Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 110

It’s more common than you might think for a barbarian to team up with humans.

No matter how high their physical stats and combat senses are, they need companions from the second floor onwards.

In fact, forming a team and heading to the second floor within two or three months is the standard route.

‘The problem is that it’s rare to meet a decent one.’

Fairies, dwarves, beastmen, etc.

Other races are relatively better off.

They’re less naive than barbarians who have only honed their ‘combat skills’ in the holy land… [Referring to a place where barbarians traditionally train]

And their hearts aren’t sold for high prices as magic materials.

[What are the others doing? Most of them are dead.]

Less than a third of the barbarians who went through the coming-of-age ceremony with me are still alive.

Was that really because of ‘monsters’?

‘No way.’

It was because of that reasonable doubt that I focused even more on eavesdropping on their conversation.

But…

“Well then, I’ll rest now, so please take care of me.”

“It’s my turn next, right?”

They all fell asleep in turn, and the topic of the baby barbarian didn’t continue after the beginning.

Of course, just those three lines of conversation were enough for me to roughly figure out what kind of guys they were, so it wasn’t a big problem.

‘It doesn’t seem like they’re planning anything today.’

They’re probably planning to use him to the fullest and kill him on the last day.

That’s much more efficient.

‘…What should I do?’

I was conflicted.

As a barbarian myself, I couldn’t just ignore a baby barbarian in danger.

But I couldn’t just follow them around forever, waiting for them to reveal their greed.

‘Should I just go and kill them all?’

I chuckled and shook my head.

It’s an easy and convenient method, but it’s not the best.

The problem that there’s no evidence that those three are looters was irrelevant. I was confident that I could convince Misha or the baby barbarian with plausible words.

But…

‘Even if I do, the same thing will just repeat.’

Sometimes, there are things you can only learn by experiencing them firsthand.

‘Since the main purpose was training anyway, I can invest a day…’

After much deliberation, I came up with a plan and woke Misha up.

“Misha.”

“Uhh… ?”

I gestured for her to be quiet and moved to a place where we couldn’t be heard.

Then, I briefly explained the plan.

Misha rubbed her eyes but listened without complaint.

“Hmm… so, you think those guys are looters?”

“Yeah, if it’s okay with you, I’d like you to take some time to confirm it.”

“I don’t mind. If he’s a barbarian, I can’t just call him a stranger.”

“…Not a stranger?”

“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant… maybe he’s someone I’ve met before.”

It seems she’s referring to the times I acted as a guide for young warriors whenever I entered the labyrinth for the past few months…

Well, maybe he’s one of them.

I’ve advised them countless times to be careful of humans, but it doesn’t really sink in until they experience it.

“Then it’s settled. Go change your clothes.”

There was something to prepare for the plan.

***

I put the mace, the lytenium breastplate, and the shield in my bag.

‘As for the weapon… I can just say I lost it.’

After finishing my preparations, I checked my current state. Except for the helmet, I was the perfect image of a baby barbarian with no iron equipment.

As a bonus, there was a beastman standing next to me.

“Ugh… this is uncomfortable…”

For the perfect plan, I had her wear Zensia’s beginner equipment set instead of her usual gear.

But Misha keeps touching her chest area.

It’s kind of distracting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? It’s just that the chest area is too tight, even if I ignore everything else…”

“Chest area?”

When I glanced at her, Misha hit her solar plexus.

It was so cold that I could feel it in my bones, so the cold damage must have been significant.

“Where are you looking? It’s definitely not because I’m fatter than that woman, okay?”

No, I didn’t say anything.

I was just looking because it was an unexpected complaint. The size of the light armor she was wearing before would have been the same.

When I pointed out the contradiction, Misha replied nonchalantly.

“The old one was small too, but at least it didn’t have iron plates.”

Well, in that case.

Zensia and Misha.

Both were agile characters with similar figures, but if you looked closely, there would be differences.

For example, their bone structure.

