Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 511: The Tomb (3)

Logically, it didn't make sense. The name we had just come up with less than a day ago was already recorded in this book.

“…How is that possible? We just arrived here.”

“The details are accurate. Yandel, do you know anything about this?”

“Well…”

I hedged, but inwardly, I had a feeling I knew what was going on. I couldn't explain it clearly, but instinctively, I sensed what this phenomenon was connected to.

‘The Record Stone…’

The mythical object that contained the entire history of the world, past and future. This phenomenon was definitely related to it. Even the name of this floor, ‘Archives,’ pointed towards that conclusion.

‘The more we explore, the more complicated things become…’

I was momentarily stunned, but I quickly collected myself. This wasn't something I could solve right now.

“This must be another one of the labyrinth's mysteries. Let’s not dwell on it and focus on the task at hand.”

“Right! Research and investigation are for mages! We’re explorers, we just need to explore!”

Ainar, for once, made a sensible comment.

I chuckled and carefully read the entry. The origin of the name was shocking, but the book itself was incredibly helpful.

Unlike the entries in the city library, this book had precise numerical values.

[Agility +8, Lightning Resistance +15, Jumping Power +30, Soul Power +20]

The base stats were listed as numbers, not as vague terms like ‘High,’ ‘Medium,’ or ‘Low.’

It also listed the color and effects of each essence.

Green essence: [Iron Feathers].

Yellow essence: [Thunder Thorn].

Blue essence: [Bubble Shield].

This information alone was enough to render the Mage Tower's research obsolete. There was no need for them to spend a fortune on research anymore.

Well, they were probably more interested in publishing papers and building their reputations than in the actual research.

This information would still be valuable, even if it was publicly known.

“Alright! Let’s try it again!”

After confirming the details, we used the book to summon the monsters.

「Nightfla slain.」

「McGuffin slain.」

The battle ended quickly. As before, the stone door closed, and a staircase leading to the third level of the bookshelf appeared.

We repeated the process, searching for books and summoning the monsters. Once a summoning book was found, we tossed it to the first team waiting on the lower level, so they could handle the monsters while we searched for more books.

「Frost Wolf slain.」

「Ice Golem slain.」

「Death Knight slain.」

「Wyvern slain.」

「Minotaur slain…」

「….」

As we climbed higher, the number and rank of the monsters listed in the books increased, making the battles more challenging. At this point, the Archives were comparable to a mid-level hunting ground.

‘No new monsters…’

Unfortunately, we still hadn’t found any books with new monsters.

‘…Do you have to slay them first to unlock their entries?’

It was a possibility, but we didn't have enough data to confirm it. We still had a long way to go.

One day, two days, three days…

Time flew by. We spent every waking moment hunting and searching for books, and our efforts paid off. We had climbed several levels, and our sample size was large enough to draw some conclusions.

1. New monsters don't appear in the books.

Whether there were no more new species, or whether their entries only appeared after they were discovered, remained unknown. We would have to explore other areas to find out.

2. The Archives are a terrible hunting ground.

…No, they were an amazing hunting ground.

If you were after magic stones and essences, there was no better place.

The monsters always appeared through the stone door.

It was ideal for large-scale team battles.

You could prepare before the battle.

You could cast spells and activate skills beforehand.

And in the mid-to-upper levels, each book contained over 100 monsters.

That alone made it incredibly efficient. There was no need to wait for respawns. You just had to summon more monsters.

In just three days, we had earned over 10 million stones from magic stones alone, and we had obtained seven essences.

Well, six of them were below 6th-grade, so we discarded them. We only kept the 5th-grade essence.

‘It’s a great place for hunting, but…’

Despite the efficiency, none of us were satisfied.

Our goal wasn't just hunting.

This was a newly discovered area.

We could earn much more by exploring and discovering new things.

‘The problem is… we can’t clear this place at our current level.’

We had definitely progressed past the mid-game, but clearing the final stage was impossible.

‘3rd-grade monsters are appearing, which means there might be 1st-grade monsters further up.’

It seemed like we had reached our limit.

It was time to leave the Archives.

As that thought crossed my mind…

“Bjorn!”

Ainar, who had climbed to a higher level, shouted.

“I found a book with a new monster!”

Really?

_________________________

Ainar's shout brought everyone together.

They were skeptical, considering it was Ainar… but she proudly presented the book.

A grotesque creature covered in tentacles.

It walked on all fours, and something resembling bone wings was attached to its back.

“What do you think? Have you ever seen a monster like this?”

“I… I haven’t.”

“Yandel, you?”

“Me neither.”

It seemed like a new species.

But why now?

“Hurry up and read it! What rank is it?! It looks really strong!”

I felt a strange sense of unease, but I read the entry aloud.

“Its name is Tentakulan. Its habitat is the Sea of Records.”

“The Sea of Records? Is that where the McGuffins appear?”

“Yes, but don’t interrupt.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s a 4th-grade monster, classified as a magical beast.”

“Oh! 4th-grade! What about its abilities?”

Seriously, stop interrupting.

I sighed inwardly. It was like talking to a brick wall.

