Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 324

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Role (4)

I was running through the sewers.

Splish, splash.

The filthy water, rising up to my shins, splattered everywhere as I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead.

There were two people—a man and a woman.

The man was forcefully pinning the woman against the wall, holding a sword to her neck.

‘If you left me behind, you should have just stayed out of my way.’

Clenching the hammer in my hand, I shouted with all my might, making sure my voice echoed throughout the entire passage.

“Bethel—raaaaaaa!”

My goal was to draw his attention away from Amelia and make him remove the sword from her throat.

But…

Swish-!

At the same time the sword was pulled out, a fountain of blood gushed from Amelia’s neck.

Damn, I thought he had only pressed it against her skin.

But he had already stabbed her.

And when he withdrew the sword, it seemed he even twisted it deeper before pulling it out…

“…Barbarian?”

He turned his upper body toward me and muttered.

Even though I was wearing my usual iron helmet, he must have guessed my race from the earlier shout and my large build.

I quickly glanced at Amelia’s condition with my peripheral vision.

“Ka, khak… Ugh…”

Amelia, with a hole in her neck, was using one hand to press against the bleeding wound, while trying to steady herself against the wall with the other, barely holding on.

She was clearly in bad shape.

But…

‘As long as she’s not dead.’

Worrying won’t save her.

In situations like this, what’s most important is making accurate decisions and taking action.

With that in mind, I dashed forward once again.

Splash-!

The distance between us quickly closed.

As soon as we were within striking range, he unleashed a fierce aura and swung his sword at me.

Bam-!

I blocked the aura with my hammer.

At that moment, a puzzled expression crossed his face.

He must have assumed that with his aura, he could cut through my weapon as well.

“It’s a Numbered item.”

As expected of a veteran who has seen it all, he quickly figured out the reason.

‘Sharp as ever.’

Still, I chose to focus on the positive side.

Thanks to his muttering, there was a brief opening.

Swoosh.

While locking weapons and struggling for dominance, I reached out and pulled Amelia toward me.

She was too weak to stand, so she was easily dragged into my arms.

Now that I had secured her, was there anything else I needed to worry about?

“…So, you’re her ally.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Then… you are my enemy as well.”

What a predictable thing to say—

“…!”

At that moment, the brief power struggle ended.

Lühensprache pressed down on his sword and pushed me back. It was an unfamiliar feeling, as I hadn’t been overpowered in strength for a while, but there was no need to be disheartened.

‘He’s slightly stronger than me.’

I allowed my body to be pushed back, taking a step backward.

Naturally, he dashed forward, chasing after me.

He is much faster than me.

‘His agility is far superior to mine.’

In terms of the core stats for close combat, I’m at a disadvantage.

On top of that, my carefully synergized passive and active skills were sealed, while he freely unleashed aura, which was my natural counter.

‘Seriously, this guy has no conscience.’

Despite my complaints, I quickly reached a decision.

The stat difference was overwhelming.

In a normal situation, even escaping would be difficult.

But…

‘There’s no need to use that just yet.’

It wasn’t a major problem.

Because, to put it differently…

Boom—!

All I had to do was create an abnormal situation.

Yes, for example…

Swoosh—!

Underwater combat.

****

In the flickering torch light of the dark sewer, a group of about a dozen men and women had split into two factions, glaring at each other as if they were sworn enemies.

“What did you just say? Repeat that, Dumbo.”

“It’s not Dumbo, it’s Durbon.”

“Whatever. Seeing you grinning in front of that barbarian earlier, I bet you liked him, didn’t you?”

“What…? You bastard…!”

The conversation was laced with hostility.

Caught in the middle of this exchange, Laura Rainweilz held her trembling younger sister’s hand tightly and regretted following them.

‘Why are these people like this, even in this situation…’

Laura couldn’t understand.

It all started with a trivial argument.

The explorer from the former Melta Merchant Guild, who knew the secret passage through the sewer, couldn’t find the right path.

Someone mocked him for it.

That was the seed of discord.

[You’re really grumbling a lot for someone who’s tagging along for free without doing anything.]

Durbon, who had been unofficially leading the group, defended the scout.

No, he went beyond defending and issued a threat.

[And now that I think about it, it’s pretty unfair, isn’t it? If you’re going to complain, you should at least pay up. Oh, and if you don’t have money, your equipment will do.]

