Surviving The Game As A Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 215

Abandoned Piece (5)

Orculous.

A notorious criminal group that rebelled against the royal family.

This group, formed just a few decades ago, has gained infamy for committing numerous acts of terror and crime.

The royal family has placed a huge bounty on their heads and begun hunting them, but they move so secretly that only seven have been eliminated so far.

“Seven of those guys came…”

Marco Elburn, the commander of the 3rd Royal Knights, couldn’t hide his sigh after hearing his subordinate’s report.

As soon as the situation broke out, he responded quickly, establishing a safe zone in the center, declaring a state of emergency, and seizing command.

The first thing he did was gather information.

He immediately sent a search party to the second-floor portal, which could be a breakthrough, and he hasn’t slept a wink since, checking and rechecking all the information coming from the front lines.

As a result, seven Orculous members were spotted.

The Screaming Witch, Black Claw, and the Lighthouse Keeper.

These three were loitering around the safe zone, carrying out a massacre, while the other four were blocking the second-floor portal.

‘This was their goal from the start.’

Elburn clenched his fist, expressing his frustration.

The three mentioned earlier were a problem, but these four were the biggest obstacle.

The Corpse Collector, infamous for his bizarre and cruel actions, more so than any evil spirit.

The Ruin Scholar, once the head of a large school, who fell into crime after dabbling in forbidden magic.

The Blood Knight, who started as a soldier from Bipron and gained fame by killing the former commander of the 1st Royal Knights.

And finally…

‘The Traitor.’

The one who gathered those madmen, created the group called Orculous, and made countless infamous and murderous history with his own hands.

The four representing ‘that group’ have all come here.

However, Orculous is not the only thing to be wary of.

There are countless major criminals who have fled to Noark, and if they combine forces, victory cannot be guaranteed even if they fight with full strength.

Finally, Elburn broke the long silence and spoke.

“I will withdraw the plan to break through and go up to the second floor.”

His words were followed by a heavy silence that weighed down the hall.

A knight spoke with difficulty.

“…The third day will begin soon.”

“I know. But now that it’s confirmed that the Ruin Scholar is here, there’s a high chance that the portal is already useless.”

“Then…”

Elburn closed and opened his eyes, as if shaking off his thoughts.

A commander must make decisions.

“Gather as many mages as possible who can use dimensional magic as secretly as possible.”

He had to make the decisions he had to make.

No matter what sacrifices it may entail.

***

I open my eyes and check the time.

[00:17]

Another day has passed, and it’s now the third day.

Yesterday, nothing much happened.

I checked the loot I got on the way.

I found an explorer with repair-related abilities and fixed the broken equipment.

I also stood guard in shifts with the team.

As soon as my guard duty was over, I went around the area to gather information.

Oh, and I also heard about Takelan.

[…Huh, are you talking about that guy?]

I worked hard to get Misha to open up, but when I actually heard it, it wasn’t a big deal.

He lost his mind for a moment because he was mentally broken?

He poured out aggressive words at us, who had all survived.

But that didn’t last long.

[At that time, Aruru was really something. She was yelling at him, asking how he could say that after seeing you in that state, not even getting treatment… Whew, I was sweating just listening to it, you know?]

Well, she can be fierce when she’s angry.

It’s still a mystery how such a roar comes out of that tiny body.

[Anyway, that’s all. Ainar was also angry and was about to draw his sword, but then he just disappeared.]

I’m grateful for my colleagues’ actions on my behalf, but the more I heard about the whole story, the more my face hardened.

Because they don’t know.

That I deliberately placed them behind to increase our chances of survival, even by a little.

[Huh? Why that face?]

[It’s nothing. I’m just hungry.]

Takelan’s anger is justified.

If I had organized the formation with only efficiency in mind, more people could have survived.

But, I didn’t.

Even though they would have been more suitable in the rear, I placed everyone behind me, where it was relatively safe. Perhaps Takelan realized that fact later, which is why he acted that way.

‘…It’s better if only I know this.’

After taking some time to wake up, I slowly got up and packed my sleeping bag.

It was busy enough, but the second day was peaceful compared to the fierce first day.

However, that’s only until today.

“Ugh, Mr. Yandel…?”

Raven, who seemed to have woken up at the sound, rubbed her eyes and peeked her head out.

“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“No, I just couldn’t sleep…”

“Aren’t you going to sleep more?”

At my question, Raven sat up, taking her upper body out of the sleeping bag.

“What about you, Mr. Yandel? Aren’t you going to sleep more?”

“I can’t sleep either.”

“So, were you going to stand guard alone?”

I chuckled and readily admitted it.

It was funny to deny it when we were in the same situation.

