Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 594: RPG (2)

The clang of metal hitting metal echoed across the battlefield.

Painful screams and furious shouts filled the air.

And then...

Pshhhhhh—!

A fountain of blood sprayed, blurring my entire vision.

“Ugh, my eyes!”

Hurriedly, I wiped the blood away from my eyes with one hand to restore my sight.

At the same time, I quickly scanned the surroundings.

There was no time to close my eyes and gather my thoughts like during the initiation ceremony.

After all, this was the heart of the battlefield.

“Aaahhhh—!”

“Push! Push them back—! If they break through, we’re all dead!!”

Hundreds of humans fought off the pouring monsters.

‘What the hell is this...?’

I rapidly sorted through my thoughts.

I had just entered a space that seemed like the underground first floor rift, and upon opening my eyes, this was where I was.

The chief, the archbishop, Gahwin, Elwen...

None of the comrades who were supposed to enter with me were anywhere to be seen; only humans dying in real time surrounded me.

I needed more information.

That was my judgment as I took in everything I could see.

“Bjorn Yandel...! Snap out of it! Are you going to die like this?”

A man locked eyes with me, pulling a sword stuck in a monster’s neck out and shouting something.

The fact that he could speak with me was surprising enough.

But what really caught me off guard was something else.

“Bjorn... Yandel...?”

He knew my name.

What the hell? He didn’t seem like an enemy at first glance.

Was he a friendly NPC?

But I’d never encountered this kind of rift before.

“Damn it, don’t you even know your own name now...!”

The man frowned and parted the monsters to come to my side.

Then...

“Snap out of it! If you don’t want to die like this!”

He shouted, blocking my way and battling the monsters.

Thanks to him, my mind cleared a bit.

‘He must be a friendly NPC.’

Concluding these were not enemies, I immediately realized what I needed to do.

“What are you doing with that huge body! Swing the hammer—! Kill those monster bastards and save our comrades!”

First, let’s wipe out those monsters.

Then maybe I’ll figure out what to do next. frёewebnoѵēl.com

“Behel...”

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t use that just yet?

“Waaaaaah—!!”

Instead of a barbarian war cry, I shouted at the top of my lungs and dashed forward.

The monsters weren’t particularly strong, so I didn’t bother using [Gigantism].

But still...

Crack!

A single hammer blow crushed a troll entirely.

“What the...!”

The eyes of the man who had been fighting the troll to protect me widened.

“Were you hiding your strength?”

His voice was filled with shock.

To be honest, I felt the same.

‘...Can I really do that much in one hit?’

Feeling uneasy, I swung my hammer again at the troll beside me.

Crack!

Once more, the troll burst like jelly with a single strike.

Honestly, it was pretty startling.

‘What the hell...?’

Why am I this strong?

‘Or are these guys just weak?’

Trolls don’t usually die that easily.

They have monstrous bodies with [Rapid Regeneration], even if their heads are smashed.

Sure, overwhelming damage can bypass [Rapid Regeneration] to instantly kill them, but...

‘That would be hard with my stats.’

So what was going on?

As I swung my hammer against the pouring monster horde, the answer to the mystery came naturally.

The trolls {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} weren’t weak.

The big guy still had the strength to toss a bulky man with one hand, and when injured, he still used [Rapid Regeneration] just fine.

Crack!

It was just that I’d become absurdly strong.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

With every hammer swing, monsters were swept away like falling leaves.

But this power didn’t come without a price.

“...Blood.”

My barbarian warrior’s body, layered with countless defensive mechanisms, was bleeding.

Of course, I’m human, so bleeding is normal.

And the injury now was only a slight scratch causing a bit of blood to ooze.

‘...I’m bleeding from just a troll bite?’

There was a serious problem with my body.

「Role assigned to character: Mercenary.」

「All attack stats tripled, but all defense stats reduced by 70%.」

「Regeneration rate increases proportionally to lost HP.」

I was screwed.

Not just kinda screwed, but really screwed.

The moment I saw the abnormality in my body, that thought bloomed first.

Crack!

Damage greatly increased, but...

