Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 149

Rotmilla is different from Misha and that dwarf.

As a scout, he has great awareness and is quick-witted, and he’s been through a lot, starting from the bottom.

Well, I didn’t expect him to ask me so directly.

‘…It’s my karma, I have to deal with it.’

The only option that comes to mind right now is this.

Admitting that I’m a demon and appealing to his emotions is out of the question, so I have no choice but to get angry and smash his head.

But….

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.’

It’s not just that my judgment is clouded by affection.

I know Rotmilla well. If he really thought I was a demon, he wouldn’t even be talking to me like this.

If I had to put it simply, he’s like a herbivore.

In short, this means that Rotmilla isn’t sure about what he said either.

Besides, I don’t feel any malice.

I quickly decided on my position.

‘It’s best to play dumb and see how things go.’

Of course, I have no intention of making excuses and begging him to believe me.

That’s not the way of a manly barbarian.

Breaking the silence of about 3 seconds, I opened my mouth coldly.

“Rotmilla, I hope you have another reason for insulting me.”

It was a way of saying that because you are my precious colleague, I’m holding back and asking for the reason.

In fact, it wasn’t a lie if you think about it.

If it wasn’t for Rotmilla, my fist would have already been flying towards his head.

However, this old man just chuckled.

“I probably would have thought you were genuinely angry if it was before I knew you well.”

“What?”

“Oaths, honor, and such. You’re not the type of person who is bound by formalities. You’re not so impatient that you’d be swayed by emotions.”

Rotmilla knew me too well to push through with acting. The warrior’s oath, which was like a cheat key, wouldn’t work either.

So, I changed my position a little.

“…I’d be upset if I heard that from a colleague.”

“Well, I guess so.”

Rotmilla shrugged and drank the remaining alcohol.

The atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.

“But you are very special.”

Rotmilla continued.

A barbarian who reads books.

A barbarian who isn’t consumed by emotions.

A pragmatic barbarian who values other things more than honor. Most of these points could be glossed over as being exceptional.

Except for the last one.

A barbarian who knows information that a warrior who hasn’t even been around for a year shouldn’t know.

“Back then, in the labyrinth, you said you heard a revelation.”

After returning to the Tower of the Sky, I told my doubtful colleagues that I had heard a revelation from the ancestral god Behella.

Well, isn’t this a world where gods exist?

Misha and the dwarf just accepted it.

I thought I had gotten away with it at the time because Rotmilla, who I was worried about, didn’t say anything.

But….

“Who would believe that if you said that? I didn’t believe it either. That’s why I thought you might be a demon.”

So, you were thinking this behind my back.

Well, if you assume I’m a demon, it would all make sense.

That was the truth in the first place.

However, the situation was very positive.

“So, you mean you don’t think so now?”

To my question, Rotmilla nodded without hesitation and continued.

“In the books I’ve read, demons are described as beings who treat everyone in the world like puppets. But you weren’t like that.”

He valued honor, but he cared for his fellow tribesmen enough to advise and guide young warriors.

He felt loss and anger at the death of his colleagues.

Actions that a normal demon would never do.

Without making any lame excuses, the path I had walked became a shield that protected me.

Well, it seems that it was another part that completely removed Rotmilla’s suspicion.

“Besides, didn’t the Goddess of the Stars give you a divine message? I saw it with my own two eyes, so how could I doubt it?”

The divine message given by the Goddess of the Stars, Leatlass.

I was grumbling about the vines breaking in a day, but this really became a divine move.

“Thanks to that, I realized how narrow-minded I was. I thought you were a demon because I saw you through the eyes of an ordinary person.”

No, you did see it correctly, but….

I suppressed my twitching conscience and listened to Rotmilla’s words.

“There are definitely those who are especially loved by the gods in this world. And history has called them heroes.”

“…That’s too much.”

“Huhu, I knew you would say that. You have a tendency to underestimate yourself. But at least I sincerely think so.”

