Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 502

A crystal cave, bathed in a soft, ethereal light.

Was it because I fought Dreadfear to the death in this very space last time? The moment I opened my eyes, I unconsciously paused.

[Is it okay to just… stab one person……?]

[You will… become a great… warrior…….]

Ugh, why do these kinds of memories never fade, no matter how much I try to forget them? It was an experience I never wanted to repeat.

However, if I continued exploring like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if I had to face it again someday.

“Captain… what’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

I quickly snapped out of it at Erwen’s worried question and checked on my team members. Well, the only team members around were Erwen and Misha, but still.

“…….”

Misha has been quiet since earlier.

Is she still feeling unwell?

“Misha.”

“……Ah, uh-huh?”

“We’re about to leave, are you okay?”

“Uh-huh…….”

I made sure to check on Misha, who answered with a somewhat subdued voice, and quickly started moving.

Our first destination was the monument plaza in the center of the crystal cave. We planned to go there first and join up with the other team members.

We had split into two teams this time.

‘……I need to increase the number of clan members soon.’

The reason for splitting into two teams was purely due to the number of people.

The current total number of clan members was exactly seven.

So, dividing into three and four was unavoidable.

Of course, if we excluded Auyen, there would be six, an even number, but…….

‘We might need a navigator.’

After some consideration, I included Auyen in the exploration team.

There were several areas, including the 6th floor’s Great Sea, that required ships and navigators, so I decided it was necessary to prepare for all situations.

‘……Besides, if we don’t find it this time, we’ll eventually have to go to the upper floors.’

After diligently searching through related books during my stay in the city, I discovered that there was one commonality among ‘hidden areas.’

They always appeared on floors where an achievement had been accomplished.

A prime example was the Fairy King’s achievement.

[Fairy Archer Armella Powell Merhenia and her companions defeated the Regulator Gregory and opened a hidden area.]

The Regulator Gregory, a hidden boss that could be encountered with a low probability while climbing the Tower of the Sky without going to the 5th floor.

The area that was added after this guy was first defeated was ‘Larkaz’s Maze.’

Well, to be precise, it should be called three types of hidden fields, including that one?

Anyway, the important thing here is this.

The 1st floor will be closed on the 7th day, so if we don’t achieve anything before then, we’ll have no choice but to go to the upper floors.

“…By the way, there are a lot of people.”

The central dark zone we soon arrived at was swarming with explorers.

It was a clearly different and unusual phenomenon compared to the usual quietness.

However, there was no reason to find this strange.

I had expected that explorers searching for ‘hidden areas’ would come here first.

In fact, most of the explorers were wearing good equipment and proudly displaying their clan marks.

‘Still, there are more than I expected…….’

As I entered the dark zone with that thought, the explorers who spotted me looked surprised and made way for me.

“Hey, that person…….”

“It’s Bjorn Yandel…….”

“So, he’s looking for that place too…….”

Explorers were not just looking at a celebrity, but also showing curiosity, and sometimes looking at me as if I were a competitor.

“…That guy might have some clues.”

“The fact that he came here first means that there might be something hidden here?”

In this kind of situation, being famous is actually a disadvantage.

“Misha, don’t just follow along, stick close to me.”

“Ah… uh-huh…….”

After that, as we moved through the passage, illuminating the darkness, a plaza with a monument soon appeared. As expected, many explorers were gathered around the monument.

“Oh! Bjorn! Over here, over here!!”

“You’ve finally arrived.”

“You’ve come, Captain.”

The second team, who had arrived earlier, recognized us as soon as we came and approached.

I first got a report from Amelia.

“Did you find anything?”

“Not yet. It seems like mages from various clans are doing something, but they don’t seem to have found anything.”

“I see, so that’s how it is…….”

After that conversation, as I approached the monument, the mages who were doing something in front of it cleared the way.

And…….

Gulp-!

They were staring intently at my every move, hoping for some kind of clue to appear.

The situation was quite funny.

‘It’s not like I have any special clues either.’

As I stood in front of the monument, I felt a strange sensation.

When I came here during the last exploration, there was a witch’s altar instead of this monument.

What kind of secrets are hidden in the labyrinth?

Even while thinking that, I read the inscription on the monument once again.

「In honor of the great first step of the last great sage, Diflun Groundel Gavrilius.」

The same inscription I had seen many times before.

‘The inscription hasn’t changed…….’

