Surviving The Game as a Barbarian — Chapter 50

I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT A REAL BOSS RAID WOULD BE LIKE.

P-PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A DREAM.

W-WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE...!

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BLOCKING THE ATTACK!!

DODGE!

THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION I HAD FOR A LONG TIME WAS RATHER SIMPLE.

RAIOS!!

DO YOU STILL NEED MORE TIME?!

EVEN TANKS, LET ALONE MELEE DEALERS, ARE AVOIDING HEAD-ON CONTACT.

ALL THEY CAN DO IS STOP SOME MINOR ATTACKS, AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.

POTION, PLEASE!!

ARGH...! FRONTAL ASSAULT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!

WARRIORS ARE RUSHING BACK TO THE FRONTLINE EVEN AFTER BEING CRUSHED, AS SOON AS THEY'RE HEALED.

UGH...!

BUT NOT EVERYONE.

DAMN IT... YOU CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS, BRO!

STOP GETTING DISTRACTED AND FOCUS ON THE BATTLE!!

SO FAR...

...ONE WARRIOR WAS STOMPED TO DEATH.

AND THREE RANGED DEALERS MET THEIR DEMISE FROM THE BEAST'S BREATH ATTACK.

F-FOUR CASUALTIES ALREADY? ISN'T THAT A BAD SIGN?

DAMN IT, AFTER TAKING A MILLION STONES FROM EACH OF US, TOO!

THOSE IDIOTS. THE CLAN IS ACTUALLY TAKING THE SAFEST ROUTE POSSIBLE TO HUNT DOWN RIAKIS.

WARRIORS ARE STILL HOLDING THE FRONTLINE...

...WHILE MAGES ARE MAKING SURE THE BEAST DOES NOT GET ANY CLOSER.

RIAKIS, LORD OF CHAOS, IS DRAWING THE POWER OF ORIGIN.

STOP ATTACKING!! WE MUST ENSURE THE BEAST DOES NOT FEEL THREATENED!!

FOCUS YOUR ATTACKS ON THAT OMINOUS SPHERE!!

HE EVEN KNOWS HOW TO GET AROUND THE [DARK SPHERE] PATTERN, WHICH I WAS MOST WORRIED ABOUT.

DON'T TARGET RIAKIS, BUT THE SPHERE INSTEAD!!

THIS CONFIRMS MY SUSPICIONS. THEY'RE DELIBERATELY REFRAINING FROM DEALING TOO MUCH DAMAGE...

SO AS TO PREVENT RIAKIS FROM ENTERING PHASE TWO.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING? ARE THEY STUPID?

THEY ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT WORKS BEST AGAINST THE LORD OF CHAOS.

PERHAPS WE CAN REALLY MANAGE TO STAND OUR GROUND UNTIL THE LABYRINTH CLOSES...!

IT'S 10:37 PM.

THAT'S ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN AN HOUR BEFORE THE LABYRINTH CLOSES.

11 CASUALTIES SO FAR. EVEN THOUGH THAT'S 20% OF OUR FORCE...

...THAT'S NOT TOO BAD. IT WON'T END TOO TERRIBLY IF THIS KEEPS UP.

HOWEVER...

WE'RE ALL DOOMED BECAUSE OF THOSE IDIOTS!!

D-DID SOME OF US REALLY DIE?!

...OTHER ADVENTURERS ARE THE REAL PROBLEMS HERE.

SOME OF THEM ARE STARTING TO PANIC. I THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT TIME.

EACH TIME RIAKIS UNLEASHED AN IRREGULAR ATTACK...

THOSE THAT HAD PAID FOR PROTECTION ALSO GOT SWEPT AWAY AND DIED.

ALTHOUGH IT'S ACTUALLY THEIR FAULT FOR TRYING TO WATCH THE RAID FROM UP CLOSE LIKE MORONS.

BJORN, THINGS ARE LOOKING BADDDD.

SHOULDN'T WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT ITTTT?

HOLD ON. I'M TRYING TO THINK.

WE CAN'T JUST KEEP WATCHING FROM THE SIDELINE. WE MUST JOIN FORCES AND DO SOMETHING!

TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED ALREADY!

WE NEED TO PROTECT OURSELVES!!

HOW CAN WE, WHEN CLAN DZARWI TOOK ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENTS AWAY?!

...MISSHA. WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE, RIGHT NOW.

HUH? RIGHT NOWWWWW?

YOU'RE NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING TO KEEP US SAFE!!

EVERYONE, PLEASE CALM DOWN--

DO YOUR JOB PROPERLY IF YOU TOOK MONEY FROM US!!

