Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

At a noble gala, on my first attendance, I acquired the “Knight Crusher” as a prize, along with the title. However, I couldn’t muster the courage to use it even after several years due to obtaining it too early. To wear this necklace, one needs a substantial amount of wealth to back it up.

“But seeing the number of rubies you’re earning now….”

I estimate that I could gather the desired amount in a month or two. Moreover, when I think about it, there’s nothing else in the Underground 1st Floor that could significantly boost my specs like this.

In a way, it might enable a more rapid growth than essence.

“Then, from now on, the key would be rubies….”

I glimpsed the rubies that would be piling up all over the Chief Island. If I pick them all up after the rainy season ends, it could significantly shorten the timeframe…

But wouldn’t it be too risky?

“…Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

“White Hexts, come here.”

“Did you call for me?”

“It’s nothing big. I just have a few things I want to ask. You said you arrived at Giant Island during the rainy season, right?”

“Yes, it was on the first day of the rainy season.”

“I remember that too. Anyway, at that time, the island was filled with monsters, right?”

“Indeed, but… what about it?”

Hexts gave me a puzzled look, seemingly unsure of the intent behind my question. He proceeded to recount the scene where the “corpse-leaving monsters” fought fiercely among themselves, distinguishing them from “normal monsters” that didn’t leave corpses.

Listening carefully, I spoke up.

“Isn’t that strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“If those monsters were fighting each other so fiercely, shouldn’t the island have been filled with rubies?”

When we arrived at Giant Island, we could only see monster corpses; there were no rubies to be found. As I pointed this out, Hexts’ expression changed as he realized something.

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I didn’t think about it at the time, but… just like the island with the village, there should have been rubies left on that island too.”

“When was the first time you came out of that cave after going in?”

“It was about ten days after the end of the rainy season. Back then, I didn’t know when the rainy season would end.”

“I see.”

The doubts grew.

Where could all those rubies have gone?

In fact, if this system was as it seemed, there should have been rubies piled up even under the sea.

Kwajik!

Even at this moment, monsters were falling into the sea, turning into light and disappearing.

Over such a long period, the sea should have accumulated rubies, shaping mountains.

But…

“There didn’t seem to be anything special under the sea back then.”

Hmm, should I just dive into the sea right now and check?

The thought crossed my mind, but before acting on it, I sought advice from the mages.

“Indeed… I also had many doubts about that.”

“Let’s just go down to the sea and check it out!”

“But, there are all sorts of monsters down there….”

“Is that really important now? We might discover the hidden rules of this world!”

“Wait! There are other ways to check without diving!”

“…Huh?”

The mages, who seemed ready to jump into the sea out of excitement, stopped in unison at Versil’s words.

“We can use the rubies we have to check.”

After saying that, Versil took out one of the rubies he had and wrapped it with a thread, then lowered it below the ship. Using various spells, they observed any changes in the ruby.

Thanks to this, we were able to learn one thing.

“This… it’s gone?”

“It simply disappeared.”

The rubies that went into the sea vanished.

***

After the experiment, countless hypotheses and questions were raised.

“Could it be that the silver color of the sea is due to the absorption of rubies?”

“Well, it’s still insufficient evidence to confirm the connection between the two.”

“Yes. If rubies were being absorbed, we should have detected magical energy in the seawater, but it’s not the case.”

“Hmm… but then, if the rubies only dissolve in seawater, what happened to those on land?”

Originally, I enjoyed such intellectual discussions.

But, maybe being a Barbarian made me less immune?

“Uh… how do you feel about what I just said, Milord?”

“Ugh… my head…”

For some reason, as I listened to the conversation, a headache started to creep in, so I excused myself, claiming to not feel well.

Well, the mages will figure it out.

Afterward, I evaded the mages and spent time chatting with my companions.

Time flew by again.

Kwajik!

On the 7th day of the rainy season, the number of monsters falling from the sky noticeably decreased.

And…

[23:59]

From past 11:50, not a single one fell.

“Is it midnight?”

“Is it finally over?”

As the explorers gathered on the deck, the tension started to build, and I quickly gave new orders.

“Remove the barrier!”

The mages promptly removed the barrier that had served as an umbrella on the ship, and I felt a sense of liberation.

It was like the moment just before the break of dawn.

Ticking, ticking.

The second hand moved.

And as everyone concentrated on its movement, a sense of tranquility spread around.

Everyone was watching their watches, just like on New Year’s Eve.

Ticking, ticking.

As if no one could stop the flow of time, the moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived.

[00:00]

The end of the tiresome rainy season.

“It’s midnight!”

“Then, is it really over?”

The explorers on the deck cheered, and I quickly gave another order.

“Remove the barrier!”

The mages released the barrier above the ship, and a feeling of openness washed over.

As if we were being blessed on the day the rainy season ended, a rainbow appeared in the vast horizon.

“…A rainbow?”

***

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

A vibrant array of colors that lifts one’s mood just by looking at them.

Perhaps it’s because we’re viewing these colors against the backdrop of bloodstained monsters on our ship that they seem even more vivid and contrasting.

I couldn’t just sit there and stare at them absentmindedly.

After all, we’re adventurers.

Whether it’s a rainbow or a sight from a non-existent paradise, if something strange appears, we dash over to see if there’s any money to be made.

“Hey, Yen! Properly record the direction of the rainbow!”

“Yes? Ah… yes!”

I immediately checked the point where the rainbow originated.

Well, the timing was suspicious from the start.

