Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 487: Pilgrim (5)

“It’s a pilgrim! Stop him—!”

Crack!

I dashed through the passage, crushing the skulls of any Imperial soldiers that appeared. My stats continued to increase with every five kills, but it wasn’t making much of a difference in this situation.

‘At this rate, I should arrive within an hour…’

I ran with all my might, but my mind was still in turmoil.

“Bjorn… when is Erwen coming back?”

Even Ainar was worried, so I could only imagine how I felt.

“…….”

Had something happened to her?

Was she injured? Or worse…

My heart ached with worry.

But there was nothing I could do.

I just had to trust that she would return, and keep running.

「Character has slain four hundred and five Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1.」

「Character has slain four hundred and ten Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1.」

「Character has slain four hundred and fifteen Imperial soldiers.」

「All stats increased by +1…」

「….」

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Time passed.

‘30 minutes.’

The estimated arrival time kept decreasing, and my worry for Erwen grew.

And then…

Thud.

I stopped running.

“I told you, pilgrim.”

“…….”

“There’s only one way for you to escape this cave alive.”

He was standing in front of us, blocking our path.

______________________

There was something I didn’t understand.

He hadn’t been chasing us from behind. How had he managed to get in front of us?

We had even increased our speed with the stat boosts.

‘…He caught up to us?’

It didn’t make sense.

But I had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Ainar, get ready to fight.”

Ainar nodded and gently placed Bersil’s body on the ground.

“…Rest in peace, mage.”

Dreadfear smirked at us.

“Fools.”

What? I hadn’t run away because I thought I could win.

‘I have a chance with my current stats.’

I lowered my stance, my shield raised.

It was a meaningless gesture.

A cheap iron shield wouldn’t protect me from his Aura-enhanced blade.

“…….”

A tense silence followed.

And then he spoke.

“My offer still stands.”

Was he insane?

He was still obsessed with that ridiculous idea.

But he seemed willing to talk, so I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been bothering me.

“…What happened to Erwen?”

It was a question I had been carrying in my heart for hours.

He answered curtly,

“That female pilgrim is dead.”

“Bullshit.”

“You refuse to listen to your inner voice.”

Damn it, I shouldn’t have asked.

He was a boss monster obsessed with betrayal. I couldn't trust his words.

“Faith cannot change the truth. No matter how righteous you believe yourselves to be, you are nothing but filthy traitors—”

I didn't need to hear any more.

“Ainar!”

I shouted and charged forward.

As soon as I closed the distance, he drew his sword and attacked.

Therefore…

Ttadat.

I dodged, stepping back before entering his attack range.

Ainar took advantage of the opening and charged at him.

And…

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

She swung her greatsword down with all her might.

He dodged, twisting his body to the side.

Kwang!

Her sword slammed into the ground.

But it wasn't a complete failure.

Hit and run.

Disrupt his stance and create an opening.

That was the essence of close combat.

Ttadat.

As he dodged Ainar's attack, I threw my shield at his face.

It wouldn't do much damage... but it would momentarily blind him.

Ttadat.

I took advantage of the opening and swung my mace.

But he reacted.

“……!”

He blocked my attack with his sword.

If our weapons collided, my mace would be shattered.

So…

I twisted my body and changed the trajectory of my attack.

Whoosh!

My mace missed him, slicing through the air.

And at that moment...

Puk-!

Ainar's greatsword pierced his shoulder.

'Okay, we've scored the first hit.'

But I wasn't satisfied.

There was no reason to retreat now.

Battle was a game of numbers.

Attack.

Defend.

Dodge.

You had to choose one of the three in a split second, and your next move depended on your opponent's choice.

That's why we were limiting his options.

Ttadat.

He was on the defensive now, focusing on blocking and dodging.

He couldn't afford to attack.

But even his defense wasn't perfect.

'Left.'

I knew he would dodge to the left.

Thud-!

Our coordinated attacks forced him to make mistakes, creating even bigger openings.

We could predict his next move, and he was losing his options.

It was a vicious cycle.

But...

"..."

I couldn't let my guard down.

He could still use his Aura.

And there were always unexpected variables in battle.

Like this.

Whizz!

I feinted an attack and then changed the trajectory of my mace... but the outcome was different this time.

"...!"

He had anticipated my move and followed my mace with his sword.

I twisted my body again to avoid losing my weapon, creating an opening.

Thud-!

He kicked me in the stomach. It wasn't a serious injury, but...

He had also wasted a turn attacking me.

Puk-!

Ainar's greatsword pierced his thigh.

And at the same time...

Puk-!

His sword pierced my stomach.

'Damn it, that hurts.'

I hadn't expected him to be so aggressive.

Ainar didn't even ask if I was okay.

She just kept attacking.

"Haaa!"

I quickly recovered and rejoined the fight.

It wasn't like the bleeding would stop if I retreated.

The important thing wasn't how much I was injured.

It was whether I could kill him before he killed me.

If defeating him meant escaping this place, I didn't care about my injuries.

"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!"

The battle continued.

It wasn't easy, even though our stats had increased significantly, and we were two against one.

Our numerical advantage didn't last long.

"For the Empire...!"

Imperial soldiers kept appearing, swarming us like moths to a flame.

