Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 364

The ‘Gorge of Resentful Spirits’ is the entry point to the 7th floor’s Dark Continent.

Once you pass through it, you’ll reach the lake where we’re currently stationed. From there, the area splits into three distinct zones.

The first is the Ariveona River Estuary.

This route follows the river to a lake with cascading waterfalls. It’s the fastest way to reach the Dragon Mountains, the heart of the Dark Continent, but…

‘Bellarios appears here.’

The Dragon Mountains are where you can obtain the essence needed to handle magic resistance in the final growth stage.

Well, we’re just a patrol unit, so we won’t be going that far this time.

Anyway.

The second zone is the jungle that stretches east of the estuary, called the Great Forest.

It’s so vast that it’s divided into several sub-zones, but its official name is the Great Forest.

And…

The third, the Panthelion Ruins, is located west of the estuary.

That’s where the 4th patrol unit, which I belong to, is headed, consisting of about thirty people.

“All troops, forward!”

The patrol unit, having arrived at the entrance of the ruins—which were little more than rubble—reorganized their formation and began to enter the area in earnest.

Of course, the patrol unit’s purpose was active defense against possible ambushes, so they didn’t venture deep into the ruins.

But…

“Front line, advance!”

“Raise the shield wall!”

This place is swarming with monsters right from the start.

[Krrr…]

Starting with modified beasts with bodies made of steel, like golems.

Thump-! Thump-!

Giant magical engineering golems.

Whoosh-!

Even mechanical flying monsters that move like drones.

The monsters that had been dormant throughout the ruins sensed the intruders and came rushing out.

However, the monsters couldn’t break through the front lines with shields and reach us.

Clang-!

The monsters were stopped by a massive wall of people.

It felt a little strange to watch.

I never thought I’d see someone’s back from this angle.

‘This is the view the others usually have.’

While feeling a strange sensation, I smashed the monsters that slipped to the side with my hammer as soon as the attack command was given.

[The character has cast [Swing].]

[You have defeated a Gigawolf. EXP +4]

Even though it’s the 7th floor, the average level at the entrance of the Panthelion Ruins wasn’t that high, so there wasn’t a single one that could withstand a proper hit.

Maybe it’s because they’re modified with machines, but the feel was unique.

Clack, crackle, crunch-!

Whew, it’s so easy since all I have to do is swing my hammer.

“Front line, move to the side!”

As soon as the patrol commander shouted, the shield-bearing tanks moved in unison, opening a path in the center.

As the monsters poured out to the front…

“Liona Er Epura!”

Joint magic was already prepared in the rear.

Whoosh-!

A beam of light was fired from the center of the formation, piercing through a dozen large monsters. With this, the confrontation collapsed, allowing the remaining monsters to be quickly dealt with.

‘…It’s definitely easier to hunt when you’re in a raid unit. It’s stable for the front line with the priest.’

Even though the average level is low, over a hundred monsters attacked, and it didn’t even take 10 minutes to clear them all.

Well, there are over thirty of us, so it’s only natural.

Even if we caught a hundred, dividing it by the number of people, the gains from this battle wouldn’t be that great.

“No essence dropped, so let’s collect the magic stones and resume moving!”

The patrol unit then continued to hunt… no, patrol, going around the entrance of the ruins following the pre-planned route.

And…

‘Wow, I’ve gained over 100 experience points today.’

During this patrol, we encountered over 20 new monsters.

Although the level of the monsters that appeared was low, there were many unique species that only lived in this area.

“Okay, everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

After patrolling for about 10 hours, we handed over to the next shift and returned to the base.

And we each received a ticket from the administrative soldier.

It was a ticket that proved our share of the loot from hunting today, or something like that?

It seems that if you submit it to the Hall of Merits when you return to the city, you can get a settlement…

“Hey, friend.”

As I turned around after receiving the ticket, a man approached me, swaggering.

I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“…Who are you?”

I don’t remember having a friend like this, and from the start, this man is a stranger—

“What’s with that ‘I’ve never seen you before’ reaction? You were right next to me when we were fighting.”

Oh, was I?

Now that I think about it, it seems like it…

From experience, it’s best to gloss over things and change the subject in these situations.

“Ah, so what’s your business?”

