Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 111

Drrrrrrr-!

How long had it been since I pretended to be asleep, using the baby barbarian’s snoring as background music?

Rustle, rustle-

I could hear rustling sounds coming from the direction of the campfire. It seemed like they were having some kind of hushed conversation among themselves…

I could roughly guess what they were talking about.

[What are we going to do?]

[What do you mean, what are we going to do? We kill them now.]

[Who goes first?]

They must be plotting about who to get rid of first.

If they were truly ruthless, they wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity.

It’s practically a two-for-one deal.

They could get two barbarian hearts worth 1.8 million stones each [currency unit].

[The woman last. Let’s take care of the barbarians first.]

I could guess what kind of conclusion they had reached.

They would probably try to kill me or Caron first.

Therefore, I focused even more intently on my hearing.

Thud.

Small footsteps slowly approaching.

Two were moving towards us, and the other one was heading towards Caron.

‘They plan to take care of us at once.’

It wasn’t a bad choice.

Although the group would be split, it was a way to reduce variables by attacking simultaneously.

But the result would be the same anyway.

Thud.

The footsteps of two people stopped right next to me.

I suddenly shot up.

“I’m hungry… Huh? What are you guys doing there?”

“Huuup!”

The spearman and the leader holding the hammer were so surprised that they gasped. I glanced to the side and saw the archer aiming at the sleeping baby barbarian.

I pretended not to see it and asked calmly.

“Oh, are you guys also awake because you’re hungry?”

I even rubbed my belly, and perhaps they thought I hadn’t seen the archer? They exchanged glances for a moment and then smiled awkwardly.

“Y-yes, that’s right. We were hungry. Would you like to join us for a meal over there?”

“Is it meat?”

“…Of course. I have some jerky in my backpack over there.”

“Jerky!”

“Be quiet. Everyone else is sleeping.”

“Okay…”

I nodded, thinking I had them, and was about to lead the way when-

Thwack-!

I felt an impact on the back of my head.

It seemed like the leader had hit me on the head with his hammer…

“Huh?”

My head, which was fine even after being hit by an orc warrior’s axe, wouldn’t be broken by that.

“What was that?”

I turned around calmly and saw the two guys with blank expressions.

It wasn’t hard to understand.

They had hit me on the head with a hammer, but I hadn’t even flinched, let alone groaned.

“U-uh…”

The leader was frozen, unable to even think about a follow-up attack.

Well, his mind must be in a mess right now.

Logically, it would make sense to assume that I was hiding my true identity…

But the truth was too despairing to believe.

I smiled and said.

“Oh, did your hand slip?”

“U-uh?”

“Even if you’re hungry, how can you make such a mistake?”

Even I thought it was a ridiculous line, but surprisingly, the leader nodded with an awkward smile.

“A-ah! I’m sorry.”

Sorry my ass.

Did they think a real barbarian was an idiot?

“I just made a mistake–”

Thwack-!

“H-had… to…”

Thud.

Since I didn’t have my mace, I landed a straight punch on his face.

The result was not much different.

The leader fell to the ground with his facial bones caved in.

“Uh…?”

The spearman next to him was still just staring at me, not understanding the situation.

“Oh, I guess my hand slipped because I was hungry too.”

I said it as if I was truly sorry, but they didn’t seem to be in the mood to accept my apology.

“Royce! What are you doing? Shoot him already!!”

The spearman gave the order instead of the unconscious leader.

Whoosh-!

The archer shot an arrow that was aimed at me.

But was there some kind of communication error?

They clearly told him to shoot me, but the arrow was aimed at the baby barbarian Caron.

Thwack-!

Fortunately, Caron, who had woken up after hearing the spearman’s shout, twisted his body and avoided getting hit in a vital spot.

“Kuh, Royce! What are you doing!”

Caron, with an arrow in his shoulder, quickly got up and grabbed the archer by the neck.

“C-cough!”

“Speak, speak! Why did you shoot me!”

“Cough, well… this… cough!”

“Are you not going to speak!!”

It seemed like I didn’t need to worry about that side anymore.

I shifted my gaze to the spearman, and I saw him slowly backing away into the darkness.

Even though things had become a mess, his determination to abandon his comrades and find a way to survive was commendable, but…

No, there was no way that would happen.

“…You really were looters.”

Misha, who had been watching from the beginning to the end, ended the situation by striking the guy’s neck with the flat of her sword.

***

“What is going on?!”

Caron asked, unable to hide his confusion.

However, the archer who had been choked unconscious couldn’t answer.

“These guys are looters.”

I kindly explained everything, from how barbarian hearts were sold at high prices to how I had hidden my identity and joined them because I was suspicious.

However…

“What? That can’t be! They are my comrades…!”

Our pure baby barbarian couldn’t believe it. Or rather, he didn’t want to believe it.

“Caron, son of Tarson, grow up.”

“…Are you trying to insult me! I am already a warrior!”

“Then why are you trying to ignore reality?”

Caron shut his mouth at my question.

Well, he probably knew it himself.

That everything I said was true.

“…”

The barbarians I had seen weren’t a particularly unintelligent race. They just hadn’t learned anything other than combat skills, and they were too pure because they had only been in the sanctuary.

“That vile archer shot an arrow at you. If you hadn’t dodged in time, it would have hit your neck, not your shoulder.”

I said, pulling out the arrow stuck in his shoulder.

It must have been quite painful, but Caron didn’t even make a sound.

So I just kept talking.

“These guys are looters. They are trash from the labyrinth who tried to kill you and take your heart.”

“…I want to hear their side of the story.”

Perhaps he still had hope that there was some kind of misunderstanding.

Caron asked to talk to the trio, and I didn’t have any particular reason to refuse. I just took their weapons and woke up one of them after gathering them in one place.

