Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 550

The Secret Chamber (3)

The stone door swung wide open.

It was different from how it usually opened when we summoned the monsters. Normally, the space beyond the stone gate was shrouded in darkness, and even when we approached, something invisible blocked our entry.

But now…

Whoooooosh—!

A blinding white light poured out through the gap in the door.

But, we still couldn’t see what was inside.

[Alright, follow me!]

Seeing how Hamsiki was taking the lead, it seemed entry was possible.

“Somehow… I feel nervous.”

“Can we really trust a monster…?”

“Everyone, you’re worrying for nothing. We have the Baron with us.”

Though they were uneasy, the team members followed me with hopeful eyes as I trailed behind Hamsiki.

And then…

[Alright, I’ll go in first. See you inside!]

With that, Hamsiki stepped into the light first.

I then cleared my mind for a moment and quickly followed.

Whoooooosh—!

Like stepping into a portal, my entire body was covered in light.

「The character has entered the 1st Records Archive.」

When I opened my eyes, I was in a completely unfamiliar space.

***

A circular room.

The shelves lining the space were densely packed with books of various colors.

And then…

[W-watch out! The ceiling might collapse!]

First off, the space was incredibly cramped.

Even without my [Gigantification], I had to hunch over and uncomfortably bend my neck just to stand.

It felt like I was entering a mini library.

At least, that’s what it felt like—but when I looked around, one other person seemed as uncomfortable as me.

“Ugh! What is this place?! It’s so stuffy I might die! And there are books everywhere!”

Aynar, the only one sharing my discomfort.

It struck me again—why does this society have such little consideration for barbarians? Raising the average ceiling height by just 30cm would make the world a much more beautiful place.

Despite my complaints, I scanned the surroundings.

[This is where I usually stay… You’re my first guest. What do you think?]

“It’s kinda cool.”

[R-Really…?]

“I guess.”

I gave a half-hearted reply and glanced around, and there was only one thing that caught my eye.

‘Nothing but books.’

Books on the shelves. Books stacked like towers on the floor.

The only difference was their arrangement—wherever I looked, all I saw were books.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

“Hamsiki.”

[…H-huh?]

Ignoring his nervous face, I walk over and tug a book hidden in a heap.

“What’s this? Looks like you hid it in a hurry before we came.”

[…C-Can’t you tell by looking? It’s just a normal book…!]

Tsk, this guy keeps acting up even though we’re friends.

That gold-leaf cover on the book screams extraordinary.

“Oh, just an ordinary book? Great. I’ll take it as a house-warming gift.”

[H-housewarming gift?! Do you think I’m stupid? Housewarming gifts are supposed to be given to the host, not taken!]

Tch, he knows that?

It was a bit annoying, but not a big problem.

After all…

“Hamsiki, that’s an outdated custom.”

If I say it’s not like that, what’s he gonna do?

[…Huh?]

“Nowadays, it’s common for guests to receive gifts… Did you stay here too long and forget something so basic?”

[…Ah! Right! Of course! I just forgot for a second!]

“Uh……”

[Really! Don’t misunderstand! I just had a memory lapse!]

No, that’s not it.

I was more taken aback because I didn’t expect him to fall for it so easily…

[Ahem! I-it’s true, okay?!]

I had a weird feeling watching Hamsiki’s reaction.

“Alright. I believe you. We’re friends, after all.”

[Yeah! Because we’re friends! Trust is the most important thing between friends!]

……Why does he suddenly seem so cute?

He’s just a monster I should be exploiting, but still.

Suppressing my emotions, I continued the conversation.

“So, are you giving it to me? This book?”

[T-that’s a no! I’ll give you something else instead!]

“Why? You said it’s just an ordinary book.”

[……]

Trapped by his own words, Hamsiki chose silence.

Is he the avoidant type? He clams up whenever things get tough.

While I was thinking about how to get the Golden Book legally…

“Baron! There’s something written here in an ancient script. Could you translate it for us?”

One of the three mages from the Armin Exploration Team approached me.

It seemed to be one of the books on the shelf…

[You insolent fools!! How dare you touch my belongings without permission!]

Only then did Hamsiki notice the situation and explode in anger.

Honestly, he had every right to be mad.

Even I thought they were going too far.

“Everyone, check everything thoroughly!”

“Ah! Sorry! I accidentally tore the book while pulling it out.”

“Forget that—let’s move the whole shelf! There might be something behind it!”

The moment they entered, the entire team scattered like madmen, ransacking the entire space.

Explorers are truly the embodiment of destruction and greed.

[You bastards……!!!]

Hamsiki’s anger erupted again, but unfortunately, none of them paid any attention.

“Uh… The monster seems really angry…”

“Truly a terrifying roar…”

“Is this okay?”

“Eh, it’s fine! Why worry? You saw it earlier, didn’t you? The Baron had him cowering and made him open the gate.”

“Haha! People won’t believe it when we say a monster actually submitted to him like that—it sounds like something out of a myth!”

“Indeed, the Baron is no ordinary man…”

To them, that’s how it looks. But, I just swindled a naive hamster who knew nothing of the world.

It’s better if they don’t know the truth. After all, legends of Jumong and Bak Hyeokgeose exist because they played a role in justifying the authority of rulers.

“Hamsiki, calm down.”

