Chapter 61: Rules of Survival (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: Rules of Survival (4)
The evening of the seventh day—that is, about eighty hours after we got separated from our team in this goddamned forest—I was still there, wandering through the woods and blankly watching the hallucinations getting worse by the fucking day.
This was the change that occurred at the start of our second day together: we didn't speak unless necessary. Not because we were on bad terms or anything—we no longer had the strength to do so.
Oh, there had been one other development. I used a rope to connect Missha and me by using the same knot used to weave oysters on a line. This was a technique I had naturally picked up after spending so long in the Witch's Forest. This way, even if one person fell behind or to the ground, we could rely on the rope to find each other.
"Bjorn... slower, go a little slowerrr..."
"Okay." I slowed down.
This morning, Missha's condition had rapidly deteriorated. It wasn't due to an illness or a serious injury; it was just that her fatigue had finally reached its limit.
Trudge, trudge.
I slowed down for her, but I still felt a tug at my waist. She couldn't even keep pace at this speed. After contemplating for a moment, I stopped walking. "Get on."
"Huh?"
"You'll feel better once you get some rest."
"B-But..." Missha trailed off and looked at me. Honestly, my offer must have been funny. If you judged exclusively by our outward appearances, I was in much worse condition than her.
I bet she's never seen such a roughed-up barbarian.
My underclothes were torn and covered in random holes, and even my iron equipment was corroded all over. These were all side effects of awakening Missha. The passive skill of the Corpse Golem had reactivated when I removed the Ring of the Frost Spirit. Grazes from battles with monsters were a daily occurrence, and my current state was a result of my acid blood.
The repairs alone are going to break the bank.
I smiled bitterly. My lithinum breastplate and shield were made of grade two material and were in good condition, but their former brilliance and pure white beauty had long since been lost.
But Missha seemed to misunderstand my smile. She opened her mouth worriedly. "I-I am fine. You should rrrest instead. I'll carry you!"
Thanks for the offer, but... Do you think that's realistically possible?
"Just come here." Rejecting further argument, I grabbed Missha's waist and lifted her. I could feel lethargy radiating from her light form. She didn't even have the strength to resist. "I'll wake you up if there's a problem, so get some rest until then."
"But—"
"Hush."
"...Thank you." Missha draped herself over one of my shoulders and finally gave in, but she wasn't able to fall asleep right away. After a while, she spoke up in a small voice. "Bjorrrn?"
"What is it?"
"You know something?"
"What?"
"Mm, smells good..."
What smells good? At least finish your sentences.
I was curious about what she had been about to say, but... I was sure she was just sleep-talking. There was no way a body covered in blood and dirt that hadn't been washed in several days could smell good.
Before long, I heard the sound of slow, steady breathing, which made me laugh.
I'm telling you, you guys don't know how good you have it. No matter how many hallucinations come your way, if you're really tired, you can fall asleep anywhere. That's how the human body is designed. It has to be able to survive in any environment. Anyway, let's keep moving.
I continued walking through the forest with Missha draped across my shoulders. I was tempted to put her down and get some rest myself, but I couldn't do that.
[It has been 84 hours since you entered the Witch's Forest. Field Effect – The Witch's Forest has strengthened. Status effect Witch's Eye has been upgraded to level 5.]
The field debuff Witch's Eye was the real reason why the Witch's Forest was seen as an area you should only ever pass through. Its effect was simple. If you stayed in one place for a certain amount of time, the rank-seven monster Carnivaro would appear, and that amount of time gradually decreased as the level went up. It had started off as one hour on the first day, and now...
It should be about ten minutes.
That pretty much meant that we couldn't afford not to move at this point. The problem was that there were two of us. If a Carnivaro appeared, we didn't have any allies around to stop it, and at this point, we'd pretty much be dead meat if one showed up since it took at least fifteen minutes to kill one even when we had the stamina. Theoretically, another bastard would appear before the first one even died.
That was why I kept walking. I felt like passing out from fatigue, but I had to walk. Otherwise, things could get really bad.
