Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 116

 Reunion (4)

Erwin fornacci de Tersia.

She was currently in the Witch’s Forest.

With her older sister, Daria.

“Ugh… I feel so dizzy…”

“You’ll be fine once you get used to it, so focus on the sounds.”

The reason she’d ended up in the Witch’s Forest, hunting with her sister on the third floor, was simple.

Recently, She was receiving training as a scout.

She had taken advantage of the last day before the Labyrinth closed to enter the Witch’s Forest.

“Even if you don’t become a professional scout, you should at least learn to navigate up to the fourth floor.”

“Ugh…”

Her sister was an experienced scout.

She had inherited enough knowledge and know-how to find her way to the lower floors on her own.

But the Witch’s Forest was different.

It was a unique terrain where one had to rely on their senses to find their way.

“How about it, can you hear anything?”

Following her sister’s instructions, Erwin concentrated on the sounds. While other races had to specialize in either smell or sight to navigate the Witch’s Forest without getting lost…

Thump-!

Fairies, with their innate sense of hearing, didn’t need to.

Moving around here like it was their front yard might be difficult, but finding the fourth floor portal was something anyone could do, according to her sister.

Thump-!

As she closed her eyes and focused, she began to notice sounds she hadn’t heard before: the wind sharp as a blade, the rustling of branches, the howling of monsters, the friction of sharp weapons, and more.

As she examined them one by one, she was able to identify a distinctly foreign sound.

Thump-!

A heavy sound, like a heartbeat.

This must be the mana pulsation that my sister was talking about.

“Over there…”

She pointed in the direction of the sound and her sister smiled with pride.

“Good job. Shall we go check it out?”

Erwin continued to focus on the sound, trying to find her way. Sometimes she was so focused on hearing that she didn’t even realize a monster was approaching…….

But her sister was always there to help, so there were no issues.

How much time had passed?

Thump-!

The magical pulsation grew stronger.

Now it was so loud she didn’t even have to concentrate to hear it, it almost overwhelmed her ears. Just when she thought it was time to stop paying attention to the sound…

[Well done, Rotmiller.]

Startled by the sudden voice, Erwin frowned.

She didn’t know who Rotmiller was…

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

The voice saying “well done” sounded familiar.

Was it rough yet filled with warmth, similar to the voice she had longed for?

‘Could it be…?’

Despite thinking it impossible, Erwin’s legs were already moving.

Towards the direction the voice had come from.

“Erwin? Where are you going… Stop…!”

Her sister called out from behind, but Erwin, as if bewitched, kept moving forward, not hearing her words.

About a minute had passed?

A wide clearing appeared, revealing a giant tower hidden within the forest.

In front of it was a group of explorers.

A Dwarf, two humans, a beast-human.

And… a barbarian.

Of course, he was entirely different from the person in her memory.

He wore a shimmering armor like a seasoned explorer, and his shield was much larger and more luxurious.

His face was hidden by a helmet.

But…

“Ah, Mister?!”

TL/N- It should have been mister instead of Uncle in the previous chapter

Erwin instinctively felt it.

That person, he was the one.

“Mister!!”

She shouted too late for the barbarian to turn around, echoing throughout the forest, but he did not look back.

He had already half-stepped into the portal by the time she saw him, disappearing from view.
Erwin ran.

As if she was about to jump into the portal right after him.

“Erwin!”

Her sister, far more agile than her, eventually stopped her.

“…Let me go! I need to get in there—”

“Snap out of it!!”

“He’s over there…”

“Are you going to keep being stubborn? You didn’t even get a good look at his face, did you?”

Erwin was speechless.

She had belatedly realized how her actions must have appeared.

But…

“I know… I just know it!”

“What if you’re wrong? The fourth floor is dangerous for just the two of us. Besides, do you know who those people who entered before us are?”

“That, I…”

She hadn’t considered that.

Erwin was already convinced.

However, she couldn’t explain this strong, clear feeling in her heart to her sister.

Just as she was about to forcefully break free…

“Ah, no…!”

The portal turned red.

Entering the portal now would not lead them to the same destination as those who had entered before.

“Why! Why can’t I go?!”

“It’s for your own good! Didn’t I tell you that following them to the fourth floor could get us treated as plunderers?”

“But… it was him…!”

Erwin pressed her lips tightly together.

Something like anger surged up from deep within her heart, but…

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

‘It’s okay. At least I know he’s alive…’

For now, she decided to be content with that.

If today wasn’t a mistake, if he really was alive.

‘…We’ll meet again soon.’

Surely, they would meet again.

「You have entered the Sky Tower on the fourth floor.」

What was that?

That voice?

The voice seemed to be calling me…

‘Could it be, Erwin?’

I froze for a moment.

The only person who would call me “Mister” in that way was her. But that didn’t make much sense.

‘No, such a coincidence couldn’t possibly happen.’

In this vast labyrinth, a reunion with a comrade, such a coincidence seemed unlikely.

It must have been just a conversation among other explorers.

Anyway, this isn’t something to worry about now.

