Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 164



Episode 164: Exploration (3)

When I wake up my head feels cold.

This is similar to the principle that the cooling fan turns on first when trying to perform a task that causes excessive overheating.

‘They say there’s a rat…’

My heart beats low and my thoughts accelerate.

The Tower in the Sky is an independent hierarchy.

Once the color of the portal changes it is impossible for anyone to follow in. There was no way to break through any of the items or hidden pieces that I knew of.

That means.

‘Did you come in before the color of the portal changed?’

From the beginning he entered with us.

Of course just in case we waited for a while to make sure no one was following us and used detection magic to prepare for stealth before leaving…

‘If it’s a level 2 or higher stealth device it’s possible to not be detected. ‘Because it can’t be detected with any kind of magic.’

Of course this is just assuming the worst case.

It is unlikely that this guy is really a big man with a level 2 essence.

As a result wasn’t it subject to a detection spell?

It would be more correct to say that he avoided detection magic by using items or skills only when he first entered.

‘The fact that I’ve been following along so far in the first place is probably proof that I’m not confident in my fighting ability.’

Okay suddenly I started to gain courage.

Raven also doesn’t seem to be that scared as she calmly briefs him on the situation.

Now how do we solve this problem?

[I don’t think it will hurt me right away. So please organize your thoughts and act on how to solve this problem. My life is in Mr. Yandel’s hands—]

The answer came quickly.

“Behel—laaaaa!!”

He quickly stands up and cries out the name of his ancestral spirit.

And then he runs straight to where Raven is.

[crazy!!]

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

Raven was shocked and screamed directly into my head…

This is best.

If you do something for no reason and he gets taken hostage it will be a real pain in the ass.

Besides he doesn’t know we noticed right?

Normally when people are too surprised it becomes difficult to make normal judgments.

“Raven! Are you okay!! “You came out of my dream!!”

He ran and said some appropriate lines.

‘uh? ‘Weren’t you caught?’ Let him think like this even just for a moment.

It opened a circuit of hope.

Of course I wasn’t sure what kind of decision he would make in a split second…

“Ouch!”

It didn’t come out of hiding until it reached Raven.

Thank you so much.

“What’s going on!!! “Are you an enemy?”

“…I was sleeping well.”

The trio woke up startled by the commotion that occurred at night.

The second effect I expected by chanting for ancestorsin.

This makes it possible to prepare even if a rat attempts to ambush another colleague or take him hostage.

But did he hear my cries clearly even in his sleep?

Misha makes eye contact with me and lowers her head.

Like someone who has been hit by an arrow in the heart.

“You came out of a dream… You two were in such a relationship…? I didn’t know anything. Yeah… I didn’t even know it was like that… nyah haha ​​hot….”

What are you saying about this guy again?

I gave up and just shouted.

“Ready for battle! “There’s a rat in here!”

As an explorer the word ‘preparation for battle’ was absolute.

The trio almost reflexively took out their weapons formed a close formation and guarded their surroundings.

I quickly moved around them.

“Bjorn the rat? Are there any rats coming from the 4th floor?”

“…It means that there are explorers other than us hiding.”

“I see? “I was shocked and thought it was really a rat!”

…Shouldn’t we be surprised by the non-rats?

There was a lot I wanted to say but I held it back.

Because that’s not what I need to do now.

“Where’s Raven?”

“Oh it’s gone. “It can’t be caught by detection magic.”

Yes it’s also a detection nullification mode.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

I don’t know if it’s an item or a skill.

However if it is an activated ability rather than a passive one there will definitely be a maintenance time.

“Keep writing. Until that guy shows up.”

I sent Raven in my arms behind my back and gave another order.

“He has the ability to hide so focus. “When you attack you will definitely be revealed.”

The team members look at their surroundings with serious faces as if they have finally figured out the situation.

The silence continued like that for several minutes.

“….”

The guy hadn’t shown himself yet.

However he probably doesn’t plan on staying forever.

I guess I just need time to organize my thoughts.

Although there is no clear answer.

“Mr. Yandel….”

“Don’t fret. “Time is on our side.”

A stone chamber with all four doors tightly closed.

There is no way to escape.

If there was a staircase of fate I would try to create a variable but it’s not like that.

“Just come out. “I’ll kill you without pain.”

It was a time when I was looking into space and chanting.

“Detected!”

“Where is he?”

