Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 35

‘Hey! Mr. Yandel! Wake up!’

Raven was shaking Bjorn’s shoulder as his unconscious companions began to stir.

‘Raven? What on earth happened…’

‘Bjorn! Is Bjorn dead?!’

‘Miss! I’m so glad you’re safe…’

Questions arose from all around.

Only Raven could answer them.

After all, she hadn’t passed out.

‘The vampire is dead. Mr. Yandel is alive. Tarzin, I’m fine, so could you please stop shouting?’

‘Amazing! To take down a vampire with a single spell!’

As she listened to Murad’s exclamation, she bit her lip, feeling inexplicably frustrated.

The one who defeated the vampire wasn’t the ‘Dark Orb’.

In terms of contribution, it wasn’t like she had no merit, but…

‘…It wasn’t me, it was Mr. Yandel.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Mr. Yandel is the one who defeated the vampire.’

Murad frowned.

‘No, this guy?’

He had praised him as ‘special’ and a ‘great warrior’ before, but he seemed unable to believe that he had defeated a Rank 5 monster.

She couldn’t blame him for feeling that way.

‘If I had only heard the story… I probably would have felt the same way.’

Perhaps it was because she was far away?

She, who wasn’t affected by ‘Pain Sharing,’ had watched the whole thing unfold alone.

Yes, that’s exactly what she did.

She just watched.

What could a mage with depleted mana do?

‘Everyone, thank Mr. Yandel. If it weren’t for him, none of us would have survived.’

‘W-well, that’s true… but could you tell us more about what happened?’

As she wondered how to explain it, Ainar joined the conversation.

‘Then what happened to Bjorn! Shouldn’t we give him a potion right away?’

In other words, he was asking for a potion.

Raven shook her head and replied.

‘Potions… won’t do much good. From what I can see, his body has already mostly recovered.’

If she had to guess, this man wouldn’t need to drink potions much in the future.

He would recover from most injuries quickly.

‘Then why isn’t he waking up yet!’

‘I don’t know either. But…’

‘You seem to have an idea! What is it? Mage! Tell us now!’

Raven sighed and replied.

‘Maybe… it’s exhaustion.’

‘…Exhaustion? Didn’t you say his body was fully healed earlier!’

Ainar placed his dirty hand, stained with dirt and dried blood, on her shoulder.

He looked as if the sky had fallen.

‘What, are you two actually lovers or something?’

‘N-no! Why would you suddenly think that!’

‘Sigh, anyway, I don’t know for sure either. It’s not like I’m a priest. I just know a few similar cases.’

‘Cases? Raven, are these things common?’

‘Not common, but… they do happen sometimes. There are cases where the body is healed, but the mind hasn’t recovered, so they can’t wake up.’

Warriors who have experienced extreme stress that could leave a trauma, or those who have given their all in battle, sometimes fall into this state.

Upon hearing this, Ainar raised his voice.

‘I’ve never heard of such a thing! And it doesn’t make sense! That he can’t wake up because he’s mentally exhausted? Bjorn isn’t that weak!’

Not weak, huh…

She wholeheartedly agreed with that.

If it were a few hours ago, she would have scoffed and moved on, but at least not now.

That’s because she alone had watched him fight the vampire until the very end.

But…

No, that’s why her thoughts became even more firm.

‘To be honest, I’m almost certain. The reason Mr. Yandel isn’t waking up is because of mental exhaustion.’

Unable to wake up due to exhaustion?

This went beyond the realm of mental weakness or strength.

It was a fight where it was natural to feel that way.

‘If she had seen it herself, this woman wouldn’t be saying this to me.’

Perhaps today, she had witnessed an incredibly precious scene.

‘Mage! Then when will Bjorn be able to wake up!’

‘Well, maybe a day at the earliest, or two days at the latest.’

‘Then he’ll wake up in a few hours! Bjorn is a great warrior!’

‘…If that’s the case, why did you even ask?’

Raven’s mood soured again, but she didn’t feel like snapping at him.

It was more like she didn’t have the energy to do so.

In fact, it didn’t sound as absurd as it used to.

‘A great warrior…’

In the vast history, there were less than ten barbarians who officially received that title from the king.

‘Well, it seems like it’s just used as a compliment among barbarians these days.’

Before continuing, she organized her thoughts one last time.

The essence of the Corpse Golem and the essence of the Vampire.

And a barbarian who ate the essence of a Guardian.

He had completed his coming-of-age ceremony last month, and this was his second time entering the labyrinth?

Looking at the barbarian sleeping soundly, she opened her mouth.

‘…Maybe, he really might become one.’

Of course, to get there, he would have to survive dozens more crises like today.

***

‘I survived…’

When I opened my eyes, it was midnight.

For some reason, Ainar was giving me a lap pillow, and as soon as our eyes met, he shouted ‘Bjorn!!!’ making me fully awake.

‘…Where are the others?’

‘They all left! More importantly, Bjorn, are you okay? You’ve been unconscious for three whole days, I was worried!’

Three days had passed?

Then, in terms of time, it was the 7th day?

I quickly got up and checked my current condition.

There were no visible external injuries.

Except for being hungry, I was generally in good health.

‘By the way, Ainar, what is this pants I’m wearing?’

Actually, ‘pants’ was a euphemism.

A piece of cloth that looked like a handkerchief was wrapped around my lower body, covering only the important parts.

To be precise, it was closer to a skirt than pants.

And a minimal-sized one at that.

‘Ah! That’s because the mage gave you some leftover cloth.’

‘…S-so, you were the one who put it on me?’

‘Of course!’

