Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 480: Big Fish (3)

There are two types of people in this world.

Those who focus on the results, and those who focus on the process.

I'm the former.

As long as the outcome is good, I don't care about the process.

In that sense, the current situation wasn't bad.

'As long as the Count withdraws his lawsuit, it's a win.'

If they interfered with our raid and revealed their connection to Count Alminus, it would be enough to force him to back down.

Interfering with an authorized guild raid?

It was a serious offense.

I could even demand compensation from him.

'The raid's success rate was low anyway...'

That's why I had been hoping for this scenario.

My strategy almost guaranteed survival, but we often lacked the firepower to land the final blow.

'If Erwen hadn't absorbed the Riakis essence, I wouldn't have even considered this raid.'

Anyway, considering all the factors, I estimated our chances of success at around 20%.

It was a risky gamble, but it was better than the alternative.

We could always try the raid again later.

But the lawsuit was a more pressing issue.

「Something in the darkness is watching you.」

Okay, I could feel the tension rising.

The summoning conditions were almost met.

"Don't let your guard down. He could appear at any moment."

We maintained our formation, ready for battle.

We had to summon the Floor Lord and make it look like we were actually trying to kill him.

'They know we're recording this, so they'll probably wait for the most opportune moment.'

"Bersil, is the recording crystal working?"

"Don't worry. I've checked it several times."

"Good."

I briefed my teammates on the plan one more time.

And then...

「Something in the darkness feels hatred towards you.」

The probability had increased.

"Bjorn... it's getting colder, isn't it?"

Ainar was the first to notice the change.

She was surprisingly sensitive to environmental changes.

"Get ready. He'll be here soon."

My teammates tensed up, gripping their weapons.

And after a while...

Rumble.

The cave walls shook, and the crystals that had lost their light began to glow crimson.

「Special Condition - Five Believers has been met.」

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, tests the faith of the pilgrims.」

He had appeared.

___________________

Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror.

The 1st-floor Floor Lord, summoned when five or more explorers gathered in a specific location after the 3rd day.

His appearance was dramatic.

Rumble!

The ground shook.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

The dark cave was bathed in crimson light.

「Rising Terror.」

「The Bonding spell has been deactivated.」

The Bonding spell of those who had met the summoning conditions was deactivated.

And...

「Character's vision is limited to a 2-meter radius.」

Our vision was restricted.

"...He's over there."

A dark, red-lit passage.

Squish-

We turned towards the sound.

Squish.

A strange, wet sound, like something sticking to the floor and then being pulled away.

Squish-

Our vision was limited to a 2-meter radius.

And then, he appeared.

"...Ugh."

Bersil gagged, covering her mouth.

She had a weak stomach.

"I've heard stories, but... it's truly horrifying."

It was.

Even the best illustrators couldn't capture the true horror of these monsters.

Squish-

He was about 5'4".

Much smaller than Riakis, the Chaos Lord.

Dreadfear was a humanoid monster.

Squish-

Two arms, two legs.

He walked upright, wielding a bone greatsword.

But that didn't mean he looked human.

'Zombies are also humanoid monsters, technically.'

Dreadfear was similar.

He had the basic shape of a human, but the details were obscured.

He was covered in maggots.

Squish-

Each step he took produced a sickening sound.

Thud.

The maggots that fell from his body wriggled on the ground.

"...I understand why explorers avoid this place."

"Phew..."

Even Amelia and Erwen, who were usually unfazed by grotesque sights, looked uncomfortable.

Only Ainar seemed to be enjoying the show.

"Oh! That's him? He looks weaker than I expected."

Right, someone had to be entertained.

"Haha! What are you all so scared of?! He doesn't even smell that bad!"

I sighed inwardly at his naive comment, but then I remembered the stench of the Corpse Golem, and I felt a little better.

Maybe misery really did love company.

"Enough chatter."

It was time to focus.

Squish-

Dreadfear stopped at the edge of our vision.

He was small, but he exuded a powerful aura.

Therefore...

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!"

I charged at him.

The best way to overcome fear was to face it head-on.

[Kyiieeeeeeek!]

He roared and swung his maggot-covered greatsword.

Klang-!

The impact was surprisingly powerful.

It was almost as strong as Riakis's attacks.

But there was something more pressing.

Thud, thud-

The maggots that fell from his body crawled towards me.

'In the game, it was just an aura skill...'

But this was different.

「Character has been infected with [Gnawing Terror].」

「Mental stat continuously decreases.」

「Dreadfear's Rage increases proportionally to the damage received by the character.」

The maggots crawled on my skin.

It felt itchy and painful.

My Physical Resistance didn't help.

「Bersil Gowland has cast the 5th-grade Sun Magic [Holy Flame].」

Bersil, as instructed, cast a buff on me.

It was the key to the 1st phase.

I had recommended the same strategy to the Ghostbusters when they were selling the Dreadfear guide.

Well, there were other options...

Whoosh-!

...but this was the easiest and most effective.

When in doubt, burn it.

「[Gnawing Terror] has been dispelled.」

Okay, that took care of the aura.

Klang-!

I blocked Dreadfear's attacks, getting used to his patterns.

And then...

Giant maggots, the size of human heads, started crawling out of the cave walls.

They were the token monsters of the 1st phase.

