Surviving the Game as a Barbarian - Chapter 797: Skull Island (4)
In truth, the Skull King isn’t a boss that always spawns.
After one kill, on average, the labyrinth has to open about seven more times before it respawns—and during that interval, the cave entrance remains accessible.
A bare-minimum quality-of-life feature for players.
Otherwise, every attempt would’ve required hunting down a key, entering, and finding an empty boss room.
“Oh? The tremors stopped!”
The vibrations that had flared up after killing the Skull King had quietly subsided.
That meant the path to the next chapter had opened.
The conditions to encounter the hidden boss are: the Cursed One must kill the Gravekeeper and then defeat the Skull King.
Drrrrrkk—!
As combat ended, the previously sealed boss room entrance reopened, and the teammates waiting outside entered the chamber.
“…It’s already over?”
“Barely three minutes passed…”
None of them could hide their disappointment.
Well, to be fair, the Skull King was infamous.
There weren’t many teams out there who could take down a Tier-3 monster with just six people.
That meant everyone here was a Tier-3 explorer or higher.
Although, before the team-binding magic got upgraded, the requirement used to be five—so the current threshold is a bit more lenient.
“So no Essence drop, huh?”
“As you can see.”
“What about the chest?”
“Not yet. Time to look for it.”
Treasure hunting was best done together.
After all, treasure is what explorers live for.
Before moving to the next chapter, I joined the squad in searching for the treasure chest.
That, too, was a hidden piece of sorts.
You only find it by combing the floor after killing the boss.
“Ugh…! Why do they have to hide it so well? Why not just hand it over!”
“Perhaps it’s Gavrilius’s design. Meant only for those destined to find it.”
“Ugh… that Gavrilius guy, he’s gotta have a really messed-up personality!”
“Still, this one’s pretty well-known. Anyone aiming to defeat the Skull King would know about it. The Golden Tree Clan outside probably knows too—”
“Ooh! Found it! I found it!!”
Already?
Ainard’s triumphant shouting made me a bit suspicious, but upon checking—it really was a treasure chest.
‘Feeling lucky today…’
Honestly, Ainard’s luck is absurdly good.
The kind of person whose plate always fills itself even when they’re barely trying.
Different from Sven Parab, who’s secretly known as the “Golden Goblin.”
That guy’s lucky too, but in a tragic way. Like he’s always stuck in desperate situations.
“Bjoooorn!! Can I open it? No—I’m opening it! Let me!”
“Go ahead.”
I chuckled and nodded, and Ainard smashed the chest’s latch—no, guess I should say latch-bone?—with her fist.
And then…
Clack.
She slowly opened the lid.
The item inside was small, far smaller than the size of the chest, and Raven quickly shoved Ainard aside to delicately lift and examine it.
“This is extremely rare… If Gold-Ear finds out, he’ll be pissed.”
“Huh? Aruru, what is that? A letter?”
“Oh, this is a charm-type item.”
A charm slot item, shown as “Charm” in-game.
Things like Ainard’s No. 9999 Beginner’s Luck or the No. 1001 Alonso’s Travel Bag that I gave to Auyen—those belong in this slot.
“Ooh! So this one’s a Numbers item too?”
“Yes. It’s No. 444 – Deadrius’s Invitation.”
“Triple numbers! Impressive! But uh… what does it actually do?”
Ainard tilted her head as she examined the wax-sealed envelope.
Hearing it was a Numbers item piqued her interest, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it did.
Understandable. Charms are often like that.
You’d never guess their effects just by looking at them.
“If you carry this, monsters classified as undead won’t attack you.”
“Uh-huh, and?”
“That’s it.”
“…Huh? Didn’t you just say it was extremely rare? Alonso’s bag sounds way more useful than this.”
Misha looked visibly disappointed upon hearing the effect.
Can’t blame her.
You don’t grasp the value of a one-liner like that until you’ve used it yourself.
“It really is rare. Unlike Alonso’s bag, this charm’s effect is absolute. If you’re holding it, undead won’t attack you—ever. Even if you attack them.”
For example, there’s a Rift on the 8th floor called Necropolis.
It’s 99% undead. If a damage dealer equips this, they can clear it solo.
Even some Tier-1 monsters are undead.
“Wow, that’s kinda amazing… Can I take a look?”
“Sure. Just don’t break the wax seal.”
“Huh? What happens if I do?”
“You die.”
“…HIIIK!”
Raven’s blunt, dry explanation made Misha instantly yank her hand back. I chuckled.
‘She always knows only half the story.’
Strictly speaking, you don’t always die.
If you open the seal inside the labyrinth, you get dragged into a hidden field called Hell.
The difficulty? Just assume returning alive is impossible.
No matter how well-built your character is, once you open it—you’re not coming back.
Unless you open it at a very specific point.
“So who’s going to hold onto it?”
Hmm, well…
It’s definitely not something I should be carrying.
Tanks in labyrinths are supposed to take hits, and an item like this should never be anywhere near them.
I thought for a moment, then made my decision.
“Emily Raines, you carry it.”
To me, she seemed like the best option.
She inspires more trust than anyone else here.
There’s always something about the others that doesn’t feel quite solid, but she? She’ll never break the seal.
