Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 609
Chapter 609: Mystical (2)
From what I heard from the investigation captain, they couldn’t climb higher than 650 feet because the winds became too strong-so strong, apparently, that even when they tried to use light magic to at least try to see something in the layered darkness, the winds would dissipate the mana too quickly. However, in the moment just after the light magic was cast, one of the investigation members had seen something.
“There was something that was looking down at me through the darkness.”
The member who saw it couldn’t explain in detail what it looked like, how big it was, or what general shape it was. However, he was sure that he saw something.
“The wind was too strong. I couldn’t even open my eyes properly. We need to be mindful of the possibility that he was mistaken…”
The investigation captain didn’t seem to trust his team member’s words, but while I didn’t believe the account without question, I had a different idea.
“Then we’ll just need to check one more time.”
“One…more time?”
“Yeah, go up there and use light magic again. Then you’ll be able to see if there’s really anything there.”
“…Our members are exhausted. Could we rest today and resume our investigation tomorrow?”
Tomorrow…
It would be a lie to say I didn’t mind giving them time, but I was the barbarian commander with a generous heart. “Of course.”
The investigation captain’s face lightened a little at my readily given permission.
…Was he purposefully balking just so I would give his team a rest?
I couldn’t escape the sudden, niggling doubt, but being generous with one’s subordinates was one of the characteristics that made a good commander.
And so, the investigation resumed the next day, after the members of the investigation department had their rest.
“I saw it as well…! Something was looking down at me!”
A similar witness account arrived with the return of the second investigation team, and they were even able to record a video using a recording crystal to capture the shifting form. The opinion of those who checked the footage was mixed, however.
“It’s difficult to make out with how dark the background is.”
“Maybe it’s an illusion created by a refraction of the light orb magic…”
“I believe it’s something else. Do you see that? That’s the eye, that’s the nose… If you look at it like that, you can definitely start to see a face…”
“Eek! It’s true! It’s the silhouette of a person!”
“…Scary.”
Honestly, it seemed less like a gathering of experts trying to clear a floor and more like members of an occult club checking out an abandoned building.
…The recording crystal footage isn’t clear.
I had checked the footage as well, but it was difficult to take anything concrete from it.
But we do have one more eyewitness account.
Not one, but two. A statistically significant difference. There was now a bit more legitimacy to the claim that something was up there.
Something was hidden in those raging winds. Even if it wasn’t a “person” as guys were claiming.
“Hmm…” I fell deeper into my thoughts, knowing what I needed to do was now clear.
How do I get up there?
A method to pierce through the harsh winds and reach that unknown entity. I needed to come up with a method.
“Investigation captain, you will now investigate that place. Use your own judgment. I will give you the authority to mobilize as many resources as you require.”
I first enabled the investigation captain to go into auto-investigation mode, making clear that it was fine if he made mistakes or wasted resources, so he could try whatever method he could think of. In return, I asked that he come and report everything he found.
I mean, I’m not expecting this old man to investigate using any creative means.
Still, he would probably find something.
After that, I announced that I was going to go collect my thoughts and return to my room.
“(Sounds like things aren’t going well?)”
“(Ah, did you overhear?)” I lifted Hamsick off the bed where it had been reading a book and made it sit down before sitting opposite it and sharing my situation. I held a bit of hope, but unfortunately, Hamsick could only listen to my troubles. It didn’t have the capacity to give me advice.
“(It’s understandable that you’re having a hard time.)”
“(Is that all?)”
“(What? What do you expect me to do?)”
Perhaps because it just spent its days reading books, Hamsick had been a bit colder to me recently. It used to be much more soft and sweet.
Is it going through puberty?
Hamsick looked away from me and began to read its book again, and I just laid down on the bed and mulled over my thoughts.
What could I do to get past that obstacle and reach the sky? We needed a way of lifting a hundred people through the storm and hundreds of feet into the sky, and none came easily to mind.
I don’t think it’s something we can do using magic. Hmm…then do we need to fulfill a condition to enable an event?
It was a guess that came straight from my gamer brain, but since this was the world of Dungeon and Stone, that thought process could provide something that was at least close to useful.
An event…
One thing came straight to mind.
Right after the rainy season ended, the rainbow pillar shone more brightly than anything else we had seen on the underground floor. That pillar of light was sustained for around five minutes before it disappeared. Naturally, back then, I only thought that it was a waymarker.
But what would happen if we were here while that’s happening? Would a new event appear?
It was a plausible guess, though the condition that had to be met was quite difficult.
We’re around four weeks away from the nearest island.
Since the stone door island that held the guardian stone statues sank into the ocean, our closest island to this one was Library Island. If we used the mana propulsion system, we could decrease the travel time quite a bit but not enough for it to matter. No matter what we did, the rainy season would end before we could get here.
To put it simply, if we want to be here when the light pillar is created, we have no other option but to face the rainy season head-on…
If all my guesses were correct, then it was also suspicious why Rainbow Island was so far away from all the other islands.
Well, it was fine if I was wrong.
We can continue investigating until that point, and if I can’t find another method by then, we can just give it a go.
That was my conclusion.
***
One day, two days, three days, four days…
The time I spent on the boat in the windless zone passed by quickly. For some, it was the busiest we all had been in a while, but others were bored out of their mind in the peace.
“…W-we’ve found it! Commander!”
“You did!”
The ones who were the busiest were the members of the investigation department.
