Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 226
Reversal (2)
We avoided the worst.
Though a few legendary figures remained, it wasn’t the massive army we feared.
We only had three enemies to face.
Surprisingly, they didn’t attack us as we stepped through the portal and formed our ranks, perhaps due to their overconfidence?
However…
[Abet Necrapheto has cast [Puppet]]
This doesn’t mean the situation is positive.
Even if we manage to hold our ground now, the longer this battle drags on, the worse it will be for us.
That’s the nature of necromancers.
[Grrrrr!]
It’s a massive battle with casualties mounting in real time.
The corpses of our comrades, their flesh torn and their necks cut, rise up again to attack us.
Crack-!
Even now, we’re doing our best to smash the heads of these undead, but if this continues, we will eventually be outnumbered.
‘Ugh, what kind of combination is this?’
I couldn’t help but groan.
There are only three of them, but their balance is impeccable.
The corpse collector’s hordes.
The one-on-one combat prowess of Blue Mane.
And the ultimate mage with wide-area skills and an overwhelming ability to create variables, the Ruin Scholar.
If it were just three combat-skilled veterans, our chances would be much higher.
‘No, they left only three behind because of this combination.’
I brush off the fleeting regret.
No one is without flaws.
Not every aspect of this fight is against us.
In fact, since the opponent is corpse collector, there’s a slight advantage for me.
[The character has used Outlaw of the Wasteland]
I didn’t expect to use this here after acquiring it in the Doppelganger Forest.
“Bethel—raaaa!!!”
Once again, I repeat what I’ve done countless times today at the forefront of the battlefield.
Clearing the path.
Crack-zizz-! Boom!
With each swing of my mace, the armored corpses fall like autumn leaves.
The reason is simple.
The Outlaw of the Wasteland is a perfect counter to necromancers.
[Physical damage temporarily increases proportionally to the number of humanoid monsters.]
The increase in physical damage is proportional to their numbers.
It’s safe to assume that the increase has already reached its maximum.
Hmm, so the maximum is…
[Current increase rate: 1,000%.]
Tenfold?
Crack-!
Was this how Lü Bu of the Three Kingdoms felt?
With corpses bursting with each casual swing of the mace, there’s no need to even use [Swing].
Sure, it would help more if I did…
But it’s wiser to save my limited MP for [Gigantification].
“Hah, what kind of rank 5 explorer…?”
“A great warrior!!”
“Follow him!”
The explorers naturally form a breakthrough formation behind my mindless charge.
Okay, now I won’t get stabbed in the back.
“It’s a suicide bomber!”
Even the [Corpse Explosion], which initially caused us significant damage, is now being countered effectively.
After all, aren’t these veteran explorers accustomed to such tactics?
Even without my direction, they instinctively learned how to counter it.
“Mage!”
“Dertu Teiran!”
The Level 8 support magic ‘Gale’.
Boom!
As the suicide bomber’s body swelled menacingly, it was blown away by spells or skills with knockback effects.
Still, occasional explosions within our formation caused damage, and I was often the one who bore the brunt of it.
Sssssss-!
The corrosive liquid from the suicide bombers clung to my body.
It doesn’t sting too much, though.
Even though I didn’t invest much in poison resistance…
Isn’t [Dungeon and Stone] a team game?
[Alluva Raven has cast Level 7 support spell [Neutralize].]
A buff spell that halves poison damage.
[Rebecca Eizel has cast [Share].]
An active skill that takes one-third of the damage meant for a designated target.
[Khan Algon has cast [Group Immunity].]
An aura skill that shares half of his resistance stats with everyone within a 15-meter radius, friend or foe.
[Fulton Kassel has cast [Fountain of Blood].]
[When the character takes damage, orbs of regeneration are created.]
Even when I took damage, healing tokens burst from my body, replenishing the health of my allies who picked them up.
With hundreds of rank 5 explorers gathered, it was as if we had every possible skill—
Whoosh-!
At that moment, the dozens of light orbs that filled the sky over Goblin Forest vanished, darkening the surroundings.
I knew instinctively.
[Be cautious, the enemy is about to move.]
The Ruin Scholar.
Yes, he wouldn’t just stand by forever.
Flare-!
The sky darkened as if an eclipse had occurred, and a blood-red orb formed above, rapidly growing in size.
