Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 212

The first floor of the crystal cave was shrouded in mist.

In that place, where corpses were strewn about and a fishy stench of blood filled the air, a man chuckled and chatted with his companion.

The conversation was nothing special. It was a vulgar exchange about whether the woman they had killed earlier was pretty, and if it was a bit of a waste—things like that.

Inevitably, it ended in complaints.

“Tch, being stuck here is so boring. Nothing fun ever happens.”

“Haha, think of it differently. It means it’s less dangerous.”

“…You’re unnecessarily optimistic.”

“But it’s not wrong, is it?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

The man suppressed his complaints and took out some jerky from his pocket, chewing on it. As a mere grunt, it was a rare occasion for him to eat meat.

Because Noah’s Ark, the group he belonged to, was suffering from a severe food shortage due to not being able to enter the labyrinth for seven months.

‘…Can we win?’

The man shook his head at the sudden anxiety that arose.

It’s not about whether they can win. They must win. Only then can they live like humans, even if that place is an underground city where not a single ray of light enters.

“Rex, focus on the mission.”

The man, who had been resting with his back against the wall, sighed and straightened his posture at the captain’s words.

“You look like you have a complaint.”

The man spoke honestly.

“It’s been over two hours and no one’s shown up.”

“So?”

“It means no one’s coming anyway. The guys who were going to go inside have already gone in, and the ones who weren’t have either died or run far away.”

Moreover, the area they were assigned to was quite far from the central dark zone, meaning there was no chance of encountering anyone coming from inside.

“Still, you never know, so keep an eye on your surroundings.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The man answered casually to the captain’s rigid words and stood at one of the crossroads. He couldn’t see far due to the fog, but he wasn’t anxious.

What problem would there be even if something popped out from over there?

‘How many people are here?’

It would just mean more loot to take back to Noah’s Ark later. That’s what he was thinking when it happened.

“Captain! I hear movement!”

A colleague who was on guard at another crossroads shouted. The man grabbed his weapon and moved towards that direction.

‘Someone actually came?’

It was a bit unexpected, but he still wasn’t anxious.

‘Is he someone who doesn’t know the situation here at all?’

That was probably it. If they knew even a little about the situation here, they wouldn’t even think about trying to pass through here. They must have just chosen this path without knowing anything—

“Huh?”

The man tilted his head. No, it wasn’t just him. Everyone was listening with questioning faces.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

What on earth was that sound?

“Footsteps?”

Someone muttered briefly, but that didn’t explain it either. How could that be human footsteps? Unless it was a large monster like a troll.

‘Wait, but there aren’t any monsters like that on the first floor?’

With an unknown sense of unease, the man tightened his grip on his weapon. That’s when it appeared.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaah!!”

It revealed itself, letting out a furious shout from beyond the misty fog.

“W-what the hell! What is that thing!!”

“Block it!!”

It was a single barbarian, with a very large physique.

***

Survival means subtraction. What will you discard to survive? This process is carried out strictly based on priorities, because humans are rational beasts.

Thump-!

It’s often shown in movies, isn’t it? The scene where they throw away baggage to make a helicopter fly, or to prevent a ship from sinking, or to escape from enemy pursuit. The more you throw away, the higher your chances of survival.

But……

Thump-!

Reality is different from movies. It’s not so kind. What we have to throw away for life is not baggage, but something else.

Thump-!

Perhaps Bersil knew that. That’s why she left us without any hesitation, leaving behind just these words: [I hope you won’t resent me.]

Of course, I don’t resent her, because I know it was a thoroughly rational decision. She had priorities, and to achieve them, she boldly discarded everything else, just like I am doing now.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaah!!!”

I shout, putting strength into my toes. From the shield I’m holding tightly in both hands, I feel a resistance I’ve never felt before in real time. It feels like I’m going against a tidal wave with just a shield. Well, maybe that’s not such a wrong description, even if it’s a bit of an exaggeration.

“W-what the hell! What is that thing!!”

“Block it!!”

I’m breaking through the path at the very front, to pass through a distance that would take 20 minutes by running. I’m pushing back the swarming enemies, like a tank on a battlefield.

“Bjorn!!!”

