Surviving the Game as a Barbarian Chapter 804: Doomsday (1)
Previously on Surviving the Game as a Barbarian...
The Grade One monster Cryptid’s skill: [Harbinger of Corruption].
Once afflicted by this skill, one of your skills is sealed—permanently. It can never be removed, no matter how much you pay at the temple.
Simply put, whatever skill is selected becomes corrupted, and you are forced to treat it as a graduation skill.
Please, not Storm Gush...
I prayed it wouldn’t land on the only disposable essence I had—Storm Gush—but truthfully, even if it didn’t, I couldn’t relax.
Sometimes, [Harbinger of Corruption] produces a unique side effect.
The odds were around 10%, right...?
Roughly once in ten casts, the selected essence undergoes a random transformation.
Whether it’s a stat, a passive, or a skill—one of the three changes at random. Sometimes for the worse... but sometimes even for the better.
Ah, not that that’s any comfort.
Like, if the Grade 5 skill [Giant Form] gets “upgraded” to the Grade 3 skill [Gigantify], that’s not an upgrade for me.
In that case, I’d have to throw away all my equipment.
Because [Gigantify] doesn’t qualify for the [Unification] modifier—
WHHHHHHRRRM—!
Just as my thoughts reached that point, a dark crimson glow began to radiate from my body.
The telltale effect of corruption beginning.
There’s no way to stop it. All I can do is pray.
Please, please, please...
Among the many threads linking me to my past monsters, one began to change color—bleeding from red to black.
I quickly traced the thread to its source.
“Ah...”
Thank Behell—Storm Gush was spared.
It also wasn’t that messy hybrid monster I assumed housed [Giant Form].
“The Essence of Bayon is corrupted.”
“This Essence cannot be used for 180 days and cannot be removed afterward.”
Bayon’s essence—could’ve been worse.
[Transcendence] is technically a graduation-tier skill, but in terms of immediate combat, losing it doesn’t cripple me.
The real problem was—
“Shit. This is bad.”
As the thread turned pitch black and reached Bayon, a hideous shriek rang out.
[...KAAAAAAAAAAAARGH—!!]
It sounded like organs being twisted apart.
Only one effect causes that reaction.
“The Abyss calls to you.”
“Bayon’s Essence is deeply corrupted.”
The 10% chance triggered.
***
“Passive Skill [Transcendence] has permanently ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) changed.”
“[Transcendence] no longer enhances all passive skill performance.”
“Active Skill [Transcendence] has permanently changed.”
“From now on, when [Transcendence] is used...”
***
I hit the 10% jackpot.
But damned if I know what actually changed.
Stat? Passive? Active?
Hell, maybe all three.
[Harbinger of Corruption] is that kind of skill.
Completely unpredictable.
I’d once tried to use it deliberately to enhance a fully built character—but the risks and combinations were too insane. I gave up pretty fast.
Anyway.
This isn’t the time to be thinking about that.
I’ll figure out what happened to [Transcendence] later—
“Yandel...!”
Snapping back to reality, I raise my shield just in time to block the incoming blow.
“Block successful.”
“Aegis Barrier absorbs all incoming damage.”
I’d briefly been lost in that mental realm, but my body’s condition is still... wretched.
“Character is suffering from Poison (Extreme).”
My body’s so saturated with venom, I can literally smell my organs rotting through my nose.
“Sven Parab casts [Prayer of Protection].”
“30% of all damage taken is converted into divine power...”
“...”
Even with real-time healing and buffs flooding in—
“Sniktura has cast [Fatal Poisoning].”
“Character HP is below 20%. Poison effects are increased by 8x.”
I can’t stop this body from marching toward death.
But—
“Elwen Fornaci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].”
Time continues its steady march.
How long has it been now...?
Not sure.
But I’m certain it’s been over ten minutes since Elwen began casting [Focused Shot]...
“Yandel!”
I hear Raven shout behind me.
“I get what you’re doing! But isn’t it enough already?! We’re all at our limits!”
To be honest, I felt the same.
I knew exactly what she meant...
“...Not yet.”
Not yet. Absolutely not.
If this one shot goes wrong—we’ll never recover.
So...
“What? You’ll die like this! Not just you—”
“I’ll be fine.”
I can endure.
***
How long’s it been since Raven called out? I don’t know. But the setup hasn’t changed.
BOOOOOOM—!
I’m still getting pummeled, inching closer to death.
“Elwen Fornaci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].”
Elwen holds her focus.
Only difference now—
“B-Bjorn...! Enough already!”
Not just Raven. Other team members start joining the chorus.
Even Elwen.
“U-Uncle! Isn’t this enough?”
...Am I really in that bad shape?
Weird. I don’t feel pain anymore.
Just kind of heavy.
“Damn it... Punish me later if you want! I can’t just sit and watch anymore!”
“Same here!”
Even the frontliners I’d ordered to stay back ignore my command and rejoin the front line.
Not that they last long.
“Ainard Prnelin casts [Crouch].”
“Meland Kaislan has cast [Iron Will]...”
About two minutes, perhaps?
Yet, I don’t dismiss their efforts.
Two minutes is an eternity in a fight.
“Beheeeell—RAAAAAAH!!”
Observing Ainard struggle with a mangled arm and Kaislan succumbing to unconsciousness, I make the critical decision.
Alright. This is the moment.
Any hesitation longer, and a life will be lost.
Even if I can endure, they certainly cannot.
Thus, the instant that realization solidifies—
“Elwen, unleash the fire.”
No further instruction was necessary.
