Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 105

Jensia Neiprin.

It’s a fake name she mainly uses when looting, but whatever.

Even entering the ‘Glacier Cave’ alone, she wasn’t particularly worried.

She was confident she could clear it solo after taking everyone else out.

She’d bought information that the ‘Frozen Breath’ dropped here and even studied the strategy.

However…

[…You won’t be a burden. I am Abman Urikfrit.]

Things went wrong from the start.

[I’m a Rank 6, and Mishal is a Rank 7 explorer. We mainly operated on the 4th floor originally.]

[I see, I’m a Rank 5.]

A Rank 5 archer, a Rank 6 barbarian, and a Rank 7 beastkin.

‘Why are these guys on the 1st floor at this time?’

It didn’t make any sense.

Even if it was a rift that opened on the first day, she figured at most one or two Rank 7 or 8 would enter.

‘Anyway, what do I do now?’

Originally, she planned to play around and enjoy her ‘hobby,’ then take down the guardian alone and leave.

Because word shouldn’t leak out to the city.

Her equipment, skills, and appearance were already known to the guild.

If it got out that she was alive, it would definitely cause trouble.

‘It’s too risky to take them on alone, should I just stay quiet this time and aim for the next one?’

She thought that at first, but her thoughts gradually changed.

Life is sometimes when a crisis can act as an opportunity, isn’t it?

‘Tsk, I can wait 3 months, but it’s still a shame, isn’t it?’

Thanks to her extensive looting experience, she could roughly estimate the value just by glancing.

‘The archer is worth 30 million, the barbarian is 6 million, and that cat over there… hmm, about 3 million.’

A total of 39 million stones.

It’s not easy to loot this much in the labyrinth, especially for a lone looter like her.

‘Okay, let’s do it.’

Soon, she tried to come up with a plan again.

If she used the special situation of being inside the rift, it seemed like she could find an opening.

‘The problem is this archer bastard…’

The barbarian and beastkin were low-ranked, and since they were warrior types, she wasn’t particularly afraid of them.

They were unlikely to have detection abilities, so even in a 2:1 situation, she was confident she could win.

But one of them was different.

‘Why is he so thorough?’

He was experienced, as expected of a high-ranking explorer.

He tried to hide his abilities in front of strangers as much as possible, and every time she tried to slip into a blind spot, he habitually shifted his gaze to her.

It was the same when they lit a campfire and slept.

The archer sat with his back to the wall, making sure she and Carlson were within his field of vision.

‘Ha, it’s like he’s a security camera. He didn’t even care about that cat being behind him.’

Is it because they’re the same beastkin race?

The archer was particularly wary of Carlson and her, not showing any openings.

Of course, it didn’t seem like he noticed anything.

It was probably just a habit.

Something that became natural as he gained experience.

‘……That’s why humans are so lame.’

She waited patiently.

[And I ate the essence of a goblin archer, and I’ve been trained as a scout since I was young, so I have some knowledge of traps and mechanical devices.]

As she had revealed when she first introduced herself, she acted like a novice to lower their guard.

And as she did, the moment arrived.

[I guess I’ll have to use some power this time.]

The archer finally pulled out a new ability.

She had already roughly identified the four essences he had. Finally, it was the ability of the ‘Soul Beast’ that she was most wary of.

[Gaaaaaak!!]

A gray bear roared and ran on all fours.

As soon as she saw it, the corners of her mouth curled up.

The archer was a summoner.

Not one with detection abilities, but a tank-type summon that could only act as a meat shield.

Also, as if the heavens were helping.

Thud-!

The barbarian was hit in the head with a hammer and collapsed.

It seemed too futile for a Rank 6 explorer, but considering that his agility stat was reduced due to [Hypothermia], it wasn’t unbelievable.

Or maybe even the Rank 6 was a lie.

In the first place, that barbarian wasn’t that important.

「The character has cast [Armor Shift].」

She used a skill to change her equipment.

A worn-out sword turned into a poisoned sword, and the other parts also transformed into equipment specialized for one-on-one combat that she had collected piece by piece.

And in that state.

