Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 67

[Abyss of Evil]

This is a type of area-of-effect instant-kill skill that Liakis uses when he absorbs more than 10 orbs. If you can’t escape within the time limit, you die no matter how much you’ve leveled up your character.

In game time, it was about 45 minutes.

And there’s one more thing: regardless of location, everyone is pulled toward the center.

Whoosh-!

Before I could even adjust to the sudden darkness, I felt a sensation all over my body, like I was being sucked in.

“B-Bjorn…!! W-wha-t, i-s, h-ap-pen-ing—!”

For some reason, Misha’s voice sounded like it was playing at half speed.

So, I spoke at double speed.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like we’re dying right now.”

“W-wha-t, d-o, y-ou, m-ean—!”

Misha shouted slowly, but the shout was cut off.

Complete silence, as if my sense of hearing had vanished.

Of course, that didn’t last long.

「All characters within the radius are moved to the center of evil.」

When I opened my eyes, there was light.

“Bjorn!”

The sound was normal again, and I saw many people scattered around, not just Misha.

“Where the heck is this…?”

“W-what! I was definitely running away…”

Roughly 200 explorers.

Leaving Misha, who was clinging to me with a worried expression, I checked one group.

Those with the D’jarwi Clan’s emblem were quickly gathering and forming ranks.

‘From 50, this many are left already…’

A little over 20 people.

During the three hours of fighting Liakis, there were 11 deaths, but in less than five minutes, more than that number of people had disappeared.

What the heck happened in that short moment?

Well, it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Hey! If you know what’s going on right now—”

“Shut up, you trash.”

A voice of anger interrupted an explorer’s question.

“Because of trash like you… do you know how many people died!”

“If you come any closer, we will attack immediately.”

The D’jarwi Clan was tightly knit, taking a defensive stance to prevent anyone from approaching.

The explorers were flustered by this.

“W-why is that our fault!”

“If you guys hadn’t taken our equipment in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“I heard that large clans swear to the guild and the royal family that they will fulfill their duties in emergencies. Let’s put the rights and wrongs aside for later, and let’s all work together now…”

“P-please let me in! I didn’t even participate in the first place. I’ll pay more protection money if you ask me to…”

The explorers, who didn’t even know what kind of situation they were in, were all shouting.

Well, they knew it too.

That if they were abandoned by the clan, there was no chance of survival.

But what to do about this?

“Be grateful that we’re not killing you right now, you trash.”

The D’jarwi Clan’s intention was clear.

“W-what kind of selfish talk is that! That means you’re telling us all to go out and die!”

“You understood correctly.”

“…W-what? Look here, you guys! Do you think we’ll just stand by?”

The man who instigated at the front line.

Many explorers agreed with Jack Flitcher’s cry, but the clan just laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“What are you going to do if you don’t stand still?”

“Well, we’ll combine our strength and—”

“I’ll tell you in advance, don’t expect to sway us easily like before. If we wanted to, we could burn you all to ashes right here.”

It wasn’t just empty bravado.

The situation was different from before. Unlike before when they were spread out to fight Liakis, they were now in a proper, dense formation.

It seemed they were ready to cast magic at any time.

“Damn it!”

“Do you think we’ll die without you guys!”

It was then that the explorers realized their reality.

“I, I know about this phenomenon.”

A man, who looked about 160cm tall, spoke up in front of the crowd.

“You know about this phenomenon?”

“W-well, I don’t know the details. But if we don’t get out of here within the time limit, we’ll all die. It was written in an old book.”

“…Is that true?”

When Jack Flitcher gave a suspicious look, a woman stepped forward instead of the seemingly naive man.

“I can vouch for that!”

“An elf?”

“I’ve been on a team with this person for over a year. And we’ve been through many unbelievable things. This person is mysterious. He really knows everything. I have no doubt that his words will save us.”

Jack Flitcher’s face changed.

“If it’s an elf’s word… it’s worth listening to. Hey, you, what do we have to do to escape this place?”

