Surviving as a Barbarian in the Game - Episode 179
179angry doppelganger (4)
crack.
Instant dungeons on each level, such as Blood Citadel and Glacier Cave..
There are two main characteristics of cracks:.
Essence drop rate increases exponentially.
And special monsters called guardians give special rewards that cannot be obtained in regular fields..
“Abman, the location of the crack is?”
In response to my question, Mr. Bear closed his eyes for a moment as if concentrating on his senses..
“there. I don't think it's far.”
Yeah, that's right.
I grinned..
The probability of successful entry has increased.
Thanks to the five steps of Wisdom on the first day, we have already reached stage 27..
[23 : 45]
Day 7 hasn't even ended yet.
It is safe to say that there are only a few competitors..
4Cracks in the floor only occur at stage 25 or higher..
But it happened to be nearby.?
“Mr. Yandel, of course you will look for it.?”
“Of course.”
Cracks are the flowers of the labyrinth.
An opportunity no explorer should miss.
After waking up, we quickly cleared out the campsite with unanimous agreement..
And stood in front of the door in the direction Abman pointed..
Huh-!
After waiting for a few minutes, the engraved pattern on the stone door came into light. This means that the 4-hour waiting period has ended and the door can now be opened..
“Ugh, I don't like this…….”
“I hope it's not just a hallucination.”
Misha and Uncle Bear, who had experience with the ordeal, let out a cry in unison. On the other hand, Raven and Einar responded that it was difficult to understand..
“I'd rather be in a psychedelic world. I heard that it doesn't have much effect on mentally strong people..”
“Hahaha! Then there will be no problem for me too.!!”
Come to think of it, this must be the first time for these two..
I also became a little curious..
A wizard armed with reason and rationality and a barbarian warrior who knows no fear..
How will these two react??
If I knew that, I think I would be able to know whether my case is unusual or not..
「I chose the stairs of patience.」
A corridor that was just long, about 100 meters long..
As soon as you step into it, your colleagues disappear and a new background appears..
The pediatric ward where I spent most of my childhood..
The sky beyond the window was bright, and the face of the child lying on the bed was also bright..
‘It's a hallucination world..’
When you take a step in the direction of your child, your surroundings change..
Beyond the window where the sunset has already begun to set.
A young college student brings a chair and sits in front of the bed..
He was once someone I trusted and followed more than my parents..
‘Ha, it starts with this again?’
I chuckled and took one more step..
Then a conversation began between the child and the college student..
The child who was playing the game together asked if he could play a little longer, and the college student refused..
Maybe it could have ended there.
But the child was young.
As he continued to force himself, the college student's expression eventually hardened. Then, as if something exploded, he got up and started swearing..
Those words were more painful than any hospital treatment back then..
plod.
I took one step further, letting it slip out of my ear..
I am now an adult.
Even if you hear the same words, you won't get hurt.
He doesn't even turn his arrows at me, saying it's clear something bad happened to him that day..
It was something that could happen in life..
It could have been anyone's fault, but it couldn't have been anyone's fault..
That's it..
plod.
Inside the car right before the accident.
Apartment burning red.
Amusement park left alone.
My living room created after becoming an office worker.
plod.
Every time I take a step, the surroundings change, and the characters that appear change accordingly..
plod.
Mom, Dad, Uncle, and Ex-Girlfriend.
At each place, a new person came out and said things that left a deep scar on me..
But, so what?.
‘It's still easy.’
These are scenes that can be vividly pictured in one's mind, even if they are not necessarily shown as hallucinations..
Now it's nothing new.
Because there is a tolerance for pain.
‘What is this?.’
After walking for a while, people who had not appeared before appeared..
[ah! Bjorn, come here!!]
[Haha, why is it so late?!]
Misha and Dwalky smile happily with their arms crossed. Whenever you welcome me, when you take a step closer, your expression becomes strangely distorted..
[If it weren't for you, everyone could be happy.]
[It's good that you survive for me?]
This is a pattern often seen in cartoons and movies..
Well, is there anything more novel??
