I've liked games since I was young.
The reason is simple.
Since I was always in the hospital when I was a kid, there was naturally nothing to do but play games, and as time passed, games became a part of my life.
But if you do anything for a long time, you will get bored and tired.
"Oh, shit what's this AI thinking? Why are you giving a Heal there?"
After some time, no matter which game I played, it wasn't as enjoyable as before.
It wasn't a matter of genre be it AOS, RPG, or FPS. It was all the same.
All the games that came out every year were like garbage. The story and worldview adhered to the norm, and the system lacked depth.
I wanted a game with something a little more special.
Then I discovered [Dungeon and Stone].
Tadadat. Click, click.
The genre was single player RPG.
It was an overseas indie game.
There was no Korean language support, and it used 2D pixel graphics, which had already become rare.
To be honest, it was far from my usual fare.
Still, it was free, so I installed the game to give it a try, and soon I fell in love with it.
"Wow, I almost got killed like a newbie."
It was a unique game in many ways.
When your character died, you had to start again from scratch.
NPC companions were essential for making progress, and the degree of freedom was also extremely high for a vertical scroller type game.
The skill system and worldview were also attractive, and the story was interesting even though I had to read it in English.
Crucially, I could feel something unknown but special in this game.
Tada-dat, tick-tap.
I, who at the time had just started as a service worker assigned to the subway, began to delve into [Dungeon and Stone] in earnest.
It wasn't easy.
Combat in this game was not simply done with HP/MP.
Even with full HP, if there is one misjudgement, the character that has been painstakingly nurtured for three months can disappear.
" Let's go."
I couldn't even get to the mid-game for over two years, so I gave up my pride and searched for a strategy guide.
I couldn't find any on the Korean portals, so I had to translate and read them from foreign sites, but even that didn't mean much.
There were not many users abroad either, so there were few related articles with no useful information.
Rather than those who played it for a month or two and called it ruined game, I, who had been seriously exploring this game for two years, had a much better understanding.
So I stopped looking for a strategy.
"Three times up, four times to the left, once down, twice to the left, six times to the top, four times to the right. Finally, avoid the trap okay."
Wasn't this the only game I finally found while searching for one I could actually enjoy? After a while, I decided to just keep trying on my own.
And
"Whoa."
So, we have reached this point.
Gates of the Abyss
Now my character is standing in front of the portal connected to the final boss room.
Of course, seeing the ending will be after coming here several more times in the future. It's not a game where you can get the boss with just one try.
Even so, I can feel how nervous I am right now from my stiff fingertips.
"The final boss"
It may be nothing to some people.
However, for me, it took 9 years to get here.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that we were together all through my twenties.
Even when the call for service workers got cancelled, as well as the day when I went back to school after a long time to apply for reinstatement, and the day I received a letter of acceptance to the job I wanted after graduation.
I have always played [Dungeon and Stone].
Do you want to enter?
As you approach the portal by manipulating the character, a question appears asking if you want to enter.
Of course, I click YES.
However, maybe since this is the final boss room, a different message is displayed once more.
You may not be able to come back.
Are you sure you want to enter?
It's unnecessary from a player's point of view.
If you don't want to enter, why would you come all the way here?
Yes / No
As I click Yes, the screen goes to the loading window.
Looking at the darkened monitor, I raise my concentration.
How many patterns does this guy have? What characteristics? Of course, there must also be an instakill move or two. Well, let's put aside the thought of succeeding on the first try and gather as much information as possible. Maybe I'll even have to completely redo the character build and skill combos.
My brain, stimulated with excitement and anticipation, is filled with only the thoughts about the final boss.
So, it was too late for me to notice.
You have reached the abyss.
Tutorial complete.
Tutorial complete?
No, before that, how come these are Korean Hangul characters? Wasn't [Dungeon and Stone] only supported in English?
Transmission begins.
Just as I felt a sense of incongruity, a bright light burst out.
The light was so intense that there's no possibility of it originating from the monitor.
"Damn, damn it! My eyes!"
In an instant, everything turned white.
Ringing in the ears, and an unknown heat bursting from the skin. My thoughts quickly faded as if I had been injected with a fast-acting anaesthetic.
I was usually confident in my ability to cope with crises, but at this moment, I had no idea what was going on.
Flash !
I lost consciousness as the light grew stronger.
And when I opened my eyes again
I was a barbarian in the game.
-x-X-x-
Close your eyes.
And ask yourself.
If this is the beginning of a very, very brutal game, what am I supposed to do now?
First, you understand the situation and get all the information you can.'
After that, I managed to come back to myself a little.
Recalling the first task I set for myself, I slowly opened my eyes and checked my surroundings again.
Unfortunately, nothing had changed from before.
""
The fact was that I was in an open space, surrounded by a woods.
Also, it weren't some LED streetlights that illuminated the dark surroundings, but flickering torches.
The most striking fact of all, was that there were muscular savages everywhere I looked
"Congratulations! Young warriors!"
Fuck, I wasn't seeing things.
I didn't know what they're doing in the middle of the night, but their expressions were pretty reverent.
Was that guy in the middle like a tribal chief?
Well, that didn't matter.
"As of today, you will leave the sacred sanctuary and be reborn as true warriors!"
I closed my eyes, letting out the presumed chief's words through one ear and out the other.
I was no doctor, but if I were to self-diagnose, right now I had blackout symptoms.
With no idea why I was here.
"Now come out one by one, and choose a weapon that suits you!"
So, let's reason things out.
What was I doing just before this?
As soon as I tried to recall to check if I had any brain problems, the memory immediately came to mind.
I'd been playing a game.
The final boss room was imminent, and I'd activated the portal while suppressing my excitement. Then, suddenly, some messages saying that the tutorial has been completed or that the transmission has begun appeared, and a bright light burst out. And
Now that I'd come to my senses
Somehow, it became even more confusing than before.
"Come out, Karak, third son of Farun!"
First, I decided to check the condition of my body.
I didn't feel any pain, but I still needed to check carefully.
With that thought in mind, I bowed my head and stiffened.
What was all this?
"Two-handed axe! Great!"
The hands I looked down on were embarrassingly gigantic. And surprisingly, they moved according to my will.
While I was at it, I checked the rest of me, and it was a spectacle.
Not only was there no shirt, but tattoos of all types were drawn all over the solid upper body muscles.
Yes, they all looked the same size, adjusted to the same level for this giant body.
Once I cleared up the situation
No, really, there was nothing to clear up.
For some reason, I had become a barbarian savage without realizing it.
"O Karak, third son of Farun! This makes you a warrior!"
Kidnappings, hidden cameras, psychological experiments, etc.
I immediately erased all such possibilities from my mind. It would've been foolish to twist the circuit of hope and try to forcibly fit the evidence even though the situation had already shown me the key.
It was more productive to admit the truth and move on.
What was happening to me right now was something that science or modern knowledge couldn't explain.
Other than this large body, there was plenty of other evidence, too.
"Next!"
First of all, the language that these savages spoke was not Korean, English, or Spanish.
A language I'd never encountered in any media in my entire life.
The problem was that I could understand it as naturally as my mother tongue.
It was as if knowledge had been engraved into my head.
"Come out, Ainar, second daughter of Penelin!"
Second, I was feeling used to this situation.
I wonder how that could be, but it really was the case.
At first, everything was unfamiliar, but after I came to my senses, I started feeling a strange sense of dj vu.
"You chose a sword! It is a good choice for you who are smart!"
That the young barbarians choose their weapons, one after another.
That's all they had in common, but
This was reminiscent of the intro of [Dungeon and Stone].
To be precise, when Barbarian' was selected from among the several races, the game started this way.
But was that really a coincidence?
The game I was playing when the mysterious light swallowed me was [Dungeon and Stone], and even the main character I was playing was a Barbarian'?
"O Ainar, second daughter of Penelin! Now you have become a warrior. May the blessings of Rafdonia' be with you!"
You crazy'
I decided to quit trying to clear up my remaining suspicions.
Rafdonia.
The tribal chief just mentioned this one proper noun, which made everything else meaningless.
I now knew where this place was.
This world was the game I'd been playing for nearly a decade.
"This is, Dungeon and Stone?"
Uh, was somebody talking? What did they mean by those words?
As I glanced at the barbarian sitting next to me, I was stunned. He looked really different from the other savages nearby.
