Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

We managed to escape the village on our own and ascend to higher ground.

[Roaaarrr!]

[Yiiiiieeeek!]

[…Cough! Cough! Cough!]

As expected, chaos reigned above us.

Monsters roared around us, battling each other, blood splattering and flesh flying.

However, there was a clear difference from the first day of the Rain.

Thunk!

Though monsters were still falling from the sky, their numbers had significantly decreased.

“…This is way fewer than before.”

Actually, calling it “fewer” doesn’t do justice to the situation.

It’s almost negligible compared to the first day.

A difference like going from 100mm of rainfall to just 1mm.

“That damn village chief.”

He must have known about this.

He surely knew, yet he never told me.

“He wanted me to face the danger of the Rain, to keep relying on the village for as long as possible.”

I thought of him as a conniving fellow, but for now, I cleared my mind.

As the one responsible for the lives of dozens, I had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Form up in a defensive formation!”

After quickly giving the order.

“From now on, we’re leaving this island!”

I presented a clear goal to my companions and led the way.

And…

“Beheeeeeeel-laaaaaa!!”

Blocking monster teeth with my shield, I smashed through the crowd with my hammer.

At the same time.

“Mages, collect as many mana stones as you can!”

It’s such a waste.

Mana stones were scattered all over the place, and if we left them untouched, we couldn’t call ourselves explorers. Well, in the past, I had to be cautious because of the village chief’s watchful eyes, but now…

“Now, I don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

I realized anew that wielding a hammer had its benefits in social situations as well.

It allowed me to change things clearly, no matter the relationship.

Shoooaah-!

The mages continuously used their looting spells to gather the stacked mana stones. Although our contribution decreased in battles against monsters, it wasn’t a major problem.

Thanks to the reduced number of monsters falling from the sky, we had more breathing room.

“If things continue like this… maybe nobody will die.”

As someone who had prepared for the worst, it was a genuinely joyous situation.

I continued to clear a path, wrestling with the most dangerous monsters at the forefront.

Around ten minutes passed.

“We’ve defeated the Steel Spirit. EXP+6.”

“We’ve defeated Baphomet.”

“We’ve defeated the Eyecon. EXP+6.”

“We’ve defeated the Mud Golem.”

“We’ve defeated the Sky Tree. EXP+5.”

“We’ve defeated Darkion…”

“….”

As we fought various monsters pouring in without restraint, good news came from Aynar.

“Wooohoo!! My soul is filled! Filled!”

Aynar, who had been waiting for this moment, finally leveled up.

“With this, I’ve become stronger!”

To say he became stronger might be an overstatement, as it was only an immediate boost in soul power…

But it was still significant news.

He had one more slot filled in the vial of Hyprema-Jentr’s essence, which he had been consuming.

“It seems like the Hext Clan and Armin Exploration Team are also leveling up in real-time.”

Overall, the number of slots increased from +1 to +2.

I took exceptional measures.

“Um… Lord Viscount! I found a 4th-grade essence…”

“From now on, anyone can consume the essences! I won’t pay attention to anything below 3rd-grade!”

Though it was a waste of the previously established distribution, in reality, there was no loss.

We didn’t have time to put them in the vials anyway.

Any increase in power was welcome in this situation.

“Woooah!!”

This measure significantly boosted the morale of the explorers.

As if the remaining half-glass of water represented different viewpoints.

The situation of breaking through the pouring monsters was no longer seen as a crisis, but rather an opportunity…

“Not bad.”

The overall atmosphere looked positive.

However, positive atmosphere alone couldn’t overcome all obstacles.

[Rooooar!]

Roaring from a distance, a giant bird blocked our path.

Well, calling it a bird might not be accurate.

Kwuung!

Oh, now I understand why things were coming together so smoothly.

“…It won’t let us off easily.”

I let out a long breath and briefly closed my eyes, then opened them again.

Unfortunately, there was no change from before.

I secretly wished I had made a mistake, but that wasn’t the case.