「The character has cast [Beast Step].」

「Gains superior stealth and greatly increased movement speed for 3 seconds.」

She activated stealth.

It was what she usually introduced as the essence of a goblin archer when doing her ‘hobby.’

Thump-

She ran forward, pushing off the ground hard, but thanks to the superior stealth buff, her footsteps were extremely faint.

The archer, who was distracted by the orc, hadn’t even noticed her movement yet.

「The character has cast [Retaliation].」

「For the first strike, penetration and cutting power are greatly increased, and the ‘Bleeding’ status is applied.」

Soon, her sword tore through the target’s abdomen.

It was surprising.

Because she originally intended to stab the heart.

‘He was able to react to that.’

Of course, it wasn’t a meaningful struggle.

She felt the texture of his intestines at the tip of her sword, and she had already applied poison.

Nothing changes.

He just died a more painful death.

“Cough!”

She was about to enjoy the afterglow while looking at the archer’s face spitting blood, when.

Clang!

Something hit her head and broke, spilling a sticky liquid.

“W-what is it!”

When she checked, it was the cat’s doing.

“You, what did you do to me…”

As she retreated, thinking something was wrong.

The barbarian, who had been unconscious, was seen getting up in her field of vision.

“What, what is it…”

She couldn’t understand at all.

From using the skill to succeeding in the surprise attack, it hadn’t even been about 2 seconds.

And she knew from experience.

When someone is ambushed, they usually scream in surprise with a face full of betrayal.

That’s the usual reaction.

But what about this cat?

She rushed in and broke the bottle as if she had been waiting for this moment, and…

So did that barbarian who got up fine.

They don’t ask why they betrayed her.

As if there was no need to.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

They just charged in, shouting.

Through that unusual behavior, she deduced one thing.

No, it would be more accurate to say she realized it.

‘Could it be… they knew I would do this?’

It wasn’t that something was wrong.

「The character has cast [Beast Step].」

「Stealth is canceled by the Witch’s Lamp solvent.」

Something was very wrong.

***

「The character has used [Wild Outburst].」

***

At the same time as calling out to my ancestors.

Vitality filled my whole body, and the ice orc that was beating up Carlson was drawn to me.

[Chwi, chwiik?]

Of course, there was no problem.

I got hit in the head earlier, and it was just bearable.

In that sense…

Dash-!

I ignored the orc and dashed.

As I moved my thick barbarian legs without rest, the distance quickly narrowed.

Jensia still had a blank face.

Well, she wouldn’t understand.

She succeeded in the surprise attack more perfectly than anyone else, so how could she know that someone had noticed it beforehand?

Chuckling.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed it either.

If she had entered the rift I opened, I would have just thought she was a normal low-level explorer.

I would have just ignored the dirt on her shoes and everything.

Well, I would have been careful of a backstab though.

‘Why are there so many bastards in this world?’

Ah, maybe she’s not from here?

I erased the thoughts that were rising like heat haze and kicked the ground hard once more.

It was that moment.

“Uh…?”

Jensia’s face turned pale.

It seemed like she had finally realized it.

That her stealth ability had become useless.

“W-why is this…”

Stealth was probably her trump card.

She was probably planning to take down the bear first, then use stealth to kill them one by one.

Assuming there were no mages or detection ability users, it was a skill that showed immense power in one-on-one combat, even if you were above intermediate level.

In fact, it was an ability that warrior types had no choice but to suffer.

I only had one thing to say.

“You moron.”

If you were going to hide your identity, you should have watched your mouth?

If you hadn’t blabbered about eating the essence of a goblin archer, I wouldn’t have known about stealth either.

Whoosh-!

As soon as I was in range, I swung my mace.

But was she not trying to get by with just stealth?

Jensia nimbly did a somersault to the side and avoided my attack.

But what to do?

That’s where the cat is.

“You damn bitch!”

“Ugh!”

She was just standing still, but Jensia returned to my side again to avoid Misha’s slash.

Somehow, it seemed like she would avoid big mace swings.

That’s why…

Whack!

It was a shield smash after a long time.

As I smacked her face with my shield like receiving a tennis ball, Jensia’s body flew like a piece of paper.

