Surviving the Game as a Barbarian Chapter 801: First-Class (3)

Arta's Secret Base.

The tale unfolding here is straightforward. Let me quickly summarize it...

In the game's lore, the Arta family constructed a hidden outpost at the spot nearest the “Core of the Earth” by the island, aiming to contain the “Beast.” They employed a device known as the “Divine Relic” to bind the Beast with the Core’s might, and this duty has been inherited across generations until now. The issue lies in the fact that the secret base has fallen utterly silent.

[A monster invaded the chamber holding the Divine Relic! Clearly, it's the plot of those seeking the world's doom!]

Select the proper dialogue choices, and Arta delivers lines like these, granting the player their initial mission. The mission requires slaying the monster that ravaged the lab and reactivating the Divine Relic.

[Sorry, but that creature wrecked the elevator, forcing you to descend via the emergency ladder for several hours. I'll unlock the entrance!]

[Watch out! The Core's instability means all powers vanish upon entry! The same applies to the Serpent of the End!]

Upon accepting the quest, such warnings follow. Yet perhaps I botched the opening sequence?

'She seemed oddly brusque when we first met...'

Right as I stepped into the lab, she uttered a line absent from the game.

[...What’s your name?]

After almost two hours scaling down the ladder, Arta's voice echoed from the lab's speakers.

[...Bjorn Yandel.]

[A renowned name in the Empire?]

[Well, somewhat.]

Not the Empire—it's Lafdonia.

Still, my fame holds true, so no falsehood there.

'This chapter marks the first time she inquires about your name...'

That's likely another aspect of the reality adjustment. Post-introductions, Arta fell quiet, so I guided my team cautiously into the lab.

BEEP—! BEEP—! BEEP—!

An eerie, relentless siren filled the lab's interior. Dome-shaped and surprisingly vast within...

Where's the Sniktura...?

Tension mounted further as the team searched in vain for our target. Even as a first-class monster, Yaksha Rule notwithstanding.

Raven, Marone, stay put over there.

I gathered the mages useless in melee and herded them to one area. Then...

Step. Step.

Toward the lab's heart I advanced. A yawning chasm like a bottomless sinkhole lay there...

WHOOSH—!

Strong wind surged from behind as I neared, courtesy of the Core below siphoning our mana and soul force.

Ready?

My team nodded wordlessly in response, assuming formation. Good, we're set...

[Survivor of the fallen Empire, right ahead—]

[Got it. Just hit this button, yeah?]

[....]

A button on a dubious lab machine I pressed, halting the howling wind at once. Followed by...

[Command input complete.]

[Emergency restoration initiated.]

The ancient-language narration rang out, silencing the BEEP—BEEP— sirens. Though merely a pause.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The alarms resumed, blaring more frantically—

[Restoration failed.]

[Unidentified object detected within connector.]

[Initiating forced ejection.]

Those announcements preceded a fierce upward blast from the pit. And soon...

[Forced ejection complete.]

Bursting forth like a lodged parasite, a serpent erupted from the depths.

Prepare for battle!

A first-class monster: Sniktura.

***

Serpent of the End, Sniktura.

Among the myriad beasts on the 10th floor. Truth be told, even in-game, encountering this on the 10th floor meant evasion. That floor embodied pure hellish challenge. I'd typically dodge fights en route to the “Gate of the Abyss.” Naturally, battles couldn't always be avoided.

Anyway.

'Encountering it here, it's almost endearing.'

Not the unbound 10th floor chaos. A confined arena seals active skills for both foes. There, Sniktura appeared diminutive and charming. Its head alone spanned over three meters.

'Hiss...'

Sniktura halted upon emerging, startled by our presence. Its triple-forked tail smacked the ground in clear irritation.

...It’s smaller than described?

Indeed, [Form Shift] is inaccessible here. On the 10th floor, it freely altered size and mimicked other forms—utterly vexing.

'[Form Shift] akin to Unification would rival a superior [Giant Form]...'

Perhaps that's why I rarely pursued it. Despite first-class status, its abilities mismatched shield-barbarians.

[Unidentified object ejection complete.]

[Sealing hatch—]

[Failure, failure, failure, failure—]

Argh, quiet down.

"What’s it saying now?"

Oh, that one?

"It’s urging us to battle."

And right after those words left my mouth, Sniktura charged straight at us.

[Kyaaaaaaaah—!]

Its fangs, massive and thick like a greatsword, screamed danger just by looking. Battling it while skills were sealed seemed utterly impossible.

However—

'Active skills aren’t the whole story.'

"Defense successful."

"Aegis Barrier absorbs all damage."

