Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 139



Episode 139: Awakening (2)

“[Ogre’s Essence] seeps into the character’s soul.”

“Strength increases by +140.”

「Hanging power increases by +80.」

“Physical resistance increases by +40.”

“All resistances increase by +10.”

“Natural regeneration decreases by -40.”

“Cognition decreases by -20.”

As soon as I opened my eyes I checked my watch.

Fortunately almost no time had passed.

Well I was in a hurry to get it done just in case.

“….”

After watching my colleagues sleep for a while I took out a knife.

Then I drew a line on the back of my hand as if I was sawing.

Crunch crunch crunch.

I went back and forth about 10 times with a lot of force and a single drop of blood came out.

It was only when I saw the non-regenerating wound that I realized it.

The character’s concept really changed in an instant.

Wow.

I clenched my fist in the air.

The change in the body was clearly perceptible but not as stark as when taking the Orc Hero Essence.

It’s not that I can’t understand it.

Not only has the vampire essence disappeared but ‘Guardian of Balance’ is still in effect.

‘You will only be able to feel exactly how much your strength has increased when you go outside.’

I took a moment to calculate my profits and losses while looking beyond the passage lit by torches.

‘Omg….’

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Ogre.

A grade 3 monster with stats and skills that any tanker would be amazed by. However this essence was not included in my final combination.

Rather than a judgment of nonconformity the reason was more practical.

A level 3 monster that is already difficult to catch.

Moreover you have to choose among 7 active skills to get the color you want?

Not only is the difficulty of obtaining it too high….

In terms of ‘defense’ alone there is a level 4 monster ‘Steel Giant’ that is more efficient than this monster.

‘Instead the steel giant has the disadvantage of not being able to use weapons.’

Ultimately at this point it was a matter of taste.

Should you focus on damage or just focus on tank?

Since the difference in performance between the two essences was subtle I chose the extreme tank for most plays.

It was decided that it would be more reasonable to raise dealers through the effort of eating ogre essence.

Actually that judgment was correct.

As a result I was able to open the original version of the ‘Gate of the Abyss’ that no one has been able to reach.

but….

‘Strictly speaking the ogre is a bit better.’

Flexibly changing training methods is the beauty of this game and also reflects the player’s skill.

In the first place the final combination wasn’t decided exactly like this and this.

Excluding the core integer everything is blank.

We selected three or four candidates with similar performance for each role took the one that came first and moved on.

Because what I wanted was to clear the game not complete the main character.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that it’s not yellow essence but it’s not enough to change the entire training method…’

I’m a little dazed.

I definitely changed the vampire essence expecting to get a ‘steel giant’ as the best case number but should I say that the result was better than that?

‘What are the conditions? If Jeong Soo-myeon is a vampire guardian is it possible to be confirmed as a guardian and be promoted to 2nd level?’

Pure question.

I feel curious as a gamer but I struggle to suppress my thoughts.

‘This is 30%. No maybe even 40%?’

Reconsider the survival rate according to the changed situation and draw up a new combat method in detail in your head.

To increase the possibility even a little more.

Something I can do even at this moment.

‘…It would be better to take off the armor. There’s no way I’m going to wait until he gets ready.’

It’s as if a swordsman facing a decisive battle sharpens his sword the night before.

Refine your plan and find better options.

‘The penalty for cognitive decline is not as severe as you might think. If the strength ratio is this high you won’t be pushed by force.’

The detailed pieces of the plan fit together one by one to create a single form.

However the more I do this the more my heart beats.

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Exciting-!

The future is like broken glass.

No one can perfectly predict the outcome.

Like the time when the hierarchical monarch was summoned.

However because of that…

Exciting-!

Is there anything else I can do?

I wonder if there was something I thought wrong.

As if you were dealing with a test paper where your life depends on it you worry over and over again without compromising.

How long has it been like that?

“Bjorn.”

Rotmiller wakes up and quietly calls my name.

It meant it was time.

I quickly woke up my colleagues and checked my watch.

[09:47]

About 4 hours have passed since I took a break.

In other words there were about 38 hours left until the labyrinth closed.

“It’s faster than expected. After all they must have a way to track us.”

Rotmiller’s advice was passed over with one ear.

It was information I already knew…

If there is information that I need to keep in my head right now it won’t be like that.

‘Yes it takes 4 hours to get from there to here.’

All premises for New Plan A were met.

so….

Trudging.

Now I have no choice but to throw the dice.

***

plod trudge.

The sound of footsteps emerging from the darkness at regular intervals.

It comes towards us as if it were strangling our necks.

Take your time and don’t be impatient.

Trup-

Before long it came within visible range.

For your information my companion was a poor old man.

Blood is pouring out of one of his eyes as he looks for us and grimaces as if he has been offered as a sacrifice.

“It’s so cruel.”

“Why on earth would he do something like that to a colleague…”

Everyone frowned at the bizarre sight but I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all the old man was left in front of the portal.

If we had come together there would have been no answer.

That was the car I was thinking about.

Trup-

The guy stops his steps at an appropriate distance.

And then came the heavy silence.

“What are they all alive?”

The guy smiles flippantly and talks to me.

It was far from the reaction I had expected.

He didn’t think it was strange at all to stab someone in the stomach with a sword.

what?

“I suddenly thought someone had died because my strength suddenly came back.”

With those words all discomfort was resolved.

That’s why it was like this.

‘For some reason he seemed strangely calm.’

He hasn’t noticed yet.

The fact that I swallowed up a ‘restrained wish.’

After listening to it I thought it was possible for that guy to think that way.

Until the words continued later.