A majestic creature with white feathers and spread-out wings.

A long neck, reminiscent of a giraffe, extending from a drake-like body.

And at the end of that long neck, a face resembling that of a human.

An Inmungyo…

A 2nd-grade flying type, Inmungyo.

This was the first hurdle we encountered in the process of escaping the island.

***

Falling from the sky and landing on the ground, the creature with an expressionless face glanced around us, and its eyes curved in a strangely long way.

[Hehehehehe.]

Ugh, why are there so many horrifying monstrosities in “Dungeon and Stone”?

This feeling of disgust is completely different from facing Bone Golems.

If you haven’t fought and spilled blood against all sorts of monsters, building up your resistance, seeing that grotesque face would give you chills.

Unable to issue immediate commands,

“Wizard! Cast a protective barrier!”

Only a few adventurers in this city have experience fighting monsters of rank 2 or higher.

But I’ve defeated countless creatures like that.

Even if it’s just a story in a game.

Encounters like this allow for quick judgments.

Whooooo-!

The wizards immediately conjured a translucent shield above their heads.

The whites of the inhumane creature’s eyes turned pitch black.

And…

“The Inhumane Creature has cast [The Song of the Apocalypse].”

Yellow beams of light fell from the sky.

So many that you couldn’t count them with your hands.

Kwak! Kwaquaquaang! Kwaahhhh-!

As if the sky was furious, the beam of light rained down for about ten seconds, turning the surroundings into scorched earth.

Though the damage itself wasn’t very high compared to the spectacle,

[Hehehehehehe-!]

The hatchlings of the inhumane creature stood up from where the light beam had landed.

They were a kind of token summon monster…

“One thing for sure, take those down first!”

It’s now a race against time.

Once those hatchlings grow completely after a minute and start using skills, we’ll be in real trouble…

“Yandel, give the orders!”

Ah, right, it’s not the time to think alone.

“Eruen…”

I instinctively tried to call Eruen but stopped myself.

She’s in a state of retreat.

Having left the village, she used up all her MP and can’t intervene in the battle right now.

But…

“…Since when did I rely on Eruen so much?”

A barbarian’s spirit is to chew even with no gums, let alone teeth.

“Emily, Misha, follow me! Ainar, you guard the main force… Vercil! You handle the support in the rear on your own!”

Saying that, I dashed forward, and Amelia and Misha stuck close behind me.

Amelia on the right, Misha on the left.

Wait a second…

This formation is…?

“Yandel, let me warn you in advance.”

“…Huh?”

“If you try that again… I’ll kill you, no question.”

Ugh, it seems it won’t work after all.

“…It won’t happen.”

“I… I’m fine…”

With Misha’s permission, I couldn’t forcibly merge them since one side was clearly resisting.

In the first place, she’s not even as large as a Hipporama T, so she lacks the justification.

Kwooong-!

Combining [Transcendence] and [Enlargement], her size becomes roughly similar to my eye level.

Seeing how she’s staring at me intently, as if she’s fallen for me at first sight, it seems like I’ve caught the aggro successfully…

“Beheeeeeell-aaaaaaah!”

I charge forward and embed my shield.

[Kiyaaaah-!]

Enduring the body slam, the inhumane creature wobbles.

Taking advantage of that, Misha and Amelia scatter and attack, mainly focusing on the lower body.

At the same time,

Blink-!

Light bursts from the blackened eyes of the inhumane creature.

“The Inhumane Creature has cast [Doom’s Stigma].”

Yeah, it knew it would hit me for sure.

Whoosh-!

In an instant, pain surged from my heart as if it were engulfed in flames.

“The character’s vitality decreases by 1% per second.”

So, theoretically, I’ll die in 100 seconds?

“That skill is still creepy when I think about it…”

[Doom’s Stigma].

A single-target ‘curse’ skill that can’t be evaded or defended against.

And it doesn’t have a duration.

In other words, once you’re hit, the curse remains until either that creature or I am defeated…

The strategy is quite simple.

