Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 325
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Roles (5)
The Lord of Chaos, Liakis.
The Lord of the Abyss, Verzak.
Each of these Floor Lords has both a true name and an alias, and their essence is often referred to by their alias.
The Essence of Chaos, the Essence of the Abyss, and so on.
As for the Essence of Silence that Lühensprache consumed, my evaluation was as follows:
“A polished but flawed gem.”
As the essence of a layer lord, it possesses strong characteristics and abilities, but the concept is fundamentally flawed.
For instance, just look at the active skill, [Silence Command].
It’s a wide-area skill that, when activated, nullifies all skills within a 30-meter radius around the caster.
It even affects passive skills, and any skill used from outside the radius is nullified upon entering the field, making long-range attacks impossible…
However, that doesn’t mean it’s invincible.
There’s always a reason something isn’t widely consumed.
“Magic or divine power cannot be dispelled.”
And the penalty doesn’t end there.
[Silence Command] doesn’t work on monsters.
Simply put, the Essence of Silence is essentially only useful for one-on-one combat…
And the passive skill is even worse.
Silent Control — Deactivates all other essence skills, but doubles the stats gained from the essence.
It’s a high-risk skill that doubles your stats in exchange for giving up all the skills from other essences you’ve consumed.
Because of this, I rarely consumed this essence.
My goal has always been to clear the game.
The only reason I consumed it 300 times was because I wanted to clear it using a different route.
[I’ve heard of your reputation, Explorer. How about joining us in overturning the world?]
A route that sometimes opened up when you gained fame in the game.
When I tried to clear the rebellion route by cooperating with the Ormi Revolutionary Group, I always consumed the Essence of Silence first.
It’s true; there’s no better essence for one-on-one combat.
Though, in the end, I never succeeded.
After countless dead ends, I concluded that clearing the rebellion route was impossible due to the game’s structure.
Oh, and I never consumed it again after that.
Especially after realizing its fatal weakness.
Squeeze—
I grasped the object I had prepared in advance.
It was the key to defeating the traitor, Lühensprache.
I had considered using it earlier, but…
At that time, I prioritized taking care of Amelia, so I held onto it.
‘If I had known the D-Day would be different, I would have told her and given this to her.’
I didn’t share the information because I assumed we’d be working together.
After all, how could I have predicted that she’d mix a paralyzing drug into the alcohol and knock me out?
I didn’t even think about how using it in a crisis would make me look cool.
…Really.
Ssss—
The water level started to drop by the second.
‘Now that it’s reached my waist, the bastard must have regained his sight.’
I watched the corridor Amelia had left through.
I recalled our last conversation and couldn’t help but chuckle.
[I trust you.]
[Yeah, trust me. Your sister’s problem—]
[I wasn’t talking about my sister.]
[…Huh?]
[Not my sister. I meant I trust that you won’t die. So… don’t die.]
[O-okay… got it…]
Hearing such words face-to-face made me feel awkward, and I looked away. Amelia seemed to feel the same as she simply said, “I’ll go ahead,” and left—
‘Here it comes.’
I heard the splash of water from a distance.
So, I cleared my mind of distractions and focused on the sound.
Splash, splash.
The distance rapidly closed.
I tensed my body and crouched down.
And then…
Jiiiiiik.
I tore the scroll I had been tightly gripping with one hand.
Swoosh—
Light particles imbued with magic clung to my skin.
Though the glow was faint, it was enough to attract attention in the dark sewer.
Splash.
The approaching sound halted.
Thump.
My heart pounded like a child caught in mischief.
“…”
A brief silence followed.
Aside from the sound of water flowing, no other noise could be heard.
For about three seconds.
Splash!
As soon as I heard the splash, I submerged myself in the water.
And when the bastard appeared at the crossroads…
“…!”
I suddenly stood up and lunged at it.
Boom!
As the aura and hammer clashed, the water splashed everywhere due to the force of the impact.
Thanks to my heightened concentration, every visual detail registered clearly in my mind.
Droplets of water split into thousands of tiny particles.
Amidst them, I caught a glimpse of the bastard’s expression.
Upon spotting me, it shifted its gaze sideways.
‘Is it looking for Amelia?’
That’s disappointing.
Tap.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I leaped forward again, closing the distance.
The creature was already swinging its sword horizontally.
It seemed intent on keeping me from getting closer, which only put me directly in the path of its sword.
That worked to my advantage.
Tap.
I didn’t stop dashing.
If things continued this way, the sword would undoubtedly hit me before my hammer could reach his body…
But so what?
I wasn’t trying to hit him with the hammer in the first place.
Swish.
I extended my hand forward.
Since I had long stashed my shield into subspace, my free hand was available.
But apparently, the guy knew more than just how to wield a sword.
He didn’t retract his sword.
Instead, he moved his remaining hand to deflect mine.
Thud!
