Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 413

Bad Blood (3)

“Well… I’ve always had a good intuition since I was young…”

As I looked at him incredulously, the goblin began to share various experiences as examples.

His words were so scattered that I wondered if he even knew what he was saying, but among them, one thing stood out.

“On the day that pillar of fire shot up! I was supposed to enter the labyrinth, but I had the exact same feeling as today…”

At first, I thought he might be crazy, but if what he’s saying is truly based on his experiences, it’s hard to dismiss it outright.

After all,’Sixth Sense’ is a stat that actually exists in [Dungeon & Stone].

“Alright, go back to your place.”

“A-are we departing then?”

“We can’t just recklessly push on because of baseless anxiety.”

“Y-yes, I suppose so.”

“Right. But I’ll consider it.”

Leaving some room for consideration, he walked away with an expression that seemed to say, “Well, this is the best I can hope for.” Only then did my companions around me start to speak up.

“What an interesting fellow.”

First was the support type, Old Didi,  who said, “Are you crazy?” in a polite way.

“Perhaps he received a revelation. After all, he’s a paladin who serves a god.”

The mage Ashid made a comment that seemed to defend him, while Erwin had a somewhat displeased look on her face.

“Who is that guy? Everyone’s exhausted and resting, and he’s being annoying.”

“Now, now, calm down.”

As I was calming Erwin, Amelia approached me and started a conversation.

“Schuiz, what are you going to do? You didn’t seem to dismiss his words as mere nonsense.”

“Explorers always have reasons for believing in superstitions.”

“So, are you going to follow his advice?”

“Well…”

I needed to think about it.

In fact, as soon as I heard his words, I started having a bad feeling.

Swish.

With that in mind, I glanced down at the traffic light ring I was wearing. It was still not emitting any light.

However, it was too early to feel relieved just because of that.

‘This ring doesn’t predict every event.’

Even in the game, the traffic light ring was like that.

Even if there was an event nearby, it didn’t activate with a 100% probability; it worked randomly.

If the green light came on, there was definitely something good nearby.

But just because the light didn’t come on doesn’t mean there’s no good thing nearby…

‘What should I do?’

As I was deep in thought.

“The ring has sensed the character’s fate.”

Suddenly, the ring activated and began to emit light.

Whoooosh.

I quickly looked down to check the color of the light—it was a vivid red.

“Sir…?”

Ignoring Erwin’s startled voice behind me, I quickly stood up.

And then…

“Everyone, prepare to move!”

We ended our rest and hurriedly resumed our march.

“But… we haven’t even rested for ten minutes.”

“The members are really tired.”

The team leaders expressed their concerns, but there was no choice.

It’s better to be a little tired than to experience a red event, right?

“Form up! We’re departing now!”

After that, we started marching again, and about thirty minutes later.

Whoooosh.

The ring’s light went out.

I don’t know what negative event was approaching us but…

I was baffled and dumbfounded.

‘Who on earth is Sven Parab, that guy?’

Was it just a coincidence?

How could anyone’s instincts surpass the detection radius of the traffic light ring?

Despite these thoughts, I couldn’t forget the sincerity in his expression as he tried to convince me of his “gut feeling.”

So, while we were moving, I fell back a bit and approached the goblin.

“How about now? Is everything alright?”

If he still felt uneasy, I could just dismiss it as a coincidence.

He doesn’t know about the traffic light ring—

“Ah, yes… I feel at ease.”

What is with this guy…?

***

Seventh Floor, Dark Continent.

A human male with a physique as sturdy as a barbarian bent down and touched the ground.

“Baek-ho, there are traces of someone staying here.”

“Really? How many?”

“Seems like just over twenty, but I can’t say for sure! 

But one thing’s certain—they left not long ago!”

The large man thundered, his voice matching his size.

An elderly man grimaced at the noise but murmured softly.

“Perhaps it’s them.”

“Them?”

“You know, those who destroyed the Eye of the Sky and are now on the run.”

“Ah, those guys…”

“Shall we follow them? If it really is them, we can demand quite a bit from Noark this time.”

“Hmm.”

At the old man’s suggestion, the blond man stroked his chin thoughtfully and smirked as he looked toward someone.

“Hey, Kitty, what do you think we should do?”

A voice full of mischief.

The beast tribe woman frowned in displeasure but remained silent.

“…It’s a waste of time.”

“Waste of time? You just don’t want to mess with people from the city.”

“……”

“Not fun.”

As their conversation ended, the warrior who had discovered the traces asked quietly,

“So what will you do? Are we following them?”

“No. Why bother?”

The blond man shrugged and continued.

“It’s not even certain. What if we go and it’s just some punks hunting nearby?”

“That would just be a waste of time. But isn’t it a pity? If we start now, we could catch up quickly.”

“Eh, forget it. Even if we catch them, it’s not like anything great will come of it.”

With that, the blond man waved his hand dismissively and pulled out a chair from his spatial storage to sit down.

“If we’d run into them by chance, maybe it’d be different, but there’s no need to go out of our way to check. Let’s focus on our own tasks. Don’t worry about them; they’ll handle themselves.”

“If that’s your decision, then so be it.”

“Alright, that settles it. Let’s rest a bit, grab something to eat, and then move on. Hey, Aures!”

