Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

According to the expedition leader, starting from about 200 meters above, the gusts of wind were too strong to ascend using levitation magic.

They even tried casting illumination magic to try and reveal the view, but the wind was so fierce that the magic dispersed quickly.

However, when the illumination magic briefly flared, one member of the expedition said they saw something.

"There was definitely something looking down at me from the darkness."

That expedition member couldn't clearly describe the appearance, shape, or size of the thing, but was strongly certain they had seen something.

"The wind was so strong that it was hard to see properly ahead. We have to consider the possibility that they were mistaken..."

The expedition leader seemed skeptical of the member's account, but I was different.

Of course, I don't fully believe it either...

"Then let's check again."

"Check again... you mean...?"

"Yes. Go back up and use the illumination magic properly this time. Then we should be able to see something clearly."

"...The members are quite exhausted. Can we let them rest sufficiently today and continue the investigation from tomorrow?"

From tomorrow, huh...

If I were honest, I wouldn't want to waste any time, but I'm a barbarian commander who inherited the spirit of a great leader.

"Of course."

Giving the permission coolly, the expedition leader's face, which looked like it might collapse, began to regain color.

'...I hope he wasn't deliberately hiding his face with magic to rest.'

Suddenly, I had such a suspicion, but trusting my subordinates with a broad heart is also part of being a commander.

In the end, the investigation resumed only after the entire expedition team rested fully until the next day.

And then...

"I saw it too...! Something was looking down at me!"

Another similar eyewitness account emerged within the expedition, and this time, the form of it was faintly captured in a video recording orb.

Opinions among those who checked the orb were divided, though.

"It's hard to distinguish clearly because it's so dark around it."

"Could it be caused by refraction of the light orb magic...?"

"I disagree. Do you see here? This is the eye, this is the nose... if you look thinking like this, the outline emerges..."

"Eek! Really! That's not a human figure!"

"...Creepy."

Hearing this, it felt less like experts tackling a new floor and more like a ghost club exploring a haunted house.

'...The recording orb is ambiguous.'

I checked the video myself, but it was difficult to say much based on that alone.

However...

'Still, there's now more than one eyewitness.'

Not one, but two.

That is statistically significant.

At this point, the claim that there is something inside gains credibility.

Something is hidden within those gusts.

Even if it's not what they call a "person."

"Hmm..."

I pondered deeply.

Because now what I have to do next became clear.

"How do I get up there?"

A way to break through the gusts and reach the unknown something.

From now on, I must come up with that method.

"Expedition leader. From now on, you have full authority to investigate that place at your discretion. You may deploy others as needed."

The expedition switched to automatic investigation mode.

I told them to try anything that came to mind, even if it seemed foolish, but to report every result to me without fail.

'Though I doubt that old man will come up with a creative investigation method.'

Still, maybe they'll bring back something.

Afterward, I said I would take a moment to organize my thoughts and returned to my cabin.

[Seems like things aren't going well?]

"Ah, want to hear about it?"

I sat Hamsik up from reading a book and shared the current situation as a kind of complaint.

I had hoped for some advice, but sadly, Hamsik only has listening skills, no advice function.

[Yeah, that's tough.]

"Is that all?"

[Then what do you want me to do?]

Lately, maybe because he reads books often, he's gotten a lot more prickly.

He used to be much gentler.

'Is he going through puberty?'

Hamsik turned his attention back to his book, and I lay down on the bed to sort my thoughts.

How could I break through the obstacles and ascend?

Moving a team of over a hundred through the gusts up several hundred meters wasn't easy to imagine.

But precisely because of that...

'It probably won't be by just using magic to ascend. Hmm... maybe I have to meet some condition to trigger an event?'

A thoroughly gamer-derived speculation.

But since this is the world ofDungeon and Stone, that perspective helps.

"An event, huh..."

Actually, the first hypothesis that came to mind is this:

The moment the rainy season ended.

A rainbow-colored pillar of light shone so strongly it was visible anywhere on the first underground floor.

The pillar lasted about five minutes before disappearing.

At the time, I thought it was simply a landmark.

But...

'What if I'm at that spot when it happens? Will a new event trigger?'

A pretty plausible hypothesis.

After all, that condition itself was quite hard to meet.

'The nearest island is four weeks away.'

The Stone Gate Island, lined with guardian statues, sank under the sea, so the nearest island is the Library Island.

Using the magitech propulsion device cuts travel time significantly, but it doesn't really matter.

No matter what, the rainy season will end before we arrive.

'Simply put, if I want to be at the pillar when it forms, there's no choice but to endure the rainy season head-on...'

Assuming my hypothesis is all correct, thinking inversely, it's meaningful that Rainbow Island is isolated like a remote island.

Well, or maybe not.

'I'll keep investigating until then, and if no method appears, I'll try it once.'

That was the conclusion for now.

One day, two days, three days, four days...