Under the order of the commander, they attempted all sorts of odd tests every day, and they failed each day they tried.
The test they conducted today was to send a drone up. It was a decent plan—attaching a recording crystal to the end of an arrow and calculating where it would land to recover it later and see what it found.
“Open it, now! Don’t space out! What are you—?”
“Well… It’s not activating… It seems it was damaged due to the fall.”
The face of the investigation captain, who had invested three days into this attempt—including the days spent in preparation—hardened. “Can you fix it?”
“It’s not just a shock to the circuits, it’s completely broken. It will be difficult.”
I sighed. I was starting to feel bad for the guy at this point. Honestly, I wanted to tell him that he did fine and that he could rest now, but because he kept bringing back decent plans whenever one failed, I had been just sitting by and watching.
He’s not the investigation captain for nothing…
He had been put in this position on the recommendation of Gahuin, and he fit the role more perfectly than I could’ve imagined.
I was a bit surprised as well when he said he would investigate the ocean at the same time.
The investigation captain was also investigating the ocean as well, and one of the most innovative plans he suggested was to attach the recording crystal to a heavyweight. The weight would be dislodged with magic after a set duration and another spell would create an air bubble so that it could rise to the surface and be retrieved.
The structural durability of the recording crystal was the problem, though. Even after applying multiple layers of protective magic, when we recovered it from the mission, it had been crushed by the immense pressure.
“…When I return to the city, I’ll make a recording crystal that can work under any circumstances, one that will never break no matter what happens to it.”
Hmm, maybe this was how technological progress was made. As the saying went, failure was the mother of success, right?
If something like that exists, adventuring will become much more convenient.
That said, things were going swimmingly even without that. With so many people around me who would be considered aces in their fields, I didn’t need to do anything myself. I was the person who was probably the most bored from not doing anything.
There’s nothing to do. Let’s go for a patrol.
As I walked around the boats that were now floating right next to each other, I could sense that there weren’t as many people on the deck as there were before. It was true that we didn’t need as many people on guard duty because there were no aquatic monsters here.
Even so, why is there no one here?
I approached one of the people working on the deck, and he said something to me that I never expected.
“Everyone is hiding in their rooms. They don’t want to risk getting spotted by the investigation captain.” When I sent him a baffled look, he explained, “Didn’t you give him the authority, Your Lordship? The authority to use anything at his disposal.”
“Ah…”
The man sighed. “If only I hadn’t come out then to finally get some fresh air… I just had to meet his eyes…”
Seeing as he was a victim of this phenomenon, I was inclined to believe what he said. I quickly hurried away, starting to feel sorry for him.
And so, after walking around all four boats and returning to my boat…
“Bjoooooorn!”
“Please call me command—”
Ainar threw her spear to the ground and ran up to me. “Save me! I want to rest…!”
Hey, that’s an expensive spear, y’know.
I nearly jumped in shock at seeing the Verdurous Giant Spear roll on the ground, but first, I side-stepped Ainar’s tackle and glanced over to what was happening on deck.
“Ack!”
Amelia clicked her tongue when she saw Ainar roll forward. It seemed that she had been sparring against Ainar for the moment…
But there was nothing unusual.
“Are you training today again?” I asked.
“There’s nothing for me to do alone anyway.” Amelia had been making time to train Ainar back when we were staying on Village Island and had continued their sessions while we voyaged.
“She’s only like that because of her Aggression stat,” I said. “She’ll do well when she returns to normal, even without you asking her to do this.”
“I know. But I’m going to keep training her until that happens. Are you going to stop me?”
“Not at all. I’ll leave Ainar to you.” Rather, I was thankful to Amelia. She was essentially doing my job for me.
Looks like she’s grown fond of the others as well.
It was good to see. Especially since she was helping Ainar because she wanted to, not because I asked her to.
“Swing your spear if you want to rest. Our spar today will end if you can touch me even once.”
“B-Behel…la…!”
With that, Ainar seemed to regain some of her motivation as she swung her spear, and I observed their sparring for a bit from afar before moving on.
***
Around three days before the rainy season began again, I opened the leader’s meeting for the first time in a while, and I made a single declaration.
“The investigation will end today.”
“Pardon…?” The investigation captain looked at me with a shocked expression unbefitting of a wizard.
Hmm, I honestly expected the old man to be happy with the news.
Carefully, he said, “I’m sorry for disappointing you. Even though you gave me so much time, I wasn’t able to—”
No, I didn’t say that to reprimand you.
I sensed there was a misunderstanding here so I quickly interrupted him. “I am not disappointed. Rather, I think you tried harder than anyone expected and did your best. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to learn this much.”
They were warm words that were unexpected from the stoic barbarian commander. I normally wouldn’t have said all that, but I wanted to recognize the investigation captain’s capabilities and the genuine effort he had put into this endeavor.
“…Thank you.” With that short response to the respect I gave him, he carefully asked a different question. “But I suspect that the reason you are stopping the investigation is also because of the rainy season, yes?”
“Your guess is correct, but it’s also wrong.”
“Pardon?”
“The investigation is stopping because of the rainy season, but we aren’t going to move anywhere to avoid the rainy season. No, instead, we’re ending the investigation early so we can prepare.”
I turned to look beyond the investigation captain to everyone present.
“We will spend the rainy season here.”
We needed to be thoroughly prepared for this.
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