Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 264

“Sorry for taking up your time.”

I offered a quick apology upon our return. After all, they had never met Dwarki. I felt it was only right to apologize for using exploration time for personal reasons.

Of course, my companions were understanding.

“What’s there to be sorry about? What do you think we are?”

“Yeah, Raven’s right. You’re worrying about silly things. It could happen to any of us someday.”

Uh, I don’t think you should say things like that…

As I was thinking this, Raven spoke to Bear Uncle on my behalf.

“…Mr. Urikfrit, please don’t say things like that; it’s bad luck.”

“Raven, you don’t even believe in superstitions.”

“I’m an explorer now, you know.”

“Ah, right.”

Bear Uncle chuckled, lightening the somewhat heavy atmosphere.

‘Was that a deliberate joke?’

“What are you looking at?”

‘……Probably not.’

I chuckled at Raven’s arrogant gaze. Then, I slowly got to the main point.

“Okay, if you’ve rested enough, let’s go sightseeing on the island.”

It was time to start exploring.

***

Laimia, the Island of Beginnings.

The island where you first arrive, no matter which path you take on the 5th floor. However, Laimia isn’t called the Island of Beginnings just because of this symbolism.

Here, there are supposed to be basic materials for exploring the 6th floor.

Well, at least in theory.

“It’s already been completely stripped bare.”

The mountain that stood right in the center of the island.

We, who had climbed to the summit, looked around with empty eyes.

Originally, a special tree grew here.

A tree with the hardness of about 3rd-grade metal, light, and buoyant.

But…

“Well, no matter how fast the trees grow, they wouldn’t all grow in a month.”

When we reached the summit, we were greeted by thousands of stumps. Well, it’s not like there weren’t any trees that had grown to some extent…

“Most of them are unusable.”

“Still, there are some trees that have grown enough to be used. Let’s take these at least.”

Soon, we took out the axes we had prepared.

And we carefully selected only the trees that were of a size that could be processed into materials and put them into the subspace [a pocket dimension for storage].

Did it take about 30 minutes?

“If we’re lucky, we can get this much next month too.”

“Yes. If there aren’t as many people as this time.”

Sigh, I wish the 6th floor would reset every month too.

It’s a shame in many ways.

From the 1st to the 5th floor, no matter what you do, everything resets when the labyrinth reopens next month, but the 6th floor is not like that.

Here, time continues uniquely.

Just like those various marks carved on that huge rock that can’t be erased.

“Wow, there’s something written on the rock! It looks like writing… what does it say?”

“Weren’t you going to the holy site every day to learn to read?”

“Haha, I gave up on that a long time ago!”

I sighed at Ainar’s unnecessarily cheerful appearance, and then I approached the rock and read the letters written on it.

Most of them were just nonsense.

So-and-so was here, please make me rich, so-and-so, I like you a lot, etc.

‘People here are the same when it comes to graffiti.’

I chuckled and turned my gaze.

The vast sea spread out below.

We didn’t get much wood, but maybe because we were up high, we could see an island that wasn’t visible from below.

“Oh, that looks like Parune Island.”

Parune, the second island located in the northern part of the Island of Beginnings.

It was also the place we would go to after this island.

“Abman, just in case, can you sense the portal location?”

“No, only the ones on this island.”

“I see.”

As I nodded, Raven spoke as if to defend Bear Uncle.

“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s because the floor is so wide. He said that once we get near the portal, we’ll be able to sense the location again.”

What do you mean, disappointed?

From the beginning, unlike the lower floors, there isn’t much a guide can do on the 6th floor.

Especially if it’s the timing when you just entered the 6th floor.

“Anyway, we’ve got everything we need, so let’s go down.”

Having finished our business at the summit, I went back down to the coast with my companions. And we moved in the direction of the island we had seen from the summit earlier.

Originally, the basic strategy was to gather wood a few more times on the Island of Beginnings to make a boat, but…

‘Originally, grinding can be skipped with cash, that’s the rule.’

