Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 300

Evil Spirit (4)

Suddenly, memories of the first day came flooding back.

[The soul of Orum, the son of Kadua, is possessed by an ‘evil spirit.’]

That day, the tribe chief beheaded a nameless player beside me with his terrifying axe, marking the start of my survival days.

Of course, I didn’t realize it then.

The whole world was my enemy, and I had to be wary of everyone I met.

[I thought you were an NPC. If I had known, I would never have done it.]

Just like Jencia, who considered everyone NPCs.

I had no time to understand their hatred.

But…

Squeeze-

Now I can accept it.

[So, it was you…]

The sadness in the tribe chief‘s eyes as he looked at ‘Orum, son of Kadua’ was sorrow.

[Isn’t it disgusting? For an evil spirit to pretend to be human.]

The anger of the citizens gathered in the dimensional plaza to execute the evil spirit was anxiety.

Of course.

One day, the body of a loved one is possessed by an evil spirit, turning them into a completely different being.

Could there be anything more horrifying in this world?

It’s only natural to be hated.

Even for me, if Misha, Raven, Mr. Bear, Erwin, or Aynar were possessed by an evil spirit, it would be suffocating.

“Bjorn, it’s about time.”

“…Already? Got it.”

I slowly stood up from the corner where I was resting.

The feeling of having a stone placed over my heart remained unchanged.

However…

‘Why be stubborn now? Nothing will change.’

Emotions are just emotions.

Yeah, so…

Crunch.

Let’s quickly finish what needs to be done and move on.

****

Clatter.

When the time came, the stone door, which wouldn’t budge even with force, opened, and we continued our exploration of the rift.

White-armored guardians, green-armored scouts, silver-threaded prophets and so on.

Each room featured new types of monsters, steadily increasing our experience points.

And occasionally, we got drops of essence.

But perhaps they didn’t memorize all the hundreds of essences obtainable from the White Temple?

“Can you tell me what ability this essence has?”

Whenever an essence dropped, the Carlton trio sought our advice, and surprisingly, Amelia kindly explained what she knew.

“The essence of the Blue and White Bow Judge. I remember it had high strength, which is unusual for essences related to bows and projectiles.”

“Hm, I see. Aimburn, what will you do?”

“Strength, huh… I’ve been wanting to increase the bow’s draw strength, so this is perfect. I like the ability too. I’ll take it.”

Aimburn got one this time.

And Carlton and Jarku took one each earlier.

Even though they just followed us and picked up a total of three Level 6 essences, I wasn’t particularly envious.

I didn’t need those items anyway…

“Haha! Thanks to you, it’s been easy!”

“No need to thank us.”

This wouldn’t serve as a reward anyway.

It wouldn’t change the fact that he would eventually die in the labyrinth someday.

“Seems like we’re nearing the end.”

After a long strategy session, we reached the boss room.

Judging by the unlit gem in the statue’s hand, it seemed we were the first to arrive…

“But how do we open the door?”

“Step back.”

Amelia then smashed the statue entirely.

It wasn’t a sudden act but one of the fastest strategies.

Doing so would open the door with an angry voice.

‘Who did she come with to know all this?’

As I grew more curious about Amelia’s past, a deep voice echoed from beyond the stone door.

[This is the sanctuary of noble sacrifices.]

[Intruders will pay for their sins with blood.]

What’s this bullshit? It’s a level 5 intro I’ve seen countless times in the game, so I just chewed on jerky without any reaction, and soon, the stone door began to open.

“C-can we go in?”

“Someone just spoke! Does that mean it’s not a monster?”

The Carlton trio, tense from the voice, were visibly nervous.

I understood why.

The White Temple’s guardian was a Level 5 superior mutant that had consumed random essences.

In lower floors, encountering a ‘higher variant’ monster that speaks human language is rare.

“Bjorn, how long are you going to stand there?”

“Oh, I was just thinking.”

To be precise, I suddenly thought of the Blood Tinted Castle.