[Kraaaack-!]

Body durability sharply dropped.

I don’t know the exact numbers, but...

The 2nd stage of [Evolved Shell], which activates at 350 physical resistance, didn’t trigger.

「Character’s physical resistance is above 70.」

「50% resistance applies only to bladed weapons.」

It wasn’t just physical resistance.

Even using [Greedy Scales], the barbarian dragon mode wouldn’t activate.

Simply put, my magic resistance plummeted as well.

‘Damn it...’

All skills that rely on durability values became half as effective.

Still, it didn’t just take away everything.

Thud.

Compared to before, my warrior’s heavy body moved lighter and faster.

Also...

「Character used [Swing].」

「Character’s strength stat is above 1,200.」

「Deals double damage to enemies with over 90% HP.」

Each time [Swing] was used, an enormous gust of wind was generated.

It looked like the skill had been unlocked...

‘Thinking comes later.’

Having first checked my body changes, I focused on fighting the monsters.

Well, at this rate, sweeping away monsters wouldn’t be hard...

‘Let’s try to keep as many alive as possible.’

The more actively I fought, the more NPC allies would survive.

Based on ridiculously strong force, I swung and smashed my hammer down.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A satisfying impact sensation, rarely felt while raising a shield barbarian, lingered at my fingertips.

‘...Maybe not quite screwed after all.’

I wasn’t turning into a glass cannon like I feared.

Though being forced to consider normally ignorable attacks was stressful.

‘This is... uncomfortable but convenient...’

As I fought actively and adapted to my body, then—

“Gah, it’s over...!”

“We survived, we survived...!”

“Waaaaaaaahhh!!”

When I came to my senses, all monsters were dead, and the nearby humans cheered in victory.

‘Sigh, now what?’

I thought I should kill everything first, but I had no idea how things would proceed.

So I kept to the side, observing while staying out of the way.

“Yandel...! Yandel! Are you okay?”

A man ran over to me, stepping on the monsters’ corpses.

The same man who had worried and tried to protect me when I first opened my eyes.

“No serious injuries.”

“Thank goodness. That’s a relief!”

The friendly man checked me and sighed as if he’d aged ten years.

But then, he seemed puzzled.

“By the way, what the hell was that strength just now? I thought since he was so big, he’d fight well on his own, but I never imagined this level!”

“Uh...”

What should I say?

Maybe I should just act casual?

While thinking that, the man suddenly lowered his head, realizing something.

“Ah... sorry. I’m sure you have your reasons for becoming a mercenary.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Come on, let’s go. I want to rest now, but we have to clean up so the carts can pass without trouble.”

Though brief, I learned two more things.

‘Mercenary... and the empire...’

What kind of rift was this?

Knowing nothing, I followed the man.

We were in the middle of a city turned to ruins.

“Cleric! This way!”

The streets littered with bodies of humans and monsters.

Soldiers carried the wounded, and some shouted frantically, searching for lost comrades.

“That guy...!”

“That was intense earlier.”

“Even the knights weren’t like that...”

Despite the chaos, walking here drew attention — no wonder given the commotion.

I still didn’t know how well my decision to save as many as possible would turn out.

“What now? Let’s get going! Clear the debris so the wagons can pass! Hey, with your skills, you probably don’t need to worry about the empire’s scrutiny?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll help...”

“You’re a thoughtful young man. You’ll go far.”

Though I didn’t know his name, I followed the man’s lead and helped clean up.

In doing so, I learned a few things.

We were both mercenaries hired by the imperial army.

We met today for the first time and exchanged names before battle started.

Fortunately, this man was very talkative.

In other words, information gathering was much easier.

“Phew... I haven’t been a mercenary long, but this is the strangest thing yet. Monsters forming groups to invade a city... What will become of the world?”

“Hey, do you know what year it is now?”

“Hmm? Let me see... last year was the Year of the Moon, so this year must be the Year of the Sun.”

Unfortunately, he was talkative but not knowledgeable.

“Don’t you know more details? Like what year it is in the Year of the Sun?”

“...What mercenary remembers such things? We’re not noble lords studying history.”