Still, seeing how they haven't appeared yet, does that mean I can stop worrying about them now?
Distracting yourself is the best thing you can do when you're tired. After finishing one train of thought, I moved on to another topic. Today marked four days of being lost in the Witch's Forest. If that bitch Elisa had the means to find us, she would've done it by now. It seemed that we could rest more easily now.
That eliminates our biggest problem, at least.
I didn't know why they hadn't been able to find us, but if I were to take a guess, they must've run into an unexpected problem as well. Just like how I'd fallen behind with Missha. Life was shitty because you never knew what would happen or when.
Anyway, how long had I been walking to avoid those monsters? Hmm, it had to have been at least an hour.
"Why are you leaving her alone?"
I raised my head at the familiar hallucination.
"You've granted her lifelong wish... If you seduce her the slightest bit, she'll totally drop down for you."
A woman wearing a white blouse and a skirt appeared next to a tree and looked at me with her characteristically arrogant and harsh gaze. It was my ex-girlfriend.
"Is it because you are afraid of being abandoned again?"
Ugh, fuck... Up until now, it had been obvious that these were hallucinations, but this one was different. It felt as if she walked toward me, I would be able to feel the heat coming off her body.
"Oh, you're sly."
What now? Because this hallucination had come straight out of my head, its mannerisms were exactly like the real her. Did that mean that all the hallucinations I'd been hearing were actually based on my subconscious mind?
"That's the problem with you. You always have to know everything."
Can't deny that, I agreed. Fear of ignorance was an instinct found in all living things.
Before long, I heard the sound of slow, steady breathing, which made me laugh.
I'm telling you, you guys don't know how good you have it. No matter how many hallucinations come your way, if you're really tired, you can fall asleep anywhere. That's how the human body is designed. It has to be able to survive in any environment. Anyway, let's keep moving.
I continued walking through the forest with Missha draped across my shoulders. I was tempted to put her down and get some rest myself, but I couldn't do that.
[It has been 84 hours since you entered the Witch's Forest. Field Effect – The Witch's Forest has strengthened. Status effect Witch's Eye has been upgraded to level 5.]
The field debuff Witch's Eye was the real reason why the Witch's Forest was seen as an area you should only ever pass through. Its effect was simple. If you stayed in one place for a certain amount of time, the rank-seven monster Carnivaro would appear, and that amount of time gradually decreased as the level went up. It had started off as one hour on the first day, and now...
It should be about ten minutes.
That pretty much meant that we couldn't afford not to move at this point. The problem was that there were two of us. If a Carnivaro appeared, we didn't have any allies around to stop it, and at this point, we'd pretty much be dead meat if one showed up since it took at least fifteen minutes to kill one even when we had the stamina. Theoretically, another bastard would appear before the first one even died.
That was why I kept walking. I felt like passing out from fatigue, but I had to walk. Otherwise, things could get really bad.
Still, seeing how they haven't appeared yet, does that mean I can stop worrying about them now?
Distracting yourself is the best thing you can do when you're tired. After finishing one train of thought, I moved on to another topic. Today marked four days of being lost in the Witch's Forest. If that bitch Elisa had the means to find us, she would've done it by now. It seemed that we could rest more easily now.
That eliminates our biggest problem, at least.
I didn't know why they hadn't been able to find us, but if I were to take a guess, they must've run into an unexpected problem as well. Just like how I'd fallen behind with Missha. Life was shitty because you never knew what would happen or when.
Anyway, how long had I been walking to avoid those monsters? Hmm, it had to have been at least an hour.
"Why are you leaving her alone?"
I raised my head at the familiar hallucination.
"You've granted her lifelong wish... If you seduce her the slightest bit, she'll totally drop down for you."
A woman wearing a white blouse and a skirt appeared next to a tree and looked at me with her characteristically arrogant and harsh gaze. It was my ex-girlfriend.
"Is it because you are afraid of being abandoned again?"