“A phenomenon that can only be observed in the sea after the rainy season ends.”

But is this just a natural occurrence?

Moreover, the rainbow we’re witnessing now is different from the usual ones. While regular rainbows form arcs or curves…

Whoaaa!

It stretches upwards like a cylindrical column.

As if it’s an effect that reveals something hidden in a game.

“At the current location, it’s at 21 degrees. From the reference of the Rock Island, it’s at 34 degrees! As for the distance… I can’t determine it yet!”

Ayuen quickly explained in specialized jargon, but there was one thing I could understand.

At least she got the direction right.

“But the distance is still unknown…”

It’s a bit worrisome.

Should we turn the bow immediately towards the direction of the rainbow, or should we continue heading to our original destination?

As I pondered over this dilemma in my mind…

“Huh? The rainbow is disappearing!”

The rainbow, which was far away, gradually faded until it became invisible to the naked eye.

And it took about 5 minutes for it to disappear completely.

“It can only be observed for about 5 minutes after the rainy season ends…”

It seems like we found it for sure, but…

I still didn’t turn the bow.

“Huh? Beoren, aren’t we going after the rainbow?”

Ainar seemed to doubt my judgment, but it was a natural decision as a leader.

We still haven’t fully explored the Giant Island, Tree Island, or the Library Island.

Improving our specs comes first.

Plus, since we already know the direction, we can set sail anytime.

“Ayuen, how much longer until we reach the Giant Island?”

“It’ll take about three more hours to arrive!”

So, we maintained our course for about three hours.

Finally, after arriving at the Giant Island, the first thing we did was stand there dumbfounded.

Ha, no wonder I wanted to come here directly.

“…Ma-seok.”

Thousands of marbles were scattered along the entire coast.

***

The reason we revisited the Giant Island was simple.

It was the only place among the other islands where we discovered a Portal Beacon.

Though I’m still concerned about the super-giant we saw last time, I believe there are more secrets to uncover while exploring this place.

However…

Thump!

Whether it’s secrets hidden on the island or whatever, my heart starts pounding the moment I see the marbles spread out along the coast.

Of course, the density of marbles was lower compared to the Village Chief Island.

However, the Giant Island is several times bigger than the Village Chief Island.

If we could collect all the marbles scattered across this entire island…

“This is insane…”

It might be enough to fulfill our quota. So, we quickly got off the ship and began picking up the ownerless marbles.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as we thought.

It was just after the rainy season ended, so there were monsters everywhere…

“All of them are at least Grade 4.”

In addition, there were new types of creatures armed with strange cores, making the combat difficulty extremely high.

But we are growing stronger day by day.

Especially Mule Armin.

“Mule Armin has activated [Hypersensitive Skin].”

“The damage taken by the target increases by 30%.”

“Mule Armin has activated [Eternal Weakness].”

“The target’s physical attributes decrease by 30%, and all curse effects increase by 1.5 times.”

His class is a curse-specialized necromancer.

His active skills are also curse-based, and his summons are specialized in that area as well.

“Mule Armin has summoned [Spirit Leech].”

Though it barely does any damage, it has a certain chance of draining MP with each hit.

“Mule Armin has summoned [Corrosive Muzzle].”

It reduces the target’s resistance with each bite.

“Mule Armin has summoned [Soul Suicide Bomber].”

It flies and explodes, burying everything in various curses.

It’s because he ate the giant’s core.

His passive skill, [Mother Bird], is exclusive to necromancers.

“All summoned creatures within the radius are dismissed.”

“80% of the expended soul power is restored.”

“The cooldown of the summoning skill is reduced by 80%.”

This essence is essential when transitioning into the necromancer tree.

Thanks to this essence, Mule Armin has become at least five times stronger than before.

The 2nd-grade core essence alone has that level of performance.

“Mule Armin has summoned [Soul Suicide Bomber].”

“Mule Armin has summoned [Soul Suicide Bomber].”

“Mule Armin has summoned [Soul Suicide Bomber].”

“Mule Armin has summoned [Soul Suicide Bomber]….”

Using the restored MP and reduced cooldown, he continuously summoned suicide bombers.

Boom!

While the damage output itself was minimal, the curses stacked incessantly with each explosion.

“With one big debuffer like him, hunting becomes much easier.”

Moreover, Mule Armin seemed perfect for the current situation.

Rather than facing multiple weak enemies, his class shines even more against strong opponents.

“Great job, Mule.”

“I-I’m not worthy of such high praise.”

Well, he’s been using ultra-polite speech lately.

He addresses me as “Your Grace” and such.

“Is he drawing lines in advance to pay me back? Or is he worried that I might ask for it? Should I make him pay?”

If that’s the case, it might be a bit disappointing, but I’ll keep an eye on him a little longer.

And so, time passed.

One day, two days, three days…

We were busy roaming the island, collecting marbles, and fighting monsters every waking moment.

[00:00]

Before we knew it, three days had passed since the rainy season ended.

Just as we were excitedly picking up marbles, we received some bad news.

“The marbles… they’re disappearing.”

The ownerless marbles scattered across the island started to disintegrate one by one.

As if food buried in the ground was rotting away.

“It’s fascinating… The magic is being disintegrated, but we can’t find any traces of where it’s going.”

Whatever the reason, it was truly a pity for us. However, there was some good news too.

“Vercil, how much marble have we collected so far?”

“Let’s see… Based on the exchange rate at the customs… it should be around one billion stones?”

It was more than enough to do the necklace gacha.