Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 406



Episode 406: Dilemma (3)

After the lottery was over the winners gathered together and formed a bond. Then we all gathered together and headed to the monument standing tall in the center.

Huuuuung-!

When you place your hand on it a portal opens with five-colored brilliance.

“Wow that’s amazing. “The flow of magical power can be clearly felt but there is a clear difference from the typical development of space-time magic.”

“Is this your first time seeing a portal open?”

“yes. A wizard has no reason to be obsessed with achievements right?”

Even as the crew watched the portal open saying one word at a time the halo of light spreading in all directions soon formed a clear shape.

“The portal has been opened for the first time. EXP +2」

I always think about it but it’s a bit unfair that opening the 8th floor portal is the same as opening the 1st floor portal.

Huuuuuuung-!

A cluster of five-colored lights that change into the shape of a sphere and shimmer.

When I look back everyone just stares at me without saying a word.

So I have to open it and go in first right?

“In formation!”

Since I didn’t know who might be beyond the portal I formed a formation first and then stepped through the portal first.

Flash-!

A white light spreads before my eyes.

Soon the pieces came into focus as if they were coming together.

“You have entered the Land of Dawn on the 8th floor.”

Land of Dawn.

The depths of the labyrinth referred to as down land (dawn land) in the game.

「Achievement achieved」

Condition: Reach the 8th floor.

Reward: Spirit power permanently increases by +50.

Just like when you first entered the 5th floor Great Demon Sutra achievements are achieved and a sense of expansion of the soul’s container blooms.

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So they called it ‘baptism’ right?

A mysterious phenomenon where the tower grants a blessing to the explorer when a task is accomplished.

Huuuuuung-!

I went in first and looked around and the crew followed suit.

“There are…no enemies.”

“I’m glad. “I was wondering what if the enemy was waiting like the ‘Battle of the Goblin Forest’ I heard about before.”

“I’m finally on the 8th floor.”

“I think this alone was worth participating in the expedition.”

About half of the crew members were baptized explorers. No in fact since we have to exclude wizards and priests it is safe to say that it is more than half.

Well from the 8th floor onwards it is classified as deep.

“It’s an amazing place….”

From the looks of it it seemed to be Erwen’s first time on the 8th floor.

If I were to pick someone with at least some experience I think it would be Amelia or Ravien over there.

“It’s the enemy the 8th floor whatever. Let’s eat quickly!”

“Wow!!”

“I’m hurt first! Please treat this quickly! “It’s been noticeably festering since yesterday and now I can’t feel the tips of my fingers!”

It seemed like a riot would break out if the battle standby was maintained any longer so a break was quickly ordered.

So the food on the sledge has run out but everything in subspace is fine right?

Creak creak creak.

Crunch crunch crunch.

As soon as permission was given the members took out food from their respective subspaces and hurriedly stuffed it into their mouths.

The person who was classified as having a minor injury and could not receive treatment started by chewing beef jerky and looked for a priest.

“Uncle let’s eat quickly too.”

“okay.”

I was so hungry that I felt like I was going to roll over so I quickly took out some food and ate it together with my teammates.

“I heard about it but I didn’t know it was such a peaceful place.”

“You mean this land of dawn?”

“yes. “I thought it would be a much scarier place because it was called the deep…”

Well such sentiments are not wrong.

A towering green hill.

All you see is a vast meadow around you and the warmth blowing through the wind passes through your skin.

Since I was shivering even though I was wearing thick fur clothes a little while ago I would feel the change even more.

“You guys rest here. “I’m going to look around for a moment and then come back.”

After I was somewhat full I left the group and left.

The captain has a job to do as a captain right?

It doesn’t matter if you eat beef jerky while walking.

Creak creak.

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Put five pieces of beef jerky in your mouth at once and chew while walking. A luxury that could not even be dreamed of just a few hours ago.

However my heart is too heavy to simply be immersed in happiness.

That was the reason why I couldn’t rest comfortably and was wandering around.

‘I can’t see any cracks….’