“Over there by the door!”

Yes it was there.

“Is it possible to cancel it?”

“It is possible because the target has been identified.”

“How long does it take?”

Raven didn’t answer.

He simply extended the wand he held in his hand forward.

“Arua Raven casted the level 8 auxiliary magic [Search].”

The jewel embedded in the tip of the wand glowed.

and….

Ssaaaa-!

A halo of blue light clung to something transparent and formed the shape of a person.

Soon when the halo of light disappeared.

The figure that was hiding was finally revealed.

“You’re dressed like a rat.”

A masked monster wearing a skin-tight suit.

“Behel—laaaaa!”

“…!”

It was the moment when our eyes met and we both kicked the ground and dashed.

Rattling.

As if he had made up his mind he opened the door wide and climbed up the stairs.

“Bjorn! “He ran away!”

“Don’t panic just pack your bags first.”

Rather than giving chase right away I first picked up my belongings that were scattered on the floor.

That’s because if there’s no one left the door closes.

Then you can’t come down again to pack your luggage.

Well there may be a simple option of leaving one person here but…

‘Why?’

There is no reason to rush.

The place he opened and climbed was none other than the Stairs of Courage.

The monsters don’t even appear until we’re all up.

In short you are already a mouse in a poison.

“I took everything.”

“Then let’s go quickly.”

I stuffed everything including my sleeping bag into my backpack and chased after him.

The stone door closes with a bang when the power is turned on.

I climbed the stairs at the head blocking my path with my shield.

‘Looking at your eyes it looks like you didn’t run away without thinking…’

I was a little nervous.

What on earth is he aiming for?

Since there was nothing to focus on right away he went up being even more cautious of his surroundings.

Before long the stairs ended.

Beyond the open door I could see the next empty stage.

Isn’t it a bit too much to say that it’s empty?

‘I didn’t expect this….’

A stone room measuring approximately 40 pyeong.

A corpse was melting in the center.

***

Quang!

When everyone in the group entered the stone room the door closed.

And a group of monsters were summoned.

“Can’t it be caught by detection magic?”

“yes.”

“Think of him possibly lurking nearby and fight him.”

For now we maintained our defensive formation and cleared out the monsters.

It took about 6 minutes to get here.

When the battle ended everyone’s attention naturally focused on one place.

“Bjorn that corpse….”

Misha blurted her words.

There was no problem because she seemed to know what she was trying to say.

I guess it’s true.

I called a professional.

“Raven.”

“It’s not like it’s fake. “I can feel the remnants of magical power.”

“easy.”

“It means a freshly dead body.”

“if-”

“It can’t be someone else’s body. “It’s faint but the wavelengths of magical energy match perfectly.”

…Yeah that’s it.

‘Nimiral.’

The guy committed suicide.

Before we could even properly say a word to each other.

That fact made me feel uncomfortable.

Isn’t there something like that in novels?

A member of a secret group takes poison before being captured.

‘This is my first time experiencing something like this so I didn’t even think about it.’

I’ve met a lot of assholes so far but they all wanted to live until the end.

This is the first case of someone running away and committing suicide like this.

It wasn’t even a proper fight.

“…I guess I’ll have to check first.”

I slowly approached and took off the mask.

However I couldn’t find out the gender or race.

This was because all the facial muscles had melted and were flowing down.

This isn’t an egg ghost.

“Mr. Yandel would you like to take off your clothes?”

First the clothes on the body were removed as instructed by the wizard.

Then a scene even worse than before was revealed.

“As expected my entire body melted. It’s not acid or anything like that. “The clothes are fine…”

Raven approached without hesitation and checked the corpse here and there prodding it with something like an iron rod.

“The bones are still attached properly. There is nothing wrong with my hair. It seems like an ingredient that only breaks down proteins…”

As I watched them treat the corpse without even blinking I ended up asking without realizing it.

“Are you okay?”

“yes? “What is it?”

“At that time I vomited when I saw the corpse golem—”

“Ahh! That’s because I suddenly felt rotten while chanting. “I’ve seen a lot of more disgusting things during experiments so this is no big deal right?”

“…I see.”

I think he has a personality that is different from his appearance.

Even Mr. Bear who has been an explorer for 10 years turns his head.

“…Are you sure that Yandel is dead?”

“I think so for now.”

“Then I go over there and rest. “Because cheese is my favorite food.”

