Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 136

Episode 136 Orcules (2)

Emotions are contagious.

When we see someone close to us crying, it makes us sad, and when we see them laughing, it makes us happy.

The same goes for the emotion of fear.

You think, “Ah, it can’t happen to me,”  but then you see someone else who is constantly anxious, and you can’t help but wonder if maybe it could.

That’s just how humans are born.

“When you keep saying things like that, it really starts to feel like such an event might actually happen.”

“But, being a little bit cautious won’t hurt”

As I wiped the smile off my face, my teammates gradually began to feel the reality of the situation.

For me, this was a welcome development.

Of course, Rotmiller’s words were decisive.

“I still can’t fully understand it with my head. But somehow, since a while ago, I’ve had this feeling that if we don’t follow what you’re saying, something very bad is going to happen.”

Rotmiller, who had consumed the essence of a mimic, possesses a ‘sixth sense’ stat. And our team Halfling has received quite a lot of help from that stat on numerous occasions.

And when he suddenly says something like this?

The weight carried by his words changes everything.

“Bjorn, this is not the time to dawdle. Let’s move, Nyah?”

“Ha, hahahat! Yes! That would be better! Just one more day of hardship, right?”

It felt somewhat anticlimactic.

They would dismiss my words as just a feeling, but at Rotmiller’s single sentence, they were completely convinced.

‘Well, I also became more anxious after hearing what he said…’

Sixth sense is, after all, just a sixth sense.

But then, isn’t it the case that our overall stats have massively increased due to the unwelcome guest?

‘Phew, I really need to prepare myself mentally.”

The shroud of ominousness peels away layer by layer, revealing itself. While I hope all this is just my imagination, deep down, I know that’s unlikely.

My heart tightened a bit more.

But nothing changes.

I just do what I can, right now.

“Let’s move again.”

After a brief rest, we resumed our movement.

Despite increasing my pace, none of my teammates showed any sign of displeasure and followed behind.

We ran through the maze for a long time in heavy silence.

“Thinking about it now, Bjorn, you might be similar to me.”

Suddenly, Rotmiller started a conversation.

“Similar? What do you mean?”

“While I gained this ability through the essence, it’s possible you were born with a good sense or something like that.”

Huh, I never thought about it that way.

Certainly, it’s not an unreasonable idea.

[Dungeon & Stone] was a game where when you choose a character, the base stats were set randomly within a certain range.

‘The sixth sense’s base value was set from 0 to 50, Wasn’t it?’

Considering that the sixth sense stat attached to the essence of a mimic was only 50, it was one of the stats with a relatively high maximum base stat.

It wasn’t a main stat like strength, so people didn’t usually recreate their characters just to increase their intuition.

“I’ve always thought, but you always had a sharp edge somewhere.”

“Right! Like that time you took down Elisha. Everyone was panicking because she was a priestess.”

Hmm, is that so?

Now that everyone says so, I start to think that it might really be possible.

As I mentioned before, humans are such beings.

It’s also possible that my character, Bjorn’s sixth sense stat was inherently high.

But now is not the time to worry about this.

“Enough, just make sure to follow properly.”

Deciding to think about this later, I focused on making our way through.

After all, there’s a priority in everything.

Therefore…….

With a swing of my mace.

Whizzing out ice spears.

Slicing through the necks of Baikundus, we continued to advance.

 

[05:13]

21 days have passed since starting the exploration.

We’ve been running almost non-stop for 12 hours after defeating the Baphomet.

“Huff, huff, huff……”

The breath from my nose and mouth is hot.

And this must be the same for them.

I checked on my teammates for the last time.

They all looked tired and fatigued.

Well, it’s only natural since, despite the increase in stats, we haven’t had proper sleep for two days.

But, the end is now in sight.

“If we turn here, it’s the end!”

At the end of a long straight corridor, we arrived at our destination.

A giant stone chamber, not a cramped maze-like corridor.

Click-!

The moment we entered, iron bars came down at the three entrances connected to the stone chamber.

“Argh! We’re trapped!”

“Everyone, stay alert! We don’t know what will come out!”

Despite the unexpected situation, everyone quickly regrouped and prepared for battle.

Naturally, our gaze was drawn to one place.

That was the only place something could emerge from.

“……Surely a level 4 monster won’t come out, right?”

An imposing stone door on one side.

「The master of the labyrinth senses the challengers.」

Soon, the geometric patterns engraved there began to glow and open.

And then……

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

A giant figure of about 4 meters.

A massive body that matched its height.

Horns protruding menacingly above its head.

Short brown fur that barely covers the veins and muscles, and hooves supporting its hefty thighs.

Kwoong-!

