Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 275

Whirlpool (1)

Shock and surprise.

Separate from these emotions, my mind analyzed the information conveyed through sight.

‘Drake.’

First of all, Drakes don’t live on this island.

So how was this possible?

The answer lay in the conversation from a moment ago.

[Carmilla and Belverson. Those two scoundrels must be behind this.]

Two plunderers from Noark who possibly betrayed Amelia out of greed for her treasure. Among them, the woman named Carmilla was said to control Drake as her summoned beast.

Alright, now I know who the opponent is.

Fwoosh-!

Seeing the flames Drake spewed out, it was clear they harbored malice towards us.

Therefore, there’s only one thing left for me to do.

“Prepare for battle!!”

I shouted, gripping my mace tightly.

Thanks to having been in similar situations many times, this shout served as a trigger once again.

“Everyone, gather here!”

Raven, who was blankly staring into the sky, quickly cast a spell without even putting the vial into her subspace.

“Arerebes Wiar!”

A level 7 auxiliary spell, ‘Magic Barrier’.

The most commonly used non-elemental defensive spell by mages. However, the translucent barrier that appeared in the air was covered in blue frost.

‘Did she imbue it with a cold attribute in that short moment?’

Despite everything, her chanting speed has improved since becoming an explorer.

Whooooosh-!

While I was briefly impressed, the flames spewed by Drake hit the mana barrier and spread out wide like rainwater flowing off an umbrella.

At least, it bought us some time to catch our breath.

‘Erwin is out of combat. Ersina’s divine power is exhausted, and Raven’s mana must be almost depleted. As for me, my MP is barely holding on.’

I updated the information on our allies during the given moment.

Things were not looking good.

After the battle with the Guano Sea Serpent, most of us were scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of all vital resources, including our stamina.

‘This isn’t going to be easy.’

I was thinking that when it happened.

Boom-!

Suddenly, the flames stopped, and the Drake charged at the mana barrier.

A body slam, a fundamental skill for tamers.

Sizzle-!

With the added momentum from its massive body, there was no way a level 7 defensive spell could withstand it.

Abman Urickfreit has cast [Hazardous Material].」

The moment they appeared beyond the shattered mana barrier, Mr. Bear shot an explosive arrow at the Drake’s forehead.

But…….

Boom-!

The Drake shielded itself with its large wings, minimizing the damage.

Well, it wasn’t crucial.

I hadn’t expected to kill it with one shot anyway.

“Bethel—raaaa!!”

Activating [Gigantification], I stomped the ground. Then I charged at the Drake, who was hovering in place after blocking Mr. Bear’s arrow.

Thud.

The distance quickly closed in midair.

“Carmilla, I’ll handle this barbarian.”

The man riding Drake’s back leaped towards me, thrusting his sword.

A white aura surrounded the blade.

It wasn’t an aura used by knights, but……

‘Tsk, that looks like it would hurt if it hits.’

My instincts as a tanker told me.

It would be dangerous to ignore and charge ahead.

So I raised my shield to block the sword.

Boom!

The heavy impact transmitted through the shield.

‘Good thing I blocked it.’

My charging body, akin to a cannonball, was stopped by the sword.

Looks like the shield got scratched too.

If I had taken it with my body, I would have had to endure significant damage.

“I heard you’re a rank 5 explorer.”

What the hell is this guy saying?

I only had one thing to say.

“Die.”

Swinging my mace without hesitation, he stepped back, doing a backflip off my shield and landing on the ground.

Hmph, does he think he’s a flying squirrel?

Thud.

After a brief exchange in the air, I landed and dashed forward immediately.

At the same time, the Drake convulsed its neck, preparing to spew flames once more.

It wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

I wasn’t alone, after all.

“We’ll handle it over here!”

Once again, Raven’s defensive magic blocked the Drake’s flames, and Mr. Bear quickly fired arrows to keep the Drake in check.

Therefore…….

Thud.

I dashed once more.

Whoooosh.

[Swing].

“……!”

The enemy, initially blocking without dodging, sensed something amiss and withdrew his sword, widening the gap.

Good instincts.

‘If he had blocked, I would have shattered him.’

While I clicked my tongue in regret, Mr. Bear’s shout came from behind.

“Jandel, we’ll take care of this side!”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you guys.”

The battle positions naturally fell into place.

Summoner Carmilla was tackled by Raven, Mr. Bear, Patzran, and Hans J.

“Aargh! Leave the monsters to me!”

Aynar, oblivious to the situation, dealt with the mobs.

And I…….

“Why do you keep running? You were the one who attacked first.”

I faced off against the swordsman, Belberson or whatever his name was. But before the real fight, there was one thing to instruct.

“Raven, activate the voice control magic!”

Closing the distance to the swordsman, I instructed Raven to use team voice magic.

With one additional condition.

“Just among us? Why suddenly…….”

“Enough, did you do it?”

“Yes. Now only we can hear our conversations.”

Okay, got it.

Confirming that the team voice was working well, I swiftly relayed the instructions. Everyone seemed puzzled by my command except for Raven……

“I don’t know why you said that, but understood. We’ll do as you said when the time comes.”

I didn’t need to worry about them following orders.

In short, it meant that as long as everyone did their job well.

Thud.

With that in mind, I dashed again, closing the distance with the swordsman.

The woman, the Drake’s master, tried to help a few times, but ended up fighting with Raven and Hans J.

“Damn it, so annoying. If we lose, I won’t let you off!”

