Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Chapter 325: Role (5)

Chapter 325: Role (5)

The Lord of Chaos, Riakis.

The Lord of the Abyss, Verzak.

Floor Masters had both a true name and a title, and their essences were usually named after their titles.

Essence of Chaos, Essence of the Abyss, and so on.

And my assessment of the Essence of Silence that Liuhen Praha had absorbed was this:

‘All bark and no bite.’

It had a strong personality and abilities, as expected of a Floor Master essence, but there were many problems with its concept.

First, its active skill, [Flameless Spirit].

It was an AoE silence skill that nullified all skills within a 30-meter radius of the caster.

For reference, it also included passive skills, and even if you used a skill outside the radius, it would be nullified as soon as you entered it, so it was impossible to counter it from afar…

But it didn’t mean he was invincible.

There was a reason why I rarely absorbed this essence.

‘Magic and divine power can’t dispel it.’

And that wasn’t the only penalty.

[Flameless Spirit] didn’t work on monsters.

In other words, the Essence of Silence was practically only useful in PvP…

…and its passive skill was even worse.

(P) Silent Control — All other essence skills are deactivated, and stats gained from essences are doubled.

It was a high-risk skill that doubled your stats in exchange for giving up all your essence skills.

Thanks to that, I rarely absorbed this essence.

After all, my goal was always to clear the game.

I had absorbed it over three hundred times because I was trying to clear another route.

[We’ve heard of your fame, explorer. How about joining us and turning the world upside down?]

A route that sometimes opened when you gained enough fame in the game.

I always absorbed the Essence of Silence first when I was trying to clear the rebellion route by cooperating with the Olmi Revolutionary Army.

It was the best essence for PvP.

Well, I never succeeded.

After encountering countless dead ends, I tentatively concluded that it was impossible to clear the rebellion route because of the game’s structure.

Ah, of course, I never absorbed it again after that.

I had also realized that the Essence of Silence had a fatal weakness.

Clench.

I gripped the item I had prepared.

The key to defeating the Traitor, Liuhen Praha.

I had thought about using it earlier…

…but I decided to save it because taking care of Amelia was the priority.

‘Damn it, if I had known she would change the date, I would have given this to her.’

The reason I didn’t share the information was because I thought we would be moving together.

How could I have known…

…that she would drug me and knock me out?

I didn’t even think about how cool it would be to use it in a crisis.

…Really.

Swoosh.

The water level was rapidly receding.

‘It’s about waist-deep now, so he must be able to see again.’

I looked at the passage Amelia had gone through.

I chuckled, remembering our conversation before she left.

[I’ll believe you.]

[Right, believe me. Your sister’s problem—]

[I wasn’t talking about my sister.]

[…Huh?]

[I meant I believe you won’t die. So… don’t die.]

[Uh, uh… Okay…]

I averted my gaze, feeling embarrassed, and Amelia also seemed to feel the same way, as she just said, “Then I’ll be going,” and left—

‘He’s here.’

I heard the sound of splashing water from afar.

I dismissed my thoughts and focused on the sound.

Splash, splash.

He was getting closer.

I tensed up and crouched down.

And…

Crackle.

…I tore the scroll I had been holding in one hand.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

Magic particles enveloped me, emitting a faint light.

Although the light was faint, it was enough to attract attention in the dark sewer.

Splash.

The approaching footsteps stopped.

Thump.

My heart pounded like a child who had been caught doing something bad.

“…….”

A brief silence followed.

I couldn’t hear anything except for the sound of flowing water.

For about three seconds.

Splash!

I heard footsteps, and I immediately ducked and submerged myself in the water.

And the moment he appeared at the intersection…

“……!”

…I jumped out and charged towards him.

Kwaaang!

My hammer collided with his Aura, and the water splashed everywhere from the impact.

Thanks to my heightened concentration, I could clearly see everything.

Thousands of water droplets.

And his expression.

He looked at me and then shifted his gaze.

‘Is he looking for Amelia?’

Geez, how rude.

Tadat.

I jumped again as soon as my feet touched the ground, closing the distance between us.

He was already swinging his sword horizontally.

It seemed like he was trying to stop me from getting closer… but thanks to that, I was right in the path of his sword.

It didn’t matter to me.

Tadat.

I continued dashing.

If this continued, his sword would reach me before my hammer could, even though it was already halfway there…

But so what?

I wasn’t planning to hit him with my hammer anyway.

Swoosh.

I reached out with my hand.

My free hand, since I had already put my shield away.

