Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 535

It’s been five days since the rainy season started. We escaped the village on our own and made it to the mainland.

[Grooooooo-!]

[Kkyeeeeeeek!]

[……Keheong! Keong! Keokeong!]

As expected, the surface was more than just a mess; it was utter chaos. Monsters were swarming everywhere, fighting each other, with blood and flesh flying around. However, there was a clear difference from the first day of the rainy season.

Crack-!

Monsters were still falling from the sky, but…

“…It’s decreased significantly.”

In fact, ‘decreased’ is an understatement. It’s almost non-existent compared to the first day. It’s like the rainfall went from 100mm to 1mm.

“That damn village chief.”

There’s no way he didn’t know about this. He must have known but didn’t tell me. ‘The rainy season needs to be dangerous so that they keep relying on the village and stay trapped longer.’ I thought he was a shady bastard again, and while I was glad I left the village on time, I cleared my head for now. As someone responsible for the lives of dozens of people, there are other things to focus on right now.

‘Fortunately… the village chief didn’t follow.’

I don’t know what other schemes he’s hiding, but for now, there’s a lot less to worry about. Therefore…

“Move into formation!” After giving the order quickly, “From now on, we’re leaving this island!” I presented a clear goal to the members and headed to the front. And…

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!” I blocked a monster’s teeth with my shield and smashed its jaw with my hammer, clearing a path. At the same time, “Mages, collect as many magic stones as you can!” I issued a new order. It’s a waste, isn’t it? Magic stones are everywhere, and if we just pass them by, we can’t call ourselves explorers. Well, I had to be mindful of the village chief before… ‘Now I don’t have to anymore.’ It’s something I’m realizing again, but hammering is really helpful in social life, especially in that it clearly changes any relationship.

Swishhhhhh-!

The mages continuously used looting magic, collecting mountains of magic stones. Their contribution to the battle against monsters decreased, but it wasn’t a big problem. Thanks to the variable that the number of monsters falling from the sky had greatly decreased, there was much more leeway. ‘At this rate… it might be possible for no one to die.’ As someone who had prepared for the worst, I was very happy with the situation. After that, I continued to wrestle with the most dangerous monsters at the very front, clearing the way. About 10 minutes passed.

「You have defeated the Steel Spirit. EXP+6」

「You have defeated the Baphomet.」

「You have defeated the Ainicon. EXP+6」

「You have defeated the Mud Golem.」

「You have defeated the Celestial Tree. EXP+5」

「You have defeated the Dakion…」

「…….」

As I was defeating various kinds of monsters that appeared indiscriminately, Ainar delivered good news. “Oooooh!! The soul! The soul! It’s filling up!!” Ainar, who I thought would reach that point soon, finally leveled up. “With this, I have become stronger once again!!” To say he’s become stronger, all that’s happened is his soul power has increased… Still, it was quite meaningful news. It meant that another slot had opened in the full essence slot after eating the Hipramant essence. ‘It seems like the Hectz Clan and Armin Expedition are also leveling up in real-time.’ Overall, the essence slots had increased by +1 to +2. I took special measures. “Um… Sir Baron! A 4th grade essence came out…” “From now on, anyone can eat the essences that come out! I won’t care about anything below 3rd grade!” The distribution ratio I had set was a waste, but if you think about it, there was nothing to lose. There’s no time to put them in test tubes anyway. It’s a welcome thing to increase our power even a little. “Waaaaaaa!!” This measure had a great impact on boosting the morale of the explorers. Like how perspectives differ even when looking at a half-empty glass of water, they started to see this situation of breaking through the pouring monsters not as a crisis but as an opportunity… ‘Not bad.’ The atmosphere itself was good to look at positively. However, you can’t overcome all adversities with just the atmosphere.

[Kkyooooooo-!]

