Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Give and Take (1) - Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 5: Give and Take (1)

Looking back, I had always been a weird person. Even though I'd always thought life was boring, I'd never once considered killing myself. Boredom was, after all, just an emotion. And to me, life was more precious than anything else. In many ways, death wasn't worthwhile to me. That thought still stuck with me.

That was why...

***

I was crawling through the dark on three limbs. You may be wondering what that meant, but it was exactly what it sounded like. I was crawling on the floor on my arms and left leg, dragging my completely shredded right foot behind me. If anyone saw me in that moment, I was sure they'd be reminded of a stray dog with a broken leg. How did I know that? Because that was what I was thinking ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then.

The reward for giving up human dignity was sweet. First of all, I was no longer in pain because I didn't have to use my injured foot anymore, and I was also moving faster than before. Most importantly, I didn't have to worry about stepping on a trap. The flip side was that my elbows and knees were sore, but this... it was bearable. I could endure it. What wouldn't you do to survive? I would even eat dog poo with a smile. Or, well... If I had enough time to prepare myself to do it, it was a definite possibility.

But what happened to that guy? The other player at the ceremony?

"Guy" was just what I was calling them. I didn't know their gender, age, or even name. I was just guessing based on the way they spoke. I had a feeling he had to be a white man in his thirties with glasses. Or not.

[You are still bleeding.]

Anyway, what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Kadua's son, Oreum? Did he die? Or did he wake back up in his original body?

That was a question that I had had ever since I opened my eyes in this place. Even if I intentionally tried not to think about it, the worse things started to get, the more I thought of that guy.

[You are still bleeding.]

I could now understand why people turned to religion. Life was much too difficult to deal with alone. When disaster struck, you needed a place to turn to. Especially in situations like the one I was in right now.

[You are still bleeding.]

[WARNING! Your health has fallen below 5%. You may die if your injury is not treated soon.]

Man, I had managed to come pretty far while I was busy thinking. It was a subtle difference, but I could tell that my surroundings were getting brighter. This was a positive thing in many ways.

At least I'd headed in the right direction, and my hypothesis that the entire first floor couldn't all be completely dark was correct. I had to get somewhere bright, because there would be people there. I could give them this mana stone in exchange for help. Then somehow...

Don't kid yourself.

I was whispering positive words to myself when my other side reared its head.

Hey buddy, they're already going to be busy. You think they'll help you for one loaf of bread? They'll probably steal your mana stone and shield, and then kill you.

Maybe it was because the voice was mine, but the bastard was smart.

And what are you going to do if you run into a goblin before a human? Are you brain-dead? Huh?

I refused to tolerate any further insults.

Well, then what the hell am I supposed to do? I still have to keep going. At least I'll be able to kind of see over there. Wouldn't that be better than fighting a goblin over here?

...That's true.

My other self agreed, and my head was quiet again. I kept crawling.

"Heh heh..."

I was going crazy. No, I might have already gone crazy. After all, I had lost a lot of blood, hadn't I? Just a second ago, my personality split in two, then merged again, and then shut down completely before reverting. It was a kind of virtuous cycle. If my mind shut down one more time, I wasn't sure I would be able to open my eyes again after.

"Heh heh heh..."

I laughed out loud. I didn't have the energy to, but I still laughed. At some point, my surroundings became lighter. In the distance, at the end of the passage, I could see a crystal shining brightly. More importantly, I could see the form of a backlit man standing in front of it. It wasn't a goblin. That was definitely a person.

"H...help..."

I wanted to shout, but I couldn't produce a sound. I crawled forward desperately, my eyes closing and opening. Then... oh? The human form looked closer now, almost as if it had teleported. Surprised by that, I closed my eyes and opened them again.

[You are still bleeding.]

This time it was even closer. About five or six people were now standing in front of me. Was this real? I closed my eyes again and reopened them.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[Condition: HP drops below 2% at any point.]

[Reward: your Spirit stat is permanently increased by +1.]

Then, I saw a blond man bend down on his knees. He was right in front of me, but studied me and my surroundings without asking me any questions. Rather than listening to someone else's opinions, he was making his judgments based on his own experiences and intuition. And like a veteran, he quickly came to a conclusion.

"You're a newbie."

Fuck, so help me, you bastard. As you can see, I'm an amateur barbarian with only a shield, and all I have to offer in exchange for a leg is a goblin mana stone. I'll give you all of this if you want it. So...

