Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 398

Day 18 of the labyrinth expedition.

Swaaaaaaash-!

A medium-sized warship, carrying all thirty crew members, sliced through the water and set sail.

For the record, this warship was provided by the royal family, and its ownership has been temporarily transferred to me, the expedition leader.

While the crew members went to their assigned cabins to organize their belongings, Amelia approached the navigator at the helm.

“Excuse me.”

“So… you must be Emily Raines. What brings you here?”

“How long will it take to reach Ice Rock?”

“We estimate about 12 days.”

“Is Ice Rock closer than the Dark Continent? Last time I was on a warship, it took fifteen days to reach the Dark Continent.”

“Distance-wise, they’re similar, but the ship we’re on is different. The Type 7 warship we’re using is a medium-sized ship, but it has excellent maneuverability.”

“I don’t really see how ‘excellent maneuverability’ makes a three-day difference.”

“The far eastern coast is different from the usual sea.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Amelia, who had recently shown a keen interest in navigation, nodded as if she understood.

“You seem to know a lot about warships, is that right?”

“Haha, I can’t help but know a lot. I’ve been sailing warships for half my life.”

The only navigator in our expedition team belongs to Team 5 and was originally a member of the royal military.

Thinking about it, it makes sense that Kaislan was the last to arrive on the 6th floor.

He didn’t do a speedrun with a navigator.

“Could you tell me a little about warships?”

“I’m sorry, but information about warships is confidential.”

“I see…”

“…But since we’re on the same ship, it’s hard for me to stop you from looking around nearby.”

“I won’t interfere.”

While Amelia expressed her gratitude with an exclamation mark at the navigator’s kindness, I went inside the ship.

The room was located in the innermost part of the ship’s center.

“Oh, you’re all here.”

“It’s the expedition leader’s order. Didn’t you say to gather here after organizing our cabins?”

The room, designed for leadership meetings, had the leaders of each team waiting for me, and I quickly asked one question.

“Has anyone been to Ice Rock?”

Only Akuraba and James Kala raised their hands.

“Is it just the two of you?”

“It’s probably not a frequently visited area.”

“Aside from a few expeditions we went on as a clan to gain achievements, we’ve hardly ever been to Ice Rock.”

Well, it’s not an environment suitable for normal hunting.

Even on this ship, where skilled individuals have gathered, I doubt even half of them have experienced Ice Rock.

“I see.”

I nodded and briefly conveyed the instructions.

“James Kala, you will focus on training the crew during the voyage.”

“Training, you say?”

“I’m talking about formations and such. We didn’t have much time in the city, did we? Everyone is an experienced explorer, so they’ll adapt well in actual combat after a few practices on the deck.”

“Understood.”

First, we need to reinforce the expedition leader’s exclusive commands.

Otherwise, unexpected damage will occur in sudden situations. We don’t even have a proper formation for escape or retreat yet.

“Since our destination is Ice Rock, let’s prioritize things that will be useful there.”

“I like that you don’t have to talk long.”

Okay, he’s from a large clan and knows all sorts of formations, so he’ll handle this part well.

“Titana Akuraba, you will be in charge of managing supplies as soon as you finish organizing your belongings.”

“What about the authority?”

“I’ll entrust everything to you from now on.”

I entrusted the management of exploration-related consumables and equipment to Akuraba.

If Jun, who is from the religious faction, or Kaislan, who is an inflexible soldier, were to take that position, there would definitely be pushback.

On the other hand, Akuraba is an older, experienced, legendary explorer, so I judged that she would be able to quell any complaints from the crew.

“Meland Kaislan.”

The next in line was the knight.

Perhaps because the previous two had been assigned tasks, he swallowed hard and showed anticipation.

Looking at him, he seems kind of cute…

“You will oversee the security within the expedition. If there is a dispute between crew members, you will be the first to intervene and mediate, and you will also have to resolve any unfortunate incidents.”

“You mean you’re going to use me, Kaislan, as your right-hand man. I understand. I will do so.”

Uh, why does that mean right-hand man?

He’s a soldier, so his way of thinking is different.

“Then I guess I’m last.”

Once even Kaislan was given a role, the paladin Jun chuckled and looked at me.

“How can I help you?”

He’s been unusually friendly ever since that fight we had.

Sometimes I wonder, ‘Could this guy be…?’ but I didn’t show it and opened my mouth.

“When going on expeditions, explorers often seek out priests, right?”

“Yes, I’ve heard that’s the case. The labyrinth is a place where mental fatigue tends to accumulate.”

“Listen to their words and keep your ears open as much as possible. If there’s anything I need to know, let me know. That’s your goal.”

“The other races won’t seek me out.”

Yeah, that’s probably true.

The Trisian Church is a religion for humans.

But…

“That alone is enough.”

Isn’t the expedition more than half human?

And even those humans are spread out among each team.

Just by listening to their voices, it will be a great help in grasping the general opinion.

“Is that the end of the instructions?”

When I answered yes to Akuraba’s question, she cautiously asked if she could ask one question.

“A question? Go ahead.”

“Why are you giving us authority? We’re not your subordinates.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘What, I thought it was going to be something important.’

There was no reason to hesitate, so I answered briefly.

“Because it’s efficient.”

We’re already on the same boat.

***

After passing through the windless zone and the rocky Grand Rock in the far east, we finally arrived at our destination.

The total sailing time was 12 days and 7 hours.

It was exactly as the navigator had predicted, and this was thanks to traveling the shortest distance without stopping at any islands along the way.

‘The warship is definitely good.’

