Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 298

The barbarian’s naming system is incredibly unique.

If a child is a son, they use their biological father’s name as their surname, and if it’s a daughter, they use their biological mother’s name as their surname.

Therefore, there are no clans within the tribe, and all barbarians consider each other family.

Well, not that it matters right now.

‘Yandel Jarku.’

The possibility of a namesake is very low.

How many ‘Yandel, the third son of Jarku’ could there be?

It’s practically safe to assume he’s my biological father.

But……

“Hahaha! How long are you going to leave my hand hanging like this!”

Right, let’s get a grip first.

Biological father? So what?

I can be surprised and flustered, but there’s no need to be this out of it.

It’s not like I’m the real Bjorn Yandel anyway.

“Ah, I was lost in thought for a moment.”

I shook his hand and stepped back.

That’s the end of the introductions.

Carlton awkwardly laughed and got to the point.

The first thing explorers from different factions should do when they meet in a rift.

“Haha, that’s enough with the introductions. Since we’ll be together for a while, let’s discuss how to distribute the loot.”

As soon as the distribution of loot was mentioned, Amelia grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

“Let’s have a quick discussion with our companion.”

Huh? A discussion?

I tilted my head but followed her obediently.

And once we were alone, I quietly asked.

“Why did you suddenly say we needed to discuss? We already decided how to distribute the loot.”

“I didn’t call you over because of the loot.”

“Then why?”

Amelia cautiously asked in response to my question.

“Are you okay……?”

Only then did I understand why she had pulled me aside.

She must have noticed why I froze up.

“I’m fine. I was a little surprised, but I won’t do anything you’re worried about.”

“I’m not asking because I’m worried about you doing something……”

Huh? If not that, then what?

As I stared at her, Amelia trailed off.

“Never mind, if you’re okay, then it’s none of my business. Let’s go back. We’ll distribute the loot as we decided earlier.”

Having pretended to finish our discussion, we returned to the center and officially discussed the loot distribution, which ended quickly without any major disputes.

After all, we didn’t come here for the essence [a magical substance].

“Are you really okay with just taking the magic stones……?”

We decided to give them all the essence that came out, and in return, we would take everything else.

“It’s not just the magic stones, but also the Numbers items [items with special numerical properties] and rift stones.”

“But it’s not certain that we can even catch the guardian, is it?”

“That’s our problem, so don’t worry about it.”

“Well, if that’s the case.”

Carlton looked bewildered at the conditions that were too favorable for them, but he didn’t say anything more.

With that, the loot issue was settled.

“……Yandel, come here!”

Ugh, I really can’t get used to that.

Every time my name is called, I flinch for no reason.

“Huh? I was going to talk to them a bit more……”

“You can do that later. I saw that the axe blade was dull earlier, so go sharpen it with a whetstone.”

“Huh? It seems fine to me…… Alright!”

Anyway, as soon as the loot discussion ended, Yandel Jarku was called away by his companions, and we didn’t approach them either.

And so, an awkward time passed with us keeping our distance from each other.

“What are they talking about over there?”

“They’re speculating about our intentions for not taking the essence.”

“Speculating?”

I thought they were being overly cautious, but when I thought about it, it was probably natural for them.

Not taking the essence could be interpreted as us being strong enough not to need the essence of the 3rd floor rift.

They must be uneasy because they don’t know who we are……

“Bjorn, what kind of people are your parents?”

Then, out of the blue, Amelia asked me.

Her intentions were so obvious that I chuckled.

Parents, huh?

“Are you curious about my biological father?”

“A little.”

“Then I’m sorry to say, I don’t know much either. Other than that he died in a labyrinth when I was very young.”

It wasn’t a made-up story, it was the truth.

Not because I’m an evil spirit, but because even the original owner of this body knew almost nothing about his father.

It was a common occurrence in barbarian society.

99% of the members of this race make a living by exploring labyrinths.

It’s inevitable that the mortality rate is high.

“Let’s stop talking about this.”

When I spoke firmly, Amelia didn’t pry any further and leaned against the wall, starting to chew on jerky.

How much time had passed?

Drrrrrrr.

The tightly closed door in front of us began to open.

“It seems the portals on the other side are all closed too.”

It was time to start exploring the rift.

***

The White Temple is a competitive rift.

Only one team can enter the boss room, and it’s decided on a first-come, first-served basis.

In that sense, we had a good start.

Thanks to the 5-person entry limit being reached quickly, we were able to deal with issues like loot distribution in advance……

“Alright, let’s go. Ah, but who will go first?”

If you’re going to waste energy on formations, you should have done it earlier.

“I’ll go first.”

“Ah! Then I’ll stand next to you–”

“Yandel!”

“……?”

“Come here. Monsters can come from behind too.”

“Ah, alright!”

As I stood in front, the battle formation naturally took shape.

Jarku at the very back, and the other three in the center.

Of course, the formation didn’t mean much to us.

After all, this is a 3rd floor rift.

And it’s a 5-person difficulty.

‘Let’s clear this quickly and get out before anything troublesome happens.’

With that thought in mind, I stepped through the door, and a stone chamber with the same structure as the previous temple appeared.

The area was similar, but there was only one statue.

And……

Swishhhhhh.

The light emanating from the blue gem held in the statue’s hand spread throughout the chamber like a mist.

‘It’s a boss type from the start.’

Having only identified the characteristics of this room through the color, I stretched my neck and strode into the light mist.

Then, Carlton panicked and warned me.

“W-Wait! We don’t know what might come out……”

Well, right. You guys don’t know the details.

I thought you might since you know it’s a competitive structure.

Now that I see it, it seems you’ve only heard a little about what the White Temple is like.

Thud.

