Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 167

Explorers.

A profession that involves entering dungeons, hunting monsters, and mining magic stones. The general public thinks that fighting monsters is the biggest hardship of this profession.

But…….

“Actually, if you ask explorers, you’ll get completely different answers.”

The absence of light.

Not being able to sleep when you want to.

Food like animal feed and the build-up of sexual frustration.

Bodies soaked in sweat and dirty sleeping places.

“It’s somewhat less in the lower levels where the exploration period is short. But the higher the level of the explorer, the higher the percentage who say these things are harder than combat.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Yes. Even large clans usually take a month-long break in the city after completing one expedition from the 7th floor onwards.”

As someone who belongs to this profession, it was something I could fully understand.

But…….

“So?”

Afternoon of the 22nd day.

To be precise, what was the point of saying all that when I was about to take out some jerky from my bag for a meal?

He wouldn’t do this without a purpose.

“If you want something, just say it.”

As I stared at him with eyes that said, ‘Get to the point,’ Raven replied with a somewhat determined voice.

“Let’s eat something proper today. Not jerky, but a dish cooked with fire.”

Ha, so that was the purpose.

As expected of a mage, he could have just said he wanted to eat something delicious today.

I thought for a moment and then answered.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

“Even if Yandel is the leader, you should ask the team members’ opinions… What? What did you say?”

“I said okay.”

“Oh, really?”

Raven’s eyes widened as if he thought he would be rejected.

Well, he probably knew it was a forced argument.

This isn’t the 4th floor.

There, we cooked and ate every day, and sometimes even grilled meat that had been preserved with magic…….

The 5th floor, the Great Demon Realm, is a layer with an open-world structure.

“Are you really okay with that? If the smell spreads, there’s a high chance we won’t be able to eat properly because of the monsters?”

“What… what do you want, anyway?”

“Ah, no… Thinking about it, I think I can solve the smell problem to some extent with magic.”

Now that I see it, it seems he just wanted to say this.

Anyway, once it was decided that we would cook, Ainar, who had been anxiously eavesdropping on the conversation, opened his mouth wide.

“Is this a mage…?”

He seemed impressed that he got my permission with just a few words…….

‘Now that we’re on the 5th floor, we need to improve things here too.’

Actually, it was something I was already thinking about.

The total exploration period is almost a month now.

We need to pay attention to the stress of the team members.

When people get sensitive, they can get on edge over trivial things.

“Then, Mr. Carlstein, please. If you need water or fire, please let me know.”

“Hmm, can you make a fire for me?”

“Is this enough?”

Soon, Misha, our team’s official cook, started cooking with Raven’s help.

The menu was a tomato stew with lots of meat.

“It’s so delicious again today!!! Misha! Can you marry me later?”

“What are you talking about? Mr. Ainar, I’m going to live with Mr. Carlstein.”

“Oh, I’m glad you enjoyed the meal, but both of you, that’s a bit……”

Misha glanced at me, trailing off her words.

“……”

“……”

For reference, while they were eating, the bear and I stood guard. Not a single monster appeared until the three of them had emptied their bowls.

“Hmm, the smell really is almost gone? What kind of magic is this?”

“I applied air control magic and combustion magic. I gather the smells in one place and burn them away.”

“Hmm, I see.”

The bear was overjoyed that we could have a decent meal even on the 5th floor.

I felt the same way.

Honestly, I’m really sick of jerky now.

“Okay, then you two should eat too. We’ll stand guard now.”

Soon, the two of us also sat down and ate the stew from our bowls. As befitting a barbarian and a macho black bear, 5 minutes was enough, and again, no monsters appeared until we finished eating.

It wasn’t just because of the smell removal magic.

‘……The overall number of monsters has decreased.’

I’ve noticed it for a few days, but the number of monsters on the 5th floor is significantly less than in the game.

Of course, there is a reason I can guess.

‘Those damn clan bastards.’

The Great Demon Realm has a structure where monsters respawn from mirrors in each field and are released into the canyon.

But since the clans monopolize those hunting grounds and hunt as soon as they respawn, there are bound to be fewer monsters crawling out.

‘……Well, thanks to that, I found it early though.’

I smiled as I looked at the moss in the corner of the road.

It’s different from the other moss I’ve seen passing by.

Red moss and green moss are mixed half and half.

