Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 506
Chapter 506: Basement Floor 1 (2)
The Lord of the Abyss, Berzak, was a hidden boss who only appeared after the Lord of Terror died nine times.
I had a feeling this might happen…but to think it actually did.
I jumped to ask the adventurers gathered around the portal about the most important details. According to them, Berzak was summoned around an hour ago.
Because many of the adventurers on the first floor were worried this might happen, there weren’t many casualties. In fact, nearly all of them realized how serious the situation was from the fourth day, so they quickly headed to the second floor.
“But there should still be many new adventurers who don’t have the skills to make it to the second floor alone.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Which is why we worked with ten other clans to find all the adventurers that were scattered across the first floor and helped bring them to the second floor.”
Even when there was nothing to gain, there were always those who did whatever they could to save others. The Lord of the Floor being summoned was no exception. The majority of the adventurers waiting around the portal turned out to be ones who helped rescue those who were helplessly trapped on the first floor when Berzak was summoned.
“So there’s no need to worry too much, Your Lordship. On the sixth day, we scoped out the entirety of the first floor and didn’t find anyone left behind.”
So they had everything covered…
“Great work. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”
“Easy or difficult, it was something someone had to do. And it’s nothing compared to what you have accomplished, Your Lordship.”
Seeing them look up at me, full of respect, my conscience started to eat away at me. After all, I wasn’t that incredible a person. I myself had a bad feeling that Berzak might be summoned, yet I ran away to the third floor to take care of my own priorities.
Suddenly, one of the adventurers asked me a question. “But since you came from that direction, does that mean you weren’t rescuing adventurers like us?”
Before I could answer him, the other adventurers burst into exclamations, quickly defending me.
“Hey, try using your brain! Why do you think he came from over there?!”
“Then…did he not only help them get to the second floor but also guide them around to help them get accustomed to it?”
“Unlike us, Baron Yandel doesn’t need to gain recognition from the Guild…yet he’s willing to go so far to help them.”
“I’m embarrassed. Actually, I was secretly hoping that the guild would recognize our actions in helping the new adventurers when Berzak was summoned.”
Uh…
I just laughed awkwardly, keeping my mouth shut.
[Your Fame has risen by +1.]
[Your Fame has risen by +1.]
[Your Fame has risen by +1.]
[Your Fame has…]
I didn’t really care about my fame state rising, but at least this misunderstanding would help provide me an alibi.
Now if we go to the hidden area like this, there won’t be many people questioning our whereabouts.
The feeling of guilt was only needling me harder, but I was able to push through it. I could bear the pain of pouring potions over my torn flesh, after all.
“Well then,” I hedged, “we have something to discuss amongst ourselves for a bit.”
“Oh, of course! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us!”
After explaining the situation to me, the group of adventurers then left us alone so we could have a team meeting. Given the situation, I was curious what my team members were thinking. The first one I asked was Amelia, who was like the mental anchor of our clan. “Emily, what do you think we should do now?”
“…It’s dangerous to go any further. But at the same time, it would be a shame to give up like this.”
“Then do you think we should still give it a shot?” It would take us a little more than an hour to sprint to the hidden area from the Goblin Forest portal. Despite Berzak being summoned, we still had time to make it there.
However, Amelia replied firmly, “It depends on how certain you are that this will work. If you’re confident this method will open the hidden area, then it’s worth a try.”
Her concerns were completely reasonable. Even if we managed to make it there, if the portal to the new area didn’t work, we would have to run all the way back if we wanted to keep exploring. Given how we would have to run twice as far, and take twice as long traveling, the chances of us encountering Berzak likewise increased that much more.
“So you’re saying if I’m confident that this is the correct method to open the portal, then you’re in favor of giving it a shot.”
“Yes, that’s my opinion.”
Okay, so Amelia is conditionally in favor…
I then listened to the opinions of everyone else.
“Even if it doesn’t work, I think it’s worth giving it a shot. We’re not the same as we were before.”
“I agree with the elf. This time we only went to the third floor. It’s a waste to end things here!”
“I feel the same. Whether it works or not, there is still value in using this opportunity to at least test the method. If it doesn’t work, we can avoid wasting time next month.”
Erwen, Ainar, and Versyl were in favor.
“I-I…will follow your decision, Captain.”
