Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 428

The moment [Spirit Transformation] was used.

「The wind spirit inhabits the character’s body.」

A translucent wind began to swirl around my skin.

We couldn’t even exchange glances, let alone have a conversation, but I understood what Erwen was aiming for.

「Evasion is granted against all damage.」

An evasion buff that activates based on probability.

For reference, this evasion buff reaches its maximum evasion rate only for attacks classified as magical damage.

That’s why this condition was attached to the mode itself.

「Magical damage taken is increased by 2x.」

Because of this, I didn’t activate wind mode when facing mages or ability users.

I judged that the risk was greater.

A 50% chance of evasion?

It sounds good, but if I take double damage when hit, it could lead to greater danger due to the game’s mechanics.

But….

Whoosh-!

The coin has already been tossed.

So, there’s only one thing to do.

Thump-.

Just watch the outcome.

Whoooosh-!

In that instant, where perhaps everyone’s fate was at stake.

The result came immediately, without any dragging.

「The character has successfully evaded.」

The [Earth’s End Thorn], which was flying towards me as if to pierce through my body, was pushed away by the gust of wind, narrowly grazing my skin and twisting its trajectory.

And….

KWA-AAAAAANG-!

The black thorn, exploding with a deafening roar, embedded itself in the ceiling.

“…!”

Along with a sense of exhaustion that made my heart sink, the wind that had been enveloping my body subsided.

「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia’s natural power has been completely depleted.」

「[Spirit Transformation] is deactivated.」

Right, that was all that was left.

‘…I’ll think about it later.’

I rolled once on the floor, still holding Erwen, and got up.

“Bjorn….”

Huh? Why isn’t she calling me ‘uncle’ for once?

The sudden change in address is unfamiliar, but I don’t dwell on the question.

Checking her condition is the priority.

“It’ll be tough, but can you handle the ability user over there? You just need to keep them occupied.”

“…I can.”

Good, then the baton pass is done.

“You…!”

No sooner had I taken a stance and turned my body than the impact was transmitted through the shield.

Clack-!

The dragonslayer, Regal Bagos.

The one who first showed me what the death of a comrade meant.

Clack-!

I block the sword, which is swung seemingly haphazardly but with a certain momentum, and think.

‘I thought I’d be happy enough to cry.’

It’s not really like that.

Well, I guess it can’t be helped?

It was a moment I had been eagerly waiting for, but I had to lose a lot to get here.

“You, you… How can you be so persistent?”

“I don’t think you, who followed me all the way here to catch me, should be saying that.”

“I’ll settle this!”

Power is put into his sword.

The sword is swung, burning himself as if squeezing a dry towel.

The driving force is obvious.

It’s not just the grudge against me, but he himself knows it. That the only way to survive in this place is to kill me.

Clack-!

The current situation is simple.

Erwen, who barely survived, is using her last bit of strength to mark the ability user far away.

“Amelia! You don’t need to worry about that guy, right?”

“……Of course.”

Amelia is in a close battle with the bald Reppeles.

And all the others have fallen.

Of course, some of them are still breathing, but they are just holding on by a thread.

They don’t have the strength to fight right now.

So, in short….

Clack-!

The winner of this long battle will be decided.

Clack-!

I push the sword away, putting strength into the shield.

Even if my resistance stat is wrecked by the recoil, my strength hasn’t decreased.

“…!”

The guy takes three steps back with a light gesture.

I’ve roughly checked his condition after blocking his sword several times, so now it’s my turn.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”

I shout the name of my ancestor god and dash forward.

No matter how much I shout, [Wild Outburst], which is classified as an active skill, won’t activate, but….

‘Now, I don’t feel strong without this.’

Whoooosh-!

I bring down the hammer, imbued with the power of my ancestor god.

Tap.

He takes two more steps back and dodges, then extends his sword towards the gap that was slightly revealed as I swung the hammer.

He was definitely a guy who had experienced a lot of real battles.

But….

‘That’s why his judgment is so obvious.’

Soon, his sword pierces deeply into my side.

The injury clearly shows the lowered resistance stat from the recoil.

Thud-!

In fact, it wasn’t an attack that I couldn’t avoid or block.

However, if I had, the fight would have been longer.

Swish.

The moment the sword pierced my side, I stretched my arm forward as if I had been waiting for it.

The target is his neck.

Given the clear difference in strength, I judged that once I grabbed him, he wouldn’t be able to escape no matter what.

