Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 64

Stranded in the witch’s forest, I often wondered.

Could the dwarf gang be wandering the forest looking for us by now? And if so, wouldn’t it be impossible for us to be reunited by chance.

To cut to the chase, it was a futile delusion.

‘Of course, that would never happen.’

Fantasy and reality are always different.

Knowing there were only three of them, I smiled bitterly at my own wishful thinking.
Miracles really don’t suit me.

Tragedies, maybe.

“…Bjorn.”

Misha climbed up my back and whispered very softly in my ear.

“What are we going to do now?”

Well, that’s a tough one.

I, too, had never imagined running into these brats here.

‘Their name was… Davis something.’

I braced myself to bash their heads in with a mace at any moment, then carefully examined the man who was sound asleep.

Davis.

Necklaces, bracelets, shirt buttons – you name it, all smothered with the symbols of the Leatlas religion, a true religious fanatic.

In simple terms, he was the leader of the group of explorers who had attacked us in the past, falling for Elisha’s schemes.

‘Why the hell is this bastard here?’

The more I looked at his face, the deeper my confusion grew.

Why was he resting here?

Elisha had sold them out, so there were only three of them.

And why did they look as ragged as us?

“……”

Pushing these questions aside, I checked inside through the window again.

Fortunately, the other two were still sound asleep.

And once I realized they were religious, I was able to deduce their identity from their body shape and hair color.

‘That archer and swordsman from back then.’

There was no sign of the burly shield warrior or the red-haired archer.

‘…Could it be that they too got separated from the group?’

The thought crossed my mind, but I wasn’t sure.

Damn, what to do?

I was feeling uneasy. Should I just bash their heads in while they’re sleeping?

As I pondered, Misha whispered.

“Bjorn, we might be able to learn something about Hikurod.”

Hmm, that’s true.

Maybe it’s better to talk to them.

But first, we need to create an environment conducive to dialogue.

“Let’s knock them all out first and then tie them up with ropes.”

“Good idea.”

After agreeing, I sent Misha into the hut.

If they woke up, she could subdue them before they came to their senses.

“……”

Now that everything was prepared.

I exchanged a glance with Misha through the window and nodded.

Then I lifted the mace over my head.

Thump-!

With half my strength, I brought it down on the head.

As expected, the religious fanatic collapsed without even a groan of death.

Wiping the blood and flesh off my clothes, I let out a long breath.

‘Phew, one down.’

Time to stun the next one.

I sneak into the hut and see the two of them, both exhausted and dreamy.

So, who should I take down first?

As I pondered, one of them stirred.

“Uhhhh…”

Okay, I’ll take the second one.

Just as I was about to strike with the mace again.

“I thought we were just knocking them out, not killing them!”

Misha rushed over, grabbed my arm, and whispered urgently.

I cocked my head in confusion.

Then, belatedly realizing the meaning of her words, I nodded.

“Don’t worry.”

Controlling power was my specialty, even when playing fighting games.

Well, if they die, it can’t be helped.

That’s just the world we live in, right?

Thump-!

As soon as I struck with the mace.

The man resting in the rocking chair collapsed.

And at the same time.

“Who, who—”

Hearing the noise, the man on the bed sat up.

But of course, it wasn’t a problem.

Awake or asleep, my mace treats everyone equally.

Thump-!

No need for sneaking around, I dashed forward and planted the mace into his face with half my strength.

The goal was to knock out, so the technique’s name should be…

‘Bash sounds about right.’

With a successful ‘Bash’, the initial suppression was completed.

I looked at Misha and said,

“What are you waiting for? Tie them up with the ropes.”

Misha looked at the bloodied trio and replied.

“Do we really need to tie them up…?”

Uh, well…….

Still, as they say, all’s well that ends well.

There’s no harm in being thorough.

That’s my principle.

“Wow, they’re actually still alive…”

The trio, having each taken a hit from my mace, fortunately survived.

“I told you not to worry—”

“But they look like they might die any minute now.”

“…….”

However, their breathing was irregular and fading, as if they might pass away at any moment.

The one who got hit in the face was in the worst shape.

But as long as they were alive, there was no problem.

This is literally a fantasy world, after all.

“There it is.”

I picked a potion bottle from one of the backpacks and sprinkled it on the heads of the unconscious trio.

Just a little bit, because I don’t want to overwhelm them.

Sizzle-.

The reaction appeared with a delay.

“Argh!!! Aaaargh!”

“Hrkraaaa!!”

As their broken heads gradually healed, the trio floundered on the grass like live fish.

I fetch a rocking chair, sit down, and wait for them to come to their senses.