Ugh, fuck... Up until now, it had been obvious that these were hallucinations, but this one was different. It felt as if she walked toward me, I would be able to feel the heat coming off her body.
"Oh, you're sly."
What now? Because this hallucination had come straight out of my head, its mannerisms were exactly like the real her. Did that mean that all the hallucinations I'd been hearing were actually based on my subconscious mind?
"That's the problem with you. You always have to know everything."
Can't deny that, I agreed. Fear of ignorance was an instinct found in all living things.
"Still, you're too much. When you never even reveal anything about yourself..." she said.
You were the same way.
"Pardon? What do you not know about me? You know every corner of my body even better than I do, remember?"
My eyes shifted unwillingly at the coquettish voice. There had been a new development with the visual hallucinations. The white blouse and the short suit skirt... they were the same as before, but black stockings were now on her long legs. Previously, they had been flesh-colored.
"Your taste is the same."
Fuck, was this the kind of person I was?
"Get rid of that beast girl and come to me. You need to be with me. No one else will ever understand, right?"
Was that true? Without realizing it, my feet moved forward. That was the moment.
"Make me feel good—"
The face of my ex-girlfriend, smiling bashfully with her arms wide open as if to embrace my everything, was suddenly bizarrely distorted. Not metaphorically, but actually.
Smack!
Her facial muscles were crushed with a single punch. For some reason, Missha, who should have been on my shoulders, was bashing my ex-girlfriend's face in with her fist. And repeatedly, too, like the high-agility character she was.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
What was this? Was this also a hallucination? I watched the scene unfold like I was dreaming.
"Kyaaaaah!" A scream that sounded like nails on a chalkboard resounded, bringing me back to my senses.
At some point, Missha, who had beaten my ex-girlfriend to a pulp, came back and shook me by the waist. "Bjorn! Are you all rrright?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"I got rid of the dryad, so wake up!"
What? Dryad? The rank-eight monster that used Charm and made very rare appearances in the Witch's Forest? No wonder the hallucination had been so detailed.
[You have killed a Dryad. EXP +2. Status effect Charm has been deactivated.]
I suddenly understood what had happened. I hadn't been hit with the field effect, but a skill. "Thanks... If it weren't for you, this would have been a disaster."
"Hmm, it was nothing—" But at that moment, Missha stiffened and pointed somewhere. "Uhh? B-Bjorn? I-I think the disaster has already struck..."
After looking at where she was pointing, I nodded involuntarily. "...Looks like it."
Had it already been ten minutes since I was put under the Charm effect? Near a bush not far away, the rank-seven monster Carnivaro was slowly walking toward us with murderous intent gleaming in its eyes.
"I... will... kill... you..."
Carnivaro was classified as a humanoid undead and had a fairly high level of intelligence. The problem, though, was that it only used that intelligence to kill people.
"Blood... flesh... give... me..." The Carnivaro aimed a crossbow at us. Already salivating, its protruding fangs were glistening with fluids. I didn't know about Missha, but being a barbarian, I probably looked quite tasty. Considering I had low body fat, I would probably be a bit tough to chew though.
"Missha, stand behind me."
"O-Okay!"
Sending Missha to the back, I blocked our openings with a shield. Now that we'd encountered it, it was no longer possible to run. The Carnivaro chased its prey to the bitter end. Its fighting style was similar to that of a hunter.
"Still, you're too much. When you never even reveal anything about yourself..." she said.
You were the same way.
"Pardon? What do you not know about me? You know every corner of my body even better than I do, remember?"
My eyes shifted unwillingly at the coquettish voice. There had been a new development with the visual hallucinations. The white blouse and the short suit skirt... they were the same as before, but black stockings were now on her long legs. Previously, they had been flesh-colored.
"Your taste is the same."
Fuck, was this the kind of person I was?
"Get rid of that beast girl and come to me. You need to be with me. No one else will ever understand, right?"
Was that true? Without realizing it, my feet moved forward. That was the moment.