But, did he know that fact well?

Tap.

He quickly steps back.

So hasty that he couldn’t even take what he needed.

“Are you leaving this behind?”

I grit my teeth and pulled out the sword stuck in my side.

And I raised the corners of my mouth, which were stained with blood.

“Now, I’m done with sword gifts.”

“…….”

“Seriously, why does a swordsman keep losing his sword?”

I clicked my tongue as if he was pathetic, and his face hardened. His eyes were full of hatred, as if lasers would come out.

However, his actions are different from his gaze.

He is flustered and doesn’t know what to do, perhaps because he lost his sword.

Tap.

He then dashed forward.

Not towards me, but to the side.

His psychology was clearly readable this time as well.

‘Is he going to use the sword on the floor?’

Come to think of it, he was like this in the maze back then too.

When he couldn’t use his sword, he ran at Misha and took her sword.

He said it was our stuff, and I had to helplessly watch until Rotmiller took the sword with his body and put it in the [Treasure Vault].

But….

‘It’s different now.’

The worst and the second worst.

Back then, when he presented options, we had to choose one of them.

But now, the situation has completely reversed.

The one who chooses is not me, but this guy.

Tap.

The moment he takes a step, I also dash forward.

“…!”

His pupils shake as the distance closes in seconds.

He seems to be wondering if it’s right to pick up the sword, or what he should do….

Whoooosh-!

Seeing the hammer swung above his head, the choice he made was too pathetic.

Tap.

He gives up on the sword that was on the floor and rolls on the ground.

‘Was I worried about a feint for nothing?’

If it were me, I would have pretended to pick up the sword and then turned my body to catch him off guard.

Well, I guess it can’t be helped since he’s a swordsman?

Well, even if the sword is that important, there was also the option of giving up one shoulder and taking the sword.

‘…Maybe he’s aiming for something else.’

It would be a lie to say that I didn’t feel his judgment was pathetic, but I arm my mind with caution rather than carelessness.

Because that’s much better.

Than being caught off guard by underestimating the enemy.

So, in that sense.

Whoooosh-!

I carefully swing the hammer so as not to get too close.

Tap-!

He stepped back again.

And when that process was repeated several times.

Thud.

Finally, his back touched the wall.

At the same time, his dragon eyes widened.

Only then could I realize.

‘This bastard… He didn’t even think about the wall?’

His trump card?

There is no such thing.

He was just desperately avoiding the hammer and was driven to this point.

That’s all there is to this.

Crack-!

As if to prove it, the hammer that was brought down from above hits his left shoulder.

“Ugh…!!”

He groans with bloodshot eyes and runs away to the side.

I felt strange.

To be precise, should I say I felt empty?

“If you gave up your shoulder, you should have taken something.”

No, if you were going to give up your shoulder like this, you should have taken your weapon earlier?

I feel angry rather than happy at the enemy’s misjudgment.

That’s why….

Grab.

I grab the back of his neck, who is trying to slip away like a loach, and throw him against the wall.

KWAANG!

He opens his mouth wide and vomits blood.

“Cough…!”

I swung the hammer once more.

The target was the top of his head, but he dodged by throwing his body to the side.

Crack-!

Thanks to that, his left leg was completely crushed.

“Aaaaaaah…!”

He screams.

I didn’t feel relieved at all.

That woman, Six, who I killed earlier, maintained her composure even at the moment her head was smashed.

This is just like a kid.

“Because of a guy like you…”

Still, his will to survive was great.

Drag.

He drags his crushed leg and crawls on the floor, trying to get away from me.

Where is he heading? To where the bald guy is, who is fighting hard with Amelia.

Is he thinking of relying on that guy?

Stomp.

I stop him by stepping on his back.

Then, did he finally realize the reality?

“…J-Just, kill me.”

He then said, gritting his teeth as if shouting.

It was a relief.

He stuttered a bit, but he didn’t beg for his life in a pathetic way.

If he had, I would have felt really bad.

KWAANG-!

I quickly finished my thoughts after checking Amelia, who was still fighting hard, even at this moment.

Let’s just say that and finish it quickly without dragging it out.

“Do you remember Riol Worb Dwarki?”

“Heh, heh heh heh….”

He, who had resigned himself to death, let out a sneer as if he had found my Achilles’ heel.

It wasn’t a particularly important part.

“Are you talking about that half-baked mage from back then?”

