Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 534

From rank 1 to rank 9.

Thanks to the ‘rainy season’ characteristic, the island is home to all sorts of monsters. The village chief spent what felt like an eternity on this island.

In simple terms, it meant infinite farming was possible.

However…

‘Not all of them will be high-grade essences.’

What kind of game is [Dungeon & Stone]?

A game where you have to steadily collect lower essences to grow, and only then can you farm higher essences.

Clearly, there will be low-grade essences mixed in each section. There’s no priest on this island to erase essences either.

However, the problem is…

‘The high point is too high at rank 1.’

From here on, it depends on the village chief’s capabilities.

If he carelessly consumed early essences and then plastered himself with high-grade essences later, he’d just end up as a trash character with clear limitations…

‘His weaknesses would be obvious.’

Of course, the opposite is also possible.

If he filled his lower essences with essences that, like my [Giantification], can be used even in the later stages despite their low rank.

‘Hmm, still, would it be much different?’

It just becomes a bit more troublesome to find weaknesses.

No matter how you think about it, that’s all there is to it.

There’s no such thing as an invincible character in [Dungeon & Stone].

‘Well, my shield-barbarian is the exception.’

Anyway, which one is the village chief?

I thoroughly observe all actions and effects for the purpose of exploration.

What has been confirmed so far is ‘Toll-Rapupa’s’ [Cosmic Protection].

And…

‘First, one movement skill.’

In the moment when we were facing each other with weapons drawn.

The village chief’s body moves as if it’s splitting in two.

Like when a game lags, and the frames on the screen overlap.

Tap-!

However, as I was intently observing, I could quickly process the information I saw with my eyes.

The steam rising from the footprints.

The body wrapped in electricity.

And…

Whoosh—

Even the yellow wave that blooms at the arrival point.

‘[Thunder God Step], huh.’

The skill’s rank is 2.

However, it’s also a skill that’s ambiguous to classify as a pure movement skill. It’s characterized by a quick dash like a blink, but…

Zzzzzit-!

It spreads a wide-area attack that can even inflict a ‘paralysis’ effect based on the arrival point.

Whoooooosh-!

Greatly increased movement speed.

And…

“Ugh…!”

“B, block… huh?”

You can even get a temporary damage immunity bonus.

Just like this.

Whoosh-!

A nearby melee fighter panicked and swung his weapon, but the weapon passed through the village chief’s body.

‘Is he going for Erwen?’

Ha, that disgusting village chief bastard.

He really only wants to keep us trapped in this village no matter what.

Of course, I had no intention of letting it happen.

‘There are two conditions to cancel [Thunder God Step]’s invincibility.’

The first is to land the first hit.

Perhaps this is why the village chief is ignoring all the other explorers and rushing towards Erwen.

The second is…

‘3 seconds.’

Waiting for the duration of 3 seconds to pass.

Of course, 3 seconds seems like enough time to stab Erwen in the neck.

‘Well, it wouldn’t matter even if he did.’

Even as the village chief was rushing towards Erwen with fire in his eyes, my mind was at peace.

That’s because she’s in a ‘concentrated’ state right now.

「While concentrating, all damage received is absorbed using soul power.」

Erwen in that state is invincible.

However…

‘We’re just doing a background check on you right now.’

Since it’s a core ability that could be used as a trump card someday, there’s no reason to show this card yet.

Therefore…

「The character has activated [Eye of the Storm].」

「Due to the transcendent’s authority, the ability inherent in the skill is unlocked.」

I activate [Eye of the Storm] in conjunction with [Transcendence].

Coincidentally, this can counter that skill.

That’s because.

‘It’s damage immunity, not CC [crowd control] immunity.’

For reference, [Eye of the Storm] has no damage.

It’s not even a projectile.

Whoooooooooosh-!

A gust of wind blows towards me, and the village chief, who was heading towards Erwen, flies towards me in the same posture he was running in.

And at the same time.

Zzzzzit-!

