Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 458
C458: Raid(3)
To truly enjoy [Dungeon and Stone], you generally need to be good at thinking on your feet.
I don’t mean aggressively juggling your stat setup, but rather the fundamental style of play itself.
You might be hunting when suddenly a rift opens, you encounter plunderers, or a comrade betrays you, among other things.
Every game has such unexpected situations.
For example, what’s happening right now.
“Mister, this…”
“Yeah, it’s what you think.”
A Floor Lord has been summoned.
In other words, someone among the explorers on the 3rd floor put seven human corpses inside the cabin. I don’t know if it was intentional or not. Well, I’m pretty sure it was on purpose, but…
‘……because sometimes it’s just a coincidence.’
And the proof of that is none other than me.
Back then, something similar happened with me and Misha. We desperately needed a place to rest, so we burned some corpses in the cabin. Unbeknownst to us, someone else had already burned corpses there beforehand, and that “accident” ended up summoning the Floor Lord.
Anyway, that’s not the main point right now.
“Jandel, what do we do?”
“First, let’s get out of the forest. We can’t reach the 4th floor anyway.”
When the Lord of Chaos, Riakis, is summoned, all portals on the 3rd floor become deactivated. In other words, the entire 3rd floor turns into a giant boss room.
Just as we were getting as far away from the forest as we could, familiar creatures began to appear.
“Bjorn! Something creepy is crawling over there! What is that?”
“It’s a Chaos Spirit.”
Once Riakis is summoned, these token-type monsters start swarming all over the 3rd Floor ,chasing it’s aggro targets to their death.
‘Huh, it’s been a while, you bastards!’
“I’ll handle them.”
Erwin managed to kill three Chaos Spirits at once using a fire spirit, without even needing to shoot arrows.
「Chaos Spirit has been destroyed.」
「The location will be eroded.」
When fighting the boss, it’s necessary to keep a record of which locations eroded away, but since we aren’t planning to hunt Riakis.
[GROOOOOOOOOOOO!!!]
Just then, I heard a familiar howling sound from the direction of the Witch’s Forest.
I was somewhat disappointed.
I thought the next time I heard this sound, I’d be finishing off this creature.
“Bjorn! Shouldn’t we be doing something rather than just running away?”
“So, are you suggesting the four of us take on a Floor Lord?”
Strictly speaking, including Auyen makes five, but no one thought of correcting me.
That doesn’t turn the impossible into possible.
“Bjorn, that’s not what I mean… Isn’t there something we can do? You said last time a lot died, right?”
Certainly… I had heard that.
I was honestly pretty upset because I also bore responsibility for the accident.
“Oh, and another thing! I heard that when a disaster occurs, upper-layer explorers are obligated to step forward!”
Yes, the explorer’s oath.
Indeed, that was why the Djarwi Clan, who were on the 3rd Floor at the time, tried to protect the lower-level explorers.
Big clans inevitably have to watch out for the explorer’s guild.
‘Well, they didn’t want to take a loss, so they ended up extorting some small change…!’
But one thing is clear.
If it weren’t for the Djarwi Clan, many more casualties would have occurred. They not only gathered the lower-floor explorers and protected them all day, but also held off the Floor Lord for nearly four hours once it arrived.
“Of course, I know nothing but fighting, so I don’t know what to do in such situations. But Bjorn, you might—”
“Aynar, calm down.”
I stopped running and turned around, and Aynar fell silent. . Even so, she met my gaze, looking anxious, like someone who’s done something wrong.
I noticed it in her eyes:
Aynar is righteous.
He shows no mercy toward monsters or plunderers, but she’s fundamentally warm-hearted toward others and wants to help them if he can.
And also…
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to just stand by.”
Overall, the situation wasn’t too bad.
I’ve learned over time:
Extending kindness doesn’t always mean you end up on the losing side.
“I knew it”
“You thought I’d just let it be? We have many of our fellow barbarians on the third floor.”
Truth be told, even if it wasn’t a matter of our tribe, I had no intention of just watching the situation.
How much reputation have I built up to now?
If it gets out that I shied away from a disaster, public opinion would surely turn against me.
So…
“Ooooooh!! Then what should we do now? I’ll follow you anywhere, even if you tell me to jump into the fire!”
“For now, we keep watch from here.”
We set up camp at a safe distance, observing the forest.
For a very simple reason:
“…You think there might be no need for us to get involved.”
“The Explorer’s Guild rarely grants permission to hunt the 3rd Floor’s Layer Lord, so maybe a clan decided to summon it without permission, right?”
“Ah! So if they manage to kill it, then there’s no problem!”
“Exactly.”
Of course, this is speculation, and nothing is confirmed.
That’s why…….
[GROOOOOOOOOOOO~!!]
As the fierce roar echoed through the forest, I received real-time updates through Erwin.
“Riakis is moving towards the western part of the Witch’s Forest. I can’t see well because it’s too far, but there seem to be quite a few people around.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know. It’s too far to tell…”
“Then we should get a bit closer.”
So we circled around the edge of the forest to the west, relying on Erwin’s extraordinary detection skills to get more accurate information.
“…Around fifteen people. It looks like they’re being chased by Riakis.”
Well, rather than “being chased,” it seems more like they’re luring Riakis to their chosen hunting ground. After all, the Witch’s Forest, with all its obstructive terrain, is not the best place to run a raid.
But there was something else that caught my interest:
“Fifteen people…”
That’s not enough to form a dedicated raid party. Sure, a well-prepared raid party might manage. But…
“Chances are those fifteen are a lure, and the main group is waiting elsewhere.”