And a bead-sized black moss formed at the point where the two mosses meet.

‘The problem is how to naturally induce this…….’

While I was pondering, a monster appeared in front of me.

Eight ‘Hell Hounds,’ 6th-grade monsters.

It’s easy to imagine a four-eyed wild dog the size of a tiger. The fact that their whole body is engulfed in black flames is a bonus.

[Krrr-!!]

“Prepare for battle.”

Since we’ve been catching these monsters for days, there was no need for a briefing, and we immediately engaged in battle.

The battle took about 10 minutes to end.

“So, are we going to go further down now?”

Raven asked about the plan, and I pondered for a moment.

It was still a long time before we needed to camp.

How can I make them stay here without feeling awkward?

‘Tch, if it weren’t for the smell removal magic, we’d be fighting monsters right now.’

I was thinking that while smacking my lips when it happened.

‘……Huh?’

The black moss in the corner disappeared.

As if something invisible had taken it away.

‘……Has that guy already come?’

I quickly gave an order.

“Raven, I feel like something is near us.”

“What? What do you mean—”

“Use detection magic.”

Perhaps it was because of the big scare we had with the masked man on the 4th floor? Even with an order based on intuition, Raven used magic without question.

“Dire Taniv Karsachi.”

A wave of magical power spread out in a circle.

Soon, Raven’s expression became serious.

“There is something. Something is in front of us.”

“Is it a person?”

I asked, pretending not to know, and Raven used ‘identification’ magic instead of answering.

Whoosh-!

A cluster of light stuck to the air like clay.

Soon, the light subsided, and the figure of the creature hiding itself was revealed.

“……Huh?”

It was a squirrel.

About the size of a six or seven-year-old child.

It was sitting crouched in front of the moss, gnawing on the black moss with its front teeth.

[Kyuu?]

The squirrel tilted its head, sensing our gaze.

“Ugh…! Cu, cute!”

“It looks delicious!”

Misha and Ainar exclaimed at the same time.

It was after that that Raven shouted excitedly.

“It’s a Millalodon! We have to kill it quickly!!”

Yeah, you know what it is.

How hard it is to meet this guy.

“Ah, right… it’s a monster after all……”

Misha raised her sword with a somewhat sad face.

On the other hand, the bear loaded an arrow into his crossbow faster than ever.

It wasn’t just one person who recognized its value.

“You’re lucky. To meet a Millalodon on your first exploration.”

“Wa, wait a minute. Distortion! I haven’t used distortion magic yet!”

Raven stopped the bear and quickly chanted a magic spell.

Not just distortion, but ‘superior distortion’ magic. [Magic that increases the chance of a monster’s corpse remaining intact.]

Now, when this monster is killed, there is a higher chance that its corpse will remain intact.

[Kyu, kyuut-!!]

The Millalodon went into convulsions as soon as it was hit by the distortion magic.

Perhaps it was an instinct engraved in its DNA.

Most of its ancestors would have died after being hit by this.

“Abman!”

At my shout, a crossbow arrow was fired.

However, the creature avoided it with agile movements, as befitting a herbivorous monster that is rare in the dungeon.

I immediately dashed forward and grabbed its tail.

[Bbi! Bbi! Bbiit!!]

The creature struggled and let out a weak scream.

Doing this made me feel like I was harming an animal…….

Well, what can I do?

This is the law of nature.

Srrk.

I was about to reach out to crush its head and kill it when it happened.

“Wait a minute!”

Raven stopped me.

“Can’t we kill it as intact as possible? I heard the leather sells for quite a bit.”

Words befitting a mage who pursues rationality.

I readily agreed and grabbed the Millalodon’s neck and tail to restrain it.

And…….

“Misha.”

“Uh, uh? Is, is it me who has to do it?”

“Isn’t your sword the thinnest?”

Ainar uses a greatsword, and the bear’s arrows are too big to be called arrows.

Not to mention my mace.

Since it’s a monster, it would be difficult to stab it cleanly with a normal knife.

“Stab it between the eyes.”

“Ugh……”

Misha looked somewhat uneasy, but in the end, she drew her sword and gave it peace.

[Kyuu…….]

The Millalodon slumped down as if its power had been turned off.

I swallowed hard and counted the seconds.

‘1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds…….’

That was the time when it would have been judged dead and disappeared into light.

