Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 395

After staring silently at the knight with a serious face for a long time, he changed his expression.

“I guess I was mistaken.”

At my softened expression, he seemed relieved but also looked puzzled, wondering what I was talking about.

“Ah, it’s a relief that there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your head.”

I patted the knight’s shoulder and then checked with the other three if they had any objections to me becoming the leader.

They probably wouldn’t dare break a promise that was even notarized in front of the Marquis, but you never know.

It was a judgment that follow-up treatment might be necessary.

However…

“None.”

“Same here. That was the bet, after all.”

“Since it has turned out this way, please call on me anytime if you need my help.”

Surprisingly, the other three, except for the knight, didn’t raise any objections.

‘Are they all more reasonable than I thought?’

I thought at least one of them would be greedy, considering it involved not only themselves but also the political interests of their backers.

Well, I’m happy because it means less work for me.

“It’s good that there are no complaints. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Huh? On your way?”

As I turned to leave, saying I was going, all four of them looked at me with puzzled eyes.

It seemed they thought we would have more conversation since the leader had been decided…

“I’m hungry.”

“……?”

“See you later then.”

With those words, I left the room, leaving the four with dumbfounded expressions.

It’s a kind of build-up.

I’m not going to live as Richen Shuitz forever, and it’ll be revealed in three months, right?

I need to show this side of me beforehand so that they’ll understand it better then.

Like, ‘Oh, his actions were like a barbarian. So that’s why.’

“You’re here.”

The next place I headed to was the Marquis’s office.

I figured it was only right to report before leaving.

“How did it go?”

“How it went? Nothing special happened.”

“Does that mean they all accepted it willingly?”

“It’s not like there’s anything else they can do if they don’t.”

“That’s… true, I suppose. If you need my help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then, that’s the end of the interim report—

“Ah, and one more thing.”

“……?”

“Now that the commander has been decided, there will be an inauguration ceremony soon.”

“Inauguration ceremony?”

“You need a place to get to know each other before entering the labyrinth. The patrons who participated in this plan will also want to see you.”

“Then when is that happening?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as the schedule is set.”

It was a bit funny.

There were less than ten days left until entering the labyrinth, and now we have to have an inauguration ceremony, get to know each other, and then immediately enter the labyrinth?

It’s like trying to cook beans over a lightning strike [an idiom meaning to do something hastily or inefficiently].

‘Why are they rushing things like this?’

A question suddenly arose, but the answer was easy to deduce.

‘They probably planned to do it after 15 days. That’s the easiest time for information to leak to the Noah Arc side.’

From the higher-ups’ perspective, they would want to minimize information exposure as much as possible.

In fact, when I asked about the inauguration ceremony, I was told that it was impossible to hold a grand ceremony with hundreds of people due to security concerns.

“Anyway, I understand about the inauguration ceremony, but what about the two who will be on my team? Will I only meet them at the inauguration ceremony?”

“Of course not. If it’s okay with you, I’ll arrange for you to meet them as early as tomorrow.”

“Then, can you send them to my house tomorrow?”

“I will.”

The Marquis readily nodded at my request.

Then, is that all the conversation we need to have?

Just as I was about to wrap up the conversation, the Marquis suddenly brought up a new topic.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“When you made the bet at the banquet hall…”

The Marquis took a breath and asked me.

“Did you have confidence that you would win against the four of them?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Well, I can’t help but be curious. You must have seen the documents I prepared, so you would know about them in detail. So, at first, I thought you were so confident that you would win overwhelmingly when you made the bet.”

“But?”

“But as I watched, that wasn’t the case. Do you know how many times I was on edge?”

I think I know what he wants to ask.

He’s probably asking what kind of guts I had to make such a bet when I barely won.

I decided to answer honestly.

“Marquis, you’re right.”

The key to victory was the Undying 7th stage engraving.

The special stat recovery power that increases regeneration efficiency.

Without this, my basic natural regeneration rate wouldn’t have been able to last that long.

More than anything, I might have run out of MP [Mana Points] first.

Recovery power also applies to MP regeneration.

In other words, the amount of MP recovery from [Soul Dive] also increases.

With this, I thought I could hold my own against those four.

However…

“I wasn’t 100% sure I would win.”

Even so, I wasn’t 100% confident of victory.

That’s how fights are, right?

There are countless examples of people getting knocked out by a lucky punch.

