Surviving the Game as a Barbarian
Chapter 536: Rainbow (3)

Day 5 of the rainy season.

We escaped the village and returned to the surface.

[Groooooar!]

[Kyiyeeeeeek!]

[...Cough! Bark! Cough, bark!]

As expected, it was chaotic up here.

Monsters swarmed the island, fighting each other, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.

But there was a clear difference from the first day of the rainy season.

Crack-!

Monsters were still raining down from the sky...

"...There are much fewer of them."

It was an understatement.

Compared to the first day, there were almost none.

It was like the rainfall had decreased from 100mm to 1mm.

"That damned Elder."

He must have known.

He knew, but he didn't tell me.

'The more dangerous the rainy season, the more they'll rely on the village...'

'And the longer he can keep us here.'

I felt disgusted, but I also felt relieved that we had left the village at the right time.

But as the leader...

"Move into formation!"

...I had to focus on the present.

"We're leaving this island!"

I gave the order and led the way, smashing through the monsters.

And...

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!"

I blocked their attacks with my shield and crushed their skulls with my hammer.

And at the same time...

"Mages! Collect the magic stones if you have time!"

I gave another order.

It would be a waste to leave them behind.

The ground was littered with magic stones.

A true explorer never left money on the ground.

Well, we had to be careful before, because of the Elder...

'But not anymore.'

I realized once again that violence solved everything.

It clarified relationships.

Swaaaaaaaaaa-!

The mages used their looting magic, collecting the magic stones. It reduced their contribution to the battle, but it wasn't a big deal.

The number of monsters raining down from the sky had decreased significantly, so we had more leeway.

'At this rate... we might even be able to escape without any casualties.'

I was relieved.

I continued leading the way, fighting the most dangerous monsters.

And after about 10 minutes...

「Steel Spirit slain. EXP +6」

「Baphomet slain.」

「Einion slain. EXP +6」

「Mud Golem slain.」

「Celestial Tree slain. EXP +5」

「Dakion slain…」

「….」

As we were slaying the randomly appearing monsters...

"Oooooh!! My soul is overflowing!!"

Ainar finally leveled up.

"I've become even stronger!!"

Well, her Soul Power had increased, that's all...

But it was still significant.

It meant she had an empty essence slot.

'The Hex Clan and the Armin Exploration Team are also leveling up...'

Their essence slots had increased from +1 to +2.

So I took a drastic measure.

"Um... Baron! A 4th-grade essence dropped..."

"From now on, anyone can absorb the essences! Don't worry about the grade, as long as it's not below 3rd-grade!"

It was a painful decision, considering the loot distribution rules...

But it wasn't a big deal.

We didn't have time to collect them in test tubes anyway.

And any increase in our combat power was welcome.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!!"

This decision boosted the explorers' morale.

Just like how a half-empty glass could be seen as half-full...

They started seeing the monster rain as an opportunity, not a disaster.

'Not bad.'

The atmosphere was positive.

But a positive attitude alone couldn't overcome all obstacles.

[Kihooooooooooo!]

A giant bird landed in front of us, blocking our path.

Well, bird... was that the right word?

Kooong-!

'It won't let us go easily...'

I sighed and blinked.

I hoped I had seen it wrong...

But I hadn't.

White feathers and giant wings.

A drake-like body and a long, giraffe-like neck.

And at the end of that neck...

A human face.

It was a monster so infamous that its grotesque appearance evoked fear, not disgust.

"H-Harpy...!"

The 2nd-grade flying monster, Harpy.

It was the first major obstacle in our escape.

_____________________

The Harpy landed and looked around with a blank expression.

And then its eyes narrowed into a creepy smile.

[Kihihihihihihi!]

Damn it, why are there so many monsters with terrifying faces in [Dungeon and Stone]?

It was a different kind of disgust from the Corpse Golem.

If I hadn't fought countless monsters and built up my resistance, I would have been terrified.

I wouldn't have been able to give any orders.

"Mage! Cast a protective barrier!"

Not many explorers had experience fighting 2nd-grade monsters.

But I had.

Countless times, in the game.

It gave me the experience to make quick judgments.

Fwoosh-!

As soon as the mages cast a barrier above us...

The Harpy's eyes turned black.

And...

「Harpy has cast [Song of Ruin].」

Beams of yellow light rained down from the sky.

Countless beams.

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom-!

Like divine punishment, the beams bombarded the area for 10 seconds.

The damage itself wasn't that high, so it didn't break the barrier.

But...

[Kihihihihihi!]

Small Harpies emerged from the craters.

They were token monsters.

"Kill them first!"

It was a race against time.

The baby Harpies would grow into adults in a minute and start using skills.

They could multiply indefinitely.

If they started using [Song of Ruin], it would be game over.

"Yandel! Give us an order!"