She’s quite tall, even if you look at her like this.

I haven’t measured, but she must be around 170 [cm, a common height measurement].

Her impression is also a bit cold, so I thought she was a prickly type at first.

“It’s just that the chest area is tight, and the rest is actually loose. Got it?”

“Got it.”

I didn’t know what she wanted, so I just gave a vague answer.

But sensing that, Misha sighed deeply.

“Hah, yeah… how would you know about a woman’s body?”

“Yeah, you’re right about everything.”

“Are you going to keep answering so half-heartedly?”

“If you’re ready, let’s go.”

It wasn’t the time to be having pointless conversations, so I ended the conversation and moved back to the previous spot.

Deliberately making a lot of noise to announce our presence.

“Behel—laaaaaaaa!!”

“Kyaa! Why are you suddenly yelling!”

“I just felt like it!”

“What?”

Misha looked at me with an absurd expression, but the effect was great.

“Wh-who is it!”

An immediate shout from beyond the darkness.

“Oh! There are people over there!”

I shouted innocently and ran towards the direction of the sound.

Soon, the invisible distance of the labyrinth ended, and four explorers who had lit a bonfire came into view.

Three humans and one baby barbarian soundly asleep.

“Stop, don’t come any closer.”

The three humans were already awake and wary of us.

“Royce, wake that guy up first.”

The archer called Royce kicked the baby barbarian to wake him up.

“Wh-what? Is it a monster?”

“They’re explorers.”

“Explorers? But why are you waking me up? I was sleeping so well…”

“I told you before, didn’t I? You have to be careful of explorers as much as monsters.”

“Ah! I remember! But… that guy is one of our kind?”

After nodding at the archer’s words, the baby barbarian found me and waved his hand excitedly.

“I am Caron, son of Tarson!”

“I am Bjorn, son of Thor!”

I went ahead and approached him, shaking his hand and bumping shoulders with him. As I glanced around, everyone’s expressions were a sight to behold.

The three humans, and even Misha, who had been warned.

‘What the hell are these barbarian bastards doing?’

They were watching us with that kind of look.

And perhaps sensing this?

The baby barbarian looked at me as if to say not to worry, then spoke to his companions.

“Everyone, put down your weapons! Bjorn, son of Thor, is not a bad explorer!”

“Yeah! I’m not a bad explorer!”

At our words, the archer and the spearman’s gazes focused on one man.

He seemed to be the leader…

The man sighed and nodded, and everyone lowered their weapons. It seemed they thought it would be ridiculous to remain wary until the end.

“So, barbarian—”

“Bjorn, son of Thor.”

“Right, Thor—”

“Thor is my father’s name.”

“Ahem, Bjorn—”

“We’re not that close yet, so I’d appreciate it if you called me by my full name.”

The leader, who had been interrupted three times in a row, seemed quite pissed but mustered his patience and put on a smiling face.

Then, he spoke to me again.

“Alright, Bjorn, son of Thor?”

“Speak.”

“If you don’t have any business, I’d like you to leave. As you can see, we were resting.”

The leader’s words were reasonable and logical.

It’s customary and polite for explorers not to approach each other unless necessary.

But…

So what?

The current me is a big and precious baby barbarian who wouldn’t know such things.

I shouted as if it was a good thing.

“You’re resting? What a coincidence! We were just looking for a place to rest too!”

“So… what does that have to do with us?”

“It’s fate that we met, so let’s rest together! You know, like, night buddies? Yeah, isn’t there something like that!”

“Night buddies?”

The three humans’ faces twisted grotesquely, as if they had heard something they shouldn’t have.

It’s understandable.

Finding night buddies is a culture limited to the first floor [of the labyrinth].

They probably never imagined that a barbarian would offer them a night buddy proposal on the second floor, where they travel in teams.

“Haa…”

The leader massaged his forehead as if he didn’t know where to start explaining.

But in the meantime.

“Oh, that sounds good. Come here, I’ve laid down and this spot is a little less hard.”