“H-hic!”

The chosen one was the archer.

Well, he had only been choked unconscious, so I figured he would have taken less damage than the others.

“P-please, spare me!”

Seeing the archer kneeling as soon as he saw me, I took a step back.

It wasn’t me who wanted to talk.

“Royce, are you really a looter?”

“C-Caron…? There’s a misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything, so please let me–”

“Just answer the question. What did I misunderstand?”

“That’s…”

The archer couldn’t answer Caron’s question.

It was only natural.

Because it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

To save time, I threw a notebook that I had found while taking their weapons to Caron.

“What is this?”

“Read it yourself.”

“I… can’t read.”

Ah. That’s right.

“Then why don’t you ask that guy to read it for you?”

“That’s… true.”

Caron handed the notebook I had given him to the archer. It was a notebook containing the hushed conversation they had while we were pretending to sleep.

“…”

The archer, who was sweating profusely as soon as he saw it, lowered his head.

He seemed to have reached the stage of resignation.

Hey, not on my watch.

“If you don’t read it, I’ll kill you.”

“…”

“And it will be very painful.”

“I-I’ll read it…”

The archer began to slowly read the text with trembling lips.

“Briol, why did you accept that guy? Are you planning to kill him too?”

“He’s practically begging to be killed, so there’s no need to let him live, right?”

“I’m suspicious of him. The fact that he was talking about a night companion on the second floor, and even if he’s a barbarian, there’s no way he’s that stupid?”

“Suspicious, huh? I’m in favor. After killing so many barbarian bastards, do you still not know? They’re just walking…”

The archer, who was struggling to continue, stopped at one point.

So I broke one of his fingers.

“Did my words sound like a joke?”

“Aaaah!”

“Continue.”

“T-they’re just walking monsters! Their intelligence is about the same, and especially in that the one who kills them first is the winner.”

The archer, having finished one sentence, looked at Caron.

Caron was trembling.

“Who… who said that?”

“…Victor.”

“Okay, that guy… Okay, continue.”

Caron, having confirmed that it was the spearman’s line, continued the story.

“Besides, even if it’s not a barbarian, the reward is enough. He seems as stupid as a barbarian, but, uh, his face… is quite pretty…”

“Continue.”

“I admit his face is good. But she’s been rolling around with barbarians, so I don’t know about the other parts–”

“Stop!”

Misha interrupted and snatched the notebook.

And after quickly reading it, she asked the archer.

“Here, this, this, and this. Who said it?”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

It was the first time I had seen her like this.

The archer trembled and pointed at the leader, and Misha looked at me and said firmly.

“Bjorn, I’m going to kill this guy.”

“Do as you please.”

Anyway, there was no need to make Misha angrier, so I made him skip the lewd remarks.

After that, the content continued with discussions about who to kill first and how.

And…

“I’ll take care of Caron. It’s annoying that he looks down on me just because I’m an archer. He doesn’t even know that he’s going to die after the hunt…”

With the archer’s line, the hushed conversation ended.

After a moment of silence, Caron broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“I… I don’t understand at all.”

His first words were a question.

“…What did I do wrong?”

He first looked for his own fault.

There was none.

It was just that the world was too barbaric for him to live with his pure heart.

“Bjorn, son of Thor…”

“Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

“That’s right. You’re the famous… Good. Tell me. Bjorn, son of Yandel, are these kinds of guys common in this labyrinth?”

“Yes.”

A side of the labyrinth that had not been revealed in the sanctuary.

The young warrior, who was seeing it for the first time, asked me.

“Then… what should I do?”

As if he truly wanted the answer.

As if he would definitely follow that path if I showed him the way.

So I answered.

“Distrust everyone, whether they are humans or other races. Just like I deceived them, hide your axe in your purity. Always think and act, even if it’s annoying and a little difficult.”

“…Can I do it?”

“It’s not about whether you can do it, it’s about what you have to do.”

I said firmly.

If you can’t distinguish between these two, you will only be able to live in your childhood innocence forever.

“Remember. If you find and kill one, that means one more young warrior will be saved.”

The young warrior pressed his lips together at my words.

“That’s right. So that’s why you…”

He seemed to understand my actions now.

“Now, what are you going to do? I will follow your choice.”

I asked one last time.

Clench.

Caron, son of the young warrior Tarson.

He just clenched his axe tightly.

And…

Swoosh-!

He finally became a warrior.

***

The archer’s neck flew off, drawing a rough edge.

The leader, who had been firmly determined, had his neck cut off after Misha woke him up by stomping on his groin, and I broke the neck of the remaining one.

Well, there was a bit of a happening when he woke up in the middle and begged for his life…

[P-please, spare me! I’ll live a good life from now on…]

[Do you mean you’ll become a good looter?]

[A g-good looter? Ah, yes yes! I will definitely… Cough!]

Nothing changed.

Because there was only one way to become a good looter.

“Here, a potion.”

“Thank you.”

After roughly cleaning up, I handed a potion to Caron, who poured it on the wound on his shoulder.

However…

“Why aren’t you pouring more?”

“If I did, it would heal completely. Scars are proof of immaturity. I want to remember it so I don’t forget.”

“If that’s the case.”

Knowing the barbarian’s habit of regarding scars as badges, I didn’t say anything more.

“Thank you. Bjorn, son of Yandel. I think I know what I have to do from now on.”

His eyes were already completely different from before.

And seeing this, I was convinced.

“It will be difficult for you, but I will smash the heads of every one I see… no, even if I have to find them. Also, if I see a young warrior, I will tell them what I experienced today and give them advice.”

If it was him now, he would be able to clearly tell the average looters.

“Just like you did today. For the sake of my people.”

From now on.

Messing with a baby barbarian is going to be a pain in the ass.