Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 601

The Third Record (5)

The moment I pulled Erwen close, bracing for the fall.

Koo-oong!

The ground beneath my feet crumbled, and a sense of floating washed over my body. However, it was distinctly different from the sensation of falling.

Whoo-oong!

My body rose above the collapsed ground, as if defying gravity.

It was a levitation spell.

“Is everyone okay?”

I quickly scanned my surroundings and saw Gahwin and the Village Chief also floating in the air.

This time, I praised them sincerely.

“Thanks to you, we’re alive. Well done.”

I was so out of it that I couldn’t even give proper orders, but they managed to respond like this on their own.

“…It’s not something to be praised for.”

Seriously, the old man is getting shy.

Were they awkward because they were just fighting each other?

I wasn’t sure, but I prioritized checking the essentials first.

“How long can you maintain the magic?”

“It should be enough until we land on the ground.”

Okay, I see…

“That’s a relief. Then, from now on, descend slowly… no, as quickly as possible, as long as we don’t get seriously injured.”

I made that decision because it would be impossible to properly resist if a variable occurred while we were floating.

As soon as the order was given, Gahwin finally came to his senses and began to descend.

Kwaaaang! Kwakwang! Kururururu…

The surroundings were literally hell on earth.

Everything visible was collapsing and crumbling, and huge falling rocks threatened to pass us by.

And…

“Now this feels more like an exploration.”

Even while falling, the Village Chief was looking around with curious eyes.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such lively eyes before.

I felt like he had a screw loose, but I didn’t have time to worry about the Village Chief.

‘What was that from earlier?’

The Floor Lord hugged the Archbishop right before the big explosion and dove underground.

The guy we thought was our enemy ended up acting like he was helping us…

“Erwen, did you perhaps control him? Tell him to grab the Archbishop and fall?”

I checked the most likely possibility first, but unfortunately, the answer was no.

“No. I tried, but it didn’t work.”

Huh, so the Floor Lord acted on his own?

“Maybe that monster wasn’t our enemy after all.”

The Village Chief chimed in, having heard our conversation.

Well, it’s not a wrong opinion.

As soon as I saw the Floor Lord, I thought he was the boss monster.

But…

‘Now that I think about it, maybe he was a helper.’

Hamsik, whom I met in Chapter 2, felt exactly like that.

Above all, there was a clue that higher beings would act favorably towards Erwen.

Kwang-! Koong-!

As I was thinking about this and that while descending.

Kwaaaaaaaang-!

A huge falling rock slammed down on Gahwin’s head.

It was a close call, but thanks to the shield that was deployed to prepare for the falling rocks, he didn’t get a single scratch.

However, the problem was…

“Ah…”

The ‘ah’ sound was too ominous.

As expected, my ominous premonition was not wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

“Th-that just now… the calculation of the levitation spell broke.”

“The calculation broke? Explain it in a way I can understand—.”

I was about to continue my sentence.

“Ah…”

The descent stopped, and we were briefly suspended in the air.

“Kyaaaaaaak-!”

We fell straight down.

***

My head hurts.

My lungs feel like they’ve been stabbed, and my spine won’t move properly.

But…

‘I’m alive.’

Then, what happened to the others?

My last memory was falling like crazy, seeing the ground, and then hugging Erwen and taking the impact on my back…

“…Ah, ah… damn it! Ah… damn it! My words… …Lise…?”

Erwen’s urgent voice was heard through the ringing in my ears, cutting in and out like a broken radio.

Also, the Village Chief’s voice was heard.

“Shake… words… wait… also eat a potion… soon…”

“…Mister! Mister!”

“He’s not listening at all…”

As I felt the voices gradually becoming clearer, I slowly lifted my eyelids.

“Mister…!”

“I’m… okay… stop.”

“Ah, ah! I’m sorry!”

Only then did Erwen get off my body, making it a little easier to breathe.

“Just hold on a little longer. Judging by the recovery rate, you’ll be able to move soon.”

