Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 63

Sometimes, while stranded in the Witch’s Forest, I’d think.

Could it be that the dwarf bastards are also wandering the forest, trying to find us? If so, is it really impossible that we might run into them again by chance?

To cut to the chase, it was a futile delusion.

‘Of course, that’s not likely.’

Reality is always different from imagination.

Knowing there were three of them, I smiled bitterly at my own wishful thinking.

It seems miracles aren’t meant for me.

Tragedies, maybe.

“…Bjorn.”

Misha climbed onto my back and whispered very softly in my ear.

“What are we going to do now?”

Well, I’m thinking about it.

I never imagined I’d meet these bastards here either.

‘His name was… Davis something, right?’

First, I prepared to smash his head in with my mace at any moment, then I carefully examined the sleeping man.

Davis.

A true religious fanatic, covered head to toe in symbols of the Leatlass Church, from his necklace and bracelet to the buttons on his shirt.

In short, the leader of the group of explorers who attacked us after being tricked by Elisa in the past.

‘Why the hell is this bastard here?’

The more I look at his face, the more questions arise.

Why is he resting here?

Where did he ditch Elisa that there are only three of them?

Why are they as ragged as we are?

“……”

Putting aside my questions, I checked the interior through the window again.

Fortunately, the other two were still sound asleep.

And knowing they were part of the religious fanatic’s group, I could deduce their identities from their builds and hair colors.

‘They must be that archer and swordsman from back then.’

The particularly large shield warrior and the red-haired archer are nowhere to be seen.

‘…Could it be that they also got separated from their group?’

That thought suddenly occurred to me, but I wasn’t sure.

Damn it, what should I do?

I feel uneasy. Should I just smash their heads in while they’re sleeping, questions be damned?

As I was pondering, Misha whispered.

“Bjorn, if we’re lucky, we might hear some news about Hikurod.”

Well, that’s true.

It would be better to talk to them.

But before that, we need to create an environment for conversation.

“First, let’s knock them all out and then tie them up with rope.”

“Good idea.”

After agreeing, I sent Misha into the cabin.

So that if they woke up, she could subdue them before they could come to their senses.

“……”

Okay, it seems like everything is ready.

I exchanged glances with Misha through the window and nodded.

Then, I raised my mace above my head.

Thwack-!

I swung it down, half-heartedly, on his head.

As expected, the religious fanatic slumped over without even a groan.

Wiping the blood and flesh off my clothes, I let out a long breath.

‘Whew, I’ve knocked one out for now.’

Now it’s time to knock out the next one.

I crept into the cabin, and there they were, both passed out and lost in their dreams, probably exhausted.

So, who should I do first?

As I was pondering, I saw one of them stir.

“Ugh……”

Okay, the second one will be him.

I was about to swing my mace down to knock him out.

“You said you were going to knock them out!”

Misha rushed over, grabbed my arm, and shouted in a hushed voice.

I tilted my head.

And then, belatedly realizing the meaning of Misha’s words, I nodded.

“Don’t worry.”

Even when playing fighting games, low jumps were my specialty [referring to a move in fighting games].

I’m confident in my ability to control my strength.

Well, if they die, it can’t be helped.

That’s the kind of world it is, right?

Thwack-!

The moment I swung my mace down.

The man who was resting in the rocking chair slumped over.

And at the same time.

“Wh, who—”

This time, the man on the bed raised his upper body, having heard the noise.

Of course, it was no problem.

Whether they’re awake or asleep, my mace is impartial.

Thwack-!

Without even sneaking up, I dashed forward and planted my half-powered mace into his face.

Since the goal was to knock them out, the skill name would be…

‘I guess ‘Bash’ will do.’

The first stage of suppression was completed with a successful ‘Bash’.

I looked at Misha and said.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and tie them with rope.”

Misha looked at the three bloodied figures and replied.

“Is there really a need to tie them up…?”

Well, I don’t know…

Still, there’s a saying that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

There’s no harm in being thorough.

That’s my rule.

***

“Wow, they’re really alive…”

The three of them, having each been hit once with the mace, thankfully survived.

“I told you not to worry—”

“But, they look like they’re about to die.”

“……”

However, all of them were breathing erratically, and their breaths were getting shallower, as if they were about to die any minute.

The one who was hit in the face was the worst of them all.

But as long as they’re alive, it’s not a problem.

This is, after all, a fantasy world.

“There it is.”

I picked a random backpack and took out a potion. Then, I poured the potion on the heads of the unconscious men.

Just a little bit, so they don’t get too energetic.

Sizzle-.

The reactions appeared after a time lag.

“Aaaah!!! Aaaah!”

“Hukkuaaaah!!”

The broken heads slowly healed, and the three men flopped around on the grass like live fish.

I pulled out a rocking chair, sat down, and waited for them to regain their senses.

“You barbaric barbarian…”

Misha cursed at me, but what could I do?

Whether they were tricked by Elisa or not.

They are the ones who tried to kill us once.

And the barbarian heart within Bjorn doesn’t easily feel sympathy for enemies.

“Yo, you guys… !”

“That barbarian from back then!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We’re not enemies!”

After some time, the three men regained their senses.

But they were all talking at once, making it incredibly noisy.

“One of you.”

As I muttered while wiping the blood off my mace with a cloth, the area fell silent.

The three men, tied together like dried fish, looked at each other and came to an agreement with just their eyes.

“Listen here, it’s all a misunderstanding. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

The leader, the religious fanatic, was chosen as the representative.

“I’ll explain everything, so please untie this—”

“Enough, what’s the misunderstanding?”

At my question, the religious fanatic began to speak at length, as if he was wronged.

“That woman! We were just used by her. We didn’t even know she was a follower of the cursed Karui… !”

Oh, so they know now?

So something did happen.

“So, how about we untie this and talk slowly…”

“Enough with that talk.”

What’s important now isn’t how wronged and tired they were.

“Tell me, from the beginning to the end. What happened after we escaped?”

Confirmation of cause and effect.

That alone is the reason why I used ‘Bash’ instead of ‘Smash’.

“Uh, well…”

“Don’t even think about playing tricks.”

“Ah, I understand. It was our mistake to trust that woman, but I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything.”

“Whether you’re hiding something or not is for me to decide.”

The religious fanatic swallowed hard.

And then, he began to tell the whole story that I didn’t know.

“When we caught up with them, after being tricked by that wicked witch, there were only three of them for some reason.”

Well, of course, there would be.

Because that was when we had just been separated.

Clack.

It’s truly infuriating.

How could there be such terrible timing?

“Should I continue…?”

“Of course. Keep going.”

“Since it would be difficult to keep running away, we ambushed a man who seemed to be a scout and injured him.”

“Yo, you don’t mean Rotmüller!”

“I don’t know his name. But don’t worry, he should be alive with that kind of injury.”

Anyway, putting the story together, it went like this.

Rotmüller was incapacitated after being ambushed.

It was a truly desperate situation.

The dwarf bastard must have decided.

That they could only escape safely if they took out the enemy’s scout.

“I don’t know what it was, but a light burst out like back then and pushed us back.”

“When I came to my senses, Anderson had already been pierced in the head by an ice spear.”

“Ah, Anderson is the name of our scout.”

“He wasn’t the type to be caught like that…”

“Maybe it was because they had the numerical advantage, or maybe he was careless and couldn’t avoid it.”

Anyway, the moment the dwarf bastard bought time.

Dwarki took out the opposing scout.

And without looking back, he led the injured Rotmüller and ran away.

As soon as I heard this, Misha hit my back.

“It was Hikurod’s doing! Hikurod killed the scout for us!”

Well, I don’t know the dwarf bastard’s true intentions.

But there’s no denying that we’re alive thanks to his actions.

Anyway, back to the main point.

“Because Anderson died, we had no choice but to wander this forest as well, let alone chase after them.”

The religious fanatic group, who were excitedly chasing after us, were reduced to a similar situation as us after their scout died.

Of course, they were still a little better off than us.

There were five of them, and one of them was even a priest.

But…

“It was about two days after we started wandering.”

Two days into being stranded.

While taking turns on watch and replenishing their strength.

Elisa revealed her true colors and killed another one of them.

“When I saw that friend of mine, who was getting thinner and thinner as his life force was being sucked away, I knew at once. That woman was a follower of the wicked Karui!”

“Enough, so what was the reason that woman killed your friend?”

“That… I don’t know either. The moment we witnessed that horrific scene, the three of us could only think of getting out of this place and letting the world know.”

Bullshit, you just ran away because you wanted to live.

Even abandoning your comrade.

Anyway, I just skipped the rest of the story.

Except for the fact that there were three of them, it was no different from what Misha and I had experienced.

“So, now that the misunderstanding is cleared, please untie this—”

“I told you to stop talking about that, didn’t I?”

I sighed at their third request for release.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do now?”

“Ahem, it seems like we’re all in the same boat, so how about we cooperate?”

“You shut your mouth.”

My worries deepened.

Of course, I have no intention of accepting that bastard’s proposal and joining forces for the remaining two days.

However…

“Th, that’s right, we haven’t apologized yet! We apologize! We were foolish and fell for that woman’s trick. We’re sorry!”

There’s room for it.

Can I really judge these guys as ‘bastards’?

Of course, I suffered because of these guys, but in the end, no one died, right?

And it seems like the dwarf bastards all survived as well.

“Of, of course, we’ll compensate for the damage we caused!”

They’re even offering material compensation.

But do I really have to kill them?

“Bjorn, I’ll do whatever you want.”

I’ve killed many people so far.

But at that time, it was a matter of life and death, and they were trash with no chance of redemption.

But what about these guys?

It’s ambiguous.

Yes, as I said before, there’s room for it.

The modern mindset that hasn’t yet shed its skin is trying to postpone the decision.

“What are you hesitating for! It, it was a mistake! I never imagined a priest would lie—”

“Be quiet. If you keep talking, I might accidentally smash your head.”

“……”

While answering harshly so as not to be underestimated, I continued to ponder internally.

Is it right to kill them?

Finally, I asked myself.

And the barbarian warrior, Bjorn Yandel, answered.

[Is right and wrong important? It’s easier to kill them, so why leave behind a potential problem?]

A very sensible answer.

Lee Han-soo, 29 years old, born in Seoul, also spoke up.

[You idiot, what are you worrying about? It’s obviously absurd to kill someone for making a mistake. But…]

For the first time in a while, their opinions aligned.

[That’s the way things were in the world we lived in, right?]

Killing someone for making a mistake.

It was indeed an absurd story.

If this were the place where I was born and raised.

Clench-

That’s why I gripped the mace.

However, even then, I couldn’t make up my mind.

I asked without thinking.

“Misha, what do you think?”

Misha, who was born and raised here, replied.

“I don’t trust these guys.”

“So?”

“Whether it was a mistake or not, they tried to kill us once. When that happens… you should never forgive them, that’s what my father taught me when I was little.”

Oh, I see, that’s how it is.

That’s the way things are in this world.

Like the fog clearing, my mind became clear.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The reason is very simple.

Because otherwise, you might die.

Swoosh.

That’s why I raised my mace.

“It, it was a mistake, I told you!”

The religious fanatic on the ground shouted.

“A mistake…”

I nodded.

It might have been a mistake, for sure.

But for some reason, I have a feeling that you guys will make another mistake in the future.

Thwack-!

That’s why I swung my mace down.

As if to erase my hesitation, with all my might.

Thwack-!

In succession.

Thwack-!

After three swings of the mace, the surroundings became silent.

「Achievement unlocked」

Condition: Kill count 10.

Reward: Mental stat permanently increased by +1.

I had no intention of justifying my actions.

If I did, I would have set a trap and waited for an opening, then waited for them to make a ‘mistake’.

The more of a ‘bastard’ the guy I kill is, the better it is for my mental health.

But…

‘It’s time to throw that away.’

From the first day I opened my eyes in this body.

I already knew it then.

‘Bjorn Yandel.’

From now on, I have to live with this name.

No, not just the name, but I have to become this barbarian completely.

That’s the only way to survive here.

Thud-

The blood and flesh on the mace fell off.

“Bjorn… are you okay? Your hand is shaking.”

In this world, the weak die.

Those who make mistakes die.

Those who are unlucky die.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Soon, the trembling in my hand stopped.

I stripped the religious fanatic of his equipment.

Then, I dragged the corpse, now in his underwear, into the cabin.

“Eek? Wh, what are you going to do!”

Misha asked, looking disgusted, and I replied.

“I’m doing what needs to be done.”

Something I have to do, even if I don’t want to.

Without hesitation, I threw the corpse into the dying campfire.

Whoosh-!

The flames instantly came back to life.

At the same time, a disgusting smell arose.

No, actually, I only thought it was a disgusting smell.

The strong-stomached barbarian’s body couldn’t tell the difference between that and the smell of meat.

Whoosh-!

Watching the raging flames, I let out a breath.

This is also consistent with the game.

「A new sacrifice has been offered.」

「The Witch’s Cabin’s maintenance time has increased by 8 hours.」

There are two more pieces of firewood left, so I can calculate that I can rest in the cabin for at least 24 hours.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you go and rest?”

With those words, I lay down on the bed.

Misha said something, but honestly, I couldn’t hear it.

“…It’s comfortable.”

I closed my eyes and counted from 1, meaninglessly.

My weary body seemed to have finally found rest and slowly fell asleep.

Tap, tap, tap-.

The sound of the campfire burning gradually faded from my consciousness.

‘Sleeping in a bed is the best, after all.’

It wasn’t ironic anymore.

The more I shed the skin of a modern person.

The more I can live like a human being here.