Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 533: Escape Plan (6)

Thump-!

My heart is pounding, but my head is cold and calm.

'corpse.'

It's a human corpse.

And the village chief, standing right behind me, shows me these corpses and says:

These corpses are our town's secret.

Thump-!

Aside from the cold sweat forming on my back, I tried my best to calm my thoughts.

Why didn't you show it to me first when you could have just said you didn't want to show it?

Now that you know the secret, you won't act like you should disappear.

“What are these corpses?”

“You’re much calmer than I expected.”

“There must be a reason why you showed it to me.”

Of course, it is also possible that he deliberately lured me underground with the intention of getting rid of me.

But, I feel like that's not the case.

“You’re smart. Your guess is correct. I thought it might help to ease your misunderstanding if I showed you this place.”

“Misunderstand.......”

Soon I took a quick look around the basement.

Corpses literally piled up like a mountain.

There's definitely something fishy going on.

Should I say that the numbers don't match up? Even if you kill all the explorers of the Silver Lion Clan, this number will never be possible.

“So who are these people?”

“I don’t know.”

"...what?"

As we looked at each other with eyes that said, “What kind of trick is this?” the village chief slowly opened his mouth.

“Actually, you are not the first explorers to come to this island. There have been others before.”

“But why did you pretend to see us for the first time?”

“Oh, I guess I should start with that. I wasn’t pretending it was the first time.”

Are you trying to make some kind of pun?

Just as he was about to say something in rebuttal, frowning, the village chief continued.

“You are the first living explorers, you know.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s true. The corpses here have been like this since I first saw them. Their entire bodies were twisted, their arms and legs were connected, and they were dead. And no matter how much time passed, they didn’t decay at all. It was as if time had stopped at that moment.”

“So, does that mean you picked up all these corpses that fell during the rainy season?”

“No, that’s not true. The expression ‘picked up’ is not wrong, but... their falling from the sky had nothing to do with the rainy season. However, the cycle was very long.”

The village chief bent down and picked up one of the corpses on the floor, holding it by the head. Then, looking at the half-rotted head, he continued speaking in an emotionless voice.

“Shortly, ten to fifteen years. Longly, thirty to forty years. These corpses have fallen from the sky. And I suspect that it might have something to do with the dimensional collapse.”

“Dimensional collapse?”

“That’s right. Not only is the cycle somewhat similar, but one of the journals I found from these corpses also contained a story about dimensional collapse.”

As he said that, the village chief took out a notebook from his bosom and handed it to me. He explained that I only had to read the last page.

Anyway, the damage was so bad that it was difficult to read the other chapters?

First, I opened the notebook and read the last page.

[... ... ... ... The whole world is falling apart and twisting. I think I understand why so many of my predecessors have called it a disaster. This is not a disaster at all.]

[... ... Mulk is dead. Ilya is dead. Sir Swalkie is dead. Miss Quiriane is dead. And maybe... I won’t be able to hold out much longer.]

[... ... No, I must return alive. Because I have a duty to convey the words they left behind.]

Someone's expedition journal that ends with words of determination.

I think I know why the village chief thought dimensional collapse was the cause. The fact that the last entry in the notebook was dimensional collapse was suspicious enough.

Of course, that's that and this is this.

“So why did you keep these bodies in the basement? Why did you keep it a secret from us?”

“This story is going to be a bit long.”

As the village chief waved his hand, the monster warriors surrounding him quickly retreated.

Well, why are you sending it when people can't even speak?

I had doubts, but I didn't address them.

“These corpses meant a lot to me. Their presence allowed me to see that time was passing outside, and through the occasional records that appeared, I could hear about what was happening outside.”

"however?"

“I started researching. I thought I might find some clues that could help me leave this damned place. But my expectations were wrong. I tried everything I could, but these corpses were just ordinary corpses. Time just didn’t pass.”

After the last experiment of sending these corpses up to the labyrinth to at least let the outside world know about this place's existence ended in failure, the village chief stopped his research.

And they gathered the corpses and stored them underground.

I was discouraged and gave up for now, but I still had the lingering hope that it might be used again someday.

but.......

“In the midst of all that, you came. You were the last hope for me, when I had given up on everything.”

“So you decided to hide the story about these corpses?”

“I was already on guard because of your monstrous appearance, but I thought showing you this would avoid misunderstandings. Even if I had to tell you someday, I planned to do so as carefully as possible.”

But eventually Amelia sneaked in and saw the truth, so she had no choice but to tell the truth.

To summarize, the story is like this... ... .

“Did that answer your question?”

"well."

It's not that the story is completely unconvincing.

However, it cannot be denied that there is something suspicious somewhere.

I wasn't surprised when he talked about the outside world.

I also knew that time was passing, etc.

If this story is true, it explains a lot of the questions I had... ... .

'I'm saying it feels like it was roughly put together.'

If you think about it, it was like that in any world.

The best way to hide the truth was to tell only a few of the truths.

The biggest question from the beginning was not resolved.

“So you have nothing to do with the disappearance of the Silver Lion Clan?”

“That’s right. Why would I have any reason to harm them in the first place?”

Ugh... What should I do now?

If you had just hit me on the back of the head, I would have just said I was right and it would have been the end of it.

Things got a little complicated.

'Should I just believe this or not?'

I thought about it for a moment, but the answer came quickly.

'I can't believe it.'

There is no one in this world you can trust except your colleagues.

Yeah, so... ... .

'Okay, conclusion complete.'

What I have to do going forward also becomes clear.

“Since we have hidden things, we will not hold you responsible for your colleagues breaking the laws of our village or for your ‘mistakes’ resulting from them. What do you think?”

I responded with a hearty laugh to the village chief's words that we should just get through it amicably.