"What, what is this, why am I here"
His breath was rough, and his eyes were full of confusion.
He even knew about [Dungeon and Stone]. Maybe he was in the same situation as me?
I felt the need to check it out, but unfortunately, I didn't even get the chance to try.
"Who just opened his mouth!"
The voice was so loud that my eardrums tingled, and my head felt dazed for a moment.
Of course, it wasn't for long.
I didn't know how soon I came to, but seeing the tribal chief looking down at me made me wake up pretty quickly.
"Was it you?"
I shook my head as soon as the question was asked, and as if it came naturally, I looked at the savage sitting next to me.
An act so quick and smooth that I could only admire my own self-poise.
In response, the chieftain moved his gaze to the barbarian sitting next to me, instead of questioning me further.
I'm sorry, but you're the one responsible. Why did you have to go and open your mouth?
"Was it you?"
"Yes?"
"I asked if it was you who just mumbled."
It was only now that I felt it, but the tribe chief's face wore an unusual expression. Just looking at him, the problem didn't seem as simple as somebody talking inadvertently
"Oh, you mean Dungeon and Stone? Yes Why?"
This guy didn't seem to have noticed the atmosphere yet.
"It was you"
A brief ripple of sadness flashed through the eyes of the tribe chief.
Feeling a sense of doom for some unknown reason, I unconsciously moved a bit to the side.
Then the guy tilted his head and asked,
"Is this like an event? Oh, maybe because I noticed too soon "
What happened then, I couldn't even follow with my own eyes.
Something flashed, followed by a blunt sound.
Sssk
That's all there was to it.
That fleeting moment passed, and the head that fell with a dull sound rolled over and over on the ground.
A sight so brutal that it seemed unrealistic.
The eyes relayed the information they had just seen to the brain.
""
A man's neck was cut off in front of my eyes. White bones and severed muscles were visible through the gap on the neck. Something white splattered on my face, along with red blood and muddy flesh. What was this? Fat?
Well, I didn't really know.
But it wasn't as shocking as I'd have expected.
As if I was watching a movie or an anime, there was no feeling of nausea and no mental pressure, as if it was all a dream.
Pssssssssss!
As I watched the blood spurt out of the severed neck, only one question remained in my head.
Why the hell did the chief kill him?
"An evil spirit resided in the soul of Oreum, son of Kadua. Young warriors, erase from your memory all the words this evil spirit has just uttered!"
The moment I heard the chief's words, the information naturally compiled in my head.
Information 1, I am an evil spirit.
Information 2, if this is found out, I will die.
Information 3, this fate could have become mine.
When I came to that conclusion, chills rose in my spine, which was still intact even when my compatriot's head had been cut off.
"Vulcan! Hurry up and report this to the temple, and take the corpse!"
"What about the coming-of-age ceremony?"
"I will proceed!"
There was a lot of blood, but the ritual continued.
It seemed that this kind of thing was common here, and no one blinked an eye wherever I looked. This was also true of the young warriors sitting around.
But maybe it was because I'd played so many torturous games?
No one told me, but I could clearly see what I had to do now.
If it were a friendly game, a message like this would appear.
With the updated task in mind, I forcibly stopped myself from shaking. And taking my cue from the attitudes of the others, I composed my facial expression.
No one should feel any sense of incongruity while looking at me.
To them, if found out, I would be nothing but an evil spirit' who had possessed the true owner of this body.
"Next!"
But what followed after the accident made my heart sink.
"Kennicks fourth son, Serum, come out!"
I didn't know my name.
This was a serious matter, with life or death at stake.
If your name was called, and yet you stood still, you'd definitely look suspicious.
"Next!"
Of course, you could go ahead and say you'd heard it wrong.
Obviously, that was a much more likely explanation.
But if you were asked something more to make sure, that'd be a different story altogether. Just if. What if the chieftain asked a question because he was suspicious?
I won't be able to answer anything.
"Next!"
Did these fervid emotions stimulate the hormones in my brain?
Positive thoughts began to come to mind.
A weak thought, If you are called at the end, it doesn't matter if you don't know your name, right?'
"Next!"
I felt sorry for myself.
Was I going to depend on luck?
When I'd never been lucky my whole life? One could tell just by looking at how I was brought to this place while playing the game.
For an unlucky bastard like me to get through this crisis, I needed a much more plausible plan.
"Next!"
That's why I kept looking around.
With my chin steadily facing the front, I looked at the expressions, movements, and habits of the others with my eyes.
As I was doing this, a way came to my mind.
"Next!"
Of course, this method was not 100% guaranteed.
However, my time was short, so I made the final decision.
That this was the most likely way for me to survive.
"Next!"
"Next!"
"Next!"
The calling continued.
I counted about two seconds to myself each time.
And when I had repeated it eight times
"Come out, Bjorn, son of Yandel!"
Finally, the long-awaited moment has arrived.
Even after the two seconds had passed since the name was called, no one stirred their feet.
Recognizing this fact, I stepped forward. And proudly, with my shoulders squared, I walked towards the tribe chief.
Step.
It wasn't that I was unafraid.
Even at this moment, as I stepped forward, I wasn't sure that it was my name.
Step.
If my judgment was wrong, this insane tribe chief would call me out at once, saying it was suspicious.
And perhaps ask, who is your mother?
I would not be able to answer.
However.
Step.
I didn't hesitate.
Even as my heart pounded in my chest, I steadied my breath and continued to step forward.
For a simple reason.
Because I thought this was the most probable.
"Young warrior, choose your weapon!"
In the end, my choice was right.
There was no doubt in the eyes of the chieftain looking at me.
A gentle gaze, same as when dealing with other young warriors.
I held my breath, suppressing the strange excitement bubbling inside me.
I lived.
Less than ten minutes have passed since I opened my eyes.
But I have accepted the reality I am facing now as it is.
It may seem strange to some, but
Denying reality is for idiots.
This is not a dream.
Bjorn Yandel.'
From now on, I must live by this name.
No, not just the name, I have to completely become this savage barbarian.
I don't know for how long.
Is it even possible to return home, and if it is, what do I need to do?
Because I don't know anything yet.
Well, I wonder if it'd be possible to go back once the game's clear conditions are met.
It's still too early to determine this.
I honestly wish that wouldn't be the requirement.
No, I haven't even cleared the 2D version yet, how do I clear it in real life?
Maybe I'll have to live here for the rest of my life.
""
In that sense, weapon selection was important.
I thought that dragging things out might raise suspicion, but I still carefully examined each weapon one by one.
One-handed sword, two-handed greatsword, mace, iron club, spear, harpoon, two-handed axe, flail, great hammer, etc.
There were no bows or staffs at all.
These savage bastards didn't even care about jobs that had it easy[1] like healers, wizards, or archers.
Although, considering their racial characteristics, it was natural.
"Bjorn son of Yandel! Come on, choose your weapon!"
As the selection time grew longer, the tribe chief began to urge me.
I finally organized my thoughts.
Barbarians have no natural talent for magic, but have strong physical abilities.
For that reason, when raising a barbarian character, I always played with melee weapons and put them in the vanguard.
Out of curiosity, I'd also tried to raise a barbarcher, but it didn't work.
Their true value was always shown in close combat.
And among them
This.'
After a lot of deliberation, I finally chose my weapon.
"Hmm."
The chieftain, who gave admiration and praise after every choice, showed a strange reaction for the first time.
The sentiment was fully understandable.
"Bjorn son of Yandel! This makes you a warrior!"
Because I'd chosen a weapon' that no one else had picked.
At that time, in a dark room with the lights dimmed.
Synchronization complete.
Character information and logs have been recorded and sent to the manager.
The CPU fan that had been quiet started to spin, and the light from the monitor again illuminated the empty room.
However, the machine did not boot normally.
Beep beep, beep, beep
Text entered in line with the beeping sounds on the DOS screen over a black background.
[You have successfully completed the coming-of-age ceremony.
You have installed new equipment.]
[Item Level has risen by +12]
As if someone was typing in real time even at this moment, only those sounds reverberated quietly in the unoccupied room.
Endlessly, continuously.
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 1
Body: 25 / Mind: 35 / Ability: 1
Item Level: 24 (New +24)
Combat Index: 67 (New +6)]
-x-X-x-
Editor's Notes:
[1] (lit. eating raw) means taking it easy, getting a free ride etc. Comes from the expression that eating things raw and uncooked requires no effort.
