Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 565

Destination(5)

The time that had begun to flow in reverse stopped.

“Would you mind taking the lead?”

It was the point when Jerome had asked me to take the front.

Fine. But in return, from here on out, give me priority for the next four drops.

“Four, huh… Alright. For you, Baron, that’s hardly a waste.”

After a brief negotiation, I began crawling under the tree where the village chief had disappeared.

It was a scene that made no sense at all. How could I go down in a situation like that without giving it a second thought?

[This is the fate I showed that child. In this time line, there was no revelation. So, you went down below without any suspicion.]

“Ah…”

Now that she mentioned it, it made sense.

The reason I had felt something off about Jerome was due to the revelation. Knowing something would happen made me hyper-aware of everything around me.

Whoosh—!

Anyway, the moment I descended under the tree—

Suddenly, the world turned black, and when I opened my eyes again, the scene had changed.

[We don’t have time, so I’ll just point out the important parts.]

The location was a cave.

At its center was a portal stone, and I was lying unconscious beside it. The village chief approached me and began some kind of incomprehensible ritual.

[This is the place hidden under the basement you went to last time. After descending into the village, you fought hundreds of enemies alone, waiting for reinforcements—but no one came. Eventually, exhausted, you were captured and brought here.]

So there was another level beneath the corpse-filled basement.

‘…I never imagined a place like this was hidden down there.’

Back then, the situation had been so urgent that I didn’t get the time to look around.

‘So… what happens to me now?’

[Just watch. It’ll be over soon.]

2x, 3x, 4x.

It was as if a video had been put on fast-forward.

When the speed finally returned to normal, black smoke was pouring from the village chief’s body.

Swoooosh—!

The smoke flowing from the chief’s body slowly seeped into mine, and soon after, the chief collapsed.

And then…

Swoooosh—!

My unconsious body opened its eyes and stood up.

Then I clenched and unclenched my hand before speaking in an unfamiliar voice.

“At last…”

The scene changed again.

Now the location was the island’s center, deep in the darkness of the labyrinth. There, ‘I’ was talking to Jerome Saintred.

“Now, as promised—hand ‘that’ over.”

“……”

“Are you having second thoughts now? If so, I suggest that you let it go. If you don’t give it up, you won’t be able to live properly in this body even if you leave this place.”

“I suppose… the royal family does have that kind of power.”

“Then hurry up and—”

“Which is why it’s better if you never find out at all.”

“What? You dare—?!”

“The dead tell no tales.”

That’s where the conversation ended.

When the scene changed again, blood sprayed in front of my eyes.

“Aaaaagh—!”

The entire area had turned into a battlefield.

We were surrounded by hundreds of monsters, and though the expedition team fought desperately, they were slowly being overwhelmed.

All of it was because of the village chief, who had taken over my body.

“I didn’t think… he’d be this strong…”

“The Baron…! Kill Baron Jandel!”

The village chief who had taken my body had nothing to protect.

He didn’t care how many monsters died. The Barbarian character I had painstakingly developed to protect my allies now rampaged across the battlefield like a wrecking ball.

And then, after what felt like an eternity—

Just when the tide of battle had clearly turned in his favor—

As ‘I’ was massacring the expedition force, ‘I’ suddenly stopped.

“Rav… en…”

The companion who had stood by me through everything, looked at me with fear in her eyes before running away

Boom

I forced myself to throw the hammer far into the distance. Then I threw away my shield and unbuckled the armor that covered my body.

Another ally, who had been watching nearby, raised their weapon at me with suspicious eyes.

“Are you… back?”

It was Amelia who had been in custody, but she escaped with the others during the battle.

My response was brief.

“Emily… Kill me.”

She could not respond to my request and just watched blankly. Her blade that had always remained steady against any enemy now trembled violently.

But then—

“If you can’t do it, step aside!”

Jerome, having understood the situation, drew his sword and approached. I stared at him for a long moment before suddenly laughing.

