Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 522
Chapter 522: Glant Island (1)
Sixty new adventurers had entered Basement Floor 1. They were all momentarily dumbfounded when they noticed us alive and well, but after snapping out of it, they came up to us and introduced themselves.
“Baron Yandel, so you really were alive. It’s an honor to meet you. I am the captain of the Armin Adventurer Group, Myul Armin.”
Although they weren’t part of the Four Great Clans, the Armin Adventurer Group was well known and well-respected. They were famous for continuing to adventure even after the war began.
“Megnon Nias. I lead the Ainpelial Clan.”
Ainpelial, huh? I had never heard of these guys before.
“I am Bjorn, son of Yandel.”
While we had all come in as individuals, it seemed the new arrivals were parts of those two distinct groups.
Cautiously, Myul Armin asked me, “But…aren’t you surprised to see us here?”
“We somewhat guessed that time flows in the outside world.”
“…Pardon?” Myul Armin flinched before looking at my allies standing behind me.
Was he trying to see who among them was a player?
Before his suspicion grew any further, I quickly continued, explaining. “We obtained a clue that suggested as much during our expedition.”
It wasn’t technically a lie. In hindsight, we had enough information from the village chief to come to that conclusion.
“Ah…”
“But how did you know that we were still alive?”
The one who answered was Megnon Nias, who looked to be in his late thirties. “I bet you know about the gathering of evil spirits too, huh? The information shared about this place already spread to the city.”
Okay. but what was this guy’s way of speaking? He was talking to me like we were equals. Did he look down on nobles?
Myul Armin seemed to notice the look in my eyes and rushed to interrupt the exchange. “He speaks the truth, but because of the source, everyone is still a tad on edge about it. They did, however, accept the possibility of the information being true, Lord Baron.”
“I see.”
Right, that should be enough to avoid any suspicion that I was an evil spirit. Now, I began to collect my information.
“But you guys did pretty well yourselves. You already figured out a way to open the portal.”
“We’re nothing compared to you, Baron Yandel. But there were lots of clues we could gain from the evil spirits. With the ancient language discovered on the headstone, we thought about connecting it to the Sculpture Temple, and came to a solution.”
“Then are you two clans cooperating?”
“Temporarily.”
This Nias guy was really short with his words. How could I use that against him?
As the thought formed in my mind, Myul Armin once again noticed and kept the conversation flowing. “We met at the Sculpture Temple, and since we didn’t have enough time, we decided to pool the information we both gathered together to open the portal.”
“Oh, by the way. We had two fragments, and he had one.”
“…Yes. That’s true. That is why our members were adjusted to match that ratio.”
I was wondering why they were split into groups of forty and twenty. So that was the reasoning.
“Right, so now that we’ve shared our piece, can we get some information about this place? Since it’s a new floor, I figure we need that info before we officially begin our expedition.”
Okay, but what was this guy’s way of speaking? He was talking to me like we were equals. Did he look down on nobles?
Myul Armin seemed to notice the look in my eyes and rushed to interrupt the exchange. “He speaks the truth, but because of the source, everyone is still a tad on edge about it. They did, however, accept the possibility of the information being true, Lord Baron.”
“I see.”
Right, that should be enough to avoid any suspicion that I was an evil spirit. Now, I began to collect my information.
“But you guys did pretty well yourselves. You already figured out a way to open the portal.”
“We’re nothing compared to you, Baron Yandel. But there were lots of clues we could gain from the evil spirits. With the ancient language discovered on the headstone, we thought about connecting it to the Sculpture Temple, and came to a solution.”
“Then are you two clans cooperating?”
“Temporarily.”
This Nias guy was really short with his words. How could I use that against him?
As the thought formed in my mind, Myul Armin once again noticed and kept the conversation flowing. “We met at the Sculpture Temple, and since we didn’t have enough time, we decided to pool the information we both gathered together to open the portal.”
“Oh, by the way. We had two fragments, and he had one.”
“…Yes. That’s true. That is why our members were adjusted to match that ratio.”
