Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 842

Return 4

Tear of the Goddess.

This was the very item that had played a decisive role in defeating the rank 5 monster, the Vampire Duke Cambormere, when I was just a basic barbarian.

In truth, though, this item was not something that should have been wasted on a mere rank 5 monster.

The only reason it was used that way was because there had been no way to take it out of the rift.

“Shouldn’t you check what it is first? I could feel divine power coming from it…”

At the priestess’s curious question, I merely gave an awkward smile and told her I would look into it later.

After all, I already knew exactly what it was.

When used, it dealt massive area damage to undead monsters. When drunk, it could heal even life-threatening wounds.

That was why, in the early stages, if my main character lost an arm and ended up with a handicap, I often came here to reattach it.

That was why, if my main character lost an arm or suffered some other serious disability early on, I would often come here to reattach the limb.

However…

Considering the item’s true power, even that was still a waste.

Damage?

Honestly, it did not scale that well.

Even when it appeared as a guardian, the Tears were not powerful enough to kill a rank 5 vampire in a single hit.

Its healing ability was impressive, but it could still be replaced by the highest-grade potions.

The real value of this item lay elsewhere.

[You have destroyed the Tears of the Goddess.]

「[Grace] descends upon the location where it was destroyed.」

[By the effect of Grace, Vampire Duke Cambormere’s resistances are temporarily sealed, and it takes a large amount of damage.]

Sealing all resistances.

That single effect was the true purpose of this item.

Even if it was only temporary, it meant you could completely wreck the defenses of one monster.

I doubt I’ll be able to take it all the way back to the city, even with distortion magic…

Still, just having it with me was reassuring.

It would be an enormous help in surviving the rest of the dimensional collapse. If we encountered an enemy too difficult to defeat through normal means, this would become our hidden trump card.

Of course, the best outcome would be never having to use it at all.

But I did not expect the world to conveniently follow my wishes.

‘I’ve secured the most important thing for now…!’

I considered packing up and returning to the group, but in the end, I decided to continue searching.

It would look a little strange if I turned back right away at this point.

Besides…

I was curious.

I began wondering who I would find in the boss room.

It was pure gamer curiosity. If Cambormere was there, I wanted to restrain him and try talking to him.

Maybe, just like when I met “Ormi Noark” in the shack, I would be able to meet the original version of him.

With that thought in mind, I continued the search.

We passed through the streets, then the underground prison, and then the demon worship room. Throughout the entire journey, I did not see a single monster that looked like it had been dragged here by the dimensional collapse.

…Maybe I should have just come alone.

I had brought the priestess and the mage in case something unexpected happened.

As for the scout…

At this point, he was basically just tagging along.

“This should be the last area. According to the book I read, a Death Knight should appear as the guardian beyond here…”

“A Death Knight, huh…”

It did look like a Death Knight would appear this time.

The color of the boss room’s door handle was ordinary. If it had been Cambormere, it would have been different.

And so…

Creak…

I boldly opened the old door and entered the boss room.

“Huh?”

The moment I entered the boss room, I froze.

“Grrr…?”

What the hell is this bastard?

Instead of a Death Knight, there was a winged pig sitting alone in the centre of the room.

[Character has entered the range of Predation of Original Sin.]

[Distortion is applied to all living creatures within the area.]

This was the boss room where a Death Knight, or perhaps a Vampire, should have been.

But inside, there was only one monster.

“It… does not look like a Death Knight.”

“Hmm. I read that information from a fairly reliable source. How strange…!”

“What should we do? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that monster before…”

The three people who had followed me calmly assessed the situation and began preparing for battle.

And I…

“Stop!”

…hurriedly stopped them before they could raise their weapons.

Everyone looked confused, but there was nothing I could do about that.

I knew what this thing was.

“Guiltygos…”

A rank 1 monster that appeared on the tenth floor.

Naturally, it was far too dangerous for us to even attempt fighting in our current state.

Munch, munch!

It seemed to be eating another monster.

Judging by what I could see, it was a rank 3 monster skewered on its front claws.

So Guiltygoses use their claws like forks.

After filing away that new piece of information in my head, I recalled everything else I knew about the monster. Then I shared only the most important details with my companions.

“Guiltygos is a rank 1 demon-type monster.”

“And unless you attack it first or go too close, it will never make the first move. Understand?”

“…I-I understand.”

I did not bother mentioning the extra information.

Guiltygos did not attack explorers on its own, but it had a habit of killing and devouring every other monster it encountered.

It also grew stronger the more monsters it consumed, meaning each individual Guiltygos could vary greatly in power.

I did not bother explaining those details, since they were not important right now.

“If you understand, then we’re going to slowly back away and leave this place. We don’t want to accidentally provoke that thing. Got it?”

No one answered.

But sometimes, silence was answer enough.

Step, step.

From the sound of their footsteps, I could tell everyone had reached the same conclusion.

Badump!

In that choking silence, we safely made it out of the boss room.

We had only taken a few steps inside before spotting it, but simply backing out again was enough to drain all our strength.

