Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

To truly enjoy [Dungeon and Stone], you need to be adaptable.

I'm not talking about flexible essence builds, but the basic gameplay itself.

You might be hunting monsters, and suddenly a rift opens. You might encounter looters, or be betrayed by your own teammate.

These unexpected events can happen at any moment.

Like right now.

"Mister, this..."

"Yeah, that's right."

The Floor Lord had been summoned.

It meant that someone on the 3rd floor had placed seven corpses in the cabin.

Well, I was pretty sure it was intentional...

'But... there's always a chance it was an accident.'

After all, I had experienced it firsthand.

Misha and I were the ones who had accidentally summoned the Floor Lord in the past.

We had cremated the corpses in the cabin because we needed a place to rest... but someone had already cremated some corpses before us, and the conditions for summoning the Floor Lord had been met.

Anyway, that wasn't important right now.

"Yandel, what are we going to do?"

"We're leaving the forest. We can't go to the 4th floor anyway."

When the Chaos Lord, Riakis, was summoned, all the portals on the 3rd floor were deactivated.

The entire 3rd floor became a boss room.

"I'll take care of them."

Erwen used her fire spirit to eliminate the three Chaos Spirits that were blocking our path.

「The Chaos Spirits have been destroyed.」

「The area is now corrupted.」

We didn't have to worry about tile management this time.

We weren't planning to fight Riakis.

[Grooooaaaaaaaaar!]

We heard a familiar howl coming from the Witch's Forest.

I felt a pang of regret.

I had thought we would finally settle the score with Riakis this time...

"Bjorn! We can't just run away! We have to do something!"

"What do you want us to do? Fight the Floor Lord with just the four of us?"

Technically, there were five of us, including Auyen... but no one bothered to correct me.

It wasn't like adding one more person would change the outcome.

As we were retreating from the forest, we saw them.

"Bjorn! There's something creepy coming this way! What is that?!"

"It's a Chaos Spirit."

When Riakis was summoned, these token monsters would spawn all over the 3rd floor.

They would chase their target until one of them died.

'It's been a while since I've seen these guys...'

"Bjorn, that's not what I meant... I'm saying we have to do something. Didn't you say a lot of people died last time?"

She was right.

I had heard about the incident.

I felt guilty because I was partly responsible for it.

"And besides, I heard that high-level explorers have a duty to protect lower-level explorers during emergencies!"

Ah, the Explorer's Oath.

That was why the Djarwi Clan had protected the lower-level explorers during the Chaos Lord incident.

Larger clans were more sensitive to the guild's opinion.

'Well, they still took our money...'

But one thing was certain.

If it weren't for the Djarwi Clan, there would have been many more casualties. They had protected the lower-level explorers for a whole day, and even held off Riakis for almost four hours after he appeared.

"I-I don't know how to fight, but... you... you can do something, right?"

"Ainar, calm down."

I stopped walking and turned around, and Ainar stopped talking. She looked anxious, but she didn't avoid my gaze.

I could see it in her eyes.

"...."

Ainar was a righteous person.

She only showed her ruthless side to monsters and looters.

She was kind and compassionate towards others, and always willing to help if she could.

And...

"Don't worry. I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing."

I didn't see that as a weakness.

I had learned something from her.

Sometimes, kindness wasn't a weakness.

"Oh! I knew it!"

"Did you think I would just ignore our fellow barbarians? There must be a lot of them on the 3rd floor."

I had said that, but even if it wasn't about my tribe, I wouldn't have ignored the situation.

My fame was at stake.

If I was known for running away from a disaster, my reputation would plummet.

Therefore...

"Ooooooh!! So what are we going to do?! I'll follow you, even if you tell me to jump into fire!"

"We'll observe the situation for now."

"...Huh?"

We stayed at a safe distance, watching the forest.

"We might not have to intervene?"

"The Explorer's Guild rarely approves requests to slay the 3rd-floor Floor Lord. Maybe some clan summoned it without permission."

"Ah! So if they succeed, there's no problem!"

"That's right."

Of course, it was just speculation.

We didn't have any concrete information.

Therefore...

[Grooooaaaaaaaaar!]

We listened to the howls echoing through the forest and asked Erwen for updates.

"Riakis is heading west. It's too far to see clearly, but there are people around him."

"How many?"

"I don't know. It's too far..."

"Then we should get closer."

We moved along the outskirts of the forest, heading west. Erwen's exceptional detection skills gave us more information.

"...There are about fifteen of them. It seems like they're being chased by Riakis."

Well, it looked more like they were leading him to a suitable location for a raid. The Witch's Forest, with its dense trees and foliage, wasn't ideal for a raid.