[What?! You expect me to just watch this—!]

“Isn’t cleaning up afterward your job anyway? Or do you hate tidying up?”

[…W-well… Not exactly…]

“Then it’s settled. They’re just helping you do what you love. Why get angry?”

[…I-is that how it works…?]

Okay, that’s enough persuasion for now.

“Can I open this?”

[Huh? Oh… Sure… Just opening it is fine…]

With Hamsiki’s reluctant permission, I eagerly opened the golden book.

To be honest, I was really looking forward to it.

This golden book seemed to be part of the summoning books – what kind of monster could be inside?

A rare species like a Mimic that could yield huge rewards?

Or a Rift Guardian like Milayel?

Hmm, maybe defeating the monster would grant some unique reward—

‘Huh?’

As I read the first page, I froze.

[Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a brother and sister who lived happily together.]

……What is this?

***

A story written in crooked ancient script, like a child’s diary. It wasn’t what I expected at all, but I read on slowly.

It didn’t take long to finish.

Although the book was thick, the story ended after the first page.

“Baron, could you tell us what it says?”

Everyone seemed curious about what I was reading, so I gave them a brief summary.

“Long ago, a brother and sister lived happily in a small village. But the older brother left to become a mage, making the younger sister very sad.”

“And then?”

“That’s it.”

“……Huh?”

No, seriously, that’s all there was, which is why I didn’t hesitate to share it
– there was nothing to hide.

Even flipping through the rest of the book, I found nothing.

But precisely because of that…

‘This can’t be meaningless.’

That made the story even more suspiciously important.

The basement floor 1 is full of mysteries and unknowns.

And the enigmatic monster Hamsiki, who kept this book hidden in his private sanctuary.

There’s no way this story is insignificant.

So…

“So, any idea who the siblings are?”

Time to tap into collective intelligence.

“Hmm… Siblings… The first that come to mind are the Kailaze siblings.”

The Kailaze siblings were famous explorers from just a few centuries ago—not a match.

“Could it be a myth? When I studied theology, I recall a scholar claiming that the gods Leatles and Haindel were born from the same parents.”

But it didn’t seem like a story about gods either.

“Not sure. I immediately thought of the Undying King. Before ascending the throne, he had many younger siblings.”

Well, given his noble lineage, he might’ve had a sister too…

But the fact that the story mentioned a small village contradicted this theory.

“Emily, what about you? Any ideas?”

“…I’m more hung up on the ‘left to learn magic’ part than the sibling aspect.”

“Ah, that.”

“Could it be about the Last Great Sage, Gavrilius?”

Hmm, that’s plausible too.

The problem is—even if that theory is right, it doesn’t give us anything actionable.

Or maybe…

“Hamsiki, do you know whose story this is?”

[…No idea?]

I asked on a whim, but Ham Sik didn’t know either.

“Then why were you keeping it so carefully if you don’t even know whose story it is?”

At my accusatory tone, Hamsik frantically waved his hands.

[It’s true! I just… felt like I had to. So I kept it safe, that’s all.]

“I see. Then I can take it?”

[No! It’s a book that must be passed on to someone!]

“Passed on…? To whom?”

[To someone worthy.]

“And what makes someone worthy?”

[I… don’t know… But I’ll know when I see them. Or at least, I feel like I will.]

The more we talked, the more curious I became about Hamsiki.

Who is he?

Who created him, and why did he have to spend so much time alone in a place like this?

[A-anyway! You’re not worthy, so don’t even dream about it! Until then, I have to keep it safe…!]

“Hamsiki, between friends, what’s yours is mine—”

[Squeak-! No means no!]

Tsk. That line wasn’t going to work.

I decided to drop the matter for now.

Not that I gave up entirely, but after seeing just one line of the story, it fell lower on my priority list.

“Versil! Found anything?”

“Anything? Come here! There’s so much to show you!”

The golden book wasn’t the only thing in this secret room.

***

Investigating this hidden space was surprisingly simple.

Pull out the densely packed books.

Push aside the now-empty bookcases.

Then, swing an axe or use magic to break through the revealed walls.

It might have seemed a bit barbaric, but this was actually the standard approach explorers took when facing the unknown.

Because doing this always yielded something.

In fact, even back when I played games, I had a habit of destroying everything in sight—and that habit helped me uncover countless hidden pieces.

[Y-you savages……!!]

Well, the owner of the place must have been furious.

In any case, thanks to this explorer-style investigation, one thing became absolutely clear.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything hidden.”

No concealed items in the walls, floor, or ceiling.

[I told you! There’s nothing here!]

Ah, but I hadn’t known that earlier.

“If you hadn’t lied before, I might’ve believed you.”

[W-when did I ever lie?!]

“You said this room didn’t exist at first, didn’t you?”

[…….]

Regardless, just because there was nothing hidden didn’t mean we didn’t get anything.

“Baron! Take a look at this book! It seems to be a map of the first underground floor!”

“This one looks like a summoning book—there are over ten Mimics drawn inside.”

“That fountain pen on the desk… I’m detecting an unreadable flow of magic from it. We need to investigate further, but…”

“This picture frame looks ordinary. I thought there might be something special about it, so I physically damaged it, but it’s not repairing itself…”

As the reports poured in, I nodded with a satisfied smile.

Now this is what exploration is all about.

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