Looking back, I was a funny sort of person.
I always thought life was tedious, but I never once thought of killing myself.
The feeling of tediousness was just a feeling, and to me, my life was more precious than anything.
I thought it didn't add up in many ways.
That thought hasn't changed.
That's why...
I'm crawling through the darkness on three limbs.
You might wonder what that means, but it's literally true.
Right now, I'm dragging my completely wrecked right foot, moving by crawling on the ground with my other three limbs.
If someone saw me now, they would surely think of an abandoned dog with a broken leg.
How do I know?
'Because that's what I'm thinking right now.'
The price for abandoning human dignity was sweet.
First, it doesn't hurt because I don't have to use my injured foot, and my speed is actually faster than before.
Most importantly, there's no chance of stepping on a trap.
The trade-off is that my elbows and knees ache, but this...
I can endure it.
I can bear it.
What can't you do to survive?
I could eat dog shit with a smile.
Hmm...
If I had time to prepare myself, I'm sure I could do it.
'But what happened to that old man?'
Old man is just what I call him.
I don't know his gender, age, or name.
I'm just guessing from the way he talked.
Somehow, I feel like he was a white man in his thirties with glasses.
If not, whatever.
[Bleeding] is ongoing.
Anyway, what happened to that person who woke up in the body of Orum, son of Kadua? Did he die? Or did he wake up in his original body again?
It's a question I've had ever since I opened my eyes.
Even when I try not to think about it, the more fucked up the situation gets, the more I think of that old man.
[Bleeding] is ongoing.
I think I understand why humans believe in religion.
Reality is too harsh to live through alone.
When despair strikes, you need somewhere to turn your gaze.
Just like I do right now.
[Bleeding] is ongoing.
[Bleeding] is ongoing.
Warning: The character's HP is below 5%.
If not treated promptly, the character may die.
Whew, I've come quite a way while crawling and lost in thought.
It's a subtle difference, but I can feel it getting brighter around me.
This is a positive situation in many ways.
At least I came in the right direction, and it means my hypothesis that the entire First Floor couldn't be this dark was correct.
Let's just get to a bright place somehow.
There will be people there.
I'll ask for help and give them this Magic Stone.
And then somehow...
'Bullshit, don't make me laugh.'
As I was whispering positive words to myself, giving myself a carrot, my other self appeared.
'Hey, you idiot, you think they're going to help you for a measly piece of bread when they're busy? More likely they'll just take the Magic Stone and Shield and kill you.'
Is it because he's me?
This bastard is smart.
'Besides, what if you meet a damn Goblin before you meet a person? Don't you have a brain? Huh?'
As the original owner of this mind, I cannot tolerate any more insults.
'You idiot, what are you going to do then? You still have to go.
At least you can see what's in front of you there.
Wouldn't it be better to fight a Goblin there than here?'
'...
That's true.'
My other self agrees, and my mind becomes quiet again.
I kept crawling.
"Khehehehehe..."
I feel like I'm going crazy.
No, I might already be crazy.
Well, I guess it's natural after losing this much blood.
For a while now, my consciousness has been splitting in two, then merging again, then growing dull, over and over.
It's a kind of virtuous cycle.
If it grew any duller, I would surely never open my eyes again.
"Hehehehe..."
I laughed out loud.
I didn't even have the energy for it, but I still laughed.
At some point, my surroundings were bright.
Far away, at the end of the passage, I could see a crystal shining brilliantly.
Most importantly, I saw the silhouette of a person standing before it, backlit.
It wasn't a Goblin I was misseeing.
It was unmistakably the shape of a person.
"He… lp..."
I want to shout something, but no voice comes out.
I desperately crawled, blinking my eyes open and shut.
And what do you know? The person's figure got a little closer.
As if they had teleported.
Surprised by this, I blinked again.
[Bleeding] is ongoing.
This time, they were even closer.
A group of five or six people stood before me.
I'm not seeing things, am I? I blinked again.
Achievement Unlocked
Condition: HP has fallen below 2%.
Reward: Mental Power permanently increases by +1.
Then I saw a blond man kneeling down.
Our eyes met right in front of me, but he just observed me and my surroundings with a peculiar gaze, not asking anything.
