Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 31



Episode 31: Bloody Citadel (2)

The corpse golem’s pattern is simple.

Throws a corpse bomb at enemies at a distance.

And it grabs and eats nearby enemies.

Hundreds of arms sprouting all over the body like tentacles.

“Bjorn!”

While listening to Einar’s cries of concern I kept my distance.

If you get closer you won’t be designated as a target for the corpse bomb…

Then the target will change to where the wizard is.

Quaaaang!

Buy time somehow.

At least until the wizard comes to his senses.

While attracting aggro alone.

Quaaaang!

Whenever a corpse bomb flies it rolls to the side to gain distance then crouching behind its shield to protect itself from the acidic body fluid.

And when I repeated this about three times.

“Iherno Haindar.”

A baptism of fire was launched.

Fortunately the wizard seems to have come to his senses.

I didn’t bother to look back and just focused my attention on the corpse golem.

With the screams of hundreds of people the corpse golem’s entire body was burning brightly and its shell was peeling off.

Originally the first pattern which would have had to be done dozens of times with a torch while narrowing and widening the distance and playing tug-of-war was completed with a single magic blow.

“The corpse golem’s outer shell has been neutralized.”

But was the smell of burning rotten corpses once again disgusting?

“Eup… wow wow!!”

The sound of vomiting is heard again from behind.

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I hope you come to your senses now…

Well it’s okay there’s no need for a wizard anymore.

“Ainar! Okay now come to the side!”

I immediately called Einar.

The corpse golem is a level 7 monster but as long as its skin has been removed it is not a monster that two barbarians can fight against.

“Goooohh—!!”

The once huge shape has shrunk noticeably and is now only about 3m in diameter.

As the pile of living corpses all melted in the fire only the skeleton that remained like rebar creaked and moved.

It’s called bone golem mode.

“Kaaaaagh!”

Because the weight has been reduced movements are much more agile.

He shouted blocking the golem’s violently swinging arm with his shield.

“Carrier! “You too help!”

“I must protect Raven.”

Nimmi.

I thought so.

Just wait and see you will be rewarded for your hard work.

Pow!

I jumped high and brought the mace down on his torso.

There was a crashing sound but that was all.

The ribs were so strong that a few bone fragments were sticking out.

But you can repeat this.

“Ainar! “Aim for the chest!”

“i get it!”

Einar and I attacked the corpse golem’s ribs giving and receiving aggro.

Did he hit it like that 40 times?

The ribs which were as hard as walnut shells cracked revealing the kernels inside.

It was a magic core a common vital point for golems.

Kwasik!

After breaking the core with the mace the corpse golem stopped working and became light and disappeared.

“The corpse golem has been defeated. EXP +3」

The reward is a magic stone the size of a fist which is bigger than a grade 7 monster.

“Oh! How many loaves of bread is this?”

Einar who was impressed by the size he saw for the first time suddenly froze in shock.

This is because the reward did not end with just one magic stone.

Huh!

A halo of black light shining softly in the air.

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“Bjorn is this really it?”

I nodded absentmindedly.

The essence came out.

***

Cracks are like treasure troves.

Elite monsters that do not appear in the general field are like rain to explorers who are short on experience points not to mention the loot that guardians spit out.

Well the key point is that the essence drop rate increases exponentially.

‘Actually if you look at the probability it would be strange that the integer was finally found…’

“What are you going to do?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts in response to Einar’s question.

First of all ownership belongs to us.

Not only was it almost done by the two of us but it was also a promise from the beginning.

but….

“….”

Originally there were two groups of candidates I was aiming for.

‘Desfiend’ for regenerative power and ‘Chimera Wolf’ for muscular strength.

They were all essences of grade 8 monsters.

However in the meantime the essence of the corpse golem a grade 7 elite monster that only appears in the ‘Blood Citadel’ appeared.

It was a rare essence whose difficulty to obtain was so high that no candidate could compete with it…

It’s difficult to just be happy.

The penalty is as severe as the unique ability.

[Corpse Golem]

Pain tolerance+70 Bone strength+55 Poison resistance+12 Strength+15 Cognition-5 Appetite+9 Weight+21

First of all the basic stats are suitable for a tank.

The decline in cognitive ability will affect visual acuity and judgment speed and the overall body will become sluggish…

Instead other stat increases are very high.

