Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Rules of Survival (2)

Rules of Survival (2)

What’s the most important thing in a disaster situation?

Water? Food? Stamina? Tools?

Well, they’re all very important…

But if I had to choose just one, I would choose mental strength.

“No… I can’t die like this, I can’t! After all the hardships I endured, to die so meaninglessly…!”

“Misha, calm down.”

When you’re in a shitty situation, you need the courage to accept reality calmly instead of denying it.

That’s the only way to objectively assess the situation.

Therefore, I abandon all questions.

‘It doesn’t matter what happened to them.’

Maybe a unique monster appeared, or maybe Elisa and her group used some clever method to ambush them in that short time.

All possibilities are open.

But that’s not what I should be focusing on now, right?

‘Think.’

I’m currently separated from the group.

I have one beastman companion with me.

Unfortunately, she’s a warrior-type who only deals physical damage.

And the possibility of the companions we lost returning here seems infinitely low.

Yeah, in short, we’re fucked.

This place, where monsters with physical immunity run rampant, is known as the graveyard of warriors.

It’s practically impossible for two warriors, a barbarian and a beastman, to get through here.

And on top of that, we also have pursuers targeting us.

Actually, this is the biggest problem.

If the two of us encounter them, it’s instant game over.

But if we’re not going to just bite our tongues and die, we need to think.

Not about how fucked up the situation...

‘What action should I take right now?’

What actions should I take?

Even if it’s just a struggle, what should I give up and prioritize for survival?

In short, what is the best course of action right now?

“…Let’s move.”

“What? But even if we do that—”

“Even if we can’t find our way out, it’s better to leave this place.”

Once I objectively assess the situation, I can see what needs to be done even in the worst conditions.

I prioritize among them and decide to tackle them in order of importance.

The first one.

“This place is dangerous.”

Leave this place.

The reason is simple.

We have no information about what the dwarf’s party encountered near here, except that it was dangerous enough to prevent them from coming back for us.

“If that bitch played some kind of trick, we’ll eventually find out.”

“But if that were the case, shouldn’t she have shown up by now?”

Well, maybe we’re just not their top priority. For reasons like the dwarf running in the opposite direction and them having to chase after him.

Of course, I have no intention of arguing about it for long.

The first things to give up for survival are intangible values like compassion and consideration.

“So what are you going to do? The choice is yours.”

I’m not going to carry around dead weight just because she’s my companion.

In the first place, that’s not even a real companion.

I draw a clear line.

“If you don’t like my judgment, we’ll go our separate ways from now on.”

“Wh, what are you saying?!”

“Answer me.”

I don’t want to waste time arguing.

Yes or no.

Misha, who had been silently meeting my eyes, bites her lip and makes a choice.

“…I’ll follow your lead completely from now on. In the first place, there’s nothing I can do since I’m injured.”

It’s a great answer that accurately grasps what the questioner wants and expresses it.

She’s more perceptive than I thought.

As expected, there’s a reason why she’s a 5-year veteran explorer, even though she usually doesn’t seem like it.

“St, still, that’s too harsh…!”

Misha whines as if hurt when I relax my expression, but this much…

It’s fine. As long as she follows my instructions.

“Drink this.”

I open a potion bottle and hand it to her, and Misha slowly drinks it as if it’s poison.

And then she starts groaning.

Not the sexy kind.

Potions are not the kind of thing that can elicit that kind of response.

“Hikk, keugh!!”

Listening to her pained sounds, it seems like the potion is working well.

So I carry Misha on my shoulder.

It’s just a sprained ankle, so the pain should subside within 5 minutes and she should be able to walk, but…

It’s better to save even that much time.

“Ugh, bleugh! My, foot! Please slow down! No, walk gently!”

As I start jogging, Misha begs with a groan.

It seems like she’s getting motion sickness.

However, I can only say this:

“Just bear with it even if it’s hard.”

Sorry, right now I’m a psycho barbarian who has forgotten about compassion and consideration.

Efficiency comes first when survival is at stake.

People don’t die from a little motion sickness, right?

Tadatadat!

Anyway, as I’m running through the forest and sprinting without any direction…

Misha starts pounding on my back like crazy.

“Put me down, keugh! Pu, put me down! I’m, I’m fine now!”

“Don’t lie.”

“It’s true! I, I swear on the guardian deity of my clan!”

“Hmm, then why is your voice so weak?”

I point out the logical flaw in Misha’s words.

But for some reason, I get scolded.

“How can I have any strength! You stupid barbarian! Anyway, put me down!”

“Alright.”

Since she’s hitting my back, it seems like she has enough energy to move, so I put Misha down without any resistance.

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die!”

Geez, stop exaggerating.

