Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Companions (1)

230,000 stones just from the mana stone exchange.

The equipment from the four-man party led by that blond, sold at 800,000 stones.

Five million stones of settlement money from the guild, and one million more via blackmail.

In addition, 30,000 stones worth of compensation from the innkeeper.

‘The Golden Mask is worth about 500,000 stones, but… since I decided to keep it, it doesn’t count.'

From the earnings, subtract the 300,000 stones paid to Ainar, and the 150,000 stones I’d thrown away carelessly (?) yesterday, and you can calculate my current wealth.

‘About 6,610,000 stones…'

In fact, even if I factored in my current standard of living, it’ was a huge enough amount that I won’t have to enter the labyrinth for the next three years.

‘If I leave out 70,000 stones for this month's living expenses… my total budget comes around to 6.54 million stones.'

I quickened my steps, recalling the items on the shopping list I’d prepared in advance last night.

Although, that didn't mean I was really going to walk all the way.

"Is this the carriage for to Zone 2?"

"Right."

Once I arrived at the shared platform, I paid the 500 stones fee and got on the ten-person carriage.

The original price was 250 stones per head, but…

Barbarians were so big that they had to pay for two.

‘Damn it.'

It was kind of upsetting, to be honest.

Especially because I had to way to refute it.

"We’re here."

After a period of dozing on the seat, we arrived at the northern part of the city, to Zone 2 of the ​​Commelby commercial area.

It took about 4 hours.

If I could’ve passed through Karnon, the first sector under the royal family, the journey could’ve been cut in half…

‘But there’s no way for me do that, with what little fame I have.'

First, I had a quick bite at a nearby restaurant, and then headed to my destination following the city map I’d bought in advance.

It was easier to find than I’d expected.

It wasn't long before I started to see a majestic building in the distance.

[Arminus Central Exchange].

One of the facilities I’d used the most while playing the game.

The central exchange.

There was no need to wander around the city directly selling my wares, and it was also a convenient place for finding specific items.

In return, you had to pay a fee.

"Are you registering as a seller?"

"No. I'm here to search for some stuff."

After taking a numbered ticket and waiting a while, I submitted my pre-written documents to the exchange staff.

"There are a total of twelve items that meet the criteria. Would you like to check the information?"

"Of course."

For reference, the search fee for each item was 3,000 stones.

After paying and waiting a while, the staff pulled out some papers and brought them to me.

"After checking the contents, please tell the staff over there what you want, and someone will guide you to the storage area."

In the game, you just had to press the buy button, but this was how it actually worked, huh. It was reasonable that they were charging a fee.

Somebody had to pay the labour costs of the system, after all.

‘Anyway, let's check things out, first.'

Like the other users crowded nearby, I also sat down and started reading the documents.

There were only twelve items that met the criteria, so it didn't take long to finish.

"I want to see this item, here."

Having selected the item with the most reasonable price from the list, I followed the staff to the storage area.

And after a few inspections to confirm that there were no defects, I bought it with cash without hesitation.

[Expandable Backpack]

• Storage space: Tier 8
• Form: Standard medium backpack
• Enchantments: Automatic organization, individual item withdrawal/deposit, lightweight (low)
• Selling price: 2.5 million stones

An expandable backpack.

It was a little far from the standard subspace, but at my current level of wealth, it was a good item.

Even if the storage area was only tier 8, that was still more than thrice the size of the extra-large backpack I used…

‘And it’s got the set of all three of enchantments.'

All in all, it was definitely worth it.

Even assuming you can do without[1] ‘automatic organization', which keeps the items inside in an optimal shape –

‘Lightweight' is close to essential.

Think about it. No matter how wide the space might be, if the weight of the items remains the same, it’s meaningless.

‘… In that sense, individual deposit and withdrawal is the same.'

This was an expandable backpack that I bought for convenience.

If it had no ‘individual withdrawal' function, only last-in, first-out withdrawal would be possible, meaning I could only take out the items in reverse order of how I’d put them in.

‘It was all so inconvenient in the game, but in reality, it's no joke.'

Well, it was a bit disappointing that it still looked like a backpack, but…

Expecting anything more would’ve been delusional.

I decided to be satisfied and returned to my original place with the backpack I’d just purchased.

