Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 358

The Screaming Witch, Rilanne Vivian, slowly descended to the ground. As soon as her feet touched the earth, she shouted,

“Necrapeto! Are you crazy? Why did you just let them go!”

The man, whose flesh was just beginning to grow back on his bones, frowned at her hysterical tone.

“Still, I’m older than you, you know…”

“Ha! Is this the time to be worrying about that? Tell me, why did you let those two go? If the Captain finds out about this, he won’t let it slide!”

Vivian shouted nervously, pointing with her index finger at the faded magic circle, its light now gone.

The man retorted, sounding annoyed.

“Huh, why should I be the one getting scolded? Asking a necromancer to engage in close combat is unreasonable in the first place. And Vivian, you were watching too, weren’t you?”

The woman, who had been about to snap back, flinched at his unexpectedly sensitive reaction.

However, there was something she really wanted to argue about.

“…But you didn’t even use the Call of the Underworld!”

Vivian clung to the core concept of the Corpse Collector [a type of necromancer].

However…

“Why would I need to use that?”

The man simply reacted as if he was dumbfounded.

“Because if you had used it, the Lighthouse Keeper wouldn’t have been captured!”

That wasn’t wrong.

If he had used the Underworld Staff, one of the top-tier artifacts among the Double Numbers [a ranking system for powerful magical items], he could have removed the man who was charging like a tank from the battlefield.

But…

“If I use that, one of us has to die to return. And you’re telling me to use that on someone we have no information on? When I can 100% survive by just leaving them alone?”

“…You had a new ability this time too.”

“If that gets out, the royal family will prepare a counter-strategy in advance. Who would benefit from that? If I’m in a dangerous situation and have to rely on that ability, and I’m held back because of this, will Vivian save me then? Huh?”

“……”

“Please, stay within the lines. The reason you didn’t use magic is probably not that different from mine.”

As the man began to argue in earnest, Vivian had no choice but to shut her mouth.

Because every single word was right on the mark.

The reason she hadn’t persistently stopped that monster earlier was the same.

Because she lacked information.

She had been hit back by her own magic, so she was reluctant to use a bigger spell.

“Ah, this is so annoying…”

In the end, the responsibility for the defeat lay with everyone.

They belonged to the same group and worked together, but their core nature didn’t change.

No one here was noble enough to sacrifice themselves for someone else. They were more sensitive to their own gains and losses than to the danger of their comrades.

“…Is everyone alright?”

As Vivian bit her lip, suppressing her anger, the Blood Knight returned and joined the group.

The old man, with one arm missing, looked the most pitiful of the three.

But…

“If grandpa had done better, we would have been fine.”

Vivian didn’t care about that and changed her target to him.

“…?”

“Instead of blocking that monster, you should have targeted the rear!”

She wasn’t just trying to find fault; she genuinely thought that way.

“You couldn’t have stopped him anyway, so why do useless things…”

If they had targeted the enemy instead of trying to stop that man, the situation would have been different now.

Wasn’t that the first time that monster, who had been protecting his comrades by taking all sorts of attacks head-on, had left the formation?

“Killing the Blood Spirit Marquis, one of the Seven Calamities [powerful, high-ranking demons], would have been a sufficient achievement, and the Golden Mage is even more important. She was one of the targets of this raid, and if she had died, the teleportation magic would have been neutralized.”

The Blood Knight’s judgment was a misjudgment.

The man, who was listening to such blunt words from the side, exclaimed as if he was genuinely impressed.

“Wow, you… you’re blaming grandpa here? You’re even more trash than I thought? Saying that to someone who tried to protect us.”

“…Why, can’t I even talk to myself? It’s not wrong.”

“Well, it’s true, but… Heh.”

The man nodded and glanced at the Blood Knight.

It was as if he had suddenly become prey for jackals, but surprisingly, the old knight didn’t make any excuses.

He just muttered in a dry voice.

“Hurry, contact the Captain. The Golden Mage has escaped.”

“…Can’t grandpa do it?”

The Blood Knight responded to Vivian’s question with a cold stare, and she eventually lowered her head.

They had missed their target.

And to make matters worse, the Lighthouse Keeper, who was considered a valuable asset within Orculius, had been captured.

Yet, they had only watched as the enemies teleported away.

Because if they had stepped forward, they would have been the only ones to lose.

“……”

How could she say such a thing?

While she was hesitating, the Corpse Collector urged her.

“I understand how you feel, but please contact them first. Even if it’s not about the Golden Mage, there’s information that we must convey.”

“…Are you talking about that monster?”

“That too, but…”

The man trailed off, then continued.

“Anyway, just report it. I don’t know why she was here, but…”

“……”

“We found Amelia Rainwales, that woman.”

***

「Arua Raven has cast the 4th-grade space magic [Multiple Teleportation].」

When the light emitted by the activated magic circle faded, the first thing they saw was an iron cage.

“Stay still. We didn’t come to the wrong place.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s a facility in every warship. When a space-movement ability is used, it automatically guides you here to prepare for intruders.”

Ah, so that was installed.

But teleportation guidance, it sounds like an effect I’ve heard a lot…

“I am Arua Raven, the vice-commander of the 3rd Magic Corps. This is my ID. I returned through teleportation magic during a battle with criminals from Orculius.”

Soon, Raven revealed her identity to the soldier waiting outside the cage, and after her identity was confirmed, the cage opened.

But…

Clang-!

What, why did she go out alone and close it?

“…What is this?”

Without even the mind to use honorifics, I asked back, and Raven avoided my eyes and spoke to the soldier.

“Keep them here for a while, and watch them carefully.”

“Yes.”

Uh… I never expected this kind of development?

As my mind went blank, Erwen, who was next to me, clung to the cage and shook the bars.

“…I’m going to kill her!!”

