Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 279

The guy raised his spear high into the sky.

The thought popped into my head the moment I saw it.

‘No way, already?’

Even though we’d made holes all over the place getting here, and I’d sliced his arm halfway off in less than three seconds and put a hole in his gut with an arrow.

Already at 40% health?

‘Ah…’

I looked up at him and understood.

I don’t know when she got there, but Amelia was hanging on his back, stabbing a dagger into his neck.

‘If you’re going to do it, aim for the back of the head, not the neck.’

For a moment, I felt a bit of regret, but a woman like Amelia wouldn’t have aimed for the neck on purpose.

She probably hit there because he was dodging.

I focused on something else.

‘That’s a skill I’ve never seen before.’

Black aura was leaking out of the hole in his neck.

Oh, could it be that?

「Amelia Rainweils has cast [Abyssal Power].」

Not only does she have aura from the Doppelganger essence, but she also has something like that. It’s a miracle she hasn’t died yet after messing with her all this time.

Anyway, I’ll think about that later.

“Don’t stop!”

I gave the order and approached him again.

But was it too much to ask of my teammates who didn’t know what was coming?

Everyone froze, unable to focus on the battle.

I couldn’t blame them for feeling that way.

「Stormgush has cast [Storm Call].」

[Storm Call].

It only sucks in the surrounding wind and recovers MP [Mana Points], but if it’s used in conjunction with [Rain Prayer], which fills the area with rainwater, it can also recover a large amount of HP [Health Points].

Yeah, that’s usually the end of it, but….

When you raid on this crazy island, there’s an additional effect.

“W-water is rising like a wall!!”

“It’s a tidal wave…!!!”

Pulled by the wind, the rising water was rushing in like a tidal wave.

Whoooooooosh-!!

Like a snowball rolling and growing in size, waves were crashing in from afar, forming a wall.

“Oh, no!”

Some people even closed their eyes without realizing it, such was the overwhelming force of nature.

Whew, there’s no need to be scared of that.

Whoooooooosh-!

Finally, the violent waves crashing in from all sides engulfed us.

But….

「A sanctuary has been created somewhere on the island.」

There was no damage.

“Uh, uh?”

“H-how did this happen….”

I don’t know the exact principle either.

When I played the game, I just thought they were focusing on the visuals.

“Raven, light up the area!”

The seawater covered us and it got dark, so I secured a light source first. Then, the environment we were in became clearer.

It was a very strange feeling.

It felt like we were trapped in a fish tank.

But the situation is urgent, so let’s stop sightseeing here.

“Everyone move!! If not now, there’s no chance!”

When I gave the order again, my teammates, who had been spacing out, quickly came to their senses and moved.

The battle, which had entered a new phase, was more urgent than ever before.

「Stormgush has cast [Dragon Vein].」

First, Bear-Ahjussi couldn’t avoid the air current that rose from the ground and got hit.

But he did react to some extent, so thankfully, he didn’t get knocked out of the sanctuary….

“Ourikfreet-nim…!”

“P-priest. I, I can hold on… keep helping Yandel….”

Bear-Ahjussi became incapacitated.

He has [Hungry Claws], so his wounds will heal over time, but it will take much longer than a few minutes.

[Woong-?!]

When Bear-Ahjussi was injured, Iron Bear Iradun, who had been holding the front line with his regeneration, was also dispelled soon after.

But the bad news didn’t stop there.

The [Whirlpool] that sprang from the hole where [Dragon Vein] was cast began to rampage in the limited space, tormenting us.

“You absolutely can’t get hit by that!!”

From now on, it’s right to consider [Whirlpool] as an instant kill.

If you get caught in that situation, you’ll be thrown into the sea.

Swoosh-!

Amelia then sliced off the guy’s dangling arm with a dagger full of aura.

Kuuung.

The heavy arm fell to the floor, still holding the bone trident.

But even without a weapon, he was still threatening.

[Kroooooooo!!]

Partzran was knocked away, his belly torn open by the left arm the guy swung in retaliation.

He couldn’t dodge as nimbly as usual because of the [Whirlpool] that was restricting his movements.

‘It’s not a fatal wound.’

One of our forces was down, but I coldly glanced at him once and then shifted my gaze. If he’s alive, he can be revived with healing or potions, which is one of the few advantages of this world….

