Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Reunion (3)

9th day, afternoon.

「Entered 3rd Floor Pilgrim's Path.」

After searching the area around the northernmost part of the Land of the Dead for over a day, we finally found the portal and reached the 3rd floor.

'...From next time, I should avoid entering without a scout as much as possible.'

Although I judged that we could reach the 3rd floor with just the two of us if we took the Land of the Dead route...

...the absence of a scout still had a significant impact.

If we hadn't secretly followed a group of explorers who happened to be passing by, we would still be wandering around there.

"Ugh, this place always feels bad, no matter how many times I come here."

This is the starting point when you take the Land of the Dead route, and it's a field characterized by dozens of shallow ditches flowing in various directions.

Ah, and the smell of sewage is a bonus.

"Then let's go."

Since we don't have a scout, we keep checking the compass and head 'northeast'.

And soon, we reach a dead end.

In other words, it means we have to wade through that murky river.

"...Can't you carry me?"

Tsk, she always tries to take the easy way out.

"...Just this once."

"Wow! Really? Thanks!"

I carry Misha on my back and cross the river.

It's about 5 meters wide, and the water reaches just below my knees.

We carefully cross the river, being careful not to fall, and once again, the damp ground continues like a path.

However, just as we're about to move on...

[Glug! Glug!]

[Gelgelgel-!]

Monsters slowly emerge as if they followed the sound of us crossing the river.

"Bjorn, there are Frogmen over there."

Frogmen.

They're 8th-grade monsters that look exactly like frogs and walk on two legs.

For reference, they use something like harpoons as weapons.

Although they might seem insignificant because of their small size, they're monsters with high agility, so many explorers let their guard down and end up dying in an instant.

Their skills are also quite annoying.

'...Annoyingly so.'

These guys are a bad match for me.

My mace has enough power to smash a Death Fiend's head in one shot...

...but it's meaningless if I can't hit them.

Whoosh!

A Frogman easily dodges my mace by jumping into the air.

I immediately dash and try to smash it with my shield, but it's pointless.

「Attack missed due to [Slimy Mucus].」

Although my shield makes contact with its body, the Frogman slides away without even a thud.

[Gelgel!]

Is it fun?

Damn it.

These guys have an absolute dodge bonus against blunt weapons, so they're difficult opponents for me, regardless of their rank.

Well, it's not a problem since we have Misha.

"Nyaha! Move aside!"

Misha, who was laughing at me getting played by the Frogmen, starts dancing with her swords in earnest.

[Glug-!]

Although the Frogmen have a significant dodge bonus even against bladed weapons...

...our swordsman is a freezing swordsman.

[Geuk?!]

Not only is its thigh cut, but its lower body is frozen solid.

Thud.

The frog bastard, unable to tell up from down as it jumps around, collapses to the ground.

"Misha, wait!"

"Huh?"

"I'll do it."

Thwack!

Phew, I feel a bit less stressed now.

Although it's a monster that's usually defeated with magic, the level difference is so great that the battle wasn't too difficult.

[Gelgel!]

[Gerglug! Glug!]

After some time has passed as we're defeating the Frogmen and moving on...

[22:57]

...I check the time and start looking for a place to camp. It's not just because I'm tired, but because this is a place where we have to take mandatory breaks at certain times.

"Bjorn, the water is rising!"

"I'm looking for a spot, so stop nagging."

After searching the area for about 30 minutes, a resting point appears. Unlike the dark and murky estuary, it's a mound of soft, dry soil with a reddish tint.

It seems like all the nearby explorers have already gathered, as there are about thirty of them occupying the point.

'We came late, so all the good spots are taken.'

I have no choice but to settle down near the water's edge where the sewage smell is direct. The ground isn't damp, so the water shouldn't reach this far.

Just as I'm drying my wet legs before laying out the blanket, the water level starts rising rapidly.

[00:00]

Okay, it's midnight now, so the water won't rise any further. This state will last for the next 6 hours, so I put Misha to sleep first.

There are several teams resting without keeping watch since there are so many people around...

...but who knows what might happen.

'We even met Hans a few days ago, so let's be careful.'

Just as I'm rummaging through my backpack to find something to snack on...

"Hahaha! Cheer up, my friend! Is there a tree that won't fall after ten chops?"

"But... as you know, she—"

"Hey, everyone's sleeping, so keep it down."

"Ahaha! Sorry! I'll be careful!"

I hear a familiar voice from afar.

And it seems like Misha, who was rolling up in her blanket, is not asleep yet.

