Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Chapter 318: Memory (3)

Chapter 318: Memory (3)

“This son of a…!”

I sat up as soon as I opened my eyes.

My vision was blurry, and I could smell smoke.

And it was unusually noisy outside.

“Anyone on the streets will be considered a rebel. Everyone get inside!”

Authoritative shouts echoed from everywhere.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

I occasionally heard screams, and every time a loud boom echoed in the distance, a slight tremor shook the bed.

Then what the hell was going on?

Therefore…

Thud, thud.

…I forced my heavy body to move towards the window. A wave of black smoke hit me as soon as I opened the window, and I started coughing.

“Cough, cough.”

I looked out the window as I coughed.

Soldiers were patrolling the smoke-filled streets, controlling the citizens.

And…

‘There’s really a fire.’

…I saw flames engulfing the city in the distance.

It was the eastern district, Orculus’s territory.

Although it was quite a distance from where I was, the entire city was filled with smoke, as expected of an underground city with poor ventilation.

Kaboom! Kaboom!

It didn’t seem like an ordinary fire, judging by the occasional explosions.

“This is driving me crazy… What the hell is going on?”

I pressed my throbbing temples.

My mind felt sluggish, much slower than usual. Maybe it was a side effect of the drugs Amelia gave me.

‘Right, the drugs…’

My memories came back to me as I came to my senses.

‘What the hell was she thinking? And where did she go?’

I didn’t know.

But I focused on one thing.

It was the same as when I first woke up in this body.

What was the most important thing I had to do right now?

The answer came quickly.

“Drawer.”

Amelia told me to check the drawer.

Maybe there was an explanation for this situation in there.

I closed the window and walked towards the bed.

There was a short note in the open drawer.

“Ha…”

It started with a brief apology.

It didn’t take long to read it all, and I tore it to shreds as soon as I was done.

But my anger didn’t subside.

‘I can’t believe D-Day was today.’

Amelia had lied to me.

Although it wasn’t written in the note, the reason was obvious.

She wanted to prevent me from interfering with the past. She probably thought it might change the future.

‘Damn it, I didn’t know she was this impulsive…’

I was dumbfounded, but I tried to calm down and checked the time.

[04:31]

4:31 AM.

It had been about six hours since I had a drink with Amelia.

‘So, what should I do…?’

I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts.

Amelia’s note said she would handle the rest herself, and that I should find the Fragment of Records and return when I woke up.

Judging by the state of the city, it didn’t seem like it would be difficult to infiltrate the Lord’s Castle.

But…

‘That’s ridiculous. So she’s just going to leave me here alone?’

I didn’t like it.

But I also had another thought.

What would happen if I didn’t do anything?

Would the future change?

“…Whatever, let’s just get out of here.”

I made a decision.

And I quickly put on my equipment.

I could think about the rest while I was on the move.

Creak.

I hurriedly headed towards the Lord’s Castle.

___________________

Acrid smoke.

I passed through the smoke-filled streets and the soldiers who were busy controlling the citizens and arrived at the Lord’s Castle.

But the gate was firmly closed, and even my badge as a member of the Lord’s faction couldn’t open it.

“The Lord ordered us not to let anyone in. And besides, why are you only here now? The mobilization order was issued a while ago.”

“…I was sleeping.”

“Then go to the eastern district. Your clan has already left.”

Damn it, how annoying.

“Okay. Good work.”

I turned around and left.

There were other ways to get in, even if the gate was closed.

Barbarians don’t ask for permission.

‘It’s smoky, they won’t see me.’

I walked along the wall for a while, made sure there was no one around, and then used [Leap] to jump over it.

But unfortunately, there was someone on the other side.

“Wh, who are you?!”

A soldier, startled by me falling from the sky, shouted.

Thwack!

I quickly silenced him before he could make a scene and then ran towards the inner castle.

As Amelia said, the castle was practically empty on the day of the operation. There weren’t any threats.

Just a few patrolling soldiers.

The main forces were probably fighting Orculus in the eastern district.

“Enemy!”

Thwack!

“An enemy has infiltrated the castle!”

Thwack!

Thanks to that, I was able to skip this part quickly.

But the inner castle was a different story.

Kaboom!

The moment I smashed the gate of the inner castle and entered the first floor, a group of explorers surrounded me with hostile expressions.

‘So they left this many behind, even though it’s an empty house?’

Elite troops who had received knighthood.

I even recognized a few of them since I had been in and out of the Lord’s Castle for the past few months.

