Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 61

“Move it.”

I quickly left the spot.

Well, after all that goddamn struggle to hunt a Carnibaro in under five minutes, there was no time to rest.

“So, are you feeling a bit better now?”

“I feel like I can live after resting a bit. Thank you. But how long did I sleep?”

“It must have been about three hours.”

That’s a lie.

In reality, it was probably around an hour at most.

However…….

“Th-that long? No wonder…….”

In professional terms, it’s called a placebo [a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect].

Believing that way would be more helpful for her mental and physical health.

Well, the problem was me now.

“Bjorn, you don’t look so good.”

Misha, who had woken up from her nap, was no longer lagging behind when moving.

However, my speed had actually slowed down.

Well, it’s only natural.

Just because I have high natural regeneration doesn’t mean my fatigue disappears.

“How about I carry you on my back so you can get some sleep?”

No, I appreciate the thought, but…….

You have to say something that makes sense.

“I’m fine, I can manage.”

Of course, it’s tough.

I could fall asleep in a second if I just lay down and closed my eyes.

But…….

“Let’s pick up the pace a bit more.”

Again, there’s no other choice.

After a cold analysis of my current condition.

I concluded that I could only hold out for a few more hours even if I pushed myself. After that, my body wouldn’t hold up, no matter how strong my willpower was.

Therefore…….

“Speed up?”

“Yes, that’s the only way.”

We need to find a safe zone while my stamina holds up.

It’s randomly generated in the Witch’s Forest at certain intervals and lasts for eight hours.

In that place, field effects are canceled, and no monsters appear.

In other words, we can sleep safely.

“But what if we can’t find it?”

Well, then the situation will get worse.

Still, the last time we found a safe zone was two days ago, wasn’t it?

It’s about time another one appeared.

‘I don’t know about me, but she seems to be lucky…….’

Just look at the last time we found a safe zone.

She was whining about her legs hurting, so we took a short break, and a safe zone appeared right next to us.

“Misha, from now on, you lead the way.”

“M-me?”

“Just go wherever you want. It’s not like we’re actually trying to find it by knowing the way anyway.”

I’m not one to believe in superstitions, but I put Misha in the lead, just in case. And we moved quickly, only taking down the aggro monsters we encountered.

How long had it been since then?

“O-oh? Bjorn! Look over there! Isn’t that it?”

“…It seems like it.”

Is this the law of the chosen ones?

Surprisingly, in less than 30 minutes, we found a peculiar tree.

Its appearance was similar to other trees, but a faint purple glow was emanating from its bark.

Proof that it’s a medium for a safe zone.

“Good job, Misha.”

“Hehe! You can praise me more!”

What’s with her again?

I ruffled her hair as if to say she did well, then approached the tree.

And together with Misha, I placed my hand on the bark.

***

「The character enters the Witch’s Cabin.」

***

The moment I put my hand on the tree.

Purple mist swirls around us.

Soon, a warm breeze reminiscent of spring blows, scattering the mist that had been covering all sides.

Whoosh-!

When the mist completely disappeared.

The gloomy and somber scenery of the forest was nowhere to be seen.

The ground was a lawn with wildflowers in full bloom.

The skinny, thorny trees that had only been covered in rotten vines were now full of lush leaves.

“Bjorn! Look at this! Aren’t the flowers so pretty?”

Oh, yeah.

But we saw that last time too…….

“Stop with the useless stuff and let’s go inside and rest.”

“Hmph, you’re such a barbarian with no romance!”

Romance? That’s something you look for when you’re doing okay.

If you’re starving to death and try to be romantic, others will just see you as pathetic or self-deceptive.

Creak-.

Leaving behind Misha, who was strangely hyped up, I opened the door of the cabin in the center.

A bookshelf, a dining table, a carpet, a fireplace.

Unlike the name Witch’s Cabin, the interior wasn’t anything special.

A normal cabin that anyone could imagine.

‘Still, I think Raven or Dwarki would have liked this place.’

Magicians like these kinds of unique spaces.

There are books on the bookshelf, so they would have checked that out first thing.

But I’m a barbarian.

And one who’s extremely exhausted.

Thud-

So, I went straight to the bed and collapsed.

And I buried my face in the pillow and muttered.

