Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 529

530. Escape Plan (3)

The Resonance of the Soul.

Explorers describe the unique sensation they feel when they level up in different ways.

Some say it feels like their stomach is full.

Others say it’s like the fulfillment of being connected to a loved one.

There are even those who say it’s like sobering up from being drunk.

But when you talk to them, they all agree on one thing.

It’s hard to explain in words, but…

Swoooosh.

It’s a sensation of something external permeating into you, as if your very existence is becoming more profound. That sensation was vivid even in the midst of battle.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

I reached level 8.

It was much faster than I had expected.

Honestly, before coming down to the first basement level, I thought it would take at least another year.

‘Does this mean I can absorb two more essences?’

Even I think my growth rate is abnormal.

According to the statistics compiled by the guild, the average time it takes to go from level 7 to level 8 is about 6 years.

And this statistic was obtained only from those who broke through the wall and reached level 8. It doesn’t even include those who retired from exploring at level 7—.

Crack-!

I stopped my thoughts and swung my hammer.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

Leaving the Orc warrior who disappeared into light behind, I quickly scanned the surroundings to assess the battle situation.

“Haa… haa…”

It had only been 30 minutes since the rainy season started.

The expressions of the explorers and monster warriors, who were diligently swinging their weapons under the barrier spread out like an umbrella, were clearly exhausted.

However, even in that situation.

“Essence…! Essence has appeared!”

“Ugh…! Whose was it? Did anyone see it? Did anyone see it?”

“…I, I saw it! It’s from a Bone Drake!”

“It’s a Rank 4! What are you doing! Grab it quickly!”

When an essence drops, a mage rushes over and holds out a test tube, and while the essence is being collected, the explorers and warriors desperately protect the mage.

“Hey! What are you doing! This isn’t the time to be picking up magic stones!”

“Ah… Ah! I was just worried about tripping… I understand!”

A bizarre sight of an explorer treating a magic stone like a rock.

Well, what can you do? If we pick up magic stones here, the workload will increase several times.

In the first place, magic stones don’t disappear like essences, so we can just collect them after the rainy season—.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG-!

At that moment, something huge fell onto the barrier.

The impact was so great that even though it was caught in the air, the ground shook from the shock alone.

[Uooooooohhhhhhh—!]

I looked up to see what it was, and my eyes met those of a giant looking down at me from above the cracked barrier.

“It’s a Hyphramant…!”

Right, it fell from the sky again this time.

It hadn’t been seen for a while today.

Zzzzzzzzt-

“Baron! The barrier’s damage is over 70%!”

Thanks to that guy falling right on top of us, the time we can endure during the rainy season has become precarious.

The reason we can fight in a situation where monsters are falling from the sky is because of this giant umbrella [the barrier].

“Th-that… Baron! Let’s be satisfied with this and go down to the village to regroup—.”

“Everyone, hold your positions!”

“Where are you going, Baron!”

“First, I’ll get that thing off the barrier.”

With those words, I went outside the umbrella.

Thud! Thwack! Thump-!

Head, back, shoulder, waist…

As soon as I went outside, the monsters pouring down from the sky collided with my [Giant Form] body, transmitting the impact of their fall.

It was quite a strange experience.

Swoooosh-!

Just by colliding with my body, the monsters instantly died and disappeared.

Would every battle have been like this if I had set up extreme reflection?

Apart from such silly thoughts, I moved as carefully as possible.

It would be a disaster if I stepped on an essence.

Unless you’re a saint or a saintess, essence removal is only possible at the temple.

‘Heave-ho.’

Soon, I easily jumped up and stood on the translucent barrier, and the explorers below began to murmur as they looked up at me.

“…The Baron has gone up onto the barrier!”

“What… what is he trying to do?”

“We can’t even help him in this state…”

Just watch, you’ll see.

[Uoo… ?]

I grabbed the Hyphramant’s head, which was sprawled out on the barrier, with both hands.

And then…

“The Baron is pulling down the giant!!”

“Is that… even possible?”

“I’m realizing it again… he’s not human.”

Using the fact that the barrier was sloped like a roof, I pulled the guy down with all my might.

[U, Uooooooohhhhhhh!!]

The guy, flustered by the situation he had never experienced before, began to struggle, but this ultimately worked in my favor.

Thwack-!

The guy tried to stand up on the barrier, but slipped and rolled down.

Zzzzzzzzt-!

In the process, the barrier was further damaged, but this was an unavoidable problem.

[U, Uooooooohhhhhhh…!!]

The guy, now sprawled on the ground from the barrier, howled as if feeling wronged.