“I don’t understand at all. How could you take such a bold action without confidence?”

“Well, I wonder why.”

I shrugged in response to the Marquis’s words and then left the room.

Well…

‘What are you talking about? I was going to make a fuss and refuse to admit defeat if I lost, so I was just messing around as much as I wanted.’

Plan B should always be kept hidden.

***

The next day at lunch, after receiving a call from the Marquis, two team members visited my house.

“You must be Richen Shuitz. Nice to meet you. I’m Liard Ashd, a 3rd-class mage from the Lengman School.”

A mage (male) in his mid-30s with a warm impression and a tall stature for a mage.

And…

“You’re young. I’m Ghold Aldidi.”

A 60-year-old esper (male) who looked much more robust than I had expected.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Richen Shuitz.”

“…Are you perhaps a soldier?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Your use of informal language is too natural.”

Is he trying to get some respect for his age by being sarcastic?

I had that thought, but I didn’t dwell on it.

Whatever the answer, it wouldn’t be that important.

“Aldidi, if you came here thinking of a typical explorer team, it’s not too late to leave. We’ll be acting under the military for a while, and for the sake of the system, the chain of command is absolute.”

It’s important to establish dominance in the first meeting.

As I drew a firm line, Ghold Aldidi, or Didi for short, backed off smoothly.

“Haha, of course not. I was just curious, I don’t have any complaints about you using informal language. I’ve been an explorer for this long, how could I not have been under the command of those younger than me? I’m used to it.”

“That’s a relief then. Mage…”

“Liard Ashd. You can call me by my first or last name, whichever you prefer.”

“Then I’ll call you Ashd. Ashd, do you feel the same as this old man?”

“Of course. Being treated according to ability is only natural in our magic tower society… and this team is an opportunity I don’t want to miss.”

“Opportunity…”

“We’ve already been promised many rewards just for participating in the expedition. And, I heard from the Marquis yesterday… that Mr. Shuitz has become the expedition leader?”

Ah, the Marquis already told them that much.

“It seems we’ve caught a good break. If we’re on the expedition leader’s direct team, there will be even more opportunities to gain merit. Isn’t that right? Mr. Aldidi?”

“Ahem, you could say that…”

Mage Ashd asked with a gentle smile, and Didi also coughed and nodded in agreement.

I glanced over the two of them.

‘Their first impressions aren’t bad.’

First, the mage Ashd.

He seems competent, even though we haven’t talked much.

Well, there probably aren’t any stupid mages.

But social skills and intelligence are different things.

‘The old man doesn’t seem to be stubborn about his age either.’

Of course, Ashd also played a part in this.

By showing his materialistic side, talking about opportunities and the expedition leader, he made the old man realize that they were the ones in a subordinate position.

“Then, Mr. Shuitz, if it’s okay, could you introduce the two behind you as well?”

Ashd carefully opened his mouth, and when I nodded, Erwen and Amelia also introduced themselves briefly.

“I’m Erwen Fornachi di Tersia.”

“I’m Emily Raines.”

When Erwen introduced herself, he looked surprised and said, ‘Blood Spirit Marquis!’, but when it was Amelia’s turn, he tilted his head, not recognizing the name.

However…

‘It’s good that he didn’t say anything unnecessary even though he must be curious about who she is.’

Well, I think my luck with the draw isn’t too bad?

“Come in, then.”

After the introductions were over, I first led the two into the house. I had prepared a lot of food because I was planning to eat together when they came.

“By the way, I didn’t ask this. Have you eaten?”

“I saw that you called us to your mansion, so I came without eating, just in case.”

“It’s better to keep an empty stomach before an important task.”

Okay, so both of them are before their meal.

“There’s not much, but eat as much as you want. If you have anything to say, let’s talk while we eat.”

After getting everyone to sit at the table, we had a conversation while eating.

“I don’t know who made it, but the food is excellent.”

“Hehe, I prepared it. Thank you.”

“We should be the ones thanking you.”

“Oh my, it’s nothing. Hoho.”

Ashd and Erwen’s conversation made the atmosphere even more relaxed.

I just quietly ate my food.

Because all the food was bought from the restaurant.

I went out in the morning and bought it myself, then put it on plates and set the table, so it wasn’t a complete lie to say I prepared it.

‘If it were Misha, she would have made a fuss about preparing it herself from the morning…’

I suddenly thought of Misha, but I didn’t intend to diminish Erwen’s efforts.