‘Yeah, it's not my fault. Ask God.’
I continued walking in silence without turning away from their gazes..
[Bjorn, son of the great warrior Yandel!]
[Give me my friend's body back!!]
In addition to Einar, who appeared next, the people I had formed as Bjorn Yandel appeared one after another and said strange things to me..
These were all things I didn't remember..
But, it wasn't unfamiliar.
Because it’s an idea I’ve had at least once..
‘Yeah, it still doesn’t work.’
I kept going without stopping.
I didn't cover my ears or close my eyes..
「Completed the ordeal.」
Soon the hallucinations were over..
I was in front of the door and had already reached the end of the hallway with the stairs in front of me..
It's the same for other colleagues.
“rain, bjorn……!”
“If you cry again, I'm really going to leave you..”
“Heeing.”
I looked away from the crying Misha and checked the rest..
Mr. Bear had an innocent expression..
I gave him an unpleasant look, but that was all..
Einar was surprisingly fine too..
“Are you okay??”
“Ah oh… … It was just a bit of a bad experience..”
Well, if you think about it, all barbarians are mentally strong..
The Barbarians were a race that learned how to fight and win rather than how to run away..
So what about wizards?.
“…….”
The last time I checked, Raven was staring into space with a blank expression. Even from afar, I could feel my body trembling like an aspen tree..
What on earth did he see??
I was curious but didn't bother to ask..
I don't think they'll answer anyway.
“It's all over now.”
“ah… … yes. Yes…….”
When I approached her and tapped her shoulder, Raven came to her senses..
Cold sweat forming on my forehead.
“I'll go up and rest for a while, so just cheer up a little more..”
“yes…….”
I climbed the stairs after keeping up with my colleagues..
And I took a break for about 10 minutes..
In fact, I didn't choose the Stairs of Patience in the game for this reason..
Because my stamina is drastically reduced.
I didn't know if that was the reason.
“Abman, where do we go from here??”
“It's over there.”
After the break, we resumed our exploration..
The decision that cracks are the top priority right now.
The next thing I chose was the Stairs of Wisdom, and I cleared the maze in 2 hours..
The next stage that came out like that.
“It's a portal!!”
There was a crack open in the empty stone room..
For reference, the color of the vigorously shaking portal is green..
‘It's a doppelganger forest.…….’
It was the name of the third fissure I would explore, following Blood Citadel and Glacier Cave..
***
「The character entered the 4th floor rift..」
***
4There are two types of layer cracks:.
Golden ruins and doppelganger forest with money pouring out.
‘……It's not a golden ruin..’
I tried to erase my regret and called the wizard..
“Raven.”
“Reyate.”
Soon, as the light sphere floated in the air, a new environment surrounding us came into view..
We were locked in a huge iron cage..
The outside, visible through the bars, is covered in the darkness of a labyrinth and is invisible..
“Bjorn! how did this happen!!”
Um, should I explain??
As I was thinking about it, Raven opened her mouth..
“do not be surprised. It will open on its own when the time comes.”
“huh? What do you mean! tell me more!”
“That's because the number of admissions hasn't reached full capacity yet. Up to three teams can enter here..”
1This is the difference from layer cracking..
Up to 15 people can enter the Doppelganger Forest through a total of three portals. If the previous one was cooperation between individuals, this is cooperation between teams..
“Was this place also written about in that book??”
“yes. You're lucky. I don't know much about the golden ruins..”
Well, since I saw the crack summary, I guess I can just tell him to take care of the hidden pieces..
No, just leave everything to the strategy.?
The worries were short-lived..
“Good. Then, this time, you give the instructions. I will follow everything.”
“It means taking on the role of a leader.?”
“Isn’t there a saying in places like this that you should follow the wizard’s words?.”
“Hehe, good. Please leave it to me this time.”
When I slightly lifted her up, Raven spread her shoulders wide and declared that she would take care of all the troublesome work..
I have a very easy personality to deal with..
‘If there's a problem later, let's take action then..’
In the new team, you need to be careful, following Rottmiller's advice to hide your specialness as much as possible..