-x-X-x-
Barbarian.
When I first played as this race, whose name literally translates to savage brute', the weapon I chose was the greatsword.
Right, because it's cool.
As a man, there is a certain romance in wielding a two-handed weapon, and reaping lives by spinning like a dervish while holding your sword in the middle of an enemy camp.
The problem was that he died too easily.'
Feeling fascinated by the barbarian character, I started researching. How could I properly raise a barbarian to keep it alive?
But even after many attempts, the barbarian still died too easily. No matter how much I tried to increase his survivability, he would always go berserk in a fight.
There was no stability, because each battle was like walking a tightrope.
Then, at some point, I began to doubt myself.
Should I just use him as a tank?'
Barbarians have the highest vitality among the selectable races, and their average strength is also high, so they can even wear Adamantium equipment.
Although not as good as a dwarf with its cheaty special ability, a barbarian has the basic skills of a tank.
Well, to tell the truth, I didn't really want to play as a barbarian tank, but
All the research I'd done by then would go to waste otherwise, so I decided to give it a try.
And after a few trials and errors, I was able to make a nurturing strategy.
Isn't this a scam?'
Without any regrets, I threw away the dwarf that was my original tank.
So what if your fights weren't as exciting?
I'd always valued efficiency, and I was a human being who could throw away his preferred playstyle if it helped him win.
Just like the decision I was making now.
Step.
When I returned to my seat after choosing my weapon', I could feel the other barbarians staring at me.
What, your first time seeing a barbaegis (barbarian shielder)[1]?
As a proud barbarian, I came back to my seat with a dignified, unflinching look.
There was no need to act this time.
"Next!"
I had no regrets about my decision.
There were three reasons.
First, among the starting weapons, the shield is the most expensive when resold.
Two, there is a strong possibility that even if I hold a bladed weapon right now, I will not be able to use it properly.
Third, the barbaegis is my ultimate pursuit.
Today I made the most rational decision I could make.
"With this you have become a warrior!"
After choosing my weapon and returning to my seat, there was some free time.
While the coming-of-age ceremony continued for the rest, I decided to speculate on the cause behind the situation. In fact, I should have guessed it earlier, but
Well, what would you do?
When I thought about it, I was at a loss.
[You have reached the abyss.]
Let's summarize now.
I reached the final boss room.
Most likely, that was the trigger.
Wait a minute, then what about the guy who died just now? Does that mean he also reached the final boss room?'
Maybe so.
There were a lot of people in the world, and some of them might have been as weird as me. Let's skip this part for now.
Tutorial complete.
I interpreted this message like this
I've told you everything I need to tell you, so use this knowledge to survive.
I don't know who he is, but that's one vicious bastard.
If you really wanted me to survive, you should have included a setting about whether I was an evil spirit' or not.
As soon as I arrived, my head was almost blown away. You son of a bitch.
"Whew"
Was it because I entered the body of a barbarian? Unusually for me, I was having trouble controlling my emotions.
So I stopped my ruminations at this point.
If I get excited for nothing, I might start making mistakes, and in the first place, stressing out thinking about the past is not my habit.
What has happened has happened, and there is no changing the past.
It's more productive to think about how to get through this crisis.
So
Okay, let's just think about that for now.
How to survive.'
The coming-of-age ceremony was over.
And now I was walking in the woods.
The chieftain in the front and the young barbarians in the back.
Everyone seemed to be having fun as if they were going on a picnic.
But I couldn't join in that simple-minded laughter.
Because I knew their final destination.
"Stop!"
The place we arrived after passing through the thick forest was about 30m in front of a fairly-sized wall.
"Open the gates!"
The gates opened with the crude rattling sounds of a mechanism.
Slow enough to make you yawn.
But the young barbarians watched in wonder as if they had forgotten to breathe. In that strange silence, a gray city finally appeared beyond the gates.
"Rafdonia "
Perhaps just during this moment, my eyes were not much different than them.
Roads in good condition, and stone structures.
And visible through them, a spire towering high in the sky.
I'd never dreamed that the day would come when I would actually see the place illustrated on the game loading window.
Shit.
"Warriors!"
When the door opened, the chief turned around and shouted.
Before he let us go, I wondered if he wanted to say something nice
"Leave! Your destiny awaits!"
The barbarians did not need boring speeches.
"Whooooo!"
The barbarians, who had just reached adulthood, ran into the city shouting. I didn't like it, but I too screamed and followed after them.
There may be people who are sleeping soundly in the dimly lit buildings, but who cares about them?
I am a barbarian!
Claaaaang!
The gates closed behind us with a groan.
Of course, none of these savages cared about that.
The over-excited primitives ran for a long time before finally calming down and slowing their pace, and only then was I able to calmly continue my thoughts.
Right now, I have conflicting emotions.
""
Of course, there's fear of the upcoming situation.
But also a kind of anticipation, since I've become a part of the world in the game I enjoyed the most.
It's a little funny.
It hasn't been long since I decided to only think about how to survive, but so quickly these kinds of feelings have started to bloom within me.
I don't think I'm normal, either.
But that's still nothing compared to these barbarian bastards.
"Stop!"
The leader of the barbarian group who'd been running at the forefront stopped his steps, turned around and shouted proudly
"I must have lost my way!"
The savages shouted back at that shocking confession.
"Faruns third son, Karak, has led us astray!"
"He has no qualification to be our leader!"
"You have to take responsibility!"
Fuck. You guys who were so happy to be followers have the guts to say that?
Is this the true face of the barbarian society? So dirty.
"Stop. I get it. I admit that I am not worthy of the leader's position, and will step aside."
Karak, Fanun's second son or something, bowed his head deeply and returned to the group.
Next, it was a female barbarian who was appointed as the leader of the next generation.
"Penelins second daughter, Ainar!"
"Wise Ainar who will lead us on the right path!"
The female barbarian started leading the group with a happy face at those words of laudative anticipation.
However, it didn't take long for her to follow the previous leader's footsteps.
" I must have lost my way."
Surprisingly, the two of them even said the exact same words.
"It can't be! We must get to the labyrinth within the set time!"
"Ainar has no qualification to be our leader!"
"Right!"
Confused, the savages began to seriously discuss who they would nominate as the third leader.
"I think the second son of Tetran would be good."
"No, I do not think so. Rather"
Were these bastards completely brainless?
Did they still not realize that no matter who took the lead, they weren't going to be able to reach their destination this way?
Maybe even my turn would come.
""
I quietly fell back and approached the second leader.
A little less than two meters tall, the giant woman stood slightly away from the group with a discouraged expression on her face.
"Bjorn son of Yandel? Have you come to blame me too?"
No way.
To me, they all looked equally to blame.
As I shook my head, the female barbarian tilted her head.
"Then why? I don't need consolation."
"No. I've come to show you how to find your way."
" Really? How?"
I pointed to a place.
"You just have to follow them."
"Can I just follow them?"
She looked like she couldn't believe it.
Patiently and logically, I explained step by step.
A city at midnight. All the buildings along the road have the lights turned off. However, even at night time, there are quite a few people walking on the street.
They are all dressed in armour, not everyday clothes.
Where could they possibly be going?
"Surely. Now that I see it, I agree. I will give it a try."
The female barbarian returned to the group and shouted, I found a way!', and the barbarians also stopped trying to choose the third leader and began to cheer.
"Its Ainar after all!"
"The wise female warrior!"
Anyway, the group started moving again.
Were we going the right way? As time went on, more and more armed people were around us.
At some point, I started to see a bunch of lights spreading out in all directions from afar.
If you've come this far, at least you won't lose your way anymore.
"Its the labyrinth! I see the labyrinth!"
"The Dimension of Sacred Battles!"
I continued my interrupted thoughts again.
One of my biggest concerns right now is whether entering the labyrinth is the correct decision.
"I feel it! The labyrinth is calling my soul!"
The savages lost in the crucible of excitement won't notice if I sneaked out of the pack.
Then I won't have to enter the labyrinth.
I won't have to fight and bleed against the monsters.
However, even though I knew what lay ahead better than anyone else, I still hadn't been able to decide.
Because I know that running away isn't the solution.'
[Dungeon and Stone] has a tax system.
From the age of 20, all city dwellers are required to pay taxes, and failure to pay taxes is punishable by death.