"This is strange. How did a newbie get here faster than us?"

I quickly opened my mouth. But what came out was a sound similar to a gurgle.

"Grr..."

To be honest, it sounded more like that goblin than human speech, but... it was enough to let him know that I was not in any condition to answer. After a moment, the blonde asked his comrade, "Priestess Ersina, could you heal this man?"

Priestess? Are you saying that there is a healer in their team?

I looked at the person next to him with wide eyes, like I was witnessing a miracle. There was indeed a priestess in white robes right there. The priestess, who now made eye contact with me, used her beautiful lips to bluntly reply:

"I refuse."

Huh? What did you say?

"I see. Understood."

Why are you just accepting that?

I wanted to cry.

Fuck, I didn't know why I had been brought into this world if I was just going to be treated like this.

Then, right when my temper started to flare to life in my chest...

"Patzran, will you hand me a potion?"

"I was keeping it handy for when I can't use divine magic."

"You have a lot anyway. I will pay for it when we get out."

...That's true.

My other self agreed, and my head was quiet again. I kept crawling.

"Heh heh..."

I was going crazy. No, I might have already gone crazy. After all, I had lost a lot of blood, hadn't I? Just a second ago, my personality split in two, then merged again, and then shut down completely before reverting. It was a kind of virtuous cycle. If my mind shut down one more time, I wasn't sure I would be able to open my eyes again after.

"Heh heh heh..."

I laughed out loud. I didn't have the energy to, but I still laughed. At some point, my surroundings became lighter. In the distance, at the end of the passage, I could see a crystal shining brightly. More importantly, I could see the form of a backlit man standing in front of it. It wasn't a goblin. That was definitely a person.

"H...help..."

I wanted to shout, but I couldn't produce a sound. I crawled forward desperately, my eyes closing and opening. Then... oh? The human form looked closer now, almost as if it had teleported. Surprised by that, I closed my eyes and opened them again.

[You are still bleeding.]

This time it was even closer. About five or six people were now standing in front of me. Was this real? I closed my eyes again and reopened them.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[Condition: HP drops below 2% at any point.]

[Reward: your Spirit stat is permanently increased by +1.]

Then, I saw a blond man bend down on his knees. He was right in front of me, but studied me and my surroundings without asking me any questions. Rather than listening to someone else's opinions, he was making his judgments based on his own experiences and intuition. And like a veteran, he quickly came to a conclusion.

"You're a newbie."

Fuck, so help me, you bastard. As you can see, I'm an amateur barbarian with only a shield, and all I have to offer in exchange for a leg is a goblin mana stone. I'll give you all of this if you want it. So...

"This is strange. How did a newbie get here faster than us?"

I quickly opened my mouth. But what came out was a sound similar to a gurgle.

"Grr..."

To be honest, it sounded more like that goblin than human speech, but... it was enough to let him know that I was not in any condition to answer. After a moment, the blonde asked his comrade, "Priestess Ersina, could you heal this man?"

Priestess? Are you saying that there is a healer in their team?

I looked at the person next to him with wide eyes, like I was witnessing a miracle. There was indeed a priestess in white robes right there. The priestess, who now made eye contact with me, used her beautiful lips to bluntly reply:

"I refuse."

Huh? What did you say?

"I see. Understood."

Why are you just accepting that?

I wanted to cry.

Fuck, I didn't know why I had been brought into this world if I was just going to be treated like this.

Then, right when my temper started to flare to life in my chest...

"Patzran, will you hand me a potion?"

"I was keeping it handy for when I can't use divine magic."

"You have a lot anyway. I will pay for it when we get out."

"Tsk."

Just then, a man with a sword on his waist clicked his tongue and tossed a potion from his bag forward. My heart sank as I realized my life depended on that.

Fortunately, the blond deftly caught the potion.

"It's not divine magic, so this will hurt a little."

The blond opened the stopper and poured half of it on the wounded area before pouring the other half directly into my mouth. Before long, I felt an unbearable pain. It felt like all of the pain that I had accumulated was now rearing its head all at once.

[Your health is rapidly regenerating due to the Recovery (Medium) effect.]

It felt like my whole body was melting. This must have been why potions could not be used during battle in the game. I thought it was just blocked by the system for some random reason, but it turned out that the game had just been reflecting reality extremely accurately. I panted.

God damn it. How many minutes have passed?

The pain gradually subsided, and I came to my senses.

