Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 487
Chapter 487: Pilgrim (5)
“The pilgrims! Stop them—!”
Whack!
As we sped through the cave, I broke the head of any soldier we came across.
Every time I killed five of them, my stats slightly increased, but the boost was so small that I hardly noticed it given the situation.
At this rate, we should reach it in about an hour…
As I continued to push forward with all my might, the anxiety throbbing in the back of my head wouldn’t dissipate.
“Bjorn… When is Erwen coming back?”
Even Ainar was worried. Just imagined how I felt.
Did something happen? Was she hurt or…did she die? My anxiety was gnawing away at me, but it was out of my hands right now. All I could do was keep running as hard as I could and have faith that Erwen would catch up to us.
[You have killed 405 soldiers. All stats have risen by +1.]
[You have killed 410 soldiers. All stats have risen by +1.]
[You have killed 415 soldiers…]
How long have we been running? Maybe thirty minutes?
As our arrival time slowly drew closer and closer, my worries over what had happened to Erwen grew in kind.
Stomp.
Despite not taking a break even once, we were suddenly forced to come to a halt.
“Didn’t I tell you, pilgrims? There’s only one way you can make it out of this cave alive.”
He was now standing in our way.
I didn’t understand. All this time, he had been chasing us from behind, so how was it possible that he was here, blocking our path? Our pace had even slowly increased over time as our stats rose.
Then…how did he catch up?
Something was wrong. However, before I could analyze the situation, there was something else we had to do first. “Get ready to fight, Ainar.”
After hearing my order, Ainar took our colleague, whose body she had been carrying this entire time, and laid her on the ground. “…Get some rest, wizard.”
Dreadfear watched us and let out a cold laugh. “How ridiculous.”
Maybe it was. However, the moment I saw him in our path, the only idea that came to mind was giving it a shot.
It might be possible now with our current stats.
I used my shield to cover my upper body and lowered my stance out of habit, even knowing that it would do me very little good. What could a cheap iron shield do when confronted with a knight who used aura?
We stared at each other in complete silence, waiting for the first move to be made.
After a moment, he spoke that same line. “My offer. It still stands.”
Was there something wrong with this guy’s head? How the hell had he not given up on that game of betrayal already?
Still, if he wanted to talk, I wouldn’t let the opportunity go to waste. “…What happened to Erwen?” I had to ask about the one thought that had been eating away at my mind while we ran for hours straight.
“If you mean that pilgrim, then she’s dead,” he replied curtly.
“Bullshit.”
“I guess you’re turning a blind eye to what you already know.”
Why did I even bother asking him? It was ridiculous to think I could believe the words of a boss character whose whole concept was betrayal.
“Whether you believe me or not, it doesn’t change the truth. No matter how much you believe you are doing the right thing, in the end, you are nothing but a filthy piece of —”
There wasn’t any reason to listen to him any longer.
I dashed forward, yelling out, “Ainar!” However, as soon as the distance between us narrowed, he drew his sword bathed in aura.
Step.
Immediately, I stepped back, outside of his attack range. Taking advantage of the opening created when he’d taken aim at me, Ainar narrowed the distance between them. “Behell—aaaaaahhhhh!” she cried and slashed at him with all her might. He darted to the side.
Clang!
Her sword slammed into the ground where he had been standing just moments ago. It was too early to call it a failed attack. Fighting as a team meant breaking the enemy’s stance, alternating between striking and defending, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Thud.
As soon as he dodged Ainar’s sword, I chucked my useless shield at his ugly mug.
With his field of view blocked, I took a large step forward and swung my mace. Yet again, he was able to react, drawing his sword along the same path I swung my mace. It was clear that, at this rate, his attack would easily cut my mace into two.
Swoosh.
I used all the strength I had to quickly change the path of my attack.
Fwoosh!
My mace cut through the air, evading his sword.
Stab!
Simultaneously, Ainar was able to stab his shoulder with her sword.
Alright. We were able to land the first attack.
We couldn’t be satisfied with just this, though. There was no reason to lessen the pressure and withdraw from the fight now. After all, a battle was just a game of moves.
