Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 24



Episode 24: The Marauder (1)

A grade 9 magic stone is a piece of stone bread.

In other words each one is worth about 20 stones.

So what about grade 8 magic stones?

Unfortunately one Desfiend was worth only five goblins.

“What? “You only lift a hundred stones?!”

“…If you include what the summoned ghoul drops it is 300 stones.”

Of course even taking that into account there is no denying that it is a low amount.

Because we just had to risk our lives.

“Bjorn… how much was that bread you ate at the inn?”

“…I remember it was about 300 stone.”

“So… that means I can taste the sweetness every time I catch a Deathfiend!”

It seems that the cream pie I ate earlier has become Einar’s new unit.

Of course if you divide it by the ratio of 8:2 it will be 0.2 times of sweetness per animal….

It would be better not to say this.

“Bjorn! This is not the time to be like this. hunt! “Let’s go hunting!”

I was momentarily disappointed by the amount being less than I expected.

I smiled as I saw Einar showing his enthusiasm again.

In this respect traveling with a barbarian wasn’t a bad idea.

His former colleague Erwen was all good but he had the disadvantage of being passive in everything.

Motivation is much easier.

“Okay let’s go!”

After that we continued to hunt Deathfiend in the nearby area.

If a single hunt took more than 20 minutes earning 300 stones could almost be considered a loss…

Originally the first try had to be an exception.

“Koooooooo!”

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“Behel—laaaa!”

When we met Deathfiend we rushed together and cried out to our ancestral spirits.

Then they grabbed each other’s legs lifted them up and threw them on the floor.

It’s called Double Barbarian Tackle.

Coo!

The fallen Deathfiend was easy prey.

As we chatted happily at the bedside out of arm’s reach he quickly turned into light and disappeared.

It takes about 3 minutes to get there.

It was difficult to shorten it further because this guy also felt a sense of crisis the moment he fell to the floor and summoned a ghoul.

“Oooooh!”

As the hunt continued the speed at which the magic stone bag was filled also increased but we were not satisfied and pushed even further.

This is because hunting Deathfiend becomes impossible after the third day.

If I hadn’t used the bug to reach the second floor faster than anyone else I wouldn’t have even dared to fight this guy.

Because these guys aren’t the type of individuals that travel alone.

Even if we can do it with just two if there are three or four in a group it will be difficult for just the two of us.

[14:27]

After checking the time I took a short break.

There is a saying that you should row when the water comes in but accidents always happen when you are impatient.

“Bjorn is thirsty.”

“Drink sparingly. “The corpse flower will bloom tomorrow.”

“Corpse flower?”

It is the only means of rehydration in the Land of the Dead. When the time comes flowers bloom on the vines that cover the remains of the stone building and when you split them open you can see that there is water inside them.

When I told him this Einar had a straight face.

“Bjorn isn’t that a bit unhygienic?”

That is certainly true.

I heard that I can drink it but I also feel uncomfortable.

However this is not something that people who take turns sleeping in a 5-person room without washing up would say.

“Then is there any other way?”

“does not exist! “I’ll drink it!”

After resting for about 20 minutes and replenishing our stamina we continued hunting again.

And he hunted a total of 70 Deathfiends until he almost collapsed from exhaustion.

This means he earned over 20000 stone per day.

‘Is this better than just catching level 9 monsters?’

However the essence I had hoped for did not come out.

***

Even saying the drop rate of the essence is extreme is not enough.

Therefore in the early stages it is not only the basics of this game to plan training methods according to the essence drops…

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A player’s skill varies depending on how well he or she does it.

In that sense I was secretly looking forward to it.

Deathfiend’s Essence is ranked among the highest among those that can be obtained in the early stages.

‘The problem is that there is no sign of it coming out.’

The active skill ‘Call of the Dead’ which summons ghouls is frankly ambiguous but the passive ‘Body Preservation’ is good enough to make up for it.

Of course consuming essence doesn’t mean you can achieve ridiculous regeneration like that guy…

It has good synergy with me whose regeneration coefficient has increased due to the immortal imprint.

[02:57]

I checked the time while listening to Einar’s snoring.

Before we knew it a day had passed and day 2 had begun.

From now on I will have to battle two Deathfiends at once but there is still a part of me that feels a little relieved.

At least you won’t look strange when you encounter other explorers.

I’ll say it again I’m most afraid of explorers.

“Ainar wake up.”

“…I didn’t eat anything!”

“It’s shift time.”

Three hours per person.

After resting for a total of six hours we hunted Deathfiend as usual on the second day.

“Koooooo!”

As many as two.

There were only 20 ghouls summoned with active skills but it was still worth doing.

This is thanks to the fact that I learned the ropes after dealing with them countless times on the first day.

Kuung-!

He opened his eyes and ran at once as if cutting off the nose and beat one of them to the ground first.

Let’s work together to take down the remaining one as well.

If you make a mistake even once during this process you could be in quite a bit of trouble…

At times like that I run away without even looking back.

“Let’s fly Einar!”

“Oooh!”

Deathfiend has a slow movement speed and has a habit of not following when it moves away from its territory so there has been no danger yet.

Ssaaaaaa-!

One battle takes about 10 minutes.

Even though three out of ten attempts failed we still caught two fish each and the profit was similar to that of the first day.

It took quite some time to find the group on the first day.

However as the afternoon passed groups of three appeared occasionally and as time passed the frequency of encounters increased.

“I guess I’ll have to leave here soon.”

“A wise warrior should know when to take action.”

The second day is coming to an end.

I left Desfiend’s realm with regret behind me. Then we returned to the soggy mud field and found a suitable campsite.