“W-well, it’s not really a method! I heard that if you just go about 5km in any direction, you can escape this place…”

Surprisingly, what the man said was true.

The problem was that the moment you left this place with light, Liakis’s clones would rush in from the darkness.

“I-I heard there are monsters, but if we all work together, we can definitely, definitely do it!”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

Bullshit.

If it were that easy, those clan guys would have run away first, instead of talking seriously among themselves with smug faces.

“Bjorn, what are you going to do?”

“What?”

“But seeing an elf vouching for a human like that, doesn’t that mean he’s really someone special?”

Well, is that so?

He just looks like an idiot to me…

“Don’t be swayed by that kind of thing and wait calmly.”

“Okay!”

Anyway, the situation unfolded quickly after that.

“Although there is an elf’s guarantee, there is definitely a possibility that this man’s words are wrong. But! Rather than just waiting for death, I want to bet on this!”

When Jack Flitcher, who had made a decision, started instigating again, public opinion slowly shifted.

“Yeah, we’ll die either way!”

“Those bastards don’t seem like they’re going to help us anyway, do we have any other choice?”

“There are so many people, we’ll be fine somehow!”

“But, no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be that easy…”

There were many who were suspicious, but once people started gathering, they seemed to be afraid of being left behind, and the momentum picked up.

And now.

“I’ll ask one last time! If there is anyone who will join us, come out now!”

More than 100 explorers joined forces.

The remaining people were about forty, including me and Misha.

Jack Flitcher, who had been scanning us, found me and spoke to me.

“Hey, you, weren’t you Biagron, the son of Yandere?”

“…I’m Bjorn, the son of Yandel.”

“Hmm, was that it? Anyway, are you not going to join us?”

Why bother asking again, isn’t it obvious enough just by being here?

I answered by shrugging my shoulders.

But…

“You’re as stupid as a barbarian, you’ll regret it.”

What the hell? What is this again?

They can just go their own way, why are they acting like this at the end?

I can’t understand their psychology, but since it’s my belief to return what I receive, I gave them some well wishes as well.

“What are you talking about? You’re about to die. Shut your mouth and go die quickly. That would be more helpful to the world.”

“W-what did you say?”

“Do you want to fight me? Then come here. I’ll crush your empty head.”

When I grabbed my mace and walked forward, ignoring the hundred explorers behind him, he turned his head away.

And he left, muttering to himself.

“Geez, I was just trying to be nice…”

“It seems like there are no more people who will join us! Let’s go! We don’t have time to waste here!”

Anyway, that was the end of that.

More than half of the people disappeared into the darkness.

No, in this case, is it more accurate to say that they crawled into their own death trap?

Anyway, as soon as they left, Misha, as if she had been waiting, stuck close to me and murmured.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do?”

“Why do you always ask me that?”

“Well… your words have always been the right answer so far. I believe in you.”

“I see.”

I appreciate the words, but Misha’s words are wrong.

My choice is not the right answer.

How could a mere human know such a thing?

I just chose what seemed like the most likely option at the moment the problem occurred.

And in that sense…

Thud-

I moved towards the D’jarwi Clan, who were in the middle of a discussion.

‘By now, they must have realized how screwed they are…’

Now it’s time to gamble.

The gamble that I judged to have the highest probability of success based on various grounds.

“Stop, barbarian. If you come any closer—”

The clan stopped me as I approached.

Coincidentally, the person who shouted was someone we knew.

“O-Oppa…”

“Half-wit…? Why are you here…”

A sudden reunion.

There was no way there would be an emotional sibling reunion, so I wedged myself between the two and asked with a sly smile.

“Well, long time no see.”

“…What? Long time no see?”

Misha’s brother frowned.

Well, we’re not in a position to greet each other like this.

So, while he was flustered, I immediately got to the point.

“So, did you get the Orc Hero’s essence?”

“Well, luckily, we did—”

Yeah, they were lucky.

“Wait a minute, how do you know that?”

