Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 138

「The [Ogre’s Essence] permeates the character’s soul.」

「Strength increases by +140.」

「Magic Resistance increases by +80.」

「Physical Resistance increases by +40.」

「All Resistances increase by +10.」

「Natural Regeneration decreases by -40.」

「Perception decreases by -20.」

I checked the time as soon as I opened my eyes.

Fortunately, not much time had passed.

Damn, I rushed to finish it just in case.

“……”

I watched my companions sleeping for a moment, then took out my knife.

And I drew it across the back of my hand as if sawing.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

After going back and forth about ten times with a tight grip, a drop of blood finally trickled out.

Looking at the wound that wouldn’t heal, it finally hit me.

The character’s concept really did change in an instant.

Clench.

I clenched my fist in the air.

The change in my body was clearly noticeable, but it wasn’t as drastic as when I acquired the Orc Hero essence.

It’s not something I can’t understand.

The Vampire essence disappeared, and the ‘Guardian of Balance’ is still in effect.

‘I’ll only really feel how much my strength has increased when I go outside.’

I was wary of the other side of the passage lit by the torch and took some time to calculate the gains and losses.

‘Ogre…’

Ogre.

A 3rd-grade monster with stats and skills that any tank would go crazy for. However, this guy’s essence wasn’t in my final build.

It wasn’t so much a matter of being unsuitable, but more of a practical reason.

A 3rd-grade monster that’s already hard to catch.

And on top of that, you have to get the color you want out of the seven active skills?

The acquisition difficulty is too high, and…

‘If it’s just ‘defense,’ the 4th-grade monster ‘Steel Giant’ is more efficient than this guy.’

‘But the Steel Giant has the disadvantage of not being able to use weapons.’

In the end, it came down to a matter of preference.

Do you want to take some damage, or focus more on tanking?

The performance difference between the two essences was subtle, so most players chose extreme tanking in most plays.

It was more reasonable to focus on raising a damage dealer with the effort it would take to get the Ogre essence.

In fact, that judgment was correct.

As a result, I was able to open the original version of the ‘Abyss Gate’ that no one else had reached.

But…

‘Strictly speaking, the Ogre is a bit better.’

Changing the growth method flexibly is the fun of this game, and it’s also a player’s skill.

From the beginning, it wasn’t like the final build was set in stone, like this is this and that is that.

Except for the core essences, everything was blank.

I had three or four candidates with similar performance for each role, and I took the one that came out first and moved on to the next.

What I wanted was to clear the game, not just to complete one main character.

‘It’s a bit of a shame that it’s not a yellow essence, but it’s not enough to change the entire growth method…’

I’m a little dazed.

I clearly expected the ‘Steel Giant’ as the best-case scenario and poured in the Vampire essence, but it’s like I got an even better result?

‘What’s the condition? If it’s a Vampire Guardian essence, does that mean a guardian is guaranteed and a 2-stage promotion is possible?’

Pure question.

My curiosity as a gamer is bubbling up, but I try to suppress my thoughts.

‘With this, is it 30%? No, maybe even 40%?’

I reassess my survival rate according to the changed situation and meticulously draw a new battle method in my head.

To increase the possibilities even a little more.

What I can do at this moment.

‘…It’s better to take off the armor. He’s not going to wait for me to get ready.’

Like a swordsman sharpening his sword the night before a decisive battle.

I refine my plan and find better options.

‘The decrease in perception isn’t as much of a penalty as I thought. With this level of strength ratio, I won’t be pushed back by force.’

The detailed pieces of the plan fit together one by one, forming a single shape.

However, the more it does, the faster my heart beats.

Thump-!

The future is like broken glass.

No one can perfectly predict the outcome.

No matter how complete the plan is, there will definitely be countless variables. Maybe from then on, I’ll have to deal with everything on the fly.

Like when the floor lord was summoned.

However, that’s why…

Thump-!

Is there more preparation I can do?

Is there anything I might have misunderstood?

