Surviving the Game as a Barbarian
Chapter 535: Rainbow (2)

From 1st-grade to 9th-grade.

Thanks to the ‘rainy season,’ all sorts of monsters appeared on this island. And the Elder had spent an eternity here.

In other words, he had unlimited access to farming.

But…

‘He probably doesn’t have all high-grade essences.’

That’s not how [Dungeon and Stone] worked.

You had to start with low-grade essences and gradually work your way up.

He probably had a mix of low and high-grade essences. There weren't any priests on this island to remove essences.

But the problem was…

‘His peak is 1st-grade. That’s too high.’

It all depended on the Elder’s build.

If he had just absorbed random low-grade essences and then filled the rest of his slots with high-grade essences, he would be a weak character with obvious flaws…

‘And those flaws would be his weaknesses.’

Of course, there was the opposite possibility.

If he had filled his lower slots with low-grade but versatile essences like my [Gigantification]…

‘Hmm, it wouldn’t make much of a difference, would it?’

It would just be more troublesome to find his weaknesses.

But there were no invincible characters in [Dungeon and Stone].

‘Except for my Shield Barbarian, of course.’

Anyway, which type was the Elder?

I observed his every move and every effect, trying to find his weaknesses.

So far, I had confirmed [Cosmic Protection] from the Tol-Lafupa.

And…

‘…a movement skill.’

As we faced each other, weapons drawn…

The Elder’s body flickered, splitting into two.

Like a lagging video game.

Thud!

But I had been watching him closely, so I was able to process the information quickly.

Steam rising from his footprints.

Electricity crackling around his body.

And…

Boom—

A yellow shockwave emanating from his destination.

‘It’s [Lightning Step].’

A 2nd-grade skill.

But it wasn't a pure movement skill.

Crackle!

It dealt AoE lightning damage at the destination…

Whoosh!

…greatly increased movement speed…

And…

“Ugh…!”

“Block… Huh?”

…granted temporary damage immunity.

Like this.

Whoosh!

One of the nearby melee attackers, startled, swung their weapon… but it passed through the Elder’s body harmlessly.

‘Is he going after Erwen?’

That creepy bastard.

He was desperate to keep us on this island.

But I wasn’t going to let him.

‘There are two ways to cancel [Lightning Step]’s invincibility.’

First, to land the first hit.

That’s probably why he was ignoring the other explorers and charging towards Erwen.

And the second method…

‘…is to wait three seconds.’

Three seconds was more than enough time for him to reach Erwen.

‘Well, it won’t matter anyway.’

I remained calm as he charged towards Erwen.

She was ‘concentrating,’ after all.

「While concentrating, all received damage is absorbed using Soul Power.」

She was invincible in that state.

But…

‘We’re still assessing your strength.’

It was a powerful ability, one that could be a trump card in the future, so there was no reason to reveal it now.

Therefore…

「Character has cast [Eye of the Storm].」

「Transcendent’s Authority unlocks the hidden potential of the skill.」

I activated [Eye of the Storm] with [Transcendence].

It was the perfect counter to his skill.

‘He’s immune to damage, not to crowd control.’

[Eye of the Storm] didn’t deal any damage.

And it wasn't a projectile attack.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

A gust of wind blew towards me, and the Elder, who had been charging towards Erwen, was pulled towards me.

And at the same time…

Crackle!

Three seconds had passed, and the electric field around his body dissipated.

His damage immunity had ended.

I activated [Swing] with [Transcendence].

「Attack range tripled.」

My hammer, extending like a staff, struck the Elder’s body.

But his body defied the laws of physics.

Instead of being sent flying, he was pulled towards me by the wind.

‘It’s been a while since I used this combo.’

I smoothly changed the trajectory of my hammer.

I swung him around like a rag doll and then…

Kwaaang!

…slammed him into the ground on the opposite side.

He had not only been grabbed, but also thrown further away.

“……!”

He coughed up blood.

It would heal quickly thanks to his high Regeneration, but…

He was momentarily stunned.

“So you have that skill.”

“Oh, did you hear about it from someone? I don’t remember telling you.”

“…….”

The Elder didn’t answer.

He just looked at Erwen.

He was still obsessed with her.

“Give up.”

“…….”

“You won’t reach her.”

“Not until I defeat you?”

“Th—”

I was about to say ‘yes’ when…

The Elder disappeared from view.

By the time my slow reflexes caught up to him, he was already right next to me, his sword raised.

Kwaaang!

I barely managed to raise my shield in time.

The impact was much stronger than before.

It had just been a scratch before…

‘…but this time, it’s a dent.’

I wasn’t surprised.

It wasn’t because he had used a new skill, but because I had become weaker.

「[Transcendence] will be deactivated in 1 minute.」

[Evolved Hide]’s Resistance against sword-type weapons was 50%.

It increased to 75% with [Iron Fortress].

And with [Transcendence], it became practically 100%.