From now on, it was a one-on-one matchup.

But it wasn’t as easy as it was against the archer.

There were several reasons for this.

First, this guy wasn’t a fragile, ranged type like the archer, and his overall rank was higher than the archer.

And most importantly…….

「Your character lacks soul power.」

「[Gigantification] is ending.」

With my MP depleted from previous battles, I couldn’t overwhelm him with skills.

Sigh, if only I were in better condition, I’d have finished him by now.

“You were impressive, but this is the end!”

As [Gigantification] ended, the swordsman closed the distance and swung his sword at me. 

As expected of someone from Noark, he had a deep understanding of close combat, striking at difficult-to-block timings and angles.

But……

‘He doesn’t know about [Iron Skin].’

The passive skill [Iron Skin] of Ogres doubles physical resistance to slashing attacks.

Clang!

The sword cut into my forearm, but that was it.

Now it was my turn.

Whoosh!

As soon as the alien sensation arose on my skin, I smashed my mace into his temple.

Crunch-!

A satisfying sound.

However…….

“Grr.”

Instead of his head, it was his left arm that exploded, which he had raised in time.

Well, better to lose an arm than a head.

So, you can make that judgment too, huh?

‘In that sense, let’s try again.’

Unbothered, I swung my mace again to seize the opportunity.

[Screech!]

I had to retreat due to a monster attacking from the side.

Damn it, such a good chance.

“… Essence of an Ogre, huh?”

It seemed the enemy had now realized my [Iron Skin]. From then on, he used slashes only as feints and switched to mainly stabbing attacks.

‘A quick finish is out of the question now.’

With the increased difficulty of the battle, the frequency of wounds on my body increased.

It seemed like the sword was poisoned because even when Raven threw a potion to me, the wounds wouldn’t heal.

But the more it went on, the less impatient I became.

‘Let’s focus on replenishing MP first.’

I switched strategies.

I moved defensively, identifying his strengths and then planning to finish him off.

While maintaining a defensive stance, a shout came from afar.

“Hans Aulok!”

I heard a woman shout in the distance.

It was the woman on the Drake, who had been shooting various abilities.

“Stop interfering and help us!”

A sense of déjà vu struck me.

Ironically, it had many similarities with what happened in the Doppleganger Forest.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“What do you mean? I was the one who investigated you and told her. Do you think she wouldn’t know?”

The fact that the enemy was from ‘Noark’ too.

“Don’t listen to her! That vile woman is trying to sow discord with her evil schemes…!”

“Oh, you want to play that way? Listen up! Hans Aulok is trash who murdered and covered up the killing of the count’s daughter from Montlaina twelve years ago!”

The enemy publicly revealing Hans’s secret and inducing betrayal.

“Such deceitful words! Do you think we’d believe that?”

Even though my ally denied the betrayal, it’s clear that Hans has no choice, just like before.

But…

“Iherno Kar Berdei…”

The result was entirely different this time.

Thunk.

Before Hans J could even finish his incantation, a dagger pierced through his lungs.

“Gah…!”

A swift response that could only have been possible if prepared in advance.

Thud.

As Hans J collapsed to the ground, the woman who had attempted to persuade him widened her eyes in shock.

“H-how…?”

What do you mean, how?

I had already instructed them to stab him if he showed any sign of betrayal.

****

Erwin was the one who stabbed the dagger into Hans J’s back.

Though she was too injured to participate in the battle…

Killing one wizard was an easy task.

Especially if she was prepared and right behind him.

“Y-you! Why did you…?”

The priestess, who couldn’t imagine this happening, gaped in shock. She still couldn’t believe Hans J’s betrayal…

“Why? He’s a traitor.”

“It’s a lie! It hasn’t been confirmed yet…!”

“He started casting magic suddenly.”

At Erwin’s firm words, the priestess’s expression hardened.

“He might not have been aiming at us…!”

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

We couldn’t be sure Hans J’s magic was aimed at us.

But humans are rational creatures.

“Do you really think that?”

Hans J would understand.

Even if it was seen as discord now, suspicions would arise if we returned to the city alive.

And possibly start an investigation…

The safest bet was to silence us by killing everyone.

‘Anyway, it turns out this guy really was a traitor.’

Despite only having a name as evidence, I thought he might not be.

But Hans’s betrayal was a proven fact.

“Bjorn Jandel! Say something!”

The priestess, turning her anger towards me, shouted.

But I had only one thing to say.

“Well done, Erwin.”

“No, I just did as you said.”

That’s true, but doing it well is what matters. Mr. Bear and Raven received the same instruction, but they didn’t act as quickly as Erwin.

Once you kill, there’s no turning back.

No matter how prepared you are, there’s a psychological barrier.

‘Perhaps she’s the most reliable in situations like this…’

Raising my evaluation of Erwin, I lifted my shield.

Immediately, a white blade struck it.

Boom-!

Damn, no time to think.

I guess they’re desperate since their trump card failed.

“Patzran! Say something! That elf killed Aulok!”

“Ersina, let’s discuss this later. Maybe he was really trying to betray us.”

Fortunately, Patzran wasn’t as naive as the priestess and postponed the topic. From his tone, he seemed to initially be shocked but now agreed with my actions.

Yeah, that’s how it should be.

Anyone could see it was a betrayal.

‘Okay, we passed the betrayal phase…’

As everyone returned to their respective fights…

“Jandel, Urickfreit is…!”

A problem arose.