Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 318

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Memory (3)

“Fuck!”

As soon as I opened my eyes, I sat up straight.

My vision was blurry, and a sharp, acrid smell filled my nose.

Outside the window, there was an unusual commotion.

“Those on the streets will be considered traitors. Everyone, get inside the buildings”

Authoritative shouts echoed from all directions.

“Ahhh!”

Screams occasionally pierced the air, and every time a distant explosion boomed—’BOOM!’—a faint vibration traveled through my bed.

What on earth is going on?

I need information.

So…

Thud, thud.

I force myself to move my limp body to the window. The moment I opened it, thick black smoke rushed in, making me cough.

“Cough, cough.”

Despite my cough, I scanned the view outside.

In the smoke-filled streets, soldiers were patrolling, controlling the citizens.

And then…

‘It’s really on fire.’

I could see a part of the city engulfed in flames in the distance.

It was the eastern district, home to Orcules’ headquarters.

Though it was quite far from my current location, the entire underground city had filled with smoke due to poor ventilation.

Boom! Boom!

Judging by the occasional, artificial explosions, it didn’t seem like a simple fire.

“This is insane… What the hell is happening?”

I pressed my throbbing head with my hand.

My mind felt sluggish, like it was running several times slower than usual. It could be the remnants of the poison Amelia gave me.

‘Right, I was poisoned…’

Suddenly, everything that happened before I lost consciousness came flooding back in a rush.

‘What was she thinking? Where did she disappear to now?’

I have no idea.

But the more confused I am, the more I focus on one thing.

It was just like the day I first woke up in this body.

Forget everything else—what do I need to do right now?

The answer came quickly.

“The drawer.”

Amelia had told me to open the drawer.

Maybe there’s an explanation for this situation inside.

I closed the window and moved toward the bedside.

Inside the already open drawer was a single, short note.

“Sigh…”

The note began with a short apology.

It didn’t take long to read through it all, and as soon as I finished, I tore the paper to shreds.

Even that didn’t calm my anger.

‘I can’t believe D-day is today.’

Amelia had deceived me.

Although it wasn’t written in the note, the reason was obvious.

She wanted to stop me from intervening in the past any further. Perhaps she thought this would change the future.

‘Ha, I didn’t expect her to act so unpredictably…’

My head throbbed, but I tried to calm myself and checked the time.

[04:31]

4:31 a.m.

I had fallen asleep around 10 p.m., after drinking with Amelia, so I’d been out for about six hours.

‘So, what now…’

I closed my eyes for a moment, organizing my thoughts.

Amelia’s note had said she’d handle the rest herself, and that once I woke up, I should find the Fragment of Records and leave.

Judging by the state of the city, it seemed sneaking into the lord’s castle wouldn’t be too difficult.

But…

‘What a joke. So, what, she plans to stay here alone?’

I really don’t like her approach.

Yet, at the same time, another thought crosses my mind.

What if I really do nothing?

Will the future change somehow?

“…Forget it. Let’s just get moving.”

I ended my internal debate there.

Then, I quickly put on my gear.

Time is short; I can think about the rest while on the move.

Creeeak.

I hurried toward the lord’s castle.

***

Through the acrid smoke and the busy streets where soldiers were controlling civilians, I finally arrived at the lord’s castle.

The tightly shut castle gate could not be opened, even with my badge as a member of the lord’s faction.

“The lord has ordered that no one be allowed inside. And besides, the summons was given long ago—why are you only arriving now?”

“…I was asleep.”

“Then move to the eastern district immediately. Your clan has already left for the front lines”

 “Ugh, how annoying.

“Got it. Take care.”

Without any hesitation, I turned away from the gate.

After all, just because the gate is closed doesn’t mean there’s no way in.

Barbarians don’t ask for permission.

‘With all this smoke, no one will see.’

I moved along the castle wall for a bit, confirmed that no one was around, and leaped high to scale the wall.

Unfortunately, someone was right on the other side.

“Who… who goes there!”

A soldier on patrol, shocked to see me drop from the sky.

Thud!

I swiftly silenced him before things got noisy, then ran toward the inner castle.

Just as Amelia had said, the castle was practically empty on D-day. T

Only a few patrolling guards were around.

The main forces were likely fighting Orcules’s faction in the eastern district by now.

“Enemy!”

Thud!

“Enemy infiltrator!”

Thud!

Thanks to that, I quickly skipped through this area.

But the real problem started with the inner castle.

Boom!

As soon as I smashed through the inner castle door and entered the first floor, I found myself surrounded by explorers with menacing expressions.

‘So, they left this much defense, huh?’

Elite soldiers who had been knighted.