It’s not like the one who farted is getting angry [a Korean idiom meaning ‘the one who is in the wrong is getting angry’].

‘Where are you trying to interfere with my business?’

I didn’t even blink an eye as I faced the guy’s roar head-on.

No, I even responded with a fierce shout.

“WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Did this action make the guy realize that I was a formidable opponent?

“…Th-the giant is backing away!”

“The giant is being pushed back by the Baron’s momentum!”

The giant, who was looking at me while lying down, was slowly backing away.

I could feel that he was testing the waters, so I quickly raised my hammer and struck the bridge of his nose.

Thump-!

It didn’t seem to do much damage.

However, for an individual like the Hyphramant, this was enough.

[U… Uooooooohhhhhhh!!]

The giant immediately turned around and started running.

“Th-the giant is running away!”

Yeah, go quickly.

You coward—.

Flash-!

Uh?

The moment I turned around at the sudden flash.

Whoosh-!

A white, shining sword shot out in a straight line like a thrown spear.

And then…

Thud.

Soon, the sword lodged itself in the giant’s neck.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-a-a-a-ng-!

It exploded.

「You have defeated a Hyphramant.」

The giant’s body, having lost its head without even having a chance to cast a distortion spell, collapsed.

“D-did it die?”

That thing in one shot…?”

“…”

“…”

All the explorers, including me, swallowed hard and looked at one place.

To be precise, the starting point where that sword was first thrown.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Weren’t you trying to catch it?”

The village chief was there.

With the same expressionless face as always.

***

A village of monsters who call themselves humans.

And the village chief, the Dragon Knight Cornelius Bruengrid.

In fact, the reason I brought him along for this burning event was to indirectly check his power.

But…

‘What is this old man…’

The power he showed us for the first time was beyond shocking.

He took down in one shot what Erwen couldn’t even take down in one shot?

‘I knew he must have some hidden trump card, but…’

I never thought he would be such a monster.

For some reason, I felt a chill down my spine.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you say you need to get stronger to escape? Are you going to turn back here?”

“…Of course not.”

But it wasn’t a good time to think about the village chief’s power, so I focused on dealing with the monsters for now.

And how much time had passed?

“Baron! We can’t hold out any longer!”

“…Let’s head down to the village now.”

We, who had been holding out above until the barrier was about to disappear, descended back into the village.

And then…

“Everyone, take a rest!”

First, we took a break at the entrance and got ourselves organized.

The mages sprawled out, meditating to recover MP [Mana Points].

The priests and healers went around, healing the injured, and Bersil began to take a headcount.

“Any casualties?”

“There are twelve injured in total. Three with minor injuries, and nine with serious ones.”

“No deaths?”

“It seems some of the village warriors died… but none from our group.”

“That’s a relief.”

As the conversation ended, the village chief appeared behind me without a sound.

“It’s all over.”

Whoa, you scared me.

“All… over?”

“I mean, the entrance connected to the village is closed. Now, we can’t go outside until the rainy season ends.”

Ah, that’s what he meant.

“Is it impossible to open and close it?”

“It is impossible.”

That was a shame in many ways.

If it were possible, we could have gone out and collected the unowned essences with a small elite team.

‘He also said that opening the entrance and fighting monsters below the village is not an option. There’s a high chance that the ‘door’ will be permanently damaged…’

It’s a shame that the Burning Event is over, but I quickly let go of my regrets.

I had a more pressing question now.

“Chief, what was that earlier?”

“That?”

“The glowing sword. I didn’t hear about anything like that.”

“I see.”

“It’s not ‘I see’—”

Just as I was about to say something, the chief cut me off.

“But do I have any reason to tell you first?”

“Uh…”

Indeed… if he put it that way, I had nothing to say.

As I was flustered and stammering for a moment, the chief stared at me intently and said,

“As you said, there was a deal between you and me. We help you, and you find a way out of here.”

“…And?”

“Focus on what you have to do. Don’t be curious about unnecessary things.”

Let’s each do our own thing…

He’s not wrong, but why does it sound so rude?

“Many warriors died and were injured in this event. I’ll go take care of them now.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Come find me when you have time later. We can talk more then.”

After that, the chief took the warriors and went into the village first, and we soon headed to our lodgings in the village.

And we immediately started settling the loot.

“Here’s the list of essences we acquired this time.”

Let’s see…

“Two Tier 3, seven Tier 4, and one Tier 5…”

This is an unbelievable haul.

We were outside for less than two hours since the rainy season started. And this isn’t all we got from this battle.

“Oh, and Ms. Tersia and Mr. Rocklob’s Soul Grades have increased in this battle.”

