Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 495

Marco Toere.

Thirty-two years old.

He had started working in a kitchen as a teenager, which sparked his interest in cooking and business. He honed his skills and, two years ago, opened a small shop under his own name on the main street of Lavigion.

He was a husband to one woman and a father to two children.

He’d had his reckless days, but after becoming the head of a household, he never did anything that could cause trouble.

He endured injustice, and if he thought trouble was brewing, he would step back and head home.

But…….

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!”

When he came to his senses, he was screaming and climbing the stairs.

Along with many warriors.

“Today! We! Conquer the Magic Tower……!!”

At those words, Marco Toere snapped to his senses.

Barbarian warriors he never thought he’d be involved with. And mages who were constantly casting spells to stop them.

Only then did he realize where he was.

‘The Magic Tower…….’

A place he had only ever seen from afar, never having stepped inside.

How did this happen?

He thought as he was pushed up the stairs by those coming from behind.

[Yandel! Bjorn Yandel is heading to the Magic Tower with thousands of barbarian warriors!!]

At first, it was curiosity.

When he heard those words, he happened to be nearby and had some time to spare.

So, he went to take a look.

[It’s war.]

The giant, Yandel’s son, Bjorn.

The hero he had only heard rumors about was indeed an impressive person.

He was bold and unstoppable.

Power seemed to flow from his very being, as if no one could stop him from doing what he intended.

And…….

[These are the mages who commissioned the black market to obtain barbarian hearts!]

His powerful words continued, and for the first time in a long while, his heart pounded fiercely. Before he knew it, he was raising his voice along with the other crowds, denouncing the Magic Tower.

Yes, it was definitely like that back then…….

“A, a barrier……!”

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do!”

How did he end up here?

What good would it do for him to be here?

“Break it!!”

“Uwooooooooooooooo!!”

He hoped this wouldn’t cause any trouble for his family…….

Even with those worries, why was he still following them up the stairs?

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

A wall blocked by barrier magic.

“Baron Yandel, stop! This is as far as you go!”

A mage spoke arrogantly from beyond the translucent barrier.

And…….

Thump-!

Regardless, the man swung his hammer with unwavering determination.

Watching the man’s figure from closer than ever before, he realized.

“Chieftain! That’s not how you break magic—.”

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

“……Huh?”

“If you can’t break it, it’s because you don’t have enough power!”

The only reason he was here was this.

“I! And we are strong……!!”

That man was strong.

Crack-!

Strong enough to break through any wall that stood in his way.

“T, the barrier is breaking!!”

So, he wanted to watch.

Even if it was just one of the many journeys he would embark on.

Even if he couldn’t be of much help on the path he walked.

Thump-!

It was that kind of feeling, a feeling that made him want to watch.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The giant, Yandel’s son, Bjorn.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

That was the kind of person he was.

***

The Magic Tower.

The headquarters of the kingdom’s most important personnel, the mages, and an impregnable fortress that had never been conquered by intruders in its long history.

…I don’t agree with that statement.

‘Impregnable, my foot. It’s just that there’s never been a reason to fight.’

A group made up entirely of 100% mages, a group with a completely broken damage-tank balance. Well, the various magic circles installed are quite a nuisance, but…….

It’s definitely not worthy of the title of impregnable.

‘More than anything, it doesn’t feel like they’re as united as they should be.’

With the justification and public opinion behind me.

As an interest group with hundreds of schools gathered, even in the situation where the Magic Tower was invaded, not all schools were actively participating.

“Don’t stop us! We will only capture the criminals we want and return!”

Many of the unrelated schools had simply closed their research labs and were waiting for the storm to pass.

Of course, the majority of mages were working hard to help, with the idea that they could not be trampled by barbarians.

But…….

‘Geez, they’ll be casting until dawn.’

Those who stayed in the Magic Tower during this period were usually research mages. Those who were holed up in their labs every day, creating new formulas and studying magic.

Naturally, it was impossible for them to perform like combat mages.

And there was a serious penalty.

“……Master! L, let’s just burn them all! Before, before that guy breaks the barrier magic!”

“We can’t do that…… Can’t you see them?”

A group of civilians caught up in the war between the barbarians and the Magic Tower.

“Master! Those are not citizens, they are just rioters!”

“The military has officially issued a statement. Under no circumstances should any harm come to the citizens.”

“But… we won’t be able to hold out for long like this! They’ve already broken through this far!”

“…Hold on. We must hold on until the troops sent by the military arrive. Then, we will be victorious.”

Thanks to the mixed-in civilians, the mages could only focus on defensive magic, unable to use their greatest strength, wide-area attack magic.

Therefore…….

「The character has used [Swing].」

「The destructive power of blunt weapons is greatly increased in proportion to strength.」

I climbed the stairs, breaking through the increasingly solid barriers, one floor at a time.

“……You filthy barbarians! You will regret this!”

The mages captured along the way were tightly bound with ropes and made prisoners.

“Bjorn! You go up! We’ll thoroughly search this place!”

Warriors were stationed on the conquered floors to begin the search.

“Ainar, as I said, search the schools not on the list last.”

“Huh? But they might be hiding there!”

“Still, do it last.”

Unless we searched the entire Magic Tower and couldn’t find a single criminal on the list, there was no need to make more enemies before then.

Well, even with today’s events alone, the mages here would probably hate the sight of barbarians for the rest of their lives, but…….

An arch-enemy and just an enemy are a bit different, aren’t they?

If I cross the line any further here, all the schools in the Magic Tower will unite, and this will escalate into a major problem for future plans.

“As I said, never kill anyone. You must capture them alive! Understand!”

That was why I emphasized it every chance I got, not just a few times.

