Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 238

“Pfft.”

As the goblin laughed, the clown’s cold gaze turned to him.

“Ahem, ahem!”

The goblin cleared his throat, pretending it was a cough, not a laugh, and avoided eye contact.

Antler intervened, defending him.

“Why are you picking on the innocent goblin? It’s not his fault you ended up with such a small body.”

The clown didn’t respond to the sarcastic remark.

He just glared at them, trembling with humiliation.

‘Hey, is he going to keep this up?’

I suddenly worried about that, but thankfully, the clown was a professional.

“……Psh.”

The clown forced a smile, even though he looked like he could burst into tears.

“Such childish tricks.”

I had a feeling I knew what he was trying to do.

The only way to turn the tables when he was being attacked so relentlessly.

“It’s not even my real body. Do you think your words will have any impact on me?”

Mental victory.

‘He’s really something else.’

The clown’s lines were sharp, but his voice was full of seething resentment.

On the other hand, what about Antler?

His eyes were full of nothing but amusement.

In reality, the winner had already been decided.

However, Antler was a ruthless man with no winner’s magnanimity.

“Hmm, so you admit you’re small?”

Is this man a devil?

“……”

The clown, having been hit in the solar plexus one last time, finally chose silence. He realized that the more he talked, the more he would get hurt.

“Real men, honestly.”

The queen chuckled as the situation ended.

I felt embarrassed for some reason.

Well, it would look pathetic if grown men were fighting like this.

Anyway, let’s end this little incident here and continue the meeting.

“Somehow, the story went off track. Then, I’ll continue from where I left off.”

Antler announced the resumption of the meeting and revealed his information.

“Three days ago, the royal family captured a spy from Noark. It seems they smuggled a few out before activating the barrier.”

A captured spy……

I wondered if it could be Amelia, but somehow, I didn’t think it was her.

She didn’t seem like someone who would be easily caught.

“I plan to kill them after getting all the information. Oh, and after torturing them to the point where they wish they were dead, of course.”

Antler then looked at the clown, who was from Noark, and continued, as if to provoke him.

‘First of all, it seems certain that Antler is affiliated with the royal family……’

Another piece of information I got from the conflict with the clown.

“Psh, how naive. Do you think I’d care if a couple of bugs who couldn’t even take care of themselves died?”

Despite saying that, his voice was full of displeasure.

Perhaps it wasn’t about the spies’ lives, but he just didn’t like Antler being so smug.

“Then, it’s my turn.”

As soon as Antler’s turn ended, the clown immediately retorted.

“An assassin will be going after Bjorn Yandel soon.”

……Huh? Suddenly?

“They’re making him out to be a hero, right? It’ll be fun if he dies right after getting his noble title. The royal family’s prestige will be thrown into the gutter!”

Ha, is this what they call getting caught in the crossfire?

I was momentarily flustered by my sudden mention, but then annoyance washed over me.

‘I’m not even fully recovered yet, and now an assassin……’

Still, it was fortunate that I was able to hear this news in advance.

And perhaps Antler felt the same way?

“How foolish.”

Antler clicked his tongue and retorted.

“You can’t even control your emotions and you’re kindly warning the enemy. You really are a baby.”

“Tsk, where does your confidence come from that you can stop it just because you know about it?”

Another battle of nerves was about to begin between the two.

It was fun at first, but now I was starting to get tired of it, so I intervened to end it.

“Now it’s my turn.”

As I spoke after a long time, the room instantly fell silent.

I scanned the members once.

And then, I fixed my gaze on the queen and said.

“The Ghost Busters were created by an evil spirit from another world.”

Ugh, I was trying to save this one.

***

In fact, it was a kind of preemptive move.

Originally, I was saving it to give as a reward if someone told me something ‘interesting,’ but……

[This community wasn’t created by the GM?]

If the queen knew this information, she would also know that the entity that created the community was an evil spirit from another world.

I thought it was better to use it before it became useless.

I was also running out of cards that could establish my authority as a Lion, and—

“An evil spirit from another world created it……”

Huh?

“Yes, I knew it.”

The queen nodded, as if something that had been blocked had been released, as the jewel glowed green.

What, she didn’t know?

‘……I thought the operator would know, of course.’

Then, was it not ‘Soul Queens’ after all?

I suddenly had that thought, but nothing was certain yet. Maybe the Master didn’t tell her that much.

I was thinking that when—

“Wait a minute! An evil spirit from another world, what does that mean? Does that mean there are players other than on Earth?”

After a brief silence, the goblin asked me in surprise.

But there was only one thing I could do.

“The interpretation is up to you.”

If you really want me to open my mouth, bring something interesting.

