Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Day 87 since entering the labyrinth.

While going through the morning routine, Amelia brought some unusual news.

“A ghost....”

Though Amelia had checked and found nothing, there were already more than one or two eyewitnesses, so it couldn’t just be brushed off.

Except for Amelia, everyone in the guard squad claimed to have seen it at least once during their watch.

So I ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) called them all for a brief interview.

“When I turned my head toward that side, a creepy feeling came over me, and there, something with white hair was staring right at me.”

Starting with Mikhail Lectus from the royal investigation unit, I listened to all the testimonies of those who had seen the ghost — surprisingly, the forms they saw were all different.

“What I saw was a beast monster with fangs sticking out like this...”

“For me, it was different... a man wearing tattered clothes. His eyes were completely blackened, and he looked at me with resentful, bleeding tears.”

“What I saw looked like a slime. It was stuck to the floor like it had melted into it, approaching me from the darkness. But when I blinked, it was gone. I thought I was just seeing things from exhaustion.”

Completely different, inconsistent eyewitness accounts.

But one thing they all shared in common:

Whenever they looked away for a moment, it suddenly disappeared from in front of them...

“Did they all see it yesterday?”

“No, the times were all different. After Lectus mentioned it during his watch last night, I asked everyone, and except for me, they said they’d seen it at least once.”

I see...

As I pondered, stroking my chin, I heard something grinding nearby.

Creak, creak, crreeeaaak—!

The source was Ainard’s jaw.

Barbarians tend to clench their jaws when scared.

“A g-ghost... i-isn’t that dangerous...!!”

Come to think of it, Ainard had been really afraid of these kinds of things since before.

Actually, most barbarians were like that.

They have a physiological aversion to spiritual monsters, and many even have genuine fear.

Later, out of curiosity, I asked Raven about this trait, and this was the answer:

The blood of the barbarian tribe.

In other words, it might be genetically encoded information about natural enemies immune to physical force.

Due to barbarians’ instinct-driven nature, such traits commonly appear across many individuals.

Well, that’s not the important part right now.

“You said there’s a smell?”

“Huh? A smell? Maybe like meat...?”

At my muttering, Ainard sniffed around restlessly.

Does his craving for meat outweigh his fear of ghosts?

It was absurd, but I lost interest.

Because the smell I was sensing wasn’t that.

“Meat’s good, but....”

There are things in this world tastier than meat.

The smell I was sensing was exactly that kind of thing.

“A hidden piece.”

For anyone who played Dungeon & Stone, the sight of one immediately turns your eyes wild with fascination.

And right after hearing about the ghost, that exact smell came.

Slurp.

The rich scent of a hidden piece full of milk and honey.

And very strong.

Hidden pieces.

In this world, they’re called the legacy of Gavrilius.

Having found countless hidden pieces while playing Dungeon & Stone, I immediately got to work.

The first thing needed was information.

Lots of diverse information, enough to make statistics.

“Time... you say?”

“It was shortly after 1 a.m.”

“Since it was the first watch, it must have been around 11 p.m.”

Asking all the team members who saw the ghost revealed it only appeared between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Could this be coincidence?

“No way.”

The ghost in the library appears between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.

“There! There it is! It was looking right at me.”

“I was on that bookshelf...”

“For me, it was on the stairs leading outside.”

The location seems random.

Or rather, it might be better to say the entire library.

“Sir, do you think the ghost might be one of Gavrilius’s arrangements?”

While researching diligently, Elwen looked at me with curious eyes.

And not only her.

“Yes, for now.”

When I answered affirmatively, all the explorers listening brightened with excitement.

“Gavrilius’s arrangement!”

“It’s real!”

The Armin Expedition, specialized in finding hidden pieces, was obviously thrilled, and even members of the Hext clan showed strong desire.

Well, how could any explorer not want that?

“So... if we find the ghost, can we get treasure? I heard those who found arrangements became rich.”

Even Ainard, who feared the ghost, let his true feelings slip out. But not everyone went crazy.

Only one person.

Only one approached me with concern.

“Yandel, it’s dangerous to think only positively.”

Amelia Rainwells.

My companion, bound by a bond transcending time.

“Dangerous?”

“Exactly. You seem to be thinking too optimistically, unlike yourself.”

Ah, I get the gist.

Honestly, I thought the same as soon as I heard about the ghost.

Maybe the ghost is a surveillance sent by someone, and we happened to discover it.

“For example, maybe the chief.”

Like the incident with the Silver Lion clan leader’s emergency escape on a revisit to the library.

It’s not good to view the ghost’s existence only as a boon.

Even if it’s not the chief, it might not be a ‘boon’ at all.

“Emily, I understand what you mean. I’m keeping it in mind, so don’t worry too much.”

“...Alright then. Understood.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

My instinct still said the ghost was connected to the hidden pieces, but I decided to be more cautious as Amelia advised.

Assuming the worst is helpful in any situation.

“We’ll see what happens at night.”

After concluding, I returned to my main work, summoning monsters and spending the day.

Resting just enough, I spent the day fighting monsters, but unfortunately, today’s haul was poor.

“A useless grade 4 essence...”

Normally, this alone would be a jackpot to bottle, but now I can’t be satisfied with that.

Tch.

The most disappointing thing was that Bellarios was found again by luck, and I caught two more, but no essence came out.

Still, if this trend continues, I think I’ll get some before leaving B1 floor. The frequency in the books definitely increased with the higher shelves.

“Anyway, what should I do with the one essence slot left?”

I currently have two essence slots.