“I understand how you feel, but I want to hear your opinion. No one will blame you.
Aren’t you a member of this clan as well?”
Did calling him a clan member sway him that much? Auyen, who hesitated at first, eventually opened his mouth as he carefully voiced his opinion.
“Then… Then I’m against it. Berzak… That monster has killed thousands of people before… If you or any of your women were to get hurt, that would be a great loss for mankind—”
What the hell was he saying?
“Then you’re against it?” I pressed.
“Yes…that’s right. It’s just my opinion, so please don’t take it to heart.”
Then that was three in favor, one in conditional favor, and one against. If we went by majority vote, there was no need to discuss any further. However, since there was one last member, I decided to ask her as well.
“Me? Um… I-I… So…” Missha, who had been acting strange the whole expedition, stuttered for a while before finally giving her opinion. I didn’t know why, but she spoke like the old days. “U-um, I-I think anything is fine. I-it is dangerous, b-but…if the portal does open, th-then that would be g-good. And e-even if it d-doesn’t, it would s-still be good that we tried…s-so what I-I’m saying is that either way is good? B-but, um…th-that’s just how I feel…”
What is she even trying to say? I just asked her to give me her opinion?
“Then does that mean you don’t want to vote?”
“Th-that’s not it…”
“Then? You can be honest. I want to hear what you think.”
When I bluntly told her to not beat around the bush and tell me honestly, Missha avoided eye contact as she finally voiced her opinion. “Th-then I think it would be better to try…a-as long as you’re sure it will work…”
Simply put, Missha was also in conditional favor. Still, I didn’t know why she kept glancing at Amelia while saying it.
…Is that really her opinion?
For some reason, I doubted it was, but I decided to not ask her about it now. After all, she must need some time to get used to all of us.
“Alright. Since there are three votes in favor, it’s decided.”
“Huh? What about your vote, Mr. Yandel?”
“The decisions of the clan are mine.”
On the other hand, that also meant my decisions were the clan’s. After all, the clan leader’s vote was worth seven. Ah, but when we only had six members my vote was worth only six. It was increased to seven this time because there were seven of us. Anyway, that wasn’t important right now…
“Alright, then let’s go.”
Once we crossed that portal, an unknown field full of treasures was awaiting us.
…Probably.
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
On the other side of the portal was the Crystal Cave. Since this was the dark zone, where the crystals didn’t light up, nothing felt particularly different at first.
Fwoosh!
However, the moment I lit the torch attached to my helmet, we could all see a thick, dark fog that surrounded us. Now, it was clear this first floor was different from usual.
[Field Effect-Abyssal Fog is applied. All usage effects are disabled. Mana efficiency is reduced to 1/4. Monsters exposed to the Fog of the Abyss evolve into superior beings.]
Ha, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this fog. Back then, I even thought this fog would be my tomb. I never thought I would purposely step foot back in it.
“What are you doing? Make sure to follow behind me closely. I’ll take care of the traps in the way, so make sure to not step out of line.”
I ran straight forward, taking the lead. It was a tactic only I could perform, as both a tank and guide. I did the same back then as well. It was impossible to detect the Abyssal Goblin’s traps with the naked eye or with magic.
Snap.
A moment later, I heard the sound of something snapping when my foot hit the floor.
[You have stepped on a Random Trap.]
Once a trap was triggered, a random skill of rank 5 or lower would activate.
Fwoosh!
Hm, judging by the damage and the type of attack, it must be the rank 6 skill Tail Flame.
“Yandel, are you okay?”
To be honest, it stung quite a bit. Compared to back then, my overall stats were much higher. But at the same time, there was one stat that had been reduced.
Hah, I need to raise my Magic Resistance soon.
When I erased the Manticore essence, I also lost a lot of my Magic Resistance. I would be able to make up for a large part of it with Giantization, but I couldn’t use it with my active skills being sealed here.
“Don’t worry about me. It’s only an hour away.”
I had no choice but to endure it.
“Behell—aaaaaaaaah!”
Under the protection of my ancestral god, I ran through the passage full of invisible traps. At least there was one thing that was much better than back then…
Snap!