Looking at my brother, who was staring at me with a menacing gaze, I smiled.

The gamble was successful.

At least half of it.

***

Iraz McGrain, the vice-captain of the D’jarwi Clan, thought.

‘We’re screwed.’

Total deaths: 27.

In terms of percentage, that’s 20% of the entire D’jarwi Clan’s forces. I can’t even guess how long it will take to recover.

‘Well, it’s not like we’re guaranteed to return alive either.’

He opened his eyes and looked at the faces of his members.

There are currently 23 surviving clan members.

Looking at the number of people, it can be said that about half of the forces have survived, but that’s not the reality.

He asked his adjutant.

“What is the current force exactly?”

“Three priests, six mages, twelve ranged support types, and… two melee warriors.”

The report continued in a miserable voice.

Well, it would be.

“Only two melee warriors…”

A personnel distribution that is not enough to be called deformed.

When the riot broke out, the warriors who did not receive support suffered near-total annihilation.

“Still, it’s a relief. If it weren’t for the vice-captain’s judgment, we wouldn’t have had time to reorganize like this—”

“That’s something we can only know after we return alive.”

McGrain quietly took a breath.

As soon as he judged that it was impossible to quell the riot, he gave one order: to let Liakis absorb the dark orbs.

Thanks to that, he succeeded in minimizing the damage and buying time.

‘Yeah, time… just enough time.’

“Hey, McGrain! What are you going to do now? You’re not just giving up on everything, are you?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Then you need to think quickly. If you’ve studied the Lord of Chaos, Liakis, even a little, you’ll know that we don’t have much time left.”

McGrain sighed as he looked at the mage who was speaking in a sharp voice.

“May the star that rises at twilight guide us…”

The priests who were praying while making the sign of the cross were better, but if they were displeased, it was clear that even if they returned alive, it would lead to bad results.

‘Think, how can we return alive with as many as possible?’

McGrain pondered and pondered.

What is the best thing to do in the current situation?

“Vice-captain, the explorers are trying to form a group. It seems they are trying to leave this place on their own.”

“That’s good news for a change. Leave them alone.”

“Yes?”

“They’ll act as bait, won’t they?”

While thoroughly utilizing positive variables.

He thought and thought about the escape route, the placement of personnel during movement, and the optimal formation.

There was no answer.

“As you ordered, I have made them aware of the formation during movement. We can move at any time now.”

He did the best he could, but…

‘Assuming luck is on our side, at least more than half will die.’

The absence of warriors was too critical.

With only two, they can’t even properly clear a path, and even those two are swordsmen and lancers.

A professional defense-type warrior.

In other words, there are no explorers in the guardian position.

‘To have to clear a path with only them in a situation where they are more important than ever, it’s driving me crazy.’

Just one person.

If there was just one explorer in the proper guardian position, the situation would have been much more positive…

“Vice-captain, the explorers have left.”

“Make a decision quickly!”

Looking at the clan members looking at him, McGrain closed his eyes tightly.

“There are more than 100 people. If we don’t move while they’re drawing attention, even a little—”

“I know.”

There is no time.

He had to make a decision quickly.

It was just when McGrain was about to open his tightly closed mouth.

“That’s why I told you!! I’ll open the way—!!”

A barbarian shouted.

As if he knew his worries, which no one in this place knew.

McGrain asked his adjutant as if he was possessed.

“Hey, who is that guy doing that?”

“I heard a little bit, but he seems to be a companion of Ms. Karlstein’s younger sister. There’s no need for the vice-captain to worry about it—”

“I’ll judge that, so you answer me.”

The adjutant answered.

“I don’t know how he found out, but… he’s demanding the essence of the Orc Hero.”

“The essence of the Orc Hero?”

“Yes, he says that if he has that, he can open the way.”

McGrain activated one of his abilities, [Survival Instinct], and looked at the barbarian again.

And he murmured.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a person shine so brightly.”

That ability, which had saved him in many crises, was saying.

It’s worth listening to him.