Tap.

I had no choice but to create some distance because a [Whirlpool] flew across the formation and came at me.

At that moment, Nevarche, the archer from Amelia’s team, was hit.

She used a skill to avoid a [Whirlpool] that flew to the rear, but ended up falling in front of the monster’s maw.

‘Ah, that was a random blink….’

In the end, Nevarche was eaten by the guy without even uttering a death cry.

Crunch, crunch.

The first casualty of the battle.

Apart from feeling sorry, I didn’t feel guilty.

Who told her to use a crappy skill like [Emergency Escape] here?

Anyway, as long as our side is okay—

“…Ugh!”

Then, Misha was hit.

Swoosh-!

She dodged a downward strike to the side, but lost an arm in the process.

“Misha!”

“D-don’t worry! I can fight with one arm!”

She can fight with one arm.

She’s become so tough after following me around.

I couldn’t tell her to step back.

I don’t have the time for that.

I’ll just put a little more emotion into paying him back.

「The character has cast [Swing].」

I swing my mace, using all the MP I’d been saving.

The target is that pointy snout.

Whack-!

The guy must have a good memory, because he twisted his waist and whipped his tail at me.

Kwaaang-!

Even though I blocked it with my shield, the impact went through my bones.

Is it because my physical stats have increased rapidly due to [Rain Prayer]?

When I blocked it earlier, it was just something I could block….

‘Damn it.’

My arm was dislocated and bent while holding the shield.

I pressed my arm tight to put my weight on it, and now my ribs are throbbing.

But I was healed right away.

「Lylin Ershina has cast [Heal].」

A warm and mysterious power that reconnects severed tendons and fits broken bones together like a puzzle.

This mysterious power seemed to be telling me.

Now that you’re healed, don’t rest, fight and protect your comrades.

“Behel—aaaaaaaaaaaa!”

A grueling battle,

A fight that can’t be described in such short words continued.

The guy was strong and tough, as befitting a 3rd-grade monster.

Thud.

His flesh was torn by aura.

His hide was pierced by dozens of arrows, draining his life force.

His regeneration was not working due to countless layers of curse magic, and he was dripping dark green fluid, with the sword Misha had stuck in his eye shaking.

[…….]

The guy kept fighting and fighting.

As if we were the incarnation of evil and he was justice.

He moved his body without getting tired, and every time he moved, someone got hurt.

Most of the time, it was me.

Crack, crack.

Sharp claws tore through my shield and armor.

Thud!

Sometimes they dug into my flesh.

Now that my divine power has run out, healing isn’t coming in time.

But so what?

Did you think I’d fall before you?

I’ll hold on.

I swing my mace without resting, and sometimes I don’t avoid the [Whirlpool] to save my comrades.

I hold on and hold on.

About a minute passed like that.

[Kroooooooo!!]

Then the guy let out a roar and looked at me.

It was as if he was asking why I wasn’t falling.

Yeah, you feel the same way as me, huh?

For a monster, that’s quite the compliment.

‘Please, let’s move on to the next pattern, you bastard!’

I slammed my mace into the guy’s neck with all my heart.

Whack!

The guy just flinched for a moment, but there was no damage.

But….

Thud.

In that gap, Amelia stabbed a dagger into the guy’s temple.

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!!!]

The guy screamed in pain.

And at the same time.

Whoooooooooosh…!

A thick wind barrier covered the guy’s body as if to protect him.

「Stormgush has cast [Storm Priest].」

The last survival skill he uses when his HP is at 10%.

It was a moment I had been waiting for for so long.

“Raven!!!”

I called out the name of the mage who had been waiting, only using curse magic so far.

However, the magic was already being used.

Whoooooooooosh-!

A clear magic circle appeared on the ground, scattering light.

Tap.

I didn’t just move to the side, I created a distance far away. Not only me, but also Misha and Amelia, who were the remaining frontliners, did the same.

Because we know what’s going to fly now.

“Pels Askar Bier.”

Among the military magic that Raven had worked hard to learn, it was the only magic created to kill a powerful individual, not a large number of enemies.

‘…But the range is too wide for that.’

I swallowed hard and looked ahead.

