Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 257

Han-soo Lee’s room.

Now, every time I come here, it feels like I’m returning to my hometown.

It’s a space that feels both familiar and comfortable, yet also strangely unfamiliar.

Even this room, which was once my sanctuary.

Click-

First, I pressed the power button on the main unit to turn on the community [a virtual forum or social space within the game].

Then, I waited for the posts to load for a bit.

Until 3 PM when the Round Table [a recurring meeting of key players] opens, there’s nothing else to do.

[LongLiveKorea] – 0 members are online.

Baek-ho Lee was absent again this time.

Sigh, seeing him threaten the GM [Game Master] to lift the ban, it seems he’s trying to find a way back somehow, but it’s still not happening.

‘His ultimate goal was to return, right…’

Recalling Baek-ho Lee’s aspirations from the past, I also thought about the GM.

What exactly is the GM’s goal?

Is it also to return?

‘…But then why did he ban Baek-ho Lee?’

Hmm… I don’t know.

Something is constantly happening in places I don’t know about.

‘Anyway, I hope it wasn’t all for nothing.’

Hoping that this plan of using Caron as a stand-in works out well and clears any suspicion, I organized what I knew about the GM.

There wasn’t much.

First, that they are a mage.

And that they are a fan of ‘Elf Sister’ to the point of using the nickname ‘ElfSisterLove’ in the community.

Wait a minute.

‘…What would happen if they found out I’m that person? Would they help me with everything?’

I suddenly had the thought that I could use this to gain a strong supporter.

However, such expectations ultimately lead back to square one.

‘Absolutely not.’

In a way, it’s the same reason why I didn’t reveal my identity to Baek-ho Lee until the end.

I don’t know the GM’s intentions.

Moreover, the GM had already sent a community entry pill to ‘Bjorn Yandel’ once.

In short, it means they didn’t approach me to invite me to the community just because I’m a player.

Therefore, I must thoroughly conceal my identity.

Even if I find out they have good intentions, it’s the same.

No one knows how relationships will turn out.

Revealing that I’m a demon to someone is like handing them the leash to my neck.

I’ve seen bad examples of it firsthand.

[Okay, if you want, I’ll eliminate the place where you belong. Hans Chrisen is a demon!]

If I were to suffer the same fate as Hans G, what choice would I make then?

Could I refuse a forced choice?

Click, click.

I cleared my mind and moved the mouse.

Quite some time had passed, and many posts were being uploaded on each bulletin board.

I spent time browsing, like surfing the web.

It was about 30 minutes after the community opened when that post appeared.

[I’m from Noark, and I have something to tell you.]

That post was uploaded.

***

The post started like this:

-I’ve been debating whether to ban people from Noark, but I’m posting this because everyone needs to know, whether they’re on the surface or underground, regardless of their faction.

-We are outside right now.

-Not inside the walls, but in the real outside world.

Shocking content that denies the very foundation of the world.

-You’re probably wondering if this makes sense, right? But it’s true. We escaped outside to avoid the Royal Family, and we’re still alive and well.

-Whether the witch’s curse disappeared over time, or if it never existed in the first place, I honestly still don’t know.

-But one thing is clear.

-The outside is really fine now. Plants are growing, and if you get close, you can see bugs eating the leaves. The same goes for wild animals.

The poster went on to write a lot about what the outside was like, and then described what had happened in the form of a journal.

I slowly read through all the long posts.

And my first impression was this.

‘No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like they’re just spouting nonsense to get attention…’

It doesn’t seem like a simple prank.

Well, there’s no way a post that risks getting banned would be a prank in the first place.

However, despite that, the comment section was in chaos.

[Brutalizer X: Here, have some attention.]

[arolf5205: I came to see what the post was about, but after reading the top part, I scrolled straight down. Surely, there aren’t any idiots here who believe this?]

Starting with the top comments dismissing it as a lie made up by an attention seeker…

[ryanzeus31: But if this is true, isn’t the Royal Family screwed? If there’s a world outside where you can live without magic stones, there’s no way this crappy city can be maintained.]

[└furryking1955: Maybe that’s why they hid it? There’s no way they wouldn’t know about this.]

Those who somewhat believed the content of the post and worried about what would happen next.

And…

[Gareth: Wow, so that old man appeared and they all disappeared to the outside?]

Those who left comments as if they knew something.

[└NIKAMOTO: Old man? What is that? Please share some information politely.]

[└Gareth: I was waiting in front of the portal to slaughter all the Noark bastards, but suddenly an old man appeared and teleported them all away.]

[└Kni8htofroom: If you’re going to lie, please put a little effort into it. How do you move that many people with mass teleportation?]

[└Gareth: I don’t know, and I don’t want to explain it. Anyway, what am I supposed to do now? Sigh, I thought it would be easier with the Royal Family, so I went down the knight path. Is the Royal Family going to collapse now?]

For reference, starting with this comment, public opinion slowly shifted, leaning towards the post being true.

Royal Family soldiers who participated in the subjugation battle began to appear one by one and give their testimonies.

[└amulet: It’s hard to believe, but it’s true that they escaped by teleportation. I was there, so I can say this clearly.]

[└kongkong2: This person has been writing only about the Knights Order for years? Then is all of this really true?]

The post was registered as a popular post, and eyewitness accounts from the Royal Family poured out, followed by Noark natives revealing themselves one by one.

[EXBlunt: Wow, the outside air is great. Are we the winners for going down earlier?]

[xxfblz: Yeah, we’re living well without magic stones. You guys are suffering while paying taxes.]

I was starting to get confused.

I think it’s possible that the outside is fine. I actually felt a sense of incongruity when I saw the guards standing watch on the walls.

However, there’s a part that doesn’t make sense.

