Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 101

Rumors (3)

As soon as we entered the labyrinth, darkness enveloped us.

I quickly take out my torch and illuminate the surroundings, then run my hand over the tombstone in front of me.

“Ah, how long has it been?”

Wooosh!

An untouched tombstone.

The radiance of five colors emanating from it.

And that peculiar sensation, like a prick in the heart. The kind you feel when you’re living life on the edge.

[You have opened a portal for the first time. EXP +2.]

Misha murmured, looking at the light that had transformed into a sphere and was flickering.

“What, what nyang? Did you just open a portal nyang?”

Of course, she wouldn’t have known about such a cute bug.

I repeated the explanation I had given to Aynar before.

“A dimensional instability phenomenon? That’s how it works?”

Unlike Aynar, who had given up on understanding, Misha tried to grasp it in her own way.

Of course, it was doomed to fail.

Even I couldn’t fully explain the principle behind it.

I was just exploiting a ‘phenomenon’ I happened to discover.

“…I feel sorry for Rotmiller.”

“Huh?”

“When he finds out about this method… he’s going to feel really hollow, nyang. Just like I did after making the contract with the Spirit Beast.”

Ah, so that’s what she meant.

I wondered what she was talking about without any context.

Indeed, Rotmiller would definitely feel a tremendous sense of loss if he learned about this effortless bug.

[Even if not now, as I keep trying, perhaps one day I’ll be able to open portals with my own hands. That’s my dream as an explorer.]

Like the ambition he cautiously shared at the drinking party, he was genuinely dedicated to his profession as an explorer.

And it wasn’t just a vain dream.

His navigational skills were indeed remarkable.

On the first floor, which he had obsessively studied, he was among the top ranks. If he could cut down the time by just two more hours, his dream might become a reality.

But it certainly wouldn’t be easy.

“Let’s go up for now.”

Anyway, enough of the small talk.

Misha and I stepped into the portal.

[You have entered the second floor’s Rock Desert]

Sand crumbling under our feet.

Hot air rising from below.

In the pitch-black darkness, the flickering torch casts shadows on the stone ruins.

“A rock desert, huh.”

Why did it have to be here?

I led Misha back down to the first floor.

Following the compass, we headed east.

‘If we got the opposite side, it means almost two days of walking.’

Normally, entering the labyrinth would have taken a day, no matter the destination…

But well, what you gain, you also lose in other ways.

Moreover, the experience points available from opening portals are only 2,but they accumulate permanently.

If walking an extra day can earn that, it’s undoubtedly a gain.

“Ugh, it really feels empty without Rotmiller nyang.”

“……”

After about three hours, we finally left the outermost dark zone. Even with a compass to guide us, we occasionally took wrong turns and hit dead ends.

“But it’s nice walking just the two of us, isn’t it nyang?”

“What are you saying?”

“No, I mean… It’s good being noisy with the five of us, but this isn’t bad either, nyang.”

At first, I wondered what she was talking about, but as I listened, I began to understand.

The Dwarf and Dwalki talk too much.

Honestly, it often makes me laugh, but most of the time, it’s just exhausting to listen to them.

“Gigik!”

After leaving the dark zone, we continued through the dimly lit crystal caverns, constantly attacked by monsters.

The creatures that appeared in this western area were gnomes. True to their 9th grade status, they collapsed with a nasty squelch when hit.

“Gik…?!”

Mud dolls disintegrated into mush with a single blow of my mace. It wasn’t hard to defeat them, but it was annoying.

Gnomes have an active skill called [Integration]. It’s a stealth skill, so they’re only visible within a 3-meter radius.

‘If Rotmiller were here, he would have effortlessly taken them down.’

Is it because I was in a party of 5?

The dwarf is tolerable, but I kind of miss that old man. Was he like a reliable expert who always silently did his work from behind?

Ah, and Dwalki too.

If he were here, I wouldn’t have to pick up the magic stones myself.

“Bjorn, someone’s coming over there…!”

As I was lost in thought, walking along, Misha tapped my waist and quietly called out.

True to the keen senses of their beast-human race, Misha sensed their approach before I did.

“What are we gonna do nyang?”

What do you mean, what are we going to do?

They must have noticed us a while ago.

Clank, clank.

Soon, a 5-person party appeared from the front.

A regular party with a mage and a priest.

Their equipment was impressive, as expected of explorers who reached this far in just 3 hours.

‘…They must be at least 6th floor level.’

I didn’t know their exact capabilities.

But their equipment, lavishly made from 3rd and 4th-grade materials from head to toe, testified to their level.

Equipment is like an explorer’s badge of identity.

But, maybe they thought the same about us.

“Hmm.”

Suspicion and caution were evident in their eyes as they passed us.

They wouldn’t have expected to encounter a barbarian and a beast-human wearing mere 2nd-grade equipment here, at this time of the day.

‘Please, just pass by.’

Fortunately, they moved past us without starting a conversation.

It wasn’t so much my desperate wish but rather…

They just didn’t have the time.

“Let’s pick up the pace, LeBron.”

“Agreed.”

It was a relief they were in the middle of a speed run.

They must have thought, seeing us here, that other competitors had already moved ahead faster.

‘Well, you’re already the fastest, anyway.’

Since we were backtracking from the portal, I knew these guys were leading the pack.

But, of course, when they actually get there, they’ll find the portals already open.

“Wow, they’re really running.”

Misha marveled, having seen speed-running explorers for the first time.It took less than two seconds for them to enter and exit our line of sight, but it was still a remarkable sight.

