Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

Could the stone in Amelia's hand be the 'treasure' of the Noark Lord?

Of course, it was just a baseless hunch for now.

"...What's that stone?"

I asked straightforwardly, like a barbarian.

But Amelia's answer was merciless.

"Don't worry about it."

Well, if you don't want me to worry about it, then don't show it to me.

'Judging by her reaction, it seems like it really is the 'treasure'...'

So I decided to focus on something else.

There were more important things to worry about than my curiosity.

Pssssh!

A crack appeared in the barrier that was blocking the water like the glass of an aquarium, and water started pouring in.

「The sanctuary will disappear soon.」

It was time to prepare.

I first picked up my mace and the shattered pieces of my chest armor from the ground and put them in my subspace pocket.

And...

"What are you doing? Come here. Unless you want to be swept away."

I took out a rope.

Amelia frowned as she realized what I was trying to do.

"You're not going to use the scroll?"

"Ah, you mean the Mass Teleport scroll?"

The core item of Plan B, the Mass Teleport scroll.

I had asked Kyle to make it after experiencing the Verzak incident.

But it could only teleport two people.

It couldn't even designate coordinates, and it could only teleport to the location of the 'Coordinate Transmitter' registered when the scroll was created.

'Well, if it wasn't nerfed like that, it wouldn't even exist as a scroll.'

Ah, for reference, Raven had the 'Coordinate Transmitter'.

She usually kept it in her subspace pocket, but I had told her to take it out this time.

So if we just tore the scroll, we would be teleported to Raven.

But...

"We already killed the monster, and it's not even dangerous. Why would we use such an expensive item?"

It would be crazy to use it just for convenience.

Kyle had said he could make another one if we got him the materials, but...

When would we be able to gather all those materials?

Most of them were rare items, not just expensive.

"So come here and sit down. Our companions will come and rescue us once the water recedes."

"Then what about until the water recedes?"

What a stupid question.

We just have to hold our breath and wait.

You can't even do that for a few minutes?

"...Fine, I'll tie myself down."

Amelia took out a nail from her subspace and hammered it into the ground. And she took the rope from me and tied herself to it.

"Hey, can you help me? I only have one hand."

"...You're a handful."

What the hell.

She would help me anyway.

I raised my remaining hand, and Amelia tied me to the rope.

That's it, we're ready.

Pssssh!

We chatted for a bit while watching the water pouring in through the holes in the sanctuary.

Surprisingly, Amelia was the one who initiated the conversation.

"The pain seems to have subsided."

Ah, I was trying to forget about it.

"...Ugh."

The more you focus on pain, the more intense it becomes.

So I quickly changed the subject.

"Enough about me, can you tell me now?"

"...?"

"About that stone. What is it? I can tell it's the 'treasure' those bastards were after."

"Barbarian, I told you not to worry about it."

Amelia drew a line with a cold voice.

But a barbarian's characteristic is that they can't control their curiosity.

"No, but it's glowing right next to me, how can I not be curious?! I'm not asking for much, just tell me why it's glowing. You also seemed surprised earlier."

"That's..."

Why is the stone glowing?

Amelia hesitated and then clenched the stone in her hand.

"I don't know."

"Huh? You don't know?"

Amelia clicked her tongue as I stared at her incredulously, and then she glared at me.

"That's right, I don't know. What's wrong with that? I don't know much about this item. But if I have this..."

Yeah, if you have it?

I was listening intently when...

「The sanctuary disappears.」

The barrier that was blocking the water shattered, and water rushed in like a scene from a disaster movie.

Damn it, at this timing?

'I almost had her...'

It was a shame, but what could I do?

"Hold your breath! Hold onto the rope!"

I took a deep breath and shouted, and the cold seawater engulfed us.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

Time to hold out.

We just had to hold our breath and wait for the water to recede. Then our companions would come back and find us.

But thanks to Stormgush's essence, which increased my Lung Capacity...

'I can hold my breath for at least ten minutes.'

I wasn't uncomfortable, even though I was holding my breath.

In the game, Lung Capacity was a useless stat.

When you had to fight underwater, you would prepare beforehand, so there was no need to increase your breath-holding time.

'But it might actually be useful...'

Unlike the game, this world was a place where you had to fight with your real body.

Lung Capacity would be helpful in battle.

I'm not Lee Hansu, who just sat in front of a keyboard anymore. I know how important breathing is in real combat.

'My body is also healing.'

I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body as my injuries started to heal.

It wasn't because the seawater had potion-like properties.

It was just the effect of the new skill.

