Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Cabin (3)

Cabin (3)

After getting lost in the Witch's Forest, I sometimes wondered if the dwarf’s group might be wandering around the forest trying to find us. If that were the case, then maybe a chance reunion wasn't entirely impossible?

To cut to the chase, it was a futile delusion.

‘There’s no way that would happen.’

Imagination and reality are always different.

I smile bitterly as I realize there are three of them, despite my hopes.

Miracles don’t suit me.

Tragedies, maybe.

Misha climbs onto my back and whispers very softly into my ear.

“What are we going to do now?”

Well, I’m thinking.

I also never imagined we would meet these bastards here.

‘His name was… Davis something, right?’

I prepare myself to smash his head in with my mace at any moment and then carefully examine the man who is sleeping soundly.

Davis.

He’s a hardcore religious fanatic who is covered in Leathlas Church symbols, from his necklace and bracelet to the buttons on his shirt.

In short, he’s the leader of the explorer group that attacked us after falling for Elisa’s scheme.

‘Why the hell is this bastard here?’

The more I look at his face, the more questions I have.

Why is he resting here?

And why are they only three, excluding Elisa, who they sold off?

And why are they in such a pathetic state like us?

“…….”

I put aside my questions for now and check the interior through the window again.

Fortunately, the other two are still sound asleep.

And now that I know they’re from the religious group, I can guess their identities based on their body types and hair color.

‘They must be the archer and the swordsman from before.’

The shield warrior with the particularly large build and the red-haired archer are nowhere to be seen.

‘…Could it be that these guys got separated from their group too?’

That thought suddenly comes to mind, but I’m not sure.

Damn it, what should I do?

I’m feeling uneasy… should I just smash their heads in while they’re sleeping, regardless of any questions?

As I’m contemplating…

Misha whispers,

“Bjorn, if we’re lucky, we might be able to hear about Hikurod and the others.”

Hmm, that’s true.

I guess it’s better to talk to them.

But before that, we need to create an environment for conversation.

“First, let’s knock them all unconscious and tie them up with rope.”

“Good idea.”

After reaching an agreement, I send Misha inside the cabin.

Just in case they wake up, she can subdue them before they come to their senses.

“…….”

Then I guess we’re all set.

I exchange glances with Misha through the window and nod.

And I raise my mace above my head.

Thwack-!

I swing it down with about half my strength.

As expected, the religious fanatic collapses without even a whimper.

I wipe the blood and flesh that splattered on my clothes and exhale deeply.

‘Whew, I’ve knocked out one of them.’

Now it’s time to knock out the next one.

I enter the cabin stealthily, and I see two people fast asleep, lost in their dreams, as if exhausted.

Then who should I go for first?

As I’m contemplating for a moment, one of them stirs.

“Ugh…”

Alright, you’ll be the second one.

Just as I’m about to swing my mace down to knock him out…

“You said we’re knocking them out!”

Misha approaches me hurriedly, grabs my arm, and whispers.

I tilt my head.

And I nod as I belatedly realize what she meant.

“Don’t worry.”

Even when playing fighting games, my specialty was low jumps.

I’m confident in controlling my strength.

Well, if he dies, it can’t be helped.

That’s the kind of world this is, right?

Thwack!

The moment I swing the mace down…

The man who was resting on the rocking chair slumps over.

And at the same time…

“Wh, who—”

This time, the man on the bed sits up, as if he heard the sound.

But there’s no problem.

Whether he’s awake or asleep, my mace is impartial.

Thwack!

I don’t even bother sneaking up and just dash forward, plunging my half-powered mace into his face.

Since the goal was to knock him out, the skill name is…

‘Bash seems appropriate.’

The initial subjugation is complete with a successful ‘Bash’.

I look at Misha and say,

“What are you doing? Tie them up with rope.”

Misha looks at the three bloody messes and replies,

“Do we need to tie them up…?”

Uh, well…

There’s a saying, ‘better safe than sorry’, right?

There’s no harm in being thorough.

That’s my principle.

________________________________

“Wow, they’re actually alive…”

The three who received a mace to the head each have fortunately survived.

“I told you not to worry—”

“But they look like they’re going to die soon.”

“…….”

However, their breathing is ragged and getting shallower, as if they’re about to breathe their last.

The one who got hit in the face is in the worst condition.

But as long as they’re alive, there’s no problem.

This is literally a fantasy world, isn’t it?

“As expected, there it is.”

I pick a random backpack and take out a potion bottle. And I sprinkle the potion on their heads.