Attack, block, or dodge—you had a split second to choose one of these three options accordingly, maybe even your following move as well. Thanks to our quick thinking, we were able to limit the number of moves he could make.
Step.
The man was forced to play defensive and focus on blocking or dodging. Because of the pressure we put on him, we were able to lower the risk of him attacking us.
However, that still left him with two choices.
Left. Yeah, I knew you would move over to the left.
Whack!
He was forced to twist his body to dodge our attacks, making him fall out of his stance. The choice limited the damage he took, yet because of that, the fight became easier for us and even harder on our opponent.
We all fell into a vicious cycle of blows. No matter how much we pressured him, we couldn’t drop our guard. He was a knight who used aura. Just one attack from him. was enough to end us, and all battles inevitably came with unforeseen variables.
Fwoosh!
He raised his sword again, aiming to strike down the same path as my mace. This time, the result was completely different. Seeing his sword move toward my mace, I was forced to twist my body to dodge it, judging that the worst mistake I could make here was losing my weapon. However, that choice forced me to reveal an opening.
Thud.
He didn’t miss his chance and kicked me square in the stomach. I didn’t take any real damage, but the true threat lay in how he used that momentum to quickly turn the tide of battle against us.
Slash!
Ainar slashed her sword at his thigh.
Stab!
He used that moment to stab his sword into my stomach.
Agh, that stings.
I didn’t expect him to attack me so recklessly. Although she saw me get stabbed, Ainar didn’t ask if I was okay, instead continuing to attack without getting distracted like the veteran she was.
“Aaaah!”
I quickly forced myself back to my feet and returned to the battle. Lying prone on the floor in pain wasn’t going to stop my bleeding. It didn’t matter how much I got hurt. I had to kill this guy before I died. If we could end this raid by killing him, then I’d be able to escape from here without any wounds.
“Behell—aaaaaaaaah!”
Thus, the bloody battle ensued. Even with the two of us and our heightened stats, the battle was hard-fought, especially since our number advantage didn’t last for long. “For the empire…!” Out of nowhere, soldiers appeared and ran toward us, raising the difficulty even further. Still, it wasn’t all bad.
Slice!
Thanks to them, I was able to get a refill on weapons.
Thud.
As soon as my mace fell to the ground, now sliced in two, I grabbed another weapon from a fallen soldier’s body. A sword, a hammer, a mace. The type of weapon didn’t matter. I just needed something long enough to swing at him with my full strength.
Whack!
First my arms, then my legs, torso, shoulders, eyes, and ears. All across my body, the injuries continued to mount. Even so, it was clear he wasn’t fairing much better.
Fwoosh!
His sword, swung with the full strength of a knight, had gradually slowed and lost power. Even his aura was smaller than before. One of his arms was heavily injured and his left leg, which Ainar had stabbed a couple of times, had gone so limp that he could barely use it.
Soon.
We would win. At this rate, he would fall before we did. With that thought in mind, I raised my hammer and put my full weight behind my swing.
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has dropped to less than 15% health.]
Like a bomb had gone off, my body was thrown to the side as I crashed into a wall.
A shock rocketed through me as stars burst behind my eyes. I quickly forced myself to stand and see what had just happened with blurry eyes.
“Shit.”
I couldn’t not swear in this situation.
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has cast Eternal Nightmare. Health will be fully recovered.]
His injuries fully healed in an instant as he walked toward me. “My offer…” He spoke calmly. “It still stands.”
What the fuck is he talking about
“Tell me…” I asked back. “Were you raised by parrots?”
He didn’t answer my question. Without saying a word, he simply stabbed my stomach.
“This…broken…ass…game…”
My vision went black.
***
[Your health has dropped to less than 5%. Narcolepsy has activated. Natural Regeneration temporarily increases significantly. You have fallen into a state of Unconsciousness.]
***
In complete darkness, it felt as if I was flowing down a river, left alone with my thoughts.
How the hell did they expect us to kill a bastard like the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear?
The answer was simple.
It was impossible. I misunderstood the situation because of the sudden increase in our stats, but it was nothing more than a trap. He wasn’t a character that was made to be fought in the first place.
I chose wrong.
I had judged it all wrong. We should have run away and gone outside the cave as soon as we saw him. We shouldn’t have tried to fight him.
