Surviving The Game As A Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 12

There were nine goblins charging at me in total.

Eight were regular goblins, and one was a goblin swordsman.

Even though he’s called a swordsman, he was just wielding a scimitar with a blade about 60cm long…

That’s a decent blade, unlike a carving knife.

“Grrrk!”

I swung my short hammer at the temple of the goblin charging from the front.

Thwack-!

One shot, one kill. The goblin turned into a burst of light and disappeared before it even hit the ground.

But it’s too early to celebrate.

I’ve only taken down one so far.

“Grrrk!!!”

As soon as I took down one, two goblins rushed in from both sides.

They were holding carving knives.

I dashed to the right, pushed one away with my shield, and immediately turned to smash the other with my hammer.

Thwack-!

That makes two.

But there’s no time to catch my breath.

Another goblin, the swordsman, flanked me from behind.

“Kyaaak!”

He made a snake-like sound, as if proud to be a swordsman.

I immediately stopped and rolled on the ground.

Whoosh-!

The sword passed overhead with a sharp whistling sound.

Seeing me roll, the goblins thought it was their chance and rushed in.

That’s why the 2nd floor is several times more dangerous than the 1st floor.

Even if I can overpower four regular goblins with my physical strength, it’s impossible at this point.

I have no choice but to risk injury.

Maybe, if I were alone.

Thwack!

An arrow shot from the bushes pierced the forehead of one of the goblins.

It seems Erwen has taken up a sniping position again.

Tap!

I quickly got up, using the momentum from my roll. Then, I charged into the middle of the enemy lines with my shield.

Well, it’s obvious that a warrior should draw aggro [aggression], right?

“You bastards! Come at me!”

Blocking with my shield, swinging my hammer, dodging, kicking, and even headbutting.

While dancing in the middle of the goblin formation, teetering on the edge of my barbarian blood, Erwen, who had repositioned herself, fired arrows like crazy.

Whoosh, thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The goblins were disoriented by the arrows that were fired every two or three seconds.

“G, grrrk!!”

Perhaps because she was a little hasty, the arrows didn’t always hit vital spots…

Thwack!

They always hit somewhere: shoulder, arm, belly, chest, thigh, etc.

Sometimes, she even imbued them with the power of spirits, causing them to burst into flames.

Not to be outdone, I smashed the heads of the goblin bastards who couldn’t do anything because they were wary of the arrows, one by one with my hammer.

Thwack! Thwack!

Soon, when the number of goblins was reduced to two, they began to flee.

I grabbed one by the hair as it ran, and Erwen shot an arrow into the back of the other’s head to finish it off.

「You have defeated a goblin swordsman. EXP +1」

As the battle ended, Erwen, who had been hiding in the bushes, came out and approached me.

“Mister, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. How about you?”

“I’m fine too.”

“Okay. Then let’s collect the magic stones.”

After that, we split up and walked around, picking up arrows and magic stones.

Although I defeated the goblin swordsman in the melee, it was impossible to obtain his scimitar.

Like on the 1st floor, the clothes and weapons they were wearing also turned into light and disappeared.

“Here are six.”

So, including the two that Erwen ambushed and killed, we harvested a total of 11 magic stones.

Considering that we earned forty-four in a whole day on the first day, this is more than satisfactory.

Especially since the battle time was less than two minutes.

“Here, take this.”

“Two? Thank you!”

I took nine, and Erwen took two.

This distribution took into account that even though they are both 9th grade, the swordsman’s magic stone is a bit heavier than a regular goblin’s.

“We can keep doing this, right?”

“Yeah, was there anything uncomfortable or dangerous about this battle?”

“No, not really.”

After that, I took some time to review the battle and look for ways to improve our fighting style.

I couldn’t find anything to fix right now, but that’s probably because we’re still inexperienced.

As the number of battles increases and we gain experience, we will naturally get better.

“Okay, let’s stop here and keep moving.”

“Yes!”

I checked the time one last time.

[01:31]

I wonder how much we can earn by the end of the 4th day?

***

We moved by expanding the radius around the portal.

And after expanding the radius by more than 3km, we encountered goblin groups about once every 5 minutes.

That’s how we naturally met goblin archers.

“Kikikiki!”

The goblin archers, who made a slightly more unique sound than ‘grrrk,’ were definitely threatening opponents.

They used small short bows that resembled harps as weapons, and like other goblins, the arrowheads of their weapons were poisoned.

They could even use stealth magic.

