Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 49

When recruiting companions, skill is extremely important. But there’s a virtue that’s just as important: trust. In other words, can you trust them? Of course, when things are going smoothly, this isn’t a big deal. You can just laugh and be happy together. But what if that’s not the case? When the worst-case scenario hits, whether you can trust them to have your back is a completely different matter. ‘Maybe it’s not about trust, but about their true nature.’ This is something you can’t figure out just by looking at their application a few times or talking to them a few times. A person’s true nature is usually hidden deep inside. I hope we don’t have to show each other that nature. It’d be better for all of us that way.

“This place smells just as bad as ever! Haha! Dwarki, are you alright?”

“…Don’t talk to me, blegh!”

I turned my gaze away from Dwarki, who was retching, and quickly scanned the surroundings. I’m currently in the 2nd floor area, accessible through the portal in the eastern region of the 1st floor, where Razor Wolves reside. The Beast’s Lair. As the name suggests, it’s mainly inhabited by beast-type monsters. And because of that, the stench of filth is terrible. Very terrible.

“Rotmiller, are you alright? I heard you have a sense of smell-related essence.”

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. It’s not like this is my first time here.”

“I see.”

Is this what 8 years of experience looks like? Just looking at this guy makes me feel secure. I’ll have to see about the other one.

“By the way, when is our mage going to come to his senses? We need to go make money soon…”

Misha Kalstein. She shows no empathy for her companion’s suffering and only cares about her own gain. I was about to add a note to her character evaluation in my head when I paused. Well, am I any different?

“Dwarki, get a grip. How long are you going to waste our time?”

“That’s right, that’s right. If you’re like this over something like this, you can’t be an explorer. Mage! Grow up!”

As soon as I snapped at him, Misha immediately chimed in with a sarcastic tone. However, Dwarki’s reaction to this was unexpected.

“You’re right. I need to grow up now.”

Oh, was he this kind of person? Honestly, I thought he’d make some lame excuse or get angry.

“Let’s go.”

“H-However, are you alright?”

“Of course, it’s difficult. But if I become a burden to my companions just because I’m new and a mage… how pathetic would that be?”

“I-I didn’t say you were a burden…”

While Misha was flustered by the unexpected apology, Dwarki, who had gotten up with a gaunt face, muttered with a determined expression. “I can’t tarnish the honor of the Martoang Barony.”

“…Ugh! You’re pretending to be a noble again!! I’m not falling for it anymore!”

“Hahaha! Let’s go. I’m really fine now!”

Seeing him become cheerful as if nothing had happened, Misha looked like she had been tricked again and burst into anger. And with that, we slowly started moving.

“From here on, everyone should follow closely behind me. Even though it looks like a flat plain, there are many pits in this terrain.”

“Pits? I don’t see any…”

“They’re usually filled with filth, so it’s hard to distinguish them. If you’re not careful, you’ll easily fall in.”

“…Rotmiller, I’ll trust you.”

The Beast’s Lair can be described as a canyon terrain. There are narrow paths, with towering cliffs on both sides, and explorers passing through this place must wander through the maze-like cliff crevices to find their way. ‘There are no traps, but the scout’s role is more important on this floor than in the Goblin Forest.’ For reference, the monsters that appear are Razor Wolves, Burrowing Moles, Saber Tigers, Werewolves, and Vulcars, most of which live in caves in the cliffs. Explorers whose main goal is hunting usually enter the caves and engage in combat to eliminate groups of monsters. However, our goal is to get to the 3rd floor, so we’ll pass.

「You have defeated a Giant Razor Wolf. EXP+1」

「You have defeated a Saber Tiger. EXP +2」

「You have defeated a Werewolf. EXP +2」

「You have defeated a Burrowing Mole. EXP +1」

We quickly moved, occasionally taking down monsters that were wandering outside the caves, and soon it was time to take a break. The time was 3 hours before the start of the second day. [20:58] We spent the entire day moving. However, if it weren’t for Rotmiller, the scout, it would have taken us twice as long to get here.

“The entrance is narrow, so this place would be good for a campsite.”

