The Barbarian’s Choice
The entrance to the pyramid was sealed by an opaque veil. As I stepped through, the humid, sweltering air tickled my nose. Scanning my surroundings, a cavern large enough to accommodate hundreds of people appeared before me. Dozens of massive tunnels branched out from this central hub, each wide enough for ten barbarians to march through abreast. Once every barbarian, including Brunda, had entered, I immediately asked, "Do you have any information about the second floor?"
"If you go down, you'll find the Queen Ant. If you kill her, a portal to the next floor appears."
"And if you go up?"
The dozens of tunnels all had different inclines. "If you go up, it’s a dead end."
"I see..."
Should I choose the underground path, where we could potentially flee to the next floor if things went south? Or the surface, where there were relatively fewer ant monsters? "Chief! Where should we go?" Kellok asked, sensing my hesitation. I looked up and saw the young barbarians, all staring at me with expectant eyes. This was a situation where one wrong choice could lead to everyone’s death. After a moment of deliberation, I made my decision.
"Chief! This is a dead end, too!"
"Where was the last fork?"
"We passed it five minutes ago!"
"Alright, let's head back."
I tossed a low-grade mana stone into the dead-end tunnel and turned my back on it. The direction I had chosen was toward the surface. *The wolf monsters were chasing a nearby target. If I can get far enough away, I might be able to force them to clash with the ant monsters.* In truth, it was doubtful whether the wolf monsters would even descend to the second floor of the dungeon. We returned to the fork, and a new junction appeared. To the right was an upward path; to the left, a downward one. I chose the left path without hesitation.
"Chief! Didn't you say we were going up?"
"If we go left, we get closer to the cavern where we started."
"How could you possibly know that!"
"When we first started, we headed northwest at a 15-degree angle. The next fork was 23 degrees northeast, and then..."
"We trust only in you, Chief!"
The path we had walked was etched into my mind like a map. *I need to get as far away from the first cavern as possible.* After about two hours of trekking, we hit another dead end. Looking around, I noticed the tunnel had become significantly narrower—barely enough for five barbarians to stand side-by-side. I recalled the distance we had traveled. *It would take forever to turn back now...* The worst-case scenario would be getting surrounded by wolf monsters from all sides while trying to retreat. I decided to hold our ground here and cast a camouflage spell on the path behind us. "We’re waiting here. Everyone, rest."
"I'm hungry! Can we eat?"
"No cooking. Just eat things that don't have a strong scent."
The barbarians began tearing into the dried meat they had prepared. I walked over to Brunda, who was quietly chewing on his jerky. "I’m going to check the entrance. Wait here quietly."
"Hm? Understood."
As Brunda nodded, I used space-movement magic to teleport back to the massive cavern where we had first entered. I perched on a small rock I had spotted on the wall earlier. Looking down, I saw the vast cavern filled with black wolves. *I was hoping things would go easily...* From the gate connected to the first floor, black wolves were pouring out like a broken dam, flooding into the dozens of tunnels. I watched for a moment, then drew my greatsword from my sub-space and walked along a platform made of solidified mana, carving a massive message into the wall.
When I returned, the barbarians were frozen in silence. I turned my gaze toward the direction of the camouflage spell and saw a soldier ant, the size of a large dog, scouting the tunnel. *It’s just a wall... please, just keep going...* Even though it clearly looked like a dead end, the ant seemed suspicious and began to probe the wall. *Don't tell me... can it smell us?* I had killed a dozen ants in the tunnels before arriving here. I had killed them in single strikes to avoid being tracked by pheromones, but...
When the soldier ant’s hard mandibles touched the camouflage spell, the magic dissipated. "Damn it!" I quickly swung my sword to decapitate the ant, but it had already sprayed its pheromones. "Prepare for battle! Split into groups and fight in shifts to conserve stamina!"
-*Scritch, scritch, scritch!*
The sound of ant footsteps echoed from beyond the dark tunnel. I used wall magic to seal the passage, leaving only a gap narrow enough for one person to squeeze through. Wall magic loses durability when struck, but if there’s no impact, it can be maintained for a long time with very little mana. Perhaps not perceiving the three-meter-thick mana wall as an enemy, the ants swarmed into the narrow passage. "They’re so creepy..."