ALL OF US WILL BE IN DANGER IF YOU DON'T BACK AWAY--

WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE!!

GIVE ME BACK MY ITEMS!!

E-EVERYONE--

GET OUT OF MY WAY, FOOL!

THAT'S MINE!!

MISSHA! KEEP RIGHT BEHIND AND FOLLOW ME!

I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE REGULAR ADVENTURERS DON'T KNOW HOW TO OVERCOME RIAKIS!

BJORN! LOOK OUT FOR SPIRITS OF CHAOS IN FRONT OF YOUUU!

WE'LL DETOUR!!

I HAVE NO TIME TO GET RID OF EVERY ONE OF THEM.

O-OKAYYY!

WE MUST GET AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE FROM HERE!!

COME ON, JUST A LITTLE MORE...!

THAT'S IT! I'LL BE AWAY FROM THE CENTRAL AREA SOON!!

RIAKIS, LORD OF CHAOS, HAS SUCCESSFULLY DRAWN THE POWER OF ORIGIN.

FIELD EFFECT [EVIL HIATUS] WILL BE APPLIED TO A 3-MILE RADIUS.

THIS DARKNESS...! THIS MUST BE THE INSTANT-DEATH ATTACK BY RIAKIS, EVIL HIATUS!

ARGH... SO THAT STUPID BEAST REALLY DID CONSUME ALL OF THE SPHERES!

B-BJORN!!

DAMN IT. I WAS RIGHT.

IT IS EVIL HIATUS!!

EVIL HIATUS.

IT IS A FIELD ATTACK THAT CAUSES INSTANT DEATHS OF ITS ENEMIES, TRIGGERED WHEN RIAKIS HAS CONSUMED 10 OR MORE SPHERES.

THE TIME LIMIT WAS ABOUT 45 MINUTES IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW POWERFUL THE PLAYER CHARACTER IS.

IF THEY FAIL TO ESCAPE FROM THE AFFECTED AREA IN TIME, THEY INSTANTLY DIE.

THE THING IS THIS.

ONCE THE SKILL ACTIVATES, EVERYONE WITHIN THE AREA OF EFFECT GETS PULLED TO THE CENTER.

ALL CHARACTERS WITHIN THE RADIUS ARE PULLED TO THE CENTER.

WH-WHAT? I SWEAR I WAS RUNNING AWAY JUST NOW!

WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?

THERE ARE ABOUT 200 ADVENTURERS REMAINING...

...WITH ROUGHLY 20 OF THEM FROM CLAN DZARWI.

THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE FROM 50 THEY STARTED WITH.

ONLY 11 ADVENTURERS HAD FALLEN DURING THE FIRST THREE HOURS.

BUT FAR MORE THAN THAT DIED WHILE I WAS ON THE RUN FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

IT'S OBVIOUS WHAT TRANSPIRED IN THE MEANTIME.

CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO US WHAT'S GOING ON--

SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU SCOUNDRELS!!

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE PERISHED BECAUSE OF YOU SELFISH RASCALS?!

MOVE A STEP CLOSER, AND I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!

H-HOW IS THAT OUR FAULT?!

IF YOU DIDN'T FORCE US TO HAND OVER OUR EQUIPMENTS FROM THE START...!!

P-PLEASE LET ME IN!

I WASN'T EVEN A PART OF THE RIOT! I'LL EVEN PAY MORE!

YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL WE'RE NOT KILLING YOU ON THE SPOT!!

AND LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR. DON'T EXPECT TO CATCH US BY SURPRISE AGAIN.

WE CAN EASILY INCINERATE ALL OF YOU MORONS IF WE DECIDE TO!!

DAMN IT...!

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

I-I THINK I'VE READ ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS, BUT EVERYONE WILL SURELY PERISH IF WE DON'T RUN AWAY FROM HERE IN TIME.

I SWEAR I SAW THAT IN AN ANCIENT SCRIPT SOMEWHERE.

WHAT? THERE'S A TIME LIMIT?!

B-BUT I ALSO READ THAT WE'D BE SAFE, AS LONG AS WE TRAVEL ABOUT THREE MILES IN ANY DIRECTION!

THERE MAY BE MONSTERS ON THE WAY, BUT IF EVERYONE WORKS TOGETHER--

WHAT A SURPRISE. HE'S ACTUALLY SPOT ON.

THE PROBLEM IS, RIAKIS'S CLONES AND SPIRITS OF CHAOS ARE GOING TO APPEAR IN HORDES...

AS SOON AS YOU MOVE A FEW FEET AWAY FROM THE CENTRAL AREA.

Y-YOU'RE RIGHT. IF WE'RE GOING TO DIE ANYWAYS...!