Rather than listening to others, he was making a judgment based on his own experience and intuition first.
Like a veteran, he quickly came to a conclusion.
"A novice."
Fuck, then help me, you son of a bitch.
As you can see, I'm a pathetic Barbarian with just a Shield, and the only other thing I have is a Goblin Magic Stone that I traded one of my legs for.
I'll give you this if you want.
So...
"Suspicious. How did a novice get here faster than us?"
I quickly opened my mouth.
But what came out was a sound similar to hacking up phlegm.
"Grrr..."
No, to be honest, it sounded more like the noise a Goblin made...
It was enough to let them know I couldn't answer.
Soon, the blond man asked his companion.
"Priest Ersina. Could you possibly heal this person?"
A Priest? You mean there's a Priest in the party?
With the eyes of a soul witnessing a miracle, I looked to the side.
And there really was a red-haired Priestess in white robes.
The Priestess, whose eyes met mine, spoke clearly with her fine lips.
"I refuse."
Huh? What did you say?
"I see. Understood."
Why are you agreeing?
I felt wronged.
Fuck, I couldn't understand why I was dragged here to be treated like this.
Just as that rage was welling up in my chest.
"Patran, could you give me a potion?"
"This is for when we can't use Divine Power."
"You have plenty anyway. I'll pay you back when we get out."
"Tch."
Only then did a man with a sword at his waist click his tongue and throw a potion from his bag.
My heart sank, realizing that was my lifeline.
Thump.
Fortunately, the blond man caught the potion properly.
"It's not Divine Power, so it'll hurt a bit."
The blond man opened the cap, poured half on my wound, and poured the other half directly into my mouth.
Before long, I felt an unbearable pain.
Is this what it feels like when all the pain that has accumulated in your body without you realizing it hits you all at once?
Due to the effect of Recovery (Medium), the body is regenerating rapidly.
It feels like my whole body is melting.
This was the reason you couldn't use potions during combat in the game.
I thought it was just blocked by the system, but it turns out it was a damn good reflection of reality.
Damn it.
"Haa, haa, haa..."
After a few minutes, the pain gradually subsided, and I came to my senses.
"Now, can you speak, Barbarian? How did a novice like you reach this place before us? If you know a new passage, I'd like to buy that information."
So that was the goal.
I don't feel bad.
In fact, it's reassuring to think they treated me well because they had a purpose.
There's nothing more ominous than kindness without a reason.
Still, I feel a bit sorry.
I don't know any secret passages.
"... As soon as I entered the Labyrinth, I was here."
I spoke the truth, just as it was.
The blond man tilted his head, then nodded with an expression of understanding.
"Indeed... I have read about it in a book. That such things can happen occasionally due to a Dimensional Instability Phenomenon."
My heart pounded.
I asked back as if I had misheard.
"You've never, seen it before...?"
I couldn't believe it.
This party has a Priest and a Mage.
That means they are a proper team that operates at least on the middle floors.
But they've never seen it?
"Yes, the book said it's a case that might happen once in a hundred years. To be dropped this far into the Outermost Area."
Ah, I see.
It's something that might happen once in a hundred years.
And I experienced it the moment I first entered the Labyrinth.
Now I understand why the other Barbarians didn't carry torches.
No one worries about being struck by lightning just because it's raining, right?
"You seem to be on your first trip, to experience such a rare thing... that must have been a disaster."
The blond man looks at me with a sympathetic gaze.
"It wasn't the information I wanted, but it was an interesting story. Don't worry about the potion cost, you can go."
His tone is a bit arrogant, but he seems like a fundamentally good guy.
"Oh, and take that Shield that fell over there."
I looked where the blond man pointed and saw the Shield on the floor.
It was about 20 meters away.
I thought I had tied it securely to my waist, but it must have slipped off.
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
They passed me by without giving me a chance to thank them.
In the Labyrinth, time is money, so it's not like I can't understand.
No, in the first place, it's a miracle they spent this much time on me.
After staring for a moment at the spot they left, I quickly ran and picked up the Shield from the floor.
Surviving was certainly a joyous thing... and yet, I felt strange.
Bjorn Yandel
Level: 1
Body: 25 / Mental Power: 36 (New +1) / Supernatural Ability: 1
Item Level: 24
Overall Combat Index: 68 (New +1)
"That Barbarian from before, he's lucky."