A huge bird roared in the distance, blocking our path. Well, is it really a bird? Thud-! Ha, I knew things were going too smoothly. ‘……They’re not going to let us go easily.’ I took a long breath and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them. Unfortunately, nothing had changed from before. I wished I had seen it wrong. White feathers and wide-spread wings. A body reminiscent of a drake with a long neck sticking out like a giraffe. And at the end of that neck, even a face with features similar to a human. It was such a famous monster that fear came before disgust at its bizarre appearance. “I-It’s a Human-Faced Bird…!” A 2nd grade flying species, the Human-Faced Bird. It was the first hurdle in the process of escaping the island.

***

After flying down from the sky and landing on the ground, the corners of the creature’s eyes, which had been looking around us with a blank expression, curved strangely long. [Keeheeheeheeheehee.] Ha, why are there so many monsters with such gruesome appearances in [Dungeon & Stone]? It’s a different kind of disgusting feeling than the corpse golem. If I hadn’t built up resistance by actually meeting all sorts of monsters and fighting them with blood flying everywhere, I would have been horrified the moment I saw that face. Like this, without even giving an order right away, “Mages! Put up a protective barrier!” There are only a handful of explorers in this city who have experience fighting monsters of 2nd grade or higher, but I’ve caught those kinds of guys countless times, even if it’s a story within the game. It’s enough to give me the experience to make a judgment the moment I face it. Whoooom-! The moment the mages spread a translucent shield like an umbrella over their heads, the white parts of the Human-Faced Bird’s eyes turned black. And…

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Song of the End].」

Yellow pillars of light fell from the sky, so many that you couldn’t count them on your hands. Crash! Crash crash crash! Craaash-! Light pillars that fell for about 10 seconds, as if the sky was angry and judging, devastating the surroundings. The damage itself wasn’t that high compared to the effect, so it wasn’t enough to break through the barrier. But…

[Keeheeheeheehee-!]

Baby Human-Faced Birds rose from the spots where the light pillars had fallen. It’s a kind of token-type summoned monster… “What are you doing! Take those down first!” From now on, it’s a race against time. Those baby Human-Faced Birds will fully grow and start using skills after 1 minute. Should I say that infinite proliferation is theoretically possible? If those babies start using [Song of the End], then there’s really no answer—.

“Yandel, give the orders!” Ah, right, it’s not the time to think alone. “Erwen…” I was about to call Erwen out of habit, but I shut my mouth. She’s in a retired state right now. She used all her MP to escape the village, so she can’t intervene in the battle right now. But… ‘…Since when have I been relying only on Erwen?’ If you don’t have gums, you chew with your jawbone, that’s the barbarian spirit. “Emily, Misha! You two follow me! Ainar, you protect the main force… Bersil! You judge and act on all the rear support!” As I said that and dashed forward, Amelia and Misha stuck close behind me. Amelia was on the right, and Misha was on the left. ‘Oh, wait a minute.’ This position is…? “Yandel, let me tell you in advance.” “…Huh?” “If you try to do that again… I will kill you for sure.” Well, I guess it’s not going to work. “…That won’t happen.” “I’m… okay with it…” Regardless of Misha’s permission, I couldn’t force a fusion since one side was shuddering and refusing. In the first place, it’s not as huge as Hipramant, so there’s not enough justification. Thud-! Based on the state of [Transcendance] and [Gigantification], it’s about the same size as my eye level. Looking at how it’s staring only at me as if it’s fallen in love at first sight, it seems like the aggro is well-caught… “Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!” I ran straight in and slammed a shield charge into it.

[Kiyaaaaaaak-!]

The Human-Faced Bird staggered from the body blow with my weight behind it. Not missing the gap, Misha and Amelia scattered to the sides and started attacking the lower body. And at the same time, Flash-! Light burst from the black eyes of the Human-Faced Bird.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Mark of Destruction].」

Yeah, I knew it would hit me. Flames seemed to rise from my heart, and a pain surged.