I was more interested in something else.

"Fifteen..."

It was too few for a raid.

Well, they could probably slay him with a well-organized raid party...

"It's more likely that they're a decoy, and the main force is waiting somewhere else."

"That makes sense."

"Can you hear what they're saying?"

"No, I can't. They're probably using the 'Voice Control' spell."

"Hmm, I see."

It was a shame, but it was also a relief.

If it had been a genuine emergency, I would have had to intervene and tank the damage.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

It started to rain.

Sizzle!

Black rain, corrosive enough to burn my skin on contact.

It was Riakis's passive aura skill.

「Character is taking continuous damage from Chaos attribute.」

「Character's Magic Resistance is greatly reduced.」

「Warning: Continuous exposure to Chaos attribute damage may inflict the [Confusion] status effect.」

It meant that we were close to Riakis.

"We should move back."

We couldn't resist his passive aura without a priest, so we adjusted our distance based on the rain.

And after a while...

"They're coming out of the forest!"

The darkness that had been absorbing the light dissipated as we reached the edge of the 3rd floor.

I didn't have Erwen or Amelia's exceptional eyesight, but I could still see a group of fifteen explorers running towards us.

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!

And of course, a giant monster was chasing them.

"Erwen, check their clan emblem."

"...They don't have one."

What? They removed their emblems?

It made sense.

They were probably slaying the Floor Lord without permission.

"They're heading this way!"

They ran past us, leading Riakis away, and Amelia asked,

"Yandel, what are we going to do?"

"We're following them."

"Why?"

"If they fail, it'll be a disaster."

And who knows?

Maybe we could join the raid.

_______________________

We followed the decoy group and arrived at the 'Thornreed Field'.

'This is the ideal location.'

It was the perfect place for a raid, with its flat, open terrain and no obstacles.

They had even burned down the tall thornreeds, preparing the battlefield.

But...

"Mister, there's the main for—"

Suddenly, Erwen stopped talking.

"What happened?"

"They detected us. Someone's approaching."

"Can you outrun them?"

"...It'll be difficult. There's only one of them."

Hmm, I see.

I made my decision.

"Then we'll wait here."

There was no reason to run away.

I was also curious.

Who were these people who had summoned the Floor Lord without permission?

"He's here."

A figure appeared from the burned-out field, running towards us.

He stopped about 10 meters away.

He had seven daggers on his belt.

"...."

"...."

He looked at us, his face hardening.

He didn't say a word.

So I spoke first.

"Why are you so quiet? You were in such a hurry to get here."

"...It seems we have the honor of meeting a celebrity."

Ah, so that's why he was making that face.

He was intimidated.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Baron Yandel. I never expected to see someone like you on the 3rd floor—"

"Just tell me who you are."

I cut him off and asked, and he hesitated for a moment before answering.

"...My name is Malid Kevron."

I wasn't sure if it was his real name, but that's how he introduced himself.

I asked him another question.

"What clan are you from?"

"...We're from the Sawtooth Clan."

"The Sawtooth Clan..."

One of the four largest clans in the city, the same clan that James Kala had been the vice-captain of.

"Interesting. It's more surprising to see you here than it is to see me on the 3rd floor."

I chuckled, and he boldly asked,

"Did you summon the Floor Lord, Baron?"

He was a sharp one.

He wasn't afraid to take the initiative.

"I didn't."

"I see."

"But you're going to deny it if I ask you the same question, right?"

"We didn't summon it."

"So you're saying the group leading Riakis here has nothing to do with you?"

"They are our members. But we were just nearby, and we're trying to resolve the situation according to the Explorer's Oath."

Nice try.

"Then that's good. We'll help you."

I offered him a helping hand, and his face hardened.

"...We appreciate your offer, Baron, but we don't need your help."

"Why not?"

"This is a dangerous task, best left to explorers."

So he was looking down on me because I was a noble?

I almost lost it...

"The other nobles wouldn't want to see the Baron's reputation tarnished by such a reckless act."

"...What?"

What did I just hear?

"Are you talking about Count Alminus? One of the Sawtooth Clan's sponsors?"

I asked to confirm, and he smirked.

"Yes, that's right."

He was serious.

There was no point in being polite anymore.

"What the hell are you talking about, you little punk?"

"...I beg your pardon?"

He looked at me, stunned, and I took a step forward.

"Hey, Dagger."

"...Yes?"

"Is your head filled with goblin shit?"

"I... I don't understand..."

He was sweating, backing away.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough. What's inside your head, that is."

I raised my hammer.