Right behind me, Misha is following. Her role is simple: to take care of the enemies that are pushed aside by my charge.

Swoosh-!

It doesn’t matter if she can’t kill them in one hit, because our goal isn’t to reduce their numbers, and… there are forces deployed behind her as well.

“Y-you damn bitch—!”

If Misha is the first filter, then the second filter is Raven, who is being carried by Einar, and Bear Ahjussi [a term of respect for an older man]. Enemies that Misha fails to eliminate are inevitably hit by crossbow bolts and magic before they can even get up. Of course, it’s not a problem even if it doesn’t end there, because there are many more filters left behind.

“Erwen, be careful!”

The ranged sister duo, Erwen and Daria. And right behind them, Takelan’s team, with an average rank of 5, and finally, the buck-toothed team at the very rear. It’s like a medieval cavalry.

“Aaaaaaaaah!!!”

The goal is only to charge. Enemies that are not eliminated at the front are dealt with by the rear forces that follow. Even if there are enemies that survive the last filter, it doesn’t matter. That’s a problem for the rearguard to handle, isn’t it?

‘They brought it on themselves.’

When I proposed this strategy and formed the formation, Bucktooth insisted on being at the very rear, even giving us the ranged elf sisters. His thoughts were obvious. He must have judged that the front line was the most dangerous since it was a charging formation, and he probably thought he could pull out if something unexpected happened. He treated Erwen and her mercenary group as expendables.

‘You moron.’

The riskiest position in this strategy is actually the rearguard. Right now, they can enjoy the benefits because everything is being taken care of at the front, but… there’s no way this state will last forever. I didn’t expect that crisis to come so quickly, though.

Thump-!!

A heavy impact is transmitted through the shield. Even with strength in my toes, I can’t move forward. I lowered the shield slightly to check the view in front.

“I’ve seen all kinds of crazy bastards.”

A warrior from the Black Bear tribe, like Bear Ahjussi, was blocking my path. His physique was 1.5 times smaller than mine, who was [Giantized]. But…

‘Damn it.’

What the hell is his strength? While I was thinking that the level of Noah’s Ark explorers was quite high, I wasn’t too worried.

“Barbarian, do you think you’re some kind of hero from a story—”

I ignored the bear bastard’s words and shouted to the back.

“Raven, now!!”

I’m not a hero of ten thousand men, but neither is the opponent.

“Everyone, step back!!”

At the same time as Raven’s warning, an explosive shock surged from behind me.

「Arua Raven has cast the 6th-grade support magic [Oxygen Explosion].」

A 6th-grade wind-attribute support magic. The reason she detonated it behind me was simple: it has low damage, but it has a high-grade knockback effect.

“Ugh! What is this…!”

Ending the tense power struggle, I use the wind as power, like a sail, to push the enemy back. And…

“N-no way—!”

Crack.

I stomp on the face of the bear bastard who lost his balance and fell backward with a [Leap] in place, then dash forward. Well, he seems to be a tank, so he probably won’t die from just this…

Thud!

Soon, a sound of flesh tearing was heard from behind. It sounds like I’m crushing tofu or something. His strength is high, but his physical resistance seems low?

“Behel—raaaaaaaaah!!!”

Since the bear bastard had temporarily blocked my movement and the enemies had gathered behind me, I doped my physical stats with [Wild Outburst] and continued my charge again. But…

“You have to move faster!!”

The speed wasn’t as fast as before. This was a very big problem. One of the weaknesses of the cavalry is that when the breakthrough is blocked, they end up being surrounded.

“Y-you crazy bastards!!”

“Kill him!!”

The enemies who were pushed back and fell are rising like zombies and rushing at their comrades. If we had been unilaterally breaking through the path until now, now we have to navigate through this chaotic battle.

Swoosh, Thud, Crack-! Wham!

Fierce battle sounds are overlapping from behind. Of course, I can’t know the exact situation, but the more it is like that, the more I only look ahead.

“Bjorn, don’t worry about the back!!”

Of course, I’m worried. Isn’t it a war where people’s lives are like flies? I’m anxious that someone might get seriously hurt by a stray blade.

Swoosh-!

