Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 22

I wedge the torch into the groove on my helmet, then secure it with a string. It’s what I call ‘Barbarian Candle Mode.’ …A wave of self-disgust washes over me, but it’s a practical method used by many explorers.

Ainar brings her hand close to the flickering flame, then exclaims in admiration, “Oh, amazing! It’s really not hot!”

Well, this torch is a magical tool in itself. It’s only about a hand span long, so it doesn’t hinder movement, and it lasts for about three days once lit. It was an exploration item that the crossbow group had. I think the average market price was 10,000 stones? …I suddenly miss Erwen.

“But where is this place?” Ainar asks, looking around as she starts to take in her surroundings. There’s a huge difference between seeing it in real life and in 2D pixel graphics, but this time it was quite easy to recognize: the squishy black earth with every step, the remains of stone structures everywhere, and even the faint, mournful cries heard from afar.

“It’s the Land of the Dead.”

“Ah, the place where ghouls and deathspawns appear!”

That’s right, for now. To go into detail, elder ghouls, skeletons, banshees, and even the mid-boss-level Durahan [a headless knight] appear.

“I will take the lead.”

The combat power of the monsters in the Land of the Dead is much higher than in the Goblin Forest. But when it comes to being tricky, I’d give the edge to the Goblin Forest. Although this place is much darker… at least there are no traps here. It’s much easier for two barbarians to operate here.

“It’s a ghoul.”

Soon, we encountered a monster. The number is small, only three. Of course, by the third day, it will triple. There’s one more reason to move quickly.

“Bjorn, there’s a magic stone here!”

“You don’t need to report every single one. Just pick them up as you see them. We can distribute them later. Let’s pick up the pace.”

Unlike the Goblin Forest, I immediately left the entrance and continued to move north. Then, a scream was heard nearby.

“Kkyaaaaaaaaak!”

“B, B, Bjorn?!”

“That’s a banshee’s howling. Just ignore it. They rarely attack first.”

“I, I see… But is it really okay not to kill them? It could be dangerous.”

Well, if Erwen, who could use spirits, were here, maybe. With just two physical types, we can’t catch a banshee no matter what we do. Even if we could catch it, it would be a problem.

“If you attack a banshee first, you’ll be cursed.”

“A curse?”

“It’s a curse called the Mark of Resentment. Until you leave the labyrinth, the banshees will relentlessly target you.”

Unless you’re going to spend ten days catching only banshees, it’s better not to touch them at all. If experience is the goal, it was common to catch only one or two on the last day.

“You are a truly wise warrior. I’m glad I followed you.”

I’m grateful for the compliment. I can tell that she’s more scared of this kind of thing than she lets on. But that’s that, and this is this.

“Kkyaaaaaaaaak!”

“Clatter!”

I wish she would stop clinging to me every time she hears a sound. Putting aside the burden… it feels like my grabbed arm is about to break.

“L, let go… It’s a skeleton.”

Just in time, a group of skeletons appeared, making a clattering sound as their joints moved. The number is a whopping 10. As expected of a monster that boasts numbers even on the first day, there are quite a few. Well, even if we catch them all, we’ll only get three or four magic stones.

“Ahem! I will take care of them!” Perhaps embarrassed by being scared of the banshee’s sound, Ainar jumped forward first. Tsk tsk, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“Ainar! There’s a core between the ribs. If you want to catch a skeleton with a sword, you must aim there…”

Crack-!

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything. Don’t worry about it and fight.”

Crack-! Crack! Crack!

Weak point or whatever. Every time Ainar swung her huge greatsword, the skeletons were mercilessly smashed. And they never got up again.

***

[You have killed an Elder Ghoul. EXP +1]

[You have killed a Skeleton. EXP +1]

[You have killed a Skeleton Warrior. EXP +1]

[You have killed a Skeleton Archer. EXP +1]

***

After that, we moved north for about 8 hours. In the process, we naturally encountered various new monsters: elder ghouls, about twice the size of normal ghouls; skeleton warriors and archers, classified as variants. I haven’t met a mage yet, so it’s hard to say for sure, but so far, there hasn’t been much difficulty. It’s the first day, so the number of individuals is small, and my combat power has also increased significantly compared to before.

Thud-!

Just looking at the equipment, that’s the case. Because of the center of gravity, the old man’s two-handed hammer had to be held short to be used. But when I hold a mace that’s about 70cm long, I can strike from a greater distance. It’s much safer and more powerful. Above all…

Clang-!

I also got armor. It’s a vest-type plate armor, so my forearms are exposed, but that alone greatly reduces the areas I need to block with a shield. As a result, a much bolder battle is possible. It feels like I’ve finally broken free from my shackles.

