Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 213
Discarded Pawn (2)
In the misty first floor of the crystal cave.
In the midst of the corpses and the foul scent of blood, a man chuckled and chatted with his companion.
The conversation was trivial.
It was a cheap conversation about how pretty the woman he’d just killed was, and how it was a shame he’d wasted her.
The conversation inevitably led to complaints.
“Ugh, it’s so boring just staying here. There’s no fun to be had.”
“Haha, think of it this way, it’s less dangerous, which is good.”
“…You’re unnecessarily positive.”
“But it’s not incorrect, is it?”
“Well, that’s true but…”
The man chewed on some jerky from his pocket, suppressing his discontent. For him, a mere foot soldier, it had been a long time since he had eaten meat.
His group, Noark, hadn’t entered the labyrinth for six months, leading to a severe food shortage.
‘…Can we win?’
A sudden surge of anxiety caused the man to shake his head.
It’s not about whether they can win.
They have to win.
That’s the only way to live decently.
Even if that means surviving in a city underground, devoid of any light.
“Rex, focus on the mission.”
The man resting with his back against the wall sighed and adjusted his posture at the leader’s words.
“You look like you have a complaint.” The man spoke honestly.
“Nobody has passed by for over two hours.”
“So?”
“It means nobody’s going to come now. Those who were going in are already in, and those who aren’t, are either dead or have fled far away.”
Furthermore, their assigned area was quite far from the central dark zone.
This meant that they were unlikely to encounter anyone coming out.
“Still, you never know, so keep guarding the area.”
“Sure, sure.”
The man replied nonchalantly to his dutiful leader and stood at one of the forks in the path.
The fog obscured the view.
But there was no anxiety.
What would it matter if something did jump out from beyond?
‘There are so many people here.’
He just thought there would be more spoils to take back to Noark later.
That’s what he was thinking.
“Captain! There’s a noise!”
A companion guarding another fork shouted. The man grabbed his weapon and moved towards that direction.
‘Really, someone came?’
It was unexpected, but he wasn’t worried.
‘Are they completely unaware of the situation here?’
Probably so.
Anyone who knew anything about this area wouldn’t think of trying to get through.
They must have chosen this path without knowing anything—
“Huh?”
The man tilted his head.
Everyone listened intently, their faces filled with confusion.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
What on earth was that sound?
“Footsteps?”
Someone muttered briefly, but it didn’t quite explain the noise.
How could these be human footsteps?
Maybe if it were a troll or some other large monster.
‘But there are no such monsters on the first floor, right?’
Confused and uneasy, the man gripped his weapon tighter.
That was when it happened.
“Bethel—raaaaaaaaaaa!!”
With a wild cry, something emerged from the thick fog.
“What, what is this thing?!”
“Block it!”
It was a barbarian.
A very large one.
***
Survival means letting go.
What will you let go of in order to stay alive?
This process is thoroughly based on priorities.
Humans are rational beasts, after all.
Thump—!
Isn’t it a common scene in movies?
Throwing things away to make the helicopter fly, to keep the boat from sinking, or to escape from enemy pursuit.
The more you discard, the higher your chances of survival.
But…
Thump—!
Reality is different from movies.
It’s not always so kind.
What we need to let go of for life isn’t just baggage but something else.
Thump—!
Perhaps Versil knew this.
That’s why she left us without hesitation.
Leaving behind just this phrase.
[Please don’t hold any grudges.]
Of course, I don’t hold any grudges.
I know it was a thoroughly rational decision.
She had her priorities, and for those, she boldly discarded everything else.
Just as I am doing now.
“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
As I shout, I gather strength at my feet.
The resistance I feel in the shield I’m gripping with both hands is something I’ve never experienced before.
It feels like I’m holding back a tidal wave with just my shield.
Hmm, maybe that’s not such an inaccurate description.
Even if it’s a bit exaggerated.
“What, what is this guy?!”
“Block him!!”
I’m at the very front, breaking through the path.
To cover the distance that would take 20 minutes by running.