When I asked why he approached me, the nameless man patted my shoulder as if he were my superior.

“I saw you fighting really well earlier?”

Um, did he come to socialize?

Thinking that, I gave a humble reply.

“To say I fought that well, your standards must be low.”

“What?”

For some reason, the man frowned.

It wasn’t my concern.

So, I quickly brushed off the hand that had landed on my shoulder.

Thump.

I’ve been feeling bad since earlier.

If you want to be friends, at least open your eyes properly.

“So, what’s your business?”

When I asked again, he also wiped away his fake smile.

And…

“I just wanted to give you some advice.”

He said something unexpected.

“…Advice?”

“Looking at you, it seems like you’ve only been mindlessly increasing your strength. If you only consume essence like that, you’ll be in great danger someday.”

Saying that, he took out a dagger and cut his forearm.

“See? Even if I put all my strength into it, it doesn’t cut well. An explorer should be balanced like me, rather than just being strong—”

“Wow, you’re just a moron.”

“…?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was only thinking it in my head.”

Even though I apologized like a man, he glared at me with a petty expression.

He looks like he’d die if you just poked him.

Why is he showing off his measly physical resistance in front of me?

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Still, just in case, I asked for his name first.

“Meliber Eltein.”

What, he wasn’t Hans?

“I see. Let’s meet again sometime.”

“Mister, what are you doing there?”

“As you can see, my group has arrived.”

I roughly erased the name I had just heard from my memory and left the spot.

***

So, his name was Meliber…

‘What was it?’

I don’t remember it well, but unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him again.

After that, I continued to be assigned to patrol missions, but I was always in different patrol units…

The reason for that was simple.

One patrol unit only patrolled one zone.

Well, from the command’s point of view, it was a reasonable measure.

If one patrol unit is in charge of one area, they will become familiar with the terrain, and naturally, they will work well together.

Originally, it was impossible to change like this every time.

Unless you had connections in the upper echelons of the military.

[Raven, I heard that the 11th patrol unit will be going deep into the patrol this time…]

[Okay. I’ll write you a recommendation letter.]

[Thank you.]

Thanks to Raven’s help from behind, I was able to gain experience by visiting not only the Panthelion Ruins, my first patrol site, but also the Ariveona River Estuary and the Great Forest.

Of course, I only went to the entrances of all of them, so there were still a lot of monsters I hadn’t encountered.

Still, every time I changed patrol units, my experience continued to accumulate.

And time flowed endlessly, and now.

[The character’s level has increased.]

[Soul Power increases by +30.]

[Maximum absorbable essence increases by +1.]

I finally reached the desired level 7, and another essence slot was added.

This meant that I could add a new synergy to my current combination.

‘The money problem is practically solved, so I don’t need to participate in the next one. Next exploration, I should just grind for essence.’

Ah, but first, I need to get a ship, right?

As I was spacing out while thinking about this and that, I suddenly realized that the surroundings were quiet.

“Raven.”

“What is it?”

“Where did Erwen and Amelia go?”

“That woman said she was going to take a nap in the barracks earlier, and Erwen… I don’t know. She followed her out not long after that woman left?”

“Hmm, I see?”

“So, is that the end of your question?”

Saying that, Raven had already taken her eyes off me and was reading through the documents.

Give me time to answer, will you?

‘Come to think of it… it seems like it’s just the two of us.’

I stepped back so as not to disturb her work, and I was struck by the unfamiliarity of this time.

That’s because after our reunion, Amelia or Erwen were always by Raven’s side when I met her.

‘I should take this opportunity to ask what I’ve been curious about.’

“Hey, Raven.”

“What is it again?”

“What was that… ‘that thing’ you mentioned?”

As I carefully asked, Raven’s hand, which was moving the pen, twitched and stopped.

Also, Raven turned her gaze and glanced at me.

“What ‘thing’ are you talking about?”

Don’t pretend you don’t know.

“You said it in front of the iron bars. After entering the Magic Tower, ‘that thing’ happened soon after…”

“…I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s not important either.”

“…Is that so? Then I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

Even though I usually act like a barbarian, I had no intention of being rude to this extent, so I readily gave up my curiosity.

And…

“Then what about your mother? Is she doing well?”

I decided to just chat.