A monster, with a unique roar, reveals itself through the fully opened stone doors.

[Umwooowooowoo—!!]

The final boss of the Larkaz Maze.

“A Minotaur! It’s a Minotaur, Nyah!”

Misha recognized the monster instantly, as it was quite famous.

A level 5 monster Minotaur.

Though not a level 4 monster as Misha had feared……

‘If we’re being precise, it’s about a 4.5-grade.’

This one is different from the usual Minotaurs.

A named creature with its unique name, Larkaz.

In other words, a superior mutant that possesses skills of other entities.

Umwooowo-!

The moment it took its first step towards us, everyone noticed something off.

And how could we not?

It was clear that the Minotaur was using skills that are not typical for its kind.

[Umph!]

The moment it let out a short breath and raised its arms above.

「The master of the labyrinth, Larkaz, has cast [Burning Hide].」

Huge flames covered its skin.

Whooosh!

The searing heat could be felt even from 30 meters away.

Everyone was stunned.

“Wait, it can control fire too?”

“This, this can’t be. There was nothing like that in the books.”

“Then it must be a mutant variant, like the Baphomet we encountered in the room where the map was hidden.”

Dwalki, with a look of realization, quickly shared the information.

“It’s Ifrit! It must be Ifrit’s ability!”

He was right.

After months of reading nothing but labyrinth-related books, he finally showed his worth as a mage.

Well, there was no time for compliments.

[Umwooowooowoo—!!]

It seemed as if the creature was wondering, “What are these guys up to?” and charged towards us.

With its heavy footsteps.

Kwoong-! Kwoong-!

It was a bizarre sight to see a 4 meter tall monster wrapped in flames moving towards us.

But, of course, it couldn’t compare to Riakis.

“Bethel—raaaaaaa!!”

I charged forward with a battle cry.

Tadat.

The distance closed rapidly.

As soon as I entered its attack range, a colossal double-edged axe came crashing down overhead.

Kwang-!

So this is the extent of its power.

I smirked as I felt the weight transmitting through my shield.

It seems there’s no need to use [Gigantification] after all.

As expected, [Burning Hide] was manageable

Whooosh-!

Even as the searing flames flickered right before my eyes, there was no significant damage.

Just a bit warm, really.

Thanks to the flame resistance from the Level 3 of the Immortal Engraving I had.

Of course, staying in this situation would be a different story.

「The character has received fire damage.」

「The amount of damage will increase over time.」

The more the fire damage stacks, the stronger its effect becomes.

Similar to how meat will cook if left in hot water for days on end.

However, there is a simple solution to this.

[Leor Wuerv Dwalki casts Level 8 enchantment magic [Cold Blood].」

[The character’s resistance to fire greatly increases]

Dwalki’s magic seeped into my flesh, cooling down my overheated body.

I was a bit surprised.

‘I didn’t expect him to cast a spell without my order.’

Do people really learn through experience?

It feels like just yesterday when he couldn’t even properly hit with ‘Ice Spear’.

“Let me help!”

“Nyah, it’s not hot anymore!”

After a moment’s hesitation at the sight of the blazing flames, the buffed dwarf and Misha join the fray.

And then……

「Hikurod Murad casts [Lightning」

「Misha Kalstein casts [Poison Infliction].」

Applying lightning, slashing at the thick skin with a sword, and even infusing it with deadly poison etc..

We easily toyed with what was supposed to be the final boss.

[Umwooowooowoo—!!]

Of course, the creature furiously fought back, swinging its fists, feet, and axe.

It also used its unique skills generously.

But nothing changed.

The creature was too slow to catch Misha, and it lacked the strength to overpower me and the dwarf.

Amidst this, magical support continued.

[Leor Wuerv Dwalki casts Level 8 curse magic [Deterioration].」

「 Leor Wuerv Dwalki casts Level 9 curse magic [Slow].」

「 Leor Wuerv Dwalki casts Level 7 curse magic [Softening]…」

Dwalki’s magical support, which would normally have knocked him out from mana exhaustion.

Magic support from Dwalki, who would normally have been knocked out by simply casting [Cold Blood] due to mana depletion.

Rotmiller stood by Dwalki’s side to protect him if needed, but…

That situation never came.

How could it, when it couldn’t even break through a single tank?Kwaang-!

It didn’t take long.

Soon, Misha severed the creature’s Achilles tendon, and its massive body crashed to the ground, ending the battle as she plunged her sword deep into its brain.

「You have defeated the Minotaur. EXP +5」

The creature’s body dissipated into a swirl of light, scattering away.

I checked the time immediately.

[05:21]

Not even 10 minutes had passed since the last time I checked.

