Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Great Magical Forest (3)

Great Magical Forest (3)

Explorer.

It's a profession where you enter the labyrinth, hunt monsters, and mine magic stones. Ordinary people think that fighting monsters is the biggest hardship of this profession.

But...

"If you actually ask explorers, you'll get completely different answers."

The lack of light.

Not being able to sleep when you want to.

Eating food that's like animal feed and the accumulating sexual frustration.

"It's not as bad on the lower floors where the exploration period is short. But the higher the level of the explorer, the higher the percentage of those who answer that these things are more difficult than battles."

"Hmm, I see."

"Yes. I heard that even large clans usually take a break for two or three months in the city after finishing an expedition from the 7th floor onwards."

As someone who belongs to this profession, I can definitely relate.

But...

"So?"

It's the afternoon of Day 22.

To be precise, what's her intention in saying this just as I'm taking out jerky from my bag to eat?

She wouldn't say this without a purpose.

"Just say what you want."

Raven answers in a determined voice as I look at her expectantly,

"Let's eat something proper today. Not jerky, but something cooked with fire."

Phew, so that was her goal.

As expected of a mage, she could have just said she wanted to eat something delicious today.

I contemplate briefly and then answer,

"Alright, let's do that."

"Even if you're the leader, Mr. Yandel, you should at least ask for the other members' opinions... Yes? What did you say?"

"I said alright."

"Uh, really?"

Raven's eyes widen as if she didn't expect me to agree.

Well, she must have known it was an unreasonable request.

This isn't the 4th floor.

We were able to cook and eat every day there, and sometimes we even grilled meat that was preserved with magic...

But the 5th-floor Great Magical Forest is an open-world floor.

"Are you sure? If the smell spreads, there's a high chance we won't be able to eat properly because of the monsters."

"What... exactly do you want?"

"Ah, no... I just thought that maybe I could solve the smell problem to some extent with magic."

So she just wanted to say that.

Anyway, Ainar, who was listening anxiously, gapes in disbelief as we decide to cook.

"Is this... what a mage is...?"

It seems like she's impressed that Raven was able to get my permission with just a few words...

'Well, now that we're on the 5th floor, I should improve this aspect too.'

Actually, it's something I've been thinking about.

The total exploration period is a month now.

I need to consider the team members' stress levels.

People tend to get irritable and lash out over trivial things when they're stressed.

"Then Miss Kaltstein, I'll leave it to you. Let me know if you need water or fire."

"Hmm, can you light a fire?"

"Is this enough?"

Misha, our official chef, starts cooking with Raven's help.

The menu is tomato stew with lots of meat.

"It's so delicious!!! Misha! Will you marry me?"

"What are you talking about, Miss Ainar? I'm going to live with Miss Kaltstein."

"Uh, I'm glad you like it, but both of you, that's a bit..."

Misha glances at me, trailing off.

"......"

"......"

For reference, the bear-like man and I kept watch while they ate. Not a single monster appeared until the three of them finished their meals.

"Hmm, there's almost no smell? What kind of magic is this?"

"I combined air control magic and combustion magic. It gathers the smell in one place and burns it away."

"Hmm, I see."

The bear-like man is delighted that he can have a proper meal even on the 5th floor.

I feel the same way.

Honestly, I'm sick of jerky now.

"Here, you two eat too. We'll keep watch now."

We then sit down and eat the stew. It only takes about 5 minutes, as expected of a barbarian and a macho Black Bear man, and again, no monsters appear until we finish our meal.

It's not just because of the odor removal magic.

'...The overall number of monsters has decreased.'

I've noticed this for the past few days, but the number of monsters on the 5th floor is significantly lower than in the game.

Of course, I have a guess as to why.

'Those damn clans.'

The Great Magical Forest has a structure where monsters respawn from mirrors located in each field and are released into the canyon.

But since the clans are monopolizing those hunting grounds and killing the monsters as soon as they respawn, the number of monsters that actually appear outside is low.

'...Well, thanks to that, we were able to find it quickly.'

I grin as I look at the moss in the corner of the path.

It's different from the other moss we've seen.

Red moss and green moss are mixed in equal proportions.