Soon, I took out the boat I had prepared from the subspace and floated it on the water. It was a boat that was prepared by collecting a certain amount of public funds as soon as the guild was established.

I did use most of the public funds, but…

‘If it wasn’t for the current situation, I would never have been able to get it at this price.’

The timing was good in many ways.

The wood we acquire in the future can be used to upgrade the boat or sold as raw wood to buy a better boat.

“Bjorn… this, this won’t sink, will it?”

Seriously, you were fishing on a boat in Nometree last time.

‘…Ah, the boat capsized back then.’

“Don’t worry. I’ve already tested its performance in the city. It’ll be fine as long as you don’t move around too much like last time.”

“B, but… Ugh! It, it’s shaking!! Is the boat, is the boat weird! It’s so different from last time!!”

“That’s because last time was a lake, and this time is the sea.”

Actually, the biggest problem is that the boat is half the size of the one we rode last time.

Anyway, after all sorts of commotion, we boarded the boat one by one.

And…

“Okay. Let’s set sail!”

Just like we practiced on the ground in the city, we rowed hard against the waves.

Because our boat doesn’t have a sail.

If we had bought one with a sail, it would have been too small for four people to ride.

We didn’t have enough money to buy a big one.

Originally, there’s a certain charm to being a newbie, isn’t there?

“The, the boat seems to be going backwards…?”

“It’s just your imagination! Row hard!”

“One, two. One, two!”

It was the first time rowing in a real situation, so there were some trial and errors, but the explorers, who were able to do anything with sheer willpower, quickly adapted.

“Oh, the island is getting closer!”

Raven, who was usually not like this, reacted to even the smallest things, as if the sailing was stimulating her emotions.

However, that moment of excitement didn’t last long.

‘But it’s taking much longer than I thought…’

When I looked at it from the summit, it didn’t seem that far, but now that I’m rowing the boat, the speed at which we’re moving is almost like a snail.

Or is it just me who feels that way?

I never thought I’d face a crisis so quickly after entering the 6th floor.

“Ugh.”

“B, Bjorn? What’s wrong!”

“S, seasickness…”

Bjorn Yandel was not suited for the sea.

***

Misha asked worriedly, seeing me dying from seasickness.

“S, seasickness? Isn’t that something you get when you ride a carriage?”

I wondered how she could ask such a question, but that was only from my perspective.

If you’ve lived your whole life inside the walls, it’s understandable.

Raven seemed to only know it from knowledge.

“Seasickness is dizziness caused by the discrepancy between sight and the sense of balance. It’s not just something that happens when you ride a carriage.”

“Ah, I see…”

Misha nodded, her voice indicating that she didn’t understand a word.

“Somehow, I’ve been feeling a little nauseous since earlier, I mean…”

Misha was still better, but Ainar, the born barbarian warrior, was in worse condition than me.

“G, get out of the way! Uuuuuurp!!”

Ainar, forgetting to row, grabbed the railing and started throwing up.

“Kyaaak!”

“S, stop! Mr. Ainar! You can’t move like that!”

He was throwing up so violently that the boat kept tilting back and forth.

It was so violent that I really thought the boat was going to capsize.

“Urp, uuuuurp!”

“…S, stop!”

Since it was a cramped boat with no space to stand up and walk properly, there was no way to physically stop Ainar.

And there were four people who couldn’t swim.

Except for Erwen and Misha, everyone couldn’t swim.

We were quite far from the island, so even if I used [Giantification], my feet wouldn’t touch the ground like last time.

No, isn’t this a really dangerous situation?

“Raven! Knock him out with magic!”

“Ah, yes!”

As soon as I realized that this was not something to be taken lightly, I quickly assessed the situation and gave the order.

“Seretara Baireon!” [A spell]

“U, urp, uh… Hmmm…”

Fortunately, Ainar hadn’t properly set up his magic resistance, so he quietly lost consciousness with one spell.

And…

“T, there, mister… I, I think I’m going to die.”

“Oh, me too. I think I need to do it too.”

