Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 188



Episode 188: Tempest (3)

Walking in a dark forest.

I continued to follow the direction where the doppelganger disappeared from the Shadow Altar.

“….”

I am moving my feet in the stiff air.

For reference the formation is such that I am at the forefront and the rest follow a few meters behind.

It’s far from a typical formation but…

What can I do?

This is the life of a carry-type tank.

“Ready for battle!”

The moment I felt like I was popular at the front.

Doppelgängers appeared from beyond the darkness where the light sphere magic could not reach.

This is a change that occurs when you enter the fourth chapter.

After the doppelganger’s seal is released the number of clones on the field increases exponentially.

and….

“The… enemy of the Empire…!”

“Kill… kill!!”

We no longer transform into our own selves.

At least that is until you meet the main body in person.

I don’t know why.

It’s something I just wanted to do when playing games.

Well now that I look into it I think there must be some hidden background to this phenomenon…

That’s not what you’re thinking about right now.

“The character casted [Leap].”

Before the distance narrowed any further I jumped forward and landed in the middle of them.

Quaaaaang-!

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A special terrain effect [rebound] that causes the ground to tremble as soon as you land. Dozens of doppelgängers simultaneously appear in the air.

Kwasik-!

First I hit one guy like I was swinging a baseball bat and cast [Wild Eruption].

“Behel—laaaaa!!”

The threat value has been doubled.

Doppelgängers in the shape of soldiers rushed at me like wild-eyed animals.

As long as you are a monster you cannot ignore provocation.

“For the Empire…!”

The doppelganger disguised as a soldier had no skills but was still a very difficult enemy.

This is because the gang stat is very high.

As you can see just by looking at the shield soldiers’ ability to withstand my mace attack if you look at their stats each one is at least Einar or higher.

In addition the fact that it consisted of various classes such as bow spear sword magic crossbow and shield also contributed to increasing the difficulty of the battle.

but….

Kwasik! Kwasik!

Even if you block something you never avoid it.

There is no point in avoiding it in the first place.

Because there were already enemies everywhere.

All you have to do is take the hit like a tank and wait for your colleagues to provide support.

“Arua Raven casted the level 5 attack magic [Lightning].”

Before long the long-awaited magic was completed.

Widespread lightning.

“Kyleman Partheian casted the level 5 auxiliary magic [Spell Enhancement].”

Perhaps thanks to Partheian’s assistance its power increased to about twice its usual level.

Therefore pause so as not to be swept away by the magic.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-!

The lightning strike which was no different from a natural disaster lasted about 5 seconds but it was enough to knock the doppelgänger army into a half-destructive state.

‘After all hunting is driven hunting.’

I took my time killing the remaining remnants along with my colleagues who had stayed far away.

One battle that ended like that.

The blunt warrior muttered shaking off the blood from his weapon.

“…Mr. Partheian Miss Sarman will be okay right? “I keep getting worried.”

“Didn’t you see it too? The doppelganger couldn’t even come near the altar. “He’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t go out.”

“Still wouldn’t it have been better to bring him…”

The blunt weapon warrior seemed to be constantly concerned about the Indian woman he had left behind in the safe zone.

But for me it was an inevitable choice.

Due to the nature of doppelgangers there may not be any ways to use Indian women…

This is a story about when it was used as a disposable discard card.

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If you are together as an object of protection the harm is much greater than the benefit.

“Stop it. Isn’t that something Ms. Sarman agreed to? “If we fail we’ll all die anyway.”

Partheian looked at me and ended the conversation at this point and I just resumed my exploration without saying anything.

There is nothing good to be gained from wasting time.

Deddudeud-!

Afterwards as I fought several more battles and advanced through the dark forest I felt a slight vibration beneath my feet.

This means that the seal release rate has reached 20%.

Well it goes up by about 1% every 10 minutes so it’s about time that happened.

“Mr. Yandel can you go a little faster?”

“Sure.”

I increased my movement speed as if I was running out of time.

and….

“We’ve arrived.”

We finally reached our goal.

A sinkhole I hadn’t seen before when I was wandering through the forest looking for a mid-boss.

Now go down here and the boss battle will begin.

But before that let’s start with this.

“I’ll search around here for a while and then move on.”

Under Raven’s direction we wandered around the sinkhole looking for something.

It didn’t take long.

“It’s exactly as the book says. “I heard there must be one hiding near the entrance.”

A white tombstone that emits an eerie sound.

In the game it was named as a proper noun ‘Seal Stone’.

However it is difficult to call this a hidden piece in itself.

In the fourth chapter not only do they appear in abundance throughout this forest…

“Is it according to the book?”

Information about the seal stone can be found naturally through the [Sacrifice Note] created at the Shadow Altar at the end of the third chapter.

Well the information just tells you to find it and activate it.

“There was no such content in the memoir.”

“A book other than memoir.”

Raven did not answer Wizard Partheian’s question in detail and placed her hand on the seal stone.

Ssaaaaaa-!

Black light shooting into the sky in the form of a pillar.

“The seal stone has been activated.”

“Seal release rate 10%.”

As a result the rate of unsealing the doppelganger was reduced by 10%.

Of course if we follow our strategy this number may not be very meaningful but since we are passing by anyway there is no reason to skip it.

“Then everything we can do here is ready.”

Soon we returned to the sinkhole.

“Is everyone ready?”

It’s time for the boss battle.

***

“The character has entered the extortionist’s hideout.”

***

A boss battle that is like the flower of a crack.

However the boss battle in ‘Doppelganger Forest’ takes place in a slightly unusual format.

First the expedition team must be divided into two.

One team fights a boss battle.

