Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 271

August 11, 2024 • 10 min read • 575 views

Defense (1)

Winix Carmilla.

After treating her injured eye with a potion, she looked at her brother with an irritated gaze.

He, too, had restored his severed arm with a potion.

“Ugh, if you had done your job properly, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Don’t you think you were too hasty?”

“Hasty? Do you think we’ll ever get another chance where it’s just the two of us and that woman again? It’s not my fault! The fault lies with you for not handling it properly!”

At Carmilla’s accusation, the man sighed.

Yeah, what’s the point of arguing here?

“More importantly, the item is secure, right?”

“Are you worried? Can’t you feel it? The magic is overflowing from this gem.”

“If I had such a high magic aptitude, I’d be a mage.”

“What are you saying? You’re too dumb to be a mage anyway.”

Carmilla grumbled as usual to her brother, but her lips curved into a smile.

“I wonder how much this will sell for?”

That’s why she could smile despite having her eye stabbed just moments ago.

Noark was essentially gone now.

Even if it meant taking a risk, it was wise to grab this chance, and that judgment was correct.

“All right, let’s go.  We’ll stop at any random island to rest, and then we’re done. We’ll live the rest of our lives like nobles.”

Carmilla guided the drake as it glided away from the island.

Then it happened.

“Wait.”

The man stopped Carmilla.

“Why suddenly?”

“We need to confirm if Rainweilz is dead.”

“What? We already have the item, why?”

Carmilla tilted her head, but the man spoke firmly.

After fighting her directly, he understood better.

Amelia Rainweilz was more than a monster. If the ambush hadn’t succeeded, they wouldn’t have been able to escape alive.

“If that woman survives, we’ll have to live in fear forever, even back in the city.”

“Survives? Stop with the bad luck. How could she survive? We stabbed her stomach with a poison-coated blade!”

Carmilla yelled at the man’s words.

But perhaps she also had a nagging feeling of uncertainty.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t we check to see if she’s dead? I’m sure she is, but we left in such a hurry that we didn’t even take her gear…”

After a brief agreement, they descended back to the island on the drake. Fortunately, the other two companions who went on a chase hadn’t returned yet.

“She managed to move with that body, huh.”

Amelia was nowhere to be seen.

But she couldn’t have gone far.

“There are bloodstains leading this way. Follow me.”

They followed the traces nearby.

However, the trail extended much further than expected and eventually disappeared completely.

“She deliberately erased her tracks. To think she had the presence of mind to do that in her state.”

“What, what do we do now?”

Carmilla’s face turned pale.

Realizing she had the presence of mind to erase her tracks made Carmilla think she might have survived.

But there was no other option.

“The chase ends here.”

“End it here?”

“Yes, none of us are expert trackers. Staying here is a waste of time. Let’s go back.”

The man and Carmilla returned to the spot where the fight had occurred.

And then…

Crash-!

He destroyed a stone on the island’s central altar.

“Why did you break that all of a sudden? Are you mad at me or something…?”

“Not at all. There’s a reason. I’ll explain later. For now, let’s leave.”

“No, what do you mean—”

Carmilla didn’t finish her sentence.

Rumble-!

Thunder roared and dark clouds gathered.

The wind seemed to grow stronger.

[The offering to the island of Farune has been destroyed]

[The sea’s fury engulfs the island.]

Today, the man seemed unfamiliar to her.

***

Aynar and Erwin.

As soon as they appeared, I wanted to rush out and greet them, but I held back to maintain the dignity of the clan leader.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Yes, a leader needs to carry some weight.

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry. But where are the others…?”

“They’re not here yet.”

“What? They’re not here yet? I thought we were the last ones. Don’t tell me, everyone else…”

“Enough.”

I cut off Erwin’s words.

“Don’t worry too much. Everyone will be fine. They’re probably just running a bit late.”

After all, Erwin and Aynar arrived safely despite being late.

Now, let’s ask this first.

“So, why were you so late?”

“Well, actually…”

I listened to their reasons for being late, thinking it might give a clue about the others who hadn’t joined us yet.

It wasn’t a big deal. 

Erwin had managed to swim to shore without losing her consciousness, but had lost her bow on the way.

“I was looking around hoping the waves would bring it back, and that’s when I met Aynar.”

Ah, so that’s why she didn’t have her bow.

At least they found Aynar, so it wasn’t all bad.

But at least she met Aynar and brought her along, so it turned out well, right?

“I see. Don’t worry too much about the bow. For now, you can use this.”

I pulled a longbow from my subspace and handed it to Erwin.

“Oh? It’s a bow made from Vortal wood? Where did you get such a rare item…?”

Wow, so it’s made from Vortal wood, a tier-4 material?  No wonder it looks so fine.

