Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

A legion commander is always busy.

Because a legion commander has no room for excuses.

If people die, if plans go awry, if something goes wrong—it's all the commander's responsibility.

That's why...

'Raven will be able to investigate the crown when he returns...'

After entrusting Raven with the crown's investigation, I immediately began reorganizing the structure.

Click, click—

The current expedition's composition was simple.

Split into four large squads and that was it.

Clerics, mages, knights—all mixed appropriately in each squad, so the combat power was balanced and the roles ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) each could perform weren't very different.

To exaggerate a bit, it was more like dividing roughly into four parts and telling them to manage themselves.

Ah, of course, this setup had some advantages.

In emergencies, a single squad could be operated separately, and if one squad was wiped out, the main force could still function without problems...

'But it's way too military-style.'

We are in a labyrinth.

Sacrifices can't be avoided, but we don't need to assign personnel assuming sacrifice.

However, the problem was...

'There's not enough time to meddle with this much.'

I wanted to merge the four squads into one and assign each member individually, but that would mean changing too many things.

People would need time to get used to it.

Mistakes would happen repeatedly until they got skilled.

'...Let's just properly set the rank system as originally planned.'

The most efficient way to manage subordinates is to place suitable supervisors above and to push them hard.

The so-called downward pressure method passed down since ancient armies.

So, I deleted all existing leadership meeting members from the records and rebuilt the structure from scratch.

Mages, clerics, ranged, melee, knights, tanks, support, non-combatants.

Separating all personnel by class regardless of squad, then selecting one responsible leader per class and assigning appropriate titles.

'Court Mage, Saintess, Holy Archer, Great Warrior, Knight Commander...'

I just made up titles as I went.

The names themselves didn't really matter.

'Phew... now I've chosen all the people to sit here.'

After deciding the chief leaders by class, I created subordinate positions under them.

For example, among mages: research, investigation, combat.

Among knights: combat, administration, each with a team leader...

'I wonder which Raven prefers between investigation and research?'

Hmm, I'll ask him later and decide then—

"Bjorn? Busy?"

"Misha? What brings you here?"

"Just... you always seem busy lately. I brought you some fruit tea you like..."

Oh, my sugar must have been running low.

Gulp.

I swallowed about half in one bite, then looked at Misha who was watching me expectantly.

Well, taking bribes and then staying silent isn't very nice.

"Thanks. Misha, I'll reward you with a title."

"...Huh? I don't need that—"

"From now on, you're the secretary general. Your mission is anything to improve the commander's work efficiency, and for that you have free judgment."

"Uh...? So you want me to bring it again next time, right?"

Well, that's one way to interpret it.

When I nodded, Misha, who was about to refuse the title, smiled faintly.

"Well, if it's like that, I'll gladly accept..."

I got a cat secretary.

After finishing the rank system reorganization, I held a meeting with the officers.

There wasn't an important agenda; it was to get used to the changed faces.

I was also curious if this system would run well.

Ah, of course, it wasn't that there was no topic at all.

"How far has the investigation of the statues and portal progressed?"

While I was holed up in the barracks reorganizing the structure, the mages continued investigating the stone chamber.

Today was the report meeting.

"Ah, I'll report on that."

As soon as I spoke, Gahwin Vesillus, the chief of the mage division, stood up.

"Are you feeling better?"

"I rested a few days, so I'm fine now."

Certainly... until a few days ago, he was still limping, but today he walked well.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, tell me. Court Mage, how far along is the stone chamber investigation?"

"Before reporting, one thing."

Gahwin Vesillus asked me bluntly.

"Why exactly am I the court mage?"

Ah, that.

"This isn't the royal palace anyway."

"It's just a title, don't worry. You have to have a name to be called by."

"No, I mean why that name..."

Gahwin muttered in dissatisfaction, but I had no intention to change it.

I don't even know why he hates it so much.

Court Mage.

Sounds pretty cool even if you say it backwards.

Thinking so, I shot Gahwin a look telling him to stop complaining and start reporting.

A white-robed, white-haired old man spoke politely.

"As Baron Vesillus said, it's just a name. The essence is what matters."

"......"

"And isn't court mage better than saintess? Heh heh."

It was the archbishop of the Tobera Church, who held the saintess position in the expedition.

Seeing the saintess calmly accept the comment, the court mage stopped whining, and the report began.

"I report: no additional items have been found inside the stone chamber. Just three statues and one portal."

"And?"

"The portal is as reported before."

"Likely connected to the original location, but it's too soon to be sure?"

"Yes. Even after analyzing the portal's nature, we can't determine the coordinates beyond. However, we have learned quite a bit about the statues instead."

"Tell me."

Gahwin placed three statues, about the size of large figures, on the table.

One statue was stained black.

"What happened?"

"During research, one statue was used once."

"Used?"

"To summarize, the statue has a nature similar to the guardian statues here. When used, it can open a crack."

"You mean the partial crack where only guardians appear?"

"Yes. See this groove? When a crack stone is placed inside, the statue activates and opens a portal for about 30 minutes."

"Have you gone inside?"