Like facing an exam paper that determines my life, I repeatedly ponder without compromise.

How much time has passed?

“Bjorn.”

Lotmüller wakes up and quietly calls my name.

“Something is coming.”

It meant it was time.

I quickly woke up my companions and checked the time.

[09:47]

About 4 hours had passed since we rested.

In other words, at that time, there were about 38 hours left until the labyrinth closed.

“It’s faster than expected. It’s clear that they have a way to track us.”

I let Lotmüller’s advice go in one ear and out the other.

It was already information I knew, and…

If there was information I needed to engrave in my head right now, it wouldn’t be that.

‘Okay, it takes 4 hours to get from there to here.’

All the premises for the new Plan A were met.

So…

Thud.

I have no choice but to roll the dice now.

***

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 4

Physical: 424.4 (New +38.3) / Mental: 319.3 / Ability: 496 (New +150.6)

Item Level: 967

Total Combat Index: 1481.45 (New +188.9)

Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7 / Orc Hero – Rank 5 / Ogre – Rank 3 (New)

***

Thud, thud.

Footsteps emerge from the darkness at regular intervals.

It approaches us as if tightening a noose around our necks.

Not hastily, but slowly.

Thud-

Soon, he entered within our range of vision.

For reference, the companion is the same pitiful old man.

He must have been sacrificed again while looking for us, as blood was dripping from his squinted eye.

“That’s so cruel.”

“Why does that guy do that to his companions…”

Everyone frowned at the bizarre sight, but I silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Phew, he left that old man in front of the portal after all.

If he had come with us, there would have been no answer.

I was thinking that to myself.

Thud-

He stops walking at a reasonable distance.

And a heavy silence came.

“What, you’re all alive?”

He laughs lightly and speaks to us.

His reaction was far from what I had expected.

I thought it wouldn’t be strange if he just stabbed us in the gut with his sword.

What is it?

“I suddenly felt my power return, so I thought someone had died.”

All the discomfort was resolved by that remark.

That’s why.

‘I thought it was strangely docile.’

He hasn’t noticed yet.

That I swallowed the ‘Restrained Wish’.

Well, when I hear it, I guess he could think that way from his point of view.

Until the words that followed.

“Ah, right. Did you eat the Baikundus essence or something?”

Even in this situation, he’s suggesting new possibilities.

I felt like laughing.

‘I didn’t know this bastard could do a set answer.’

It’s a 3rd-grade essence.

Even if eight people share the stats due to the Guardian of Balance, the increase is incomparable to Baikundus.

He must have felt that clearly.

But…

He’s already decided on the answer he wants and is looking for evidence to prove it, so how can he reach the correct answer?

‘Dragon Slayer, Regal Bagos.’

I added another phrase about him in my head.

Surprisingly, this guy was a positive person.

But, did he feel something ominous about my laughter?

“…Barbarian, you kept your oath well, right?”

He drops his relaxed attitude and asks me.

I didn’t answer and just stared at him.

An expression that meant, ‘Why bother saying it?’

But even that wasn’t enough for him.

“The thing, where is that thing?”

He asks me again.

This time, his voice is laced with annoyance.

He tried to deny it because of the sunk cost, but he’s slowly starting to feel it himself.

The truth that he might have been played.

“…Could it be, did you already use it?”

He asked one last time, and I answered.

“Ah, it wasn’t intentional.”

“…What?”

“Sorry. I was just fiddling with it out of boredom, and it broke.”

Even with my sincere apology, he trembled like an aspen.

He was slowly accepting the truth.

The warrior’s oath.

That which barbarians, who only had honor, had protected as if sacrificing their lives.

That he had been tricked by it.

“You never intended to keep your oath from the beginning.”

A tingling killing intent reached me through my skin.

But I, as a K-Barbarian from Korea, proudly straightened my shoulders.

“Ah, I said I was sorry, didn’t I—”

“Die.”

By the time I heard the voice, I could already see the sword at close range.

He had closed that much distance in that short moment.