‘Why are they telling us this?’

It’s not strange that there are Noark natives in the community.

But why are they sharing their situation?

Because they thought it was the right thing to do for fellow players?

‘No, that can’t be.’

If that were the case, I wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble to break through the path while trapped on the first floor.

At that time, they were completely silent.

They didn’t even jokingly reveal their surprise attack plan, and as a result, most of the surface explorers were destroyed.

Of course, a significant number of them were players.

‘…Then it’s right to see it as something directed by Noark.’

From their perspective, they have a reason to do so.

If they lie and say they escaped to the outside, it would help them avoid the Royal Family’s pursuit—

‘But if the outside isn’t fine, the Royal Family wouldn’t be fooled anyway, right?’

I quickly encountered a contradiction and let out a big sigh.

“Ha, what the hell is going on.”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and left a comment.

[Elfnunna: I have a question for the Noark natives. If the outside is really fine, and you’re really there now, why are you telling us this here? You’ve been silent all this time.]

Soon, an alert popped up with a reply.

However…

[└FIREWORK:└ Wow, is that really Elf Sister? I’m raising a fire archer, can you give me some advice?]

[└bigfisher: You fell for that. It’s not Elf Sister, it’s ‘Noona’ [Korean term for older sister used by males].]

[└Bling0_0: But maybe it’s really her. I heard that the original nickname was taken by someone who died in the early days, so you can’t use it anymore.]

There were no substantial comments.

Seriously, I asked the Noark people, but why are these the only replies I’m getting?

‘Tch.’

I clicked my tongue and checked the time.

Surprisingly, there were about 10 minutes left until the Round Table opened.

Since the comments were constantly being updated in real-time, time had flown by just reading them.

‘Okay, if it’s here, some useful information will come out.’

I stopped reading the comments and took a break on the bed for a while.

And as soon as it was time, I entered the Round Table.

‘Surely they won’t not come, right?’

I was worried that the clown, who had been beaten up throughout the last meeting, might not attend, but thankfully, he was a persistent fellow.

“Mr. Lion, you’ve arrived too, hee hee.”

He’s acting friendly again.

I casually ignored his greeting and sat in my usual seat. The current participants were Goblin, Deer Horn, Clown, and Soul Queens, and for some reason, Fox was absent.

“That’s strange. They’re usually the first to arrive.”

Goblin expressed his doubts and glanced at me.

Well, I was the one who had a separate conversation with Fox at the end.

I guess he’s wondering if something happened.

“….”

However, I had no idea why Fox hadn’t arrived yet, so I just kept my mouth shut.

How much time had passed since then?

The meeting was about to start, and Fox didn’t appear until then.

However, instead.

“Ho ho?”

“Mr. Crescent Moon, you’re not dead?”

Crescent Moon, who had caused much speculation by not attending the last meeting, appeared.

Thanks to this, the attention that had been focused on the absent Fox shifted to him.

“You’re new. Nice to meet you. I came for the first time last time, and I still have a lot to learn.”

Soul Queens, being the natural socialite, approached and greeted him first.

However, Crescent Moon’s condition was strange.

“….”

He should have been interested in Soul Queens, who he was meeting for the first time, but he just sat down without replying.

Was this person always like this?

“Hee hee, stop acting all serious. What happened? Tell us. Can’t you see everyone’s curious?”

The clown asked, and the other members didn’t say anything about the clown’s rude behavior.

They were also curious.

What exactly had happened to Crescent Moon.

“…I wasn’t in the mood then.”

Crescent Moon briefly explained the situation, as if he was uncomfortable with the attention. There were no details, but it wasn’t difficult to understand what he meant.

After all, it was a sensitive time.

And that subdued voice too.

“It seems you’ve lost someone.”

Deer Horn clicked his tongue and muttered, and Crescent Moon didn’t refute it.

Goblin looked back and forth between the clown and Crescent Moon, looking uneasy.

The reason was simple.

“Then it’s good that you came. Maybe your enemy is here.”

“What do you mean…?”

Crescent Moon, who didn’t attend the last meeting, didn’t know.

What the clown’s identity was.

“The clown is a corpse collector.”

Deer Horn revealed the information that had been revealed at that time, not hiding his ill feelings, and Crescent Moon paused.

There was silence for a moment.

“I see. The clown… Yes, it’s you…”

Crescent Moon stared at the clown.

But did he really lose something because of the Noark forces?

I could feel a chilling murderous intent in his gaze.

The clown, who had experienced even more, just smiled as usual.

“Hee hee, so who’s going to die?”

Crescent Moon stared at the clown for a while, then released his clenched fist.

The murderous intent had also disappeared.

Crescent Moon himself knew.

Even though his enemy was in front of him, there was nothing he could do in this place.

“I will come for you someday.”

A calm and refined voice.

The clown chuckled after a brief pause.

“…Hee hee, I’ll be waiting.”

Anyway, that was the end of the personal conversation between the two.

“Well, now that the door is closed, how about we start? I’ve been looking forward to this for a month!”

Soul Queens forced up the tension and led the meeting.

Thus began the time to decide the order.

“Alright, then I’ll go first today.”

The clown volunteered to go first.

Everyone didn’t say anything, but I could feel that they were more eager than ever to hear what would come out of his mouth.

“This might be a bit exciting?”

The clown said that while looking at us, then fixed his gaze on Crescent Moon.

“Since you said you’d come for me, I’ll ask, how exactly do you plan to find me?”

“….”

“Everyone saw the bulletin board, right? That the outside world is fine, and that all the people who lived in Noark went outside.”

The clown placed his hand on the gem.

And briefly chanted.

“That’s all true?”

As if to prove it, the gem of the Round Table glowed green.