Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 264

Bug (3)

We are walking on a shaking canyon.

I’m in the lead, with Iron Bear at the rear, and the rest of the team clustered tightly in the center.

[Screeeeech-!]

With every step, we hear the wailing of Wraith-like monsters echoing from beyond the darkness.

This is one of the four routes leading to the sixth floor, ‘Wraith Canyon’. It is characterised by the following

「The character has entered a special area.」

「Field Effect – Wraith Canyon has been applied.」

The ground shakes violently at regular intervals.

The eerie background noise from the wraiths.

And…

「Status ailment [Earthbound Spirit] has been applied.」

「Darkness resistance and physical resistance have decreased by -100.」

A chilling sensation as if my skin has become thinner.

‘It feels eerier since we haven’t seen any other explorers.’

It’s been a day since we entered the Wraith Canyon, and we’ve yet to meet any other teams.

All we’ve encountered are monsters.

「You have defeated a Curse Creature. EXP +4」

「You have defeated a Corrupted Creation. EXP +2」

「You have defeated a Blood Ghoul. EXP +5」

「You have defeated a Dakirion. EXP +5」

「You have defeated an Ancient Tarantula…」

Well, this is actually an advantage.

We’ve managed to gather most of the experience points available on this route in just this one exploration.

‘We just need to come through here once more to catch any remaining monsters…’

“Be careful not to fall down.”

We invested all our time in combat and movement, pausing only when the ground shakes.

Camping is the only rest we get.

It’s a bit of a rigorous schedule, but we’ve built up quite a bit of stamina on the fourth floor, so we should be good for a few days.

“It’s a bit strange. I thought the next area would be Frost Canyon.”

“We weren’t ready to move to the sixth floor then. This path is the closest to the sixth floor.”

“Hmm, I heard that too… But if that’s the case,   wouldn’t it have been better to pass through the familiar Hellfire Canyon rather than this unfamiliar place?”

“But we already collected all the achievements there.”

I gave Raven several reasons for coming here, but there’s another reason I chose this route.

‘I already got the essence from Frost Canyon.’

I had originally intended to feed that essence to Misha, which I received as a royal reward.

And above all…

‘That monster appears here.’

To proceed to the sixth floor, we must defeat a certain monster that appears on this route.

Of course, I couldn’t say that was the reason.

Otherwise, I would have to explain how I knew about the monster, and I had no good excuse for that.

It’s best to just chalk it up to luck—

“Mister.”

Huh?

“This time we need to go this way.”

I ended my thoughts and looked ahead to see three paths blocking our way.

Although calling them three paths was a bit of a stretch.

“This time, the distance to the other side is a bit long. I’ll go over first and throw the rope.”

Using [Leap], I jumped over 30 meters and threw the prepared rope to the opposite cliff.

This is one of the interesting aspects of the 5th floor Great Demon Realm.

The available routes increase depending on the character’s abilities.

“Installation complete! We’re coming over now!”

Once the rope was set, the team members crossed over to my side one by one. Thanks to the incline, there wasn’t much effort involved—just sliding down the rope.

“Let’s move out again.”

After finishing the crossing, I used [Leap] again to retrieve the rope from the other side.

I can’t afford to use it as a one-time thing, after all.

Do they know how much it costs to custom-make a rope for this length?

“Erwin, how far have we descended?”

“About one-seventh of the way.”

“So we can reach the 6th floor in a week.”

“Yes, if we maintain this speed.”

We continued descending rapidly under Erwin’s guidance.

Though her exploration method differed from mine, she never once seemed lost or wandered aimlessly.

“The fairy lady is quite good at finding her way.”

“I’ve never been to the 6th floor, but I’ve experienced all four routes while staying with the clan. Besides, Mr Abman tells me which way the portal is, so I should be able to do at least this much!

“Don’t be so modest. Knowing the portal’s location on the 5th floor doesn’t mean much. You can be more confident.”

I didn’t think badly of her initially, but as Erwin demonstrated her skills, our teammates’ opinions of her have improved.

She seems to be getting along well with Misha these days, too.

“Sis! Move a bit more inside. The outer edge might be dangerous…”

“Thanks.”

Anyway, following Erwin’s guidance on the shortest route, it was soon time to find a campsite for some rest.

“This spot looks good.”

I chose a site by the cliffside. 

We only had to watch one direction, and if anything went wrong, we could leap about 5 meters to a side path. 

Of course, the watch schedule didn’t mean much.

“Bjorn, wake up.”

“More monsters?”

Monsters appeared every 20 minutes on average, so we had to wake up and grab our weapons frequently.

This included Raven, who lacked stamina.