If we just smashed everything as we pleased and climbed the floors, we would be reduced to invaders who had lost their justification.

‘Anyway, is this the 30th floor now…….’

As I struggled to climb another floor, a new barrier greeted me.

“Baron! The Baron has arrived……!”

The mages gathered beyond the translucent barrier were looking at me with tense faces.

“Listen, Baron! Turn back now. Do you even know how many laws you’ve broken?”

As always, the mages cursed at me and tried to persuade me, but what I had to do remained the same.

Crack-!

To swing the hammer with unwavering determination.

After using [Swing] about ten times, cracks began to appear. However, I could increasingly feel that the barriers were becoming more solid as I went up the floors.

Also, there was more bad news.

“Chieftain! The royal army! The royal army has arrived!!”

A report came that the military forces had appeared.

It was earlier than I had expected.

‘At this rate, it seems like the order to mobilize was issued almost as soon as we entered the city…….’

Geez, this city is unnecessarily fast in these kinds of things.

“It’s all over now! Put down your weapons and calm your warriors!”

The mages beyond the barrier, having heard the news as well, became more confident.

It was certainly understandable.

Our warriors would do their best to hold them back, but the royal army would ultimately arrive first.

‘Okay, that’s it for here.’

Just then, the barrier that separated the floor and the stairs broke.

The mages who were pouring magic into the magic circle scattered in panic to the upper floor, and some of them were captured by the warriors.

“Chieftain! What are you doing!”

“We must go to the upper floor quickly!”

The warriors were getting impatient due to the military’s intervention.

However, I stopped breaking through to the new floor and waited on that floor, giving new instructions.

“Bring all the criminals you find here?”

“A, alright! I’ll pass it on!”

This was the best I could do here.

From now on, it was up to luck.

If even one of the guys we were looking for was on the 31st floor we had occupied today, the future plans would be easier, and if not, it would be a bit of a headache.

“Hoo…….”

So, what would the result be?

“Bjorrrrrrrrrn!!”

Soon, Ainar appeared.

He was holding three mages by the scruff of their necks in one hand, as if showing off his prey.

***

Extellin Placo of the Mylon School.

Mohilo Ostqueen of the Bebectalt School.

Kuol Mamendolick of the Alterus School.

The three mages Ainar had captured were not among the 22 mages mentioned in front of the Magic Tower.

Of course, that wasn’t a problem.

From the start, the guys I mentioned then weren’t all of them.

If I had told them in advance, they would have prioritized moving those guys to a safe place.

“Good work, Caron. Ainar.”

I gave them praise and asked if there were any difficulties along the way, but they said there weren’t any.

All three of them didn’t go anywhere else and just hid in their own schools?

‘It’s a bit of a shame that I couldn’t find the guy who asked for my heart, but I guess I have to be satisfied with this.’

I would eventually meet that guy anyway.

Everything I was doing now was a stepping stone for that.

“O, misunderstanding! There’s some misunderstanding, Baron!”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll soon find out. Ainar, what’s the situation on the lower floors?”

“The warriors are holding them back, but they won’t be able to last long. When I was downstairs, they had already broken through to the 4th floor.”

“We need to start quickly.”

I first activated the recording crystal I had prepared. Then, I looked around and handed it to the person I made eye contact with.

He was the only civilian who had followed us up to the 31st floor.

“What’s your name?”

“M, Marco Toere, sir! Baron!”

“Marco Toere. I’ll remember that. Now, I have a favor to ask. Could you stand over there with this? So that my face and theirs are visible.”

“I, it’s an honor! H, however… h, how can I, a mere commoner, do such an important task…….”

He was trembling, afraid of making a mistake, but I chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

“I believe in you.”

Yeah, it’s less unsettling to give a sensitive device to a stranger than to those barbarians.

“Marco Toere.”

I made sure to remember his face and name.

“……Y, you can count on me!”

Now that the cameraman was secured, I quickly began the interrogation.

There were a truckload of mages around, but there was no need to use verification magic.

I had already obtained one anyway.

「The character has used [Skewed Trust].」

That very item that was quite a burden, even with my recently improved financial situation.

“Extellin Placo, Mohilo Ostqueen, Kuol Mamendolick.”

I looked down at the three bound mages and asked.

“Now, tell me again. Am I still misunderstanding you?”

The mages, who had been shouting loudly about being framed since they were captured, fell silent. That was because lying was impossible in front of this item.

“…….”

Silence that proves the truth.

However, to use this as evidence, we needed a clear answer, not silence.

Therefore…….

“You are now under suspicion of treason.”

I tightened the noose so they couldn’t even breathe.

The reaction was immediate.

“…T, treason! Such a ridiculous……!”

As it was a sensitive issue that could lead to the execution of their entire families, it was difficult to remain silent here as well.

“I, I have never plotted treason, nor have I ever dared to think of such a thing. Just the fact that such words are being spoken now proves that, doesn’t it? This is the truth!”

The mages even looked towards the camera while defending themselves.

Yeah, the crime of treason is scary, isn’t it?

“Whatever your intentions, isn’t it true that you ended up joining hands with the traitors?”

“Joined hands……! I, I only made a, a request—.”

That’s all I did.

It seemed like they were going to say that, but unfortunately, those words were not completed.

It was because someone interrupted.

“Enough, Baron Yandel.”

A deep voice that echoed throughout the entire floor.

At the same time, a magic circle was drawn on the floor and began to emit a blue light.

Thud, thud.

When I turned my head towards the sound, I saw an old man coming down the stairs.

It was the first time I had seen him, but I recognized him at once.

The master of the Lengman School and the third younger brother of Duke Kealunerus.

“Teshulen Lengman Kealunerus.”

He was the head of the Magic Tower.