I had no idea what was going through ‘my’ mind—

But “I” closed my eyes and lowered my head.

And then—

“No…!”

“It’s… his will…!”

As Amelia bit her lip and restrained Erwin—

Slash—!

A blade wrapped in aura struck my neck.

But it didn’t cut cleanly in one go.

Again and again—

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash—!

Like chopping wood with an axe, the sword came down countless times.

Amid the eerie silence, a single scream echoed across the clearing.

“No, no, no, no…”

She cried as she hurried over and poured potions on my body.

Of course, there was no reaction.

Potions couldn’t revive a dead character.

“You…! If it weren’t for you…!”

“Calm down, Tersia.”

“H-How can you just let this slide after seeing—?!”

“Do you really think you can kill the enemy properly in this state?”

“……”

“Focus. Stay calm. Focus only on avenging Jandel.”

The Anabada clan gathered and pointed their weapons at the devastated expedition force.

“Think rationally. Without us, do you think you can take on those monsters?”

Jerome tried his best to persuade them, but of course it didn’t work.

Meanwhile, many members of the expedition force began defecting.

“Baron was… a hero. Even in the end, he tried to save us…”

“To throw away someone like him like garbage…What kind of royal duty is this?!”

“I, Meland Kaislan, draw my sword for the justice I believe in! If you share my cause, stand with me!”

“Treason! Kill the traitors…!”

Just as the situation was reaching its climax—

[Not there—look over there.]

Following the goddess’s words, I shifted my gaze.

Someone was moving alone, showing no interest in the chaos.

‘Misha…?’

Misha approached my corpse and pulled something out of her pocket.

Swoooosh—!

Though I’d never seen the real thing, the moment she placed it on my body, its unique effect burst forth—and I immediately recognized it.

I didn’t know why it was in her hands, but—

‘That’s…’

The Stone of Resurrection.

***
The Stone of Resurrection.

An item with the absurd ability to revive the dead.

Due to its ridiculous acquiring conditions, even I had only acquired it once in nine years.

‘Why… does she have it…?’

At first, I was stunned by the question, but the answer came quickly.

‘…Lee Baek-ho.’

It’s pretty well-known that this guy possessed a resurrection stone.

I didn’t know how she got it, but when time froze the moment I was revived, I set the matter aside and spoke.

“So, in the end, I don’t die.”

[Yes, you don’t die.]

Why had Baek-ho given Misha the resurrection stone.

There were a few possibilities that came to my mind.

But I still couldn’t guess why this goddess was here.

“Reatlas… Why are you trying to help me?”

The goddess answered briefly.

[…Because that ending isn’t right.]

To say something like that… What kind of ending had this fate-seeing goddess witnessed?

I was genuinely curious, but I let the question go.

This wasn’t the time to pressure her, and I had more pressing matters.

Like the current situation.

Flash—!

The world turned black, then bright again.

And ‘I’ was back in that cave, lying unconscious.

“What are you trying to show me now?”

[I’m not trying to show you anything. This is your current reality.]

…What?

I frowned as if demanding an explanation, and a very quiet voice resonated in my mind.

[I… don’t have the power to stop time.]

Ah, I see.

While I was watching myself from a third person perspective, time had continued to flow in reality.

[But your comrades are all safe. Though they’re currently in confinement…]

As if to offer some comfort, the goddess briefed me on the current situation.

It was quite simple.

When I collapsed after releasing that light, my allies panicked—and that’s when Jerome subdued me and handed me over to the village chief.

And so, I had been handed over to the village chief by Jerome.

“Then send me back immediately! I need to escape before the ritual finishes!”

[Sending you back isn’t difficult… But right now, even if you wake up, all your abilities will be sealed.]

“…What?”

It was absurd.

In other words, physical escape was impossible.

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

I was grateful for the goddess’s help, but now it was only making things worse.

Still, I clung to hope.

She was a goddess, after all.