“How long… was I out?”

“About 5 minutes.”

“What about Gahwin…?”

In response to my question, trying to grasp the situation, the Village Chief pointed to one place with his finger.

I barely moved my stiff neck and looked to the side, where I saw Gahwin lying down with his legs crushed.

“He’s not dead. It seems like he used magic at the end to reduce the speed as much as possible. I gave him a potion… but I don’t know when he’ll wake up.”

Okay, I see…

“What about you?”

“I’m fine. I was conscious until the end and properly reduced the impact.”

I’m jealous.

If my defense stats were okay, my body wouldn’t be this messed up.

“…The enemy?”

“For now, there’s no one around, so rest assured and focus on recovering.”

“Okay. But your tone…”

“Aren’t I older and of a higher rank anyway? We’ve been through a near-death experience together, so can’t I speak a little more casually?”

Well, that’s true.

Even if his tone suddenly changed, no one around would suspect anything.

“Then, I’ll just… rest a little longer…”

After that, I closed my eyes and just lay there, and soon my body recovered enough for me to move on my own.

“Would you like some water?”

“Ah, thank you.”

As soon as I got up after drinking a glass of water, the Village Chief asked as if he had been waiting.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

From Team Half-Pint to Clan Anabada.

It was a line I always heard when something happened.

People always look to me for answers. There was a time when that was frustrating, but now I just think of it as my destiny.

Conversely, I also don’t like being told what to do while having all the responsibility shifted to someone else.

“Are you going to wait until Sir Besilus wakes up?”

Well, I don’t know what the best course of action is.

After all, this is the first time I’ve entered this rift.

From the unique way it’s progressing, to the Floor Lord Karui’s priest…

To be honest, it’s giving me a headache.

But…

“No, first, I’ll take care of Gahwin and start searching the surroundings.”

Let’s start with what we can do.

If we drag it out any longer, the situation might get weird.

“I’ll take care of Erwen and Gahwin, so Count, you take the lead.”

“Understood.”

It was the most dangerous task, but the Village Chief readily followed my orders.

It wasn’t just because he knew he was the most suitable for the task.

“Make sure you keep your promise.”

In exchange for helping me in this rift, I promised to bring ‘Karui’s Heart’ to the city.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of breaking my promise.”

“That’s a relief then. Oh, and if things go wrong later, look at the notebook.”

“Notebook?”

“I put it in your backpack when I gave it to you. I’ve written down everything you might be curious about, so it will help you on your journey.”

I didn’t know there was a notebook in there.

In the first place, I received the backpack right before entering the rift. I even left it outside because of the Village Chief’s words, just in case.

‘I can check the notebook as soon as we get out of here…’

We moved over the collapsed debris for quite a while.

“…”

“…”

At some point, the sound disappeared, and silence fell.

Now, no one was unaware of the reason for this phenomenon.

「The character has entered the range of [Silence].」

「All essence skills are sealed.」

The Floor Lord is nearby.

Then, is it right to avoid it?

I didn’t know what the right answer was, but I gave a hand signal to the Village Chief, who seemed to be waiting for instructions.

‘Keep going.’

Since I knew nothing about this chapter, I needed to confront it directly to get information, and…

‘I can’t rule out the possibility that he’s a helper.’

Even if he was an enemy, he hugged the Archbishop right before the explosion and fell, so he couldn’t be normal, that was the minimum basis for my judgment.

“…”

Without changing direction, we continued to move in one direction, and finally, we were able to find the Lord of Silence, Silierte.

“…”

“…”

In the suffocating silence, he was half-buried in a rock.

As expected, he wasn’t in good condition.

Two of the three arms that were exposed were completely bone-bare, and he was just blinking his eyelids powerlessly, buried in the debris as if he didn’t have the strength to move.

“…”

I felt relieved that he wasn’t in a threatening state, but at the same time, my spine tingled.

I knew his power well, but still, to make a Floor Lord like this in one blow.