I was wondering why they were split into groups of forty and twenty. So that was the reasoning.
“Right, so now that we’ve shared our plece, can we get some information about this place? Since it’s a new floor, I figure we need that info before we officially begin our expedition.”
Hah, how long was this guy going to keep being rude to me?
What, am I not a noble to you just because I’m being nice?
“You speak as if we somehow owe you.”
When I lowered my voice, only then did he notice my intentions and change his register of speaking.
“That wasn’t what I meant… It’s just… I get the sense that we’ll be running into each other quite often until we find an exit, so I feel it’ll be beneficial for us to exchange information.”
“Really?”
“Um, you’ll find us to be of great help to you as well, Baron Yandel. Isn’t the Anabada Clan on the smaller side?”
Even though we hadn’t spoken for long. I had already made my decision about this guy.
“In comparison, we of the Ainpelial Clan may be small compared to the Four Great Clans, but we are no less effective. I guarantee it. In the next month, the members that weren’t able to enter today will be entering as well—”
He would only get in my way if I kept him by my side. As soon as I came to that conclusion, I cut him off. “There’s no need. I don’t need your help, so do it on your own.”
Megnon Nias flinched, staring at me for a beat of stunned silence before he realized I wasn’t joking. “…You’re making
You’re making a foolish decision. What if we discover a way out before you do?”
“From the looks of things, I doubt it.”
“…You’ll regret this.”
“Yeah, well, most people who say that lose in the end.”
“Hah!” He snorted in open anger before calling to his clan members and preparing to depart.
Having watched the full exchange, Myul Armin seemed worried. “Will it…really be okay to just send them off like this?”
“Oh, I guess I shouldn’t just send them off like this.” I nodded in agreement before calling for the guy that was just about to leave. “Wait.”
“…Hah! Did you change your mind?”
“Shut up. Just come here.”
I beckoned him over with my finger, and though he looked insulted at the summoning, he still obediently came up to me, shooting me a look that seemed to demand I get on with it.
Smack!
Since we didn’t have much time right now, I quickly slapped him on the back of his head.
“Ack!”
I did expect it from how smooth his head was, but it felt good to smack him.
“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?!”
“Oh. I just wanted to smack you.”
“…What?” He blinked dazedly after hearing my answer, but that was none of my concern.
What are you going to do about it? Just snort and glare at me?
“That’s all I need from you. Go on your way.” When he simply stared at me in silence, I asked, “Is there a problem?”
“…You really can’t trust rumors.”
In a clear message that he didn’t want anything to do with me, he quickly gathered his team and left. While I was cackling at the sight of him running off like that, Myul Armin asked, “…Why did you do that?”
Ah, that? “Because I figured this was the only chance I would get to do that.”
“Only chance?”
I just shrugged.
I mean, you can’t really meet someone when they’re dead, right?
Since the guy had already left, I didn’t need to spare any time thinking about him.
Instead, I focused on the last guy remaining.
“So you’re Myul Armin?”
“Yes, Your Lordship.”
“I’ll call you Myul.”
“It’s an honor, Lord Baron.”
“So, what’s your plan from here on out?”
“Ah… Before that, there is something I need to relay to you regarding that.”
“To me?”
I was curious what he was going to tell me, but it was about the post that had been uploaded to the community forums yesterday-the one about how someone was stuck on an island and was waiting to be rescued.
“Since we were able to meet you here like this, the story about that person being stuck on an island must also be true. That is why we were planning on going that way first.”
“Your reason being…?”
“We need to save people we can save. And since we don’t have much information about this area, it’s better to go there than wander aimlessly.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Myul was the complete opposite of the guy from before. Even though we hadn’t spoken for long, I could tell that this one was pretty trustworthy.
“Could I…perhaps hear from you anything that we need to be wary of here? I know that I might be being rude here, but it’ll be of great help to my members who trust and follow me. Ah, of course, I’ll compensate you as well.”
“As long as it’s paid for.” I smirked and gave exactly two pieces of information upfront. “If you see an island, have a proper look at it before getting closer. We approached one before and it was a floating Tol-Lapupa.”