Hearing this alone makes one wonder what genre of manga is this, but if you look at the worldview, the reason becomes clear to some extent.
I didn't think it was something to worry about right now.
"Ainar! Let's speed up!"
"Wooooooooo!"
Anyway, I had to make money.
Of course, entering the labyrinth to fight monsters wasn't necessarily the only method.
Even if you work at a tavern, you won't have any problems making both ends meet.
Unless you're a barbarian.
Barbarians were the only ones given a weapon at the start of the game.
For a very simple reason.
[Barbarian? I'm sorry. I just got a guy.]
[Aren't you going to leave? There's nothing I can do for a barbarian! You're just going to break something again!]
Barbarians can't do normal work.
Due to the game settings, there was no way for them to earn a living other than fighting monsters in the labyrinth.
Well, I wasn't sure how that would translate to reality.
I might be able to find a job easier than I thought.
But it was one thing to believe that, another to break away from the group with just that bit of hope.
"Ten minutes left till it closes. Come on in!"
The labyrinth opened once every month in the game.
In other words, if I couldn't enter this time, I had to stay in this city for a month.
But what if I couldn't find a job?
What if no one hired me because I was a barbarian?
Well, the future was bleak.
Even if the food the chief had provided lasted me for a week, I'd have to live by picking up trash from the roadside afterwards.
Maybe I'd starve to death before the next opening.
One thing was certain, even if I managed to somehow endure, my body would be completely different from what it was now.
"I will be the first to go in!"
"No! I come first!"
Hunger, cold, sleeping in unsanitary conditions.
I knew better than anyone how devastating these things were to the human body.
So, if I was going in anyway, it was only reasonable to enter now when I was in peak condition.
The problem is that there's mortal danger.'
It was a time of crisis.
"Bjorn son of Yandel!"
Someone grabbed my shoulder.
When I checked, it was that barbarian woman.
Obviously, her name was
"Ainar, third daughter of Penelin."
"I'm the second daughter."
Anyway, so what do you need with me?
"All the other warriors have already entered the labyrinth. The only ones who haven't entered yet are you and me."
"Ah."
Somehow the place had become quiet.
When I checked, there were not many people left in the square, let alone other barbarians. Ainar, as the second generation leader, seemed to come to take care of me since I was still here.
"You must hurry. We're late, so we don't have much time."
At that, I raised my head and looked straight ahead.
The portal, which previously emitted intense light even from afar, had noticeably decreased in size.
"5 minutes left until closing!"
Just then, the guide informed me of the remaining time once more.
It's 5 minutes, so it's tighter than I thought.
I'm going to have to make a decision soon
"Go in first. I will follow you right away."
"I get it."
Ainar nodded and headed towards the portal, which deepened my troubles.
So, what should I do now?
As an extremely efficient person, I prefer to do things quickly, but it is not easy to make a decision this time around.
Unlike games, my real life depends on it.
"Bjorn son of Yandel!"
I involuntarily took a step backwards.
Ainar, who had been walking away, had suddenly turned around.
"Thank you for that."
" There's nothing to be thankful for."
"And there is one thing I want to ask you."
Anything other than my mother's name, please.
As I nodded, Ainar asked with a 100% sincere voice.
"How can I be wise like you? I've never seen a barbarian as smart as you in my life. I want to be like you too."
That's a really difficult question to answer. How to become smart? To be honest, I wonder if it would be quicker to just be reborn
No, why am I thinking about this?
Just give a rough answer and send her away.
"You always have to think and act."
"Hmm, thats right!"
I just said something without giving it much thought, but Ainar pondered my words with a serious expression.
And she said something a little odd.
"Thank you for your advice. If I come back alive from the labyrinth, I will repay you."
If you come back alive?
It sounds too strange coming out of a barbarian's mouth.
So, I ended up putting an unnecessary question in my mouth too.
" Are you afraid of dying?"
"Isnt it obvious? Of course, I'm afraid to die. Perhaps all the other warriors are as well. I wouldn't say it out loud, though."
Was that so?
To be honest, her words didn't make sense to me.
The barbarians in the game had no knowledge of fear.
Actually, things didn't look much different now either.
While I was silent, Ainar added some more words of explanation.
"We were born warriors. If you don't fight, you die."
Her tone was clumsy and stiff, but somehow, I could fully understand what she was trying to say.
"Right."
Like me, they just didn't have a choice.
Because they were born as barbarians.
If you don't catch and kill the monsters in the labyrinth, you won't be able to survive in this city.
That is why they learned how to overcome their fears and move forward from an early age.
Yes, it was just that.
What made them look like savage barbarians.
"See you alive. Bjorn, son of Yandel."
Ainar soon entered the portal.
"One minute left until closing!"
Now there was nothing holding me back.
Only my own choice.
Like the phrase that'd popped up while entering the final boss room, there were two options here.
Yes / No
That thought cleared up my mind, which had somehow become jumbled with complicated thoughts.
Whenever I was playing games, I always played with an emphasis on efficiency for the sake of a goal.
Before acting, I considered the possibilities first, and I always moved with the next step in mind.
Even if there is an immediate benefit, if the final result is a net loss, say No'.
Otherwise, choose Yes'.
So, there was never any choice' to speak of.
"The gate will be closed soon! Back off!"
I ran forward.
Deep down, fear was boiling over, same as when the chieftain had called my name.
Needless to say, I'd never even gotten into a common fistfight, having been sickly for most of my life.
And the opponent was a monster on top of that,?
I was so terrified that my body felt like it was slowly turning to stone.
"It's dangerous!"
However, that didn't mean I had no chance whatsoever.
Right now, I was in the body of a barbarian, with strength that went beyond common sense.
I had my knowledge, gained from nurturing characters in the game thousands of times.
And above all else, I had a grand goal to survive.
So, I had no choice but to do this.
Even though I knew better than anyone the horrors and grotesqueness hiding behind this choice.
Still, this was the most rational choice
You entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.
That's what I thought.
-x-X-x-
As far as [Dungeon and Stone] is concerned, I am an expert.
What kind of monsters come from where, what habits they have, and what their weaknesses are, I know by heart.
Based on this, I made my final decision.
If you combine a barbarian's physique and my knowledge, it's enough to survive in this labyrinth.
At least, at the time, I genuinely believed so.
"Haaa"
As soon as I entered the labyrinth, my vision went dark.
Not some kind of a metaphor or analogy, literally, I couldn't see anything. It was so bad I probably wouldn't even have noticed if someone covered my eyes with a blindfold.
Yes, there wouldn't have been much of a difference.
"Fuck."
I felt like I'd been ambushed out of nowhere.
All the barbarians had been just carrying the one weapon, so I didn't even have any doubts about this from the start.
There shouldn't have been any need for torches on the first floor.
Because the crystals on the wall act as a light source.
Of course, there's a dark zone on the first floor too, but except for the outermost area that leads to the second floor
Oh, did I fall there now?'
I quickly hypothesized.
When entering the labyrinth, the starting position is set at random.
Of course, just because it's random doesn't mean you'll be thrown into a place like this. Even if you happen to start at the outskirts, there should still always be a shining crystal nearby.
However, this was not the world of the game seen through the monitor.
What if all of those things had been conveniences' the game devs had given to the player?
In reality, what if an unlucky bastard got trapped in the dark zone as his starting point?
If so, could my current situation be explained?
No, it had to be that.
If the entire first floor was like this, I wouldn't have the confidence to survive a single day.
"Hooo "
Still, I calmed down a bit after organizing my thoughts.
Fortunately, my eyes had adapted to the darkness, so my vision was much better than before. Although, I could still only the vague outlines of objects.
Well, the situation wasn't dire enough to contemplate committing suicide by biting off my tongue, anyway.
Let's go ahead and check things out first.
Since I was finally alone.
"Status window, equipment window, character information, status, inventory. Check journal damn."
Nothing worked.
Well, I didn't expect it to, anyway.
"Let's go."
One hand holding the shield and the other touching the wall, I moved forward.
Barely faster than crawling.
Well, wasn't that obvious?
Even if it was slower than crawling, I simply couldn't increase my speed any further.
It was dangerous here
"Aaaaaaah!"
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from my ankle.
It was the first time in my life that I'd felt this kind of pain, making my nerves go crazy. But I quickly figured out the cause.
What the hell was wrong?