I couldn’t say anything at Rotmilla’s sudden praise bombardment.

Wouldn’t it be funny to admit that?

I put my awkwardness aside and asked the last question I was curious about.

“But then why did you bring that up?”

Rotmilla doesn’t think I’m a demon.

He might have thought so before, but not now.

Then why did he take the hardline approach of asking me directly if I was a demon?

The answer was completely unexpected.

“I wanted to give you a warning and advice.”

“A warning and advice?”

“Yes, you are wise, but you are also clumsy in these areas. No matter how much you trust your colleagues, you need to hide yourself.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re going to form a new team. Your specialness will inevitably stick out like a needle in a pocket. There may be those who judge you like I did.”

Rotmilla said.

Since I can’t go around talking about the divine message, I should hide myself as much as possible.

This will prevent any possible trouble.

“As someone who has lived an ordinary life, I wanted to tell you this.”

“…I see. Thank you. I will always keep your advice in my heart.”

“Well, I guess I talked too much. Let’s end this. I’ll carry Murad.”

That’s how Team Half-Pint’s last drinking session ended.

Unlike usual, we parted without promising to meet again.

“I hope the path you walk is full of light.”

Team Half-Pint.

I’m really receiving a lot from here.

***

The conversation with Rotmilla was beneficial.

Not because of the advice he gave, but because the situation itself made me aware.

Although I got through it this time….

‘It’s something that could happen again at any time.’

There’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again.

So, I thought about it.

If a colleague, someone I’ve grown fond of, is convinced that I’m a demon.

Even if they have proof….

What should I do then?

“….”

I didn’t bother to say the answer out loud.

That wouldn’t change anything.

I will try to survive even if I have to become a terrible human being.

‘…I need to be more careful.’

To prevent that tragedy, I decided to be careful with every action.

Just like when I first fell into this strange world.

I will calculate and move more thoroughly, thinking that I am the only one I can trust.

If I really care about them. Because that’s the right thing to do.

“Bjorn, what are you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Did I say anything weird yesterday when I was drunk…?”

The morning after Team Half-Pint’s last get-together. I went out with Misha and headed to the Grand Temple.

There was no need to go together, but….

We had to stop by Commelby later anyway.

“It’s nice to see you again. Do you have any concerns?”

As soon as we arrived at the temple, I called out Crobitz.

The young paladin in his early thirties, who was looking at me with a questioning expression after my re-visit in just two days.

I got straight to the point.

“I don’t have any concerns, but I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor… I’ll hear you out.”

The Dragon Slayer Sword. No, the Dragon Sword is a precious treasure, but I decided that it would be useless to keep it.

“May the Twilight Star guide us. It will be very good news for them.”

Did he judge it to be for the public good?

Crobitz readily agreed and said he would arrange a meeting with them.

For me, it was a relief.

In the first place, it was difficult for a 6th-grade barbarian to meet the leaders of the dragon race….

‘Since we’re meeting through the temple, they won’t try to rip me off or take it away without a reason.’

“I will send you a message to the address you left when the date is set.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Okay, that problem is over.

Misha and I left the temple and got on a carriage heading to Commelby.

And as soon as we got off, we headed to the central exchange.

It was for a simple reason.

‘I need to raise my soul imprint first.’

If it becomes known that I received a divine message, there is a possibility that I will be kicked out of the tribe.

So, I need to reach level 6 before that.

From level 6, you need materials as well as money.

“Are you registering for consignment sale?”

“I came because I’m looking for something.”

I said that and submitted the document I had prepared in advance to the employee.

The Immortal Heart.

A material that can be obtained with an extremely low probability from the by-products of trolls obtained through the ‘Distortion’ magic.

It’s expensive, but if you have enough money, it’s much more profitable to buy it. It’s an item that even those who specialize in hunting trolls might only get once every few months.

“There is a total of 1 item that meets the criteria. Would you like to check the information?”

