Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 849

The acid rain was only the beginning of the chaos that followed.

The first thing to follow the rain was—

Sizzle!

Strange flowers bloomed from the holes left behind by the raindrops.

Then, an otherworldly cry rang out around us.

It was not a pleasant sound. There was a sorrowful quality to it, yet it also resembled the sobbing of a beast that had forgotten how to speak.

Of course, that was only my own interpretation.

In any case, the cry had a strange rhythm to it, as if several sounds were layered together: wood being scratched, metal grinding against metal, and something else entirely.

As the cry continued to echo like the background music of a horror film, I shivered.

I had heard this sound before.

Not in real life, but back when this world had only been a game.

“Huh… Wh-why am I crying…?”

After the bizarre sound began to spread, I saw tears streaming down the faces of several explorers.

They looked confused, unable to understand what was happening to them.

But I felt fear.

Because I knew.

[Character has entered the area of Despair.]

[Status condition: Grief has been applied.]

Lord of Tears, Tetraseia.

We had entered the range of that monster’s passive ability.

However, I still could not see any fog.

To put it simply, that meant the Lord of Tears itself was not nearby.

“What’s with this flower…?”

“Don’t touch them!”

Although I had not given any direct order, the adventurers did not foolishly approach and touch the flowers.

If anything, they were on high alert and kept their distance.

They were experienced explorers.

To survive, one had to fear the unknown before becoming curious about it.

Because those flowers exploded when touched.

“Viscount! What is happening?”

“The Lord of Tears…”

When I answered Armin’s question, the other survivors began cursing.

“…Damn it! No wonder I had a bad feeling!”

“Fuck! Now even a Floor Lord is showing up! I thought we could finally relax a bit.”

“Th-then do we have to fight that thing…? I’ve never defeated a Lord of the Floor before…”

The thought of having to face what might be the strongest enemy they had ever encountered was enough to set everyone on edge.

I quickly made my decision.

Although I had reflexively ordered everyone to prepare for battle the moment the acid rain began to fall, we were not in immediate danger yet.

It was not here.

There was still a chance it would pass us by without forcing us into a fight.

And so—

“Everyone, into marching formation! Once we’re ready, you’ll follow me! The flowers will explode if you touch them, so be careful!”

While I was giving orders, I noticed Golden Ghost still standing beside me. Ah, right. He was here too.

“What are you doing? Go bring Urikfried to me, then get lost.”

“Uh…”

“Are you deaf?”

“…I-I’ll bring him.”

Maybe it was because I was speaking far more bluntly than before, but after standing there in shock for a moment, Golden Ghost immediately returned to his group.

Not long after, he brought Mr. Bear over to me.

“I assume you’ve heard the situation?” I asked.

“Ah, uh… I have, but… will this really be alright?” he replied.

“What’s there to worry about? Come over here, Urakburak.”

“…I owe you again.”

Mr. Bear looked rather dejected, but I had no time to comfort him.

“The situation’s become a bit dangerous, so we won’t be having a tearful reunion. Follow Armin over there. He’s in command.”

“…Understood.”

After leaving Mr. Bear in Armin’s care, we finished preparing to move out.

The problem was—

“Why are you still here?”

Why was this bastard still standing next to me?

“It’s just… your attitude changed far too suddenly—” Golden Ghost began.

Of course it had.

The moment I realized this guy was a Hans, every bit of respect I had for him vanished. Naturally, I had neither the time nor the desire to explain that to him.

Spit.

“I don’t even want to look at you. Get lost!”

When I snapped at him, he retreated to his own group with a shocked expression.

“…You’re more narrow-minded than I expected.”

Huh?

Was he misunderstanding something because of how our last conversation had ended?

“Haah… Fine, just leave. No, forget it. We’ll leave, so move out of the way.”

With that, my conversation with Hans came to an end.

He looked as if he still had something to say, but I moved before he could ask me any more strange questions.

I could hear the exhausted panting of the survivors, who had not even had a chance to rest yet, but I paid it no attention.

This was still a hundred times better than fighting a Lord of the Floor.

However…

Drip, drip-drip.

Even after we had moved a considerable distance, the acidic rain continued to fall.

“D-damn it! My eyes…!”

And as though a faucet had been opened, tears began streaming down the faces of many adventurers.

It was strange.

By now, we should have been far enough away from the Lord of the Floor.

‘Is it following us…?’

The thought came to me naturally, and I ended up glancing behind us.

Huh…?

Had I seen that right?

When I looked back at our group, I saw another group following us from a distance.

It was none other than Golden Ghost.

Hans P and his wicked followers.

“You bastard!”

The curse slipped out the moment I saw them.

What the hell was he trying to pull this time?

I had told him to get lost, so why was he still following us? I wanted to chase them away right then and there, but I did not have the time to run all the way back and yell at them.