And a black moss the size of a marble has formed where the two mosses meet.

'The problem is how to subtly lead them there...'

Just as I'm contemplating...

...a monster appears from the front.

Eight 'Hell Hounds', 6th-grade monsters.

Imagine a dog the size of a tiger with four eyes. And its entire body is engulfed in black flames.

[Grrrr—!!]

"Battle stations."

We enter combat without any briefing since it's a monster we've been hunting for days.

The battle ends in about 10 minutes.

"So, are we going down further now?"

Raven asks about the plan, and I hesitate for a moment.

It's still a long time until we camp.

How can I keep them here without seeming suspicious?

'Tsk, if it weren't for the odor removal magic, we would be fighting monsters right now.'

Just as I'm clicking my tongue with that thought...

'...Huh?'

The black moss in the corner is gone.

As if something invisible took it.

'...Did that guy already come?'

I quickly give an order.

"Raven, I feel like something is nearby."

"Yes? What do you—"

"Use a detection spell."

Could it be because of the trouble we had with the masked man on the 4th floor? Raven casts a spell without questioning my intuition-based order.

"Dire Taniv Karsachi."

A wave of mana spreads out in a circle.

Raven's expression becomes serious.

"There's something. Right in front of us."

"Is it a person?"

I ask, pretending not to know, and Raven casts the 'Expose' spell instead of answering.

Whoosh!

A cluster of light clings to something transparent, like clay.

Soon, the light fades, revealing the figure of the one who was hiding.

"...Huh?"

It's a squirrel.

About the size of a six or seven-year-old child.

It's sitting in front of the moss, gnawing on the black moss with its front teeth.

[Kyuu?]

The squirrel tilts its head as if sensing our gaze.

"Eek...! Cu, cute!"

"It looks delicious!"

Misha and Ainar exclaim at the same time.

And then Raven shouts excitedly,

"It's a Millarodden! We have to kill it!"

Right, you're the only one who recognizes it.

How rare this guy is.

"Ah, right... it's a monster..."

Misha raises her sword with a sad expression.

On the other hand, the bear-like man loads his crossbow with an arrow at an unprecedented speed.

He's not the only one who recognizes its value.

"We're lucky. To encounter a Millarodden on our first expedition."

"Wa, wait a minute! Distortion! We haven't used the Distortion spell yet!"

Raven stops the bear-like man and quickly chants a spell.

It's not just a regular Distortion spell, but a 'High-Grade Distortion' spell.

Now, there's a higher chance of obtaining the corpse intact when we defeat the monster.

[Kyu, kyuut—!!]

The Millarodden convulses as soon as it's hit by the Distortion spell.

Maybe it's an instinct engraved in its DNA.

Most of its ancestors probably died from this.

"Avman!"

A crossbow arrow is shot as soon as I shout.

However, as expected of one of the few herbivorous monsters in the labyrinth, it dodges the arrow with agile movements.

I immediately dash forward and grab its tail.

[Squee! Squeeee! Squeet!!]

It struggles and lets out a weak cry.

It feels like I'm harming an animal, but...

Well, what can I do?

This is the law of nature.

Swoosh.

Just as I'm about to reach out and crush its head...

"Wait a minute!"

Raven stops me.

"Can't we kill it as cleanly as possible? I heard the fur sells for a high price."

It's a mage-like statement that pursues rationality.

I readily agree and restrain the Millarodden by holding its neck and tail.

And...

"Misha."

"Uh, uh? I, I have to do it?"

"Your sword is the thinnest, isn't it?"

Ainar uses a greatsword, and the bear-like man's arrows are too big.

And my mace is needless to say.

It would be difficult to kill it cleanly with an ordinary knife since it's also a monster.

"Stab it between the eyes."

"Ugh..."

Although Misha has a disgusted expression...

...she eventually draws her sword and grants it peace.

[Kyuu...]

The Millarodden goes limp.

I gulp and count.

'1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...'

The time it would have normally taken for it to disappear into light after dying.

"Bjorn!! Meat!"

The corpse doesn't disappear.

__________________

The 7th-grade Millarodden.

