Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 669

New World 4

Our current situation was very simple.

Ba-dump!

We’d gotten the location of the dimensional stone from Rek Aures’s “friend” we met outside the wall.

After finding the Dimensional Stone, we took the portal, thinking we’d just have a look and turn back if it didn’t seem right.

But…

“In other words, that bastard tried to screw us over, huh?”

Rek Aures’s friend, Dailan, disappeared the instant we crossed the portal.

The dimensional stone that would take us back to our original location was nowhere to be seen.

In other words, our way back was gone.

“His name was Dailan? Was it Dalan?”

We didn’t know much about him.

We didn’t even know if “Dailan” was his real name. All we knew was that he was from Noark, and “Dailan” was an extremely common name there.

I clenched my fist before I even realized it.

There was no way to know if that was really his name—but if it was…

‘Is it L…?’

It would be my first encounter with ‘that’ in a very long time.

Thump-thump!

I need to be on high alert from now on.

It’s the only way to safely navigate this crisis.

So, in that sense…

“He probably hasn’t got far yet—”

“Stop right there.” I issued a command

Baek-ho gave me a puzzled look when I stopped him from chasing after the bastard who’d disappeared.

Sure, maybe I sounded a bit too serious — but I couldn’t help it.

Thump!

For the first time, I genuinely felt this situation was dangerous.

“Don’t move carelessly. First, we figure out where we are.”

That’s my approach when playing [Dungeon & Stone].

Whenever you entered an unfamiliar area for the first time, you had to treat everything as a potential threat.

Anyway,

“Havelion and Bright, check the area for monsters or traps first.”

I first ordered the GM and the Archer to start scanning the area.

“Nothing.”

“I don’t detect anything.”

Good.

Tap. Tap.

I walked up to the cave wall and knocked, hearing a dull thud in response.

‘I don’t think there’s anything behind this wall…’

Slick.

I lifted my foot off the ground and took a step forward.

‘Mud.’

The cave floor was covered in thick, wet sludge, as though there had been a landslide on a rainy day.

It didn’t seem to have any special effect, like slowing our movement speed.

But the problem was…

“We should get out of here first.”

“…Right? If we follow the path long enough, we’ll figure out something—”

“The cave might flood completely if we’re not careful.”

“…What?”

Seeing Lee Baek-ho tilt his head, I pointed to the cave walls and ceiling.

“Look. The marks from when it was full of water are still there.”

“Oh, there really are marks like that!”

“But isn’t that a bit much? Just means it was flooded before, not that it’ll flood again. We just have to get out before that happens.”

Why is this guy so positive?

“Do you know how long this cave is? What if it takes three days and nights of walking just to reach the exit? What if the structure changes into a maze-like pattern and we have to wander for ages?”

“…So shouldn’t we start moving quickly then?”

Hmm… That’s true.

But first things first.

“Let’s reorganize our formation.”

“Our formation…?”

“It’s dangerous to split into two groups in a place like this. In a narrow passage like this, a solid formation will solve half our problems before they even start.”

Although we’d been traveling together all this time, the GM and I never really blended in with Baekho’s team. But that won’t do from now on.

“Havelion, Ruinzenes, Jayna. From now on, you three will move to the center, where it’s safest.”.”

I placed the key members in the middle.

“Aures, you take the rear. We might get attacked from behind.”

“Ha! Got it! Leave the back to me!”

I put the sub-tank at the back. On narrow, passage-type maps like this, you have to be especially careful at the back.Besides, I can handle the front myself!

“Baek-ho, follow right behind me. Bright, stay right behind him. If a fight breaks out, you can fall back, but until then, stay at the front to provide cover. Understood?”

“Yes. I understand what you mean.”

Alright. Formation complete. Time to move—

“Baron?”

Just as we had finished setting up, Baek-ho came over to me as though he wanted to say something.

“I still have more team members than you do, so shouldn’t I be the one giving the orders?”

Ah, so that was his complaint.

“Besides, this is your first time outside the wall, right? Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to follow my lead?”

Then go ahead and do it your way.

You think I want to be in charge?

“Baek-ho, this is different from before.”

This wasn’t just outside the wall anymore.

If it were, I’d have let him take the lead as usual — he had more experience out there.

But this time…

“What’s different?”

A crucial difference.

“You’ve never been here either.”

Everyone in the group was stepping into unknown territory for the first time.

And my instincts told me this place was extremely dangerous.

And he wanted him to take the wheel?

“We don’t have any intel on this place, and we have no idea what kind of variables might appear. Every single decision here could be critical.”

“…So what?”

“That means we should leave command to the most qualified person.”

I phrased it diplomatically, but the meaning was clear: I could make better judgments than him.

Naturally, Baek-ho didn’t look convinced.

“The most qualified… meaning you?”

He stared at me in disbelief.

I didn’t look away.

“What, you don’t think so?”

“No. I don’t.”

His reply was instant and blunt.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Honestly, I didn’t understand why he was acting up like this.

It was obvious, wasn’t it?

I was the one who’d suffered through every kind of hell, spent sleepless nights organizing data, researching fields, and opened the Abyss Gate in original mode.

 

And Lee Baek-ho was a former soldier who wouldn’t have come into this world if it weren’t for the cheat version.

Between us, who was more suited?

Step.

I approached him and spoke quietly,

“I’ll ask you one last time, Lee Baek-ho.”

