STGB Chapter 23

Episode 23 Level Up (3)

Insert the torch into the groove on the helmet.

And tie it tightly with a string.

It’s called Barbarian Candle Mode.

…It’s a sense of shame, but it’s a practical use that other explorers also love.

Einar placed his hand on the shimmering flames and then spat out an exclamation.

“Oh that’s amazing! It’s not really hot!”

Yes, this torch is also a magic tool in its own right.

It’s only about a span long, so it doesn’t interfere with body movement, and it’s a useful item that can be maintained for about three days once you put it on.

Crossbow It was an expedition item that the party had.

Was the average market price 10,000 stones?

…I suddenly miss Erwen.

“But where is this place?”

Einar looked around and asked if he could see the surroundings.

There must be a huge gap between what you actually see and the 2D pixel graphics, but this time it was quite easy to understand.

The black earth that was soggy every time I walked.

Remnants of stone structures can be seen everywhere.

Even the mournful cries that could be heard faintly from afar.

“It is the land of the dead.”

“Oh, that’s where Ghouls and Deathfind come from!”

For once, yes.

If you go into detail, it is said that the elder ghoul, skeleton banshi, and even Dullahhan, which is a mid-boss, will appear.

“I’ll put myself in the lead.”

The fighting power of monsters is much higher in the Land of the Dead than in the Goblin Forest.

But if it’s a tricky thing, I’d like to hit the goblin forest upwards.

It’s much darker here… but

at least there are no traps here.

It’s much more comfortable this way to work with two barbarians.

“It’s a ghoul.”

Before long, we encountered a monster.

The number is as low as three.

Of course, by the 3rd day, it will increase by about 3 times now.

One more reason to move quickly.

“Here is Bjorn’s magic stone!”

“Take care of what you see without reporting each one. Distribution can be done later. I will speed up.”

Unlike the Goblin Forest, I immediately left the entrance and continued to move north.

Just then, screams were heard nearby.

“Kyaaaaaaaagh!”

“Bi-bi Bjorn?!”

“It’s the banshee’s howling. Just ignore it. It rarely attacks first.”

“That’s right… But is it really okay not to kill it? It could be dangerous, right?”

well.

I wonder if there was an Erwen who could use spirits.

The two of them in the physical world couldn’t catch the Banshee no matter what they were doing.

Even if I could catch it, it was a problem.

“If you attack Banshee first, you will be cursed.”

“curse?”

“It’s a curse called the Mark of Resentment. The Banshees will relentlessly attack you until you get out of the labyrinth.”

Unless you’re going to catch only banshee for ten days, it’s better not to touch banshee at all.

If experience was the goal, it was common to only catch one or two on the last day.

“You’re a very wise warrior. I’m glad I followed you.”

Thank you for the compliment.

I don’t want to show off, but I know full well that you’re afraid of this kind of thing more than you think.

But that is it and this is this.

“Kyaaaaaagh!”

“Kidduk!”

I want you to stop clinging to me every time I hear a sound.

Aside from being burdensome…….

Because the arms that were caught are about to break.

“Leave it… It’s a skeleton.”

Just in time, a group of skeletons appeared with a creaking sound from their joints.

The number is 10.

There are quite a lot of monsters, even though they are only 1 day old.

Well, if you catch them all, there will only be three or four magic stones.

“Keuheum! I’ll do it!”

Einar jumped forward first, perhaps ashamed of being afraid of the sound of the banshee.

Tsk tsk I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“Einar! If you look between the ribs, there must be a core. If you want to catch a skeleton with a sword weapon, you must aim there…”

Kwajik-!

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything. Never mind and fight.”

Kwajik-! Kwajik! Kwajik!

weakness and what

Every time Ainar wielded a huge sword, the skeleton was mercilessly smashed.

And never woke up again.

***

「You killed an elder ghoul. EXP +1”

“You killed a skeleton. EXP +1」

「You killed a skeleton warrior. EXP +1」

「You killed a skeleton archer. EXP +1”

***

After that, we moved north for about 8 hours.

While doing so, I was able to naturally encounter various new monsters.

An elder ghoul that is about twice the size of a normal ghoul.

Skeleton warriors and archers classified as mutants.

Since he hadn’t met Meiji yet, it would be difficult to conclude anything, but so far there has been nothing too difficult.

This is because the number of objects is small because it is only one day away, and my combat power has significantly increased compared to before.

Poo-!

Just look at the equipment.

Because of the center of gravity of the uncle’s two-handed hammer, it was inevitably possible to use it only by holding it briefly.

However, holding a mace that was about 70 cm long made it possible to strike from farther away.

