Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 460

Proof (1)

The berserk pattern had a time limit of about 10 minutes.

After that, Liakis would quickly recover, nullifying all the players’ efforts.

However, 10 minutes was a fairly reasonable time.

At least, by the standards of [Dungeon & Stone], where far more absurd situations often occurred.

「Purification rate 3%.」

We just needed to land one more solid hit within those 10 minutes.

Then, the boss fight would end completely, without any additional patterns or phases. So, I wasn’t getting impatient and tried to finish the last part as safely as possible.

But….

Whoosh-!

Erwen’s fully charged arrow flew through the air.

Is it because both of my eyes are upgraded?

It felt like the boss saw it and dodged it just now….

[…….]

Ugh, I really wish it would just die already.

We’re really running out of time.

「Purification rate 7%.」

The longer the battle went on, the more impatient I became.

But, was I the only one feeling that way?

“Erwen! What are you doing, shooting arrows like that?!”

“If you’re so dissatisfied, why don’t you try doing something yourself!”

“……Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Ainar, who habitually blamed the ranged dealer, shouted and jumped high. Then, he slammed his greatsword onto the back of its neck.

Swoosh-!

It still wasn’t a deep cut.

Perhaps because of that, Ainar was more reckless than usual.

Whoosh-!

Ainar, having regained his balance on its shoulder, swung his greatsword down once more.

However, the attack didn’t land squarely.

“…Ugh!!”

The tail wrapped around Ainar’s waist like a tentacle, lightly lifting him up.

Fortunately, Amelia, who was nearby, quickly swung her daggers and rescued Ainar.

“Ugh, ugh! …Th, thank—.”

“Calm down, barbarian. At least during battle.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry!”

“Apologize properly to that kid later too. She’s the one who contributed the most after Yandel.”

“……Erwen! I’m sorry! For nagging you about not hitting!”

“…I didn’t even care anyway.”

A heartwarming scene where Amelia scolded Ainar, and Erwen awkwardly accepted Ainar’s apology.

From a team leader’s perspective, it was a very desirable thing.

However, I don’t know why they’re doing that during a fight.

Especially when time is so tight.

“Hit it one more time instead of doing that!”

I shouted, a bit annoyed, and they seemed to have come to their senses, ending their conversation and focusing on the battle.

Thud-!

Just in time, the front paw was swung down once more.

Rather than taking the full impact of the shield, I took a step back to deflect the shock.

‘It’s still manageable.’

I forcibly calmed my impatient heart.

「Purification rate 9%.」

For now, our condition isn’t bad.

It’s true that the dealers’ MP [Mana Points] is running low, as they’ve been pouring out damage for over 30 minutes without any rotation.

But that’s all.

Because for this kind of boss monster, the raid difficulty drops dramatically from the moment it can be held.

[Grooooooo-!!]

Anyway, it started making noise again, so it seems the purification rate is now at 10%….

It’s not really an important part.

What does the purification rate matter when the Sawtooth Clan is approaching?

“Erwen, how much time is left until the next strike?”

“About 75 seconds!”

Okay, then we should consider this our last chance.

“Uaaaaaaaah!!”

I shouted randomly and stuck closer to Liakis.

Originally, in these kinds of boss fights, you have to periodically raise your threat level with [Wild Outburst] to prevent aggro [aggression] from being released.

Ziiik-!

For me, I can just block with my shield and take a step back, but that’s not the case for the dealers.

[Purification rate 15%]

If I get hit properly by that paw, even the relatively sturdy Ainar wouldn’t last a few hits and would be crushed.

That’s how most of the Layered Monarch’s normal attacks feel.

Why else would I have tried to just draw aggro and run away in Phase 3?

If it’s not a situation like Phase 4 where it’s 100% physical damage, it’s impossible for me to tank alone without a priest and a mage—.

“Mister!”

Huh? Is the charging already done?

Only 62 seconds have passed.

“They’re here!”

It was a short shout with the subject missing, but I understood what she meant right away.

‘Damn it.’

It hasn’t even been 3 minutes since I first sensed them.

How hard did they run?

As I blocked Liakis’s attack and scanned the surroundings, Erwen gave me the necessary information.

“Right!”

