Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 228
Reversal (4)
There are several race-specific essences in [Dungeon and Stone].
The [Elementalization] that Erwin just used is a prime example.
If a human who cannot handle spirits uses it, it results in a non-elemental spirit state.
Moreover, a skill buff is attached to resources used for handling elementals, such as elemental power or natural force.
It’s practically an essence meant exclusively for fairies.
Crackle, crackle.
Every time I move my arm, dirt crumbles off.
It feels as if I’ve become a rock giant.
Ah, it is weird to call it a giant.
‘Phew, I could really use [Gigantification].’
It’s a shame that I can’t show off that grand form, but it’s an unavoidable issue.
Tat-tat.
Erasing my regrets, I dash forward.
[Kuueeeek!]
At that moment, the corpse monster the clown was riding spewed poison from its mouth.
I didn’t even bother raising my shield, taking it head-on.
Barbarian (Earth) mode is immune to poison.
“Oh, it had that effect?”
As expected, the bastard seemed to understand my state only after seeing it for himself, possibly because he cleared the cheat version too.
Yet, he still remained relaxed.
“Well, you’ve used your head a bit. Pfft.”
The clown laughed even though his main attack, poison, had been blocked.
Of course, it would be so.
He isn’t just any poison necromancer but an agile poison necromancer.
Tat-tat.
He dismounted the corpse monster and retreated. Although I was running at full speed, the distance between us continued to grow.
It’s because of the penalty attached to the Barbarian (Earth) mode.
「Agility greatly decreased.」
My body moved at half the usual speed.
In this situation, this is the biggest penalty, more so than the double water damage or the drastic reduction in HP..
“Why? Didn’t you expect this?”
As soon as his poison was blocked, he gave up on close combat and started adjusting the distance.
If he were a prideful guy, he would never do that.
But…
‘Why do you think I turned off [Gigantification]?’
A top-tier explorer known as the corpse collector running away from a 5th rank barbarian?
I expected this, bastard.
‘Leap.’
I stomp the ground, muttering the name of the skill to myself.
[Kyak!]
Erwin, who can’t be more than 5 meters away from me in her spirit state, gets dragged along as if grabbed by her hair.
I felt a bit sorry for her, but…
‘The maximum distance is about 30 meters.’
I calmly assessed the current situation.
Considering I could jump 70 meters during my [Gigantification], the distance has drastically decreased.
It made me realize how heavy this body was.
If I had been in [Gigantification] mode, it would have been less than half.
Still, the speed itself was similar.
“Bethel—Raaaa!!”
As a movement skill, the distance closed instantly.
Kwaaaaang-!
The ground rippled from the impact point.
The effect was the same as before, but there was a clear difference.
The massive corpse monster that didn’t budge before…
[Grr?]
…couldn’t withstand it and floated upward.
「Character’s total weight exceeds 1,000 kg.」
Yeah, now I’m heavier than you.
The frail-looking clown wasn’t even worth mentioning.
“……!”
The body, which had been stepping back, rises into the air.
Before it could land, I dashed and closed the distance. Taking a stance as if swinging a baseball bat.
At that moment, I made eye contact with the clown in mid-air.
No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem to be laughing.
Man, that hurts my feelings.
“Split.”
There was no response.
Fine, if you don’t like it, I have no choice.
I’ll just have to split you myself.
Whoosh!
Timing it right, I swung the mace to smash the clown’s head.
At that moment, thick bones sprouted from his skin.
「Abet Necrapheto has cast [Bone Armor].」
[Bone Armor].
The same skill that blocked Mr. Bear’s ultimate attack without much damage when we first met.
But I wasn’t too worried.
The Outlaw of the Wasteland is still active.
Barbarian (Earth) Mode’s blunt weapon destruction buff.
And the [Swing] imbued with the spirit of an ogre.
No matter how well the synergy is, there’s no way a Level 4 skill can block this.
Crack-crack-!
The moment the mace made contact, the [Bone Armor] shattered like cracking a walnut with a hammer.
And the tender flesh beneath was exposed.
“Erwin!”
Erwin, floating in spirit form, shot a fire arrow.
As always, the target was the forehead.
Boom!
The fire arrow exploded on the clown’s mask.
But was that mask also equipment?
The first effective hit was blocked by the mask, failing to cause significant damage.
Tak.
The clown, flying from the physical force, regained balance and landed.
At that moment…
Crrrrack.
The mask, spreading spiderweb-like cracks, shattered into pieces.
I smiled as I looked at him.
Ah, so that’s what you look like.
“Damn, you’re ugly.”