Then I searched for the rest of the items ,as well.

Now my remaining budget was about 4 million stones.

「The character is wearing an expandable backpack.」

「Inventory expands significantly.」

Now that I’d taken care of the conveniences, it was time to increase my actual strength.

Four million stones.

It was enough to fit myself a full set of steel plate armour, or to raise my immortal imprint by about three levels at once.

Neither was a bad choice, per se…

But I didn't pick any of them.

Because things had changed at my end.

(P) Dark Origin — Resists death if your heart is intact.

Somehow, I ended up eating the essence of a vampire.

Thanks to that, I was now in a state where my body would not perish as long as my heart was unharmed.

In other words, the choice of strengthening the immortal imprint, or getting matching armour parts such as gaiters, was no longer the best value for money.

After much deliberation, I made a final decision.

‘I’d rather get higher-tier equipment.'

What was commonly called higher-tier equipment was –

In other words, I decided to purchase equipment made from a second-tier metal, instead of first-tier metal like steel.

「The character is wearing a lythinium breastplate.」

「Total item level rises +270.」

Lythinium.

A second-tier metal, twice as light and hard as normal steel.

But maybe because it was so brilliantly white, it was outrageously expensive.

‘1.91 million stones for a single breastplate… ‘

The breastplate I purchased through the exchange had the same shape as the steel half-armour I sold as scrap metal, but the price was more than five times higher.

‘Well, it's natural. Usually you’d have to be an adventurer on the 4th floor to use tier 2 material, right?'

Among the various armour pieces, why I chose the breastplate as my top priority was simple.

The safer and more protected my heart, the greater the benefit of my passive skill, [dark origin], would be.

Safety was my paramount concern, so there was no doubt about what my first pick would be.

The second, however, took some time before I could finalize the purchase.

「The character has equipped a large titanium combat shield.」

「Total item level rises by +315.」

After puzzling over whether I should change my weapon or buy a new shield to replace the old one that was sold for scrap metal –

After a long deliberation, I finally spent 2.1 million stones to purchase a shield.

There were many reasons, but the main one was…

‘Now I don't have to focus on DPS[2] anymore.'

So far, I’d only ever ventured into the labyrinth solo or as prt of a duo.

But to go any higher, I’d need a party – of at least four people.

In other words, it was more efficient to hold a shield and become a living tank to protect my allies.

‘Vampiric essence isn’t suited for the DPS role, anyway.'

And above all, unlike a weapon, the shield was something I could continue to use even after I got my hands on ‘that essence'…

And without my trusty shield, I was feeling kind of bereaved.

Well, now my pockets had become bereaved instead.

‘Yeah, now this is some respectable equipment.'

For some reason, when I looked into the mirror, a sense of satisfaction welled up inside my heart.

Was this another transformation from my becoming a barbarian?

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 3

Body: 155 / Mind: 90 / Ability: 115

Item Level: 683 (New +585)

Combat Index: 527.75 (New +146.25)

Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7, Vampire (Guardian) – Rank 5

By the time I was done with my moderate spending spree, it was already evening.

After eating one more meal at the same restaurant where I’d had lunch, I got into a carriage and returned to my place at Zone 13.

The day was over.

‘It takes so much time to travel… ‘

Later, once I made some actual money, I’d have to look at moving to the central district.

Living at the outskirts brought many inconveniences along with it.

Even though I’d gotten a bit closer to the city centre this time, it was still too far from the Dimensional Plaza.

‘At the end of the day, is it all about money? …'

As I’d spent a lot of money today, I went to sleep with a promise to myself to make even more money.

And the next morning –

‘I've finished what I can deal with right now, so let's go back there soon.'

Like a sincere barbarian, I got up really early in the morning and headed to the library.

Korean gamers are famous for their habit of grinding[3] whenever they have spare time. Well, this wasn't a game anymore, it was reality, so now it was just normal hard work.

I still lacked common sense and knowledge of this world.

‘In that sense, if I get my own house in the future, it’d better if it were close to the library.'

Books are nourishment for the soul.

The reason why I’d been able to spend my money so rationally on the exchange was probably because I’d read a book in the library.

‘What was the title of that book again?'

I couldn't remember the title, but it was a book that recorded the average trading prices of items on the exchange for the past decade.