After paying 3,000 stones for the search fee, the price I checked was 18 million stones.

Sigh, it went up by 1 million stones since last time.

“…I’ll buy it.”

It’s a bit of a shame, but I just bought it coolly.

Isn’t it an item that has no stock, with only one in the entire exchange? If this is sold, there’s no telling when it will come in again.

‘If level 6 is this much, I can assume that I’ll have to get almost everything myself from level 7 onwards.’

Thinking that, I arrived at the item storage and checked if there were any defects in the item before receiving it.

That was the end of my purpose for today.

Next was Misha’s turn.

“Let’s change your sword this time too.”

“…Is that why you brought me here?”

Misha looked at me as if to ask why I was deciding that, but there was no big objection.

It wasn’t strange.

She must have been feeling the limits of steel too.

“The goal of the new team is to go up to the 6th floor, so don’t think about saving money.”

“…If there’s something I like.”

Since it was a weapon that Misha would use, I listened to her opinion and looked for a suitable item.

It took longer than I thought.

It was agreed to buy a 3rd-grade alloy iril longsword made by mixing mithril and steel, but the problem was choosing the design.

“Ah, I’m saying you shouldn’t choose something pretty!”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Anyway, hurry up and choose. For reference, I think this one looks good.”

“Ugh, you’re such a barbarian. Do you really think that anything that’s heavy is good?”

Even while grumbling, Misha carefully chose her sword.

She was talking about things like the weight distribution and reach of the sword, and she even knew the names of famous blacksmiths, so I was quite surprised.

She’s an explorer too.

“Wow, the day has come when I’m using a sword that costs 12 million stones….”

“You could have saved 4 million stones if you had excluded the magic enchantment.”

“But if I’m going to buy it, I should buy a good one! I’m going to use it for the rest of my life!”

Misha, who had finished receiving the item from the storage, hugged the sword as if she was handling a baby.

And she muttered as if making a resolution.

“Ugh, I really need to save the rest of my money….”

I tilted my head.

“Why are you saving money? Leave only the money you need and use the rest to buy and eat ‘Beast Blood’.”

“…Huh?”

If barbarians have soul imprints, beastmen have soul numbers. Soul numbers grow over time, but that time is shortened by eating ‘Beast Blood’.

“Didn’t I tell you clearly before? Don’t think about saving money.”

“…Is it really okay to spend money like this?”

“It’s not spending recklessly, it’s an investment for the future.”

Misha said that it would be better to buy essence instead, but in my opinion, it wasn’t very reasonable. Most essences above level 5 cost tens of millions of stones.

And there’s no need to buy anything below that.

“You haven’t even unlocked the power of your soul number yet. I think it’s right to focus on that now.”

In the end, Misha, persuaded by my strong arguments, used all of her remaining assets, excluding her emergency funds, to purchase ‘Beast Blood’.

She said she would take it later at home….

Whether or not one of her powers will be activated will be known tomorrow.

“Then let’s go back.”

After finishing our spending spree for a few hours, we returned to the residential area.

It was around 8 PM.

The time when the sun was setting and the twilight was beginning to fall.

‘The soul imprint will be done tomorrow morning at the sanctuary, and that’s the end of that….’

I reviewed the things I had to do before the next labyrinth opened.

There were three things left.

1. Meet the Dragonkin and return the Dragon Slayer Sword.

2. Obtain information about Orculiss and Noark.

3. Form a new team.

Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t ask her about this.

Since I remembered, I asked her right away.

“Misha, is there anything you particularly want or don’t want when recruiting colleagues?”

I had roughly decided on what kind of composition the remaining three seats would be filled with. However, it was necessary to hear Misha’s opinion as well.

First of all, she is a founding member….

And her experience as an explorer is much longer than mine.

I thought I might be able to get advice on something I hadn’t thought of.

“Uh….”

Misha thought seriously and then carefully opened her mouth.

“I… I hope it’s not a fairy.”

It was an unexpected request.