Fangs of that magnitude got perfectly handled by [Aegis Barrier]. Provided the strike fell within its range, it was basically unbeatable.

[...Kaak!]

Upon witnessing my tiny frame effortlessly halting its assault, it appeared momentarily shocked. Then, drawing something from its depths, it spewed it toward us.

Tap.

Oh, better evade that.

Sizzle—!

The instant the spit hit the ground, corrosion rapidly ate away at the surface. That stemmed from its passive, [All-Poison Physiology]. In short: total resistance to every poison, all bodily fluids turned ultra-toxic, plus extra poison harm.

It resembled the ultimate upgrade of [Acidic Fluid], which I once favored...

Swoosh—!

Sniktura whipped its massive tail my way next.

'Ah, this strike likely won’t qualify as blockable.'

Perhaps with [Giant Form] activated. In my current compact size, fully stopping that tail proved impossible.

Nevertheless—

'No time left to dodge.'

I hoisted my shield to protect my torso and minimize the blow as best I could. Still got flung straight into the wall.

BOOM—!

Without resisting, I smashed against the wall, shield held high. No choice there. The sheer stats of a first-class monster were insanely overpowering. No setup in Dungeon & Stone could overpower such brute force.

'Well... perhaps in 100x Mode?'

Yeah... if you poured 30 essences into it, maybe... Pointless fantasy. Anyway.

"Behell—raaaaaaaaah!!"

To shake off the daze, I bellowed a battle cry and plunged back into the fray. Ainard, Sven Parab, and Kaislan held the front.

"What... sort of beast is this...!"

"Ugh... Bjorn! Without our abilities, I’m lost!"

The stat difference crushed them, yet I stayed calm. This wasn’t their debut against monsters. They’d adapt to its moves quickly. Remember, its active skills were sealed as well.

Whoosh—!

As the frontliners battled on, backup attacks flew from behind—yet they scarcely scratched it.

"Yandel... can we even slay this creature?"

Doubt crept into Kaislan’s voice as arrows and swords failed to mark it. Fair concern, really. A first-class monster’s base stats were absurd. Pure passives offered no path to sufficient damage output.

'Any moment now...'

That thought crossed my mind just then.

[Initiating restoration.]

This announcement came not from the narrator, but Arta’s voice through the speakers. Followed by—

[To proceed with manual restoration, I need assistance from inside the lab. I’ll show you with the lights—]

[I’m supposed to press the lit-up buttons, right?]

[...Correct.]

Once the exchange ended, I instructed the backline to hit any glowing buttons as machines activated. Then—

[Emergency stabilization module activated.]

[1%, 2%, 3%, 4%...]

[Error detected.]

[Mana Core requires repair.]

Button presses triggered progress reports, but new failures interrupted before completions, demanding more fixes. Time dragged on that way.

"Kaislan, retreat and chug a potion for healing."

"I’m still fine—"

Dude, your skin’s dissolving and bones show. “Fine,” huh.

"That’s an order."

"...Understood."

Nearly two hours into this grueling clash, the front rotated endlessly, healing up and rejoining.

[Emergency stabilization completed.]

Wooooong—!

The lab blazed with light as power surged back. The endless first phase had concluded at last. Simultaneously—

"Field effect – Destroyed Core Lab has changed."

"Character resource values now fluctuate depending on distance."

The real raid kicked off now. Rear MP regen began—minimal, around 10% max. Vital, though, since vanguards drove this fight.

"Listen up. From here on, do not let it force us back even an inch!"

I issued the frontliners a strict command. Straying too far from the pit meant not just our MP recovery—that cursed serpent would reclaim its powers too.

Thus...

"Parab! You fall back!"

I shifted Sven Parab, our sole healer, to the back to function as a true support.

"Elwen Fornaci di Tersia has cast [Spiritization]."

Elwen switched to [Spiritization] over attacks. Poison nature meant earth attribute, naturally.

"Fire damage taken is halved."

"Damage from water is doubled."

"Bonus to poison immunity."

"Blunt weapons gain major boosts for destructive effects."

"Physical resistance boosted significantly..."

"..."

Poison issue sorted, she battled with greater vigor, her footing steadied by enhanced knockback resistance.

'Time to grind it down steadily and brace for that ultimate berserk stage...'

Such were my plans as we pressed on with the raid in composed fashion—

"...What?"

In an instant, Sniktura’s shell flared with intense red light. Only one outcome possible from that.

"Sniktura has activated [Seed of Destruction]."

"Targets a random foe in range with an inescapable blow."

Disaster struck.

.

.

.

.

"......has dropped to 0% HP."

"Countdown commencing."