Right, I shouldn't be thinking alone.

"Erwen..."

I was about to call Erwen...

But I stopped myself.

She was out of commission.

She had used all her MP escaping the village, so she couldn't participate in the battle.

But...

'...I'm not going to rely on Erwen for everything.'

A barbarian could fight without teeth.

"Amelia, Misha! Follow me! Ainar, you protect the others! Bersil, you handle the rear!"

I gave the order and charged forward, Amelia and Misha following close behind.

Amelia on the right, Misha on the left.

'Wait a minute...'

This formation...

"Yandel, I'm warning you."

"...Huh?"

"If you try that again... I'll kill you."

Damn it, it won't work again.

"...I won't."

"I... I don't mind..."

Even if Misha agreed, I couldn't force Amelia.

She was practically shaking with disgust.

And besides, the Harpy wasn't as big as the Hippermachant.

There was no reason to use that strategy.

Kooong-!

It was about my height, even with [Gigantification] active.

It stared at me, its eyes fixated on my enlarged form.

It seemed like my Threat stat was working.

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!"

I charged forward and slammed my shield into it.

[Kyiyeeeeeek!]

The Harpy stumbled, its balance disrupted.

Misha and Amelia took advantage of the opening and attacked its lower body.

And at the same time...

Flash-!

A beam of light shot out from the Harpy's eyes.

「Harpy has cast [Mark of Ruin].」

It had targeted me.

Fwoosh-!

A burning sensation spread through my chest.

「Character's HP will decrease by 1% per second.」

So I would die in 100 seconds?

'What a ridiculous skill...'

[Mark of Ruin].

A single-target curse that couldn't be dodged or blocked.

And it didn't have a duration.

It lasted until the target or the caster died.

The strategy was simple.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Endure.

With the help of Natural Regeneration and the healers.

"Yandel! Are you okay?!"

"Don't worry about me! Focus on attacking!"

The Harpy was designed to be defeated quickly.

I focused on holding aggro, creating an opening for the DPS.

[Kihihihihi...]

As the battle intensified, the Harpy started using its other skills.

「Harpy has cast [Mimicry].」

The giant human face on its body shifted, transforming into another face.

It was much larger than the original, but I recognized it instantly.

"Oh! It's Amelia! The monster has become Amelia!"

[Mimicry].

It copied a random skill from a nearby character.

「Harpy has cast [Self-Replication].」

Damn it...

'Why that skill...'

"Oh! There are two... no, three Amelias!!"

We now had two Harpies.

And one of them used a skill.

「Harpy has cast [Song of Ruin].」

More beams of light rained down.

「Harpy has cast [Mark of Ruin].」

「Character's HP will decrease by 2% per second.」

It had stacked.

Would the healers be able to keep up?

I was worried.

'Why does bad news always come in pairs...'

「Harpy has cast [Song of Ruin].」

One of the baby Harpies had grown into an adult and used a skill.

And...

「Harpy has cast [Mark of Ruin].」

「Character's HP will decrease by 3% per second.」

It had stacked again.

Damn, this was bad.

The healers wouldn't be able to keep me alive.

But I couldn't run away.

Not with [Mark of Ruin] active.

"Die, you bastard!!"

I charged at the Harpy, channeling Admiral Yi's spirit.

「Character's HP is below 50%.」

「Passive skill [Hero's Path] increases all Resistance stats.」

I had to end this quickly.

「Harpy has cast [Guide].」

「Harpy has cast [Guardian Spirit].」

As the battle intensified, the Harpy also became more aggressive.

And after a while...

「Character's HP is below 20%.」

「Passive skill [Hero's Path] reaches its maximum effect.」

I knew it was almost over.

One way or another.

Kooong-!

And then four things happened.

Two good things, and two bad things.

First, the good news.

「Harpy slain. +EXP 8」

The Harpy was dead.

And...

「No. 9999 Beginner's Luck activated.」

An essence had dropped.

It was white.

'[Mimicry].'

It wasn't a core essence, but it was still a decent one.

Now, the bad news.

"W-What?!"

"A spear...? Why is there a spear...?"

We weren't the ones who landed the final blow.

Kooong-!

Something had appeared from the shadows and pierced the Harpy's head with a giant spear.

It wasn't difficult to identify the culprit.

A relatively small(?) figure, about 3 meters tall.

Rock-like skin and a humanoid form.

"Titan...! It's a Titan!"

Another 2nd-grade monster.

That was the first piece of bad news.

And the second...

'Damn it.'

The Titan was holding a red spear.

No. 7, Mirayel's Verdant Spear.

'That... that's in his hands...?'

I couldn't believe it, but I calmly accepted the reality.

「Celestial Spearman Mirayel is enraged by the presence of mortals.」

It was a Rift Guardian.