Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 512: The Tomb (4)

One, two, three, four, five, six…

Out of habit, I started counting.

‘Twenty-four.’

That was the number of explorers awkwardly standing at the entrance.

So these were the Hex Clan, right?

“It seems like the Myrtane team joined them.”

“Myrtane?”

“The five-man team that couldn’t bring their warrior inside. Their leader’s name is Myrtane.”

I see.

So the remaining four-man team and the other five-man team joined the Silver Lion Clan?

I wasn't sure, but I decided to address the group in front of me.

I had been annoyed by their presence ever since we arrived.

“Are you looking for a fight?”

“…Excuse me?”

The warrior at the front seemed startled by my blunt question and quickly gave his teammates an order.

“Ah… We heard noises and thought it was a monster… Everyone, lower your weapons!”

So they had been preparing for a possible monster encounter, not a PK.

They lowered their weapons, and the warrior cautiously addressed me.

“Um… Are you finished exploring below?”

“Not completely. Are you just arriving?”

“Yes, but…”

“This is fate, so let's introduce ourselves. What’s your name?”

“Wyte. Wyte Hex. I’m the second leader of the Hex Clan.”

“Second leader?”

“My father was the first.”

So he inherited the clan. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

I was about to leave, but I was a little curious, so I decided to ask a few more questions.

“Wyte, what happened after we left?”

“Ah, about that…”

Normally, explorers would tell you to mind your own business, but not to me.

It was partly because of my reputation, but also because I had opened the portal to this place.

They felt indebted to me, even though I had left them on the rocky island.

“As you might have guessed, Baron, they naturally split into two groups.”

Wyte's explanation was brief.

The Silver Lion Clan and the Hex Clan.

After I left, the two groups had formed a temporary alliance. They hadn't merged their command structures, but they had agreed to travel together and help each other in dangerous situations. ŗ𝐀ɴÓ𝔟Ёş

“What about the smaller teams?”

“They felt uneasy being between the two clans, so they formed their own group.”

So there were three groups in total.

They had each boarded their own ships and left the rocky island to explore.

And then…

“The problem started after they discovered the island.”

“The island?”

I showed interest, and Wyte, sensing an opportunity, offered a trade.

“If you share information about this floor, we’ll share our information as well.”

“Alright, I’ll do that. Continue.”

I hadn’t signed any contracts, but Wyte seemed satisfied with my verbal agreement and continued his story.

“It was a large island. And we encountered a new species.”

“Are you talking about the Tentakulan?”

“How did you know that name…?”

“I’ll tell you later. Just keep going.”

“…It wasn’t the Tentakulan. Unlike the creatures we encountered on the way to the island, it was much stronger.”

Much stronger…

The Tentakulan was 4th-grade, so this new monster had to be at least 3rd-grade.

“Tell me more.”

“We managed to slay it, but we couldn’t identify its essence. It used the [Healing Mist] of the Death Lord, the [Corpse Poison] of the Lecta, and the [Hellfire] of the Hellsmith. We named it ‘Diamond.’”

Diamond.

Its rank was unknown, and it had been alone, so it was probably a solitary creature.

“What happened after you killed it?”

“We decided it was too dangerous to explore the island, so we set up camp on the coast and continued hunting Diamonds. And… that’s where our opinions diverged.”

“How so?”

“The Silver Lion Clan wanted to explore the island, but we disagreed. Hunting Diamonds on the coast was already dangerous enough for us.”

But the Silver Lion Clan had been adamant.

Instead of trying to reach a compromise, they had decided to go their separate ways. The Hex Clan had given up trying to persuade them.

“The smaller teams also disagreed, and two of them joined the Silver Lion Clan. Myrtane’s team decided to stay with us.”

“Why did you leave the island?”

“We thought there might be other islands. Islands that were safer for us to explore.”

It made sense. If 3rd-grade monsters were appearing on the coast, it would be safer to explore other areas.

He had seemed reckless at first, but he was actually quite pragmatic.

“Now, it’s your turn, Baron. Can you tell us about your exploration?”

I shared the information we had gathered in the Archives.

He had listened with anticipation at first, but his expression gradually changed as I continued.

“So… there’s not much for us to gain there?”

“It’s a decent hunting ground. We left a lot of summoning books behind. And you might discover something we missed.”

“That’s… true.”

Wyte then called his navigator and shared the location of the island with Auyen. That concluded our business.