I recognized a few of them from my countless comings and goings at the lord’s castle over the past few months.

“…Iron Mask, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in the eastern district where the battle is happening?”

“Oh, I just need to have a little chat with the lord.”

“I can’t believe you were a spy for Orcules.”

A bald man whose name I barely remembered glared at me with eyes full of betrayal.

I didn’t feel any guilt.

I wasn’t a spy for Orcules, and…

I never once thought of these guys as my comrades.

“Enough. Come at me.”

“I don’t know what possessed you to come here alone, but this will be your—”

Blah blah, all talk, no action.

If they won’t come, I’ll go to them.

Boom!

Without wasting time on pointless conversation, I activated [Gigantification] and leaped into the middle of their formation with [Leap].

And then…

“Bethel—raaahhh!!”

Thanks to [Gigantification], my already monstrous-sized hammer became about three times larger through Transcendence] and [Swing].

Whoooosh!

I spun like a top, swinging my hammer.

I call this move Whirlwind.

I took it from my favorite game before I got hooked on Dungeon & Stone…

Its defining feature is the satisfaction of landing hits and the sound effects as my body spins.

Like this.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

The weaker ones burst like balloons the moment they were struck by the hammer, and the sturdier ones were sent flying into the walls.

It was an expected outcome.

The hammer I wield isn’t just any ordinary weapon.

‘Though I built this character as a tank, somehow, my current setup deals more damage than tanking.’

No.87 Demon Crusher of Kraul

A double-numbered item that increases blunt weapon skill damage by 500%.

Simply put, just holding this weapon increases the power of my 3rd-rank skill [Swing] by five times.

No one could survive a hit from it.

Of course, dodging it would be another matter.

“This… What… on earth…”

Those who narrowly escaped death by flattening themselves to the ground looked up at me in shock.

Some even tried to counterattack.

Arrows.

Fire.

Lightning.

Axes.

I chuckled at their choice of weapons.

‘Not a single one of them is using a sword, huh.’

That’s the funny thing about Noark.

Just because someone’s a knight doesn’t mean they can use aura.

They were only granted knighthood for their loyalty, not their combat skills. True knights who could wield aura were a rarity, one in a hundred.

‘Looks like all the real knights were sent to the front.’

From then on, I fought by slamming my hammer down on each of them one by one.

Even heavily armored warriors couldn’t withstand my blows, thanks to the 50% armor-penetration effect, and soon lay helpless on the ground.

After about five minutes, the few remaining stragglers fled, ending the battle.

I didn’t bother chasing them or looting the bodies.

There wasn’t time for that, and…

My inventory was already packed with loot from months of accumulating spoils in my subspace ring.

‘…I have to make sure to bring this hammer back with me.’

Even as I thought about that, I quickly resumed my movement.

My destination wasn’t the lord’s office or study upstairs, but the underground shelter Amelia had told me about.

Thud, thud, thud.

I ran down the stairs to the basement, finally finding the entrance and starting to descend, only to halt my steps.

Someone was coming up from below.

“I was wondering what the commotion was upstairs, and it turns out…”

It was someone I had met once before by chance.

A knight who had come to recruit us on the lord’s orders.

His name was…

“Iron Mask, what are you doing here?”

Rick Ominus

He drew his sword as he looked at me.

****

There wasn’t even time to come up with an excuse like, “I got lost.”

Whoosh!

His decision was swift—he infused his sword with Aura and prepared for battle as soon as he saw me.

It was only after that he tried to speak.

“Answer me, Iron Mask. Why are you here? And how do you know about this place?”

To answer that, Amelia told me.

While no one knows about this underground shelter now, they will in the future.

“So you won’t answer?”

His words made my heart pound.

Thump-

A ‘knight’ is practically a counter to a tank.

Tanks are tough but slow, and aura bypasses defense. On top of that, tanks have low damage output, making it hard to harm knights.

I learned that the hard way in my fight against the ‘Serpent Knight,’ a plunderer with a knight background, back in the Crystal Cave.

My arm was cut off like tofu.

All I did was use that opening to leap on him like a cicada.

The real hero of that fight was Raven’s magic.

Thump-!

But this time, the situation is entirely different.

It’s one-on-one with no allies.

I haven’t even set up my Aura countermeasures yet.

But…

Thump-!

My heartbeat quickened, and strength surged into the hand gripping my weapon.

It wasn’t fear causing these physical changes.

It was only natural to feel this level of tension before a fight.

“So, you refuse to answer.”

“….”

“Then I’ll start by cutting off your arm.”

Rick Ominus assumed a charging stance.

I responded.

“Do it if you can.”

Yeah, it’s about time I took down a knight.