Pushing through the swarming enemies.
Like a tank on a battlefield.
“Bjorn!!!”
Misha is following right behind me.
Her role was simple.
To eliminate the enemies pushed aside by my charge.
Slice-!
It didn’t matter if she couldn’t kill them in one blow.
After all, our goal isn’t just to reduce their numbers…
Because there’s a second line of force behind us.
“You damned bitch—!”
If Misha is the first line of defense, the second is Aynar with Raven and Mr. Bear.
Kwaang!
Any enemy Misha didn’t finish off was immediately hit by crossbow bolts and magic before they could even get up.
It’s no problem if it doesn’t end there.
There are plenty of layers of defense left behind.
“Erwin, be careful!”
Erwin and her sister Daria make up the ranged DPS duo.
And right behind them is Tacella‘s team, averaging rank 5, and the rearguard team led by Square Jaw.
We were like a medieval cavalry charge.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!!!”
The only objective was to charge forward.
Any enemies not dealt with by the vanguard would be handled by the rear guard. Even if some enemies survived the last line of defense, it didn’t matter.
That was for the rearguard to handle.
‘It’s their own doing.’
When devising this strategy and formation, Square Jaw insisted on being in the rearguard, even if it meant handing us the ranged DPS fairy sisters.
His thinking was clear.
Since charging was risky, he figured the very front was the most dangerous. He thought he could back out if something unexpected happened.
He treated Erwin and his mercenaries like expendable cards.
‘Idiot.’
The biggest risk in this strategy is, of course, the rearguard. Right now, they might be leeching off the front…
But this state won’t last forever.
I didn’t expect the turning point to come this soon.
Kwoong!
A heavy impact transmitted through the shield.
Even with all my strength at my toes, I can’t push forward.
I slightly lower my shield to check the view ahead.
“What a crazy bastard.”
In front of me stood a warrior of the black bear tribe, similar to Mr. Bear. Though his build was 1.5 times smaller than mine when I was in [Gigantification].
But…
‘Damn it.’
How strong is this guy, really?
I realized the explorers from Noark were quite formidable, but I wasn’t too worried.
“Barbarian, you think you’re some kind of hero out of a story—”
Ignoring the bear’s ramblings, I shouted to the rear.
“Raven, now!!”
I’m not a hero.
But neither is my opponent.
“Everyone, back off!!”
As Raven’s warning rang out, an explosive force surged from behind me.
「Arua Raven has cast a rank 6 support spell [Oxygen Explosion].」
A high-rank wind attribute support spell.
The reason it’s detonated behind me is simple.
Though the damage was low, it had a powerful knockback effect.
“Ugh! What is this…!”
Ending the tense power struggle, I used the wind as propulsion to push the enemy back.
And then…
“Oh, no—!”
Crack.
I dash forward, trampling over the face of the fallen bear with a [Leap] in place.
Well, he might not die from this, being a tank, but…
Thump!
Soon after, I heard a popping sound from behind.
That’s like a tofu stab.
High strength but low physical resistance?
“Bethel—raaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
With the bear temporarily stalling my movement and enemies gathering behind me, I doped up my physical stats with [Wild Burst] and charged again.
But…
“We need to move faster!!”
The speed wasn’t the same as before.
This was a serious problem.
One weakness of cavalry charges is being surrounded when the breakthrough is halted.
“These crazy bastards!”
“Kill them!”
The enemies we knocked down were getting up like zombies, rushing at my comrades.
If it had been a one-sided breakthrough until now, it was now a chaotic melee.
Scrape, thunk, crack-! Kwaang!
Intense battle sounds overlapped from behind.
Obviously, I couldn’t know the exact situation.
But, despite that, I focused only on the path ahead.
“Bjorn, don’t worry about the back!”
Of course, I was worried.
This was a battlefield where lives were as cheap as flies.
I feared that someone might get seriously injured by a stray blade.
Slash-!
I didn’t know whose body made that slicing sound.
Could it be Misha?
Could it be Aynar?