[It’s the Sphere of Annihilation.]
The Sphere of Annihilation.
An attack spell I’d never seen in the game before.
Well, of course, I wouldn’t have.
That summoning spell is the Ruin Scholar’s signature spell, created from scratch.
‘A Level 2 spell.’
My heart tightened.
I know how unrealistically powerful top-tier offensive magic can be.
Of course, it hardly matters.
Even if I didn’t know, I would have guessed how dangerous that spell is.
“This crazy old man!! Are you trying to kill me too?”
The wolf guy shuddered and tried to leave as soon as he saw the thing in the sky.
The clown in the distance was no different.
He was shouting something with a panicked face.
Although I couldn’t hear him, it wasn’t hard to guess the content. The undead legion positioned on the outskirts was retreating.
‘Damn it.’
The Ruin Scholar’s companions had made a judgment.
Once that spell drops, everything, friend or foe, will vanish without a trace.
But so what.
[I will block it, you all advance!] Kyle spoke in the message stone
I overcome my anxiety and focus on breaking through the path.
“Keep moving! Don’t freeze up!”
“But if that thing falls…!”
“Where will you run? Fight!”
The explorers, now encouraging each other, firmed up their resolve without needing my intervention.
“It’s coming…!”
At someone’s murmur, I looked up.
The ominous orb, now massive enough to fill the entire sky, began its descent toward the ground.
And then…
[Kyle Febrosk has cast Level 3 attack spell [Piercing Steel].]
At that moment, Kyle’s spell, aimed at the Ruin Scholar, was completed.
Shaaah—!
He must have prepared a magic circle in advance for this moment, as an intense gray light bloomed from the rear.
Flash-!
In the instant the light flickered, a giant arrow pierced through the massive meteor.
Boom—!
The ear-splitting sound of impact.
Shaaah—!
A fierce wind blew, whipping across the ground.
And then…
“Take cover!!”
Hundreds of large and small fragments, engulfed in crimson flames, rained down like a shower.
The explorers scattered in panic, but most fragments never reached the ground.
This, too, was thanks to Kyle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hundreds of fragments were intercepted mid-air by a semi-transparent barrier, exploding and dissipating harmlessly.
Even for a Rank 3 mage, it’s impossible to cover such a wide area with a shield…
‘…Did he control all of them?’
He must have read the trajectory of each fragment and blocked them one by one with minimal magic.
That’s the reasonable assumption.
Indeed, Raven watched the scene with her mouth agape.
“Is that even possible…?”
Being a mage, she could feel more acutely just how high-level that maneuver was.
However, the opposing mage was no ordinary human either.
In fact, the Ruin Scholar, considered to be a grand mage from Orcules, was likely ranked even higher than Kyle.
[Damn old man.]
The remaining meteors veered off course like curveballs, avoiding the barrier and striking the ground.
Boom—!
The meteor didn’t distinguish between friend and foe.
They fell amidst the center of the undead legion released by the clown, crushing comrades beside and behind me.
And then they transformed into golems, rising up.
‘A Level 5 summoning spell, Fire Giant.’
Raven exclaimed in disbelief.
“Mr. Febrosk! How is this possible? There were no summoning rituals…!”
[He used the residual magic to quickly inscribe new spells onto the remaining fragments.]
“In that brief moment, a Level 5 spell… and dozens of them…?”
Raven murmured in a mix of shock and admiration.
But it seemed Kyle had no time to respond kindly.
[Jandel! I need to prepare for the next attack, so cover me!]
The hurried communication was cut off.
Phew, he said he’d handle it himself.
In the end, cleaning up falls to me.
‘Well, even for this guy, handling such a monster alone would be impossible.’
Moreover, Kyle’s mana was already low after using Mass Teleportation on the first floor.
It hits me again how disadvantaged we still are.
Melter Pend is dealing with the blue-maned warrior.
Kyle is focused on the Ruin Scholar.
And I’m leading hundreds of explorers to take down the corpse collector.
If any one of us fails, it’s game over.
The precarious balance would collapse, sweeping us all away in an instant.
But, conversely, the same goes for our enemies.
That’s why…
Ssshhh.
I charge toward the Fire Giant, which had risen completely and was now looming over me.
Gripping my giant mace tightly.