“You sleep on the chair this time.”

“Ah, okay! You must be tired, so you should rest comfortably.”

I was physically at my limit, so I sent Misha to the rocking chair where I had slept last time.

Tada-dat, tadat.

When I closed my eyes, I could hear the sound of firewood burning in the fireplace. It seemed Misha had settled down as well, as the chair was creaking rhythmically.

Creak, creak.

“…Sleep well, Bjorn.”

My consciousness gradually faded away.

***

Was it because I was so exhausted?

I had a dream for the first time in a while.

I was at work as usual.

I was doing administrative work, and when I got off work, my ex-girlfriend came to pick me up.

…She was wearing black stockings.

Anyway, we went to my place and ordered chicken, and then we each did our own thing.

I played games.

And she quietly read a book in the corner.

That comfortable silence continued.

When it was time to sleep, we naturally embraced each other and fell asleep.

That was the whole dream.

The moment I realized that all of this was a dream, I was kicked back into reality.

A small cabin I found while wandering through the Witch’s Forest.

The old bed there.

The huge barbarian body filling it.

When I wake up from a short sleep, I have to lead this monstrous body and fight real monsters to survive—

This was my reality.

‘…So, let’s do what needs to be done.’

I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep anymore anyway, so I turned my head to check the fireplace.

The firewood that had been burning brightly before I went to sleep had lost its strength and was almost out.

In other words, it meant that this cabin would be closing soon.

I also checked the time to see how much pure sleep I had gotten.

‘So, I slept for almost seven hours.’

It was a bit strange.

That my body woke up at such an appropriate time without an alarm.

“…….”

I forced my closing eyes open and looked at the ceiling.

As I slowly woke up, a strong headache started to bloom in the back of my head.

It was as if my brain was whining that it needed to sleep more.

If I sympathized with that weak mind, there would be no end to it, so I raised my upper body.

I don’t know why, but…….

‘When did she climb up here again?’

Misha was sleeping soundly, hugging my body and using my waist as a pillow.

She was even drooling.

She was breathing steadily, making a purring sound, as if she was quite comfortable.

‘Was the chair uncomfortable?’

I lifted Misha’s head and roughly rolled her to the side, then got out of bed.

It would be helpful for her to wake up early to adjust her condition, but for now, let’s let her sleep a little longer.

Crack, crack-

I stretched and loosened my stiff body.

And I went outside the cabin to bask in the sun.

Honestly, it was quite refreshing.

‘…Was that why Misha liked looking at the flowers?’

Thinking about it, I can understand Misha’s sensitivity to some extent, but it’s still hard to empathize with.

It’s not that it’s wrong, it’s just a matter of preference.

When you bask in the sun, you feel like you’re synthesizing vitamin D, but flowers don’t even have a basis for self-hypnosis.

The efficiency of the placebo is reduced.

Anyway, should I wake her up now?

“Misha, wake up.”

“Ugh, just five more minutes…….”

“Get a grip, it’s almost time to leave this place.”

“Then, at least until then…….”

What is she saying?

She seemed to be too sleepy to think rationally, so I forcibly hugged her waist and lifted her up.

And I shook her up and down.

“Aah! Aah! O-okay! I’m awake! So stop it!!”

“I will.”

“You barbaric old man!!”

You should have woken up when I told you to.

I handed her a canteen, seeing Misha huffing and puffing.

She probably just grumbled once, she doesn’t seem to be actually angry.

“…Ah, thank you.”

She seemed to be waking up, so Misha and I sat down and munched on bread and jerky.

I don’t really have an appetite right after waking up…….

But there won’t be time to eat comfortably when we go out.

“If you’re done eating, loosen up your body. There’s not much time left.”

“Okay.”

Soon, Misha started doing something similar to a national exercise, slowly waking up her body’s senses.

But is it because she’s an agility character?

Her body is incredibly flexible.

“Um, Bjorn…….”

While I was organizing my backpack during the remaining time, Misha spoke to me while stretching.

“What is it?”

“That, Hikurod, Dwarki, and Rotmuller, you know…….”

“Just say it clearly.”

“What do you think happened to those three? Do you think they’re still alive?”

Well, I knew that question was coming.

I thought it was about time it came up.