Surely she had a plan.

“Tell me. What should I do now?”

Trying to sound polite, I adjusted my tone.

But then—

[…I can show you the path, but I can’t make it for you.]

“So… you’re saying you have no advice for me?”

After a long pause, she finally replied.

[…I’ve been watching your journey from the beginning. So I know. Your greatest strength isn’t your cool judgment, your vast knowledge, or your fearless courage.]

“……”

[The real power you possess… is your words.]

As a Barbarian who had solved more problems with brute force than diplomacy, it was a hard claim to accept..

But the goddess seemed to see it differently.

[A seasoned explorer was fated to die in the labyrinth that day alongside the noble mage. But in the end, they survived and came back. Because you bought time with your words.]

She was likely referring to the time in Larcaz’s maze when I swallowed “Restrained Desire” and negotiated with the dragonslayer.

[Your words have power. You’ve already slightly altered someone’s fate once. So…]

After a long wind-up, the goddess finally gave me her tip.

[Why not try solving this with words again?]

For some reason, it sounded like a question.

***

Badump! Badump!

A beating sound inside me.

The rhythm reminded me I was alive, and I steadied my breath.

“You’re awake.”

Damn it, Why is he so perceptive.

Well, with eyeballs that huge, I guess it’s only natural.

I opened my eyes and sat up.

“It would’ve been better for both of us if you’d stayed unconscious.”

“I figured I should at least try to struggle a bit.”

The goddess had irresponsibly told me to “solve it with words,” but—

What else could I do?

I’d just have to navigate this somehow.

Honestly, the moment she said it, an idea had already come to mind.

“…You’re unusually calm. You shouldn’t even know what’s going on.”

“Well, if anyone here doesn’t understand the situation, it’s clearly you.”

Perhaps my behavior and reactions were abnormal.

The village chief pressed his lips together and glared at me.

He wasn’t stupid—he could tell something was off.

So it was time to play my first card.

“Chief, it’s not too late to stop. Even if you take my body, you can’t return to the city.”

“So you’re just here to curse me—”

“It’s not a curse. It’s the truth. I’ve already seen it happen.”

Time for the second card.

“Reatlas showed me the future.”

After a brief pause, the chief surprisingly accepted my words without much resistance.

“So that light you gave off when you collapsed… she was involved, after all…”

The circumstances made my claim more believable.

Good, no time wasted.

“Tell me. If you want to stop me, what did she show you?”

I tweaked the scenario a bit for effective negotiation.

“You steal my body, but then Jerome attacks you. And you lose.”

“…My calculations are flawless. There’s no way I could lose to them.”

“Then your calculations must be wrong. Or maybe you didn’t anticipate them ambushing you.”

“That bastard… ambushed me?”

In the dim cave, the chief’s eyes glinted.

It seemed he hadn’t accounted for the possibility of an ambush.

That was good for me.

So, I quickly pressed on.

“Chief, I get why you want to steal a body. But does it really have to be mine?”

“It’s the surest path. You’re the one who will eventually escape this floor and return to the city.”

“Did you see that in the Record Stone?”

“…I didn’t expect you to know about the ‘Record Stone.'”

An answer that was effectively a yes.

The sudden mention of the record stone gave me a lot to think about, but I focused on resolving the current situation first.

“If that’s the case, then it doesn’t have to be me.”

“But there’s no reason for me to take unnecessary risks. Now that I know I’d lose, I can just change my plan—”

Change what?

I cut him off and got to the point.

“Jerome Saint-Red.”

The commander of this expedition, the Knight of Light.

“What about his body? He’s a little old now, but he’s a count and a skilled aura user. You were a knight too, weren’t you?”

And that wasn’t even the biggest advantage.

The real selling point was something else.

“Most importantly, if you take his body, you can escape this godforsaken place immediately.”

The most tempting bait from the chief’s perspective.

“Because that bastard has the essence of ‘Iblis.'”

This was my gamble.

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