"Make me feel good—"
The face of my ex-girlfriend, smiling bashfully with her arms wide open as if to embrace my everything, was suddenly bizarrely distorted. Not metaphorically, but actually.
Smack!
Her facial muscles were crushed with a single punch. For some reason, Missha, who should have been on my shoulders, was bashing my ex-girlfriend's face in with her fist. And repeatedly, too, like the high-agility character she was.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
What was this? Was this also a hallucination? I watched the scene unfold like I was dreaming.
"Kyaaaaah!" A scream that sounded like nails on a chalkboard resounded, bringing me back to my senses.
At some point, Missha, who had beaten my ex-girlfriend to a pulp, came back and shook me by the waist. "Bjorn! Are you all rrright?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"I got rid of the dryad, so wake up!"
What? Dryad? The rank-eight monster that used Charm and made very rare appearances in the Witch's Forest? No wonder the hallucination had been so detailed.
[You have killed a Dryad. EXP +2. Status effect Charm has been deactivated.]
I suddenly understood what had happened. I hadn't been hit with the field effect, but a skill. "Thanks... If it weren't for you, this would have been a disaster."
"Hmm, it was nothing—" But at that moment, Missha stiffened and pointed somewhere. "Uhh? B-Bjorn? I-I think the disaster has already struck..."
After looking at where she was pointing, I nodded involuntarily. "...Looks like it."
Had it already been ten minutes since I was put under the Charm effect? Near a bush not far away, the rank-seven monster Carnivaro was slowly walking toward us with murderous intent gleaming in its eyes.
"I... will... kill... you..."
Carnivaro was classified as a humanoid undead and had a fairly high level of intelligence. The problem, though, was that it only used that intelligence to kill people.
"Blood... flesh... give... me..." The Carnivaro aimed a crossbow at us. Already salivating, its protruding fangs were glistening with fluids. I didn't know about Missha, but being a barbarian, I probably looked quite tasty. Considering I had low body fat, I would probably be a bit tough to chew though.
"Missha, stand behind me."
"O-Okay!"
Sending Missha to the back, I blocked our openings with a shield. Now that we'd encountered it, it was no longer possible to run. The Carnivaro chased its prey to the bitter end. Its fighting style was similar to that of a hunter.
[Carnivaro has cast Mana Mine.]
It set invisible traps in the vicinity. The moment we approached it, a strong explosion would detonate. Therefore, it was difficult to quickly close the gap between us.
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
The arrows flew in with a power incomparable to that of a goblin archer, and with a high level of precision correction. Therefore, it was better to block them than to avoid them.
Clang!
I took an arrow shot directly at me and bounced it off to the side. Last time, I had blocked the arrows while Missha threw stones that were lying around to detonate the mines.
We don't have time for that now.
We had to kill this monster within ten minutes. Otherwise, another one would appear, and the process would repeat over and over again until we were dead. We only had one option now.
"Missha, get on my back."
"What are you talking about?" Missha was picking up stones she could throw. She cocked her head, but I had no time to explain.
"It seems we're going to have to push ourselves right now. So, hurry and do as I say."
When I spoke firmly, Missha got onto my back. Immediately, I sprinted forward, protecting my head and upper body with the shield.
Kablam!
The landmines dotting the ground nearby exploded with every step, but I kept running.
"W-What are you doing?!" Missha screamed at me, but to be honest, this wasn't particularly odd for me. Since waking up in the body of a barbarian, I'd been able to overcome most crises with just my body. This was the same—the only option I could choose in this shitty situation.
Kablam!
The pain broke through my Pain Resistance. Every time an explosion sounded, I could feel my legs getting torn apart.
[Carnivaro has summoned a Hound.]
Meanwhile, a pack of summoned wild dogs rushed in. Arms, shoulders, thighs, legs—they dug their teeth in everywhere and tugged their jaws side to side aggressively.
Kablam!
Still, I did not stop walking. I continued defending myself from the flying arrows and pushing off the hounds using Flesh Burst. It was at that moment that the tenth mine exploded, and my body suddenly swayed.