“Bjorn, what are you doing! Let’s move!”

A room of about 40 square meters.

Stone chambers with firmly closed doors on each wall.

Sky Tower

Upon entering, we faced the first trial: monsters pouring out.

[Screech-!]

Nine of Level nine, three of Level eight, one of Level seven.

Monsters from the third floor attacked us in groups, unrelated to their usual habitats. That’s why I often called this place the ‘Tower of Training.’

Due to the variety of monsters that appear, it’s easy to gain experience, and you can face combinations of patterns you’ve never seen before.

‘Orc shamans, stone golems, living armors, and even a dullahan…’

A bizarre combination right from the start.

「Living Armor casts [Armor Enhancement].」

The Living Armour slips over Dullahan’s body like a host.

「Orc Shaman casts [Frenzy].」

「Dullahan’s physical resistance increases threefold for 10 seconds.」

The already high physical resistance of the dullahan became nearly impervious, and meanwhile, the stone golem used [Suppression] to spread debuffs.

“Bethel—raaaaa!!”

While Misha and Rotmiller took care of the Level nine mobs, the dwarf and I formed a shield wall to block the dullahan.

Though it was a concentrated attack, having two tanks made it manageable.

‘High physical resistance doesn’t mean much to us anyway.’

Our main damage dealers were Dwarli and Misha.

Dwarlki, being a mage, goes without saying, and Misha, having followed the ice swordsman path, had significantly increased her cold damage.

“Hmm, was it always this easy?”

We were just meat shields, but the battle ended in a flash, causing the dwarf to wonder.

“We’ve all become stronger, Nyang!”

“Hehe, the spell I just used was something I learned recently. How was it?”

Usually, tanks don’t stand out much no matter how strong they become.

On the other hand, a little growth on a damage dealer is immediately noticeable.

As for scouts…

“Ahem.”

Well, they’re almost considered non-combatants anyway.

Just getting us to our destination on time is enough to say they’ve done their job as scouts.

The fourth floor isn’t just about monsters.

「You have completed the trial.」

As soon as the monsters were defeated, the firmly closed doors opened wide.

Each door had its unique emblem engraved.

Courage, Wisdom, Destiny, Endurance.

Normally, we would open the door of Courage and fight random monsters, but…

“We don’t have much time, so it’s better to climb the floors quickly.”

We chose the stairs of Wisdom.

The Sky Tower increases in difficulty with each trial passed, but the stairs of Wisdom allow skipping floors, a useful route for our strength level.

「You have chosen the stairs of Wisdom.」

For that reason, we ventured into the abyss-like darkness.

The path was complex, filled with traps, and occasionally monsters appeared, but with Rotmiller, our expert scout, there was no real danger.

Boom-!

After about an hour of climbing, we reached the sixth floor. As soon as we entered, the door behind us locked shut, and we were immediately attacked by monsters.

Unlike the first floor, this time three level seven monsters were included, but no particularly dangerous situation unfolded.

The combination was less challenging than before.

“Hmm, no stairs of Wisdom this time.”

After hunting, we had no choice but to choose the stairs of Courage. Destiny had too many variables, and Endurance… we all unanimously shook our heads.

‘Indeed, it’s easier to fight a few more monsters than to deal with that.’

In a game, perhaps, but here, in this reality-patched place, the trial of Endurance was universally avoided.

It was hot, cold, sad, and brought up shitty memories.

「You have chosen the stairs of Courage.」

Anyway, we climbed the stairs and reached the 7th floor.

Monsters appeared, and that was the end of it.

The fight ended quickly, but the firmly shut doors showed no signs of opening.

Of course, that was to be expected.

Choosing Courage meant waiting 4 hours even after defeating all the monsters.

“Let’s rest and recharge our courage then!”

Despite the dwarf’s joke.

We were tired from navigating the Witch’s Forest, so we took the rest without any complaints.

No need for a night watch.

Monsters don’t respawn here, and once the portal changes color, other explorers can’t enter.

“Whew, let’s go then!”

After resting for 4 hours, we chose the stairs of Wisdom again to climb the tower.

By floor count, we had now reached the 12th level.

But what’s this?

[Groar!!]

Frozen in place, we stared at the single monster sitting squarely in the center of the chamber.

Boom-!

Over 4 meters tall.

Giant fangs protruding from its mouth.

Grey-white skin covering its robust muscles.

And a hunched spine with abnormally wide shoulder bones.

“A troll…?”

“Why is that here…?”

Troll.

Classified among the top-tier bastards of level 5 monsters.

If the Deathfiend was the “newbie slicer”…

This bastard was the “keyboard breaker” for intermediate gamers.

‘This bastard appears here?’

I, too, had once made shotgun noises with my keyboard because of this bastard.

Was it because of those memories that curses flowed naturally?

“Son of a bitch.”

Things seemed to be going too smoothly even after meeting Hans.

Was it all because of this?

‘Fuck, I didn’t know it was this monster this time.’

It’s not just plunderers that you need to be wary of in the labyrinth.