Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 480

The number of guys watching the raid like perverts from afar was six. These guys were scattered one by one in the passages leading to the monument…

‘……Okay, it’s starting now.’

From now on, there’s only one goal.

To find evidence that these guys tried to interfere. Furthermore, to obtain evidence that their backer is Count Alminos.

Swishhhhhh.

With Erwen’s voice saying that they had started moving, white smoke filled the cave.

「The character is within the range of [Veil of Betrayal].」

The aura of the third phase.

The effect is simple.

「The character’s mental stat is continuously reduced.」

「The character’s ability stat is continuously reduced.」

「The character’s physical stat is continuously reduced.」

「The reduced stat is increased by 50%.」

「Dreadfear’s rage stat increases in proportion to the decreased stat.」

With the bonuses enhanced from the previous phase as a base, a few new phrases are added.

「The character enters stealth mode.」

All characters within the aura enter stealth mode and cannot see each other.

「All communication is cut off.」

Disconnection of communication.

And……

「When attacking a target that is not a monster, damage is increased 5 times, and all resistance stats are ignored.」

Even the risk of misidentifying attacks.

[Kiyaaaaaaaak-!]

Because of this one aura, normal team play becomes impossible in phase 3.

How can you raid when you can’t see each other?

If you use an attack skill and hit a teammate, it would be a big disaster.

Therefore……

Tap.

The strategy for phase 3 becomes very simple.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!”

I charge towards Dreadfear, shouting a cry that no one can hear.

It’s just that we can’t see each other; this guy hasn’t entered stealth mode.

Kwaaaang-!

The tanks hold their positions in advance, and then the priests blindly pour out area heals and endure until this aura effect ends.

Originally, this is the standard strategy.

Well, our team doesn’t have a priest, and I’m the only tank.

‘The biggest advantage of a shield barbarian is that they can do the work of one person even without a priest.’

If solo tanking is possible, it’s a pattern that can be overcome alone.

Besides, there are also advantages to solo tanking.

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, has cast [Indulgence].」

「The character moves to a random location.」

Even if he plays a shell game, I can quickly run over and hold him again without confusion.

It reduces the possibility of mistakes among the tanks……

‘I hope the others are doing well…?’

While believing that my companions would do well, I kept a close eye on Dreadfear, wary of the interlopers’ interference.

That’s because, what would the interlopers do in phase 3?

They would clearly do some trolling, taking advantage of not being visible, and the target is likely to be me, who has the most obvious position.

‘Still, since there’s no news yet… is it going well?’

That’s what I think, but it’s not right to be careless.

Either way, the result will be visible with my own eyes when the time comes.

Therefore, I focused on dealing with Dreadfear.

Kwaaaang-!

In theory, solo tanking is possible, but the process was by no means easy.

Even if he’s treated as the weakest, he’s still a floor lord [a powerful boss monster].

And a rare growth type at that.

「The character’s mental stat reduction has reached its maximum.」

「The status ailment ‘Fear’ is inflicted.」

The first debuff came as the exposure time to the aura lengthened.

Thump thump thump thump.

A heart beating like crazy.

My spine chills as if I’ve met my natural enemy, and extreme stress overwhelms my brain.

Still, except for Erwen, my mental stat is relatively high, so I won’t lose my mind and run away.

‘I wonder if Erwen is… okay?’

I was a little worried, but it was right to worry about myself first.

The problem for me was the second debuff.

「The character’s ability stat reduction has reached its maximum.」

「The status ailment ‘Lethargy’ is inflicted.」

Lethargy, one of thousands of status ailments.

When you get this debuff, MP regeneration becomes impossible, and the skills you cast are interrupted midway…

This also applies to ongoing skills.

「[Giantification] ends.」

「[Iron Fortress] ends.」

For reference, skills that are interrupted like this also have a cooldown before they can be used again, making it one of the most difficult status ailments.

The third one is just as tricky.

「The character’s physical stat reduction has reached its maximum.」

「The status ailment ‘Exhaustion’ is inflicted.」

A 30% reduction in all stats belonging to the physical category.

Stamina is fixed at the minimum, and MP is consumed instead of stamina when performing all actions.

Kwaaaang-!

