Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 170

After it was revealed that [Wings of Greed] had been obtained, Raven tested its performance by using Ainar like a puppet.

First, the most important thing.

“I, I can’t fly…!!”

Flight using the wings was impossible.

Also, since the wings were made of light, it was impossible to use them for attack or defense, and she couldn’t even move the wings at her own will.

The wings just moved according to her mood.

Flap, flap!

Oh dear, it seems she’s not in a good mood.

But we need to think about balance too.

If you could fly with just this, it would be too overpowered, right?

“…Still, it looks very good on you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you look really strong.”

“Really?!”

The wings started flapping again at the word that she looked strong.

Flap-!

Well, it’s obvious that she’s in a good mood.

Indeed, even I can see that the wings look quite stylish.

The effect of absorbing the surrounding air whenever she recovers is also quite flashy.

“If I had known it would be like this, it might have been okay for Yandel to have it, don’t you feel regretful?”

“Huh?”

“Since the vampire essence is gone, you don’t have any abilities related to health regeneration anymore.”

Ah, that’s what she meant.

But it’s not an essence that suits me.

First of all, the passive doesn’t suit a tank [a character focused on defense and drawing enemy attention].

In the first place, regeneration can be achieved to some extent with stats alone, and there are much better options, so why bother?

‘More than anything, it has good compatibility with Ainar.’

The effect of [Explosive Scar] is simple.

Explosion when hitting the same area twice.

In the game, it felt similar to a critical hit.

It just triggered a little better when increasing accuracy or against slow monsters?

However, it’s a different story with [Repeated Slash].

“Then let’s continue moving.”

After resuming the exploration, a group of monsters appeared soon, and everyone could clearly see Ainar’s growth with their own eyes.

Clang!

The explosion occurred immediately after using [Repeated Slash].

The head of the 7th-grade monster instantly exploded and disappeared into light.

Even Raven, who was watching, was taken aback by the power.

“…Are you telling me you gave Ainar the essence thinking about this? Just because of one guess I made, that it would explode when hitting the same spot?”

Well, it’s not a guess for me.

Of course, I couldn’t say that, so I just brushed it off.

“You are our team’s mage. Of course, I trust your judgment.”

“Uh… I’m grateful for that…”

As expected, Raven couldn’t say anything and closed her mouth. Meanwhile, Ainar couldn’t contain her excitement and was rampaging through the monsters.

“Behel—raaaaaaaa!!!!”

Explosions bloomed every time she swung her sword.

Clang! Clang!

Thanks to the dual stats (strength and agility) attached to Bertas’s essence, her movements were much smoother and more powerful than before.

Of course, since I wasn’t drawing aggro [enemy attention] in front, injuries kept accumulating on her body…

“Wings!!!”

When she cast [Life Drain] and [Wings of Greed] together, her injuries quickly healed.

‘With this, I guess her character concept is set.’

It’s called the Berserker Barbarian.

I couldn’t hide my satisfaction as I watched Ainar’s battle.

I also felt a little envious.

Before I knew about the Shield Barbarian, I always developed my characters like that.

A hearty battle is every man’s romance itself.

‘…It wouldn’t be bad to raise her strength stat further and have her use dual greatswords?’

I thought for a moment.

A Barbarian warrior wielding huge greatswords in both hands, spinning like a whirlwind across the battlefield.

And on top of that, she has light wings as a skin?

Oh, shit.

‘That’s so cool.’

Maybe I can achieve vicarious satisfaction.

“B, Bjorn!”

“I know. I’ll help now.”

However, since the character’s completion was still low to overcome the numerical disadvantage, I also joined in and finished the battle.

But was that enough to be impressive?

“Wow, you can get that strong with just one essence…”

Misha looked on with a bit of envy.

Well, she doesn’t have an essence of 5th grade or higher yet.

Seeing Ainar, who ate a 5th-grade essence on top of a 4th-grade one, might make her feel deprived.

She’s also a 0-year explorer like me.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get stronger too.”

“Uh-huh…”

Misha suddenly became dejected, but there was nothing else I could say right now.

I’m planning to go get that essence only after getting everything I can from the Hellfire Canyon.

Will it take about half a year?

And it will take several years to acquire the sword that is the core of the Frost Dual Swordsman.

‘There’s so much to do since I came up to the 5th floor.’

After that, we only collected magic stones and continued our exploration.

A huge forest where trees were burning fiercely, exuding a sense of desolation.

As we moved forward, defeating monsters, time passed quickly, and it was already the 30th day.

[08:10]

Only 16 hours left until the labyrinth closes.

‘We’ve finally arrived. That was close.’

A huge tombstone appeared between the trees.

“Everyone, stop!”

“Oh, is it a trap?”

“I don’t know. But it could be.”

Raven immediately became wary upon seeing the artificial structure.

It’s a very commendable attitude, but…

‘It’s just a tombstone.’

In the game, that tombstone had no function.

For reference, there was the same tombstone even if you went to the field in another direction, and it served as a kind of landmark.

A sign that this is the central area.

Well, there might be hidden elements that I haven’t discovered…

‘But the possibility is low.’

I was also suspicious, so I tried all sorts of crazy things, but nothing came out.

“Then what are we going to do?”

“First, get ready for battle. It might be the type that summons something if we enter the radius.”

“Alright.”

It wouldn’t be good to ignore the mage’s opinion in this situation, so I obediently followed her instructions.

