Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 337

Snowball (1)

A cold chill ran up my back.

Feeling it, I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by darkness.

And then…

Beep!

A sound like a beeping noise came from somewhere.

What was that? I didn’t think I misheard it…

Swoosh.

I pushed myself up.

It was incredibly dark around me, but not so much that I couldn’t make anything out. There was a glowing stone where I had been lying, casting light around the area.

“Fragment of Records?”

That thought crossed my mind, so I quickly grabbed it.

But…

“What the… it’s just a Light Gem.”

Upon closer inspection, I realized it was just an ordinary magical artifact.

A tool that explorers often use in place of a torch, with the sole function of emitting light.

Why was it lying here, though?

Puzzled, I raised the Light Gem higher to extend its range of illumination.

Whoosh!

As the light expanded, the surroundings became clearer.

[Character location confirmed]

A stone building devoid of any distinctive features.

Unlike Raphdonia, the streets weren’t paved with stone.

The structure and layout were identical to where I had been just moments ago. The only difference was that it looked like a lot of time had passed.

Hmm, judging by this, it seems like I’ve returned to the right place…

‘So why isn’t Amelia here next to me?’

Unlike the first time we traveled to the past, Amelia wasn’t here.

Could she have woken up earlier?

Well, I had woken up early on Farune Island, too.

Maybe she found this magical tool somewhere, activated it, and left.

If that’s the case, she’s likely nearby.

“Hmm.”

After clearing my throat with a few dry coughs, I shouted with all my might.

“Amelia—!”

The cry, strengthened by the lungs of a barbarian, echoed throughout the city, enough to be heard far and wide.

But minutes passed, and there was no response.

“…”

An unsettling silence.

Could it be that I’m the only one who returned to our original time, using the Fragment of Records?

That possibility suddenly crossed my mind.

But…

‘I’ll wait for now.’

For the time being, I decided not to move hastily and wait where I woke up.

But just sitting idly was a bit boring…

‘I might as well check my condition.’

I began a self-diagnosis.

「Information match rate: 83%.」

「Character information requires updating.」

「Updating and syncing…」

As expected, the essences I absorbed in the past were still with me.

I continued to carefully assess my condition.

Although I had consumed the essence, I hadn’t had much time to organize it since we had to rush off to Noark after spending only a day in the city.

[Essence of the Corpse Golem] has been removed from the character’s soul]

[Pain resistance decreased by 70]

[Strength decreased by 15]

[Bone density..]

With the reduction in pain resistance, my dulled senses returned to some extent.

Thanks to the +30 pain resistance from Bayon’s essence, my tolerance hadn’t completely disappeared, but the 70-point gap was still noticeable.

Of course, it wasn’t a big issue.

Other than pain resistance, my stats had greatly increased overall.

To sum it up:

“[Essence of Bol-Herchan] has been absorbed into the character’s soul]

「Physical resistance increased by 70.」

「Natural regeneration increased by 40.」

「Poison resistance increased by 120…」

Physical resistance and natural regeneration.

Two crucial stats for a tank, plus poison resistance.

While there was no increase in strength, I had acquired a superior stat to compensate.

[Muscle mass increased by 15]

Muscle mass.

A rare stat that can only be obtained from some level 3 monsters or higher.

Its effect is simple.

For every 1 point in muscle mass, the total strength stat increases by 1%.

‘With a 20% boost to my current stats, that’s roughly equivalent to gaining over 60 points in strength…’

On top of that, I also gained +30 in stamina, +20 in vision, and +80 in bone density, causing my total stats to skyrocket with just one essence.

Of course, some stats did decrease as well.

[Agility decreased by 30]

[Flexibility decreased by 50]

[Synchronization complete]

[Resuming character log transmission]

Surprisingly, I could feel the loss of flexibility more than the reduction in agility.

My body felt stiffer than before, limiting some movements I used to be able to do.

The drop in agility also made my movements slower.

‘Well, considering what I’ve gained, this penalty is negligible.’

Stats aside, the greatest advantage of Bol-Herchan’s essence lies in its skill.

(P) Evolved Armor— Provides a bonus state proportional to physical resistance.

First, the passive skill, [Evolved Armor]

This skill grants additional effects when your physical resistance reaches ‘70’, ‘350’, ‘750’, and ‘1,500’.

For reference, the first stage effect is as follows:

[Character’s physical resistance exceeds 70]

[Grants 50% resistance to bladed weapons]

This is what I usually refer to as ‘Blade Immunity.’

It’s why this essence is essential for countering Aura users.

Aura is always categorized as a bladed weapon.

With this skill alone, the insane 90% physical penetration that Aura usually provides is reduced to 45%.

[The second stage likely requires me to activate Gigantification…]

The third stage could be unlocked with one more essence in full-doping mode, but it’s best for my mental health to not even dream of the fourth stage at this point.

Multiplier buffs usually have limits.

For example, the Orc Shaman’s [Frenzy], which triples physical resistance for 10 seconds, caps at 300 physical resistance.