When I shifted my gaze to the right, I saw a group of dozens of people growing in size in real-time in the distance.

Therefore….

Thud-!

I threw my shield and hammer to the ground.

“……?”

Amelia, who made eye contact with me, flinched, then widened her eyes as she saw me running towards her with my hands outstretched.

Yeah, where else would you see such a spectacle?

Tap.

I leaped off the ground and wrapped my arms around the giant monster’s neck as if I was going to pounce on it.

And….

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

Using the momentum of my run, I climbed onto its back as if rotating.

Squeeze.

I squeezed its neck with all my might with both arms.

It’s called….

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

Giant Barbarian Choke.

In a way, it was similar to when I was wrestling with a troll on the 4th floor, but there were two differences from that time.

One was that both the one doing it and the one being done to were several times bigger.

And the second was….

‘What kind of power is this…….’

I can’t hold it as perfectly as I did back then.

[Grooooooo——!!]

The legs that were holding the two front paws together with a tight grip were easily released as it stood up on its hind legs as if it was walking on two legs. Well, just because the size is similar doesn’t mean the strength is similar.

“B, Bjorn!!”

Soon, it stood up on its hind legs as if walking on two legs, and grabbed my arms that were choking its neck with its huge front paws.

‘72 seconds.’

A struggle between the one trying to hold on and the monster trying to break free.

‘73 seconds.’

I tried my best to hold on, but it was not enough.

Crack.

The wrist part of the already half-ruined Lytinium armor was crushed like a tin can, and at the same time, the arms that were choking its neck were released without strength.

‘74 seconds.’

But, so what?

“You’re too late, you bastard.”

75 seconds.

Finally, Erwen’s charging was complete.

And this guy is in a good position with his guard down trying to get me off—.

‘76 seconds…….’

What, why isn’t she shooting?

As I looked ahead with a question, I saw Erwen frozen with her bow drawn.

Whew, thankfully, I didn’t miscalculate the time.

“Shoot—!!!”

As soon as I shouted as if urging her, a flash of light occurred.

Whoosh-!

So this is what it looks like from this angle.

It’s like real thunder is striking—.

Kwaaaaaaaang-!

Soon, there was a powerful explosion that temporarily blew away my consciousness, and when I came to my senses, I was rolling on the bare ground.

Beeeep-!

I could hear ringing in my ears.

But well, it’s not like my ears are important anyway.

「The Chaos Lord Liakis has activated [Contaminated Heart].」

I quickly got up and looked in the direction where it was.

[—, ———————!!!]

The monster, whose whole body was dyed black, was wailing as if in pain, but I couldn’t hear the sound.

「The contaminated power begins to run wild again.」

Its body, which was like a water balloon being squeezed, was repeatedly swelling and shrinking.

Ainar and Amelia were keeping their distance from Liakis, aiming their weapons as if on guard.

Come on, it’s all over, you don’t have to do that anymore.

「The Ancient Pilgrim rejects the contaminated power.」

Soon, the monster’s body, which was undergoing transformations like an unstable substance, swelled up as if it was exploding.

And….

Flash-!

A fierce flash of light burst out as if a nuclear bomb had exploded right in front of me. Although the color was dark red, it was still a dazzling light.

「The Ancient Pilgrim disappears.」

Soon, the light faded and my vision slowly returned.

The changes were simultaneous.

“———, ———!!”

The labyrinth was no longer glowing red.

Also.

「You have defeated the Chaos Lord Liakis. EXP +100」

「Layered Monarch kill bonus. EXP +15」

In the place where it had been, only particles of light, split into thousands and tens of thousands, were scattered.

「Achievement unlocked」

Condition: First Layered Monarch kill.

Reward: Your Soul Power stat permanently increases by +50.

It really meant the hunt was over.

「Achievement unlocked」

Condition: Defeat the Chaos Lord Liakis.

Reward: ???

A strange emotion filled me.

Although it was me who landed the last hit, I had personally defeated that monster that I had to run away from years ago without even daring to fight back.

However, there was no time to indulge in sentiment.

The end of the raid meant it was time to collect the rewards.

Swishhhhhh.

I checked the light particles that were still scattering like cherry blossoms in spring.

What could have come out?

Thump-!

My heart started beating like crazy.

