Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 122

“Misha and I are just colleagues.”

“Oh, is that so? Ah… I see…”

What do you mean, ‘I see’?

I tried to ignore the look in his eyes that seemed to say, ‘I knew it,’ and took a sip of my drink. Then, Dwarki slammed his head on the table.

Thud!

No wonder he, who can’t even hold his liquor, was downing so many shots.

‘Damn it.’

Anyway, with that, the daytime drinking session ended completely, not even lasting a few hours.

I left the bar, leaving the passed-out Dwarki to his best friend, the dwarf, and it was still midday.

Therefore…

‘I guess I’ll just go to the library.’

I changed my plans from going home to rest and headed somewhere else.

There’s still so much I don’t know about this place.

‘It’s almost the same, yet subtly different.’

Just look at the troll I met this time.

I blinded it by stabbing its eyes, but it sensed magic and attacked Dwarki.

There was no such setting in the game.

But, who knows? Maybe such information was written in the books of this world.

I can’t be satisfied with just the knowledge from the game; I need to study consistently.

‘Auriel Gavis. I need to keep looking into that name anyway.’

It seems like I’m reading way more books here than when I was in civilized society.

“You’re safe, I see.”

When I arrived at the library, Ragna greeted me with sleepy eyes.

Has it been a few months since we introduced ourselves?

We’ve gotten a lot closer than before, though.

Now, he’s even going as far as to meddle in my affairs.

“You just came back two days ago, so you could say you rested, but why didn’t you come yesterday?”

“I had other things to do.”

“I know explorers are busy, but you shouldn’t neglect your studies.”

He’s got some strange quirks too.

Telling a barbarian not to neglect his studies.

“Alright, I understand. Then, I’ll ask for your help.”

“…Bierdo Parsityev.”

After a brief greeting, I received the [Special Book Detection] magic as usual and entered the library.

This time, I focused on content related to monsters. It was an area I didn’t usually look into because I had knowledge from the game, but the situation has changed.

“I’m getting hungry, so I should head out. Take care.”

“Um…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not… never mind. Don’t worry about it.”

By the time I left the library, it was already dusk.

But what’s this now?

“Hello, Mr. Yandel.”

As I was returning to the inn, thinking I had a pretty fulfilling day, someone was loitering in front of my door.

A woman with an elegant appearance, dressed in black from head to toe as if she were attending a funeral.

So, her name is…

“You are… Urbans?”

“…Julian. Julian Urbans.”

“Right, that was her name.”

“…I heard it from Peta-nim, but I really didn’t think you wouldn’t remember.”

She let out a sigh and twirled her curly brown hair with her index finger.

It might just be a habit, but maybe it’s an unconscious sign of her nervousness.

‘She doesn’t look like it, but is she nervous?’

Thinking that, I asked her first.

“So, who is Peta?”

Urbans’ eyes widened at my question.

As if she had heard something unbelievable.

“…You don’t even know the name of Branch Manager Peta?”

“Ah.”

So that was the name of that mustached guy.

But how would I know that?

We haven’t even introduced ourselves before.

Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed, but I didn’t show it and got straight to the point.

“So, what brings you here? And alone, too.”

“Since you wouldn’t meet me, I had no choice but to come here.”

“I’m pretty sure I rejected that offer.”

“Could you please consider that I was that desperate?”

Desperate, huh…

For the regional director’s daughter to say something like that, there must be a story behind it. Probably something difficult to tell others.

Or else, she wouldn’t come alone in front of a hostage-taker.

But, I’m a barbarian who doesn’t know what meddling is.

“Enough, go back. I don’t want any trouble.”

I erased my curiosity and went into my room.

Just as I was about to close the door.

Clack!

Urbans quickly stuck her parasol into the door gap.

Of course, it didn’t work.

Bang!

With just a bit of force, I smashed the parasol and firmly closed the door.

“Huh?”

Urbans, not expecting the situation to unfold like this, hurriedly knocked on the door.

“W-wait a minute! Let’s just talk! It won’t take long—”

“Stop it and go back.”

“No, really! Aren’t you even curious? Why I’m doing this?”

“I’m not curious.”

“Ugh!”

Did my stubborn attitude work?

Urbans, who had even broken her parasol, kicked the door irritably and then disappeared with the sound of her heels clicking.

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Whew, it seems I got through that okay—’

Click, click.

Then, the sound of heels that had been fading away started to come back this way.

Could it be that she still hasn’t given up?

Knock, knock, knock.

As soon as I heard the knocking, I started snoring.

Zzzzzzzzzzz!

There was no need to respond any further; I judged that this would make her give up completely.

“Haa, why am I even doing this…”

A sigh of despair could be heard from beyond the door.

But, has she decided to change her tactics?

“I know you’re not sleeping, so just listen.”

Urbans whispered quietly from beyond the door.

“Brown Rotmiller. Be careful of that man. I don’t know the details, but he met with my father today… Eek! Why would you suddenly open the door!”

…It was worth listening to.

***

Two men and women in one room late at night.

Only an awkward atmosphere flows within.

That’s only natural.

I opened the door for her, but there was nothing substantial.

“So, that’s all there is to it?”

“Yes…”

That Rotmiller was called to the regional director’s office and came out after five minutes.

That was the end of the information Urbans gave me.

If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have opened the door.

“So, what’s your purpose?”

Since it’s come to this, I decided to satisfy my curiosity.

I was getting more curious anyway.

Why would the daughter go against her own father to tell me this?

Urbans recited with a determined expression.

“My goal is my father’s downfall.”

“…Huh?”

“It can’t be helped. If things continue like this, I’ll really have to live like a doll. Anyway, for this, Mr. Yandel’s cooperation is essential—”

“Get out.”