Even without a battle log, the answer becme obvious very quickly.
The character stepped on a goblin trap.
Fuck, I'd stepped on a trap.
What was the flaw in my strategy?
There was no need to think too hard.
The shield gave me psychological stability, true.
But in return, it obscured much of my field of view.
If I'd buckled my shield to my belt and focused on observing the terrain, I might've noticed the trap.
What was the use of a shield if you couldn't see anything, anyway?
I had to focus on practicality, rather than peace of mind.
Shit.
"Fuck it hooo"
My hair was about turn white from the pain.
I wanted so very much to scream, right now.
But I persevered desperately.
I didn't know if screaming might make me feel better.
But I knew for sure that it'd make the situation worse.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
"Huuk, huuk, huuk"
I pressed my lips together and forced myself to breathe slowly.
What I needed to remember right now was not how badly hurt I was.
There is only one type of monster on the first floor that uses traps.
Goblin.
And there was definitely one lurking nearby.
""
I reflexively raised the shield to cover my head.
Then held my breath, focussing on my hearing.
There was no sound. It was so quiet as if time itself had stopped.
Wasn't there one?
I didn't know for certain.
Maybe. Maybe they'd just left their position for a while, or something like that. Even goblins had to shit sometime.
Fuck, I can't think that way.'
I crumpled up that creeping thread of hope like a ball and threw it out of my head.
There were two reasons.
First, there was a difference between thinking positively and being an optimistic idiot.
Second, what I needed right now was a negative mindset.
""
If you can't be sure, just assume the worst.
The goblin heard my scream.
It was hiding in the dark, waiting quietly for me to lose my strength.
That's why I didn't hear any sound.
Because, in the game
If there was a trap, there had to be a goblin.
"Whew"
I slowly exhaled the breath I'd been holding.
Anyway, it was all very quiet, so as long as you didn't get sloppy, you'd definitely notice others approaching.
First, let's do what I have to do.
" Huuup!"
Crouch down, pull open the trap with both hands and pull your feet out. Then, after tearing off the hem of the trousers, take off your shoe and apply strong pressure to the wounded area.
I decided to throw away the damaged shoe.
In fact, it was tough to even call it a shoe anymore.
Because what I'd been wearing were closer to sandals.
Damn barbarian bastards.
If I'd started off with even just some simple leather boots on, they wouldn't have needed to be thrown away after a single half-assed trap like this
What the fuck am I thinking?'
I found myself thinking unreasonable thoughts, and my heart went cold.
Let's not mourn the past anymore.
No matter how much you curse, the situation you're facing will not change.
In the end, it was my fault for not checking the terrain properly.
So stop whining, and check your body first.
Huh, this is really bad.'
I couldn't feel my right foot anymore.
There was a dull heat, but even that was getting faint.
"I know you're hiding, so come out."
I whispered quietly.
Still, there was no sign of life in the darkness.
So I slowly inched forward.
Step. Step.
One leg was sore, but the pain was not as great as I would expect. Probably because the trap had been soaked in some paralytic poison
I didn't know if I should call this a good thing.
"Come out, you bastard."
I didn't hesitate to provoke the enemy, and kept moving forward.
Because time wasn't on my side.
If you have to fight, the sooner you get to it, the better.
Injuries were one thing, but I couldn't ignore the possibility that he was waiting for reinforcements.
"Arent you coming?"
Of course, these might all just be my delusions, and there might be no goblins here in reality.
Then I'd be a fool who stepped on a trap by himself and followed that up with a full-fledged stand-up routine.
But so what?
Even so, I wanted to survive.
"Then how about you just stay there? I will go."
Speed up.
It was merely a little bit faster than crawling, but right now it felt like running a marathon at full sprint.
One step, then another.
As I was walking, my right foot started to throb.
"Sssspp, haa, haa"
Two possibilities.
Either the effect of the paralyzing poison had expired, or the pain has become severe enough that the poison was no longer enough to suppress it.
Come to think of it, neither one was a bad outcome for me.
If the effect was over, that was fine.
If I could feel the pain, that was because the nerves were undamaged.
No, why am I being so positive about this?'
Well, I didn't really want to think about it.
I didn't have the brainpower to spare.
" Your mother is a fucking goblin."
Words poured out without any brain-to-mouth filter.
Was it because I'd shed so much blood?
My brain felt parched, as if it'd been dried and pickled in alcohol.
"Your father is also a fucking goblin."
Of course, I kept spitting out words as soon as they came to mind, but my feet did not stop.
"So you are one too, you fucking goblin."
Then, there was a sound for the first time.
It was obviously a small sound, but it was very loud to my ears that'd been perked up in concentration.
Squelch
Finally, he showed his presence for the first time.
"What, couldn't stand your parents being cursed?"
Of course, I knew that wasn't the case.
It wasn't even a curse in the first place
The sound came from behind.
It would be more accurate to say that he was forced to make his move since I was getting farther and farther away.
I accelerated further.
The sound of his footsteps also accelerated behind me.
Squelch squelch squelch squelch
His footsteps sounded unusual.
Every step he took, there was the sound of something sticky pressing and sticking to a smooth surface.
Even though I knew goblins were less than 1m tall as per the setting, I felt a pressure as if a huge monster was chasing me.
To shake off my fear, I kept talking to him.
I was a barbarian, in the end.
If I could just get him into close combat range, there was no way I'd lose to a goblin.
"Dont just follow me, come have a go. You fucker."
For that reason, I continued to taunt him, but he just kept following me while maintaining a certain distance.
He didn't seem interested in hiding himself anymore.
"Gruck, gruck!"
It sounded close to a bestial howl, but I could feel it somehow.
"Grurururuck! Gruck!"
He was giggling, now. He was genuinely delighted to see his prey bleeding out and slowly dying. He was hoping I'd hear the sound and be terrified.
Smart bastard.
Okay, change of plans.
I stopped walking. Then I stumbled and fell to the floor.
Crack!
My forehead, which hit a rock, felt like it was going to split open, but I made no sound.
From now on, it was a battle of patience.
If he thought I was down for the count and approached me first, it'd be my win.
If I really went down before that happened, it'd be my loss.
"Gruck?"
I decided to believe in the toughness of this body that'd managed to walk about 300m with one foot hurt and insensate.
His footsteps sounded closer and closer.
Slow enough to make you yawn.
Despite the fact that his prey had fallen down as he'd expected, he was still suspicious.
Fucking crazy, why is this goblin so cautious?'
Swear words came to mind out of nowhere.
Goblins were the weakest mobs in the game. They used poison and installed traps, but apart from that, their combat power was poor.
But what about the goblin you actually encountered in reality?
Squelch
He wasn't an opponent who could be taken lightly by any metric. I realized why the village NPCs talked about the goblins' cleverness so much.
They were several times more intelligent than those barbarian bastards.
Squelch
The goblin stopped at a distance somewhere between 5m and 10m.
Why?
I was curious.
A dull shock transmitted from the shoulder.
Thump. Clatter.
What. Now this scumbag was pelting me with stones.
You aren't gonna throw them until I'm just a bloody mess, right?'
"Grurururuck! Gruck!"
Unlike what I feared, the goblin instead spat out a howl of joy.
When I didn't react to the stone at all, he thought I was dead.
Squelch squelch squelch squelch
He came over to me quickly.
I could feel his excitement from the beats of his footsteps, which were almost skipping.
I calmed my own excitement and counted our distance through the sound. And when I decided that he was close enough
"Fuck you!"
I jumped up and stretched out my hands towards him.
I'd judged that reaching out with my hands would be faster and have a longer effective range compared to picking up the shield and hitting him with it.
However, I soon had a gut feeling that the plan had gone awry.
Again, there were two reasons.
First of all, I was still about a step away from him.
And second, his movements were much more agile than expected.
"Gruck!"
The guy leaned back from the waist and stepped backwards.
I couldn't see him, but it felt like that.
I instinctively realized that I'd missed my chance.
Damn it, what now? I shook my head and prepared for the next plan.
But at that moment, my body moved by instinct.
"?"
It was truly a strange feeling.
It was still dark before my eyes.
But I intuitively knew where the goblin was going.
By the time I consciously realized it, my hand was already on track and moving towards him.
"Gruck?!"
I felt him being caught by my fingertips.
