Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 58

What’s the most important thing in a disaster situation?

Water? Food? Physical strength? Tools?

Well, all of those are very important, but…

If I had to pick just one, I’d choose mental fortitude.

“Nooo… I can’t die like this, I can’t! How did I manage to hold on so desperately, only to end up like this… so futile!”

“Misha, calm down.”

When faced with a terrible situation, you need the courage to accept reality coldly, without denying it.

That’s the only way to make an objective assessment.

Therefore, I discarded all doubts.

‘It doesn’t matter what happened over there.’

Maybe a strange monster appeared, or maybe Elisa’s group ambushed them with a clever tactic in that short moment.

All possibilities are open.

But what I need to focus on now isn’t that.

‘Think.’

I’ve been separated from the group.

There’s a beastkin [a human with animal features] companion next to me.

Unfortunately, she’s a warrior type focused on physical damage.

And the chances of our lost companions returning here seem infinitely low.

Yeah, in short, we’re screwed.

This place, where physically immune monsters run rampant, is also called the graveyard of warriors.

It’s almost impossible for a barbarian and a beastkin warrior to get through it.

On top of that, there are pursuers targeting us.

In fact, this is the biggest problem.

If the two of us encounter them, it’ll be game over immediately.

But if we’re not just going to give up and die, we have to think.

Not about how screwed this situation is, but—

‘So, what do I need to do right now?’

What actions should we take going forward?

Even if it’s just a futile struggle, what should we give up and what should we prioritize for survival?

In short, what is the best course of action right now?

“…Let’s move.”

“What? But even if we do—”

“Even if we can’t find a path, it’s better to leave this place.”

After objectively assessing the situation, I can see what needs to be done even in the worst conditions.

I prioritized them and decided to solve them in order of importance.

First of all.

“This place is dangerous.”

Get out of here.

The reason is simple.

I have no information about what the dwarf’s group encountered near here, other than that it was so dangerous that they couldn’t come back for us.

“If that bitch is up to something, we’ll find her someday.”

“But shouldn’t she have shown up by now?”

Well, maybe we’re just lower on their priority list. Maybe the dwarf had to run away in the opposite direction and they had to follow him.

Of course, I didn’t intend to argue about it for long.

The first things to give up for survival are intangible values like warmth and consideration.

“So, what are you going to do? The choice is yours.”

I have no intention of dragging around a burden just because she’s a companion.

In the first place, she’s not even a companion.

I drew a clear line.

“If you don’t like my decision, we’ll move separately from now on.”

“Wh-what are you saying!”

“Answer me.”

I have no intention of wasting time arguing.

Yes or No.

Misha, who had been staring at me silently, bit her lip and made her choice.

“…I’ll follow your orders completely from now on. There’s nothing I can do anyway since I’m injured.”

A great answer that accurately grasped what the questioner wanted and spat it out.

I didn’t think she was like this, but she seems to be quite quick-witted.

As expected, even if she seems like that normally, there’s a reason why she’s a 5-year veteran explorer.

“B-but, that’s too harsh to say… !”

When I loosened my hardened expression, Misha whined as if she was hurt, but this much is nothing…

It doesn’t matter. As long as she follows my orders well.

“Drink this.”

When I opened a potion and handed it to her, Misha slowly drank it with a face as if she was receiving poison.

And she started groaning.

It wasn’t the lewd kind.

In the first place, potions can’t be that kind of thing.

“Heegh, ugh!!”

Listening to her groaning in pain, it seems that the potion is working well.

So, I hoisted Misha onto my shoulder.

She only sprained her ankle, so the pain will disappear in 5 minutes and she’ll be able to walk…

But it’s good if we can save that time.

“Ugh, uweek! P-please, slowly! No, walk gently!”

As I started running in earnest, Misha cried out and begged.

It seems she’s getting motion sickness.

However, this was all I could say.

“Just bear with it, even if it’s hard.”

Sorry, I’m a psycho barbarian who has forgotten warmth and consideration right now.

Efficiency comes first when the survival alarm is on.

People don’t die from a little motion sickness, right?

Tada-da-dat-!

Anyway, that’s when I was aimlessly running through the forest.

Misha, who was hanging on my shoulder, started pounding my back like crazy.

“Put me down, cough! P-put me down! I-I’m all better!”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m serious! I swear on the guardian deity of my clan!”

“Hmm, then why is there no strength in your voice?”

I pointed out the logical flaw in Misha’s words.

But for some reason, I felt scolded.

“How can I have strength! You ignorant barbarian old man!! Okay, just put me down!”

“Okay.”

Seeing her doing a back smack, it seemed like she had enough mental capacity to move, so I obediently put Misha down.

“Ugh, I thought I was really going to die!”

Oh, the exaggeration.

She looked fine at first glance, but I asked just in case.