“Oh yeah. “I guess you ate Vaikundus essence?”

Even in the midst of this this guy presents new possibilities.

For some reason I laughed.

‘I didn’t know this bastard would do something like that.’

Even if the numbers were divided between 8 people due to the Guardian of Balance the increase would be incomparable to something like Vaikundus.

This guy must have felt that too.

but…

I have already decided on the answer I want and am trying to find evidence to prove it but is there any way to arrive at the correct answer?

‘Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos.’

I wrote one more phrase about him in my head.

Surprisingly this guy was a positive guy.

But was there something ominous about my laughter?

“…You must have kept your barbarian oath right?”

He erases his relaxed attitude and asks me.

I stared at him without any response.

To put it bluntly it is an expression that means “What are you doing?”

But it seems like this wasn’t enough for him.

“Where are the items?”

He asks me again.

This time there was annoyance in his voice.

Although I tried to deny it because of sunk costs I am slowly feeling it myself.

The truth is that he may have been tricked.

“…Could it be that you already wrote it?”

Finally he asked and I answered.

“Oh it wasn’t intentional.”

“…what?”

“sorry. “I was just fiddling with it because I was bored and it broke.”

Despite my sincere apology he trembled like an aspen tree.

He too slowly accepted the truth.

Warrior’s Oath.

It is something that barbarians with only honor have protected by sacrificing their lives.

He realized that he had been fooled by it.

“You had no intention of keeping your oath from the beginning.”

A tingling sensation of death is felt through the skin.

However like a K-Barbarian from Korea I proudly straightened my shoulders.

“Oh so you don’t say you’re sorry—”

“Die.”

When I heard the voice I could already see the sword at close range.

The distance was shortened to this extent in that short moment.

Even though I was provoking him I was secretly watching his every move so I was able to react in time.

Slurp.

Raise your shield.

And it’s not about blocking…

Kwaang-!

I hit the sword face with all my might.

This is a countermeasure created by simulating a battle with the monster during the remaining time.

Isn’t the famous Ark-made long sword?

Even if you block it it’s clear that it will only make a hole in the shield.

“Dwalky!”

As soon as I pushed him away with my excessive strength and shouted.

The magic that was briefed in advance is fired.

“Riol Warb Dwalki casted the level 7 attack magic [Cold Storm].”

Fortunately it seems like they completed the magic spell while they were talking and wasting time.

Ssssssssssssss-!

Sharp ice shards swirl around and fill the passage.

A coldness that was close to the wall and gave me chills even though I was out of range.

However ironically a strange heat was felt at the end of the snowstorm.

It was obvious without even looking at what it was.

“Regal Vagos casted [Fnace].”

[blast furnace].

One of the abilities of the grade 4 monster lava giant.

A buff-type skill that when activated makes you immune to cold and fire damage and greatly increases your physical stats.

I was still a little worried because the information was from 10 years ago.

As expected I still have it.

Cheeeeeeeek-!

I tore through the scroll without any regrets.

It was obtained after defeating ‘Argos’ one of the mid-bosses and according to the rules it should have been used to catch the Minotaur.

“Target designation complete.”

“The ‘Lava Giant Essence’ possessed by Regal Vagos will be sealed for 48 hours.”

As soon as the scroll burned away the heat on the other side of the passage ended.

Okay I cut off one level 4 essence.

What happened to that guy?

Ssaaaa-!

Soon the snowstorm that had frozen the entire passage cleared up.

The guy was standing still.

Behind a black translucent curtain like a window without any damage.

“Did you just believe this?”

The guy looked at us and smiled wryly.

If you thought this raid was a conversion move there was nothing you couldn’t understand.

But what should I do with this?

‘I never thought things would work out this well.’

The skill he just used was [Dark Shroud].

And this skill does not exist in the list of his essence that Rottmiller told me about.

In other words one of the variables we were wary of was confirmed.

‘There are now one or two remaining unidentified essences.’

Of course you may have other number items so you have to keep paying attention to those as well—

Whi-profit-!

Before I had time to organize my thoughts his new weapon was fired at me again.

I tried to hit the sword face with the shield like before but it was also an intelligent being that was learning.

Huh!

The shield splits the air.

When I realized it there was a slight pain in the shoulder area and a foreign body sensation.

Suddenly!

When I checked the Arc long sword that had cut the lithium shield like tofu had dug into my forearm.

About 3cm.

“…?”

A fleeting moment when our gazes intersect.

I could see the embarrassment in his eyes.

I was planning to cut off his entire arm but why was it only this big?

The answer is simple.

‘What is my physical resistance level now?’

Ogre’s passive skill [Ironskin].

A skill with crazy performance that increases physical resistance by 2 times and additionally increases physical resistance by 2 times only for cutting attacks.

If the stats are similar to the ‘Guardian of Balance’ it is natural that even an Arc-made longsword can withstand it.

but….

‘Tsk I didn’t plan on showing it to you this early.’

Until the golden opportunity comes.

If possible I wanted to hide the sword by blocking it with a shield.

However at this level it would be possible to infer what kind of essence ability this is just from this alone.

‘head.’

Soon as I looked at the top of my head covered in burns I made a decision.

It is an active skill of Ogre’s red essence.

[Flesh Explosion] This was my first proper attack skill since I only had attack skills like [Flesh Explosion].

I don’t know why the skill of a guy with the nickname “Tyrant of the Forest” is named like this…

“The character casted [Swing].”

“The destructive power of blunt weapons increases significantly in proportion to strength.”

Well as long as the effect is good it’s okay.

Huh!

I swung the mace with all my might.