But could it be that he also knew how to use his hands?

He didn’t withdraw his sword.

He just tried to swat my hand away with his other hand.

Thwack!

His hand hit my wrist.

My arm was pushed back, as he was also strong.

His sword was still swinging towards my waist, and I couldn’t retreat since my feet were in midair.

His judgment wasn’t bad.

But he was a bit careless.

“……!”

The conditions for the scroll I had torn were met as our skin touched.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

Blue magic particles erupted.

If this were a game, this message would have appeared:

[Character has been ‘Bound’ to Ricardo Liuhen Praha.]

[Character is no longer affected by [Flameless Spirit].]

I immediately chanted the commands I had prepared.

‘Transcendence.’

And…

‘Leap.’

Tadat.

The moment I stepped on the air…

Whoosh!

…my body shot forward, water splashing everywhere.

I wasn’t dodging his sword, I was charging towards him.

And…

‘Gigantification.’

…I increased my weight.

Like an 8-ton truck with the accelerator fully pressed.

Kwaaang!

There was nothing more to see.

“Keugh…!”

The body slam was effective.

_____________________

Amelia, who was running through the sewers, flinched.

It was because of the tremor that traveled through the water.

Kwaaang!

A loud boom that was faintly audible even from a distance.

It seemed like a battle had begun…

Splash, splash.

Amelia quickly came to her senses and started running again.

It sounded like the sewer had collapsed.

What the hell was going on?

Did something go wrong?

Various questions filled her mind, but she shook her head.

She had said she would believe him.

It was a promise.

If Yandel had defeated Liuhen Praha, then why did he appear in front of them at the end?

She dismissed the contradiction.

And…

Splash.

…she continued running.

Although the sewers were labyrinthine, it wasn’t difficult to find her way.

She had been through this path countless times after gaining recognition for her achievements and rising to a high position in Noark.

She had memorized it all, in preparation for today.

‘Left here. And then straight until the three-way intersection.’

Amelia pushed her body to its limits and continued running.

After some time…

Thud.

…she stopped.

She had reached her destination.

A five-way intersection.

Waterlogged corpses were floating everywhere.

They were all familiar faces.

Amelia recalled her memories.

[Laura! Amelia! What are you doing? Get up and fight!]

The battle was still raging when she regained consciousness after being swept away and losing consciousness.

Amelia tried to join the fight, drawing her weapon, but her sister stopped her and pointed at something.

The former Melta Trading Company explorer, who was the only one who knew the way, was running away alone, carrying a few pieces of equipment.

So they followed him instead of joining the fight.

And…

‘Here.’

Amelia entered the passage she remembered and soon found them.

“I, I was just trying to get away…”

The guide was making excuses, his face filled with fear.

“Whatever, I don’t care about you.”

Derbon, the man, glared at the guide and then turned his head.

“How dare you betray me and run away?”

He slapped her sister across the face.

And her sister endured it, not even trying to block it. She probably judged that it wasn’t a good idea to provoke him further.

Derbon wasn’t alone.

Ironically, he was on the same side as the people he had been fighting.

‘They probably thought it was pointless to keep fighting since their numbers had dwindled. And the fact that the guide disappeared must have also played a part.’

They were truly like beasts.

They might even betray each other and loot their equipment at the end.

Well, there wouldn’t be a chance to confirm that.

Clench.

Amelia gripped her dagger with her remaining hand.

“It, it’s all my fault.”

“You know you’re wrong.”

“My, my sister just followed me… Ugh!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let her go this time too!”

The moment the man who was holding her sister’s neck raised his arm, about to swing his axe…

Slash!

…his arm, still clutching the axe, fell into the water.

The man screamed in pain and twisted his body, while the others looked at Amelia in shock.

“…Em, Emily?!”

“H, how did you get here…?”

There was no need for conversation.

Amelia calmly stabbed them in the neck one by one, her eyes devoid of emotion.

“Wa, wait! I, I know the way…!”

Even the guide, who tried to appeal to her, was no exception.

She knew the way to the city, so there was no reason to spare him.

Slash!

The area was cleared.

The Rainwales sisters trembled, wary of her.

But could it be that her younger self was curious about something?

“Um…”

“Amelia…!”

She asked, ignoring her sister’s warning,

“Wh, what happened to Pelic Barker?”

“He’s dead.”

“Re, really? Bu, but how…?”

“No more questions.”

Amelia cut her off.

“We don’t have time, follow me.”

The ending of the long story was approaching.