I was able to react in time because I was watching his every move while provoking him.

Swoosh.

I raise my shield.

And instead of blocking…

Clang-!

I hit the sword face with all my might.

It was a countermeasure I had created while simulating the battle with him during the remaining time.

It’s an Arc-grade longsword, after all.

If I just block it, it’ll just pierce a hole in the shield.

“Dwarki!”

As soon as I shouted, pushing him away with my overflowing strength.

The magic that had been briefed in advance is fired.

「Riol Worb Dwarki has cast a 7th-grade attack magic [Blizzard].」

Fortunately, it seems that they had completed the magic spell while I was talking and stalling for time.

Whoosh-!

Sharp ice shards swirl and fill the passage.

The cold was so intense that I felt chills even though I was sticking close to the wall and out of range.

However, ironically, a strange heat was felt at the end of the blizzard.

It was obvious what it was without looking.

「Regal Bagos has cast [Furnace].」

[Furnace].

One of the abilities of the 4th-grade monster Lava Giant.

When activated, it grants immunity to cold and fire damage, and greatly increases physical stats, a buff-type skill.

It’s information from 10 years ago, so I was a little worried.

He still had it, after all.

Sizzle-!

I tore the scroll without hesitation.

It was something I had obtained after defeating ‘Argos’, one of the mid-bosses, and it was supposed to be used to catch the Minotaur according to the textbook.

「The Flames of Greed detect fire-type skills within the radius.」

「Target designation complete.」

「The ‘Lava Giant’s Essence’ possessed by Regal Bagos is sealed for 48 hours.」

As the scroll burned and disappeared, the heat from the other side of the passage also ended.

Okay, I cut off one 4th-grade essence.

I wonder what happened to him.

Whoosh-!

The blizzard that had frozen the entire passage soon cleared.

He was standing there unharmed.

Behind a black, translucent barrier like a glass window, without any damage.

“Did you really believe in just this?”

He smiled bitterly at us.

If he thought this attack was a decisive move, it’s understandable.

But what to do?

‘I can’t believe things are going so well.’

The skill he just used was [Dark Barrier].

And this skill does not exist in the list of essences that Lotmüller told me about.

In other words, one of the variables I was wary of has been confirmed.

‘Now there’s only one or two remaining unconfirmed essences.’

Of course, he might have other number items, so I have to keep an eye on that too—

Whoosh-!

Before I could organize my thoughts, he lunged at me again.

I tried to hit the sword face with my shield like before, but he’s also an intelligent being that learns.

Whoosh-!

The shield cuts through the air.

When I realized it, I felt a slight pain and a foreign sensation in my shoulder area.

Slice!

When I checked, the Arc-grade longsword, which had been slicing through the lytenium shield like tofu, had pierced my forearm.

About 3cm deep.

“…?”

In the fleeting moment when our eyes met.

I could see the bewilderment in his eyes.

He was planning to cut off my entire arm, so why did it only pierce this much?

The answer is simple.

‘Dude, what’s my physical resistance stat right now?’

The Ogre’s passive skill [Iron Skin].

A crazy skill that doubles physical resistance, and doubles it again for slashing attacks.

If the stats are similar with the ‘Guardian of Balance’, it’s natural that even an Arc-grade longsword can withstand it.

But…

‘Damn, I didn’t plan to show it this early.’

Until the perfect opportunity came.

I wanted to hide it by blocking the sword with my shield if possible.

However, if it’s someone of his level, he should be able to deduce what essence’s ability this is just from this.

‘Head.’

Looking at his scorched scalp, I made a decision.

The active skill of the Ogre’s red essence, and

The first proper attack skill I got, since I only had attack skills like [Flesh Explosion].

I don’t know why the skill name of a guy with the nickname ‘Tyrant of the Forest’ is like this, but…

「The character has cast [Swing].」

「The destructive power of blunt weapons is greatly increased in proportion to strength.」

Well, as long as the effect is good, it’s fine.

Whoosh!

I swung the mace with all my might.