Surviving the Game as a Barbarian
Chapter 530: Escape Plan (3)

Soul's evolution.

Explorers describe the unique sensation of leveling up in various ways.

Some say it feels like a full stomach.

Others describe it as the feeling of fulfillment after connecting with a lover.

Some even compare it to suddenly sobering up after being drunk.

But when they talk about it, they eventually agree on one thing.

It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe in words.

Swaaaaaaaaaa.

It’s as if something from the outside seeps into you, making your existence more… profound.

That sensation was especially vivid during battle.

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!"

I had reached level 8.

It was much earlier than I had anticipated.

Honestly, before entering the first basement floor, I thought it would take at least a year.

‘So I can absorb two more essences now.’

Even I thought my growth rate was abnormal.

According to the guild's statistics, it took an average of six years to go from level 7 to level 8.

And that statistic only included those who had actually reached level 8. It didn’t include those who retired at level 7—

Crack!

I snapped out of my reverie and swung my hammer.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

I glanced around, assessing the situation, as the Orc Warrior disintegrated into particles of light.

“Huff… Huff…”

It had only been 30 minutes since the rainy season started.

The explorers and monster warriors, their weapons swinging tirelessly beneath the umbrella-like barrier, looked exhausted.

But even in this situation…

“Essence…! An essence dropped!”

“Ugh…! Whose was it? Did anyone see?!”

“…I-I saw it! It was from the Bone Drake!”

“A 4th-grade essence! What are you waiting for?! Collect it!”

A mage rushed towards the essence with a test tube, and the explorers and warriors protected them while they collected it.

“Hey! What are you doing?! This isn’t the time to be collecting magic stones!”

“Ah… I-I just didn’t want to trip over them… Okay!”

An explorer was carefully avoiding the magic stones scattered across the ground. It was a strange sight.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Picking up magic stones would only increase our workload.

And besides, unlike essences, magic stones didn't disappear. We could collect them after the rainy season—

Kwaaang!

Something heavy crashed onto the barrier above us.

The impact was so powerful that the ground shook, even though the barrier absorbed most of the force.

[Uwaaaaaaaaaa—!]

I looked up and saw a giant staring down at me from the cracked barrier.

“It’s the Hippermachant…!”

So it had also fallen from the sky.

I hadn’t seen it all day.

Crackle—

“Baron! The barrier’s integrity is below 30%!”

The Hippermachant’s landing had significantly reduced the barrier’s durability.

This giant umbrella was our only protection from the monster rain.

“B-Baron! We should retreat to the village and regroup—!”

“Stay in your positions!”

“But where are you going?!”

“I’m going to get that thing off the barrier.”

I stepped out of the barrier.

Thump! Kwang! Thwack!

Head, back, shoulder, waist…

Monsters rained down on me, their bodies colliding with my enlarged form.

It was a strange experience.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

The monsters disintegrated the moment they touched me.

Was this what it felt like to have 100% Reflect?

I dismissed the silly thought and moved cautiously.

I couldn’t afford to step on an essence.

Only saints and saintesses could remove essences outside of a temple.

‘Heave-ho.’

I jumped onto the barrier, and the explorers below started murmuring.

“…The Baron is on the barrier!”

“What is he… doing?”

“We can’t even help him in this situation…”

They would see soon enough.

[Uwa…?]

I grabbed the Hippermachant’s hair with both hands.

And…

“The Baron is pulling the giant down!”

“Is that… even possible?”

“He’s not human…”

I pulled with all my might, using the barrier’s sloped surface to my advantage.

[U-Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!]

The giant struggled, surprised by the unexpected situation, but it only made things easier for me.

Kwang!

It lost its balance and rolled off the barrier, crashing to the ground below.

Crackle!

The barrier’s integrity decreased further, but it couldn’t be helped.

[U-Uwaaaaaaaaaa…!!]

The giant roared in frustration as it lay on the ground.

It was like a child throwing a tantrum.

‘Where should I attack?’

I stared at it, unfazed by its roars.

In fact, I roared back.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Did it think I was an easy target?

“…T-The giant is retreating!”

“The Baron’s aura overwhelmed it!”

The Hippermachant started backing away.

It was clearly intimidated.

I raised my hammer and struck its nose.

Thwack!

It didn’t seem to do much damage.

But it was enough for the Hippermachant.

[Uwa… Uwaaaaa!!]

It turned and ran.

“The giant is running away!”

Right, run.

You coward—

Flash!

Huh?

I turned around as a bright light flashed.

Whoosh!

A gleaming white sword flew through the air like a javelin.

And…

Thud.

It struck the giant’s neck.

Kwaaang!

The sword exploded.

「Hippermachant slain.」

The giant’s headless body collapsed to the ground, disintegrating without even leaving behind a corpse.

“It’s… dead?”

Killed in one hit…?

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone, including myself, stared at the spot where the sword had originated.

“What are you all looking at? Weren’t you trying to kill it?”

The Elder was standing there.

His expression was as emotionless as ever.

______________________

The village of monsters who called themselves humans.

And their leader, Cornelius Brugrid, the Dragon Knight.

I had brought him along to indirectly assess his strength.

But…

‘This old man is… something else.’

His display of power had been shocking.

He had killed the Hippermachant in one hit, something even Erwen couldn’t do.

‘I knew he had a hidden ability…’

But I didn’t expect him to be this powerful.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

“What are you doing? You said you needed to get stronger to escape. Are you giving up?”

“…Of course not.”

I couldn’t afford to be distracted by the Elder’s strength right now.

I had to focus on the monsters raining down from the sky.

And after a while…

“Baron! We can’t hold out any longer!”

“…Let’s retreat to the village.”

We had been enduring the monster rain beneath the barrier, but it was about to collapse. We returned to the village.