“It’s already the third day…”

From the third day, the floor rulers are summoned.

The only condition is that five or more people are gathered together.

Of course, it’s a certain probability, and since there are already more than 10,000 explorers gathered on the first floor, the chances of it being summoned near us are low, but…

‘Just in case.’

I am the tank of this team.

Even if a floor ruler appears in front of us, I can buy enough time for my colleagues to escape—

Whoooosh-!

At that moment, the ground vibrated slightly, and the colorless crystal embedded in the cave wall emitted a brilliant, blood-red light.

The color of the light was a blood-red crimson.

“Mr. Yandel, this is…!”

It means that a floor ruler has appeared somewhere.

“W-what is it!”

My colleagues, including Ainar, who were sleeping, woke up one after another. The same was true for the explorers from other groups who were sleeping nearby.

I calmly calmed my colleagues down.

“Don’t be too surprised. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be summoned near here.”

There is bound to be a loud noise where the first-floor floor ruler is. But there was no such sound at all, so it was safe to assume that it was far away.

“Everyone, go back to sleep.”

“But…”

“I’ll wake you up if something happens. It hasn’t been long since your guard duty ended.”

“You’re tired too, aren’t you?”

“I dozed off a bit back then, so I’m fine.”

I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep right away, but I forced my colleagues to lie down in their sleeping bags and close their eyes.

I judged that recovering their stamina was the priority.

About 20 minutes passed like that?

Whoooosh…

The crystal that was lighting up the surroundings like a discharged battery went out.

It means that the floor ruler has been defeated.

Of course, it’s still too early to relax.

Unlike the upper-level rulers, who have a long respawn time of at least a few months to years, this one is re-summoned several times.

“Will it be okay in the future…?”

“Don’t worry. A group of 30 proper explorers can take down a first-floor floor ruler. In the current situation, it will be dealt with quickly no matter where it appears.”

In fact, this was the biggest reason why I tried to join the royal family’s forces after breaking through that desperate path.

If you are here, you are safe from the floor rulers.

Even if it appears right in front of me, if I hold out for a little while, support will come quickly.

“Then, I’ll leave it here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I was wondering if I could get some information.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll go with you…”

“It’s a waste of manpower. If you can’t sleep, just stand guard next to me.”

As soon as the first floor ruler was defeated, I left my assigned area and moved to the center.

The respawn time of the floor ruler is six hours.

I was going to go around and see if there were any peculiarities during that time.

Because there was nothing else to do.

[North 172-21]

I listened to the conversations of the explorers around me while using the markings drawn on the wall by the royal family to distinguish the terrain as a guide.

“Hey, did you hear? It was the south passage.”

“Are you talking about the place where the floor ruler appeared?”

“Yeah, about twenty people died before support came.”

“Damn it, if it was going to come out, it should have come out on the side where the underground city bastards are.”

They were conversations between explorers in a similar situation to me, so the reliability was not very high, but it was information that could not be ignored.

Still, it was perfect for understanding public opinion.

“I don’t know how long we have to be stuck here.”

“I know, right. In the last speech, they said they would open the way to the second-floor portal soon. It’s already the third day.”

“It’s more unsettling that they’re quiet.”

As expected, the explorers were showing distrust towards the higher-ups, who had not made any announcements since the first day.

For reference, this was the same for me.

‘It’s about time they made a decision.’

If you calculate that a floor ruler is defeated every six hours, a total of eight floor rulers will be defeated in two days.

In other words, it means that it will definitely appear on the fifth day.

‘There are large clans and even the commander of the Royal Knights, so there’s no way they wouldn’t know that…’

But why haven’t they taken any action yet?

I’m dying to know what was said in the meeting at that barracks on the day I came here.

‘They must know that Noark was aiming for that…’

Why are they just holding out here?

I naturally thought that they would open the way to the second floor, but…

Thud, thud.

The deeper my worries became, the faster I walked.

Then, a familiar face appeared.

The guy who first discovered the bag duplication bug and spread it widely within the tribe.

“Karon…?”

“Bjorn, the son of the great warrior Yandel!!!!”

When I recognized him first and spoke to him, Karon immediately got up and ran towards me excitedly.

“To meet you here!! You are indeed destined to lead us!!”

I was a little embarrassed, but I was glad to see him, so I roughly accepted his greeting in the barbarian style.

And I asked what I was curious about.

“But who are the people next to you?”

“They are warriors I met here!!”

“You met them here?”

I couldn’t understand at all.

The barbarian’s bag duplication bug was already blocked a long time ago. It was partly because the method was known among the explorers, but the biggest reason was that the number of low-level explorers dried up after the creation of the identification tag, which was a kind of magic tool.

