Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Team Halfwits (1)

"Rotmiller, is there anyone nearby?"

Could they perhaps have similar doubts as me?

Rotmiller closed his eyes and opened them again without saying a word. Then he looked around with his newly oval-shaped pupils.

「Brown Rotmiller has cast [Thermal Colouring[1]].」

The lizardman skirmisher’s ability, ‘Thermal Colouring'.

Its function is similar to that of a modern thermal imaging camera.

This skill had been quite useful in the game. As long as it was a living creature, this alone was enough to find it out, even if it was using [Stealth] or another similar ability.

"There’s no one nearby."

Rotmiller disarmed the ability and gave a brief reply.

"But judging from the smell, someone was here a while ago."

Coming from someone with two essences that corrected the olfactory stats, the possibility of him being wrong was slim.

I followed up with a few more questions.

"How long ago was it, if you had to guess?"

"There’s a margin of error, but at this level of body odour, I’d say around a couple of minutes."

"So there’s a very high chance that they left after they saw us coming?"

"… Yes."

Rotmiller nodded bitterly, and the dwarf, who’d been quietly listening to the conversation, interrupted with amazement.

"Wait, then they were aiming at us?"

"Perhaps not aiming at us specifically. Just waiting for someone to come hunting."

Rotmiller didn't deny it.

He also explained that luring monsters in front of the portal was a favourite technique for pillagers.

Perhaps it was considered a low-risk pillaging method?

‘Even if it’s just a mean and petty trick, it’s amazingly effective.'

Surprise attack using monsters.

Aimed at the exact moment when the adventurers, who’d just crossed the portal, were the most vulnerable.

If they got annihilated, great! If one or two got hurt, still good. And if they manage to endure it without damage, you can just back off for a while and wait for the next set of prey.

"Rotmiller! Can’t we catch their trail and hunt them down? Killing pillagers is good money!"

"Even if we could, it’d be difficult to actually find them. They won’t stay nearby and risk being hunted down… And above all, we don’t have any evidence. We can’t rule out the possibility of being the ones framed instead."

"Hey, the dead don’t talk!"

Hearing his reasoning, Misha retorted with an angry face, but the dwarf made a calm and cold decision as the leader.

"We’re going to make a quick trip back down to the second floor and leave a warning about pillagers in front of the portal."

"That’s the correct decision."

We followed the minimum rules one had to abide by as adventurers, and then left the portal and went on our way.

Naturally, the conversation switched to the topic of pillagers.

However, the more I listened, the stranger it became.

"You’re great, Rotmiller. I never even know that there was such a technique."

"I've only ever heard of it before, but this is my first time falling for this trick. "

"You don’t meet pillagers often, after all!"

Uh, what the hell are you shitheads talking about?

I felt alienated from the adventurers chattering all around me, finding it difficult to empathize, and ended up asking some questions.

And then I realized a shocking fact!

"You’re asking me? I guess, about eight times in the past five years? One time they were on the same team as me, and the rest were all just some assholes!"

Only eight times in five years?

Fuck, weren’t adventurers supposed to meet pillagers almost on a daily basis?

"Yeah, sure… it used to be like that about a hundred and fifty years ago!"

Misha said that after the death of the first king, who was also called the Immortal King, the number of pillagers was greatly reduced due to various policies.

But I couldn't understand it.

It was clear that something was wrong.

Because there could be no explanation otherwise.

‘Once in the Crystal Cave, once in the Goblin Forest, twice in the Land of the Dead…'

In total, in the last three months, I’d encountered pillagers five times.

What was wrong with me?

When I told this story to get some opinions, everyone, including Rotmiller, looked at me with strange eyes.

"How many sins did Bjorn commit in a previous life?"

"Ha ha ha! Maybe it's because you're here that we met the pillagers today!"

"…"

I had nothing to say.

What kind of life had I been living?

As I walked sullenly and silently, not having the energy to refute, Rotmiller sighed and spoke.

