Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 594

RPG 2

The clash of steel on steel.

Cries of pain and angry shouts.

And then…

Fsshhhhh—!

A fountain of blood that obscured my entire vision.

“Shit, my eyes!”

I quickly wiped my eyes with one hand to clear my vision.

At the same time, I urgently scanned my surroundings.

Unlike the coming-of-age ceremony, there was no time to close my eyes and organize my thoughts.

Because this was the middle of a battlefield.

“Aaaargh—!”

“P-push them back! Don’t let them break through—! If they get past us, we’re all dead!!”

Hundreds of humans desperately holding back a flood of monsters.

‘What the hell is this…?’

I quickly sorted through my thoughts.

I had just entered what I assumed to be a rift on the basement floor 1, and when I opened my eyes, I was here.

The village chief, the High Priest, Gahyun, Erwin…

My companions, who were supposed to have entered with me, were nowhere to be seen. All I could see around me were people dying in real time.

I need more information.

That was my first conclusion as I tried to take in everything around me.

“Bjorn Jandel…! Snap out of it! Are you planning to die like this?!”

A man who locked eyes with me shouted as he pulled a sword from a monster’s neck.

The fact that we could communicate was surprising, but what shocked me was something else.

“Bjorn… Jandel…?”

He knew my name.

What the hell? He doesn’t look like an enemy.

Was he some kind of allied NPC?

But there was never a rift like this before.

“Damn it, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your own name too…!”

The man frowned and pushed through the mass of monsters to stand by my side.

Then…

“If you don’t want to die, get a grip and fight!”

He shouted while shielding me from the monsters.

Thanks to him, my mind cleared up a bit.

‘He must be an allied NPC.’

These people weren’t enemies.

Once I reached that conclusion, I realized what I needed to do immediately.

“What are you doing with that big body of yours?! Swing that hammer already…! Kill those damn monsters and save our allies!”

First, I’d wipe out these monsters.

Then maybe I’d figure out what was going on.

Something about what I’m supposed to do next.

“Bethel…”

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t do this just in case?

“Uwaaaaaaaah—!!”

Instead of letting out a barbarian battle cry, I let out a full-throated roar and charged forward. Since the monsters didn’t appear to be very powerful, I didn’t use [Gigantification].

But—

Crunch—!

Even so, a single swing of my hammer turned a troll into paste.

“What in the…?!”

The man who had been trying to protect me from the troll stared at me with wide eyes.

“You… were hiding your strength?”

His voice was thick with shock.

Honestly, I felt the same way.

‘…They’re going down in one hit?’

Something felt off, so I swung my hammer at another nearby troll.

Crunch—!

Again, the troll exploded like jelly.

Frankly, I was pretty baffled.

‘What the hell…?’

Why am I this strong?

‘Wait, are they just weak?’

Trolls don’t usually die this easily.

Even if you smash their heads, their monstrous bodies regenerate with [Hyper Regeneration].

Sure, if you deal overwhelming damage, you can bypass [Hyper Regeneration] and kill them instantly, but…

‘Not with my stats.’

So what’s going on?

As I kept swinging my hammer at the oncoming monsters, I soon understood the answer.

The trolls weren’t weaker.

They still had the same monstrous strength—strong enough to throw a grown man with one hand—and they were still using Hyper Regeneration just fine.

CRACK—!

It’s just that I had become absurdly strong.

Crunch—! Crunch—! Crunch—!

With each swing of my hammer, the monsters fell like autumn leaves.

But this power didn’t come without a cost.

“…Blood.”

Despite my barbarian warrior’s body, stacked with defense mechanisms, I was bleeding.

Of course, I’m human, and I can bleed.

But the wound wasn’t even that deep—it was just a small puncture that was leaking blood.

‘…Just a troll bite, and I’m bleeding?’

Something’s seriously wrong with my body.
***

「The role assigned to the character is ‘Mercenary.’」

「All attack stats are tripled, but all defense stats are reduced by 70%.」

「Regeneration will increase proportionally to lost HP.」

***

I’m screwed.

Not just screwed—seriously screwed.

That was my first thought the moment I confirmed the abnormality in my body.

Crunch—!

My damage had skyrocketed, but—

[Kyaaaaah—!]

My physical durability had dropped drastically.

I didn’t know the exact numbers, but—

The second stage of [Evolved Shell], which activates from my 350 Physical Resistance, wasn’t triggering.

「The character’s Physical Resistance is above 70.」

「Grants 50% resistance to bladed weapons.」

And it wasn’t just Physical Resistance.