“Surely you don’t mean… that rank one monster?”
“Yeah. That’s the only one we’ve identified for now, but you need to stay vigilant.”
“…So there could be more rank 1 monsters about. This is truly a dangerous area.” Myul’s expression darkened at the news.
“However, what’s more dangerous than the rank one monsters is ‘rainy season.’”
“Come again…?”
“On the fourteenth day here, monsters will fall from the sky like rain and will continue until the twenty-first day. So you need to find somewhere you can hide in until it passes.”
I went on to then explain the level of monsters that would appear during the rainy season, and Myul’s face blanched. “When you said it would be your only chance… you meant because of this.”
“That’s right. We’ll be leaving now, so good luck on your own.”
“Pardon?”
Myul was taken aback by my abrupt farewell, but I didn’t answer and simply walked toward where my allies were waiting. For things like this, you needed to completely drain the other’s mental state.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Hmm, he should’ve tried to stop me at this point.
Why wasn’t he? Was telling him about the rank 1 monster and the rainy season not enough to scare him?
Tsk, then does that mean I’ll have to be the one to make the offer?
“Lord Baron…!”
Just as the thought crossed my mind, Myul called out to me from behind. I slowly turned to him with a calm expression. “What is it?”
“It’s just…”
“Speak quickly. I don’t have time.”
“…Could we perhaps join forces with you?”
That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
However, I made a show of seeming unimpressed as I looked Myul up and down…
“Hmm… With you guys?”
“Yes. We won’t ever get in your way. And we will hand over command to you as well.”
Myul then explained that he was the captain of the elite Armin Adventurer Group, a team with quite a lot of adventurers who had a proven track record of hunting down the Achievements of Gabrielius.
That was all known information, and as stated before, these guys were pretty famous—and in a very good way.
“Your offer isn’t too bad, but how will we split the loot?”
As I cut straight to the realistic part, Myul thought for a moment before answering,
“Since you were here first and know a lot more than us, I won’t try to be greedy, Your Lordship.”
“Give me a specific number.”
“I will forfeit our right to all of the mana stones. However, please give us half of the essences and other drops we could gain from the adventure.”
Haha, look at this guy. An adventurer was still an adventurer, no matter how much of a good guy they seemed.
“We’ll split the mana stones equally, but the rest of the loot—including essences will be split seventy-thirty. We will have the first picks, of course.”
“Could we remove that priority by lowering our share to twenty percent?”
“No.”
When I instantly shut him down, Myul furrowed his brow. He seemed to be in deep thought, weighing the contract that was no different from a slave contract…
But now was the time to hammer down the final nail.
“Myul Armin. It’s your decision. However, keep this in mind.” I looked directly into his eyes as I spoke. “I—Bjorn, son of Yandel—will never give up on my allies no matter the situation.”
That one thing was actually 100 percent the truth.
But did my honesty get through to him?
“…We’ll accept that offer.”
I now had twenty elite slaves.
***
The Armin Adventurer Group joining us was such a huge boon that I didn’t even feel bad about wasting the last few days here on the stone island. It got better and better as I got to know them.
Four rank three adventurers.
Twelve rank four adventurers.
A priest and four wizards.
They had such a strong composition that I couldn’t understand why they accepted a deal no different than a slave contract.
I’m pretty sure they would be able to defeat a rank 2 monster if they have decent team coordination.
After assessing my newly acquired forces, I greeted each of the members of the Armin Group one by one.
“I am Bjorn, son of Yandel. I’ll be in your care.”
“I-I am the wizard of the group, Sharlot Emblut…!”
“Really? You’ll need to stay healthy. Here, take this jerky.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Alright, what’s your name?”
“I-I am Brian Emblut…”
“Emblut?”
“Ah…! Sharlot is my younger sister.”
“Oh, so both of you became adventurers. Impressive! So, what’s your name?”
“Ah, I am…”
It took quite a bit of time to get everyone’s names, but it was worth it.
I have a good feeling about this.
Thankfully, there was no hidden Hans.