Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Pointed ears.

Short, stubby legs.

Animal ears and scaly skin...

Those surrounding us had appearances reminiscent of the heteromorphic races of Lapdonia.

But...

"What exactly are these?"

"Who knows. Probably monsters?"

They were distinctly different from the heteromorphic races.

Closer to an uncanny valley, perhaps?

They resembled heteromorphic races but possessed differences so alien they were unsettling.

"These are... the most horrible monsters I've ever seen."

One with pointed ears had horns sprouting from its forehead.

Some had stubby legs but normal upper bodies.

One had animal ears yet was covered entirely in scales like a dragonkin.

Some had extra arms or legs growing from strange places; others were fine except for an abnormally large head.

All of them had severely asymmetric faces, so at first glance it was clear they weren't normal...

"When the gods created life from clay, maybe if they shook it together with monsters in a pot, something like this would come out."

Someone muttered, and that seemed apt.

It felt like everything was rolled by random dice at birth.

A few more traits:

[Kyahaaaaaak—!]

They had enough intelligence to lure enemies but seemed to have no language system.

Also...

"Begin combat!"

"Everyone hold your positions! First, we need intel on the enemy... huh?"

Contrary to their threatening appearance, they were incredibly weak.

Thunk! Crack!

Heads shattered by hammer strikes swung in defense fell like autumn leaves.

'...What's this?'

I expected difficult opponents since they surrounded us while dodging even Amelia's and the scouts' senses.

"These guys are not much at all!"

"Kill them...!"

Once each squad member realized the enemy was insignificant, they began attacking more aggressively.

I tried to caution them not to become careless... but—

Crack! Slash! Kraaang!

No unexpected events happened until the area was cleared.

'Why are they so weak...?'

Their physical abilities were superior to normal humans, but that was all.

They didn't summon spirits like the elves, didn't use Number's items like dwarves, nor wield the powers of contracted souls.

They also didn't use essence power.

Only one unusual detail existed.

"Raven, did they cast any distortion magic?"

"No. They didn't."

"But their bodies remain..."

Dozens of crushed monsters lay sprawled on the clearing, heads, arms, legs all mangled.

"Are they alive?"

"Not breathing, and their hearts have stopped."

I approached cautiously, and aside from the corpses not disappearing, they were definitely dead.

"Check them out."

Putting remaining forces on alert, I ordered the mages to investigate the bodies.

For proper study, preservation magic would be needed before returning to base...

'No wonder none looked like barbarians.'

Even from a brief investigation, one obvious fact emerged.

Besides looking like an 8-ton truck ran over them, these monsters shared one more thing:

"Hearts."

Hearts.

"Very similar to a barbarian's heart."

They had warrior hearts.

Thoughts grew heavy.

I had learned a secret from talking with the vampire man.

[Duke... what race do you think I am?]

[...Obviously human, right?]

In the duke's era, 'heteromorphic races' did not exist.

Lapdonia's history wrote that heteromorphic races lived on this land even before the witch's curse blanketed the world.

What was going on?

Among many possibilities I thought of, the most plausible was this:

'Similar but different worlds.'

Like Earth's parallel world theory, maybe that was it.

A world accessible through dimensional gates where labyrinthine exploration is possible.

It didn't sound impossible.

But now, things were slightly different.

[Alchemy started as a science to create 'humans'.]

Alchemy.

[Oh, didn't know? Ancient records sell for high prices to royalty.]

Ancient history was actively collected, yet strangely much was lost.

[Humans can wield any power: aura, divine power, magic, spirit arts.]

Humans' trait is potential for all races.

And...

[It was different from magic or essence. It was like the voice itself held power, imprinted from birth in my blood and soul. That one is my king, my master.]

Even the king's mysterious special ability was veiled.

[Oh, and the old man of the magic tower only revealed his identity after we knelt and followed suit.]

Many bits of information gathered during the journey pointed to one possibility.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

The five heteromorphic races besides humans were artificially created.

For someone's need.

Or more precisely...

'The royal family. It can't be anything but the royal family.'

Though I felt like a conspiracy theorist, thinking backward made it somewhat convincing.

In a way, heteromorphic races are slaves to humans.

Slaves who enter the labyrinth, mining mana stones based on superior physical abilities.

'Even their taxes are high.'

Though the high taxes had historical reasons.

Now I even doubted that history itself.

Not doubting the history existed, but—

'Did that history have no mastermind behind it?'

Someone secretly pushing heteromorphic races forward, orchestrating events from behind.

It wouldn't be hard for a royal family with countless agents.

"...Why do you suddenly think like that?"

"I was just wondering what kind of jerky to eat later."

I dodged Raven's question.

Though I was convinced, it was still only a possibility...

If true, it was a heavy secret better left unspoken.

"Ahem, anyway, cast preservation magic on all the remaining corpses and store them well. We'll return to base for proper research."

"Are you planning to return immediately?"

"Of course not. Exploration continues. We haven't figured out much here yet."

After the battle and preliminary investigation, I led the troops to resume ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) surrounding exploration.

One day, two days, three days.

Expanding the search widely to make maps, we encountered many monsters.

Numerous mechanical monsters from the Panthelion Ruins, and several mechanical giants.

Among them were 'Doppelers.'

By the way, 'Doppler' was Raven's name for monsters resembling heteromorphic races...

Its etymology was simple in the ancient tongue:

'Different beings.'

Raven's characteristic flair for dramatic naming showed, but the meaning fit well enough—.

"Yandel."

Ah, startled.

