Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 21

Level Up (2)

Library, city adaptation, combat training.

I skipped all the daily routines I had been doing for a month.

Because on the day the labyrinth opens, what an explorer should do isn’t that kind of thing.

[08:10]

As soon as I woke up, I skipped breakfast and rushed to the meeting place I had arranged with Ainar.

It was because I heard that if I was even a little late, I would have to wait for several more hours.

“Here it is! Bjorn, son of Yandel!”

Surprisingly, Ainar was there before me.

“…When did you get here?”

“Didn’t you say you’d leave me behind if I was late! So I slept in front of here! Come on! We’re the first!”

“……”

Even though there were still 30 minutes left until the opening time, a long line had already formed at the entrance.

However, thanks to Ainar, we were able to enter the Explorer’s Guild as soon as the door opened.

“What is your business?”

“We’ve come to receive the binding magic.”

“Are there two of you in the team?”

“Yes.”

“Please place your hands together here.”

As we followed the instructions, a faint light emanated from the crystal ball.

The color was greenish.

“You are two 9th-grade explorers. The cost is 15,000 stones.”

15,000 stones, huh…

If I hadn’t saved on living expenses, it would have been a bit tight.

I obediently opened my pouch and paid the fee.

It stings, but it was an unavoidable expense.

The starting point when entering the labyrinth is random, but if you receive this magic in advance, you can at least start in the same place.

“What is the standard for determining an explorer’s grade?”

“It is measured by the total amount of essence engraved in the soul.”

“I see. Then does the cost of binding increase each time the grade goes up?”

“Of course.”

Ha, it doesn’t have to be the same as the game in this kind of thing.

“It’s done. Please note that it will only last for 24 hours.”

“Understood.”

Soon after finishing our business and leaving the Explorer’s Guild, it was a little past 9 o’clock.

“Let’s have a meal back at our inn. The food is quite good.”

“Inn? Does the inn cook for you?”

What kind of life has this guy been living?

When I subtly asked, Ainar replied as if it was nothing special.

“Usually, I bought bread to eat in the labyrinth.”

Ah, that one that costs 20 stones each.

I also tried to save on food expenses once, but I gave up after a while.

I don’t know what the principle is, but what was quite edible in the labyrinth was as hard as a rock here.

‘That’s why it was called rock bread…’

But he ate only that for a month?

I felt a little sorry, so I ordered meat and stew, and Ainar swore loyalty to me.

“Bjorn! I’ll go into a fire pit if you tell me to! So don’t abandon me!”

After finishing the tearful meal, we went up to our room to organize our backpacks.

“Be thorough. It’ll be troublesome if a necessary situation arises and you forgot to bring something.”

“Don’t worry! There’s nothing to bring in the first place!”

As I checked my equipment and stacked exploration supplies and consumables into my backpack, time surprisingly flew by quickly.

“Then, let’s get some sleep.”

“I’ve never seen such a fluffy bed in my life. It seems like two people can lie down! And it doesn’t smell!”

Having finished preparing to enter the labyrinth at any moment, we lay down side by side to sleep.

But it’s quite cramped lying down with him.

When I lay down with Erwen, there was space left.

“Even if you can’t fall asleep, force yourself to close your eyes. You won’t be able to sleep properly for a while–”

Um, what was I worried about?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-!

Before I could even finish my sentence, I heard the native snoring of a native barbarian.

At this, I chuckled and closed my eyes as well.

How much time had passed since then?

[20:30]

We woke up a little early and had our last meal on the first floor.

We splurged on a special meal worth 800 stones per person.

“What is this taste?”

Ainar, who had been making a fuss throughout the meal, bit into the cream pie that came out for dessert and froze.

“I-is this magic? T-tears keep flowing.”

“Ah, that’s what’s called ‘sweetness’.”

“I think I should live harder from now on…”

It wasn’t intentional, but it seems like the motivation was properly given.

“Let’s go.”

As we packed our bags and went out into the night streets, unlike usual, people could be seen passing by everywhere.

