Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 512

Three corpses hung from the tree.

‘Erwin, cut the ropes.’

First, I lowered the bodies to the ground to examine them.

‘The wounds are clean cuts.’

‘Looking at the stab wounds, the weapon was a sword. The length is about this much.’

‘…Then, it’s highly likely a person did this.’

The mage and assassin, both professionals, agreed the wounds were caused by weapons.

‘Um… but aren’t there quite a few monsters that use weapons?’

The non-combatant navigator asked innocently, but no one thought a monster had killed these three.

After all, the corpses were hanging from the tree.

‘Monsters have never shown aggression like this. Mr. Rocklob, you’ve seen it at least once, right? Monsters go berserk with murderous intent when they see explorers, but they show no interest in dead ones.’

‘Ah… now that I think about it, that’s true.’

Versil’s explanation was correct, as Auyen immediately understood.

But…….

‘Hah… what on earth happened here…….’

‘I don’t know. Maybe there was some internal conflict within the Silver Lion Clan? Or maybe these people betrayed someone. Anyway, it’s definitely not the work of monsters.’

Versil’s reasoning might not be 100% correct.

There’s a possibility a new type of monster with unknown habits exists, and…….

‘Mental contamination.’

‘…Pardon?’

‘Maybe they were affected by mental contamination. Monsters don’t do things like that, but a human driven mad could do anything.’

This possibility certainly exists.

And as a leader, I can’t ignore that possibility.

‘Versil, cast the ‘Tranquility’ spell.’

‘Ah… yes!’

So, I took basic precautions first.

It’s not as effective as the ‘Soul Barrier’ spell, which is the most effective against mental contamination, but ‘Soul Barrier’ consumes a lot of mana.

‘You can maintain the Tranquility spell at all times, right?’

‘Yes. Don’t worry.’

Okay, if there’s a problem later, I’ll give additional orders then.

Swish.

I looked up again at the place where the corpses were hanging.

And I asked Misha, who was next to me.

‘Misha.’

‘U, uh?!’

‘What impression did you get when you first saw the corpses hanging from the tree?’

‘Ah, ah… I don’t know……? Maybe it looked like they were showing off. Like they were displaying their prey…….’

I see, that’s what it was.

‘Emily, what about you?’

‘It felt more like a threat than a show-off. Especially since it was right in front of the exit…….’

‘Like saying, don’t come any further?’

‘Yes.’

Amelia nodded and asked back.

‘What did it feel like to you?’

‘Same as you. It felt like a warning to me too.’

The moment I muttered that, I heard a strange sound from the side.

‘Ugh.’

‘What’s wrong, Misha?’

‘Nothing…….’

Anyway, let’s end the conversation here.

I turned my attention away from the three corpses.

Who harmed them like this?

It’s a huge contradiction to say it was a monster, and even if we assume it was a person, there are parts that don’t make sense.

But, so what?

‘I’ll find out if I go deeper.’

If you’re curious about the darkness, go in.

As the old saying in the labyrinth goes, there are things in the world you can’t know just by watching.

Therefore…….

‘Let’s go.’

I had Auyen start drawing a map, as if we were lighting up the map, and we moved into the jungle.

And how much time had passed?

‘Ugh! The, the tree is moving!!’

Finally, we encountered our first monster.

It wasn’t the ‘Diamont’ that the guys who told us about this island had hunted on the coast.

‘It’s a new type of monster.’

Its name and rank are unknown.

Its classification is definitely plant-type.

There are no cases of moving trees being attached to beast or nature types.

Whoosh-!

Lianas swung like whips.

Hmm, is that this guy’s basic attack?

Thud-!

Looking at the weight transmitted through the shield, the power itself isn’t that great.

Considering it’s a basic attack, it’s probably around rank 5?

Of course, it’s too early to be relieved with just that information.

It’s common sense that mage classes have weak basic attacks.

Trrrrr-!

The branches trembled as if fluttering in the autumn wind, and then light orbs fell along with the leaves.

The light orbs, which were very small at first, quickly increased in size, and by the time they reached the ground, they were several times larger than before.

Also, they had clear outlines of shapes.

‘They’re Seedrias!’

