Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 228

Crack-!

The guy’s face, revealed after his [Bone Armor] was broken once again, was full of bewilderment.

From experience, this expression signaled that this long fight was nearing its end.

However, just as I was about to bring my mace down with all my might, whoosh-!

A chilly wind brushed past me from the side.

「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia has taken damage exceeding the allowed limit.」

「[Spirit Transformation] is canceled.」

My body suddenly felt lighter. Before I knew it, my rock-like skin had returned to normal.

My hearing, sharpened like an animal’s ears perking up at a warning, became sensitive.

Thud.

A sound of something falling came from behind.

“Erwen!!”

Soon after, Daria’s urgent cry followed. It wasn’t hard to deduce the current situation from that alone.

Erwen had been attacked by someone. That’s why the Elibaba mode [likely referring to a specific transformation or state] ended.

Then, what on earth caused it?

Before I could even turn my head completely in the direction of the first wind sound, the answer appeared.

“Heh heh, Necrapeto, you’re in quite a state yourself.”

Unruly white hair and a beard that had turned completely white. A kind-looking face. An elderly mage with an appearance that was the epitome of a mage.

‘The Ruin Scholar.’

He had come here.

‘How could he be here already? What happened to Kyle?’

The moment I faced that fact, countless questions arose. But…….

Swish.

I forced the questions away and continued to move my arm. It was a decision made unconsciously in that instant.

‘If not now…….’

There would be no chance. The Elibaba mode was over now. I could no longer block the poison damage, so if I missed this chance, I would have to face both the clown and that old man at the same time.

So…….

“You’re in a hurry.”

Son of a bitch.

The strength in my left arm gave out, and the mace I was holding fell to the ground.

Thud!

Before I knew it, a red light had pierced through my wrist. I felt like I was going crazy.

‘Damn it, what kind of basic attack is that…….’

There was no casting time. That meant that the magic he had just used was no different from the basic attack magic ‘Mana Sight’ for the Ruin Scholar.

But a basic attack pierced through my body? The Elibaba mode was over, so my magic resistance should have returned?

‘No, think about it later.’

I pushed the questions away again. That wasn’t what I needed to do right now. I dropped the mace?

Then I’ll just smash him with my shield. Isn’t it the spirit of a K-Barbarian [likely a reference to a Korean-style barbarian archetype] to chew and swallow even if you don’t have teeth?

Thwack.

The moment I dropped the mace, I slammed the clown’s face with my shield. He wouldn’t die from just one hit, so I did it again.

Thwack-!

I wasn’t relieved with two hits, so I did it one more time.

Whoosh-!

It was just as I was about to strike for the third time.

“You’re an interesting fellow.”

My body stopped. It felt as if something invisible was pressing down on my entire body with tremendous pressure.

“Didn’t I say you were in a hurry?”

I rolled my eyes to the side. The Ruin Scholar was staring at me.

His face was basically expressionless, but he somehow looked amused, as if he had discovered something that piqued his curiosity.

“What is your name?”

Right, so I’ve become the object of his curiosity.

“You’ve reduced Necrapeto to such a state; you can’t be a nameless explorer.”

A voice that didn’t feel malicious at all.

[Could it be that he’s already there……!]

At that moment, Melter Pend’s voice flowed from the message stone, and the Ruin Scholar, disturbed by the interruption, frowned as if displeased.

Yes, he clearly did.

[Just wait a little. I’ll be there soon—!]

The message stone on my waist exploded.

Boom!

No, what kind of mage is this? He didn’t wave a staff or wand, nor did he even make the unique hand gestures to move mana.

What grade mage is this old man? I heard he was a 3rd grade before he was exiled.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I’m Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

I answered quickly. Melter Pend would be coming with the main force soon, so I decided to buy time by talking.

“What’s your alias?”

“Little Vulcan.”

“Hmm, that’s a name I’ve never heard before. Then, what’s your grade?”

“……I was promoted to 5th grade a few months ago.”

“5th grade, that makes you even more interesting.”

The Ruin Scholar looked at me with a glint in his eyes, then waved his hand as if moving mana.

Swish-!

Colorful lights rose from the ground. Ah, I know this magic.

5th grade unique magic, ‘Memory of the Earth’ [a magic that replays past events in an area]. A magic that replays and shows what happened in the area.

‘He’s just casually using unique magic from a completely different school.’

‘Memory of the Earth’ is a unique magic of the Earthling school. And according to the information I researched, the school the Ruin Scholar belonged to before he was exiled pursued a completely different type of magic.

“Pfft.”

