Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 606

Commander (3)

Traditionally, a corps commander must always be busy. They never had the chance to make an excuse.

If anything goes wrong, whether people die or plans go awry, it’s always the commander’s responsibility.

That’s why…

“I’ll know more about the crown once Raven gets back…”

After assigning Raven to investigate the crown, I immediately began reorganizing the chain of command.

Click, click—

The current structure of the expedition force was simple.

Simply divide everyone into four large squads, and that’s it.

Priests, mages, knights, each squad was evenly balanced in terms of combat strength, and there wasn’t much difference in the roles they could perform. So their overall combat strength and capabilities were fairly equal.

To exaggerate a bit, it was more like dividing the force into four equal parts and telling each to figure things out on their own.

Of course, this structure had its advantages.

In emergencies, a single team could be deployed independently, and even if one team was wiped out, the main force could still operate without issue.

‘But it’s too militaristic.’

The place we’re in is a labyrinth floor.

Sacrifices are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we should allocate personnel with the assumption that losses are guaranteed.

However, the problem was…

‘There’s just not enough time to overhaul everything.’

Ideally, I’d like to merge the four squads into one and assign each role individually. However, that would require too many changes.

It would take time for people to adjust, and mistakes would keep happening until they got used to the new system.

‘…Let’s stick to the original plan and just establish a proper rank system.’

The most efficient way to manage subordinates is to place appropriate supervisors over them and then pressure those supervisors.

A top-down pressure system, passed down since ancient military times.

So, I deleted all the current leaders from the leaderboard and started rebuilding from scratch.

Mages, priests, ranged DPS, melee DPS, knights, tanks, support, non-combatants.

Regardless of squad divisions, I categorized everyone by class and assigned one person as the supervisor for each, giving them an appropriate title.

“Court Mage, Saintess, Master Archer, Grand Warrior, Knight Commander…”

I just made up the titles on the spot.

Names aren’t the important part anyway.

“Alright… the top leaders are set.”

After assigning each class leader, I created sub divisions as well.

For example, in the Mage group: they had Research, Investigation, and Combat sub divisions.

In the Knight division: Combat and Administration.

“I wonder if Raven would prefer Research or Investigation? Hmm, I could ask her and decide later”

“Bjorn? Are you busy?”

“Misha? What brings you here?”

“Just… you always seem so busy lately. I brought you some fruit tea you like…”

Oh, perfect. I was running low on sugar.

Gulp.

After downing half the cup in one gulp, I noticed Misha staring at me expectantly.

Well, it wouldn’t be right to accept a bribe and then just shut my mouth.

“Thanks for the tea. Misha, as thanks, I’ll give you a position.”

“…Huh? I don’t need anything like—”

“From now on, you’re the Chief Secretary. Your duty is everything related to improving the efficiency of the Commander’s work, and within that scope, I grant you the authority to make independent judgments.”

“Uh…? So, you’re saying you want me to bring you more tea in the future?”

Well, if that’s how she interprets it.

I nodded, and Misha, who had initially resisted the title, smiled brightly.

“In that case… I’ll gladly do it anytime.”

I now had a cat secretary.

***

After finishing the reorganization of the rank system, I called a leadership meeting.

There wasn’t any particularly important, it was just to let everyone get used to the new faces.

I was also curious if this system would work smoothly.

Not that the meeting was completely without topics, though.

“How much progress has been made on investigating the statues and the portal?”

While I was stuck in my tent reorganizing the expedition group, the mages diligently carried out their mission of investigating the stone chamber.

Today was the day to hear their findings.

“Ah, I’ll report on that.”

As soon as I spoke, Gahyun Varsilius, the newly appointed Court Mage and head of the mage division, stood up.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked

“A few days of rest, and I’m back to normal.”

Yeah… A few days ago, he was still limping, but today he seemed fine.

“Glad to hear it. Anyway, go ahead. Court Mage, how much progress has been made on the stone chamber?”

“Before I report… just one thing.”

Gahyun Varsilius cut straight to the point.

“Why exactly am I the Court Mage?”

Ah, that.

“This isn’t even the royal palace”

“It’s just a title. Don’t overthink it. We need something to call you, don’t we?”

“No, but why that name…?”

Gahyun grumbled, dissatisfaction evident in his voice. But I wasn’t going to change it.

I didn’t even understand why he disliked it so much.

Court Mage, it honestly sounds cool.

Just as I was about to shoot him a look telling him to stop complaining and get on with the report, an elderly man in white robes spoke up.

“Baron, Varsilius is right. A name is just a name—what matters is the essence, no?”

“……”

“And Court Mage is better than a Saintess, isn’t it? Hahhha.”

It was the archbishop of the Tobera Church, whom I had given the title of saintess in the expedition force.

“……”

Seeing someone with an even worse title, the court mage lost his excuse to complain and began his report.

“I’ll begin. First, no additional items have been discovered in the stone chamber. There are only three statues and one portal.”

“And?”

“Regarding the portal, it’s as previously reported.”

“It’s highly likely that it’s connected to where we entered, but it’s too early to be certain.”

“Correct. Even if we analyze the portal’s properties, we can’t determine the coordinates on the other side. However, we’ve learned quite a bit about the statues instead.”

“Go on.”

Gahyun placed three statues, each about the size of a large figurine, on the table.

One of the statues had turned black.

“What happened here?”

“The statue was activated during our research.”

“…Activated?”

“To get to the point, this statue functions similarly to the guardian statues we’ve encountered before. When activated, it can open a rift.”

“You mean one of those half-rifts where only the guardian appears?”

“Yes. See this slot here? Inserting a riftstone activates the statue and opens a portal for about 30 minutes.”

“Did anyone go through it?”

“We were still analyzing it, and by the time we tried, it had already disappeared.”