“Haha! Just give me a moment! I’ll grill some tasty meat for you in no time!”

Before long, the smell of roasting meat began to waft around them.

***

60th Day Since Entering the Labyrinth

In other words, 15 days left until the 7th floor is closed.

“Somehow, we’ve ended up here.”

We arrived at the Resting Place of the Defeated, a field west of the Dragon’s Depth, where the portal was located.

Whoooosh.

A black fog filled the surroundings without dissipating even in the strong wind.

Countless old swords stuck in the endless plain.

It was an eerie place, but no one spoke of it.

No one had the time to indulge in such sentimentality.

“Schuiz, we need to keep moving. If we stay here and get surrounded—”

“I know, so keep quiet.”

“……”

Hmm, perhaps I was too sharp.

I felt a pang of regret but didn’t bother apologizing.

There was no time for such things—

“Schuiz, don’t let the pressure get to you. If the commander falters, everyone will fall apart.”

Huh, I didn’t expect to receive comfort instead.

I let out a bitter sigh with a faint smile.

‘Asking me not to be anxious is a tall order.’

My plan had already gone awry.

Instead of heading south where our allies were, we were in the north—in enemy territory.

I thought we could hold out by hiding here, on the principle that the darkest place is under the lamp.

But in reality, how had it been?

‘Persistent bastards.’

If we slowed down even a bit, the pursuit team would quickly catch up.

Because of them, we hadn’t been able to rest properly or get decent sleep for several days, pushing ourselves relentlessly.

“I just can’t understand. How do they manage to track us so precisely, no matter where we go…”

Kaislan wondered how Noirark’s forces could keep tracking us so relentlessly, but I already knew the answer.

Because I’d experienced it once before.

[If I hadn’t sacrificed another arm, I might have lost track of you.]

In Larkaz’s Maze, that dragonslayer used the priests of Karui to track us.

They probably used a similar method this time.

They’re the type who would offer sacrifices without hesitation to achieve their goals.

“Parab, how are you feeling now?”

“Ah, I still feel fine…”

The fact that we hadn’t lost a single person on our way here was largely thanks to the goblin.

Somehow, even when we were resting, if the pursuit team was getting close, he’d sense it like a ghost.

When we were proceeding smoothly and he’d cautiously ask if we could take a different route, we’d find enemies lying in ambush ahead.

After realizing this, I’d started keeping him right by my side during our movements.

“Then let’s rest a bit longer. If you notice anything strange, let me know immediately.”

“Understood.”

With that, he flopped onto the ground without hesitation.

If he could relax like that, the area must truly be safe.

I wanted to lie down and get a moment of shut-eye myself, but…

‘I can’t afford to do that.’

I pushed away my weakness and summoned the team leaders for a command meeting.

“Karla, Kaiislan, Jun, Akuraba. First of all, I owe you all an apology.”

“…?”

“I thought we’d be able to hide here until the floor closed, but I was wrong.”

My sudden apology seemed to catch them off guard. They looked confused at first, but one by one, they offered words of reassurance.

“I don’t think there’s anything to apologize for.”

“Indeed. Considering the pursuit force, staying back for reinforcements wouldn’t have worked either. We wouldn’t have lasted a day.”

“If it weren’t for you, even more people would have died.”

“To be honest, I was relieved that I wasn’t the commander when this situation unfolded. As I said earlier, a commander is someone who must never falter…”

Oh, hearing that makes me feel a bit lighter.

Lately, I’ve been tormented by such thoughts.

Maybe we should have stayed at Deadwood and waited for the rescue team.

Perhaps we should have headed south, risking heavy casualties to escape enemy territory.

And…

Is everyone going to die because of my wrong decisions?

Thud—

It’s like carrying a mountain-sized boulder on my chest.

But even so, I can’t shy away from what needs to be done.

Even if it means that an even heavier burden weighs upon me.

“Ahem.”

“You seem embarrassed.”

What are they saying?

Tap, tap.

I patted my knees and spoke to the team leaders.

“Anyway, the reason I called you here is to hear your opinions.”

“By the looks of it, you seem to have already made up your mind.”

Well, that’s true.

Even so, I couldn’t just make the decision on my own without consulting them first.

Therefore…

“As you all know, we probably won’t be able to hold out for long even if we hide here.”

I laid some groundwork before getting to the main point.

“If we don’t keep moving, we’ll soon be caught and surrounded.”

Like a shark that can only breathe by moving forward.

If we complacently stop, it’s game over at that moment.

Once they fully surround us, our exhausted forces won’t be able to break through.

Therefore…

“So, where are you planning to go?”

Seeing the team leaders’ curious expressions, I smacked my lips bitterly.

“From what you’re saying, it seems you have a place in mind.”

Exactly as they said.

I do have a place in mind.

It wasn’t something that came to me after I got here, it was something I had in mind from the planning stage.

Yes, to put it simply, it’s Plan B.

An option I didn’t want to choose unless it was an extremely dire situation.

“I’m curious. Where are you planning to go in this situation?”

In the end, I voiced my option.

“We’re going back to Ice Rock.”

A path that’s difficult for us will be difficult for them as well.

Let’s see if they can follow us all the way there.”