Much safer and more powerful.

More than anything…….

Kkaang-!

Also got armor.

Because it was a vest-type plate armor, the forearm was exposed defenselessly, but with that alone, the area to be blocked with a shield was much reduced.

As a result, a much bolder battle was possible.

It feels like the shackles have finally been released.

“Beware of Bjorn! There are even skeleton archers!”

The T-shaped steel helmet, with only the eyes, nose and mouth exposed, protected the head, the most important vital point.

Of course, it would be dangerous if you were hit directly by something like a crossbow, but arrows shot from a broken bow were easily deflected.

And there is one more barbarian with similar combat power to me.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

We cried out to the ancestral gods of the barbarians together and continued the battle that was no different from a massacre.

Fuck! Fuck! Kwajik-!

It took about 10 seconds to destroy an entire group of monsters.

Is that why?

Every time the battle was over, I felt refreshed that I couldn’t taste when I was with Erwen.

Oh, is this the true taste of the barbarian?

“Bjorn is injured.”

huh?

After listening to Einar’s words, I checked and saw that there was a slight scratch on my forearm.

But…

“Don’t worry. You’ll get well soon.”

There was no need to apply herbs, let alone potions.

“Oh! My weight is already healing! Is this the ability of that spirit imprint?”

The first-stage effect of the Immortal Imprint Path is that the natural regenerative power is noticeably increased.

Of course, it’s not comparable to a potion…….

I checked the other day and it took about a minute for the 0.5cm deep cut to heal.

However, this alone significantly increases stability. My stamina recovery itself was quicker, so my stamina increased tremendously.

“Get ready soon. It seems we’ve almost arrived.”

I put tension on Einar and lowered his movement speed.

Suddenly, the terrain changed.

The floor was no longer muddy and hard, and it was not even flat because there were mounds everywhere.

The banshee’s howling was also much louder.

“Khi hee hee hee hee!!”

“Kkeuheu haaaaaagh!”

Of course, the biggest change is something else.

Top species from here.

In other words, a level 8 monster appears.

“…Bjorn doesn’t really attack first, right?”

Einar has been scratching his teeth since earlier, perhaps because he was scared by the sound of the banshee.

When barbarians are scared, their chin tightens up and that’s what happens…

I don’t know.

Is it because I’ve never been so scared before?

“Koooooooooo—!!”

As we continue to move, we hear a grotesque roar from the darkness.

After actually listening to it, my flesh is shaking.

“Preparing for the Einar battle.”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t catch Bevensie?”

Doesn’t he have ears?

“It’s not Banshee.”

Deathfind.

Among the many level 8 monsters that made a great contribution to raising the entry barrier of the game, he must be the one who is evaluated as the most asshole.

***

Cooung! cooong! cooong! cooong!

The sound of heavy steps, heard from a distance, grew louder and louder, and soon it appeared in front of us.

“…You’re going to fight that one?”

Einar asked me, and before I could answer, he chanted.

“It’ll be fun.”

I don’t know if I know his feelings.

The other day, he said he was afraid of dying too, how can he smile while looking at a kid like this?

Are you afraid of banshee?

coo-!

As if the light was bothering him, Deathfind stopped walking at the end of the light.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not nervous.”

why do you answer It’s what you said to me

I made a plan while coming back, but seeing it in person made my hamstrings tingle.

Deathfind is a humanoid undead monster.

Or is it more like a chimera?

He is over 3m tall and has a sword and shield on both arms.

Not holding on, really.

One hand stretched out in a curve is sharpened like a half moon, and the other arm spread wide from the elbow to the side takes the shape of a shield.

It’s called Protein Blade and Shield.

“Oohhhhhhh—!!”

Shiva, don’t shout like that, it’s fucking scary.

It’s not easy to try to reduce fear somehow.

“If you calmly follow the plan, you can win.”

“Of course I trust you.”

Thank you for that, but this time I said it to myself.

…Let’s stay calm.

This is my first try, but if I don’t let go of tension, nothing dangerous will happen.

If the situation gets worse, jump out without looking back.

“As I said earlier, aim for the head unconditionally. There is no point anywhere else. Do you understand?”

“i get it!”

No, that wasn’t the signal to run right away.

“Behel—laaaaaaa!!”

Einar ran out with his greatsword in both hands.

It was too late to dry it.

As if the aggro was attracted properly by the sound of shouting, the guy who had been watching for a while on the border of the torch charged forward with his sword and shield.

“Oohhhhhhh—!!”

Wow!

Einar’s greatsword and Desfind’s protein blade collided, creating a roaring sound.

“Beware of Bjorn! It’s a monster whose strength is not a joke!”