After that, I looked around the altar carefully, but I couldn’t find any changes or suspicious parts.

It was the same when I touched it directly.

So, I decided to stop here and talk to my team members.

“Bersil, is voice control on?”

“I already turned it on.”

“I see.”

“Yandel, did you find anything?”

“Not yet.”

It’s not that I don’t want to experiment, but it’s impossible in this situation where everyone is watching.

No matter how much people praise me as a hero, I’m not that great of a person.

I always liked eating my rice cake alone the most.

“Let’s go.”

With that in mind, I decided to come back later when there were fewer people and was about to leave when someone approached me and spoke.

“Baron Yandel.”

The weapon was a sword. The hair color was brown. And a man with a rather sturdy build for a human.

I looked down at him with a ‘What do you want?’ look, and the man greeted me with noble etiquette.

“I am Manus Steelico, the leader of the 9th team of the White Shark Clan. It is an honor to meet Baron Yandel.”

Ah, that mark was the White Shark Clan.

One of the four great clans, now only four.

“Bersil, turn off voice control for a moment.”

“Yes.”

“So, what’s your business?”

I kindly turned off voice control and asked, and the guy carefully brought up the main point.

“If you have any information about the hidden area, I would like to purchase it for a reasonable price.”

Sigh, I wondered what he was going to say, and it was this?

It was actually a proposal I had received countless times recently.

And if I remember correctly, there were letters from the White Shark Clan among the ones I ignored.

“Purchase, huh…….”

Even if I had information, I had no intention of selling it for money, but I trailed off as if I was thinking about it.

Because there was one thing I wanted to ask.

“Is the leader of the White Shark Clan also on the 1st floor?”

“…They might still be here, but they won’t be nearby.”

“Are they searching the outskirts?”

“No. Our 9th team is the only one in charge of exploring the hidden area in this exploration.”

In other words, the rest of the clan members, except for these guys, would go straight to the upper floors as before.

“The support is surprisingly lacking?”

I said it in a way that implied that they wouldn’t get much for the information, and the guy quickly answered.

“It’s not that the clan is taking this matter lightly. It’s just that we are currently under a war contract with the military, so we can’t focus on this matter right now.”

“So, the war comes first?”

“Yes. Besides, if it’s something that can be found in a short period of time, our team alone will be enough, and if it’s the opposite, there’s no reason to put all our efforts into it from the start. Not only us, but other clans are probably in a similar situation and have made similar decisions.”

“I see.”

“Then… what about our offer…….”

I ended the conversation at this point.

“I’m sorry, but I refuse.”

I had already heard everything I was curious about.

“…Is that so. I understand. Thank you sincerely for your time.”

After that conversation, we turned our backs on the monument plaza and went outside.

‘War is surprisingly helpful sometimes.’

I was worried because there were so many explorers near the monument plaza, but it was still relatively empty outside.

The real competitors were tied up because of the war.

Even if the entrance was easily discovered, in this situation, we wouldn’t have to worry too much about our share being reduced.

“Bjorn! Where are we going now?!”

“To the outskirts.”

It was time to show off my skills for the first time in a while.

The earlier we find it, the more we can gain.

***

I can confidently say that [Dungeon & Stone] is the most user-unfriendly game I’ve ever played.

Boss monsters that you have to headbutt your way through.

Fields and rifts armed with all sorts of bizarre mechanisms.

Various hidden elements that are so well hidden that you wonder if they were even meant to be found.

I could talk for three days and nights about how unfriendly this game is.

But paradoxically, the biggest reason I got hooked on this game was that very ‘unfriendliness.’

I was the type who got fired up the more difficult it was, as I was fighting against the endless boredom of my daily life at the time.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve searched for hidden pieces.’

The difficulty of [Dungeon & Stone] is determined by hidden elements.

That is, how many hidden pieces you know. If you don’t know anything about these elements, it’s virtually impossible to climb the floors normally.

So, when I played the game, I had a habit of searching for hidden pieces like I was breathing, no matter what I was doing.

If I saw a statue, I would look for a way to break it.

When moving, I would always stick to the wall and spam the normal attack button.

If something seemed suspicious, I would cast all sorts of magic.

Sometimes I would burn it, freeze it, or throw the corpses of the plunderers I had collected.

And as a result of doing that for nearly 10 years.

I had discovered countless hidden elements, and of course, I had gained know-how in the process.