Fortunately, Raven was cautious but not the type to waste time meaninglessly.

“I don’t feel any magic power. But just in case, I’ll slowly approach it.”

She gradually narrowed the distance and stood in front of the tombstone.

Of course, no monsters popped out.

“Yandel, would you like to touch the tombstone?”

Yeah, they always make me do this, right?

Since I knew it was safe, I just touched it.

As expected, the tombstone didn’t react at all.

“Can we stay here for a while and check things out?”

“If you want to.”

Even at Raven’s request, I just said okay.

Since it’s the real version, there might be clues that I couldn’t find in the game.

That’s how 30 minutes passed.

“Raven, let’s stop and go.”

“Ah, no! An artificial structure standing in the middle of this forest? There must be some story behind it!”

It seemed like she had fallen into the same trap as me.

How many months did I waste with that thought?

“Ugh, I feel like I’ll figure it out if I just do a little more…”

What do you mean a little more?

“We don’t have much time left. If you’re curious, go out later and look for related records.”

When I drew a firm line, Raven reluctantly gave up and followed my words. No matter what, she hates causing trouble for others.

In short, she’s easy to handle.

“Okay, let’s go then.”

After that, we explored the area around the tombstone.

The reason was that there might be something nearby. Since we wouldn’t be able to go far in the remaining day anyway, everyone agreed without complaint.

‘We’ve searched this much, it’s time for it to appear…’

That’s when we were focused on searching for about two hours.

“Bjorn! Look over there, look!”

Misha shouted, pointing to one place.

“…A house?”

In the middle of a forest where everything was burning and monsters were rampant.

A two-story brick house was standing there.

‘Whew, I don’t have to come again next time.’

That was exactly the place I was looking for.

***

The blackened wooden door opens weakly.

Creak.

Ugh, that sound.

It was annoying for some reason, so I just ripped it off and threw it on the floor.

“Hey, could you not break things?”

“…Nagging.”

“No, it’s not nagging, it’s—”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

She’s making a big deal out of breaking one door.

“…It’s kind of creepy here.”

The interior of the building was no different from ruins.

We used magic to confirm that there were no monsters, but we carefully searched the inside just in case there might be traps.

Even so, it didn’t take long.

Because everything, from the sofa to the outer walls, was burned, leaving only the frames.

We quickly finished searching the first floor and went up to the second floor.

And in what seemed to be a bedroom, we found a book.

“Raven! It’s a book you’d like!”

A relatively intact book, probably because it was inside a drawer.

Of course, the outside was all black from being burned, but there were quite a few intact pages inside.

‘…Was there something like this?’

An item that couldn’t be found in the game.

Raven’s eyes lit up as she received the book from Ainar and carefully opened it.

“It’s written in ancient language.”

“Can you read it?”

“Yes. This is my specialty. Anyway, it looks like a diary.”

Then, as if showing off her knowledge, Raven read the contents of the book aloud.

It was quite interesting.

[Day 192, the rescue team hasn’t come today either. Now there are only three of us left in the expedition team. Tarbian suggested building a house, and I agreed. The demon meat was terribly tasteless again today.]

[Day 271, a pretty decent house was completed. The three of us drank the wine we had saved. How long has it been since we laughed and talked like this? Damn it, if Zephyros hadn’t been drunk and said strange things, I would still be in a great mood.]

[What’s the point of living in a world that’s been destroyed?]

[Even if everything is burned and gone, there is hope.]

[As proof, we are still alive.]

[Day 467, Tarbian is pregnant. I wonder whose child it is? Neither Zephyros nor I asked. Ah, Tarbian. A woman who is wiser and more pitiful than anyone else. I crave alcohol today.]

[Day 672. No, is it day 673? I don’t know, but something big happened. The Orb of Fire has begun to lose its power. The outer walls are already gradually being scorched by fire. The only one who can fix it is Tarbian, the mage. But even if she extends the period by sacrificing her life, what’s the point?]

[Day 711, for the first time in a long time, Zephyros and I agreed.]

[Today we die.]

[If the world was not destroyed by the witch’s hand, and if someone finds this place someday, please use the item in the basement to save the world.]

A diary where even the author’s name doesn’t appear.

And only four pages were intact.

However, Raven, who was reciting the last part, was shocked.

“A witch…”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I was wondering because it was written in ancient language… The person who wrote this diary is from our dimension!”

“Huh?”

Misha made a face that said, ‘So what?’

But Raven was too busy to explain kindly.

“What is it? Ah, is it because this place is another dimension? Is that why the records from that time are left? No, then how did these people get here?”

Raven muttered to herself as if organizing her thoughts.

However, the time was surprisingly short.

“The basement! Let’s go to the basement first! If this is true, there must be something below.”

“Good idea.”

We went back down to the first floor and cleared away the collapsed furniture, revealing a path to the basement.

It was quite dark, so I used a light orb magic.

Thud, thud.

When we went down, there was a small space of about 3 pyeong [a Korean unit of area, roughly 10 square meters].

It seemed to be a storage room for food or items…

There was a box that looked valuable at first glance.

“I’ll open it.”

“Ah, will you?”

Yeah, the fact that I’ve been doing this kind of thing finally pays off.

‘Was that natural?’

I opened the box while thinking that.

Inside was a single bead.

Before Raven could say anything, I reached out my hand.

“You have been registered as a user of the Orb of Fire.”

This is a bound item.