It was a bit different from her usual loss of control.

I felt like I was about to lose control too.

It reminded me of the guild basement, and I wanted to break the cage right away.

But…

“I understand how you feel, but please stay calm. It’s impossible to get out by force anyway.”

“…What?”

“No. 399, the Silent Cage. Inside, not only are abilities sealed, but magic, divine power, and aura cannot be used either.”

Ha, no wonder I felt a chill down my spine.

After confirming that my skills wouldn’t activate even when I chanted the commands, I sighed and let go of the cage I was holding.

“Here… these are potions. Please treat your wounds.”

Raven then passed a few potions through the bars of the cage, gave some instructions to the soldier, and left.

To summarize the important points:

Treat them with respect.

But never open the cage, no matter what.

And if there is an emergency situation where enemies have invaded this place, release them so that they can respond.

“…We’ve been had. Tersia, don’t waste your energy and come here.”

“What? That woman locked us in here, how can you—!”

“Then what else can we do?”

“……”

“Erwen, he’s right. Calm down and come here.”

“………Yes.”

I quickly recovered my mental state and spoke, and Erwen also gave up her stubbornness and came to my side.

“First… it would be good to use the potions.”

It seemed like it would take a long time to heal with natural regeneration alone, so with the help of Amelia and Erwen, I applied potions all over my body to stop the bleeding.

And how much time had passed?

“…Are you alright?”

“…Yeah, I’m used to it now.”

To be honest, I felt like I was going to die.

Now, all the pain resistance I had left was the ’30’ attached to the essence of Bayon.

But what could I do? I had to treat the wounds.

“Um… could you give me some water?”

“Ah… ah, I understand!”

Erwen spoke as if asking the soldier, and the soldier hurriedly moved and brought water.

Raven had instructed them to treat us with respect, but it seemed that they were also having a hard time dealing with Erwen because of her status.

“Um… are you alright?”

Ah, so he was just worried about me.

“It looks like you’re sweating more than bleeding…”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

It was always like this when I drank potions.

I drank the water I received from the kind-hearted soldier in one go, then stuck close to the cage on the opposite side of the entrance.

Because the conversation we were about to have was going to be confidential.

“Anyway, now that the treatment is over, let’s talk. Both of you, come here. And lower your voices.”

“You, your face is too close, isn’t it?”

“What’s the problem? It’s for the sake of conversation.”

“…T-then, me too…”

“Hmm, Elves have good hearing, don’t they?”

“W-what does it matter to you?”

“I was just saying—”

Ugh, why are they like this again?

“Both of you, stop it. This isn’t the time for that.”

“Yeesh…”

Before the conversation went off on a tangent again, I quickly wrapped things up and started the conversation.

The first thing we needed to discuss was this.

“Why do you think Raven did this?”

Why did Raven lock us in here?

The two who had been bickering easily agreed on this point.

“She must have realized your identity.”

“Yes, that’s the only explanation. That woman must think of you as an evil spirit… Grrr, after being saved so many times, she doesn’t even know gratitude.”

Is she now emitting killing intent from her blood?

I didn’t know, but I was worried about Erwen’s teeth, so I brought up the next most likely scenario.

“Emily, what’s the chance that she realized your identity?”

“Well, that’s not impossible. She was on that island back then too.”

Raven and Amelia knew each other.

They had fought together on Parune Island, and she knew about Amelia’s [Abyssal Power], [Self-Replication], and [Asura Mode].

And she uses daggers as her main weapon?

Even if more than two years had passed and her face was covered, Raven would have noticed.

“Certainly… it’s possible that she suspects we’re spies because of this woman. Ha, I knew it.”

“Wait, what did you know?”

“What else? That you’re just going to hold back the old man.”

“Pfft, you can’t even take care of your own mind, but you talk big.”

“What…?”

No, why is the conversation going this way again?

I quickly changed the topic of the conversation.

“Okay, Emily, are you alright? There’s a high chance that the Noark side recognized you too.”

“That’s… they probably did. The Blood Knight didn’t have much contact with me, so he might not have recognized me, but at least the Corpse Collector would have.”

Well, I felt kind of sorry.

She said she had thoroughly concealed her appearance after laundering her identity. Now she had both the royal family and Noark as enemies.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s something I was prepared for anyway. I’ll leave if it gets to the point where it’ll harm you.”

“So you still have some conscience left?”

“I guess I have more reason than you.”

Oh, not again.

If we make a mistake now, all three of us could be in trouble.

No, would Erwen be okay even in the worst-case scenario?

I could be targeted by the royal family, and Amelia could be framed as a Noark spy, but she wouldn’t be.

Even in the worst case, the Elven race would protect her.

“…Then what are we going to do from now on?”

I organized my thoughts for a moment and answered Amelia’s question.

“Well, we have no choice but to wait for now.”

There wasn’t much we could do in a cage.

The best thing to do was to wait for Raven to return and then respond appropriately to the situation.

Therefore…

“Old man?”

I finished the conversation and got up.

Then, I approached the corpse that I had covered with the cloth I received from the soldier along with the water.

I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but…

It was better to do what I could.

“…What are you trying to do?”

“Checking the loot.”

“…What? In this situation?”

Well, is there anything else we can do?

I shrugged my shoulders, squatted down, and began to loot the corpse in earnest.

‘Ten rings, one necklace, and I dropped the staff when I grabbed it earlier, so I couldn’t pick it up…’

It seemed like I could only open the subspace later when I got out of the cage.

Magic tools didn’t work inside this cage.

‘Wow, still, how much is this worth?’

You have to be able to smile at the little things when the situation is difficult.

I couldn’t estimate exactly how much I had gained, but one thing was clear.

If I sold all of this, I could pay off most of my debt.

Well, the problem was whether I could get out of here with this intact.