But there was a limit to sword resistance.

The maximum was 85%.

In other words, my 85% resistance had been reduced to 75% for the next minute.

‘Which means the damage I take has increased from 15% to 25%.’

It was just a 10% difference numerically… but the actual damage increase felt almost double.

Kwaaang!

As I struggled to block his attacks…

Reinforcements arrived.

“I’ll help.”

“M-Me too…!”

“…Me too!”

Amelia, Misha, and Ainar.

Our melee DPS trio.

“Be careful. He’s not an easy opponent.”

I was a little worried, but I didn't send them back.

There were some things you couldn't learn just by tanking.

「Amelia Rainwales has cast [Abyssal Strength].」

「Misha Carlstain has cast [Glacier’s Soul].」

「Ainar Frenelin has cast [Wild Control].」

I was the main tank, and the three melee attackers used me as a wall, dodging and weaving as they attacked.

And in that process, we discovered another one of the Elder’s essences.

Rumble!

A dark fog, crackling with electricity, spread around him.

[Thundercloud]

A 2nd-grade skill that dealt AoE lightning damage and reduced its cooldown based on the number of hits.

“…Ugh…!”

Only four of us, including myself, had been hit by the lightning, so the cooldown reduction wouldn't be that significant.

But…

‘[Lightning Step]’s cooldown must be over by now.’

“Everyone, spread out!”

I quickly sent the melee attackers to the back.

And as expected…

Ttadat!

The Elder dashed forward, his body enveloped in electricity, and entered his damage immunity state.

And his target this time was…

“Ainar!!”

He was too close for me to intercept him with a grab.

But…

「Ainar Frenelin has cast [Curl Up].」

「All Resistance stats increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

「Natural Regeneration increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

Right, she had this skill.

「All Resistance stats increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

His glowing sword struck Ainar’s body, creating a deep gash that exposed her bones.

But as long as it wasn’t an instant kill, it didn’t matter.

「Natural Regeneration increased by 20 times for 3 minutes.」

That was the true power of [Curl Up].

‘…So one of us is out of commission…’

Ainar had been taken out of the fight after just a few seconds.

But it wasn’t a complete loss.

‘I’m starting to understand his build.’

The Elder was a Lightning Swordsman.

I had suspected it because of [Lightning Step], but [Thundercloud] confirmed it. [Thundercloud] itself could be used by anyone, but its passive skill…

[Conductor].

…which increased the power of all lightning-based skills, was specific to Lightning-type characters.

Anyway, it was an important discovery.

Now that I knew he was a Lightning Swordsman, I could guess what his glowing sword skill was.

‘It must be [Supercharge].’

A Transformation ability, similar to [Abyssal Strength], that enhanced weapons.

It dealt physical damage, but it received bonuses from lightning-based skills.

And that led to another conclusion.

‘If he has [Supercharge], he must also have its passive skill…’

I had practically identified four of his essences.

‘…He already has four essences above 2nd-grade…’

Did he have a way to remove essences?

His average essence rank was much higher than I had anticipated.

But my overall assessment was…

“Five out of ten.”

His build was Lightning-focused, but the synergy wasn’t that great.

‘There are so many better skills to combine with [Thundercloud]…’

Well, his high-grade essences made him a formidable opponent. But I hoped the rest of his essences were also high-grade.

Unbalanced characters had obvious weaknesses.

‘Okay, that’s enough for today…’

But just as I was thinking that…

Whoosh!

A blinding light and a deafening roar filled the air.

And Bersil shouted,

“…It’s open! The entrance is open!”

It was time to leave this damned village.

______________________

The burning village, the shattered entrance…

And the empty plaza, abandoned by the fleeing explorers.

The Elder stood there, watching the scene unfold, and his warriors approached him from behind.

[Elder, the fire has been extinguished.]

They reported the damage and casualties, but the Elder’s expression didn’t change.

It was only natural.

He didn’t care how many of his ‘people’ died.

His only concern was…

“I don’t understand how he figured it out.”

…Bjorn Yandel.

The most famous explorer of this era, the Chieftain of the Barbarian Tribe, one of the Six Races…

And a Baron of the kingdom.

“…If I had a little more time…”

A ripple of emotion, like a pebble dropped into a still pond, disturbed his otherwise placid demeanor.

It was regret.

But he quickly dismissed the fleeting human emotion.

[Elder, we’ll form a pursuit squad.]

[No need.]

[…But…]

[Focus on restoring the village. He’ll… be fine, right?]

[Yes. As you confirmed earlier, she’s unharmed.]

Right, then it was fine.

Nothing had changed.

The situation had become slightly more complicated, but that was all.

The Elder closed his eyes and thought about the barbarian he had just fought.

“Bjorn Yandel…”

He was a beast.

More so than the monsters in this village.

“He’ll be even stronger when we meet again.”

A faint glimmer of… joy… flickered in his eyes.

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