Just a little, so they don’t become too lively.

Sizzle-.

The reactions appear one after another with a slight delay.

“Aak!!! Aaaaak!”

“Heuk!”

Their broken heads slowly heal, and the three of them flop around on the grass like fish out of water.

I take out the rocking chair, sit down, and wait for them to come to their senses.

“You barbaric bastard…”

Misha insults me as she sees me, but what can I do?

Whether they were tricked by that bitch Elisa or whatever…

They once tried to kill us.

And the barbarian heart within Bjorn rarely feels sympathy for enemies.

“Yo, you…!”

“That barbarian from before!”

“It was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We’re not enemies!”

After some time, the three finally come to their senses.

But it’s chaotic with all three of them talking at the same time.

“One at a time.”

I mutter while wiping the blood-stained mace with a cloth, and the room falls silent.

The three, tied up like dried fish, look at each other and reach an agreement with just their eyes.

“Listen, it was all a misunderstanding. There was a misunderstanding.”

The leader, the religious fanatic, is chosen as the representative.

“I’ll explain everything, so please untie this—”

“Stop talking about that.”

What’s important right now is not how wronged or difficult things were for them.

“Tell me what happened after we escaped, from start to finish.”

Confirmation of causality.

That’s the only reason I used ‘Bash’ instead of ‘Smash’.

“Uh, that is…”

“Don’t try to play smart.”

“Ah, alright! It was our fault for trusting that bitch, but I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything.”

“Whether you’re hiding something or not is for me to decide.”

The religious fanatic gulps.

And he spills the beans about everything that happened, things that I don’t know about.

“When we, tricked by that evil woman’s scheme, caught up to them, there were only three of them for some reason.”

Well, of course there were.

It was right when we got separated.

Crack.

It really makes my blood boil.

What kind of shitty timing is this?

“Keep talking…?”

“Of course, continue.”

“We couldn’t just keep running away, so we ambushed the guy who seemed to be the scout and injured him.”

“Do, don’t tell me you’re talking about Rotmiller!”

“I don’t know his name. But don’t worry, he’ll be alive with that level of injury.”

Anyway, to summarize the story, it’s like this:

Rotmiller became incapacitated after being ambushed.

It was truly a desperate situation.

The dwarf must have made a judgment.

That they could only escape safely if they killed the enemy’s scout.

“Something like that time, a light erupted and pushed us back.”

“When we came to our senses, Anderson’s head was pierced by an ice spear.”

“Ah, Anderson is the name of our scout.”

“He wasn’t the type to fall for something like that…”

“Maybe he was careless because we had the advantage in numbers and didn’t dodge in time.”

Whatever the details, the dwarf bought some time.

Dwarkey killed the opposing scout.

And then they ran away, carrying the injured Rotmiller without looking back.

As soon as I hear this story, Misha hits my back.

“It was all thanks to Hikurod! He killed the scout because he was thinking of us!”

Well, I don’t know about the dwarf’s true intentions.

But there’s no denying that we’re alive thanks to his actions.

Anyway, back to the main story.

“Because Anderson died, we couldn’t even chase after them, and we were left wandering around this forest.”

The religious fanatics, who were excitedly chasing after us, ended up in a similar situation to ours when their scout died.

Of course, they were still a bit better off than us.

They had five people, and they even had a priestess among them.

But…

“It was about two days after we started wandering around.”

Day 2 of being lost.

At some point during their watch rotation…

That bitch Elisa revealed her true colors and killed another member.

“Seeing that guy wither away as his life force was drained, we instantly knew. That she was a follower of that evil Karui!”

“Alright, so why did that bitch kill your friend?”

“I… don’t know. The moment we witnessed that horrible sight, all we could think about was escaping this place and telling the world.”

Bullshit, you just ran away because you wanted to live.

Even abandoning your companion.

Anyway, I skip the rest of the story.

It’s not much different from what Misha and I went through, except for the fact that there were three of them.

“So, now that the misunderstanding is cleared, please untie this—”

“I told you to stop talking about that.”

I sigh at their third request for release.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do now?”

“Ahem, it seems like we’re in the same boat, so how about we cooperate?”

“You just shut up.”

I’m deeply troubled.

Of course, I have no intention of accepting his offer and joining forces for the remaining two days.

However…

“Co, come to think of it, we haven’t apologized yet! We’re sorry! We were stupid and fell for that bitch’s tricks. We’re sorry!”

There’s room for consideration.

Can I really judge these guys as ‘bastards’?