[What?]

[If you don’t like it, you can just turn back.]

Those few words quickly divided the group, leading to the current standoff.

“This is your last chance. Hand over your gear and follow us, or leave.”

“Ha, did you think we’d just back down if you said that?”

“You’re boasting about being close to the scout. In the end, all we need is the scout to find the way out of the city, right?”

“…So, you’re determined to shed blood.”

“Um… everyone, please calm down…”

Laura, trying to stop them, spoke up, but Durbon interrupted her.

“Laura, stay out of this. Actually, this is perfect.”

“Huh? What do you mean by perfect…?”

“We’ll need more money soon, won’t we? To start over on the surface.”

The man standing opposite Durbon, despite being in conflict, nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, if half of us die here, the rest will have a better chance of living like humans.”

With those words, Laura realized.

There was never a seed of discord in the first place.

Unlike what she had heard about the surface, this way of thinking was natural for those from Noark.

Starting a fight over the scout’s mistake was just an excuse.

Perhaps they had been waiting for this opportunity all along.

Noark, the city where beasts live.

Laura shuddered with renewed disgust for this city.

She reached for her sword.

If a battle was inevitable, then Durbon’s side had to win.

That was the only way she and her sister could escape and live like humans again.

At least her sister could.

“Amelia, get ready.”

“Yes, sister.”

Laura whispered, and her sister also readied her weapon.

In the end, the two sisters had also survived as beasts in this world of the strong devouring the weak.

“Alright, let’s begin—”

As soon as the enemy faction took a step forward with their weapons drawn, an arrow was fired from Durbon’s side, signaling the start of the battle.

And after some time had passed…

Swoosh—!

A torrent of water suddenly surged out from the dark passage and engulfed them.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

After evading Lühensprache‘s relentless attacks, I finally struck the ceiling four times with precision.

Crack, crack, crack, crash—!

The ceiling shattered like a spider’s web or a broken mirror, collapsing.

And then…

Swoosh—!

Water gushed down like a dam bursting.

‘So, there really was water flowing above us.’

I hadn’t been sure until I swung the hammer.

I only assumed it based on Amelia’s childhood vision of the “observed future.”

[Back then, there was a split in the group, a fight broke out, and suddenly, water gushed out from the passage. My sister and I were swept away and lost consciousness. When we woke up—]

Clearing my thoughts, I held Amelia even tighter.

If we were ordinary people, we would have been swept away by the current already.

But neither of us were ordinary.

Bang—!

I instinctively raised my hammer to block another blow. Even in the rising water, with the water reaching our heads, he continued to swing his sword.

‘This guy is relentless.’

I was pushed back several steps by the force of the blow, struggling to maintain my footing in the torrent. I closed my eyes.

Vision was now meaningless.

Whether there was light or not, I couldn’t see an inch ahead in this muddy water.

‘Oh, so this is what a real mud fight is like?’

That fleeting thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

I had something more important to focus on.

‘One, two, three, four, five, six…’

With my elbow pressed against the wall, I quickly retraced my steps. My back was now exposed, but I wasn’t too worried.

The last sword strike had likely been aimed based on where I had last been, relying on his senses—

Slash-!

A sharp pain shot through my thigh.

It seemed he was blindly slashing his sword as he followed me…

‘This crazy bastard…’

But it was fine now.

I had reached my destination.

‘Fifty-one, fifty-two… Whew, I’m glad I found it.’

Feeling my way along the wall, I turned into the passage I had noted earlier, hiding myself within.

This was a skill I had learned from Rotmiller.

After mapping out so many routes, I had become adept at measuring my steps and memorizing the paths I had taken.

And there was no way he had this ability.

‘Okay, it looks like he didn’t notice the branching path and just passed by.’

But I didn’t rest. I continued moving along the passage.

‘Gigantification.’

As I distanced myself from him, I felt my skills starting to work properly again, and finally, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Her pulse is still strong.’

Amelia was still alive.

And now, her passive skill, [Fountain of Immortality], which granted her a cockroach-like tenacity, must have kicked in.

There was no need to worry about her neck injury.

While it was a severe wound, it wasn’t fatal in terms of damage. It should heal in about a minute.

‘The issue now is oxygen…’

Thanks to the increased lung capacity from Stormgush’s Essence, I could hold my breath without much difficulty.

But Amelia was in a different situation.

