Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 405

After the lottery, the winners gathered and formed a ‘bond’ first. Then, they all gathered and headed towards the monument erected in the center.

Whoosh-!

When I placed my hand above it, a portal opened with a five-colored light.

“Oh, how fascinating. I can clearly feel the flow of magic, but there’s a clear difference from the development of typical space-time magic.”

“Is this your first time seeing a portal open?”

“Yes. Mages don’t usually obsess over achievements, do they?”

While the members were making comments and watching the portal open, the light spreading in all directions soon formed a distinct shape.

「You have opened the portal for the first time. EXP +2」

Sigh, I always think it’s a bit unfair that opening the 8th floor portal is the same as opening the 1st floor portal.

Whoooooosh-!

The five-colored light turned into a sphere and flickered.

When I turned around, everyone was just staring at me silently.

Right, I have to open it, and I have to be the first to go in, huh?

“Form up!”

Not knowing who might be on the other side of the portal, I formed a battle formation first and then stepped into the portal.

Flash-!

A pure white light spread before my eyes.

Soon, the focus sharpened as if fragmented pieces were being put together.

「You have entered the Land of Dawn on the 8th floor.」

Land of Dawn.

The deep layer of the labyrinth, which was marked as ‘dawn land’ in the game.

「Achievement Accomplished」

Condition: Reached the 8th floor.

Reward: Your Soul Power stat permanently increases by +50.

Just like when I first entered the Great Demon Realm on the 5th floor, an achievement was accomplished, and a sensation of my soul vessel expanding arose.

So, they called this a ‘baptism,’ right?

A mysterious phenomenon where the tower bestows blessings upon explorers when they achieve a task.

Whoosh-!

I went in first and was looking around when the members followed.

“There are no enemies…”

“That’s a relief. I was worried that enemies would be waiting like in the ‘Goblin Forest Battle’ we heard about before.”

“Finally, I’ve made it to the 8th floor.”

“Just this alone makes participating in the expedition worthwhile.”

About half of the members were explorers who had received the baptism. No, actually, if you exclude the mages and priests, it’s probably more than half.

Well, the 8th floor is classified as a deep layer.

“It’s a fascinating place…”

It seemed like Erwen was also on the 8th floor for the first time.

If I had to pick experienced people, it would be Amelia or Lavienne over there?

“Forget about enemies or the 8th floor, let’s eat already!”

“Uwaaaaaaa!!”

“I need treatment first! Please heal me quickly! It’s been festering since yesterday, and now I can’t feel the tip of my finger!”

It seemed like a riot would break out if I maintained the battle-ready state any longer, so I quickly ordered a break.

Well, the food loaded on the sled was gone, but the stuff in the subspace was fine, right?

Creak, creak, creak.

Chew, chew, chew.

As soon as permission was granted, the members took out food from their respective subspaces and stuffed it into their mouths.

Those who were classified as having minor injuries and couldn’t receive treatment chewed on jerky and looked for a priest.

“Mister, let’s eat quickly too.”

“Okay.”

I was just as hungry, so I quickly took out food and gathered with my team members to eat.

“I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t know it was such a peaceful place.”

“Are you talking about this Land of Dawn?”

“Yes. I thought it would be a much scarier place since it’s called a deep layer…”

Well, that impression isn’t wrong.

Green hills rising high.

Only vast meadows are visible around, and a warm breeze touches the skin.

I was shivering even in thick fur clothes just a while ago, so the change must feel even greater.

“You guys rest here. I’ll go look around for a bit.”

After eating enough, I left the group.

The leader has things to do as a leader, right?

I can eat jerky while walking.

Creak, creak.

I put five pieces of jerky in my mouth at once and chewed as I walked. Such a luxury that I couldn’t even dream of just a few hours ago.

However, my heart is heavy to simply indulge in happiness.

The reason I can’t rest and am walking around is precisely that.

‘I don’t see a rift…’

The Land of Dawn on the 8th floor is a very small area.

If you look at the field area alone, it’s probably the smallest of all the floors in the labyrinth.

