Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 592

Boss Run(5)

Fortress of Souls, the unique rift of the 5th floor. Here the guardian appears as a maze type boss called Soulkeeper Hausiel.

To be honest, this guy’s Phase 2 isn’t all that dangerous.

Depending on your character’s luck stat, the number of chests you need to open varies, but usually, after opening about 500, you’ll find the mana stone and proceed to the next phase.

But…

‘There’s no guarantee I’ll be that lucky.’

That’s why I brought Sven Parab with me.

What’s needed to conquer this rift isn’t the ability to find gold, but the ability to avoid stepping in shit.

From what I could tell, this guy was specialized in avoiding misfortune.

‘I wasn’t expecting this though…’

But what’s this? Some kind of hidden-camera prank?

As I stared at the chest emitting a brilliant golden light, my mind went blank.

“Sven Parab…”

“Huh? Ah, yes, Baron.”

“Before opening the chest, did you feel anything strange?”

“No…? It felt the same as usual…”

So does that mean we just got lucky?

Even thinking it over again, it doesn’t make any sense.

A character with the ability to sense misfortune and an incredible natural luck?

At this point, it seems like this world should introduce a new Numbers item.

Maybe something like…

Parab’s golden relic .

Number ID: 7777.

Or maybe a single-digit Numbers item below 10.

Yeah, that would balance things out.

“Uh… so what is this thing?”

His question snapped me out of my thoughts.

Standing a few steps away from the chest, he looked at me with a curious, innocent expression.

I kinda wanted to give him a kiss, but that would just reignite the misunderstanding, so I held back.

“That chest is something that can be found only with extremely low probability when clearing Hausiel.”

“Is it valuable?”

As expected of an explorer.

“It’s very valuable. Exceptionally so.”

At my answer, his eyes lit up.

Then, with a curious and greedy gaze, he turned his attention back to the chest.

His expression screamed, “What’s in there making you react like this?”

‘But it’s probably not that appealing to him.’

The value of the item in the chest depends on the person.

To some, it might be worth more than a single-digit Numbers Item. To others, it might be utterly useless.

And Sven fell into the latter group.

Rustle.

I reached into the still-glowing chest and my fingers closed around something round.

“…What’s it used for?”

I grinned and explained the item’s purpose.

Since I had to act like a local, I had to avoid terms like “experience points,” so the explanation got longer.

Honestly, though, it could be summed up in just five words:

‘An experience potion.’

Rank 11 is now possible.

「The character has consumed ‘Dreaming Soul.’」

「When the character reaches Level 10, 10,000 EXP will be gained」

Dreaming Soul.

It is an ultra-rare item obtainable only during the boss fight against Soulkeeper Hausiel.

Practically speaking, it’s a must-have item to reach Level 11, the original mode’s max level.

Even after defeating every type of monster, you will need around 14,000 EXP to reach level 11.

While you can kill all the monsters, you’ll still have to grind through multiple portal and rift runs to fill the rest, which is nearly impossible.

“And I just got it like this…”

Honestly, I was stunned.

That’s how rare this item was.

Back when I opened the Abyss Gate, my character was just level 10.

But, back then, that character had it easy from the start, and by the end, I had fully optimized my gear and essences.

Anyway.

“…….”

After chugging the potion in one go, I noticed Parab sulking with his shoulders slumped.

Well, I can’t blame him.

If you thought you’d won the lottery, only to find out it was the number from the previous draw, anyone would feel cheated.

Which is why his next reaction surprised me.

“Still, it’s good news. It means you can climb even higher, Baron.”

It didn’t sound like a polite remark; he genuinely meant it. There was a hint of disappointment, but no trace of jealousy or resentment.

“Haha, don’t look at me like that. It’s useless to me anyway, and you said it’s impossible to take it out even with distortion magic, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Hearing him say that first made me feel indebted somehow. If something good comes up later, I’ll prioritize him.

“Let’s get moving.”

The longer we spent time here, the tougher the boss would get. So we wrapped things up and resumed the search.

And we continued chatting while opening the boxes.

“Baron, I have a question…”

“Go ahead.”

“What happens if you open the chest you’re so worried about?”

Ah, that.

“Simple.”

The moment you open it, 5,000 EXP disappears.

Naturally, your rank usually drops, and when that happens, a random number of essence slots get locked based on how many levels you lost.

“That’s a maddening curse… To lose all the merits you’ve accumulated…”

Parab didn’t doubt my words. He just tilted his head as if thinking, “How did I not know about this?”

“But the curse isn’t the real problem. The real issue is the rift guardian.”

“The guardian…?”

“Yeah.”

If you open that chest, the guardian absorbs your EXP and grows even stronger.

And then you’re supposed to fight that thing with one of your essence slots locked?

Even I can’t guarantee I’d make it out alive.

“So that’s another reason you brought me. Because the curse is meaningless to a holy knight.”

“Well, it wasn’t the only reason, but yeah. On the flip side, if you find ‘Dreaming Soul’ instead, the Guardian gets much weaker than usual.”

As we talked, we kept opening chests, and I got a clearer understanding of Sven Parab’s intuition ability.

‘It doesn’t react to weak curses or monster chests… So it only activates when there’s real danger.’

But even that alone is a near-mystical ability.

No, maybe it’s something that truly transcends human limitations.

“Ah, I think we found it.”

[The Soulkeeper Hausiel’s [Defensive System] has grown stronger.]

After searching for a long time, we finally found the chest containing the Mana Stone and moved on to the next phase.

CRACK!

As soon as I shattered the stone, we were transported to a space that resembled the inside of a giant worm.