IT'S BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT!

BJORN. PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO LEAVVVVE.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOWWWW?

MORE THAN HALF OF SURVIVORS LEFT THE CENTRAL AREA, JUST LIKE THAT.

BUT I'M DEFINITELY NOT INTERESTED IN PLACING SUCH HIGH-RISK BETS.

LET'S GO.

I ALWAYS GO WITH LOW-RISK OPTIONS WHEN I GAMBLE.

STOP RIGHT THERE, BARBARIAN. ONE INCH CLOSER AND I WILL--

...WHAT THE.

YOU INCOMPLETE LOSER. WHY ARE YOU HERE?

GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

B-BJORN...

WHAT?

I DON'T THINK WE'RE CLOSE ENOUGH TO EXCHANGE GREETINGS, BARBARIAN.

ANYWAYS. DID YOU SUCCESSFULLY OBTAIN THE ESSENCE OF THE ORC HERO?

WHY, WE OBVIOUSLY DID--

...HOW THE HELL DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS?!

AND I WON MY FIRST BET, JUST LIKE THAT.

WE HAVE 23 REMAINING CLAN MEMBERS,

CONSISTING OF THREE CLERICS, SIX MAGES, TWELVE RANGED SUPPORTERS...

...AND TWO MELEE WARRIORS.

TWO MELEE WARRIORS? THAT'S IT?

VICE MASTER OF CLAN DZARWI, IRAJ MCGRAIN

TOO MANY OF OUR WARRIORS DIED DURING THE RIOT BECAUSE WE WERE TOO BUSY KEEPING RIAKIS IN CHECK.

ALTHOUGH WE BOUGHT OURSELVES SOME TIME BY LETTING THE BEAST CONSUME THE DARK SPHERES...

SIR IRAJ MCGRAIN! WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO?

IF YOU'VE DONE PROPER RESEARCH ABOUT RIAKIS, THE LORD OF CHAOS...

YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT TIME ISN'T REALLY ON OUR SIDE.

THE LACK OF WARRIORS IS WAY TOO CRITICAL.

WE WON'T BE ABLE TO FIGHT THROUGH WITH JUST TWO OF THEM!

PLUS, THE TWO REMAINING WARRIORS ARE A SWORDSMAN AND A SPEARMAN.

WE DON'T HAVE A WARRIOR THAT SPECIALIZES IN DEFENSE, AND THUS COULD ACT AS A DEFENDER OF THE PARTY.

IF... ONLY IF...

...WE HAD ONE ADVENTURER AMONG US THAT COULD PROPERLY PERFORM THE DUTIES OF A DEFENDER...!

VICE MASTER, ADVENTURERS HAVE LEFT THE AREA!

WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! YOU MUST MAKE THE DECISION!

WE'D BETTER GET ON THE MOVE BEFORE THOSE ADVENTURERS MOVE OUT OF RANGE--

VICE MASTER!

THAT'S WHY I'VE BEEN SAYING, I'LL MAKE WAY!!

SHOUT

SHOUT

...?!

WHAT THE... WHO IS THAT MAN, AND WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE?

GET OUT OF MY WAY!

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

I OVERHEARD THE ARGUMENT. IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S A COMPANION OF MR. KARLSTEIN'S YOUNGER SISTER.

BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY WORTH YOUR TIME, SIR--

I'LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT. TELL ME MORE.

O-OKAY, SIR. I DON'T KNOW HOW HE FOUND OUT ABOUT IT...

...BUT HE IS DEMANDING THE ESSENCE OF THE ORC HERO.

HE'S CLAIMING HE COULD MAKE WAY FOR ALL OF US IF HE CONSUMES THAT.

ACTIVATING SPECIAL ABILITY...

SURVIVAL INSTINCT.

SURVIVAL INSTINCT ALLOWS THE USER TO SEE LIGHT FROM SOMEONE OR SOMETHING THAT COULD INCREASE THE CHANCES OF SURVIVAL.

I'VE NEVER SEEN THE LIGHT SHINE THAT INTENSELY FROM AN ADVENTURER BEFORE.

THIS SPECIAL ABILITY HAS SAVED ME FROM PERIL TIME AND AGAIN, AND IT'S TELLING ME RIGHT NOW...

AT WE MUST

...THAT WE MUST ENLIST THAT MAN'S HELP TO ENSURE OUR SURVIVAL!!

V-VICE MASTER?

WHAT IS YOUR NAME, YOUNG MAN?

MY NAME IS...

AND THE SECOND BET...

...BJORN, SON OF YANDEL.

...IS ALSO A SUCCESS.