Wrist, ankle, neck it didn't matter.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
I screamed and slammed him to the floor. Crunch! There was the sound of something breaking. But I couldn't feel relieved, so I immediately climbed on top of him.
"Gr, gruck!"
Now things had changed.
"Now I'm up, and you're down. You piece of shit!"
I slugged him in the face like a madman.
There were times when I missed and hit the floor in my excitement, but this barbarian body was much stronger than I had imagined.
Instead of hurting my fists, the stone floor cracked and broke.
""
Soon, his movements ceased.
And
Swaaaaaaaa!
Dust scattered.
Dust that shined unusually.
I stopped my fists.
At some point, the goblin corpse lying on the floor had crumbled and started scattering into the air.
Really, this was nonsense.
"Haah, fuck, this same thing again?"
Please, I wish I could choose one or the other.
Was this actually a game, or just a similar reality?
I kept getting confused about which beat to go with.
You have defeated a goblin. EXP +1
Soon, the goblin's body disappeared without a trace.
Feeling frustrated for some unknown reason, I picked up a small stone that'd fallen on the spot.
You have acquired a grade 9 mana stone.
It wasn't strong, but there was a faint light shining from it.
It was a mana stone, the currency in [Dungeon and Stone].
How much was this worth? A memory soon came to mind.
"A piece of bread."
The average value of the mana stones spat out by goblins in the game.
Some laughter leaked out.
"Kahahahaha"
Was this the only thing I got from that fucking bastard?
All those complicated emotions became clearer as I calmed down.
Close to that feeling where you end up laughing after crying a lot.
"Kaha, kahahaha."
There's a labyrinth, and there're monsters.
A dead monster will disappear, leaving a drop item.
And in that city out there, all the various races live together.
Obviously, this is that kind of world.
But
There will be no more confusion.
-x-X-x-
Looking back, I was a pretty funny guy.
Although I always thought of life as boring, I never once considered suicide.
That feeling of boredom was just an emotion in the end, and to me, life was more precious than anything else.
In many ways, I simply found things not worth the candle.
That thought still persists.
That's why…
Crawling in the dark on three legs.
I know what you're thinking, but I'm actually being quite literal.
Currently, I am crawling on the floor with three legs, shuffling my completely shredded right foot.
If someone sees me now, I'm sure they'll think of an abandoned dog with a broken leg.
How do I know that?
'Because that's what I'm thinking right now.'
This sweetness came at the price of giving up my human dignity.
First of all, it doesn't hurt because you don't have to use your injured foot, and you can move faster than before.
Second of all, there is no way you'll step on another trap.
In return, my elbows and knees hurt, but just this much…
Is within the limits of what I can bear. I can endure.
What can't you do to survive?
I can even gobble up dog shit with a smile if that's what it'd take.
Well… if I take a bit of time to prepare my heart, it will definitely be possible.
'But what happened to that uncle?'
'Uncle' is just a word I assigned arbitrarily.
I don't know the person's gender, age, or name.
I'm just guessing by his way of speaking.
The image in my mind is that of a thiryish white guy with glasses, for some reason.
Or not.
「 [Bleeding] continues. 」
Anyway, what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Kadua's son Oreum? Did he die? Or, did he wake up again in his original body?
It's a question I've been holding on to since I opened my eyes.
Even if I intentionally try not to think about it, the worse things get, the more I think of him.
「 [Bleeding] continues. 」
It's a bit clearer now, the reason why humans believe in religion.
The reality is that it is too difficult to be alone.
When despair strikes, you need a place to turn your thoughts to. Just like I am doing right now.
「 [Bleeding] continues. 」
「 [Bleeding] continues. 」
「Warning: The character's health is below 5%. If not treated promptly, the character might die. 」
After that, I kept crawling while thinking about this and that.
It's faint, but I can feel the surroundings getting brighter.
This is a positive situation in many ways.
At least you're going in the right direction, and my hypothesis that the whole of the first floor couldn't be this dark is correct.
Let's just go somewhere bright.
Because there will be people there. Give them this mana stone and ask for help. Then somehow…
'That's some funny shit, you hare-brained idiot.'
As I was whispering words of encouragement to myself and grasping at imaginary carrots, my other self appeared.
'You idiot asshole, think practically. You're asking them to help you in exchange for a loaf of bread. Who knows if they'll just take the shield and the mana stone, and kill you.'
Is this guy me?
This is one smart bastard.
'What would you do if you met another goblin bastard before finding a human in the first place? Is that skull just for show or is there a brain inside? Huh?'
I can't tolerate any more insults.
'Well, then, what else am I going to do? I still have to continue. At least I'll be able to see the path ahead. Even if a goblin did pop out, wouldn't it be better than fighting here in the dark?'
'… True enough.'
My other self agrees, and my head is quiet again.
I kept crawling.
"Kahahahahaha…"
I'm going crazy.
No, I may have already gone crazy.
After all, I shed so much blood, right?
Since before, my consciousness kept dividing into two, then merging back again, and my thoughts have been slowing down.
Like some kind of a feedback loop.
A bit more of this, and I'm sure I'll never be able to open my eyes again.
"Kahahahahaha…"
I laughed out loud.
I really didn't have the energy to spare, but I still laughed.
At some point, the surroundings had become brighter.
In the distance, at the end of the passage, I could see a crystal shining brightly.
On top of that, I saw the figure of a man standing in front with a torch.
I didn't mistake a goblin for a human.
Indubitably, it was a human form.
"He… lp…"
I wanted to shout something, but my voice wasn't working.
I crawled desperately, blinking my eyes hard.
What is this?
The human form came closer, as if teleporting.
Surprised by that fact, I blinked again.
「 [Bleeding] continues. 」
He was closer this time.
About five or six people were standing in my front.
Was I seeing things? I closed my eyes again and opened them.
「 Achievement complete 」
「 Condition: Health drops to 2% or less. 」
「 Reward: Permanently increases Mind by +1. 」
Then I saw a blond man with his knees bent.
We were nose to nose as our eyes met, but he broke our gaze after only a curious look and observed the surroundings without asking anything.
Rather than listening to another, he was making a judgment based on his own experience and intuition.
As a veteran, he quickly came to a conclusion.
"You're a rookie."
Fuck, if you understand then help me, you bastard.
As you can see, I'm a fucking barbarian with just a shield, and all I have is a goblin mana stone to exchange for help with this shredded leg.
I'll give you all of this if you want. So…
"Amazing. How did a newbie manage to get here faster than us?"
I quickly opened my mouth to answer. But what came out was a sound similar to a cough or a spit.
"Grrreu…"
No, to be honest, it sounded more like a goblin, but…
It was enough to let them know that I was in a situation where I couldn't answer.
Soon, the blond asked a colleague.
"Priest Ersina. Could you please treat this kid?"
Priest? Are you saying there's a priest in your party?
I stared at the side with the fervent eyes of a man seeing a miracle. And indeed, there was a priestess in a white robe.
The priestess, who made eye contact with me, spoke bluntly through her beautiful lips –
"I will decline."
Eh? What?
"I see. All right then."
What all right? Why are you agreeing?
This is horrible. Fuck, I don't know why I'm being treated like this even after I finally reached here.
And during such a moment when the tantrums in my heart were swelling up –
"Parthran, may I have a potion?"
"Isn't that for when you can't use your divine power?"
"You have a lot of them anyway. I will pay for it separately after we exit."
"Sheesh."
A man with a sword at his waist clicked his tongue and pulled out a potion from his bag, throwing it.
My heart sank seeing my sole lifeline being treated so casually.
Clink.
Fortunately, the blond caught the potion properly.
"It's not as good as divine power, so this will hurt a bit."
The blond opened the stopper and sprinkled half the bottle's contents on my wound, and poured the other half directly into my mouth.
Quickly, I felt an unbearable wave of pain.
Was this the sensation of all the pain unconsciously accumulated in the body breaking out at once?
「The body regenerates rapidly due to the recovery (medium) effect. 」
It felt as if my whole body was melting.
This was the reason why potions could not be used mid-battle in the game.
I thought it was just something prohibited by the system, but it turned out that it reflected the ground reality very well.
Shit.
"Heuk, heuk, heuk, heuk…"
How many minutes had passed?
The pain gradually subsided, and I began to feel better.
"Now, can you tell me, barbarian? How did a rookie like you get here before us? If you know a new passage, I want to buy the information."
Indeed, was that his purpose?