“…Iron Mask, why are you here? Not in the eastern district where the battle is taking place?”

“Ah, I had something to discuss with the Lord.”

“I can’t believe you were a spy for Orculus.”

Baldy, whose name I couldn’t remember, glared at me with anger, as if he had been betrayed by a trusted comrade.

I didn’t feel any guilt.

I wasn’t a spy for Orculus…

And I had never considered him a comrade in the first place.

“Enough, attack me.”

“I don’t know what kind of arrogance made you crawl in here alone, but this is your—”

What the hell, they’re just 5th-grade.

They keep talking instead of attacking.

Fine, I’ll go to them.

Kaboom!

I didn’t waste time with pointless conversation and immediately activated [Gigantification] and [Leap]ed into the center of their formation.

And…

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

…I swung my hammer, which was already monstrously large thanks to [Gigantification], after making it about three times bigger with the [Transcendence] and [Swing] combo.

Whooosh!

I spun like a top, swinging my hammer.

It was called ‘Whirlwind’.

I took it from my favorite game before I got addicted to [Dungeon and Stone]…

And its characteristic was the refreshing impact and sound you could enjoy while spinning.

Like this.

Kaboom!

The squishy ones exploded like balloons when they were hit by the hammer, and the sturdier ones were thrown back and crashed into the walls.

It was an expected result.

The hammer I was holding wasn’t an ordinary weapon.

‘I built him as a tank, but somehow he’s more of a damage dealer now.’

No. 87 Kraul’s Demon Crusher.

A Double Numbered Item with a 500% damage increase option when using blunt weapon skills.

In short, this weapon increased the power of [Swing], a 3rd-grade skill, by five times just by holding it.

There was no way anyone could endure that.

Ah, of course, it didn’t work if they dodged.

“Wh, wh, what the…”

Those who had avoided the attack by lying flat on the ground looked up at me with dumbfounded expressions.

Some of them had regained their composure and were counterattacking.

Arrows.

Fire.

Lightning.

An axe.

I chuckled as I saw their weapons.

‘There’s not a single swordsman.’

That’s what’s funny about Noark.

Not all knights could use Aura.

They were just loyal and received titles, but only one in a hundred could actually use Aura.

‘As expected, they were all sent to the front lines.’

I then dealt with them one by one, smashing their heads with my hammer.

Even the warriors who were covered in heavy armor were quickly knocked out after I activated the 50% armor penetration bonus of ‘downward strike’.

About five minutes later…

…the battle ended as the remaining few ran away.

I didn’t bother chasing them or looting their bodies.

I didn’t have time, and…

…my subspace ring was already full of loot.

‘…Damn it, I have to take this hammer back somehow.’

I resumed my journey with that thought.

My destination wasn’t the upper floors where the Lord’s study or office was, but the underground shelter Amelia told me about.

Tadat, tadat.

I found the stairs leading down and ran down, and then I stopped.

Someone was coming up.

“I was wondering what the commotion was…”

It was someone I had met before.

The knight who came to recruit us on the Lord’s orders.

His name was…

“Iron Mask, why are you here?”

Rick Omanus.

He drew his sword, looking at me.

______________________

I didn’t even have time to make an excuse.

Whoosh!

He was quick to react. He imbued his sword with Aura as soon as he saw me, ready to fight.

He then tried to talk to me.

“Answer me, Iron Mask. Why are you here? And how do you know about this place?”

To answer his question, Amelia told me.

No one knew about the underground shelter now, but it would be different in the future.

“You’re not going to answer?”

My heart started to race at his words.

Thump.

‘Knights’ were the natural enemy of tanks.

Tanks were sturdy, but slow, and Aura ignored defense. And tanks didn’t have high damage output, so it was difficult to hurt a knight.

I knew it from my battle with the knight who was a looter, the one nicknamed ‘Serpent Knight’.

My arm was severed like tofu.

All I did was grab onto him like a cicada after he was injured.

It was Raven’s magic that won us the battle.

Thump!

And the situation was different now.

It was a 1v1, and we didn’t have any companions.

I hadn’t even prepared for Aura.

But…

Thump!

…my heart raced, and my grip on my weapon tightened.

It wasn’t because of fear.

It was natural to feel this tense before a battle.

“So you’re not going to answer.”

“…….”

“I’ll start by cutting off your arm.”

Rick Omanus took a stance.

I answered,

“Try it if you can.”

Right, it was time to fight a knight.