"Now, tell me, barbarian. How did a newbie like you get here before us? If you know of a new passage, I want to buy that information from you."

So that had been his angle this whole time? Not that I minded. Rather, I felt reassured by the thought that he had helped me for a reason. There was nothing more sinister than good intentions without a clear motive. Still, it was unfortunate. I didn't know about any secret passages.

"...I was transported here as soon as I entered the labyrinth," I told him honestly.

The blond tilted his head and then nodded in understanding.

"I've definitely read about that in a book once. Occasionally, dimensional instability can cause that to happen. But this is the first time I've seen it in person."

My heart was pounding heavily. I asked for clarification as I had misheard him.

"The first time... you've seen it?"

I couldn't believe it. I mean, this team had a priestess and a mage. That meant that they were legit adventurers who were active and at least mid-level. But, the first time?

"Yeah, the book described it as a once-in-a-century phenomenon. Spawning so far in the outermost section of the labyrinth, that is."

Oh, I see. It was something that happened once in a hundred years or so. And this had happened to me during my first time in a labyrinth. Now I could see why the other barbarians hadn't bothered carrying torches. Nobody worried about getting struck by lightning just because it was raining.

"It seems like it's your first time here. It must have been hell to go through something so rare." The blond gave me a pitying look. "That wasn't the information I wanted, but it was interesting information, nonetheless. Don't worry about the cost of the potion and be on your way."

Although his tone was a bit douchey, he seemed to be a good guy.

"Oh, and don't forget your shield back there."

I looked where the blond was pointing and saw a shield on the floor. The distance was about twenty yards. I thought I had tied it securely to my waist, but it seemed to have fallen off.

"We'll be on our way, then."

They passed me by before I could even say thank you. In the labyrinth, time was money, so I could understand. The fact that they had wasted so much time on me in the first place was a miracle. I stared at the place where they had been standing for a moment, then quickly ran and picked up the shield that had fallen to the floor. It was definitely nice to have survived...

"Tsk."

Just then, a man with a sword on his waist clicked his tongue and tossed a potion from his bag forward. My heart sank as I realized my life depended on that.

Fortunately, the blond deftly caught the potion.

"It's not divine magic, so this will hurt a little."

The blond opened the stopper and poured half of it on the wounded area before pouring the other half directly into my mouth. Before long, I felt an unbearable pain. It felt like all of the pain that I had accumulated was now rearing its head all at once.

[Your health is rapidly regenerating due to the Recovery (Medium) effect.]

It felt like my whole body was melting. This must have been why potions could not be used during battle in the game. I thought it was just blocked by the system for some random reason, but it turned out that the game had just been reflecting reality extremely accurately. I panted.

God damn it. How many minutes have passed?

The pain gradually subsided, and I came to my senses.

"Now, tell me, barbarian. How did a newbie like you get here before us? If you know of a new passage, I want to buy that information from you."

So that had been his angle this whole time? Not that I minded. Rather, I felt reassured by the thought that he had helped me for a reason. There was nothing more sinister than good intentions without a clear motive. Still, it was unfortunate. I didn't know about any secret passages.

"...I was transported here as soon as I entered the labyrinth," I told him honestly.

The blond tilted his head and then nodded in understanding.

"I've definitely read about that in a book once. Occasionally, dimensional instability can cause that to happen. But this is the first time I've seen it in person."

My heart was pounding heavily. I asked for clarification as I had misheard him.

"The first time... you've seen it?"

I couldn't believe it. I mean, this team had a priestess and a mage. That meant that they were legit adventurers who were active and at least mid-level. But, the first time?

"Yeah, the book described it as a once-in-a-century phenomenon. Spawning so far in the outermost section of the labyrinth, that is."

Oh, I see. It was something that happened once in a hundred years or so. And this had happened to me during my first time in a labyrinth. Now I could see why the other barbarians hadn't bothered carrying torches. Nobody worried about getting struck by lightning just because it was raining.

"It seems like it's your first time here. It must have been hell to go through something so rare." The blond gave me a pitying look. "That wasn't the information I wanted, but it was interesting information, nonetheless. Don't worry about the cost of the potion and be on your way."

Although his tone was a bit douchey, he seemed to be a good guy.

"Oh, and don't forget your shield back there."

I looked where the blond was pointing and saw a shield on the floor. The distance was about twenty yards. I thought I had tied it securely to my waist, but it seemed to have fallen off.

"We'll be on our way, then."