I ask her just in case, even though she looks fine.

“So your foot is okay now?”

“As you can see.”

“Answer properly. Does it mean you can fight right away?”

“For now… yes! But why do you ask?”

Because we have to fight, that’s why.

“Good timing, there’s a monster over there.”

Misha follows my gaze. At the end of her gaze is a giant tree moving along the ground with its roots.

The 8th-grade monster, ‘Snetri’.

It’s a creepy monster that attacks explorers using its branches that wriggle like tentacles.

For reference, along with the Half-Troll, it’s one of the few regular monsters that inhabit the Witch’s Forest.

In simpler terms, it can be hunted with physical damage alone.

“Do we really have to catch it? It’s slow, so it won’t be able to follow us… Ah! I’m not saying I won’t follow your lead!”

Hmm, that’s good then.

Anyway, since it was a reasonable question, I answer briefly.

“There’s a chance an essence might drop.”

“Essence?”

Misha tilts her head as if she heard a strange word.

It’s understandable.

If I weren’t in this situation, I wouldn’t even consider such a plan.

“The monsters that appear in the Witch’s Forest all have elemental abilities.”

To be precise, except for the Half-Troll.

Well, we’re not going to catch it anyway, so it’s an exception.

Misha grasps the gist of my plan and freezes.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to catch it just for that?”

Yes, not just this one, but every one we see.

We need to get our hands on an elemental ability somehow.

Avoiding incorporeal beings is fine for a day or two, but at this rate, we won’t even be able to sleep properly.

Well, if we’re lucky enough to find our way out of the forest while wandering around, it’s a problem we won’t have to worry about…

‘But that kind of miracle wouldn’t happen to me.’

Of course, the essence drop rate is still abysmally low.

But this is like a side quest.

I have no intention of solely focusing on this plan.

It would be great if it drops, but if it doesn’t, it can’t be helped.

That’s about it, right?

‘In the first place, if Elisa and her group find us, all of this will be meaningless.’

If the scout on the other side finishes off the dwarf, or if they start searching for us because we’re missing…

When that time comes, all these efforts will be for naught.

But…

That’s not a reason not to struggle.

“Anyway, get ready to fight.”

“Got it!”

Misha draws her weapon.

“Glgllgllgrrr!”

And she charges towards the Snetri, which is crawling on the ground with its roots.

Rule of survival number one,

To live, you have to fight.

___________________________

「Killed Snetri. EXP +2」

___________________________

I’m walking through the Witch’s Forest without a scout.

And if someone asks me how I feel, I’ll definitely answer like this.

It feels like I’m wandering around a mirror maze at an amusement park all day long.

And there’s even constant BGM in this mirror maze.

[Just kill her! Or enjoy it! Why are you being so nice to that useless bitch?]

[Keeheehee, keeheeheehee!]

[It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you!]

Is it just my imagination that the auditory hallucinations are getting more detailed?

Hmm, I don’t think so.

The visual hallucinations seem more vivid too.

[Hansu, why are you the only one who survived?]

It’s not just monsters in the form of hallucinations anymore, but people from my memories appear.

People I can never meet in this world.

[It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!]

[When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl? When are you going to kill that girl?]

Sometimes, those people appear as hallucinations and say shitty things to me.

It seems like the visual and auditory hallucinations have started to merge.

‘It’s not like the field effects suddenly got stronger, so it must be that I’ve become weaker.’

I calmly assess my condition.

However, that’s all.

I stayed up all night.

And I had a fierce battle.

I was half-dead from curses and even came back to life, and now I’m lost in a desperate situation.

It’s only natural for my mental strength to reach its limit.

But so what?

‘I have no choice but to endure.’

That’s how life is.

At least for me.

Endure, endure, and endure some more, and instead of dwelling on things I can’t change, let’s do what I can.

“Misha, use this instead of the dagger.”

“Huh? I haven’t used a spear before…”

After defeating the Snetri, we take a short break, and I check my expandable backpack. And I hand over the spear that was Tyson’s weapon to Misha.

It’s an item we agreed to sell and split the profits from when we return to the city, but it’s not the time to be picky about such things.

“Just use it without complaining.”

“Hmph, alright…”

I haven’t said anything until now, respecting her individuality and experience.

But my personal belief is that the longer the weapon, the more practical it is.

In fact, even when we were catching the Snetri earlier, if it weren’t for the dagger, we could have pierced it deeply and destroyed the core in one go.

“Ugh, it’s awkward! Can’t you give me a sword instead?”

No.

I don’t know which one is easier to handle, a sword or a spear.

But at least the spear is much longer.

It will be much easier for her to help from behind when I form a wall with my shield.

“Both are weapons you haven’t used before anyway. Just use that one.”

