Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 458

As soon as I raised my hammer, I activated [Transcendence] and [Eye of the Storm] to pull the dagger-wielding guy towards me.

Swishhhhhh!

Whether the surprise attack was effective or not, his skinny body was being dragged in powerlessly.

“……!”

His slender neck was caught in my outstretched hand.

At that moment, Amelia called out to me.

“Yandel.”

Her voice was full of concern.

If she thought I was really going to kill him, I’d be a little disappointed.

I wouldn’t smash his head with something like this.

I’m not a real barbarian, after all.

Squeeze.

This is just a performance.

A little bit of emotion included.

“Mister, we’re almost there.”

As expected, as soon as I grabbed this guy’s neck, the explorers appeared in the distance, and it only took a moment for them to reach me.

“…What are you doing! Baron Yandel!”

They already knew my name.

Not particularly surprising.

Well, they must have been listening to our conversation through something like a message stone [a magical communication device].

“Kuh-heok… !”

As I tightened my grip, the dagger guy’s struggles intensified.

“Let go of him right now!”

“Why should I?”

“Even if you are a noble, there are limits! Trying to harm an innocent explorer for no reason, do you think such an act is acceptable?”

There was a fallacy in his words.

First of all, they were the ones who summoned the Floor Lord without permission, so they had no right to say that.

And secondly.

“Why is this guy innocent?”

I spoke clearly so everyone could hear.

“This guy is a traitor. He dared to threaten and insult a titled noble of Lapdonia, a very audacious act!”

“W-What kind of sophistry is that? When did this friend ever do such a thing—.”

“What? Are you insulting me now too?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Even as the conversation continued, the dagger guy’s struggles grew more intense.

“Keuh, eugh, ugh… !”

I thought he was quite patient.

At this point, he could have pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed my arm.

‘He must know that would make things worse.’

“L-Let’s talk after you let go of him. There must be a misunderstanding, if we talk—.”

I didn’t think he would attack me even if I pushed him further, so I tossed him to his companions.

“C-Deputy Commander! Are you alright?”

Oh… he was the Deputy Commander.

The one who was promoted after James Kala was dismissed.

‘…No wonder he held out until the end.’

His sense of responsibility for the clan is impressive, but that doesn’t make this guy or the Sawtooth Clan look any better.

“Now, tell me. What part was the misunderstanding?”

The man who had been shouting for me to let go was about to answer, but the dagger guy stopped him and stood up.

And then…

“I sincerely apologize for disturbing Baron Yandel’s peace of mind. Please forgive me.”

He apologized without any excuses.

“It was clearly my mistake to mention Count Alminus.”

He was really sharp.

How could he avoid all the landmines I had laid out in the most optimal way?

“If you wish for punishment, I will accept it when we return to the city later.”

At this point, it becomes strange to say anything more.

He didn’t curse at me to my face, and the threat itself wasn’t even direct, was it?

With this much justification, it’s unlikely that ‘Mozlan’ [likely a reference to a legal or governing body] would accept a request for execution.

‘If we go to the city, Count Alminus’s influence will reach him too.’

In that case, I might be attacked for threatening and intimidating him over something trivial.

Therefore…

“Then, do you still think the same way?”

I asked again, putting off accepting the apology.

Because what I wanted wasn’t an ‘apology’ or ‘punishment’.

“I, as an explorer, also want to ‘contribute’ to resolving this incident as quickly as possible.”

“…I see.”

“Are you still going to stop that?”

The dagger guy seemed to organize his thoughts for a moment, then opened his mouth again.

“With all due respect, what are your plans after the incident is resolved?”

In other words, what about the loot distribution?

“Aren’t we all explorers? We should roll the dice fairly.”

“…Is that so.”

The dagger guy, who had taken a breath as if sighing, gave his answer.

“Then, we will withdraw.”

“…What?”

“There’s a saying that a teammate who doesn’t get along is more dangerous than an enemy. But, we can’t stop Baron Yandel’s intervention, can we? If we fight that evil monster together, we’ll surely mess up and suffer great losses.”

“So, you’re just going to pull out?”

“Yes. If it’s Baron Yandel, who is called a hero, we can trust and leave it to you.”

Ha, look at this guy.

“We will fulfill our duty by helping other low-level explorers remaining on the 3rd floor.”

In other words, rather than letting someone else get a piece of the pie, they’d rather flip the table over…

‘Look at how fiercely they’re protecting their table.’

The problem is that there’s no way for me to stop it.

If today’s events become known outside, some people might think that I was greedy and caused them to withdraw, which increased the scale of the damage.

‘No, they’ll definitely launch a public opinion campaign to make it so.’

“What will you do?”

In the end, there was only one option I could choose.

“I’ll leave Liakis to you.”

It’s a shame I couldn’t get a piece of the pie, but what can I do?