If Pen, the little dragon, saw this, she would be horrified.
But was this the clown’s reverse scale?
“You NPC bastards who don’t know anything!”
He burst out with praise.
***
The clown no longer played his clown games.
He dropped the exaggerated acting tones and spoke like a common explorer.
“Don’t think it’ll end with just death.”
Hmm, that’s the same line that dragon-slaying bastard used.
He said something about death not being able to save me.
“I’ll give you unimaginable pain.”
Is this kind of line popular in Orcules?
I wasn’t sure, but the continuous praise from the opponent made the battle seem smooth.
Of course, that’s to be expected.
「Abet Necrapheto has cast [Puppet].」
The true strength of a necromancer lies in their army.
But most of his corpse army is fighting the main force and many of them have died.
This bastard is probably running low on MP by now.
Moreover, I have a much more advantageous attribute.
「Abet Necrapheto has cast [Curse of Stone].」
A curse to halt my charge?
As long as the skill’s attribute is earth, it’s meaningless.
‘Yes, I’m the Elemental Barbarian now .’
Even with a drastic reduction in magic resistance due to the penalty, my earth resistance grants me easy immunity.
「Abet Necrapheto has cast [Bone Armor].」
[Bone Armor] is countered by [Swing].
Crack-!
Every time I peel off a layer, Erwin, in her spirit form, shoots an arrow.
Thud-!
Damage steadily accumulates as the battle continues.
[Groooaaar!]
The clown starts pulling out elite corpses from his subspace to attack Erwin.
It was a smart decision.
If Erwin takes a certain amount of damage, the Elemental Barbarian mode will also be deactivated.
Then, poison damage would start affecting me.
But…
‘Okay, so he has no mages?’
His summons were thoroughly focused on ‘poison + physical damage.’ Therefore, they couldn’t harm Erwin, who gains immunity to physical damage.
Well, there were occasionally elite corpses with elemental weapons…
Crack-!
I destroyed them before they got close.
Of course, it was difficult to handle them all by myself.
But I didn’t come here alone.
“Dertu Teiran!”
Raven used wind magic to push enemies away, or when that didn’t work, she deployed a mana shield to protect Erwin.
‘Utility is definitely the realm of mages.’
Meanwhile, the rest of my team followed at a distance, focusing solely on protecting Raven.
Ideal teamwork where everyone guards each other.
“How long do you think you can hold out!”
The clown spat blood and continued his flood of praises.
But there was so much bitterness in his praise that it was hard to laugh it off.
‘…You slippery bastard.’
The battle seemed to be going in our favor, but we were the ones in a hurry.
Even if we minimize the damage Erwin took, eventually the Elemental Barbarian mode would end.
And who knows how long Kyle can hold out.
‘Phew, I need to end this before the Ruin Scholar arrives.’
The urgency grew as time passed.
While my physical resistance significantly increased by becoming an earth attribute barbarian, my magic resistance decreased accordingly.
One proper magic attack and neither Erwin nor my main body would withstand it.
Not to mention water attribute damage which is doubled.
If it weren’t for the presence of the Ruin Scholar, we wouldn’t have needed to form a detached force of over a hundred people and could have come here with just our team.
“…The corpses are retreating!”
To make matters worse, the clown began storing the surrounding corpses back into his subspace.
This was a significant problem.
Sure, it reduced the burden on my trailing comrades…
Crack!
The [Bone Armor] that used to break in one hit now withstood two.
It’s due to the reduced damage increase from the ‘Outlaw of the Wasteland’.
“Yeah, it was because of that, huh?”
Ha, these player bastards.
They notice even what’s hidden from sight.
The clown’s eyes curved into a long arc.
“Don’t laugh. You’re too ugly.”
“…Once this is over, I’ll rip out that tongue first.”
Go ahead and try.
“Behel—Raaaaaa!!”
I shouted and pressed the attack even more fiercely.
The resistance was intense.
Recognizing me as a formidable opponent, he began using essences not commonly known.
「Abet Necrapheto has cast [Momentary Immortality].」
A skill of a Level 3 monster, Death Lord.
Fwoosh!
The black flames engulfed his clothes and skin, leaving only bones.
Like a lich.
‘I suspected, but didn’t expect him to have this skill.’
The effect of [Momentary Immortality] is simple.
For one minute, no matter what happens, he cannot die, and mental and supernatural stats are converted to physical stats.
‘A top-tier explorer with maxed-out physical stats…’
I swallowed nervously but spoke nonchalantly. “You look much better now.”
He didn’t reply.