「Arua Raven has cast 4th-grade attack magic [Divine Punishment].」

From the ceiling covered in seawater, a thunderous sound like the sky was collapsing could be heard.

And one second later.

Flash-!

The entire area turned white.

It wasn’t that dazzling.

The pure white light, which had been refracted several times to reach this point, shone dimly and enveloped us.

And….

Kwaaang-!

The awaited ‘Divine Punishment’ struck the guy’s crown.

***

High physical resistance and magic resistance.

Strength comparable to an ogre and agile movements.

Because of these points, he is called the ‘Ogre of the Sea,’ but Stormgush’s life force itself is very low compared to an ogre.

Also, the skills he uses are designed for short battles. Due to the skill structure, if you go into a long battle with this guy, the attacking side will become increasingly disadvantaged.

So I aimed for a short battle.

I saved resources and only dealt damage with normal attacks until 70% HP.

From [Rain Prayer], I quickly increased the tempo and poured in damage, and from 40% when he uses [Storm Call], I went all out.

At 10%, I used focused fire to skip the phase.

It was a fairly standard strategy.

The only exceptions were that the battle risk was much higher because I didn’t have any counter skills to neutralize some patterns.

And that the mage had to handle the finishing blow alone because I had used up most of my resources to get to 10% HP.

Yeah, it was a plan that was worth trying.

So what would be the result?

Kwaaang-!

Then, ‘Divine Punishment’ in the form of lightning pierced the seawater and struck the guy’s crown, and I was able to see the result with my own eyes.

‘I failed.’

It was a miserable failure that couldn’t even be justified with mental gymnastics.

Fiiiiizzzz.

The guy had a shell that was steaming like a well-cooked lobster, but he was still alive and moving.

The whirlpool that was protecting him was still there.

The reason was clear.

It wasn’t that the timing was late and I had thrown magic at an invincible state.

‘The damage was insufficient.’

Raven’s finishing damage was simply insufficient.

By a lot.

‘I thought I could barely make it with that magic.’

Maybe it was my fault for not considering the terrain.

It might have been different in a normal environment.

The power of the lightning would have been reduced to some extent as it passed through the seawater.

“H-he’s alive! What do we do?”

What do you mean what do we do?

Now we have to go to Plan B.

“Partzran! Get the ship out!”

At my shout, Partzran asked back with his belly torn open.

“…Ship?”

Um, did I not tell him about Plan B?

No, I definitely told him?

Did he forget because he was in a daze?

I don’t like repeating myself, but I repeated the core of Plan B that I had said earlier.

“Let’s run away!”

If we stay here, we’ll all die.

***

「The aura of the storm begins to dwell in Stormgush’s body.」

「Stormgush becomes temporarily immune to all damage.」

「10%.」

「20%.」

「3…….」

「…….」

***

In the end, we had to use Plan B, but there were several positive aspects.

No one died.

Although one archer from Noark met his fate today.

And although Misha’s arm was severed, Ainar was unconscious, and Bear-Ahjussi was seriously injured.

Everyone survived.

Yeah, that’s all that matters.

“Ah, the ship…!”

Then Partzran also remembered Plan B and quickly fiddled with his subspace ring for storing ships.

But did he suddenly have a question?

“B-but what’s the point of taking out the ship in this situation… Cough!”

He coughed up blood while asking the question.

However, his question was continued by Raven.

“Partzran-ssi is right. How are we going to launch the ship when we’re surrounded by water?”

How are we going to launch it?

“Don’t you remember? That guy’s ship was made of ‘Artene Wood.'”

Artene Wood is a top-grade shipbuilding material.

It’s incredibly hard, and it has so much buoyancy that even life jackets would cry. You can just throw the whole ship into the water and it will float to the top on its own.

“What are you doing, Partzran-ssi! Hurry up and get the ship out!”

Then Raven urged him, and Partzran summoned the ship while touching his torn belly.

A ship big enough to comfortably fit ten people.

I put the unconscious Ainar and the injured Bear-Ahjussi on the ship and tied them to the mast with ropes.

“What are you doing, you guys? Hurry up and tie yourselves up. You might fall off if you just go.”

“Ah, yes!”

Those who had the wherewithal to take care of themselves tied themselves to the ship with ropes.