“That barbarian brute…”

Misha looked at me and sneered, but what the hell.

I’d been tricked by that bitch Elisha.

These guys had once tried to kill us.

And Bjorn’s barbarian heart is somehow incapable of feeling sympathy for the enemy.

“You, you are…”

“That barbarian from before!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We’re not your enemies!”

Eventually, the trio regained their senses.

But with all three talking at once, it was overwhelmingly chaotic.

“Just one of you.”

As I wiped the blood off my mace with a cloth, the room fell silent.

The trio, woven together like dried fish, looked at each other and agreed with a glance.

“Look here, it’s all a misunderstanding. A big misunderstanding.”

The chosen spokesperson was the leader, the religious fanatic.

“Let me explain, and then you can untie this—”

“Enough of that, what’s this ‘misunderstanding’ you’re talking about?”

To my question, the religious fanatic began to explain desperately.

“That woman! We were just used by her. We had no idea she was a cursed servant of Carui…!”

Oh, so they’ve come to realize that now?

Looks like something did happen after all.

“So, how about we untie this and talk it out slowly…”

“Enough of that.”

What’s important right now isn’t how wronged and troubled they were.

“Start talking, from the beginning to the end. What exactly happened after we escaped?”

A verification of cause and effect.

That was the only reason I used ‘Bash’ instead of ‘Smash’.

“Uh, well…”

“Don’t even think about spinning a tale.”

“Alright, alright. Though it was our mistake to trust that woman, I’ll tell the truth without hiding anything.”

“Whether you hide something or not is for me to decide.”

The religious fanatic gulped down his saliva.

Then, he began to spill the whole story, which I was unaware of.

“We were tricked by the wicked wench, and somehow there were only three people when we caught up with them.”

Of course, that would have been the case.

It was right when we had just been separated.

It’s infuriating, really.

How could such ridiculous timing exist?

“Continue, will you…?”

“Certainly. As we continued, we ambushed what seemed to be their scout, causing him injury.”

“Surely you don’t mean Rotmiler!”

“I don’t know his name. But don’t worry, with a wound like that, he’ll be alive.”

Anyway, piecing the story together, it went like this:

Ambushed, Rotmiller was incapacitated.

A truly desperate situation.

The dwarf must have made a judgment call.

Only by defeating the enemy scout would they be able to escape unharmed.

“I don’t know what it was, but just like that, there was a burst of light and it knocked us back.”

“When I came to my senses, Anderson had an ice spear through his head.”

“Ah, Anderson was the name of our scout.”

“He wasn’t someone to fall for such a thing…”

“Maybe because we outnumbered them, or he was careless, he couldn’t dodge in time.”

Footnotes aside, the moment the dwarf bought them time.

Dwalki had taken out the opposing scout.

And without looking back, they fled with the injured Rotmiller.

As soon as I heard this story, Misha slapped my back.

“It was all thanks to Hikurod! Hikurod must have killed their scout to save us!”

Well, I don’t know about the dwarf’s true intentions.

But there’s no denying that their actions saved our lives.

Back to the main point.

“With Anderson dead, we couldn’t pursue you any longer. We too ended up hopelessly lost in this forest.”

Excitedly chasing after us, the religious fanatics’ group became similarly stranded upon their scout’s death.

Of course, they were a bit better off than us.

They were five in number and even had a priest among them.

But…

“It was about two days after we started wandering.”

Two days into being stranded.

During a shift keeping watch, conserving energy.

That’s when Elihsa showed her true colors and killed another one of us.

“Seeing him wither away, sucked dry of life, it was clear. She was a wicked follower of Carui!”

“Alright, but why did she kill your friend?”

“I don’t know. The moment we witnessed that horrifying scene, all we could think of was to escape and spread the word.”

Damn, they just wanted to save their own skins.

Even abandoning their comrade.

Anyway, I skipped the rest of their story.

Except for the fact that they were down to three, it was no different from what Misha and I had experienced.

“So, if the misunderstanding is cleared up now, could you untie us—”

“Didn’t I tell you to drop that subject?”

Sighing at their third request for release, I pondered deeply.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do now?”

“Ahem, seeing as we are in similar situations, why not collaborate with us?”

“Just shut up.”

It’s a tough decision.

Of course, I had absolutely no intention of joining forces with them for the remaining two days.
But…

“Ah, come to think of it, we haven’t apologized yet! We’re sorry! We were fools, deceived by that woman’s tricks. We’re sorry!”

There’s a possibility.

Should I really write these guys off as ‘jerks’?