The difficulty of the battle increases as the debuffs stack.

Zzzzzzz.

Ha, I can’t handle it with strength anymore.

Even the climax was still to come.

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror’s, rage stat has reached its maximum.」

The rage gauge that Dreadfear had been steadily building up since the first phase.

「All damage dealt by Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, is increased by 2 times.」

The attacks of the guy who was already getting harder to deal with have now become so threatening that my body trembles.

Of course, it was still manageable somehow.

Thanks to my mental stat, fear didn’t restrict my actions, and I could just use my skills again after a cooldown.

Besides, in my case, I could also recover my blocked MP.

「The character has cast [Soul Dive].」

「Soul power is regenerated in proportion to the soul power consumed.」

Yeah, I thought I could solo tank with these specs.

[Kiyaaaaaaaak-!]

Dreadfear, annoyed by my persistent clinging, screams loudly.

That’s when I was holding him so hard.

Tapt.

I felt a presence behind me.

A small presence that I would never have caught if I hadn’t been wary of my surroundings while dealing with him.

As always, my body’s judgment was faster than my head.

Tapt.

The moment I turned my body to the side, ignoring Dreadfear.

Thwack-!

A hot sensation travels down my back.

It was just that, but the experience I had accumulated as a tank told me.

‘Fortunately, I didn’t hurt any vital organs.’

It was a minor injury that was practically not even considered an injury.

「The character has been poisoned by ‘Goblin Paralysis Poison’.」

「The character’s physical stat is 1,000 or higher.」

「Poison resistance stat is 100 or higher.」

「The poison effect is reduced by 99%.」

However, there is no reason not to punish them just because the damage is small.

Whooong-!

Therefore, I immediately swung my hammer into the air.

Of course, I couldn’t hear any groans because of the aura effect.

But……

Thwack-!

The moment a satisfying feeling was transmitted through the pole.

「The light of faith drives out the fear within.」

「[Veil of Betrayal] is temporarily lifted.」

A fierce light flashed, brightly illuminating the dark cave.

“……Ugh.”

It was time to check the fish caught in the net.

***

The key to the phase 3 strategy is the tank and the priest.

If you can just hold out, the [Veil of Betrayal] will be lifted, and the time to pour out damage will come.

Just like this.

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, has cast [Protective Mechanism].」

At the same time as the [Veil of Betrayal] is lifted, Dreadfear grows a thick shell and hides inside.

It’s a kind of groggy state, and originally, this is the standard strategy to pour out all the damage.

But……

“……”

As soon as the [Protective Mechanism] was activated, I turned around and surveyed the situation in the area.

Erwen, Amelia, Bersil, Ainar.

First of all, all my companions were fine.

And……

‘Three, two each…’

Three horribly disfigured corpses in the three passages that Erwen was in charge of. In the two passages that Amelia was in charge of, there was one captured interrupter and one corpse.

Tsk, our plan was to capture them alive if possible.

‘……Erwen killed them all.’

Looking at the corpses, there is no intention to capture them alive at all.

However, I decided not to reprimand him right now.

There’s no time for that, and……

“……”

He didn’t look okay at all.

A gaze that stares into the void as if reason has disappeared.

‘……It’s probably because of ‘Fear’.’

Still, the remaining companions were in relatively good condition.

“You must be the one who missed that one. Barbarian.”

Amelia, who had finished assessing the situation in an instant like me, glared at Ainar.

“…S, sorry! I tried to capture him alive as much as possible, but I missed him…”

Ainar, who was in charge of one of the three passages connected to the monument, honestly apologized.

However, Amelia had no intention of letting it go.

“What a convenient race. Is it all over if you say sorry?”

Persistent scolding continued.

“……Huh?”

Ainar, who had lived the life of a barbarian who ended all his mistakes with a single apology, was flustered.

Actually, I was the same.

I didn’t know she would get this angry……

“Barbarian, because of your mistake, Yandel could have been hurt more seriously. Do you even know that—”

“Stop!”

I quickly intervened and calmed Amelia down.

“He must have understood. So stop it.”

“…I’ll talk about this again later.”

As the situation was what it was, Amelia didn’t insist any further and shut her mouth.