‘Snagging a triple-digit Numbers charm before even reaching the main dish? Not a bad omen.’
Or is it…?
Every time something good happens, something bad seems to follow.
Nah. Probably not…
…Though, given everything I’ve been through, I can’t just brush it off anymore.
So…
“…I should check just in case.”
“Check what?”
“The Golden Tree Clan.”
“Hm… Didn’t they already leave? They probably never thought we’d fail anyway.”
True.
That’s what I think too.
But…
“Ainard, sorry, but you’ll have to wait a bit before we hunt that thing.”
“…Huh?”
“We’re heading back out to check, then we’ll re-enter.”
The next chapter after the Skull King isn’t accessed via portal. It’s just directly connected.
There’s no door shutting behind it, like at the cave entrance.
Meaning a second group could follow us in anytime.
“We’re heading out.”
I didn’t ignore the weird sense of unease I felt and retraced our steps to the cave’s entrance.
And…
“They’re gone?”
The front of the cave was empty.
***
“So what now?”
Two possibilities.
They really did leave without looking back…
‘Or they’re hiding and waiting.’
If it’s the second one, then we split again:
Of course, they could just be planning to ambush and loot us—
But that’s unlikely.
Even if they managed to kill us all, how would they shut all those mouths?
Secrets leak. And someone like Gold-Ear couldn’t possibly handle the fallout.
“If it bothers you that much, we could check the coastline. If they left by boat, there should be some trace.”
Amelia suggested, but I shook my head.
There’s no point.
Evidence can be faked, and we don’t have the skills to sniff out hidden enemies.
“We’re going back in.”
I returned to the cave in silence.
Not that I did nothing, of course.
“Marone, Raven. Set detection spells at the chokepoints. I want to know the instant someone enters.”
“You think it’ll work? Their stealth is no joke.”
“It’ll work. Their stealth is all gear-based.”
Unless they had the specific item, anyone entering this cave in a large group would trigger the spell.
Because true stealth requires absolute stillness.
“We’re done.”
“How long will it last?”
“Easily twelve hours. But I’m sure they’ll realize a detection spell is here.”
Figures…
“Doesn’t matter. Even if they disable it, we’ll know.”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s move.”
I led the group quickly—not toward the boss room, but along the earlier passage.
“Nice that all the torches are lit now.”
“And all the annoying mobs are gone too.”
“But… when does my curse go away? I heard killing the Skull King removes it… Is this related to what we’re doing?”
“I’ll explain later.”
After wandering a while, we hit a dead end.
“Is this it?”
Raven asked, but I said nothing.
I just turned around.
Behind the blocked wall was a long, straight corridor.
‘Alright, this should work…’
“Wait here. Opening the path requires a bit of special prep.”
I gave the order, then walked up to the wall.
Pretending to inspect it, I ran my hand along the stone.
This wasn’t the entrance.
Slip.
I covertly passed Raven a note.
I’d scribbled it earlier behind my shield during our walk.
“…”
Raven scanned the note quickly, tucked it away, then gave me a subtle nod that only I could see.
“…So this is what it takes to open it? Got it. I’ll get started right away.”
He got it instantly.
That’s the strength of old-school players.
We’ve been through enough that words aren’t needed.
“Huh? Raven, what are you doing?”
“Yandel asked for a special spell.”
“Ooh? What kind?”
“It’s a secret. If Prnelin finds out, she’ll blab to the whole world.”
“Wh-what are you saying! I’m an honorable warrior with a tight-lipped reputation!”
“If you’re that curious, I’ll tell you later. You wouldn’t care anyway, right?”
“Well, true. If it’s gonna take a while, I’m gonna go eat jerky over there.”
While everyone waited, Raven drew a magic circle on the floor.
Meanwhile, I pretended to keep inspecting the wall while checking with Marone about the status of the detection magic.
Eventually—
“We’re ready.”
Raven finished the spell.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
At my signal, Raven poured mana into the circle.
And then—
Flash—!
Light burst out, and the world shifted.
Because the spell I’d asked for wasn’t some petty reveal-the-door incantation.
「Arua Raven has cast Tier-4 spatial magic: [Mass Teleportation].」
Mass Teleport.
The destination? A junction deep within the corridor that had extended behind the wall.
Why? Simple.
Because I believe—
Even if we can’t see them right now—
“Behell—RAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
There’s definitely a rat tailing us.
「Character has cast [Transcendence].」
「Character has cast [Giant Form].」
As soon as the teleport ended, I enlarged myself until the narrow corridor was filled wall-to-wall with nothing but me.
So cramped I could barely move.
Which also meant no one could slip past me.
THOOM—! THOOM—!
I raised my shield to block the path behind us and charged toward the dead end.
I didn’t feel anything catch.
‘No one was really there…?’
The thought crept in—
Maybe I’d just done something stupid again.
But I didn’t mind.
Better to be a fool who caught no rats than a genius who let them slip by.
THOOM—! THOOM—!
So no matter what, I kept charging with my shield raised.
And then…
THOOM—! THOOM—!
Finally, as I slammed into the wall—
I laughed.
Because ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) what I heard wasn’t a crash.
CRACK—!
It was something getting crushed.
Thought so.
Got you, you bastard.