If we had been caught directly in that explosion, what would have happened then?

‘The Archbishop… isn’t visible.’

I quickly scanned the surroundings, put Erwen down, and slowly approached him.

The Lord of Silence, Silierte.

He didn’t even move as I approached.

He just looked at me with tired eyes.

“…”

Soon, I reached a distance where I could touch him, and I carefully reached out and touched his face.

Even with the contact, he was still silent.

As if there was no reason to antagonize us at all.

‘Why did you help us?’

I wanted to ask, but no voice came out.

Well, even if a voice came out, it didn’t seem like he would give a proper answer.

So, I just came to my own conclusion.

‘…Okay, I guess you have your own story too.’

Now I know something about this labyrinth.

The rift guardians, the Floor Lords, were real people and have their own stories.

No, maybe not just them, but all the monsters in the labyrinth are the same.

In a way, they are much more pitiful than me, who was dragged into a strange world and is making a fuss.

Swoosh.

I took my hand off him and stepped back, and the Village Chief gestured to me with his eyes, sending a hand signal.

‘Kill him.’

A simple hand gesture with that meaning.

I quietly shook my head and gestured for him to step back.

“…?”

The Village Chief expressed his doubts, but he followed my instructions, perhaps because of his promise to me.

And the moment we left his area.

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

The Village Chief asked me.

“Looking at his condition, he didn’t seem particularly dangerous.”

Well, I don’t know.

Why did I make that choice?

“Still, he’s someone who helped us. I thought something might go wrong if we killed him for no reason. Killing him… can be done after we get more information.”

What I said to the Village Chief wasn’t a complete lie.

But…

“Hmm, that could be true.”

Unlike the Village Chief, who easily accepted it, I was confused.

Because I knew very well that it wasn’t the only reason.

The Floor Lord’s essence.

The Floor Relic.

The Floor Stone used to open the rift.

It wasn’t certain, but if I killed him, I might be able to easily obtain those rewards.

But I didn’t.

‘It’s definitely not… pity…’

It’s hard to explain.

I can only say that it was an impulsive decision—.

[Come here…]

Then, once again, an unidentified voice was heard, and I ended my thoughts.

The source of the sound was in the opposite direction from where the Floor Lord was.

Thanks to that, I became certain of one thing.

‘It wasn’t his voice…’

The one who was calling us with a perverted line and luring us wasn’t the Floor Lord.

Well, he didn’t have any lines in the game, so I thought something was strange.

“Then, shall we take the lead to where the sound is coming from?”

I nodded, and the Village Chief moved first. I followed behind with Erwen, keeping a little distance, and soon I was able to witness the owner of the voice directly.

[That’s right…]

[Yes, come here and embrace me…]

It was a completely unexpected being.

“Soul Eater…?”

A Rank 5 rare species.

When the labyrinth opens, only one is generated in the Great Demon Realm, and it’s the monster that gives a random amount of experience points from 100 to 200 when defeated.

[I will grant you the wishes you desire…]

What is this?

Wasn’t this supposed to be a situation where a boss monster or something would appear?

「The Soul Eater has summoned [Soul Soldiers].」

Looking at it, the skills it uses don’t seem to be much different from the original ones…

[Kkyaaaaaaaak-!!]

In fact, the Soul Eater was cut in half by a casual swing of the Village Chief’s sword and was defeated.

「The Soul Eater has been defeated.」

Up to this point, it was confusing, but there was no problem.

In a novel, it would be a MacGuffin [a plot device that serves to drive the story forward but is ultimately unimportant].

It pretends to be something important, but in reality, it’s just a normal mob.

There was room to interpret it that way and move on.

But…

‘What is this again?’

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by the scene that followed.

「Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3」

Not only did a rainbow-colored essence, signifying a guardian, float in the air where he was, but also.

Whoo-oong!

A portal signifying the clearing of the rift was created.

Red and blue.

For some reason, there were two of them.