Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 605

A legion commander, by nature, must always be busy. Because a legion commander has no chance to make excuses. Whether people die or plans go awry, if something goes wrong, it is all the legion commander’s responsibility. Therefore…….

‘I can figure out the flower crown when he gets back…….’ After entrusting Raven with the flower crown investigation, I immediately began the reorganization of the command structure. Click, click- The current structure of the expeditionary force is simple. Divide into four large groups, and that’s it. Since priests, mages, and knights are appropriately mixed and placed in each group, their combat power is equal, and there is no significant difference in the roles they can perform. To exaggerate a bit, it’s closer to dividing into four equal parts and then letting each group do as they see fit. Ah, of course, there are advantages to this structure. In an emergency, one group can be operated separately, and even if one group is annihilated, there is no problem with the operation of the main force…….

‘It’s too much like a military organization.’ This place we are in is a labyrinth. Sacrifices are inevitable, but there is no need to arrange personnel on the premise of sacrifice. However, the problem is…….

‘There’s not enough time to meddle this far.’ If I had my way, I would like to combine the four groups into one and assign each member myself, but there are too many things to change to do that. It would also take time for people to get used to it. Until they become proficient, mistakes would occur repeatedly. ‘…Let’s just stick to the original plan and establish a proper rank system.’ The most efficient way to handle subordinates is to place a suitable person in charge above them and then harass that person. A so-called ‘downward harassment’ that has been passed down since ancient armies. Therefore, I deleted all the existing members of the leadership council from the documents and rebuilt it from scratch. Mages, priests, ranged dealers, melee dealers, knights, tanks, support, and non-combat personnel. Regardless of the group, all personnel were classified by class, and then one person in charge was selected for each class and given an appropriate title. ‘Court mage, saintess, divine archer, great warrior, knight commander…….’ The titles were just made up as they came to mind. What’s important isn’t the name itself. ‘Hoo… well, I’ve decided on the people to put here.’ After deciding on the overall leaders for each profession, I also created lower-level positions below them. For example, in the mage department, research, investigation, and combat. In the knight department, I divided it into combat and administration, creating a head for each part…….

‘I wonder if Raven would prefer investigation or research?’ Well, I should ask him later and decide—.

“Bjorn? Are you very busy?”

“Misha? What brings you here?”

“It’s just… you seem busy these days. I brewed some of your favorite fruit tea…….”

Oh, I was feeling like my sugar was dropping. Gulp. After gulping down about half of it in one go, I saw Misha looking at me with an expectant look. Well, it’s not right to just accept a bribe like this and keep my mouth shut.

“That was good. Misha, as a reward, I’ll give you a position.”

“…Huh? I don’t need that kind of—.”

“From now on, you are the chief secretary. Your mission is everything to improve the commander’s work efficiency, and I will allow you to make your own judgments within that mission.”

“Uh……? So, that means you want me to bring it again next time, right?”

Well, that’s how you could interpret it. When I nodded, Misha, who had been about to decline the position, smiled brightly.

“Well, if it’s something like that. I’ll do it anytime…….”

A cat secretary has been created. *** After the reorganization of the rank system was completed, a meeting of the executives was held. There were no important agenda items, it was just a meeting to get used to each other’s changed faces. I was also curious to see if this system would work well. Ah, of course, it’s not like there was no topic for the meeting at all.

“How much progress has been made on the investigation of the statues and the portal?” Even while I was holed up in the barracks reorganizing the structure, the mages continued to investigate the stone chamber. And today was the day to receive a report on their progress.

“Ah, I will report on that.” As soon as I spoke, Gahwin Besilus, who held the position of chief of the mage department, rose from his seat.

“Is your body feeling better?”

“I’ve rested for a few days, so I’m fine now.”

Indeed… a few days ago, he still seemed to be limping, but today he was walking fine.

“I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, tell me now. Court mage. How much progress has been made on the stone chamber investigation?”

“Before I give the report… just one thing.”

Gahwin Besilus asked me directly.

“Why am I the court mage?”

Ah, that.