“I got lucky and found it.”

I briefly explained how I came by it, and Erwin tilted her head in curiosity. But soon she seemed to understand.

“By the way, who is this…?”

She asked about the man in plain clothes, stripped of all his gear.

“He’s from Noark.”

“Oh, I see! Thank you so much…!”

Erwin expressed her gratitude with a joyful face.

She really is a kind one.

“I’m glad you found your companions. I’m pleased to see your faith wasn’t misplaced.”

As we shared this brief reunion, the priestess joined the conversation.

I took the opportunity to introduce her.

“She’s a priestess who was part of the Patzran’s team. Her name is Ersina. We met by chance and she joined us.”

“Lyrin Ersina.”

“Ah, nice to meet you…”

Erwin responded awkwardly to the priestess’s greeting and then looked at me.

“Mister, nothing unusual happened, right?”

“Nothing unusual?”

“…Never mind. Why did you only break his wrist and not kill him?”

Erwon, shaking her head, asked why I hadn’t killed the man from Noark, finding it odd.

“He might be useful.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, if you say so, I’ll trust you!”

I awkwardly laughed and ended the topic there.

In truth, there was another reason I kept him alive.

Amelia Rainweilz.

I figured it would be troublesome if killing this guy led to an irreversible situation with her.

“Judging by what he said, their target was just Drowes.”

According to Nebarce, Amelia’s side had some issues too.

Maybe we could even form a temporary alliance.

With the wave about to start, having more people would be advantageous.

“Let’s move.”

We couldn’t stay here forever, so we prepared to leave.

Our destination was the eastern coast where the first boss would appear.

Phew, I didn’t expect everyone to still be separated by the time the wave started.

Where is everyone, making me worry like this?

“I’ll clear the path. Aynar, you keep an eye on him so he doesn’t try anything.”

Just in case, Aynar wouldn’t join the fight and would watch Nebarce instead.

We increased our speed as much as possible.

But…

[You have slain a Lannemut Warrior. EXP +3]

[You have slain a Horned Conch. EXP +3]

[You have slain a Garbel…]

“…”

Our pace was slowed by the monsters that emerged from the sea and occupied the island.

The monsterds were still around level 7, so we could manage moving around the island, but…

‘We need to meet up before the next wave.’

I felt an increasing sense of urgency.

From the next wave, the monsters would be much stronger.

Even I might struggle to handle them alone.

“Will everyone be okay?”

Erwin murmured worriedly, seeing the large number of monsters.

I quickly responded to avoid jinxing it.

“Don’t think like that. They’ll be fine.”

“But there are so many monsters…”

Struggling to survive alone?

“I managed to meet Ersina and come this far, didn’t I?”

Maybe Misha or Raven had teamed up with them somewhere on the island.

Although there were still concerns there too.

‘Damn it.’

I recalled my earlier conversation with Nebarce.

Even if my companions met members of Patzran’s team, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

After all…

[How did you know they were coming to this island?]

To my question, Nebarce had answered,

[There was an informant among them who shared their exploration plans with us. Only Lady Rainweilz knows who it is.]

There’s a traitor among them.

***

Alluva Raven widened her eyes as she inspected the bushes.

“It’s not who I was looking for, but…”

“……”

“This isn’t bad either.”

Fortunately, it was someone she knew.

“Miss Raven, we meet again.”

“Mr. Patzran!”

She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran forward.

“What happened? Why are you so injured? And the person on your back, are they dead?”

Patran, giving a bitter smile, gently laid down the mage he had been carrying.

He explained their situation.

“She’s just unconscious, so don’t worry too much.”

“Thank goodness. But what happened?”

“…We were ambushed by plunderers.”

They had been attacked, barely escaped, but got separated due to the pursuers.

So, he had been wandering around looking for his comrades.

After summarizing the situation, he cautiously continued.

“Though you aren’t the comrades I was searching for, I’m glad to have found you, Miss Raven. Could you perhaps help us?”

“Help you how?”

“One of our comrades is in the center of the island. He stayed behind to buy us time to escape. We must go rescue him. By the way, where is that barbarian?”

Patzran finally noticed that Raven’s group was not in good shape either and tilted his head in confusion.

“Did something happen on your side too? And what about that beastman archer who looks like he almost drowned?”

“We were trying to leave the island when a storm suddenly hit… The ship ran aground, and we all got separated.”

After Raven explained their plan to regroup at the island’s center, Patzran‘s eyes lit up.

“The center of the island? That’s perfect. How about we move together? Those lunatics are roaming the island, so it would be much safer that way.”

In other words, he was suggesting they form a temporary team.

After a brief moment of consideration, Raven answered.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

There was no reason to refuse.

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