The baby barbarian nodded in agreement.

It was a total mess.

The leader, displaying superhuman patience, explained the customs of explorers.

In short, it was simple.

“So, you’re saying… you don’t make night buddies from the second floor onwards?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you understand, then—”

Well, understanding is for those who intend to understand.

I opened my mouth as if I was genuinely pathetic.

“You guys are so stupid! If we all sleep together, we can sleep more!”

“Huh?”

“If you have a brain, think about it. There are four of you and two of us. If seven of us take turns on watch, each person can… anyway, we can sleep more!”

A barbarian-style argument that was hopeless from start to finish.

Everyone was dumbfounded, as if they had heard a hallucination.

Ah, except for one person.

“That’s… true…! Why haven’t explorers done that before?”

Seeing the baby barbarian nodding vigorously at my argument, did he realize that further conversation was meaningless?

“Listen, we’ll take care of our side, so you guys take your stuff and—”

The leader turned his gaze from me to Misha, then suddenly stopped.

It seemed he had finally recognized her face.

The voice that had been filled with annoyance had changed.

“Ahem, that’s what’s usually done, but what do you think?”

Perhaps she didn’t like the way he was scanning her.

Misha stiffened, but when I subtly gave her a look, she changed her expression.

“Well…? I don’t really know… but since there’s a barbarian on your side too, you don’t seem like dangerous people…”

“Haha, the same goes for you.”

“Anyway, he lost his weapon, so I was worried about leaving him on watch alone. So, if it’s okay with you, I think it would be fine to just spend the night together…”

“Oh dear, you lost your weapon?”

The man looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes at Misha’s words.

It seemed he had finally realized that I was empty-handed without a weapon.

“Ah, a weapon? I lost it by mistake while fighting a monster!”

“Is that so?”

When I told him the excuse I had made up, the man just accepted it.

As expected, barbarians are OP [overpowered, a gaming term for being very strong].

‘Anyway, it seems like I’ve spread enough bait…’

I made a final proposal in a clear voice.

“So, are we going to be night buddies or not? Decide quickly. I’m getting sleepy.”

For the record, if they rejected this proposal here, I was planning to leave right away.

If they rejected it after all this, there was a much higher chance that I had misunderstood these three.

But…

“Well… it’s not a normal situation, but…”

The leader trailed off, exchanged glances with the three humans, and then smiled brightly.

“Since you say you’re in a difficult situation, it would be too heartless to send you away like this.”

“I can’t understand if you say it so difficultly.”

“…If you want, you can stay the night.”

I barely held back a laugh, as his true intentions were so obvious.

Everyone has a plan.

***

A one-night relationship that somehow came to be.

Well, it sounds a bit strange when I put it like that, but anyway.

First, we introduced ourselves briefly.

“This is Royce, Victor, and I’m Briol.”

The archer Royce, the spearman Victor.

And the leader and hammer warrior, Briol.

‘…There’s no Hans.’

Could it be, a fake name?

No, if he used a fake name, the baby barbarian over there would have thought it was strange?

I felt a strange unease as Misha and I lay down together nearby.

I desperately wanted to spread out a blanket…

But if I did, they would see me using an expandable backpack.

“You guys rest well. We’ll put you last on the watch.”

“Oh, you guys are really kind explorers!”

“Hahaha… this guy is something else.”

Anyway, as soon as we lay down, Misha whispered in my ear.

“Bjorn.”

“Be quiet.”

“Do we really have to go this far?”

Although she was following my instructions, Misha didn’t seem to like the current situation.

Well, even if they’re just weaklings, it must be uncomfortable both physically and mentally to lie down defenselessly.

But…

“Just bear with it. I’ll grant you one wish later.”

“…Really? You promised?”

I stuck to this plan, even going so far as to throw a new carrot at Misha.

It was worth it.

Today, the baby barbarian Caron Tarson will be reborn as a warrior.

One who distrusts humans and defeats looters.