Most of them were armed and carrying large backpacks like me.

As I said, not all of them were like that, and there were also barbarians who only had weapons and bare bodies.

They seemed to have just finished their coming-of-age ceremony and entered the city…

“Stop! It seems like we’re lost.”

“That can’t be! We have to get to the labyrinth within the allotted time!”

“Partun is not qualified to be a leader!”

So, this is something that happens every month.

How do these guys get to the labyrinth every time?

I was seriously thinking about it.

“If you follow them, you’ll be able to reach the labyrinth.”

Ainar approached them and gave them advice.

The young warriors looked at her with eyes that seemed to admire a successful senior and thanked her.

“Thank you. I will definitely repay this favor!”

Watching the barbarians walk away, Ainar wiped her nose.

“…Hehe, it reminds me of the old days.”

I hope she doesn’t pretend it’s an old story.

Because to me, it doesn’t look like anything has changed from then to now.

“Everyone, step back!”

There were already over thousands of people gathered in the dimensional plaza. As I waited for midnight while being squeezed into the crowd, a light began to burst out from the center.

The light, which was small at first, quickly grew in size and rippled in the form of a sphere.

“You may enter now!”

As the public official shouted, the explorers around him quickly threw themselves into the portal.

I led Ainar and escaped to the outskirts, avoiding the wave of people.

“Bjorn, aren’t we going in?”

“Wait and see.”

The number of explorers gathered in the plaza disappeared by dozens per second, but the crowd was still there.

It was because other explorers were arriving one after another.

About 40 minutes after the portal opened, the crowded dimensional plaza became quite deserted, maintaining a level of seven or eight hundred people.

“…Shouldn’t we go in now?”

The portal, which had already swallowed tens of thousands of explorers, had become smaller in size.

But I kept waiting.

Ainar, who wasn’t oblivious, changed her tone.

“Bjorn, what are you waiting for?”

Well, it’s too long to explain…

And I don’t even know if it will work.

But since there was still some time left, I decided to explain it briefly.

“I’m planning to enter when the dimension is unstable. The book said it happens once every hundred years, but if we use this phenomenon–”

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll follow your lead.”

“……?”

“I have a feeling I wouldn’t understand anyway!”

Honestly, I knew it would be like this.

It’s infuriating when they ask and then act like that, but… Actually, being able to skip explanations for every single action might be convenient.

“The gate is about to close! Step back!”

Soon, the light of the portal began to fade.

There wasn’t a single explorer left at this point.

Only then did I slowly walk towards the labyrinth with Ainar.

Seeing us, an official shouted.

“It’s dangerous to go in now!”

I pretended not to hear.

I don’t know why they think it’s dangerous.

I don’t understand their reasoning.

Considering there’s even a book with statistics, they must be aware of this phenomenon…

“B, Bjorn! That important-looking person said it’s dangerous! We have to step back!”

Why don’t they ever think of using this?

***

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Well, counting might be meaningless.

When I had a strong feeling that it was enough.

“Now is the time. Let’s go in.”

“Kuek!”

I pushed Ainar’s back and entered the labyrinth at the same time.

Flash-!

A flash of light blinded me, and when I opened my eyes again, deep darkness greeted me.

It meant that what I intended worked perfectly.

“I can’t see! I should have listened to that important-looking person! Bjorn, you’re an idiot!”

“Ainar, calm down.”

I quickly lit the torch I took out of my backpack, and Ainar regained some composure.

“W, what on earth just happened?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

“That’s… probably true!”

I easily convinced Ainar and calmly looked around. Then, I discovered a monument in front of a dead end and was overcome with strange emotions.

As expected, the dimensional instability phenomenon was closely related to the starting point of the portal.

I was happy about that fact, but also sad.

This meant that if I had made a decision just one minute earlier during the first entry, I wouldn’t have had to crawl on three legs with one foot mangled!

Whoooosh-!

Soon, when I placed my hand on the monument, a cluster of light burst out and transformed into a sphere.

“What is this?”

“It’s a portal to the second floor.”

