Barbarian, Back to the Dungeon (2)
It was cool as hell to make a dramatic entrance like that.
A woman in distress, a villain looming over her, and then me stepping in from the shadows.
If I could build some rapport here, I might actually be able to charm the priestess, right?
Thinking that, I immediately leaped down and took out one goblin without hesitation.
Those crazy superheroes though.
How the fuck do they manage to drop from high up and land on their knees?
I jumped from the tree, took out one goblin, but my knees were killing me so bad I could barely move.
Keraaaak—!
And because of my cool-ass pose, the goblins started cheering.
They were all gripping their weapons.
“Whoa, you guys. Your welcome is a little too intense?”
Keraaaak——!
I swung my axe at the angry bastard charging toward me, turning him into goblin paste, then used the momentum to slam my fist into the head of the next one charging in, smashing him straight into the ground.
Thud!
Of course I didn't forget to finish them off.
Keraaaak━━!!!
Three dead. A moment of satisfaction, but then the goblins started forming up.
A shield-wielding goblin up front, spears and swords behind, and even a poison-spitting one in the very back.
It was a sloppy formation, but given goblin intelligence, it was surprisingly coordinated.
No such thing in the games.
“Thump-thump…!”
Keraaaak——!
Matching the rhythm of my own heartbeat, the goblins charged at me with their voices raised.
Shield goblin blocking my attacks, spear goblin stabbing, sword goblin finishing me off.
And if that failed, they'd poison me to paralyze me!
“Impressive, you little dwarfs!”
I raised my own shield to face them off.
My regeneration had already kicked in.
The charging goblins slammed into my shield.
Keraaaak—!?
The shield goblin flew backward from the impact.
It was the first time I'd seen one fly, and it screamed the whole way.
The two behind it looked shocked that their tank had just been launched.
“Haha! Even goblins make that face! More pathetic than I thought!”
I lightly dodged the clumsy stab, then met the flying axe with my own axe.
Kagak—!
Unlike the shield goblin that flew away, this one held firm.
He grinned with a face that said “I’m not flying,” but still.
“Huh…!”
I pulled my axe back.
The goblin came sliding in.
I immediately swung my off-hand, grabbed the goblin's neck, and lifted him up.
Puuuk—!
The spear came out through the shield goblin's gut.
Keraaaak!!!
The spear goblin screamed in agony, but I just said.
“Adios, friend.”
I swung my axe and cut both of them down in one stroke.
They died without even a chance to resist.
And right after them.
Fwip!
Poison needles rained down on my shield.
Even though the vanguard was gone, the goblins didn't run; they kept firing needles nonstop, but the shield blocked them all.
“Huhahaha!!”
I laughed while pushing through the goblin needles.
I didn't know why I was laughing, but somehow it just felt right.
My little barbarian inside was yelling like that.
Kwuduk!
I charged forward laughing, raised my axe, and split one goblin's head open.
Keraak!
And another.
Thud!
The goblin I smacked with the shield face flew far away and convulsed.
“Last!”
And now the last one. He finally turned to run, but it was too late.
Kwang!
I grabbed his head and slammed him into the ground.
Keraaaak!
I thought it was over, but apparently not.
“Hot stuff?”
The shield goblin I just sent flying. He was looking for one last chance and didn't run; instead he slashed at my back.
The sensation of blood flowing down my back.
The pain of a back wound was a nasty memory I hadn't felt in a while.
“Tsk. What a gross feeling.”
Keraaaak!
The shield goblin screamed at me not to ignore him. I swung my fist.
Thud!
“Oh, what? You think you can block this?”
I flew back again, but my hand was numb. Of course, since I hit the shield properly.
What surprised me more was that the bastard actually blocked my attack.
It seemed the shield wasn't just for show, because the shield goblin charged at me again with his shield raised!
“Nice! Let's do it again!”
A battle-hungry goblin like this? I smiled and raised my shield.
So then…!
The shield goblin charged, and I charged toward him too.
The two of us rushing toward each other.
In the future where only collision waited.
Krrak!
The shield goblin twisted his body.
“Huh?”
I hadn't expected him to dodge, so the shield goblin just slid right past me.
Far away.
“Hah…”
The shield goblin who thought he had spirit ran away.
I was the idiot for falling for it so easily.
But in the games there was no option to run, so I didn't expect that.
I was just scratching my head at the now-vanished shield goblin when I remembered my original goal.
The blue-haired priestess.
A priestess I wouldn't normally see on the lower floors, I looked down at her with high expectations.
