Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 553

“……Tell me in detail. What happened?”

Before making a final judgment, I wanted to know the specifics.

“Ah, that? He disappeared on the day they were supposed to leave, so the commander went to look for him. But when they found him, he claimed he had a stomachache and couldn’t go, you know?”

“…….”

“Apparently, he cried and made such a fuss that they even called a mage to examine him.”

“Examine……?”

“They used magic to check his intestines, or so they said. There was nothing wrong. Because of that, they tried to accuse him of desertion, so he changed his tune as if he had no choice and joined….”

“…And?”

“Maybe because of that rumor, his reputation within the expedition isn’t good. Even the priests from his own order don’t treat him well, you know?”

“I see…….”

Ha, I shouldn’t have asked.

Seeing how much he tried to avoid joining the expedition, it must have been because his ‘sixth sense’ was triggered.

Thump-!

Surely, I won’t have to go through that kind of hell like in Ice Rock again, right?

***

The four ships that departed from the rocky island docked at the library island. After a brief formation adjustment, we disembarked.

For reference, the 4th squad… that is, our 38 people, were at the very front.

That gave me a bad feeling, but I shook my head, trying to dismiss it.

‘……Putting us at the front must be because we’re the advance team.’

Yeah, yeah, it’s not like we’re expendable pawns.

Even if I were the commander, I would have done the same.

Ugh, but why do I feel so uneasy about what’s behind me?

‘……Damn royal bastards.’

Berzak, and Ice Rock.

I’ve been backstabbed by the royal family twice already, so I can’t trust these guys at all—.

“We’ve arrived.”

As I descended the stairs, more wary of the rear than the front, a vast underground library came into view.

The books were all neatly organized.

And…….

[……You’re here? Earlier than I thought… uh……?]

Hamsik, who came to greet us as soon as we arrived, tilted his head, noticing the expeditionary force behind us.

Ha, why is he like this again?

I waved my hand, telling him to quickly go back and hide, but Hamsik still looked clueless.

Therefore…….

Swish, swish.

I pointed at the expeditionary force behind me with my thumb, then pointed at Hamsik with my index finger.

Swish.

I made a gesture of slitting my throat with my hand.

Because they’re not nice guys like me.

No joke, they’re the type to cast distortion magic and kill you on sight, then start dissecting you.

But did my urgency get through to him?

[Beee—!!!]

Hamsik, understanding the gesture, was terrified and ran away.

And at that moment.

“Baron, what’s the matter? I thought I heard a terrible scream from somewhere.”

A person from the main force, who was following us at a distance from our 4th squad at the front, arrived.

Okay, it seems they didn’t see Hamsik.

“It’s nothing.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know the cause, but sometimes there are noises like that here.”

“Ah, I see. Understood. I’ll pass it on.”

With this, even if I secretly meet and talk with Hamsik from time to time, the expeditionary force won’t think it’s strange.

Well, I have to be careful since there might be someone who tries to investigate the sound.

“This is the place that Baron Yandel mentioned.”

“What do you think?”

“What do I think? My personal feelings are meaningless. Now, let’s not waste any time and start quickly. We are not simply exploring, but carrying out a sacred mission given by the royal family.”

Ugh, he’s such a royal family worshiper.

Soon, Jerome gave instructions to the vice-commander, and the vice-commander shouted in a booming voice.

“All troops, listen up! We will start with a terrain survey first. Each survey team, search the surroundings thoroughly!”

Thus began the terrain survey.

I approached Jerome and asked.

“You said there’s no time, so why do we need to do a survey again? We’ve already finished everything here.”

Maybe just as I don’t trust the royal family, Jerome doesn’t trust me either.

That was the first thought that came to mind, but…….

“Hehe, our expeditionary force is made up of only the best exploration experts carefully selected by the royal family. I’m not disregarding Baron Yandel’s skills as an explorer, but… just watch. You never know, we might find something new.”

From the nuance of his words, I could tell that he was just looking down on us.

‘Exploration experts, my ass.’

Most of the mages are from the military, and it’s just a combat-focused group full of knights and priests.

“Do as you please. We’ll stay here.”

“Very well. After all, you couldn’t find anything before, so there’s no way you’ll find anything now.”

……Should I really punch him?

I genuinely had that thought, but I endured it with superhuman patience.

And how much time had passed?

“…There’s nothing new to report.”

“Same here.”

In the end, the expeditionary force’s survey teams returned with no results, and only then did the library raid begin.

“It would be best to proceed as the Baron said. Unlike the Baron, we have the ability to raid all the way to the last bookshelf.”

He still showed a distrustful attitude, but when the raid started, he showed a somewhat professional side.

“It’s this kind of format.”

After using summoning books a few times, he quickly reorganized the formation as if he understood, and efficiently distributed the 200 people.

Several dozen people stuck to the bookshelves to find books, and twice as many people waited in front of the stone gate, hunting the monsters that came out of the stone gate.

But…….

“At this rate, it’ll take a long time.”

Jerome, thinking this was too slow, pulled out his ultimate secret weapon.

“Evost, increase the speed.”