“That, that makes sense.”
“Can you also find out what they are talking about?”
“No. Maybe they’re using a voice-control spell or something, because I can’t hear a thing.”
“Hmm, I see.”
It was disappointing, but I was relieved.
If it had really been a coincidence, I would have had to rush in and deal with it myself.
Drip, drip, drip-drip—
Then, it started to rain from the sky.
Chiieeek!
Black rain that made my skin sting just by touching it, as if it contained acid.
It was Riakis’s passive aura skill.
[Your character is taking continuous Chaos damage.]
[Your character’s magic resistance has been greatly reduced.]
[Warning: Continued exposure to Chaos damage may inflict the “Confusion” status effect with a certain probability.]
In other words, we’d gotten close enough for it to affect us.
“We need to move back further.”
Without a priest among us, we had no way of resisting its passive effect. So we retreated until we stood on the very edge where the black rain fell.
How much time has passed since then?
“We’ll be outside the forest soon!”
Even though I don’t have the superb vision Erwin or Amelia have, I could make out a group of fifteen explorers dashing out all at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
And of course, right on their heels was a colossal beast.
“Erwin, check if they belong to any clan.”
“…They’re not wearing any emblems.”
So they’ve all removed their emblems?
Makes sense if they’re here without permission.
As they sprinted away with Riakis behind them, Amelia asked me.
“Jandel, what now?”
“We follow.”
“Why?”
“Because if they fail, it really will be a disaster.”
You never know—
If we don’t follow them, we won’t know if we need to take action or not.
***
By tailing the group that appeared to be the lure, we eventually reached the “Thorn Reed Field.”
‘I guess this spot does make sense.’
No major terrain obstacles, flat ground, and plenty of open space for tile management—an ideal field for a raid.
Whether they had done the preparatory work or not, the thorny reeds reaching up to their shoulders were all burned down…
“Sir, there’s the main force…”
All of a sudden, the “radio” feed I was getting from Erwin cut out.
“What happened?”
“They’ve noticed our presence on the other side. One person is quickly approaching us now.”
“Can we get away if we try?”
“…It’ll be tough for all of us to escape together, especially since it’s just one person on their side.”
Well, that settles it. No point agonizing over it now. I made a quick decision.
“Then, we wait here.”
Why run when I haven’t done anything wrong?
I was curious, after all.
Who are these people who are conducting unauthorized subjugations, inevitably creating innocent victims?
“They’re here.”
Before long, someone appeared beyond burnt reeds, sprinting towards us like an arrow.
He stopped about ten meters away.
The seven daggers attached to his belt made it clear he was very agile.
As soon as he saw me, his expression hardened, and he said nothing.
Eventually, I was the one to break the silence.
“Why so quiet? You were running so fast just now.”
“…Didn’t expect to meet a celebrity here.”
Ah, that’s why.
The reason for his sour face.
“It’s an honor to meet you. Baron Jandel. I never expected such a big fish to be on the third floor…”
“Enough, who are you?”
Cutting him off, I asked, and after a moment of consideration, he spoke.
“…My name is Malrid Kevron.”
I didn’t know if that was his real name, but that’s how he introduced himself.
Let’s call him Dagger-boy for now.
“What clan are you with?” I asked the dagger-boy
“…We’re from the Gearfang Clan.”
“Gearfang, huh…”
One of the ten largest clans, now reduced to four because of the war. James Carla once served as their vice-Captain
“It’s interesting. Don’t you think it’s strange that you guys are on the third floor rather than me?”
.I smirked and asked, and Dagger Boy boldly retorted.
“We have our reasons. But by any chance, did you summon the layer-lord?”
He was really quick-witted. I didn’t expect him to take the initiative in this situation.
“It wasn’t me.”
“Is that so.”
“And if I ask you the opposite, you’d obviously say it wasn’t you, right?”
“We really didn’t do it.”
“The ones who were moving with Riakis, they have nothing to do with you?”
“They are indeed our members. However, we only acted to resolve the situation according to the oath, as we were nearby.”
Wow, he’s a smooth talker.
“Well, that’s perfect then. We’ll lend a hand, too.”
At that, Dagger-boy’s smile froze cold.
“While I appreciate your help, we believe it’s neither necessary nor proper to burden a noble with such a dangerous task.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Well…these dangerous matters are best handled by explorers, don’t you think?”
Huh. So now that I’m a noble, he doesn’t even see me as a fellow explorer?
For a moment, I wanted to smash his head with a hammer, but I restrained myself.
“I’m sure the other lords would also prefer that you do not tarnish the nobility’s dignity by putting yourself in danger.”
“…What?”
What did I just hear?
“By ‘other lords,’ you mean people like Count Alminas—one of the Gearfang Clan’s patrons?”
I double-checked, and the bastard shamelessly grinned as he answered.
“Yes, exactly.”
So I did hear him right. He’s basically saying: Don’t get in our way, we know what’s good for you.
There was no need for further polite conversation.
“What are you saying, you arrogant bastard.”
“…E-excuse me? I must have misheard…?”
I took a step towards Dagger boy, who froze like a new recruit who didn’t know what he’d done.
“Hey, Dagger Boy.”
“…What?”
“Do you happen to have goblin shit in your head?”
“What? What, what are you talking about……?”
Now, that’s more like it.
Look at him acting all superior until now, and now sweating profusely while backing away.
“Well, I guess I’ll find out once I crack it open and have a look.”
I slowly lifted my hammer.