This might also be a slightly sensitive topic, but I’m not completely unrelated to it now.

“Did you… know something…?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head at her strange reaction, and Raven quickly mumbled.

“It’s nothing. But… why suddenly my mother…? It doesn’t seem like something you’d be curious about.”

Heh, I knew you’d draw a line like that.

“Why isn’t it something I’d be curious about? I was the one who persuaded your mother to send you to the Magic Tower.”

Raven flinched at my blunt words.

“…W-what did you say?”

“I don’t know if you remember, but you came to the library after getting beaten by your mother. You were crying like a child and asked me to help you—”

“T-that never happened!!”

“Huh? You said you barely remember what happened back then?”

“Even so, I have faith that I… wouldn’t have done that.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, so stop it and tell me. Was what you said earlier true? You… persuaded my mother?”

“Yes.”

I took the opportunity to tell her about what had happened in the past.

I had roughly skipped over it in the iron bars because there wasn’t enough time.

I wanted to have this kind of time at least once.

To be precise, I wanted to know how much of a positive impact my existence had on the cause and effect?

Who knows, maybe there will be a day when I’ll use the ‘Fragment of Record’ again.

‘Ah, but it’s better not to talk about that story.’

However, even while telling the old story, I omitted some of the conversations I had with my mother.

This was also for a very simple reason.

[That child will abandon me.]

[Someday, she’ll become a successful person and look down on me. Then, eventually, she’ll leave for her own world. Just like he did that day, because she’s his bloodline…]

[Isn’t something wrong? Why is that child’s life so easy? She’s definitely my child, but I’ve never met anyone who helped me for that reason in my entire life. But… but why is that child…]

How could I tell such a dark story?

Especially in front of the person involved.

“The things that happened with me in the library are over, so stop it and tell me. What kind of conversation did you have with my mother that day?”

“It’s nothing much. I persuaded her to send you to the Magic Tower, saying that I would pay all the necessary expenses, and she refused.”

“Refused…?”

“Ah, to be precise, she refused the money. I heard that someone from the Magic Tower had sent someone a few days ago. It seems that you caught their eye because you were using magic on anyone at a young age.”

“I see… so that’s why my mother suddenly changed her mind…”

“Ahem, it’s a bit much to say it myself, but in that sense, you could say that I’m your benefactor, right…?”

I subtly appealed to that point, but Raven just ignored me without saying anything.

“…”

How embarrassing.

“So… how is your mother? Are you two getting along now?”

When I changed the subject again, Raven replied coldly.

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”

“…Huh?”

“She’s already passed away.”

For a moment, I was speechless, and silence flowed.

“Ah, uh… is that so? I’m sorry. It didn’t seem like she had any health problems, uh, didn’t she…”

It was the first time in a long time that I was so flustered that I even stuttered, trying to sort out the situation, but it was impossible to undo what had already been done.

“It wasn’t a health problem. It wasn’t an accident either. It wasn’t because her lifespan was over.”

“…Then?”

“She hanged herself. By her own hand.”

“…”

“Was it about a month after I entered the Magic Tower? I had to go home for a week because of an assignment my teacher gave me…”

Raven spoke indifferently, as if reading an old diary hidden in a corner of the warehouse.

“There was a rotten smell in the bedroom. That was my last memory of seeing my mother.”

“…”

“Don’t make that face. I’ve already gotten over it a long time ago. It’s not like someone dying is such a surprising story.”

Rather, Raven said those words of consideration, seeing me at a loss, but I really couldn’t say anything.

That’s because the last conversation with my mother came to mind more clearly.

[Isn’t it strange? All I’ve built up in my entire life is this one room in this sewer.]

And after the conversation ended.

[What was my life, anyway?]

Her back, staggering like a person who had run out of energy, heading towards the back alley.

***

[Bjorn Yandel]

Level: 7 (New +1)

Physical: 1230.39 / Mental: 443.3 / Supernatural: 1745.25 (New +39)

Item Level: 8305

Total Combat Index: 5495.19 (New +39)

Acquired Essences: Orc Hero – Rank 5 / Ogre – Rank 3 / Bayon – Rank 3 / Stormgush – Rank 3 / Vol-Helchan – Rank 3 / Gachabon – Rank 6