‘Bone strength’ which affects defense as much as physical resistance is +55 and ‘weight’ which affects knockback and blunt weapon damage in-game is +21.

‘Pain tolerance’ would also be very useful in real life and ‘appetite’ was a stat that was unconditionally helpful if you also had ‘strength’ and ‘poison tolerance’.

but….

Special:

(P) Acidic fluids — The blood is acidic.

(A) Flesh Explosion — Forcefully explodes a body part.

The only flaw is the skill.

‘Flesh Explosion’ boasted considerable damage but used the character’s HP as its cost.

Isn’t it okay to just use active skills?

Not only is it a huge loss to seal a skill in the first place…

If you consume this essence the durability of your equipment will be greatly reduced each time you are injured.

That’s because if blood splatters it will get on the equipment.

“after….”

From the exorbitant potion costs to the equipment costs.

Usually when this comes out I feed it to the NPC who takes it with me to throw it away.

It was a essence similar to Gyereuk.

It would be a waste to throw it away and it would be a bit much to feed it to the main character.

‘The essence you eat in the beginning will have to be thrown away at some point anyway so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take it now…’

“Let’s hold off for a while and treat the dwarf first.”

There is no need to make a hasty decision as the purified water will be maintained for 30 minutes even if the owner is not present.

You might be able to make a deal with this right?

With that decision in mind I headed to the rear and witnessed a scene that was nothing short of a mess.

Did the carrier sprinkle a potion on him?

The dwarf was rolling around in pain from the potion and somehow the wizard was half-dead.

“Don’t come any closer.”

His name was… Tarjin.

This cheap escort had nothing to do with the subject and blocked our way as soon as he saw us.

Damn what did we do?

“Why are you doing this?”

When asked from a distance the carrier answered.

“You suffered a backlash from overdoing your magic.”

It’s a reaction….

I guess ‘circuit break’ refers to the status abnormality that sometimes occurs when casting fails.

When I looked closely I saw that he was not just vomiting up what was inside but was literally vomiting blood.

“Week waeeek!”

Is this the price of using magic while feeling sick from the smell?

It’s absurd to look at it but…

In fact it’s a story that could well happen in [Dungeon & Stone].

Unlike other games where cause and effect are clear in this game small seemingly insignificant ’causes’ sometimes threatened life.

“Are you going to keep doing that? “I think it would be better to move it outside first.”

“…I will ask you to take care of the dwarves here.”

After carrying Raven and the dwarf to the dungeon and waiting for a while the situation got better.

The first to come to his senses was the dwarf.

“This is shameful… Thank you. “If it weren’t for you two it would have been a big problem.”

“I’m glad you know.”

I didn’t necessarily say words of humility.

Well there will be no return.

It’s clear that I’ve made a contribution and I plan to use this to raise my hourly wage a little more.

To do that it would be better to inflate it.

“If it weren’t for Einar you would already be dead.”

“I know. It was really embarrassing but as soon as I saw it my body froze. “I thought I had seen everything I had seen so far…”

Once again I feel like this is reality.

If it were a game they would have had enough power but due to mental factors they almost died from a mid-boss who was not a guardian.

“So why is this young lady doing this?”

“They said there was a backlash. “He drank the potion so he’ll get better soon.”

The wizard who had been screaming instead of vomiting after taking the potion came to his senses only after 10 minutes.

“It’s a nuisance.”

He opened his mouth pretending to be okay but there was no more noble atmosphere.

The corners of his mouth and the nape of his neck were caked with vomit and blood and his beautiful blonde hair was unkempt and dirty.

The robe he was rubbing on the floor was also completely ruined.

“We took care of the corpse golem.”

“yes. I know that. “It’s a good thing I didn’t force myself to use magic.”

Is this really the behavior of young explorers?

Rather than saying thank you he first mentions his performance.

If we just stay here the hourly wage increase will go down the drain.

There is a need to get confirmation somehow.

“We saved you. At this level it can be said that one person has done more than their share. Do you agree wizard?”

“…I agree.”

Raven nodded his head in exasperation.

It must have been quite a shame that two barbarians who had secretly ignored them played such a big role.

To be honest I was very relieved but leaving some room at this point would be helpful in negotiations.

“Of course your magic was amazing. “With such a strong flame he must have done too much for the team.”