You usually know that as soon as you see it, right?

“Behel—Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

I shouted loudly and went forward.

Then, after building a wall in front of me with my shield, the guy who was about to attack Einar bounced off. “I hit the side of the man.

But is this the heaviness that comes from his physique?

It feels like he’s been hit by a rock

. It’s

hard to beat. When he gives strength, his body is pushed back as he holds the shield.

There’s no reason to hold on, but his pride is hurt.”

So I put my toes high

and put all my weight forward and screamed,

not

a

roar

. And Einar wasn’t immature enough to just let that gap pass.

Huh-

!

Soon after, the greatsword swung with a heavy blast sound and struck Desfind’s side of

the

head .

It was cut by a thick greatsword, but the blade was only about 1cm stuck.

It must have been because of the skull that made the dull sound.

Heck, even within the game, Despind’s defense was notorious.

Well, what made many beginners quit the game was not defense, but regeneration. “Ooohhhhhh!”

“Get back!”

I

opened the distance to avoid the frenzied Deathfind.

Dark red blood flowed from the spot where the greatsword was pulled out, but the bleeding stopped in less than 3 seconds.

His passive skill ‘ Preservation of the body’.

“Einar! make a gap This time I’ll attack!”

The moment I quickly gave the order and was about to run again. The ground

suddenly

started to shake.

It was the first time I’d seen an effect like this, but I knew what it was as soon as I saw it.

Desfiend’s active skill It’s the ‘Call of the Dead.’

“Get off, the ghouls come out!”

When the shaking ends, ghouls dig up from the ground and climb up.

The number is exactly ten.

“First, organize these guys!”

”

Okay!”

Child While Nar was swinging his greatsword at the ghouls,

I marked them closely, paying attention only to Deathfind. However, the ghouls that were constantly attracted to aggro scratched

my

skin with their claws, so my skin quickly turned to rags. .Of

course, there’s no big problem.

I have regenerative power.

I’m not as good as you.

“Bjorn! Now I’m going to take care of this guy!”

After holding out for about two minutes, the ghouls were finished.

Somehow, I laughed at myself.

To be able to endure Desfind’s summoning pattern while literally getting hit.

‘I didn’t do this well in the game either. ‘

While Einar was marking him one-on-one with a baton touch, I took out my mace and moved behind his back.

Then I put a smash into the back of his head.

Pooh-!

It was a good sound with a good touch.

Actually, even the back of the head that was sporadic was rotten blood. Even

so, I continued to wield my mace.

Poo-! Poo-o-! Poo-!

The goblin’s power, which would have turned into light and vanished the moment it hit, was contained in

each

blow .

After experiencing it, the strength of the skull is beyond imagination. Even while being hit, the flesh was healing.

…What should I do?

The attack power is insufficient.

If I had known this would happen, I would have bought the one the arms dealer recommended at that time.

Just Should I

give up on catching

and

hunt 9th grade monsters

?

But then.

“Kkuot!”

Suddenly, Despind’s body tilted his head.

Upon checking, I saw Einar digging into the gap and grabbing one of the legs of the 3m giant guy and lifting him up.

This is a technique often seen in the UFC.

Could it be…

‘Single leg tackle?’

“Behel—Laaaaa!!”

The muscle pumped and the veins protruding as if they were going to explode, it was to the point where it looked more like a monster, but the

intent was clear and even the possibility was visible

. When I hit the one ankle that was in contact with the ground as hard as I

could

with my mace, the massive giant lost balance and stayed in the air for a while.

And then

…

Coo-

!

It was the first time I knew that a fight like this was possible against a monster classified as medium or large.

…

Nothing is impossible for a barbarian

.

“Ohhhh!!”

You can’t stand up alone?

“Bjorn!”

“Ow!”

We

understood each other just by looking at each other.

Einar and I ran to the fallen guy and struck each other’s weapons like mad kites.

Put the rice cake on top of the mortar and take turns hitting the hammer one at a time.

Puck! Puck! Puck! Puck! Puck!

Come to think of it, when I was in elementary school, I hit rice cakes just like this at the folk village I visited.

“It’s fun!”

The same group as me at the time Is it because I remembered that my old partner cried and asked for a change?

Seeing Einar having fun together heals the wounds in my heart.

For some reason, even my soul feels pure.

「I killed Deathfind. EXP +2」

Death turns into light and disappears within Looking at Fiend, we all smiled brightly.

There was no magician’s mighty magic, priest’s divine power, or fairy spirit magic…

“Bjorn! Look at this! The magic stone is huge!”

We succeeded in hunting the 8th grade monster.