Bang!
I tried to reach my other foot out to find my balance, but I soon realized it was pointless.
How fucking disgusting.
It was hard to describe the limb below my leg as a foot anymore. It was more like a crushed piece of meat.
Well, since we've come this far, I'm sure she'll figure it out.
As soon as I realized that going any further forward was impossible, I threw Missha as far as I could. "Take care of it."
I received no verbal response. However, Missha answered me by leaping into the air.
Stab!
Missha, who did some agile somersaults in mid-air, drove a spear into the Carnivaro's shoulder instead of his head, a mistake caused by her lack of proficiency with the weapon.
Stab!
However, she made up for her mistake by rotating her body using the spear as an axis, then pulling out the dagger she was wearing on her waist and stabbing it into the monster's forehead. The time it took her couldn't have been longer than five minutes. Anyway, we got through another crisis. Satisfied with that fact, I collapsed.
[Warning: a part of your body has been lost. If not treated promptly, this may lead to permanent injury.]
***
After the battle was over, Missha hurriedly ran toward me. "Bjorn!" she yelled. "What werrre you thinking?!" She looked angry, but also like she was about to cry.
"This was the best option," I replied simply. There had been no other choice. And right now, what Missha needed to do wasn't scolding or worrying about me. "If that's enough explanation, can you give me a potion now?"
Missha's eyes had gone blank as she took in the sight of me, indifferently giving orders as I lay on the floor with my feet crushed. However, my request had still penetrated her skull, apparently, and she poured the potion on me with trembling hands.
Chhhhhh!
It was an advanced potion that cost a whopping two hundred thousand stones per bottle. As expensive as it was, it was an essential consumable that could even repair amputated limbs. But Missha still looked worried.
"T-This kind of injurrry can't be fully healed with a potion..."
Well, I wasn't sure about that.
[Your regeneration factor is greatly increased thanks to the Immortal effect.]
Between the Immortality Imprint, the high healing factor granted by the vampire's essence, and the active Immortal effect, my natural regeneration level was easily over 150. Even if it wasn't an advanced potion, given enough time, I could recover from a limb amputation injury. If it weren't for that fact, I wouldn't have done such a crazy thing in the first place.
"W-What?! T-There's no way it should be healing so quickly..." Missha was astonished to see that the effect of the potion was making the wounds quickly knit back together. As far as she knew, I only had the essence of the Corpse Golem.
In less than a minute, my crushed leg was healed. Unfortunately, I was barefoot.
Should I have taken off my shoes before I ran? Those boots plus the potion would have sold for at least 150,000 stones.
It was too big of a loss to call it an investment for a rank-seven monster, but there was no point regretting it now. I opened my backpack, put on the leather boots I was wearing originally, and got up slowly.
Okay, I think my toes feel normal again.
"Bjorn, what the hell are you?! You'rrre not even in pain from the potion!"
"It is the spirit of a barbarian."
It was true. Ainar had never groaned when she took potions, either. Although I was running purely on Pain Resistance. Well, it was just the outcome that needed to be the same, right?
[Carnivaro has cast Mana Mine.]
It set invisible traps in the vicinity. The moment we approached it, a strong explosion would detonate. Therefore, it was difficult to quickly close the gap between us.
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
The arrows flew in with a power incomparable to that of a goblin archer, and with a high level of precision correction. Therefore, it was better to block them than to avoid them.
Clang!
I took an arrow shot directly at me and bounced it off to the side. Last time, I had blocked the arrows while Missha threw stones that were lying around to detonate the mines.
We don't have time for that now.
We had to kill this monster within ten minutes. Otherwise, another one would appear, and the process would repeat over and over again until we were dead. We only had one option now.
"Missha, get on my back."
"What are you talking about?" Missha was picking up stones she could throw. She cocked her head, but I had no time to explain.
"It seems we're going to have to push ourselves right now. So, hurry and do as I say."