“Hmph.”

Stop whining and acting cute, it’s draining my energy.

I don’t know how you see me, but I don’t think of you as that close.

We’ve only known each other for less than 2 weeks.

‘This… I should use this myself.’

It’s not just Misha who upgraded her equipment, I did too.

「Character has equipped Steel Plate Greaves.」

「Total item level has increased by +45.」

First, I put on Hans C’s greaves over my shins.

It’s a type of greaves with leather on the inside and steel on the outside.

I wish there were thigh pieces too, but unfortunately, those seem to be in the dwarf’s backpack.

「Character has equipped War Boots.」

「Total item level has increased by +38.」

I also change my shoes.

They’re also what Hans C was wearing.

They’re leather boots that look quite good, but the instep is reinforced with iron plates.

And they’re in the shape of sharp spikes.

‘Explorer bastards are only practical in these aspects.’

I look for more, but there’s nothing else that Misha or I can use among the equipment.

However, I find something unexpected instead.

“Huh? Bjorn! Isn’t this holy water?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“…It seems like it.”

After a series of misfortunes, is our luck finally turning around?

I’m much happier about this than any piece of equipment.

Because with holy water, we can enchant our weapons.

「The equipment is imbued with holy power.」

「Deals additional damage to evil-attribute monsters.」

Additional holy damage.

In other words, it means we can now beat up incorporeal monsters even without an elemental ability.

Although it’s limited to the evil attribute…

Most of the incorporeal monsters that appear in the Witch’s Forest are evil-attribute, so there’s no need to worry.

‘The problem is that there are only five bottles.’

Holy water doesn’t have a duration.

It just loses its effect once the additional damage has been dealt.

How many monsters can we kill with five bottles?

Well, who knows, but it’s definitely not enough to last until Day 15 when the 3rd floor closes.

‘…It’s best to use it sparingly.’

Still, it’s good news for once.

So I check my backpack more carefully.

I didn’t properly check the exploration tools and such because I was in a hurry before.

There might be something else that could be helpful.

“Hmm? Bjorn!”

As we’re each taking a bag and rummaging through it, Misha calls out to me.

“I found something strange, do you know what this is?”

It’s a pendant with a strange pattern.

And I know what that pattern is.

‘Isn’t this the symbol of the Karui Church?’

Unfortunately, that’s all I can figure out.

Besides being related to the Karui Church, I don’t know what this item is used for.

‘Anyway, I think I’ve checked everything I need to…’

I put the items back in and organize the backpack.

And since the variable of ‘holy water’ has appeared, I review the plan I had roughly made.

Initially, there were three options that came to mind.

1. Ask for help from explorers we encounter by chance.

The Witch’s Forest is vast.

And due to its terrain characteristics, encountering other explorers is rare. But if we keep wandering around, we’ll eventually come across someone.

Any explorer would be tempted if we offered equipment as a reward.

‘The problem is, we can’t trust them.’

There are many efficiency freaks among explorers.

Why bother helping when you can just kill and take everything?

There might be someone who thinks that way.

‘And besides, she’s a woman…’

I glance at Misha, who is munching on jerky as if she’s hungry, and continue my thoughts.

2. Wander around aimlessly until we reach the edge of the forest or the 4th-floor portal.

It’s a method that relies solely on luck.

Therefore, I judged that there’s no need to set this as the ultimate goal. We have to keep wandering around the forest anyway, whether we like it or not.

It’s not something that will happen just because we wish for it.

And it’s not something that won’t happen just because we don’t wish for it.

Anyway, next.

3. Focus on survival and hold out until the closing date.

We have enough food and water.

And by securing holy water, we’ve at least ensured our minimum safety.

If we happen to get an elemental essence along the way, our survival rate in this damn forest will increase significantly.

‘Assuming those bastards can’t find us.’

I let out a long sigh.

It’s only been 4 days since we entered the labyrinth.

That means there’s still a much longer journey ahead than what we’ve already been through.

Considering what we’ve experienced in the past four days, it’s hard to expect the remaining days to go smoothly.

‘It doesn’t seem like an essence will drop, and if I’m going to do it, it’s better to do it now.’

Therefore, I make a decision.

“Misha, are you married?”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

Misha flinches as she chews on her jerky.

She looks like she has no idea what I’m talking about.

Still, she answers, as she promised to listen to me.

“I’m not, but…”

Okay.

I ask again.

This time, more directly.

“Then do you have any beliefs like you can’t show your naked body to a strange man?”

“I, I don’t think so…”

“That’s good.”

It’s an option that I could never have chosen if I hadn’t played [Dungeon and Stone] for almost 10 years.

It’s a shame to use that item already, but…

4. Awaken Misha.