Damn… So one of the statues got used up?

 

I felt a twinge of regret, but Gahwin’s next words helped ease my mind.

“This statue doesn’t seem to be single-use. See this blackened color? Over time, the original color is gradually returning from the bottom.”

Ah, so it has a cooldown system?

“Moreover, even though we couldn’t enter the portal, we’ve learned several things from the outside. This is still an unverified hypothesis, but…”

What followed was an explanation filled with technical jargon.

“After extensive research, we’ve concluded that the portal opened by this statue emits coordinates very similar to those of the Blood Tinted Castle…”

To summarize the long and complicated explanation:

“The rift stone we used to activate the statue was a Level 9 rift stone obtained from a first-floor rift. And we’re considering the possibility that this wasn’t a coincidence.”

In short, the level of the rift stone offered to the statue likely determines the level of the guardian that spawns.

Of course, this is still just a hypothesis.

“Vice-Commander, do we have any more rift stones in our supplies?”

We checked our remaining rift stones, but unfortunately, we only had a few Level 6 or lower stones left.

Not that it was surprising.

How often would we need to bring rift stones into the labyrinth?

The fact that we even had that many was proof of how thorough the royal family had been.

‘So, it’s like a downgraded version of a Rift Generator…’

For reference, among the Numbers items, there’s one similar to these statues.

No. 18: Rift Generator.

This item also has the ability to open rifts when a rift stone is inserted.

Insert about ten Level 9 rift stones, and a rift corresponding to the floor you’re on will open.

 

The downside is that you have to be on the corresponding floor to use it. However, the fact that you can brute force it with lower-level stones and that it opens an actual rift makes it a superior version.

‘Well, these statues might also open portals to real rifts, but…’

Given their form, it’s more likely they’ll just spawn a single boss, like the guardian statues we’ve seen before.

“I see. Good work. It seems we’ve roughly figured out their purpose, so I’ll take custody of the statues.”

After that, I carefully stored the statues in my pocket and moved on to other reports.

“What about the Soul Eater essence?”

“No significant progress yet. The essence itself doesn’t provide much to study unless someone absorbs it.”

“So, to research it, someone would have to consume it.” Understood. I’ll think about this further.”

“Very well.”

“I’m getting hungry. Everyone except the Research Director is dismissed. Go rest.”

With that, I ended the meeting and kept the research director behind.

“Jandel, You left me alone because—”

“It’s Commander, not Jandel.”

Even though we were still in an official setting, the research director ignored my remark and continued.

“You want to know how much I’ve learned about that item, right?”

“Yeah. Found anything?”

In response to my question, the research director, Raven, cast a voice-control spell.

“Actually, I found out a lot.”

“Oh, really?”

“This flower crown… is a Numbers item.”

“A Numbers item?”

As someone who has memorized all Numbers items from No. 1 to 9,999, I had a hard time accepting that.

There was no crown among the Numbers items.

And Raven should know that too…

“Explain in detail.”

“Since we’re exploring this floor for the first time, we have a lot of quality research equipment.”

“And?”

“After analyzing its properties, this crown has all the exact properties of a numbered item, so I’ve decided to classify it as a numbers item.”

“But it’s missing the most important thing, a number.”

“That’s true. So I gave it a name.”

“What are you blushing for? Just say it.”

“How about… a Secret Numbered item?”

Considering it was something Raven came up with, it was a surprisingly tame name.

“I have a feeling we’ll discover more unnumbered Numbers items as we explore further.”

“Not bad.”

“Wait, so it’s officially approved?”

“Sure.”

When I nodded, Raven’s face lit up.

She was probably imagining a future where Secret Numbers became a widely used term.

Names aren’t that big a deal anyway.

“Alright, now tell me what it actually does.”

Honestly, I was worried she had come here after only brainstorming a name for it, but thankfully, her academic curiosity was as genuine as her thirst for recognition.

“I’ll only mention the confirmed effects. Keep in mind there might still be undiscovered abilities.”

“Got it. Hurry up.”

“First, when equipped, you gain immunity to all harmful mental effects.”

“Oh…”

This was a better item than I’d expected.

A helmet that grants mental immunity?

In high-level raids, mental resistance is extremely valuable. Definitely a useful item.

‘Can’t I just wear it…?’

Imagining a giant barbarian wearing a flower crown was a bit odd, but a true gamer prioritizes performance over appearance…

“Ah, and one more thing.”

But the next detail made me abandon any desire to wear the crown.

“It also grants immunity to holy power. You won’t take damage from divine spells, but you also can’t be healed or blessed.”

“Ah…”

I knew there’d be a drawback.

“So I can’t use it.”

As a tank who regularly needs healing, this crown was off-limits to me.

“That’s all I’ve confirmed so far. I haven’t discovered any active effects. It’s possible there aren’t any.”

“Good work.”

“Just in case, I’ll take it back for further study. Is that alright?”

“Of course. You can even name it properly. A Numbers item should have a name.”

“……Really? I can name it?”

“Sure.”

After all, motivating subordinates is part of a superior’s job too.

“Oh, right. Jandel.”

“I told you to call me Commander.”

“You know those three statues we got from the stone chamber? The ones that activate with a riftstone, and supposedly open rifts matching the stone’s level?”

“What about them?”

Raven pulled out a riftstone.

 

I wasn’t sure what level it was, but even at a glance, it looked pretty high-tier.

“It’s the riftstone we got after defeating the vampire guardian in that mutant rift, the place where we met.”

“Ah, so this is the one from back then?”

“Yeah. I didn’t sell it and just held onto it, but…”

“So?”

Raven asked me in a genuinely curious tone.

“If we put this into one of those statues… what kind of rift do you think would open?”

“Huh… Well.”

…”Should we try it?”

Honestly, I’m really curious too.

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