He just clicked his bony jaw in annoyance and charged.
Bang-!
A simple shove.
That was all, yet it pushed me back, even making the corpse monsters float with the [Recoil].
Hoo, how much has his strength increased?
Thankfully, physical resistance meant I took no damage…
‘Damn it.’
But my comrades are different.
Even a simple attack from that monstrous body could knock them down easily.
So…
“Everyone, fall back!”
The situation reversed in an instant.
Instead of stopping the clown from running, I now had to stop him.
Tat-tat.
The clown shoved me aside and began a mindless charge.
In a split second, the distance increases.
He wasn’t just any max-level skeleton.
Tat-tat.
I quickly followed with [Leap].
Bang-!
Though I made him airborne with the [Recoil] upon landing, it barely bought any time.
Even as I grabbed him tightly in midair, he easily broke free within a second and continued his charge.
Disaster struck in a heartbeat.
“Aynar!”
Aynar blocked the clown’s punch but was sent flying, crashing into Mr. Bear with her adamantium greatsword.
And then…
Bang-!
Misha, hit in the abdomen, collapsed to the ground.
Raven desperately raised a stone wall with magic, but it was shattered with a single punch.
The clown’s goal was obvious.
He aimed to take out the most troublesome mage first within the remaining time.
“Protect Raven!”
I shouted as I followed with another [Leap], but the clown ignored the unconscious Misha and dashed again.
Thud!
With one punch, the tank summon Iron Guardian was unsummoned.
“Kyaa!”
Raven, who had been riding Iron, was thrown into the air. Before she could hit the ground, another punch swung toward her.
“…!”
Mr. Bear grabbed Raven by the scruff and pulled her back just in time.
At that moment…
Boom-!
As I landed, the clown was launched into the air again.
In the meantime, I used [Gigantification] and crouched over my fallen comrades.
Understanding what I was trying to do, Mr. Bear and Daria quickly moved inside.
Bang! Bang!
The clown landed and began pounding on my back as if to crush me completely.
Are they going to be okay?
“Grr…”
No, it doesn’t seem okay.
I thought this might work, but…
‘Plan B.’
Before five seconds had passed, I changed my mind and quickly got up, punching the clown in the head.
Caught off guard, he was knocked back, despite his great physical strength.
Yes, the best defense is a good offense.
I dove onto him as if to tackle.
And then…
“Behel—Raaaaaa!!!”
I pinned him down with overwhelming weight.
Even the clown found the weight of the giant Elemental Barbarian burdensome, taking several seconds to shake me off.
But how much time is left—
“…Damn barbarian.”
So, it’s over now.
Ha, I really thought I was going to die.
As flesh forms over his bones, revealing his naked form, I smirk.
“You’re small.”
It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel a bit of pity, but that doesn’t change anything.
Tat-tat.
I immediately dashed forward and swung my mace at him.
As expected, [Bone Armor] erupted.
Crack-!
Being in [Gigantification] state, it shattered in a single hit, and Erwin didn’t miss the opening, shooting an arrow.
“…!”
He rolled to dodge it, agile as ever, but the arrow hit his leg.
‘Nice.’
With a hole in his leg, even that cockroach-like agility should slow down.
I dashed again swiftly.
At that moment…
「Character’s soul power is insufficient.」
「[Gigantification] is deactivating.」
As my MP ran out, my body shrank.
Well, it was about time.
I used [Leap] and [Swing] extensively.
Of course, it’s not a problem.
It looks like this bastard is almost out of mana too.
[Mister, all the corpses near the portal have been taken down!]
The puppet corpses that kept fighting us were deactivated.
He stopped maintaining them?
That means he’s really cornered.
‘A few more times should do it.’
I charged at the rat-like clown.
Even without [Leap], the battle was similar to before.
When caught, he used [Bone Armor].
I repeatedly broke it with my mace, and Erwin shot arrows.
How long had this gone on?
‘How big is his MP pool?’
I wondered, breaking [Bone Armor] again when a message came.
[Aaah, Jandel. Can you hear me?]
Good news and bad news arrived simultaneously.
[We’ve taken down Blue Mane. We’ll come help soon.]
Melter Pend and his clan succeeded in their raid on the wolf.
The disappearance of the puppet corpses probably played a big role.
It was very welcome news.
But…
[And one more thing, it seems Kyle has been defeated.]
Kyle lost.
[Be careful. The Ruin Scholar might come for you.]
Melter Pend’s warning was meaningless.
Because he was already here.
“Haha, Necrapheto, you look terrible.”
Damn it.