No, to be exact—.

“That’s good. I’m glad the misunderstanding has been resolved.”

“Yeah, I’m glad your misunderstanding has been resolved... Huh?”

He struck the hammer with a smile.

Phew-!

A strong hand feel from the hammer stuck between the eyebrows.

Blood flows out of the wound that opened up within a moment.

In that state, the village chief showed his emotions for the first time.

".........why?"

An emotion that was too calm to be anger, and too vivid to be sadness.

I answered, looking into the fish's eyes full of doubt.

There were many questionable parts in the story.

I had a feeling that it was wasting time.

I had a gut feeling that if I gave it time, it would eventually hit me hard in the back of the head.

There was no need to even present such illogical grounds.

Just one sentence was enough.

“Because my eyes feel bad.”

“............?”

“So I hit you, is there a problem?”

The Barbarians need no other reason.

***

Is the village chief an enemy or an ally?

If they are enemies, what kind of hidden agenda are they hiding?

What is true and what is false.

Such worries are no longer meaningful.

Because with one hammer blow, a complicated story becomes much clearer.

The village chief and I have an irreparable relationship.

So, I'll kill you here.

If you fail to kill... ... .

'Escape this village with your comrades.'

A situation that falls apart so cleanly.

However, the village chief asked me as if he still did not understand.

“There was no reason for you to resort to such extreme measures.”

“Oh! Is that so?”

“You care about your comrades terribly. But putting them in danger like this is not like you.”

I don't know how many times he had seen me before he said something like that, but it wasn't something I would listen to carefully.

So, at this point... ... .

“Behel—raaaa ...

He lets out a battle cry and strikes the hammer down once more in surprise.

Boom-!

Unfortunately, the village chief was not flustered and drew his sword to block ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) the hammer. However, was it clear that he had conveyed his intention that he did not want any more conversation?

The village chief recited in a cold voice.

“Wrong choices come with consequences.”

Well, saying that with a fish head doesn't sound cool at all.

Is this the patient who needs mirror therapy this time?

I don't know, but I stuck my mouth out like a fish and followed suit.

“A hole in the sunshade will make you sick.”

For some reason, the reaction came after a bit of a delay.

“......He was a crazy guy.”

Well, I don't think it's worth praising it here.

Kwak-

As I held the hammer with both hands and applied more force, the village chief's sword began to be pushed back more and more.

'Seeing you being pushed around in a situation where you have to use both hands, I can tell that you have less strength than me.'

But would you have made a similar decision?

The village chief also finished the struggle, raised his sword at an angle, and gently pushed the hammer aside.

Boom-!

A hammer that falls to the ground while preserving its mass.

At the same time, the village chief's sword emitted a bright light.

Phew-!

The very same one that previously sent Hipramagent flying in one blow.

It looks similar to Aura, but... ... .

'There must be so many skills like this in the labyrinth.'

Because of that, I haven't figured out what that skill is yet, but it wasn't a big problem right away.

"The character cast [Iron Fortress]."

“The effect of [Evolved Shell] increases by 1.5 times.”

That makes sense.

"It has a 75% resistance to sword-type weapons only."

It's a sword anyway, right?

Kwaaaaang-!

The sword that pierced Hipramagent's head like a tofu was blocked by the shield and bounced off.

The condition of the shield is... ... .

'Is there a slight scratch on this?'

Yeah, as they say, there's nothing as scary as your imagination.

After experiencing it firsthand, I realized that it is more worthwhile than I thought.

Well, it's not like there aren't any problems.

Phew-!

His agility stat is much higher than mine, and he misses all of his attacks except for the first one.

"The character cast [Eye of the Storm]."

Even in situations where [Eye of the Storm] is used, which is particularly effective in narrow areas, Tahal remains at 30%.

Phew-!

Even if it hit, it wouldn't cause much damage.

‘It seems like the tolerance is low... but the regenerative power is quite good.’

The wound from the first blow, which was the biggest one, has already completely healed.

Within moments, I quickly reconsidered my decision.

'It's impossible to kill them 1:1 here.'

I give up on killing the village chief alone.

So, what I need to do next is this.

“Chief, do you know of two ways to make people angry?”

First, let's distract them with an unexpected question.

“......?”

When you start questioning what I said.

Jjanggrang-!

He takes the Molotov cocktail out of his subspace bag and throws it on the pile of corpses, shattering it.

and.......

Hwaruruk-

Leaving the blazing fire behind.

Tadah.

I run up the stairs with all my might.

“Behel—raaaa ...

There were no monster warriors on the stairs, perhaps because the soundproofing was quite good. I climbed the stairs, destroying the ceiling so that the village chief could not easily follow me.

Toodoodo, toodoodoodo-!

The basement, which seemed to have little talent for architecture, began to collapse like dominoes after being slightly destroyed.

Kuung-!

The rocks kept falling nonstop as I climbed the stairs, hitting my head and shoulders.

And then about 30 seconds passed.

Boom-!

Finally, I was able to break down the door and get out. In the living room on the first floor, my colleagues and monster warriors were waiting for me, facing each other... ... .

“Something must have happened! We should hurry and go down—”

[I need to check if the village chief is safe—.]

The two groups spot me and gape in amazement.

The only one who had reason and spoke with an open mouth was Bersil.

“Uh... Mr. Yandel? What is the situation right now—.”

Hey, can't you tell just by looking at it?

Even though I had destroyed everything, there was no time to explain because it was clear that the village chief's son would come up soon.

Yeah, so... ... .

So that anyone, whether a three-year-old or not, can immediately understand the situation clearly.

Kwajik-!

I shouted as I smashed the head of the nearest monster warrior with my hammer.

“We are escaping from this village now!”