Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 23

A 9th-grade magic stone is worth one stone bread.

That’s about 20 stones each.

Then, what about an 8th-grade magic stone?

Unfortunately, the value of one deathspawn was only equal to five goblins.

“What? It’s only worth a hundred stones?!”

“…If you include what the summoned ghouls dropped, it’s 300 stones.”

Of course, even with that, it’s still a low amount.

We risked our lives for that.

“Bjorn… how much was that bread we ate at the inn?”

“…I think it was about 300 stones.”

“Then… that means we can taste something sweet once for every deathspawn we catch!”

It seems the cream pie we ate earlier has become Ainar’s new unit of measurement.

Of course, if we divide it by an 8:2 ratio, it would be 0.2 sweetness per kill, but…

It’s better not to mention that.

“Bjorn! This isn’t the time to stand around. Let’s hunt! Let’s hunt!”

I smiled, watching Ainar, who was briefly disappointed by the unexpectedly low amount but quickly regained her enthusiasm.

In that way, traveling with a barbarian wasn’t so bad.

My former colleague, Erwen, was great in many ways, but her passivity was a drawback.

Motivation is much simpler.

“Alright, let’s go!”

After that, we continued to hunt deathspawns nearby.

If a hunt took more than 20 minutes, earning 300 stones would almost be a loss, but…

The first try is always an exception.

“Kuoohhhh!”

“Behel—laaaaa!”

Every time we encountered a deathspawn, we charged, shouting the names of our ancestors together.

Then, we each grabbed one of its legs, lifted it, and slammed it to the ground.

We called it the Double Barbarian Tackle.

Thud!

The fallen deathspawn was an easy target.

If we took turns hammering it from its head, where its arms couldn’t reach, it would soon turn into light and disappear.

The time it took was about 3 minutes.

It was hard to shorten that time because the moment it fell, it would sense the danger and summon ghouls.

“Uooooh!”

As the hunt continued, the speed at which our magic stone pouch filled also increased, but we weren’t satisfied and pushed even harder.

Deathspawn hunting would become impossible on the third day.

If I hadn’t used a bug to reach the second floor faster than anyone else, I wouldn’t have even dared to fight this thing.

These guys aren’t usually found alone.

We could manage two, but if three or four of them formed a group, it would be difficult for just the two of us.

[14:27]

I checked the time and took a short break.

There’s a saying about striking while the iron is hot, but accidents always happen when you’re hasty.

“Bjorn, I’m thirsty.”

“Drink sparingly. The corpse flowers won’t bloom until tomorrow.”

“Corpse flowers?”

They’re the only way to replenish moisture in the Land of the Dead. When the time comes, flowers bloom on the vines covering the ruins of stone buildings, and if you split them open, there’s water inside.

After I told her this, Ainar became serious.

“Bjorn, isn’t that a bit unhygienic?”

It certainly is.

I heard it’s safe to drink, but I’m also uneasy about it.

However, it’s not something those who slept in a five-person room with ten people without washing should be saying.

“Then, is there any other way?”

“No! I’ll drink it!”

After resting for about 20 minutes to replenish our stamina, we resumed hunting.

And we hunted a total of 70 deathspawns until we were about to collapse from exhaustion.

That’s a profit of over 20,000 stones in one day.

‘At this rate, it’s better than just catching 9th-grade monsters?’

However, the essence I was secretly hoping for didn’t appear.

***

The drop rate of essences is incredibly low.

Therefore, in the early stages, the basic strategy of this game is to plan your growth based on the essences you get…

And a player’s skill depends on how well they do that.

In that sense, I had some expectations.

The deathspawn essence is one of the best you can get in the early game.

‘The problem is, there’s no sign of it dropping.’

The active skill ‘Call of the Dead,’ which summons ghouls, is honestly ambiguous, but the passive ‘Body Preservation’ is more than enough to make up for it.

Of course, eating the essence wouldn’t give you the same ridiculous regeneration as them, but…

It’s a good synergy with me, whose regeneration coefficient has increased due to the Undying Mark.

[02:57]

I checked the time while listening to Ainar’s snoring.

Before I knew it, a day had passed, and the second day had begun.

From now on, we’ll have to fight two deathspawns at once, but there’s also a part of me that feels a little relieved.

At least we won’t look strange when we encounter other explorers.

I repeat, explorers are the scariest.

“Ainar, wake up.”

“…I, I didn’t eat it!”

“It’s time for your shift.”

Three hours each.

After resting for a total of six hours, we hunted deathspawns again on the second day.

“Kuoohhhh!”

Two of them.

There were as many as twenty ghouls summoned by their active skills, but we could still manage.

It was thanks to the experience we gained from fighting them countless times on the first day.

Thud-!

We quickly rushed in, slammed one to the ground, and then worked together to knock down the other.

If we made even one mistake in this process, it could become quite difficult, but…

In that case, we would run away without looking back.

“Ainar, let’s run!”

“Ooh!”

Deathspawns are slow and don’t follow you if you move away from their territory, so there haven’t been any dangerous situations yet.

Whooshhhhh-!

The time it took for one battle was about 10 minutes.

Even though we failed about three out of ten times, we were still catching two at a time, so our profits were similar to the first day.

On the first day, it took quite a while to find groups.

However, after noon, groups of three started to appear occasionally, and as time passed, the frequency of encounters increased.

“It’s time to leave this place.”

“A wise warrior knows when to retreat.”

As the second day was coming to an end, I reluctantly left the deathspawn territory. Then, I returned to the muddy field and looked for a suitable campsite.

That’s when it happened.

“……!”

We encountered another group of explorers for the first time.

