Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 143
Awakening (6)
Survival is all about choice and focus.
What to give up and what to choose.
The more rationally you can solve this dilemma, the better your chances of survival.
However, this time I failed.
“Cough, choke!”
Three injured and one top-grade potion.
In this situation, the best course of action was to give the entire bottle to Rotmiller.
I needed to revive him as soon as possible and get the potions from his [Treasure Vault]
Then heal myself with a high-grade potion and give the remaining top-grade potion to Dwalki.
But…
‘Then Dwalki would have died.’
It was hard to make a rational choice.
Even though my mind knew it, my body didn’t hesitate for a moment to give half of the potion to Dwalki.
As a result,
“Hang in there, both of you, let’s get out of this damned place alive!”
The certainty of the future was gone.
By not giving up on Dwalki, Rotmiller’s life was no longer certain.
If I had given him the potion immediately, half a bottle would have been enough, but giving him the potion too late was the problem.
In simple terms, high risk, high return.
I made an irrational decision hoping that the whole team would survive, which also meant that the whole team could die.
“Bjorn…”
I walked over to Rottmiller.
And continued to check his pulse and breathing.
I hoped he would hang on.
If he dies now, all five of us are as good as dead.
’10 minutes.’
After that time, the dragon slayer will wake up. And right now, the dwarf is the only one who’s fully functional.
If the dwarf can’t hold him off, everything ends.
“Ah, yes! The chamber! Bjorn, what was that chamber about!”
The dwarf at Dwalki’s side looks at me and asks about the identity of the chamber we found after 12 hours of searching the maze.
Hoping against hope.
“Does it contain elixirs, potions or anything like that? If it did, you would have taken it, wouldn’t you? Or is it like a healing spring?”
“…The purpose of that chamber isn’t for that.”
“Then what is it! We searched so hard to find that place! There must be something!”
The dwarf asked, hoping for an answer.
I know it’s best not to answer such questions, but…….
I pause for a moment before speaking.
“That chamber is a trap room.”
“A trap room…?”
“Yes, if you open the chest, you’re sent back to the starting point.”
If both the Dragon Slayer and the Priest appeared at the same time, the plan was to abandon plan A and immediately use the portal to escape.
Because there would be no winning then.
“Then! Let’s use it to go back! That should work!”
“Hikurod Murad, come to your senses. Even if we could return to the sky tower, nothing would change.”
Going to the tower won’t give us potions or anything.
And going back was impossible from the start.
Unless we’re trying to rob an empty house.
Heading towards the portal with injuries?
It’s as good as suicide.
A Carui priest, presumably a high priest who had changed his class, would be guarding it.
“Ah, right! The priest! Wasn’t there an old man with that group? Let’s look for him.”
“Stop it.”
“I think that man was surely following the Dragon Slayer against his will. If that’s true, then—”
“Stop it, Hikurod.”
“How can you say to stop! Both are dying, we have to do something!”
The dwarf screamed as if lamenting his own powerlessness, and I spoke coldly
“There’s nothing more we can do now. We can only watch.”
“Really… Is that really all we can do?”
“Yes.”
There were three possible outcomes.
Everyone lives.
Everyone dies.
Or someone dies, and someone survives.
Seconds and minutes, each like an eternity, passed.
And then…
“What happened to… that man?”
Dwalki regained consciousness.
“Dwalki! Don’t speak!”
“Right, stay still. As soon as Rothmiller wakes up, take the potion—”
Dwalki interrupted us as we rambled on.
“That man…”
“…?”
“What happened to him?”
“How did it go?”
As if that was more important than his own life.
The moment he opened his eyes, that was all he asked.
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I tell him the truth?
The hesitation didn’t last long.
“He’s not dead.”
“Ah…”
“But thanks to you, we’ve managed to avert the immediate crisis. Leave the rest to us and rest.”
“I can’t do that.”
Dwalki desperately shook his head.
“The… there’s no time.”
“Didn’t you hear? Once Rotmiller wakes up, you’ll get the potion—”
“This… this isn’t something that can be cured with a potion.”
A silence fell for a moment, and I calmly accepted the reality.
“……I see.”
I didn’t know what method Dwalki had used.
But it was Dwalki, the one who knew his current situation best.
Dwalki was the one who desired life more than anyone.
So, if he said that it couldn’t be treated, there was no point in denying it.
“What are you talking about! It’s a top-grade potion!”
“Nyah, he’s right! You know it too, don’t you? What this thing is. So, stop saying weird things and—”
“Miss Misha.”
Dwalki opened his eyes and looked at us.
“Hikurod, and… Bjorn.”
He barely managed to say our names.
But having spent my childhood in a hospital, surrounded by numerous deaths, I could tell.
What Dwalki was trying to do now.
“Tell me. I’ll pass it to Rotmiller.”
“……Thank you.”
Like a candle burning out, flickering.
As if wanting to leave something behind in this world.
As if wanting to be remembered.
Shining its brightest in the final moments.
“I have something to say to you.”
The tremble in Dwalki’s voice then ceased.
My mother loved the sea.
The sea, which she had never seen but only heard about in stories, was unknown to her.
I couldn’t understand it when I was younger, but as I grew, I came to understand.
