Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 141

Three minutes had passed since Dwarki’s magic support had stopped.

Well, maybe it was shorter than that.

But it felt like at least ten minutes had gone by.

“I’ll admit it, Barbarian. You’re the first of your kind I’ve ever seen.”

I didn’t look back even once.

Whether it was his attempt to sow discord or not.

Even if Dwarki was actually having a mental breakdown and was in a panic.

I judged that nothing would change.

But did I seem boring to him?

“I’ll make good use of your soul in a good place. So, just die already.”

It was as if the game was over.

The guy pulled out a dagger from his waist and thrust it at me.

The angle was so perfect that it seemed impossible to block or dodge.

At best, I could only choose the lesser of two evils.

I twisted my body as much as possible to offer my lung instead of my heart.

It would be a near-fatal injury, but I still had a top-grade potion left, didn’t I?

After drinking it and healing.

Let’s just hold on somehow.

Misha and the dwarf will wake up soon.

Also, soul exhaustion won’t last forever.

I was about to make a plan in a split second and put it into action.

When a dazzling light poured down from behind me.

Swishhhhh-!

Scores of mana arrows, emitting a pure white glow and curving, like a downpour, made the guy panic and step back.

But just like the dwarf, Rotmiller, and Misha who had faced him.

It wasn’t a meaningful response.

Whoosh!

The arrows of light curved as if each had its own will and chased after the guy.

So, the guy stopped running and began to deflect each arrow with his small dagger.

It didn’t look much different from scooping water from a river with a bucket, but…….

‘Crazy.’

Surprisingly, his actions worked.

Although he was now a hedgehog with light arrows piercing his entire body, he had succeeded in protecting his vital points.

Thud.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps from behind, and only then did I come to my senses.

I had expected it to some extent, but…….

Dwarki was standing behind me.

In other words, he was the one who used the magic just now.

“I apologize for making you wait. It took me a while to make up my mind.”

“Make up your mind? More than that, what the heck—”

“That’s… let’s talk about it after we take care of him.”

Dwarki turned his gaze away as if avoiding the answer.

Seeing him like this, it definitely doesn’t seem like he’s someone else…….

‘What the heck is it?’

It doesn’t make any sense.

Mana so dense that even a barbarian with zero mana aptitude could feel it was flowing from his body.

And it wasn’t just me who was curious.

“Mage, what the hell did you do?”

The guy asked, even while dripping blood all over his body.

Man, if I were him, I would have run away first—

“You’re asking even though you already know.”

What? He knows?

As Dwarki coldly muttered while looking at the guy, the guy became speechless.

What, does he really know?

“If you’re thinking of stalling for time, I’m sorry to say. I know better than anyone that there isn’t much time left.”

What is it? What the heck is going on?

No, more than that, was he always this decisive?

It’s been a long time since my head couldn’t keep up with the current situation.

But even so, one thing is clear.

It’s an extremely positive variable for me.

‘I can ask how he did it later…….’

I focus on the situation.

Tap.

And Dwarki said to me.

“Step back. You might get hurt.”

“Ah, okay. I will.”

His character change is so jarring that I can’t adapt, but I followed what he said for now.

But what is this again?

「Riol Worb Dwarki has cast the 8th-grade attack magic [Ice Lance].」

An ice lance is fired.

A huge ice lance that fills half the passage.

Twice in a row.

Fwoooosh-!!

It was fired at the guy with truly overwhelming wind pressure.

But is it because he has a lot of experience with magic of this scale?

The guy calmly stared at the ice lance, then quickly took out the Arcane Longsword from his subspace [a personal storage dimension].

Crackling-!

The sword was sparking as if rejecting the guy’s touch. However, the guy stubbornly grabbed it, veins popping out of his neck, and swung it.

Kwaaang-!

As expected of the Arcane Longsword, which has the property of countering magic, the huge ice lance shattered into pieces and scattered as mana just by touching the sword.

In that state.

Tap.

The guy kicked off the ground again and closed the distance.

Dwarki’s eyes flickered slightly, so it seems that even this was unexpected for him.