They were a group of three humans, wandering in the dark with only a torch, just like us, but…

We could only see each other after getting within 10 meters.

“What are you looking at? If you have no business, get lost.”

“Ahem, my apologies.”

When Ainar spoke coldly, the other group passed us and disappeared back into the darkness.

It was a bit strange.

Thump, thump.

They were only about twenty steps away, and we could still faintly hear their footsteps.

But the light from the torch they were carrying was already invisible.

I heard that most of the floors in the labyrinth have the property of absorbing light, so this must be what they meant.

It seems that even the brightness of a torch becomes invisible to the naked eye after only 10 meters…

I was thinking about this phenomenon when it happened.

“Bjorn, we need to move.”

Ainar spoke with a firm voice.

“They know our location. It’s convenient because there’s a wall, but it’s safer to find a new campsite.”

Indeed, that’s true.

That’s what I was planning to do too.

However, I’m not used to it.

What’s with her, growling at other explorers to get lost as soon as she saw them…

Her character suddenly changed.

“Bjorn, you can’t trust humans.”

“…I agree.”

Now that I think about it, besides being a barbarian, there was another thing we had in common.

It was a distrust of humans.

It seems something happened to her during her first entry.

I should ask her about it later.

“Then let’s move.”

Soon, we packed our things and moved again.

However, it was difficult to find a campsite as good as the last one. Should we just settle for a wall to block our backs?

I was thinking that when it happened.

“Ughhh……”

A groan was heard not far ahead.

“Ugh! Haaah!”

It wasn’t a banshee’s.

First of all, it wasn’t a female voice, and…

“…Wai, wait!”

It was clearly speaking words.

“Sa, save me—”

Damn it.

I should have just settled down anywhere and slept.

“……”

Silence fell after the interrupted scream.

Ainar whispered.

“It wasn’t a monster.”

I have ears, so I know.

People wouldn’t beg for their lives from monsters unless it was absolutely necessary.

The situation was clear. A person killed another person.

Shit, what kind of messed up situation is this?

I’m not some little detective.

Not wanting to get involved, I grabbed Ainar’s wrist and slowly retreated.

But did they sense something?

“Who’s there?”

A cold, calm voice was heard.

It was rough, but it was a woman’s voice.

We held our breath and didn’t move, as if we had agreed on it.

But at that moment.

Pshewwwwwwww! Pop!

Something like a flare was shot into the sky, illuminating an area of about 50 meters.

Thanks to that, I could also make eye contact with the owner of the voice.

The distance was less than 15 meters.

…If Erwen were here, she would have noticed the signs from far away and avoided it.

“Hmm, are you beginners?”

The unidentified woman made a quick judgment while looking at us.

It was mutual.

A dagger dripping with blood.

Four corpses lying around.

“…A looter.”

The woman asked casually.

“Is this your first time seeing one?”

“It’s ambiguous.”

It’s my first time seeing a psycho like you who looks so professional.

“I see.”

It was as if she was not surprised to be caught at a murder scene. The woman nodded meaningfully, her expression very calm.

Somehow, I felt like I knew why.

***

Looters.

That’s what they call those who specialize in hunting other explorers, not monsters.

They generate high income by looting explorers’ equipment, not magic stones.

Of course, if they get caught, they’ll be executed the moment they return to the city, but…

That rarely happens.

Just like how I killed six explorers in self-defense and didn’t receive any investigation.

There’s no way to know what happened in the labyrinth from the outside.

Unless someone tells them.

“…You’re not wearing a mask.”

That’s the most messed up thing about the current situation.

This psychopath was openly showing her face while looting.

She was a little over 170 cm tall and had a thin build.

With shoulder-length red hair, a tattoo under her eyes, and a half-cut right ear.

It wouldn’t be difficult to identify her.

In modern times, it would be possible for her to deny it, saying there’s no evidence, but…

This place I’m in is a world where magic exists.

There are clearly ways to determine truth and falsehood without physical evidence.

“…Were they your companions?”

“Maybe.”

The woman shrugged, looking at the corpses.

“Maybe they thought so.”

So that’s why she wasn’t wearing a mask.

While asking a question with an expected answer, she quickly organized the information that could be confirmed with her eyes.

There were a total of four corpses.

Judging by the level of equipment they were wearing and the fact that there was a mage, they were explorers who were active on at least the 5th floor.

Also, there were no external injuries on three of the corpses.

However, judging by the traces of blood and stomach acid around their mouths…

‘Did she poison them? The man she finished off last must have had some resistance, so he lasted a bit longer?’

I hope this guess is correct.

If she’s a skilled person who can kill four mid-level explorers alone without a single scratch, the situation would be even more bleak.

Clunk, clunk.

Soon, the woman squatted down and skillfully stripped the corpses of their equipment.

Then, she put them into her bag one by one.

Whether it was a magic tool or not, even large items went in without any problems.

Fear arose before envy.

Just having something like that made me feel the gap between her and us.

“Barbarian.”

The woman called out to us.

I didn’t answer.

Ainar quietly asked me.

“Are we going to fight?”

She’s amazing too.

If it were Erwen, she would have been scared and stuttering by now.

Is it a warrior’s pride or something to think about fighting first, no matter how big the gap is?

I answered briefly.

“I’m thinking about it.”

Honestly, I want to avoid the option of fighting.

The difference is obvious just by looking at the equipment.

But if she’s as skilled as her equipment suggests, well… even considering the 2:1 situation, our chances of winning are much lower.

Whoosh—!

The light shot into the sky went out as its duration ended, and darkness returned.

I made an immediate decision.

“Run. At full speed.”

Pride won’t save our lives.