"Everyone, stop teasing him. Everyone knows that Miss Karlstein is one of the lucky ones, right?"

"Ah! It was like that –!"

"I, too, tend to see pillagers about once every three months. So don't worry too much about it."

Ah, uh, um…

Thank you for comforting me.

Still, that was different from five times in three months.

「Wormstone defeated. EXP+2」

「You have defeated an iron falcon. EXP+2」

「You have defeated a steel hill guard. EXP+2」

The third floor, ‘the Pilgrim's Path'.

No matter which route you pass though, such as the Land of the Dead, the Goblin Forest, or the Beasts’ Lair, this is where you end up eventually.

The starting point is different for each route, so if you want to meet adventurers from different routes, you have to follow the road to the centre of the fourth floor, where the portal is.

‘It took about three to four days on average to get to the centre… ‘

For reference, this is the time it takes if you only focus on travelling. From that it can be seen how large the third floor is in size. It’s incomparable to the previous floors.

Therefore, in addition to the name of the section, ‘the Pilgrim's Path', each monster habitat is also named separately, and one of them, the ‘Steel Rock Hill', is where we are now.

"Then we’ll camp here today, and tomorrow we’ll move on to the next area."

The boundary line where the area ends.

At that halfway point, we start preparing our camp. The reason being, as the territories of the monsters from both sides overlap here, there’re relatively few monsters roaming around.

"By the way, Dwalky, are you alright? You haven't looked good for the past while."

The dwarf, who’s finished his sleeping preparations by laying out his sleeping bag on the floor, starts talking to Dwalky.

So Rotmiller, Misha and I start eavesdropping while pretending not to.

Because I’m curious.

Why does this talkative guy keep on spewing vitriol?

"… Did I look like that?"

"Maybe I was mistaken, but that’s how it seemed to me."

"I guess…"

Dwalky smiles bitterly and nods.

And after hesitating for a while, he responds.

"I know what I'm going to sound like. Maybe I just look naive and young from your point of view. But… to be honest, I was shocked."

"Shocked?"

"Or rather, you were right to say that the illusion I’d been under was shattered. I've always heard of adventurers since I was little, but… I’d never heard of such a thing."

An adventurer who kills other adventurers.

Or rather, an adventurer who makes money by killing other adventurers.

Certainly, this reality isn’t full of dreams and childish feelings.

"Hey, no, that was just a joke!"

"Doesn’t matter if it was a joke or not. Maybe, if I continue working as an adventurer, one day I’ll also kill people, right?"

At that, everyone in the party shuts their mouths.

"…"

"…"

Any comfort you try to provide at this point would be nothing but a lie.

The dwarf, Misha, Rotmiller, and I all have experienced killing people.

And if Dwalky continues in this industry, the day will inevitably come when he too shall experience it.

"So I made up my mind. Since I’ve gotten this far, I’ll keep going… "

Hearing his muttering which sounds much more determined than I’d have expected, I ask him one thing.

"So what was the result? Are you determined to do it?"

"I am. But… when the time comes, I don't know how well I’ll do."

Dwalky's resolve is full of confusion.

He isn’t confident in himself, and is full of fear of the future.

Yet…

"That’s enough."

Rather, I think this is better.

Compared to idiots who make promises they can't keep and then start whining when push comes to shove.

Perhaps he thinks the same, since Rotmiller, who’d been listening to the conversation, speaks up from the side.

"It’s important that you not get overconfident. You sound a lot more reliable, compared to shouting ‘I can do it!’, to my ears."

"Is that so?"

Seeing Dwalky’s sullen expression, Rotmiller gives him a warm smile.

As if looking at a young man walking the same path he’s travelled long ago.

"You know what you have to do, and you’re determined to do it. As long as you stay like that, you’ll surely do well even when the time comes."

"Really, I hope I would…"

"Ha ha ha! Cheer up, my friend!"

