Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 130

Ten days had passed since our visit to the Kalstein family.

On the first day, I was worried Misha might have told her father everything, but…

[“What? Are you crazy! You old barbarian! How could you say such a thing?!”]

[“Then what did you do there?”]

[“That’s…! You don’t need to know!!”]

It was an unnecessary worry.

I didn’t know why she was keeping it a secret, but it was clear that nothing of the sort had happened.

I decided to focus on the immediate problems.

There were two ticking time bombs in the team.

[“Dwarki, let’s talk.”]

The day after returning from the Kalstein estate, I met with Dwarki right away.

And while we were drinking, I spoke indirectly.

[“What? Is it true? That Miss Misha likes chubby men?”]

[“Yes, she definitely said that last time.”]

[“I, I see. Thank you for telling me. I almost made a mistake by being too hasty.”]

For the record, after that conversation, Dwarki ordered a lot of snacks and stuffed himself until his belly was bulging.

With that, one problem was solved.

‘He won’t confess until he gains some weight.’

I’ve bought at least a month or two, I’d say.

Given Dwarki’s personality, he wouldn’t be able to muster the courage unless he gained a considerable amount of weight.

And by the time he gains weight, Misha and I will probably be leaving the team.

‘I feel like such a scumbag doing this…’

But there’s no other way.

If his mentality was strong, it might be different, but what if he confessed to Misha and got rejected?

He wouldn’t be able to focus, even in the labyrinth.

That could endanger the team.

‘Wait, why am I so sure he’ll get rejected?’

That question suddenly popped into my head, but I didn’t dwell on it. The data accumulated in the subconscious is sometimes more accurate than anything else.

Anyway, next was Rotmüller.

[“Be careful. My father must have been up to something with that Rotmüller guy.”]

Julian Urbans, the regional lord’s daughter.

As that woman said, if Rotmüller had contacted the regional lord, there was a high probability that some ominous conversation had taken place.

The regional lord and I had a bad history.

It was a bit of a mystery why he was making moves now, after several months.

‘Anyway, I shouldn’t show any suspicion.’

In Rotmüller’s case, unlike Dwarki, I approached the matter carefully over time.

This guy is scary.

I haven’t seen him get angry yet…

No, that’s why he’s even scarier.

Because these types of people tend to go all the way once they snap.

[“Then, for the first floor, we will aim for the closest destination based on the starting point.”]

[“Haha, marriage? You ask strange questions. I don’t plan on starting a family until I can truly take responsibility for someone.”]

[“You should sit on the inside. The aisle side will be too crowded for you with your large build.”]

I continued to observe Rotmüller during regular meetings and even casual drinking sessions.

Nothing much had changed from before.

He was as quiet as usual, serious, and still considerate of others in most situations.

‘Ha, this is really a headache.’

Even after hearing Julian’s warning, I couldn’t easily imagine Rotmüller stabbing me in the back.

In fact, I even felt guilty for suspecting him.

After all, we had been through thick and thin together for several months.

And now, I was doubting him based on a few words from an outsider?

‘There couldn’t be a bigger contradiction.’

The more I thought about it, the more ironic the situation was.

But the more it was like that, the more I thought it was right to address it clearly.

What kind of conversation did Rotmüller have with the regional lord at the Explorer’s Guild that day?

‘If he had told me about it first, I would have cleared my doubts without any regrets.’

Rotmüller hadn’t mentioned anything about it.

So, today, I called him out separately to have a conversation.

There really wasn’t much time left.

The labyrinth would open tomorrow.

Therefore, I emptied the glass of alcohol we had just clinked and got straight to the point.

“Rotmüller. About the time you went to the Explorer’s Guild last time, what was that about?”

Rotmüller looked slightly surprised at my direct question.

But perhaps he had a hunch?

So, something did happen.

“I have an acquaintance at the guild.”

I answered briefly and then demanded an answer to my first question.

Rotmüller sighed and replied.

“…When I went there, the 7th regional lord was in the room. He offered me a reward to betray you.”

“And?”

“I said I would pretend I didn’t hear it and left. How’s that for an answer?”

He tried not to show it, but Rotmüller seemed very uncomfortable with my question.

But I endured it all and asked again.

“Then why didn’t you tell me until now?”

“Didn’t I say? I said I would pretend I didn’t hear it. Besides, I thought it would only make the atmosphere weird if I told you.”

“I see. Thank you for answering.”

With that, the conversation ended.

If I pushed him any further, it would only sound like I didn’t trust him. Whatever Rotmüller’s true intentions were, I decided it wasn’t a wise move.

‘Besides, nothing will change anyway.’

We can’t enter the labyrinth without a scout.

What about the option of finding a new person?

That also has its risks.

It’s difficult to find a skilled scout without going through the guild.

In other words, it’s the perfect environment for the regional lord to slip a suspicious person into the team.

In the first place, I doubted if the dwarf or Dwarki would even agree to it.

‘Above all, it doesn’t seem like Rotmüller was lying when he said he rejected the offer.’

I soon made my final decision.

“Sorry for bothering you at night. Rest well today, and I’ll see you at the meeting place tomorrow.”

Nothing will change.

Rotmüller will also be joining this expedition.

***

The next day, in the afternoon.

In other words, about 7 hours before the labyrinth opened.

“Mister, I’ll come back to see you after I’m done! You have to come back healthy!”

“Okay, you do your best too.”