But that time was not long.

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

The magic was cast after completing the incantation in less than a second.

Swishhhhh-!

At this point, it’s not just ice shards but small ice lances pouring down…….

But this damn Arcane Longsword was the problem again.

Beyond the blizzard, the guy’s figure was getting closer and closer.

When it became visible to the naked eye, the guy was seen advancing, deflecting only large chunks of ice with his sword.

‘Yeah, he’s not going to make it easy until the end.’

I let out a silent sigh and prepared for what would happen next.

There was nothing particularly special.

My life was far from easy…….

Isn’t it the fate of a tank to protect the dealer [a damage-focused character]?

“Behel—raaaaaaa!!”

First strike is a sure win.

I swung my mace, aiming for the moment the guy emerged from the blizzard.

But was he still paying attention to me even in that situation?

Even though it was a surprise attack that I was quite confident in, the guy reacted quickly and blocked the mace with his sword.

A clash between 1st-grade material steel and 6th-grade material Arc.

Scrape-!

Regardless of thickness or density, the mace was cut like tofu. But the guy wasn’t satisfied with this and aimed for my neck.

However, at that moment.

Crackling-!!

Sparks flew wildly from the sword, and the guy flinched.

His hand was red-hot and even steaming.

Is it related to that sword that his whole body is covered in burns? I don’t know the details, but the guy must have judged that it was no longer possible and put the sword back into his subspace.

And…….

Tap.

He pulled out a dagger again and stuck to me.

The guy’s goal was very clear.

Yeah, I wondered why he was so desperately running through the magic, but that’s what he was aiming for.

“Bjorn, get away from him!”

It’s a strategy similar to the Barbarian leech mode I used earlier.

Using me as a shield to suppress Dwarki’s magic.

Ha, I didn’t think I’d fall for this.

「Riol Worb Dwarki has cast the 9th-grade curse magic [Slow].」

Curse magic was stacked on the guy instead of attack magic, but it wasn’t easy to shake him off because he was stubbornly sticking to me and swinging his dagger.

Therefore.

‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’

I thrust the mace, which had turned into a spear, forward.

You don’t have to die just by getting hit by magic, do you?

Thwack.

Thanks to the enhanced ‘Slow,’ he wasn’t as difficult to deal with as before.

Also, Dwarki is supporting me by controlling small mana arrows in detail instead of ice lances or blizzards.

It’s clearly a favorable situation for me.

But that’s why I’m even more on edge.

‘Does he really not know that?’

The guy knew about the current situation where Dwarki avoided answering.

Yet, he rushed at me.

Why was that?

[I know better than anyone that there isn’t much time left.]

The answer is time.

The time Dwarki can maintain his current state is short.

Maybe this guy knows more about the remaining time than Dwarki does.

“Dwarki, use Blizzard!”

I made a decision.

“……!”

Looking at the guy’s expression, I was right.

However, Dwarki hesitated.

“But……!”

Even though he’s changed a bit, Dwarki is still Dwarki.

“Don’t worry about me and just use it!!”

At the same time as my urging shout, Dwarki cast the magic.

Cold air swirling above Dwarki’s hand.

“Are you good at enduring the cold?”

“You crazy bastard.”

Man, he’s giving me compliments again.

I raised my shield and created some distance from the guy.

I was planning to hold on somehow by blocking the ice chunks with my shield.

Swishhhhhhhh-!

The blizzard soon filled the passage where we were, and my skin froze.

But what is this again?

The guy thrust his dagger through the blizzard, which was so thick that it was hard to see even an inch ahead.

Thwack!

The blade, about 20cm long, pierced deep into my lung.

“Cough!”

I couldn’t breathe.

In the meantime, chunks of ice were flying and hitting my body. Sharp crystals like ice lances grazed my skin.

But I can’t just sit here and take it.

Thwack!

My body reacted first and thrust the spear, which was once a mace, with all my might.

And at that moment.

Swishhhhh-

The blizzard ended earlier than expected, and my vision returned.

I quickly checked the surrounding space first.

