Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 484: Pilgrim (2)

Four adult men with slightly better stats than me. Honestly, I was a little worried, as I usually relied on my stats and skills to crush monsters and looters. But it turned out to be a needless worry.

‘…This is easier than I thought.’

If it had been a fistfight, it might have been a different story. But with a proper weapon and shield, being outnumbered wasn’t a big deal.

I could see everything clearly.

Well, I suppose it was only natural, considering I had been fighting monsters like Amelia since my newbie days.

Clang!

I deflected their attacks with my shield.

And then I struck their openings with my mace.

Crack!

I crushed one soldier’s skull with my mace, and then there was only one left.

“…I-I don’t want to die…”

The last soldier, a young man with a terrified expression, turned and ran.

He abandoned his fallen comrades.

I threw my shield like a boomerang.

Whizz!

Shield Arrow.

A skill I had practiced diligently in my newbie days, hoping for a ranged attack… but I rarely had a chance to use it.

Thwack!

The shield struck the back of the soldier’s head, and he collapsed.

I quickly approached him and captured him.

“L-Let me go…!”

He struggled, panicking.

“I have a few questions.”

“I have nothing to say to y—Urgh!”

I punched him in the gut, and he calmed down.

“Gah… Cough…!”

He was finally ready to talk.

I began my interrogation, starting with the most important question.

“Where are we?”

“What… do you mean…?”

What do I mean?

I’m asking because I don’t know.

“Just answer the question. Where are we?”

“…The Pilgrim’s Cave.”

Hmm, it looked exactly like the Crystal Cave.

“And what’s your objective?”

“To capture all the escaped pilgrims and bring them to justice—”

“Don’t shout. It echoes.”

I continued my questions, clarifying the information I had gathered and confirming the facts.

There were a few things to note.

Information 10: There were other pilgrims besides me.

Four in total, including myself.

It seemed like Erwen, Bersil, and Ainar were also in a similar situation.

Information 11: The pilgrims’ objective was to activate the hidden Witch’s Altar.

That seemed like the clear condition.

Even if it wasn’t, it would probably lead to a reunion with my companions.

‘They should be able to figure it out on their own. They just have to capture a soldier and interrogate him.’

Ah, of course, finding the Witch’s Altar was another problem.

But I had a hunch.

It was probably in the same place where we had fought Dreadfear.

The Dark Zone in the center of the cave.

The chamber with the Gavrilius Monument.

If there was something hidden in this cave, it would be there.

‘…They wouldn’t have started us on the outskirts otherwise.’

I could see the overall concept of this event.

The Rocky Desert, the Goblin Forest, the Beast’s Lair, the Land of the Dead.

The four characters, starting at the entrances connected to the 2nd-floor fields, would overcome their trials and reunite in the central area.

‘And then we’ll probably have a boss fight, or move on to the next phase…’

But how was this event triggered?

Just because we had a four-man raid team?

No, that couldn’t be it.

I had raided Dreadfear with four people before, when one of our teammates died.

‘…I’ll think about the trigger conditions later. Let’s focus on clearing this first.’

I finished the interrogation and left the area.

______________________

The first try.

It was the most exciting moment for a true gamer, and I was no exception.

But…

Step.

That was only true in games.

In reality, it was different.

Thump, thump, thump.

Every moment was filled with fear and anxiety.

The excitement was gone, replaced by a chilling tension and a single thought that wouldn’t leave my mind.

‘I can’t make a mistake.’

I had to succeed on my first try.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

This wasn’t a roguelike game where you learned from your deaths.

There were no second chances here.

「Character has slain ten Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1.」

「Character has slain fifteen Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1.」

「Character has slain twenty Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1…」

I hunted down any soldiers I encountered, focusing on reducing their numbers, and my stats gradually increased.

‘Every five soldiers…?’

I wasn’t sure how much each stat increased, but that seemed to be the pattern.

‘I don’t know what kind of boss monster we’ll be facing, but I should try to level up as much as possible.’

I wanted to focus on hunting, but my priority was to reach the central area.

It was a rational decision.

‘There might be a time penalty.’

The game wouldn’t be so kind as to give me both unlimited time and an easy way to level up.

[Dungeon and Stone] wasn’t that kind of game.

‘…I can hunt later if I have time. Let’s move.’

I prioritized movement over hunting and headed towards the center of the cave.

‘…It’s been at least seven hours…’

New information was updated.

Information 12: The labyrinth closure isn’t an escape route.

The time when the labyrinth should have closed had long since passed.

But I was still here.

I was a little worried.

‘…It’s not like I’ll be trapped here if I don’t escape in time, is it?’

It was a possibility I couldn’t ignore.

But there was no point in worrying about it now—

“A pilgrim!”

I heard a shout from a nearby passage.

How did they know I was here?

I prepared for battle, but no one appeared.

Instead, the soldiers’ footsteps faded away.

“Catch him!”

“That filthy servant of the Witch!”

I finally understood.

There was someone else nearby.

Ttadat.

I ran towards the direction the soldiers had gone.

'Ainar? Bersil? Erwen? Who is it?'

As I wondered who was being chased, I saw a group of soldiers in the distance.

'...They've gathered all the nearby soldiers...'

Nine soldiers were blocking the passage.

And Bersil Gowland was surrounded.

"S-Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

She was trembling, swinging her bone wand.

It was a pathetic display of resistance.

The soldiers didn't even flinch.

"What are you waiting for?! Capture her!"

"Kyaaa!"

Bersil was quickly subdued.