First of all, there are three rewards that a Layered Monarch gives.

A Layered Relic, which is a higher tier than Numbers items.

A Layered Stone that allows you to open a rift in the corresponding layer once.

And….

‘Please, essence, essence, essence, essence……!!’

A Layered Essence, which is more important than even a 1st-grade essence in some ways.

‘Layered Relics are good too, but still, essence!!’

I waited for a moment with a praying heart, and soon the glow of the light particles faded, and the thing I had been waiting for finally appeared.

「No.9999 Beginner’s Luck has been activated.」

……It was an essence.

Neither a Layered Relic nor a Layered Stone dropped.

“Biyo—, —ssence ——!!!!”

“——!”

An essence dropped.

However, the problem was….

‘…Look at their expressions.’

The faces of the Sawtooth Clan members, who were now close enough for me to see their expressions, had become desperate.

“———!! ———!!!”

They even seemed to be shouting something urgently at me.

Unfortunately, I really couldn’t hear them.

So, what do I do now?

There was no need to waste precious time thinking about that.

As soon as I confirmed the essence, I moved my legs.

“Erwen!”

“—, —”

Erwen answered something, but I couldn’t understand because my hearing hadn’t fully recovered.

Therefore….

“S, —-, I— ————? —than, a——, —!!”

After grabbing Erwen’s slender waist with both hands and lifting her up.

“Explanations later.”

I threw Erwen as she was.

“…Kkya!”

I caught a strange sound as my hearing slowly recovered, but I didn’t care too much.

After all, I’m an experienced person.

‘It feels kind of nostalgic.’

I fed her the goblin essence like this back then too.

***

「The [Essence of Chaos] deeply permeates the soul of Erwen Fornachi di Tersia.」

***

“Uh, uh, uh…….”

These were the first words Erwen said after regaining her senses after absorbing the Essence of Chaos.

“Why, why did you give this to me……? Y, you should have taken it, Mister—.”

So that’s what she was trying to say earlier.

I appreciate her kindness, but she doesn’t need to feel so burdened.

“It was an essence I was going to give you someday anyway.”

To be precise, it was from the moment I found out that she had contracted with all four great spirits.

That’s when the true value of this essence is revealed.

Well, I didn’t expect her to eat it this quickly.

“B, but still, it’s a Layered Monarch’s essence…….”

“Why, are you thinking of just eating the essence and leaving me like you did with the goblin essence?”

“No! Absolutely not! There’s no way I would do that!”

Okay, then it’s settled.

After all, the Essence of Chaos doesn’t suit a barbarian. Well, since its value is so high, it would be much stronger than eating an average 3rd-grade core essence….

The Layered Monarch is limited to one per character.

‘And it’s impossible to remove this later at the temple.’

The Layered Monarch I’m going to eat is on a higher floor.

Yeah, so….

“Yandel.”

It’s time to focus on the present.

Because those guys have arrived here just in time.

“Baron Yandel, what in the world are you doing!”

The dagger-wielder, who was at the very front, shouted as soon as he arrived.

“I clearly told you to stop…!”

Come on, now they’re not even using honorifics properly?

“Ah, that. I didn’t hear it.”

“That’s absurd—!”

“Even if I had heard it, I wouldn’t have stopped.”

When I cut him off, the dagger-wielder stopped talking and glared at me.

Amelia called my name softly.

“Yandel.”

“I know.”

By now, the members of the Sawtooth Clan were surrounding us as if they were encircling us.

It was a skill that seemed like they had done it more than once.

It wasn’t like the dagger-wielder had given any instructions. Maybe this kind of thing had happened many times, so they were used to it.

However, I spoke without being intimidated at all.

“Malyde Kevron, the vice-captain of the Sawtooth Clan.”

“…Speak.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing right now?”

At my question, he boldly met my eyes and answered.

“What do you mean, what are we doing? We are simply asking the Baron. Why did you ‘plunder’ Liakis, whom we were attacking?”

“…….”

“As Baron Yandel, who is an explorer, knows, in the labyrinth, we do not show mercy to plunderers.”

Whew, I thought that if I just ate the essence, they would have no choice but to back down.

“Even if it’s something that doesn’t bring much profit.”

You guys are really pissed off.