With her neck injury already hindering her oxygen intake, I wasn’t sure how long she could last.

She just needed to hold on for another five minutes. That was when the water had started to recede last time after the torrent stopped.

‘…Screw it.’

After a brief internal debate, I hoisted Amelia up.

Then, groping around, I found her nose and pinched it shut before pressing my lips to hers.

Underwater mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—just like in the movies.

I wasn’t sure if it would work in reality, but it seemed better than doing nothing.

There was nothing to lose, after all.

“…!”

Was she still conscious even now?

Her limp body flinched as soon as our lips touched.

It looked like she was trying to resist, as if to push me away.

So…

Tightening my grip around her waist, I silently conveyed for her to stay still. The resistance eased.

Was that her way of giving consent?

I wasn’t sure, but I pressed our lips even more tightly together, ensuring that no water could get in.

And then…

Hoo—!

I exhaled as forcefully as I could, sending air deep into her lungs.

****

After repeating the underwater resuscitation for about five minutes, the water level began to drop rapidly.

The water above must have run out, and it was now spreading evenly throughout the vast sewer.

Surprisingly, Amelia was still conscious.

“Let… let go…”

Geez, it was just first aid—no need to overreact.

When I finally released her, Amelia sank beneath the water with a splash.

Ah, right—she’s short.

The water was still up to my shoulders, so her feet probably couldn’t touch the bottom.

“Pwah…!”

Just as I was about to grab her waist again, Amelia’s head surfaced on her own.

Hmm, so she could swim.

“L-let me… say this first… That was unnecessary.”

“Huh?”

“I… I’ve been… good at holding my breath… since I was a child…”

“What are you talking about?”

She was talking so slowly and weakly that I could barely understand her.

Was it that she didn’t want to explain herself again? Or was there something more important she wanted to say?

I wasn’t sure, but Amelia shifted the conversation.

“Enough… Why are you here?”

Her breathing had stabilized, and her tone returned to normal.

Hmm, looks like her body’s fine now.

“What do you mean, why am I here?”

When I responded with confusion, Amelia frowned.

“I told you to go back. Did you not see the note?”

“Oh, I saw it.”

“Then… why didn’t you leave…?”

Geez, she’s really giving me a hard time.

I didn’t want to go back after learning everything, and it wasn’t like I could use the Fragment of Records anyway.

Her sudden actions had caused me so much trouble that I couldn’t help but reply curtly.

“I have unfinished business.”

“Unfinished business…?”

“I can’t leave until I finish it.”

“What? Why are you going so far…?”

What’s she talking about?

It’s not about going far; I can’t go back until I finish it.

Just as I was about to say that—

“Damn it.”

The [Gigantification] deactivated abruptly.

In other words, he was within a 30-meter radius again.

He must have gotten lost, then decided to retrace his steps, and now he’s closing in on us again…

It didn’t seem like he would let us go easily.

So, I made a decision.

“Hey, you go ahead.”

“…What?”

“Go save your sister. I’ll deal with him.”

I would send Amelia to her sister and hold him off.

It was a simple plan, but Amelia frowned.

“That’s suicide. He’s not someone you can handle—”

“Then what? Are you going to abandon your sister?”

“…If nothing changes no matter what we do, then perhaps—”

“Stop.”

I cut her off.

I wasn’t sure how her will had become so weak, but…

“Trust me, Amelia. I’ve got a plan, so go and save your sister first. Got it?”

“But—”

“Tsk.”

What’s with all this hesitation?

It wasn’t so bad being worried about, but…

“Why do you assume I’ll lose?”

The 5th Floor Lord’s Essence, [Silence Command].

It was certainly a powerful essence.

Incredibly rare, too.

In the history of Raphdonia fewer than ten people had obtained it, and supposedly, in the present day, only that guy possessed it.

It made sense that people would fear that power.

With little information, it can feel like an unbeatable, cheat-level skill.

But I find that strange.

‘It’s not like he’s that hard to deal with.’

I spent all my spare time in my 20s playing Dungeon and Stone.

Naturally, I had hunted the Lord of Silence.

I think it was around…

“300 times.”

Yeah, probably that many.

Maybe Amelia didn’t get the meaning of my words.

“300 times…?”

She asked, as if to clarify.

I answered.

“I’ve consumed that essence over 300 times.”

No skill in this world is without weaknesses.