Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

The Elder Lich’s active skill [Soul Extraction].

The effect of this skill is simple.

If it’s a skill obtained from an essence, or a skill cast by an Elder Lich encountered in a normal field…

「Character is inflicted with [Stun].」

…it only inflicts Stun.

For reference, it’s not an AoE skill, but a targeted one.

It can also be countered with Mental Power, Magic Resistance, and various other skills.

However…

「The Glacier Witch, Kariadaea, guides the extracted soul to the Vessel of Punishment.」

In the game, there was no way to block this skill, except for staying out of its range…

And it doesn’t just inflict Stun.

It creates a unique situation.

Like this.

Flash!

I open my eyes and find myself in the Crystal Cave.

And a man bathed in a faint purple light.

“Hey.”

He asks, holding a goblin blood-stained hammer.

“Are you looking for a friend for the night?”

He’s human.

In his early thirties, I presume.

A little over 180 centimeters tall, with a kind and gentle face.

‘…His feet were big for his height.’

Anyway, so this is what he looked like.

His face had faded from my memory, but now I remember.

He smiles and introduces himself.

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Hans.”

Hans A.

The first Hans, the one who taught me how to survive in this world.

He had given me a hammer, a compass, a water bottle, shoes…

He had helped me evolve from a barbarian to a civilized person.

“So, why did you kill me?”

His expression contorts with rage, his eyes bloodshot.

Blood drips from his eyes.

But what am I supposed to say?

“I don’t know. You must have deserved it.”

“You could have forgiven me.”

“Forgive…?”

“I have a daughter and a wife.”

Right, that…

“I know.”

How could I not?

I saw their picture in your bag.

A little girl, about three years old, and your wife, who looked younger than you.

But…

“Did you regret killing me when you saw that picture?”

I answer without hesitation.

“No.”

It’s the truth.

Why would I regret it?

“I would do it again.”

“…..”

“You weren’t my first target, were you? Did those people not have families?”

Even if you weren’t a looter, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

Everyone has a family.

“Don’t worry. You can live without parents. Your wife and daughter will be fine.”

I’m living proof.

Crack!

There’s no point in talking anymore.

I charge at him and smash his head with my Demon Crusher.

It’s the barbarian way.

But then…

“…You’ve changed. You weren’t like this before.”

He speaks, his voice calm and serene, even though only his jaw remains.

“…Huh?”

That’s creepy.

Was this part of [Soul Extraction]?

In the game, the characters I killed just attacked me.

This is a new development.

“What do you mean I’ve changed?”

He chuckles.

“You were trembling when you killed me.”

“And?”

“Now you feel nothing.”

“Aha!”

“You’ll continue to be like this. You’ll kill parents, children, even families. And you’ll justify it, because they were your enemies.”

He’s cursing me.

I regret talking to him.

But at least I learned one thing.

“You know, don’t you?”

He can read my mind.

“You’re becoming a monster.”

That’s why he knows exactly where to strike.

“Of course, you’ve been able to deceive yourself so far. Because they were your enemies. You’re not a monster yet.”

Crack!

I smash his jaw with my hammer, but his voice doesn’t stop.

[But.]

“Damn, he’s persistent.”

[What if they’re not your enemies?]

[What if they’re innocent people you have to kill to survive?]

[No, what if it’s your companion, the one you swore to protect?]

[What then?]

I don’t answer.

It’s pointless.

This voice is coming from within me.

[You’ve already become a monster.]

To survive.

The doubts and anxieties I had been suppressing.

[No different from the monsters you’ve killed.]

“…..”

[You’re one of them now.]

He disappears into particles of light.

_________________________

My uncle was a piece of trash.

A gambling addict with no real job.

He would give me a generous allowance when he won, but when he lost, he would take it out on me, both verbally and physically.

But even a rock can teach you something.

That's what my uncle had taught me.

It wasn't something you would say to an eight-year-old who had just lost his father...

But if you have to roll the dice,

Roll them on a board you created, not on someone else's.

His words were deeply engraved in my mind and had helped me survive in this world.

Thud, thud.

I'm walking through the Crystal Cave.

It's not a real place.

It's a virtual space I was dragged into by [Soul Extraction].

'I didn't expect the Crystal Cave to be the background.'

The background was always different in the game.

The 2nd-floor Rocky Desert, the 4th-floor Sky Tower, the 6th-floor Great Ocean... sometimes it was even the royal palace.

Then what determines the background?

'Maybe it's the most memorable place.'

It's a plausible theory.

This is where I almost died from a trap, where I met Erwen, where I killed my first person.

And the Abyss Lord incident... I'll never forget that.

Thud.

I hear footsteps behind me and turn around.

Three familiar faces.

A bearded man with a shield.

A tall, blonde spearman.

And...

"K-hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee!!!"

A woman in a priest's robe, her head half-crushed, laughing hysterically.

The (former) Elisa Half-Head Mode.

"Wow, it's been a while."

Unlike Hans A, they don't even try to talk to me.

They just attack.

And...

Crack, crack, crack!

They're all gone in ten seconds.

They're no different from goblins to me now.

They all die in one hit.

"Phew... how many are left?"

I try to count the number of enemies I've killed in the Crystal Cave, but I can't.

It's like trying to remember how many slices of bread you've eaten.

I've killed so many people as an explorer that I've lost count.

'...I used to remember.'

Hans A's words weigh heavily on my mind.

I didn't even remember his face until I saw him here.

Or rather, I had completely forgotten about him.

"Elisa... I remember her clearly..."

What was the spearman's name?

Taser Gun? Dyson? Something like that...

I flinch as I remember the bearded man's name.

"Hans Argo."

His Hans code was C.

