Chapter 230
“Great Sorcerer, do you perhaps know what has happened? The color of this thing has changed.”
“Even I don’t know that much.”
The gate, which had been blue, was dyed red. Since it was Franz’s first time seeing this as well, there was no way he would know anything about it.
But the one thing that was certain was that this was a completely different situation from before.
Because of that, Franz kept his guard up and watched the situation unfold.
It was then.
The gate began to waver, and something revealed itself.
A hard outer shell and a pincer-like structure designed to firmly grip something, similar to the claws commonly found on crabs or scorpions.
“Gro Man, prepare for battle.”
There was no need to keep watching. There was only one thing that existed beyond the gate.
A monster.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
The barbarians stomped their feet, taking their combat stances. That reverberation strangely stimulated his heart, giving him a feeling of elation.
He felt like he understood the meaning of a warrior a little bit now.
“Gro Man, I’ll help you when it gets dangerous.”
“Good! Sorcerers, step back!”
Franz decided to watch them from a step away.
It was something he could easily handle on his own, but doing so might crush their pride.
“Warriors, step forward! Protect that cowardly human!”
He hadn’t planned on being a coward, though…
“We are warriors!”
“Great warriors who protect the desolate land!”
Thanks to that, their confidence seemed to have skyrocketed, so he decided to just leave them be.
He could just nag them a bit after it was all over.
In the meantime, the first monster completely revealed itself from the gate.
It was a giant scorpion, roughly the size of an average person. Its body was made of a hard outer shell, and a sharp stinger hung from its long tail.
“Uwaaah-!”
The first to step forward was Gro Man. He struck the giant scorpion’s claw with the massive axe in his hands.
The sharp axe accurately dug into the joint and severed the claw.
“They fight pretty well…?”
Seeing the barbarians fight for the first time, Franz was genuinely surprised.
Based on their appearances, it seemed like they would just push through with brute strength, but that wasn’t entirely the case. Within their rough actions lay their own individual techniques and know-how.
It was then. The scorpion that had lost its claw swiftly moved its tail to sting Gro Man.
However, its tail fell to the ground before it could reach Gro Man. It was because a warrior next to him had swung a massive greatsword.
“Gro Man! Get a grip! You couldn’t even crush a gnat like that!”
“I’m sorry!”
Was this really a conversation happening in the middle of a battle?
Perhaps that was why they were able to remain as warriors.
Don’t they say fools are brave? It was exactly that logic.
“Sorcery, the sorcery is here!”
“Uwooooh-!”
Bizarre red hieroglyphs were drawn over the dark skin of the barbarians.
With that as the starting point, their movements became even faster, and they displayed even more powerful strength.
“Is that sorcery…”
A bizarre power existed on the continent that only the barbarians used and passed down.
Franz tried to analyze it, but soon shook his head and gave up.
The system itself was different from magic, making it an impossible task for now.
Of course, if he had a mind to learn, he could just ask them, but…
‘There’s no real reason to do that.’
He was already fully satisfied with just magic, and above all, he had too much work to do to find the time.
Still, if the opportunity arose, he did want to research it someday. He had a nature that absolutely couldn’t stand being curious about something.
“Ra Dan! How many is that!”
“Three!”
“I’m on my fourth!”
“I cannot lose! I, Ra Dan, am the greater warrior!”
Perhaps to them, battle was just a game.
They looked so excited that the thought naturally came to mind.
The battle flowed similarly after that.
The guys loudly chattered as they faced the monsters.
Very occasionally, a dangerous situation would arise, but…
Snap-.
Franz easily resolved it. No matter what, having someone die right in front of his eyes was rather uncomfortable.
“Thank you! Great Sorcerer!”
“I thank you too!”
They really were the epitome of ‘they’re good kids at heart.’.
And so, monsters truly poured endlessly out of the gate, from giant scorpions to fire-breathing lizards, and even grasshoppers with blades instead of wings.
To the point where it felt like every monster inside the labyrinth had come out.
“Are you already getting tired!”
“No! I’m not tired at all!”
Even though they said that, they were also quite exhausted. They had already been fighting a fierce battle for over several hours.
Accordingly, Franz’s tasks naturally increased as well. It had reached the point where he just left a magic circle floating in the air.
It was not long after that.