They made the fight more difficult, but there was an advantage.

Slash!

Weapon refills.

I grabbed a new weapon from a fallen soldier as soon as my mace was broken.

Sword, hammer, mace...

It didn't matter.

As long as it was long enough to swing.

Klang-!

Arm, leg, torso, shoulder, eye, ear.

The more I was injured, the worse his condition became.

Whiiiish-!

His Aura-enhanced sword lost its momentum, his movements becoming sluggish.

His Aura itself had also weakened.

One of his arms was dangling uselessly, and his left leg, pierced twice by Ainar, was barely functioning.

'Soon...'

We were going to win.

He would collapse before we did.

I swung my hammer at his temple.

「Centurion Dreadfear's HP is below 15%.」

And then...

An explosion erupted from his body, sending me flying into a wall.

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, but I quickly got up and looked at him.

"Damn it."

I couldn't help but curse.

「Centurion Dreadfear has cast [Eternal Nightmare].」

「All HP restored.」

He had instantly healed all his injuries.

He walked towards me and said,

"My offer..."

"..."

"...still stands."

Bullshit.

I asked him,

"Are your parents..."

"..."

"...parrots?"

He didn't answer.

He just stabbed me in the stomach.

"...This damn game..."

And then everything went black.

______________________

「Character's HP is below 5%.」

「[Narcolepsy] activated.」

「Natural Regeneration greatly increased.」

「Character enters [Unconscious] state.」

______________________

Darkness.

I felt like I was floating on a river.

Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror.

How were we supposed to defeat him?

The answer was simple.

It was impossible.

I had thought we could win with our boosted stats, but it was a trap.

He wasn't meant to be defeated.

Which meant...

'I was wrong.'

My judgment had been wrong.

I should have run away and tried to escape the cave.

'It was a game of tag from the beginning.'

The stat boosts were just a handicap.

Fighting him head-on was never the right answer.

Therefore...

"Huff... Huff..."

I was paying the price for my mistake.

「Character's HP is above 15%.」

「[Unconscious] state changed to [Paralysis].」

「Natural Regeneration bonus slightly decreased.」

When I opened my eyes, I was being carried by Ainar.

"Catch them...!"

I could hear the soldiers' shouts behind us.

Ainar was running, dodging their attacks.

"Bjorn...? You're awake...?"

"..."

"Are you... okay?! Can you hear me?!"

I forced my mouth open.

"I'm... fine... Explain the situation..."

"Ah, o-okay..."

Ainar explained as she ran.

"After you... collapsed... the entire cave flashed... and he stopped moving... I took advantage of the opportunity and ran..."

He stopped moving?

Was it the altar's effect?

I didn't know.

It was a hidden piece I had never encountered before, and there were no system logs to explain it.

"How long... was I unconscious?"

"I-I don't know... about five minutes...?"

Five minutes.

"A-Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm... fine... Just paralyzed..."

What was my current state?

I thought for a moment, and then I remembered.

'[Narcolepsy].'

A passive skill that activated when my HP dropped below 5%.

It changed to [Paralysis] at 15% and then gradually healed me until the status effect was removed at 30%.

'So I have a skill too...'

Not just Bersil and Erwen, but I also had a starting skill.

It was a passive skill, so I hadn't noticed it before.

'Then Ainar must have one too...'

I wondered what her skill was.

But I didn't have time to think about it.

"L-Left..."

"Huh?"

"Left... is the way..."

"Ah..."

I gave Ainar directions as I organized my thoughts.

And then I heard a distinct sound.

"Huff... Huff..."

It wasn't just the sound of exhaustion.

"Ainar... are you okay?"

"...I'm... fine..."

She didn't look fine at all.

"Just... a few injuries... because I couldn't use my hands... Don't worry about it..."

That's when I realized something.

Ainar couldn't use her hands because she was carrying me.

Then how had she been fighting the soldiers?

Had she just been lucky enough to avoid them?

I soon found out.

"...Filthy pilgrims!"

A group of soldiers appeared in front of us.

Ainar's choice was simple.

She didn't stop.

She charged at them.

Puk-!

Swords and spears pierced her body, but she endured, avoiding the vital points.

And the result?

Shoulder.

Arm.

Leg.

She was injured in three places, but she managed to break through their lines.

The soldiers regrouped and continued their pursuit, and Ainar's breathing became even more ragged.

"Huff... Huff..."

I watched her from her back, speechless.

And then she asked,

"Bjorn... are you... hurt?"

"...Stop."

This was too reckless.

She would collapse soon, and even if we reached our destination, how would we heal her injuries?

We didn't have any potions.

It would be wiser to put me down and wait for [Narcolepsy] to wear off.

But...

"I... can't..."

Ainar refused to listen.

"Why...?"

"I... saw the future... when you collapsed..."

"...The future?"

"It was the same when the mage died... I thought it was just a hallucination... but I think it's my ability..."

What had she seen?

I asked her several times, but she didn't answer.

"I... can't stop... So trust me."

"..."

"I... won't fall..."

She muttered her last words, her voice filled with determination, and then she continued running.

Step, step.

She didn't stop, even when she saw the soldiers in front of us.

She just kept running.