I need to catch the boss as quickly as possible.

I don’t know how many will die if I leave it alone.

“Then, the story is over.”

Looking at the dagger guy who seemed eager to return to his group, I left him with one last word.

“But remember this one thing.”

“……?”

“If you fail, you will have to take responsibility. It was you who stubbornly refused my help.”

The answer came after a moment’s pause.

“…I will keep that in mind.”

He clearly wasn’t listening.

***

After the Floor Lord incident was settled, I left the reed field without any regrets.

What’s the point of watching?

「The Chaos Lord Liakis is drawing on the power of the source.」

If Liakis eats all the orbs and uses an instant-kill skill, it would only become more troublesome.

It’s not difficult to escape from an instant-kill zone, but one of us might be designated as ‘prey’.

‘And if that happens, they might blame us for the failure too.’

Yeah, it’s best to cleanly withdraw in this situation.

“Bjorn! So where are we going?”

“To any place where there are people.”

“…Huh?”

“It looks like the raid is going to take longer.”

When I said that, Amelia showed interest and joined the conversation.

“Hmm, was there a basis for that assumption?”

“The first is the date.”

“Date?”

“Yeah, if they had enough power to catch it quickly, they wouldn’t have summoned it before the 13th day.”

It’s an unauthorized subjugation, after all.

The best thing to do is to summon it before the labyrinth closes, catch it quickly, and run away.

But they still gave themselves plenty of time?

That can be interpreted as them planning for a long battle.

“…Then what’s the second reason?”

“They had a purification torch attached to their belts.”

“A purification torch… you mean that one. A number item in the 8000s.”

To be precise, it’s No. 8645, but anyway.

If all the raid members have it, they can skip Liakis’s 2nd phase for free.

“But, why is that a problem?”

“Using that item will inevitably lead to a long battle. The difficulty itself is generally lowered, but if you want to defeat it as quickly as possible, it’s one of the items you should never use…”

I thought I had talked too much, so I quickly added.

“…I read it in a book.”

“Oooooh! Amazing!”

Fortunately, Ainar didn’t seem to notice anything strange. He’s always like this, so I’ve become less wary of him.

“Ahem… Anyway! It’s possible that this situation might continue until right before the closing day, so I was saying that we should try to save as many people as possible, is everyone okay with that?”

“Of course!”

“Certainly… even if those people are holding the most dangerous Floor Lord, if this situation continues for too long, there will be people who can’t hold on. I’m fine with it.”

“It’s not like we can go up anyway, so I don’t mind… but why are you asking for our opinions when you’ve already decided?”

“It’s procedure, procedure!”

Okay, so we’re all in agreement.

“…I, I agree too!”

As we started to move around in earnest, explorers recognized me and asked for help.

Among them were quite a few capable people who could handle the Chaos Spirits without any problems for the remaining days…

But there were no exceptions.

“Hey, it’s Baron Yandel!”

“Giant Bjorn Yandel… !”

“W-We’re saved!”

Well, they must think that Liakis is wandering around the 3rd floor.

They must have been quite scared.

“T-Thank you so much for accepting us… !”

“Oooooh! It’s the Chieftain!!! The Chieftain has come to save us!!”

After wandering around non-stop for about 8 hours, we had gathered over a hundred people.

So, I set up a base in a suitable place.

I decided that it was impossible to keep moving with this many people…

“Warriors, can you help me?”

“Of course!!! Just tell us what to do!!”

However, there weren’t enough people to cover the entire base, so I assigned the barbarian warriors to guard the perimeter.

But what was this?

“Baron! We want to help too! Is there anything we can do?”

“Me too! I want to help!”

Other explorers also offered their support, and a rotating automatic defense system was completed in an instant.

‘…At this rate, we won’t have much to do?’

I judged that the current personnel were sufficient for defense unless Liakis came to us, so I sent Erwen and Amelia out on a mission.

“Erwen, Emily. Can I ask you to do this?”

“Yes! You can count on me!”

“…It always feels like I end up doing troublesome things when I’m with you.”

The mission for these two was simple.

To go around outside the base and bring back any explorers who were stranded or isolated to this safe place.

“Bjorn! What about me? What should I do!”

Unfortunately, Ainar, who didn’t have the ability to find his way back alone, was assigned as the head of the shelter’s guard.

And…

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +1.」

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +1.」

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +1…」

「…….」

「…….」

The 13th day, the 14th day…

Time passed quickly, and it was already the closing day.

***

“Mister, I’m here!”

When I opened my eyes after a short nap, the first thing I saw was Erwen’s amber eyes.

“You’ve worked hard. How many did you bring this time?”

“Thirty-one. I searched quite far, but there are almost no people left nearby.”

“I see. Take a rest.”

“Yes.”

