Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 236

Killing intent.

The will to kill someone.

Usually, it just ends with a chill, but here in the mental world, its effect is amplified tenfold.

Since it’s not transmitted through the physical body, in severe cases, the spirit body can suffer extreme shock, and permanent aftereffects can occur in reality.

‘Mental contamination.’

That’s what players call this phenomenon.

When this state is reached, the subject may develop permanent speech impediments, such as stuttering, and in severe cases, their mind may collapse and fragment.

Therefore…….

“You’re like a bug.”

I focus my intent even more, staring at the clown.

The clown drooled as he asked.

“W, why…….”

The reason is simple.

The clown is a necromancer.

It would take ages to restore the summons he lost in this battle, and until Noahrc’s barrier is lifted, he can’t come out to the city and harm me.

But…….

‘Orculius.’

The group to which the dragonslayer who killed Dwarki belongs.

In the end, this guy is also an enemy I have to deal with someday.

If I can take him down in advance, it’s obviously the rational thing to do.

“……Ugh, hup!”

The emission of killing intent continued for a long time, and a sharp pain shot through the back of my head. It was an unavoidable side effect since it was a technique that used mental power as a cost.

I’ll probably have to sleep all day tomorrow.

Well, maybe I’ll sleep for two days straight.

But the more it was like that, the more I increased the pressure.

Because this bastard is definitely considering Bjorn Yandel his enemy and plotting revenge by now.

‘It’s best to take him down here.’

This guy is more dangerous than the dragonslayer.

Unlike that guy who lost his memories, he has a clear hostility towards ‘Bjorn Yandel.’

If I don’t take him down this time, he will someday.

He will hurt my comrades.

“……!”

The killing intent became so thick that not only the clown, the target, but all the members present could feel it on their skin.

‘Damn it.’

As the murderous intent continued, a sudden throbbing sensation arose in my brain.

It was an experience I had before.

My mental power for using killing intent was completely exhausted.

“S, stop. P, please…….”

It felt like I could do it with just a little more.

Feeling regretful, I squeezed out the last bit of killing intent.

How many more seconds did I endure like that?

“……Hup!”

The clown took a deep breath, like someone who had come up from underwater.

And he coughed and vomited stomach acid.

“Keck, kehek, ugh……!”

The clown was in a pathetic state, but I wasn’t in good shape either.

It felt like I could pass out just by closing my eyes.

“Why……. Why the hell…….”

It seemed like his mind had returned, as the clown struggled to get up and looked into my eyes.

His breathing was a little rough, but it didn’t seem like he had any problems with his language function.

Yeah, I didn’t even get close to mental contamination.

‘Hah, so it ends up like this…….’

It was a result I had somewhat expected.

In the past, when I unleashed killing intent on the fox, my mental power ran out before I reached that point.

If he was a clown who had killed countless people, his mental barrier was likely to be thicker than the fox’s.

‘Tch, just looking at the killing intent, it seems much stronger than before, but it’s still not enough.’

Feeling bitter, I carefully observed the clown’s eyes.

In his trembling pupils, I could see more doubt than resentment. The fear that arose from not knowing the reason for my actions.

“…….”

I continued to stare at the trembling clown.

So, what do I do now?

There was no such concern at all.

Since the preemptive strike I threw out of the blue failed, there should be a reason to be convinced?

It’s a useless worry.

Because I’m not Bjorn Yandel, but a lion.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

It’s not that the killing intent mode ended due to mental exhaustion.

I ended it because I felt sorry for him.

I put myself under that self-hypnosis and turned my back indifferently, as if I had no more interest.

And…….

“Tsk.”

I spat out as if annoyed.

“According to the rumors, I thought you’d be a little more useful.”

As if I had just tested him out.

***

The plan to take down the clown with killing intent failed.

But I didn’t have any great regrets.

Even in this case, there are advantages to it.

As the saying goes, keep your enemies close, right?

‘Now that it’s come to this, I should just keep sucking him dry.’

The clown is an executive of the criminal group Orculius.

Since they have Noahrc as their base, if I use him well, I’ll keep getting high-level information that will be helpful.

“Um…… are you okay?”

The queen, who had been watching the situation with bated breath, cautiously approached the clown and extended her hand.

But did that hurt his pride?

Thwack.

The clown slapped her hand away as if venting his anger, then grabbed a chair and stood up on his own, sitting down.

And he looked at me.

He had shown a disgraceful figure in front of the other members, but he didn’t care about that.

He only fixed his gaze on me.

He uttered words that I couldn’t understand.

“……Lion, are you perhaps ‘him’?”

Huh?

What is ‘him’?

It’s not like it’s a character whose name shouldn’t be spoken.

“…….”

Since I had no idea, I just kept my mouth shut.