People tend to start thinking about other things when they feel like they’re doing okay.

I answered without hesitation.

“I don’t know.”

“Of course, but can’t you at least make a prediction?”

That’s not a prediction, it’s wishful thinking.

I cut off the conversation decisively before it got unnecessarily long.

“Whatever my prediction is, it won’t change anything.”

Whether they’re dead or alive, it doesn’t matter.

Even if they were in a difficult situation, what could we do, stranded in the Witch’s Forest?

We need to focus on surviving first.

Anyway, we’ll naturally find out the results when we return to the city, won’t we?

“So, if your body is all loosened up, check your equipment one more time.”

That’s all we can do right now.

Tadat-

The last piece of firewood that was burning went out.

「The Witch’s Cabin has been closed.」

「The character moves to the Witch’s Forest.」

It’s time to go out now.

***

「The status ailment [Witch’s Eye] is upgraded to level 6.」

「The status ailment [Witch’s Eye] is upgraded to level 7.」

「The status ailment [Witch’s Eye] is upgraded to level 8.」

「The status ailment [Witch’s Eye] is upgraded to level 9……」

***

Day 11 of entering the labyrinth.

In other words, it’s been 8 days since we were stranded in the Witch’s Forest.

「The status ailment [Witch’s Eye] is upgraded to level 10.」

Now, there’s really no time to even take a breath.

We have to keep walking.

Now that [Witch’s Eye] has reached its highest level.

It’s calculated that a Carnibaro will appear if we stay in one place for just 3 minutes.

‘Still, the silver lining is… I guess things can’t get any worse from here.’

That is, assuming no other variables arise.

Of course, there’s a possibility that the variables could be positive.

For example, essences, essences, and essences…….

‘Shit.’

While wandering through the Witch’s Forest, we had to hunt many monsters, whether we wanted to or not.

But no essences dropped.

It was a very regrettable part.

If anything dropped, our combat power would increase even a little bit…….

Some essences had the power to completely change this situation by 180 degrees.

The prime example is this bastard.

“Bjorn! There’s a Witch’s Lamp!”

“Let’s quickly catch it and move on.”

Witch’s Lamp, a level 9 spirit-type monster.

Its appearance is just like a will-o’-the-wisp [a ghostly light seen by travelers at night, often over marshy ground].

Its combat power is also terrible, and it can be easily defeated with elemental damage.

Its active skill is also trash.

If it’s anywhere other than the Witch’s Forest.

「Witch’s Lamp casts [Witch’s Lantern].」

A summoning skill, [Witch’s Lantern].

Surprisingly, the summoned creature is a ‘Witch’s Lamp’.

That’s right, this bastard summons itself.

In other words, if you eat this guy’s essence, you can summon and control Witch’s Lamps.

“Essence, come out!!”

Misha chanted a spell and quickly defeated the Witch’s Lamps that had multiplied from three to six.

However, as expected, there was no essence this time either.

Huh, if only this guy’s essence would drop, we could use him as a guide and get out of here right away…….

‘In the end, do we have to hold out until the last day?’

Realistically, that’s the most likely scenario.

The labyrinth closes on the 15th day on the 3rd floor.

If we hold out for four more days, we can return to the city.

The problem is that we can’t even confidently guarantee that we can hold out for those few days.

“Misha, how’s your stamina?”

“Um, it’s tough, but I’m okay since I rested a while ago.”

Yesterday evening, we were lucky enough to find a cabin again and were able to rest for a while.

It was the first discovery and rest in almost 50 hours.

In other words, it means that we had been moving without sleep or proper meals all that time.

‘And we only got to rest for 4 hours because we found it late.’

Finding a cabin is purely luck.

Therefore, if we’re unlucky, we might not find a single cabin for the remaining four days.

That’s why we hunt with our eyes burning whenever we see a Witch’s Lamp.

It’s better to try everything we can—

“Bjorn.”

Misha, who was walking in the lead, stopped.

I also stopped my thoughts and checked ahead.

“An explorer.”

For the first time since we were stranded, we encountered a being that wasn’t a monster.

And it was still unknown.

“A barbarian and a beastkin? Are you two really the only ones?”

I wonder if this will be a positive variable or a negative one.