If it is installed like before, Raven or Mr. Bear will definitely sense that something is strange..
“Now, let me tell you what to watch out for. First of all, most of the monsters you will meet here will be doppelgangers.…….”
Afterwards, Raven's briefing continued..
Everyone listened intently except Einar..
I know everything about it, but I listened with the thought that there might be corrections or parts I didn't know..
How long has it been like that??
“……I think that's enough..”
“yes? I haven't even told you about the herbs found here yet.…….”
“Can’t we do that as we go along? First thing to do is rest.”
I stopped midway through Raven's endlessly long explanation and took a break..
You went through an ordeal of patience and couldn't sleep properly because the cracks opened..
You need to save up your stamina for this game..
Drurr.-!
Einar started snoring as if he had been waiting, and Misha and Mr. Bear also sat with their backs against the bars..
And Raven…….
“There's something strange about it. You get a mirror on the first exploration, and a crack on the second exploration.…….”
For some reason, he came next to me and started chattering..
It looks like the excitement hasn't gone away since entering the crack..
“Looking at things like this, I feel very lucky. You went into the Bloody Citadel last time.?”
Uh, is that how it goes??
“Yeah, you're right..”
“……You're making fun of me now.”
“No way.”
“You just lower the corner of your mouth and say something like that.?”
It's useless to be quick-witted.
“It's okay, I'm going to rest too, so hurry up and rest too..”
I ended the conversation at this point and closed my eyes..
So time passed and it was the morning of the 8th day..
[07 : 11]
In other words, it was about 5 hours after entering the crack..
Cheolkeong-!
The bar that had been closed was raised..
This means that all admission capacity is full..
“Well then, let's go.”
The full-scale exploration began with me leaving the cage first..
“Reyate.”
Raven increased the number of light sphere spells to three to secure visibility. Then the shape of the cave hidden in the darkness was revealed..
Einar tilted his head at this..
“uh? Didn't you say it was a forest??”
“I think I explained it to you earlier..”
“Oh sorry. I didn't hear it at all.”
An overly honest answer.
Raven couldn't even get angry..
“……The forest appears after this cave ends. So, after all the entered teams join in one place..”
“Right!”
“…….”
Raven just clenched her fists and trembled..
For some reason, I can't help but empathize with that sight.…….
Now I am in normal barbarian mode where I just have to follow orders..
Yeah, sometimes you have days like this.
“What kind of life was Mr. Yandel living??”
“……Let's go.”
“Ah, that's right. Come on, let’s go. There is no time.”
Following Raven's instructions, we moved along the road at a slightly faster pace..
The reason for the rush is simple.
The first chapter of Doppelganger Forest is Shadow Cave..
The format is to start from different locations and meet with other teams at the center..
“We need to get to the center as quickly as possible. Only then can you receive rewards from other routes. If it's late, the opposite will happen..”
Eventually, due to the structure, we will defeat the final boss together, but until then, it is no different from competition..
Who packs more and leaves?.
it's up to us.
“what is ahead!”
As we were running down the straight passage, Mr. Bear sensed someone and stopped the group..
After waiting for a while, a person appeared from the darkness..
plod.
Haphazardly grown brown hair.
messy beard.
2A breastplate made of lithium draped over a muscular body measuring over m..
And even a huge shield and mace..
“It's Bjorn!!!”
Einar took turns staring at me, who had doubled up, and then fell into confusion..
Raven couldn't stand it and screamed at that sight..
“You said it was a doppelganger.!!!”
“Do, doppelganger?!”
“Oh really! Now that's enough, ready for battle!!”
I think this is the first time he's screamed like this..
Is there really no one who can defeat a barbarian with words??
It was a moment when I was laughing while thinking about that..
“Behel—laaaaa!!!”
The doppelganger dared to call out the name of the ancestor god..
At the same time, the body inflates like a balloon.
I needed to be a little nervous..
「Doppelganger casted [Giantization].」
「Doppelganger casted [Wild Eruption].」
I'm pretty strong.
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