Sure, they caused us a lot of trouble, but in the end, nobody died, did they?

It seems that everyone from the dwarf’s side also survived.

“Of course, we’ll compensate for the harm we caused!”

They’re even proposing material compensation.

But do I really need to kill them?

“Bjorn, I will follow whatever you decide.”

I have killed many until now.

But those were life-or-death situations, and the victims were irredeemable trash.

But what about these guys?

It’s ambiguous.

Yes, as mentioned earlier, there’s some ambiguity

The mindset of a modern-day person, not yet accustomed to these times,is hesitating to make a decision.

“Don’t hesitate! It was a mistake! We never imagined a priest would lie—”

“Be quiet. If you continue, I’m afraid I’ll accidentally crush your head.”

I responded sharply, not to appear weak, while internally continuing my deliberation.

Is it right to kill them?

One last time, I asked myself.

And Bjorn Jandell, the barbarian warrior, answered.

[Does right or wrong matter? Killing them would be easier, why leave trouble behind?]

A brutally pragmatic answer.

Lee Hansoo, a 29-year-old born in Seoul, also voiced his opinion.

[You idiot, what’s there to think about? Killing for a mistake is obviously absurd. But…]

For once, their opinions aligned.

[But that’s the logic of the world we lived in, isn’t it?]

Killing for a single mistake.

Indeed, it’s an unthinkable notion.

If this were the place where I was born and raised.

Squeezing the mace tightly.

That’s why I held the mace.

But perhaps I was still uncertain.

I inadvertently asked Misha.

“What do you think, Misha?”

Misha, who was born and raised in this world, replied.

“I can’t trust these guys.”

“And so?”

“They tried to kill us once, whether it was a mistake or not. I learned from my father when I was young that such people should never be forgiven.”

Hmm, so that’s how it is.

That’s the norm in this world.

Like the fog clearing, my mind became clear.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The reason is simple.

Otherwise, you might end up dead.

Slyly.

Therefore, I raised the mace high.

“It was a mistake, we told you!”

The religious zealot sprawled on the ground cried out.

“A mistake…”

I nodded.

Certainly, it might have been a mistake.

But somehow, I feel like you guys might make another ‘mistake’ in the future.

Crack-!

Therefore, I brought down the mace.

Without hesitation, with all my might.

Crack-!

Again.

Crack-!

Three strikes of the mace, and silence enveloped the surroundings.

「Achievement Unlocked」

Condition: Murder count reaches 10.

Reward: Mental fortitude permanently increases by +1.

I had no intention of justifying my actions.

If so, I would have set a trap and waited for them to make a ‘mistake’.

Killing a ‘jerk’ is good for my mental health, after all.

But…

‘It’s time to let go of such thoughts.’

From the day I opened my eyes in this body.

I knew from the start.

‘Bjorn Jandell.’

From now on, I have to live with this name.

No, not just the name, but completely become this barbarian.

That’s the only way to survive in this world.

Snap-

Blood and flesh fell off the mace.

“Bjorn… are you okay? Your hand is shaking.”

Weakness leads to death.

Mistakes lead to death.

Lack of luck leads to death in this world.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

The trembling in my hand soon stopped.

I stripped the equipment off the religious fanatic’s corpse.

Then, dragging the body clad only in its underwear, I entered the hut.

“Eek? What are you going to do?”

Misha asked in disgust, and I replied.

“Doing what needs to be done.”

Unpleasant tasks that must be done regardless.

Without hesitation, I threw the body into the dying fire.

Whoosh-!

The flames roared back to life in an instant.

A foul smell filled the air.

Or rather, I only thought it was foul.

The robust stomach of a barbarian couldn’t distinguish between the smell of that and the smell of cooking meat.

Whoosh-!

Watching the intensified flames, I exhaled deeply.

Indeed, this too matched the game.
「A new sacrifice has been offered.」
「The maintenance time of the Witch’s Hut has increased by 8 hours.」

With two more logs remaining, it meant we could rest in the hut for at least 24 more hours.

“What are you waiting for? Go rest if you have nothing else to do.”

With that, I lay down on the bed.

Misha was saying something, but honestly, I wasn’t really listening.

“…This is comfortable.”

I closed my eyes and meaninglessly counted from 1.

My weary body finally found rest and slowly drifted to sleep.

Crackle, crackle, crackle-.

The sound of the fire burning grew distant from my consciousness.

‘Sleep is best in bed, after all.’

It wasn’t ironic anymore.

The more I shed the ways of the modern person, the more human I became in this world.

Editor’s Note: If you are reading the chapter please add a comment. Thanks

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