Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Team Half-Wit (3) - Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 53: Team Half-Wit (3)

After my shocking confession that I didn't have a mother, a strange silence fell between us and startled gazes flew my way.

"Uh-uhh..."

"I-I see?"

I rushed to explain. "My mother died after giving birth to me. And when I was young, my father never came back from the labyrinth. I am an adult now, but I can't see them again even if I wanted to!"

For reference, what I said was 100 percent the truth as told to me by Ainar.

"I see..."

"Your childhood must have been hard."

Perhaps because it was an admission from the youngest member of the team and a barbarian who had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony, but sympathy began to shine in the eyes looking at me.

"Bjorn, you don't have to keep pretending that everything is okay in front of us anymore."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were going thrrrough something like that. And I talked about my family..."

"Bjorn, I may not be able to be your parent, but if you want—"

What was this prick talking about? I decided not to entertain the rest of the dwarf's sentence. "No need."

For some reason, I seemed to have quickly become the most pitiful one here, but... oh well. Since it wasn't the truth, I probably didn't have to worry about it. It wasn't like I actually didn't have a mother. Most importantly, I was a young barbarian who, unlike them, was progressing on the ultra-elite track and had been promoted to rank-seven adventurer in three months. That was the gist of the most important stuff.

Um, but doesn't that really make me the most pitiful one here?

Suddenly, I began to suspect that it might be the case too. I had been dragged into a game world that hadn't exactly been in my five-year plan, and I'd had to overcome death numerous times ever since. Shit, why was my life so miserable?

"Bjorn, your face doesn't look good! Did you think of your mother?"

"Yes, something like that..."

"If you miss your family, you can call me sisterrr—"

I cut off the beastwoman's words before she could start up again and got straight to the point. "Anyway, what are we going to do now?"

Our original destination, the orc colony, was no longer a viable hunting ground because of those pricks. Of course, they'd said it was okay for us to stay on the outskirts, but what share would I be left with if we hunted here at that speed and divided that by five?

Hikurod offered up his two cents as the team's leader. "I think it would be better to head to the Witch's ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Forest now."

The Witch's Forest referred to the huge woodland surrounding the portal that led to the fourth floor. Most of the monsters that appeared there were ranks seven and eight, and among them were spirit-type monsters who were immune to physical damage.

"Of course, it's not a great fit for our team since we're mostly close-combat fighters, but since we have a wizard too, it shouldn't be too bad."

Brown offered a differing opinion. "Hmm, wouldn't it be better to just go up to the fourth floor, in that case?"

I also thought that was a better option than Hikurod's. For most adventurers, the Witch's Forest was just an area they had no choice but to go through since it had little merit as a hunting ground.

And it doesn't produce any essences that would work for me.

The problem was that the dwarf wasn't so keen on this idea. "The fourth floor is... It's still too early."

I knew what he was worried about. The majority of the monsters that appeared on the third floor were ranks seven and eight, and the same went for the fourth floor. However, there was a very crucial difference between the two.

"As I've said many times during our meetings, I've seen a lot of parties underestimate the fourth floor and then get wiped out," Hikurod explained. "One time, that team was almost my own."

The difference was the presence or absence of a rank-six monster. From the fourth floor onward, there was a slim chance of rank-six monsters appearing. In terms of how frequent these encounters were, you basically ran into one every three days you spent walking around all day. But that, in ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turn, meant that you'd undoubtedly encounter a rank-six monster at some point when you were active on the fourth floor.

Whether we'll be able to handle that chance encounter or not is the question.

In fact, even while playing the game, there were many times when I entered the fourth floor with a mid-level character and met a bloody end. So, the dwarf's concerns were reasonable.

"I don't think it's too early to decide whether we'll go to the fourth floor after working together for at least a few more days," Brown countered.

True, but despite the deeply emotional exchange and increased bonding that this incident had brought about, this was our first quest together. It had only been three days since we entered the labyrinth, and we still weren't familiar with each other.

"Still, as you know, this is also Dwalkie's first expedition. And Bjorn has never been to the third floor before, either."

To summarize, Hikurod's argument was that it was okay for us to go to the fourth floor, but that we shouldn't be so impatient to do so.

"Well then, why don't we just go to another arrrea on the third floor? I think Greentail Marsh would be fine."

Missha, who had been listening to the debate with an apparent headache, offered a fresh perspective and was immediately shut down by Brown.

"If we had decided to travel that way from the start, it would have been. But getting to Greentail Marsh from here would take at least six days."

The labyrinth closed at the end of day seven on the first floor, day ten on the second floor, and day fifteen on the third floor. To invest another six days just on travel? Since today was already the third day, even if we left straight away, that would mean we'd only get in six days of hunting.

"In this particular case, I think it would be better to head back to Ironrock Hill," Brown concluded.

In response to the expert's words, Missha smiled sheepishly and scratched her cheek. "R-Really? Since I always just followed someone else over there, I didn't realize..."

I listened to their conversation to see if anything interesting would come of it, but it ended up going nowhere. It was now time for me to wrap things up. "How long are we going to just stand around and talk? That's enough chatter. Everyone, circle up. Let's decide what to do by majority vote."

"Majority vote?"

"Why, Brown? Do you prefer rock-paper-scissors?"

"No, that's a bit..." Brown shot me an appalled look. Actually, I was just joking about that being a better option, but since I was a barbarian, sadly, no one seemed to notice.

"I am in favor of deciding by majority vote."

"It's simple, but it's the most reliable way."

"I'm fine with anything!"

I knew what he was worried about. The majority of the monsters that appeared on the third floor were ranks seven and eight, and the same went for the fourth floor. However, there was a very crucial difference between the two.

"As I've said many times during our meetings, I've seen a lot of parties underestimate the fourth floor and then get wiped out," Hikurod explained. "One time, that team was almost my own."

The difference was the presence or absence of a rank-six monster. From the fourth floor onward, there was a slim chance of rank-six monsters appearing. In terms of how frequent these encounters were, you basically ran into one every three days you spent walking around all day. But that, in turn, meant that you'd undoubtedly encounter a rank-six monster at some point when you were active on the fourth floor.