We tried to handle smaller groups without waking her, but when dozens of monsters swarmed, we had no choice but to rouse her.

“…Yawn, I’ll go back to sleep.”

“Good work.”

“…”

Raven snored softly without even replying.

It’s a bit amusing to watch.

She’s really become a proper explorer now.

“Heh, She doesn’t wake up to minor noises anymore.”

“No, I think she wakes up every time she hears something. She  just goes back to sleep if it doesn’t seem serious.”

“That’s pretty amazing. That’s actually the hardest thing to do.”

“It’s tough, but it’s about time she got used to it.”

“Yeah, that’s true… You get used to everything with time…”

Just like my relationship with Misha.

At first, it was awkward even in the labyrinth, but now we chat comfortably. Everything becomes familiar with time.

“Anyway, you can sleep now. I’ll stand up next.”

“You still have a few minutes before your turn, don’t you?”

“It’s more annoying to fall asleep and wake up again.”

“Uh, I feel bad, though…”

No need to feel bad.

We’ll probably be fighting again in 20 minutes.

***

Our exploration continued, and it’s been ten days since we entered the 5th floor.

However, we were still on the 5th floor.

“How much longer until the 6th floor?”

“About a day, I think.”

“At our current speed?”

“Yes.”

“So we can expect it to take about two days.”

Unfortunately, as the exploration progressed, our pace slowed down.

Our stamina was gradually reaching its limit.

It’s not surprising, considering we’ve been fighting all day without proper sleep.

Explorers aren’t superhumans.

They’re just much more capable than average people.

‘Well, at least we caught that guy yesterday.’

The schedule has slowed down more than I expected, but I achieved one of our secondary objectives.

A rare level 5 Soul Eater.

It’s a uniquely distinctive monster in many ways.

Not only because it only appears once when the labyrinth opens…

「You have defeated a Soul Eater. EXP+177」

The experience points it gives are just absurd.

At first, I thought it was a bug when I saw the experience log.

Who would have thought there was a monster that gives anywhere from 100 to 200 experience points randomly upon first defeat?

‘I wonder how much I gained?’

Although I can’t precisely calculate the experience anymore, I didn’t feel disappointed.

Because with this, I finally reached Rank 6.

「Character Rank has increased.」

「Soul power has increased by +30.」

「Maximum absorbable essences have increased by +1.」

Corpse Golem, Orc Hero, Ogre, Manticore and Bayon’s essence from the royal reward.

Even though I had filled all five slots with essences, I didn’t erase the Corpse Golem before entering the labyrinth.

I had copied enough experience, so I figured leveling up would be achievable if I just defeated it.

“No matter how few explorers there are, I never expected to come across it. We were lucky.

“Hehe, I’ve said it many times. This team is blessed with luck.”

Luck, my foot.

They don’t know the effort I put into meeting its spawn conditions.

“Aruru, it’s not just a team anymore; it’s a clan!”

“Oh, right… yeah.”

“Enough chatting. Focus.”

As the leader — no, as the clan leader — I kept everyone on task to prevent them from becoming too relaxed during the journey.

Despite the delay in our schedule, the exploration was going smoothly, though there were some hair-raising moments.

Thanks to the royal reward, our combat power exceeded the 5th-floor level, but this world doesn’t rely on stats alone.

“Misha, you’ll need to repair your armor as soon as we get out.”

“Yeah… ugh, I can’t believe it’s already damaged. It’s so frustrating.”

Misha was directly hit by the lance of a Soul Eater’s summoned ghost knight.

Fortunately, she wasn’t injured.

But…

“Misha, what’s so frustrating? If it weren’t for that armor, you’d be dead.”

The lance pierced deeply into Misha’s armor.

Right where her heart was.

If it had gone just one finger width deeper, her life would have been at risk.

Thinking about it still gives me chills.

If she’d still been wearing the Tier 2 leather armor from our first PK encounter with Zensia, it wouldn’t have held up.

‘It’s a huge relief I spent extra to get the tier 5 leather armor instead of sticking with tier 4’

“Even so, it’s still a waste…”

Sigh, she still doesn’t get it.

“Enough, don’t skimp on equipment costs from now on.”

“Okay…”

This is why low physical resistance is such a problem.

It makes it impossible to feel secure.

“Ahem, it’s nice to see, but shouldn’t we get moving?”

“…”

After a brief moment of awkwardness while I scolded Misha, we resumed our exploration.

After almost a day, we descended Wraith Canyon and reached the lower ground. Half a day more and the portal appeared.

“Wow, it’s really the 6th floor…”

“It’s my first time here too.”

“I feel so excited. I’ve heard so much about this place.”

As we entered a new floor, everyone shared their thoughts.