We couldn’t even retrieve his body from the maze.

That day, when we held a funeral with only a few of his belongings.

That day, I decided.

That when this moment comes, I will definitely tell him to his face.

So….

“You just listen.”

I smash his remaining shoulder with the hammer and then speak.

“Riol Worb Dwarki.”

Almost three years.

“That half-baked mage who saved us all in the maze that day.”

It took a long time, a really long time.

“Didn’t lose.”

He didn’t lose to you.

“Because I’m going to kill you like this.”

“…….”

“He won, you understand?”

He didn’t answer this time either.

Is that his last bit of pride?

I turned him over, grabbed his chin with my toe, and forced him to nod.

‘Hah, so is it all over now?’

It doesn’t really feel real, but it seems like it.

Anyway, that’s good, so….

Crack-!

Now die, you bastard.

***

Crack-!

Following the dragonslayer, I joined forces with Amelia and smashed the bald boxer’s head with a hammer.

「You have defeated Manua Reppeles.」

Next was the ability user’s turn, who was running around trying to avoid the persistently following Erwen.

「You have defeated Kyle Elbad Jeneger.」

With this, all the enemies’ heads were crushed.

And the moment my head recognized that fact.

The heat of the grueling battle leaves my body, and cold air envelops me.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa-.

The surroundings where the enemies disappeared were as silent as after a storm.

Is that why?

I finally realized it.

“It’s over….”

The battle has finally ended.

But there was no time to rest.

“Amelia, check if there are any enemies alive.”

“I, I’ll help too…!”

“Helping? You resting is helping.”

I left the confirmation to Amelia, and forced Erwen, who had exhausted her energy, to rest.

And I….

Crunch.

I gathered the fallen members who were lying on the cold floor.

I checked the degree of injury of the members who were still breathing, and I closed the eyes of the members who had lost their warmth.

It was not enough to describe it as tragic.

‘Sven Parav, Meland Kaislan, Liris Marone, Titana Akuraba, Lavien, James Kala, Bersil Gowland, Erwen, Amelia.’

And even me.

“Ten people….”

The number of members who survived this expedition.

Everyone else died.

“Yandel… I found your four potions.”

After searching the bodies of the Rose Knights and the Noark guys, Amelia found the potions, and the potions were distributed according to the degree of injury.

“I’ll look for more potions.”

“Thank you, Emily….”

The amount of potions was far too insufficient to bring all the injured to full recovery. However, thanks to distributing the potions in order of urgency, the members who were on the verge of death gradually recovered and regained consciousness one by one.

And….

“Only us… Only we survived.”

Dark shadows fall under the eyes of the members who received the exact damage of the expedition.

The reason is simple.

We know each other too well to feel the joy of surviving first.

Rather than relief, resentment surges first.

“Uaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Even if they don’t cry like the mage Marone, they clench their fists and endure the sadness.

“Ashd-nim… said his wife was waiting for him. Priestess Eriabosti… had a child.”

“Ventis Gerod had a dream of going to the abyss someday.”

“Mr. Iriburn said he wanted to open a store after this expedition was over.”

“Everyone… They weren’t people who should have died in a place like this. They weren’t… But… But why…!”

It didn’t take long for sadness to turn into anger.

“Yandel-nim…, please tell me. What did we… What did we do so wrong? Why did we all have to die here like this?”

After a long detour, we finally have a fundamental question.

“Did we… Did we do something so wrong? Enough to be punished like this?”

“……When I get out, I’m going to kill the clan leader first. Even if I die.”

“That won’t work. We need to make this public and protest properly. What we had to go through here!”

“It’ll be difficult since the royal family is involved… But it might be possible. Lavien is a dragonkin, and Akuraba, you have quite a bit of influence within the dwarf race.”

“Yandel-nim was also a candidate for the tribal chief, right? Erwen-nim is also a very important figure in the fairy race….”

“Yes, if all four of your races gather and join forces…!”

The more they express their emotions, the colder their heads and hearts become.

I also want to vent my anger like them, but….

I can’t do that.

[Indeed… You… Will become… A giant….]

To become the kind of person that Old Man Didi wanted me to be….

Clench-.

At least I shouldn’t be like that.

“Yandel-nim! What do you think? You’re not going to stay still, right?”

Looking at them trembling with hot emotions, I said.

“I… No, we will stay still.”

“….Huh?”

