Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 282

Adrift (2)

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

The stone that Amelia is holding…

Could that stone be the “treasure” of the Noark lord?

Of course, it was still just a hunch.

“What’s that stone?” I asked bluntly, like a barbarian.

Amelia’s response was ruthless.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Well, then don’t make it something to worry about.

‘Judging by her reaction, it seems like that stone is indeed the ‘treasure’.’

But asking further wouldn’t yield any answers.

So, I decided to shift my focus away from the stone and concentrate on other matters.

There was something more urgent than my curiosity at the moment.

Ssssh!

The barrier, which had been holding back the water like the glass of an aquarium, started to crack, allowing water to seep in.

“The sanctuary will soon disappear.”

It meant we had to prepare.

I picked up my mace that had fallen on the ground and the pieces of my shattered chest plate, putting them into my subspace.

And then…

“What are you doing? Hurry over here unless you want to be swept away.”

I took out a rope.

Amelia frowned, realizing what I intended.

“Aren’t you going to use the scroll?”

“Oh, the multi-teleportation scroll, you mean?”

The multi-teleportation scroll was a key part of Plan B.

Impressed by its use in the battle against the Abyss Lord Berzak, I later asked Kyle if he could make a similar scroll, and he did.

But it could only transport a maximum of two people.

It couldn’t specify coordinates; it could only move to where the ‘coordinate transmitter’ registered during its creation was located.

‘If it weren’t for these limitations, we wouldn’t have been able to make it into a scroll.’

By the way, Raven has the ‘coordinate transmitter.’

Normally, it’s stored in her subspace, but I had informed her beforehand, so it should be out now.

So, if we tear the scroll, we can go to our ally immediately.

But…

“Why use such an expensive item when the monster is defeated and there’s no immediate danger?”

Using it for mere convenience would be madness.

Though Kyle said he could make another as long as I brought the materials…

How could I gather all those materials again?

They were not just expensive but rare and hard to obtain.

“Just come here and sit down. Our allies will come to rescue us once the water drains.”

“And until then?”

She asked the obvious question.

We have to hold our breath and endure.

It won’t take long. Can’t you handle that?

“Fine, I’ll tie myself up.”

Amelia took out a large nail from her subspace and hammered it into the floor, and then tied herself with the rope she took from me.

“Ah, if you’re done, help me out. I only have one hand.”

“You really are something else.”

What’s with the attitude? You’re going to help anyway.

As I raised my remaining hand like I was surrendering, Amelia tied the rope around my body to secure me.

With that, we were ready.

Ssssh!

Water started pouring in through the cracks in the sanctuary as we exchanged a few words.

Surprisingly, Amelia started the conversation.

“Seems like the pain has passed.”

Great, I was trying not to think about it.

“Ugh.”

Pain grows the more you acknowledge it.

So, I quickly changed the subject.

“Forget about me. Can you tell me now?”

“Tell you what?”

“That stone. What’s it for? From what I saw, it seems to be the ‘treasure’ they were after.”

“Barbarian, I told you not to concern yourself with it.”

Amelia’s cold voice drew a line.

But curiosity is a hallmark of barbarians.

“No, it’s hard not to be curious when it’s shining like that next to me. Just tell me why it’s glowing. You seemed surprised by it earlier too.”

“That’s…”

Why is the stone glowing?

Amelia trailed off, gripping the stone tightly in her hand.

“I don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know?”

I looked at her incredulously, and Amelia clicked her tongue before glaring at me confidently.

“Yes, I don’t know. Is that a problem? I don’t know much about this item. I just know that with this…”

Yes, with that what?

I was all ears, not interrupting her.

“The sanctuary will soon disappear.”

The barrier that had been holding back the seawater broke, and water started rushing in like in a disaster movie.

Damn, at this timing.

“I was so close to finding out.”

It’s disappointing, but what I do?

I’ll have to ask more later when I get the chance.

“Hold your breath! Grab the rope tight!”

I shouted as I took a deep breath, and cold seawater enveloped us.

Whoosh!

Now it’s time to endure.

All we need to do is hold our breath and wait for the water to drain. Our allies will return and find us.

Thanks to Stormgush’s essence, my lung capacity has increased.

“I can easily hold my breath for ten minutes.”

Even holding my breath, I don’t feel much discomfort.

It was a stat that I never needed in the game.

But in this world, where I have to fight with my real body, lung capacity is crucial in combat.

“My body seems to be healing too.”

The tingling sensation of healing spread throughout my body. It’s not because the seawater here has potion-like properties.

It’s just the effect of a new skill I acquired.

[The sea’s energy permeates the character’s body.]

[Passive skill [Origin] greatly increases natural regeneration.]

Stormgush’s passive skill [Origin].

Its effect is simple.

When in contact with seawater, natural regeneration increases, and the longer the duration, the higher the increase, like compound interest.

In about ten minutes, even a severed arm could regrow.

“Though it’s only useful on the sixth floor.”

I once tried to bottle seawater to use it like a potion, but it was a total failure.