“Bjorn!! The meat is out!”

The corpse did not disappear.

***

7th-grade Millalodon.

A squirrel that carries a mirror on its back.

It’s classified as a rare species like a mimic.

It’s incredibly hard to meet.

“Hehe, thanks to Yandel, we caught a very rare monster. Mr. Urikfrit, have you had any experience with it?”

“It’s my first time too. It’s that rare.”

Even the bear, who had been active on the 5th floor for a long time, was hunting it for the first time.

Well, considering its habits, it’s understandable.

A non-aggressive monster with a constant stealth ability.

But if you are running detection magic, it won’t even enter it? It’s practically a monster that you can only meet with luck.

Of course, assuming you don’t know about the black moss.

‘If I wait here and use detection magic, I can catch it for sure.’

Of course, it’s easier said than done. I was only able to figure out this method after being stuck on the 5th floor for over a year.

It was a game full of all sorts of hidden pieces.

Under the belief that there might be a condition for the Millalodon’s appearance, I went through all the recorded files, and in one of the recorded files, I discovered the phenomenon of the moss on the terrain disappearing.

At that time, I even thought it was a bug…….

‘A true pervert game.’

As a result of the check, it was not a bug but a hidden element.

If you use detection magic as soon as the moss disappears, the Millalodon appears with a 100% probability. Of course, whether the distortion magic succeeds is another matter.

“It seems like a beginner’s luck. To succeed with distortion magic at once—”

“Superior distortion. Not just distortion.”

“Ah, yeah. Right, superior distortion……”

In the game, the success rate of Millalodon’s distortion is 20%.

Even with superior distortion, it’s less than 30%.

So, I thought we would have to catch three or four to get it.

“Anyway, can you give it to me?”

“Do you know how to butcher it?”

“It’s something I did every day during my apprenticeship.”

The limp corpse was quickly dismantled into leather, organs, and bones by the butchering knife held by Raven.

A much faster and more precise skill than Rotmiller.

Wow, a professional is in a different league.

“But where is it so expensive?”

“The leather is in demand because of its rarity, and the tendons are used as magic materials. But… the real value is something else.”

Soon, Raven finished the butchering process by cutting out the mirror attached to the back leather with a knife.

“It’s this mirror.”

“Mirror?”

“Yes. You can’t take it out to the city, but you can use it very usefully inside.”

After that, Raven explained the use of the mirror in detail.

I watched the scene with satisfaction.

‘Is this why you need a mage on the team?’

It’s much easier to proceed.

In the past, I had to explain everything from start to finish. Ha, can I finally live like a normal barbarian now?

“But Yandel, you have a good sense too.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no way you could have sensed the Millalodon’s presence.”

Raven looked at me with a strange look, but he didn’t suspect anything.

He had a similar experience on the 4th floor, so he doesn’t think it’s impossible.

Okay, then that part is done.

“So, how do you use this?”

In the game, the mirror was just equipped by the mage, and then you clicked a button.

So, what about the real version?

“Uh, I don’t know either.”

Huh?

“It’s not written that far in the book. Wouldn’t it work if you push magic power into it?”

“……Try it. Ah, wait, let’s make a binding magic first. Just in case.”

“That’s a good idea.”

After making the binding magic again, Raven held the mirror and closed his eyes.

It seems like he’s pouring magic power into it…….

As a barbarian with no magical talent, I couldn’t feel anything.

However, how much time had passed since then?

Flash-!

The mirror emitted a brilliant light and enveloped us.

And when we came to our senses.

「The character has entered the Mirror of Fire.」

We were standing on a vast wasteland, having escaped the dark dungeon.

“The space suddenly changed, it’s like we’ve entered a rift!”

The bear’s comment.

However, this place is clearly different from a rift.

First of all, there are no guardians, and it’s not in the form of a dungeon.

It’s just an open-world structure full of monsters.

So, in other words…….

[Go somewhere else, barbarian. This is our clan’s territory.]

The world beyond the mirror where the clans were camped out, receiving the monsters that came out.

I usually called this hidden field this.

“Bjorn! Monsters are swarming from all directions!”

“Prepare for battle!”

Burning Zone.

「Field Effect – The Otherworld is granted.」

「Magic stone drop rate is greatly increased.」

「Essence drop rate is slightly increased.」

Let’s get exactly two essences, no more, no less.