「The character's body is imbued with the energy of the sea.」

「Passive skill [Origin] greatly increases Natural Regeneration.」

Stormgush's passive skill, [Origin].

The effect was simple.

When in contact with seawater, Natural Regeneration increased, and the longer the contact, the greater the increase, like compound interest.

It would even regrow a severed arm in about ten minutes.

'Well, it's useless outside the 6th floor.'

I had tried storing seawater in a bottle and using it like a potion, but it was a complete failure.

The skill didn't activate after an hour.

What the hell was this 'energy of the sea'?

'Anyway, I finally have regeneration again.'

I couldn't help but smile.

The most frustrating part of losing the Vampire essence was finally resolved. It was a 3rd-grade essence, and it wasn't just focused on regeneration.

[Origin] had other effects.

'I'll switch it out when I start farming 2nd-grade essences...'

I was savoring the feeling of my body healing when...

'Huh?'

I belatedly realized something.

The torch I had lit while fighting Stormgush had gone out when the water rushed in.

And my vision was blurry from the seawater.

But...

'Why can I see?'

The reason was Amelia's mysterious stone. It was emitting a brilliant light, even though it was in her subspace pocket, acting as a light source.

I had a question.

How could light escape from a subspace pocket, which was supposed to be a separate space?

'But why is it glowing even brighter...?'

I tilted my head and pointed at Amelia's subspace bracelet.

It was a gesture with this meaning.

'Hey, is that okay?'

Amelia didn't answer my question.

She just stared at the stone, as if mesmerized.

'This is making me even more anxious...'

I felt something was wrong.

Flash!

The stone suddenly erupted with a white light, blinding me.

And that was the last thing I remembered.

Like the day I was first summoned to this world.

'My eyes!'

I passed out.

____________________

「Error Occurred.」

「Character location cannot be found.」

「Character log transmission temporarily suspended.」

「Administrator, please investigate the cause of the error...」

「...」

____________________

When I opened my eyes, there was light.

The red glow of the sunset as the sun dipped below the horizon.

"Damn it."

I realized how much time had passed and quickly sat up.

"A whole day has passed?"

It was nighttime when we fought Stormgush.

But the sun was setting?

It meant I had been unconscious for at least a day...

'...Wait, what the...?'

I soon faced a much bigger problem than the lost time.

'My equipment, where the hell is it?'

I felt a sense of emptiness and checked my body.

My equipment was gone.

No, it wasn't just my equipment.

My subspace ring, my earring, even my magic-enchanted underwear were all gone.

I was completely naked.

'Did someone loot me while I was unconscious?'

Hmm, but if they looted me, they would have killed me, right?

No, wait, there was no one else on this island besides us.

What were those guys who we sent away on the boat doing all this time?

Damn it, what the hell is going on?

"This is driving me crazy."

It was beyond just confusing.

My common sense couldn't explain this situation.

Therefore.

"Hey."

I shook Amelia, who was lying next to me.

Ah, of course, I looked away.

She was also naked.

"...Amelia, wake up."

Hey, please wake up.

You were the one who had that stone.

What the hell happened?

"Ha..."

I tried to wake Amelia up, hoping for an answer, but she didn't respond.

She was breathing, so she wasn't dead...

'Damn it.'

I gave up on waking her up and checked my surroundings.

It had been strange from the moment I opened my eyes, but there were many things I hadn't checked yet.

'My arm.'

Yeah, my severed arm had regrown thanks to the seawater.

'The nail and rope.'

The nail and rope I had used to tie myself down were gone.

We hadn't moved to another island.

We were still in the same spot where we fought Stormgush.

But...

'The ground is already dry.'

The entire island had been submerged, but the sand beneath my feet was dry.

Was this physically possible in just one day?

I didn't know, but the most important thing was something else.

'But I'm still wet.'

If the ground had dried naturally from the sun, why was I still wet...?

Whiiiiiiiing-!

I heard the sound of insect wings flapping in the distance.

'Here we go again.'

The 8th-grade insect-type monster, 'Krungbi'.

The main monster that appeared on Parune Island.

'Why the hell is it appearing now?'

It was baffling.

The event had ended yesterday.

They shouldn't have respawned until the next labyrinth cycle.

'Whatever, I'll worry about that later.'

I quickly got up.

And I picked up a sturdy-looking branch from the ground.

It wasn't as good as a mace...

'It's good enough for a one-time use.'

It would be enough to deal with an 8th-grade monster.

Tadat.

I dashed towards the insect monster that had emerged from the bushes.

And...

'Swing.'

I swung the branch with all my might.

Thwack!

There was no system message, but the satisfying impact made me feel a bit better.

Yeah, at least my essences are still working.

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