Although we went through a lot of trouble because of them, no one died, did they?

It seems like the dwarf’s group is also alive.

“Of, of course, we’ll compensate you for the damage we caused!”

They’re even offering material compensation.

Do I really have to kill them?

“Bjorn, I’ll do whatever you want.”

I’ve killed many people so far.

But back then, my life was on the line, and they were all irredeemable pieces of trash.

But what about these guys?

It’s ambiguous.

Yes, like I said, there’s room for consideration.

My modern mind, which hasn’t completely shed its past, is trying to postpone the decision.

“Wh, what are you contemplating! It, it was a mistake! I never imagined a priestess would lie—”

“Be quiet. If you keep talking, I might accidentally smash your head.”

“…….”

While answering harshly to avoid being underestimated, I continue to contemplate inwardly.

Is it right to kill them?

I ask myself one last time, and…

Bjorn Yandel, the barbarian warrior, answers.

[Does right or wrong matter? It would be easier to just kill them, why should I leave potential trouble behind?]

It’s a very practical answer.

Lee Hansu, the 29-year-old from Seoul, also speaks up.

[Idiot, what are you contemplating? Of course it’s wrong to kill them just because they made a mistake. But…]

For once, the two of them agree.

[That’s the logic of the world we used to live in.]

Killing someone just because they made a mistake.

As expected, it’s absurd.

If this were the place where I was born and raised…

Clench-

…that’s why I grip my mace.

However, could it be that I’m still hesitant?

I blurt out a question without thinking.

“Misha, what do you think?”

Misha, who was born and raised here, answers,

“I don’t trust these guys.”

“So?”

“Whether it was a mistake or not, they tried to kill us once. When that happens… you should never forgive them, that’s what my father taught me when I was young.”

Hmm, I see.

So that’s how it is in this world.

My mind clears up as if the fog has lifted.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The reason is simple.

Otherwise, I might die.

Swoosh.

Therefore, I raise my mace.

“Yo, you said it was a mistake!”

The religious fanatic lying on the ground shouts.

“A mistake…”

I nod.

Indeed, it might have been a mistake.

But somehow, I have a feeling that you guys will make the same mistake again.

Kwagic-!

Therefore, I swing down my mace.

With all my might, as if to erase any hesitation.

Kwagic-!

Again and again.

Kwagic-!

After three swings of the mace, the surroundings become silent.

「Achievement Unlocked」

Condition: 10 kills.

Reward: Mental stat permanently increases by +1.

I have no intention of justifying my actions.

If I did, I would have set a trap, waited for an opportunity, and waited for them to make a ‘mistake’.

The more of a ‘bastard’ the person I kill is, the better it is for my mental health.

But…

‘It’s time to let go of that kind of thinking.’

On the first day I woke up in this body…

I already knew it.

‘Bjorn Yandel.’

I have to live with this name from now on.

No, I have to completely become this barbarian, not just in name.

That’s the only way to survive in this place.

Thud-

Blood and flesh drip from the mace.

“Bjorn… are you okay? Your hands are shaking.”

If you’re weak, you die.

If you make a mistake, you die.

If you’re unlucky, you die.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

The trembling in my hands soon stops.

I strip the religious fanatic of his equipment.

And I drag the corpse, now in its underwear, into the cabin.

“Eek? Wh, what are you going to do?!”

Misha asks in disgust, and I answer,

“I’m doing what needs to be done.”

Something I have to do even if I don’t want to.

I throw the corpse into the dying fire without hesitation.

Whooooosh!

The flames come back to life in an instant.

And a disgusting smell fills the air.

No, to be precise, I just think it’s a disgusting smell.

The barbarian’s strong stomach doesn’t differentiate between this and the smell of meat.

Whooooosh!

I exhale as I watch the flames grow stronger.

As expected, this is also the same as in the game.

「A new offering has been made.」

「The duration of the Witch’s Cabin is extended by 8 hours.」

With two more pieces of firewood left, we can rest in the cabin for at least 24 hours.

“What are you doing? Go and get some rest.”

I say and lie down on the bed.

Misha says something, but honestly, I don’t hear it.

“…This is comfortable.”

I close my eyes and count numbers from 1, pointlessly.

My exhausted body, as if finally finding peace, slowly drifts off to sleep.

Tadat, tadat, tadadat-.

The sound of the crackling fire gradually fades from my consciousness.

‘As expected, you should sleep in a bed.’

It’s not even ironic anymore.

The more I shed my modern ways…

…the more I can live like a human being here.