Then Misha asked me, holding her severed arm tightly in one hand. Well, I tied her up well with a rope, so she doesn’t need to hold it so tightly….

“Bjorn, I have something to tell you.”

Uh? Talk?

“Let’s do it later.”

“But….”

“Why? Don’t you trust me?”

At my words, Misha paused and then shook her head slightly.

“I trust you.”

Okay, then the preparations for departure are complete.

“…But how are we going to get there?”

When everyone was on board, Raven looked at me with a very bewildered expression.

‘Oh, that’s true too.’

How does a ship summoned on land set sail?

It was a difficulty I hadn’t thought of when planning.

But….

‘If I didn’t think of it, maybe it’s because I didn’t need to think about it?’

Um, I think that’s right.

Looking at how my body is moving naturally as soon as I hear those words.

“W-what are you doing? You’re not going to lift this whole ship, are you…?”

If you know, just stay still.

You’re making me lose my strength.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!”

I let out a scream close to a shriek and lifted the ship with both arms. And I took big steps towards the water.

I don’t think I can hold it for long either.

“Everyone hold your breath.”

I gave my last piece of advice and put the ship into the sea.

“Go.”

As expected of a ship made of wood with strong buoyancy, it quickly rose as soon as it entered the water.

Now that he’s in [Storm Priest] mode, there shouldn’t be much of a problem after going up. The whirlpools won’t be swirling like before.

In fact, in the game, escape using the ship was not blocked at this stage.

‘…They’re gone.’

Only after the ship disappeared from my sight did I turn around.

There, Amelia, the only comrade… no, should I call her a comrade-in-arms? Anyway, Amelia was looking at me with a strange look in her eyes.

“You really care about your comrades.”

“They’re small and precious.”

“…I see.”

Come to think of it, she has a habit of answering almost everything with ‘I see.’ The annoying thing is that no matter how many times I hear it, I can’t tell what kind of ‘I see’ it is.

I decided to just say what I had to say.

“You were the unexpected one. To so readily agree to take on this role with me.”

The mission we have now is to be bait.

When this guy finishes charging, he will start using indiscriminate area attacks, which are not the kind that can be blocked with a shield.

It was clear that the fragile mages, priests, and injured warriors would not last even a few seconds.

Therefore, at this stage, we decided to move on to Plan B and retreat.

But, unfortunately, not everyone could go.

If someone doesn’t buy time, this guy will also chase after us, splashing around with that tail.

We can’t win against this guy in the sea while on a ship.

“This kind of role….”

Amelia chuckled.

“It’s certainly not something I would normally do.”

It seemed like she also admitted that she looked strange.

Then why did she want to stay?

“But I can’t stand owing a debt.”

Wow, so that’s really why.

I was genuinely impressed.

She’s showing this much loyalty just because I saved her from almost dying once?

Isn’t she just the perfect person to take advantage of?

‘I should keep adding to her debt whenever I get the chance.’

“What? What was that look just now?”

“Ah, was I caught? I was just highly evaluating you for valuing promises.”

“…Empty words.”

Amelia frowned as if she was displeased.

“Never mind, don’t look at me like that. The escape method you mentioned seemed reliable, and I wouldn’t have stayed if I didn’t think it was worth a try.”

“Um, I see.”

“Barbarian, what kind of ‘I see’ is that?”

“That’s… Ah, it seems like it’s almost over.”

When I shifted my gaze, Amelia also stopped chatting and stared straight ahead.

「90%.」

The whirlpool surrounding the guy was gradually subsiding.

It meant that the final phase was about to begin.

Clench.

I put strength into the hand holding the mace.

Did she sense something ominous?

“Wait a minute, wasn’t the original plan to just hold out and then escape?”

Amelia questioned my belligerent appearance.

So I tilted my head.

“…I’m trying to hold out?”

“…Then wouldn’t it be more efficient to put away the mace and just hold the shield?”

Uh? What is she talking about?

What does that have to do with this?

I said firmly.

“The mace is a great defensive tool!”

As I always say, the best defense is offense.

Especially when dealing with a guy who’s almost dead.

“So you should also pick up a weapon! Don’t just try to avoid it and waste time!”

“…….”

“Isn’t it a life that Misha saved anyway!”

“…………I see.”

No slacking off is allowed.