Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 599

What should I call my current state? It’s definitely not a status ailment like ‘fear’ or ‘madness’. However, it’s certainly not a normal state either. Thump-! There’s a stuffy feeling in my chest. “Wh-what! Don’t tell me you’re thinking of hitting me with that—.” “Gahwin, shut up for a bit. Let me think for a moment.” It’s like the filter in my mind has disappeared. Impulsive thoughts keep popping up, and they spill out of my mouth before I can even control them. “I’m sorry, Erwen. I didn’t mean to scare you.” “Oh, no! I wasn’t scared!” “…You were.” Just now, I should apologize, right? I only thought that for a moment, but my mouth opened right away. Then, what could be the cause of this phenomenon? ‘It must be a field effect.’ The detailed specifics of the effect are unknown. However, it’s highly likely to be a mental debuff…… “Is it getting stronger over time?” Well, it seems like it. I was fine when I first got here. We were talking at the starting point, and as time went on, my mental state became strange. And…… “This old man was similar, too.” “…O-old man?” “Ah, sorry. I was only supposed to think that in my head.” “What on earth are you thinking? Why did you suddenly bang your head on your hammer, and what were you just talking about—.” Ugh, so annoying, always yapping. “I’ll tell you, so be quiet.” I want to just smack him with my hammer right now, but I managed to hold back with patience. “Something’s wrong with my head. I keep getting strong urges, and it’s getting worse over time.” “Urges, you say… what kind of urges are you talking about?” “It changes every time.” “Can’t you give me an example—.” “Right now, I feel like smashing your head in.” At my short reply, Gahwin was horrified and stepped back. And then, he made a face as if he realized something. “So, that’s why you hit your head on the hammer earlier…!” “That’s right. I thought it might make me feel better.” Actually, that method worked quite well. It made me snap back to my senses and look back at myself. And in that sense…… “But it seems like you have something wrong with your head too?” “…Me?” Gahwin pretended not to know, like an innocent person, but in my eyes, it was almost 100% certain. Gahwin is a bit of a grumpy old man, but he’s not the type to cross the line like this. In the first place, even when we had friction in the past, he always thought rationally and then apologized. “Erwen, you seem fine… tell me, does that old man look normal to you right now?” “…No. He’s strange.” “See?” “…He does seem to have become more emotional.” When even Erwen joined in, Gahwin reluctantly admitted it. “It’s not that big of a problem. It’s not like I have the urge to hit someone like the Baron!” Well, if that’s the case, then that’s a relief. If you get so worked up and raise your voice like that, it’s hard to trust you. “Anyway, it’s clear that both of us have a problem. Count, Archbishop, are you two okay?” After checking their conditions, they said that while they weren’t exactly normal, it wasn’t to the point where it was outwardly noticeable. “Hmm, so is it just a difference in mental strength?” The Village Chief is a monster who has lived for thousands of years, and the Archbishop is a devout religious person, so it’s not strange that they have stronger mental fortitude than me. But…… ‘The intensity of the debuff might be slightly different for each role.’ The basis for this hypothesis is Erwen. Erwen, who has the role of ‘witch,’ is the only one among us who hasn’t received the debuff. “…We need to move quickly.” Gahwin interrupted my mutterings again. “Move quickly? Don’t tell me you’re going to leave this problem as it is and just continue the journey?” “Yes.” There’s no other way in the first place. It’s not like sitting still will make it better, so it’s right to proceed as quickly as possible—. “I can’t believe it! What if someone loses their mind and attacks from behind!” “Don’t worry. It’s not like there’s no solution at all.” By the way, there was no need to verify it. “Why the hammer… during the conversation…?” Ah, that? “I thought you might have lost your mind since your voice got louder.” “……” “Oh, you’ve calmed down, so I guess your reason has returned.” “……” The hammer can control people. *** One day, two days, three days, four days…… We continued down the path along the canyon. Unlike the Great Demon Realm on the 5th floor, monsters of at least the 4th rank appeared here, but the battles themselves weren’t very difficult. Swishhhhhh— Even if we got slightly injured, we were quickly healed with infinite divine power. Crack-! My mercenary state’s strike was fatal even to high-level monsters. Slash-! Not to mention the Village Chief’s combat power, which unleashed brilliant aura. On top of that, Gahwin’s ancient magic and even Erwen, who bewitched monsters and made them her minions to help in battle, made the battles so easy that they were almost anticlimactic. Yes, the battles, that is. 「Control is decreasing.」 There was no conversation on the journey down the canyon path to the abyss. That was the rule that had been applied since yesterday. All small talk was prohibited except for conversations about the strategy. “……” “……” Well, there’s a saying that words become seeds. In other words, if you don’t talk, there’s no chance of conflict…… “…How long are you going to keep up this ridiculous charade?” As with everything in the world, there was a rebellious element who was dissatisfied with the rules here as well. Well, it wasn’t a big problem to worry about. “Baron! In my opinion, this isn’t helping at all—.” “Tsk.” The moment I frowned and raised my hammer, the mage came to his senses as if nothing had happened. “M-my apologies. I got excited again because of this damn curse…… I’m really sorry. This won’t happen again—.” “This is the only time I’ll let it slide with a warning.” “…I understand. I’ll be careful.” Is it because I actually hit him yesterday? The speed at which his eyes start to regain their focus is faster. However, even so, aggressive words came out of my mouth first. “It’s not about being careful, you need to do it right. You just have to shut up, is that so hard?” “Uhm… Mister…?” “…I got a bit excited too. I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on.” Sigh… That’s why I banned small talk. In a situation as impulsive and sensitive as this, it’s best to have no stimulation at all. ‘This is driving me crazy.’ It’s so hard, I feel like I’m going insane. Even if I lose focus for a moment, my aggression is expressed. I wonder how the Village Chief and the Archbishop can be so calm. Honestly, I can understand the Village Chief, but the Archbishop didn’t seem like such a mentally strong person. “Mister! There’s that flower!” “It was my turn this time, right?” The moment Erwen pointed to a spot, I rushed over and plucked the flower blooming on the edge of the cliff and put it in my mouth. It’s a simple reason. 「Control slightly increases.」 This flower alleviates the symptoms of mental abnormality when consumed. By the way, I was the one who discovered it. I was suspicious of the flowers that kept appearing everywhere, so I had Gahwin eat one. “…Mister, are you having a hard time?” “…I appreciate the thought, but please don’t talk to me if possible. In my current state, I can’t hear anything nicely.” “Ah… I’m sorry.” Come to think of it, Erwen is also quite amazing. Before erasing her essence, every moment must have been similar to my current state—. “Huh? Wait, everyone stop!” At that moment, Gahwin shouted loudly and stopped us. “Down below! Can’t you hear something from below?” “Is he even hearing hallucinations now……” I sighed and raised my hammer slightly, but the Village Chief stopped me. “Baron, put the hammer down for a moment. Sir Basilus’s words are true.” What, is there really a sound? I glanced at Erwen to confirm, but Erwen just shook her head. It seems like she can’t hear anything either because her stats have been reduced…… “Concentrate. Then the Baron will be able to hear it too.” At the Village Chief’s words, I closed my eyes and focused on the sound, and I could faintly hear a sound through the wind that brushed past my ears. [Come this way……] Something was whispering and calling me. “Finally, something has appeared.” It might be a creepy situation for some, but for me right now, it felt so welcome. After all, how many days have I been suffering? I want to clear this chapter as soon as possible and leave this place. “What should we do?” “What else? Of course, we have to check what’s there.” This time, Gahwin didn’t object to my words either. Well, that old man must want this situation to end quickly too. “Follow me closely.” After that, as we increased our speed, the noise from below gradually became clearer. [That’s right……] [Come here……] [You have a very beautiful soul.] I don’t like the fact that I have to move forward as if I’m possessed even while hearing such blatant lines, but there’s nothing I can do. Whether that’s a mid-boss or the real boss, I have to catch it first to get something—. “By the way, Baron……” At that moment, someone spoke to me. “Have you ever thought about worshiping something other than your ancestral spirits?” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Gahwin, but the Archbishop who said that. For some reason, I let out a hollow laugh. “Heh heh……” I thought he was holding up well, but is this old man finally reaching his limit? “Trying to proselytize a barbarian, you know that’s a very rude thing to do, right?” “……” “But since this is the situation, you don’t have to make excuses. I wasn’t that angry either.” Since he was a model old man who had never caused trouble before, I tried to just let it go coolly. However, despite my efforts, the Archbishop just looked at me with an unpleasant smile on his face. Is that why? “……?” I was late to notice the change. ‘My voice……’ I can’t speak. It’s like something is blocking the inside of my throat, a sensation of being blocked in the middle? As I quickly checked my surroundings, I could quickly realize that it wasn’t just a problem for me. “……” “……” The surroundings are too quiet, even though they are quiet. Not just because of the rule of no small talk. No breathing sounds, no footsteps. Even the sound of the wind that had been blowing from below throughout the journey is not heard. [Come this way……] Complete silence where nothing is heard except for the unidentified voice. It was at that moment that I accurately recognized this. Thump-! Thump-! Thump-! Along with a short chant, I felt a vibration from the tips of my feet. The vibration that was echoing from below the cliff was getting bigger and bigger. “……!” “……!” Looking around, everyone was standing still, only moving their mouths. It seems like they’re saying something, but it’s hard to understand. First, I approached the edge of the cliff and looked down. Thump-! Into the darkness where the end cannot be seen. There’s nothing visible yet. But…… Thump-! Soon, ‘it’ revealed itself from the darkness. It was looking up at me with creepy eyes, climbing up the cliff. ‘Uh……’ The moment I made eye contact with it, my body froze like a stone. I couldn’t understand at all. Thump-! Clearly, before entering this place. Thump-! The mages who thoroughly investigated the portal said that the other side of the portal must be a rift…… 「The character has entered the range of [Silence].」 「All essence skills are sealed.」 「[Giantification] ends.」 Why is a floor master coming out here?