Seedria, a rank 5 plant-type monster.

They are small and make cute sounds, but they are monsters that have the same rank as trolls.

[Beep, beep, bee……!]

Seeing that Seedrias were summoned, it must be [Growing Seed], one of the summoning abilities.

What other skills are left?

While I was pondering and dealing with the seven summoned Seedrias, I was able to confirm the next skill soon enough.

Thud, thud thud! Thud thud thud!

Mana orbs fired like a machine gun.

It’s [Mana Rapid Fire] from the rank 4 marine monster, Palpufura.

Cheee-!

That thing being sprayed like dust seems to be [Bewitching Powder].

‘The overall difficulty is just barely at rank 4.’

I checked to see if there were any more hidden abilities, but it didn’t use any additional active skills.

Honestly, I still don’t know what the passive is.

However, I didn’t think I would know even if I dragged it out any longer, so I just ended the battle here.

Wham-!

The moment I swung my hammer with all my might at its side, the giant tree split in half.

‘Oh! Did we get it?’

But strangely, the corpse doesn’t disappear into light.

What is it? Was its passive a resurrection type?

I was thinking that as I slowly approached.

[Kyu?]

A tiny creature came out from the knot hole of the split tree and started running away when it saw us.

As a user of [Dungeon & Stone], I had a strong feeling.

‘That was the main body. Erwin, don’t let it get away!’

As soon as I gave the order, Erwin unleashed a punishment towards the fleeing enemy.

Whoosh-!

A flame that flew like a shooting star and exploded, just like the word.

「You have defeated the Guldaramjwi.」

In the place where the dust settled, there were two things left.

A magic stone estimated to be around rank 4.

And…….

「No.9999 Beginner’s Luck has been activated.」

It was an essence.

***

‘What should we do?’

‘What do you mean what should we do? It’s a new type of monster. Of course, we’ll put it in a test tube.’

As soon as permission was granted, Versil immediately took a test tube and went towards the essence, and I was lost in thought for a moment.

‘This guy’s essence doesn’t seem like it’ll be very useful.’

‘Certainly… I don’t know what its embodiment ability is, but the ability itself wasn’t very powerful…….’

Misha added an explanation to Amelia’s muttering.

It was a slightly unfamiliar sight.

Misha hadn’t been talking to the other team members throughout the exploration.

‘Is she finally adapting?’

It wasn’t a proper conversation, but the fact that she wasn’t just keeping her mouth shut like before was a positive change. Well, it feels like the atmosphere would get weird if I said that.

So, I just accepted it naturally.

‘That might not be the case.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘These types often have their own separate abilities.’

Parasitic entities often have different skills depending on the host.

Either they enhance the host’s skills themselves, or they add completely new skills.

‘We should go to the library later and check this guy’s ability.’

‘What are we going to name it?’

‘Well, does it matter? It seems like the guys who came before us already named it.’

‘……That’s not necessarily true. I’ll call it Nanari.’

‘Okay, do as you please.’

Looking at it, it seems like eventually a monster named ‘Nanari’ will be born, even if it’s not this time.

‘Hmm… Nanari is good, but since it summons Seedrias and uses Palpufura’s ability. How about calling it Seedpufura instead—’

‘Stop.’

Versil, why is he like this?

‘This guy is Nanari. We’ll call it that until the official name is confirmed.’

I said firmly.

‘……Ahem!’

Fortunately, Amelia seemed very happy.

‘Then, let’s end the name issue here…….’

After finishing the collection of Nanari’s (temporary) essence, we slowly started moving again in an exploration formation.

‘…This is truly a bizarre island.’

Everyone agreed with Auyen’s muttering, this island was eerie.

The jungle terrain itself was normal, and the darkness due to the lack of light was something explorers were used to.

But, should I say there’s a difference in the details?

‘Ugh… I stepped on it again without knowing…….’

When walking through the bushes, you sometimes step on something.

Something squishy that feels like stepping on mud.

If you lift the bushes and check below, you’ll find something like a lump of meat, which you can’t tell which part of which monster it is.

‘I’m really disgusted to death. Why is this kind of thing on the ground…….’

‘But it’s a good thing that it doesn’t smell rotten, at least.’