"Well, I'm not sure if you can call it lucky. He went through that on his first trip..."
As the blond man replied with a vague smile, the male swordsman scoffed.
"A guy who steps on a Goblin trap would have ended up the same way even if this didn't happen. In the first place, he was lucky to have met us."
"To be precise, he was lucky to meet Drows, not us. You were reluctant to even use a potion, weren't you?"
As the female archer, who had been listening quietly, interjected, the male swordsman shrugged.
"Well, guys like him are a dime a dozen. He won't last long anyway. I'm sure our Priest was thinking the same thing as me."
The Priestess gave a bitter smile and said nothing, so the female archer shot back in her stead.
"If it weren't for the rules of the Temple, Priest Ersina would have healed him. No, if there hadn't been a potion, she might have broken the rules herself. Do you think everyone is like you?"
"Well, you never know. I've seen too many two-faced people."
"... Patran, you need to learn a thing or two from Drows."
"For example, the consideration he showed by asking if he knew a secret passage?"
"Yes. I heard Barbarians don't take kindly to help from others. That's probably why he was so considerate."
"... Hey, I think you're praising me too much."
As the topic shifted to him, the blond man laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
But he didn't deny that it was consideration.
"Ah, we have to turn here to take the shortcut."
"Having a Guide in the party is so convenient."
"Priest Ersina! Usually, Guides only know the way to the Portal. This is just Drows being amazing. He's memorized the entire terrain of the First Floor."
The male swordsman looked at the female archer and shook his head.
"But how far does that blood trail go? Haven't we walked quite a bit already?"
"I don't know. But just looking at the mental strength it must have taken to crawl this distance, I think you're wrong to say he was just lucky."
"Hmph, what's the big deal... It probably started somewhere around here anyway."
The party, which had been following the blood trail, turned onto a shortcut.
About 15 minutes later, they reached their destination.
"Looks like we're the first to arrive using this route. It was worth the hurry. Let's activate it."
When the blond man placed his hand on the stone tablet at the dead end, a brilliant halo of light burst forth and took the shape of an orb.
It was a Portal leading to the Second Floor.
"Wait a moment."
Just as everyone was about to throw themselves into the Portal, the female archer stopped them.
"Isn't that what the Barbarian from before was wearing?"
"What?"
The party looked in the direction the female archer pointed and were all momentarily speechless.
In the darkness revealed by the light from the Portal, lay a single bloodstained trap and one unfamiliar sandal.
"... It seems you're right."
The Mage made an interested expression, then created a new orb of light and sent it down the passage.
Whoooosh-!
The blood trail starting from the trap continued endlessly along the curved passage.
No matter how much they moved the orb of light, from their position, they couldn't even guess where it ended.
A moment of silence fell.
"... Hey Drows, how long does it take to get from here to where we were before?"
"... Assuming we don't use the shortcut, it would be about 15km."
"Hahaha, what a monstrous body. To think he crawled that far alone in this darkness."
The Mage just let out an empty laugh in amazement.
However, the male swordsman next to him couldn't do the same.
"... He's out of his mind."
He felt this was a matter of the mind, not the body.
He thought about it.
'...
If I were in that situation, could I have crawled for hours? Without any certainty that I would meet someone and get help?'
He couldn't know.
But what was certain was that the Barbarian was still crawling when they first found him.
He kept moving his arms and legs while seeming to be unconscious.
And what about after that?
Unable to even speak properly, he had held out his hand.
In it was a small Magic Stone.
He hadn't thought much of it then, but now he thought he understood what that action meant.
'It must have been, 'I'll give you this, so please help me.''
Because he had nothing else to offer in return.
So, the Barbarian had tightly gripped the Magic Stone in his hand the whole time he was crawling that long distance.
Just in case he met someone, so he could show it to them right away.
Soon, the man came to a conclusion.
"... I'll have to take back what I said earlier."
That he was just lucky?
That a guy like him would die early anyway?
There's no way.
He knew from long experience.
"Drows, what was that Barbarian's name again?"
A madman like that doesn't die easily.
No matter how arduous and desperate the present moment is.
Because they never use death as an escape.