Somehow, this fact brought a strange sense of disappointment.

‘How great would it be if we could keep this up even after we get out.’

If Team Halfling had a final form, it probably would have looked like this.

A stable two-tank setup.

Based on this stability, a melee dealer who moves boldly and consistently delivers damage.

A mage capable of high-level area and single-target damage, who can also cast support magic if needed.

And an scout that doesn’t become a burden in battle.

‘…What am I thinking about?’

Such sentimental thoughts aren’t like me.

Especially when the real problem remains unsolved.

I shook my head as if to clear away the unnecessary thoughts.

And then I thought about what needs to be done right now to save even a bit of time.

‘Quickly gather what we can and leave.’

Swoosh-!

As the light particles completely dispersed, everyone let out their own sighs.

“Ah…”

“It didn’t drop again.”

The Minotaur did not drop an essence.

Well, it was a mutant variant, but not a boss from a rift, so perhaps this was the more realistic outcome.

If a yellow essence had dropped, it could have been quite useful for the latter part of our journey.

‘…But the real reward is elsewhere.’

I brushed off the disappointment and looked around.

Click-clack-!

As if signaling the end of the boss fight, the bars at the passageway lifted.

“Why isn’t the portal opening? Why?”

“Could it be a different mechanism from the rifts, Nyah?”

“Maybe, there’s another monster besides the Minotaur.”

The trio spilled various speculations, unable to hide their panic. I was about to say something when Rotmiller spoke up.

“I have a feeling there’s something in there. Why don’t we check it out?

Indeed, this gentleman has the innate qualities of a scout.

“Ah, right! That place was left!”

“Let’s go check. Maybe the portal is open there.”

We then entered the space beyond the door from which the Minotaur had emerged. Of course, the portal that usually opens at the starting point wouldn’t be here but…

Even in a rush, this is something we must take with us.

A treasure that can’t be bought with money.

“This place looks… very suspicious.”

Inside, beyond the door, was a cave.

Like the room of a mid-boss, a summoning magic circle was drawn on the floor.

“I can feel tremendous magical power coming from this item.”

“Then we better take it with us.”

As Dwalki murmured, I picked up the jewel that was embedded in the center of the magic circle and put it in my backpack.

Without any hesitation, we turned back outside.

I dismissed Dwalki’s advice to investigate further as ominous.

After all, this was the end of the rewards here.

“Ugh, this has become troublesome. Who would’ve thought there’d be no portal here?”

“Exactly.”

“Rotmiller, wasn’t there a blue dot marked at the center of that map? Could the portal have opened there?”

“I was actually thinking the same. I have a strong feeling about it.”

Is this what being an intuitive scout is like?

That’s what I thought as I emerged from the minotaur’s cave.

“See, I knew it would be like this.”

The final boss room is generated at a random location within the labyrinth.

And we rushed here as soon as we acquired the map, defeating the final boss in less than 10 minutes.

But…

‘How we found this place so quickly isn’t important.’

What’s done is done.

It must have been some kind of ability that led him here, not chance.

‘Even in a place where a scout is useless, essences, items, and various other abilities still apply’

Leaving aside my questions, I focused on what was in front of me.

“Look, old man. Wasn’t I right? If it weren’t for the extra arm we cut off, we might have missed it, right?”

Thump-!

My heart raced wildly.

The moment I first became aware of the intruder’s presence, I had made a judgment.

If there were five of them, the intruder’s operated on the 6th floor.

Four of them, the 7th floor.

Three, then the 8th floor.

And if there were only two of them…

‘9th floor.’

This was the conclusion I had drawn through the changes in my stats.

So what was the truth?

Regardless of my wishes, it was time to find out.

“Hey, Barbarian. Shouldn’t you be thanking me? You must have had an easy time catching it because of me.”

A man covered in burns, from his face to his bare wrists.

One person.

“I beg of you. Please, take only what you want and let them go.”

An old man in black priest robes, speaking pitifully to the man.

Two people.

“……”

And a middle-aged man, inexplicably following them with his arms severed.

Three people in total.

‘Damn it.’

I discarded all the plans I had made in case we encountered them.

From Plan A to Plan D.

“Hey, Why aren’t you guys talking?”

My instincts, honed through encounters with all sorts of bastards, were screaming.

This wasn’t the kind of guy those strategies would work on.

Hey Folks
I wanted to let you know that due to my end-of-semester exams on the 5th and 6th of March, I won’t be able to post any new chapters on those days. I had hoped to prepare some chapters in advance, but I want to ensure the quality and maintain the consistent tone you’re used to, rather than rushing through them. Thanks for your understanding.

See you on 7th