Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 270

Winix Carmilla.

Having healed her injured eye with a potion, she glared at her stepbrother, a vexed look on her face. He, too, had restored his severed arm with a potion.

“Ugh, if you hadn’t messed up, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Can’t you consider that you were too hasty?”

“…Hasty? Do you think there’ll be another moment like before when it’s just the two of us and that woman? It’s not my fault! It’s your fault for not stabbing properly!”

The man sighed at Carmilla’s accusation.

Well, what would be the point of fighting here?

“More importantly, the item is definitely the real deal, right?”

“Are you worried? Can’t you feel it? The magic power overflowing from this gem?”

“…If I had that much magical aptitude, I would have become a mage.”

“Whatever, you’re too dumb to be a mage anyway, aren’t you?”

Carmilla grumbled at her stepbrother as usual, but the corners of her lips curled up.

“I wonder how much this will sell for?”

That was why she could smile even after having her eye stabbed with a dagger a moment ago.

Isn’t Noark practically gone anyway?

She judged that it was wise to seize a share, even if it meant taking risks, and that judgment was correct.

“Alright, let’s go. If we stop at any island to rest and then leave, it’s over. We can live like nobles for the rest of our lives.”

Carmilla steered the drake, which was gliding away from the island.

It was then.

“Wait a minute.”

The man stopped Carmilla.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“We need to confirm if Rainwales is dead.”

“What? We already got the item, why?”

Carmilla tilted her head, but the man spoke firmly.

That’s because, having fought her directly, he knew better.

Amelia Rainwales was a monster, a monster beyond words. If the ambush hadn’t succeeded, they wouldn’t have been able to escape alive like this.

“If that woman survives, we’ll have to live in fear even after returning to the city.”

“Survive? Stop saying unlucky things! How could she survive in that state? We stabbed her in the stomach with a poisoned sword!”

Carmilla yelled at the man’s words.

But even so, wasn’t there a part of her that was worried?

“…If you’re that uneasy, we can just check. Whether she’s dead or alive. Of course, I’m sure she’s dead, but since we were in a hurry to escape, we couldn’t even take her equipment…”

After a brief agreement, the two rode the drake back down to the island. Fortunately, the other two companions who had gone out in pursuit had not yet returned.

“…She sure moved well with that body.”

Amelia was nowhere to be seen.

But she couldn’t have gone far.

“There’s a trail of blood. It’s this way.”

The two followed the traces left nearby.

However, the traces continued much longer than expected and then suddenly stopped completely.

“…She intentionally erased the traces. I can’t believe she had the presence of mind to do that even in that state.”

“Oh, what do we do? Then?”

Only then did Carmilla’s face turn pale.

Since she had the presence of mind to erase the traces, the thought that the woman might actually have survived crossed her mind.

But there was no other way.

“The pursuit ends here.”

“Oh, you’re ending it here?”

“Yeah, we don’t have a professional tracker among us. It’s a waste of time to stay any longer. Let’s go back.”

Afterward, the man moved with Carmilla to the place where the battle had taken place a little while ago.

And…

Crack-!

He destroyed the stone placed on the altar in the center of the island.

“W-why did you suddenly break that? A-are you perhaps angry at me…?”

“Angry? What are you talking about? There’s a reason. I’ll explain it later, so let’s leave for now.”

“No, what is—”

Carmilla couldn’t finish her sentence.

Rumble-!

Loud thunder and dark clouds were gathering.

The wind seemed to have gotten stronger.

[The offerings of Parune Island have been destroyed.]

[The wrath of the sea engulfs the island.]

She saw the man as unfamiliar today.

***

Ainar and Erwen.

The moment these two showed up, I wanted to run out and greet them, but I held back to maintain the dignity of the clan leader.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

Yes, the head of a group must have some weight.

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry. But where are the others…?”

“Not yet.”

“What? Not yet? I thought we were the latest, so are they all…?”

“Stop.”

I cut off Erwen’s words.

“Everyone will be fine, so don’t worry too much. They’re just a little late because something happened.”

In fact, Erwen and Ainar also arrived late like this, but they were all fine.

Ah, in that sense, let’s ask this first.

“So, why were you two so late?”

“Well, that’s actually…”

I listened to the reason for their tardiness, thinking it might help me guess the situation of the other companions who hadn’t joined yet.

It was nothing special.

They barely managed to swim to the shore without losing consciousness, but they lost their bow along the way?

“I was late because I kept looking around to see if it would wash ashore. I happened to meet Ainar while I was doing that.”

Well, no wonder she didn’t have a bow on her shoulder.

But thanks to that, she was able to meet and take care of Ainar, so is that a good thing?

“That’s what happened. Don’t worry too much about the lost bow. You can use this for the time being.”

I said that and took out a longbow from my subspace and handed it to Erwen.

“Oh? It’s a bow made of Bortar wood? Where did you get this precious thing…?”

Wow, this was Bortar wood, a 4th-grade material?

No wonder it looked so beautiful.

“I picked it up by luck.”

When I briefly explained how I got this item, Erwen tilted her head.

However, she soon seemed to understand the situation.

