Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 660

The passage was wide and circular.

I walked along the path opposite the wall with the magic circle, and the passage gradually narrowed.

“Um… I’m really not curious about the outside…”

Thud, thud.

“Why don’t you explore with the others? Let’s just go back today…”

Thud, thud.

“H-How can you do this! Let me go!”

I figured he wouldn’t stop if I kept this up, but the GM’s tone, who I was practically dragging along like a kidnapping victim, gradually became sharper.

Ah, of course, from my perspective, that was kind of cute too.

Like a chick chirping.

“Yurven Havelion.”

I released his arm and looked at him.

“…Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Give me a few days. It’s kind of fate that we met like this, wouldn’t it be nice if we got to know each other?”

“If it’s for social purposes, I can make time anytime, even if it’s not like this…”

Yeah, like he can make time anytime.

The moment I let him go, he’d lock himself in his magic tower and not come out.

“But it’s a bit strange.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you whining so much about going back? You’re a mage, aren’t you curious about the outside?”

“…I only investigate what I can handle.”

That was quite a firm principle.

If you’re aiming for a long and uneventful life, there’s no easier way than closing your eyes and ears.

‘…Is that how he’s survived this long?’

I felt like I understood the GM a little better after that one sentence.

Well, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him go.

“Still, help me out a little. Huh? Even for Bersil’s sake.”

If you heard it, it would sound like I’m begging by using my friendship with Bersil, but from the GM’s point of view, it’s a threat.

“Ahem…”

“I’ll make a promise too. If something dangerous happens, I’ll throw myself in to stop it. Okay? And it won’t take a few days, I’m just going to check something and come back.”

“If you say so…”

When I offered a carrot along with it, the GM nodded as if he couldn’t win.

Okay, then this problem is over now…

“Then I’ll keep moving.”

After the agreement, I walked along the passage again.

The passage, which had been gradually narrowing, stopped narrowing at a certain point, and after walking for a long time in that state, the passage gradually widened and a sloping path appeared.

And…

Whooshhhhhh-!

As I went up the hill, I felt the wind, and light slowly seeped in.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it felt a little different from the nature I felt in the city.

「The character has entered a restricted area.」

Completely outside, I took a deep breath and slowly looked around.

The sunset, half-hidden by the mountains in the distance.

A stream dyed red by the sunset.

Birds chirping in their nests on the trees.

And…

“That must be Lapdonia…”

In the opposite direction of the setting sun, a huge wall stood tall in the distance.

It was so high and wide that I couldn’t see the end, like looking at the Great Wall of China…

‘It’s my first time seeing the exterior.’

I’ve never gone outside the wall while playing the game, so it’s very unfamiliar to be looking at Lapdonia from this angle—.

“Havelion, what are you doing?”

“I was just looking around. I saw some unfamiliar letters that I’ve never seen before…”

Unfamiliar letters?

Tilting my head, I approached the entrance of the cave we had just come out of, and there was a mark on the smooth wall that looked like it had been made with a knife.

[I was here.]

[Korean Hero Lee Baekho.]

Ha… why am I so embarrassed?

I almost let out a hollow laugh, but I tried to hold it back and opened my mouth, pretending not to know.

“…It doesn’t seem like an ancient language, but it’s unique.”

“Yes. It’s unique. It seems familiar somehow…”

It seems like the GM doesn’t know much about Korean, but I can’t blame him.

I don’t think I’d be able to tell what language it is if I suddenly saw something like Hebrew.

Swish.

As I was looking at the graffiti that Lee Baekho had written, the GM subtly advised me.

“If you’re thinking of leaving something like a name, you shouldn’t. It’s proof that you’ve been outside. The royal family could interpret it as treason.”

“…I wasn’t going to.”

“That’s a relief.”

Looking at the GM nodding, I turned away and clicked my tongue.

“…”

Why do I want to leave one too?

***

According to the clown, the world outside the wall has a structure similar to the 7th floor of the Labyrinth, the Dark Continent.

Then, where are we now?

First, I need to find something to use as a reference point…

‘If that’s the Dragon’s Mountain Range… is this near the Great Forest?’

If that’s the case, then the current location is roughly known.

The Great Forest is located in the southeast of the Dark Continent.

And it seems like we’re further east from the Great Forest…

‘Should I consider it to be around the eastern part of the Great Forest?’

Of course, this is just a guess, and I can’t be sure.

In the first place, the atmosphere is completely different from the Labyrinth, so I don’t really know.

‘Anyway, let’s figure this out later…’

“But… where are you going now?”

To the GM’s question about our future plans, I answered immediately without hesitation.

“First, we’re going towards the city.”

“Towards the city… you mean?”

“Why that expression?”

“Honestly, I thought you would want to go into the forest right away, Baron.”

Uh… to be honest, I’m curious about that forest.

However, it’s risky for the two of us to go too far, and there was one thing I wanted to check while looking around the wall.

Therefore…

“Just keep using the detection magic and follow me. It’s an unknown world. I’m thinking anything can come out.”