"Chief, you rest! We can handle this much!"
Because of the narrow tunnel, a bottleneck formed, and the opaque mana-wall passage was soon packed with ants. Whenever a pile of corpses blocked the path, the ants would drag them away and charge again. *They don't seem very intelligent.* Not realizing the opaque wall could be broken, the ants climbed over it but didn't attack it directly.
"Switch out!"
"Now it's our turn!"
Countless weapons rained down on the heads of the ants crawling through the narrow gap. I looked at the stabilized entrance and caught my breath. How long had we been fighting? A long time had passed—enough for the first group to rotate, rest, and rotate again—when the ants finally stopped entering the tunnel. "What, are they giving up?"
"Giving up after just this much! How weak!"
The barbarians shouted at the retreating ants. Then, something massive appeared through the gap the ants had left. "A Queen Ant?" A giant ant, three meters tall, approached the mana wall. As its massive mandibles moved, a clicking sound filled the tunnel. The barbarians, who had been cheering, fell silent. "Haa... I wanted to save my mana, but I guess I have no choice."
Just as I was about to seal the entrance completely with the mana wall and use toxic gas magic, the ants turned around in unison. The Queen Ant, who had been staring at us, also turned her body and looked back the way she had come. "Don't lower your guard. Wait here."
I cast a camouflage spell and quietly stepped through the mana wall, walking on thin air. Below my transparent platform, I could see countless ants. After traveling for a while, I saw the black wolf pack and the ants locked in a chaotic brawl. When the wolves lunged and covered the ants, the ants swarmed back over them. It was a battle between two armies that felt no fear. But while one army was finite, the other was infinite. The black wolves overwhelmed the ants with sheer numbers. I watched for a moment before returning to the barbarians.
"Chief, what's going on!" Kellok asked as I materialized from the air. "They're fighting each other. So for now, rest." As soon as I said that, the barbarians, who had been ready to charge at any moment, disarmed themselves and collapsed on the floor. *I told them to rest, but is it really okay to be this relaxed?* Even though the Queen Ant was standing with her back to us, only twenty meters beyond the mana wall, some barbarians were already snoring. I quietly approached Brunda and asked, "What's on the third floor?"
"Don't know."
"Hm?"
Brunda, lying sprawled out, answered calmly. "I only heard about the second floor out of curiosity. The coming-of-age ceremony is held on the first floor, so there's no need to know what's next." I turned my gaze back to the Queen Ant’s exposed back. *If the worst-case scenario happens... should we go to the third floor?* If we kill the Queen Ant, a gate to the next floor should appear. While contemplating the future, I closed my eyes and focused on recovering as much mana as possible.
How much time had passed? I pulled a watch from my sub-space and saw that eight hours had passed since we entered the dungeon. *The ants held out longer than I thought.* Usually, you can't beat ants when it comes to sheer numbers. But even that massive count was slowly dwindling, to the point where I could see them fighting the wolves. I stood up and looked at the lounging barbarians. "Let's get ready."
"Finally, a fight! I was bored to death!"
The barbarians rose one by one and took their positions. Looking straight ahead, I saw the Queen Ant falling. Every time her massive mandibles moved, two or three black wolves were torn apart, but far more wolves were clinging to her body, biting and tearing. Soon, her massive frame collapsed, and an opaque veil appeared in the air. *That's the path to the third floor...* It was about twenty meters away from where I had set the mana wall. I installed another mana wall using the same method I had used to block the ants. The wolves that had been tearing into the fallen Queen Ant charged toward us.
"Kill them!"
Some rushed into the narrow tunnel, but those who couldn't fit clung to the walls, digging in their claws. Maintaining the mana wall any longer would be a waste of mana. "Groups of fifteen! Fight in shifts to conserve stamina!" As the barbarians took their positions as planned, I dispelled the mana wall. The wolves surged into the wide tunnel. The barbarians' massive weapons collided with the wolves. I pulled a high-grade mana stone from my sub-space and watched the fight from my platform in the air. The moment a wolf missed by a barbarian tried to bite his leg, I cast a fixation spell on its mouth. As the wolf stood frozen with its jaws agape, a massive axe split it in two. *Just avoid fatal wounds.* The roars of the barbarians and the howls of the wolves filled the cave.