I didn't feel bad. Rather, it was reassuring to think that he treated me well because he had a purpose.
There is nothing more sinister than good intentions without any concrete cause behind them.
Still, I felt a little bit sorry for him.
I didn't know any secret passages.
"… I was here as soon as I entered the labyrinth."
I honestly told them my circumstances.
The blond tilted his head and then nodded with an understanding expression.
"Surely… I've read it in a book. Occasionally, there are cases of dimensional instability."
My heart was pounding heavily.
I asked as if I might have misheard.
"You're seeing this for the first time…?"
I couldn't believe it at all.
Hey, there's a priest in the party, and there's even a wizard. It means that they are decent enough, at least in the middle class.
But for the first time?
"Yeah, in the book, it's a case that might happen once a century. That somebody falls in the outermost zone like this."
Oh, I see. It's something that might happen once a century at the most. And that's what I experienced when I first entered the labyrinth.
Now I see why the other barbarians didn't carry any torches.
Who would worry about being struck by lightning just because it's raining?
"Looking at it, this seems like an unprecedented experience, but it must have been a disaster to go through such a rare event."
The blond looked at me with a sad gaze.
"It wasn't the information I wanted, but it was interesting nonetheless. Let's just go and forget about the value of the potion."
Although his tone was a bit unfortunate, he seemed to be basically a good guy.
"Oh, and remember to take the shield over there."
I looked where the blond was pointing and saw a shield that had fallen to the floor. The distance was about 20m. I thought I'd tied it properly at my waist, but it seemed to have fallen off.
"Then let's go."
They passed me by without even letting me say thank you.
In the labyrinth, time is money, so it wasn't hard to understand.
No, it was close to a miracle just to have spent so much time for me in the first place.
I stared at the place they left for a moment, then quickly ran and picked up the shield fallen on the floor.
It was definitely great to have survived…
Still, something felt odd.
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 1
Body: 25 / Mind: 36 (New +1) / Abilities: 1
Item Level: 24
Combat Index: 68 (New +1)
"He was lucky, that barbarian."
"Well, isn't it a bit much to call that luck? Going through something like that your first time…"
As the blond answered with a vague smile, the swordsman snorted.
"Even without that, things would have been the same for someone who stepped on a goblin trap. He was lucky to meet us in the first place."
"He was lucky to meet Drusz, not you. You didn't even want to use the potion, did you?"
When the female archer, who had been listening quietly till now, intervened, the swordsman shrugged.
"Yeah, because you'll find these guys all over the place. They don't survive long anyway. Our priest must have thought the same, right?"
The priestess smiled bitterly and did not answer, and instead, the female archer spoke angrily.
"Lady Ersina would have treated him if it weren't for the temple's rules. No, without the potion, she might have just broken the rules. Do you think that everyone is like you?"
"Well, I don't know about that. I see a lot of people who're very different inside and outside."
"… Parthran, you need to be more like Drusz, even if just a little bit."
"For example, being considerate before asking about the secret passage?"
"Yes. I've heard that barbarians don't like the help of others. Maybe that's why he was so considerate upfront."
"… Hey, don't you think you're talking me up too much?"
As the topic turned to him, the blond smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
But he also did not deny the accusation.
"Ah, if you want to take the shortcut, you have to change directions here."
"Really, it's nice to have a guide in the party."
"Lady Ersina! Usually, the guides only know the direction to the portal. It's just that Drusz is great. He's memorized all the landmarks on the first floor."
The swordsman shook his head, looking at the female archer.
"But where the hell does this trail of blood end? Haven't we already walked quite a bit?"
"Yeah. I guess you're wrong about that guy just being lucky. What kind of mental strength do you need to keep crawling for a distance like this?"
"Huh, what big deal is that… Yeah, it should be around here."
The party, that had been following the bloodstains till now, turned to a shortcut in the middle. And after about 15 minutes, they reached their destination.
"Looks like we were the first to arrive on this route. There's a benefit to hurrying. Let's get moving."
When the blond placed his hand on the monolith placed in front of the dead end, an intense beam of light burst out and took the shape of a sphere.
It was a portal leading to the second floor.
"Wait."
As everyone was about to throw themselves into the portal, the female archer stopped the party.
"Isn't that what the barbarian must've been wearing earlier?"
"What?"
The party, looking at the direction the female archer was pointing, was momentarily speechless.
In the half-darkness under the light emitted by the portal, a blood-stained trap and a damaged sandal could be seen placed in a pile.
"… That should be it."
The wizard made an interested expression, then created a new sphere of light and moved it over the passage.
Whoooooosh –!
The bloodstains that started from the trap continued along the curved passageway.
No matter how much you move the sphere of light, you can't even fathom its end from this place.
There was a moment of silence.
"… Hey, Drusz. How far is it from here to where we met him before?"
"… If there are no shortcuts, likely about 15 km."
"Heh heh heh, that body is like a monster. To keep crawling such a long distance alone in this darkness."
The wizard just laughed, as if in surprise.
However, the swordsman next to him could not do that.
"… This is crazy."
He felt it was a matter of the mind, not the body. He thought.
'… How many hours must he have crawled in that situation? When you're not even sure you'll be able to meet someone and get help?'
He didn't know.
But what is certain is, that barbarian was still crawling when they discovered him. He continued to move his arms and legs, almost unconsciously.
And then?
Unable to speak properly, he'd held out his hand.
He had been holding a small mana stone in his hand.
At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now I think I know what that action meant.
'I'm going to give you this, so help me.'
Other than that, I have nothing to offer in return.
So, while the barbarian crawled that long distance, he had kept holding the mana stone tightly in his hand. So that if he met someone by any chance, he could show it to them right away.
Soon, the man came to a decision.
"… I must take back what I said earlier."
Just lucky?
Just another rookie who'll die early?
How could that be?
He knew from long experience.
"Drusz, what was that barbarian's name earlier?"
That kind of madman won't die so easily.
No matter how hard or hopeless his circumstances may be.
Because he will never see death as an escape from his torment.
-x-X-x-
[Dungeon and Stone] is an unusual game.
Although fellow NPCs are essential to making progress in the game, you should never trust them.
Especially if it's a newcomer you've just met.
I'm walking through a cave.
Wobble.
My gait is unbalanced, because I just have the one shoe.
Nevertheless, I feel happy.
This discomfort I feel now is not something I could have felt when I'd been crawling on three legs.
I have regained my human dignity.
Who knows how long that'll last.
"Hoo…"
Advance, using the shield to reasonably protect your upper body.
No need to keep your eyes peeled and survey every inch of the floor.
Because there is light here.
The light emitted by the crystals embedded in the walls and the ceiling brightens the surroundings.
Compared to crawling through the darkness as you bleed out, it's like a wonderous dream.
To tell the truth, being able to see ahead feels like a blessing from God.
A benediction, to help me exterminate these wicked goblin bastards.
"Waaaargh!"
"Gruck?!"
Surprised by my cry, a goblin jumps out from where he'd taken cover behind a rock.
As I'd already roughly grasped his hiding place, I used my skill as if I'd been waiting for this moment.
"Smash! You son of a bitch! "
Smash is a skill with decent attack power that doesn't consume MP.
FYI, I created it just now.
Bump–!
The goblin collided with my shield mid-leap and fell to the ground. I rapidly closed the distance and stomped my foot on his ribs.
"Ga, gruck?!"
Don't try those pitiful eyes on me.
I know how crafty and evil you bastards are.
"Ga, gruck!"
Oh, you're different?
Then you should complain to your friend who's gone ahead. Because that bastard made me like this.
Crunch –!
I slam the shield's edge down on goblin's face, as hard as I can.
This one is different from smash, which only hits an enemy in front by swinging or pushing the shield.
This one is called… shield ultimate.
Likewise, created just now.
Swaaaaaaaa–!
Soon, the goblin, who died cleanly, dissolved into motes of light.
Signifying that evil had diminished, and the world had become a little more beautiful.
I picked up the mana stone that dropped as a reward, and roughly stuffed it into my pocket.
This one was the tenth since I entered the labyrinth.
"Hooo, these fucking bastards."
After barely surviving a life-and-death ordeal, I kept encountering goblins.
I was nervous at first, but I soon realized.
At places that boasted the safety of light, the goblins weren't a threat to me at all.
They weren't as smart as I had thought.