I always preferred to go out and buy food because I didn’t like seeing her struggle.

Misha always insisted on doing it herself.

‘I wonder how she’s doing…’

Even though it’s a short-term team, I felt a bit strange thinking about bringing in new team members—

“Shuitz, what are you thinking about so deeply?”

Amelia poked my waist.

“Nothing. We were talking about our careers, right?”

I was distracted for a moment, but I actively participated in the conversation and started investigating my new colleagues.

There wasn’t much difference from what I had heard from the Marquis.

“The last time I entered the labyrinth was seven years ago. After the clan I was with for about five years broke up, I devoted myself to research activities at the magic tower.”

“Why did you change your mind now?”

“For the same reason that explorers are desperate to go to the upper floors.”

A better life.

More opportunities.

This is several times more trustworthy than spouting strange beliefs.

“What can you do in the labyrinth?”

“For a mage in the labyrinth, what they can’t do is more important than what they can do.”

Ashd smiled at my question and shared his cards.

“I can only do a very small number of curse magic spells above 5th class. I can do support and auxiliary spells up to 4th class. Other than that, you can assume I can do everything except for unique magic from other schools. Oh, I’m also quite knowledgeable about gathering and materials because I’m very interested in the labyrinth, which is also an advantage.”

Ashd was a kind of all-rounder.

His stats are a bit lacking in curses and support, but it’s not a big flaw.

“If you were to ask what I’m good at, I would say attack magic.”

“What’s your attribute?”

“I don’t think there’s any particular bias.”

Wow, even his attributes are wide-ranging?

“Is the Lengman School a place that researches combat magic?”

“No. It specializes in curse magic.”

What? This guy is funny.

He went to a curse-specialized school, but his best skill is attack magic.

There must be some story behind it…

“If you don’t have any more questions for me, I’d like to hear about Mr. Aldidi.”

Just as I was wondering whether to ask about his story, Ashd naturally passed the turn to Didi, who was next to him.

‘…Was that intentional?’

Even if it was, I didn’t feel bad about it.

I wasn’t going to ask either, since it seemed like a personal matter.

“I’m a healer.”

A healer is a subcategory of esper [a person with psychic abilities].

If they imitate the healing power of a priest, they are a healer.

If they can replace the firepower of a mage, they are a sorcerer.

If a sorcerer uses poison, they are a poison sorcerer, and if they use fire, they are a fire sorcerer.

If buff doping is their main focus, they are a support-type shaman.

And the opposite is a curse-type shaman.

That’s roughly how they are classified, and the higher the explorer, the more detailed and extensive this classification becomes.

Even I, if I were to submit a resume to a guild, I would have to write ‘Guardian’ instead of Barbarian Warrior.

“A healer… that’s a good balance.”

Ashd nodded repeatedly, as if he liked the composition after hearing Didi’s job class.

Well, it’s well-known that Erwen is an archer, and Amelia is carrying a leather outfit and a dagger, so her position was obvious.

And they must have heard about me from the Marquis.

“Most of my abilities are healing-type, but I also have two support shaman-type abilities.”

In other words, he also has buff-type support skills.

After that, Didi explained to us the details of the essences he possessed and how he could use them, and then it was our turn.

Of course, we weren’t espers, whose understanding was essential for the team, so we didn’t need to explain all the details of our essences.

Our respective roles, what we could do.

And it was enough to mention Amelia’s ‘Aura’ and ‘Self-Replication’ and Erwen’s ‘Dark Spirit’ as unique points.

“Then, I think we’ve learned most of what we can through conversation. What are you going to do from now on?”

“If possible, I’d like to meet every day and practice our teamwork.”

“Yes, do you have a training ground that you always go to?”

“I did, but it went bankrupt and disappeared recently.”

“Then I’ll reserve a place I know. Oh, and since there may be times when we need to contact each other in writing, could you all give me your addresses?”

“Here it is.”

Is this what it feels like to have a competent butler?

Ashd took care of the trivial matters necessary for team activities so that I didn’t have to worry about them, and we were able to gather at the training ground every day from the next day to practice our teamwork.

And time passed…

“Shuitz, the Marquis has contacted us.”

Finally, the day of the inauguration ceremony arrived.

‘How the hell do these guys handle their work?’

It was three days before entering the labyrinth.