“What are you looking at so intently? We’ll have to do the same someday.”

“…Us?”

Misha cocked her head in confusion.

Well, no matter how much I say, it’s hard to believe.

After all, it wasn’t so long ago that she couldn’t even make a contract with a Spirit Beast and was treated like a nobody by her family.

“Bjorn, you really seem to have big ambitions. Is it because you’re a barbarian?”

“…Are you mocking me?”

“Idiot, I meant it as a compliment nyang!”

“Cough.”

…Sometimes Misha is too direct.

Does she even realize what being a barbarian means?

***

“Did you see the sword that the knight was carrying earlier, nyang?”

“The one made of orichalcum?”

“Yeah, that one! It was indeed orichalcum. How much would it cost to make a weapon with that nyang…”

Misha continued to talk about the party we had just encountered.

It seemed she had a certain admiration for the higher-ranking explorers.

Well, admiration is a much more positive emotion than jealousy or arrogance…

But admiration alone won’t get you anything.

“Enough talk, keep moving.”

“Hmph, if anyone’s listening, they’ll know I’m walking”

As we continued eastward, the frequency of encountering other explorers increased. At first, like the party we had seen, most were high-level explorers, but as time passed, their levels gradually decreased.

I checked my watch.

[18:57]

It had been 19 hours since the labyrinth opened.

Meaning, we had been walking almost all day.

Thanks to that, we had reached the start point, the central part of the 1st-floor crystal cave.

So, there was no need to worry about arousing suspicion from the upper-level explorers…

‘Ah, I hadn’t thought about this.’

But being here made us stand out in a different way.

“Did you see that? The size of that mace…”

“That backpack looks like an expandable one too.”

Explorers looked at us enviously as we passed by.

It must have seemed odd. Clearly, we should have been hunting in the upper floors, yet here we were, right in the middle of the 1st floor.

“Why are those guys still here…”

Evening was approaching, a time for explorers to find night companions and rest. Groups of three or four passed by, each muttering something.

It was a slightly strange feeling.

‘I used to be like that too.’

When I first entered the labyrinth.

I, too, sought night companions for rest, like them.

The problem was, my first encounter was with Hans A.

“Why are you laughing nyang?”

“Just reminded of the past.”

To be precise, I remembered how I pretended to sleep next to Hans A, exhausted yet unable to rest.

I had gone through all sorts of hardships before meeting Erwen.

‘I wonder how she is doing?’

She must be doing well, especially with that golden spoon sister. But I couldn’t help being curious.

She was my first companion in this world, after all.

Maybe I should go and meet her sometime?

As I was thinking this, a man caught my eye.

Not that he did anything noticeable…

‘Jeez, that look in his eyes.’

Was it disdain or dislike in his gaze directed at me?

I felt a flicker of jealousy and greed in that unwelcoming stare.

But, for some reason, I found myself laughing.

‘I really have grown a lot.’

Surely, the old me would have tensed up at such a gaze, assuming the worst.

But I’ve changed a lot since then.

Not that I’ve become soft…

Smirk.

There’s no reason to be afraid of a goblin now.

Not that I’m calling him a goblin.

But in terms of combat power, there’s probably not much difference.

Even in the worst-case scenario, I can’t imagine myself being stabbed to death by one of those crude blades.

‘But, why does it irritate me more the more I look?’

I needed to check it out.

“Hey, you.”

When I abruptly stopped and looked at him, the guy who was leaning against the wall jolted to his feet.

His eyes now filled only with wariness.

“Got something to say to me?”

“No, not really…?”

“Then why are you staring like that?”

“…Sorry.”

As the man apologized, Misha nudged my waist with her fist.

“Bjorn! Why are you doing this all of a sudden? What did this guy do wrong nyang…?”

Somehow, this reminded me of a scene I had seen on the street before. A thug picking a fight with a passerby while their companion tries to intervene.

But seriously, it was just that his gaze was particularly irritating.

“What’s your name?”

“Hanst Ivan.”

“Hanst? Not Hans?”

My question made the man tremble.

It must have felt like an insult, a barbarian suddenly playing around with his name.
But this was an important point.

“Are you really Hanst? Not mistaken or anything?”

“I’m really Hanst…”

Hmm, so it was just my imagination?

As I was organizing my thoughts, the man added, anxiously,

“Uh, my name was originally Hans, but it was too common, so I changed it.”

“…What?”

Damn, no wonder I felt so annoyed.

But since he even changed his name, I decided not to say more and continued on my way.

Of course, not before giving him a piece of advice.

“Never go back to your original name. Keep living as Hanst. Got it?”

“Yes, I will.”

Hanst nodded vigorously.

And then it happened.

TL/n- Unlucky Hans, LOL

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

The cave began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.

Caught off guard by this sudden phenomenon, Misha looked at me.

“Bjorn?”

Her eyes were seeking an answer.

Of course, I knew what it meant.

There’s only one thing in the labyrinth that accompanies such a phenomenon.

“Run!”

A rift was about to open.

And it wasn’t even the end of the first day.

‘Damn.’

Few people might know, but normally, rift are ‘naturally generated’ only after at least three days.

This means…

‘Who the hell did this?’

Someone had beaten us to it, using the method I was planning to.

Hey Folks,

It takes a lot of time and effort to translate each of these chapters, so if someone wants to help me out. Try to become my Patreon here or buy me a coffee here, you will get instant access to 15+ chapters with (2+1) chapter updates for a month. 

I use the funds I receive to maintain the website, buy raws, buy tools and add free chapters for the community. So please consider helping if you can.