"Isn't that Hikurod's voice...?"

Since we both have the same thought, it doesn't seem like I misheard.

Huh, what a coincidence.

____________________

It's not common to encounter people you know in the labyrinth.

First of all, each floor is incredibly vast, and even with light, the darkness of the labyrinth limits your visibility to less than 10 meters.

Well, there are 'clans' that enter the labyrinth with multiple parties and arrange to meet at certain locations on certain floors...

'I can't believe it's really them.'

Surprisingly, the owner of the voice I heard is indeed the dwarf.

Dwarkey and Rotmiller are also with him.

"Hikurod? Is it really Hikurod?"

"...Misha? Bjorn? What the, why are you guys here!"

"Wow, our team must be connected by fate!"

What are the chances of coincidentally reuniting without any prior arrangements?

"The request? Didn't you say you were doing a request? What about that?"

The dwarf raises a question after our brief moment of amazement at the unbelievable coincidence.

Well, it must seem strange to him.

We were the ones who entered the labyrinth separately, saying we had an escort request.

I make up an excuse as we discussed beforehand.

"Ah, that's already over."

"Over?"

"The business was on the 1st floor, you see. The client returned to the city first when the labyrinth closed."

"Oh, I see?"

The dwarf nods without much suspicion, as if it's a believable reason.

Now it's our turn to ask questions.

"So why are you guys here? Didn't you say you were only going to stay on the 2nd floor?"

As far as I know, these three were supposed to do a simple collection request in the Rock Desert.

So why are they on the 3rd floor, and specifically in the Pitch-black Estuary connected to the Land of the Dead?

"Ah, that's because the Stone Golem's core dropped earlier than expected. So we came to do another request we had accepted, just in case."

But I wonder if he should have told us beforehand if they were planning to go up to the 3rd floor...

"Hahaha! Then you would have stopped me!"

Hmm, that's true.

A composition of 1 tank, 1 mage, and 1 scout is a bit unstable. Although we shouldn't be saying that since we came to the 3rd floor with 1 tank and 1 melee damage dealer.

"...So what's the request?"

"It's another collection request. We just need to get two eyeballs from a Frogman Shaman. Since we met here, how about we do it together?"

"How much is the reward?"

"2 million stones. Of course, if you guys join, we'll split the reward equally five ways."

400,000 stones per person is not bad.

And if we sell the other byproducts besides the eyeballs, our income will increase even more.

Of course, there's still the question of whether we can actually complete the request since it's a shaman, not a regular Frogman...

Well, that's up to luck.

"Let's do it."

I agree since I was feeling uneasy about traveling with just Misha after encountering Hans. After all, what else could we do with just the two of us besides hunting Frogmen?

And if the request ends early, we can suggest going to the 4th floor together.

"Haha, then let's get into position. If we keep talking here, we might get stabbed."

We stop chatting and get ready to rest, as the other teams who were resting peacefully start giving us the stink eye.

'Thanks to them, we'll be able to sleep for five hours.'

It's the advantage of having a larger party.

The watch time is shorter, and the sleep time is longer.

[06:00]

Time passes, and as the morning of Day 10 dawns, the water level of the river recedes, and we leave the resting point.

And we focus on hunting as we roam the surroundings.

'As expected, you need at least one scout.'

I'm realizing once again that scouts are the position that improves the quality of life in the labyrinth.

"There's a river over there, so come this way."

Rotmiller guides us along the optimal path as if he has memorized the entire terrain.

Although we've been wandering around for so long, we've only passed by the water's edge less than three times.

"Hmm, another dud..."

We click our tongues after defeating another shaman in just four hours.

The corpse disappears without leaving anything behind.

It's the downside of collection requests.

If you use the 'Distortion' spell on a monster, there's an extremely low chance of obtaining the monster's corpse intact...

...but you don't get essences or magic stones.

'Phew, just thinking about grinding later makes me feel exhausted.'

As we progress to the later stages of the game, we'll need monster byproducts more and more for things like equipment and consumable crafting.

For example, just look at Spirit Engravings.

Up to the 6th stage can be solved with money, but after that, you have to gather the materials yourself.

'...Let's think about that when the time comes. If I have money, I can just buy them from the exchange or commission requests.'

Anyway, just as moving has become easier, battles have also become easier.

Rotmiller's arrows, Dwarkey's magic...

And Misha's ice swordsmanship.

"...I've been wanting to ask this since earlier, but what exactly is going on?"

Rotmiller raises a question as he looks at the frozen Frogman, but this also isn't a problem.

