Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 216

Discarded Pawn (4)

Orcules.

A notorious criminal group that rebelled against the royal family.

Only a few decades old, this group has committed numerous acts of terror and crime, spreading its notorious reputation far and wide.

The royal family placed a substantial bounty on their heads and began the hunt, but due to their secretive movements, only seven have been taken down so far.

“Seven of those bastards have come…?”

Marco Elburn, the captain of the 3rd Royal Knights, could not hide his anxiety after hearing his subordinate’s report.

As soon as the situation erupted, he swiftly formed a safe zone in the center and declared a state of emergency, taking command.

His first action was gathering information.

He sent a reconnaissance team towards the second-floor portal, which could potentially be a breakthrough, and has not slept a wink, continuously verifying every piece of information from the front lines.

As a result, seven Orcules members were identified.

The Screaming Witch, the Black Claw, and the Lighthouse Keeper.

These three wreaked havoc around the safe zone, while the remaining four blocked the portal to the second floor.

‘This was their plan from the beginning.’

Elburn clenched his fist tightly, showing his frustration.

While the three mentioned earlier are formidable, the other four are the real obstacles.

The Corpse Collector, infamous for his gruesome and cruel acts.

The Ruin Scholar, once the head of a great school, turned criminal after dabbling in forbidden magic.

The Blood Knight, who gained fame by killing the former captain of the 1st Royal Knights.

And lastly…

‘The Traitor.’

The one who gathered these madmen and formed Orcules, creating countless notorious and bloody histories with his own hands.

The four who represent the group are all here.

However, Orcules is not the only threat.

Numerous prominent criminals who fled to Noark are also here, making it impossible to assure victory even with full force.

Eventually, Elburn broke the long silence.

“I’m withdrawing the plan to break through to the second floor.”

His words brought a heavy silence upon the hall.

A knight struggled to speak.

“…The third day is about to begin.”

“I know. But now that the Ruin Scholar is confirmed to be here, the portal is likely useless anyway.”

“In that case…”

Elburn closed and reopened his eyes, shaking off any distractions.

A commander must make decisions.

“Gather the mages who can use dimensional magic as discreetly as possible.

He must make the necessary decisions.

No matter the sacrifice.

***

I opened my eyes and checked the clock.

[00:17]

Another day had passed, and it was now the third day.

Nothing significant happened yesterday.

I checked the loot we obtained on the way.

Found an explorer with repair abilities to fix our broken equipment.

Took turns standing guard as a team.

After finishing the guard duty, I roamed around to gather information.

Ah, I also heard about Tacellan.

[…Oh, you mean that guy?]

I worked hard to get Misha to talk, but when she finally did, it wasn’t anything special.

She said he got a little carried away and lost his cool.

He looked at all of us who were still alive and unleashed a barrage of offensive words.

But it didn’t last long.

[At that time, Aruru was really something. She saw you in that condition, unable to get treatment, and still dragged out by the Knights. She yelled back at him, asking how he could say such things… Ah, I was getting cold sweats just listening to it.]

Hmm, Raven can be scary when angry.

It’s still a mystery how such fierce energy comes from that small body.

[Anyway, that’s all. Even Aynar was so angry that she drew her sword, but Tacellan just disappeared.]

I appreciated my comrade’s defence, but the more I heard, the grimmer my expression became.

They don’t know.

That I deliberately placed them behind to increase our survival chances, even if just a little.

[Hmm? Why that face?]

[It’s nothing. I am just hungry.]

Tacellan’s anger is justified.

If I had arranged the formation purely for efficiency, more could have survived.

But I didn’t do that.

Even though my teammates were more suitable for the rear, I placed everyone behind me where it was relatively safe. Tacellan probably realized this later, which is why he acted that way.

‘Better keep …… to myself,’ 

After taking some time to wake up, I slowly got up and organized my sleeping bag.

Although busy, the second day was peaceful compared to the intense first day.

But that ends today.

“Hmm, Mr. Jandel…?”

Raven rubbed her eyes and poked her head out, awakened by the noise.

“Did I wake you? Sorry.”

“No, I just couldn’t sleep…”

“Are you going back to sleep?”

Raven fully sat up from her sleeping bag at my question.

“What about you, Mr. Jandel? Aren’t you going back to sleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep either.”

“So you were planning to stand guard by yourself?”

I chuckled and admitted it. It was funny to deny it when we were in the same situation.

