Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 373

13 hours into the labyrinth entry.

We were inside the Crystal Cave on the first floor.

The reason we were still on the first floor, which we had cleared in just a few hours last time, was simple.

The start of this exploration plan was here.

“Hmm, I didn’t know you could open rifts like this.”

“Hehe, you really know everything, mister!”

The first floor has four types of rifts: the Blood Citadel, the Glacier Cave, and others. Players can intentionally open these rifts.

The reason it took so long was that we had to go up to the second floor, catch an 8th-grade monster, and come back.

‘By this time, everyone who was going up should have gone up…’

I took out the 8th-grade magic stone I had stored in my subspace and looked around.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been here.’

A clearing about 30 meters in radius with a monument.

This was where those who remained after the army and large clans opened portals and fled were trying to figure out how to survive.

Well, back then, the mages had expanded the area, so it was a much larger space.

“Alright, is everyone ready?”

Both of them nodded at my question, and as a signal, I placed the magic stone in front of the monument as if offering a sacrifice.

And at that moment.

Thump, thump, thump!

Vibrations spread throughout the entire first floor, centered on the monument.

At the same time, a green portal opened.

「The character has entered the first floor rift.」

Alright, let’s go.

***

Whoosh-!

A cave revealed its outline by the light of the portal floating in the air.

There were rails on the floor, and wooden debris was scattered everywhere.

Is it a bit more eerie than in the game?

[Green Mine]

One of the four types of rifts on the first floor.

The process is simple.

Start at a point where the ceiling has collapsed and blocked the way, wander through the mine along the rails, and then defeat the guardian to finish.

“What are you all doing? Let’s go quickly.”

As soon as we entered the unfamiliar space, I led the two, who were checking the surrounding terrain, into the mine.

It’s obvious that more people will be coming in soon, right?

It’s best not to run into them.

Even if it’s just me and Amelia, Erwen has become quite famous in this city. Even low-level explorers might recognize her.

Tap.

As soon as we got out of the reach of the portal’s light, and Erwen covered us with a dark spirit, additional entrants entered the rift.

“Ugh, ugh!”

The first one was a man wearing low-level equipment.

“What, what is this? Am I the first one?”

The man, who had been looking around blankly, seemed to realize that he had entered the rift, and a smile bloomed on his face.

And then.

“Whoa!”

The second person popped out of the portal and crashed to the floor.

This time it was also a man.

“Hehe, nice to meet you!”

Okay, they’re both men, so nothing should happen.

Watching the two of them greet each other, I dismissed my worries and turned around.

And…

“Now the sound won’t reach that far. Let’s run.”

“Yes!”

We started running through the mine in earnest to clear the rift. The first monster we encountered was, of course, a goblin.

But with a slightly different physique than the ones we saw on the 1st and 2nd floors.

[Grrr-!]

Its height is similar to a normal one, but its build is different.

A broad back and tightly packed, sturdy muscles.

With a miner’s hat on its head and a pickaxe on its shoulder.

“Goblin miner.”

Its grade is 8.

It’s a monster that can only give experience in the first floor rift.

[Kyaaaak!]

The macho-looking guy charged at us, swinging his pickaxe, despite being in a 3-on-1 situation.

It was definitely a powerful blow, incomparable to a normal goblin.

But…

“That’s disgusting…”

Like that would work.

Even one of us could easily clear the first floor rift.

Thwack-!

Without even needing to shoot an arrow, Erwen pierced the guy’s forehead using a wind spirit.

「You have defeated a goblin miner. EXP +2」

One shot, one kill.

In fact, it’s natural for us, but… the process of pointing at the opponent with a finger and then releasing compressed air was quite impressive.

‘Is that, Finger Flicking Technique…?’

I was once obsessed with martial arts novels.

Sigh, can’t I have something like that?

“Schuitz, is something wrong?”

“Yes, you were suddenly staring at me like that…”

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

I quickly shook off my thoughts and moved forward.

Hmm, if I were to compare my current state to martial arts, would I be a master of external arts who has reached the realm of indestructible body?

Tap, tap.

Anyway, after that, I took the lead and looked for the path. Well, in the beginning, you just have to follow the straight tunnel…

“Why did you stop?”

“The rails are cut off in the middle, so it’s probably around here.”

While observing the floor, I stopped as soon as I saw the place where the rails were broken.

And…

Crash-!

I smashed the surrounding walls with a hammer.

Amelia was flustered, asking if I was trying to bury us alive, but it was an unnecessary worry.

Does the rift field break that easily?

Where it breaks, there’s usually a hidden element.

Just like this.

Crack-!

The wall broke down weakly, like it was made of styrofoam boxes.

Soon, the space beyond was revealed.

A narrow path that would be tight for one person to enter.

Sigh, if my physique hadn’t shrunk, I wouldn’t have been able to enter…

Thud.

Oh, my shoulder still gets stuck.