A squirrel that carries a mirror on its back.

It's a monster classified as a rare species, like the Mimic.

It's ridiculously hard to find.

"Huhu, thanks to Mr. Yandel, we caught a very rare monster. Mr. Urikfrit, have you ever encountered one before?"

"This is my first time too. It's that rare."

Even the bear-like man, who has been active on the 5th floor for a long time, is hunting it for the first time.

Well, it's understandable if you consider its habits.

It's a passive monster with a permanent stealth ability.

And it doesn't even enter the detection spell's radius? It's a monster that you can practically only encounter with insane luck.

Of course, that's assuming you don't know about the black moss.

'You can definitely catch it if you just wait here and use a detection spell...'

Of course, it's easier said than done. I was only able to figure out this method after being stuck on the 5th floor for over a year.

It's a game full of hidden pieces, after all.

I watched all the recordings with the thought that there might be a condition for the Millarodden's appearance, and I discovered a phenomenon where the moss in the terrain disappeared in one of the recordings.

At the time, I thought it might be a bug...

'This truly is a hardcore game.'

But it turned out to be a hidden element, not a bug.

If you use a detection spell as soon as the moss disappears, a Millarodden appears 100% of the time. Of course, whether the Distortion spell succeeds is another matter.

"It seems like beginner's luck is on your side. To succeed with the Distortion spell on your first try—"

"It's High-Grade Distortion. Not just Distortion."

"Ah, uh, right, High-Grade Distortion..."

The success rate of the Distortion spell on Millarodden in the game is 20%.

Even with High-Grade Distortion, it's less than 30%.

So I thought we would have to catch three or four before getting one...

"Anyway, can you hand it over?"

"You know how to butcher it?"

"It's something I did every day during my apprenticeship."

The limp corpse is quickly dissected into fur, organs, and bones by Raven's butcher knife.

Her skills are even faster and more precise than Rotmiller's.

Wow, professionals are on a different level.

"But what makes this guy so expensive?"

"The fur is in demand because of its rarity, and the tendons are used as magic materials. But... the real value lies somewhere else."

Raven then finishes butchering by cutting out the mirror attached to its back with her knife.

"It's this mirror."

"Mirror?"

"Yes. Although you can't take it out of the city, it's very useful inside."

Raven then explains the uses of the mirror in detail.

I watch her with satisfaction.

'Is this why you need a mage on the team?'

Things are much easier.

I used to have to explain everything myself. Phew, can I finally live like an ordinary barbarian?

"But Mr. Yandel, you seem to have good intuition too."

"Huh?"

"There's no way you could have sensed the Millarodden's presence."

Although Raven looks at me with a strange expression, she doesn't seem suspicious.

She probably doesn't think it's impossible since she experienced something similar on the 4th floor.

Okay, then that's settled.

"So how do you use this?"

In the game, you just equip the mirror on the mage and click a button.

Then what about the real-life version?

"Uh, I'm not sure either."

Huh?

"The book didn't explain that part. Maybe it will work if I infuse it with mana?"

"...Try it. Ah, wait, let's cast the Bonding spell first, just in case."

"Good idea."

We recast the Bonding spell, and Raven closes her eyes, holding the mirror.

It seems like she's infusing it with mana...

But I can't feel anything since I have no talent for magic.

After some time...

Flash!

The mirror emits a brilliant light and envelops us.

And when we come to our senses...

「Character has entered the Mirror of Fire.」

...we're standing on a vast wasteland, having escaped the dark labyrinth.

"The space suddenly changed, it feels like we entered a rift!"

That's the bear-like man's comment.

But this place is different from a rift.

First of all, there's no guardian, and it's not a dungeon.

It's just an open-world structure teeming with monsters.

In other words...

[Go somewhere else, barbarian. This is our clan's territory.]

...it's the world beyond the mirror, where clans camp out and hunt monsters.

I usually call this hidden field...

"Bjorn! Monsters are coming from everywhere!"

"Battle stations!"

...the Burning Zone.

「Field effect - Otherworld is applied.」

「Magic stone drop rate is greatly increased.」

「Essence drop rate is slightly increased.」

Let's just get two essences.

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