As always, I judged that this would get me halfway there.

Actually, after waiting for a moment, the clown muttered as if organizing his thoughts.

“……No, that can’t be. You are not him.”

The deer antlers also seemed to know something and said something.

“Right, ‘he’ can’t participate in the gathering because of restrictions.”

The queen, who had been watching with interest, opened her mouth as if there was no need to hold back.

“……The level here is higher than I thought? Yes. He can never be here. This chat room only opens at three o’clock.”

He can’t be here because it’s three o’clock……?

Wait a minute, this sounds like someone I know.

‘……Could it be, are they talking about Baekho?’

Suddenly, such a hypothesis came to mind, but there was no way to confirm if it was true.

It’s one of the few flaws of the lion.

Even if I’m curious, I can never ask first.

Especially if it’s low-level information that everyone knows.

Come on, the lion has his pride.

‘Anyway, I’ll figure this out later.’

It was time to jump in.

Since everyone knows that I’m not him, there’s no need to stay still.

I chuckled and spat out.

“Yeah, I’m not ‘that guy.’”

As if giving a reward to you guys who are working so hard to figure it out.

Not ‘him’ but ‘that guy.’

I chose a word that subtly put him and me on the same level, whoever he was.

But was this strategy effective?

“What the hell are you…….”

Even though he was hit first and ended up in that state, the clown looked at me with a shocked expression.

There was no sign of resentment at all.

Maybe he didn’t even feel like being hostile.

“Are you curious about who I am?”

At my question, the clown swallowed hard and nodded. But he immediately flinched, as if he had done it without realizing it.

Ah, but he didn’t correct his answer.

After getting hit once, he seemed genuinely curious about who I was…….

I shrugged slightly.

A gesture that everyone except the new member, the queen, would know.

“……What does that mean?”

At the queen’s question, the clown answered like a subordinate.

“It means he’ll tell us if we bring interesting information.”

“Ah, come to think of it, that was the concept of this secret chat room, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, by the way, who is ‘he’ that you were all talking about earlier?”

The goblin subtly asked, but the queen ignored him as if she hadn’t heard.

It was then.

“Are you serious about revealing your identity……?”

The clown blankly asked back, and I didn’t bother to answer.

I just stared at the clown.

Even if it was something related to my personal information, if it made me ‘happy,’ there was nothing I couldn’t tell, as if even that situation would be enjoyable for me.

“I’ve been watching you for months, but I can’t understand you at all.”

The deer antlers said, looking at me as if he was fed up.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been in this world, but you’re seriously broken. If you keep going like that, you won’t be able to live a proper life even when you go back.”

To worry about someone else’s life here, he was a sweeter guy than I thought.

But that’s that, and this is this.

When I didn’t even pretend to listen and didn’t even look at him, the deer antlers shut his mouth as if he was frustrated.

It was then that the queen stepped forward.

“By the way, this is quite interesting. If I bring information, can I hear your identity? I’ve become a little curious too.”

“If you make me happy.”

At my answer, the queen smiled.

“Look forward to it. Even though I look like this, I know quite a lot of interesting stories. Hehe.”

Well, now that she says that, I’m a little curious.

This woman is also an unknown entity.

‘First of all, if she came in at this time, it seems like she came with a master’s recommendation, unlike me…….’

At first, I couldn’t pay much attention because I was busy educating the clown, but I should keep a close eye on her from now on.

“Um, then, how about we start soon……?”

Silence settled naturally as no one opened their mouths. Soon, the goblin spoke first, and the chaotic situation was roughly settled.

“Well, the door has already been closed for a while, so we can’t just keep doing this. In the end, Crescent Moon didn’t attend until the end.”

“Not coming at this time probably means she didn’t survive the incident.”

It seems like everyone thinks that Crescent Moon didn’t survive this incident.

Hmm, she was the most active one among them.

“So, who will go first this time?”

Usually, the fox would volunteer to be the host and proceed with the gathering, but since she was in a strange state, the goblin took the lead.

“I’ll go later. I think I need some time to adjust since it’s my first time.”

“Okay, then. Who will go?”

“If no one else will, I’ll go first.”

The first turn of the gathering was the deer antlers.

“Since the topic of ‘him’ came up earlier, let’s do it with this. He was released into the world five days ago.”

“Huh? You mean him……?”

The clown was surprised, as if he didn’t know anything about it.

“Um…… to be fair, shouldn’t you tell us who ‘he’ is first…….”

The goblin looked like he didn’t know what was going on, and the fox’s eyes didn’t change.

No, did she even hear properly in the first place?

Whoosh.

Anyway, the jewel of the round table emitted a green light.

It meant that the information was true and that more than half of the people here did not know about this information.

“But I don’t understand. Is it okay to release such valuable information like this?”