And no monsters appear.

At least not until you enter the rift.

‘In this case… it’s reasonable to assume someone went in first.’

There is always one rift open on the 8th floor.

The type that opens is random, and when the rift is completely cleared, two portals open, allowing a choice.

Whether to go to the 9th floor.

Or to return to the 8th floor.

Whichever you choose, the moment it’s cleared, a rift is regenerated on the 8th floor, and that cycle continues.

And the problem here is…

‘It’s clear that the Noark guys are the ones who went into the rift now…’

Will they go to the 9th floor?

Or will they return to the 8th floor and choose to hunt in a different type of rift?

If it’s the latter, just resting here right now is a considerable burden.

If they’re active on the 8th floor, they’re definitely in an expedition unit, and their skills won’t be worse than ours.

‘Anyway, I understand why the royal family is in such a hurry…’

I can feel it now that I’ve come to the 8th floor myself.

In the war two years ago, the royal family lost many high-ranking explorers.

Of course, with countless policy support, the supply of accumulated essences, and the return of retired explorers, they have recovered some of their power, but…

‘At this rate, it will only widen further.’

Noark is practically using a cheat code.

Starting on the 7th floor from the first day of entry?

That means they can go straight to the 8th floor and mine the highest-grade essences.

If this goes on for a few more years, the gap between the top explorers will widen exponentially.

‘…Still, they can’t erase the essences, so even if the essence grade is high, will the combination be bad?’

Well, most of them probably will.

In the first place, I’ve never seen anyone in this world who can create essence combinations with such extreme efficiency like me.

90% of them will probably have haphazard specs.

But, as always, there will be an irregular among them.

‘…Anyway, it’s not a problem to think about now.’

I tried to shake off my worries about the distant future.

Although I’m in a position under the royal family, I’m not going to sacrifice my life for the king.

If you’ve entered the labyrinth, you should focus on what’s right in front of you.

Right, so…

“We’ll depart in 5 minutes, so get ready!”

The rest, which was like a sweet rain, was over.

We’re about to enter the heart of enemy territory, so it’s not good to be too lax.

“Goodbye to this wretched sled!”

I put the sled and supply boxes into the subspace and distributed the various combat consumables such as potions and scrolls that had been sealed in the subspace to each team.

With that, the preparations for resuming the journey are complete.

Clank, clank.

When it was time to depart, everyone had found their places and lined up.

They looked like a disorganized mob at first.

Now they look like elites.

“Let’s go!”

The process of passing through the 8th floor to the Dark Continent was nothing special.

Well, unless you enter the rift, the 8th floor is just a safe zone where monsters don’t appear, and the portal is close enough to be seen from the hill in the first place.

Thud, thud.

The destination we arrived at after about 30 minutes of walking.

“If we pass here, the Dark Continent will appear, right?”

I had checked it with my eyes from afar, but even up close, there was nothing wrong with the portal.

That was a relief.

If the Noark guys hadn’t opened the 8th floor portal and left it alone, we would have just been twiddling our thumbs here.

‘…Well, I had calculated that someone would open it for the experience, even if they didn’t hunt on the 8th floor.’

As I headed towards the portal while maintaining the formation, everyone swallowed hard.

Since the area ahead is Noark’s territory, they seem to be getting nervous…

“Schuitz.”

Just as I was about to enter, Caislan spoke.

“How about saying a word before we depart? Your words would greatly help the morale of the expedition.”

Well, I don’t really feel like it.

It’s also a waste of time.

Seeing my indifferent reaction, Caislan was horrified and quickly added.

“Th-think about it carefully. Isn’t this a historic moment? If this expedition succeeds and plays a major role in winning the war… whatever you say will be recorded and remembered for a long time.”

Well, I don’t know if this is a historic moment.

Looking at his eyes, which are desperately suppressing his burning desire for fame, I can tell that he’s so envious of me that he’s going crazy.

‘If I don’t do it, he’ll keep whining about how he’s disappointed…’

Sigh, it’s better to just do it and move on.

