Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Chapter 354: Isolation (1)

Chapter 354: Isolation (1)

The lakeshore where the base was established was one of the few safe zones in the Dark Continent.

However, it simply meant that monsters didn't naturally spawn here, not absolute safety.

Monsters aren't the only danger in the labyrinth.

Like right now.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm magic blared like an emergency siren, sensing the presence of enemies.

It was obvious who they were.

Even if monsters wandered in by chance, they wouldn't be firing magic cannons.

"It's Noark!"

But that raised another question.

We knew who the enemies were.

But how did they get here?

The main force had supposedly been thoroughly searching the area as they advanced.

'The main force couldn't have been defeated.'

I started with that premise.

They had overwhelming numbers. It was impossible for them to be defeated in such a short time.

And if they were in trouble, they would have contacted us, and the 3rd Corps would have been dispatched immediately.

Therefore...

'They bypassed the main force and ambushed us.'

That was the most plausible scenario. And if that was the case, the attackers were likely a small elite force. It would be much easier to avoid detection that way.

Of course, I wouldn't know for sure until we saw them...

"Mister...! What are you doing? Let's go!"

Hey, it's Lihen.

Well, it's not like Raven would believe me even if I corrected her.

"Right, let's go."

I quickly finished organizing my thoughts and rushed out of the tent.

And at that moment...

"Uh, oh...!"

A ball of pure magic energy was flying towards us.

Good thing I was at the front.

Kaboom!

I blocked it with my shield, and the magic energy exploded, scattering debris everywhere. The impact was significant, but I didn't get knocked back.

The Mark of the Guardian Corps absorbed 50% of the impact.

"Are you alright?"

He's scared?

Is that what happens when you're always in the rear?

"No problem."

I reassured Raven's assistant, who was startled by the magic cannon fire, and quickly gave orders.

"Alex, was it? Stay close behind me."

"Y-yes!"

"Emily, Erwen, you two protect him from the rear."

"Yes!"

The formation was quickly established.

It was usually Alex's job as our squad leader, but...

He seemed like the type who only followed orders.

He didn't seem to mind me taking charge.

"Alex, where's the Vice-Captain's tent?"

"R-right over there!"

"Then we'll head there first. Follow me."

"Yes!"

As other explorers rushed out of their tents and gathered with their squads, we moved towards the center of the base.

Our mission was to protect Raven.

...Well, that was just an excuse. I figured we could get more information about the situation if we went to the command center.

'And Raven might be in danger...'

We soon arrived at Raven's tent.

She was standing outside, surrounded by mages in uniform. They had drawn a magic circle on the ground and were chanting something...

"Vice-Captain Raven, what's going on?"

Raven frowned at my question.

"Why are you here...?"

"We're here to carry out our assigned mission. It's an emergency."

"Ah..."

Raven nodded, seemingly remembering that she had changed our squad's mission to protect her.

But something still bothered her.

"Assistant Vice-Captain Alex Hailo, why is he asking questions instead of you? Aren't you the squad leader?"

Alex froze under Raven's glare.

"W-well..."

It seemed like he had just realized that I was leading the squad.

Well, that wouldn't be an excuse.

"Well...?!"

"N-no, I... I'll fix it!"

"Fix what? How? Ugh, we don't have time for this."

"Vice-Captain! Mana charging complete!"

One of the mages shouted, and Raven cut off the conversation, moving towards them.

And...

?Arrua Raven has cast the 2nd-grade defensive spell [Wall of Thousand Gold].?

A massive iron wall, shaped like a dome, enveloped the entire lakeshore.

____________________

Honestly, I was speechless.

'Wow... she's using 2nd-grade magic now?'

2nd-grade defensive spell, [Wall of Thousand Gold].

Dozens of mages had poured their mana into it, but Raven was the one who cast it.

It meant she had grown strong enough to use 2nd-grade magic.

'This is... strange.'

Vice-Captain of the Magic Corps.

And she even had the nickname 'Golden Mage', so I knew she must have become strong...

But could I really bring someone like her back to the clan?

She was practically a high-ranking official, she wouldn't need to explore the labyrinth anymore.

"That should buy us some time. Good work, everyone."

"It was nothing, Vice-Captain!"

"Follow me."

Raven exuded an aura of authority as she walked, and the mages followed her.

I quickly caught up and walked beside her.

"Where are we going?"

I was worried, but thankfully, Raven answered with a sigh.

"...We received a message from the 3rd Corps command. They told us to activate the defensive barrier and join them at the central headquarters. And please, don't ask any more questions. I have a lot on my mind."

I could relate to the feeling of having your thoughts interrupted, so I quietly followed her.