Erwen, who had been hanging out in my room since she formed a bond with her sister in the morning, left.

And just in time, Misha arrived.

“What, why is she coming out of here?”

“She said she came to say goodbye. She said there’s nothing else to do after getting the bond magic anyway.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, you came just in time. Let’s go inside and get some sleep.”

I set the timer on the alarm clock I had bought recently, and Misha and I went to sleep to adjust our condition.

And how much time had passed?

“Bjorn, wake up.”

We had a simple meal and then came out with our pre-packed luggage. We arrived a little early, so no one was at the meeting place yet.

“Hmm, are the two of them still not here?”

As always, Rotmüller arrived right on time.

“Yeah. It seems like Dwarki and Hikurod are a bit late.”

“…It’s nothing new.”

Those two were either early or late, so we kept waiting.

It was then.

“Oh, Bjorn! Look over there!”

When I looked where Misha was pointing, I saw a group of young warriors who had just finished their coming-of-age ceremony moving together.

So, I quickly approached them.

I’d be sad if I didn’t meet them now.

“Are you lost? If so, you can follow those people who look like explorers.”

“Who are you to say such obvious things?”

“…I am Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

“What! Little Balkan! It’s an honor to meet you!”

After revealing my name, I asked.

“But what do you mean by obvious? Are you not lost?”

“Of course not! We just need to follow the explorers as we learned at the sacred site, so why would we be lost?”

“They taught you that at the sacred site? Not by showing you that weird map and telling you to memorize it?”

“Map? We haven’t seen any maps!”

I was dumbfounded by the young warrior’s answer.

What is this?

Did the teaching method change in the meantime?

Well, it wasn’t bad for me.

It was a much more reasonable method than telling them to memorize a map.

However…

“Since there’s still time, listen to my story.”

“Story?”

“Yes, stories that will be helpful.”

I told them the same stories I had told the previous groups.

But what is this?

“Be careful of humans? That’s obvious. We have to protect our own hearts.”

This group of baby barbarians was clearly different from the ones before.

Every time I said something, they reacted as if I was stating the obvious.

“Wow… the barbarians have evolved.”

Misha was reacting like that too, so it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who felt strange.

Then why did this change happen?

“Who was the person who taught you that at the sacred site?”

I asked, hoping for something, and was dumbfounded.

“It’s Caron, son of Tarson!”

Unbeknownst to me.

A wind of change was blowing from below.

“Then we’ll be on our way! Bjorn, son of Yandel, it was an honor to meet you!”

I wanted to ask more, but the baby barbarians left, eager to enter the labyrinth.

And as soon as they disappeared, the two people we had been waiting for arrived at the meeting place.

“Ah, sorry for being late! Did you wait long?”

“Hahaha! Forgive me, Dwarki here had a stomachache!”

“Wh, wh, what are you talking about!”

“Come on, you. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re all friends here.”

“Enough, let’s get going.”

The two were a full 20 minutes late, so we hurried to the dimensional plaza.

The portal was already open.

“Alright, let’s go!”

We had completed the bond magic through Dwarki and entered the labyrinth.

***

「You have entered the Crystal Cave on the 1st floor.」

***

The crystal cave with its shimmering light.

Since we had skipped it last month using a bug, it was a sight I hadn’t seen in a while, but there was no time to leisurely look around.

Because this time, we decided to do a speedrun.

At Rotmüller’s request.

[“If you all allow it, I would like to try it properly. It might be difficult to gain contribution points, but I’m curious to see how much I can do.”]

Since he usually didn’t strongly assert himself in exploration plans, everyone unanimously agreed.

“Then, let’s start right away.”

As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt the walls and the ground to figure out his current location and immediately started looking for the path.

And he started running as if he was doing a long-distance run.

‘It’s actually quite fun to do it.’

Rotmüller was at the forefront, finding the way.

Right behind him, Misha was taking care of the mobs.

The formation, which was only for movement, was novel, and since we started running in earnest from the start, we could see sights we hadn’t seen before.

“Wow, they’re running over there too!”

Explorers were running through the cave to find the portal, just like us. It was a sight that was hard to even see when we moved slowly.

‘I see why it’s difficult to reduce time on the first floor.’

There were also new things I realized.

The first floor cave has many sharp curves.

So, it’s difficult to run at full speed.

In other words, once you reach a certain level, the movement speed is similar for all explorers.

The scout’s ability becomes even more important.

Or, maybe it’s the team members’ stamina.

“Huff, huff…”

We had stamina far beyond that of ordinary people, but even so, running for hours made us sweat like rain.

Perhaps that’s why?

Conversations naturally disappeared among the group.

“Hikurod, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

The dwarf, who lacked agility and endurance, seemed to be at his limit, but he didn’t utter a weak sound.

Well, how could he make such a sound in front of Rotmüller?

“This way.”

Whether it was true that he wanted to test his limits, Rotmüller didn’t lose his focus for more than several hours and found the way.

If you put it nicely, it was passion.

If you put it badly, it was an enthusiasm that looked like madness.

‘Was this guy always this passionate?’

While admiring his new side, I kept moving my feet.

And how much time had passed?

[06:12]

We arrived at the portal in a whopping 6 hours.

However, unfortunately, the portal had already been opened by someone else.

“Wow, you can get here this fast.”

Misha exclaimed in admiration, but the dwarf and I first looked at Rotmüller’s expression.

“Damn it! Why am I…!!”

It was the first time he had made such an expression.