Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

A temple I barely reached after running day and night for several sleepless days.

"......"

The temple was eerily silent, not much different from when I left it.

The barracks set up for a long stay and the cooking facilities were intact.

Only the people were gone.

Thump—

What on earth had happened here?

There were no signs of battle.

In fact, the pot still contained thick stew, as if cooking had been in progress—

'...The door's open?'

Only then did I notice the temple door, which should have been closed, was wide open.

Could this be connected to the recent events?

I cautiously moved toward the temple.

["Bjorn Yandel...!!"]

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind.

"...Hamsik?"

As soon as I turned toward the voice, Hamsik flew at me.

["Why did you come only now! I was scared to death...!"]

It was the first time I'd seen him so startled.

But I had no time to calm down and listen carefully.

"What exactly happened here?"

["I-I don't know! Suddenly, light burst from the temple, and everyone seemed out of their minds, getting up and entering that temple!"]

"You mean they went in on their own...?"

Had they fallen under some charm or mind control? That would explain the absence of battle traces...

["Yes! Again, their eyes were strange, staggering as if they didn't even see me next to them!"]

"Calm down."

["......"]

"So you were the only one who stayed sane in that situation?"

["Yes."]

"Did you see the expedition members who crossed the river with me?"

Trying to stay calm, I asked, and Hamsik's voice steadied slightly.

["Ah...! They entered the temple a few days ago, carried by some strange flying object..."]

Flying object? Could that be the drone I saw before?

"So were they unconscious?"

["No, their eyes were open. Like the others, their souls were completely gone, though."]

"Damn, what kind of range is that?"

["...Hmm?"]

"Oh, just talking to myself."

Obviously, the source of the mind control was the temple.

But that it affected even across the river was unexpected.

Though I was safe inside the bunker with dimensional rupture, why was Hamsik unaffected?

Maybe because he was classified as a 'monster'?

I didn't know, but focused on getting information from Hamsik.

"So you haven't gone inside the temple and don't know what's there?"

["I was just waiting because I thought you'd come! Not because I'm scared!"]

"Sure."

["......"]

Unfortunately, Hamsik was just a witness, not someone actively investigating the incident.

So that was all I could learn from him.

"The rest I'll have to find out by going in myself."

There was no choice but to go on foot now.

[Character has entered the 7th Records Archive.]

The temple's interior was very simple.

Upon entering the open stone gate, stairs appeared.

Going down further, a heptagonal hall appeared.

Except for the stairway I came down, there were six stone gates on each face...

"All but one are closed."

["More than that, it feels creepy."]

"What's that?"

In the center of the hall was a desk-like structure.

No, more like an altar?

Its surface looked and felt like stone, with seven rectangular grooves carved in.

"I guess something's meant to be placed here, but I don't know what yet."

["I said it feels creepy."]

"Ah, do we get something for breaking these one by one?"

["Hey... do you... not hear me...? Right...?"]

While sorting my thoughts, Hamsik's anxious voice caught my ear.

Normally I would have joked pretending not to hear, but since my comrades were kidnapped, there was no time.

"I hear you."

["...Then why won't you answer?"]

"You have to have something to say first."

["Huh...?"]

"What's creepy about it? Do you want me to sympathize?"

["No, not really..."]

"Fine. Be quiet for a bit. I need to think."

Luckily, Hamsik understood and stopped rambling.

Thanks to that, I could quietly focus.

'The size fits perfectly...'

I immediately took out the golden book.

It was the one looted from Hamsik's house after clearing Library Island, also mentioned briefly in the chief's ghost story notebook.

Swish.

I carefully placed the golden book into one of the grooves; it fit perfectly with no gaps.

...Could this be a coincidence?

'No way.'

I recalled the phrase from the chief's notebook:

[The golden book won't help you with your goal.]

I interpreted that as the golden book having no relation to 'escape.'

My goal was always escape.

Then why was such a device appearing while conquering Rainbow Island, the core of escape?

[Nothing is happening...?]

"Of course not, it looks like something will happen only when all slots are filled."

["Ah..."]

"Anyway, be quiet for now. I have more to think about."

I had gotten the golden book only after clearing Library Island.

Where would the others be found?

'The simplest guess is that each island cleared grants one.'

Library Island, Stone Gate Island, Tree Island, Giant Island, Chief Island, Rock Island, and Rainbow Island—the seven islands in this layer.

Though this theory wasn't without contradictions.

Stone Gate Island, with guardian statues and a final ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) crack opening.

Though cleared, the golden book wasn't found in the reward room reminiscent of Hamsik's house.

'Well, maybe because I haven't seen the true ending yet...'

Then what about Rock Island or Chief Island?

Giant Island had the colossal giant, but Rock and Chief Islands had nothing notable.