“This isn’t even a royal palace in the first place, is it?”

“It’s just a title, don’t worry about it. Don’t we need a name to call you by?”

“No, I mean, why that name…….”

Gahwin grumbled in dissatisfaction, but I had no intention of changing it. I don’t even know why he dislikes it so much. Court mage. Even if you heard it while rolling backwards, it’s a pretty cool title, isn’t it? I was thinking that while giving Gahwin a look that said to stop complaining and just give the report. Then, an old man with white hair wearing a white robe spoke calmly.

“Lord Besilus is right. A name is just a name, what matters is its essence, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“And isn’t court mage better than saintess? Heh heh.”

It was the archbishop of the Tovera Order, who had been appointed to the position of saintess of the expeditionary force.

“…….”

Seeing that the saintess, who was clearly in a much worse situation than him, coolly brushed it off, the court mage could no longer complain, and the report began.

“I will report. First of all, there are no additional items found in the stone chamber. There are only three statues and one portal.”

“And?”

“As for the portal, it’s as we reported before.”

“It’s highly likely to be connected to the original location, but it’s too early to say for sure?”

“That’s right. Even if we analyze the nature of the portal, we can’t figure out the coordinates beyond it. However, we have found quite a bit about the statues instead.”

“Tell me.”

Gahwin Besilus placed three statues, about the size of large figurines, on the table. One of the statues was stained black.

“What happened?”

“The statue was used once during the research.”

“…Used?”

“To put it simply, this statue has similar properties to the guardian statues that were here. It can open a rift when used.”

“You mean a half-baked rift that only summons guardians?”

“That’s right. Do you see this slot here? If you put a rift stone in this slot, the statue will be activated and a portal will open for about 30 minutes.”

“Did you go inside?”

“While investigating the portal, it disappeared after 30 minutes, so unfortunately, we couldn’t check the inside.”

Huh… so they used up one statue? For a moment, a wave of disappointment washed over me, but Gahwin’s explanation that followed made me feel a little better.

“This statue doesn’t seem to be one-time use. Do you see this black stain here? Over time, the color is returning to its original state from the bottom.”

Oh, is it an item with a cooldown?

“Moreover, we couldn’t enter the portal, but we found out several things from the outside. This is still an unconfirmed hypothesis, but…….”

What followed was an explanation with difficult terms.

“After such research, we were able to find out that the nature of the portal opened by this statue was very similar to the coordinate wavelength of the ‘Crimson Fortress’…….”

To summarize the long and difficult explanation:

“The rift stone we used to activate the statue was a 9th-grade rift stone obtained from the first floor rift. And we are considering the possibility that this is not a coincidence.”

In simple terms, the grade of the guardian is determined by the grade of the rift stone offered to the statue. Well, it’s all just speculation for now.

“Vice Commander, are there any more rift stones among the current supplies?” After that, we checked the rift stones we had, but unfortunately, we only had a few below 6th grade. Of course, it wasn’t incomprehensible. How often would you enter a labyrinth with rift stones? The fact that we had that many was proof of how thorough the royal family was. ‘It’s like a lower-tier version of the rift generator…….’ For reference, there is one item among the Numbers items that is similar to this statue. No.18 Rift Generator. This item also has the ability to open a rift when a rift stone is inserted. If you insert about 10 9th-grade rift stones, you can use it, and when a rift is generated, a random rift on that floor opens. Although it has the disadvantage of having to go to that floor, the fact that you can use a large quantity even if it’s not a high-grade rift stone, and that you actually enter a real rift, makes it a superior version. ‘Well, this statue might also open a portal to a real rift, but…….’ However, judging by the shape of the statue, it is likely that only one boss will appear, like the previous guardian statues.

“I see. Good work. It seems like we’ve roughly figured out its use, so I’ll keep the statues.” After that, I carefully put the statues in my back pocket and checked other reports.

“What about the essence of the Soul Eater?”

“There is no particular progress yet. After all, the essence doesn’t have much to research unless someone absorbs it…….”

“That means we need to feed it to someone to do research. I understand. I’ll think about this a bit more.”