The Ruin Scholar, who had been looking at the air as if watching a replay, chuckled softly.

“Now that I see it, you’re an even more interesting fellow. To say such things to Necrapeto.”

Such things…….

I don’t know if he’s talking about my appearance or the word ‘small’. But well, what does it matter either way?

“What happened to Kyle?”

Since he seemed to want to talk, I asked what I was curious about. Unexpectedly, he answered readily.

“That friend is alive. He’s too precious to die here.”

“……You intentionally didn’t kill him?”

“That friend has achieved much through the emotion of revenge. If he can even abandon human emotions, he will reach an even higher level.”

Like a mage, his pronunciation was fluent and accurate, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying even after listening. Why does that become a reason not to kill him?

If the enemy has great potential, shouldn’t you kill them even more? Those were words I didn’t say out loud.

But perhaps my question was conveyed through my eyes.

“Whether it’s an individual or a group, an enemy or an ally, what does it matter?”

The Ruin Scholar said.

“As someone who seeks to see the end of magic, I’m just curious. What kind of magic will that friend leave in the world when he reaches that level?”

“Even if it could kill you?”

“Don’t worry. Reaching a higher level means abandoning and discarding everything unnecessary. By then, that friend won’t have any human emotions left anyway.”

I decided to just give up on understanding. People said he was an old man who had gone mad with magic and was no longer human, and it was true. His way of thinking was completely different.

But rather, because of that.

“Well then, let’s end the conversation here.”

I even had a slight hope, that his way of thinking might save my life today, a faint hope like that.

“I’ve overdone it a bit today.”

It was then that I realized, there was blood on the Ruin Scholar’s beard. He had tried to wipe it off, but the traces remained.

‘……This bastard’s physical condition isn’t normal either.’

Whatever the outcome, it was a positive factor. I was thinking that to myself when.

“It was fun after a long time.”

The Ruin Scholar said as if saying goodbye.

“I still need Necrapeto, so I’ll take him with me.”

The clown, who was half out of his mind from being hit by the shield, floated into the air. Because my whole body wouldn’t move, I could only watch. I was filled with mixed emotions.

If only I had a little more time. Was this how it was going to end? No, but if he was going to let us go like this, it might be a good deal—

“Now, die.”

Right, of course, that wouldn’t happen.

Swoosh.

The Ruin Scholar stretched out his hand towards me, and a sinisterly red mana formed on it. I cleanly emptied my mind of any lingering regrets. It was nothing new now. It had always been like this.

“Behel—laaaaaaaa!!”

I had to fight. To survive.

「The character has activated [Giantification].」

As if squeezing out the last of my strength, the warrior’s body grew in size once more.

Crack, crackle, sizzle. As I put strength into my feet, I heard the sound of the intangible mana covering my body breaking. I had roughly expected it.

He was a mage who was the epitome of efficiency. His physical condition wasn’t good either, so he would have used only as much mana as necessary.

Tap.

Finally, my body was free. I kicked off the ground and dashed forward. Not towards the place where my allies were running from afar. Tap!

Towards where the enemy was.

“Hmm.”

The Ruin Scholar looked at me as if he was amazed. He must be wondering why I wasn’t running away even though the CC [crowd control] was gone. But that was only from his perspective.

How long could I last with the MP [mana points] I had recovered in less than 10 minutes? ‘Even if I’m generous, 20 seconds.’ That’s how long [Giantification] would last.

Therefore, the best I could do now. Tap!

I closed the distance and stuck close to the clown’s body that was being dragged along. The reason was simple.

That old man, who seemed to have no interest in anything other than magic, had said just now, [I still need Necrapeto, so I’ll take him with me.] That he still needed the clown.

In other words, if I stuck close, he couldn’t use magic. From the start, the reason he tried to pull the clown away first was probably that.

“You’re wise.”

The red mana that had formed in the Ruin Scholar’s hand was still there, but it wasn’t aimed at me. However…….

“It’s a waste of mana to just throw it away.”

The outstretched palm turned towards another place. Not me, but where my allies were.

Flash-!

A red sphere was shot from his palm with a flash of light. It was at that moment.

“Barhatun Wiar.”

Following that path, a dozen stone walls were erected. It was Raven’s magic. I wondered why he had been quiet since earlier; he had been secretly preparing magic. But it didn’t mean much.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The red sphere flew quickly, easily breaking through the stone walls.

“Get down!”

Just like I had done earlier, Bear Uncle covered my allies with his body, and summoned the Black Bear on top of that. And in that instant.

KWAANG-!

