Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 289

Thump.

The rhythm of my heart, which had been beating slowly, gradually quickened.

“…You’re saying you’re Auriel Gavis?”

A being who might hold the answers to all the questions I’ve had since the day I opened my eyes in this body.

“Really… did you make that game?”

“The rule was one question at a time, but I understand your feelings, so I’ll answer this much.”

He nodded.

“That’s right. I created that game.”

Whew, so it really is him.

Assuming that what he said isn’t a lie, of course.

“Now, since I’ve said my name, it’s your turn. What’s your name?”

He asked as if he was going to ask for my name since I had asked for his.

However…

‘He probably has the same intention as me.’

Names are important.

Even more so in the spiritual world where appearances are meaningless.

As we can see from the fact that the Scholar of Destruction was in the form of a kid, here we take on the appearance that we consider ourselves to be.

The moment you reveal your name, anonymity disappears.

A way to find me outside is created.

So…

“Lee Han-soo.”

I reveal my real name, which I haven’t told anyone except Lee Baek-ho.

Of course, the old man wasn’t satisfied with that.

“Oh, so you were born in Korea? But what I asked was not that, but the name you use here.”

“The name I use here…”

Okay, I knew he’d say that.

“Nibelz Enche.”

This is also a name I use here, isn’t it?

I mixed in a trick on purpose, since I’ve seen Lee Baek-ho distinguish between truth and lies.

It could be that he’s the one who created the Round Table.

If he’s the one who created the jewel that was the core system of the gathering, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have such an ability.

‘There’s no harm in being careful in the first place…’

In fact, after hearing my answer, he stared at me with a meaningful look.

“Hmm…”

“Is there a problem?”

“No. Then it’s your turn now?”

He stared at me as if he was unsure about something, then announced the end of his turn.

My head was a mess.

What should I ask first?

There were so many things I wanted to ask if I met him, so choosing the priority was also a task.

But…

‘Okay, let’s ask that first.’

I chose one of the questions I had in mind.

“Why did you bring us to this world?”

The root of all events.

The motive.

Why did he do this?

“…You’re certainly special.”

Auriel Gavis said something strange instead of answering.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve met a few people from Earth, but most of them think they just entered the game.”

Ah, that’s what he meant.

Well, I used to think that way too.

However, I’ve experienced so many things here and obtained so many clues. There’s no way I’d still have such a delusion.

This is an independent world.

If my guess is correct, [Dungeon & Stone] is a game based on this world.

“So, what’s the answer?”

“Well, I guess there’s nothing more you’d be curious about.”

Auriel Gavis opened his mouth.

The reason why they had to bring beings from a distant other world to this world.

“It’s because you’re the only ones who can open the Gate of the Abyss.”

“What? The Gate of the Abyss? What is that…”

Auriel Gavis cut me off.

“Wasn’t the rule one question at a time?”

“Ah…”

Right, that’s true.

“Go ahead.”

When I passed my turn, he smiled and opened his mouth.

“You…”

“…”

“Did you happen to use the Fragment of Records?”

The old man’s wrinkled eyes were filled with fervent anticipation.

***

The Fragment of Records.

A family heirloom passed down through generations of the Lord of Noark, a treasure with the absurd ability to reverse time.

‘What, how did he find out about that?’

My heart sank the moment it was mentioned.

That’s because I wasn’t even thinking about it.

I never thought that the very next question after asking my name would be a question that pierced through all my circumstances.

‘…Damn it, what should I say?’

It was too late to play it cool and ask what the ‘Fragment of Records’ was.

He must have noticed that I was flustered.

“You can take your time to answer.”

Auriel Gavis said that, but I quickly made a decision and asked back.

“What makes you think that?”

Of course, I know that asking this is almost the same as half-affirming it.

But what else can I do here?

He doesn’t seem like someone I can fool with a lie…

‘There must be a reason I don’t know about.’

Auriel Gavis is almost certain.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to specifically mention something like the ‘Fragment of Records’.

“There are three reasons.”

In fact, Auriel Gavis smiled like he was talking to his grandson and explained the basis of his guess to me.

“One, you’re too strong for someone who’s only been here for a year. Two, you weren’t among those I invited here. Three, even if you’re strong, you’re not strong enough to invade my territory without permission.”

“Just with that…?”

“Heh heh, it’s not just that. To make sense of this level of contradiction, there’s nothing else but ‘that’.”

No, I still don’t understand even if you say that…

“So, can I take the answer to the question as a yes?”

It’s ridiculous to say no now, so I just coolly admitted it.

It’s a shame that it was revealed in the second question, but what can I do here?

I just have to do better from now on.

“Heh heh, since you’re from Earth, you’re not from the past. So, what year are you from?”

“The rule was one question at a time.”

“Ah, that’s right. Go ahead.”

He seemed to be in a good mood.

“Okay, what else are you curious about now? What the Gate of the Abyss is? Whether the witch is alive? Or maybe you’re curious if the outside is hell as the king says.”

A voice that made it seem like he would answer anything I asked.

‘It’s strangely unsettling.’

Is it because I saw him coldly dismiss the other members earlier? Auriel Gavis’s inexplicable favor stimulated my rebellious nature.

‘…Should I just quit now?’