The Land of Dawn on the 8th floor is a very narrow area.

If you only look at the area of ​​the field it is probably the smallest of all floors of the labyrinth.

And no monsters appear.

At least until you fall into the cracks.

‘In this case… it would be more reasonable to assume that someone went in first.’

There is always one crack open on the 8th floor.

Which type opens is random and when the crack is completely cleared two portals open and you can choose.

Should I head to the 9th floor like this?

Or will I come back to the 8th floor?

Regardless of which option you choose the moment it is cleared a crack is created again on the 8th floor and the cycle continues.

And the problem here is…

‘I’m sure it’s the Noark guys who have entered the crack just now…’

Will they really head to the 9th floor?

Or should I choose to return to the 8th floor and continue hunting in a different type of crack?

If it’s the latter just resting here right now is quite a burden.

If they are active on the 8th floor they must be an expedition unit and their skills are not inferior to ours.

‘Anyway I understand why the royal family is in a hurry….’

I can feel it when I come to the 8th floor.

In the war two years ago the royal family lost many high-ranking explorers.

Of course thanks to countless policy support supply of stored purified water and return of retired explorers the power has now been restored to some extent…

‘If things continue like this it will only get worse.’

It’s as if Noark is using a cheat key.

Starting from the 7th floor on the first day of entry?

Doesn’t that mean you can go straight to the 8th floor and mine the highest level of essence?

If this continues for a few more years the gap between top explorers will widen exponentially.

‘…Still I can’t erase the essence so even if the essence level is high the combination will be bad?’

Well I think that’s the case for most.

In the first place I have never seen anyone in this world who can combine integers as efficiently as I can.

I think 90% of these are just random specs.

But as always there will be irregularities among them.

‘…Anyway it’s not something to think about now.’

I tried to ease my worries about the distant future.

First of all although it is a position under the royal family I do not have to sacrifice my life to be loyal to the king.

Once you enter the labyrinth it is not enough to just focus on what is in front of you.

Okay so…

“We’ll be leaving in 5 minutes so get ready!”

The rest that felt like a sweet rain has ended.

We have to enter the middle of enemy territory soon so it’s not good to stretch out too much.

“Goodbye to this damn sled!”

Sleds and supply boxes were placed in subspace and various combat consumables such as potions and scrolls that had been sealed in subspace were appropriately distributed to each team.

Then you are ready to resume your journey.

Clap clap clap.

When it was time to leave everyone found their seats and lined up.

At first it seemed like the Tang Dynasty army.

Now it looks a bit like an elite.

“Let’s go!”

The process of heading to the Dark Continent via the 8th floor was uneventful.

As long as you don’t enter the crack not only is the 8th floor a safe zone where monsters don’t appear but the portal is close enough to be visible from the hill in the first place.

plod trudge.

The destination was reached after walking for about 30 minutes.

“Once you get past this point you’ll reach the Dark Continent right?”

I checked it with the naked eye from afar but even when I looked up close there was nothing wrong with the portal.

It was fortunate.

If the Noark guys had left the 8th floor portal unopened we would have just been sucking our fingers here.

‘…Well I calculated that even if I didn’t hunt on the 8th floor someone would have been interested in it because of the experience points.’

I soon maintained my formation and headed towards the portal first and everyone swallowed their saliva.

Since the area ahead is Noark’s territory it looks like I’m starting to get a bit nervous…

“Schuitz.”

As I was about to enter Kaislan spoke to me.

“Why don’t you say something before we leave? “Your words will be a great help to the expedition’s morale.”

Well I don’t really feel like it.

It’s just a waste of time.

Seeing such an indifferent reaction Kaislan was startled and quickly added.

“Now think about it carefully. Isn’t it a historic moment? “If this expedition is successful and you play an important role in winning the war… whatever you say will be left for future generations and recorded for a long time.”

Well I don’t know if this is a historic moment.

Looking at the look in his eyes as he tries to suppress his burning desire for fame I can tell that he is so jealous of me that he is going crazy.