At the clown’s question, the deer antlers answered as if it was nothing.

“Everyone who needs to know will know about it in a week anyway. I have to use it like this.”

“Then, can I try next?”

The queen raised her hand slightly.

Originally, it was the rule to go clockwise from the first start, but everyone allowed it.

Because they were curious.

What kind of information would this woman spit out?

“Hehe, it’s my first time in a place like this, so I feel a little nervous.”

But her voice didn’t sound nervous at all.

The queen made eye contact with each person as if enjoying the attention, and then slowly opened her mouth.

“He is currently in the Magic Tower.”

Information about his current location.

‘Hah, it’s that again?’

Since I couldn’t even be sure who ‘he’ was in the first place, I didn’t feel any particular emotion even after hearing it.

But were these two different?

The moment the queen spat out the information, the clown’s and the deer antlers’ eyes turned to the center of the round table.

To the place where the jewel that would determine the truth was.

“It’s true…….”

“To go to the Magic Tower as soon as he came out into the world, doesn’t that suddenly make you interested?”

If I get a chance later, I should definitely find out who ‘he’ is. If they’re like this, he must be a really great person.

‘……If it’s really Baekho, what the hell is he doing?’

While I was having such random thoughts, I felt a gaze from somewhere.

It was from the queen’s seat.

I don’t know since when, but she was staring at me intently.

“Lion, you’re not surprised even after hearing this story? As if you already knew it.”

Oh, does it look like that?

I just didn’t care where he was since I didn’t even know who he was.

“Do you have someone in the Magic Tower?”

“Well, maybe I do.”

The queen subtly probed me, and I brushed it off as if it was a cute trick.

“Next… I’ll go.”

The next turn was the fox.

The fox, who had been silent since the gathering started, failed three times in a row.

The first two were the latest information, but everyone already knew it, and the third was information that everyone judged to be of low utility.

“The master of the Elcapard Clan was a player, that’s a bit strange. But this seems too useless? I remember that guy died as soon as he crossed the dimensional gate this time.”

“……Value is relative. For example, I and the goblin don’t even know who ‘he’ is. That was a completely useless story.”

The fox’s logic was somewhat valid, but this was in front of the round table where the majority ruled.

“But we did learn that there is such a person in the world, didn’t we? Hehe.”

“……Does everyone have the same opinion?”

Everyone was silent at her question, and that silence was a better answer than anything else.

In the end, the fox had to make a fourth try.

“The master of the Tebern Clan has Number Nine.”

Information about a single-number item.

“The clan master of Tebern…….”

“It’s like putting a pearl necklace on a pig. Hehe.”

The jewel of the round table emitted a green light, and of course, no one objected this time.

Single numbers were worth that much.

To be honest, it even felt like she was releasing information that she had been saving up until now.

“I’ll go this time.”

The next turn was the goblin.

As expected of a paladin, he released information related to religion this time as well.

“In the end, all the religious orders have decided to withdraw their support for the royal family. In a few days, they will probably go back to being distant from each other as before.”

It was information that could not have been known unless you were a key figure in the religious world, so it was naturally approved at once.

“Hehe, then it’s my turn.”

The clown made a shocking declaration as soon as it was his turn, as if he had been waiting for it.

“I live in Noahrc.”

What the hell is this guy?

Did he get a problem in his head after getting hit with killing intent?

***

Information that revealed his own identity.

Everyone, including me, froze at that incomprehensible action.

“……!”

Ah, to be precise, everyone except the queen.

“Noahrc, the clown is a very interesting person!”

The queen spoke to the clown in an innocent voice.

However, the clown’s gaze was fixed on me and showed no sign of leaving.

For some reason, the demon hunter came to mind.

That bastard also threw out bait and looked at my expression like that.

‘Could it be, is he trying to see how much information I have?’

Suddenly, that thought came to mind.

So I also carefully observed the clown’s eyes.

It also seemed like I could feel a sense of relief somewhere.

“Since you were surprised, it seems like you didn’t know who I was? Hehe.”

What is he saying, the crazy bastard.

“Crescent Moon said that Lion seemed to know all of our identities. But it seems that’s not the case.”

It’s a kind of probing.

He knows that the lion is a great guy, but what kind of person is he?

Is it just personal power?

Or is he an absolute being with immense power and information?

“How was it, was this a little more interesting?”

He can also get a fun stack, so it can be seen as a rather efficient move.

But…….

“Certainly.”

I chuckled and answered.

“It was an interesting trick.”

At that moment, the jewel that had been emitting a green light turned off, signaling that the turn had passed.

So now it’s my turn, which I’ve been waiting for.

The information to spit out was already decided.

“The clown is a corpse collector.”

Where do you think you’re acting up, you bastard?