The vampire I met then was also a Level 5 superior mutant.

That was back when I had no essences.

Of course, this boss is much stronger than that vampire.

We’ve cleared the labyrinth and gotten curses, while the boss has stacked buffs.

‘I wonder what essence it has?’

As I entered through the stone door, it closed with a thud.

“A forest…?”

Unlike the previous marble chambers, the floor was covered in grass, and trees with fruits were growing everywhere.

That didn’t mean it was outside beyond the stone chamber.

It was a large, dome-shaped indoor area with an artificial garden.

The circular outer wall contained five doors, including the one we entered through.

If we fail, one of those doors will open, and another team will challenge.

Well, that won’t happen.

“You guys stay back.”

“Can you handle it with just the two of you?”

“I’ll call if needed.”

“…Very well.”

Okay, that’s settled.

After seating the bus passengers, Amelia and I headed towards the hut at the center of the forest.

Then, a sensor within the radius activated.

Boom-!

A knight in gray armor riding a horse blocked our path from the sky.

The entity was named the Knight of the Apocalypse.

Though mounted, it wasn’t classified as a large type. Its height seemed to be about 1.8 meters, with a human-like build.

Much smaller than the colossal golem we met before.

But not to be underestimated.

In most games, the smaller enemies tend to be more dangerous at higher levels.

Whoosh.

The mounted knight swung a weapon that was somewhere between a lance and a greatsword in the air, showing off.

“Dogs of the empire driven by greed, I shall punish you today.”

Still spewing incomprehensible nonsense.

“Emily, do you understand what it’s saying?”

“I don’t know either.”

I see.

Thud.

First, I used [Gigantification] to match its size and took a step forward.

And at that moment.

Neigh!

The knight’s horse, a level 7 beast-type monster, spirit horse, neighed and charged.

Well, a spirit horse is just a minor mob I can kill with a single [Swing]…

‘But its stats are inflated here.’

In the boss room, the spirit horse shares the knight’s stats.

Simply put, it’s not a mob that can be killed in one or two hits.

Oh, and I can’t use [Swing] now.

I’m under several curses from traversing the labyrinth, and unfortunately, [Swing] got sealed.

Of course, it’s a minor issue.

There’s a much more efficient dealer here, so why should I bother dealing?

Boom-!

With that resolve, I blocked the knight’s lance with my shield.

It was quite heavy.

I could see why cavalrymen were called the strongest in the Middle Ages.

There were no superhumans with [Gigantification] back then, right?

“I can hold it.”

Not budging an inch from my spot, I shouted.

“Emil…!”

Oh, she was already airborne.

Slash-!

Before I could finish my sentence, a blue aura severed the horse’s neck.

And that was it.

‘As expected, the aura is overpowered.’

The spirit horse collapsed and vanished into light.

Thud-!

Time to start phase two.

****

The Knight of the Apocalypse has three phases.

In phase one, it rides the summoned spirit horse through the active skill [Servant].

After the spirit horse is dispelled, the ground battle begins.

From phase two, the knight starts using Level 5 or lower random essence skills…

‘…Why isn’t this guy using skills?’

Despite waiting, no essence based skills appeared.

So, we continued the boss fight normally until Amelia stabbed its neck, moving to phase three.

“Immortality is will and a promise.”

Spewing boastful lines, the knight resurrected.

It was the effect of the passive skill [Chivalry].

When receiving fatal damage, it destroys all worn equipment and recovers health proportionate to the time it wore the equipment- a high risk skill

‘At first, I thought what kind of skill is this?’

From phase three, the knight is weaker due to the lack of equipment.

However, this was typically true for players as well.

If their stats are similar, phase two leaves them with injuries and depleted MP.

I remember barely surviving with basic attacks and eventually wiping out during my first try.

Now, it’s just a well-prepared meal—

“I cannot lose.”

What the hell?

Suddenly, the knight’s body swelled up.

It was absurd.

‘No way, it’s [Gigantification].’