“But… so what do you want to say?”

I spoke bluntly.

“We will take the crack stone.”

Essence Number Item Crack Stone.

One of three types of loot dropped by Guardians.

When I first asked for this they gave me a sharp look saying I was being greedy and wondering if there would be a problem without the two of you.

But what about now?

“….”

There is only strange silence.

I waited quietly without urging.

Because the basis of negotiation is waiting.

“I am in favor. “If it weren’t for this barbarian girl here I would have died.”

Does it mean that the favor is repaid?

The dwarf was the first to express his approval.

but….

“I am against it.”

Raven did not allow it easily.

It’s not like there were no concessions at all.

“But if a crack stone appears I think we can at least give it an equal chance.”

Simply put it means that an opportunity to bid will be provided.

It’s a little disappointing but it’s true that his help was great so it’s better to be satisfied with this.

Because there isn’t much time.

Then the next agenda item.

“Oh and the essence came out.”

“integer? Could it be that the corpse golem spit out its essence?”

“Yes.”

The dwarf and Raven gaped as if they hadn’t expected that something so difficult to obtain would appear.

“Amazing. From the looks of it it looks like you haven’t gotten any essence yet but you’re getting something like that from the beginning.”

“I heard that the Corpse Golem’s essence was so small that even the Explorers’ Guild couldn’t properly understand its abilities.”

Raven repeatedly expressed her admiration saying that in terms of rarity the corpse golem’s essence would be higher than the guardian’s essence.

The fact that the greed for research is evident in the corner of his eyes is a bonus.

I hid my true feelings as best as I could and brought out the proposal I had been waiting for.

“If you want you can exchange it for the guardian’s essence.”

“yes? But I’m not sure if the guardian will give me the essence…”

Raven trails off with a strange look on her face.

From the looks of it he seems to like the suggestion of changing the integer.

“I will take that on.”

“In that case yes I like it. You wouldn’t know if you were an explorer. Actually corpse golems are more interesting to me. “I didn’t know this would come out but…”

Negotiation was concluded.

***

“I heard that the Miss Raven wizard cannot absorb essence. So are you feeding the essence to that carrier?”

“No because the essence itself is worth studying.”

Raven took out a test tube from the bag the carrier was carrying.

This is one of the reasons why wizards are scam characters.

Even if they do not absorb directly into the body they can contain purified water and take it outside.

Although you need one preparation.

“ah! Did you bring a test tube? “I heard it’s an incredibly expensive item right?”

“…I have only one too.”

In fact even if you put integers below grade 6 in a test tube you barely get the money.

However Raven appears to have placed more value on the corpse golem’s essence.

Whoa!

As Raven chanted the spell the essence was sucked into the test tube.

She carefully double-wrapped her box and placed it away in her backpack.

“Then let’s get out of this horrible place.”

“I’ve been waiting to see when those words would come out!”

We climbed up the sticky ladder and quickly moved through the water pipes.

The only monsters that appear are Skull Rats and Deadmen.

Although it was full of a foul smell it was nothing compared to the place where the corpse golem was.

After traveling for about 30 minutes we reached our destination.

“I’ll go up first.”

There was a staircase beyond the rusty iron bars that were torn off with a single kick and as we climbed up them a spacious stone chamber appeared.

I inhaled the slightly cleaner air with all my might and checked my surroundings.

“It doesn’t look like a gargoyle statue. What is that?”

“I can’t feel any magic so it’s probably just a simple sculpture.”

Intimidating devil sculptures everywhere.

And the floor was full of human skulls.

“There was probably a Yeongju Castle right above here. “If it hadn’t collapsed we would have been able to investigate inside….”

Raven tasted her regretfully as if she didn’t feel an eerie feeling.

“As I heard it has a typical religious facility pattern. However the fact that it was hidden underground means that this belief did not fit the social sentiment of the time. For example an evil god.”

“I see.”

The dwarf was appalled by Raven’s explanation that showed off her knowledge. Before it got any longer I chanted briefly to raise their awareness.

“Why don’t you stop talking and just be a little nervous?”

In fact it was something I said to myself as well.

That’s because the final chapter of the crack ‘Devil Worship Room’ is not a place to be taken lightly.

“Bjorn has a sinister intuition.”

Especially for an unlucky bastard like me.