But I didn't have to worry about them.

Kaboom-!

Ainar and Bersil, who specialized in AoE attacks, would handle them.

So we had two people left.

But I had ordered them to wait.

"Emily, where are they?"

We weren't just fighting Dreadfear.

We had to observe the situation.

But...

"...They're still watching us from a distance."

So they were waiting for the 1st phase to end.

It made sense.

They weren't sure if we could actually kill him, and...

The best time to interfere was later.

So...

"Erwen, what time is it?"

I checked the time.

"7:57 PM."

About four hours until the floor closed.

'If they had waited a little longer...'

It was time to move on to the 2nd phase.

They weren't planning to interfere in the 1st phase...

And time was of the essence in a Dreadfear raid.

He received a buff every five minutes in each phase.

'In the 1st and 2nd phases, it's every five minutes after he spawns.'

Ideally, we would skip the first buff.

The buffs stacked throughout the raid.

"Emily, keep an eye on them. Erwen, you can start now."

We began the raid.

We only had one damage dealer, but I wasn't worried.

Erwen had absorbed a Floor Lord essence. She was on a different level now.

「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia has summoned [Dicloe, the Dark Spirit King].」

As soon as I gave the order, Erwen unleashed her ultimate skill.

And...

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom-!

It took exactly 15 seconds.

For Dreadfear's 1st phase to end and the next pattern to begin.

「The resentment within Dreadfear awakens.」

The echoes of Erwen's attack still lingered in the cave.

Thud, thud-

The maggots that had covered his body fell to the ground, motionless.

But we still couldn't see his face.

Black smoke billowed from beneath the maggots, enveloping his body.

'Okay, so the 1st phase is over...'

I quickly assessed the situation.

She had used about half of her MP in 30 seconds.

"Erwen, you can rest now. And keep an eye on the outsiders."

I sent Erwen to the back to recover her MP.

And...

"Amelia."

As soon as Amelia took her place...

Crack, crack.

The maggot corpses on the ground started hatching.

And...

[Kyiyeeeeeek!]

[Kihihihi! Kihihihihi!]

Black smoke emerged from the cracked shells, forming screaming, giggling figures.

Ainar shrieked.

"E-Eek! Bjorn! W-What is that?!"

Right, she was afraid of ghosts.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

She swung her greatsword wildly, but it passed through the smoke harmlessly.

They weren't monsters.

「Character has been exposed to [Infiltrating Dread].」

「Mental stat continuously decreases.」

「Accuracy is greatly reduced, and there is a chance of attacking nearby allies.」

The aura effect of the 2nd phase.

"Erwen, where are they?"

"...Still there. They haven't moved."

Hmm, they had noticed the end of the 1st phase, but they were still waiting...

They were planning to skip the 2nd phase too—?

[Kyiyeeeeeek!]

They were wrong.

「Character has cast [Iron Fortress].」

「The effect of [Evolved Hide] is increased by 1.5 times.」

Unlike the 1st phase, I activated [Iron Fortress] and blocked the attack with my sword.

Klang-!

I had a reason.

His physical attack power hadn't increased much...

But there was something else I had to tank.

"Amelia Rainwales has cast [Abyssal Strength]."

"[Infiltrating Dread] causes Amelia Rainwales's attack to miss."

Amelia's dagger, its trajectory distorted by the aura, flew towards me.

Slash-!

That damned aura.

"...Are you okay?"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

The tank's role was crucial in the 2nd phase.

Whether it was a ranged or melee attack, the aura targeted the closest person to the boss.

So the standard strategy was to have multiple tanks and a healer, focusing on DPS.

But...

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!"

We had to make do with what we had.

"Yandel, it's better to disable the aura—"

"I'm fine, just keep attacking."

I ignored Amelia's concern and stayed close to Dreadfear.

It wasn't pleasant to be hit by my teammates' attacks... but it couldn't be helped.

A warrior's heart was unyielding.

I would endure as long as he did.

「[Infiltrating Dread] causes Ainar Frenelin's attack to miss.」

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, has cast [Plague Spread].」

I stayed close to him, dodging his attacks and creating openings for my teammates.

And then...

「Resentment deepens.」

The 2nd phase buff activated.

「All aura effects are permanently enhanced.」

Five minutes had already passed.

We had to minimize the number of aura buffs.

「Ability stat continuously decreases.」

I was getting anxious.

Dreadfear became more and more difficult the longer the fight dragged on.

But...

'He's a glass cannon.'

Amelia and Ainar had been focusing on DPS, ignoring the aura.

「Resentment deepens.」

「Physical stat continuously decreases.」

「Resentment deepens.」

「The decrease is amplified by 50%.」

「Resentment deepens.」

「Dreadfear's Rage increases proportionally to the decrease.」

By the time the fourth buff activated, his HP was low enough for us to move on to the next phase.

It was a little disappointing.

'...We should have ended it at the third buff...'

Our chances of success had decreased.

But I quickly dismissed the thought.

The raid wasn't our main objective.

[Kyiyeeeeeek!]

As Dreadfear shrieked in pain...

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

...the black smoke that had been swirling around him was sucked back into his body.

And...

「The hatred within Dreadfear awakens.」

The 3rd phase began.

"Mister! They're moving!"

Finally, the fish had taken the bait.