Surprisingly, three unexpected things had happened in that short moment.

“…….”

Dwarki, who was kneeling and bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears, was the first.

“…….”

The second was that the spear I had stabbed randomly had pierced the guy’s heart.

「The activation condition for Regal Bagos’s [Second Heart] has been met.」

The third was that the guy had one more Numbers item that he hadn’t used yet.

Ha, I really didn’t want to swear like this anymore if I could help it.

「You are under absolute protection until your heart is restored.」

What a goddamn crazy son of a bitch.

***

Something red, reminiscent of muscle, covered the guy’s body.

Looking at this, I thought.

How the hell can I kill this bastard?

Is he even a being that can die?

I don’t know, but I spat out blood for now.

“Kueeeck! Cough, keheck!”

A heart-shaped shell that doesn’t even make a corrosive sound despite being covered in acidic blood.

I turned my back without any regrets.

No.3120 Second Heart.

A consumable Numbers item that activates when a fatal damage is dealt to the heart.

With my current level, there’s no way I can break that barrier.

So, I should take care of what I need to do first.

Thud, thud.

I took slow steps, dragging my body that couldn’t even breathe properly.

It’s fortunate that Dwarki is an ice-attribute mage.

If it wasn’t for the ‘frostbite’ status, blood would already be pouring out.

“D, warki.”

Dwarki, who had lost consciousness while kneeling, was in a state that was beyond miserable.

Blood was flowing from every hole in his body.

When I checked his pulse, I could feel his heart pounding.

As if the speed limit was broken.

“P, please…… hold on.”

Since there were no external injuries, I poured a top-grade potion into his mouth.

Just half of it.

Because there’s another person dying right now.

Thud, thud.

I took steps as quickly as possible.

My stomach twisted and I felt suffocated with every step, but I used the spear as a cane to increase my speed.

“Rot, miller…….”

Fortunately, he was alive.

Well, at least for now.

He was heading towards death in a completely different way than Dwarki.

A heart beating faintly as if it would stop at any moment.

I poured all the remaining top-grade potion on his wounds.

Fzzzz-!

The wounds began to heal, bubbling and boiling.

I leaned against him and focused on breathing.

I kept coughing and spitting out blood.

But all I could do was endure it somehow and wait for Rotmiller to recover.

Because the remaining two potions are all in this old man’s [Treasure Vault] [a personal storage dimension].

About a minute passed since then?

“B, Bjorn……!”

The dwarf, who had been knocked out after hitting his head against the wall, regained consciousness.

“Where’s Dwarki? Where is Dwarki?”

Man, I’m dying too.

Is his best friend his priority?

I didn’t have the strength to speak, so I pointed in the direction where Dwarki was.

“W, what the hell happened……!”

The guy rushed over and checked Dwarki’s condition, then carefully carried him over to us.

It was then.

“Ugh…….”

Misha, who had been lying down about 4m away from the wall I was leaning on, struggled to raise her head.

“……Bjorn.”

“You’re alive.”

“That’s, a relief…….”

Yeah, you’re the only one I can rely on.

Misha struggled to get up, touching the area near her broken ribs.

And she came over and sat next to me.

“Rot, miller……?”

“Potion, cough…… gave it to him.”

Ha, it’s like a gathering of the sick.

I was about to rest when the dwarf, who had finished transporting Dwarki, came to me and wrapped bandages around my wounds.

“Bjorn, what happened! And what’s that strange shell over there?”

I didn’t want to explain.

I didn’t have the energy, and what would change if I did?

I focused on breathing and closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry. You must be tired too, rest. I’ll try to do something about the rest.”

The dwarf apologized and went back to check on Dwarki again.

About a minute passed like that.

「Soul Exhaustion has been lifted.」

Finally, my stats returned to normal, and it became a little easier to breathe. Even without natural regeneration, the durability of my body itself changes.

I slowly opened my eyes.

“……Hey! My friend, hang in there!”

“B, Bjorn……? Rotmiller is trembling, is, is he okay……?”

The line between life and death was being drawn.