The conversation finally ends when the dwarf slaps Dwalky on the back.

But while people are about to lay down after settling the order of watch during the night –

"Wait a minute, can you all give me some time?"

Suddenly, Rotmiller calls on the whole party.

"I know that taking a little more rest would help the team, but there’s something that I want to show you."

"What is it?"

At my question, Rotmiller looks at Dwalky as he responds.

"Proof that this job isn’t just full of hard and terrible things."

Soon after, Rotmiller checks his watch and walks to the edge of the cliff near the campsite.

We follow, without any idea about what’s happening.

All we can see, is the usual darkness.

The darkness of the labyrinth, which eats even the light, is an ever-present obstruction to the sight of us adventurers.

"What were you planning to show us?"

"Wait, wait a minute."

Seeing Rotmiller answer while looking at his watch, I suddenly have a guess, so I take out my own watch.

[23:59].

One minute before the start of the third day, when the monster population peaks.

The second hand of the clock moves with a ticking sound.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…

I close the lid of the watch and look into the darkness on the other side of the cliff. Before long, silver orbs of light begin appearing in the distance, lighting up the darkness.

In numbers beyond counting, they start rising from the ground, fluttering in the air like dandelion seeds, and ascend towards the sky.

The dark labyrinth gradually becomes brighter and brighter.

It’s now that I realize why this place is called the ‘Steel Rock Hill'.

"It’s a view that only adventurers who arrive early can see. Isn't it wonderful?"

‘Hill’.

In other words, even within the labyrinth, this place is a highland.

It’s usually far too dark, so it’s difficult to tell, but once this bunch of light scours away the darkness, the entire area of ​​this spacious third floor can be seen at a glance.

Mountains and fields, and even a river flowing through them.

A dense forest, and a high spire at the centre of it all, towering up to the ceiling.

If I’d lived my whole life within the walls of Rafdonia, it would’ve been an unprecedented sight.

Dwalky, looking blankly at the view, murmurs.

"… I think I understand now, why adventurers say that the world is wide."

I raise my head and look up at the sky.

I know it’s just a closed roof over our heads, but at this moment, it really feels like the heavens.

Like standing under an open night sky, with the Milky Way twinkling high above.

Of course, it only lasts for a fleeting moment.

It takes only a minute or so for the orbs of light to reach the ceiling and disappear.

"No one knows why this happens only on the third floor."

There are many hypotheses.

For example, that the magic of the labyrinth dimension becomes oversaturated on the third day, and is released.

Or that it’s a blessing from God.

Everyone accepts what they want to believe.

But Rotmiller encapsulates it perfectly.

"It’s clear that there is some reason or other. But anyone who sees this scene in person doesn’t wonder why."

"That’s right! I've only ever heard of it, but this is my first time seeing it in person! Normally, I’d have been coolly sleeping inside my sleeping bag by now!"

"Ha ha ha! Do you think this friend won't be able to sleep tonight after seeing this?"

After that, the light completely disappears, and the usual darkness envelops the labyrinth again. All the team members, except for me, who’s the rookie and therefore on first watch, go to sleep in their own sleeping bags.

But…

"…"

It takes a long time before I hear the sound of sleep from Dwalky's sleeping bag.

It was a bright new day.

Not that the surroundings had really brightened up or anything. It was still just as dark.

But the time was morning.

[08: 10].

After clearing out the campsite, we walked downhill for a while and left the Steel Rock Hill.

And then we reached our first destination.

"Come on, the Orc Colony’s just ahead."

Orc Colony.

Among the various areas on the third floor, this place had the highest number of monsters. A characteristic feature was that only monsters of rank eight or higher appeared here.

‘If you aren't going straight to the fourth floor, you won’t find a hunting ground better than here.'

The difficulty level was the second highest among the third-floor areas.

But if my predictions were correct, we wouldn’t be facing any major risks.

In fact, with our team, working on the fourth floor was possible.

