Surviving the Game as a Barbarian - Chapter 792: Red Ocean (4)

When people are given a subject, they start with imagination.

There may be differences in the scale or method of imagination, but there is no such thing as a person who doesn’t imagine.

In that sense, my current imagination is also reasonable.

‘Five days overdue from the expected arrival date…’

The mobility of Team 1 and Team 2 isn’t different enough for such a time gap to occur.

In other words, something definitely happened to Team 2 during the expedition.

The only problem is not knowing what that “something” was…

Maybe…

My subconscious, which has always lived with misfortune, naturally brings up the worst-case scenario first.

Could they have encountered raiders.

Were there no explorers who looked at the isolated Team 2 and grew greedy, just like the Meiruta Clan we encountered on the fifth floor.

“…….”

What torments me more is that these imaginings aren’t outrageous delusions.

Isn’t that true.

The Meiruta Clan backed off simply because they were cowards.

But are all people like them.

What if Team 2 was unlucky enough to run into someone more decisive, someone bolder who didn’t fear my reputation.

Crack…

That’s the reason I went so far when dealing with the Meiruta Clan’s leader.

No matter the situation, I want to eliminate every variable that could threaten me or us.

So I executed him as a warning.

That’s also why I told the vice-captain of Meiruta to spread word of what happened as soon as they left the labyrinth.

“B-Bjorn…?”

No, that’s not it.

Right now, my field of vision is narrowed.

Maybe it wasn’t raiders at all.

Among the enemies who threaten me, there’s Ibaekho, and Aurell Gaviss.

If not that, maybe Noark caught wind of the labyrinth opening and secretly sent in their own explorers—

“Bjorn!!”

Just as someone smacked my back with a smash, I snapped back to my senses.

“…Misha?”

“You’re only now listening to me, nya!!”

Ah, she’d been talking to me this whole time.

“What is it?”

Wanting to return to my train of thought quickly, I asked what she wanted, but Misha gave me a totally offbeat answer.

“Please! Stop thinking weird thoughts! Everything’s going to be fine!”

“…How can you be sure?”

“Because I believe in them.”

“……?”

“Emily, Elwen, Ainard, and the rest… Well, I do worry a little about that Mr. Rockrove, but anyway! They’re all people who can take care of themselves!”

“No, I mean… it’s not that I don’t trust them—”

“Bjorn, more importantly, I think you’re really misunderstanding something.”

“……?”

“We’re not your children. We’re your comrades.”

“…I’m going to cool my head for a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go on.”

With Misha’s concerned advice, I backed down and stepped away from the portal to clear my head for a while.

But of course, just doing that didn’t make the anxiety go away.

That was only natural.

The only reason I even accepted Misha’s advice was because I needed a quiet place to think, and I figured it wasn’t good for the team leader to show this side of himself in front of the others—

“Bjorn!”

I didn’t know how much time had passed since I’d separated from Team 1, but from far away, Misha called out to me.

“How far did you go to cool your head! I’ve been looking everywhere—”

“Go back and tell the others to get ready to move.”

“…Huh? Ready to move?”

Misha tilted her head, not understanding.

I calmly spoke the decision I had reached after fast but careful thought.

“As soon as preparations are complete, we’re heading back down to the fifth floor. Rather than waiting endlessly with no guarantee—”

“What are you talking about! That’s not necessary!!”

“Whether it’s necessary or not is for me to decide. I don’t know exactly what situation Team 1 is in right now, but if they’re being chased by someone, or hiding somewhere to avoid detection, then we should immediately—”

“They just came up a little while ago, you idiot!!”

“…What?”

My mind went blank for a moment.

And as she looked at me, Misha quickly explained everything I’d been dying to know.

“They’re all safe! They said they were late because they went into a rift on the fourth floor!!”

“…….”

“Ugh, I told you, didn’t I! That everything would be fine!”

I felt relief hearing they were all safe, but only for a moment — after that, I felt something else I couldn’t quite explain, and I ran toward the portal…

Where Team 2 would be.

“…Huh? I was talking, where are you running off to!”

As the portal grew closer, I could see the members of Team 2 gathered around it.

Amelia was calmly explaining the situation to the others, and beside her, Ainard was puffing himself up like he was bragging about something he’d gotten.

That’s when I realized what this inexplicable emotion was.

It was a bit of irritation.

But even I couldn’t understand where it was coming from.

“…Ah, Yandel? You’re here. I heard you were really worried we were late.”

As soon as I ran up and stood in front of them, Amelia said in a slightly teasing tone.

Elwen was the same.

“Hehe, it’s Mister! Were you really worried?”

Even hearing those warm greetings, I didn’t open my mouth.

It felt like if I said anything, this feeling would spill out.

No — maybe it already had.

“Emily… why were you so late?”

“Ah… didn’t you hear from Kalstein? A rift opened right in front of us on the fourth floor, and after discussing it with the team, we decided to enter.”

“…….”

“But wasn’t that already decided? ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) From the fourth floor onward, we enter any rift we can.”

That’s right. That’s true.

In fact, the other team members had been telling me that when I was getting worried over their delay.

They were doing what the team leader should have done.

But the problem is……

“Still… wasn’t it a bit too late?”

That’s probably me talking.

“…What?”

“Someone of your level shouldn’t have taken five whole days to clear a fourth-floor rift…”

“It’s true we took a bit longer for safety’s sake. But are you blaming us for that now?”

Amelia noticed the subtle emotion in my voice and frowned.

And that’s when I snapped back to my senses.

The problem was clearly with me.

