Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 732

As soon as the battle began, Abet Necraphaeto moved to the relatively safe rear. Due to his innate need for attention, he had dared to stand at the forefront during the 9th District invasion a while ago, but he had no intention of repeating the same mistake. Well, he was somewhat confident in close combat, but… ‘…How can I stand in front when fighting against such a monster?’ In fact, his close combat ability was only at the level of self-defense, and he knew that even that wouldn’t work against them. Ah, of course, skill was a factor, but there was also a difference in profession—. “Don’t hide and come here! You bastard!!” At that moment, his former colleague, a woman, shouted at him as he moved to the rear. Of course, that level of cursing didn’t even faze him. Given the nature of people like us, it was more like a compliment? “Tsk! You’re saying strange things! Why is a necromancer going to the back considered hiding?” It was a natural thing to say, but the person who was captured by the enemy for not doing that obvious thing shouted as if she couldn’t believe it. “Then why did you do that back then…! If it weren’t for that…! I… I…!” “Tsk tsk, but thanks to that, didn’t we form a good relationship?” “Th, that’s not what I meant…!” The two’s argument had the potential to continue for days if there was enough time, but unfortunately, the situation was not good for that right now. They were both positioned at the rear of their respective camps, and the distance between them was also far. “Stop the chatter and use magic!” “…Ah, okay!” “Necraphaeto!” “Tsk tsk….” Both of them participated in combat support from the rear, and the argument naturally ended. It was a very fortunate thing for him. 「Rilanne Vivian has cast the 4th-grade black magic [Curse of the Rotten Land].」 「The defense of all enemies within the radius is greatly reduced.」 That stupid woman is just a curse caster, but I’m different. “Tsk… such a pathetic act.” 「Abet Necraphaeto has cast [Blessing of the Legion].」 「All harmful effects received by all allies within the radius are reduced by 50%, and the highest stat is increased by 20%.」 Not only did he recently acquire a new 2nd-grade wide-area buff. “…Damn it! Layton is dead! Necraphaeto!” “Tsk tsk, leave it to me!” Unlike black mages who are ambiguous in everything except curses, necromancers have skills that can produce fraudulent performance even in small-scale battles. 「Abet Necraphaeto has cast [Puppet].」 After all, a necromancer can raise the dead as disposable items and make them fight again. Of course, they are not as strong as they were when they were alive. But if you give them buffs, they become usable. 「Abet Necraphaeto has cast [Bloodline].」 「All passive skills possessed by the caster are granted to the subordinate.」 Poison flows through the blood, the strength of the bones is increased, and debuffs are applied to all attacks. However, this is not all. 「Abet Necraphaeto has cast [Modification].」 「Randomly modifies one subordinate.」 The elites of Orculist, who were skilled enough to be called to this place. As soon as they die, they are resurrected and given random characteristics. For example… 「Great success.」 「Subordinate: Coral Layton acquires the [Great Beast] trait.」 Coral Layton, who was a melee warrior, transformed into a huge monster that was not inferior to that barbarian upon resurrection. “Tsk tsk… a great success from the start, you’re lucky.” Kwaaaang-! A new summon (Coral Layton) with even more powerful strength than when he was alive, confronting the giant barbarian. “Tsk tsk tsk… such a high strength stat to be able to stop that ignorant barbarian!” Necraphaeto sincerely hoped that the summon he had just created would be safe. After all, if it had that much individual value, it would be high in his subspace collection—. Swish-! “……Huh?” He rubbed his eyes as he watched the battle from the rear. Kooong-! …Did it die in one slash? ‘…It, it was a great success? And with the best base?’ It didn’t make sense at all. He heard that there was a dealer next to that barbarian, and that he was quite strong, and even after seeing Layton being killed with a single slash, he thought he shouldn’t go near him…! But still, even so! “…Wh, wh, what the hell is that knight…!” In fact, he was just speaking for everyone, and it was the thought that all the Orculist members currently present had. It was only natural. Even a necromancer like him, who had slow reflexes and no knowledge of close combat, could feel it, so how much more would those who were fighting directly in front feel it? Swish-! That nameless knight is dangerous. Not in one aspect, but in all aspects. Kooong-! Even more than that barbarian called ‘giant’. Pshooooot-! Every time he swung his sword, a fountain of blood erupted without fail. Twenty elite soldiers who were waiting with great momentum. And hundreds of support troops around them. “……” “……” At some point, they were retreating, and they were no longer actively participating in the battle as before. Everyone was busy protecting themselves? It was a common phenomenon that occurred when there was a battle with a high chance of defeat. They were just pretending to fight while playing a game of wits until the retreat order was given… ‘…I, I need to prepare.’ Abet Necraphaeto, who had lived a life of being strong against the weak and weak against the strong, felt that ‘atmosphere’ faster than anyone else, and pictured the situation where he had to run away in his head. But of course, it was impossible to run away right now. Because the order to retreat had not yet been given. ‘I’ll just pretend to help a little bit…’ When he saw an opening, he would run away without looking back. Ah, just in case, he should move back a little further. 「Abet Necraphaeto has cast [Puppet].」 He didn’t spare his support skills either. He had to do his part to have something to say even after retreating, and if he didn’t do this, it seemed like the front line would collapse immediately. But… ‘…Huh?’ His judgment was rational, but at the same time, it was also a very big mistake. The moment the new [Puppet] rose. The knight’s gaze turned to Necraphaeto. Eyes that were indifferent like a machine, yet shone like a hunter. ‘Wh, why are you looking at me…!’ He screamed inwardly out of anxiety, but in fact, he knew why the knight’s gaze was directed at him. Because he could tell as soon as he saw it. The thought the knight had while looking at him. ‘Ah, I need to kill him quickly.’ There was no ill will or annoyance in the knight’s eyes. But that was why he felt goosebumps all over his body. Therefore… Tuk. He took a step back without realizing it. Tadat-! As if that was a signal, the knight’s body soared upwards. “What is it?” “I’ll borrow it for a moment.” The knight, who had leaped high, lightly stepped on the shoulder of the giant barbarian, and using that leaping power, flew towards him in an instant. “……” It was a very strange sensation. It was as if time was flowing slowly? Even as the knight was approaching him quickly, his mind was working faster than ever. To find a way for him to survive. ‘Momentary Immortality.’ First of all, this didn’t seem like a good idea. Of course, if he used this, he wouldn’t die for a minute no matter what he did… But would he be able to survive after that? ‘…I, I shouldn’t have come here! Why does it always turn out like this when I meet that barbarian!’ He felt a sense of injustice and sorrow for some reason, but he quickly cleared his mind of distractions. Such thoughts are not helpful for survival. Yes, so… ‘…Damn it!’ Soon, Necraphaeto put into practice the method he had come up with in a moment, which had the highest chance of survival. 「Abet Necraphaeto has used [Staff of the Underworld].」 Staff of the Underworld. No. 17, a treasure among the double numbers, and the very thing that is considered the graduation weapon of a ‘necromancer’. It was a treasure with many risks, but… ‘Call of the Underworld.’ Necraphaeto did not hesitate and activated the staff’s effect, ‘Call of the Underworld’. Ah, of course, out of those four, the one that seemed the easiest to deal with and the most fun to torment… ‘Rilanne Vivian!’ At the moment he focused his eyes and completed the ‘target designation’, the aura that had approached his eyes disappeared, and a green light swirled around. 「The character and the designated target receive the Call of the Underworld.」 The world of the dead, where no one from the outside can interfere. ‘Tsk tsk… I think it was a wise move, even for me.’ Now, all he had to do was endure and endure here. Well, the process might be a little boring… but that could be solved by tormenting Rilanne Vivian so that she doesn’t die. …That’s what he thought. “Wow… the scenery here is amazing.” Until he saw a barbarian leisurely looking around. *** 「The character has used [Aegis Barrier].」 「The designated target’s effect is received instead.」 *** Three green moons are floating in the sky. The three moons, which seem so clear and close as if they were in space. If you look closely, you can see that the moons are made of wriggling corpses. [Ggrrrrrrr……] The sound of zombies from all directions is like background music. Ah, just to be clear, it’s only like that above, and below, there is only an endless expanse of desolate plains that feel eerie—. Puh-ung-! Something green erupts upwards from the cracks in the ground, like magma erupting. ‘If I get hit by that, the debuff will stack, right? I need to be careful.’ Anyway, so this is what it feels like. It definitely feels different from what I saw in the game. Maybe it’s because the lighting from the sky is green, but it really feels like I’ve come to another world? ‘Anyway, the sightseeing ends here.’ I had no intention of putting off the things I had to do and leisurely enjoying the scenery, saying that even Mount Geumgang is better after a meal [a Korean proverb meaning that even a beautiful sight is better after eating]. Therefore… Swoosh. When he moved his gaze, which had finished exploring the surroundings, to the front, the guy who met his eyes flinched. “B, Bjorn Yandel! Why, why are you here…!” Well, if you use the active skill of [Aegis Barrier], you can take the hit instead of the ‘target designation’ type of instant skill that is impossible to break or take the hit for. Well, this is the first time I’ve used it in a real battle, though. “I wonder?” There’s no reason to explain it to him—. “B, but I clearly designated that bitch Vivian…!” Ah… it wasn’t Raven that I designated? I thought that was the case, so I used the shield right away without asking any questions. ‘Well, they were both in similar positions.’ It was an incident that started with a misunderstanding, but when I think about it, it wasn’t a bad situation. Corpse collector, Abet Necraphaeto. I wanted to kill this guy myself. Smirk. Smiling, I raised my hammer.