We soon arrived at the central headquarters, and Raven entered alone.

I tried to follow her, but...

"...Why are you following me?"

"Our mission is to protect you—"

"Stay outside. That's an order."

Raven firmly drew a line, and I had no choice but to back down.

I was curious about what they were discussing inside.

Was there a way to eavesdrop?

I asked Erwen and Amelia, but they didn't seem to have any ideas either.

So we waited outside.

And after about 30 minutes...

"Vice-Captain!"

Raven emerged from the tent.

I immediately approached her and asked what had happened, but she just gave me a cold response, refusing to share any information.

'Damn... she's really different now.'

I missed the old Raven.

She used to get flustered but always helped me out, even when I was being ridiculous...

"Emily, can you find out?"

"I was already planning to."

Information was more valuable than gold in this situation, so I sent Amelia to gather intel.

She was experienced in this, so it didn't take long.

"Communication with the main force has been cut off."

"So we can't get any reinforcements?"

"Not necessarily. They communicate at regular intervals. If communication is cut off, they'll know something's wrong here."

"Then the key is whether we can hold out until they return."

It had been almost 10 hours since the main force departed.

Even if they turned back immediately, it would still take a considerable amount of time for them to return.

"What about the other explorers? How are they reacting?"

"They're calm. They trust the Golden Mage. They believe that nothing will happen, like last time."

"Last time?"

"Ah, I know about that!"

Erwen chimed in.

Apparently, there had been one previous incident where the base was attacked.

It happened in the early days of the war, when they didn't have much information about each other.

"She used the magic circle she had prepared beforehand to summon this wall. The Noark forces tried to break through for hours, but they eventually gave up and retreated."

That was how Raven earned the nickname 'Golden Mage'. And after that, Noark realized that Raven was always guarding the base and never attempted such a thing again.

Well, until today.

"Something's off."

"Indeed..."

Amelia agreed with my mumble, but Erwen tilted her head, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"They never repeated the same mistake after that failure."

If they were using the same strategy, it meant they had a way to break through.

Noark wasn't stupid.

They had prepared a large-scale explosion magic to counter the dimensional gate escape during the previous incident.

Would they really just try the same thing again?

It didn't make sense.

'The question is, how are they planning to break through...'

I thought about the [Wall of Thousand Gold] spell.

It was a high-level spell that required mastery of both earth and lightning magic.

And its main characteristic was...

'It's not a channeling spell.'

Unlike other magic that required a constant flow of mana to maintain, this spell's duration was determined by the amount of mana used during its initial activation.

'And it can be repaired by adding more mana. They could even recast it.'

Now I understood why the explorers weren't panicking.

They had dozens of mages at their disposal.

If the wall was damaged, they could just repair it, or even recast it.

But...

'This can't be the end...'

I had just met a Hans, after all.

There had to be a hidden card.

I racked my brain, trying to anticipate their next move.

"Uh... mister?"

"He's thinking, leave him alone."

What are they planning to do?

Did they bring a high-ranking mage like the Ruin Scholar?

Or...

'Do they even need to break through?'

If I were them, I wouldn't waste my time with long-range attacks. I would close the distance and force a chaotic battle.

But they didn't.

They attacked from afar, giving Raven time to cast [Wall of Thousand Gold].

As if they wanted her to use it.

'It means they wanted her to cast the spell.'

Then why?

The answer came to me as I thought about it from their perspective.

"They're already inside."

There's no easier way to defeat an enemy than to strike from within.

But Amelia didn't seem to understand.

"...What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, I looked at the [Wall of Thousand Gold] that covered the lakeshore and asked her,

"Do you know how long the wall lasted last time?"

"About eight hours... They said it didn't collapse even after the main force arrived."

Right, I knew it.

'Eight hours...'

That was how long we would be trapped inside this wall.

____________________

As soon as I figured out Noark's plan, I stormed into Raven's tent.

"I have something to tell you."

"I told you to wait outside. Are you trying to imitate that woman's rudeness?"

Raven frowned, but I ignored her and told her everything.

She initially looked confused, but as the story unfolded, her expression changed.

"Why Noark would repeat a failed strategy... We were also curious about that. And your reasoning makes sense. I'll report this to my superiors right away—"

"Report? We need to take action now."

"...I'll handle it, so please leave."

She even cut me off, but it didn't seem to be working.

'Damn... she's really different now.'

I missed the old Raven.

"It seems like she's not taking it seriously."

"We can only hope she reports it properly."

We waited outside her tent, and after about 30 minutes...

Thump!

Something dark and slimy landed in front of us.

And it slowly rose to its feet.

[Grooooan...]

It was a stitched-together corpse.