Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 375

Treasure Hunter (3)

King Slime, guardian of the Green Mine.

An essence that, if consumed, could be quite useful by the mid-game.

Not that anyone of us would really benefit from consuming it

「You have defeated King Slime. EXP +4」

「Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3」

Tch

As the King Slime disappeared into a cluster of light, I smacked my lips bitterly.

“Wow, seriously, nothing dropped?”

I wasn’t expecting much from the essence, but I was hoping for at least a Numbered item.

How could there be no riftstone either? The individual drop rate should be 33.3%…

‘…Now that I think about it, I didn’t get a single essence on the way here either.’

That’s why I had a small hope.

Maybe the guardian would drop a decent Numbered item in the end.

“Still, there was one essence at least” 

Amelia’s comforting words made me chuckle.

What essence? It’s just trash.

A Level 9 monster, Slime.

If consumed, it decreases physical stats like durability, strength, agility, and physical resistance, while only adding a bunch of low-value stats like poison resistance, intuition, and digestion.

Even the skills it offers are mediocre.

Though it could be useful in certain situations…

In general, the penalties aren’t worth it, making it one of the worst essences among the level 9 essences.

By the way, the essence didn’t even come from the King Slime, I got it while killing some random mobs during the hunt.

‘If trash like this is going to drop, it might as well not drop at all.’

At least that would leave some hope for hitting a jackpot next time.

“Mister, a portal just opened over there! Are we leaving right away?”

“Of course.”

I led my companions toward the portal.

I led my companions to the portal.

There was no hesitation in my steps.

It’s called a Rift, yet all we got is a Slime essence.

What the hell is this shitty rift?

「You have entered the Crystal Cave on the 1st floor.」

Let’s get out quickly.

Staying any longer might bring bad luck.

***

After clearing the rift, everything went smoothly.

Since we had no business left in the lower floors, we headed upward and by day 26, we reached our target floor.

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

Lymia, the island of beginnings.

Unlike our last visit, it wasn’t bustling with explorers and soldiers, and the warships crowding the coastline were also gone.

It made sense since the raid heading to the Dark Continent departed on the 25th day.

In fact, we intentionally arrived a day late because of that.

“Well then, let’s head to the coast.”

There was no reason to waste time on an empty island, so we headed straight to the shore.

And then, I took out the ship that was stored in subspace.

This one looked completely different from our previous boat, which had no sail and had to be rowed.

‘Now this is what you call a ship.’

A boat similar in size and shape to a typical fishing boat seen in Korea.

A large square sail sat in the center, and a magical propulsion system was attached to the rear. As long as we fed it magic stones, we could speed up whenever needed.

In short, as long as we had enough magic stones, we could even cross windless zones.

‘Actually, I’m not sure we’re going to make it to the Windless Zone without a sailor, but…….’

After the three of us boarded the ship, Amelia stood at the helm, swallowing nervously.

Maybe sensing her lack of confidence, Erwin cautiously voiced her concerns.

“Are you sure she can handle the ship properly… she’s not even a sailor?”

“She’s at least better than me, who’s only ever rowed a boat. She also learned the basics when we bought the ship.”

“Hm…”

“Right, Amelia?”

“…Don’t talk to me. I’m concentrating.”

“…”

Okay, suddenly I’m not so confident anymore.

Amelia, holding the helm and wearing a serious expression as if running a simulation in her head, began to give the orders.

“First… we need to row away from the island. Only then can we catch the wind.”

“Catch the wind…?”

“If you don’t like it, feel free to—”

“No complaints. We’ll do as you say.”

“…”

Amelia was clearly a beginner, but I followed her instructions without complaint. 

Of course, I had no intention of manually rowing the boat myself.

What’s the point of buying this expensive ship otherwise?

Srrrrk-!

As we inserted a magic stone into the tube connected to the magic propulsion device, the ship started to surge forward.

“…Ugh!”

Amelia seemed surprised by the speed but soon regained her composure and turned the helm to change direction.

And then…

“N-Now! The sails! Unfurl the sails!”

Once the sail was up, the ship began catching the wind and sailed forward smoothly.

Whew, looks like we’re managing somehow.

“How’s the direction?”

“We’re heading east, so don’t worry.”

“I see…”

At my words, Amelia exhaled as if relieved.

Even then, she was gripping the helm tightly with both hands.

It was a somewhat refreshing sight.

A girl who didn’t even bat an eye when killing people was so nervous about something like this.

“It’s starting to come into view.”

After about 15 minutes of sailing east, an island appeared at the edge of the horizon.

After about 15 minutes of sailing east, an island came into view on the horizon.

An island located closest to the starting point after Farune Island in the west, where we had a bloody battle with Stormgush.

Gurka Island.

In fact, there was no particular reason to stop at this island.

The monsters here were low-level and appeared on the lower floors anyway, so we’d already farmed all the experience we needed.

But…

‘With no sailor, we have no choice.’

Without an expert navigator, it was nearly impossible to sail straight to our intended destination. We had to go island by island.

Well, there were other reasons, too.

“…Mister, are you okay?”