In other words, we skipped the entire process of finding our way by looking at the compass, fighting monsters as we saw them, and wandering in the dark.

We saved at least a day or two.

“What?! The chieftain said it would take three days to find the portal! What kind of magic did you use?”

They wouldn’t understand even if I told them anyway.

[You have opened the portal for the first time. EXP +2]

[Your character’s level has increased.]

[Your Soul Power increases by +10.]

[The maximum number of absorbable essences increases by +1.]

To become a pro, you have to be good at using bugs [exploiting glitches].

***

[Bjorn Yandel]

Level: 2 (New +1)

Physical: 66 / Mental: 37 / Supernatural: 11 (New +10)

Item Level: 218

Total Combat Power: 168.5 (New +10)

***

[You have entered the 2nd floor Goblin Forest.]

I floated about 3 meters in the air and quickly regained my balance to land on my two feet.

Thud!

Well, I practiced it.

While wrestling with the barbarians.

“Ugyak!”

Watching Ainar fall on her butt, I felt my own growth anew.

I could somewhat understand Erwen’s feelings when she laughed at me.

“Ugh, my butt hurts.”

It’s quite fun to watch.

Well, with her athletic ability, she’ll land properly soon enough.

“What? That look of disappointment on your face?”

“It’s nothing.”

I brushed it off and took out my watch, setting it to 12:05 AM.

I was supposed to do it as soon as I opened my eyes, but I forgot.

But it’s okay since I set it 5 minutes faster.

“…Ainar, do you feel it too?”

“Feel what?”

“It’s like, my heart is vibrating.”

It’s like a dense substance is flowing through my blood vessels and filling my body.

It started the moment I passed through the portal, and now I can feel it clearly.

What on earth is it?

When I explained the symptoms, Ainar quickly diagnosed it.

“It seems your soul’s rank has been promoted! Congratulations!”

Ah, I leveled up.

[Dungeon & Stone] also has levels.

Depending on the level, Soul Power, that is, MP [Mana Points], the resource needed to use supernatural abilities, increases, and the total number of absorbable essences increases.

For example, at level 1, I could only absorb one essence, but…

At level 2, I can absorb up to two.

Well, it only matters if both essences appear.

“Amazing. My soul’s rank went up even though I haven’t caught any monsters yet!”

“There’s nothing to be amazed about. It’s probably because opening the portal for the first time was recognized as a contribution.”

Contribution, in this context, means experience points.

“Hmm, is that also recognized as a contribution?”

It is.

No, once you reach a certain level, ‘speedrunning’ is the easiest way to gain experience.

[Dungeon & Stone] is a game with a slightly unique growth system.

You can only gain experience from the same monster once. Therefore, you have to defeat various monsters, like filling a bestiary [a book of beasts], to level up.

Oh, wait a minute, isn’t this a bit dangerous?

“…Ainar, this is a secret between you and me. Understand?”

“Secret? What are you talking about?”

“That we opened the portal for the first time. That’s all. If anyone asks, say it took us about two days to get to the second floor.”

The portal opening experience is only 2, which is about the same as two 9th-grade monsters, but…

‘Unlike monsters, it accumulates no matter how many times you do it.’

Therefore, adventurers who reach a certain level desperately pursue speedruns.

The monsters you can hunt are limited depending on your compatibility with monsters, the area you are active in, the presence of a mage, and the characteristics of the god the priest serves.

When you’re blocked by a wall, the only way to break through it is by grinding contributions.

But this is possible from a low level?

I have to keep this trick to myself and enjoy the benefits.

If it gets out, I won’t be in a good position.

“I swear on the honor of a warrior.”

Was my expression that serious?

Ainar’s eyes changed, and she even made an oath without me asking. Thanks to that, I felt quite relieved, but I needed to move quickly.

“We need to leave this place first.”

In a few hours, adventurers will enter the second floor. And they’ll look at us, who look like beginners, with suspicion.

How did you get here faster than us?

It’s best not to stand out at all.

As always, I’m more afraid of the explorer bastards than the monsters.