Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 265

Bug (4)

“Sorry to have taken up your time.”

I quickly apologized as soon as I returned.

After all, these guys had never met Dwalki before.

Since I had taken up our exploration time for personal reasons, it felt natural to apologize.

Of course, my teammates were understanding.

“Nothing to apologize for. What do you take us for?”

“Yeah, Raven’s right. You’re worrying about unnecessary things. Any one of us could be in that friend’s situation someday.”

Uh, it’s probably better not to say things like that…

While I was thinking that to myself, Raven spoke up to Mr. Bear on my behalf.

“…Urichfried, please don’t say things like that. It brings bad luck.”

“Raven, you don’t even believe in superstitions.”

“I’m an explorer now, too.”

“Ah, right.”

Mr. Bear chuckled, lightening the somewhat heavy atmosphere.

‘Was that a joke on purpose?’

“What are you looking at?”

‘…Probably not.’

I smiled wryly at Raven’s cocky expression. Then I started to get to the main point.

“Alright, if we’ve rested enough, let’s start exploring the island.”

It’s time to begin the expedition.

***

The starting island, Laimia.

Whichever route you take on the 5th floor, you always end up at this island first. However, Laimia is called the starting island not just for this symbolic reason.

It contains the basic materials for exploring the sixth floor.

Well, theoretically at least.

“It’s already been stripped bare.”

The mountain stood prominently in the center of the island.

We climbed to the summit and looked around in dismay.

Originally, special trees grew here.

These trees have the hardness of a tier 3 metal and are light enough to float on water.

But…

“Even if trees grow quickly, they can’t fully mature in just a month.”

What greeted us at the summit were thousands of stumps. There were a few trees that had grown somewhat, but…

“Most of them are useless.”

“But there are some trees grown enough to use. Let’s take those.”

We took out the axes we had prepared.

We selected and chopped down only the trees that were sizable enough to be processed as materials, and stored them carefully in our spatial pockets.

It took about 30 minutes.

“If we’re lucky, we can gather this much next month too.” 

“Yeah, if there are no people like this time.”

Sigh, if only the 6th floor reset every month too.

It’s quite unfortunate in many ways.

No matter what happens, the labyrinth from the first to the fifth floor resets every month when it reopens, but that’s not the case from the sixth floor onwards.

Here, time continues seamlessly.

Just like those various marks carved into that big rock over there that never fade away.

“Wow, there’s something written on the rock! It looks like writing… What does it say?”

“Weren’t you going to the sanctuary every day to learn how to read?”

“Haha, I gave up on that a long time ago!”

I sighed briefly at Aynar’s unnecessary cheerfulness, then approached the rock to read the writing.

Most of it was just nonsense.

[Someone’s been here, make me rich, I love you so much, etc.]

‘People are the same everywhere, scribbling graffiti.’

I smiled wryly and turned my gaze.

The vast ocean spread out below.

We didn’t manage to get much wood, but from this high vantage point, I could see an island that wasn’t visible from below.

“Oh, that must be Farune Island.”

Farune, the second island located to the north of the starting island.

It’s where we’re headed next.

“Abman, just asking, but can you sense the portal’s location?”

“No, I can only sense the one on this island.”

“I see.”

As I nodded, Raven spoke up in defense of Mr. Bear.

“Don’t be too disappointed. This floor is so vast, it’s bound to happen. Once we get near the portal, you’ll be able to sense it again.”

Disappointed? Hardly.

Unlike the lower floors, there’s not much a scout can do on the sixth floor.

Especially right after entering the sixth floor.

“Anyway, we’ve gathered everything we need, so let’s head down.”

Having finished our business on the summit, I descended to the coast with my companions. We then headed towards the island we had seen from the summit.

Normally, the basic strategy would be to gather more wood from the starting island and build a boat…

‘Skipping tedious work with in-game purchases is the norm.’

I took out a boat we had prepared from the spatial pocket and set it afloat. It was a boat we had bought with the clan’s funds when we founded the clan.

We spent most of the funds, but…

‘If it weren’t for the current situation, we would never have gotten it at this price.’

Timing was on our side in many ways.

The wood we gather in the future can be used to upgrade the boat or sold as lumber to buy a better one.

“Bjorn… this, this won’t sink, right?”

Come on, you fished from a boat in Gnome Tree last time.

‘…Oh, right, the boat flipped over then.’

“Don’t worry. We’ve already tested its performance in the city. As long as you don’t move too much like last time, it will be fine.”

“B-but… whoa! It’s shaking! Is the boat defective? It feels completely different from last time!”

“Because it was a lake then, and now it’s an ocean.”

The real problem is that this boat is half the size of the one we used last time.

Anyway, after the commotion, we all got on the boat one by one.

And then…

“Alright. Set sail!”

We rowed hard against the waves, just like we practiced on land in the city.

Our boat didn’t have a sail.

If we had bought one with a sail, it would have been too cramped for four people.

We couldn’t afford a bigger one.

There’s a certain charm to the struggles of being a newbie, after all.

“I think the boat is going backward…?”

“It’s just your imagination! Row harder!”

“One, two. One, two!”

Although it was our first time rowing in a real situation and we had a few trial and error moments, we quickly adapted, as true explorers do.

“Oh, the island is getting closer!”

Raven’s emotions were stirred by the seafaring experience, and she reacted to every little thing in her characteristic way.

But that excitement didn’t last long.

‘It’s taking a lot longer than I thought…’

It didn’t seem that far from the summit, but once we were in the boat, rowing, our progress felt agonizingly slow.

Or is it just me feeling that way?

I never expected to face such a challenge so soon after entering the 6th floor.

“Ugh.”

“Bj-Bjorn? What’s wrong?”