“What? No, I think you’ve misunderstood something, if you help me, Mr. Yandel, you’ll also gain a huge advantage—”

What advantage?

There’s nothing to gain from going against the regional director.

“Kyaa!”

It was a short time, but I could tell how persistent this woman was, so I just picked her up and threw her out.

Then, I closed and locked the door.

But, has my consistent attitude finally worked?

“If… if you change your mind, please come find me. Oh, and be careful. My father must have been up to something with that Rotmiller guy.”

With those words, Urbans left without causing any more commotion. So, I also took a shower and went to bed.

‘Rotmiller, huh… I should keep an eye on him for now.’

After that, everyday life continued.

Every morning, I ate the meat Misha grilled for me, and in the afternoon, I spent time at the library.

When Erwen, who said she would come once a week, came, the three of us had a meal together and strengthened our friendship.

Oh, there was also a regular meeting to plan the next exploration.

[Last time, a troll appeared on the 4th floor, but after hearing about it, it seems we were just particularly unlucky. It doesn’t seem like there’s a problem with the floor, so I think we can go as planned. What do you guys think?]

I watched Rotmiller throughout the meeting, but I couldn’t find anything particularly strange.

If I had to point something out, it would be that he was quieter than usual.

This made my head even more complicated.

If he had talked about something after meeting the regional director, I had secretly hoped he would mention it at the meeting.

‘…Should I just meet him and ask him directly what they talked about?’

There’s also the option of a direct confrontation, but I decided to hold off for now.

There’s still time before the labyrinth opens, so I judged it was better to approach it more carefully.

Anyway, time passed, and it was three days ago.

[This pays off all the debt. Give it back now.]

[…Can’t I just have this?]

I received 5 million stones from the bear uncle.

I tried to ask if I could just have the bracelet, but the bear uncle firmly shook his head.

Seriously, it’s not even for a ranged dealer.

This item is most effective when worn by a character with high regeneration.

Their health fills up quickly during the damage immunity time.

‘I’ll have to coax him well when he becomes my companion later. To sell it to me cheaply.’

With those thoughts, I opened my eyes and checked the time.

[23:59]

It was just 10 seconds before midnight on the 15th.

I closed my eyes again.

「The character’s soul resonates and is drawn to a specific world.」

It was time to go have a slightly special daily life.

***

In Lee Han-soo’s room, not Bjorn Yandel’s.

It wasn’t the first time, but I still felt a sense of wonder as I laid down on the bed.

‘The softness is definitely different.’

The gap in civilization is definitely noticeable.

It wasn’t like I bought an expensive mattress either.

Well, it might be a little different if I went for the highest quality in this world.

Click.

As I lay on the bed, I turned on the computer with my toe, and the monitor lit up without any boot time.

So, I got up and sat in front of the computer.

It’s a space that’s only available once a month, and even then, there’s a time limit.

I need to use it efficiently.

Click, click.

First, I went to the trading post.

Most of it was the same as the last time I saw it, but new posts were being generated in real-time.

‘I’ll check this again later…’

I opened the chat room list.

When I first came here, I didn’t have enough time to use this feature leisurely, but this time it’s different.

[Wizardry]

[Gather, Beastmen]

[Elves of the Night]

Looking through it, I could see that unlike the [Newbie Room], which had around 10 people, many people were gathered in the job or race communities.

Well, it’s easier to get useful information if you go to those places.

Like how to level up.

‘But… why is there no Barbarian one?’

I froze as I continued to scroll down.

Except for the Dragonkin, whose character selection is blocked, all of them have their own chat rooms, but there isn’t one for Barbarians.

No, it’s not that there isn’t one…

[Behellaahhh!] – 0 people are online.

There’s no one inside.

Looking closely, the last login record was also a few months ago, and there was a red line through the nickname.

It means they were either expelled or died in reality.

Why is it only like this for Barbarians?

After thinking about it carefully, there were two reasons that made sense.

1. Barbarians weren’t very popular as main characters.

Even I often chose Beastmen or Elves before completing the Shield Barbarian leveling method. Or I would choose humans with good late-game potential.

2. Barbarians have to enter the labyrinth with weapons as soon as they start. Otherwise, they’ll starve to death.

A bizarrely difficult coming-of-age ceremony.

And the hardcore growth conditions of having to enter the labyrinth as soon as you open your eyes.

‘There are already few people, and even those few must have all died in the beginning.’

For some reason, my sense of empathy rose, and I felt a lump in my chest.

So, I looked for job communities instead.

[Noblesse] – 21 people are online.

[Treasure Hunter] – 34 people are online.

[Swordmaster] – 17 people are online.

Healers, archers, swordsmen, etc.

All of them had more than 10 people online.

But…

[Shielder] – 3 people are online.

There are only three tanks.

Zero people in the race community and three in the job community.

“……”

What path was I walking?

I felt a bit miserable, so this time I looked for national communities instead.

Fortunately, there was a chat room.

[Long Live Korean Independence] – 1 person is online.

It’s just one person, but that’s something.

It was originally an overseas game without even a Korean translation.

Honestly, I thought there might not even be one.

‘A Korean…’

Without hesitation, I double-clicked the mouse.

***

Surprisingly, the moment I opened my eyes, I saw a room that looked like a noble’s mansion.

I thought it would be a basic skin like an empty lot or a field—

“You’re hereeeeeee!”

Before I could leisurely look around, the player who was online shouted excitedly and greeted me.

A man with short hair, estimated to be in his early 20s.

[Sergeant Lee]

After confirming even the nickname, I froze.

“Sergeant Lee, don’t tell me you’re…”

“Brother… you recognize me. It was the day I was discharged.”

What kind of messed up situation is this!