I had no choice but to turn sideways and enter the narrow path like a crab.

And…

“I’ve earned 3 million stones for now.”

I picked up a green gem from a box hidden in a narrow space inside the path and repeated the process to get back outside.

“I didn’t know there was something like this in the mine.”

“But mister… can you take it out without a mage?”

“It’s okay. Usually, these things don’t require distortion magic.”

It’s easy to understand if you remember the Blood Citadel on the first floor.

Only the bricks and building decorations from the rift require ‘distortion’ magic.

Valuable things like the ‘Necronomicon’ are considered items, so you can just take them out of the portal…

Ah, she wasn’t there back then.

“Then let’s go quickly. We’ve got everything we need here.”

Anyway, since that was all the hidden pieces for the first chapter, we didn’t pay attention to the floor and focused on moving, and soon a cliff appeared.

A bridge where more than two-thirds of it had collapsed along with the rails.

The original strategy was to go around through the passage next to it, but…

‘If I had a leap, I could just skip it.’

It’s a shame that my movement skill is gone.

Originally, this section could be skipped with a mid-level movement skill or higher.

‘There’s only goblin miners over there anyway, so it’s just a waste of time.’

It wasn’t a route with hidden pieces, but we had no choice but to enter the side passage. And we blew up and killed every goblin miner we saw and came out at the exit on the other side.

Did it take about 30 minutes?

“It’s easy since it’s a first-floor rift.”

“It’s definitely a bit different from what I expected…”

Erwen seemed dissatisfied that the rift exploration was bland, but it couldn’t be helped. We came to the first floor rift with members who can hunt on the 7th floor, so it’s natural.

In a typical RPG game, they usually don’t even give experience.

Ah, but is it a more vicious system to come to low-level hunting grounds to get experience…?”

“Don’t be disappointed, everyone. We’ll finish it quickly and go back outside.”

Since everyone seemed bored, we sped up the rift clearing even more.

We passed the passage beyond the bridge we had bypassed, and hunted all the monsters that appeared from the second chapter.

「You have defeated a hobgoblin miner +EXP 3」

「You have defeated a mineral slime +EXP 2」

「You have defeated a copper golem +EXP 3」

These were the new monsters we encountered in the second chapter.

Ah, now I have to add the mid-boss too.

「You have defeated a goblin bomber +EXP 4」

As expected, no essence came out.

Well, we don’t have a test tube or a mage to take it anyway.

‘The second chapter was mainly about combat, so it ended quickly.’

After clearing the mid-boss in almost 10 minutes, I searched the area for hidden pieces.

The one that comes out when you smash the minerals around the mid-boss room.

[Gob Quartz]

Oh, there are exactly three.

“We can share one each.”

I was about to hand out the mined Gob Quartz when Amelia and Erwen frowned.

“Are you… eating that?”

“It smells weird. For some reason, it feels sticky…”

“It’s still a potion. It increases your poison resistance.”

“If that’s the case.”

Amelia, who was born in Noark and had no choice but to grow up with a strong stomach, swallowed the Gob Quartz first, and Erwen also closed her eyes tightly and put it in her mouth.

“Is the taste that bad?”

“…It surprisingly doesn’t taste like anything.”

“The texture is very unique.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Texture is just texture.

I don’t have to be prepared to eat it.

Crunch-!

As soon as I bit into the Gob Quartz with my molars, I felt a really strange texture.

The outside is soft, but the inside feels like chewing on a stone?

Barbarians usually chew on bones, so it was nothing special.

「The character has consumed Gob Quartz.」

「Poison resistance permanently increased by +3.」

「This effect does not stack.」

Anyway, after that, the rift clearing was mostly the same.

Smashing all the monsters we saw and moving forward. Only stopping briefly at places with hidden pieces to search the area.

That’s how the third chapter, where we went down the circular stairs designed on the edge of the cliff, ended.

And…

“Now it’s the last one.”

We arrived at the deepest part of the mine and stood in front of a collapsed mine, as if something was sealed.

Originally, you had to use explosives hidden throughout the mine to open the way, but…

High-level players have their own tricks.

Bang, bang-!

As I was smashing the lower foundation stones with the Demon Crusher, it collapsed and created a gap for people to pass through, and we entered.

「The sleeping Green King awakens.」

A vast clearing with a radius of about 50 meters.

In the center, green slime was wriggling and wailing.

[Kkyuiiit-!]

The guardian of the ‘Green Mine’, the King Slime.

***

At that time, at the entrance of the rift.

Two men were trembling, relying on a single torch flickering in the deep darkness.

“…Are we really going to go in just the two of us?”

“There’s no other way. The portal is closed.”

“I heard that rifts are explored by five people… What is going on?”

The archer sighed at the axe warrior’s words.

No matter how much he said it, he had no idea.

Only two people entered the rift, but why did the portal close?

Of course, at first, they thought it was a temporary error.

However, even after the portal closed, they waited around it for three hours for an entrant who might come.