“So, is your foot okay now?”

“As you can see.”

“Speak properly. Does that mean you can fight right now?”

“For now… yes! But why are you asking?”

Well, because there’s a fight coming up.

“Good, there’s a monster over there.”

Misha’s head turned in the direction I pointed. At the end of it, a huge tree was moving with its roots in the ground.

An 8th-grade monster, ‘Snetri’.

A disgusting monster that attacks explorers using its tentacle-like, wriggling branches.

For reference, it’s one of the few common monsters that live in the Witch’s Forest, along with the Half-Troll.

In short, it can be hunted with just physical damage.

“But do we really have to catch it? That guy is too slow to follow us… Ah! It’s not like I’m saying I won’t follow your orders!”

Well, that’s a relief.

Anyway, the question itself was valid, so I gave a short answer.

“You never know, maybe an essence will come out.”

“Essence?”

Misha tilted her head as if she had heard a strange word.

It’s understandable.

If I wasn’t in this situation, I wouldn’t have made such a plan either.

“All the monsters that appear in the Witch’s Forest have elemental abilities.”

To be precise, except for the Half-Troll.

Well, I’m not going to catch it even if it appears, so it’s an exception.

Misha soon grasped the gist of my plan and stiffened.

“Are you saying you’re going to catch it because of that?”

Yeah, not just this one, but every one I see.

I have to get an elemental ability somehow.

Avoiding spirit types is only good for a day or two, and at this rate, I can’t even sleep properly.

Well, if I happen to find a way out of the forest while wandering around, I wouldn’t have to worry about it…

‘There’s no way such a miraculous thing would happen to me.’

Of course, the drop rate of essences is also infinitely low.

But this is like a side quest in a way.

I have no intention of focusing solely on this plan.

It would be great if it comes out, and if it doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do.

Is that how you would put it?

‘In the first place, all of this will be meaningless the moment Elisa’s group finds us.’

Their scout either deals with the dwarf or, because they missed him, they start looking for us.

When that time comes, all of this effort will be pointless.

But…

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t struggle.

“Anyway, get ready to fight.”

“Okay!”

Misha immediately took out her weapon.

“Gle-gle-gle-gle-gle-gle!”

She rushed at the Snetri, which was crawling on the ground with its roots.

Survival rule one,

You have to fight to live.

***

「You have defeated Snetri. EXP +2」

***

I’m walking through the Witch’s Forest without a pathfinder.

And if someone were to ask me how I feel, I would definitely answer like this.

It feels like I’m wandering around a mirror room in an amusement park all day long.

For reference, this mirror room also has a constant BGM.

[Just kill her! Or enjoy it! Why are you being so nice to a useless bitch?]

[Keeheehee, keeheehee!]

[It’s all your fault! If it wasn’t for you!]

Is it just my imagination that the hallucinations are getting more detailed?

Well, I don’t think so.

Seeing that the hallucinations are clearer than before.

[Hansu, why are you the only one who survived?]

Unlike before, when they were just in the form of monsters, the people engraved in my memory appear.

People I can never meet in this world.

[It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!]

[When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl?]

Sometimes, those people appear in the form of hallucinations and spew out terrible things to me.

It seems that hallucinations and auditory hallucinations have begun to merge.

‘The field effect couldn’t have suddenly gotten stronger, it’s just that I’ve gotten weaker.’

I coldly assessed my condition.

However, that was all.

I stayed up all night.

In the meantime, I had a fierce battle.

I was cursed and half-dead, and now I’m in a desperate situation, lost and wandering.

Naturally, my mental strength is bound to reach its limit.

But so what?

‘I just have to endure.’

That’s what life was originally like.

At least for me.

Endure, endure, and endure again, and do what I can without dwelling on what I can’t change.

“Misha, use this instead of a dagger.”

“Huh? I’ve never used a spear before…”

After defeating Snetri, I took a short break and checked the expandable backpack. And I handed Misha the spear that was Tyson’s weapon.

It was something we were going to sell and divide when we got to the city, but now is not the time to worry about that.

“Just use it if I tell you to.”

“Heeing, okay…”

Until now, I hadn’t said anything, respecting each person’s individuality and their accumulated experience.

But my usual belief is that the longer a weapon is, the more practical it is.

In fact, when I caught Snetri earlier, if it wasn’t a dagger, I could have dug deeper and destroyed the core in one go.

“Ugh, it’s awkward! Can’t you just give me a sword?”

No.

I don’t know which is easier to handle, a sword or a spear.

But it’s certain that the spear is much longer.

When I make a wall with my shield, it will be much easier for her to help from behind.

“Aren’t both weapons you haven’t used before anyway? Just use that.”

“Heeing.”

What’s with the ‘heeing’?

I wish you would stop acting spoiled and draining my energy.