All discoveries in this world are born out of necessity.

“Yes? However, since we can only summon one book at a time, increasing the speed here is….”

“That’s why I’m telling you to find a way.”

“…….”

After a moment of looking bewildered at his direct superior’s unreasonable demand, the vice-commander came up with a creative method that even I hadn’t thought of.

“If we can reduce the time it takes for the door to open and close, we can increase the speed even more.”

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“How about we just break the door?”

“……!!!”

Even the barbarian next to him was shocked by the solution. However, Jerome nodded with a satisfied expression after hearing the plan.

“That’s a method worth trying. Execute it immediately.”

As soon as the permission was given, the magic corps within the expeditionary force gathered in one place.

And dozens of them cast a joint magic spell.

“Mairti Esta Pioryueb de Taila!”

The magic that was completed was a magic spell that I had never actually seen before.

Well, where would you see a 1st-class attack magic spell?

[The Gaffin Besilus has cast the 1st-class attack magic [Rupture of the World].]

As the magic was completed, the magic circle shone, and I felt breathless. Even the barbarian warriors, who were insensitive to magic power, could feel the density.

It was impossible to see with the naked eye.

———————!

A flash like a moment.

I vaguely felt the cause and effect of something being shot and hitting something, and when I opened my eyes again.

Whoooosh-!

A hot wind, as if I was about to get burned, blew fiercely and brushed past my cheek.

However, I didn’t have the energy to focus on that sensation.

“……Fortunately, it was a success.”

The huge stone gate, which must have been 20 meters high, was shattered without leaving even a fragment, revealing only endless darkness.

‘This… works……?’

I felt like I had seen a new realm.

***

They succeeded in breaking the stone gate.

And the plan to continue summoning quickly through that method was also successful.

“Now that the door is gone, summoning happens as soon as they’re caught. Well done, Evost.”

“I was only following the royal family’s orders, it’s nothing to be praised for, Commander.”

The two, who had eliminated the delay caused by summoning monsters with a brutal method, continued their conversation naturally.

In the end, I had no choice but to step in.

“Wait, look over there! It’s already starting to restore from the edge.”

This was the nature of the labyrinth.

Including the crystal cave on the first floor, all places in the labyrinth, except for special points, have the characteristic of natural restoration.

In other words, the mages of the expeditionary force have just wasted a 1st-class spell, but…….

“But is there a problem?”

Jerome looked like he didn’t understand my words, so I kindly explained it in a way that wasn’t like a barbarian.

But this was also a waste of effort.

“Even if you say that, I don’t know what the problem is. If it’s restored, isn’t it just a matter of breaking it again?”

“Huh……?”

“Looking at the speed of restoration, it doesn’t seem like we need to use a 1st-class attack magic like this time. There are many mages, so it seems like we can just take turns breaking it.”

“……Uh.”

“Besides, no monsters strong enough to require mages have appeared yet, right?”

Uh… that’s true.

“Then, are all your questions answered?”

“Yes. They’re all answered.”

In the end, I had no choice but to admit it.

‘The one who was lacking… was me……!’

Those who possess power can achieve more, and therefore, they can imagine a higher realm.

Therefore, the reason why I couldn’t come up with this method and judged it as impossible was all because I lacked power.

Imagination was a power that came from strength.

‘That must be why the character for power is attached to the word imagination.’

Indeed, is this the wisdom of the ancients?

They must have already mastered this principle thousands of years ago.

“Then, I will resume the mission!”

Anyway, whether I gained a new realization or not, Jerome didn’t waste time like someone who didn’t have a second to spare.

Is that the natural attitude of someone who has received a mission from the royal family?

Thanks to that sincerity, the raid speed was on a different level. We had been doing factory-style hunting, but it couldn’t even be compared.

“Leave the magic stones! I’ll collect them later.”

The expeditionary force didn’t even pick up the magic stones, and they didn’t check who the essence belonged to even when it came out.

Most of them hunted with ranged attacks, so there were no unfortunate incidents of unintentionally acquiring essence, and when melee was needed, knights filled the field with full essence.

And as a result.

‘We’ve reached the 4th grade in just one day…….’

Strictly speaking, we entered the section where 4th-grade monsters were appearing one by one in less than 16 hours.

It was almost five times faster than when we 38 were doing it.

“From tomorrow, we can proceed normally. Tell the magic corps as well. There’s no need to stop the restoration anymore.”

“Then…….”

“We’ll stop here for today, prepare the camp.”

Thus, the raid, which had been going on without a break, even with meals taken in shifts, was stopped, and the long-awaited rest time arrived.

The expeditionary force soldiers, who had spent a hard day, skillfully set up camp, and during that time, some familiar faces came to visit.

“Haha, are you very busy?”

Melrand Kaislan.

A knight from the military who had been through thick and thin with me during the Ice Rock expedition.

“No matter how busy I am, I have to make time since you’ve come.”

“That’s quite an honor.”

Kaislan smiled and held out his fist, and I bumped it to greet him.

We had made eye contact while passing by, but we hadn’t had time to talk like this.

“By the way, I didn’t think we’d be able to talk until now.”

“I heard that if you go under Count Saintred, you’ll taste hell, but I didn’t think it would be this bad for me.”

It seems that a bad reputation, not an official one, was spreading among the military.

“So, what happened to you? Did the royal family order you to join?”

“Yes. Hehe, it seems they plan to use me as much as possible before I retire. Well, I didn’t have much of a complaint since one of the purposes was to save the Baron.”

“Retire? Did you submit an application?”

“I submitted the application a month ago. It takes quite a while for it to be processed… I’m hoping it’ll be done by the end of this expedition.”

“I see…….”

“But why do you look like that?”

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about what to eat for a late-night snack.”

I made an excuse, but it wasn’t my true feelings.

It was just that the fact that Kaislan, who was about to retire, was ‘forcibly’ dragged here reminded me of the Ice Rock expedition.

‘If he had other intentions, he would have made Marone join the expeditionary force too… but let’s keep it in mind for now.’

Eh, it’s probably nothing. Rather than dismissing it like that, I decided to always keep the worst-case scenario in mind.

“Sir Kaislan! It’s nice to finally meet you!”

After that, Bersil, Erwen, and Amelia, who were also members of the expedition, came and reunited with Kaislan, and then another new face appeared.

“I’m sorry. The Archbishop is new to camping, so I was helping him… I wanted to come right away, but I was late.”

The Goblin Mask, Sven Parav.

As soon as he appeared, Bersil approached and glared at him.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Oh, it’s been a while……? Miss Gowland…….”

“Indeed. It has been ‘a while,’ Sir Parav.”

They met at the Round Table not too long ago, but they’re acting like this.

From my perspective, knowing all their identities, it just looks cute.

“Wait, can you all give us some space?”

“Yes, of course. I can’t stay long either, the people from the order are watching—.”

“Parav, except for you.”

“……Yes?”

After the greetings and catching up, I dismissed the people around us and had a one-on-one time with Parav.

“So… what’s the matter……?”

“I heard you pretended to have a stomachache to avoid joining this expedition?”

“Did Sir Kaislan tell you even that?”

“No, I heard it from someone else.”

“……You heard it from the Golden Mage, I see.”

He seemed to have deduced the answer from the fact that Raven, my former colleague, was on our ship.

However, that part didn’t matter.

“Why did you do that? Did you have that ‘strange feeling’ again?”

“Well… it’s a little different from that…….”

“Different? Tell me in detail. I trust your sixth sense.”

“I… I don’t know how to say this…….”

After hesitating for a while due to my continuous requests, Parav carefully opened his mouth with a resigned voice.

“It seems… I received a divine revelation…….”

What……?

***

A world where gods exist.

People here sometimes hear the voice of God or receive revelations. Sometimes, they even give holy objects to help with ‘revelations.’

Anyway, the core point is not that.

“You received a divine revelation……?”

“P, please speak quietly! Everyone will hear!”

A divine revelation is not something that everyone can receive.

That’s why in this city, those who are blessed to hear the voice of God are called ‘saints’ or ‘saintesses.’

But…….

‘This guy is a player.’ [Referring to someone from another world]

Sven Parav is an evil spirit from Earth.

And the Three Gods Church is as serious about hunting evil spirits as the royal family. But, the highest god there gives a divine revelation to an evil spirit?

“……Are you sure? That you… received it.”

“W, well, it seems like that.”

My worries deepened.

What the hell are those gods thinking?

Come to think of it, when I almost died at the hands of the Dragonslayer and barely came back alive, they gave me a holy object to help me.

“So, what was the content? What did you hear that made you do that?”

“Well… that’s…….”

After that, I tried to quickly confirm the content of the divine revelation, but unfortunately, an intruder appeared in the middle.

“Sir Parav! The Archbishop is looking for you! Come quickly!”

“Ah, yes……? Ah, yes! Understood!”

He glanced at me, looking flustered, and when I nodded, he quickly answered and disappeared to where the order’s forces were.

‘…I can hear the details tomorrow.’

It was a shame that I couldn’t hear it right away, but I looked forward to tomorrow, ate some jerky to fill my hunger, and then went into my blanket and closed my eyes.

And how much time had passed?

‘I can’t sleep.’

I got up for a moment to get some water, and I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere.

I looked around and saw Hamsik hiding behind a bookshelf in the distance, besides the guards on patrol.

“Ahem…….”

“Baron, where are you going?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m just going to stretch my body, but it’ll be noisy if I do it here.”

“Ah, yes…….”

After making a plausible excuse to the soldiers on guard, I approached the bookshelf, and Hamsik, who was hiding, let out a small sound.

[What… what are those crazy humans!!]

“Uh… they’re people from the kingdom… they won’t harm you, so don’t worry—.”

[Not harm me……!!]

Looking at the stone gate that was still not fully restored, Hamsik clenched his fluffy sheep fists. And he said to me in a very sad voice.

[Not once, but why… why do I have to go through this twice……!!]

“…….”

[Why are all humans like this……!!]

……I had nothing to say.

“I’m a barbarian though……?”

Other than that.