“It has the [Pacifist] essence of the 4th-grade Sea Merchant, and the [Evil’s Sound] of the Gargoyle, the [Stone Curse] of the Medusa, and the [Underwater Roar] of the Leviathan.”

“…So there really are more monsters with mixed abilities.”

Yes, at this point, it was a fact.

This floor had new monsters with unique essence combinations.

And…

“It seems like the monsters in the library only appear after they’ve been discovered.”

That was new information.

“Huh? We weren’t the first to find it?”

I nodded and read the origin of the name.

“…Explorer Matherkin Lillgrams discovered this creature while exploring the 1st Basement Floor: Archives.”

“Matherkin Lillgrams… that’s the leader of the Silver Lion Clan…”

“We told them to leave, but they’re doing well on their own.”

Amelia sounded annoyed.

She felt like they had stolen our discovery.

It didn’t matter who discovered it.

We weren’t getting paid for this.

‘I’ll let her name the next monster we find.’

Anyway, we had gathered enough information about the monster, so we descended to the lower level and summoned it.

[Grrrrrrrrrr…]

It was much larger than the picture in the book.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

It looked like a wolf with tentacles, so why was its habitat the sea?

「Tentakulan slain.」

The battle ended without any problems.

Since it was our first time fighting it, we took our time and followed the standard strategy, but it was still just a 4th-grade monster.

“That was… easier than I expected.”

Misha had become much stronger too.

She had slain a 4th-grade monster in a single blow.

“Alright, everyone gather around.”

After the battle, I called for a meeting and initiated a vote.

There was only one item on the agenda.

“Should we stay here, or explore other areas? Share your thoughts.”

The response wasn't enthusiastic.

“…Does it even matter? You’ll just choose whatever you want.”

“That’s right.”

Damn, I shouldn’t have revealed my trump card so early.

I should have saved it for a more important decision.

“Don’t worry. I’ll abstain from this vote.”

I reassured them, and they finally started sharing their opinions.

Surprisingly, the vote was unanimous.

We would leave the library and explore other areas.

Well, I had expected that.

They were already getting tired of the repetitive hunting, and the Tentakulan incident had only fueled their desire to explore.

“This place isn’t bad, but it’s too inefficient, considering the competition.”

“They’re probably discovering new monsters and naming them as we speak.”

“And they’ll sell the essences to the Mage Tower for a high price.”

That’s the explorer spirit.

But even after the vote, I decided to stay for a day or two.

“…We’re not leaving yet?”

“Why? It’s not like you to waste time.”

They looked at me suspiciously, as if I was about to abuse my authority.

I felt a little offended.

I was just trying to be efficient.

“We’re already encountering 3rd-grade monsters. We should hunt them before we leave.”

We could handle 3rd-grade monsters, even if they appeared in pairs.

“And Emily, you still have a few 3rd-grade essences to collect, don’t you?”

“That’s… true.”

“Ainar, you haven’t obtained that essence I told you about.”

“……!”

It wasn’t just Ainar.

Erwen and Misha also needed 3rd-grade essences.

And I needed the Bellarios essence.

“So… everyone agrees?”

“…….”

Silence meant consent.

We continued hunting, our motivation renewed.

「Steel Giant slain. +EXP 7」

「Phoenix slain. +EXP 7」

「Earth Wyrm slain. +EXP 6」

「Garcian slain. +EXP 7」

「Abyssal Skeleton slain…」

「….」

The battles were much more challenging now, but the rewards were worth it.

We had slain almost half of the 3rd and 4th-grade monsters we had missed because of the war in the 7th floor's Dark Continent.

The only disappointment was that Beginner's Luck had only activated once.

「No. 9999 Beginner’s Luck activated.」

But at least it had been the Abyssal Skeleton essence.

It was a common monster, but it only appeared on the 10th floor.

None of us could use it, but 10th-floor essences were valuable, so it was a decent reward.

‘It seems like the rarer monsters don’t appear in the books.’

The Bellarios, for example.

I really wanted to find its entry.

“Stop.”

I decided to call it a day.

The difficulty was increasing exponentially. We were now encountering two 3rd-grade monsters at a time.

We could handle them if the combination was favorable, but the battles were taking longer, and we needed more rest. It wasn't efficient.

“Everyone, gather the books. We’re leaving.”

“Gather the books?” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

“What if other explorers come here? If we take the books from the top level, they won’t be able to progress any further. They can summon monsters all they want with the lower-level books, but the staircase won’t appear.”

“But the books are so big… we won’t have enough space in our subspace pockets.”

“If we run out of space, we can just throw them in the sea.”

“What? Yandel, you’re really…”

“Really?”

“Brilliant. Especially in situations like this.”

Amelia and the others seemed to like the idea.

None of them objected.

They were all explorers, after all.

‘It’s fair competition in this world.’

We cleared the area, making it impossible for others to progress any further, and then we started our ascent.

Thump, thump.

I climbed the stairs one by one, while the others jumped and climbed, their smaller bodies making it easier for them.

We reached the top level.

“…Hey, Baron Yandel?”

A group of explorers was waiting for us at the entrance.

They were in battle formation, their weapons drawn.