I’ve heard about this! When the Baron makes that face, it means he’s dead serious!”

No matter what came out, I maintained my composure and kept inserting stones.

And after some time had passed like that.

‘I think it’s about time…’

Just as that thought began to surface—

「An iron greatsword is generated.」

For the first time, a proper piece of equipment appeared—not just bread, metal, or bricks.

I wasn’t surprised.

There is a hidden rule to Garpas’s Necklace.

‘For Level 9 mana stones, once you’ve put in 7,777, you get a “decent item” for sure.’

In cash terms, that’s about 1.55 million stones.

In other words, every time you spend that many mana stones, it spits out some random “useful item.”

And…

「A Litinium breastplate is generated.」

This repeated every time you inserted about 1.55 million stones’ worth.

Huh, so I spent 3.1 million and got a Litinium breastplate?

‘Not a bad start.’

Of course, that was just my mood talking.

The result itself was meaningless to me.

I had no intention of stopping here.

“Huh? Bjorn! Why are you skipping it? It’s not stone bread, what a waste!”

Because stopping now would mean having to stack from the beginning again.

I considered explaining, but thankfully, Amelia stepped in.

“Pheneline, stay still. Don’t interfere.”

“Ah, no… I was just curious…”

“Tch.”

“Alright… I won’t interrupt…”

So that’s the power of hierarchy?

Ever since getting beaten up in the cabin, Aynar had been particularly weak against Amelia.

Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.

「A Redwood longbow is generated.」

A longbow made from second-tier wood.

「An iron shield is generated.」

A generic shield with an even lower value than my Tier 3 shield.

After rolling nine decent pieces of equipment, just before the tenth attempt—

No, to be precise…

Around the time I’d put about 15.55 million stones worth of mana stones into it, or about 777,777 of the Level 9 variety—

「No. 9981 – The Stranded Survivor’s Stamina Ring is generated.」

For the first time, a Numbers item appeared.

Not that it was more profitable than what I’d gotten before.

Not all Numbers items were expensive.

‘This one’s worth about 2 million stones.’

In a way, it was even less valuable than the Litinium breastplate from earlier.

But that didn’t matter either.

「A cloud candy is generated.」

「A training mana staff is generated.」

「A high-density mana herb is generated.」

「A wyvern leather armor is generated.」

「A permanent magic enchantment (Light Orb) scroll is generat…」

Potions, equipment, enhancement materials—

I skimmed through them all, mechanically shoving stones into the bottomless abyss of the necklace.

“…Huh?”

My body froze.

The reason was simple.

「A Mithium ingot is generated.」

What the hell, a tier 6 metal?

Given that a scroll appeared just before… This was clearly just the normal gacha odds, right?

“M-Mystium!”

“That’s worth hundreds of millions, right?”

Stopping now would still net me a huge profit.

But…

‘Damn it.’

I’m supposed to be stacking unluckiness, so why am I getting good rolls early?

I sighed inwardly but pushed away my doubts.

And kept inserting stones.

“…Ah!”

“…Huh!”

Somehow, I could hear the sighs around me.

Tch, don’t jinx the gacha roller.

‘How can a mortal fathom the mind of a giant?’

I went on and on, pouring in the mana stones like a machine.

Whoooosh—!

About 155 million stones in cash.

Or 7,777,777 level 9 magic stones fed into the necklace

For the first time, the necklace emitted a red light.

「Due to excessive mana condensation, Grapha’s power has been severely damaged.」

In short, after this gacha roll, the necklace would break and I wouldn’t be able to roll anymore.

“Bjorn… are you okay? The necklace looks like it’s cracking…”

Of course I’m okay.

I never considered retreating in the first place.

And in that sense—

‘Let’s see.’

I checked inside the gem as the red light faded.

Statistically, from this point onward, even single-digit Numbers items could appear. If something good came up, I was willing to cut my losses and stop—

「No. 535 – Polar Regions Shield is generated.」

Polar Regions Shield.

That’s what it’s called in the game, a shield I often used when raising my shield barbarian character until I could get my endgame shield.

‘Tch.’

A shield itself isn’t bad, but a triple-digit Numbers item?

‘Who’s gonna use this?’

I quickly skipped it.

Though it was the highest-value item so far, no one around me seemed particularly disappointed.

They probably didn’t recognize it.

Not many freaks memorize all the Numbers items.

‘Next.’

I inserted another mana stone.

Glanced at the item.

“Next.”

I kept refreshing the items. The more times I did it, the more high-value items popped up.

「No. 2998 – Guardian Corps’ Emblem is generated.」

The earring I was wearing.

「A staff imbued with the World Tree’s power is generated.」

A staff made from Tier 6 World Tree material—something Versil eyed greedily.

「5 Ark ingots are generated.」

Ark ingots, a tier 6 material, and the maximum quantity at that.

「A divine elixir is generated.」

A potion obtainable from 9th-floor rifts at a certain probability.

「No. 7777 – Garpas’s Necklace is generated.」

What am I supposed to do with this?

I have no idea what the game wants me to do with this necklace—like some sort of matryoshka doll?

Anyway, aside from that, a ton of other items showed up, and I turned them all down. And finally: