Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 715

Right after hearing the news from Raven about the surface, the first thought that came to mind was: ‘It’s not too late, is it?’ Of course, it hadn’t even been three minutes since I heard that massive tremor. But even so, I wasn’t sure if this was really the ‘golden time’. After all, even if I didn’t know what their ‘plan’ was, that explosion I heard earlier was telling me something. The plan had already begun. ‘……Maybe.’ The ‘golden time’ might have meant the time before the plan started. The escape might have already begun, and when I went down, there might be no one there. No, I might even run into the guys coming up and get into a difficult situation. But…… Thud thud thud-! That’s why I’m running down the stairs with all my might. Crack crack-! Tearing down the thick iron doors on each floor. ‘Not yet.’ Seeing that the iron doors were intact, I grew more hopeful that they might still be trapped in the prison. Thud thud thud-! Basement 2, Basement 3, Basement 4…… I’m quickly going down. After all, the possibility definitely exists, right? That I haven’t missed the ‘golden time’ yet. “Huff, huff……!” While I was going down the floors at such a fast pace, I heard a desperate voice from far behind. “Hey, Yandel-ssi……!! Wait a minute……!” She said she had to run away right away, but it seems she’s worried and is following behind me. I was wondering if I should tell her to go up first, just in case, but…… ‘Since I’ve come all the way down anyway.’ Now I just need to check this place below. If they’re still trapped with their restraints on, I just need to go in and ‘deal’ with them quickly. If they’ve already been released…… ‘Well, at least this will buy her some time to escape.’ Having made my decision, I tore down the last iron door connected to the 5th basement level instead of sending Raven back. No matter what’s beyond this. Without any hesitation, boldly, like a barbarian. Crack-! The iron door is torn apart like paper by my overwhelming strength. Beyond it was quiet. “……” The 5th basement prison was laid out in a checkerboard pattern. Instead of torches that require constant maintenance, magic tools emitting a soft light are embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the surroundings. Not very bright, just enough to make a person feel depressed. Anyway, that’s not the important thing…… Left, right, straight. There are three options right now. Since I don’t know exactly where the Noark guys are imprisoned on the 5th basement level, I have to go and find them myself— Thud. Ah, I don’t need to find them. ‘Damn it.’ I quickly checked the front when I heard a presence from the front, and I could see them appearing around the corner in the distance. Clank, clank. Two knights of the kingdom, whose names and affiliations I don’t know, are walking ahead, making metallic sounds as if they are guiding the way. And. “…I knew you’d come, if it was you.” The Evil Eye, Banozant, is following behind them as if being escorted. “Heh……” And other goons as well. Even though the situation wasn’t going as well as I had hoped, I acknowledged and accepted it as soon as I saw it. Yeah, it’s already too late. ‘Looking at it, it seems like they were waiting in front and released them right away……’ However, this fact doesn’t hit me that hard. That’s because I didn’t have high expectations while coming here. From experience, when I think it’s already too late, there’s a high probability that it really is too late…… ‘Still, I’m glad I came.’ Even thinking about it again, I had to come here. After all, if those guys go outside, something crazy is bound to happen, right? Thinking positively, I just missed the timing to get an easy win. Maybe I haven’t missed the ‘golden time’ yet. Thud, thud…… The terrain isn’t bad either. Clench. I can stop them now. So that those guys can’t go up to the city and move ‘according to plan’. “…As you know, our mission is up to here.” Just as I was making that resolution in my mind, the two knights who were leading the way spoke to the vice-commander. “After this, Evil Eye, you have to take care of it.” From what they said, it seems they only agreed to help them out of the prison, and they have no intention of helping any further…… “Haa, haa… Hey, Yandel-ssi?” Just at the right timing, Raven arrives at that moment. Well, is it the right timing? “Haa, haa… You stopped… Did you finally… change your mind about going back……? Hiiik!” After seeing me stopped, she had a moment of hope, but then Raven, who saw the front that was hidden by my large body, fainted. “H-How are those people… outside……?” What do you mean how? Someone with connections deep within the royal power released them, so they’re outside. ‘Looking at it, it seems they brought all their equipment and returned it to them……’ No wonder they were still on the 5th basement level. It took them a little time to get ready, putting on the equipment they had lost. Thud. The Evil Eye, Banozant, slowly walks forward between the two knights who stepped aside, and then quietly asks me while looking at me. “Are you going to stop us? Alone?” I wonder. “What do you think?” I smirked and asked back, and the guy stared at me silently. His dead fish eyes that made me feel like he wasn’t seeing me as a person. But maybe it’s thanks to the tutoring I gave him last time? “Hmm, from what I see, you……” He got the answer right this time. “It seems like you’re going to make a foolish choice again.” Well, I can’t agree with the word ‘foolish’ choice. But he did guess my actions correctly. Yeah, so…… “……” Instead of answering, I raise the ‘Aegis Barrier’. And I activate [Giantification] and block the entrance, the only passage connected to the surface, with my body. And…… “Yandel-ssi… this is too reckless—.” I cut off Raven’s words, which expressed concern. “You go up first. I’ll block them here. There’s no reason for you to take the risk.” After a slight pause, an answer comes back. “……Ah, are you really going to keep saying such hurtful things? If that was the case, I wouldn’t have come down here in the first place.” “Uh……” “You’re planning to hold them back, right? So that those people can’t go up and do something bad.” “That’s……” “I’ll help you. I won’t be of much help in this situation, but I’ve learned a lot of support spells while I was in the military, you know?” “Hmm……” A voice that doesn’t show any hesitation at all. For some reason, I feel like something is filling my chest, and at the same time, I have this thought. What should I say in this situation? Should I decline, saying that it’s not necessary? Or should I promise to repay her later? The deliberation didn’t last long. “Raven.” “Yes?” “Thank you… always.” “……” There was no reply to my sincere words of gratitude, but I didn’t ask for a reply. I felt like it would be more awkward if I got a reply. Besides, the other side is looking at us with a ‘what is that’ look. “…Are you done? Heh.” He’s smirking. When I look ahead, I can see the Noark guys slowly approaching me. The Corpse Collector. The Screaming Witch. The Evil Eye. And other members, including the bespectacled one, whose names I don’t know, but who look like they’re skilled. ‘How long can I hold them?’ The thought that flashed through my mind was just left to pass by. “Behel—aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” Come on. I don’t know what you’re plotting, but I’m not going to let you have your way— Kwaaaaaaaang-! At that moment, another roar came from the surface, and the entire underground space shook violently. Drrrrrrr……! A more intense shaking than before. The damage to the pillars, which were already unstable from the previous shock, worsened, and it was at the point where it wouldn’t be strange if they collapsed at any moment…… Drrrrrrr……!! It was practically a situation where a collapse could happen at any moment. “Randolph, is the multiple teleportation magic ready?” …Huh? “Yes. As of now, the mana annihilation formation has been lifted, and it can be activated right away.” ……What? “Execute it.” “But if we do that, we won’t be able to use the plan to release the other prisoners.” “It’s a strategic loss to waste more time here.” “Understood.” After they had a quick conversation, a blue light started to emanate from under their feet. The situation was crystal clear. ‘No, they weren’t staying on the 5th basement level because of their equipment?’ I don’t know, but if this goes on, I’ll have no choice but to let them go with my own eyes. The weakness of mass teleportation is that it takes a long time to activate and is easy to interfere with…… But it seems like the preparations are already complete. But I can’t give up, so…… Tap. I quickly kicked off the ground and dashed forward. Even though I’m a tank, the body of a top-tier explorer was enough to quickly close this short distance. Ah, of course, if there were no obstacles. 「Roland Banozant has cast [Green Evil Eye].」 Even as the tank-sized barbarian was running towards him, the vice-commander’s iris turned green without moving. And at that moment…… Whoooosh-! A translucent green barrier was erected between us, blocking the way. Kwaang-! Even when I slammed my hammer down, there wasn’t even a crack on the wall. It was the same even when I swapped my weapon to No.687 Siege Slaughterer…… Kwaaaaaaaang-! As I slammed down on the unyielding wall, the unstable ceiling began to collapse, showing signs of the building collapsing. But regardless, I slammed my warhammer down. Swaaaaaaa-! The blue light beyond the wall was getting stronger, as if to signal that the magic was nearing completion. Kwaaaaaang-! Looking at me, who was persistently slamming my warhammer down without giving up, the Evil Eye said. As if advising a young man who was doing a foolish thing. “Baron Yandel, this is not the time to be doing this. Don’t waste your strength on useless things and hurry.” Then, his blank, dead fish eyes turned to look over my shoulder, not at me. I didn’t need to hear what he was going to say to know. After all…… “I heard you cherish your comrades very much.” Kuuuuuung-! The collapse began in earnest. *** A huge piece of debris hit my shoulder as the ceiling collapsed. At that point, I stopped swinging my warhammer. I had to admit it now. I can’t stop these guys from getting out right now. But…… “I don’t know what you guys are plotting.” I had to say this. “It’s never going to go the way you want it to.” Barbarians are a race that specializes in messing things up. “…I’ll look forward to it.” He’s trying to act cool. ‘Well, that’s it.’ Since I’ve said everything I needed to say anyway. Tap-! As soon as my business was done, I turned around and dashed towards the stairs where Raven was. Flash-! A strong light flashed from behind me, but I didn’t bother to look back. After all, there would be no one left there anyway. First, I need to evacuate to the surface with Raven— “Yandel-ssi! The stairs going up are blocked!” “…What?” I picked up Raven and checked the stairs, and the way up was completely collapsed. ‘Ha, so I have to break through this one by one to go up?’ As soon as I saw it, I couldn’t help but sigh, but I couldn’t give up. There was no time to think, so I immediately headed up the stairs. And just as I was about to start clearing the debris blocking the way with my bare hands. “Yandel-ssi, it’s already too late!” Too late…… Well, it might look like that. “So, are we just going to die here?” For a K-Barbarian [Korean Barbarian], giving up is like counting kimchi— [a common Korean side dish]. “No, that’s not what I mean! Let’s go down! We can escape with multiple teleportation magic too!” Ah……? There was such a way? “Just buy us some time until the magic is complete!” Why didn’t I think of that and tried to use my body right away? I felt like my brain had really become a barbarian, so I felt embarrassed, but it was definitely the best way. Therefore…… Drrrrrrr-! I ran down the collapsing underground stairs and went down, looking for a space that was still bearable, when. “That way!” Raven points to the corner furthest from the entrance. When I checked, I saw that the thick pillars had collapsed and interlocked with each other, securing a space where two people could hide. ‘Okay, if I just hold on from below, I can easily hold out until the magic is complete—.’ As I was making that decision and running through the passage, when. “……Huh?” “……Uh? Kyaaaaaaak!!” The floor collapsed. And…… Kooong-! When I came to my senses, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Well, is it right to say I came to my senses? The body of a barbarian isn’t so weak that I would faint just because the floor collapsed and I fell down. My heavy footsteps landed on the floor. The floor that had cracks broke. Even while falling down, I turned my body so that Raven, whom I was holding, wouldn’t get hurt, and landed on my back. I saw and remembered everything as if it were a slow-motion video. But if there was a question…… “Where is this……” Even without anyone explaining, I could feel with my whole body that this place was safe. For some reason, even though the upper floors were all collapsing, this space below where I fell was intact without any shaking. The only place that was collapsed was the small ceiling area that was created when I fell…… “Underground… 6th floor……?” Clearly, the royal underground prison only has 5 floors. It was like that in the game, and in reality, there were no stairs going down from the 5th floor. I’ve never heard news that the royal prison was expanded either. ‘No, more than that, in the first place.’ …Can this even be called a prison? A huge space with a cube structure. There are no iron bars, and there isn’t even an entrance to enter this space, and in the center of the space, there is a cube-shaped structure. It’s like a matryoshka doll [Russian nesting doll], with a box inside a box. “……” What the heck is this place? They wouldn’t have created a meaningless space like this and hidden it away. “Raven, wake up. Quickly.” To get the answer, I quickly woke up the mage. Fortunately, she only lost consciousness for a moment when she fell, and Raven regained consciousness as soon as I shook her. “Wh-Where is this……” “I fell and ended up here. Is there anything I need to know?” At my request, Raven looked around with a dazed look and fixed her gaze on the cube-shaped structure in the center. “Do you know what that is?” When I shook her shoulder once more and asked, Raven replied in a voice that she wasn’t sure of herself. “Well, I don’t really know what it is……” “But?” “I… I think there’s a p-portal inside……?” What the heck is this space?