"Unfortunately not. The portal disappeared after 30 minutes while investigating."

Huh... so one statue was lost?

I felt a sharp pang of regret but was reassured by Gahwin's explanation.

"It doesn't seem like a one-time use item. See the black stain? Over time, the color is returning from below."

Oh, so it has a cooldown like an item?

"Also, though the portal hasn't been entered, we learned several things outside. This is an unconfirmed hypothesis but..."

What followed was an explanation filled with difficult terms.

"After such research, it was found that the portal's nature opened by the statue is very similar to the coordinate wavelength of the 'Blood Fortress'..."

To summarize the long and difficult explanation:

"The crack stone used to activate the statue was a grade 9 crack stone obtained from the first floor crack. We are considering the possibility this is no coincidence."

Simply put, the guardian's grade is determined by the grade of crack stone offered to the statue.

Well, this is still speculation.

"Deputy commander, do we have more crack stones among our supplies?"

We checked our crack stones, but unfortunately, only a few below grade 6 remained.

Understandable, how often do you bring crack stones into a labyrinth?

Actually, having even that many proved how meticulous the royal family was.

'A kind of downgraded crack generator...'

By the way, among the Numbers items, there is one similar to this statue.

No.18 Crack Generator.

This item can open cracks by inserting crack stones.

It requires about ten grade 9 stones and opens random cracks on the corresponding floor.

Though you have to be at that floor, it can open cracks without high-grade stones if you have enough quantity. And it actually enters the real cracks, so it's an upper-level item.

'Well, this statue might open a portal to a real crack too...'

But judging by its statue form, it's likely it will spawn only a single boss like previous guardian statues.

"I see. Good work. I'll keep the statues safe."

After that, I pocketed the statues and checked other reports.

"The essence of the Soul Eater?"

"No progress yet. Since essence can't be studied unless absorbed by someone, there's not much to research..."

"To research it, someone must consume it. Got it. I'll think about that."

"Understood."

"My stomach is getting hungry. Everyone except the research chief may go out and rest."

I ended the meeting and dismissed everyone except the research chief.

"Yandel-san left only me here because—"

"Not Yandel-san, but commander."

Still an official place, but the research chief ignored that and continued.

"You must be curious how much I've learned about that item."

"Yeah. Learned anything?"

The expedition's research chief, Raven, activated voice control magic.

"Actually, quite a lot."

"Oh, really?"

"First, this crown is a Numbers item."

"Numbers item?"

For someone like me who memorized all from 1 to 9,999, that was hard to accept.

There is no such crown among Numbers items.

And Raven would know that too...

"Explain in detail."

"Since this is the first floor we've entered, the expedition has pretty good research equipment."

"So?"

"Analysis shows this crown has the unique properties of a Numbers item. So I defined it as a Numbers item."

"But it lacks the most important number."

"That's right. So I gave it a suitable name..."

"Why be shy? Just say it."

"Secret Numbers... how about that?"

Compared to making up a name, it was pretty tame.

"I thought we might find more Numbers items without known numbers while exploring the basement first floor."

"Sounds good."

"Then it can be the official name?"

"Yes."

When I nodded, Raven's face lit up.

He was probably imagining the future where 'Secret Numbers' would be widely used.

Well, what does the name matter?

"Enough about the name. Tell me what this item does."

I worried he might have come only to talk about the name, but fortunately, Raven's curiosity was genuine as well as his pride.

"I'll speak only about what has been verified. Keep in mind there might be unknown abilities."

"Alright, hurry up."

"First, this crown grants immunity to all harmful mental effects when worn."

"Oh..."

Better performance than I expected.freew\\ebno\\vel..(c)om

A helmet that grants immunity to mental effects?

Since high-level raids often require mental resist stats or equipment, this would be useful going forward.

'Can I wear it...?'

Imagining a giant barbarian wearing a crown looks odd, but gamers always prioritize function over looks...

"Oh, and one more thing."

The next explanation made me lose interest in the crown.

"When worn, it grants immunity to holy power. It won't be harmed by holy spells but can't benefit from healing spells either. Other beneficial blessing spells are obviously useless too."

"Ah..."

I figured there had to be a drawback.

'I can't use it.'

As a tank who needs periodic healing, this helmet isn't for me.

"That's all we've discovered. No active skill has been found yet. Though it's more likely there isn't one."

"Good work."

"I'll take it and research further. Is that alright?"

"Of course. You should even name it officially. Numbers items need names."

"...Really, I can name it?"

"Of course."

Motivating subordinates is also part of a superior's role.

"Oh, right, Yandel-san."

"Commander, please."

"About those three statues from the stone chamber. You said they activate with crack stones and open cracks corresponding to the stone's grade?"

"Yes?"

Raven took out a crack stone.

I don't know the grade, but it looked pretty large.

"This was obtained after defeating the vampire guardian in the mutated crack we first encountered."

"Oh, that one?"

"Yes. It's hard to sell, so we've kept it."

"So?"

Raven asked me with genuine curiosity.

"What kind of crack opens if we put this in the statue?"

Uh... I wonder.

"...Should we try?"

I'm pretty curious too.