How long had we been fighting? I didn't even have time to check my watch because I couldn't afford to look away for a single second. During a momentary lapse in my concentration, a wolf bit a barbarian's leg and pulled. "Huh? Aaaargh!" Just as the wolves were about to leap and cover the barbarian, my mana wall enveloped his body. I immediately pulled my greatsword from my sub-space and jumped down. Ever since I had tempered my body through the Northern Grand Duke’s training method, my raw physical strength was by no means weak. I quickly swept away the wolves and sent the barbarian back to the rear line.
The barbarian, likely having been bitten badly, retreated, and a new person stepped in to fill the gap. "That role was mine..."
"I am the Chief. You're doing more than enough."
Brunda’s eyes wavered. He was sad because he couldn't perform the role he had been assigned, but Brunda was already doing the work of five people, holding the front line. I turned my gaze to the rear, where a dozen injured barbarians lay. There were no deaths yet, but the number of combat-incapable wounded continued to rise. Even those still holding the line were exhausted. I pulled a top-grade mana stone from my sub-space, created a massive mana wall in front, and cast toxic gas magic. As soon as the gas spread, the wolves turned and fled without hesitation. *I had some fun with this at first...* When I first used the magic, the wolves died without knowing what it was, but perhaps because I had used it over ten times, they now fled the battlefield the moment they smelled it.
"Rest quickly! We won't be able to hold out for long!"
Even without me saying it, the barbarians had long since collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. I reached into my sub-space and counted the remaining mana stones. *I've used up all the top-grade and high-grade ones. There aren't many mid-grade ones left either...* The mountain of mana stones had bottomed out. While the other barbarians could rotate and rest during the long battle, I hadn't been able to rest for a single moment, forced to keep using magic. In my line of sight, I could see the warp gate to the next floor. *If I install a mana wall behind the warp gate and use toxic gas magic...* Everyone could safely cross to the third floor. But the third floor was an unknown place; I didn't know what the terrain was like. We were only holding out now because it was a cave with three sides blocked; if we were fighting in an open area, we wouldn't have lasted ten minutes.
*Once this toxic gas magic ends, I only have one chance left...*
I only had enough mana stones left for one more use of the toxic gas magic. As I agonized, Brunda approached me. "It's fine. Even if the Chief makes the choice, we all share the responsibility."
"Following the Chief's word is our choice! Therefore, the result is also our collective responsibility!"
"You fierce-looking Chief, go to the back and rest! We're still full of energy!"
"The wolves are just weak because they're scared of the Chief's face! The Cyclops fainted!"
"Is that true!"
The barbarians burst into laughter as they looked at me. Brunda placed a hand on my shoulder. "The Chief is a position of leadership, not a position of taking responsibility for everything. So, relax your face." Only then did I realize my face had been twisted in a grimace. When in my life had I ever been responsible for so many people? It seemed it was written all over my face, even if I didn't say it. I chuckled and looked at the barbarians. "Are you looking down on your Chief? I'm still fine, so just follow behind my back."
I drew my greatsword and stepped forward. If I only played a support role with my remaining mana, I wouldn't last ten minutes. My head throbbed from the prolonged use of magic, but the muscles filling my body were still fresh. "The magic will be dispelled in ten seconds!"
"Good! Let's kill them again, Chief!"
The tunnel, filled with black smoke, cleared, and I could see the wolves in the distance. Just as the smoke vanished completely and the wolves began to run—
-*BOOM!*
A thunderous roar echoed from deep within the tunnel. The wolves, which had been charging without fear, froze in their tracks.
-*KWA-ANG!!!*
As the wolves in the distance were sent flying into the walls, they vanished into bloody pulps. "Haa... you're really late." As a giant fist swung, hundreds of wolves were sent flying by the wind pressure alone. A giant, his entire body covered in tattoos, landed in front of us. "Sorry I'm late."
"I wrote to come at a 15-degree angle northeast, so why are you so late?"
"How was I supposed to know that? I just searched every tunnel I could see."
The Barbarian Chief, the Great Chieftain, had arrived.