“cheese?”

“If I look at it any longer I don’t think I’ll be able to eat cheese anymore.”

When I told him to do it because it was a good reason Einar and Misha also left for similar reasons.

“Chi cheese? “I don’t know what it is but it looks delicious.”

“Bjorn? “I don’t think it would be of much help to me…”

…Okay there’s no need for everyone to go through the trouble.

“You two go and rest.”

I focused on my conversation with Raven.

“Did you take poison?”

“yes. I don’t know which alchemist created it but it’s a very unique poison. “As soon as you take it the ingredients of the medicine are released through the sweat glands and the skin melts.”

“It’s the perfect poison for suicide.”

“That’s right. “Even more so if you have to hide your identity.”

It feels even more uncomfortable.

What on earth was this bastard doing?

Just looking at cancer it looks like he is not a simple predator.

Crash.

I took off the equipment he was wearing.

First of all it’s not just loot…

The judgment was that there might be a clue that could lead to their identity.

“I don’t have an identification card.”

“…It’s strange.”

It’s not that strange.

If you don’t have an identification card you can’t go into the city and pass through the checkpoint.

‘Could it be that he was really sent by the dragon slayer?’

If it’s a kid from the underground city it also explains the lack of an identity card. With that in mind I searched through his expandable bag.

There were only a few items that came out.

Some expedition supplies and food.

and….

“Wow this guy must be an expert. “There are all kinds of things about the basilisk paralyzing poison.”

The rest were all consumables for anti-personnel use and some of them were rare enough for Raven to covet them.

‘He really was a bastard who only wanted to kill him.’

Although he was a masked man I had never had a conversation with I got goosebumps for no reason.

A vicious looting method that takes advantage of the special characteristics of the 4th floor.

If it weren’t for Raven we could have gotten into really big trouble.

“But what were you doing at that time?”

“…I was just taking a quick shower.”

Oh that’s right.

“Why don’t you do it when everyone is awake?”

“…Hey this is your second time entering that labyrinth? “It’s been less than a month since I met Mr. Urikfried.”

Yes it is a period of adaptation.

I was so out of it that I couldn’t even think.

Anyway has he finally recognized himself?

Raven who was wearing a thin one-piece dress frowned opened the subspace took out the clothes and put them on.

“Speak up next time. “I’ll at least pitch a tent or something.”

“It’s okay. You have become an explorer now right? “I have no intention of making a fuss about something like that.”

“If that’s the case.”

Afterwards I had a few more conversations with Raven while examining the body but there was no significant result.

So after covering the pudding mask with a cloth we all gathered in a corner and went to sleep.

Oh of course just in case I decided to stay on watch.

The first one was me.

“….”

As I was reviewing what happened today in the silence I heard a groaning sound.

It was a sleeping bag with a raven in it.

Is he having a nightmare?

As I wondered if I should wake her up Raven slowly opened her eyes.

“…Mr. Yandel.”

“Are you awake? Don’t worry just sleep. “I am protecting this place.”

“That’s not it there’s something I want to ask.”

When I told her to give it a try Raven finally gave it a try after some time.

“What would have happened if I hadn’t used detection magic at that time?”

It was completely different from his usual confident tone.

This made me realize.

It is said that only Arm acted calmly and showed good control of his emotions.

There was no way I wouldn’t have been shocked.

“Do you want an honest answer?”

“yes.”

“If you are unlucky everyone will die or if you are lucky one or two people will die.”

There was silence for a moment.

“In the first place… is this what exploration is like?”

I smiled bitterly and nodded.

“okay.”

You never know when and where you might meet a fucking guy.

My life could disappear one day.

That was exploration.

but….

“Don’t worry though. “Because it’s not always difficult and terrible.”

I don’t know if it will be any consolation but I told him what happened the other day at Team Banpuni.

Dwalki was downcast after meeting the looters for the first time.

The beautiful scenery on the third floor that Rotmiller showed for such a guy.

“Seniors say it’s a phenomenon of magical power oversaturation that has no meaning.”

Raven smiled and muttered briefly.

I wonder if this is the sensibility of a traditional wizard…

“But I definitely want to see you next time too.”

“Okay next time I’ll wake you up before 12 o’clock.”

Before long the sound of somewhat relaxed breathing could be heard from Raven’s sleeping bag.

So the 8th day came to an end.