'How did she even survive this long?'

I didn't have time to think about it.

The soldiers were about to execute her.

'Damn it, nine is a bit much...'

I didn't have a choice.

I couldn't just stand here and watch her die.

Crack-!

I smashed the last soldier's head with my mace.

"...Ambush!"

The other soldiers turned around.

Well, there was no point in hiding anymore.

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!"

I charged forward, my shield raised.

I couldn't just sneak around and rescue her one by one.

"What are you doing?! Kill her first—!"

I pushed two soldiers aside and reached Bersil.

And as I lifted her into my arms...

Puk-!

...a sword pierced my side.

"Y-Yandel...?"

"...We'll talk later."

The soldiers I had pushed aside had gotten back on their feet and blocked my escape route.

I had to change positions.

I couldn't fight them head-on in this narrow passage.

"Hold on tight."

"Huh? Ah, aaaaah!"

I told Bersil to hold on to my neck, and then I turned around and ran.

I pushed a soldier aside with my shield.

And...

Thud.

A sharp pain shot through my thigh.

Puk-!

Damn spearman.

I smashed the spear shaft with my mace and continued running. I managed to escape the encirclement with Bersil in my arms.

But there was a problem...

'I can't run with this leg...'

Well, at least I didn't have to worry about being attacked from behind.

I quickly put Bersil down and sent her away.

The soldiers were approaching from the passage.

'Only three can attack me at once in this narrow passage.'

And there were eight of them left.

'...This is bad.'

I had been injured in my side and thigh.

And if the fight dragged on, more soldiers would arrive.

Clench.

I lowered my stance, preparing for a difficult battle.

「Bersil Gowland has cast [Blooming Flesh].」

...And then I felt a surge of healing energy.

______________________

[Blooming Flesh].

An active skill of the 7th-grade monster, Dark Cultist.

Bersil Gowland had just cast it.

'...What the...?'

A mage using an essence skill?

It was unprecedented in [Dungeon and Stone].

But I had more pressing matters to attend to.

'This changes everything.'

I had to ask Bersil one question.

Not how she had used the skill...

"Bersil, how many more times can you use that?"

"One more time, in three minutes."

"Good."

My injuries had already healed completely.

And even if I was injured again, I could be healed in three minutes.

Which meant I could fight more aggressively.

Ttadat.

I abandoned my defensive stance and charged forward, swinging my mace.

And...

Crack! Crack!

I received a few minor injuries, but I won the battle.

「Character has slain seventy Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1.」

I killed seven soldiers, and the remaining two ran away.

I didn't bother chasing them.

"Y-Yandel..."

"...Let's move. Before they call for reinforcements."

"O-Okay!"

I looted a set of armor and a shield for Bersil and then left the area.

And...

「Bersil Gowland has cast [Blooming Flesh].」

We found a safe spot and healed our injuries before starting our conversation.

"What was that? How did you use an ability?"

"I don't know... I could just use it naturally after I woke up... It's strange. It feels like I have a new organ or something. I think I'm the first mage to experience this."

Well, I didn't need a long explanation.

"Anyway, the important thing is that I have another ability."

"What is it?"

"I think it's [Assimilation]."

[Assimilation] was a gnome skill.

It created a 3-meter radius stealth barrier.

It seemed like Bersil had used it to reach this point...

'So mages get a skill boost?'

Hmm, it made sense.

A mage with no combat experience wouldn't survive without some kind of balance patch.

"It was a close call. I ran out of Soul Power, so I was resting when the soldiers found me... I couldn't use Stealth after I was discovered."

"Where did you start?"

"...Huh?"

"You would have seen it if you looked outside before the barrier disappeared."

"Ah... sorry. I was too panicked to notice."

"I see... Well, it's not important. But how did you know to come to the central area?"

"Huh?"

"...?"

Both Bersil and I tilted our heads in confusion.

"You didn't come here on purpose?"

"Is this... the central area...?"

"..."

So she had just been running randomly.

It was a good thing I had found her.

"...How did you manage to defeat ten soldiers, Yandel? And what about your equipment? I didn't even recognize you at first!"

After she finished her story, Bersil started asking me questions, and I shared my experience.

0 minutes after waking up:

Confirmed skill seal, stat reduction, and equipment loss.

Overheard the soldiers' conversation and learned that we were 'pilgrims'.

Deduced that my companions had started at the opposite ends of the cave based on the forest outside the barrier.

Realized that the soldiers were using 'language' and decided to interrogate them for information.

Escaped.

20 minutes:

Realized that the monsters were helping us.

Observed the soldiers fighting the monsters and assessed their strength.

Learned that the cave was dark to them.

30 minutes:

Decided to gather information and ambushed three soldiers.

Won the battle and looted their equipment.

45 minutes:

Ambushed more soldiers while wearing the Imperial soldier set.

Won the battle and interrogated a captive.

Obtained valuable information, including the pilgrims' objective: to activate the Witch's Altar.

2 hours:

Focused on reaching the central area, killing any soldiers I encountered along the way.

And...

About 7 hours later.

"This is it. Are you ready?"

I had shared all the information I had gathered.

"Let's go. We need to reach the central area. The Witch's Altar is probably there."

But Bersil didn't move.

She just stared at me, dumbfounded.

"...Did you... know about this beforehand?"

"Huh?"

If I had known, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.

"Of course not."

"But how did you know...?"

It was a ridiculous question.

'...Isn't she a player too?'

Why was she so surprised by my deductions?