Thud.
I leap high.
‘Swing.’
Using up my MP, I bring the mace crashing down.
One hit was all it took.
To shatter the core of the fifth-grade summoned Fire Giant.
Boom—!
The Fire Giant disintegrates into magical particles, scattering into the air.
I look beyond, focusing on the front.
The clown is visible in the distance.
‘Still laughing like an idiot.’
If I can just kill him, the advantage will be ours.
***
Step by step, I advance slowly.
Breaking through, trampling, sometimes using corpses as shields to push through.
Crack-!
I am carving a path to survival.
Shaaah—!
Above us, the Ruin Scholar’s fiery rain pours down incessantly.
Boom! Boom!
Kyle is fiercely defending with his magic, but it’s not enough to block everything.
“Aaaargh—!”
Screams erupt from all around.
Those who desperately fought their way here are now collapsing, burnt black, onto the wet ground.
And then…
[Abet Necrapheto has cast [Puppet].]
Rising again in such a state, they wield their weapons against us.
Seeing this, I can’t help but think.
If there is a hell on Earth, it’s right here.
Boom—!
In the distance, a pile of corpses flies like a cannonball, disrupting our formation.
It’s been happening for a few minutes now.
The corpse collector is summoning more minions from his pocket dimension.
Damn it, we were so close.
‘Just how much has he stockpiled?’
A curse escapes my lips.
But even so, I don’t stop moving.
Surrounded by the corpse legion, far from the main force, I keep pushing forward.
I don’t know how many of us are left.
Many must have died.
But still.
“Bethel—raaaaah!”
Aynar shouts as she slashes at a corpse, followed by a chant from behind and beside her.
“Yeah, Bethelraaa!!!”
Not just the Barbarians.
Humans, dwarves, or beastmen.
Yes, it’s quite infectious.
Thud!
A heap of corpses lands in front of me and rises.
A grotesque form made up of five merged bodies.
I briefly grimace at the grotesque sight, then recognize a familiar face within the pile.
‘Hansen Kelders.’
We met on the first day, wandering the passages.
Before we even knew what was happening, before we met the clown.
Back then, he offered to join us, but I refused.
I couldn’t trust him.
[Careful guys survive longer. I hope we meet again someday.]
He left smiling, despite the rejection.
And now…
[Groooan…]
We meet again like this.
‘…So he really was on our side.’
His ghastly appearance would have made Lee Han-soo retch just by looking at it.
Swinging my mace at him, I ponder.
What if I had trusted him back then?
If we had decided to move together… would he be fighting on our side now instead of being an enemy?
Crack-!
Well, maybe.
One thing is certain.
I was wrong back then.
It wasn’t the best choice, not even a good one.
I didn’t try hard enough just because he was a stranger.
If I had tried a bit harder, maybe I could have found evidence to trust him.
“I’m sorry.”
I dash forward, stepping over the pile of corpses.
And for a brief moment, I wonder.
What kind of person was he?
What could he have achieved if he had lived?
“…”
Now, I’ll never know.
He might have had immense potential and could have been a great help to me.
Dwalki, for example, didn’t make a great first impression.
At first, I thought he was just a weirdo.
But what was he really like?
He turned out to be the kindest among us and the most remarkable mage I’ve ever known.
[Jandel, are you there yet?]
Kyle’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Not much farther.”
It truly wasn’t far now.
Just a bit more, and I’d reach the clown.
Though he’s an agile necromancer, close combat won’t be easy, but…
A necromancer’s weakness is obvious.
Even if he has summoned such a large army, his MP consumption must be immense.
As long as Kyle keeps the Ruin Scholar in check and Melter Pend holds off that wolf-man, there shouldn’t be any unexpected—
[Hurry up a bit.]
Huh?
[I have a bad feeling.]
A bad feeling?
Is this some kind of mage’s intuition?
Thinking this, I swing my mace once more.
[Grrr…]
Through the foul-smelling corpses, a new group of explorers appears.
One team, two teams, three teams…
Their numbers are so large that counting them individually becomes meaningless.
“I wondered what the commotion was, and it’s this…”
“We’ll help now!”
“It’s the remnants of Raphdonia! Kill them!!”
“Waaahhh!!”
They were explorers from Noark, who had been hunting on the second floor.