Thump–!

The slimy, squishy floor pulsed like a living organism.

And then…

A sticky liquid began oozing from the ceiling, floor, and walls.

“We need to move quickly before it fills up.”

We moved faster than ever, pushing through the third phase of the raid.

No matter how good a tank is, they still need to breathe.

In the game, if the liquid filled up completely, it was game over.

Of course, after memorizing the map, I never got drowned again.

‘Go straight, take a left at the three-way fork, then go straight for two more intersections before turning right…’

I hadn’t memorized the entire map, but I knew the exact path to the mana. stone.

Squelch, squelch.

As we smashed through the monsters blocking our path and sprinted through the acidic liquid that rose to our calves, we soon reached our destination.

Badump Badump!

A heart-shaped mana stone pulsed as if alive. Without hesitation, I swung my hammer with all my might and shattered it.

And then…

Whoosh!

The long-awaited final phase.

The final phase.

When we opened our eyes, we were greeted by a space that resembled the cosmos.

In the center was a transparent, glass-like pyramid-shaped staircase. And at the top of the stairs, there was a huge mana stone, floating like an eye.

It was Soulkeeper Hausiel’s true form.

‘No dialogue this time either.’

The moment we arrived, its eye snapped open and monsters began to pour out, just like during the rainy season on the basement floor.

Hundreds of monsters came flooding in, like a full-blown army.

[The Soulkeeper Hausiel’s [Defensive System] has grown stronger.]

Fortunately, since we arrived early and even opened the golden chest on the way, the monster ranks weren’t too high.

‘At most, Rank 4…’

Ah, for reference, if you reach here with your EXP depleted, even Rank 2 monsters can spawn.

And the boss becomes much stronger too.

“Move quickly!”

We rushed up the stairs before the monsters could descend. Once they reached us, we fought fiercely to carve a path forward.

Given that this was a 5th-floor rift, it wasn’t easy with just the two of us.

If we had had a mage with area-of-effect (AOE) spells, clearing a path would have been much easier.

But what can you do when you don’t have one?

“Bethel—RAAAAAAAH!”

We continued our desperate fight up the stairs.

Honestly, the boss itself was more annoying than the monsters.

Boom!

It fired mana cannons straight at me, but that was the least of our worries.

[Soulkeeper Hausiel uses ‘Target Designation.’]

Its aggro resets at regular intervals, so your allies must be tough enough to survive the waves, too.

And on top of that…

WOOOM—!

Every time it released a pulse, I was pushed back even with my [Gigantification] active.

“Quit standing around! I’ll clear a path, so just follow me up! Don’t act like an idiot!”

“Y-Yes…!”

I spoke more harshly than usual, but I had no choice.

The moment you get knocked back or pushed down by monsters, it’s an instant death sentence.

Sure, I could probably solo the boss, but only if we stayed alive long enough to get there.

Wham! Wham! Wham—!

I swung my hammer wildly, knocking monsters aside.

Most of them tumbled down the stairs, but the unlucky ones fell into the endless abyss.

Not that it mattered, new ones just kept spawning.

“…Damn.”

Amidst the chaos, I realized I’d been separated from Sven Parab.

And now, a horde of monsters stood between us.

“Saving him might take longer than killing the boss…”

Game-trained instincts kicked in, and I made the most rational choice.

The horde was the real challenge. If I could just get close, the boss wasn’t that bad.

But still, he’s an ally. Wouldn’t it be right to go back for him?

‘…What do I do?’

As I agonized over it—

“I’ll hold out! Go on ahead…!”

He shouted, letting me move forward without regret.

And then…

[You used ‘Swing.’]

[You used ‘Swing.’]

[You used ‘Swing’…]

I finally reached the main body and swung my hammer wildly.

It had a fragile body, but even with the strength of a tank barbarian, it felt like I struck it hundreds of times.

CRACK—!

Eventually, the massive mana stone shattered into thousands of pieces.

And then…

[The Character has defeated Soulkeeper Hausiel. EXP +6]

[Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3]

The monster army dissolved into light, flooding the entire space.

In that radiance, I quickly searched for Sven Parab.

“Hah…”

He had rolled down to the middle of the staircase, gasping for breath and looking terrible.

“I… I lived…”

Sigh, I really need to take good care of this guy from now on.

***

With the boss fight over, a portal opened. And a rainbow-colored essence dropped.

‘Ugh… I have to leave this behind.’

No words can describe how painful this is.

This essence was just that valuable, not for anything major either, but for a single passive skill.

[Soul Contract].

The effect was simple:

You instantly reach Rank 8, but you can no longer gain EXP.

If you want to climb higher, you must never consume this.

However, the item sells very well.

There’s even a famous story about a marquis family buying it for billions of Stones a few years ago.

‘I heard his wife took it and filled all seven essence slots with beauty-related ones…’

It’s absurd, but that’s the kind of thing that happens every day in this world.

‘Well, I’ve already made enough money since coming down here. Getting out is the top priority…’

Putting aside my greed, I stepped through the portal with Parab.

Normally, someone would rush over to greet us, asking if we were hurt.

But this time was different.

In the heavy silence, everyone gathered around the stone statue was staring in one direction

I quickly turned my head to see what they were looking at.

‘The door is already open…’

Was it because we took too long after defeating the boss?

The tightly sealed stone door was now wide open, revealing what had been hidden inside.

“A portal…?”

A red portal that felt ominous just from looking at it.

A mage murmured at the sight.

“This isn’t a normal portal. This magical wavelength is…”

“…?”

“A rift… It’s a rift!”

The Rift on the Basement floor 1 had opened.

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