“……”

Phew, this damn seasickness.

I think it’s gotten a bit better than before, but I still feel nauseous.

“If it’s too much, we can rest for a bit before continuing.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

After docking the ship at the coast, we took a short break.

Fortunately, one of the perks of having a Barbarian’s body was quick recovery.  Though the seasickness was bad, I would feel better in 10 minutes.

“Alright, let’s set sail again.”

Once I had regained my strength, we repeated the process and resumed our journey.

The next destination was Anos Island, the second island on the eastern route.

“It’ll take about three hours by boat to get there; are you sure we can make it?”

“…Don’t worry. As long as we keep heading east-northeast, we’ll get there.”

“Says who?”

“…The book.”

Erwin, who had never participated in such a makeshift voyage, still looked unconvinced.

However, perhaps because Amelia had a knack for sailing, after about three hours,  another island appeared in the distance.

Amelia clenched her fist.

“We found it.”

“Why is it off to the east and not straight ahead?”

“…That’s still within the margin of error.”

Yeah, close enough.

Amelia adjusted our course, and before long, we arrived at Anos Island.

Unlike Gurka Island, we had a reason to stop here.

There were no hidden treasures or secret pieces, but we still needed to collect some experience.

Plus, the day was ending, so we’d spend the night here.

But before that…

“Ughhh—!”

Let me empty my stomach first.

***

「You have defeated a Raffle Monkey. EXP +3」

「You have defeated a War Snake. EXP +4」

「You have defeated a Nigel Fencer. EXP +4」

「You have defeated a Belgaro. EXP +5」

「You have defeated a Black Tree…」

「…….」

***

The island of Anos is 99% jungle, except for the coastline.

We camped by the shore for the night and started our exploration the next day. 

By the time we circled the entire island and collected all the experience we could, the day was already over, and we had to camp for another night.

‘Tsk, I thought we’d finish everything in half a day and move on to the next island.’

The reason for the delay was the last monster we hunted.We had to search until nightfall because we couldn’t find it even after combing the entire island.

“Hey, mister, aren’t the stars really beauti—”

Snore—

“You’re already asleep…”

After another night’s rest, we set sail early the next morning, heading for the next island. And fortunately, we arrived safely again.

And so the process continued…

“This is already the seventh island.”

“It’s called Fione Island, right?”

After ten days of travel, we arrived at the seventh island along the eastern route. Honestly, it was quite remarkable that we had made it this far without any issues.

Considering that our sailor only knew how to move forward, stop, and park the ship, I had expected we might miss an island or two along the way.

‘Guess steering a ship is easier than I thought?’

Lately, I’d been observing Amelia’s steering process to learn a bit myself. I was also gradually getting used to the seasickness.

“Wow, the island is really beautiful, just like I heard.”

“Erwin, it’s your first time here too?”

“Yes. Usually, we just passed by.”

“Well, if you’re unlucky, it’s just a waste of time.”

Fione Island, the seventh island on the eastern route, was often called a “treasure island” among explorers.

Unlike other islands with mountains dominating their landscapes, Fione was flat, and it was small enough to circumnavigate in about three hours.

One key point to note: only a single type of monster appeared here, a level 4 monster.

“Are we just going to pass by this one too?”

“We’ll stay for the night since it’s getting late.”

Hearing my answer, Erwin seemed somewhat pleased.

Well, it’s almost safe to say that there are no monsters on the island itself.

Encountering a monster here is like winning the lottery.

“Mister! There’s still quite some time until nightfall. Let’s look around the island together! Please?”

“…I suppose that’s fine.”

“It might be dangerous, so I’ll come along too.” Amelia added.

After landing, we stored the boat in the subspace and wandered around the island to familiarize ourselves with the terrain.

Swoooosh.

The cool sea breeze gently brushed against us.

The vast plains spread out before us, filled with colorful flower fields.

“Not bad.”

I found myself unconsciously voicing my thoughts, and Erwin, grinning, nodded in agreement.

“Hehe, right?”

“Yeah. With the open space, we’ll be able to spot any plunderers approaching while we sleep.”

“…What?”

“…What?”

Erwin tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but this was an important point.

There’s a reason this island is called the Treasure Island.

Even if most of the high-ranking explorers have gone to the seventh floor to participate in the war, the possibility that there are no explorers on this island is close to zero.

Because this island is the only place, aside from Rifts, where you can obtain Numbered items.

“Alright, we’ve scouted enough. Let’s set up camp over there. I saw a good spot earlier.”

“O-Okay…”

Being seasoned explorers, it didn’t take us long to set up camp. We stationed one of Amelia’s familiars to stand guard and went to sleep.

Sometime later…

“Schuiz, wake up.”

Amelia shook me awake.

Rubbing my sleepy eyes and checking my surroundings, I saw that Erwin was already up, holding her bow.

Only one possibility came to mind.

Encountering monsters on this island was unlikely. It had to be something else.

“How many?”

Skipping unnecessary conversation, I asked for the information I needed, and Amelia answered briefly.

“Fifteen.”

“A clan, then.”

Uninvited guests had arrived in the dead of night.