“…You said you were resting?”

“Being next to you is resting, isn’t it?”

“……”

I had nothing to say, so I checked the time first.

[04:01]

About 18 hours left until the labyrinth closes.

The low-level explorers who had been anxious were gradually regaining their composure.

Well, it’s reassuring since nearly a thousand explorers have gathered to create a shelter and rely on each other.

But I’m getting more and more anxious.

‘They’re still raiding…’

The source of my anxiety is still the Floor Lord.

I expected a long battle, but I didn’t think they wouldn’t be able to resolve it even now.

‘Judging by the fact that the Chaos Spirit disappeared a few hours ago, the longest 2nd phase is definitely over…’

Then, how did the raid go?

Regardless of how annoying they are, I hope it went smoothly.

If they failed and Liakis is wandering around in the 3rd phase, it would be terrible.

“Hoo…”

I really wonder how it went.

Feeling frustrated, I took a walk around the shelter as if to get some air and checked if there were any problems.

There wasn’t anything in particular.

Well, it was natural since the Chaos Spirits weren’t appearing anymore.

“……”

After finishing the patrol, the entire team gathered for a meal together for the first time in a while.

And that time was 6:30 AM.

Thump-!

The vibration felt from the ground made us freeze like stones while we were eating.

“Bjorn, what was that just now…”

[Groooooooaaaaaa-!]

Son of a bitch.

“I-It’s the Floor Lord…”

“It’s here…”

“I-I heard that last time, over hundreds of people died in just one day…”

Fear and confusion spread through the crowd like a contagion.

I stood up abruptly, took a deep breath, and shouted with all my might.

“Everyone be quiet!!”

“……”

Whew, that’s better.

I used [Giantification] to make myself easily visible from afar, and I could feel hundreds of eyes waiting for me to speak.

I quickly checked the information.

“Erwen, is it heading this way?”

“…No.”

Really? That’s a bit of a relief.

“……”

Looking around, I called out the name of the man I made eye contact with first.

“Louis Siur!”

It was the mage I met in the Orc settlement.

“…Yes? W-Why me…”

“From now on, you are in charge here.”

“Y-Yes, yeeeees??”

I happened to meet him after the Floor Lord was summoned and had a few conversations, and he seemed quite smart.

“So, you lead these people and run away as far as possible.”

“T-Then what are you going to do, Baron!”

Why are you asking the obvious?

“I have to stop it.”

“Y-Yes? B-But Tersia said that it’s not coming this way…”

“So, you’re just going to leave it alone?”

The low-level explorers on the 3rd floor aren’t all here.

There are several times more scattered everywhere.

If a monster that has definitely finished at least the 2nd phase starts wandering around, the damage will become uncontrollable.

“Baron…”

“If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

“You really are… just like I heard…”

What is he talking about?

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

I grabbed my hammer and headed in the direction Erwen had pointed, and my companions quickly followed behind me.

Thud, thud.

Given the situation, our steps were a bit hurried.

As we continued, the low-level explorers who were in my path widened the path so as not to get in the way.

And…

“May the blessing of Lapdonia be with you…”

They quietly bowed to us.

Hey, is someone going to die?

“Louis! What are you doing! Why aren’t you taking them away!”

I spoke to the mage I had given the responsibility to, but he didn’t answer.

He just bowed from afar.

“……”

I felt a bit awkward, so I picked up the pace.

Amelia laughed at me, saying I was embarrassed.

Thinking about it, something was strange.

Why should I feel burdened by that?

Yeah, where else is there an upper-level explorer who would do this much for low-level explorers?

Especially a titled noble.

‘Yeah, they can give me a bow of respect with that much respect. It doesn’t cost anything.’

Thinking that way made me feel a little better.

Thud, thud.

We came out of the shelter and started running.

Even so, I honestly regretted it a little.

‘If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have forced my way in back then.’

That’s because, if it’s a Floor Lord in the 1st phase, it’s possible to hold it alone somehow.

Frankly, even if I’m designated as ‘prey’ and just run a marathon until the closing day, I’m confident I won’t die.

But from the 3rd phase onwards, things are completely different.

‘I thought this exploration would be a bit easy.’

Of course, it’s not as desperate as it was in Ice Rock.

But it’s not like there are no positive factors.

‘Is it the 3rd phase, or the 4th phase?’

If it’s the 3rd phase, there’s nothing I can do, I’ll just have to run around like a moving meat shield.

‘I hope it’s the 4th phase.’

If they failed the raid in the last phase—.

[Groooooooaaaaaa-!!!]

I stopped walking as I saw Liakis in the distance.

And I smiled.

‘Its belly is very thin.’

Yeah, this is doable.

“Everyone, get ready.”

“…You said you were just going to hold it, are you planning to fight?”

But, how can I resist the last hit?