Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 227

[Dungeon & Stone] has several essences that specialize in specific races. The [Spirit Transformation] that Erwen just used is a prime example. If a human without any spirits to control uses it, all they get is a non-attribute spirit form. Even the skill coefficients are tied to Elemental and Natural Power, resources used to control spirits. It’s practically an essence exclusively for fairies. Rustle, rustle. Every time I move my arm, bits of dirt fall off. It feels like I’ve become some kind of rock giant. Ah, but is it right to call it a giant? ‘Hah, I’m itching to use [Giantification].’ It’s a shame I can’t see that magnificent form, but it’s an unavoidable issue. Tap. I shake off my lingering regrets and dash forward. [Gwaaaaaaak!] In that instant, the clown bastard’s corpse monster spewed poison from its mouth. I took it head-on without even raising my shield. Elemental Barbarian (Earth) Mode is immune to poison. “Ah, that was one of the effects, right?” As expected, this bastard also cleared a cheat version, realizing my condition only after seeing it directly. However, he was still relaxed. “Well, you used your head a bit. Heh.” The clown laughs even though his main damage source, poison, is blocked. Well, of course he would. He’s not just a poison necromancer, but an agility poison necromancer. Tap. He gets off the corpse monster he was riding and retreats. I’m also running at full speed, but the distance is increasing in real-time. It’s because of the penalty attached to Elemental Barbarian (Earth). 「Agility is greatly reduced.」 My body feels like it’s moving twice as slow. In fact, in the current situation, this was the biggest penalty, more so than taking double water damage or having my magic resistance greatly reduced. “Why? Didn’t you expect this?” As soon as his poison was blocked, he gave up on close combat and started controlling the distance. An action a prideful guy would never do. But… ‘Why did I turn off [Giantification]?’ A top-tier explorer with the alias of Corpse Collector running away from a 5th-grade Barbarian? I knew it, you bastard. ‘Leap.’ I chant the skill name in my mind and kick off the ground. [Kyaa!] Erwen, who can’t move more than 5m away from me in her spirit form, is dragged along as if her hair was being pulled. I feel a bit sorry, but… ‘The maximum distance seems to be about 30m.’ I calmly assess the current situation. Considering I jumped 70m even while [Giantified], the distance has drastically decreased. I’m reminded of how heavy this body is. If I were [Giantified], it probably wouldn’t even be half that. Still, the speed itself was similar. “Behel—raaaaaaa!!” As befitting a movement skill, the distance closes in an instant. Kwaaaang-! The ground ripples around the landing point. The effect itself was the same as before, but there was a clear difference from before. The massive corpse monster that hadn’t budged an inch. [Gwek?] It couldn’t withstand it and floated upwards. 「The character’s total weight is over 1,000kg.」 Yeah, I guess I’m heavier than you now. There’s no need to even mention the scrawny clown bastard. “……!” The body that had been backstepping floated up. Before landing on the ground, I closed the distance by waddling and jumping. Then, I took a stance as if swinging a baseball bat. At that moment, I made eye contact with the guy floating in the air. He didn’t seem to be smiling no matter how I looked at him. Geez, how disappointing. “Try smiling.” There was no reply. Well, if you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to split you open myself. Whooong! I swing my mace, ready to split his head open, timed perfectly. Then, thick bones sprouted on his skin. 「Abet Necrapeto has cast [Bone Armor].」 [Bone Armor]. The same thing that blocked Bear Uncle’s ultimate move without any damage when we first met. However, I’m not too worried. The Outlaw of the Wasteland is still active. Elemental Barbarian (Earth)’s blunt weapon destruction bonus. Plus, the [Swing] imbued with the ogre’s soul. There’s no way a 4th-grade skill can block this, no matter how well the synergy is matched. Crack-! The moment the mace hits, the [Bone Armor] shatters like cracking a walnut with a hammer. And the soft flesh revealed beyond it. “Erwen!” Erwen, who was flying around in spirit form, shot a fire arrow. The target was, as always, the space between his eyebrows. Kwaaang-! The fire arrow embedded in his mask exploded. But, was that mask also equipment? The first effective hit was blocked by the mask, preventing significant damage. Thud. The clown, who had been flying due to physical momentum, regained his balance and landed. That was the moment. Thud, thud, thud. The mask, which had been cracking like a spiderweb, shattered into pieces. I smirked at him. Ah, so that’s what your face looks like. “You’re disgustingly ugly.” A face that would have made the dragon cub Pen freak out. But was this his reverse scale? “You pathetic NPC bastards don’t know anything!” A torrent of praise erupted. *** He no longer played the clown. He abandoned his unique exaggerated acting tone and spoke like an ordinary trash explorer. “Don’t think it’ll end with just dying.” Um, that’s a line the Dragon Slayer bastard said. He was babbling about how even death couldn’t save him or something. “I’ll inflict pain on you that you can’t even imagine.” Is this kind of line popular in Orcullis? I don’t know, but as much as the praise kept pouring out, the battle continued smoothly. Well, of course it would. 