It was then.

“…!”

For the first time I encountered another group of explorers.

They were made up of three humans and like us they were wandering around in the dark relying on a single torch…

Only after approaching 10m were we able to check on each other.

“What are you looking at? “If you have nothing to do get out of here.”

“Uhm sorry.”

As Einar spoke coldly the other group passed us first and disappeared into the darkness again.

It was a little surprising.

plod trudge.

They are only about twenty steps away and their footsteps can still be heard faintly.

But the light from the torch they were holding was no longer visible.

I heard that most of the stairs in the labyrinth have the property of absorbing light so this is what they meant.

It seems that the brightness of a torch is such that it cannot be seen with the naked eye even from 10 meters away…

It was a time when I was thinking about this phenomenon.

“Bjorn needs to move.”

Einar opened his mouth in a stubborn voice.

“They know our location don’t they? “It’s convenient because there’s a wall but it would still be safer to find a new campsite.”

That is certainly true.

I tried to do that too.

I just can’t get used to it.

What’s with the way he growled at other explorers to get away as soon as he saw them…

Suddenly the character changed.

“Bjorn humans cannot be trusted.”

“…I agree.”

Now I see that besides their race being barbarian there is one more thing they have in common.

It is none other than human distrust.

It looks like something happened to him when he first entered.

I’ll have to ask later or something.

“Then let’s move.”

Soon we packed our bags and moved again.

However it was difficult to find a campsite as well located as before. Should I just compromise with just one wall to block my back?

It was a time when I was thinking like that.

“Off….”

A groan is heard from the front not far away.

“Ugh! Hmm!”

Not the banshee’s.

First of all not only is it not a female voice…

“…Sleep a minute!”

He is speaking clearly.

“Save me—”

Shit.

Just sit down and sleep anywhere.

“….”

After the halting screams silence comes.

Einar whispered.

“I wasn’t hit by a monster.”

I know because I have ears too.

There would be very few instances where a person would beg for their life from a monster.

The situation is clear. People killed people.

Damn what kind of bullshit situation is this?

I’m not some kind of little detective.

Not wanting to get involved I grabbed Einar’s wrist and slowly backed away.

But did he sense something?

“Who is there?”

A cold subdued voice was heard.

It’s rough but it’s a woman’s thing.

We held our breath and didn’t move.

But at that moment.

Piyuuuuu! Puff poop!

Something that looks like a flare is shot into the sky and softly illuminates a radius of about 50 meters.

Thanks to this I was also able to make eye contact with the owner of the voice.

The distance was less than 15m.

…If Erwen had been there he would have been able to detect his presence from far away and avoid it.

“Hmm are you a beginner?”

An unidentified woman looked at us and made a brief judgment.

It was common for everyone.

A dagger dripping with blood.

Four bodies lying scattered about.

“…Plunder.”

The woman asked calmly.

“Is this your first time seeing me?”

“It’s ambiguous.”

I’ve never seen a bastard look as professional as you.

“I see.”

Since she was witnessing a murder scene she could have been embarrassed but the woman’s expression was extremely calm as she nodded her head meaningfully.

Somehow I felt like I knew the reason.

***

harrier.

Those who professionally hunt fellow explorers not monsters are called that.

They generate high income by looting explorer equipment not magic stones.

Of course if you get caught you will be executed the moment you return to the city…

In most cases that doesn’t happen.

Although it was self-defense just as I killed six explorers and was not investigated in any way.

There is no way to know from the outside what happened in the labyrinth.

Unless someone tells you about it.

“…You weren’t wearing a mask.”

This is the most damning thing about the current situation.

This psychopathic bitch was showing off her face while acting like a predator.

He is a little over 170 cm tall and has a slim build.

Red hair that goes down to the shoulders tattoos under the eyes and even the back of the right ear that is half cut off.

At this level it is not difficult to estimate a specific person.

If it were modern times it would have been possible to arrest them and see if there was any evidence…

This place where I live is a world where magic exists.

There are definitely ways to determine truth and lies even without physical evidence.

“…Was he a colleague?”

“well.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders as she looked at her corpse.

“Maybe this is what they thought.”

As expected that’s why he had a bare face.

Even though I asked questions that had predictable answers I quickly organized information that could be seen.

A total of four bodies.

The level of equipment worn and the presence of a wizard indicate that the explorer is active on at least the 5th floor.

Additionally there were no injuries on the three corpses.

However it appears that traces of blood and gastric juice remain at the corners of the mouth…

‘Did you give him poison? The guy I dealt with directly at the end was resistant so he held on for a little bit right?

I hope this guess is correct.

If you were a strong person who could kill four mid-level explorers by yourself without a single wound the situation would be even bleaker.

Rattling rattling.

Soon the woman squats down and skillfully removes the corpses’ equipment.

And she puts them one by one into her bag.

Even bulky items such as magic tools fit in without difficulty.

Fear arose before feelings of envy.

Just having something like that really made me feel the gap between him and us.

“Barbarian.”

The woman called us.

I didn’t answer.

Einar asked me quietly.

“Are you going to fight?”

This guy is really great too.

If it had been Erwen she would have been scared a long time ago.

Is it a warrior’s pride or something that makes him even think about fighting no matter how big the gap is?

I answered briefly.

“I’m thinking about it.”

To be honest I want to avoid the option of fighting.

The difference is clear just by looking at the equipment.

However if you have the same level of skill as the equipment well… even considering that it is a 2:1 situation our odds of winning will be much lower.

Whoa!

The lights in the sky seem to have run out and darkness comes again.

I made an immediate judgment.

“Running. “At full speed.”

Pride doesn’t save your life.