From the start, it was a game of hide-and-seek.
Raising our stats was just a small buff to balance the game more as we ran away from him. A head-to-head battle was never an option.
“Ugh…”
I was now paying the price for making the wrong decision.
[Your health is more than 15%. Unconscious status has changed to a state of Paralysis. There’s a slight decrease in the increase of Natural Regeneration.]
When I opened my eyes, I was on Ainar’s back.
“Catch them…!” The soldiers’ cries echoed behind us, but Alnar continued to run forward as fast as she could.
“Huh? B-Bjorn…? You’re awake? Are you…good? Can you hear me?!”
I forced my mouth to open, despite barely being able to move. “I’m…fine… Explain…the situation…”
“Ah! O-okay…” Ainar rushed to explain as she kept fleeing. “You collapsed…and suddenly… the entire cave started to tremble. And that guy…stopped moving. I took advantage of the opportunity to grab you…and I quickly ran away with you on my back…”
He stopped moving? Was it because of the altar?
There was no telling. It was my first time experiencing this hidden piece, so I had no clue what was happening, and I didn’t have a system log to tell me either.
“…Time?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe five minutes…?”
So I was unconscious for about five minutes.
“But are you okay?” she asked frantically.
“I’m…fine. I just can’t move…”
What sort of situation had I gotten myself into?
After thinking it over for a moment, I came to one conclusion. Narcolepsy. was a passive skill that activated when your health dropped below 5%. At 15% health, your status changed to Paralyzed. When back at 30% health, the status effects were canceled altogether.
So…I also had skills.
It wasn’t just Versyl and Erwen, but even I started with a skill. Since it was a passive skill, I had only just realized.
That means Ainar must also have one…
What was hers? I didn’t know, but there was also no time to test it and find out.
“Left…”
“Huh?”
“Go left…”
“Oh…”
I collected my thoughts as I gave directions to Ainar, still resting on her back.
However, a particularly loud sound caught my attention.
Huff, huff…
Her breathing was much heavier now than before, to the point where it was concerning.
“Ainar…are you alright?”
“I’m…fine…”
No, she didn’t look fine at all.
“It’s just…I can’t…use my hands…and I’m…a bit injured…but it’s fine…”
A question struck me. Since she was holding me on her back, she couldn’t use her hands, so then how was she making it through the soldiers in our way? Had she been lucky enough to not encounter any soldiers?
I didn’t need to wonder for long. She soon showed me.
“…Filthy pilgrims!” A group of soldiers jumped in front of us.
Ainar’s plan was simple. She just didn’t stop running. No, rather, she sped up and rammed straight through the soldiers.
Stab!
Their sharp weapons swung at her body, but with both arms behind her, all she could do was endure their attacks and protect her vital points. Her shoulders, arms, and legs ended up getting wounded, some with large wounds and others with small nicks. In the end, though, Ainar was still able to quickly make her way past the soldiers.
The soldiers we passed grouped together with the others chasing us from behind.
As I watched them, I heard Ainar’s breathing grow even heavier than before.
Huff… Huff…
I couldn’t say a word.
Ainar immediately noticed my silence and asked, “Bjorn…were you…hurt?”
“…Stop.”
This was too reckless. It was obvious that she would collapse at any moment. Even if we did make it through, her injuries might be impossible to treat. We didn’t even have a potion on us. Her best option was to put me down and wait for my paralysis status to be lifted. That way, she wouldn’t need to carry me…
“I can’t…do that.”
For some reason, however, Ainar was stubborn about not stopping.
“Wh-why…?”
“The moment you collapsed…I saw…the future.”
“…The future?”
“The wizard… When she died…I saw it then too. I thought it was just a random hallucination but…I now think that…it’s an ability.”
Why was she acting like this? Just what did she see?
I asked her a few times, but she wouldn’t tell me. “I…can’t stop. Just trust me.”
It left me speechless again.
“I…definitely won’t…collapse.”
Ainar’s voice was filled with determination. Unable to change her mind, I stayed silent as she quietly continued pushing ahead.
Stomp, stomp.
Even when the soldiers showed up in front of us, she never stopped moving forward.