However…

「You have defeated a goblin archer. EXP +1」

If I was focused, this barbarian body was able to react to the incoming arrows, dodging them or blocking them with my shield.

Well, I still have to be careful.

“There’s another goblin archer! Take it down first!”

“Yes!”

Even if I’m a barbarian, I’ll die instantly if an arrow hits my head.

I should buy a helmet when I get back to the city.

“Let’s take a break.”

“Ha! Finally!”

After finishing another battle, we moved to an open space near the portal to rest.

“You can go to sleep first if you want.”

“Really?”

She really doesn’t know what it means to decline.

I chuckled and nodded, and she plopped down in the open space, glancing at me like a puppy that needs to pee.

“Um, what about the backpack and blanket?”

“…Here.”

I put down the bag, which had become even heavier, and took out the blanket to cover her.

Then, in less than a minute, I started hearing snoring.

Snore, snore-.

It’s an infinitely small and quiet sound compared to the traditional barbarian style…

She must have been really tired.

She didn’t make a single sound while sleeping until now.

Well, maybe it’s because she feels more psychologically safe now than before.

[18:20]

We spent about 15 hours hunting in the goblin forest.

We had to fight more than ten creatures each time, but as we got used to it, the dangerous situations decreased, and the speed increased even more.

As a result, we earned a level of income that was unimaginable on the 1st floor.

But it wasn’t like there were no tense moments.

“Hoo…”

As the radius expanded, we also started encountering explorers.

The number of times we’ve encountered them so far is eleven.

They were all groups of three or more, and some teams even had other races mixed in.

Every time we met, we kept our distance and passed each other as a matter of course, but every time, I felt completely drained.

I’m more afraid of those explorer bastards than goblins.

Especially now that there’s a reason to be wary.

“It’s also a problem that she’s too pretty.”

I sighed as I looked at Erwen, who was sound asleep.

Even though we’ve been camping out for days, her silver hair is still shiny, her amber eyes are captivating, and her features are all the conditions for a beauty.

It’s lucky for a woman, but…

As an explorer, well, I don’t know.

In fact, among the explorer groups we encountered, there was a bastard who started licking his lips as soon as he saw Erwen.

I hope nothing I’m worried about happens…

“…Am I that pretty?”

What the hell, you were snoring until just now.

“Go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

Erwen answered vaguely, as if she was still half-asleep, and immediately started snoring again.

Snore, snore.

What is she really?

The fairies I know weren’t like this.

***

Day 4, Day 5, Day 6…

Time passed quickly since we entered the goblin forest, and soon Day 7 began.

The day to finally leave the labyrinth had come.

“When we get back, I want to sleep first…”

“Same here.”

There is only one way to leave the labyrinth and return to the city.

It’s to wait until the staircase closes.

When the set time comes, the labyrinth spits out the explorers who were on that floor back to the city.

The 1st floor is 168 hours, and the 2nd floor is a bit longer at 240 hours.

The higher the floor, the longer the period you can stay in the labyrinth.

However, we plan to go down to the 1st floor and leave the city right before the end of the 7th day.

“Today, let’s not go as far as yesterday and just move around nearby.”

“Yes!”

There are a few reasons why we’re leaving early.

When the 1st floor is closed, the portal also disappears.

This means that we lose our means of retreat in case of an emergency.

Also, our food is starting to run out.

There is also the option of buying food from the explorers we occasionally meet in exchange for magic stones, but…

‘There’s no need to push ourselves.’

Above all, we only have less than 10 intact arrows left.

Even though they are made to be sturdy for recycling, they are consumables, so it was inevitable.

If they were arrows made of Earth’s wood in the first place, they wouldn’t have been able to be reused even a few times.

It makes me realize once again that this is a different world.

[22:27]

After continuing to hunt for a while, I checked the time and stopped.

“Let’s go back now, just in case.”

“Yes!”

We are currently about 4km away from the portal.

It will take us 40 minutes at most to reach the portal.

Of course, that would leave us with some time to spare, but…

It’s better to be there early than to be late and not be able to go down.

I also have something to talk about with her before we part ways.

“Be careful. There are traps again.”

As we were going back the way we came, traps were scattered in the forest again.

This means that the goblin groups have respawned.

Well, it’s not like they suddenly appear out of thin air like in a game.

There are often rabbit hole-like things in the forest, and goblins always crawl out of them.

So, I once waited in front of one, and even tried setting it on fire with Erwen, but there was no reaction.

I couldn’t check the bottom because the ground collapsed as soon as I dug it.

Thump.