I don’t know how you think of me, but I don’t think of you as that close.

After all, it’s only been less than two weeks since we met.

‘This… I should use this.’

It wasn’t just Misha who upgraded her equipment, I did too.

「The character has equipped steel plate greaves.」

「Overall item level increases by +45.」

First, I put HansC’s greaves on my calves.

Greaves with leather on the inside and steel on the outside.

It would have been nice to have the thigh parts too, but unfortunately, it seems that they are in the dwarf’s backpack.

「The character has equipped war boots.」

「Overall item level increases by +38.」

While I was at it, I changed my shoes as well.

It was also what HansC was wearing.

They are pretty good-looking leather boots, but strangely, there is an iron plate attached to the instep.

And it’s in the form of a sharp spike.

‘Explorers are only practical in these kinds of things.’

I looked further, but there were no more items among the equipment that Misha or I could use.

However, instead, I found something unexpected.

“Huh? Bjorn! Isn’t this holy water?”

“…I think so.”

Misfortunes piled up one after another, is it finally time to rebound?

I was happier than I was with any equipment.

Because if we have holy water, we can enchant our weapons.

「Holy energy permeates the equipment.」

「Deals additional damage when attacking dark attribute monsters.」

Additional damage of the holy attribute.

That means that even without the elemental ability we’ve been hoping for, we can now beat up spirit-type monsters.

It’s limited to dark attributes, though…

Most of the spirit-type monsters that appear in the Witch’s Forest are dark attribute, so we don’t have to worry about it.

‘The problem is that there are only five bottles.’

Holy water has no duration.

The effect disappears when all the fixed additional damage has been dealt.

How many can we catch with five bottles?

Well, I don’t know, but it’s definitely not enough to use without restraint until the 3rd floor is closed on the 15th day.

‘…It’s better to save it as much as possible.’

Even so, it’s good news for the first time in a while.

So, I rummaged through the backpack again in detail.

I hadn’t properly checked the exploration supplies because I was out of it at the time.

Maybe there’s something else that could be helpful.

“Uhm? Bjorn!”

While we were rummaging through the bags one by one, Misha called me.

“I found something strange, do you know what this is?”

It was a pendant with a strange pattern.

And I knew the identity of that pattern.

‘Isn’t this the symbol of the Karui Church?’

Unfortunately, that was all I found out.

Other than that it was related to the Karui Church, I had no idea what it was used for.

‘Anyway, I think I’ve checked everything…’

I put the items I took out back in and organized the backpack.

And with the variable of ‘holy water’ added, I reviewed the plan I had briefly made.

First, there were three options that came to mind.

1. Ask for help from an explorer we happen to encounter.

The Witch’s Forest is huge.

And due to the terrain, it’s rare to encounter other explorers. But if we keep wandering around, we’ll eventually meet them.

If we offer them equipment as a reward, any explorer would be tempted.

‘The problem is that we can’t trust them.’

There are many efficiency freaks among the explorers.

They can just kill and take it, so why bother helping?

There might be someone who thinks like that.

‘Besides, she’s a girl too…’

I glanced at Misha, who was eating jerky because she was hungry, and continued to think.

2. Just wander around until we reach the outside of the forest or the 4th floor portal.

This is a method that relies solely on luck.

Therefore, I decided that it wasn’t necessary to set this as the final goal. Whether we like it or not, we have to keep wandering around in the forest.

It’s not something that will happen just because we want it to.

It’s not something that won’t happen just because we don’t want it to.

Anyway, next.

3. Focus on survival and endure until the closing date.

We have enough food and water.

And by securing holy water, we have secured at least a minimum level of safety for now.

If we happen to get an elemental essence along the way, our survival rate in this damn forest will also increase dramatically.

‘All of this is assuming that those guys can’t find us, though.’

I sighed deeply.

It’s only been 4 days since we entered the labyrinth.

That means there’s much more journey ahead than we’ve already done.

Thinking about what we’ve experienced in the past four days, it’s hard to expect the remaining days to go smoothly.

‘It doesn’t seem like an essence will come out, and if we’re going to do it anyway, it’s better to do it now.’

Therefore, I decided.

“Misha, are you married?”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

Misha, who was chewing on jerky, flinched at my question.

Looking at her, she seems to be wondering what I’m talking about.

Still, she said she would listen to me, and she answered.

“I haven’t yet…”

Okay.

I asked again.

This time, more directly.

“Then, do you have any beliefs like you shouldn’t show your naked body to a strange man?”

“I-I don’t think I have anything like that…”

“Good.”

“Wh-what’s good about that? Kyaa! St-stop! D-don’t come closer!”

A choice I would never have made if I hadn’t been playing [Dungeon & Stone] for nearly 10 years.

It’s a shame to use that item already, but…

4. Awaken Misha.

This is the best option after all.