“Understood.”

“I’m starting to get hungry. Everyone except the head of the research department, go out and take a break.” At this point, I ended the meeting and sent everyone out except for the head of the research department.

“The fact that Yandel-ssi left only me behind is probably—.”

“It’s Commander, not Yandel-ssi.”

It was still an official setting, but unfortunately, the head of the research department didn’t even pretend to listen and continued what he was saying.

“It’s probably because you’re curious about how much I’ve found out about that item, right?”

“Yes. Did you find out anything?” At my words, Raven, the head of the expeditionary force’s research department, first cast a voice control magic.

“Actually, the investigation is quite far along.”

“Oh, really?”

“First of all, this flower crown is a Numbers item.”

“A Numbers item?” As someone who has memorized all the numbers from 1 to 9,999, it was hard for me to accept. There is no such flower crown among the Numbers items. And Raven wouldn’t be unaware of this…….

“Tell me in detail.”

“Since it’s the first floor we’ve entered, the research equipment within the expeditionary force is quite good.”

“So?”

“As a result of the property analysis, this flower crown has the unique properties of a Numbers item. So, I decided to define this flower crown as a Numbers item.”

“But the most important number is missing, isn’t it?”

“That’s true. So, I’ve come up with a name that seems appropriate…….”

“Why are you being shy? Tell me quickly.”

“How about calling it… Secret Numbers?”

A name that was more subdued than I expected, considering Raven made it up.

“I have a feeling that if we explore the first basement floor, we might find more Numbers items with unknown numbers like this.”

“That’s good.”

“Oh, then can we make it the official name?”

“Go ahead.” When I nodded, Raven’s face brightened up. It seems he was imagining a future where the unique name ‘Secret Numbers’ would be widely used. Seriously, what’s so important about a name?

“So, the name is settled, now tell me what it’s used for.” I was worried that he might have only been thinking about the name, but fortunately, Raven’s academic enthusiasm was as genuine as his desire for fame.

“I’ll only tell you about the things that have been verified. Please keep in mind that there may be abilities that have not yet been discovered.”

“I know, so hurry up.”

“First of all, when worn, this flower crown makes you immune to all harmful mental effects.”

“Oh…….”

It’s a better item than I thought. Mental immunity resistance on a helmet? Since there are quite a few times when mental stats or equipment are needed in high-level raids, it’s an effect that will continue to be useful in the future. ‘Shouldn’t I wear it……?’ Imagining a giant barbarian wearing a flower crown is a bit much, but a gamer should prioritize performance over appearance, right…….

“Ah, and one more thing.” At the explanation that followed, I gave up on my desire for the flower crown.

“When worn, it makes you immune to divine power. You won’t take damage from divine spells, but you also won’t benefit from healing spells. Of course, other beneficial blessing spells will also be useless.”

“Ah…….”

I knew there would be a handicap attached. ‘I can’t use it.’ As a tank who needs to receive heals periodically, I can’t use this helmet.

“That’s all I’ve found out. I haven’t found out its usage effect. It’s more likely that there isn’t one, though.”

“Good work.”

“Just in case, I’ll take it and do more research. Is that okay?”

“Of course. You can even give it a name. If it’s a Numbers item, it should have a name.”

“………Can I really name it?”

“Of course.” Isn’t it one of the roles of a superior to increase the motivation of their subordinates?

“Ah, right. Yandel-ssi.”

“It’s Commander, I said.”

“About those three statues that came out of the stone chamber. You said that they are activated by rift stones, and that a rift matching the grade of the rift stone is likely to open, right?”

“So?” Then, Raven took out a rift stone. I don’t know what grade it is, but it looked quite large at first glance.

“This is the rift stone we got after defeating the vampire guardian in the mutated rift we first encountered.”

“Ah, this is that one from back then?”

“Yes. We couldn’t sell it, so we just kept it…….”

“So?” Raven asked me in a voice that was genuinely curious.

“If we put this in that statue, what kind of rift will open?”

Uh… well.

“…Should we try it?” I’m also quite curious about this?