It was hard to read because there were so many numbers, but there was no better textbook to learn the market price levels.

As I kept walking while immersed in my own thoughts, I soon found myself at my destination.

Nothing had changed compared to the last time.

The smell of books wafting throughout the building, the countless glass-wearing nerds[4] who’d arrived earlier than me, and the librarian sitting at the counter with a sleepy face.

"Long time no see."

As I greeted her, same as last time, the librarian gave me a strange look.

Then she mumbled a short word.

"… How?"

Oh, did you notice?

"Fufu, this is titanium armour and shield. I had to spend about 4 million stones in total. Oh, and here’s an expandable backpack on my back –"

"Parstyev."

Ah, she was as cold as always.

I left the chronically fatigued librarian, who’d started to doze off again after casting the spell on me, and headed deeper into the library.

But was it because of my new, shiny equipment?

I could feel people's gazes everywhere, even more so than usual.

Most of them had a look of… awe?

I wasn’t completely sure about that, but delving deeper into that train of thought was just a recipe for embarrassment, so I decided to think of them that way.

‘… Is it because I came to the library with my equipment on?'

Maybe so.

But even if it looked strange, so what?

I was a barbarian!

I just stopped paying attention and decided to do my own thing, and while concentrating on the keywords, I managed to pull out a bunch of books.

[Establishment and Development of the Adventurers' Guild].

[Judgments on Pillaging: A Case Study III].

[Comprehension of Legal Terminology].

[The Birth of Mozlan].

[…] […]

[… …]

Was it because how I’d almost gotten framed this time?

My interest in the guild, as well as the various institutions directly controlled by the royal family, and the law – was growing.

Wasn't there a famous saying back on my world?

Ignorance is a sin[5].

So, I had to start learning.

Creak–!

As I kept reading, with a break every four hours to go out and have a meal, the sun again began to set.

I decided to finish the rest when I came back the next day, and returned to my inn.

A letter had arrived for me during the day, which was a very unusual state of affairs.

It was from the Adventurers’ Guild.

Hikurod Murad wanted to meet with me.

‘I can't go to the library tomorrow, looks like.'

After wiping my new shield and breastplate with a dry cloth for about an hour, I lay on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

There was nothing to do in the morning, so I decided to sleep in.

It was a little past noon when I got up.

After a quick and plain wash, I headed to the meeting place.

Rattle–!

A shop that was an inn, a restaurant and a tavern, all in one.

As I entered the hall on the ground floor, I could see quite a few people eating and chatting.

After looking around the room for a while, I finally found the person I’d been looking for. After all, dwarves were too short to see easily among a crowd.

He would’ve done better to stand while he ate, honestly.

But anyway –

"It’s been a while, Hikurod."

"Hah! It was really you! It's marked as a rank 7, so I wasn’t sure if –"

The dwarf who greeted me with a smile suddenly startled as he got a better look at me.

"No, what the hell is with that equipment?"

Oh, so you noticed?

I replied like it was no big deal.

"Ah, this? As you can see from this white brilliance, it's titanium armour, and the shield’s the same. And this one on my back is an expandable backpack, I finally bought one this time."

Really, it was nothing much. No need to stare!

Editor's Notes:

[1] 백번 양보해서 (lit. conceding a hundred times), used to debunk someone's argument by revealing their error after making some assumptions.

[2] 딜 (dil), is a homophone of the English word ‘deal’. In game context, this is used to refer to ‘dealing (inflicting) damage’, so here the protagonist is saying he no longer needs to the primary damage dealer and can focus on being the tank of the team. Using DPS (damage per second) as the translation since it conveys the same meaning.

[3] 노가다를 (nogada) means hard, repetitive work. In RPG terms, this is what you’d call ‘grinding’ and that’s how it’s translated here.

[4] 멸치 (lit. anchovy), slang for thin people. Nerd really isn’t the right translation here, but it fits the context.

[5] This is really not what the raw says. What the raw actually says is 모르면 맞는 수밖에 없다 (lit. if you don’t know, there’s nothing you can do). It’s a meme from Tekken, about how you can get beaten by an ultimate move if you don’t have any idea how it works, but on the other hand, if you do know then it’s easy to block. See this wiki link.

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