Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 4

Looking back, I was a pretty funny guy.

I always thought life was boring, but I never once considered killing myself.

The feeling of boredom was just a feeling, and to me, life was more precious than anything else.

I thought it didn’t add up in many ways.

And that thought still remains.

That’s why…….

***

I’m crawling through the darkness on three limbs.

You might wonder what I’m talking about, but it’s literally what I’m doing.

Currently, I’m dragging my completely messed-up right foot and moving on the ground on three limbs.

If someone saw me now, they would surely think of an injured stray dog with a broken bone.

How do I know?

‘Because that’s what I’m thinking right now.’

The price of giving up human dignity was sweet.

First of all, I don’t feel pain because I don’t use my injured foot, and my moving speed is actually faster than before.

Most of all, there’s no chance of stepping on a trap.

In return, my elbows and knees ache, but hey, whatever…….

I can endure it enough. I can withstand it.

What can’t I do to survive?

I can even eat dog poop with a smile.

Well… if you give me time to prepare, I can definitely do it.

‘But I wonder what happened to that old man?’

‘Old man’ is just a term I made up.

I don’t know that person’s gender, age, or name.

I’m just guessing from their tone.

I have a feeling he was a bespectacled white man in his 30s.

Or not.

「[Bleeding] is continuing.」

Anyway, I wonder what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Orom, the son of Kadhua. Did he die? Or did he wake up in his original body again?

It’s a question I’ve had ever since I opened my eyes.

Even if I try not to think about it, the more messed up the situation gets, the more I keep thinking about that old man.

「[Bleeding] is continuing.」

I feel like I know why humans believe in religion.

Reality is too harsh to live alone.

When despair strikes, you need a place to turn your gaze. Just like I am right now.

「[Bleeding] is continuing.」

「[Bleeding] is continuing.」

「Warning: Your character’s health is below 5%. If not treated immediately, your character may die.」

Huh, I’ve come quite a bit while thinking about other things.

It’s a subtle difference, but I can feel that the surroundings are gradually getting brighter.

It’s a positive situation in many ways.

At least it means I’ve come in the right direction, and my hypothesis that the entire first floor can’t be this dark was correct.

Let’s just get to a bright place somehow.

There will be people there. Let’s ask for help by giving them this magic stone. Then somehow…….

‘Bullshit, that’s hilarious.’

I was giving myself a carrot by whispering positive words, but my other self appeared.

‘Hey, you idiot, they’re busy, do you think they’ll help you for just a piece of bread? They might just take your magic stone and shield and kill you.’

Is it because it’s me?

This bastard is smart.

‘What are you going to do if you meet a goblin before a person in the first place? Are you brainless? Huh?’

As the main body, I can’t tolerate any more insults.

‘You idiot, then what are you going to do? Still, you have to go. At least you can see there. Wouldn’t it be better than fighting here even if a goblin pops out?’

‘…That’s true.’

My other self agrees, and my head becomes quiet again.

I kept crawling.

“Keuheuheuh…….”

I feel like I’m going crazy.

No, maybe I’m already crazy.

Well, it’s natural since I’ve lost this much blood, right?

Since a while ago, my ego has been splitting into two, then merging again, and then becoming dull, repeating the process.

It’s a kind of virtuous cycle.

If it gets any duller than that, I’ll surely never open my eyes again.

“Hehehehe…….”

I laughed out loud.

I didn’t even have the strength to do so, but I still laughed.

At some point, the surroundings were bright.

In the distance, I could see a crystal shining brilliantly at the end of the passage.

Most of all, I could see the silhouette of a person standing in front of it, backlit.

I didn’t mistake it for a goblin.

It was definitely the silhouette of a person.

“He… lp…….”

I want to shout something, but no voice comes out.

I desperately crawled, opening and closing my eyes.

And then, what do you know?

The silhouette of the person got closer. As if they had teleported.

Surprised by that fact, I closed and opened my eyes again.

「[Bleeding] is continuing.」

This time, it was even closer.

About six people were standing in front of me.

I didn’t see it wrong, right? I closed and opened my eyes again.

「Achievement Unlocked」

Condition: Health drops below 2%.

Reward: Mental stat permanently increases by +1.

Then, I saw a blonde man kneeling.

Our eyes met right in front of me, but he didn’t ask anything, just observed me and my surroundings with a strange gaze.