“Bjorn, be careful! There are skeleton archers too!”

The steel helmet, with only the eyes, nose, and mouth exposed in a T-shape, protected the most important vital point, the head. Of course, it would be dangerous if hit directly by something like a crossbow, but it easily deflected arrows shot from a broken bow. And there’s another barbarian with similar combat power to me.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!”

We shouted the names of our barbarian ancestors together and continued a battle that was nothing short of a massacre. Thud! Thud! Crack-! No matter what monster appeared, it only took about 10 seconds to smash an entire group. Is that why? Every time the battle ended, I felt a refreshing feeling that I couldn’t experience when I was with Erwen. Ah, is this the true taste of a barbarian?

“Bjorn, you’re injured.”

Huh? After hearing Ainar’s words and checking, there’s a slight scratch on my forearm. However…

“Don’t worry. It’ll heal soon.”

I don’t need potions or even herbs.

“Oh! It’s already healing! Is this the power of the spirit imprint?”

The first stage of the Undead Imprint path is that natural regeneration increases noticeably. Of course, it’s nothing compared to a potion… After checking the other day, it took about 1 minute for a 0.5cm deep wound to heal to some extent. But this alone dramatically increases stability. Stamina has also increased tremendously because the recovery itself is faster.

“Get ready. It seems like we’re almost there.”

I slowed down my movement speed while putting tension into Ainar. The terrain had changed. The floor was no longer squishy but hard, and it was not flat, with mounds everywhere. The banshee’s howling also became much louder.

“Keeheeheeheeheehee!!”

“Kkeuheuh, heuaaaaak!”

Of course, the biggest change is something else. From this point on, higher-level species appear. That is, 8th-grade monsters appear.

“…Bjorn, they really don’t attack first, right?” Perhaps scared by the banshee’s sound, Ainar keeps clattering her teeth. Barbarians are said to clench their jaws when they’re scared… I don’t know. Is it because I’ve never been that scared before?

“Kkuooooooo—!!”

As we continued to move, a bizarre roar was heard from the darkness. Wow, hearing it in real life makes me really tremble.

“Ainar, prepare for battle.”

“B, but didn’t you say we wouldn’t catch the banshees?”

Is she deaf?

“It’s not a banshee.”

Deathspawn. Among the various 8th-grade monsters that have greatly contributed to raising the entry barrier of the game, it is definitely the one that is considered the biggest bastard.

***

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The heavy footsteps that had been felt from a distance grew louder and louder, and soon the monster revealed itself in front of us.

“…Are we going to fight that?” Ainar asked me, then muttered before I could answer, “It’ll be fun.” I don’t understand her emotions. She said she was afraid of dying last time, but how can she laugh while looking at something like this? While being scared of something like a banshee?

Thump-! As if bothered by the light, the deathspawn stopped walking at the edge of the light.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not nervous.”

Why are you answering? I was talking to myself. Well, I had a plan while coming here, but seeing that thing in real life makes my knees tremble. The deathspawn is a humanoid undead monster. No, is it closer to a chimera? It’s over 3m tall, and it has a sword and a shield on both arms. Not holding them, but really attached. One hand, curved and long, is sharp like a crescent moon, and the other arm, which spreads wide from the elbow, takes the form of a shield. It’s called the Protein Blade and Shield.

“Kkuooooooog—!!”

Damn it, don’t shout like that, it’s so scary. I’m trying to reduce the fear somehow, but it’s not easy.

“If we calmly follow the plan, we can win.”

“Of course, I trust you.”

I’m grateful for that, but this time too, I was talking to myself. …Let’s stay calm. This is the first try, but if we don’t let go of our tension, there won’t be any danger. If the situation worsens, let’s turn around and run without looking back.

“As I said before, aim for the head no matter what. Other places are meaningless. Understand?”

“Understood!”

No, that wasn’t a signal to rush in right now.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!”

Ainar ran out with her greatsword in both hands. It’s too late to stop her. As if the aggro was properly pulled by the shout, the monster, which had been testing the waters at the edge of the torchlight, also rushed in, brandishing its sword and shield.

“Kkuooooooog—!!”

Clang! A roar erupts as Ainar’s greatsword and the deathspawn’s protein blade collide.

“Bjorn, be careful! It’s a monster with incredible power!”

Usually, you know that as soon as you see it, right?

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!”

I also shouted loudly and moved forward. Then, after setting up a wall with my shield, I struck the side of the monster that was trying to attack Ainar, who had been knocked back. But is this the heaviness that comes from its physique? It feels like I’ve crashed into a rock. Zzzzzzz. As the monster exerted force, my body was pushed back while still holding the shield. There’s no reason to hold on, but my pride was hurt. So, I raised my toes high. Then, I put all my weight forward and let out a scream instead of a roar.

