Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 180

Doppelganger (5)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The doppelganger let out a battle cry and stomped the ground.

I finally understood the feelings of the apprentice knight who had fled the arena, abandoning all dignity.

So, this is what I look like…

‘It makes sense why they would run away.’

The intimidation level, boosted by [Wild Burst], was so high that it sent chills across the skin just by looking at it.

Combined with its huge physique, it creates an intimidating feeling of violence.

It was necessary to match sizes first.

[The character has cast [Gigantification]

[The character has cast [Wild Burst]

Finally, our eye levels aligned.

I gathered all my strength at my core and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

A battle cry the doppelganger could not hope to imitate—an original.

Shielding myself with my shield, I dashed forward.

Interestingly, the doppelganger did the same.

Then, as our shields collided, there was a deafening noise like two dump trucks colliding.

Crash!

As expected of a doppelganger, the difference in power is zero.

Its next action mirrored mine exactly.

[The character has cast [Swing]

[The doppelganger has cast [Swing].’

Our maces crossed, mirroring each other’s movements perfectly

Crash-!

Another explosion and the ground shook.

It’s not like this is a fight between large monsters.

This battle could go on all day with no clear winner, but there was one crucial difference between the doppelganger and me.

It was the allies.

‘In games, teamwork is also a skill.’

Without needing to command my teammates, magical support soon followed.

Mostly curses with relatively short casting times.

Within seconds, the doppelganger’s strength, agility, and physical immunity were slashed.

The doppelganger, flustered, stuttered at me.

“Yes, Your… Mom!!”

What, he is swearing at this moment?

Caught off guard by the unexpected line, my mind went blank for a moment.

Crash!

When I regained my senses, the doppelganger’s mace was against my shield.

Had I reacted a moment slower, it would have been lodged in my head.

“This crazy son of a bit**!”

I quickly regained my composure and retaliated.

Apparently, it even has a habit of getting meaner when it’s at a disadvantage……., much like me.

It was indeed a formidable opponent.

Whizz!

Taking advantage of the moment when the doppelganger’s shield blocked Mr Bear’s arrow, I brought my mace down on its shoulder.

Blood spurted from its mouth.

‘Did it bite its tongue?’

Ah, a classic move.

I had anticipated this pattern, so avoiding it was no problem.

It was the sort of thing I would have done.

Even more so in a disadvantageous situation.

Sizzle.

Its blood, now like boiling acid, spread hopelessly across the ground.

Misha exclaimed in awe.

“Nyang, how can you two act so alike?”

What nonsense.

“Don’t just watch, come help.”

“Got it.”

Soon, Misha and Aynar joined the front lines.

Thus, to save time, I grabbed the doppelganger’s mace and hugged it from behind.

“Screaaaaaam-!!!”

The doppelganger let out a chalkboard-scratching scream as it made a face at me.

At this, Misha tensed up momentarily.

It wasn’t for long, though.

Just as she was about to correct her stance and stab, a battle cry erupted from behind.

“Bethel—laaaaaaaaaa!!!”

It wasn’t Aynar’s cry.

No matter how deep Aynar’s voice might be, it couldn’t match the depth of a true man’s voice.

“Bjorn!!! Bjorn has tripled!!!”

No, why is it only my doppelganger?

***

The second doppelganger, who had already used [Gigantification], covered its upper body with a shield and charged like an animal, disrupting the formation.

This move is called (True) Shield Charge.

“Forget blocking, dodge it!”

Misha and Aynar took my urgent advice and retreated without a moment’s hesitation.

It’s frustrating we couldn’t finish it off immediately, but…

Well, what can you do?

It must be the karma of becoming a deal tank after consuming the essence of an ogre.

[The doppelganger has cast [Swing]

Aynar, who blocked the mace with her great sword, was flung far back.

Its momentum was akin to that of a warrior in a ferocious battle.

I debated whether to intervene right then…

“Mr Jandel, please take care of that one yourself! We’ll manage here!”

I decided to follow Raven’s orders.

I certainly wouldn’t lose a 1-4 battle.

Thus, I focused solely on marking the doppelganger I was originally fighting.