‘But… is she really not nearby?’

While checking my character’s development and passing the time, I began to grow anxious as I waited for Amelia.

I didn’t know the exact time, but it felt like almost two hours had passed. Yet, I still hadn’t sensed anyone around.

“This doesn’t make sense…”

Nothing was adding up.

When I woke up, the Light Gem was already glowing.

Even if it wasn’t Amelia, someone must have been around to activate this magical tool.

‘…I should take a look around.’

At this point, staying still out of fear of missing her would be foolish, so I used the Light Gem to illuminate my path and started walking slowly.

Now that I think about it, something else felt off too.

‘The fact that this city is completely empty is strange in itself.’

Noark had fled outside the walls to escape the royal invasion. The royal army had taken over the city.

But now?

It was as silent as if not even ants were crawling.

“Could it be…”

I had a bad feeling, but it wasn’t time to jump to conclusions just yet.

For now, I needed to focus on the task at hand.

Like finding something to cover myself with.

Bang!

I entered the first inn I saw, shook the dust off a tablecloth, and tied it around my waist.

After all, it didn’t seem likely that there would be any clothes in my size.

‘At least now I look a bit more civilized.’

Now that I looked somewhat more presentable, my next thought was…

‘…Is there any food?’

With ‘clothing’ taken care of, hunger hit me hard, so I searched through the drawers and cupboards of various rooms in the inn.

Since this was the kind of place explorers would use, I soon found some preserved rations to stave off my hunger.

‘This feels like something out of an apocalypse setting.’

Scavenging for food in what was essentially a ruin gave me an odd feeling.

“Well… time to look around some more.”

With my hunger satisfied, I left the building and wandered through the eerily silent city.

And after a while…

I arrived at an empty dimension plaza, where I noticed a tent.

‘The royal army…?’

A military tent bearing the large crest of the royal family.

It likely belonged to the army that had taken over Noark.

Creak.

Sensing no presence, I carefully pushed aside the tent flap and stepped inside.

Had they taken everything with them when they retreated?

Aside from a large table, the interior was covered in dust.

And…

“Damn it…”

That was the biggest issue for me.

The moment I saw the city turned into a ghost town, I had already dismissed the idea that time had been frozen here after I traveled to the past.

“But I didn’t expect the ratio to be this skewed.”

I wiped a finger along the dusty table.

At least 2 cm of dust clung to my fingertip.

Given the environment, this wasn’t the amount that would accumulate in just six months.

“…When exactly is this?”

A chill ran down my spine as my ominous suspicion started to take form.

And then, at that very moment…

“Finally…”

A familiar voice rang out from right behind me.

I reflexively turned around to see the face I had been longing to see.

“Amelia…!”

Amelia Rainweilz.

An SSR-rank companion I had traveled 20 years into the past to recruit.

Thank goodness, I wasn’t the only one who returned.

So she really did wake up first and went somewhere, huh?

“Where have you been? I thought you had vanished…”

I was about to speak to her when I froze.

Because…

“What the hell… what’s with that gear?”

Amelia was fully decked out in custom-fit equipment, a stark contrast to my bare self, who had just woken up.

‘Could she really have gotten all that just by waking up a little earlier?’

As that thought crossed my mind, I felt a sense of unease.

“…I’ll explain as we go. Just follow me!”

Amelia roughly grabbed my wrist.

***

If you were suddenly approached by a drifting car and told to get in, what would you do?

My answer would be ‘YES.’

Even if it was a stranger, I’d probably hesitate, but if it’s a companion?

Of course, following them is the smart choice.

And so…

“Huff, huff…!”

I’m running down a dark street, suddenly and unexpectedly.

Running full speed, struggling to keep up with Amelia’s pace.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t curious.

But those questions could be asked while running.

“Amelia…! What’s going on? At least give me a brief explanation!”

At my question, Amelia gave a short, concise answer.

“We’re being pursued.”

“Pursued?”

“One of the Seven Strongest, the Blood Duke.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. I didn’t expect her to have grown strong enough to evade my detection and track us…”

My head was spinning.

I didn’t understand a word.

Who are the Seven Strong? And who’s the Blood Duke?

So many questions, but time was limited.

So I focused on the most important one.

“Is she so strong that even the two of us can’t beat her?”

“She’s strong. If we fight head-on, I’m guaranteed to lose.”

“What? Who is she…?”

“Come to think of it, it makes sense you wouldn’t know. It was before she contracted with the Spirit King and went on a rampage.”

Amelia glanced back at me as we ran.

“Erwin fornacci de tersia”

“…What?”

“The current pureblood leader and the contractor of the Ninth Spirit King. That’s who she is.”

For a moment, my mind went blank.

Pureblood? Spirit King?

“Erwin?”

She became that strong?

No, more importantly…

“How much time has passed…”

The question slipped out of my mouth before I realized.

But had she heard it while running?

Amelia responded in a bitter tone.

“Two years and six months.”

“…”

“Two years and six months since the day you were declared dead.”

Holy…