We cleared out a Burrowing Mole’s lair and started preparing for camp, using it as a base. The dwarf, Rotmiller, and Misha. With three experienced explorers, setting up camp was a breeze. The mage, who had been practically invisible except for creating drinking water, also shone at this time.

“Since we have an alarm spell, one person on watch should be enough.”

“Why do we need a watch?”

“Dwarki, it’s not because I don’t trust you, so don’t think strange things. As you know, monsters aren’t the only things we need to be wary of in the labyrinth.”

To become a proper explorer, you need to be more wary of other explorers than monsters.

“Rotmiller, who worked the hardest today, will take the first watch, and then we’ll take turns in order.”

“Wait a minute, don’t I have to stand watch?”

“Leave this to us, and you should get some rest.”

The mage was excluded from the watch schedule. It wasn’t specifically out of consideration for his weak stamina, but it’s the usual practice. Like explorers who are sensitive to rewards, they acknowledge that he did his part just by using the alarm spell. ‘Well, in reality, it’s just a custom that naturally arose from trying to appease the mage.’ Anyway, taking turns on watch for two hours each made it unbelievably comfortable. Being able to sleep for 6 hours a day? Compared to when we were traveling in pairs, it’s practically heaven. Of course, the downside is that the number of people who have to share the spoils has increased, but that can be solved by having more people take down stronger monsters.

“I am, the great mage Riol…”

“Stop talking in your sleep and get up, mage!”

“…Sniff, is it morning already?”

“I don’t know if it’s morning, but it’s definitely time to get up.”

Day 2, 5 AM. The first night, which I was worried about, passed without incident. Monsters were detected by the alarm spell four times, and we all woke up once when an explorer group approached the campsite during the dwarf’s watch, but… This is just a normal occurrence.

“Dwarki should have adjusted by now, so let’s pick up the pace from now on.”

“Hmm, isn’t there no need to rush too much?”

“We need to get to the 3rd floor as soon as possible to make camping easier.”

From the second day, we minimized idle chatter and focused solely on moving. Of course, monsters blocked our path every few minutes, but… That was welcome for me.

「You have defeated a Crescent Rock Bear. EXP+1」

「You have defeated a Burrowing Mole Queen. EXP+1」

「You have defeated a Crimson Razor Wolf. EXP+1」

So, have we taken down all the 9th-grade monsters in the Beast’s Lair? Since it’s my first time on this floor, my experience points are accumulating quite quickly. Of course, there’s no separate experience bar. ‘If I calculate the monsters I’ve taken down so far…’ It’s exactly 40. If the bonus for defeating higher-tier variants and the guardian bonus were properly applied, it would be 44. ‘I still have a long way to go before reaching level 4.’ The required cumulative experience points increase exponentially as you level up. Level 1 is 6, level 2 is 30, and level 3 is 150. Of course, it doesn’t keep increasing by 5 times, but the perceived difficulty is more than that. Even if a monster’s grade goes up by one, it only increases by +1, and even that becomes impossible to obtain if there are no more monsters to hunt. ‘…Well, it’s not like I’m in a hurry to level up right now.’ My current level is 3. I can absorb up to 3 essences. In other words, I still have one slot available. Of course, I don’t expect an essence to appear before I reach level 4. [Dungeon & Stone] isn’t that kind of nice game. ‘Why did I have to play a game like this…’ I belatedly regret it, but what can I do? I was a true pervert back then, who felt exhilarated the more difficult the game was.

“Everyone, start getting tense. From here on, only higher-tier monsters will appear, and their numbers will increase significantly.”

That’s when we had been following Rotmiller for about half a day. The terrain, or more precisely, the color of the cliffs, changed. From reddish-brown to black. ‘So, we’ve reached the latter half.’ From here on, 9th-grade monsters will no longer appear. However, no one, including me, was particularly tense.

“Even the higher-tier monsters on the 2nd floor are only 8th-grade!”

The average grade of our team is 7th-grade. They are people who have been in teams that have been active on at least the 3rd floor before. Well, I’m a newbie, though. Except for the fact that I’ve been here countless times in the game.

“Come to think of it, Bjorn said he hasn’t been to the 3rd floor yet?”

“Is that so?”

I answered in a sarcastic tone, thinking she was trying to pick a fight, but Misha was genuinely impressed. “That’s amazing. It took me a year just to get to the 3rd floor!”