It costs 70,000 stones to get an identification tag once.

So, I’m sure Karon joined a 3rd-floor team not too long ago…

“Where did your team go?”

“Ah, they died on the way here! So the soldiers introduced me to warriors who were left alone like me!”

Those damn soldiers.

A party of five barbarian warriors…

They must have just made them a team because they were annoying.

“A-are you really the small Balkan! It’s an honor to meet you!! I, I am Devan, the second son of Berox!!”

“Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you too.”

After roughly accepting the greetings of the barbarians who were excited to hear my name, I continued my conversation with Karon.

If I hadn’t seen them, I wouldn’t have known.

I had to take them with me.

“Instead of being here, how about joining our side?”

“R-really?”

Just by the fact that they paid 70,000 stones and received an identification tag, and the equipment they were wearing, I could tell that they were warriors from the 3rd floor or higher.

Having them would definitely help me.

Above all, I could trust them.

“Why not?”

I told Karon, who was feeling grateful, the area where our team was assigned.

“I’ll tell the administrative staff on my way, so you guys go there first. If you see a mage, politely tell them that I sent you.”

“Got it!”

“Ah, if you don’t know the way, ask the explorers around you where to go. If you shout and keep them from sleeping, they’ll answer you because they’ll be annoyed.”

“Ooh!! Indeed!”

I sent Karon’s group away and was about to take another step when.

“Bjorn Yandel.”

I stopped walking at the low, resonating voice of a man.

When I turned my head, there was someone I didn’t want to meet.

“Takelan Arbenon.”

He was gathered with explorers I had never seen before.

Of course.

He lost all his colleagues on the way here.

“…”

In the silence, Takelan stared at me.

The slightly trembling jaw proved that he was struggling to hold something back.

I asked first.

“I heard what happened while I was gone.”

“…”

“Do you resent me?”

Takelan neither nodded nor shook his head.

He just stood there, looking at me, as if enduring something.

His answer came after a long time.

“No, I don’t resent you.”

An unexpected answer.

Takelan slowly opened his mouth as if spitting out his emotions.

“I kept thinking about it. Because that’s all I could do. Why did I end up like this? Lena died, but why can you guys laugh and say you’re lucky? If those bastards hadn’t run away in the middle, wouldn’t Lena have lived?”

“…”

“No, more than anything…”

“…”

“Did you really not know this would happen?”

“So, have you come to a conclusion?”

“I don’t know. You were actually the one who got hurt the most. You were the one who did the most difficult things. It was a situation where there was no guarantee that your colleagues would be safe.”

Is there really a situation where there is a guarantee?

I just did my best.

To increase our chances of survival, even by a little.

That’s why…

“I shouldn’t have followed you.”

It felt like a sharp blade was scraping away at something left inside me.

“But.”

Takelan continued.

“It was me who decided to follow you.”

“…”

“It was me who voted that it would be better for you to be the leader.”

“…”

“When that woman said she used multiple teleportation magic, I couldn’t even make a suggestion and just watched… It was me!”

Self-loathing.

Looking at him, who had ultimately placed all the responsibility on himself, I was overcome with an indescribable emotion.

“So, I don’t resent you.”

“…I see.”

What should I say in this situation?

I couldn’t even offer a clumsy word of comfort.

But perhaps my hesitation was conveyed?

“Don’t pity me.”

Takelan ended the conversation and sat back down in his original spot.

“There will come a day when you will feel the same way I do.”

His gaze was no longer directed at me.

He was just looking at the floor.

I sensed that all the conversations we had to have were over.

Thud, thud.

So, I continued on my way again.

Takelan didn’t try to talk to me again along the way.

How much time had passed since then?

The passage widened, and an expanded central common area appeared.

I first found an administrative staff member and informed them that Karon’s group had decided to join us.

“Team Apple Narak… Ah, the outer passage of the northern district. It’s been confirmed.”

With that, the business I had to do was over.

But I was about to turn around.

Clank, clank.

A knight who came out of the barracks headed to the place where the administrative staff member who had helped me earlier was, and then glanced at me.

And he named six schools.

“Ah, yes. Are you talking about the mages belonging to that school? I’ll check the list first.”

Are they trying to conscript mages as well as priests?

That’s what I thought at first, but…

‘Delta, Speris, Jacard…’

After carefully thinking about the schools the knight had mentioned, I found one thing in common.

‘Dimensional magic.’

Mages of the 4th grade or higher in the relevant schools can open a ‘dimensional gate’ that can be used by up to 30 people.

The moment I realized this.

Thump-!

My heart beat uneasily.

Also, the conversation I had a while ago flashed through my mind.