Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 478

Two warriors and an archer.

And….

‘Is the bare-handed one a magic user?’

Well, probably.

Mages with a lot to lose usually don’t get involved in this kind of thing.

Not to mention priests.

‘Anyway, this combination and level of looting on the first floor…’

It’s disheartening.

I wonder how helpless our baby barbarians must have felt.

I can’t even begin to imagine their feelings.

“…….”

At least I can make these bastards feel what they felt.

“Are you laughing?”

One of them frowned.

However, judging by their tone, they don’t seem to suspect my identity. It’s more like they’re laughing at an innocent barbarian who doesn’t know how dangerous the world is.

“Wow! They’re fearless! These guys have no fear at all.”

I decided to play along for now.

Therefore….

Swoosh.

As if finally noticing something strange, I took a step back and glanced at Ainar, who was sleeping on the bare floor.

Zzzzzzzzz-! Zzzzzzzzz….

How long is he going to pretend to sleep?

Tuk tuk.

I tapped Ainar’s back with my toe, signaling that it was okay to wake up, and he immediately jumped up in surprise.

“……Ugh! W-what is it!”

A reaction that was too realistic to be acting.

‘…He was really asleep.’

I can understand not sensing their presence, but how could he keep sleeping when we were talking right next to him?

I don’t know, but the situation isn’t too bad.

Because….

“Huh? W-what is it! Who are you guys!”

How could they not be fooled by this?

“Ah! Y-you guys, could it be…!”

Of course, Ainar seemed to be realizing who the uninvited guests were, so I quickly cut him off.

“Be careful.”

More precisely, I meant to be careful with his mouth, not his body.

“O-okay….”

Ainar grabbed his weapon and stood behind me, and I also raised my iron greatsword, scanning the guys warily.

The guys laughed mockingly and loosened up their bodies.

“Just one question. Are you looters?”

The guys didn’t even bother to answer my question.

“Bro, let’s finish this quickly before someone sees us? The guild seems to be catching on.”

Geez, it’s like they’re treating me like I’m already dead.

Yeah, just try to make the first move.

From then on, everything will be in my hands—.

“Wait a minute! That barbarian… he looks familiar somehow… Where is it? Where have I seen him…?”

Suddenly, the hunchbacked crossbowman narrowed his eyes at me.

Did he recognize me?

If so, I’ll have to go to Plan B—.

“Where would you have seen him? They all look alike. That’s why he looks familiar.”

Just in time, appropriate support fire came.

“Hmm, it doesn’t feel like that….”

The archer’s unique survival instinct was admirable, but unfortunately, it seemed that the melee types had more say in the team.

“Let’s think about it later. Let’s clean up here first and get out of here.”

That’s how the plan was decided.

“Hehehe.”

The guys grinned and narrowed the encirclement.

And….

Tuk.

The moment my back hit the wall as I stepped back.

The guy on the left quickly swung his longsword.

Whoosh-!

A whooshing sound with a decent amount of momentum.

However, I just stared at the longsword aiming for my neck. But, did it look like I couldn’t react to the surprise attack?

“…….”

The swordsman’s eyes curved.

Well, it didn’t take long for that face to be filled with bewilderment.

Clack-

The longsword, unable to even leave a scratch, was blocked by my skin.

“…Huh?”

Yeah, seeing that expression makes it feel like all the time I’ve waited has been rewarded.

Swoosh.

I grabbed the blade with my bare hand, as if dealing with a bug stuck to my body.

And….

“…Uh!”

I pulled him in using my wrist.

He seemed to have the basic idea of not letting go of his weapon, so the swordsman just limply followed.

Squeeze-

I quickly reached out with my other hand and grabbed his neck.

Then, the guy next to him swung his double-edged axe at my hand. I don’t know what the situation is, but it seems he decided he had to save his comrade….

Clack-

Yeah, it’s not easy to make the right decision in a short moment.

“Ainar.”

As soon as I gave the order, Ainar swung his sword.

The target was the warrior who had swung his axe at my arm.

Kwaaaang-!

As soon as the swords collided, an explosion erupted, and the warrior holding the axe scattered into dozens of pieces, spraying blood.

“……B-Blast Sword!”

The magic user shouted as if having a seizure.

That was the magic user’s last words.

Kwaaaang-!

The magic user was shattered without even being able to resist.

On the other hand, there was a guy who made a somewhat correct decision.

Tadat.

It was the crossbowman, who was relatively far from us, either because of his position or because he instinctively felt a sense of danger.

“……B-Bjorn Yandel!”

The crossbowman seemed to have already realized who I was, and as soon as one of his comrades exploded, he turned and ran away.

But….

「The character has activated [Transcendence].」

Running away?

「The character has activated [Eye of the Storm].」

Do you think that’ll work?

***

Thud.

The moment I twisted the neck I was holding, the body went limp.

I released my grip, and the swordsman with his neck broken fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

I looked down.

“…P-please, spare me. I’m different from these guys. I-I just got caught up in their scheme. I-I told them not to do this! Really!”

The only survivor, the crossbowman, was begging for his life with his head buried in the floor.

Swoosh.

Ainar raised his sword as if wondering what I was hesitating for, and the crossbowman screamed in terror.