At that moment, a huge shadow appeared from beyond the mist.

It was bipedal and nearly 5 meters tall.

The Blue Armor Colossus.

Originally, it was a mid-boss type enemy that 3rd and 4th floor explorers would have to fight in a 5-person team.

However, it’s still just a monster from a 3rd floor rift.

In terms of experience, its rank is only 6th grade……

‘Even in terms of brute force, it’s lower than 5th grade.’

Even as a mid-boss, it’s nothing compared to a 5th grade monster like a troll.

Therefore……

“Be–”

Ah, I shouldn’t do that.

“Ugaaaaaaaah!!”

I let out a primal scream and dashed forward.

“Wait! We should fight together……”

Carlton said something from behind, but there was no reason to listen.

It’s better for everyone if I show my strength rather than hide it.

‘Giantification.’

First, I match my size to the opponent.

‘Leap.’

I jump up and close the distance in an instant.

And……

‘Swing.’

I swing with all my might.

Crack-!

With that basic combo, the neck of the colossus wearing blue armor was bent into a deformed shape.

“W-What kind of power……!”

Newbies’ praises followed from behind, but I felt rather bitter.

Is this the plight of a tank?

I can’t even one-shot it with my current strength.

How embarrassing.

I should have just left it to the dealer [a damage-focused character].

“Emily!”

As I called for the dealer, I felt a presence behind me.

And……

Thwack.

A dagger overflowing with aura pierced the colossus’s heart.

Crack-!

The colossus disappeared into light, and the mist that had filled the surroundings vanished.

The situation ended 3 seconds after the start of the battle.

“O-Oh, aura……”

“Why are such people on the 3rd floor……”

The newbies from 20 years ago started to babble.

They finally realized it.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following?”

“A-Ah, we’re going……!”

That they had boarded a high-speed bus.

***

The 3rd floor rift has a stage-like structure.

Clearing one room opens the next, and the team that finishes the fastest gets the right to enter the boss room.

Crack-!

Even after clearing the first room in 3 seconds, Amelia and I showed our true abilities and cleared the rooms at high speed.

However, it was rare to finish everything in a few seconds like the first stage.

If there are boss types, there are also wave types.

“Ugaaaaaaaah!!”

Monsters poured out for a set time, or mobs that used traps or mental abilities appeared.

As we passed through rooms with various concepts, the difficulty of the stages gradually increased.

That was the characteristic of the White Temple.

Each time a stage is cleared, it inflicts a status ailment on the characters or gives permanent buffs to the monsters that will appear in the next stage.

So usually, you don’t just run through like this.

“Wait! I’ve heard about that pattern before. It’s said that something that can remove the curse on us is hidden here……”

As Carlton advised, the standard strategy is to activate the hidden elements in each room.

There are hints for that in each room.

At crossroads, you look at the patterns and go to the room that can remove the curse.

But……

“Forget it, I’m not in the mood for that.”

“Not in the mood? What kind of bizarre–”

“You talk too much. Just follow me.”

“……”

I skipped everything that took even a little time.

I judged that even if the difficulty increased, it wouldn’t be a problem to clear.

That’s how we were breaking through the rift like crazy.

“Emily, why isn’t this door opening?”

“That’s the characteristic of the gold room. I don’t know why, but you have to wait about 3 hours for it to open.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Having reached the middle point of the rift, we finally gathered in one place to rest.

“Are we going to rest here?”

I asked, implying that it would be more comfortable to stay apart like before, and Carlton laughed awkwardly.

“It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Well, that’s true.

But I didn’t expect him to be so honest.

As I was chuckling, Carlton apologized.

“I apologize. At first, I was suspicious of you. I thought you might stab us in the back.”

“But not anymore?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“If you had bad intentions, we would have been dead a long time ago. It’s not like you two don’t have the skills to break through the rift without us three.”

Carlton, who gave a logical reason, continued.

“More than anything, you don’t seem like the kind of people who would do that.”

“Is it intuition?”

“Yes. Not mine, but that friend’s.”

At the end of Carlton’s gaze, there was a barbarian warrior sitting and munching on jerky.

Now that I see it, his profile looks similar to mine.

“Rest.”

After a brief conversation with Carlton, I got up from my seat and approached Jarku.

“Oh, what brings you here? Ah, do you want some too?”

As soon as I came, Jarku smiled innocently and offered me jerky.

I took it and put it in my mouth.

For reference, there was no need to take off my helmet. I had it made so that I could lift and lower the mouth area for times like this.

“Isn’t that uncomfortable? If it were me, I don’t think I could last a day in that.”

“It’s fine once you get used to it.”

“Haha! Is that the human adaptability that everyone talks about!”

Jarku laughed heartily, spread out his backpack, and lay down on the floor. And then he asked an unexpected question.

“Bjorn, do you have any children?”

“……No.”

“Is that so? I do.”

“What’s their name?”

“Bjorn. Bjorn, the son of Yandel, that’s me.”

Right, you really are the biological father of this body.

More than anything, as the solid evidence was placed before my eyes, I felt a sense of constriction in my chest.

“What do you think? It’s a pretty good name, isn’t it?”

“……I think so.”

After that, Jarku rambled on unilaterally for a long time. Most of it was about his child, and I silently listened to him.

Then it happened.

Thump-

As I watched him speak in an increasingly bright voice, I realized that I couldn’t make eye contact with him anymore.

So I looked away.

Then, I saw Amelia observing me from afar with a somewhat pitiful look.

Thanks to that, I realized the emotion that was in my heart.

“Hehe, he’ll surely become a great warrior. A child with my blood and hers–”

“Stop!”

“Huh?”

“Stop, I’m going to go now……”

It was guilt.