“…”

“Do you really believe you’re the right person for this?”

This time, he didn’t answer right away.

Because he knew the truth, too.

He knew it just as well as I did — that there was a clear difference between us, too obvious for him to deny.

“……”

As I waited silently, watching him, he eventually looked away and shrugged.

“Fine. Do as you want. You are Raphdonia’s most famous explorer, after all. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Well, you should have said that from the start.

***
Calling it a “power struggle” would be an exaggeration — our little dispute ended rather peacefully.

But as we started moving again, I could hear whispers behind me.

“What kind of person is Baron jandel…? Even Baek-ho backed down…”

“I was shocked too… I didn’t think he’d yield like that…”

Lex Aures muttered, and the GM answered in a hushed voice.

Of course, Baek-ho’s ears caught every word.

“Hah! What, you think I’m a snake or something? I didn’t back down! I just wanna see what makes him so confident!”

“…Ahaha.”

“I didn’t say anything, Baek-ho!”

As Baek-ho got annoyed, the two quickly shut their mouths as if they had never spoken.

While it was amusing to see, I still gave them a warning.

“Be quiet. There might not be anything happening right now, but there’s no guarantee it’ll stay that way forever.”

“R-right!”

For people who are supposedly top-tier explorers, why are they all so noisy?

It would be so much better if they were all like Amelia. I’m sure we’d get maximum efficiency no matter what we did.

“I can feel a slight breeze. It seems the exit is nearby.”

After about twenty minutes of walking, the archer spoke up. Sure enough, we reached the exit soon afterwards.

“It’s dark…”

Outside the cave, visibility wasn’t much better.

 

It was pitch black, like the inside of the labyrinth.

“It’s still night. Once the sun rises later, we should be able to see something.”

Baek-ho didn’t seem too worried, but I felt differently.

“…I don’t think it’s dark just because it’s night.”

“Huh?”

“Look — the light doesn’t travel far. Like in the labryinth.”

“Now that you mention it… yeah, that is weird.”

It was only then that Baek-ho frowned, noticing the same difference in the darkness. “Uh… then, could it be that we’re inside the labyrinth?”

“Well… We’ll find out.”

“Alright. I’ll trust you on this, Baron. You’ll figure it out on your own, right?”

…Is he a kid or something?

He came to this world much earlier than I did, so his mental age should be higher than mine.

“Right, I’ll handle it, so just be quiet for a bit.”

When I put my index finger to my lips, Lee Baek-ho pulled a face and firmly shut his mouth.

Regardless, I focused on my task.

I mean, we’d just moved from one field to another. Naturally, the first thing to do was scout the area.

“No signs of water…”

Contrary to my expectations, there were no rivers or lakes near the cave.

Then how would the cave even fill up with water?

It doesn’t seem like rain would cause water to pool there specifically…

‘There must be some other reason…’

As I contemplated this, I continued the search.

We took a long walk around the cave entrance to sketch out a simple map of the area and marked the entrance so we could find our way back anytime if needed.

And after some time had passed.

“Havelion, what’s the time?”

“9:18. The sun should have come up a while ago.”

“Right, that’s what I thought…”

Even though considerable time had passed, there was no sign of the surroundings getting brighter.

Therefore…

“There’s a good chance we’re no longer outside the wall.”

“You mean… we’re inside a labyrinth?”

“Well, it’s not impossible.”

No one called my assumption far-fetched.

 

After all, Auril Gavis had once used a dimensional stone outside the wall to open a portal into a labyrinth.

“Baron, please take a look at this!”

Just then, the archer Bright called out.

When I rushed over, I saw an artificial structure I couldn’t spot from where I’d been standing.

“…A monument?”

It wasn’t a dimensional stone, but something else.

It was a large structure, similar to those found in the Crystal Cave on the first floor.

“Havelion, can you read it?”

“No, Baron. These characters are entirely unfamiliar to me.”

The monument’s surface was carved with symbols that resembled pictograms more than words. Even I, with my ability to read ancient languages, couldn’t decipher them.

“Investigate it for now. It could be something that requires mana input to function.”

“Yes, understood.”

I left the GM and the Ruin Scholar to analyse the structure and went over the map I’d been drawing once more.

Aside from the massive craters scattered throughout the forest, there wasn’t much else worth noting.

At this point, just picking a direction and moving might be more efficient, I thought as I waited for the mages to finish their investigation.

Flash—!

For a moment, the entire world turned blindingly white—

BOOOOOM!

A roar like the sky itself was collapsing swallowed everything.

And then—

SHAAAAAAA—!!

A torrent of rain began to pour down in heavy sheets.

At first, it seemed as if we had just entered a field with extreme weather conditions.

But then—

[Kiiiiiiiiiieeek—!!]

Coincidentally, just as the abnormal weather began, monsters appeared.

“Over there! Monsters incoming—!”

They were the first monsters we’d encountered since crossing over to this side. Thankfully, there weren’t any I hadn’t seen before.

Well, I’m not sure if we can call that fortunate.

“Brachiaistelro! A Level 5 beast-type monster! It uses telekinesis and water-element abilities!” the GM shouted a quick summary of the monsters he saw as he hurried to his feet.

His information wasn’t wrong—

But he’d left out the most important detail.

Brachiaistelro.

A mere Level 5 mob monster.

but…

“…Star Graveyard.”

It appears only on the 9th Floor.

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