The number of monsters coming out of the gate gradually decreased, and after one last scorpion, no more came out.
“Is it over now…?”
“We won…!”
The barbarians, covered in the flesh and blood of the Monsters, let out loud cheers.
But Franz’s thoughts were a little different.
‘The one you could call the boss hasn’t come out yet.’
A boss always exists in a labyrinth. And the gate closes only when that guy is killed.
In other words, the fact that the gate hadn’t closed yet meant…
“Everyone, do not let your guard down!”
Gro Man shouted in a booming voice.
Right after that, the gate seemed to pulse heavily, and something massive burst out from inside.
An earthworm? A caterpillar?
He couldn’t quite define it, but it was a rather long creature. Its mouth was filled with dozens of sharp teeth, and it looked like a single bite would send you straight to the afterlife.
Rumbllle-!
Right after bursting out of the gate, it immediately dug into the ground. It seemed its teeth were both a means of attack and a tool for digging.
“Warriors! Feel the vibrations of the earth!”
Following Gro Man’s command, the barbarians focused on the faint vibrations felt from the ground.
It was primitive, but it was an equally surefire countermeasure.
The problem was whether they had the speed to dodge the monster’s attack, but…
“It’s coming!”
It seemed they still had plenty of energy left to fight.
As the barbarians dodged, the giant earthworm creature revealed itself from the ground.
“Uryaaah-!”
Gro Man’s axe headed toward it.
The axe pierced through its hard skin and sliced into its flesh.
Green blood splattered around as a deep wound formed on its body.
A shriek!
Letting out a cry as if in pain, the creature lunged, aiming for Gro Man.
However, the speed of a barbarian strengthened by sorcery was beyond imagination.
Gro Man lightly stepped back and swung his axe once more.
Because of his posture, he couldn’t leave a deep wound, but it was more than enough to leave a mark on its body.
Rumbllle-!
The creature went back underground.
“Did you see that! It’s nothing but a coward!”
“A coward-!”
“Warriors do not hide!”
The more Franz watched them, the more fascinated he was.
When a mighty enemy appeared, they should certainly have been afraid and hesitated, yet how could they burn with even more fighting spirit?
He seriously pondered if perhaps their brains were structured a little differently.
After that, the battle with the boss flowed without any major issues.
The barbarians repeatedly waited for the earthworm creature to pop out of the ground and then attacked.
However, should he say it was a bit questionable…
“The boss is getting beaten this one-sidedly?”
It was fully understandable that they were strong, being a proper mix of sorcerers and warriors. But even so, it wasn’t to the extent that a boss could be defeated this easily.
Of course, there was the possibility that the boss was weak, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was still hiding something.
If so, what in the world could it be?
Franz watched the situation without dropping his guard.
It was then.
“Wh-what-!”
“Are you a coward?! Going into the ground?!”
“You’re going in just the same! You coward-!”
The hard ground turned into a swamp and began to swallow the barbarians.
At the same time, the ground in the center gradually sank, just like an antlion pit.
He thought it was letting itself get beaten too easily, making him think it was hiding something like this.
‘It seems like it’ll be difficult for these fools to handle…’
It wasn’t a matter of intelligence; it was a structure that was impossible for any living creature to escape, unless they could fly through the sky, that is.
Thus, just as Franz was about to step in.
“Great Sorcerer! We will handle this! Do not step in!”
Gro Man, who was already buried up to his knees in the ground, hardened his resolve.
Franz stopped the activation of the magic he was about to use and decided to watch the situation.
Of course, he was prepared to respond at any time if it became a dangerous situation.
“Sorcerers! Concentrate your sorcery on me!”
Following Gro Man’s command, the sorcerers changed the target of their sorcery. The red hieroglyphs disappeared from the bodies of the other barbarians and were added to Gro Man’s body.
In the end, Gro Man’s entire body was completely dyed red. He looked just like a demon.
“I am! A warrior!”
Letting out a booming roar, he kicked off the ground and leaped up.
The axe in his hands was dyed red, and the magic particles reacting to his power became a dark red halo of light.
Slaaash-!
The moment he swung his axe, power was released, and a dark red aura blade shot out.
That aura blade accurately sliced the earthworm creature hiding underground.
The center of the antlion pit slowly turned green.
“We won!”
It was a true barbarian’s victory.