Unlike that vampire uncle, this man didn’t even know the current year.

“Then do you know the emperor’s name?”

“...Shh! Quiet! Do you want to die?”

“No, I’m asking if you know.”

“There’s no way someone like me would know...!”

Right, he didn’t know.

Since soldiers on the street probably didn’t either, I focused on other things.

Asking that would be weird.

After silently continuing cleanup, I tried a casual question.

“Do you know how the war with the witches is going?”

The man tilted his head, as if puzzled by my sudden question.

“Witches? What do you mean? Are female mages fighting a war somewhere else?”

“No, I just heard something like that. Never mind if you don’t know.”

Apparently, this was before the witches appeared.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t confuse witches with female mages.

While helping cleanup and gathering information, suddenly—

“Everyone, stop for a moment!”

A soldier bearing the imperial insignia on his chest caught the mercenaries’ attention.

“That’s not the guy we saw this morning?”

“Morshu? He died, didn’t he?”

“Oh, so this must be the new commander... Shh, be quiet. Don’t cause trouble.”

Hundreds of mercenaries hushed under the empire’s power, watching cautiously.

The soldier continued.

“We’re looking for a mercenary named Bjorn Yandel! Word has it he single-handedly killed hundreds of monsters! Has anyone seen him?”

What? Why are they looking for me?

I instinctively stepped back, but there was no time to flee.

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone’s gaze focused on me.

“Ah, it’s you. Can we talk for a moment?”

“...Fine.”

Though suddenly summoned, I was a little uneasy.

But thinking about it, it wasn’t something I could avoid.

The knight would know more than a mercenary.

I intended to gather more information through conversation.

But...

“You’re a mercenary, right? I’ll be straightforward. I have a request for you.”

My plan to casually gather information through conversation failed.

“Escort a girl. Make sure she reaches her destination.”

The moment the knight mentioned the request, the world went black.

‘Then why ask if you’re just going to do this?’

I hadn’t even agreed to the mission.

Tap, tap, drip...

Water droplets echoed in a dark cave.

No sooner had I opened my eyes than I sensed a presence nearby.

Or rather, a hostile aura.

Whoosh!

Something swung through the darkness.

The expected target was near my thigh.

Even in the darkness, my barbarian instincts caught the swinging object.

Clack!

A slender wrist caught in my thick hand.

“Ugh...!”

A pained groan escaped.

The voice sounded very young.

‘After being assigned the escort mission, the location changed... So this must be the one to escort.’

Having quickly concluded, I opened my mouth gently instead of retaliating.

“Calm down. I won’t hurt you.”

The grabbed wrist twitched.

After a long pause, a voice came.

“...Eh?”

...Is the arm hurting?

I relaxed my grip, and a youthful voice echoed through the dark.

“Uh... are you an uncle?”

The voice sounded like a child at least a few years away from puberty, but the tone and manner of speech felt very familiar.

“Elwen...?”

“Yes, yes! It’s me!”

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s good you joined us now. It’s dark, so let’s check the surroundings first—”

“Wait. I’ll do it... But... uncle, you can’t be surprised, okay?”

“Surprised...?”

“There’s something...”

At that moment, a small flame flickered in the darkness.

Flare—!

A tiny flame too weak to light the surroundings.

Lowering my chin, I looked down and froze like stone.

In the reddish light,

Elwen was looking up at me.

In the form of a little kid, about eight years old.

“Th-That... what is that form?”

“...I don’t know either! I woke up like this...”

Still, it was kind of fascinating.

So this was what she looked like when she was young.

Though her nose bridge was always very high—

“Uncle...!!”

Did I stare too much?

Elwen—

No, more precisely, baby Elwen.

Hmm, that’s too long to explain, so in short—

“...Don’t stare at me so much!”

Baby Elwen covered her face with her tiny hands.

「Field Effect — Role assigned.」

「Role assigned to Elwen Fornaci di Tersia: ‘Girl.’」

「All stats fixed at 10%.」

「All healing and regeneration effects reduced by 90%.」

「Cannot be attacked by monsters.」

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