「Abet Necrapeto has cast [Puppet].」 The true value of a necromancer lies in their numbers. But most of the corpse army is fighting the main force, and even those are dying in droves. This bastard probably doesn’t have much MP left either. Above all, I have a much more advantageous matchup. 「Abet Necrapeto has cast [Curse of Stone].」 A curse that stops charging? It’s meaningless since the skill attribute is earth. ‘Yeah, I’m Elemental Barbarian.’ Even if my magic resistance is drastically reduced due to the penalty, I easily get an immunity judgment with earth resistance. 「Abet Necrapeto has cast [Bone Armor].」 [Bone Armor] is countered with [Swing]. Crack-! Every time I peel off the shell, Erwen, who follows me in spirit form, shoots an arrow into him. Thwack-! The damage steadily accumulates as the battle continues. [Greeeeeee!] The clown bastard also started summoning elite corpses with high individual combat power from the subspace, focusing his attacks on Erwen. It was a great decision. If Erwen takes a certain amount of damage, Elemental Barbarian Mode will be canceled. From then on, I’ll also take poison damage. But… ‘Okay, so there are no mages, huh?’ His summons were thoroughly focused on ‘poison + physical damage.’ Therefore, it was impossible to inflict damage on Erwen, who gets a physical damage immunity bonus. Well, there were some elite corpses with elemental weapons from time to time, but… Crack-! I smash them before they can even get close. Of course, it was difficult for me to block everything alone. But, it’s not like I came here alone. “Deltu Teiran!” Raven pushes back enemies with wind magic, or when that doesn’t work, she deploys a mana shield to protect Erwen. ‘As expected, mages are good for utility.’ For reference, the rest of the members were focused on following from a distance and protecting Raven. Ideal teamwork where everyone protects each other. “How long do you think you can hold out!” He spat out blood-mixed saliva and showered us with praise. However, it was praise that was too bone-chilling to just laugh off. ‘……Slippery bastard.’ The battle itself seemed to be unfolding favorably, but the urgent one was actually us. Even if we minimize the damage Erwen takes, eventually Elemental Barbarian Mode will end. And I don’t know how long Kyle will hold out either. ‘Hah, I need to finish this before the Ruin Scholar comes.’ The more time passes, the more anxious I become. As a earth-attribute barbarian, my physical resistance has greatly increased, but my magic resistance has decreased proportionally. If I get hit by a proper magic attack, Erwen and even my main body won’t be able to withstand it. Not to mention if it’s a water-attribute attack, which deals double damage. In the first place, if it weren’t for the existence of the Ruin Scholar, we wouldn’t have needed to form a separate unit of over a hundred people, and we would have come here with just our team. “……The corpses are retreating!” To make matters worse, he started putting the surrounding corpses into the subspace one by one. This was a very big problem. Well, thanks to that, the burden on my companions who were following me has become much lighter, but… Crack! The [Bone Armor] that was being smashed in one hit now withstands up to two hits. It’s because the damage increase rate from ‘Outlaw of the Wasteland’ has decreased. “Yeah, so that was it, huh?” Hah, that’s why they’re called player bastards. I hid it so well that not even a sliver of light could escape, but they noticed it. The clown bastard’s eyes curved into a long line. “Don’t smile. You’re ugly.” “……I’ll rip that tongue out when this is all over.” Go ahead and try. “Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!” I shout and push him even more fiercely. The resistance is fierce. He’s using even essences that aren’t known to the public, as if he’s acknowledging me as an opponent. 「Abet Necrapeto has cast [Fleeting Immortality].」 A skill of a 3rd-grade monster, Death Lord. Whoosh! The black flames engulf his clothes, and his skin is burned away, leaving only bones. It’s like a lich. ‘I wondered why he didn’t have any armor.’ I had a hunch, but I didn’t think he’d have this skill too. The effect of [Fleeting Immortality] is really simple. No matter what you do, you won’t die for 1 minute, and your mental and supernatural stats are converted into physical stats. ‘A top-tier explorer who has poured all his stats into physical stats……’ I swallowed hard, but spoke calmly. “You’ve become much more handsome.” He didn’t reply. He just clicked his bony jaw as if annoyed and charged at me. Kwaang-! A simple push. It was just that, but the body that had made even the corpse monster float with [Recoil] was pushed back. Huh, how much has his strength increased? Still, thankfully, there’s no damage due to my physical resistance, but… ‘Damn it.’ My companions are different. It’s obvious that they’ll fall like flies if they get hit by even a normal attack from that monstrous body. That’s why… “Everyone, retreat!” The situation was reversed in an instant. Instead of stopping the guy who was running away, now I have to stop him. Tap. The clown bastard, who pushed me aside and started a mindless charge. The distance widens in a truly split second. This is like a max-level skeleton. Tap. I quickly followed with [Leap]. Kwaang-! I landed and the [Recoil] made him float in the air, but it didn’t even buy me enough time. Even though I hugged him tightly as he fell, he easily broke free in 1 second and continued his charge. It only took a split second for an accident to happen. “Ainar!” Ainar, who blocked his fist, was knocked back while holding his adamantite greatsword, colliding with Bear Uncle. And… Kwaang-! Misha, who was hit in the abdomen, collapsed on the floor. Raven urgently raised a stone wall with magic, but it was smashed with a single punch. His goal was all too clear. He was trying to take out the most troublesome mage first in the remaining time. “Protect Raven!!” I shouted as I followed with [Leap], but the moment I did, he ignored the unconscious Misha and dashed again. Kooong! With a single punch, the tank summon Iron Bear was unsummoned. “Kyaa!” Raven’s body, who was riding Iron Bear, floated into the air. Before she could even fall to the ground, another fist was swung. “……!” Bear Uncle grabbed Raven by the back of her neck just in time and pulled her back. At that moment. Kwaaang-! My body landed, making him float again. In the meantime, I used [Giantification] and lay down on top of my fallen companions. Bear Uncle and Daria quickly came inside, understanding what I was trying to do. Kwaang! Kwaang! He landed on the ground and slammed down on my back as if he was going to crush us all. Are they going to be okay? “Kkeuk……” No, it doesn’t seem like they’re okay. Honestly, I thought this might be enough. ‘Plan B.’ I changed my mind in less than 5 seconds and quickly got up and punched him in the head. He was knocked back, probably because it was an unexpected blow, despite his good physique. Yeah, the best defense is offense. I dove onto his body like a diving tackle. And… “Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!!” I pinned him down with overwhelming weight and waited it out. He seemed to be burdened by the weight of the giant Elemental Barbarian, as it took him several seconds to shake me off with difficulty. But then how much is left now— “……Damn Barbarian bastard.” Yeah, it’s over now. Hah, I thought we were all going to die for real. I smirked as I glared at him, who was now naked with flesh growing back on his bones. “Small.” It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel any pity, but that’s not a reason for leniency. Tap. I immediately dashed forward and swung my mace at him. As expected, [Bone Armor] appeared. Crack-! It was shattered in a single hit because I was in [Giantification] state, and Erwen didn’t miss the opportunity and shot an arrow. “……!” He aimed for the head, but he rolled away, as befitting an agility character. However, the arrow hit his leg. ‘Nice.’ Now that there’s a hole in his leg, that cockroach-like guy should be a bit slower. I quickly dashed again. That was the moment. 「The character’s soul power is insufficient.」 「[Giantification] is terminated.」 My body shrinks as my MP runs out. Well, it was about time. I used [Leap] and [Swing] a lot. Of course, there’s no problem. It seems like this bastard is also almost out of mana. [Mister, the corpses near the portal have all fallen!] The corpse army that had been maintaining the [Puppet] state even while fighting us. But he turned it off? That means he’s cornered. ‘How many more times will it take?’ I charged at the guy who was running away like a rat. I didn’t have [Leap], but it was similar to the battle that had been going on. If he was caught while running away, [Bone Armor]. I would smash it with my mace a few times, and then Erwen would shoot an arrow. How long had it been? ‘How big is his MP pool?’ It was when I barely managed to catch him and was macing the guy who had activated [Bone Armor] again. [Ah, Yandel. Can you hear me?] Good news and bad news came at once. [Blue Mane has been defeated. I’ll be there to help soon.] Melter Pend and his clan members finally succeeded in the wolf raid. Perhaps the fact that the corpse army disappeared was a big reason. It was the best possible news. However… [And one more thing, it seems… Kyle has been defeated.] Kyle was defeated. [Be careful. The Ruin Scholar might come for you.] Melter Pend’s warning was meaningless. Because he was already here. “Heh heh, Necrapeto, you’re in quite a state yourself.” Damn it.