Even when using [Scales of Greed], my Barbarian Dragon Mode didn’t activate.

In other words, my Magic Resistance had tanked too.

‘Son of a…’

The skills that relied on my defense stats to boost themselves were running at less than half their potential.

Well, it wasn’t all bad.

Tap.

My barbarian body, which had always been slower than my companions’, now moved with surprising lightness and speed.

And—

「The character has used [Swing].」

「The character’s Strength stat is over 1,200.]

[Enemies with over 90% HP take double damage.]

Every time I used [Swing], an incredible shockerupted.

It was clear that the effect had been unlocked, but…

‘I’ll think about it later.’

After a quick check of my body’s changes, I focused on fighting the monsters.

Honestly, at this rate, wiping them all out wouldn’t be hard, but…

‘I don’t know what’s coming, so I’ll try to save as many humans as possible.’

If I fight more aggressively, more of my fellow NPCs will survive.

“Boom”

My immense strength was transferred from my hammer to these monsters.

Crunch—! Crunch—! Crunch—!

The satisfying feel of clean, powerful hits—something I hadn’t experienced while playing as a shield barbarian—surged through my hands.

My barbarian body, which had always been slower than my companions’, now moved with surprising lightness and speed.

And—

「The character has used [Swing].」

「The character’s Strength stat is over 1,200.]

[Enemies with over 90% HP take double damage.]

Every time I used [Swing], an incredible shockerupted.

It was clear that the effect had been unlocked, but…

‘I’ll think about it later.’

After a quick check of my body’s changes, I focused on fighting the monsters.

Honestly, at this rate, wiping them all out wouldn’t be hard, but…

‘I don’t know what’s coming, so I’ll try to save as many humans as possible.’

If I fight more aggressively, more of my fellow NPCs will survive.

“Boom”

My immense strength was transferred from my hammer to these monsters.

Crunch—! Crunch—! Crunch—!

The satisfying feel of clean, powerful hits—something I hadn’t experienced while playing as a shield barbarian—surged through my hands.

‘…Maybe it’s not that bad.’

I hadn’t been nerfed as hard as I thought.

Sure, having to worry about attacks I’d normally ignore was stressful, but…

‘It’s inconvenient, but kind of freeing too…’

As I continued to adapt to my new body while fighting, the battle eventually ended.

“It’s over…!”

“We’re alive! We made it…!”

“WAAAAAHHHHH!!”

When I came to, all the monsters had been wiped out and the humans around me were cheering in victory.

‘Whew… now what?’

I had killed them all because I thought I had to, but I had no idea what to do next.

So I kept my distance, avoiding attention while watching the situation unfold.

“Jandel…! Jandel! Are you alright?”

The man who had tried to protect me when I first woke up now came running toward me, stepping over monster corpses.

“…No major injuries.”

“That’s a relief. Truly!”

He checked me over and let out a sigh of relief.

But then he seemed to remember something.

“By the way, what was that earlier? I knew you’d be strong with that build, but… I never imagined this level!”

“Uh…”

What should I say?

Should I just play along for now?

While I was still thinking, the man suddenly bowed his head apologetically.

“Ah… my apologies. Someone like you must have your reasons for being a mercenary.”

“I… appreciate your understanding.”

“Let’s go. I’d love to rest, but if we don’t want to piss off the Empire, we’d better help clean up.”

The short conversation gave me two more pieces of information.

‘Mercenary… and the Empire…’

What kind of rift concept is this?

With no clue what was going on, I quietly followed the man.

The place we were in now was the ruins of what seemed to be a city.

“Priest! Over here, priest!”

The streets were littered with the corpses of humans and monsters.

Soldiers carried the wounded away, while others ran through the streets, shouting as if searching for lost comrades.

“That guy…!”

“He was amazing earlier.”

“Even the knights weren’t that strong…”

Though the streets were chaotic, I drew attention just by walking around.

Well, after that performance, I guess it was only natural.

I didn’t yet know what impact my decision to save as many people as possible would have.

“What are you doing? Start lifting! We need to clear the wreckage so the wagons can get through! Ah, maybe you’re strong enough you don’t need to worry about the Empire?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll help…”

“Young and thoughtful, too? You’ll go far.”

I didn’t even know the guy’s name, but I followed his lead and helped with the cleanup.

That’s how I learned a few more things:

We’re both mercenaries hired by the Empire.

We met for the first time today and introduced ourselves right before the battle.

Thankfully, this guy talks a lot.

In short, information gathering just got a lot easier.