I even thought that it might be wise to end the Q&A session at this point and ask him to let me out.

There was no rational reason, but it was not something to be taken lightly. In my experience, when I ignored this kind of intuition, something big happened.

But…

‘If it’s not now, I might never know.’

It’s undeniable that this is too precious a time to pass up just because I feel uneasy.

This old man will have all the answers.

I soon finished my contemplation.

‘Let’s cut out the minor things and just check the important ones.’

Are you from here?

If so, how did you travel through dimensions?

Do you have any allies who share your intentions, and why did you create this spiritual world?

I swallowed many other questions and asked.

“Why are you trying to open the Gate of the Abyss?”

The motive, one of the easiest elements to grasp when understanding a person.

What is this person acting for?

Auriel Gavis answered after a moment of pause.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“We agreed to ask one question at a time.”

“Heh heh, don’t be so serious. I just thought that from your perspective, it would be more important to ask what the Gate of the Abyss is.”

His question was reasonable.

It just wasn’t rational for me.

“Haha, I think I’m starting to get a sense of what kind of personality you have.”

“So, what’s the answer to the question?”

“I was planning to answer almost everything you asked, but this seems a bit unfair.”

“Are you saying you won’t answer?”

“I still don’t know who you are, do I? There’s an order to everything.”

Whew, I didn’t expect him to come out like this.

Then should I just end the Q&A here?

That’s what I was thinking when.

“Instead, how about this? If you open the Gate of the Abyss, you can return to your original world. How about that? It’s not what you asked, but isn’t this good enough?”

Auriel Gavis brought up that as a reward.

Looking at it, it seems like he was going to tell me this if I asked what the Gate of the Abyss was…

‘This can’t be all of it.’

I have a feeling that he’s hiding something really important.

If the only characteristic of the Gate of the Abyss is ‘return’, there’s no reason for him to bring us here.

Tsk, that’s why I tried to check his motive…

‘Well, if it’s like this, I can just skip the things that are hard to gloss over from now on.’

“Okay, it’s your turn now.”

I passed my turn as if I was satisfied with this much.

And we quickly exchanged questions.

“What year did you come from?”

“154.”

“20 years later.”

He slowly inquired about my personal information, and I did the same.

“Are you in an antagonistic relationship with the royal family?”

“…You could say that.”

“You could say that? I’d like you to say it clearly.”

“We are in an antagonistic relationship.”

Hmm, is that so?

So, he wasn’t in cahoots with them.

“The one who gave you the invitation was the future me… no, I’ll ask the question again. Who gave you the invitation?”

“A spirit from Earth with the nickname GM.”

“…GM?”

“I don’t know anything else besides that.”

“I see. Now it’s your turn.”

“Why is the royal family hiding the fact that the outside world is fine?”

“Hmm, so that much is known 20 years later?”

Auriel Gavis subtly tested me, and when I didn’t react, he gave an answer.

“The royal family firmly believes that it’s the way to protect this world.”

“So, it’s not just because of a simple lust for power.”

“Unfortunately.”

After that, he asked me how many times I had cleared the difficulty, and I answered.

“15 times.”

“…You’re lying.”

Hey, don’t be so serious.

But one thing became clear.

So, a real lie detector was working.

“But I don’t understand. Why lie in a place like this, of all places…”

Auriel Gavis trailed off.

And as if he had realized something.

“…The original! Could it be that you cleared the original version I made?”

He raised his voice in excitement.

‘Damn it.’

It was a checkmate.

Because the moment I say ‘no’ here, that will be another answer.

‘Whew, and he was saying my questions were unfair?’

It’s absurd, but what can I do?

Isn’t this a world where the strong take it all?

A small fry like me has to accept it.

“…”

That’s how I was, unable to say ‘no’ and keeping my mouth shut.

“So that’s how it was, that’s how it was! Indeed, there’s no way the Fragment of Records would react to someone who came over with that kind of trashy mass-produced item… !”

The old man, who had accepted my silence as an affirmation, began to mutter in an emotional voice.

Listening to him, I felt a bit strange.

“Tell me, how did you clear it? How long did it take? No, what were you doing originally?”

It was like the old man had suddenly become desperate?

However, old people tend to have severe mood swings, so I needed to check it out first.

“I want to drink something.”

“Huh? You shouldn’t feel thirsty here…”

“Then are you saying I’m lying?”

When I took off my mask and frowned, the old man quickly made a cup and filled it with water.

Hmm, this is a bit ambiguous.

“Cider.”

“…Cider?”

“I’d like it to be cider, not water.”

“Ah! You mean that?”

The old man quickly changed the liquid in the cup.

It was transparent, but the bubbles rising from the bottom were definitely cider.

I couldn’t hold back and immediately drank from the cup.

“Keeeuh.”

Unlike the tasteless one in my room, I felt the refreshing sensation of carbonation in my throat.

“Burp.”

“Heh heh, you drink it so coolly like a man. Anyway, now that you’ve finished drinking, please answer me. Are there many people like you who have cleared the original version 20 years later?”

At that question, I couldn’t help but smile.

That’s because the instinct of a barbarian, who is sensitive to hierarchy, was telling me. I don’t know what’s so important about clearing the ‘original’…

“Hmm, are you that curious?”

From now on, I might be the one in charge?