‘The problem is that I haven’t invested anything in that area right now.’

I don’t have a character that is extremely focused on luck.

Nor do I have a character set up with exploration-specific essence.

My companions and I are all set up with combat-oriented builds.

Because I was confident that I already knew all the hidden pieces that could be found.

‘Still, it’s a good thing that I can read ancient languages…….’

Well, this is a skill that won’t be of much help if the hidden piece doesn’t require ancient languages.

But…….

Thud-!

What can I do?

If I don’t have teeth, I’ll have to chew with my gums.

Just like this.

Thud-!

Like in the days when I played the game, I move while hitting the walls with a hammer.

Not just me, but all of my team members together.

Thud-! Clink! Thump! Drrrrr.

A harmony close to noise, as hammers, daggers, and spirits collide with the cave walls and crystals.

“Oh! It’s like a festival, it’s fun!!”

Everyone except Ainar looked like they were wondering if this was really necessary, but I firmly continued my instructions.

“You have no choice even if you don’t like it! This is the basic way to find Gavrilius’s arrangement.”

“……Basic way?”

“It was written in a book I read a long time ago!”

I made such excuses to Bersil, who didn’t know I was a demon, and moved for a long time. And every time we entered a specific section, we searched the surroundings thoroughly.

A four-way intersection of square crystals.

A pond next to a large rock.

A mossy puddle, etc.

In the crystal cave, where the terrain changed every time we entered, there were places that appeared in fixed locations like this.

And…….

‘Hidden pieces are usually hidden in specific locations.’

As I was moving while smashing everything I passed, I entered the dark zone of the outskirts.

Whoooosh-!

The portal connected to the Goblin Forest was naturally opened by a previous visitor, and there were no suspicious spaces nearby.

Sigh, so it’s not next to the portal, huh?

After that, we chose a place and then scattered around it to search the dark zone of the outskirts.

And when the search was over, we moved far away and repeated this process again.

Day 1, Day 2…….

About 2 hours before the start of the 3rd day, we had our first harvest.

A medium-sized clan of about twenty people was gathered in one place, blocking passage?

As if they were trying to hide something they had found.

“I thought it would be best to tell you first, so I didn’t push it and just came back. I saw it from far away, so they didn’t notice me.”

I see, so that’s how it is…….

“Good job, Erwen.”

I led my team to the place Erwen had told me about, and there were explorers blocking the passage as if they were on guard duty.

Thud, thud.

As I approached without hiding my presence, they took out their weapons from the other side, but then flinched when they recognized me.

“Stop! St… Hey, Baron Yandel……?”

Well, it would be difficult for them to act aggressively even after recognizing me.

“I’m going to pass through, is there a problem?”

As I got closer and asked, the explorers who were on guard duty looked terrified, but desperately said.

“This is where we are currently camping…… According to the unwritten rules of explorers… we, we ask you to please go around…….”

Wow, this is really suspicious.

“Unwritten rules… what’s that?”

“……?!”

“Don’t talk to me in difficult terms!!”

With those words, I just ran forward and broke through the path.

“Oh, oh……!”

“It can’t be…….”

The only thing the explorers on guard duty could do was just watch and say those words.

As I entered the passage, the dozen or so explorers who were gathered in front of the wall flinched as if they had been caught doing something bad.

“……!”

“……!”

That’s when a heavy silence fell for a moment.

“What is all this commotion… huh?”

A man peeked his face out from a very small gap in the wall.

“Oh, there was a side path there?”

“Uh, uh…… You are……?”

“I’m Bjorn, Yandel’s son. Are you the leader?”

“Y, yes, I am…….”

“What’s inside here?”

“Noth… nothing, there’s nothing…….”

“Hey, it doesn’t seem like that.”

As I smiled, the guy closed his eyes tightly and shouted loudly.

“…T, this is a place we found first!”

Oh, come on, this makes us look like the bad guys.

“A place you found first…….”

“Yes, if you steal the achievements of explorers like us, it won’t help Baron Yandel’s reputation—.”

“Did the explorer you met say that too?”

“…Huh? What, what are you…….”

What do you mean?

“Ack! Aaaack!”

I grabbed his hair and pulled him like I was pulling out a radish.

“Sleeve.”

“……?”

“There’s blood on your sleeve.”

“……!”

“Whose blood is that?”

It wasn’t even dry yet.