Then, as if telling the bastard to go ahead and finish its meal, I carefully closed the door as well, and the situation came to an end.

Still, we could not relax right away.

Only after we had left the demon worship room and passed through the underground prison did anyone dare to make a sound.

The priestess was the first to speak.

“Wh-what a terrifying demon… My hands are still trembling.”

I could hardly believe her.

Before I told her it was a rank 1 monster, she had been staring at it with obvious curiosity.

The scout spoke next.

“Wh-what was that?! A rank 1 monster! Why is something like that here…?!”

Judging by his reaction, he probably had not managed to properly look around the room because of fear.

“There was equipment nearby, along with bones that looked like they belonged to explorers. The monster probably fell here with them.”

Of course, I had no way of knowing when exactly it had arrived.

It could have come during the collapse, or it might have fallen here during the first or second safe period.

Either way, I did not care enough to think about it.

Not every explorer would have been lucky enough to spend their safe period as peacefully as we had.

“That was certainly an interesting experience… but now that I think about it, something bothers me.”

The mage was the last to speak.

“A monster eating another monster… How is that possible…?”

Ah, that?

To explain that, I would first need to explain its passive.

Predation of Original Sin.

It was an aura-type passive skill that applied distortion to every living creature within its range.

For monsters, that meant they left corpses behind.

For living humans, they would drop mana stones or one of the essences they possessed.

And…

Guiltygos grew stronger by eating those.

As expected of a rank 1 monster, it had quite the unusual ability.

However, I did not bother explaining any of that to the mage.

It was too much trouble.

“Guiltygos… I’ll need to research it once we return to the city.”

Was this guy trying to jinx us?

Why was he making so many plans for after we returned to the city?

“Anyway, it’s fine since nothing happened. We’ll end the search here and return to base,” I said.

No one objected.

After all, we had just encountered a rank 1 monster.

We quickly made our way back to the main group.

And with that, our proper rest finally began.

However, not long after, I ended up learning something about one of my companions from an unexpected source.

“You saw Misha…?”

One of the three survivors who had joined us during the last wave had apparently run into her.

I could not tell whether that was good news or bad news.

“You. Are you sure it was Misha?”

“Yes! I can guarantee it! Ms. Karlstein was wandering around just like us!”

“…By herself?”

What had happened?

***

All he told me was that before he joined our group, he had happened to run into Misha while wandering through the collapse.

“Hmm… Then how are you so sure it was Misha?”

“She was the one who questioned me first! She asked if I had seen you! And thinking back on it, her appearance matched Ms. Karlstein perfectly! The monster she killed with her dagger froze, too!”

That checked out.

At the very least, I could be fairly certain that it really had been Misha.

“And then? What happened after that?” I asked.

“That was it. I told her I hadn’t seen you, and she ran off like something was chasing her. There were monsters everywhere around us, so…”

“…I see.”

After sending him away, I sank into thought.

Why had Misha been separated from the others?

From the sound of it, she had been wandering around during the third wave, searching for me.

Was she even still alive—

Badump!

My heart thudded heavily, and dark thoughts began creeping into my mind.

Did I need to search for Misha during the next wave?

Was that even possible with our current numbers?

Maybe I needed to change the plan and move on my own again—

“Bjorn.”

“Ah.”

Aynar’s approach finally broke me out of my thoughts.

“I heard. Misha might be alone.”

“Yeah. It seems that way.”

“What are you going to do?”

Instead of answering, I asked her a question in return.

“What do you think I should do?”

It was the kind of question I had never asked Ainar before.

But just this once, I wanted to hear her opinion.

Maybe it was an unconscious cry for help.

An attempt to share the weight of this decision with someone, anyone.

But as always, Ainar’s answer was simple and direct.

“Well, I don’t really mind! We can stay here, or we can leave everything behind and go. I’ll go with you.”

In other words, either was fine.

For some reason, I felt the old trauma from when I met Hyeon-byeol stir inside me again.

“…So you want me to decide?” I asked.

“Because I trust your decision.”

“Haah…”

Was I supposed to be happy about that or not?

Still, thanks to her, my mind cleared a little.

Choice was both authority and responsibility.

If I enjoyed the authority I held during good times, then I also had to bear the responsibility that came with it during difficult ones.

Yeah.

So…

“We’re not changing the plan. We’ll stay with the group and survive the dimensional collapse.”

I let go of my doubts and made my decision.

Whatever.

Misha should be fine, right?

Of course, I had not made the decision lightly. After thinking it through, I concluded that this was the best option for everyone.

If Misha continued moving around during the next wave, remaining in one place might actually increase the chances of her finding us.

After all, even the survivor who had told me about seeing Misha had joined our group during the previous wave.

Okay.

That settled it.

“I’m going to rest, so you should too.”

“Okay!”

After sending Aynar away, I stretched out flat on the ground.

Time passed.

Crack!

The moment I heard that sound, my body jolted upright.

“Get up!”

“The collapse is starting…!”

“Gather at the center!”

It was now the fourth wave.

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