I felt a wave of shame, but it was a little less because Ainar didn’t seem to mind.

Well, it would be a little funny for warriors to be awkward about this kind of thing.

‘There’s no need to be embarrassed. As expected, Bjorn is a great warrior!’

Well, that didn’t mean he could sexually harass me.

‘…So, what happened after that?’

I changed the subject to forget my shame.

I was curious about everything that happened after I lost consciousness. Especially regarding the loot.

‘The Numbers item? Murad took that, and the mage took the rift stone.’

‘What?’

It was a series of surprises from the start.

Since I was alive, it meant I had absorbed his essence… which meant the vampire dropped all three items, right?

What kind of jackpot was this?

‘Oh, right! There was no rolling of dice when distributing the rift stone. The mage insisted that she had to take it to make up for her losses…’

Ainar continued, as if making an excuse.

‘Murad said it was okay, but I said no! But then the mage said something strange.’

‘Strange words?’

‘She said that since you got the biggest thing anyway, you wouldn’t be able to say anything about her taking the rift stone.’

‘It seems like she’s the only one who knows I ate the vampire’s essence.’

I nodded silently.

I had no regrets about this loot distribution.

Whatever the reason, the mage had fed me the essence of the Corpse Golem. Considering the potions she poured on me, the mage had practically only suffered losses.

If she was greedy for the rift stone on top of that, she would just be a thief.

Ainar seemed to think a little differently.

‘I-I said we should wait until you woke up before deciding, but it couldn’t be helped! Everyone left through the portal after waiting for more than half a day!!’

‘You don’t need to blame yourself. It couldn’t be helped, right?’

To be honest, I could imagine the expressions of those who were held back for half a day because of Ainar’s stubbornness…

But it would be better to just praise him here.

‘Thank you. It’s reassuring to have you here.’

‘…O-of course! We’re comrades, aren’t we!’

I checked my belongings, which Ainar had gathered.

A backpack, a mace, and a few pieces of scrap metal that used to be my shield…

‘Still, if I sell them, I’ll get some iron value.’

I put everything I could see into my backpack, then took out food and a canteen to fill my empty stomach.

Then I checked the time.

11:20 PM.

‘There’s less than an hour left before the staircase closes.’

‘Bjorn! If you’re done eating, shouldn’t we get out of here? There’s not much time left!’

‘I can’t do that.’

I refused firmly.

I desperately wanted to leave this hellish place, but…

I had suffered so much, I had to take everything I could, right?

I also wanted to check out the boss room.

‘The Necronomicon was taken by the mage, so there’s only one left.’

I had to move quickly.

***

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

「The labyrinth has been closed.」

「The character is moving to Lapdonia.」

***

I took a breath, feeling the sunlight on my skin for the first time in a while.

‘I barely made it…’

It was tighter than I expected.

Finding the item hidden on the outer wall watchtower ceiling after climbing the ladder didn’t even take 10 minutes, but…

Going to the boss room was tough.

‘…It was all for nothing in the end.’

They waited for half a day, but was that actually the time the mage was investigating?

‘Well, it would be stranger if she just passed by with her personality.’

Walls that were broken in various places.

A torn-off frame.

Even a box of a type I had never seen before, left open.

‘There was definitely some kind of additional reward, and she just swallowed it all up…’

The boss room, which I reached after running at full speed, already had traces of an investigation.

However, rather than anger at being ripped off, I was more curious about what that thing was.

After all, it was a mutated rift that had never been cleared.

Even I, who had been playing for nine years, didn’t know about this element?

My gamer curiosity was growing.

‘There’s no way she’d give it to me if I asked… I’ll just have to ask her indirectly when I see her later.’

Anyway, I searched the surroundings thoroughly in case the mage had missed anything, and time became very tight.

In fact, the staircase closed as soon as I got out of the rift, so it was more than just close.

If I had been careless, I could have been trapped there forever after catching the boss mob.

‘Serum, the fourth son of Kenic! Your scars have increased! I’m jealous!’

‘It’s nothing! Karak, the third son of Panun!’

As I was organizing my thoughts, I heard the voices of barbarians from all around.

Fortunately, they hadn’t found me yet.

I lowered my body to avoid being noticed and headed to the Rank 9 explorer’s exchange.

Fortunately, I arrived early, and the line wasn’t long.

There were no annoying barbarians either.

When I handed over the magic stones, the clerk mechanically exchanged them for currency, just like last time.

‘That’s 231,520 stones.’

230,000 stones.

It was an amount that felt infinitely small compared to the hardships I had endured, but…

‘This isn’t everything.’

I had absorbed two essences in this exploration.

And once I disposed of the physical items, I would make several times more profit than the magic stones.

‘Why is it that magic stones are always a secondary income rather than the main one?’

I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about this.

I was about to pick up the pouch with a bitter smile when…

‘That’s too much for a Rank 9 explorer.’

The clerk took back the pouch he had put down and stared at my face with a meaningful look.

‘What’s in the backpack you’re carrying?’

What’s in it?

There was nothing I couldn’t answer, but…

‘…Why do you ask?’

I felt a chill down my spine.

Looking around, I saw guards quickly approaching from afar.

It seemed like they had pressed some kind of emergency call button hidden under the bank desk.

‘Is this it?’

‘Yes.’

I raised my arms to show my willingness to cooperate with the authorities, but the guards, after exchanging a few words with the clerk, forcefully bound my arms.

Damn it, I barely survived and came back, what is this now?

‘Barbarian, let’s go over there and talk for a bit.’

Instinctively, I felt that something was fucked up.