If you have trouble believing that, just look at that randomly installed trap over there.
'Couldn't you at least dig up some soil to cover it? Do you have a brain or not? If you just leave it openly on the road, who the hell is going to step on it?'
The goblin traps were so crude that they could be noticed even from afar. Even if you tried to pass by one without triggering it, most times the goblins would just jump out and attack you first.
Probably what happened with that bastard following me grinning like a pervert, only happened because I actually stepped on a trap like an idiot…
Gradually, after grasping their habits, the battles became easier.
First of all, their main weapon was a short dagger, and their physical strength was only at the level of a child in the upper grades of an elementary school.
In contrast, I was now a muscular barbarian with a physique that towered above them at around 2m. In an all-out fight, a goblin could be subdued in about 3 seconds.
As a result, the only thing I had to be careful of was a surprise attack, but they even helpfully pointed out the ambush locations via those shoddy traps…
'Hah, being a Goblin Slayer[1] isn't bad either, right?'
I immediately slapped myself hard on the cheek.
Slap –!
I got so caught up in the act that it actually hurt.
… What had I been thinking just now?
This is obviously a sign of madness.
If not for that, there would be no way I could giggle while thinking such pathetic thoughts.
Don't be proud of killing a few measly goblins.
It hasn't even been two hours since you recovered from the verge of death, and none of your new problems have been solved.
"Man, I'm hungry…"
First, the problem of food.
The shield wasn't the only thing I shed as I crawled through that darkness.
About five days' worth of food was lost due to a hole in the food bag the chieftain gave me.
Of course, I couldn't wander back into the dark to find it.
This was not the fairy-tale of Hansel and Gretel.
Crunch, crunch.
I took out a piece of bread from my pocket and ate it.
The bread was hard and dry for better preservation, but as I wet it gently with saliva, I could feel the sweetness of carbohydrates on my tongue.
Why was it so delicious?
As if my eating habits had changed after possessing this barbarian's body.
The piece of bread the size of my palm disappeared in a few bites.
I sighed, feeling a strange taste of regretful bitterness in my mouth.
Thirst.
This was the second problem.
… Fuck, where am I supposed to get any water?
「You killed a goblin.」
「You killed a goblin.」
「You killed a goblin.」
「You killed a goblin.」
「Warning: You are dehydrated. Please find a source of drinking water…」
[Dungeon & Stone] had a satiety system.
Of course, it activated only inside the labyrinth, and there was no need to carry extra drinking water because a meal was enough to fill you up.
But this was not the game.
To be honest, it was closer to another world that was just very similar to the game I knew.
'The game was hardcore already, but now that this is a reality, the difficulty has become crazy.'
I wasn't too worried, though.
It's true that water is a more important resource than food, but even so, the tribe chief hadn't provided us any water.
Obviously, it should be possible to find enough for self-sufficiency within the labyrinth.
It didn't take long to actually find it.
"Smash!"
After hours of slaying goblins while wandering around in a cave as complicated as an ant maze.
Chasing after the sound of dripping water, I found a small pond.
An adventurer was already squatting there, drinking. Excluding the party earlier, this was actually my first meeting somebody in the labyrinth…
"…"
There was no conversation.
He saw me coming from afar and left without a word, and I didn't even bother to approach and talk to him.
All the other adventurers I saw afterwards were the same, too. As soon as anybody saw me, they ran away.
As in the game, there seemed to be an unwritten rule among the adventurers to avoid coming into contact with each other.
Well, maybe they just didn't want to get involved with a barbarian so completely drenched in blood.
Anyway, while catching goblins, I just kept eating bread when I was hungry and drinking water when I was thirsty, and time flew by.
"One, two, three, four, five, six…"
I counted my loot so far, and it was a total of forty-four mana stones.
With a straightforward conversion rate, it was forty-four pieces of bread.
Thinking back on the time I had been teetering on the brink of death, it was truly a thrilling journey so far. But nothing is free in this world.
In return, I received a bone deep exhaustion.
This was my third problem.
'I'm getting sleepy…'
Since you were born as a living creature, you must periodically sleep.
Even a high-spec barbarian like me is no different.
So, how do you sleep in a labyrinth teeming with monsters?
There are two ways.
First. Entrust your life to the heavens and just take a nap.
Second. Find a teammate so you can protect each other.
I had already decided which option I would choose.
Entrusting your life to the heavens? In my experience, the heavens weren't very dependable. At least, in my case, they really weren't.
'Let's find a colleague.'
Of course, that didn't mean establishing a party formally.
Everyone was in the same tiring situation right now, so I planned to find somebody suitable and form a temporary cooperative relationship.
In fact, even in the game, most of the nights when my character got tired passed like that.
Thump, thump.
After making my decision, I wandered through the labyrinth focusing on movement rather than battle. It was just that, unlike before, I could now see groups of people everywhere.
Thump, thump.
Groups of adventurers in twos or threes were resting, taking turns amongst each other to keep watch.
Based on the appearance and demeanour, I found the courage to initiate contact with a few groups, but all of them ended up in refusal.
"I'm sorry, but we've got all the people we need."
So they said, but they frowned and covered their noses at my approach every time, so the reason was quite clear.
… Motherfuckers.
Just how clean do you think you guys are?
While I was venting inside my mind, someone spoke to me.
"Hey."
He was a human uncle who looked to be in his thirties.
About 180 cm tall.
He gave off a pretty nice and warm-hearted impression, but in his hand was a hammer covered in goblin blood.
The uncle smiled and asked me.
"Are you looking for a night friend?"
What the fuck is this bastard saying?
As I instinctively took a step back, the uncle tilted his head.
"Wasn't that what you were looking for? I thought I could trust my back to you and rest comfortably because you were a barbarian, but unfortunately not, huh."
Say that earlier, mister…
It seemed that 'night friend' was a slang for the temporary cooperative relationship I was talking about.
The in-game notation was 'Night Companion'.
I interpreted it as a comrade at night, but actually hearing it here, it sounded quite perverted.
"… No. I am looking for a night friend."
"Is that so? I'm lucky. Then will you come with me?"
"I will."
So, we became friends for one night.
"My name is Hans."
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"Then can I call you Bjorn?"
The man seemed to have a lot of experience, since he naturally finished the initial introductions and led the conversation from there.
"Three night friends are the best, but looking for another now seems like a waste of stamina. Bjorn, what do you think?"
To put it simply, it sounds like you're talking about sleeping together.
Just what exactly are you thinking about? I don't know if it's because of the snarky tone, but I feel attacked, I tell you.
"Good."
"Great. If someone asks you to join us, then we should discuss with each other and decide whether to accept or not."
After a brief discussion, we decided to spend the first night together.
However, the problem was…
"Then let's decide the order by playing rock-paper-scissors."
Rock, paper, scissors seemed to be the rule of thumb here as well.
Fuck, I'm not good at this…
Then, as expected, I was the one out of luck.
"Hmm, for some reason I won."
Screw you.
"Then, I will ask you again. If a goblin or another adventurer approaches, wake me up first. Do you understand?"
"… I get it."
"Come on then, take this."
The man lent me a watch with the numbers 0 to 23 on the dial, and was kind enough to teach me how to use it.
"When the short hour hand comes here, you can wake me up."
Perhaps this was how the people here perceived the barbarians.
"You can't break it. It's expensive."
"… I get it."
Well, he was just being strict.
Soon, the uncle took out a blanket, covered himself with it, and lay down on the floor with the backpack as a pillow. And very soon, he fell asleep.
Is it time yet? That looks so comfortable.
Would you please lend me those if I ask you when it's my turn?
"Hooo…"
By the way, it was terribly boring.
The goblin bastards were nowhere to be seen, and there were no other adventurers trying to pass through the passage either. Was it because everyone was finding a night friend to take a break?
As the silence continued, I kept getting sleepy.
Still, time passed quickly as I was leaning against the wall and thinking about the future.
"Hans, get up."
"… Did anything happen?"
"No."
"Right. Thanks for your hard work. Then give me back the watch and go rest. I'll wake you up in two hours."
Without even giving me time to ask for a loan, the uncle packed the blanket in his backpack and stood up.
Tsk.
I erased my regrets and leaned against the wall at my back.
And pretended to nod off.
Naturally –
No matter how kind and intelligent this man seemed, and even if he had no intention of harming me –
How can I trust a bastard I've met for the first time?