Erwen, who was walking ahead, stopped.

“There’s a goblin group about 70m away in the 1 o’clock direction. Eight regular ones, two swordsmen, and two archers.”

Now that she’s used to it, she gives me a perfect briefing without needing to ask her again.

“We’re going to fight, right?”

“We’re fighting.”

There was no need for a long conversation.

When I nodded, Erwen, as always, took the lead, pushing through the bushes and clearing the way.

Then, she stopped me with a gesture, moved about 10m further alone, took her position, and drew her bow.

Whoosh!

The arrow is fired.

Thwack!

It probably hit a goblin archer.

I told her to prioritize them if possible.

“Mister!”

“Okay, you fall back.”

Erwen, who fired another arrow at the charging goblin group, falls back.

It’s a baton touch that we’re now very familiar with.

I charged forward and smashed the swordsman among the regular goblins with my hammer.

Thwack-!

It feels good, so I don’t need to hit him twice.

“Waaaaaaah!”

The goblins hesitate when I shout like a roar from the center of the formation.

Those bastards are scared.

Thwack-!

In the moment the goblins paused, I quickly dashed and smashed the head of the other swordsman as well.

“Grrrrk!!”

After so many melees, I’ve become a master of this kind of brawl.

It was the same for Erwen.

Whoosh! Thwack!

Arrows began to be fired in earnest, as if she had already taken her position.

There were times when our paths overlapped when we weren’t in sync, and we almost got hit by arrows, but those things gradually disappeared.

I began to roughly predict which enemy Erwen would prioritize in which situation and where she would aim.

I guess it’s the same for her.

Thwack-!

About a minute had passed.

The battle ended with me smashing the back of the head of a goblin trying to escape.

I heard that there were two goblin archers earlier, but no arrows flew during the battle.

It seems that the first two arrows she shot during the ambush hit the archers.

“Good job, Erwen.”

“Hehe.”

“Still, if you take down all the archers, tell me. It’s annoying to keep worrying about it.”

“I wasn’t sure if the last one hit.”

Well, that could be the case.

Inaccurate information can actually cause danger.

She’s really grown up now.

I feel proud for some reason.

“Let’s quickly gather what we need and move on.”

“Yes!”

After that, we were walking around picking up magic stones when Erwen urgently called me.

“Mister! There’s something amazing here!”

I quickly went over and saw a fist-sized ball of light floating in the air.

And I knew what it was.

It was the first time I’d seen it in person, but…

“…An essence. And it’s definitely from a goblin archer.”

Honestly, I felt a bit bitter as soon as I saw it.

How could I be this lucky?

“T, t, the essence? T, t, this thing?”

“Yeah. I’m sure of it.”

“W, w, what do we do?”

As you can see from her reaction, essences have more value than treasures for explorers.

Essences are like the skill system of [Dungeon & Stone].

“I, if I eat this, will I become a goblin?”

“Of course not. You’ll just gain some of the abilities that the goblin had.”

For example, like the guy on the 1st floor who tracked us by smell. Maybe that tracker absorbed the essence of a ‘Blade Wolf’ back then.

“What do we do…?”

How many times are you going to ask the same question?

Even though the ratio is 9:1, she seems to want this too.

“Do you want it?”

“No, it’s not that, but… if you give it to me, well…”

There’s no reason not to give it to her, but is it just my imagination that she seems to be getting more brazen as the days go by?

I chuckled and opened my mouth.

“I’ll give you the essence if you promise me one thing.”

The ‘Goblin Archer’s Essence’ isn’t a very attractive item for me, a barbarian.

It might be a little helpful right now, but the total amount of essence that can be absorbed is limited.

It would just cost me a lot of money to delete it later.

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

Looking at her wide eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh.

It’s still amazing when I think about it.

Essences are dropped with an extremely low probability when hunting monsters. But on our first try, we got a goblin archer’s essence, not even a regular goblin’s?

Our luck was so good that the term ‘beginner’s luck’ wasn’t enough to describe it.

Is my miserable fate finally starting to turn around?

“I was going to say this when we went down to the 1st floor, but I’ll say it now. Erwen—”

“Hey, you guys! What the hell are you doing right now?”

Damn it, I knew my luck was too good.

Just as I was about to get a promise from Erwen, a shout came from afar.

“Don’t move!”

A party of four human explorers.

They discovered us from afar and quickly closed the distance with stern expressions.

To be honest, I thought, ‘Well, of course.’

“Ah, mister?”

This is the right order of things.