As if anticipating the command, Elwen breaks her focus and releases the arrow.
“......”
I have no idea how long she prepared that shot, but its execution was far from ostentatious.
No—to label it merely “flashy” would be a disservice.
Because visibility vanished entirely.
Only a searing white luminescence filled the entire chamber.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!
Not even the sonic boom seemed to register.
However, the pressure wave grazing my skin conveyed all the necessary information.
“Damage was inflicted by a bonded ally.”
“The Light of Trust shields the character from this damage.”
If not for the Trust effect of No.12, I doubt my battered form would have survived.
A tremor runs down my spine.
And yet—
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!
Regardless of the shot’s immense power, admiration is a luxury we cannot afford now.
Only one question remains paramount:
Was it sufficient to annihilate Sniktura in a single, decisive strike?
The answer arrived with stark clarity.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!!
The piercing sound in my ears—a sharp, deafening tinnitus—gradually subsides.
As my vision clears, I behold the grim aftermath.
CRACKLE, ZZTZTZT—!
Intricate machinery emits sparks and sizzles.
CHHHHHHHHHHHH—!
Vapor billows upwards like an erupting geyser.
And through the dissipating mist—
THUD—!
Sniktura lay sprawled on the ground, a colossal void ripped through its throat.
“......”
I processed the tableau before me.
Or, to be more accurate, I recalled a prior exchange.
[Bill Ironred.]
[If memory serves, he altered his name once.]
[It was an exceedingly common designation.]
Indeed... foreboding premonitions rarely prove false.
It truly was Hans, wasn't it...?
Because instead of dissolving into ethereal motes like other monstrous entities—
“Goddammit.”
Its tail still twitched ominously.
“Sniktura’s HP has dropped below 10%.”
“[Final Radiance] has been activated.”
The desperate gamble had failed.
***
Sniktura’s secondary passive ability, [Final Radiance], complements its [All-Poison Physiology].
This potent skill triggers automatically when the creature’s HP dips below the 10% threshold.
Its effects are ruthlessly straightforward.
“All of Sniktura’s combat statistics are momentarily doubled.”
“Sniktura gains absolute immunity to all detrimental status effects.”
“Sniktura acquires bonuses to damage immunity...”
Utterly unbalanced.
Ah, certain limitations do exist, naturally.
“Sniktura’s mobility is temporarily impaired.”
It remains incapacitated for a full 60 seconds following the skill’s activation.
Then again, classifying this as a mere “handicap” is rather optimistic.
The other drawback presents a more significant concern.
“While [Final Radiance] is active, HP depletes at an accelerated rate.”
Consequently, even with its damage immunity, the creature continuously loses health over time.
This implies a passive victory is achievable—simply wait, and it will perish on its own.
Furthermore, it possesses no means to deactivate the skill.
The conflict will persist until either its demise or ours.
If my recollection is accurate, exhausting that final 10% requires approximately five minutes.
Five minutes.
Depending on one's perspective, that duration could be perceived as extensive... or brief.
Relying on fragmented memories, I make a critical determination.
Under the strictures of Yacharul’s rules, with all abilities suppressed, perhaps victory would be attainable.
But with the current state of infinite MP...
A single minute.
That is the extent of Sniktura’s remaining chance to tear us all asunder.
Thump—!
Despite my efforts to maintain a hopeful outlook, only desolation floods my thoughts.
A solitary recourse remains.
BANG BANG—!
I turn from Sniktura, my fist striking the sealed entryway repeatedly.
“Arta! Is this not sufficient?! Open the damned door!”
[...]
“Should we perish, that entity perishes too—you comprehend this!”
[...]
“Arta! ARTA!!”
My desperate cries echo unanswered.
I was aware the speakers were malfunctioning, but... could Arta truly be oblivious to the unfolding catastrophe within?
Curses.
“U-Uncle?”
“What is transpiring, Yandel?”
“We must end this immediately—it’s immobile—!”
My companions voice their confusion at my erratic behavior—yet their words fail to penetrate.
For the first time in a considerable duration—
I found myself consumed by utter despair.
I had invariably clung to reason, perpetually grasping for the fragile thread of survival, irrespective of the dire circumstances.
But this time was different.
“It is finished.”
“Eh...?”
“My apologies. Due to my misjudgment, I have condemned us all.”
“What are you speaking of...?”
“Shortly, that creature will regain its mobility. And when it does... we are finished. I am truly sorry.”
Perhaps the gravity of my words was reflected in my countenance.
For a shift began to occur in the others as well.
“If there is anything left unsaid, speak it now. Soon, such opportunities will be lost forever.”
I addressed them—and, in truth, myself as well.
Throughout this arduous journey, I have witnessed countless departures from this life.
Individuals achieve astounding strength in their final moments—yet they also reveal profound vulnerability.
All the pretenses we meticulously construct are stripped away, exposing our most fundamental selves.
Precisely as I am doing now.
Even though Amelia is absent...
“Elwen. Misha. Attend closely.”
If I am to meet my end, these words must be conveyed first.
“The truth of the matter is—”
Right when I was about to reveal it—
“S-Stellar…!”
“…What?”
“[Agent of the Star]!”
Suddenly, a divine light erupted from an unseen source.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!
A warm, majestic silver glow, so intensely pure it seemed to halt all existence.
“Sven Parab has invoked the Zero-Rank divine spell, [Agent of the Star].”
.
.
.
.
“The conditions for casting have been fulfilled.”
“The Star Goddess Reatlas shall now descend into this world, using Sven Parab as her vessel.”