The creature’s hand struck my wrist.
It was strong enough to push my arm away.
Meanwhile, his sword continued to swing towards my waist, and with both feet off the ground, I had no way to retreat.
The creature’s judgment wasn’t bad, all things considered.
But he was just a bit too complacent.
“…!”
As our skin touched, the conditions of the torn scroll were satisfied.
Swoosh—!
Blue magic particles burst forth.
In the game, a message would have appeared like this:
[Your character is bound to Ricardo Lühensprache]
[Your character is unaffected by [Silence Command].]
I immediately invoked the prepared command.
‘Transcendence.’
And then…
‘Leap.’
Tap.
The moment I stepped on the air…
Whoosh!
My body accelerated in a straight line, slicing through the water.
Not fleeing outside the sword’s path, but charging further inward.
While I was at it…
‘Gigantification’
I increased my body mass as well.
Like an 8-ton truck with the gas pedal floored.
Boom!
There was nothing more to see.
“Urgh…!”
The effect of the body slam was spectacular.
***
Amelia, who was sprinting through the half-submerged sewer, shuddered involuntarily.
The vibrations had traveled through the water.
Boom!
Even from a distance, the faint sound of a huge impact could be heard.
It seemed the battle had begun over there as well…
Splash, splash—
Amelia quickly regained her composure and started moving again.
The sound had been strong enough to make her wonder if the sewer had collapsed.
What kind of situation could have caused such a noise?
Was something wrong?
Many questions arose simultaneously, but she forced herself to shake them off.
She had said she trusted him.
In a way, that was a promise too.
If Jandel had defeated Ricardo Lühensprache., it would explain why he eventually appeared before her and her sister.
She even dismissed such contradictions from her mind.
And…
Splash.
She continued walking.
The sewer was a maze of twisting paths, but reaching her destination wasn’t too difficult.
Recognized for her various merits and having risen to a significant position within Noark, Amelia had traversed this path several times.
Naturally, she had memorized everything in preparation for today.
‘Turn left here. Then keep going straight until you reach the three-way fork.’
Pushing her body, which had surpassed that of an ordinary human, to its limits, Amelia kept running.
How much time had passed?
Thud.
Amelia stopped.
She had finally reached her destination.
A crossroads with five passageways.
Bodies floated in the water all around.
She recognized all the faces.
Amelia recalled the memory.
[Laura! Amelia! What are you doing?! If you’ve woken up, start fighting!]
Even after she had lost consciousness from the water, the battle had continued.
At the time, Amelia had been ready to obey the orders, draw her weapon, and join the fight, but her sister had stopped her and pointed to a specific direction.
The only scout from the Melta Trading Company who knew the way was fleeing, having grabbed some gear from the corpses.
So the two sisters didn’t participate in the battle and followed the path where the scout had disappeared.
And…
‘Here.’
Recalling the corridor from her memory, Amelia quickly entered and soon found the person she was looking for.
“I-I was just trying to avoid trouble…”
The scout, looking terrified, stammered.
“Enough, you don’t matter.”
Said the man, Derborn, glaring at the scout before turning his head.
“You dare betray me and run away?”
Then he slapped her sister across the face.
Her sister didn’t even think to defend herself, enduring the strike. She had judged that provoking further anger wouldn’t be wise.
Derborn wasn’t alone, after all.
Ironically, he had joined forces with those he had been fighting moments before.
‘I suppose he thought it was pointless to keep fighting after their numbers had dwindled. The scout’s disappearance likely played a role too.’
It was truly beastly behavior.
Even now, they might betray one another again and loot each other’s equipment.
Well, not that there’ll be a chance to confirm that.
Squeeze.
Amelia gripped the dagger tightly in her remaining hand.
“I-it’s all my fault.”
“At least you know you’re wrong.”
“M-my sister just followed me, so… Ugh!”
“Don’t worry. She’ll be following you soon!”
Just as Derborn raised his arm to bring down the axe while choking her sister…
Slash—!
His arm, still holding the axe, fell into the water.
As Derborn screamed in pain, the others recognized Amelia and gasped in shock.
“…E-Emily?!”
“H-how did you… get here…?”
There was no point in talking.
With emotionless eyes, Amelia stabbed each of them in the throat one by one.
“W-wait! I-I know the w-way…!”
The scout, who tried to prove his usefulness, wasn’t spared either.
Since she knew the way to the city, there was no reason to keep him alive.
Slash—!
The area was quickly cleared.
The Rainweilz sisters trembled as they watched her, wary.
But they had one question.
“H-hey…”
“Amelia…!”
Her younger self ignored her sister’s scolding and asked anyway.
“What happened to Felix Barker?”
“He’s dead.”
“R-Really? But how did…”
“That’s enough questions.”
Amelia cut off the conversation.
“We don’t have time for this. Follow me.”
The long tale was nearing its conclusion.