Of course, I had my own significant feelings too.

‘Finally, the 6th floor.’

The day I first saw the execution of tax evaders in the plaza, I thought to myself:

To live in a house with a kitchen, to receive treatment when sick, and to retire at fifty while comfortably raising three puppies, I had to at least reach the 6th floor.

And from there, work tirelessly until retirement.

So…

Thinking about how to get back home could come later.

‘I didn’t expect to get here in less than two years.’

About three years ahead of schedule.

But I don’t want to attribute it solely to luck.

It’s been 13 months since I woke up in this body.

A short time, but filled with countless events.

I struggled and fought hard.

Despite my efforts, I lost people.

And through their legacy, I grew into who I am now.

“Bjorn.”

“Ah, I was just thinking.”

“You go first. You led us here.”

Mr. Bear patted my shoulder.

“Yeah. Without you, I wouldn’t have entered the labyrinth.”

Raven poked my side with her staff.

Impatient, aren’t you?

“Alright, let’s go.”

I stepped toward the portal.

「You have entered the Great Sea on the 6th floor.」

Blue skies and the shining sun.

The salty scent carried by the wind.

And the sound of crashing waves.

Swoosh!

When I balanced and landed in mid-air, the first thing I saw was a vast sandy beach.

The sand was nearly white, and beyond the wet, muddy shore stretched an emerald sea.

“Wow…”

Everyone was mesmerized by the sight.

I wasn’t much different.

It was such a beautiful scene, and for me, it held a different kind of emotion compared to those seeing the sea for the first time.

“……”

We stood there, staring at the horizon as if we had forgotten the passage of time.

Though I had snapped out of it earlier…

‘There’s no need to disrupt this moment.’

I took my eyes off the sea and glanced around, taking in our surroundings.

This was ‘Raimia, the Island of Beginnings,’ the starting point of the 6th floor.

In the game, it was always crowded, but now it was empty.

‘Well, they’ve all probably set sail by now.’

I turned back toward the sea.

And approached Misha.

“Misha.”

Calling her name briefly was enough.

“Oh, right. We need to do that…”

Understanding what I meant, Misha took out an item she had cherished all this time.

Raven tilted her head in curiosity.

“What’s that in the glass bottle? It looks like an explorer’s badge…”

“It is.”

“No way…”

“Yes, it’s Dwalki’s.”

We held a simple funeral for Dwalki, burning most of his belongings, but we kept this.

It was the dwarf’s request.

[That place is so mysterious, they say it has its own seasons even though it’s a labyrinth. Please, do this for me. He’ll surely appreciate it.]

[…But he’s never been there.]

[That’s why he’ll like it. He would.]

I wonder.

I’m not sure, but here we are.

“Wait here a moment.”

“Take your time.”

Raven stepped back with the others, giving us space.

“Misha.”

“Yes?”

Misha and I walked across the sand to the shore.

Splash!

The waves surged and receded, like a beating heart.

Misha bent down and dipped her fingers in the water.

“It’s colder than I thought…”

“Indeed.”

“It would have been nice if he were here with us…”

“Yes.”

It truly would have been.

He was so happy when we first reached the 3rd floor, like a child.

[…I think I’m beginning to understand what explorers mean when they say the world is vast.]

If only he had stayed with us a bit longer, he could have seen the real night sky instead of the one painted on the dungeon ceiling.

“Give it to me now.”

“Hmm? But…”

“If we leave it here, it’ll just wash back ashore.”

“Oh, right…”

Misha understood, watching the waves, what I meant without needing a scientific explanation.

So, I took the specially made glass bottle from her and went into the sea.

The shallow water gradually deepened, and I moved as far from the island as possible.

“This should be enough.”

Despite using [Gigantification], the water reached up to my neck.

I threw the glass bottle as far as I could.

Splash!

Soon, the bottle floated to the surface and drifted toward the opposite side of the island with the waves.

Great, it worked on the first try.

If it hadn’t, I would’ve had to take a boat out later.

“Anyway, I tried to make it work with Misha, but it didn’t happen.”

I spoke, watching the bottle drift away.

Then I chuckled a bit.

What am I doing?

“Rest in peace.”

Thinking that my words wouldn’t be heard, I turned away, swallowing the rest of what I wanted to say.

But I still wondered.

What would Dwalki think if he saw me now?

‘He would’ve been happy.’

Even if this was an act for those left behind.

He would have smiled.

In fact, he’d like it even more because it’s for us.

That’s the kind of person he was.

Splash!

Feeling the waves pushing against my back, I looked back once more.

And offered a short prayer.

I don’t know where that glass bottle will end up.

Splash!

But I hope these waves lead it to where he wished to be.

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