Rather than listening to others, he was making judgments based on his own experience and intuition.

Like a veteran, he quickly came to a conclusion.

“A newbie.”

Damn it, then help me, you bastard.

As you can see, I’m just a weak barbarian with only a shield, and the only other thing I have is a goblin magic stone that I traded for one of my legs.

If you want, I’ll give you all of this. So…….

“Suspicious. How did a newbie get here faster than us?”

I quickly opened my mouth. But what came out was a sound similar to a phlegmy cough.

“Grrr…….”

No, honestly, it sounds more like the sound a goblin made…….

It was enough to let them know that I couldn’t answer.

The blonde man then asked his companion.

“Priestess Ersina, can you heal this person?”

A priestess? Does that mean there’s a priest in the party?

I looked to the side with the eyes of a believer who had witnessed a miracle. And there was indeed a red-haired priestess wearing white robes.

The priestess, who met my eyes, said clearly with her beautiful lips.

“I refuse.”

Huh? What?

“I see. Understood.”

Why are you agreeing?

I was sad. Damn it, I didn’t know why I was dragged here and being treated like this.

It was at that moment when anger was rising in my chest.

“Partsran, can you give me a potion?”

“It’s for when we can’t use divine power, though?”

“You have a lot anyway. I’ll pay you separately for it.”

“Tch.”

Only then did a man with a sword on his waist click his tongue and take out a potion from his bag and throw it.

My heart sank, thinking that was my life.

Thud.

Fortunately, the blonde man caught the potion properly.

“It’s not divine power, so it’ll hurt a bit.”

The blonde man opened the cap, poured half of it on the wound, and poured the other half directly into my mouth.

Soon, I felt unbearable pain.

Is this the kind of pain you feel when all the pain that has accumulated in your body without you realizing it comes at once?

「Due to the Recovery (Medium) effect, your body is rapidly regenerating.」

It feels like my whole body is melting.

There was a reason why they didn’t allow the use of potions during battles in the game.

I thought it was just blocked by the system, but it turns out it was a really good reflection of reality.

Damn it.

“Haa, haa, haa…….”

How many minutes had passed?

The pain gradually subsided, and I regained my senses.

“Now, will you tell me, barbarian? How did you, a newbie, get here before us? If you know a new passage, I’d like to buy the information.”

Indeed, that was the purpose.

I don’t feel bad. Rather, I feel relieved that they’re treating me well because they have a purpose.

There’s nothing more ominous than kindness without a reason.

Still, I feel a bit sorry.

I don’t know any secret passages.

“…I was here as soon as I entered the labyrinth.”

I honestly said it as it was.

The blonde man tilted his head, then nodded with a look of understanding.

“Indeed…… I’ve read about it in a book. Sometimes, such cases happen due to dimensional instability.”

My heart pounded loudly.

I asked back like someone who had misheard.

“First, time, you say……?”

I couldn’t believe it at all.

After all, this party has a priestess and a mage. That means they’re proper guys who are active at least in the mid-levels or higher.

But they said it’s the first time?

“Yes, the book said it’s a case that happens maybe once in a hundred years. To fall this far out on the periphery…”

Ah, I see. It’s something that happens maybe once in a hundred years. And I experienced that the moment I first entered the labyrinth.

Now I know why other barbarians don’t carry torches.

No one worries about getting struck by lightning just because it’s raining, right?

“It seems like it’s your first time, and to experience such a rare thing, that’s quite a disaster.”

The blonde man looks at me with a pitiful gaze.

“It wasn’t the information I wanted, but it was still an interesting story. Don’t worry about the potion cost and go on your way.”

His tone is a bit annoying, but he seems like a basically good guy.

“Oh, and take that shield that fell over there.”

Looking at where the blonde man pointed, I see the shield that fell on the floor. It’s about 20m away. I thought I had it securely fastened to my waist, but it seems it slipped off.

“Then, we’ll be going.”

They passed by me without giving me a chance to say thank you.

Time is as good as money in the labyrinth, so it’s not something I can’t understand.

No, it’s already close to a miracle that they spent this much time for me in the first place.

I stared at the place where they left for a moment, then quickly ran and picked up the shield that had fallen on the floor.

It’s definitely a good thing that I survived…….

Even so, I felt strange.

***

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 1.