Then it’s time to check the caught fish.

“Bersil. Please check on Erwen.”

“Ah, yes…!”

First, I had Bersil check Erwen’s condition, and then I did a final check on the situation.

The total number of interlopers captured was two.

“……”

First, one that Amelia captured.

Looking at the fact that he’s blindfolded and gagged while not being able to see, I wonder how she did it so perfectly.

And the second one is……

“……Ugh.”

The very guy that Ainar missed and then ambushed me.

His lower face, covered by a mask, was stained red with blood, probably from being hit in the jaw with a hammer.

I knew the feeling was good.

“…U, uh, uh…”

The guy who made eye contact with me crawled back like a bug.

Hey, where are you trying to run away?

Thud, thud, thud.

I quickly closed the distance in just three steps, and then hit the terrified guy with a hammer exactly four times.

Well, you don’t need arms and legs to talk, do you?

Crack, crack, crack, crack-

Okay, then Amelia will do the interrogation, so I can trust her with that……

Since that one is subdued, there’s no need to crush his limbs, right?

All the necessary measures have been taken.

“Emily, then take both of them and get out of here.”

“…Are you really going to proceed with the raid like this?”

“What else can we do?”

It’s impossible to escape from the Lord of Terror.

And if the captured guys are within the radius, the special conditions won’t be activated, making it even harder.

In the end, this is the best we can do.

‘Well… the probability of the raid succeeding is low.’

Maybe about 5%?

Well, it’ll be around that much.

We also received the fourth buff in phase 2, and in this phase, we didn’t properly utilize the first groggy state and skipped it.

‘It’s practically a failed raid.’

Of course, we have secured the minimum safety measures, so there’s no big worry.

If we catch him even like this, it’s a jackpot, and even if we don’t, if Amelia succeeds in the interrogation, the goal will be achieved.

Therefore……

“Yandel, be careful.”

“Okay, see you outside.”

I moved Amelia out of the battlefield before the [Veil of Betrayal] was activated again, and soon the light that had been illuminating the cave disappeared.

「The fear within drives out the light.」

「[Veil of Betrayal] is reactivated.」

It was time to continue the raid.

***

In a passage located slightly away from the monument plaza where the raid had resumed.

Flap.

Amelia, who had fixed a torch on a support, began her interrogation in earnest.

Slowly putting on white gloves.

Arranging the tools she had brought in advance so that they were easy to use.

And checking all the belongings of the interrogation target to see if there was anything that would help with the interrogation.

“……”

“……”

There was a time when she was sick and tired of these things, but for some reason, it wasn’t like that today.

No, rather……

‘…It’s a good thing.’

That guy is surprisingly soft-hearted.

And as you live, you’ll need someone to do this kind of thing for you.

“You… will not… hear anything.”

The man with crushed limbs muttered something with determined eyes, but she didn’t answer.

There was no reason to let the interrogation target know that they could communicate, and……

‘…He’s very scared.’

She knew from experience.

Usually, that kind of guy is the first to open his mouth.

“……”

In fact, while one of them didn’t even make a groan for a long time after the interrogation began, the other one screamed with bloodshot eyes.

However, she continued the ‘interrogation’ without asking any questions.

And how much time had passed?

“……Ki, kill me.”

Finally, the man uttered those words.

A signal that he wanted to be released as he was approaching his limit.

From that point on, Amelia opened her mouth and asked questions one by one.

Whether he was married.

Whether he had children.

What was the last dinner he had before entering the labyrinth.

As trivial questions that were not related to his identity continued, the man also began to unlock his heart and answer one by one.

At least when he answered, there was no pain.

Amelia slowly raised the level of her questions without being impatient, and when it was time to ask for his ‘name’.

“Then what’s your name… what’s your name?”

“Delbane……”

Upon hearing the answer, she flinched without realizing it.

“Hans, Delbane……”

Hans?

‘Wait a minute, if it’s Hans, then surely…’

That’s the name that guy had a fit about.

Those with this name are like a plague, so they must be killed on the spot?

To her, who didn’t trust jinxes or superstitions, that look was kind of cute.

But……

‘…………Will it be okay?’

On the one hand, a strange ominous feeling arose.