“It’s already the third day…”

From the third day onward, a layer lord can be summoned.

The condition is simply having five or more people gathered.

Of course, it’s a random chance, and with over ten thousand explorers on the first floor, the likelihood of one appearing in front of us is low, but…

‘Just in case.’

I am this team’s tank.

Even if a layer lord appears, I must buy time for my comrades to escape—

Whooong-!

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly and the colourless crystals embedded in the cave walls emitted a brilliant light.

The light was blood-red.

“Mr. Jandel, this is…!”

It meant a layer lord had appeared somewhere.

“What, what’s going on!”

My teammates, including Aynor, woke up one after another. The same went for the other explorers camping nearby.

I calmly reassured my comrades.

“Don’t panic. Luckily, it seems it didn’t spawn nearby.”

A layer lord on the first floor inevitably causes a commotion. Since there’s no such noise, it’s safe to assume it’s quite far away.

“Everyone, go back to sleep.”

“But…”

“I’ll wake you if anything happens. You just finished your guard duty, right?”

“You’re just as tired as we are.”

“I dozed off a bit earlier, so I’m fine.”

Even though I wasn’t sure if I could sleep myself, I forced my teammates back into their sleeping bags, making them close their eyes.

It’s crucial to recover our strength.

About 20 minutes passed.

Hoooong…

The crystals that had been illuminating the area went dark, as if their batteries had died.

It meant that the layer lord had been defeated.

Of course, it was too early to be completely relieved.

Unlike the upper level lords, which have long respawn times ranging from months to years, this one can be respawned multiple times.

“Do you think we’ll be okay…?”

“Don’t worry. It takes just 30 decent explorers to take down a first-floor tier lord. In our current situation, it’ll be dealt with quickly no matter where it appears.”

This is actually the main reason why I fought so hard to join the Royal Forces after that grueling journey.

Staying here meant safety from the layer lords.

Even if one appeared right in front of us, I could hold out for a bit, and help would arrive soon.

“Then I’ll leave this place to you.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just to gather some information.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll come with you…”

“That would be a waste of manpower. If you can’t sleep, stand watch for me.” I firmly rejected Raven’s offer to join.

As soon as the first-Layer Lord was defeated, I left my assigned area and moved toward the center.

The layer lord’s respawn time is six hours.

I planned to walk around during that time, checking for any peculiarities.

There wasn’t much else to do.

[North 172-21]

I navigated using the markings the royal forces had painted on the walls to distinguish the terrain, all the while listening to the conversations of the explorers around me.

“Did you hear? It happened in the southern passage.”

“Are you talking about where the Layer Lord appeared?”

“Yes, they say around twenty people died before reinforcements arrived.”

“Damn, why couldn’t it appear where those underground city bastards are?”

Conversations with explorers in similar situations to mine weren’t always reliable, but they couldn’t be completely ignored either.

It was excellent for gauging public opinion.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here.”

“Indeed. In the last speech they said they would open the way to the second floor portal soon, but it’s already the third day”.

“The fact that things are so quiet makes me more anxious.”

As expected, the explorers were suspicious of the leadership for not providing any updates since the first day.

I shared the same sentiment.

‘It’s about time they made a decision.’

If a Layer lord is dealt with every six hours, that means a total of eight tier lords will be defeated in two days.

In other words, by the fifth day, that thing will inevitably appear.

‘With large clans and even the royal knight captains here, they must know this too…’

So why haven’t they taken any action yet?

I was dying to know what was discussed in the tent where the meeting was held when we arrived.

‘They must realize this is what Noark is aiming for…’

Why are they just holding out here?

I thought they would definitely open the path and move to the second floor.

Thud, thud.

The more I pondered, the faster my steps became.

As I walked, I encountered a familiar face.

The guy who first discovered the backpack duplication bug and spread it within the tribe.

“Caron…?”

“Great warrior, Bjorn, son of Jandel!!!”

Caron, recognizing me first, got up and ran toward me excitedly.

“Meeting you here must be fate! You are destined to lead us!”

Though a bit taken aback, I was glad to see him, so I returned his enthusiastic greeting in the barbarian way.

And then I asked what I was curious about.

“But who are these people with you?”

“Warriors I met here!!”

“You met them here?”

I was puzzled.

The barbarian backpack duplication bug was already patched long ago. While it became known among explorers, the biggest factor was the introduction of identification tags, causing the number of lower-rank explorers to dwindle.

It costs 70,000 stones to get an identification tag.