‘Ah, this sucks. Why is it so tough?’

The curse spell gave me a much better advantage, but it was hard to get a quick win and go help my team.

I’m a tank, even if I’m a dps, I’m a tank.

It’s like parrying trolls against each other; the fight never ends.

‘Might as well watch at this point.’

I resigned myself to spectator mode.

Honestly, it was quite interesting.

“Nyang, why won’t the sword penetrate?!”

“Indeed, it’s Bjorn!! A great warrior!!!”

The second doppelganger single-handedly overwhelmed two close-combat fighters.

Mr. Bear’s long-range support?

Even arrows fired with the insane draw weight of a giant crossbow couldn’t penetrate the shield.

Raven’s magic wasn’t much different either.

Whoooosh-!

As the melee sisters retreated, a burst of flame erupted with such perfect timing that the doppelganger couldn’t avoid it and was engulfed in flames.

However…

“Bethel—raaaaaaaaa!!”

The second doppelganger charged through the flames, swinging the mace.

Raven had chosen the wrong magic.

After physical resistance, the next highest was fire resistance, and I had already somewhat completed setting up my magic resistance.

“…I never expected it to be this strong.”

Mr. Bear uttered a sigh that was not quite a sigh.

Although we had been fighting together for a while, facing it directly seemed to bring a different feeling.

Raven felt the same.

“Why is someone like this still ranked sixth!”

From rank five and up, you need to accumulate guild achievement points.

Even though my allies were struggling, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride swelling in me.

I really have become stronger.

“Mr. Jandel, don’t just watch, say something. Isn’t there a weakness?”

While it’s not exactly a weakness, there are certainly aspects to exploit.

Should I call it Bjorn Jandel’s countermeasures?

I continued wrestling with the First doppelganger, pinpointing the essentials.

“Misha, Aynar! Don’t slash, always stab!”

[Ironskin] increases physical resistance to slashing attacks by four times.

It’s practically immune at similar levels.

“Abman, focus solely on the legs!”

The lower body is more vulnerable than the upper body.

I hadn’t yet equipped the lower gear.

Although the arms were bare and exposed, the upper body could easily be shielded.

“Are you saying we should tie its feet first? It’s like hunting a large monster.”

“Yes. It doesn’t regenerate, so don’t think about killing it in one go, plan for a longer fight. Raven, use lightning magic instead of flame magic!”

Cold magic stops bleeding, while Air and Earth magic are often considered physical damage.

Lightning, on the other hand, deals elemental damage focused on penetration and instant firepower, making it most suitable.

‘…To think I’m discussing how to counter myself with my allies.’

It felt strangely odd.

Yet, whether the advice was effective or not, the battle gradually tilted in our favor, and the doppelganger knelt down.

Seven crossbow bolts were lodged in its legs.

“…Truly a monster.”

“I agree. I never want to fight it again.”

Even with the tide turned, my companions shuddered as if chilled.

It made me cringe.

The doppelganger had inherited even my temperament.

It fought like a madman.

“Look at that. It’s trying to stand up again. What kind of person does this?”

If it bleeds, it sprays blood; if both hands are blocked, it bites; and if an opening appears, it catches and charges to trade bone for flesh.

It did whatever it took to survive, and it was still doing so.

“Mi…sha…”

The doppelganger looked at Misha with desperate eyes.

Unable to win the fight, it was throwing its last ditch effort to sway her.

I couldn’t help but snicker.

Really, do you think that would work—

“Nyang, what?”

“I…like…you…”

“Really, Nyang?”

Well, it worked…

A clever play exploiting Misha’s emotions.

I tightened my grip around the First doppelganger’s neck and sighed deeply.

“Sigh… Why hesitate! Just kill it!”

“Wait a minute! I have something to ask!”

Misha, flustered, waved her hands and then stared seriously at the doppelganger.

“Nyang, why did you refuse before… if you like me?”

Even as she asked, she blushed and looked at the ground.

“Oh my!”

Suddenly, a soap opera unfolded, and Raven’s eyes lit up.

Was it now attracting attention again?