Whether the 3 seconds were up, a wave containing electricity spreads around the village chief.

It means the damage immunity state has ended.

Since I used [Transcendence], I used it once more to activate [Swing].

「The attack range is increased by 3 times.」

The hammer, which extends like a staff, gets stuck in the village chief’s body.

However, the village chief’s body defied the laws of physics.

Instead of flying away, the village chief’s body stuck to the hammer due to the gust of wind blowing towards me.

‘It’s been a while since this combo.’

I gently changed the trajectory of the hammer.

And after spinning the village chief around on the hammer like a ride, I slammed him down.

Wham-!

I slammed him straight into the ground on the opposite side.

Not only was he simply grabbed, but he was also thrown even further away…

“……!”

The village chief, who was slammed into the ground, coughs up blood as if he’s hemorrhaging.

Well, his regeneration is high, so he’ll recover quickly.

But for now, the impact seems to be quite large, and his movements are a bit sluggish.

“Right, there was that.”

“Oh, did you hear it from someone? I don’t remember telling you.”

“…….”

The village chief didn’t answer.

He just glanced at Erwen far away, passing me by.

Tsk, he still can’t let go of his lingering feelings.

“Wake up from your dream.”

“…….”

“You’ll never get there.”

“Not until I defeat you?”

“Th—!”

Just as I was about to answer ‘yes’.

The village chief’s figure disappeared from my sight.

When I found the village chief’s body again with my lacking agility stat, the village chief was already in a stance to swing his sword at close range.

Wham-!

The sword strike hits the shield that I barely managed to raise in time.

I could immediately tell through the feeling of fighting with a shield every day.

The damage inflicted on the shield was much greater.

Before, it was just a slight scratch.

‘This feels almost like a dent.’

Of course, I didn’t question this phenomenon.

Rather than the village chief pulling out another skill, it’s just that I’ve become weaker this time.

「[Transcendence] has a 1-minute cooldown before returning to an inactive state.」

The passive [Evolved Outer Skin]’s resistance to swords is 50%.

It only becomes 75% when using [Iron Fortress].

If the passive effect is increased by 1.5 times with the effect of [Transcendence], it’s practically the same as immunity, but…

Unfortunately, there’s a limit to sword resistance.

The maximum sword resistance that all characters can have is 85%.

In simple terms, for the next minute, 85% has decreased to 75%.

‘In other words, what was coming in at 15% will now come in at 25%.’

It might seem like a 10% difference in simple calculations, but the actual increase in damage felt is almost double.

Wham-!

As I was blocking the village chief’s fiercely swinging sword, reinforcements arrived from behind.

“From now on, I’ll help too.”

“Ah! Ah! Me too……!”

“……Me too! Me too!”

The melee damage dealer group of our clan, consisting of Amelia, Misha, and Ainar.

“Be careful. He’s not an easy opponent.”

I was a little worried, but I didn’t back down and continued the battle together.

There are things you can’t find out just by getting hit.

「Amelia Rainwales has activated [Abyssal Power].」

「Misha Kalstein has activated [Glacial Soul].」

「Ainar Fnellin has activated [Wild Control].」

I take on the role of the main tank, and the three melee sisters swing their weapons as if walking a tightrope, using me as a wall.

In the process, a new essence of the village chief was discovered.

Krrrrrr-!

A dark fog spreads around the village chief, emitting electricity.

[Thundercloud]

A rank 2 skill that deals wide-area lightning damage around the caster, and the skill’s cooldown is reduced in proportion to the number of hits inflicted.

“…Ugh, ugh!”

Still, since only four of us, including me, were hit by the lightning, the cooldown wouldn’t have been reduced drastically.

However…

‘[Thunder God Step]’s cooldown must be over.’

“Everyone, get as far away as possible!”

As soon as I finished judging, I quickly moved the three melee sisters back.

As expected.

Tap-!

The village chief’s body, which dashed forward once, is wrapped in electricity and enters a damage immunity state.