“Aaaargh!”

Endure with the help of natural regeneration and the care of the cleric.

“Yandel! Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, just swing your sword!”

The inhumane creature was designed to be unbeatable in a prolonged battle.

Therefore, it was meant to receive aggro while allowing the dealers to attack, so we soon had melee lines and ranged dealers joining in the concentrated bombardment.

[Hehehehehehe…!]

As the fight dragged on, the inhumane creature started using other skills in succession.

“The Inhumane Creature has cast [Disguise].”

Its giant human face, attached to its massive body, instantly transformed into someone else’s face.

Though much larger than usual, I had no trouble recognizing the face.

“Oh! Emily has turned into a monster!”

[Disguise].

It randomly casts one of the skills of a character within the range.

[The Inhumane Creature has cast [Self-Replication].]

Ugh, come on…

“Why does it have to take that skill?”

“Oh! Emily has become two… no, three!!!”

Now we unexpectedly have two boss monsters.

And in the midst of this, the clone started using a new skill.

[The Inhumane Creature has cast [The Song of the Apocalypse].]

The yellow beam of light fell once again.

[The Inhumane Creature has cast [Doom’s Stigma].]

[The character’s vitality decreases by 2% per second.]

Phew, already a triple stack of curses.

Will the cleric hold out?

It was a pointless worry.

“Why does bad news always come in succession?”

“The Inhumane Creature has cast [The Song of the Apocalypse].”

In no time, one of the grown hatchlings of the inhumane creature cast a skill.

And with that…

“The Inhumane Creature has cast [Doom’s Stigma].”

“The character’s vitality decreases by 3% per second.”

Now it’s triple stacked.

Ha… With this state, there’s no way the cleric can cover 100%.

The situation is really getting tough, but escaping from [Doom’s Stigma] is impossible once it’s on you.

In the end, there’s only one answer.

“Die already!”

As a proud K-Barbarian, I charge towards the creature with Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s spirit, fighting to the death.

[The character’s vitality is below 50%.]

[Due to the passive skill [Path of the Hero], all resistance and immunity values have increased.]

With little time left for me, I fight even more fiercely.

[The Inhumane Creature has cast [Pathfinder].]

[The Inhumane Creature has cast [Guardian Spirit].]

As the battle intensifies, the inhumane creature starts wildly rampaging around.

And how much time has passed…

[The character’s vitality is below 20%.]

[Due to the passive skill [Path of the Hero], all resistance and immunity values have reached their maximum.]

At that moment, I intuitively sense that the outcome is about to be decided, no matter who wins.

Kwoong-!

Four new messages appear.

To put it simply, there were two good news and two bad news…

Let’s start with the good news, it’s quite straightforward.

“The Inhumane Creature has been defeated +EXP 8.”

Finally, the inhumane creature is dead.

And…

[No.9999 Beginner’s Luck has been activated.]

Secondly, even a Core Essence was dropped.

By the way, the color of the Core Essence is white.

“It’s [Disguise].”

Though it can’t be used to strengthen like [The Song of the Apocalypse], it’s versatile and useful.

However, the bad news…

“What, what is it?”

“Why is there suddenly a spear…?”

Could it be that the final blow against the inhumane creature wasn’t from us?

Kwoong-!

Something emerged from the darkness, grabbing the giant spear stuck in the inhumane creature’s head.

It wasn’t hard to recognize its identity.

About 3 meters in height, a small(?) figure.

An appearance of a human with smooth rock-colored skin, like a statue.

“Tythanus…! It’s Tythanus!”

Once again, a rank 2 monster has appeared.

That was the first bad news.

And the second…

“Nemirel.”

The red spear that Tythanus was holding.

It was No.7 Milayel’s Emerald-Sheathed Spear.

“Why is that brat holding it…?”

I can’t quite comprehend it, but still, I calmly accepted the fact as it is.

[The Celestial Sentinel, Milayel, who discovered a mortal, is furious.]

It’s a Crack Guardian.