Instead of responding, the doppelganger looked at Raven.

“Raven…”

“What, me now? What do you want to say—”

“I…like…you…”

“…?”

Raven’s expression twisted bizarrely at the second declaration of love.

“Um, Mr. Jandel…?”

A wave of self-loathing washed over me.

How low could I possibly stoop?

“…Ignore it. It’s just saying anything to stay alive.”

“So, Mr. Jandel, you confess to anyone when you want to live?”

Uh, that’s not quite right…

Or is it?

I simply acknowledged it.

“…Seems like it.”

Admitting it seemed better than fostering any misunderstandings.

However, even during such a conversation, the doppelganger’s gaze was drifting elsewhere.

It was looking in the direction of Mr. Bear.

“Ah, Ab, maan…”

This crazy doppelganger!

“Jo, like—”

Fortunately, the sentence was not completed.

Mr. Bear had pierced its forehead with a crossbow bolt.

Thwack!

The final blow that preserved my last shred of dignity.

“Let’s pretend that didn’t happen… No, I didn’t hear anything.”

My friendship with Mr. Bear would last forever.

***

The first doppelganger fight had ended.

After defeating one, we all ganged up to kill the remaining one.

Oh, and for the record, Misha delivered the final blow.

[Mi…sha…?]

The cornered doppelganger tried the same trick again, but Misha’s mental barrier, tainted with anger, remained solid.

[Die, damned barbarian!!!]

Misha, stabbing her sword into the face of the first doppelganger, wore an expression as if a burden of stress had been lifted.

[….]

I just kept quiet.

Technically, I hadn’t done anything wrong…

But when things feel weird, it’s best to keep quiet.

That way, at least you avoid stepping on landmines.

One of the survival tactics I learned while dating my ex-girlfriend.

[Ugh, there’s no magic stone!!]

The doppelganger, along with its equipment, vanished into light and did not drop a magic stone.

Only one doppelganger in the Doppelganger Forest, the final boss, would do so.

The ones we had dealt with were merely inferior entities summoned by [Self-Replication].

[Then let’s keep moving.]

We continued hunting doppelgangers and exploring.

Usually, it was one or two at a time.

Once, three appeared at the same time, but it was easier than the first time.

It was because I was not duplicated among them.

[Finally, a crossroad.]

After traveling like that for half a day, the straight pathway pattern ended.

A crossroad with five diverging paths.

This meant that we had finally reached the central area.

[From now on, we might encounter other teams, so be cautious.]

To elaborate, from here on, we could encounter doppelgangers not only transformed into our likenesses but also those of other teams.

It was safe to say that the difficulty had significantly increased.

There’s no trickier opponent than an unknown one.

[…I just hope they’re at our level.]

With that thought, we proceeded down the path chosen by Raven.

How much time had passed?

Sadly, the Hidden Piece room I was looking for was nowhere to be found.

Instead, we encountered a lone, mysterious explorer.

A man of a small stature, around 160 cm tall.

“Identify yourself. Otherwise, we will assume you are a doppelganger and act accordingly.”

Upon Raven’s request, the man removed his hood.

It was hard to make out his features clearly due to the distance and the dim surroundings, but I immediately felt a sense of déjà vu.

And an inexplicable unease to boot.

‘Why?’

As I pondered, the man spoke.

“…Sc, cree… sen…”

The typical stuttering and broken speech of a doppelganger.

Seeing him alone, I had suspected as much, but this confirmed his identity.

“Mr. Jandel, please handle this one alone.”

“For analysis purposes?”

“Yes. We don’t really know what kind of people they are, do we? It’s best to figure them out in advance. If it gets dangerous, we’ll step in right away.”

Having similar thoughts, I followed Raven’s instructions without objection.

Meanwhile, the doppelganger continued to mutter like a broken tape.

“I, am… not a doppel, ganger…”

I approached slowly, shielding my upper body with my shield.

“K, Kry… Sen.”

He appeared to be unarmed. Not a priest, perhaps a support class with special abilities—

“Han, s… K Kry… Sen.”…”

“…What?”

“Th, that… is my name.”

Chills ran down my spine.