They couldn’t just deny reality forever.

“Enough, let’s just go. If we’re going to clear the rift with just the two of us, we need to move slowly from now on.”

“…A-alright.”

The axe warrior, who had a weak personality despite his size, stood in front, and the archer followed behind, assisting him.

‘Damn bug, shitty game.’

The archer usually thought he was lucky.

Well, he happened to find the game and play it, and then came here, but…

Other than that, his life was easy, and it didn’t change even after he woke up in a strange world.

Just look at his first exploration.

He was lucky enough to eat an essence from the start, and in his second exploration, he stripped the equipment of the explorers and looters who had fought each other and earned initial funds.

Based on this, he was able to grow steadily.

But…

‘I thought I’d come to the first floor rift on my third exploration, but I didn’t know this kind of shit would happen.’

The man complained inwardly, but he kept his mind sharp.

That’s the only way he can survive.

“…Wait, stop.”

“…Why?”

“Something feels strange. The goblin miners should be coming out around here…”

“Do you… know a lot about rifts?”

“I just know a little. I like to study.”

He made up an excuse, but it wasn’t true.

He was an experienced player of the original version.

Although he gave up before passing the early part, he later found out that there was a cheat version and cleared it.

Nevertheless, he knew the early part well because he had played the original.

To play properly because of the insane difficulty, it was essential to read ‘Newbie Guide’ left by ‘Elfnuna’ several times.

“…Let’s go for now. I don’t know why the goblins aren’t coming out yet.”

However, since nothing would change by waiting, he cautiously resumed moving, thinking it was just a difference between the game and reality.

And…

“Oh, there’s a narrow path through the collapsed area!”

At the point where the rails were broken.

Seeing the wall broken at that point, he realized the truth.

“…Someone came in first.”

“…What did you say?”

“I was just talking to myself.”

Someone entered the rift first.

There were definitely three of them.

‘Then… they must have killed all the monsters there.’

The moment he realized this, a sense of relief washed over him, and his legs gave out.

And after the relief subsided, he began to think it was an opportunity.

‘Looking at the fact that there are no signs of battle around, it means they’re strong enough to just cut everything down as they go.’

They wouldn’t be interested in the essence of the first floor rift.

And the drop duration of the essence is about 30 minutes.

If he followed them quickly now, he might be able to get the abandoned essence in the later part.

Maybe he could pick up the hidden pieces they left behind.

“Let’s go quickly. Don’t worry about the monsters.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There probably won’t be any monsters ahead. If you don’t believe me, I can go first.”

The archer said that and started running through the dark tunnel without hesitation.

But…

‘They took the Gob Quartz.’

There was nothing left in the second chapter or the third chapter. It was impossible to find anything that the guys who entered first didn’t take, showing how well they knew this rift.

‘I didn’t even know about that… It looks like something was hidden inside since it’s broken.’

Anyway, after running for a while, he arrived at the final boss room.

The time it took was about 40 minutes.

If the guardian’s essence had dropped, and they hadn’t eaten it…

‘It might still be there.’

Soon, he entered the boss room with the axe warrior.

And…

Whoosh-!

As he discovered the essence floating in the air, a deep greed appeared in the eyes of the two men.

Of course, there was a difference.

“T-that’s an essence…!”

“I guess so.”

“S-surely that’s the guardian’s essence—”

The axe warrior in the lead had more surprise than greed in his eyes, but the man behind him was the opposite.

Thwack-!

The man grabbed an arrow and stabbed it into the axe warrior’s shoulder.

“Aaaah!”

The axe warrior screamed and rolled on the floor due to the sudden attack.

Of course, he tried to pick up his axe, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.

Clang.

The axe slipped from his hand.

“It’s no use. I put a paralyzing poison on the arrowhead.”

“W-why are you doing this! I-I’ll give you the essence. P-please!”

The warrior, sensing defeat, cried out, begging.

But the archer’s eyes were cold.

“Why are NPCs so afraid of death?”

“N-NPC…? What are you talking about? No, more than that, Dragoon! Please, just once. I have a daughter at home—”

“Dragoon is a Protoss.”

The man chuckled and pulled out the arrowhead that was stuck in him.

And…

“Hans Eliban.”

“…?”

“That’s my name. Ah, come to think of it, this isn’t my real name either.”

“Y-you, could it be…!”

“Looks like you’ve noticed. Sorry. I had to say this in advance so that I wouldn’t get soft.”

“N-no—!”

The warrior tried to shout something, but the shout couldn’t continue to the end.

That’s because the arrowhead pierced the warrior’s neck before that.

“It’s no different from catching goblins.”

Soon, the man quickly got up and moved towards the essence floating in the air.

A bitter smile was on his lips.

“I’m lucky.”

He sincerely thought he was lucky.

「The [Slime Essence] permeates the character’s soul.」

Until he saw the newly acquired skill with his own eyes.