Geez, that’s embarrassing.

“…I was just lucky.”

I didn’t want to talk about it for long, so I quickly brushed it off, and then the dwarf chimed in. “A year to get to the 3rd floor? Then how long did it take you to get to the 4th floor?”

“Hmm, two years? I think it took about that long.”

“That’s similar to me.”

“Ugh! Suddenly, I feel a little wronged! The team leader has less experience than me, but he’s 6th-grade!”

“But Ms. Kalstein was born into a good family!”

“Ugh! I told you not to talk about my family!”

As the conversation dragged on and they seemed about to bicker again, Rotmiller, who was leading the way, intervened and stopped them. “Both of you, stop it.”

His voice, tone, and expression were the same as before. But why does he seem more annoyed than before? ‘Well, I guess it’s understandable that he’d be annoyed if he’s working hard alone while they’re doing that behind him?’ I casually brushed it off.

***

「You have entered the Pilgrim’s Path on the 3rd floor.」

***

Sometime after noon on the second day. With Rotmiller’s accurate guidance, we entered the 3rd floor. It’s a bit of a shame that we couldn’t take down a few 8th-grade monsters that can be hunted in the Beast’s Lair, but… It’s not like they only appear on the 2nd floor. ‘I’ll have another chance to catch them someday.’ I shook off the lingering regret and focused on the current situation.

“Rotmiller! Fall back!”

The place I’m currently in is the 3rd floor’s ‘Pilgrim’s Path’. Among them, we’re at the ‘Steel Rock Hill’, the starting point when taking the Beast’s Lair route. And upon arrival, we encountered two 7th-grade monsters.

“Dwarki! Use Corrosion magic!”

Their individual name is ‘Iantro’. It’s easy to think of them as boars with steel teeth. Their size is about 5 times that of a Jirisan boar [a wild boar native to Jirisan Mountain in Korea].

「Riol Worb Dwarki has cast the 8th-grade curse magic [Corrosion].」

While Rotmiller, who entered the portal first, retreated to avoid the monsters, Dwarki immediately cast a spell. And at that moment, the dwarf and I dashed forward, each taking on one with our shields. Clang-! A heavy impact was felt from the front. If it were my old shield, it would have been dented all over the place the moment it blocked the charge. Like the dwarf’s shield over there.

「Hikurod Murad has cast [Emergency Restoration].」

“Bjorn, why are you suddenly looking at me?”

“I’m not jealous.”

I really mean it. If you use a sturdy shield in the first place, you don’t have to bother fixing it every time, right?

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Anyway, Bjorn! Don’t try to push them back, just stop them from going backwards!”

“I know that without you telling me!”

Iantro’s active skill is ‘Balance’. It has the effect of knockback immunity. It’s also the essence that the dwarf ate.

「Hikurod Murad has cast [Balance].」

Do they have any conscience at all? Both the boar bastard whose main skill is a charge and has a skill like this, and the dwarf who’s yelling at me not to be pushed back by him. The rage inherent in a barbarian’s body is rising. Is that why?

“Behel—raaaaaaa!”

Instead of waiting for the other team members to attack, I swung my mace and smashed Iantro’s jaw. Crack-! That was the moment when the steel teeth, which had been affected by [Corrosion], were easily shattered.

“Essence, come out!”

Misha, who had jumped high by stepping on my back without permission, stabbed a dagger into the top of Iantro’s head.

「You have defeated an Iantro. EXP+3」

We’ve taken down one. I was about to finish off the other one, but I stopped moving and watched for a moment. Dwarki was casting a spell. One of the few attack spells he has.

「Riol Worb Dwarki has cast the 8th-grade attack magic [Ice Spear].」

An ice skewer flew and lodged itself in Iantro’s abdomen. If he had aimed for the head or the heart, he could have taken it down cleanly in one shot, but… I’ll give him detailed feedback later. Thud-! Rotmiller approached the collapsing and struggling Iantro, aimed his crossbow at its forehead, and fired an arrow, ending the battle. Of course, no essence came out. Well, that’s not what’s important right now. ‘There were monsters right in front of the portal…’ It seems like a bastard is nearby.