And this time, the village chief’s target is…

“Ainar!!”

Since the distance was close, it was impossible to block it using a grab skill.

However…

「Ainar Fnellin has activated [Crouch].」

「All resistance stats are increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

「Natural regeneration is increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

Right, there was this.

「All resistance stats are increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

The shining sword struck Ainar’s torso, tearing it open enough to reveal bone.

However, as long as it doesn’t lead to instant death, it’s not a problem.

「Natural regeneration is increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

The true value of [Crouch] lies in its regeneration.

‘Still, one person is out for now…….’

Ainar was out of combat after only a few seconds of fighting.

However, there was a gain.

‘Now I have a rough idea of his concept.’

The village chief is a lightning swordsman.

Even if we consider [Thunder God Step], it became clear thanks to the [Thundercloud] he just used. [Thundercloud] can be used as a common skill, but the passive attached to it is not.

[Conductor].

A passive skill that accumulates stacks when using electric-type skills and gives additional bonuses to all electric-type skills.

Anyway, finding this out was quite important.

If the village chief is a lightning swordsman, then I could make a good guess about that shining sword.

‘It must be [Extreme Charge].’

A transformation-type ability that is classified as a weapon enchantment skill like [Abyssal Power].

The unique point is that while it receives lightning-related synergy, the damage itself is dealt as physical damage…

Like a chain of events.

New information is added again.

‘If he has [Extreme Charge], he’ll have that passive too…….’

It’s as if I’ve already figured out four essences.

‘How is it that there are already four rank 2 or higher essences?’

Was there a way to erase essences?

The average rank level is much higher than I expected.

However, let’s give an intermediate score by combining them.

“5 points.”

Ah, of course, based on a 10-point scale.

Even though he matched his concept with the lightning element, the synergy doesn’t seem particularly good.

‘Well, even with just [Thundercloud], how many skills are there that can be used to cheat?’

Well, still, thanks to the high-grade essences, the value itself is extremely high. However, I would rather the remaining essences also be high-grade essences.

A character with broken balance has that many more weaknesses.

‘Okay, then let’s call it a day for today…….’

One.

The moment I recited the last second I was counting in my head.

Whoooooooooosh-!

The whole world was dyed in light, and a roar erupted.

At the same time, Bersil, who was in the rear, announced good news to everyone.

“……I, it’s done! The entrance is really open!”

It was time to leave this wretched village.

***

The burning village and the shattered village entrance.

And the empty space in front of it, where the explorers had all left. The village warriors appeared behind the village chief, who was watching the scene.

[Chief, the fires in the village have all been extinguished.]

The warriors reported the scale of the damage to the village and the number of casualties, but the village chief’s expression did not change as he listened.

That was only natural.

It’s not like anything would change just because a few of these monster bastards died.

What was important to the village chief right now was just one thing.

“I don’t know how he noticed it.”

Bjorn Yandel.

The most famous explorer of this era, and the chieftain of the Barbarian tribe, one of the six major races.

And a baron of the kingdom.

“…If only I had a little more time.”

Like a huge rock being slowly eroded by the wind, a ripple formed in the emotions that had been dulled by time.

It was regret.

But he shook off the human emotion he was experiencing for the first time in a long time.

[Chief, I will form a pursuit team.]

[That’s enough.]

[……Yes? But…….]

[For now, it’s more important to repair the village. That one… is safe, right?]

[Yes. As you confirmed earlier, he is safe.]

Yes, then that’s enough.

Nothing has changed yet.

Things have become a bit troublesome, but it’s still just that for now.

The village chief closed his eyes and recalled the barbarian he had fought fiercely against just a moment ago.

“Bjorn Yandel, huh…….”

He was a beast-like man in many ways.

In some ways, even more so than the monsters in this village.

“When we meet again, he’ll be stronger.”

However, in the village chief’s eyes as he muttered that, a single emotion faintly surfaced.

It was the emotion of joy.