「Your character’s health is decreasing by 1% per second.」

So, theoretically, I’ll die after 100 seconds? ‘Thinking about it again, it’s a crazy skill.’ [Mark of Destruction]. This skill, which belongs to a single-target ‘curse,’ cannot be evaded or defended against, but it also doesn’t have a duration. In other words, once you get hit, the curse lasts until that guy dies or I die… The strategy is very simple. “Uwaaaaaaaa!!” Just endure it with natural regeneration and the care of the priests. “Yandel! Are you okay?” “Don’t worry about me and swing your swords!” From the beginning, the Human-Faced Bird itself was designed so that you couldn’t win in a long battle. Therefore, I focused on taking the aggro and creating an environment where the dealers could attack, and soon, not only the melee line but also the ranged dealers joined in and launched a concentrated attack.

[Keeheeheeheehee…!]

As the battle dragged on, the Human-Faced Bird also used other skills in succession.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Mimicry].」

The huge human face on the huge body instantly changed into another person’s face. It was several times bigger than what I usually saw, but it wasn’t difficult to recognize that face. “Oh! It’s Emily! The monster turned into Emily!” [Mimicry]. That skill that randomly casts the skill of one of the characters within the radius.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Self-Replication].」

This is bullshit… ‘Why did it have to take that skill of all things?’ “Oh! There are two Emilys… no, three!!!” Somehow, the boss monster had doubled. In the meantime, the clone cast a new skill.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Song of the End].」

A pillar of light fell once more.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Mark of Destruction].」

「Your character’s health is decreasing by 2% per second.」

Ha, it’s already stacked twice. Will the priest be able to hold on? It was a meaningless worry. ‘Why do bad news always come one after another?’

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Song of the End].」

Soon, one of the baby Human-Faced Birds that had finally grown cast a skill. And with this.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Mark of Destruction].」

「Your character’s health is decreasing by 3% per second.」

It’s stacked three times. Ha… at this rate, the priest won’t be able to cover it 100%. The situation became complicated, but once you’re hit by [Mark of Destruction], escape is impossible. In the end, there’s only one answer. “Die, already!!” As a proud K-Barbarian, I ran at him with all my might, following the beliefs of Admiral Yi Sun-sin [a famous Korean admiral].

「Your character’s health is below 50%.」

「Due to the passive skill [Path of the Hero], all resistance and tolerance values increase.」

As the time I was allowed was running out, I became even more fierce.

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Guide].」

「The Human-Faced Bird has cast [Guardian Spirit].」

As the battle became more intense, the Human-Faced Bird also began to rampage like crazy. And how much time had passed again?

「Your character’s health is below 20%.」

「Due to the passive skill [Path of the Hero], the increase in all resistance and tolerance values has reached its maximum.」

I sensed that the battle would be decided no matter who won, and at that moment, Thud-! Four pieces of news were added. To sum it up, there were two good pieces of news and two bad pieces of news… First, the good news is very simple.

「You have defeated the Human-Faced Bird +EXP 8」

One, the Human-Faced Bird finally died. And…

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

Two, even an essence dropped. For reference, the color of the essence was white. ‘[Mimicry].’ It was impossible to strengthen it by using it as a core essence like [Song of the End], but it was a decent essence because of its versatility. However, the bad news here is… “What, what is that!” “A spear…? Why a spear all of a sudden…” Is it that we weren’t the ones who dealt the final blow to the Human-Faced Bird? Thud-! Something that appeared from the darkness grabbed the huge spear that had pierced the Human-Faced Bird’s head and was stuck in the ground. It wasn’t difficult to recognize its identity. A small (?) physique of about 3m. A human-like appearance with smooth, rock-colored skin like a statue. “Titanus…! It’s Titanus!” That another 2nd grade monster had appeared. That was the first bad news. And the second is… ‘Damn it.’ It was the red spear that Titanus was holding. No.7 Milayel’s Verdant Great Spear. ‘That… that bastard is holding that…?’ I couldn’t understand it at all, but my head calmly accepted the facts as they were.

「Milayel, the Celestial Spear Keeper who discovered a mortal, is greatly enraged.」

It’s a rift guardian.