Though I’ll probably just give it a no-fun rating.

“……I’ve heard of such an entity. But until now, I thought it was just a rumor.”

Antler, who had been thinking for a while, also exclaimed as if he had heard an amazing secret.

‘Certainly, seeing this, Baekho is amazing.’

Like this information, most of the information that made the current Lion was from Baekho.

“Psh, I’m glad I stayed.”

The clown, who had been beaten throughout the meeting, nodded in satisfaction, as if my information was interesting.

He seemed to think he did a good job of playing it cool.

“……This is getting more interesting.”

The queen, with enthusiastic eyes, suggested continuing the meeting for another round, but unfortunately, this was the end of this meeting.

Because the goblin had also surrendered.

“I, I have nothing more to say, so I’ll leave now.”

“Then, I’ll stop here too. It seems difficult to find information that all four of us don’t know.”

Soon, Antler also declared his absence, and the meeting naturally came to an end.

“Then, I’ll go first.”

The clown, who usually seemed to stay and chat with the members, left as soon as the meeting ended.

Well, it would be a bit uncomfortable to stay and talk after everything had been revealed.

“Psh, then I’ll make sure to bring something fun next time.”

The clown, who was still acting friendly even after being treated like that.

To be honest, it was a bit absurd, but……

His attitude of being tough on the weak and weak on the strong was something to learn from.

I guess there’s a reason why he’s survived for so long?

“Then, I’ll get up first too.”

As I got up from my seat and opened the door to go outside, I saw the fox, who was waiting for me, leaning blankly against the wall of the empty hallway.

“Ah, is it over?”

When I nodded, the fox led me to a place. Not the main room with the round table, but a small reception room nearby.

Oh, there was a room like this here.

“……”

As we sat on the sofas facing each other, a strange silence fell between us.

However, it would be foolish to be the first to speak here.

As I waited leisurely, the fox spoke first.

“Um… first of all, thank you for making time for me.”

“Just get to the point.”

As I muttered briefly, the fox flinched with a ‘Ugh’ sound and then asked cautiously.

“Does the Lion know why I called you here today……?”

Of course, I don’t know.

But it would also be foolish to answer honestly here.

“Are you trying to test me?”

I muttered coldly.

“No, no! That’s not it……!”

“It seems it’s not that urgent yet.”

As I said that, I pretended to get up from my seat.

Because they’re the ones in a hurry.

I don’t know the details, but that’s for sure.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to have a separate meeting like this.

‘Clearly, something has happened that requires the Lion’s power or information.’

I had leisurely organized my thoughts about the fox during the round table.

And I finally decided that if I used this well, I might be able to find out the fox’s identity.

Then, what would it be like in reality?

“Please, I beg you. If you know my situation, please help me.”

The fox pleaded earnestly.

However, I could also sense that she didn’t completely trust me.

‘If you know,’ she said……

‘She must be trying to ask for my help after seeing that I knew the clown’s identity.’

If her identity has already been revealed, she has nothing to lose by getting help, or she’ll think about it more.

How cunning.

“You’re trying to humiliate me to the end.”

I got up from my seat as if there was nothing more to see.

Because there was nothing I could do in my current state.

In fact, the only identity I know is the clown’s.

I don’t know anything about the fox’s situation.

Therefore……

“You’re not desperate enough yet.”

I say.

That’s not how you ask the Lion for a favor.

“When you’re more desperate, come find me again.”

As I completely got up and headed for the door, the fox shouted urgently.

“You can just tell me! Just tell me if you know my situation or not!”

A voice with some unfairness in it.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the unexpected purity.

“Why should I?”

“That’s—”

I spoke, not allowing the fox to answer.

“Because that’s more fun.”

Yes, that’s the Lion.

***

A spacious room that resembled a hotel suite.

“I wonder what those two are talking about now?”

A man who had been lying on the bed got up, muttering to himself.

“Eh, what’s the point of being curious? They never tell me anything anyway.”

In fact, it was a familiar feeling for the man.

Since his school days, he had often felt like an outsider among his friends.

Well, he was lucky though.

He had bought some virtual currency just for fun, and it had become a huge success, allowing him to live in a house like this.

But what does that mean now?

“Hoo, there’s less than five hours left.”

The man checked the time and sat at the table in the living room, typing on his laptop.

It was his only pleasure once a month.

When he chatted in this virtual space, it felt like he had returned to his original world.

“Bjorn Yandel, huh……”

The bulletin board he was looking at was almost entirely about one man.

Right, this is the main topic today?

[Did you hear Bjorn Yandel is becoming a noble?]

-I’m so jealous. There are a lot of rumors that he’s a player, but what does it matter? At that point, whether you’re a player or not, you’d just want to live here.