We had a wizard, and there were three people apart from me who were originally active on the fourth floor.

"Then let’s try and clear this area as a team for a while, and decide our next steps based on the outcome."

After reorganizing the team formation, we set foot into the high bushes.

Although I called it a reorganization, it was just sending Rotmiller to the rear and the dwarf taking his place.

"Murad, there’s a group of orcs coming at one o’clock."

As expected of a popular hunting ground with a high monster concentration, even though we were in the outskirts, we managed to encounter a group of orcs after walking only for a little while.

"Chwi, chwiik—!"

A basic set of four orc warriors, one archer and one shaman.

"Just do like you practiced!"

I took my place in the formation we’d already put together in advance.

Named, Formation A.

A formation where the dwarf and I were the tanks solidly blocking at the front, and Misha, who took the melee dealer position, freely moved between the shield walls, prioritizing the closest enemies to defeat first.

「Reol Webb Dwalky has cast the eighth-grade attack magic [Ice Lance]. 」

Orcs didn’t need any special curse-type magics, so Dwalky only focused on attacks.

And the same went for Rotmiller.

In battle, he concentrated on supporting us from the rear using his crossbow.

Although he had one more additional role.

「Orc shaman has cast [Frenzy].」

「All orc warriors have three times the physical resistance for ten seconds.」

If a monster ignored the shield wall and rushed to the rear, he had to protect the party member most vulnerable to close range attacks, meaning Dwalky.

"It’s [Frenzy] magic! Be careful!"

"Dwalky! Stay behind me!"

"Got it!"

One of the orc warriors in the [Frenzied] state ignored us and rushed for Dwalky, but Rotmiller pulled out a shield to block him.

Of course, as a scout, he didn't have the physical ability needed to defeat an orc warrior one-on-one, but…

"Haah, that surprised me!"

He just needed to buy some time by using any of his main or secondary weapons, like his crossbow, buckler, dagger, or fire grenade.

So he could hold on until Misha provided support or Dwalky cast attack magic.

「You have defeated an orc warrior. EXP+2」

「You have defeated an orc archer. EXP+2」

「You have defeated an orc shaman. EXP+2」

So the first battle with the orcs ended smoothly. It lasted about eight minutes in total, and there were no injuries, but I couldn’t deny that it took longer than I’d expected.

‘The issue is definitely our DPS.'

Along with our scout, we had two shield warriors.

And orcs had fairly high physical resistance among the eighth-grade monsters.

Of course, we had a wizard in the party, who were supposed to be the pinnacle of damage dealers in this world, but…

Dwalky wasn’t from the Magic Tower.

His [Ice Lance] that dealt single-target damage was all that he had when it came to rank eight attack spells.

‘Well, it's because he specializes in curses rather than attack magic, in the first place.'

The value of a wizard doesn’t lie only in high-power attack magic.

There’s a matter of compatibility between adventurers and monsters.

But if you have a wizard on your team, it becomes possible to actively hunt monsters of a much more diverse nature.

‘Still, it's slow, although we do have high stability… ‘

It was a bit disappointing in that aspect, but it was a pretty good team.

"Then let’s go deeper."

After that, we fought our way towards the centre of the Orc Colony.

The deeper we went, the greater the number of orcs that appeared in a group. At one point, the seventh-grade monster, ‘orc warlord', also mixed in…

「You have defeated an orc warlord. EXP+3」

This hunt also went without difficulty.

But shitty things always happen when everything seems to be going smoothly.

It happened while we were hunting a group of orcs in earnest.

"Ihenro Tauntain."

Suddenly, a low-pitched chant was heard in the distance, across the thick bushes.

And –

Craaaaaaaaaaashhh!

A flaming meteorite fell on the horde we were hunting and exploded.

"… What the fuck?"

What kind of a dogshit situation was this?

Editor's Notes:

[1] 체온색적 (lit. thermal colours).

Thanks to B0x3R0ck for commissioning the chapter!