“…Ugh.”
Her voice reached me.
She was still unable to move freely, blinking her eyes repeatedly.
Blink, blink—.
The priestess finally snapped out of it, looked around, and our eyes met.
“Kya, kyaaaaak——!”
She screamed.
Wait, what did I do?
I looked at her with an aggrieved expression, and she started crying while speaking.
“S-s-save me… Please, I beg you, Sir Barbarian. There are many younger siblings waiting for me in the city…”
What the fuck?
Now that I thought about it, this woman was unconscious when she woke up, cursing at me for being a barbarian?
No, she just collapsed without saying anything?
'What the hell did you do, barbarian.'
Well, I had an idea. Luna, the innkeeper, had told me not to rape the woman.
These beasts were worse than animals, and since barbarians got along with each other, they probably just wanted to live here.
Sigh.
I was getting tired of being treated like this wherever I went.
But what could I do? I chose to be a barbarian, after all.
“Priestess.”
“H-hic…! W-what is it!? Are you trying to eat me!? I taste bad…! I-I can buy you delicious food when we get back to the city…! So please don't eat me!”
“No, I wasn't planning to.”
“R-really…?”
The priestess asked with teary eyes. Honestly, just looking at her made me feel like I was the bad guy.
But what could I do? This was the life of a barbarian.
“Yes. I have no intention of eating you, Priestess. Don't worry.”
“H-haha…! Really? I'm so sorry. The other sisters told us that if we meet a barbarian in the dungeon, we should run because barbarians are always thinking about eating us…”
You wanted to eat the priestess too?
These crazy barbarians. Shouldn't these guys be banned from entering the dungeon city?
“Ah, sorry for the late introduction. Hello, kind savior who saved me. My name is Netia. I'm Netia, the young lamb who serves the Goddess of Sea and Life.”
The Goddess of Sea and Life.
Even in the dungeon, she was a well-known deity.
“Hello. I'm Barca. Barbarian Barca.”
“Barca… What a nice name.”
“Haha, not as nice as Priestess Netia.”
“Oh my, really? Thank you for saying that. The other priests warned us to be careful, but you're surprisingly gentlemanly. I guess people really do need to see things with their own eyes.”
Well. I hadn't actually met a barbarian before, but from what I heard, they were all insane.
But I couldn't ruin the good mood, so I just smiled.
“So, Netia.”
“Netia is fine. You can speak casually too.”
“Alright, then Netia. Why were you running alone from the goblins? Where's the rest of your party?”
Well, I had an idea. 'Lower floors are easy? Should we try the fourth floor too?' But the fourth floor was the Wall of Tears for beginner adventurers.
This place was where goblin tribes attacked in groups, so even I who had just started playing the game died a lot here.
My starting stats were too high, so I took out the goblins easily, but I wouldn't have come alone otherwise.
“…Sob.”
And as if confirming my guess, the moment I mentioned the party, Netia burst into tears and started spilling everything.
She had first challenged the fourth floor, got ambushed by goblins, and was captured, but luckily escaped alone.
That's why she was heading to the escape portal to find rescuers when she got caught again.
Probably her party members were either dead or turned into sex slaves. One of the bad ends was being a goblin sex slave.
“So, what do you want to do? If you want to leave the dungeon, I can help.”
I had scouted the fourth floor, so it was time to head back.
The bag Luna gave me was almost full, and selling the loot from the goblins would bring decent money.
I thought this was a lucky chance to build a connection with a rare priestess in the early game.
“…Barca-nim.”
Our priestess seemed to have outstanding companions.
“…Please, could you lend me your strength to rescue my companions?”
To rescue those trapped in the goblin village or already dead?
“It's tough. The ones from earlier were just scouts, right? Attacking a proper goblin village is hard.”
“Right, but Barca-nim, even right now my companions are suffering. Please pity them and help just this once?”
I was suffering right now.
But this sight was good.
She clasped her hands together and looked up at me, begging for help.
Hah, what a good sight.
Noticing my gaze, Netia briefly looked down at her chest.
She made up her mind and spoke.
“I-I will repay this favor with my body if you save my companions!!”
“…With my body?”
“Y-yes!!”
Fuck, really?
This was…!!!
“Of course I have to save my suffering siblings from the evil's grasp, Netia!”
“Ah…! Barca-nim! I believed an angel would always be with those who help others!”
“Obviously! I'm Barca the barbarian who has always fought for good! Let's smash these goblin bastards' heads and form a party!”
“Yes!”
The light barbarian Barca, deploying.