As I was about to leave…

“So… you haven’t found a way out either?”

Wyte said something that caught my attention.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s nothing… Just a silly thought.”

“I’ll decide if it’s silly or not. Tell me.”

I pressed him, and he looked a little embarrassed as he spoke.

“I was just wondering… when this place will close… I’m a little worried… Will we be able to return to the city?”

“….”

“I’m just… a little scared… that this might be my final resting place.”

I see.

‘That was a waste of time.’

_________________________

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

Our ship cut through the silver waves.

Our destination was the island Wyte had told us about.

“We should arrive in about five hours.”

Auyen was using all his navigation skills to shorten the travel time, and the other teammates were also diligently performing their duties.

It was 2:00 AM.

‘Day 11…’

It had been eleven days since the labyrinth opened.

But it still hadn’t closed.

I had been checking the time every day since Day 7, but…

Maybe it was because of Wyte’s words.

I felt a strange sense of unease.

I had been relieved that the labyrinth hadn’t closed before… but now, a small seed of anxiety had been planted.

‘Not knowing anything… it’s driving me crazy.’

This was also part of the labyrinth, so it would close eventually, right?

I tried to reassure myself, but I couldn’t shake off the doubt.

Even though I knew that all floors from 1 to 10 shared the same closure timer, I couldn’t be certain about this place. It was too unique.

‘If it doesn’t close by Day 30, I’ll think about it then.’

I decided to postpone my worries.

It was good to be prepared, but I couldn't let it paralyze me.

“Bjorn! Tentamond! That Tentamond appeared!”

“It’s Tentakulan.”

We had entered their territory. McGuffins were no longer appearing, and Tentakulans were jumping out of the water and onto the deck.

「Tentakulan slain.」

「Tentakulan slain.」

「Tentakulan slain.」

「Tentakulan slain…」

We hunted them as we sailed, but no essences dropped.

It was a little disappointing.

They were 4th-grade monsters, so their essences would have been valuable.

‘I’ll farm them later if we have time…’

I dismissed the thought.

I couldn't be greedy.

“Oh! A new island!”

As the island came into view, we prepared to disembark.

The only suitable landing spot was a small beach below a cliff.

The rest of the island was surrounded by steep cliffs.

‘We could dock next to the cliff and climb up…’

But it was easier to just disembark on the beach and walk.

That kind of stunt was for experienced explorers. This beach was clearly meant to be the starting point.

“I’ll scout the area. Follow me, and let me know if you find anything.”

We disembarked and started exploring the coast. There were no monsters in sight, but we couldn't let our guard down.

‘Visibility is about 10 meters.’

That was one of the characteristics of this floor. The visibility changed depending on the field.

We could see the outline of the island from afar, but now that we were on the ground, our vision was limited.

“Auyen, you’re in charge of mapping the area. Can you do that?”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

I could have mapped the area myself, but I delegated the task to Auyen.

I was the vanguard. I couldn't be carrying a notebook and pen.

“Clan Master, I think we’ve explored the entire coast.”

“That was quick.”

After about 20 minutes of searching, we had explored the entire coast. There was only one way to leave the beach.

We could either climb the cliff… or take the narrow crevices between the cliffs.

‘…The problem is… there are three different paths.’

There were three crevices: one in front of us, and one on each side.

They might all lead to the same place… but we couldn’t be sure.

We had to choose one.

“Ainar, which way should we go?”

“If you’re a warrior, you always go straight!”

There was no way to know without exploring, so we followed Ainar’s suggestion and took the middle path.

‘…It’s narrower than I thought.’

Even without [Gigantification], I had to duck and squeeze through the narrow crevice. My head and shoulders kept bumping against the walls.

After about 20 minutes of struggling, we finally reached the exit.

‘Finally, some fresh air.’

I felt claustrophobic, so I quickly squeezed through the opening and stepped outside.

And I immediately scanned my surroundings.

“…….”

A tropical rainforest.

Knee-high bushes covered the ground, and the trees were larger than any I had ever seen.

And then…

Drip.

Something dripped from above.

‘Rain?’

That was my first thought.

But the sticky sensation on my cheek… it was unmistakable.

‘Blood.’

I looked up.

“……Damn it.”

Three mangled corpses were hanging from the vines above us.

“…They’re from the Silver Lion Clan.”

Bersil’s words were followed by a heavy silence.

The reason was simple.

“…….”

“…….”

Monsters didn’t do that.