“Ahem, ahem.”

As I cleared my throat, Caislan stood up straight like a guard and shouted in a solemn voice.

“Soldiers, listen! We are now standing at a crucial crossroads. Will we fail, or will we succeed! Will we lose everything, or will we gain everything! There will be those who doubt and feel uneasy!”

“…”

“But!”

“…”

“I, Meland Caislan, have no doubt that we will be recorded as victors in history!”

“Oooooooo!!”

Caislan’s team members cheered enthusiastically, while the other members had a lukewarm expression.

Who does he think he is, stepping up like that?

That’s the kind of feeling.

But did he sense that atmosphere instinctively?

“In that sense!!”

“…?”

“Everyone, listen carefully! Before we carry out the great mission given by the royal family, there will be a word from Lord Schuitz!”

He passed the baton to me as quickly as lightning.

It was absurd.

What is this, telling me to do it, then saying everything he wanted to say and passing the mic?

‘…Is he trying to get recorded somehow, even like this?’

It’s an incomprehensible psychology, but well, everyone has different values. I turned my back to the portal connected to the Dark Continent and looked at the members.

Unlike with Caislan, they seemed curious about what I would say.

Is this why American CEOs are so good at attracting attention on social media? They get attention because people are worried about what kind of accident they’ll cause.

Anyway, that’s not the important thing.

“Ahem…”

I cleared my throat once and looked around.

I could see the faces of the members, who I had been with every day during the last expedition and who were now so familiar.

Is that why?

I suddenly thought of something I wanted to say.

“I won’t say much this time either!”

Right.

I already said once that we should kill a lot and earn a lot.

“Let’s come back alive as much as possible!”

That should be enough for today.

***

「You have entered the Dark Continent on the 7th floor.」

***

The latter half of the Dark Continent field, ‘Dragon’s Lair’.

Giant vertebrae were scattered around like ruins, as if we had come to a museum, and the ground was a plain filled with skulls and bone fragments.

Clatter, clatter.

We moved forward there, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“…”

There was no conversation between the members.

Clatter.

There was no light to illuminate the surroundings.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was a big problem with securing visibility.

The darkness problem was solved with magic.

「Leard Ashde has cast the 5th-grade support magic [Insight].」

A support magic that reaches the 5th grade.

Using this constantly would consume a lot of magic power, but it couldn’t be helped.

We had entered the heart of enemy territory, hadn’t we?

We had to move as carefully as possible—

Clunk.

Amelia, who had been moving ahead of me on the 7th floor, suddenly stopped moving.

And…

Flick, flick.

She quickly moved her hand and sent a signal.

It meant that there were enemies nearby.

In response, the leaders who were following joined the front, and immediately activated ‘voice control’ magic, that is, team voice magic.

“What’s the scale of the enemy?”

“15 people.”

Well, that’s about the size of a small clan.

Well, if you’re going to wander around a place like this, you have to stick together like that.

“What are we going to do? Is it a battle?”

“Of course. They are enemies threatening the kingdom. Let’s attack them right away!”

“I also agree with Lord Caislan’s opinion. I don’t care about the achievements, but it would be safer to reduce their numbers little by little from now on.”

The team leaders’ opinions quickly converged, and it was decided to ambush the discovered enemy.

As the leader, I had no objection either.

But…

“Okay, then let’s attack quickly.”

“Wait a minute. If we’re going to ambush, let’s prepare a little more. If the mages and ability users gather their firepower at once, we can fight much more easily.”

“Oh, that’s true. Since it’s the first battle, we’ll take the lead.”

What are they talking about so seriously?

“Don’t you guys know what an ambush is?”

“…?”

When I poured cold water on them, the team leaders tilted their heads and looked at me.

Well, they all seemed to have killed a lot of people.

Have they never tried to loot first?

“Forget about mages and everything, just wait.”

“Wait for what?”

Well, it’s obvious.

“When they fight monsters, we’ll attack them from behind then.”

That’s the basics of PK [Player Killing].