[Cold Condensation] and [Ice Crush] aren't that noticeable of skills.

"Ah, that? My Spirit Beast evolved this time!"

Misha answers innocently as we discussed beforehand.

"Hot damn, is that true? At this rate, you could even get promoted to 6th grade!"

"Mi, Miss Misha! Congratulations!"

No one is suspicious since they all know that Misha made a contract with a cold-type Spirit Beast.

No, it's only natural since they wouldn't even think that we would lie.

'Every time we do this, I feel a pang of conscience.'

But what can I do?

I have to accept it.

It's the fate of living as an evil spirit.

"Rotmiller, the water seems to be rising... is that okay?"

"Don't worry, the safe zone is right next to us."

Day 10 is also coming to an end, and the water is slowly rising, but thanks to Rotmiller, who seems to have memorized the entire terrain, we fill up our time hunting until the very end and then move to camp.

"Uh..."

"This is it, right? It worked, right?"

"I, I think so."

We defeat the shaman we encounter as soon as we resume exploration and then freeze.

The corpse remains even though it collapsed with an arrow piercing its neck.

"As, as expected, it seems like luck is on our side with Miss Misha around!"

"Huhu, this friend is smitten. I think this is thanks to Bjorn, not Misha. That guy has luck on his side, you know?"

Anyway, regardless of Dwarkey and the dwarf's nonsense…

We obtained the shaman's corpse in just two days.

Hmm, is it too early to say we've obtained it?

"Hmm, but what should we do with this?"

"Wa, wait a moment. I'll try using a spell."

First, Dwarkey uses the 'Preservation' spell to prevent the corpse from decomposing.

But that's it.

We can't just stuff the entire corpse into a bag.

"Misha, you use knives, so you must be good at this kind of thing, right?"

"Wh, what are you talking about, dwarf! I, I've never done anything like this! You guys should do it, you did the Stone Golem request, didn't you?"

"Th, that's… with Stone Golems, you just have to take out the core..."

Even if we discard all the other byproducts and only take the eyeballs, we still need to dissect it.

And none of us have experience with this.

Except for the jack-of-all-trades, Rotmiller.

"Move aside, I'll do it."

Rotmiller sighs and skillfully dissects the shaman's corpse with something like a carving knife.

Did he do this often when he was on a 'collection team'?

"As expected of Rotmiller, you're the best!"

"Oh, I agree... Ugh, I'll just look away for a bit..."

Has it been 30 minutes?

Under Rotmiller's skillful hands, the shaman's body is divided into muscles, blood vessels, bones, and internal organs, all neatly stored in a box.

"So what do we do now?"

The 3rd-floor Pilgrim's Path closes when Day 15 ends. In other words, there are still three days left.

I speak up as if I've been waiting.

"The request is finished, how about we go to the 4th floor?"

"Hmm, that's true... it would be a shame to just end it on the 3rd floor when we finally have the whole team together..."

"Rotmiller, what do you think? Do you think we can reach the 4th floor within the time limit?"

Rotmiller closes his eyes as if he needs time to think.

Well, it would require some planning to cross several areas and reach the portal in the center of the Witch's Forest within three days.

"It's tight, but I think it's possible."

It's a bit strange.

I originally planned to just clear the rift and then casually hunt some monsters before returning to the city.

'As expected, nothing ever goes according to plan.'

Somehow, we're going to the 4th floor.

________________________

The three-day journey that followed was more difficult than expected.

First of all, our sleep time was significantly reduced, and we spent all our remaining time just traveling.

And since we were practically speed-walking...

...the fatigue on my companions' faces deepened with each passing day.

But still, we were able to achieve our goal.

「Character has entered a special area.」

「Field effect - Witch's Forest is applied.」

It's already our third time passing through the Witch's Forest.

The first time we came here, Misha and I were stranded and went through all sorts of hardships...

...but with Rotmiller, there's nothing to fear.

"Everyone, follow closely."

Since we had that incident last time, we tie ourselves together with ropes and quickly traverse the Witch's Forest.

And after some time...

[20:31]

A little over 3 hours left until the 3rd floor closes.

"Good work, Rotmiller."

We stand in front of a giant tower located in the central area of the Witch's Forest. A multicolored portal is located in front of the huge door that seems to be the entrance to the tower.

"Now, let's go!"

Just as we're about to enter simultaneously, waiting for the color to change to prevent any accidents...

"Ah, mister?!"

We faintly hear a familiar voice from afar.

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