Could it be Raven, or Mr. Bear?
Negative scenarios continuously painted themselves in my mind.
But what can I do about it?
“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Stopping here would only worsen the situation.
I embraced the fear and focused entirely on my given role.
“What, what strength!”
Just to clear the path.
Trusting my comrades to handle the rear and advancing straightforwardly.
It’s what I have to do right now, and something only I can do.
[The good news is we’re almost there. If we run for 20 minutes, we’ll enter the dark zone.]
It felt like an eternity.
In a cave filled with sweat, blood, and screams.
‘About 3 minutes have passed.’
It felt like at least an hour, but in reality, it was only that much. Now, on the first floor, I could tell our location just by looking at the walls.
‘Damn it.’
It felt like being trapped in a cave where time was twisted.
I kept checking my location in real time, estimating how much time had passed.
4 minutes. 5 minutes. 6 minutes.
And then…
‘7 minutes.’
The first casualty occurred.
“Kaiyan!! Kaiyan is hurt!! Help, we need to carry him…!”
“Let him be, Lena.”
“What? But…”
“He’s… already dead.”
“…”
“We leave him here.”
Kayen was an archer from Tacelan’s team.
That’s about all I knew, but he had seemed like a decent sort during the roll call.
‘8 minutes.’
Our path was blocked by a barrier summoned by someone.
I immediately took an alternate path along a nearby fork.
A quick decision I wouldn’t have been able to make if Rotmiller hadn’t trained me as a scout.
‘It’ll take 3 more minutes to arrive.’
The setbacks didn’t end there.
‘9 minutes.’
Another one died.
This time, it was a member of the Square Jaw’s team from our rearguard.
And one more thing.
“Bjorn, Misha’s injured!”
Misha was wounded.
“What’s the extent and location?”
“Uh, below the left chest! The organs aren’t damaged—”
“Administer a potion while running. Aynar, you carry Misha!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t life-threatening, but Aynar, who had been supporting Raven with one hand while fighting, was now reduced to merely a bearer.
’10 minutes.’
Inevitably, more bad news came from behind.
“Mr. Jandel! The people at the back are gone!”
The Square Jaw’s team assigned to our rearguard had fled.
Seeing others dying ahead, they must have decided they couldn’t handle it…
It was my misjudgment.
‘I didn’t expect them to be such headless fools.’
I never thought they’d believe escaping alone in a surrounded situation was possible.
Damn it, if they were going to die, they should have done it for us.
With those bastards gone, Tacellan’s team had to bear much more burden.
Maybe that’s why?
‘13 minutes.’
Two more deaths.
A mage from Tacellan’s team and the warrior carrying him.
“Damn it! All because of a goblin…!”
The first cause of death was a respawned goblin.
In the chaos, a goblin had leapt onto the mage’s face, blocking his view, and in that moment, he was hit by an ice spell, turning him into an ice statue.
‘15 minutes.’
A dark mage emerged from a side path, casting an area-wide spell.
No one died, but…
“Sister!!”
Daria, who had leapt to protect Erwin in the center, was rendered combat-ineffective.
Luckily, she wasn’t dead.
But.
“Stop dawdling and move! I’ll carry your sister!”
Abman carried Daria, reducing our combat strength further.
‘17 minutes.’
Overuse of [Leap] for boosted stats and continuous [Gigantification] had drained my MP.
「The character’s soul power is insufficient.」
「[Gigantification] is deactivated.」
The gap left by deactivating the skill was filled by Mr. Bear’s tank summon, Iron Bear.
‘18 minutes.’
Iron Bear was unsummoned.
But Misha, who had taken a potion, regained consciousness and returned to the battle.
‘19 minutes.’
Hope was in sight.
We were almost there.
Though nearly half had died, none of those I vowed to save had perished.
‘20 minutes.’
A top-tier explorer, estimated to be at least rank 4, blocked my path.
A swordsman.
He wielded a greatsword of adamantium, a tier five metal, and…….
“You’ll be a satisfying cut.”
He used aura.