“I-I have information!”

Hmm?

“Information?”

I raised my hand slightly to stop Ainar.

Perhaps he saw a glimmer of hope.

The guy made a condition.

“……I-if I tell you, promise… promise you’ll spare me.”

“A promise….”

What a funny guy.

As I quietly laughed, Ainar raised his voice in anger.

“Bjorn! It’s better to just kill this guy!”

“Stop. Calm down.”

“…….”

“Okay. I promise. If I think the information you give me is valuable, I’ll let you live.”

I coolly made the promise.

But the crossbowman’s expression was very strange after hearing the answer he wanted.

It was like he was wondering whether he could trust it or not.

Still, the crossbowman’s decision was quick.

“T-the Baron will definitely find it valuable….”

It seems he judged that someone like me wouldn’t break a promise….

“Okay, just tell me.”

When I urged him, the crossbowman slowly opened his mouth, unable to hide his nervousness.

“I-it’s about the mages….”

Mages?

Why mages all of a sudden?

I glared at him, telling him to get to the point, and he continued.

“Some mages… are putting out requests on the black market. They’re offering more money for barbarian hearts….”

“Hmm….”

What is that?

“Is that all?”

“……Huh?”

The crossbowman’s face hardened at my indifferent reply.

But so what?

It wasn’t particularly valuable information.

There was no explanation of who the mages who made the request were, and even if I knew who they were, there was no way to punish them outside without evidence.

“If that’s all—.”

Just die already.

Just as I was about to say that, the guy cut me off and shouted.

“There’s more! There’s more, Baron!”

“……?”

“O-on the black market… there’s also a request for your heart, Baron….”

“……What?”

I was startled and asked for details.

The reward for the request was a whopping 2 billion stones.

The client was unknown?

“The black market….”

As I pondered, the guy started to appeal to me, watching my reaction.

“……So… how is it? D-did this help you, Baron…?”

Ah, that?

It was definitely useful information.

For me, who had no connections there, it was new information.

I plan to investigate it when I return to the city later.

But….

“No, not at all. So, just die already.”

If I say no, what are you going to do about it?

“B-but that’s not what you promised—.”

What is this bastard saying?

Squish.

I put my foot on his head and pressed down, and the crossbowman started to writhe in agony.

I didn’t feel any sympathy.

Nor did I feel any guilt for breaking my promise.

“Promises are for people.”

With those words, I put pressure on my foot.

Crack-

After finishing off the last guy, I collected their equipment and bags and put them into my subspace.

It wasn’t much, but it would be perfect to put it into the barbarian public fund and use it for the barbarian sprouts—.

Thud.

……Huh?

I turned my head when I heard a chilling sound from the side, and I saw Ainar holding his greatsword in reverse and stabbing the corpse.

“What are you doing, Ainar…?”

“Can’t you see? I’m tearing out their hearts.”

“……?”

“I need to let them know. If they want our hearts, they have to risk their own.”

Hmm….

Is he trying to make an example?

“I’ll be done soon, so don’t worry about it.”

After saying that, Ainar tore out all the hearts from the two relatively intact corpses, and then laid out the bodies on the rocks as if displaying works of art.

“Okay, I’m done. Let’s go. Bjorn. We have to kill more of them! I think I can act even better now!”

When you look at him, he’s really scary.

***

Day 4, Day 5, Day 6….

Even after successfully completing the first fishing trip, time flew by quickly.

Days of wandering aimlessly through the crystal cave, not even sparing time to sleep.

As time passed, our fishing became more sophisticated.

We added details by smearing goblin blood all over our bodies, and we also carried the 9th-grade magic stones we had collected, dangling them from our pockets.

It would have been nice to have been covered in wounds, but that was realistically impossible.

Those kinds of wounds would regenerate in less than a minute.

Anyway, perhaps because of our other efforts, we were able to find and kill another group of looters with a similar feel before the end of the 5th day.

For reference, these guys were more cautious than the previous ones, secretly following and observing us….

“Damn it.”

It wasn’t exactly good news.

Four fresh hearts were found in their bags.

They had already finished a job before meeting us.

“……Ainar, calm down. I’ll take care of this issue when we get back.”

“…….”

“So, let’s go now. Everyone is waiting.”

“Okay….”

After calming Ainar down, we headed to the center where our companions were waiting.

“Mister!”

Erwen, who had come out to greet me, must have sensed my presence from afar.

First, I followed Erwen to the common area where the monument was, and then I turned on the voice control magic and started talking.

“Emily, has anything unusual happened?”

“Of course there has. What you were worried about has happened.”

“If it’s what I was worried about….”

“There are those watching us nearby.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought….

“What should we do? If they are the ones sent by Count Alminus, summoning the Floor Master as it is could be very dangerous.”

Versil gave advice with a serious expression.

However, I grinned.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s within my expectations.”

“……You expected it?”

Of course, I openly applied to the guild for subjugation, saying where I would be hunting?

It would be strange if I didn’t expect this level of check.

‘Besides, it’s not ‘what I was worried about’.’

If anything, it’s closer to ‘what I was looking forward to’.

Looking at Versil, who was asking about the future plan, I answered decisively.

“We will summon the Floor Master as planned.”

The big fish has taken the bait.