Time passed quickly on the ship anchored in the calm zone.

For some, it was a busy time; for others, it was peacefully boring.

"C-Caught it! Expedition leader!"

"Really?!"

The most active among the busy were the expedition members.

Under my orders, they tried outrageous experiments daily, repeatedly failing.

Oh, today's experiment was drone deployment.

The plan was to tie a video recording orb to an arrow, shoot it, track its location, and review the footage — a pretty reasonable plan, actually...

"Play it! Hurry!"

"..."

"Why are you just staring blankly—?"

"It... won't operate. Seems to be damaged by the impact from the fall."

The expedition leader's face hardened after investing three whole days preparing for this plan.

"Repair?"

"The circuits are not just tangled, they're completely broken. It looks difficult."

"..."

SighI felt sorry for them.

I wanted to tell them to just rest already, but since they always came up with pretty decent plans, I just watched.

'No wonder he was recommended for the position...'

The expedition leader was appointed on Gahwin's recommendation and fit the role better than expected.

'I was a bit surprised when they said they'd explore the sea simultaneously.'

By the way, the expedition leader did conduct deep-sea exploration simultaneously, and the most impressive plan was to attach weights to the video orbs and sink them.

The plan was to remove the weights after a timer-triggered magic, form an air layer, and return.

But the problem was the durability of the recording crystal orb.

No matter how many protective magics were layered, it shattered from the high pressure when retrieved.

"...If I return, I will definitely create a recording crystal orb that functions under any environment without breaking."

Hmm, maybe that's how all civilization advancements start.

They say failure leads to success, after all.

'If only that existed, exploration would be much easier.'

Ah, but even without it, things were comfortable.

There were enough talented people around who would be treated like aces anywhere, so I didn't have to step in.

I was the typical figure passing the boring time.

'I'm bored, better go patrol.'

Walking around the closely docked ships, I noticed the number of people on deck was noticeably low.

I understood fewer guards were needed since no sea monsters had appeared...

'But even so, this few?'

I approached a crew member working on something on deck and asked, only to hear an unexpected answer.

"Everyone's hiding inside their rooms. They're afraid of being seen by the expedition leader if they come outside."

"...?"

"Didn't the count give the expedition leader authority? He can pull anyone from anywhere if needed."

"Ah..."

"Ugh... I wasn't even coming out of my cabin because it was stuffy. Just happened to run into him then..."

Seeing an actual victim, I realized it wasn't just a rumor.

Feeling somewhat sorry, I quickly left.

After checking all four ships and returning to our own...

"Biyoorn!!"

"Call me commander—."

"Save me! I want to rest...!"

Ainard threw his spear down on the floor and ran over.

'Geez, how expensive is that spear?'

I almost coughed blood seeing the emerald spear rolling on the floor, but first dodged Ainard's tackle and checked the deck.

"Ugh!"

"Tch."

Amelia clicked her tongue at Ainard, who had just rolled forward. Looks like he was lightly training with her...

Nothing surprising about that.

"Training again today?"

"I can't do anything on my own."

Whether on Chief's Island or during the voyage, Amelia found spare time to train Ainard.

"Just understand it's because of his fighting spirit. When he's back to normal, he'll do well even without orders."

"True. But aside from that, I plan to keep managing him until then. Planning to stop me?"

"No way. Take good care of Ainard."

I was rather grateful to Amelia.

She was taking care of what I should be doing.

'Looks like she's getting attached to the others too.'

It was a good sight in many ways.

Especially since she helped Ainard voluntarily, not because I ordered her to.

"If you want to rest, swing your spear. If you hit me even once, training's over for the day."

"Be-Behel—ra...!"

Ainard started swinging his spear with renewed motivation, and after watching the sparring from a short distance, I left.

About three days left until the rainy season.

We held a leadership meeting after a long time.

And I declared one thing.

"The investigation ends today."

"...What...?"

The expedition leader, upon hearing my words, looked at me with a dumbfounded expression unbefitting a mage.

Honestly, I thought he'd be happy.

"...I'm sorry to disappoint you. After all this time, we didn't find anything—"

No, I wasn't trying to scold him.

Since it seemed like a misunderstanding, I quickly continued.

"I'm not disappointed. From the start, I think you did your best with what you could. Without you, we wouldn't have uncovered this much."

Warm words unlike a brusque barbarian commander.

Normally, I wouldn't have been like this, but I sincerely acknowledged the expedition leader's skill and effort.

Maybe it showed in my eyes?

"...Thank you."

The expedition leader bowed shortly in response, then cautiously asked.

"So the investigation is stopping because of the rainy season?"

"You're half right, but also half wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"We're stopping because of the rainy season, yes, but we're not moving to avoid it. Rather, we need time to prepare, so we're ending the investigation."

I then looked at all the leadership, not just the expedition leader.

"We will spend the rainy season here."

To do that, perfect preparation was necessary.