No — to be precise……

“Yandel… what is it that’s making you so impatient?”

There’s something wrong with my head.

***

21st day since entering the labyrinth.

After that minor incident upon reaching the sixth floor, we resolved things well enough and finally launched our ship into the sea.

Ah, and for the record, we parted ways with the Meiruta Clan here.

“We’re finally setting sail……”

“Looks like the royal army is just starting to set off too?”

Looking at the shore, I could see the royal expeditionary force finally beginning to push their ships into the water one by one, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‘At this rate, they’ll finish setting off tomorrow.’

Strictly speaking in terms of time, there were still some regrets.

Even though we moved so fast, we were only one day ahead of the sluggish royal army in setting sail.

In fact, aside from a few ships launched by some small clans, the only ships around the island were royal warships.

“It’s a little behind schedule, but don’t worry too much. We did a lot of logging, and cleared a rift too.”

Amelia, noticing my feelings, approached to offer consolation.

Maybe it was because of what happened earlier, but the mood still felt slightly awkward.

Both Amelia and I avoided bringing up the previous incident.

“Yes, that’s right! You made more profit than if you’d spent those five days hunting, didn’t you? Don’t worry about it, Mister!”

Sigh… For even Elwen to be worried about me like this.

What the hell am I doing.

For a moment, I felt pathetic, and also determined that I needed to pull myself together.

And to do that, first I had to fix the problem in my head.

Swaaaaaaa—

Out on the deck, facing the cool ocean wind and watching the waves break, I looked back on myself.

That earlier version of me wasn’t like me at all.

No — thinking back, it started with the Meiruta Clan.

Like one of the cogs in my brain had broken.

Emotion was overtaking reason, making me overly sensitive and aggressive.

Usually I was fine, but once something pressed the button, I would change.

‘Maybe I’ve been under too much stress…’

Looked at simply, that could be true, but it wasn’t something to take lightly.

If a commander loses their reason and acts emotionally, the whole group suffers.

People could get hurt because of it.

But how do I fix this kind of thing?

It’s not like there’s a psychiatrist here — do I need to apply some kind of physical therapy myself?

I was thinking that when it happened.

“Yandel.”

“Ah, Emily……”

“It’s fine. It’s only natural.”

Amelia seemed to have a general idea of what caused the problem in my head.

Well, she’s always been sharp like that.

“…….”

“…….”

Silence continued afterward, but it didn’t feel awkward like before.

I don’t know how much time passed.

‘Ah, come to think of it, I never asked this.’

Well, after that awkward conversation earlier, I hadn’t brought it up.

Suddenly remembering it, I asked Amelia.

“So what was the rift on the fourth floor?”

“…It was the Forest of Doppelgangers.”

“…Really? That’s a shame it wasn’t the Golden Ruins.”

“I heard Raven say she was pretty sure it was the Forest of Doppelgangers?”

Well, that’s because she didn’t know our team had gone in.

“…….”

Sigh, this is why people say you should think kind thoughts.

***

29th day since entering the labyrinth.

The ninth day since we left the starting island of Lymia.

Without making a single stop at any islands, our ship finally docked at one.

It was the first destination along our expedition route.

Honestly, since we were five days behind schedule, I’d considered skipping it…

‘But that’d be a waste. It’s right on our path too.’

Well, we’ll just clear it as quickly as possible and move on.

“Ugh… I’d heard the stories, but it’s way creepier than I expected. The whole island’s made of bone…”

“Ooooooh!! It’s the Skull Island! The Skull Island!”

“Its proper name is Catacoma, Mr. Prnelin.”

Skull Island, Catacoma.

This was my first time visiting the island personally, but I had a strange connection to it.

Back when I first went to the Ghostbusters, I’d sold info about this island for GP, and I’d spread related information during a roundtable, too…

“Uh… Captain?”

Just as I was about to disembark, Sven Parab approached me.

“Did you know? Apparently if you defeat the boss monster on Skull Island and reach the tenth floor, you’ll experience something special…”

Wow, if that’s not a roundtable member talking.

That’s literally the information I gave out.

Feigning ignorance, I replied.

“Something special?”

“Yes. I don’t know the details either… but according to a reliable source, something like that exists. N-not that we’ll be going to the tenth floor this time, but I thought you should know…”

“Yeah? Well, I know now. Like you said, we won’t be going to the tenth floor anyway.”

As that conversation ended and I stepped onto the island, Beleg, who had disembarked first, approached to report.

“There are guests.”

“Guests, huh……”

I’d half-expected it.

The labyrinth right now is a goldmine on every floor.

This kind of thing must be happening all over the ocean.

Where there’s treasure, there are always rivals.

“How many?”

“Not sure… but at least one clan clearly arrived here before us. Look over there. They even planted their flag right at the entrance.”

“Well, that says a lot.”

“It seems to be an unspoken warning not to enter, since they arrived first… What shall we do?”

What do you think — we went through the trouble of docking here, so we’re at least going to take a look.

But before rushing in blindly, I checked something first.

“Adnus, that emblem — is it really the Golden Tree Clan?”

“Yes. One of the Seven Rivals, ‘Golden Ears,’ is their leader.”

I had my suspicions from the emblem, and it turns out I was right.

The Golden Tree Clan was one I’d heard of.

For one, their leader is one of the Seven Rivals, like Elwen and Ainard……

“Oh? Golden Tree? That clan is…!”

Catching Misha’s questioning glance, I nodded.

“That’s right.”

It’s the clan that Bear-Old-Man belongs to.