The traps that activated physical damage skills barely hurt at all. In fact, I barely felt more than a pinch. Because of that, the only skills that were painful and made me wary were magic-related ones.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
I blasted forward, activating so many traps that I lost count. Even though I wasn’t thirsty, I periodically made sure to shove a potion down my mouth. However, unlike before, my body didn’t miraculously recover. The higher your stats were, the less effective a potion became.
[Your health has dropped below 50%.]
After running for about forty minutes, my passive was activated.
[All resistance and resilience stats have been raised due to the passive skill Path of Heroes.]
With my passive skill activated, it became a lot easier to endure the pain. Because of that, I could speed up even more. As I ran forward with all my might, I could hear my teammates’ footsteps behind me and their quiet whispers.
“So on that day, he… I can see why he became so famous.”
“I know. I’ve heard about it before, but…I didn’t know it was like this…”
Amelia and Versyl, who had only heard of what I did that day through word of mouth, looked at me in utter awe and respect.
Well, I guess it’s a compliment…
To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing for me. Back then, I had no choice but to do that to survive. More importantly, I knew I had the ability to do so.
“E-everyone has lost it! You think others will recognize you for that?! Huh? A hero?”
“Goddamn it…I’m still going. After all, someone has to do it.”
Unlike those who stood at the front lines with me and died after stepping on traps, I didn’t have to worry about that. Because I knew I had the skills and stats to endure the traps as a tank, I was able to act bravely to run forward, just like I was currently doing.
[Your health has dropped below 40%.]
My head started to spin. I forced my eyes open, but I was starting to lose focus.
After all, the Abyssal Goblins weren’t the only thing I had to worry about.
Berzak is… Fortunately, it seems to be far away from us.
We hadn’t met a Watcher of the Abyss yet, which acted as Berzak’s eyes. That meant he was still far away from us.
“Excuse me, but…why didn’t we come down an hour before the labyrinth closes to see if the method works? That way, even if it doesn’t, we won’t have to worry since the labyrinth would close and we would return to the city.”
Versyl suddenly chimed in with her opinion, seeming to have just realized something. I had considered that before we’d entered, however. If we’d done that, we wouldn’t have to worry about making a round trip.
“If we did that, it would have been even more difficult. At that point, there would be barely anyone left on the first floor, meaning we would invariably run into Berzak.
I’m sure Yandel also considered that before making his decision.”
So Amelia knew that as well. I didn’t make the decision for us to come down here recklessly, without thinking at least that far ahead.
[Your health has dropped below 30%.]
[Your health has dropped below 20%. All resistance and resilience stats have maxed out due to the passive skill Path of Heroes.]
Eventually, my passive skill fully activated, giving me the highest effect. Thanks to that, we were able to safely make it to our destination after running for a little over an hour. I lost a lot of health, but aside from that, there was no other issue. Best of all, we didn’t run into Berzak, and all of the clan members were, without exaggeration, in perfect condition, excluding myself.
Shit.
However smooth the process, there was no guarantee that the results would be as desired. For us, the problem reared its ugly head the moment we arrived at our destination.
“…Hey, it’s Baron Yandel?”
“…I-it’s really him! He’s here with his teammates!”
“Then did he find a way to open the door?”
What, why were there so many people? At a glance, it seemed like dozens of them were here. I ran all the way here, almost certain that there wouldn’t be anyone waiting. It was true that this spot was already discovered by a smallish clan on day three, and I had smashed the wall open, making it even easier to find. I never expected that it would remain a secret, but still, why were there so many people waiting here?
What were they all doing over here when Berzak was summoned?
I tried to hide my bewilderment as I called to the man closest to me. “You over there. The baldy.”
“M-me?”
“What are you all doing here?”
The man tilted his head, appearing confused by the question. “We’re waiting for the portal to open? We figured it might open if someone defeats the Lord of the Abyss, or right before the labyrinth closes.”
“…But what if Berzak comes here?”
“Well, of course we should be willing to risk this much! This is a hidden area!”
The totally innocent answer rendered me speechless.
“Surely you know it too, Baron Yandel… Isn’t this what being an adventurer is all about?!”
For the first time in my life, I was skeptical of my chosen profession. I knew there were other adventurers with a screw loose, but to think there were this many.
“If you don’t mind us asking…did you happen to find a way to open the portal?”
I had no idea there were this many unhinged bastards.