So, just as I decided to keep moving—

‘Is it because of that bastard…?’

A sudden thought struck me.

Perhaps we would never be able to shake off the Lord of Tears as long as Hans kept following us.

Yeah.

In that case…

I should have done this earlier.

I needed to make sure Hans stopped following us, so I turned back to confront him.

“How long are you planning to follow—”

I had gone back to scold Hans P for trying to leech off our group, but—

“Huh…?”

Behind Hans and his followers, I saw another group.

Seven people were running with panic written across their faces, as if something were chasing them.

The moment they spotted us, they started shouting.

But they were not asking for help or begging us to save them.

“G-get out of the way!”

“Move!”

That was when I noticed the white fog behind them.

It was so thick that it looked less like fog and more like a solid white wall.

Even so, I could still see something within it.

Deep inside that white wall, two lights were glowing.

Whoooong!

Blue eyes flickering like will-o’-wisps.

It felt as though I had locked eyes with something. There was no way that was just my imagination.

“Damn it.”

So it was going to end up like this after all.

Although there was not a single second to waste, I still took a moment to let out a long sigh and close my eyes.

“Haah…”

Alright.

Change of plans.

The dense fog looked ready to swallow us whole.

Seven explorers were fleeing from it. Seeing them approach, the warrior guarding the rear of Hans’s group stepped forward, perhaps trying to fulfill his role.

Then—

“Stop! Come any closer and we’ll attack! Identify yourselves!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! It’s the Lord of Tears! Can’t you see that monster behind us?! Move!”

The warrior hesitated for a moment when they shouted at him.

It was not because he was trying to confirm whether the Lord of Tears was really there.

He simply did not know what to do.

As the one responsible for protecting the rear, he had the right to weigh his options. But the same could not be said for the ones being chased.

“A-ah…!”

The fleeing group was forced to slow down and the explorer at the back stumbled and fell.

Then—

“AAAH—!”

The slow-moving fog swallowed his legs.

His companions realised what had happened too late and tried to pull him away by the arms, but it was too late.

In that brief moment, his legs had melted away, leaving only bone behind.

“N-no… D-don’t leave me…!”

“Sorry…”

Seeing the wall of fog closing in, the explorer let go of his friend and turned to run.

The warrior, who had been wavering after seeing the new group, could now make his decision easily.

“Wh-what are you doing?! Keep moving! Forward! Move forward!”

His command forced those still frozen in shock to start moving again.

As always, selfish decisions led to accidents.

“Wh-what? Ack! Don’t push me! I said don’t push—!”

Since the terrain was a ravine, dozens of people were packed onto a narrow path.

Fortunately, no one fell over the edge.

Unfortunately, some of them stepped on the flowers.

Boom!

The flowers exploded like mines the moment pressure was applied, scattering acid in every direction.

Of course, no one melted instantly from the acid.

Sizzle!

“Aaack!”

“M-my eyes…!”

In an instant, chaos unfolded.

“Move!”

“What are you talking about?! Hurry up and go! Move! Didn’t you hear the explosion?”

“S-something’s coming from behind us…!”

“Where’s the mage?! Put up a barrier or something and block that fog—!”

Boom!

As nearly fifty explorers panicked, shoving and scrambling over one another, the narrow path turned into hell.

What a mess.

It was already this chaotic with only the fog and the flowers. How much worse would it become once the monster itself finally appeared?

Just imagining that scene made me feel disappointed, but what could I do?

It had already locked onto us.

This was no longer a future I could prevent. Whether I liked it or not, I would have to face it soon enough.

Fwip!

I turned around and rejoined my group.

Then I quickly moved to the front and led everyone away.

“What are you doing?! Keep up!”

We ran down a slope, leapt when the path broke off, and threw monsters into the ravine whenever they blocked our way.

“This way!”

After several more minutes of running, the place I had been searching for finally came into view.

An open field.

There were many mirrors here that spat out monsters. Originally, it was a place where guilds would set up to farm them.

“Viscount?”

“Isn’t this a dead end…?”

The group began murmuring in confusion.

Did these people not trust me at all?

“I know.”

Our plan to escape had already failed.

The monster was tracking us now. If we kept running, we would only lose more people until we were driven into a hopeless situation.

Badump!

With my heart beating quietly in my chest, I raised my shield and gripped it tightly.

This was not the sixth floor.

It was the fifth.

In other words, as a monster summoned from the ocean, it was fighting at a major disadvantage. It had also lost the buff it received from the Island of Beginnings, Laemia.

On top of that, it was already in its fourth phase, meaning it had no more abilities left to activate.

And above all, I had the Tears of the Goddess from the Bloody Citadel.

Taking all of that into account, I made my decision.

“…What?”

Instead of giving them a detailed explanation, I shouted to my group.

“Prepare for battle!”

We would kill that bastard here.

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