"Damn it."

So I have to meet all the Hanses I've killed?

This is a nightmare.

'How many Hanses have I killed?'

Thankfully, it wasn't that many.

At least, not the ones I killed directly.

I had used Hans E, the one we met in the sewers while tracking Elisa, as a meat shield when a trap was triggered.

Erwen was the one who killed Hans J, the mage who betrayed us on Parune Island.

And the rest... I had only met them briefly.

Except for one.

"M-my n-name is H-hans K-krisen..."

Hans G, the evil spirit summoner I killed in the Doppelganger Forest.

Wow, he's here.

Maybe it's better to get this over with.

"W-why... why d-did you... k-kill m-me? W-we're f-fellow p-players..."

Hans G, who appeared with his 'soulmate', the fairy archer, is stuttering.

Is that the most memorable thing about him?

Well, it was a shocking experience.

"I didn't betray you! He was the one who exposed me as an evil spirit—!"

So what?

Crack, crack!

I don't let him finish his sentence.

I charge at him and crush his skull.

It's the barbarian way.

As I continue exploring the cave, more and more enemies appear, their forms based on my memories of those I've killed.

"You know why I became a looter! I had no choice!"

Zencia Nephryn, the player I killed in the Glacier Cave.

I didn't know back then.

That there would be players who started in Noark.

"I-it was a m-mistake! D-die! Die, I said!"

The three religious fanatics who attacked Team Misfits after being tricked by Elisa, the priestess of Karui.

I killed them in a cabin after we reunited.

That's when I realized...

The less human I became, the more human I could be in this world.

Crack, crack, crack!

Countless looters appeared, their resentment palpable.

The ones I met in the early game were easily dispatched, but the ones from the later stages were different.

Boom!

The Lighthouse Keeper of Orculus.

Whoosh!

The knight from Noark in the past.

"I was trying to help you!"

Pike Neldain, the traitor we executed during the expedition.

They weren't individually threatening, but their numbers were overwhelming.

It felt like the weight of my sins.

"Did I... really kill this many people...?"

Hundreds.

At least.

But...

"Well, at least it's good practice."

If I've killed this many, imagine how many Noark and the Rose Knights have killed.

I use their misfortune as fuel to keep moving.

Thud, thud.

Through the dark cave, with no destination in sight.

Endlessly.

______________________

「Final enemy defeated.」

「Character's [Stun] status effect is removed.」

「The Glacier Witch will punish you on behalf of the vengeful spirits.」

「A random penalty will be applied until the labyrinth closes.」

______________________

I open my eyes and find myself being dragged across the ground.

Someone is holding my legs, my back scraping against the cold, hard ice.

"Ugh...! Why is he so heavy, even without any armor?!"

Sven Parab's voice.

So you're the one dragging me.

'We're not in the Eye of the Glacier anymore... at least we made it halfway...'

I look around as I'm being dragged.

Strange things are happening.

"Ugh...!"

"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

The priests and mages are carrying the unconscious warriors on their backs.

I check my watch.

'About 15 minutes...'

That's how long I was unconscious.

"Parab, let me go."

"Huh? You're awake?"

"Yes."

I can't be a burden any longer.

I get up and order Sven Parab to carry someone else.

"Priest Orman! You've worked hard. I'll carry him from here. Please help the others. It'll be easier if you carry them together."

"Phew... I'm sorry. You must be tired too, Paladin Parab."

"Haha, it's nothing."

I pick up two unconscious explorers and carry them on my shoulders.

Then I approach Jun, who's being carried by Puta Rikerburn.

"Jun."

"...Ah, you're awake."

Jun looks up at me, his face filled with shame.

"Unfortunately, I've lost the use of my leg."

The random penalty you receive when you wake up from [Soul Extraction].

It's completely random.

You might just lose your sense of taste, or you might end up like this, a cripple.

The ones who are being carried are probably in a similar state.

"Yandel, are you alright?"

"I'm fine... for now. I don't feel any different."

"I'm glad you're safe."

"When did you wake up? I need a situation report."

"I was the fifth one."

"That's faster than I expected."

Jun smiles wryly.

"I didn't kill many priests during my time as an inquisitor. Most of them were ordinary people. It made things easier for me."

"I see..."

He doesn't seem to be looking for comfort, so I get straight to the point.

"Tell me what happened while I was unconscious."

"Priest Orman and Priest Eriabosti were the first to wake up. They were truly pure souls, untainted by sin."

Well, I don't know about that.

Priests don't usually land the killing blow.

'Even during the battle in the Eye of the Glacier, the others were the ones who finished off the enemies.'

"But they couldn't carry all of us, so they waited until enough people woke up to move."

"How long did it take?"

"Eleven minutes."

"Were there any others who were awake?"

"None from Noark or the Rose Knights, but we don't know what the situation is now."

Right...

That's good.

"You were right, Yandel. I tried attacking them, but it didn't work."

That's because they're invincible during the second phase.

Even Kariadaea doesn't attack them.

The boss fight resumes 30 minutes after [Soul Extraction] is cast.

Those who don't wake up by then will die.

Even if they died while unconscious.

'Erwen should be fine, but... what about Amelia?'

I'm worried, but I can only trust her.

I check on the other members, putting aside the issues I can't solve right now.

Three of them have serious penalties.

Jun, who can't walk.

James Kala, who's blind.

Didi, whose right hand has turned to stone.

I don't know what penalties the others will have, but that's the current situation.

Then...

'What about me?'

What penalty did I receive?

I check my body as I walk, and then I clench my jaw.

Crack...

Of all the penalties, why this one?

「Character's active skills are disabled.」

Is this the curse of the Hanses I encountered in the cave?

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