The sphere exploded in mid-air, spewing out thousands of flames. Exactly halfway between me and my separated allies. No, to be precise.

“No!”

It was right where Erwen, who had collapsed after [Spirit Transformation] was canceled, was. As if he had been aiming for that place from the start.

FWOOOOOM-!!

Like fireworks made with CG [computer graphics], countless sparks flew and exploded repeatedly. Whoosh-!

A hot wind strongly brushed against my skin. Even in the midst of that, the Ruin Scholar didn’t change his expression and muttered in a calm voice.

“That young lady has more fate than you, next to you.”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying. But one thing was certain. He had really been aiming for Erwen.

Clench.

My jaw hurt. It felt like someone had hit me in the back of the head with a huge blunt weapon. Was Erwen really dead?

Thump-!

Blood gathered in my heart, and my reason was paralyzed. But the more that happened, the more I thought of only one thing. What did I have to do to protect the remaining ones?

‘At least I have to kill this bastard.’

I reached out my hand towards the clown’s head, believing that the allies who would arrive soon would somehow take care of the Ruin Scholar. This guy, at least.

Thwack-!

My shield slammed into the clown’s face once more. But was he still conscious?

“Ptoo!”

The clown spat blood onto my face as if spitting out the pooled blood. Sizzle!

I heard a burning sound. There was no pain, but even in my dulled senses, I could feel something constantly flowing down. I somehow opened my eyes, but my vision was blurry.

‘Venom Hydra.’

It was his passive skill. It had a similar effect to [Acidic Fluid], but the performance was vastly different. He probably used his own blood to modify the suicide bomber corpses as well. Of course, it didn’t matter.

I reached out my hand beyond my darkened vision. Grab.

Luckily, I grabbed his hair. Okay, I won’t let go now. Clench.

Instead of my left arm, which had a hole in it and couldn’t exert any strength, I used my teeth like a beast to bite him.

“Aaaargh!!”

I chewed on soft cartilage. Was this his ear?

“Ptoo.”

I spat it out and lowered my jaw a little more. What I wanted was his neck. If I cut off all the blood vessels going to his brain, even this bastard—

“You really are like a beast.”

A voice filled with displeasure. Swoosh-!

Something sharp cut through my right arm. It had been a long time since I had felt pain like that. Perhaps that was why the corners of my mouth went up.

“I can see why they call barbarians savages. They’re all broken in some way.”

The Ruin Scholar asked, “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

He didn’t know anything about barbarians. They weren’t beings who didn’t know fear. They had simply learned how to overcome it and move forward. Because there was no other choice.

Smiling, I chose the only option. People called them savages. And they called themselves fighters. Warriors.

「The character’s soul power is insufficient.」

「[Giantification] has ended.」

Just in time, [Giantification] ended. “Cough!”

My body, which had nothing to hold onto, was pushed back. My body spun around. Perhaps because I had been in so many brawls, even though I couldn’t see, it wasn’t a problem for me to stand up naturally.

The problem was my lost sense of direction. “Impressive.”

Right, it was there. Tap.

I charged in the direction of the voice. Thud!

Something pierced through my abdomen. But at that moment. Swish-!

A warm energy embraced me. It was divine power.

“Yandel! Save Yandel!!”

I also heard the voice of the dwarf Teterude, who I had sent to help Melter Pend earlier. He was quite close.

[Belbeve Ruinjenes!!]

I also heard Kyle’s voice, amplified by magic. He was shouting the Ruin Scholar’s real name, filled with anger.

KWAANG-!

Something exploded in front of me. But had I moved back to avoid it?

“In the end, even that friend has come. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have talked.”

The Ruin Scholar’s voice was a little further away.

“Do you know? It wasn’t that I was trying to be leisurely. It’s just that my calculations were off for the first time in a long time. I thought that time would be enough.”

His tone was still calm.

“Well, it was like that from the first time we met. I thought no one would be able to come up.”

His voice grew more distant and faint.

“Congratulations. On becoming the only victor.”

With that, his voice was no longer heard. At that point, my blurry vision turned black. I couldn’t even feel a faint light on my retina. A sensation of being left alone in the universe.

Thud.

Then, I felt someone approaching me, and I instinctively swung my severed arm to attack. Clack.

It was blocked in the middle. But there was no counterattack that I had feared.

“It’s me.”

I heard the voice of the dwarf Teterude.

“This friend… it’s all, over…….”

Ah.

“So… now rest.”

Ah…….

‘How is Erwen…….’

There was something I had to ask, but my voice wouldn’t come out.

Thud.

Today, which had been so long. That was the last of my memories.