So I knew Caron had joined a third-floor team not long ago…

“Where’s your team?”

“Oh, they died on the way here! The soldiers introduced me to other lone warriors!”

Fucking soldiers.

Forming a party of five barbarian warriors…

They must have just grouped them together out of convenience.

“Is it really you? The Little Balkan! It’s an honor to meet you! I am Dravan, the second son of Verox!”

“Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you too.”

After briefly greeting the excited barbarians who recognized my name, I continued my conversation with Caron.

Since I had seen them, I couldn’t just leave them behind.

“Instead of staying here, how about joining our side?” I gave an offer to Caron

“Can we really do that?”

Just from their tags and gear, I could tell they were warriors from at least the third floor.

Having them with us would definitely be beneficial.

Most importantly, they were trustworthy.

“Of course.”

I told the grateful Caron where our team was stationed.

“I will inform the administrators on my way. Go there first. If you see a mage, politely mention that I sent you.

“Understood!”

Oh, if you’re not sure of the way, ask the nearby explorers. If you keep them from sleeping by yelling, they’ll answer just to shut you up.”

“Got it! Truly wise!”

Just as I was about to leave, having sent Caron and his party on their way, a deep male voice stopped me.

“Bjorn Jandel.”

Turning my head, I saw someone I didn’t want to encounter.

“Tacellan Arbenon.”

He was with some unfamiliar explorers.

Of course, he was.

He had lost all his comrades on his way here.

“……”

In the silence, Tacellan stared at me.

The slight tremor in his jaw showed he was struggling to hold something back.

I spoke first.

“I heard what happened while I was gone.”

“……”

“Do you resent me?” I asked him

Tacellan neither nodded nor shook his head.

He just stood there, enduring, as he looked at me.

It took a while before he finally answered.

“No, I don’t resent you.”

Unexpected words.

Tacellan slowly opened his mouth, pouring out his emotions.

“I kept thinking. Because that was all I could do. Why did this happen to me? Why could you all laugh and say it was fortunate while Lena died? If those bastards hadn’t run away, would Lena still be alive?”

“……”

“More importantly…”

“……”

“I wondered if you really didn’t see this coming.”

“So, did you reach a conclusion?”

“I don’t know. You were the one most injured. You did the hardest job. There was no guarantee your comrades would be safe either.”

Is there ever truly a guaranteed safe situation?

I just did my best.

To increase our chances of survival, even a little.

So…

“I shouldn’t have followed you.”

It felt like a sharp blade scraping something out of me.

“But.”

Tacellan continued.

“It was my decision to follow you.”

“……”

“I was the one who voted for you to be the leader.”

“……”

“When that woman said she could use multi-teleportation magic, it was me who did nothing but watch…”

Self-loathing.

Seeing him place all the blame on himself, I was overwhelmed with indescribable emotions.

“So I don’t resent you.”

“…I see.”

What should I say in a situation like this?

I couldn’t even offer clumsy words of comfort.

But did he sense my hesitation?

“Don’t pity me.”

Tacellan ended the conversation and sat back down.

“One day, you’ll feel the same as I do.”

His gaze no longer met mine.

He just stared at the ground.

I realized our conversation was over.

Thud, thud.

So I resumed my journey.

Tacellan didn’t call out to me again.

How much time had passed?

The passage widened, leading to the central area.

I first sought out the administrative officer to inform him that Caron’s group would be joining us.

“Team Apple Narak… Ah, the northern district’s outer passage, correct? Confirmed.”

With that, my business was concluded.

Just as I was about to turn around, I heard a metallic clink.

A knight emerged from the barracks and glanced at me while heading towards the administrative officer who had helped me earlier.

He then mentioned six different schools.

“Ah, yes. You mean the mages from those schools? I’ll check the roster.”

Not only recruiting priests but also mages?

That thought crossed my mind at first…

‘Delta, Speris, Jakard…’

As I pondered over the schools the knight had mentioned, I noticed a common thread.

‘Dimensional magic.’

Mages of rank 4 or higher from those schools could open a ‘dimension gate’ for up to 30 people.

The moment I realized this, my heart pounded with a sense of foreboding.

The conversation I had recently replayed in my mind.

Denying it was pointless.

[A great commander does not make perfect choices. He makes the choices he has to.]

If it were him, he wouldn’t hesitate to abandon it.

Those he deemed low priority.

All of them.

Enjoy your weekends, see you on Monday