They passed me by before I could even say thank you. In the labyrinth, time was money, so I could understand. The fact that they had wasted so much time on me in the first place was a miracle. I stared at the place where they had been standing for a moment, then quickly ran and picked up the shield that had fallen to the floor. It was definitely nice to have survived...

But something felt strange.

***

[Bjorn Yandel

Level: 1

Physique: 25

Spirit: 36 (New +1)

Special Ability: 1

Item Level: 24

General Combat Power: 68 (New +1)]

***

"That barbarian, he's very lucky."

"Well, I wouldn't call that luck. To go through something like that on his first adventure..." the blond answered with a placid smile.

The male swordmaster snorted. "An idiot who steps on a goblin trap would have met with some other horrible fate somewhere else. He was lucky that he ran into us."

"Lucky he ran into Drous, to be exact. Not us. You didn't even want to use your potion, did you?"

When the female archer, who had been listening quietly, interrupted, the swordmaster shrugged.

"Because there are tons of guys like that out here. They won't live long anyway. Surely our priestess must have had the same thought?"

The priestess smiled bitterly but did not answer, and instead, the female archer fired back.

‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Priestess Ersina would have treated him if it weren't for the laws of the temple. No, if not for the potion, she might have broken the laws herself. Do you think that everyone is like you?"

"Well, who knows? I've seen a lot of two-faced people in my life."

"...Patzran, you need to have better manners like Drous."

"Like how he was considerate enough to ask the barbarian if he knew about a secret passage?"

"Yes. I've heard that barbarians don't accept help from others. That's probably why he was being so considerate."

"Hey, I think you're flattering me too much."

As he became the topic of conversation, the blond smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. But he also did not deny being considerate.

"Ah, if you want to take the shortcut, you have to turn here."

"It's quite nice to have a wayfinder in the team," said the priestess.

"Priestess Ersina! Wayfinders usually only know the direction a portal is in. Drous isn't like the others at all. He memorized all the landmarks on the first floor," said the archer.

The male swordmaster glanced at the female archer and shook his head.

"How far does that bloodstain go? Haven't we already walked quite a bit?" he asked.

"I am not sure. But judging by the resilience that man must have had to crawl such a long distance, I think you're wrong to say he was just lucky."

"Hmph, like this is a big deal... I'm sure it ends somewhere around here."

The team followed the bloodstains and then turned onto a shortcut midway. And then, after about fifteen minutes, they reached their destination.

"It seems that we are the first to use this route. Good thing we rushed here. Let's get to work."

When the blond placed his hand on the tombstone that could be found in 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."

Just as everyone was about to throw themselves into the portal, the female archer stopped the team.

"Isn't that what the barbarian was wearing on his foot earlier?"

"What?"

The team looked in the direction the female archer was pointing and fell silent for a moment. In the darkness, made visible by the light emitted by the portal, a blood-stained trap and an unfamiliar sandal had been tossed to the side.

"...It seems like it."

The mage, curious, created a new sphere of light and moved it through the passage.

Whooom—!

The bloodstains that began at the trap continued along the curved passageway. No matter how far they moved the sphere of light, they couldn't see the end of the passageway. There was a moment of silence.

"...Hey, Drous, how long does it take to get from here to where we were earlier?" asked the mage.

"...Assuming no shortcuts are used, about nine miles."

"Hahaha, that beast! To crawl that distance alone in this darkness."

The mage chortled in surprise. The male swordmaster next to him, however, could not.

"He's out of his mind..."

He felt that this was a matter of willpower, not the body. He tried to think.

How many hours would I have been able to crawl if I were in that situation? When I couldn't even be sure I'd ever come across another human?

He had no way of knowing. But he was certain that the barbarian had still been crawling even when they had first discovered him. Even when he had been practically unconscious, he had continued to move his arms and legs. What had happened after that? Unable to speak properly, he had held out a small mana stone in his hand. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it, but he was beginning to understand what that gesture meant now.

He was probably asking for help in exchange for the stone.

Other than that, the barbarian had had nothing to offer in return. So, the entire time he had been crawling this long distance, he had clutched that mana stone tightly in his hand just in case he came across someone. That way, he could show it to them right away.

He soon came to a decision.

"...Forget what I said earlier."

Just lucky?

Not possible. He knew that from experience.

"Drous, what was that barbarian's name?"

A lunatic ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that wasn't the type to die easily. No matter how hard and how hopeless the situation was. Death was never their way out.