“Whew… I haven’t been a mercenary long, but I’ve never seen anything this strange. Monsters forming a group and attacking a city like this… What’s the world coming to?”

“Hey, do you know what year it is?”

“Hm? Let’s see… Last year was the Year of the Moon, so this year should be the Year of the Sun.”

Unfortunately, while he was talkative, he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable.

“Do you know anything more specific? Like how many years it’s been since the Year of the Sun started?”

“…What mercenary memorizes that? We’re not noble lords studying history.”

Unlike the vampire uncle, this mercenary didn’t even know the current year.

“Then do you know the Emperor’s name?”

“…Shh! Q-quiet! Do you want to die?”

“No, so do you know it?”

“How would someone like me know that…?!”

Yeah, he doesn’t know.

The other soldiers on the street probably wouldn’t either, so I decided to focus on something else.

It’d be weird to press further.

After silently helping with cleanup for a while, I casually asked—

“Do you know how the war against the witches is going?”

The man tilted his head at my offhand remark.

“Witches? What’re you talking about? Some kind of fight between lady mages in another region?”

“No, just something I heard. Never mind.”

Judging by that response, this is before the witch appears. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mistaken a witch for a female mage.

As I was still helping with the cleanup and gathering information…

“Everyone, stop what you’re doing!”

A knight wearing the Empire’s emblem called for attention.

“Isn’t that a different guy from this morning?”

“Don’t you know? The other one died.”

“Ah, that’s why there’s a new commander… Let’s shut up before we get in trouble.”

Hundreds of mercenaries fell silent under the Empire’s authority.

Then the knight continued—

“We’re looking for a mercenary named Bjorn Jandel! We heard he single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of monsters! Has anyone seen him?”

Huh? Why are they looking for me?

I instinctively took a step back, but there was no time to escape. The moment he spoke, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

“Ah, it’s you. Can we talk for a moment?”

“…Sure.”

His sudden request made me uneasy, but I realized there was no reason to refuse.

A knight would certainly know more than a mercenary.

I planned to gather more information through conversation.

But—

“You’re a mercenary, right? I’ll be blunt. We have a job for you.”

My plan to casually extract information through small talk was ruined.

“Escort a young girl. Ensure she reaches her destination.”

As soon as I heard the knight’s words, everything around me suddenly went black.

‘Why even ask if you were going to force it…?’

I hadn’t even agreed.

***
Drip. Drip. Drip…

The sound of dripping water echoed through a dark cave.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I sensed a presence nearby.

Or rather, a killing intent.

Whoosh!

Something swung at me from the darkness.

It was aimed near my thigh.

Even in the dark, my barbarian body instinctively grabbed whatever was attacking me.

Clack—!

A delicate wrist caught in my thick hand.

“Eek…!”

The voice sounded incredibly young.

‘So, after I received the escort mission, the scene changed. That means this must be the girl I’m supposed to guard.’

Finishing my quick assessment, I chose not to retaliate and instead spoke gently.

“Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you.”

The wrist in my grip twitched.

Then, after a pause, a sound came.

“…Huh?”

Was her arm hurting?

I quickly let go, and a young voice called out in the darkness.

“Uh… Mister?”

It sounded like a child who hadn’t even hit puberty yet. But that voice and way of speaking were all too familiar.

“Erwin…?”

“Yes, yes! It’s me!”

“Not sure what’s going on, but I’m glad we finally reunited. Let’s check our surroundings—”

“Oh, wait. I’ll do it… But, um… Mister, please don’t be surprised?”

“Surprised… by what?”

“There’s, uh… something…”

With those words, a tiny flame, too small to illuminate our surroundings, appeared from the darkness.

I looked down—way down—and froze.

In the reddish light,

Erwin looked up at me.

In the body of a little girl, about eight years old.

“U-Um… this appearance…”

“…I-I don’t know either! I just… woke up like this…!”

Still, it’s kinda fascinating.

So this is what she looked like as a kid.

But wow, even back then, her nose was so high—

“Mister…!!”

Did I stare too hard?

Erwin.

No, to be precise—Erwin, who had reverted back to her toddler form.

Hmm, this is too long, so let’s shorten it—

“S-stop staring at me like that…!”

Mini-Erwin covered her tiny face with both hands.

[Field Effect – Role Assigned.]

[The role assigned to Erwen Fornaci di Tercia is ‘Maiden.’]

[All stats are fixed at 10%.]

[All healing and regeneration effects are reduced by 90%.]

[Will not be targeted by monsters.]

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com