Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 27



Episode 27: Crack (1)

People grow.

Each method is different.

Reading reflecting on your past having an honest conversation with a friend for the first time or realizing a dream you sincerely hope for.

Or.

Feeling jealous of someone else’s good fortune or conversely witnessing someone else’s misfortune or realizing the power of desire.

All inspiration from experience helps us grow.

Today I am not much different.

Well mental growth is only a small part of it.

“One shortbow one plate gaiter three bottles of minor potions and a dozen regular torches… What is this a portrait? Are they family? Anyway throw this away…”

If you add it all up it will be well over 800000 stones.

I chuckled as I cleaned up the yellow-haired group’s backpack.

Now that I think about it I have always been like this.

Experiencing shitty things doesn’t always lead to growth.

but….

“With this I can fit three more pieces of armor.”

When I grew to the next level shitty things always followed.

Damn it I finally know what to do.

***

Walking through a cave.

With Einar.

“Where will you go now Bjorn?”

“We will move south where the gnomes appear.”

After resting for 4 hours per person for a total of 8 hours Einar also felt a little refreshed.

Compared to usual the tension is like crawling on the floor.

“Bjorn you can move quickly. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

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“Why are you in a hurry?”

“I… want to become stronger as soon as possible.”

“I see.”

I don’t think I need to worry about Einar anymore.

Once you have a clearer goal dark emotions will become nourishment rather than poison.

Well is that common?

“I feel the same way.”

While I was on watch I looked back on the steps I had taken so far.

Entering the coming-of-age ceremony labyrinth Hans’ night friend Erwen a 4:2 battle with the goblin forest crossbow party etc.

Even now that I think about it there wasn’t anything major wrong.

I figured out the best option to choose from given the situation.

but….

In other words it would mean that I was only focused on avoiding the moment.

“Why does it stop suddenly?”

“No I will keep moving.”

There is room for extenuation.

There was no tutorial or system text.

As soon as I opened my eyes the person’s head was cut off and from then on events that were far from reality continued to unfold.

Therefore we had no choice but to act as passively as possible prioritizing safety.

But so what was it like?

“Bjorn…? “You don’t look good.”

“Never mind.”

You always chose the best option?

Bullshit.

Well in the end it’s just a response.

How good of a choice would it be for someone who tries to fix things after something happens?

If you really want to survive you need to be more proactive in the future.

Then there are different options to choose from.

Didn’t your uncle also say that he was addicted to gambling every day?

Rather than playing on a board made by someone else throw dice on a board you made yourself.

Okay change of plan.

“Do you really want to become stronger Einar?”

When she suddenly stops in her tracks and asks Einar reveals her deep doubts.

“…What does that mean?”

“I’m asking about your resolve. There is definitely a way to become stronger. But it comes with risks. “What are you going to do?”

High risk high return.

What kind of answer will he give to this proposal?

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After watching for a moment Einar swallowed her saliva and her eyes lit up.

“Of course I will. “If we don’t become stronger we’ll all die anyway!”

Yes I guess so.

Because it was a game with that kind of world view.

Einar who expressed her consent then shouted.

“I am a warrior!”

You said it wasn’t like that earlier?

Eat.

As I looked at the barbarian’s attitude which was so inefficient yet sometimes more efficient than anyone else’s I realized something again.

“So what is the way to become stronger?”

The easy way is the slow way.

And the fucking thing is a natural disaster.

No matter which path you take it comes before your eyes without warning.

It was much more frequent with my twisted nasolabial folds.

Therefore…

“We will enter the rift.”

A sure win.

This time I’m going to find the damn thing first here.

As someone famous said:

The pain that doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.

***

“Oh! “I see!”

Einar heard my plan and let out an exclamation.

And he asked cautiously:

“…But what is a crack?”

How is it that you as a native have less knowledge than me?

I hope you read at least a book.

Uh… I can’t read properly yet.

“The crack is… in a word a labyrinth within a labyrinth.”

I skipped the detailed explanation.

Because you won’t understand anyway.

“A labyrinth within a labyrinth?”

“okay.”

Should I say that [Dungeon & Stone] is like one of the few games these days?

If the person I had to explain to was a modern person I would have said ‘instant dungeon’.

“Sometimes portals open at random locations on each floor. When you enter there a new space appears that is neither the second nor the third floor.”

“ah! “You mean the Frost Lord’s palace!”

Still I’ve heard it.

The Frost Lord’s Palace is a space that can be entered through a crack on the 8th floor.

How much trouble I went through just to try one of the Frost Lord’s essence…

“But is it possible with just the two of us? “I heard that the chief went there when he was young and almost died.”

“It’s okay. “Because we are on the first floor.”

There are a total of four types of cracks that open on the first floor.

Whatever it is the difficulty level is incomparably easier than cracks on other floors.

If you were to use us as a standard there would be about seven stars.

Of course assuming a perfect score of 5.

“But how can we get into places that appear randomly?”

“Don’t worry. “Because there is a way.”

Even after all this I was a dead person for 9 years.

I personally discovered hundreds of hidden pieces in this unfriendly game.

“Bjorn I will only trust you!”

Heading south I turned east.

Originally I was going to hunt gnomes and kobold stone golems on ‘Black Rock Mountain’ the second floor of the southern route.

Although ‘suppressing’ the stone golem is a pain there is no strategy to attack it if you prepare in advance.

However there is no estimate as to how many years it will take to reach the 8th floor if you play with safety precautions like that.

“Two barbarians. Are you not looking for a friend for the night? If the three of us sleep together we can sleep more—”

“Get out.”

“No I was just asking—”

“I’m going to explode your head in 3 seconds.”