“Aaaaaaaaak!”

Damn it! It feels like my muscles are bursting. But I felt an indescribable joy. It feels like I’m going to die… but I held on. And Ainar wasn’t so unskilled that she would just let that opportunity pass.

Whoosh-! Soon, the greatsword, swung with a heavy sound of air being cut, struck the side of the deathspawn’s head. Not cutting it, but really, exactly as the word says. Clack! Even though it was cut with that thick greatsword, only about 1cm of the blade was embedded. The dull sound must have been because of the skull. After all, the deathspawn’s defense was notorious even in the game. Well, what made many beginners give up the game was not the defense, but the regeneration.

“Kkuooooooo!”

“Fall back for now!”

We widened the distance to avoid the enraged deathspawn. Dark red blood was dripping from the place where the greatsword was pulled out, but the bleeding stopped in less than 3 seconds. It’s the monster’s passive skill, ‘Body Preservation’.

“Ainar! Create an opening. I’ll attack this time!”

Just as I was about to give the order and rush in again. Thud thud thud thud! Suddenly, the ground began to shake. This effect was new, but I knew what this phenomenon was as soon as I saw it. It’s the deathspawn’s active skill, ‘Call of the Dead’.

“Get away, ghouls are coming out!”

When the vibration stopped, ghouls crawled up from under the ground. The number is exactly ten.

“Let’s take care of these guys first!”

“Understood!”

While Ainar was swinging her greatsword at the ghouls, “Kkuooooooo!” I focused only on the deathspawn and marked it closely. However, because the ghouls, who kept getting aggro, scratched me with their claws, my skin quickly became a rag. Of course, it’s not a big problem. I also have regeneration. Not as much as you, though.

“Bjorn! I’ll take care of this guy now!”

After enduring for about 2 minutes, the ghouls were taken care of. I felt a bit funny myself. I was just getting hit while enduring the deathspawn’s summoning pattern. ‘I didn’t even do this in the game.’ While Ainar was marking the monster one-on-one, I took out my mace and moved behind it. Then, I smashed the back of its head.

Thud-! It felt good and sounded good. Rotten blood was dripping from the disheveled back of its head. Even so, I kept swinging the mace. Thud-! Thud-! Thud-! The power that would have made a goblin disappear into light the moment it was hit was contained in each blow. But damn it, why won’t it die? Clack! Experiencing it in real life, the strength of the skull is beyond imagination. Even while I was hitting it, the flesh was healing. …What should I do? My attack power is insufficient. If I had known this would happen, I would have bought what the weapon merchant recommended back then. Should I just give up on catching this one and hunt 9th-grade monsters? Clack! Clack! Clack! Even while worrying, I kept hitting with the mace, but it wasn’t enough to smash the brain. Whoosh-! In the end, I had no choice but to step back to avoid the swung protein blade. But then.

“Kkuot!” Suddenly, the deathspawn’s body lost its balance and tilted. After checking, I could see Ainar, who had found an opening, grabbing one of the 3m giant’s legs and lifting it up. It’s a technique often seen in UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship]. This is surely… ‘Single leg tackle?’

“Behel—raaaaaaa!!” The muscles were pumping and the veins were bulging as if they were about to burst, making her look more like a monster than the monster itself… The intention was clear, and even the possibility was visible. So, I immediately helped. Thud-! I hit the ankle that was touching the ground with the mace with all my might, and the heavy giant lost its balance and was suspended in the air for a moment. And… Thump-! It then crashed to the ground. In professional terms, it’s a takedown. It was the first time I realized that this kind of fight was possible against a medium-to-large monster. …There’s nothing impossible for a barbarian.

“Kkuoooooot!” The deathspawn can be seen wriggling like an overturned bug. We were about to rush in, but we both flinched at the same time. “Kkuoooooot!!” Hey, you can’t get up by yourself?

“Bjorn!”

“Okay!”

We understood each other’s thoughts with just a look. Ainar and I ran to the fallen monster and hit it with our weapons like crazy lovers. Like putting rice cakes on a mortar and taking turns hitting them with a hammer, we took turns hitting it. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Come to think of it, I did this exact thing when I visited a folk village in elementary school. “It’s fun!” Is it because I remembered my partner in the same group who cried and asked to switch with someone else? Seeing Ainar enjoying herself, my heart was healed. It feels like my soul is becoming pure.

[You have killed a Deathspawn. EXP +2]

Looking at the deathspawn that turned into light and disappeared, we smiled brightly. There was no powerful magic of a mage, no divine power of a priest, and no spirit magic of a fairy… “Bjorn! Look at this! The magic stone is huge!” We succeeded in hunting an 8th-grade monster.