"Make some noise if you're here. Have you finished scouting?"

Amelia nodded and got straight to the point.

"We found a strange artificial structure connected somewhere during scouting. We should go check it at dawn."

"An artificial structure?"

I asked Amelia for details. After everyone heard, I felt a strong intuition that we finally had some results.

But since everyone was tired, we agreed to rest well and inspect it in the morning per Amelia's advice.

"Here."

The next day, following Amelia, we arrived at an ordinary jungle.

No different from any area we'd explored so far.

But...

"Need to watch the ground more carefully from now on."

"We were lucky to find this."

Clearing brush up to knee height revealed something previously hidden.

A hatch resembling a manhole cover installed directly on bare ground.

It had a handle on top, as if designed to turn open.

"We didn't touch it, fearing it might be trapped."

"Good call."

I asked the mages to investigate. Soon, a report came back saying no major danger was detected.

Phew, so it was really just a matter of opening it?

Click, click, creak, thud—!

Turning the handle, I heard the lock release at a certain point, and the hatch opened.

Inside was a cylindrical structure with a ladder on one wall leading downward.

'Depth...'

Using a light orb spell, I checked: about 20 meters.

But I couldn't see below due to the angle.

"Well then, I'll—"

"Nonsense. I'll go down."

Before I could say anything, Amelia interrupted and stepped forward.

She didn't look like she'd back down no matter what I said.

We locked eyes, an unspoken battle of wills.

"What strange worries you have."

Raven chuckled and inserted himself between us.

"I'll check it out."

"What?"

"Ah, with magic, of course."

"Ah..."

Amelia and I stepped back awkwardly as Raven summoned a recording crystal, lowering it down safely instead of risking a person going down.

But such tools have their limits.

"There's a straight corridor below, blocked by an iron door at the end."

Since the door blocked the way, no further info could be gathered this way.

Therefore...

"...Don't even think about going in first. I'm the scout captain of this expedition."

It was decided Amelia would enter first.

'Funny how she was mad about the weird name before.'

Anyway, Amelia climbed down, followed by a mage.

After securing some safety, I was to enter.

"..."

Even after releasing [Giant Form], the narrow space made climbing down the ladder quite uncomfortable.

Shoulders were so cramped they nearly touched the walls.

'Barbarian misery.'

Such racially discriminatory architecture exists in all eras.

"This way, Yandel."

After a tough climb, Amelia called me from inside the corridor.

"Unlike upstairs, there's no locking mechanism here. And nothing gets scratched when I touch it with aura."

Hmm, if aura can't even scratch it, that's effectively physical damage immunity...

"How about magic?"

I asked, and the second entrant, a mage who was the expedition leader's right hand, answered cautiously.

"Besides the dimensional disruption, a weak special magical flow is detected. Its density is low, so it's unlikely to be a trap. It probably just controls the door opening and closing."

"And?"

"Interestingly, the dimensional disruption covers beyond the door, not the door itself."

"Hm, so the aura's ineffectiveness isn't due to the disruption?"

"That's how it looks."

"A metal that aura can't scratch..."

I knocked on the door like a tap.

I couldn't know what was hidden inside, but even this iron door felt valuable.

"Deputy chief of investigation."

"...Are you talking to me?"

"Yes. Can you remove this whole thing? I think it'd make excellent armor if melted down."

"Uh... I think it's worth a try. Even aside from making armor, it's clearly a rare mineral."

Okay, got it.

Though I don't know why making armor is ruled out, the mage agreed to attempt removing it.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a faint vibration echoed from the door.

"Yandel, step back!"

Startled by Amelia's shout, I stepped back.

But what happened next was unexpectedly minor.

Drdrdr, drdrdr.

Something turned inside, and with a soft click, the round door smoothly opened.

「Primary record access permission confirmed.」

「Entry permitted.」

What the...?

"Do you know why it opened suddenly?"

"No idea. When we tried contacting it earlier, there was no response."

"I see..."

Slightly dumbfounded, but now two possibilities existed: someone opened it hearing my knock, or—

'Some condition unknown to me was met.'

Personally, the latter seemed more likely, but it didn't matter.

While the mage used a message stone to report the situation upstairs, I slowly entered beyond the door.

And...

'Huh?'

A problem arose.

Suddenly, I looked back to see Amelia pressed right against the door.

She had her palm flat in the air as if miming something.

Her mouth moved but no sound came out.

"What? You can't come in?"

"How did you get in?"

Sensing something strange, I hurried outside and asked. After several tries, one fact was confirmed.

"The door opened, but the dimensional disruption remains active as usual. I just don't understand..."

For some reason, only I could enter beyond that door.

Therefore...

"Wait here. I'll check quickly."

"What? Wait—"

Before Amelia's nagging could start, I rushed back inside.

Flare—!

It was dark inside, but activating Barbarian Candle mode helped.

'Feels like being inside a submarine...'

Every surface was covered in steel plates, with unknown pipes and cables everywhere.

Clunk, clunk.

No forks in the path; only straight ahead. After walking about 100 meters, another ladder appeared to go down.

But instead of descending blindly, I decided to open the iron door next to it first.

Clunk.

Luckily, it opened easily without sticking.

Peeking inside, I slowly blinked.

"Phew..."

A long corridor stretched out, seemingly endless.

Test tubes filled with green liquid lined the walls.

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

I didn't know why the genre suddenly changed to sci-fi...

'Doppler.'

Monsters resembling heteromorphic races named by Raven crouched in test tubes, glaring at me.