The skill didn’t activate after just an hour.

What exactly is the sea’s energy?

‘Anyway, I’ve regained my regeneration ability.’

A smile spread across my face unconsciously.

Losing the vampire essence had been a significant setback, but now it’s resolved. This new essence is of level 3 and is not just focused on regeneration.

[Origin] has other effects too.

‘I’ll switch to a Level 2 essence once I start farming them…’

I couldn’t hide my satisfaction as I watched my body heal in real time.

‘Huh?’

I suddenly realized something.

With the water pouring in and the torch I had lit extinguished, visibility should be low.

But why…

‘Why can I see?’

Once again, the reason was that mysterious stone Amelia possessed. Even though it was stored in the subspace, it was still emitting a brilliant light, acting as a light source.

A question arose in my mind the moment I saw it.

Setting aside how light could escape from the subspace, which was supposed to be a sealed space.

‘Isn’t the light getting stronger…?’

I pointed at Amelia’s subspace bracelet with a puzzled look.

My gesture meant, ‘Hey, is that thing okay?’

In response, Amelia punched me in the chest.

‘Mind your own business.’

That seemed to be the message.

But even she must have felt uneasy as the light grew brighter.

“…”

Amelia opened her bracelet and took out the stone.

The light it emitted was far more intense than when it was in the subspace.

This felt wrong…

Poke poke.

I nervously poked Amelia’s waist.

‘Is this really okay?’

Amelia must have understood my gesture perfectly, but she didn’t respond.

She wasn’t even squinting against the light, just staring at the stone as if entranced.

‘Damn, this is getting even more unsettling…’

Just as I instinctively sensed something was wrong—

Flash-!

The stone exploded with a brilliant white light, and everything went white.

That was my last memory.

It felt just like the day I was first dragged into this world.

‘Ah, my eyes!’

And then, I lost consciousness.

 ***

[Error occurred.]

[Unable to locate character’s position]

[Character log transmission temporarily suspended]

[The administrator should promptly…]

“……”

***

When I opened my eyes, there was light beyond.

The setting sun casting a reddish glow over the horizon.

“Damn!”

Realizing the time, I hurriedly sat up.

“A whole day has passed?”

When I fought Stormgush, it was night.

But now the sun was setting?

That meant I had been unconscious for at least a day…

‘What the hell is this?’

I soon faced a far more pressing problem than the lost day.

‘Where the hell is all my gear?’

Feeling the emptiness, I checked and found that my equipment was gone.

No, it wasn’t just my gear. Everything was gone.

The subspace ring, earrings, and even my enchanted ‘acid-resistant’ magic underwear were all missing.

I was left completely naked, as if starting from scratch.

‘Did someone find me unconscious and strip me?’

Hmm, but if that were the case, wouldn’t they have killed me too?

Besides, weren’t we the only ones on this island?

What have my teammates who sailed away been doing all this time?

Damn, what the hell happened?

“This is driving me crazy.”

Saying my head was a mess was an understatement.

There was no way I could explain this situation with my common sense.

So—

“Hey.”

I shook Amelia, who was lying next to me.

Of course, I averted my eyes.

She, too, had been stripped of all her gear, just like me.

“Amelia, wake up.”

Please? Wake up.

You were the owner of that stone.

What the hell happened?

“Sigh…”

I desperately tried to wake Amelia, hoping for answers, but she didn’t respond.

She was still breathing, so she wasn’t dead.

‘Damn it.’

I decided to stop trying to wake her and instead checked the surroundings. There were still so many inconsistencies since I opened my eyes.

‘My arm.’

Well, the fact that my severed arm had healed could be credited to the seawater’s regenerative properties.

‘The nail and rope.’

The nail and rope used to secure us and prevent us from being swept away were gone.

We hadn’t moved to another island.

This was the same place where we fought Stormgush.

But…

‘The ground is already dry.’

The island had been completely submerged, but the sand underfoot was dry.

Is it possible for it to dry out in just one day?

I don’t know, but the most important issue is something else.

‘But I’m still wet.’

If we had dried out naturally in the sun, why were Amelia and I still wet…?

Bzzz-!

Just then, I heard the distinctive buzzing of insect wings in the distance.

‘Damn it.’

Level 8 insect-type monster ‘Krungbee.’

Normally, it would be the main creature inhabiting this Farune Island.

‘Why are they appearing now?’

It’s absurd.

The event ended a day ago, and now they’re appearing?

They were supposed to spawn in the next labyrinth cycle?

‘Anyway, I’ll have to figure out the rest later.’

I quickly got to my feet.

I grabbed a suitable piece of wood lying around.

It didn’t grip as well as my mace, but…

‘It’ll do as a one-time use.’

A level 8 monster should be manageable with this.

Thud.

I kicked off the ground and charged at the insect monster emerging from the bushes.

And…

‘Swing.’

I delivered a furious blow with the makeshift club.

Thunk-!

There was no system message, but the familiar feel of a solid hit reassured me.

Alright, at least my essence is intact.