“That’s the only way we can survive.”

“……!”

“Kaislan, as a knight, you should know, right? That even if your races gather and storm the royal palace, you’ll all just die.”

Kaislan, who had always created public opinion on my side, didn’t answer this time.

Right, you don’t want to answer, huh?

I just continued to speak.

“In the first place, it’s impossible for your races to join forces. If we really ask for help, do you think they will all risk their lives to fight with us? Risk the fate of their races?”

I don’t think so.

Reality is different from fairy tales.

Those who live here don’t live in a flower garden, but on cold ground, making decisions after calculating everything.

“Still…! Still, we have to do something!”

“Even if it means we all die because of it?”

“It’s better than staying still!”

“Marone, do you really think so? If you use the lives you barely survived like that, will the guys who already died be happy?”

“Then… Then what are we supposed to do!!”

It’s unfamiliar to see this mage, who never lost her smile even in the hardest times, shouting like this, but I didn’t stop talking.

“As I said before, we have to stay still.”

“…….”

“We shouldn’t even say a word, let alone protest.”

“…….”

“We have to think that there must have been some reason why the main force didn’t come.”

“…….”

“We also have to say that it wasn’t us who killed the Noark forces that were being raised as secret weapons on the 8th floor.”

If we reveal the fact that we caught and killed them, it would be considered a great achievement, but we won’t be able to reveal it to anyone.

“The Rose Knights, who are considered an urban legend?”

This is the same.

Confronting them would be an achievement worth bragging about at the bar for the rest of our lives, but….

“We will pretend that we didn’t even meet them.”

We have to do that.

We are the only ones who know what happened here.

If we pretend that we don’t know anything without making excuses, the people who sent us here will put the mismatched pieces together themselves.

In a way that makes sense to them.

Maybe the guys who were chasing us and the Rose Knights clashed because of some misunderstanding. And that’s why those guys were lucky enough to survive.

“Then… Then what about the dead people….”

Marone then trailed off, sobbing.

“Those guys….”

I bit my lip and spat out.

“Those guys… They will have died from monsters after escaping the Eye of the Glacier.”

“Monsters…?”

“Yes, they were very tired from escaping the Eye of the Glacier, and they had also abandoned their equipment and ran out of food. So… It’s not an unbelievable story—.”

“That’s a lie! Those people didn’t die like that! They fought against people who were so strong. It was a situation where they thought several times that it would be better to just die….”

“…….”

“But they fought… We… Until the very end… Not a single one of us gave up. We fought and won… But… But…!! Monsters? We died to monsters…?”

“Stop it… Marone-yang….”

“Aaaaaaaaah!!”

Kaislan hugged Marone and calmed her down.

Then, Sven Parav stepped forward.

“Then… What happens next?”

“We will hide like cowards until the closure, and only we will have survived. That will be the conclusion of our expedition that will be known to the world.”

“I see. That method certainly seems to have the highest chance of survival. But….”

He then looked at me and said.

“I still don’t like it.”

A firm voice that I had never heard from him before.

However, there was no hostility in his eyes.

What could be the reason?

“But, I will do as you say.”

“Why?”

“Because I can tell just by looking at your eyes. That you are the one who dislikes this the most.”

When I was speechless, Akuraba stepped forward this time.

“You, you’re not planning to… stay still forever, are you?”

“….Of course not.”

“Then, I’ll wait.”

Akuraba then stepped back, and then it was James Kala’s turn.

“I’ll… try too. I’ll have to face that clan leader as if nothing happened… But it’ll be better than today, when I couldn’t even see my comrades dying….”

The burning passion that could be felt even with his eyes closed.

I approached the other members and asked them one by one, confirming their intentions.

And when that process was all over.

“Liris Marone.”

I headed to the mage who was sitting down last.

When our eyes met, she looked up at me and asked.

“Until when….”

“…….”

“Until when do we have to endure?”

Well, I don’t know.

But still, if I were to answer honestly.

“A very long time.”

It will take more than a few years for us to be able to draw our swords.

But still, one thing is clear.

“….I see.”

Day 71 of the expedition.

In the ice cave of Ice Rock on the 7th floor.

On the frozen ice where the cold air rises from the ground.

“If we wait… If waiting is the way…!”

Even if it’s not a hot anger that burns itself.

Rather, because of that, a cold anger that will not go out even after time passes.

“I… I’ll wait too.”

We each engraved it in our hearts.