As I was crossing the first floor there were a few people other than monsters that stuck to me but they were all cleared away at the Einar line.

…but can’t I just say I don’t like it?

“I hate humans more than ears.”

It seems that Einar has evolved beyond distrust of humans to the level of hatred.

Pow! Pow! Kwasik!

After traveling for almost 20 hours destroying every monster that blocked our way we finally reached our destination.

The time is around 4 am.

I can feel once again how spacious the first floor is.

No matter how difficult it is to get lost in an ant cave structure it takes more than a day just to get from the western end to the center.

“Bjorn isn’t this the entrance to the first floor?”

Strictly speaking the term ‘introductory part’ is an oxymoron.

Most starting points are biased to one side whether north or south.

Above all there is no light here right?

Grumble!

Burning the regular torch we obtained by killing the yellow-haired party we entered the dark area.

And how long has it been since then?

“I hunted gnomes. EXP +1」

“I hunted a blade wolf. EXP +1」

Einar who has completed the eighth battle lets out an exclamation of wonder.

“I had no idea there was a place like this in the center of the first floor with all four types of monsters appearing.”

It’s probably common sense to most explorers but it’s not a place most people come to.

To use a metaphor should it be said to be the point where the Korean Wave and the Warm Current meet?

Where I am now the Razor Wolf to the east the Ghoul to the west the Gnome to the south and the Goblin to the north all appear.

but….

“It’s strangely deserted.”

This area is not popular among explorers.

The reason is simple.

Even if all four types of monsters appear it only becomes more difficult to deal with them.

The number of monsters themselves is also small.

‘In addition since it requires the use of a torch it has the fatal disadvantage of being less cost-effective.’

In fact except for those who cross to save travel time no one comes.

But stagnant people like this kind of space.

That’s suspicious right?

From the producer’s point of view it’s perfect for hiding something.

“But why did you come here?”

“Just wait a moment. “It will come out soon.”

An hour of wandering around in the dark changing directions.

Finally I reached where I wanted to be.

“Well we’re all here.”

A cavity with a radius of about 30 m.

On the first floor which was an ant cave structure a tombstone stood tall in the middle of an open space on all sides which was unusual.

“…What on earth is that?”

“It’s a monument. “To commemorate the person who first discovered this labyrinth.”

I carefully approached the tombstone and read the words written at the bottom.

[In memory of the great first step of the last great sage Difflan Groundel Gavrilius]

First of all the content of the text is the same as the game.

In other words it would be correct to believe that there is a high possibility that the ‘hidden piece’ I found also matches.

“What happens next Einar is a secret. “Do you understand?”

“I will.”

“It takes an oath not just words. “If this becomes known we may both be in danger.”

“…I swear on my warrior’s honor.”

“thanks.”

I slowly unzipped the pockets on my waist.

Goblin Gnome Ghoul Razor Wolf.

The magic stone of the four types of monsters that appear on the first floor and the magic stone of Deathfiend a grade 8 monster.

And right in front of you is the Great Sage Monument.

“I’ll start soon.”

All preparations were made to force open the crack.

***

Dungeon from [Dungeon & Stone].

In other words cracks have a cooldown.

Taking the first floor as an example it took at least 3 months (3 cycles city time) for the ‘crack’ to reopen.

Of course it is rare for the crack to open immediately after three months and in most cases the crack opens randomly between the 5th and 6th cycle.

Was the maximum 8 cycles? Probably so.

“….”

Please note that I figured this all out on my own.

As I was working hard on the Frost Lord Essence I needed to know more about ‘rifts’.

It wasn’t efficient to go around the stairs every time and endlessly wait for a crack to appear.

“Is there something wrong?”

“no.”

After reminiscing about old memories for a moment I placed Desfiend’s magic stone in my hand in front of the monument.

If the most recent ‘crack’ was opened within 3 cycles that is if the cooldown is running there will be no reaction…

Dedddddddddd!

Before long the placed magic stone glows and disappears and vibrations spread around the monument.

As expected it really works.

Whoa!

The vibration became stronger and a black colored portal opened.

“Let’s go in.”

“Uh uh. i get it!”

I quickly threw myself into it with Einar.

That’s because the capacity is full in 10 seconds.

“The character entered the crack on the first floor.”

He left Nar the child who had hit his butt without fail and checked the surroundings.

A red sky that looks as if the world will perish at any moment.

A flock of crows flying above and a black castle visible in the distance.

Without further ado it is the ‘Blood Citadel’ one of the four types of cracks on the first floor.

It was only natural that the grade 8 magic stone offered as a sacrifice belonged to Deathfiend.

Whoa!

After waiting for a moment a gap opened in the air and a person was spit out.

This was the crucial reason why I postponed coming here until later as I know the ins and outs of not only how to definitively open a ‘crack’ but also the strategy.

I’m more scared of explorers than monsters.

“Hahaha! “I finally succeeded in getting in!”

What if we had formed a 5-person team with guaranteed confidentiality?

If you enter this way you must clear the rift with a random explorer who enters on a first-come first-served basis.

If you think of it as a game automatic matching is required.

I nervously checked on the first team member.

“oh! It’s reassuring to have two barbarians! Please take care of me! My name is Hikurod Murad! As you can see it’s a dwarf hahaha!!”

First of all there is a dwarf who seems to talk a lot.

I don’t know what your skills are but this isn’t bad.

I hope the remaining kids can stop at this level…

Eat.

Of course that would be too much of a wish for my topic right?

If you’re going to come please come.

Because I’m not expecting it anyway.

“A new companion has joined the journey.”

Soon two more team members were added.