“Yes. Just in case, I’ll memorize the coordinates and go.”

“Oh, good.”

Leaving behind the forest that looked very peaceful for the ‘Great Forest’ of the Dark Continent, we headed east.

And how long has it been?

‘The map is really damn big.’

The sunset had already disappeared completely beyond the mountains, and the black night sky was full of stars, but we still hadn’t reached the wall.

No, have we come about halfway?

‘…I thought we’d arrive in a few hours.’

It was a situation that occurred because the place we were was at a high altitude, and the wall was so high.

Should I call it a mirage?

No matter how much we go, it doesn’t feel like we’re getting closer at all.

“That’s it for today. Let’s spend the night here and move again tomorrow.”

Since the wall was no longer visible at night, we just prepared to camp around here.

I judged that if we moved in the wrong direction, we could waste more time.

“…It’s been a long time since I’ve slept in a blanket.”

As I lay down in my sleeping bag, looking at the starry night sky, the GM spoke to me first from the side.

Well, did he get a little emotional at night?

I don’t know the details of his change of heart, but it was clear that it was the starting point of the small talk I wanted.

“You used to be an explorer, right?”

“Yes. It’s been more than 7 years ago, though.”

“…Why did you stop exploring?”

“Just… a lot of things happened. It was also a time when I felt my own limits…”

He’s glossing over it as ‘a lot of things,’ so it seems like he doesn’t want to talk about the details.

Or maybe there’s a situation he can’t talk about easily.

‘He locked himself in the magic tower for 7 years right after he quit being an explorer…’

I don’t know the GM’s situation, but it’s not like I don’t know anything about the traces of his life.

Because I’ve done that much background check.

‘There must be a reason why he became a recluse…’

According to my intuition, the cause seems to be external, not internal.

The royal family, or maybe Lee Baekho.

“But it feels kind of comfortable to lie down like this.”

“What kind of change of heart is that? You hated it as if I was taking you to hell.”

“I still hate it. But I like this one thing.”

“What is it?”

“No one knows I’m here.”

Only then could I understand why he said he felt comfortable.

It seemed like he was being watched by the royal family too.

Last time, he came out of the magic tower for a moment and was ambushed by Lee Baekho.

Should I say that there are more enemies in the city?

‘If that’s the case, I should never say that Lee Baekho is outside…’

I continued the light conversation, being careful not to make any disadvantageous statements.

“A lover…? I’m old enough that I’ve met women, but… they all ended badly.”

He’s not the type to date well.

“The school I first entered? Actually… I don’t want to talk about that. I’m sorry.”

Surprisingly, in situations where he wants to lie or gloss over, he chooses to face it head-on.

Or maybe that incident is just a sore spot for him.

‘I need to find out more about this later.’

The school he first belonged to was completely disbanded due to an incident, and after that, he created the current school.

However, unfortunately, it was difficult to find detailed records about ‘that incident.’

Should I say that everything is treated as top secret?

All I know is that the incident was related to forbidden magic.

‘I should meet Uncle Kyle later and ask him too. He’ll be knowledgeable about forbidden magic.’

After that, we talked about trivial things until we fell asleep, and through those small conversations, I realized some things.

Me, Lee Baekho, and this guy are similar in many ways.

The fact that we are not on the side of the players, the royal family, or Noahrc.

***

The next morning dawned.

“Did you sleep well?”

“My whole body is stiff.”

“Here, drink some water. It’ll make you feel better.”

“…What does that have to do with being stiff?”

“Don’t worry about the small things.”

As soon as we woke up, we just finished eating and headed straight for the wall.

And…

“We’ve finally arrived.”

“Arrived? It’s just the beginning.”

When the sun was setting again, we arrived near the wall and moved along the outer edge of the wall.

Because it’s written in the few documents.

‘Lapdonia,’ located at the edge of the continent, was a territory that mainly made money from trade.

That means.

There must be a sea near Lapdonia.

Tap tap.

A transparent barrier formed along the outer wall that could be felt by tapping it with a hand.

After going around it all night, we arrived at the 10th and 9th districts, which could be said to be the east side of Lapdonia, before dawn.

But…

“It’s too dark to see anything. It’s going to be dawn soon, so it seems better to wait until then.”

“You must be tired, why don’t you just close your eyes for a while.”

The problem was after we took a nap and woke up.

“Baron…? Please wake up! What, what is that…”

“…Let’s go closer first.”

We were momentarily lost in the scenery we saw in the distance as soon as we woke up, and we hurried to that point.

And…

“…”

“…”

We both lost our words.

However, if we try to organize the current situation one by one.

‘First.’

The sea existed.

The sea, which was seen from the cliff at the edge of the continent, stretched out wide along the ridge.

But the problem is…

‘Gray.’

The sea is gray.

No, not just the sea, but the sky too.

The crashing waves.

The clouds in the sky.

Everything beyond the canyon is stopped, having lost its color as if it were a black and white photograph.

Looking blankly at the scene, the GM muttered.

“…The world has never been okay.”