Putting aside the specs that allowed us to pass through the windless zone in an instant, the way it moved forward, crashing into the rocks on the eastern coast while trusting in the ship’s durability, was very impressive.

The icebreaker attached to the front also looked very sturdy.

Crack! Crack!

The ship moved forward, smashing through the floating ice fragments, even though it wasn’t classified as a special area like the ‘Frozen Sea’.

“We really came here…”

The crew members gathered on the deck exhaled as they watched the continent gradually approach.

Whether it was leather, plate, or cloth, everyone was wearing thick fur coats over their equipment.

These were also supplies received from the royal family.

‘Tsk, I prefer the heat to the cold…’

I, too, like the other crew members, finished my mental preparations.

And…

“Hold on tight! The ship is about to enter the portal!”

The moment the navigator shouted at the top of his lungs.

「You have entered Ice Rock on the 7th floor.」

The blue light of the portal enveloped our ship.

Well, even without that effect, I could feel that we had arrived at Ice Rock with my whole body.

「Your character has entered a special area.」

「Field effect – Ice Rock is applied.」

「Cold resistance is reduced by -100.」

The cold surged in as my resistance dropped drastically.

For now, that’s the only change I can feel, but those terrible effects must have been applied to our bodies as well.

The thing that made all explorers avoid Ice Rock.

「Status ailment [Frozen World] is applied.」

「Space-related items are deactivated.」

A status ailment that disables not only subspace but also extended backpacks.

This short line drives people crazy.

“Alright! Don’t just stand there, let’s unload the luggage first!”

Akuraba, who was in charge of supplies, directed the crew and unloaded the supply boxes enchanted with ‘preservation’ magic onto the land.

Because from now on, we have to move while dragging these.

No, is that all?

There’s even more crazy stuff added to this.

「Status ailment [Starvation] is applied.」

「Resources gained through consumption are reduced by 3 times.」

Here, even if you eat the same food, you get hungry three times faster.

That’s why we need so many supply boxes.

This is probably the biggest reason why most explorers don’t treat this place as a ‘hunting ground’.

You can endure the cold, but not the hunger.

Since food is limited, the time you can be active here is limited.

‘With our food, it’s about a month.’

Of course, that’s assuming no accidents happen.

“Mister! They said they’re ready to depart.”

Anyway, since the crew members moved as one, it didn’t take long to unload all the supplies from the ship.

Five sleds placed on the frozen ground, and boxes piled high on top of them.

“Then let’s hurry back and come back.”

After unloading all the supplies, only the navigator and I got back on the ship and went down to the 6th floor. Then, we switched to a small rowboat and reverse-summoned the warship.

「You have entered Ice Rock on the 7th floor.」

After that, we returned to the same place by rowboat.

It was a bit annoying, but it was a necessary process.

Besides, we couldn’t just leave the warship behind.

“What are you going to do with this ship?”

What do you mean what am I going to do? Of course, I have to leave it here.

Still, just in case, I hid it well in a secluded spot so it wouldn’t drift away.

And with this, all the expedition preparations were complete.

“Each team, into formation!”

Whether it was due to the training they had received, the crew members moved in an orderly fashion and formed a moving formation.

“Let’s go!”

With my shout, the expedition’s first march began.

***

In a wide open formation, the structure of the expedition was simple.

Our Team 1 was at the front.

Teams 3 and 5 were on the left and right.

Team 4 was at the rear, and Team 2, in charge of supply management, followed us in the center.

Thump, thump, thump-!

Making such heavy sounds.

“Mister, is that an Ice Troll?”

Three Ice Trolls followed the march, pulling five sleds loaded with supply boxes.

It was the work of the summoner in Akuraba’s team.

If it weren’t for them, we would have seen the bizarre sight of people pulling the sleds themselves.

“Halt!”

Just as Team 1 was about to leave the entrance of Ice Rock while marching east, they stopped.

There was no need to confirm the reason.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The ice that looked like a cliff crumbled, and a huge creature rose up.

“It’s a Stone Winter!”

A 3rd-grade monster, Stone Winter.

Three of them, classified as super-large.

Kuuuuuung-!

Seriously, even if it’s Ice Rock, how can 3rd-grade monsters just crawl out like this from the start?

“All troops, into battle formation!”

At my shout, the crew members moved quickly.

Fortunately, no one was frozen in fear.

Well, with this force, three 3rd-grade monsters should be easy, right?

I thought that as I commanded the battle, but it didn’t take long for that expectation to be shattered.

「You have defeated Stone Winter. EXP +7」

After the first battle, there was no cheer, only a silence like a funeral home in the expedition.

“…Report the damage.”

I suppressed my miserable feelings and asked the leaders of each team, and they answered while carefully watching my reaction.

“Four lightly injured and three seriously injured. We are prioritizing treatment for the seriously injured.”

It was a relief that people were only injured.

Yeah, that can happen.

It was the first time we fought together, right?

Three 3rd-grade monsters came out at once, so it’s understandable.

It’s just a matter of getting treatment from the priest.

However…

“And?”

“…One sled was half-destroyed, and the supplies loaded on it were lost.”

This is the biggest problem.

The super-large monster managed to get to the place where the supplies were, and unfortunately, the ground couldn’t withstand the weight and collapsed, causing one-fifth of the supplies to be lost.

“What was the proportion of food loaded on the sled?”

“…It was all food.”

The moment the words I least wanted to hear came from Akuraba, a curse word came out.

“Damn it.”

Only one day after entering Ice Rock.

“From now on, we’ll increase the speed.”

The arduous march had begun.