'The chief's already dead, so no connection to clearing.'

No matter how much I thought, no clear answers came, only growing anxiety.

So I ended this worry for now.

Swish.

Putting the golden book back into the pocket dimension, I approached the firmly closed stone gates and examined them carefully.

'How can I open the other gates?'

No clue yet, but it felt too soon to worry.

At least one gate was wide open.

Starting there would probably lead to clues.

The way to rescue my kidnapped comrades was surely beyond that gate.

"Let's go, Hamsik."

Without wasting time, I moved toward the open gate.

Beyond it was something smooth blocking the view, not a portal, but more like an air curtain.

Swish.

Pushing carefully inside, my hand slid through a soft, squishy sensation.

It felt like immersing a hand in liquid, but I didn't get wet.

A little sticky, but with no other choice, I went in.

Thud.

My toes touched the ground, and a strange sight spread before me.

'A prison...?'

The place I arrived at was a prison.

Not like the underground prison below the Explorer's Guild, but closer to a modern prison structure.

Or more precisely, a futuristic prison?

Drdrdrdrd—!

Drones flew in the corridors where guards would pass.

In the center of the hall, a large mechanical wolf made of machine parts was sleeping.

Various monsters, with dazed eyes, were being led somewhere by the drones...

"...Am I invisible?"

Like an invisible man, the drones, monsters, and mechanical wolf ignored me and went about their tasks.

["W-what is this place...?"]

"Like I'd know."

First, I turned to check the walls.

The smooth curtain I passed through was attached to the wall, so going back and forth freely was possible.

Swish.

Okay, my hand fits in well.

At least I secured a retreat path just in case.

["Bjorn Yandel..."]

Then Hamsik, perched on my shoulder, called me.

I was about to ignore him thinking he'd fuss again, but—

["This place... feels familiar."]

It was impossible to ignore.

["Maybe... a place I came to before losing my memory."]

"What...?"

["...Be quiet, I'm thinking."]

Is this what it means to get back what you gave?

"Ah, got it."

I kept my mouth shut to not disturb Hamsik's concentration and continued exploring.

No point rushing.

He'd tell me if he remembered anything.

Step, step.

As I walked around, I realized I'd misunderstood something.

The drones, the mechanical wolf, the dazed monsters.

They didn't ignore me because I was invisible.

'They do see me.'

Drones hovering nearby paused, zoomed in on me through their lens-eyes, then quickly went back to ignoring me.

'Hah... I'd rather just fight outright.'

If they had attacked immediately, I wouldn't have had to bother with all this thinking.

...Is that too barbarian of me?

'Whatever, let's just follow them.'

Carrying pensive Hamsik, I followed the monsters lined up under drone control.

["Hey, go down there."]

Hamsik suddenly tapped my shoulder.

"Now?"

["Hurry!"]

The sudden suggestion surprised me, but I left the line and took the stairs next to us down.

After some time...

["Here."]

Descending a flight resembling an emergency exit, Hamsik stopped me.

["Look carefully at the wall."]

His voice wasn't teasing, so I obeyed rather than ask why.

Then what was this?

Thud.

Touching the wall, I felt a hidden groove.

I took out a dagger, inserted it in, and pushed; a tile fell off the wall.

And...

["There really is something..."]

Inside the space hidden by the tile was a mysterious card.

Not plastic like commonly used now, but metal with some weight.

"...What is this?"

["Don't know."]

"You told me about it but don't know?"

["I only recall fragments of memories. At some point... I hid this here."]

Hamsik said it was very important to him but didn't even remember the card's use.

"...Alright."

I pocketed the card into the dimension, closed the tile, and left.

"Where to now?"

["Further down... there should be something further down. I always kept going down here."]

"..."

Since Hamsik seemed to know something, I didn't press him and descended the stairs.

After some time...

"There's nowhere left to go down."

["Then this must be it."]

At last, I reached the bottom and cautiously opened the door.

Fortunately, it wasn't locked...

"......"

Beyond the door was a totally different atmosphere from the prison above ground.

A dome-like space reminiscent of a soccer stadium.

But the first thing I thought was a factory.

Zzzzzzt.

A monster stopped while riding rails.

And...

Flash—!

A mechanical device above it glowed, and the monster vanished without a trace.

For some reason, a single magic stone lay alone in its place...

Zzzzzzing.

The rail began moving again, carrying the stone into a box at the end of the rail.

Once the box was full,

Drrrrr.

The box slid along another rail, moving somewhere.

But I couldn't see where.

["Hey! Over here! Over here!"]

I turned quickly at Hamsik's shout, and immediately froze.

Zzzzzzing.

On the moving rail was a familiar face.

"...Raven?"

Raven was standing dazed on the rail, being moved.

Flash—!

Toward the device that transformed monsters into magic stones.