‘If I don’t do it and pass by I think I’ll keep whining about my regrets…’

Well it would be better to just ignore it.

“Keuhumhum.”

Soon when I relaxed my neck Kaislan straightened his back like a guard and shouted in a solemn voice.

“Listen gentlemen! Now we stand before a major crossroads. Will you fail or will you succeed? Will you lose it all or gain it all? There will be people who are suspicious and anxious!”

“….”

“but!”

“….”

“I Meland Kaislan have no doubt that we will go down in history as winners!”

“Oooooh!!”

Kaislan’s team members actively cheered while the other members showed a sour expression.

Why is he coming forward?

It feels exactly like this.

But did you intuitively sense that atmosphere?

“In that sense!!”

“…?”

“Everyone listen carefully! Before carrying out the great mission given by the royal family there will be a word from Lord Schuitz!”

He handed me his turn as if roasting beans in a flash of lightning.

It was absurd.

What is it that you tell me to do and then just say what I have to say and then hand over the mic?

‘…Do you want to be recorded somehow?’

It’s a psychology I don’t understand but the values ​​each person pursues are different. I turned my back to the portal leading to the Dark Continent and looked at the crew.

Unlike when Kaislan he seemed curious about what he would say.

I wonder if this is why American CEOs are so aggressive on social media. Even if they are worried about an accident happening they pay attention to it.

Anyway that’s not what’s important.

“Hmm….”

I clear my throat once and look around.

I can see the faces of the crew members who have gone through hardships and hardships every day during the last expedition and are now all too familiar.

Is that why?

At that moment something I wanted to say came to mind.

“I won’t talk too long this time either!”

okay.

I already said it once before about killing a lot and earning a lot.

“Let’s come back alive as much as possible!”

This will be enough for today.

***

“I have entered the 7th floor Dark Continent.”

***

The late field of the Dark Continent ‘Dragon’s Heart’.

A plain filled with skulls and bone fragments with huge vertebrae scattered around like ruins as if you were in a museum.

Well well well well.

Go there while making as little noise as possible.

“….”

There is no conversation between crews.

Well done.

There is no light to illuminate the surroundings.

Of course this does not mean that there is a major problem with securing visibility.

Because the darkness problem was solved with magic.

“Reard Ashed casted the level 5 support magic [Insight].”

A level 5 support magic.

If I used this on a regular basis it would consume a lot of mana but it was something that could not be helped.

Aren’t we in the middle of enemy territory?

Move as carefully as possible—

Gradually.

Amelia who was moving ahead of me on the 7th floor suddenly stopped moving.

and….

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

She quickly moved her hand and made her hand signal.

It means there is an enemy nearby.

The leaders who followed this joined the lead and immediately used ‘voice control’ magic. So I activated the team voice magic.

“What is the size of the enemy?”

“15 people.”

Well then it’s just a small clan unit.

Well if you’re going to go around a place like this you have to get together.

“What are you going to do? “Is it a battle?”

“Of course it is not. They are enemies that threaten the kingdom. “Let’s do it now!”

“I also agree with Sir Kaislan’s opinion. “It’s okay to major but it would be safer to gradually reduce the number of students from now on.”

The team leader’s opinions came together in an instant and it was concluded that the team would attack the discovered enemy by surprise.

As a captain I also had no disagreement.

but….

“Now then let’s hurry up and have a go.”

“Wait a minute. If you’re going to do a surprise attack prepare a little more. “If wizards and magicians combine their firepower at once the battle will be much easier.”

“Oh that’s true too. “As this is our first battle we will be at the forefront.”

What are they talking about so seriously?

“Don’t you know what a surprise attack is?”

“…?”

As I poured cold water on them the team leaders tilted their heads and looked at me.

It looks like they’ve all killed a lot of people.

I guess they never tried to loot it first?

“Wait for a moment whether it’s a wizard or something.”

“What are you planning to do while waiting?”

That’s natural.

“When they fight monsters we come after them.”

This is the basis of PK.