Of course, this is only in terms of smell.

Visually, it was grotesque enough to make even me a little uncomfortable. Should I say it’s like putting different kinds of monsters together and crushing them with a hydraulic press?

‘No, why is there an eyeball sticking out in that kind of place…….’

Anyway, those kinds of things are being found on the ground, and sometimes hanging on trees, in a haphazard manner.

It feels like we’ve entered an island where a crazy alchemist is the final boss.

That’s how we were slowly searching while making a map.

‘Prepare for battle!’

A monster ambushed us from the darkness.

The monster we had information about beforehand, ‘Diamont.’

「You have defeated Diamont.」

The battle itself wasn’t very difficult, but we continued an experiment disguised as a battle for about 40 minutes for research purposes.

And as a result, Diamont’s embodiment ability.

We were able to figure out its passive skill.

[The Unrighteous One].

The skill that reduces the maximum number of essences by 1, but increases the performance of all active skills by 1.5 times.

‘I was expecting a lot since all the actives were rank 3.’

I never thought the passive would be rank 5.

I’m a little let down.

‘If it had a good passive, it could have been used as a graduation essence.’

That’s because, even if I don’t know about other skills, [Hellfire] is a skill that has the performance of a graduation essence.

It’s just that the original owner’s passive and stats were bad.

‘It’s good that new combinations are coming out, but finding the right combination is really difficult—’

‘Mister!’

Then Erwin shouted urgently.

We hadn’t even rested for long after the battle, is it another monster already?

I was thinking that as I got up.

‘It’s not a monster! It’s people!’

Important additional information followed.

‘People?’

‘There are four of them. They’re running fast as if they’re fleeing from something…….’

‘They’re not coming this way. What should we do?’

What do you mean what should we do?

‘Let’s go. I was wondering what happened anyway. They came to this island before us, so they must know a lot.’

Since everyone was an experienced explorer, we quickly organized our positions and formed a pursuit formation.

And we moved quickly with Erwin in the lead.

‘We’ll meet them soon!’

Soon, Erwin stopped, and soon after, the explorers appeared beyond the bushes.

‘Oh……!’

Their reactions, as they were running with their breath catching in their throats, were complex.

‘Yandel… Baron……?’

Confusion, caution, surprise, joy, hope…….

Numerous fragments of emotions that flashed by in an instant.

However, have they finally come to their senses?

‘We, we’re alive!’

‘…Please save us!’

The explorers threw down their weapons and rushed towards us without asking or questioning why we were here.

They were the type I hated the most.

No, I understand you’re happy, but you have to do what you have to do.

‘What were you being chased by?’

‘Ah… ahh……. Mo, monsters! The ones that live on this island……!’

‘Are they chasing you? I don’t feel any other signs.’

‘Ah, no, that’s probably not the case!’

‘Then why were you running like that?’

‘…We, we were captured in their village and barely escaped. We thought there might be a pursuit…….’

‘I see.’

Since the information I needed to check right away was over, I let go of the shoulder I was holding tightly.

‘There don’t seem to be any monsters, but don’t let your guard down.’

There was no need to waste unnecessary energy, so I downgraded the situation from combat mode to alert mode. Then, I handed a glass of water to the explorers we had encountered.

And as soon as they finished drinking, I bombarded them with questions.

Actually, there was something that made me tilt my head as soon as I heard it.

‘Now that you’ve calmed down, tell me. A village?’

‘It, it’s exactly as I said. A village of monsters that live on this island…….’

‘Do you mean there’s a colony?’

‘N, no, it’s different from that. We, we don’t know how to explain it, but…….’

The explorer was still out of it, not having regained his senses.

A woman next to him opened her mouth instead.

‘Baron, those monsters were completely different from ordinary monsters.’

‘How so?’

‘First of all, they communicated with a clear language system. The mage said it seemed like they were using an ancient language……. Ah, ah! That’s not the important thing.’

The woman shook her head and continued.

‘The village where we were captured was really huge. There were houses where many monsters lived, and…… there were children and families on the streets.’

‘…….’

‘It’s like they’ve settled down here… like natives.’

Natives, huh…….

It was quite an interesting story.