When I spoke firmly, Missha got onto my back. Immediately, I sprinted forward, protecting my head and upper body with the shield.
Kablam!
The landmines dotting the ground nearby exploded with every step, but I kept running.
"W-What are you doing?!" Missha screamed at me, but to be honest, this wasn't particularly odd for me. Since waking up in the body of a barbarian, I'd been able to overcome most crises with just my body. This was the same—the only option I could choose in this shitty situation.
Kablam!
The pain broke through my Pain Resistance. Every time an explosion sounded, I could feel my legs getting torn apart.
[Carnivaro has summoned a Hound.]
Meanwhile, a pack of summoned wild dogs rushed in. Arms, shoulders, thighs, legs—they dug their teeth in everywhere and tugged their jaws side to side aggressively.
Kablam!
Still, I did not stop walking. I continued defending myself from the flying arrows and pushing off the hounds using Flesh Burst. It was at that moment that the tenth mine exploded, and my body suddenly swayed.
Bang!
I tried to reach my other foot out to find my balance, but I soon realized it was pointless.
How fucking disgusting.
It was hard to describe the limb below my leg as a foot anymore. It was more like a crushed piece of meat.
Well, since we've come this far, I'm sure she'll figure it out.
As soon as I realized that going any further forward was impossible, I threw Missha as far as I could. "Take care of it."
I received no verbal response. However, Missha answered me by leaping into the air.
Stab!
Missha, who did some agile somersaults in mid-air, drove a spear into the Carnivaro's shoulder instead of his head, a mistake caused by her lack of proficiency with the weapon.
Stab!
However, she made up for her mistake by rotating her body using the spear as an axis, then pulling out the dagger she was wearing on her waist and stabbing it into the monster's forehead. The time it took her couldn't have been longer than five minutes. Anyway, we got through another crisis. Satisfied with that fact, I collapsed.
[Warning: a part of your body has been lost. If not treated promptly, this may lead to permanent injury.]
***
After the battle was over, Missha hurriedly ran toward me. "Bjorn!" she yelled. "What werrre you thinking?!" She looked angry, but also like she was about to cry.
"This was the best option," I replied simply. There had been no other choice. And right now, what Missha needed to do wasn't scolding or worrying about me. "If that's enough explanation, can you give me a potion now?"
Missha's eyes had gone blank as she took in the sight of me, indifferently giving orders as I lay on the floor with my feet crushed. However, my request had still penetrated her skull, apparently, and she poured the potion on me with trembling hands.
Chhhhhh!
It was an advanced potion that cost a whopping two hundred thousand stones per bottle. As expensive as it was, it was an essential consumable that could even repair amputated limbs. But Missha still looked worried.
"T-This kind of injurrry can't be fully healed with a potion..."
Well, I wasn't sure about that.
[Your regeneration factor is greatly increased thanks to the Immortal effect.]
Between the Immortality Imprint, the high healing factor granted by the vampire's essence, and the active Immortal effect, my natural regeneration level was easily over 150. Even if it wasn't an advanced potion, given enough time, I could recover from a limb amputation injury. If it weren't for that fact, I wouldn't have done such a crazy thing in the first place.
"W-What?! T-There's no way it should be healing so quickly..." Missha was astonished to see that the effect of the potion was making the wounds quickly knit back together. As far as she knew, I only had the essence of the Corpse Golem.
In less than a minute, my crushed leg was healed. Unfortunately, I was barefoot.
Should I have taken off my shoes before I ran? Those boots plus the potion would have sold for at least 150,000 stones.
It was too big of a loss to call it an investment for a rank-seven monster, but there was no point regretting it now. I opened my backpack, put on the leather boots I was wearing originally, and got up slowly.
Okay, I think my toes feel normal again.
"Bjorn, what the hell are you?! You'rrre not even in pain from the potion!"
"It is the spirit of a barbarian."
It was true. Ainar had never groaned when she took potions, either. Although I was running purely on Pain Resistance. Well, it was just the outcome that needed to be the same, right?