Physical: 25 / Mental: 36 (New +1) / Ability: 1

Item Level: 24

Total Combat Power: 68 (New +1)

***

“That barbarian from earlier, he’s lucky.”

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s lucky. He experienced such a thing on his first try…….”

The blonde man replied with an ambiguous smile, and the male swordsman snorted.

“If he was the type to step on a goblin trap, it would have been the same even if this hadn’t happened. It’s right that he was lucky to meet us in the first place.”

“To be exact, it’s that he met Drouse, not us. You were reluctant to use a potion, weren’t you?”

The female archer, who had been listening quietly, interjected, and the male swordsman shrugged.

“Well, there are tons of guys like that. He won’t survive long anyway. I’m sure our priestess had the same thought, right?”

The priestess smiled bitterly and didn’t answer, and instead, the female archer snapped back.

“Ersina would have healed him if it wasn’t for the temple’s rules. No, if there were no potions, she might have broken the rules herself. Do you think everyone is like you?”

“Well, who knows. I’ve seen so many people with different sides to them.”

“…Partsran, you need to learn from Drouse, even just a little.”

“For example, the consideration of asking if he knew a secret passage?”

“Yes. I heard that barbarians don’t welcome help from others. Maybe that’s why he was so considerate.”

“…Hey, I think you’re giving me too much credit?”

The blonde man scratched his head awkwardly, smiling as the topic turned to him.

But he didn’t deny the word ‘consideration’ either.

“Ah, if we want to take the shortcut, we have to turn here.”

“It’s convenient to have a guide in the party.”

“Ersina! Usually, guides only know the direction to the portal. It’s just that Drouse is amazing. He memorized all the terrain features of the first floor.”

The male swordsman shook his head, looking at the female archer.

“But where does that blood trail lead? We’ve already walked quite a bit, haven’t we?”

“I don’t know. But just looking at the mental strength to crawl that far, I think your statement that he was just lucky is wrong?”

“Huh, what’s the big deal……? He’s probably just around here anyway.”

The group, who had been following the blood trail, turned onto a shortcut in the middle. And about 15 minutes later, they reached their destination.

“It seems we’re the first to arrive on this route. It was worth hurrying. Let’s activate it quickly.”

The blonde man placed his hand on the monument located at the end of the dead end, and a strong burst of light erupted, taking the shape of a sphere.

It was a portal leading to the second floor.

“Wait a minute.”

Just as everyone was about to throw themselves into the portal, the female archer stopped the group.

“Isn’t that what the barbarian was wearing earlier?”

“What?”

The group, who checked the direction the female archer was pointing, all lost their words for a moment.

In the darkness revealed by the light emitted from the portal, there was a blood-stained trap and one unknown sandal lying alone.

“…It seems like it’s right.”

The mage made an interesting expression, then created a new sphere of light and moved it beyond the passage.

Whoooosh-!

The blood trail that started from the trap continued along the curved passage.

No matter how much they moved the sphere of light, they couldn’t even guess its end from this spot.

A moment of silence fell.

“…Hey Drouse, how long would it take to get from here to where we were earlier?”

“…Assuming we don’t use the shortcut, it would be about 15km.”

“Hahaha, what a monstrous body. To crawl that far alone in this darkness.”

The mage just chuckled in amazement.

However, the male swordsman next to him couldn’t do that.

“…He’s not in his right mind.”

He felt that this was a problem of the mind, not the body. He thought about it.

‘…If I were in that situation, could I have crawled for hours? Without any certainty that I would meet someone and get help?’

I don’t know.

But what’s certain is that the barbarian was crawling even when they first found him. He kept moving his arms and legs in a state where he didn’t seem to have any consciousness.

What happened next?

He raised his hand up without being able to speak properly.

In his hand was a small magic stone.

He didn’t think much of it then, but now he seems to know what that action meant.

‘He was asking for help by giving this.’

Because there was nothing else he could offer in return.

So, the barbarian had been holding the magic stone tightly in his hand while crawling the long distance. Just in case, if he met someone, he could show it right away.

Soon, the man came to a conclusion.

“…I have to take back what I said earlier.”

Just lucky?

That kind of guy will die early anyway?

There’s no way.

He knows from long experience.

“Drouse, what was that barbarian’s name again?”

That kind of crazy bastard doesn’t die easily.

No matter how hard and desperate the current moment may be.

Because they never use death as an escape route.