“Seasick…”

Bjorn Jandel wasn’t cut out for the sea.

***

As I was dying from seasickness, Misha asked worriedly.

“Seasick? Isn’t that something you get from riding a carriage?”

It seemed absurd that she could ask such a question, but from her perspective, it made sense.

If she’s lived her whole life inside the walls, it’s understandable.

Raven seemed to know about it only theoretically.

“Seasickness is a type of dizziness caused by the discrepancy between what you see and your sense of balance. It doesn’t only happen when riding a carriage.”

“Oh, I see…”

Misha nodded, not understanding a word of what was being said.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been feeling a bit nauseous too…”

Misha was relatively better off, but Aynar, the barbarian warrior, was in worse shape than I was.

“Move aside! Uuurgh!!”

Forgetting to row, Aynar grabbed the railing and started vomiting her guts out.

“Kyah!”

“Stop! Aynar! You can’t move like that!”

She was vomiting so violently that the boat was rocking side to side, making it seem like it might tip over any moment.

“Ugh, uuugh!”

“…Stop it!”

With such a small, cramped boat, there was no physical way to stop Aynar.

And there were four of us who couldn’t swim.

Except for Erwin and Misha, none of us could swim.

We were too far from the island for me to use [gigantification] and allow us to touch the ground like last time.

Isn’t this really a dangerous situation?

“Raven! Use magic to knock her out!”

“Oh, right!”

Realizing this was no laughing matter, I quickly assessed the situation and gave orders.

“Seretala Bairon!”

“Ugh, wha…? Uuuuh…”

Fortunately, Aynar lost consciousness after a single spell, as her magic resistance wasn’t properly set up yet.

And then…

“Uh, mister… I think I’m gonna die.” 

“Oh, me too. I need to rest.”

One by one, my companions succumbed to seasickness, unable to withstand Aynar’s chaos.

“At least Mr. Urichfried seems fi—” 

“Ugh, bleeeeh!!” 

“Oh, um, Mr. Jandel seems fi—”

Of course not.

“Blaaargh!!”

Holding onto the railing as carefully as possible, I threw up, hearing a sigh from behind.

“Why are you all like this?”

Surprisingly, Raven didn’t get seasick.

***

The concept of the sixth floor is simple.

Sailing across a vast sea, passing through various islands to reach the seventh floor. Hence, from this floor onwards, a ‘navigator’ becomes essential.

A specialized profession from the 6th floor who can steer the ship, record the route, and even consuming essences that aid in navigation, 

‘Well, once we get a proper ship, volunteers will flock to us, so there’s no need to rush.’

After disembarking at the bow, I pulled the boat ashore by hand and stored it in my spatial pocket to avoid losing it.

This method works only with a small boat.

To cross treacherous seas like the windless zones and the frozen seas, we’ll need progressively larger boats.

‘That’s also why clan-sized groups are recommended from the sixth floor onwards.’

Due to the high cost of boats, exploring the sixth floor is a heavy burden for a small team.

“Finally, solid ground! Solid ground!!”

With the sun setting in the distance, we arrived at Farune Island, half-dead. We quickly had a simple meal and began setting up camp.

“So this is what the sunset looks like from here…” 

“Yes, today I really feel glad to have become an explorer.”

My companions, who had only ever seen the sun disappear beyond the walls, were deeply moved by the sunset over the horizon.

I felt the same way.

Lying on the beach like this, it really felt like being on an island on earth.

Well, I’ve never actually been to such an island.

‘Why didn’t I go sooner…’

For the first time, I regretted my past self who stayed holed up, playing games. Back then, I lived in a world without walls, a much wider world.

“Aynar, you should sleep first. We’ll wake you for the last watch.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Thank you, Misha!”

We assigned Aynar, who suffered the most from seasickness, to the last watch and set up the watch rotation among the rest of us.

“We probably don’t need two people on watch. I heard only monsters below Level 8 come out on this island.”

“Yeah, let’s take turns alone and wake others if anything happens.”

“By the way, wouldn’t it have been better to sleep on the previous island? It seemed like there were no monsters there.” 

“We didn’t know we’d arrive this late.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

The weather was warm enough, so we just laid out sleeping bags on the sand. We brought tents in case it rained, but…

“It’s so beautiful.” 

“Yes, it is.”

Looking at the galaxy spread across the sky, we unanimously decided to sleep under the open sky.

“…My wife would have loved this.”

“Why do you make it sound like she’s passed away? Are you going to tell her this?”

“…W-what are you talking about? I meant it’s a shame she gave up being an explorer! That’s all!”

“Stop chatting and get some sleep. We’ll explore the island at first light.”

Was it because it was our first night on the 6th floor?

Feeling restless, my companions took a long time to fall asleep.

And the next morning.

“Before we venture inland, let’s circle around the coastline.”

We woke up early, packed up the campsite, and started walking around the island.

There wasn’t any grand reason; I just wanted to see for myself.

I wanted to see how much the size of the island differed between the game and reality.

‘It’s much bigger than I expected.’

As I walked about halfway around the island, lost in thought.

“Hey, Bjorn! There’s a boat!”

We discovered a boat anchored on the shore.

It wasn’t a large sailing ship, but it was three times bigger than ours and equipped with everything necessary.

“This could handle the windless zone and even the frozen sea. Ah, but it’s already imprinted with an owner’s mark.”

“Oh, so we can’t take it?”

Aynar tilted her head with innocent curiosity at Raven’s explanation.

And at that moment,

“Hey, barbarian. What are you doing by our boat?”

The ship’s owner emerged from the island.

“Wait a minute, aren’t you that barbarian from before?”

“Long time no see.”

It was a face I remembered.

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