“Um, but who is this person…?”

She asked about the identity of the man who was in plain clothes after having all his equipment taken by me.

“He’s a guy from Noark.”

“Wow, I see! I’ll use this gratefully…!”

Erwen thanked me with a happy face at my answer.

She’s definitely a kind person.

“I’m glad to meet my companions. I’m happy that my faith wasn’t in vain.”

Anyway, as we were sharing a reunion for a while, the priestess joined the conversation.

I introduced her as well.

“She’s a priestess who belonged to the Partsran team. Her name is Ershina. I met her by chance on the way here and joined up.”

“I’m Lyline Ershina.”

“Ah, yes…”

Erwen, who awkwardly answered the priestess’s greeting, looked at me and asked.

“Mister, did anything else happen?”

“Anything else?”

“…No, it’s nothing. More importantly, why did you only break this person’s wrist and not kill him?”

Erwen shook her head and then asked me, looking at Nebarche. She seemed to find it strange that I had spared the life of a guy from Noark.

“Maybe he’ll be useful.”

“Hmm, is that so? He doesn’t look like it… Well, if you say so, then it must be so!”

I smiled awkwardly and ended the topic there.

Actually, there was another reason why I kept him alive.

Amelia Rainwales.

I judged that if I killed this guy and ended up in an irreversible conflict with that woman, it would become a headache.

‘Looking at it, their goal also seems to have been Drows [a type of magical artifact].’

Moreover, according to Nebarche’s words, something seems to have happened to Amelia’s side as well.

Perhaps it might even be possible to form a temporary alliance.

The wave will start soon, too.

Considering the final wave, it’s better to have as many people as possible.

“Then let’s move.”

Anyway, we couldn’t stay here forever, so we prepared and left the place.

The destination was the east coast where the first boss would appear.

Sigh, I never thought that not everyone would join up even by the time the wave started.

Where the heck are they all, and what are they doing?

It’s worrying.

“I’ll clear the path, so Ainar, you keep an eye on this guy so he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Just in case, I had Ainar monitor Nebarche while not participating in the battle.

And I sped up as much as possible.

But…

[You have defeated a Lanemut Warrior. EXP +3]

[You have defeated a Conch Horn. EXP +3]

[You have defeated a Garbel…]

[…]

Because the monsters that came up from the sea occupied the entire island, the speed did not pick up.

Well, since they are still level 7 monsters, it is possible to move around the island like this…

‘I need to meet everyone before the next wave.’

I keep feeling impatient.

From the next wave, the level of the monsters will increase dramatically.

To the point where even I would have difficulty holding out alone.

“…Everyone will be okay, right?”

Erwen muttered worriedly at the unexpectedly large number of monsters.

I quickly answered, afraid that it might bring bad luck.

“Don’t think strange things. They’ll be fine.”

“But there are so many monsters…”

That it would be difficult to hold out alone?

“Even I managed to get here by meeting Ershina.”

Perhaps Misha or Raven are also somewhere on the island, joining forces with them.

Well, there are still things to worry about there too.

‘Damn it.’

I recalled the conversation I had with Nebarche earlier.

Even if my companions were lucky enough to encounter the members of Partsran’s team, it couldn’t necessarily be seen as a positive situation.

That’s because…

[How did they know we were coming to this island and ambush us?]

Nebarche answered my question like this.

[There was an informant among them who told us about the exploration plan. Only Rainwales-nim knows who that is.]

There is a traitor among them.

***

Arua Raven, who had checked the bushes, widened her eyes.

“It’s not the one I was looking for, but…”

“…”

“This isn’t bad either.”

Fortunately, it was someone she knew.

“Raven-yang, we meet again.”

“Partsran-ssi!”

She let out a sigh of relief and quickly ran forward.

“What the heck happened? And why are you so injured? Who is the person on your back? Are they dead?”

At her question, Partsran smiled bitterly and put down the mage he was carrying on his back.

And he explained the situation they were in.

“He’s just unconscious, so don’t worry too much.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. So, what happened?”

“…There was an attack by looters.”

There was an attack, and they barely escaped, but the group was scattered due to the pursuers.

So, he was wandering around trying to find his companions.

After briefly summarizing the situation, he carefully brought up the topic.

“It’s not the companions I was looking for, but I’m so glad to meet Raven-yang. If it’s okay, could you help us?”

“Help you?”

“One of my companions is in the center of the island. He stayed behind alone to buy us time to escape. We need to go save him… Oh, but come to think of it, I don’t see that barbarian?”

Partsran soon realized that Raven’s side was not in a normal state either and tilted his head.

“Did something happen on Raven-yang’s side too? And what happened to that beastkin archer who looks like he fell into the water?”

“Well, we were trying to leave the island when a storm suddenly hit… Our ship was wrecked, and we all got separated.”

When Raven told him about the promise to meet in the center of the island, Partsran’s eyes lit up.

“In the center of the island? Then that’s good. How about we move there together? Since those crazy guys are wandering around this island, that side will be much safer.”

In short, he was suggesting that they form a temporary team.

Raven thought for a moment and then answered.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

There was no reason to refuse.