One is fixed for Bellarios essence, and the Hiphramagent’s essence will go into the orc hero slot later, so it doesn’t count.

I’m worried about the last slot.

It’s not specifically reserved.

I just thought it best to keep it for preparation against a conflict with the chief since the graduation essences can’t be obtained in the current state.

Unless an 8th-floor Rift Guardian like Milayel appears again, whatever I consume will have to be wiped in a few months.

“...I’ll decide gradually as I see what appears. There’s no urgent reason right now.”

Unless I hadn’t gotten Aegis’s barrier.

Now that I have the graduation shield, even the chief has no reason to be impatient.

With that thought, I ended my musing.

Tick, tick—

The library was ready for camping as the day ended.

[23:00]

Night had already come.

11 p.m.

According to our expedition schedule, everyone except the watchmen was fast asleep, resting for tomorrow’s work.

But surprisingly, many people were still awake.

“An arrangement of the great sage...”

“Could that be true?”

“Even if not, it’s curious. Maybe it’ll give clues to escape this place.”

Like children unable to sleep the night before a picnic, the explorers lay chatting with comrades.

Hey, just go to sleep already.

“Enough chatter! Close your eyes! If too many are awake, it might not show up!”

As I patrolled, catching those resisting sleep, the library soon fell silent. Though the quiet was far from peaceful.

Rrrrrrrrrrrr—!

Snoring of dozens of explorers, big and small.

“Looks like everyone’s asleep.”

“So, what do you want to do now?”

“What else but roam around and look.”

After confirming everyone was asleep, I led Amelia and Versil on patrol.

And then...

“So... we have to stay like this until 3 a.m.?”

After about an hour of patrolling without any discoveries, Versil spoke up.

He didn’t seem unhappy about the patrol...

“Yandel, how are you these days?”

Looks like he was bored being quiet.

Well, I felt the same and naturally took that as an invitation for small talk.

“How do you mean ‘how am I’?”

“Just overall. Everyone’s curious.”

“About what?”

When I asked back, Versil glanced at Amelia patrolling alone far away and whispered.

“So who is she?”

“Could you please use a subject for once?”

“Oh, come on... you know what I mean.”

Well, yeah.

I’m not oblivious.

I smirked and answered.

“No one.”

“Really? I thought you were dating Ms. Rainz at least.”

“Not at all. We’re just comrades.”

“Hmm... I see?”

Versil seemed unbelieving but quickly changed the subject.

“How about Ms. Kalstein? You’ve been spending more time together lately.”

“Spending more time...”

Just that the awkwardness between us had lessened a bit.

So recently, we’ve talked more often. Mostly trivial stuff about food being tasty or telling her to eat more veggies.

“I guess everyone cares. After all, you’re the baron’s only ex-lover.”

Ugh, being stuck in the labyrinth so long, everyone’s attention has narrowed to this kind of stuff.

Small talk during patrols is fine, but this topic is stressful, so I ended it here.

“Enough, be quiet. Everyone’s asleep.”

They’re valuable people who need rest to work hard tomorrow.

“...”

Why is he not answering?

Is he sulking?

Just as I turned back to check, Versil stopped and murmured softly like a ventriloquist.

“Over there, over there.”

His head faced me but his eyes shifted sideways to indicate a direction. I followed his gaze and confirmed.

“Right? That’s the ghost people were talking about.”

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but it’s worth checking.”

“...It’s scary. I didn’t expect it to look so horrible.”

Hearing that, I involuntarily tilted my head.

“Horrible appearance...?”

Versil and I must be seeing totally different things.

“How curious.”

All I saw was a rat.

A mysterious creature living in the library.

It appears between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., and each person sees a different form.

Mysterious in many ways, but surprisingly easy to capture.

「Character cast [Eye of the Storm].」

「By the power of Transcendence, the inherent ability of the skill activates.」

One grab and it was in my hand.

[Beep? Beep, beep—!!!]

It was so small I didn’t even need to use [Giant Form]; it curled up perfectly in one hand.

But then.

[Beep, beee! Beeeep!!]

The rat struggled, its body turning semi-transparent.

Startled, I almost crushed it.

「Versil Gowland cast 8th-grade curse magic [Materialization].」

Versil responded just in time, and the rat’s body returned to normal.

“What was that noise...?”

Amelia, hearing the commotion, rushed over and frowned at me.

“Yandel, what’s that in your hand?”

“Well, what do you see it as?”

“...Something very soft and disgusting.”

“Is that so? Versil, what about you?”

“A man covered in filth... suspiciously resembling someone I know.”

“Someone you know...?”

“No, Yandel doesn’t know him.”

Hmm, I see...

[Beep, beee! Beeeep—! Beeee!!!]

I licked my lips and looked down at what I was holding.

No matter how I looked, it was an ordinary rat.

Like a hamster standing on two legs?

The only difference was that unlike Earth hamsters, its size was huge — big enough to play measuring height with dwarves and acorns.

[Beep! Beep—! Beeeek!!!]

It struggled desperately and even looked kind of cute.

But that’s one thing; this is another.

“Let’s wake up all the members first... no need to scream.”

All the members, having heard the commotion, were already awake and staring this way.

“...Is that the ghost?”

“It really is a horrible form.”

“If you saw it alone at night, you’d be terrified...”

No matter their reactions, I headed to the library’s center holding the rat.

Then...

Thud.

I placed the rat on the summoning altar.

“...No use, huh?”

Unfortunately, the altar gave no reaction.

So...

[Beep, beee! Beeeep—! Beeee!!!]

I was left with two choices.