“Some things… become more desirable because they are unattainable.”
There are such things in the world.
Because we do not know them, because they are not permitted to us.
They appear all the more dazzling.
‘To me, that existence was you all’
I was fortunate.
More than I deserved.
I met good people and went on adventures.
We shared many stories and comforted each other. The void I thought would never be filled was finally filled.
Therefore, I had to say it.
“Thank you all, for becoming my comrades.”
The words I couldn’t say before, out of awkwardness.
Words I always postponed, promising a ‘next time’.
But now, if not now, those words would forever be buried in my heart.
Slowly.
Dwalki looked ahead with blurry eyes.
“Nyah! Don’t say such things! Please, Dwalki…”
The woman he adored was crying.
That wasn’t what he had wished for.
Slowly.
He turned his gaze to the side.
“I’m the one who should be thankful… for becoming my friend. For joining my team… I’m grateful.”
His dear friend was smiling at him.
He was thankful for his friend, who laughed with a trembling beard.
And he felt sorry.
Someday, he had promised to visit the forge.
But now, he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.
Slowly.
He moved his gaze again.
“Leor Wuerv Dwalki.”
The last was a rival and a colleague he admired.
Unlike himself, a coward, he was a warrior who always fought till the end, protecting everyone.
He looked at him with calm eyes.
“I apologize. I misjudged you. You were a greater mage and comrade than anyone. And the choices you made were noble and honorable.”
A man who was always stingy with praise.
The warrior who never indulged in flattery spoke.
“It was an honor to be with you.”
It was overwhelmingly moving and somewhat relieving.
For the first time, he received acknowledgement from him.
He was honored by the great warrior who lived like a hero in stories.
Me, who was merely a half-mage.
I had decorated a page in the journey he would tread.
This should be enough to leave without regrets.
‘Why am I…….’
angry.
Frustrated.
afraid.
Afraid.
And empty.
‘Why…’
This was death.
To be erased from someone’s next page.
“Isn’t there more you want to say? If you wish, I’ll step aside.”
Then the warrior spoke, and Dwalki finally understood the reason for these feelings.
“Please, Dwalki! Don’t die, please?”
Sometimes, there are people who shine in your life.
To me, that person was you.
I hadn’t said that yet.
But…
‘It must be greed.’
I forcibly suppress my selfish desires.
Knowing that if not now, I’ll never have another chance.
But her journey isn’t supposed to end today.
It’s supposed to continue. I shouldn’t remain as a dark shadow in her life. If I truly care for her, that’s the right thing to do.
So, Dwalki spoke up.
“Bjorn.”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Yes.”
The only thing a departing soul can leave behind.
“You’re not very observant. Don’t ignore it anymore.”
The warrior didn’t ask for clarification.
He probably knew what that meant.
Too clever and wise to be called a barbarian.
“Answer me…”
“I understand.”
Having extracted a response, Dwalki genuinely smiled brightly.
But perhaps, this was as far as permitted time goes.
“…He’s awake.”
The warrior’s eyes grew cold.
At this, the heart that was stopping thumped again.
The dragon slayer, Regal Vagos.
An entity he could never overcome, even with the sacrifice of his life.
However…
“Can we win?”
“Don’t worry. I will make sure we all return alive.”
With that single sentence, Dwalki cast aside all his fears.
He erased the fear of a meaningless death.
If this trusted warrior said so, then it must be so.
Thus, it’s time to let everything go…
Slowly.
I close my eyes.
The sounds fade, and darkness deepens.
Within the gradually dulling thoughts, I wonder.
If I had led a heroic life.
And if my life, however brief, were to be recorded in a book.
What would be the last sentence written about me?
A rather fitting phrase comes to mind.
It might not be the typical end for a mage…
‘Not bad at all.’
The half- mage of Team Halfling, Leor Wuerv Dwalki.
After defending his precious companions from the dragonslayer Regal Vagos, one of the members of Orcules—
He died a glorious death.
「Achievement Unlocked」
Condition: The first comrade character dies.
Reward: Mental fortitude permanently increased by +1.
There is no paradise for those who flee.
Dragonslayer, Regal Vagos
As I came to understand his identity, this thought solidified.
Isn’t he a member of Orcules, a group that even looks down on the king? Though we haven’t exchanged names, finding us wouldn’t be too difficult.
If he sought revenge, no city would be safe.
Therefore…
New Plan A.
I had come up with a plan to take him down.
In the presence of the Guardian of Balance.
I decided it was now or never.
But guess what?
Thump-!
My warrior’s heart beats slowly.
New Plan A had failed.
Though the battle with him remained, not everyone was saved.
There was no paradise where I could stand our ground either.
It wasn’t unknown to me.
After all, such a falsely idyllic place couldn’t possibly exist anywhere in this world.
Thump-!
Unlike my heart, which beats slowly, his heart does not beat anymore.
But…
“Hikurod, we need to prepare for battle.”
“I’m aware.”
I stand up, using my mace as a staff.
There are tasks only those who are left behind can undertake.
Steadying my breath, I gaze down the passage.
He is rising from his shell, blooming like a petal.
“…”
It was time to end this tiresome battle.