The other team finds sealing stones in a forest full of doppelganger soldiers and manages the seal release rate.

This is the standard strategy written in [Notes of the Sacrifices].

‘The concept gets annoying once in a while.’

In this place we can only break through if we trust each other and play our roles.

We probably would have selected two or three appropriate members from each team and divided them into two teams to fight the boss.

If only that landmine hadn’t exploded.

[I can’t use that method anymore. There are only seven of us now.]

Things went awry when the expedition team was half gone.

There are absolutely not enough people to divide into teams.

So what should you do?

After checking the loot left by the Dwarf and HansG teams I came up with an answer early and gave Raven a hint to guide her to the same answer.

All in.

Already splitting the small number of people into two would lead to nothing so focus all your power in one place and aim for a short-term war.

To put it simply it is a stagnant water strategy.

[It might be a little dangerous but is everyone okay?]

[There is no other way.]

That’s how the foundation of the strategy was laid.

The probability of success I predicted was 90%.

Of course probability is just a number so the only way to see if this will work is to see for yourself.

Is life always just Plan A?

Kuung-!

Like a barbarian he ran down the tunnel first to check if it was safe. And when a signal was sent upward the remaining personnel came down one by one.

“The air is chilly.”

A cave with cool temperatures.

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!!

The inside seemed to sense that we were popular and let out a bizarre howl.

I chuckled.

This is one of the Barbarian’s roles.

“What’s frozen? “Let’s go George.”

Instilling courage in team members.

As I took the lead and walked down the straight aisle without a moment of hesitation some who were intimidated also came to their senses and followed behind.

plod trudge.

Did he walk about forty steps like that?

The fog scattered throughout the cave cleared revealing the boss room.

A cavity with a huge magic circle drawn on it.

The Stone of Truth was lying on the floor like a toy and there was something in the shape of a person squatting in the center with its back turned.

And sobbing.

“You Hee too… are you here to kill me…?”

Something turned its head and stared at us.

The face revealed was none of us.

He was just an ordinary kid.

If it weren’t for the fact that the eyes nose and mouth were upside down.

“I didn’t do anything wrong….”

A kid glaring at us as if he was being wronged.

Soon the emotion in his eyes turns into anger.

This is the intro to a very common boss fight.

“I’m just like you—!”

So skip before you type the next line.

“Behel—laaaaa!!”

It wasn’t a good environment to use ‘Leap’ so I just dashed and swung my mace.

Wow!

A kid whose head was crushed just as he was sitting there.

However it doesn’t have the same taste as usual.

It feels like hitting a punching bag full of water.

[Kyeeeeeeeek!!]

A scream of unknown origin filled the entire cave and at the same time the kid turned into black slime.

Bubbly bubbling!

Something black that expands and contracts convexly like sea urchin spines.

‘Am I the one who started it?’

When the process was over another me was standing there.

Mimicry.

Doppelganger’s unique skill that cannot be obtained even by taking the essence.

However it was a little different from on the field.

“Kyeeeeeee!!”

He no longer follows my words and actions.

and….

“The nameless usurper casted [Swing].”

Rather than simply imitating it it becomes stronger than the original.

It is easy to think of the stats and skills of the mimic target as being added to the abilities of a grade 5 monster.

It’s not a monster that was rated level 4 for nothing.

Huuuuung-!

As a test I stepped back and avoided it.

At the same time his mace fell to the floor.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The entire cave shook leaving a crater.

It’s so powerful that you’d think it would only be achieved if your strength increased by 200 more. When I think of this as my future I feel a little proud.

however….

‘This should be enough to stop it.’

Just cover up any missing abilities with items.

Hold up a shield to block the guy swinging the mace randomly so he can’t reach his comrade.

Kwaaang-!

There was no clear sound as expected.

The weight I felt from the shield was beyond my imagination.

This is a 50% reduction in impact?

“Raven!!”

Like a poor explorer I sent a support ping.

Magic that comes immediately.

Since the opponent was a high-level monster the starting point was not attack magic but curse magic.

Kwaang-!

The guy’s attack became a little easier to withstand.

However this only met the first premise for the strategy.

The first full-fledged phase begins now.

“The nameless usurper casted [Self-Replication].”

Black slime splattered indiscriminately from the body of the doppelganger that looked like me and fell to the floor. The particles are so small that counting them is meaningless.

“Iherno Haindar!”

Raven’s staff spouted flames and melted the particles but it was impossible to dispose of them all.

The grains that crawled steadily across the floor and clumped together began to mimic ours through a series of transformation processes.

“There are four in total!”

Raven calmly relayed the information to me.

I made a quick decision.

Because they are clones they do not provide the same performance as the main body.

Therefore the plan continues.

“Don’t worry about me just kill them first!”

It was a time when I decided to leave the clones to my colleagues and focus only on dealing with the main body.

“They’re all Hans Kriesen!”

Raven’s briefing continued and my body automatically stiffened.

‘what?’

I couldn’t believe my ears and checked my surroundings even though I was in the middle of a battle. Of course there was no such thing as Raven giving me incorrect information.

‘…nimiral.’

How can everything be displayed as Hans G?

Wasn’t there a pattern of transforming into one of the 15 people dead or alive?

So what are the odds?

Raven shouted unaware of my speed.

“I’m glad Mr. Yandel isn’t among the clones! “Let’s get this sorted out quickly!”

A voice as if delivering good news.

It’s not that I can’t understand that feeling.

Not only is Hans G relatively inferior among us in terms of combat power but with four summoners his combination skills are poor.

It’s definitely worked out well for us.

but….

Excited.

My heart started beating like crazy.