Damn, I didn’t expect the superior mutant to have an orc hero essence.

‘No wonder it didn’t use other skills.’

Now I understood why it didn’t use skills in the previous phases. [Gigantification] can’t be used while wearing equipment.

Instead, the stat increase was massive.

“I must not lose…!”

The knight, using [Gigantification], charged at me like a madman.

Of course, it won’t go well for him.

What’s the point of you growing?

Even then, your stats and size are inferior to mine.

Crunch.

I grabbed the charging knight’s fist and hugged him tightly like wrestling.

And…

Stab.

Finished him with Amelia’s dagger.

Swoosh-

The knight turned into particles of light without uttering a final line.

It was always a tense moment, no matter how often it happened.

I stared ahead without blinking.

‘Please drop something good.’

Contrary to expectations, no essences floated in the air.

Thud.

No rift stones dropped either.

But instead, there was an item.

“A numbered item…”

Confirming the hammer on the ground, I froze.

What the hell?

‘…Damn, this drops here?’

Barely containing my excitement, I rushed to pick up the hammer.

The grip felt fine.

But the design, rugged and masculine, was unmistakable.

No.87 Demon Crusher of Kraul.

An expensive double numbered item that I have only seen in the auction house of the Zodiac.

Since I consumed the Ogre Essence, I had set it as my final weapon.

And it drops in the third-floor rift?

Even ‘awesome’ doesn’t cut it.

‘Damn it.’

If only this weren’t 20 years ago.

***

As an efficiency enthusiast, I felt regret, but it was undoubtedly a rare stroke of luck and a joyous occasion.

Sure, no doubt about it.

Yet, holding the hammer complicated my thoughts.

‘How do I carry this? Should I bury it where no one will find it for 20 years?’

What if someone takes it?

That would be a disaster.

Should I sell it?

Yeah, sell it and buy expensive essences at the auction before leaving.

That’s why I collected equipment…

“Congratulations. It’s a pity no essence dropped, but that’s just our greed.”

The Carlton group approached, offering congratulations.

“I feel at ease! I’m glad you got something too!”

Oh, it’s too valuable to be called ‘something.’

It’s better not to mention it.

Looks like Amelia didn’t realize it’s a double-numbered item either.

I decided to think about it later.

The portal just opened.

Whooosh!

Carlton looked at the portal formed in front of the hut and asked.

“What will you do now?”

“We’ll stay a bit longer. We want to explore the surroundings.”

To be precise, there are things to take.

Did they catch on?

“Searching for Gavrilius’ arrangements, I see.”

“Yeah.”

“What about those white fruits on that tree? They don’t look ordinary.”

Oh, those…

They are hidden pieces but more like joke items.

How should I explain to prevent them from eating?

As I pondered, Amelia explained for me.

“They’re called white fruits. Eating them randomly changes the stats of one of your essences.”

A brief but correct explanation.

‘White fruits’ change the essence’s attributes.

The skill remains, but the basic stats of the essence change to a random value within its level.

Not something sane people would consume.

This game has thousands of detailed stats.

Good stats like strength and agility can change to near-useless ones like greed and obsession.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“We’ll leave soon. Our comrades must be waiting outside.”

“I see.”

After saying goodbye to Carlton, the fairy archer approached me.

“First, let me thank you. We wouldn’t have made it this far on our own. It would have been much harder.”

“You were just lucky.”

“Lucky, huh… Meeting explorers like you in a rift is extremely rare. I hope you understand why we were cautious at first. We’ve had a string of bad luck recently.”

“Bad luck?”

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly. No one’s really at fault, but things keep going wrong no matter what we do.”

Hmm, is that so?

I had an idea.

I debated whether to speak up, then decided to go for it.

“You said someone named Hans was on your team.”

“That’s right.”

“Get rid of him. Your luck will probably improve.”

The fairy archer gave me a blank look, then laughed awkwardly.

“Haha, that’s a joke, right?”

I was 100% serious.