And…

“Everyone, rest!”

We took a break at the entrance and regrouped.

The mages meditated, recovering their MP.

The priest and the healing mage tended to the wounded, and Bersil started counting heads.

“Casualties?”

“Twelve injured. Three minor injuries, and nine serious injuries.”

“No fatalities?”

“A few of the village warriors died… but none of us.”

“That’s good.”

As we were talking…

The Elder appeared behind me without a sound.

“It’s over.”

Damn it, he startled me.

“Over…?”

“I’ve closed the entrance to the village. We can’t leave until the rainy season is over.”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“Can’t you open and close it periodically?”

“No.”

That was a shame.

If we could, we could go outside and collect the essences from the dead monsters.

‘He said we couldn’t hunt monsters from inside the village either. It would damage the ‘gate’…’

It was disappointing that the EXP bonanza was over, but I had a more pressing question.

“Elder, what was that earlier?”

“That?”

“The glowing sword. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s not what I—”

He interrupted me.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Uh…”

Well… he had a point.

I was speechless, and he stared at me and said,

“We had a deal. We would help you, and you would find a way out of here.”

“…So?”

“Focus on your own task. Don’t be distracted by unnecessary curiosity.”

Mind your own business…

He wasn’t wrong, but it sounded rude.

“Many warriors were injured and killed today. I’ll go tend to them.”

“Alright.”

“Come see me later when you have time. We’ll talk more then.”

The Elder left with the warriors, and we returned to our lodgings.

And then we started sorting through the loot.

“Here’s a list of the essences we obtained.”

Let’s see…

“Two 3rd-grade, seven 4th-grade, and one 5th-grade…”

It was an insane amount of loot.

We had only been outside for less than two hours. And that wasn't even all we had obtained.

“Ah, and Tersia and Lokrob leveled up.”

Auyen reaching level 7 wasn’t surprising, but Erwen reaching level 8 was significant.

It meant there was an empty slot for a new essence.

“I also leveled up.”

I revealed my level up, and my teammates were surprised.

“What? Bjorn! Really?!”

“Three blessings in one day. Should we throw a party tonight?”

“A party…?”

Leveling up was usually celebrated with a simple ‘congrats’.

“Ugh… I thought I had finally caught up… but I’m still behind…!”

Ainar clenched her fists, her expression frustrated.

She was still level 7.

Well, she was probably close to leveling up.

She would be the next one to reach level 8.

“Congratulations… Bjorn.”

Misha approached me and congratulated me.

Unlike Ainar, she didn’t seem impatient.

Well, she was already level 8.

She had been power-leveled by Lee Baekho for over two years.

And Amelia was level 8, of course.

She had just reached level 8 when we first met on the 2nd floor, so she would probably reach level 9 by the time we left this place…

“So this is why everyone’s so obsessed with new areas… the growth rate is insane…”

Once Ainar reached level 8, we would have five level 8 members in a seven-person clan.

If we filled the remaining essence slots, we would become much stronger.

“Anyway, let’s distribute the loot…”

After counting the loot, we started the distribution process, led by Bersil. We didn’t have any items we wanted to claim with priority, so we started with the Armin Exploration Team, who were entitled to 30% of the loot.

“We’ll take the Rakrel essence, the Malaka essence, and the Netherworld Tracker essence.”

We gave them a 3rd-grade essence and two 4th-grade essences.

And then it was the Hex Clan’s turn.

Well, they were unpaid laborers, but…

“Choose whatever you want. Anything you need?”

“Are… are you sure…?”

“We’re comrades. And it’ll be easier for us if you’re stronger. So choose whatever you need.”

I had to take care of them. It would prevent future problems.

“Then… we’ll take these three.”

They discussed it amongst themselves and then chose two 4th-grade essences and one 5th-grade essence.

Did they avoid choosing a 3rd-grade essence out of consideration?

‘I’ll keep this in mind.’

After the loot distribution, we took a break.

The explorers, exhausted from the previous battle, dispersed to rest, while those who had obtained new essences went to test them out, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

“It’s been a while since it was just the four of us.”

“That’s true.”

“Yandel, when are you going to see the Elder?”

“Tomorrow, I guess. I’m tired today.”

“I see…”

“The Silver Lion Clan didn’t show up.”

“They’re probably dead. They were too greedy for their own good.”

We had dinner and chatted, and then everyone went their separate ways.

“I’ll go take a look around.”

“Should I come with you?”

“Sure.”

Amelia and Erwen went on patrol.

“Um… can I go out too? I’m not tired…”

Ainar left to meet with her blacksmith friend.

“Bjorn… I’m going to rest… See you later…”

“I’m also… tired…”

Misha and Auyen went to their rooms to sleep.

Bersil and I were alone in the living room.

“What about you?”

“I’m going to meditate. I used too much mana earlier.”

“I see.”

“What about you, Yandel?”

“I’m going to read for a while.”

I went to my room, turned on the magic lamp, and opened a book.

But I couldn't focus.

‘Cornelius Brugrid.’

How strong was he?

It seemed like he still had all the essences he had possessed as a human.

Could we defeat him if we all attacked him together?

Or…

‘…what if he tries to kill us…?’

Could I protect my teammates?

Lost in thought, I fell asleep at my desk.

“Yandel, wake up.”

“…Hmm?”

Amelia was shaking my shoulder.

At first, I thought she was going to scold me for sleeping at my desk…

‘But that expression… something’s wrong.’

“…What is it?”

I asked, and Amelia placed a steel dagger on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“I found it at the village forge.”

“Uh… and?”

I tilted my head, and Amelia gave me a look, urging me to examine it closely.

So I did…

“…….”

…and a chill ran down my spine.

“You… found this at the forge?”

The dagger had the Silver Lion Clan’s emblem engraved on it.

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