It was understandable that Auyen, who was now level 7, had leveled up, but Erwen’s level going up to 8 was very significant.

It meant that a slot had opened in his full essence slots after consuming the Chaos Essence.

“My Soul Grade has increased as well.”

Soon, when I revealed that I had also leveled up, the surroundings became noisy.

“What? Bjorn! Is that true!”

“Three good things happened at once. Well, should we have a feast tonight?”

“A feast, my foot…”

Originally, when a colleague leveled up, it was customary to end it with a simple ‘congrats’.

“Ugh… I thought I had finally caught up, but am I falling behind again!”

Ainar clenched his fist with a frustrated expression.

Well, he’s still level 7.

Ah, of course, I think he doesn’t have much experience left before leveling up.

He’ll probably be the next one to level up.

“Congratulations… Bjorn.”

At that moment, Misha approached and congratulated me.

Unlike Ainar, she didn’t seem impatient at all.

Well, she’s already level 8.

She’s been getting carried by Baekho for over two years, so it’s a natural result.

Ah, for reference, Amelia’s level is a full 8.

She said she was right after reaching level 8 when I first met her on the second floor, so I think she might be able to reach level 9 by the time we leave here…

“Is this why everyone was so desperate for new areas? The clan’s growth rate is unbelievable…”

If Ainar reaches level 8, there will be five level 8 members in our seven-person clan.

If we fill all the empty slots with essences, we could become much stronger than we are now.

“Anyway, let’s start distributing the loot…”

After the harvest tally was completed, Bersil took the lead in settling the accounts. Since there were no items to claim with priority, we started with the Armin Exploration Team, who had a 30% share of the exploration income.

“We would like to take the Lacrel Essence, Malaka, and the Demon Realm Tracker Essence.”

We gave them one Tier 3 essence and two Tier 4 essences in a fair manner, and then it was the Hectz Clan’s turn.

Well, they’re basically unpaid slaves…

“You guys choose too. Is there anything you want?”

“Yes? Are we allowed to…”

“Aren’t we comrades who fought together? And we’ll be better off if you get stronger here. So, don’t think of it as money, and choose the essences you need.”

We need to provide this much welfare to avoid problems later.

“Then… we’ll take these three essences.”

Soon, the Hectz Clan discussed it with their members and chose two Tier 4 and one Tier 5 essence.

Did they not choose a Tier 3 out of some last bit of conscience?

‘I should keep this for now.’

After the settlement, we were given free time.

The exhausted explorers scattered to rest, and those who had obtained new essences left with shining eyes to test their new essences, despite their fatigue.

“It feels like it’s been a while since it was just us.”

“It does.”

“Yandel, when are you going to visit the chief?”

“I’ll rest today and go tomorrow.”

“I see…”

“By the way, the Silver Lion Clan didn’t show up until the end.”

“They’re probably dead. They were greedy for their skills.”

After that, we all ate together and talked, and then everyone went their own way.

“I’ll go take a look around.”

“Shall I help you?”

“That would be great.”

Amelia went on patrol with Erwen.

“Um… can I go out too? I’m not that tired…”

Ainar went out to meet his monster friend who works at the smithy.

“Bjorn… I’m going to rest. See you later…”

“I’m… tired after what happened.”

Misha and Auyen went into their rooms to sleep.

Before I knew it, only Bersil and I were left in the living room.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to meditate a bit more. I used too much magic this time, so my head hurts a little.”

“I see.”

“What about you, Yandel?”

“I’m going to read a book and then sleep.”

With those words, I went into my room, turned on the magic lamp, and opened a book.

For some reason, I couldn’t concentrate on the book at all.

‘Cornelius Bruengrid.’

Just how strong is this guy?

Looking at it, it seems like he might have all the essences he had when he was human.

Could we win if we all ganged up on him?

No, in the first place.

‘If that guy tries to kill us…’

Could I protect my colleagues then?

I was lost in thought when I fell asleep on my desk.

“Yandel, wake up.”

“…Huh?”

When I woke up, Amelia, who had returned, was shaking my shoulder.

At first, I thought she was going to nag me as usual for not sleeping in bed…

‘That look in her eyes is the one she makes when something has happened.’

“…What’s wrong?”

I quickly came to my senses and asked, and Amelia placed a steel dagger on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a weapon found in the village’s smithy.”

“Oh… and?”

I tilted my head, and Amelia gestured as if to tell me to look closely.

So, as I was carefully observing the dagger.

“…”

A chill ran down my spine.

“You found this… in the smithy?”

The dagger had the Silver Lion Clan’s emblem engraved on it.