My companions, unable to withstand the storm that was Ainar, fell into a state of combat incapacity one by one.

“But Mr. Urikfrit is surprisingly fine–”

“…Urp, ueeeeeeek!!”

“Oh, oh… Mr. Yandel is fine–”

No, there’s no way he’s fine.

“Uooooooorrrrp!!”

As I was carefully holding onto the railing and throwing up, I heard a sigh from behind.

“…Why is there not a single person among us who is okay?”

Surprisingly, Raven didn’t get seasick.

***

The concept of the 6th floor is simple.

To sail the vast sea, pass through various islands, and head to the 7th floor. Therefore, from this floor onwards, a ‘navigator’ is essential.

From controlling the ship to recording the route, and further, a specialized workforce on the 6th floor who have eaten the essence that will help with navigation.

‘Well, even if we have a proper ship, there will be a lot of applicants, so there’s no need to rush.’

Since ships are so expensive, it’s too much of a burden to explore the 6th floor with a team.

“Hoo, land! Land!!”

It was the time when the sun began to set in the distance.

We, who had arrived on Parune Island half-dead, had a simple meal and immediately began preparing for camping.

“The sunset can look like that…”

“Really. Today, for the first time, I thought I made the right decision to become an explorer.”

My companions, who had only seen the sun disappear beyond the walls, felt a great sense of wonder as they watched the sun setting beyond the horizon.

Actually, I felt the same way.

Just being on the sandy beach like this made me feel like I was on some island on Earth.

Well, I’ve never actually been to an island like this.

‘Why didn’t I go sooner…’

For the first time, I regretted my past self, who was just holed up in my room playing games. Back then, I was clearly living in a wider world without walls.

“Ainar, you can brag later; I’ll wake you up last.”

“R, really?”

“Well, you did suffer the most…”

“Thank you, Misha!”

We decided that Ainar, who had suffered from seasickness, would be the last to keep watch, and the rest of us decided on the order of the night watch.

“I don’t think we need to stand watch in pairs. I heard that only monsters below 8th grade appear on this island.”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s take turns one by one and wake each other up if something happens.”

“Hey, but if that’s the case, wouldn’t it have been better to sleep on the island we were on before? It didn’t seem like there were any monsters there.”

“We didn’t know we’d arrive this late back then.”

“That’s… true, I guess.”

The weather was moderately warm, so I just laid out a sleeping bag on the sand. It does rain occasionally here, so I did bring a tent, but…

“It’s pretty.”

“Yes, it is.”

Looking at the Milky Way spread out in all directions, we unanimously decided to just sleep while looking at the sky.

“…My wife would have liked to see this too.”

“No, when you say it like that, it sounds like you’re talking about a dead person. Are you going to tell your wife about this?”

“…W, what are you talking about? I, I meant that it’s a shame that I quit being an explorer! I am!”

“Stop the chatter and go to sleep. We’ll explore the island as soon as it gets light tomorrow.”

Was it because it was the first night after arriving on the 6th floor?

My companions fell asleep after a long time, as if their hearts were restless.

And the next morning.

“First, before going inside, I’m going to go around the coastline.”

We woke up early, packed up our campsite, and went around the island.

There wasn’t any particular reason; I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.

How much difference there is in size between the game and reality.

‘The island is much bigger than I expected.’

As I was thinking that, we had walked about half the island.

“Oh, Bjorn! There’s a ship over there!”

We found a ship docked on the coast.

It wasn’t a large sailing ship, but it was at least three times the size of ours, and it had everything it needed.

“With this, we can handle the windless zone as well as the icy sea, right? Oh, and it’s also imprinted with the owner’s mark.”

“Oh, does that mean we can’t pick it up?”

Ainar tilted his head with innocent eyes at Raven’s explanation.

And then.

“Hey, barbarian. What are you doing in front of our ship?”

The owner of the ship appeared from inside the island.

“Wait a minute, aren’t you that barbarian from back then?”

“It’s been a while.”

It was a face I remembered.