But did she invest stats in defense too?

Even though it felt good, Jensia didn’t even get stunned, and she balanced herself in mid-air and landed.

Trickle.

She shouted annoyedly, with blood dripping from both nostrils.

“These damn NPC bastards…!”

So, you really were a player.

She’s the first person I’ve met from my hometown after Tarikan Liyen, but…

Still, nothing changes.

Whether you’re a player or just a looter, those who tried to kill me are all the same ‘bastards.’

“Bjorn! Be careful!”

Huh?

I was about to dash once more and smash that bitch’s head this time, when I turned around at Misha’s shout and saw the orc.

[Chwiik!]

He didn’t even understand the situation and was swinging his axe down to split my head open.

It was a bit much to take it with my head, so I turned my head.

Then, the huge axe blade hit the shoulder line of my lightinium breastplate.

Clang!

My bones are a little chilly, but it’s not significant damage.

Therefore, I ignored it and continued my dash this time too.

Because if he dies, the final boss will appear.

But was my appearance, not budging at the orc’s attack, somewhat impressive?

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!”

As I ran forward with a roar, as if I had become a tank that deflected bullets, Jensia desperately ran away.

She was running towards the entrance we came in from.

I wondered what was going on and followed her, and soon Jensia stopped walking.

“Uh, why is there a wall…”

What is it?

I thought there might be other elements, so I followed her diligently.

Was she just a moron?

Chuckling.

It was kind of funny.

She called us NPCs, but she’s a player and doesn’t even know this. When you enter the third chapter, the ceiling collapses and the path is blocked.

In other words, she didn’t even know that and ran into a dead end herself while trying to escape.

So, I slowed down too.

A cornered rat can bite a cat.

I need to be a little more careful.

Thump.

I slowly took a step, covering my upper body with my shield.

It’s a passage big enough for two or three people to pass through, but I’m a big and precious barbarian warrior.

You can assume there’s no gap to break through.

Clang-!

Well, even in the midst of this, the orc bastard hit me in the back of the head again…

“Bjorn! I’ll take care of this guy!”

After Misha’s shout, that didn’t happen anymore.

“Don’t kill him.”

“Huh? Okay, I got it!”

I took another step.

The distance between me and that bitch was only 2m now.

In fact, we were both within each other’s radius, but Jensia couldn’t bring herself to attack rashly.

The hierarchy had already been decided in her mind.

Thump.

I took another step more confidently.

Only then did Jensia shout urgently.

“Wait! Let’s talk! There’s a misunderstanding…”

What misunderstanding?

She just wants to buy time.

I saw her sword glowing red earlier, so it seems like she’s using [Retaliation].

‘Was the cooldown 3 minutes?’

That was based on not having a cooldown reduction setup.

In other words, for the next 2 minutes, there’s no way that bitch can break through my shield—

Whoosh!

Whether it was a negotiation attempt to distract me from the start, Jensia cut off her words and swung her sword.

Clack, Whack!

I quickly blocked it with my shield and broke her wrist with my mace at the same time. Her wrist bent strangely and the sword fell to the floor.

Clatter.

It looked like a checkmate for now.

Unless that bitch has more skills or equipment effects to overcome this situation.

I can’t be sure yet.

So, it’s better to eliminate the variables.

She might have hidden a self-destruct skill or something.

“Misunderstanding? Tell me about it in detail.”

“Really… will you believe me?”

“If it’s a story that has a reason to be.”

Jensia’s eyes went blank at my words.

It seems like she’s thinking of a story that can convince me in her head.

No, even if she can’t convince me, she probably wants to buy time by telling a plausible story.

“I… I don’t know if you’ll believe—”

The moment Jensia’s lips opened.

I smashed her head with my mace.

Whack-!

She was showing quite agile movements, but this time she couldn’t even react and just collapsed.

Thud.

Soon, Jensia convulsed and moved her mouth.

It seemed like she wanted to say something…

Chuckling.

Looking at her eyes, I think I know what she wants to say.

Why didn’t I keep my promise?

I answered honestly, like a barbarian.

“To believe that, do you have a problem with your head?”

Of course, it’s a lie.