Because I don’t know whose body that sound of flesh being pierced came from. What if it’s Misha? What if it’s Einar? What if it’s Raven, or Bear Ahjussi? Negative thoughts keep popping up in my head, but so what?

“Behel—raaaaaaaaah!!”

If I stop here, the situation will only get worse. Holding onto the fear I couldn’t discard, I focus all my energy on the one role assigned to me.

“W-what kind of power!”

Just opening the path, leaving the back to my comrades and moving forward steadfastly. That is what I have to do at this moment, and it is something that no one else but me can do.

[The good news is that we’re almost there. If you run for 20 minutes, you can enter the dark zone.]

A time that feels like an eternity passes, in the cave where sweat, blood, and screams coexist.

‘About 3 minutes have passed.’

It feels like at least an hour has passed, but in reality, it must have been only that much. Now, I can tell where I am just by looking at the walls of the first floor.

‘Damn it.’

It feels like I’m trapped in a cave where the concept of time is distorted. I checked my location in real time and guessed how much time had passed. 4 minutes. 5 minutes. 6 minutes. And…

‘7 minutes.’

The first death occurred.

“Kaiyen!! Kaiyen is hurt!! Help me. W-we have to support him together…!”

“Let go, Lena.”

“Huh? But…!”

“He’s… already dead.”

“…”

“We’ll leave him here.”

Kaiyen was an archer belonging to Takelan’s team. That’s all I know, but he had a pretty good impression when we introduced ourselves.

‘8 minutes.’

The path was blocked by a barrier summoned by someone. I immediately changed course by taking a side path, an improvisation that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I hadn’t received guidance training from Rotmüller.

‘It’ll take another 3 minutes to arrive.’

The misfortunes didn’t end there.

‘9 minutes.’

Another person died. This time, it was a member of the buck-toothed team who was following us at the rear. And one more thing.

“Bjorn, Misha is hurt!!”

Misha was injured.

“What’s the location and severity?”

“L-left lower chest! The organs aren’t damaged—”

“Give her a potion while running. Einar, you carry Misha too!”

Fortunately, her life wasn’t in danger, but Einar, who was helping with the battle with one hand while carrying Raven, now only had the role of a carrier.

’10 minutes.’

Inevitably, bad news was delivered from behind.

“Mr. Yandel! The people behind us are gone!!”

The buck-toothed team, who were in charge of the rear, had run away. It seemed like they thought they couldn’t do it after seeing people dying in front of them… It was my misjudgment.

‘I didn’t think they were that brainless.’

I never thought they would think it was possible to escape alone in a situation where they were surrounded by enemies. Damn it, if you were going to commit suicide, you should have died for us. Anyway, with these bastards gone, the burden on Takelan’s team became much greater.

Is that why?

’13 minutes.’

This time, two people died: a mage from Takelan’s team and the warrior who was carrying him.

“Damn it! Because of a mere goblin…!”

The primary cause of death was a respawned goblin. In the midst of the chaos, a goblin flew into his face and blocked his vision, and in that instant, he was hit by a skill cast by an ice-type mage and turned into an ice statue.

’15 minutes.’

A black mage who popped out from a side path detonated a wide-area magic. There were no deaths, but…

“Sister!!”

Daria, who jumped to protect Erwen in the center, became incapacitated. Fortunately, it wasn’t an instant death, but…

“Don’t space out and move. I’ll carry your sister!”

Abman carried Daria, and one more force was reduced.

’17 minutes.’

Abuse of [Leap] in place to boost stats, and due to [Giantization] not being deactivated even once, my MP ran out.

「Your character’s soul power is insufficient.」

「[Giantization] will end.」

As planned, the empty space was filled by Bear Ahjussi’s tank summon, Iron Bear.

’18 minutes.’

Iron Bear was unsummoned. However, Misha, who had taken a potion, regained consciousness and returned to the battlefield.

’19 minutes.’

Hope is in sight. We just need to go a little further now. Even though almost half of us have died, there are still no deaths among those we decided to save.

’20 minutes.’

A high-ranking explorer, estimated to be at least rank 4, blocked my path. His class was swordsman. He was wielding a greatsword made of Adamantium, a 5th-stage metal, and…

“You’ll be fun to cut down.”

He used aura.