The man spent his leisure time leaving comments on various posts.

[Bling0_0: Agreed. If you’re a noble, you can have multiple wives. I’d live here too. I heard his companions are really pretty.]

[└arolf5205: Misha is the main wife. I saw her from afar, and she’s really cute.]

[└Ykbell: I like Erwen? That elf is my type.]

[└cherylvander: For a real man, it’s obviously that barbarian woman, right?]

He went to a post with a lot of views and started trolling, and a flood of replies came in.

The man frowned as he read through them.

[Pnec: You’re pathetic. Seeing you envy that trash barbarian, I can tell what your level is.]

Okay, this is the one today.

The man grinned.

Because he knew.

That the more uneducated these guys are, the better the impact.

‘Come to think of it, that kind of insult seemed to work well on that guy.’

The man, remembering the incident from earlier, chuckled and left a reply.

[└Bling0_0: Yeah, yours is 3cm. One-tenth of Bjorn’s. You’re trembling with envy, aren’t you?]

Ding!

Soon, an alert popped up that a reply had been posted.

[└Pnec:……Damn, who are you?]

It was a slightly unexpected reaction.

[└Bling0_0: What? Is it really 3cm?]

[└Pnec: Why are there so many weirdos? Just get lost.]

[└Bling0_0: Yeah, I won’t. The one who’s getting lost is your future wife. No matter how nice a woman is, she can’t stand 3cm and will run away. So even if you become a noble, you won’t be able to have a concubine.]

[└Pnec:……Hey, where do you live?]

As expected, the praise came pouring out soon after.

The man grinned and relentlessly stuck to him. Although the other party also resorted to personal attacks from the middle……

[└cherylvander: I kept getting notifications, what are these two doing here? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[└Ykbell: Everyone, stop. As someone who graduated from MIT, I can tell that this is a complete defeat for 3cm.]

[└1spring: But looking at the way he’s talking, he really seems to be 3cm.]

The users who had been watching the fight like a fire started to join in the ridicule, and soon the other party deleted all the comments and ran away.

‘What a pathetic guy.’

The man, who had won the victory, stretched out with a refreshing feeling.

How much time had passed?

The time had come for the community to close.

“Parab, Parab!”

When he opened his eyes, a priest sitting next to him was quietly calling out and shaking his shoulder.

“How can you sleep!”

“Ah, I’m sorry……”

The man quickly apologized and listened to the bishop’s words on the podium.

No, to be precise, he pretended to listen.

Because this was not the world of the community where he could reveal his true nature.

He had to play the role of a faithful paladin.

‘Ha, if I had known it would be this hard, I would have chosen a different job.’

After about an hour, the night prayer for the day ended. However, before returning to his room, the man spent some time chatting with his colleagues to build relationships.

But was it because he had been to the community?

He was tired and just listened instead of talking, so his colleague asked worriedly.

“Parab, are you okay? You don’t look well.”

“Could it be because of that incident? Let it go. It’s not your fault that you couldn’t enter the labyrinth that day because you had a stomachache.”

“It’s a relief that you survived.”

“It was God’s help.”

The colleagues were mistaken about something, but the man did not correct them.

He just nodded as if he was bitter.

“Yes, I have to let it go.”

In fact, he didn’t have a stomachache.

He just had a bad feeling and made an excuse to take a break.

He didn’t know how close he was to death when a pillar of fire rose from the dimensional plaza the next day.

“Why don’t you go in and rest first?”

“No, I’ll stay here. I think that’s better.”

“……If that’s the case.”

After that, the colleagues continued to chat.

The topic of the barbarian was also a hot topic here.

“That friend is becoming a noble, right?”

“I think it’s a good thing. I heard from the priest who was with him that day that he was a truly noble person.”

As religious people who valued humility, the man’s colleagues praised the new hero without jealousy or suspicion.

‘Man, this is really boring.’

It’s hard to find the freedom of the community here.

The man, feeling stuffy for some reason, blurted out.

“Isn’t he a bit suspicious?”

“Suspicious?”

“To gain such fame in one year, it’s not a normal thing.”

“That’s true, but.”

“Maybe he’s an evil spirit?”

He said it like a joke, but he was serious.

Even in the community, the public opinion was leaning towards no, but……

He thought it didn’t make sense unless he was a player.

Then, what would his colleagues think?

“……”

Silence fell at the man’s words.

Of course, it wasn’t a long silence.

“Hahahahaha!”

The colleagues burst into laughter at once.

“An evil spirit, how could that be?”

“He’s a friend that Commander Krovitz liked. Such suspicion is not good.”

“Where is there an evil spirit who would sacrifice his life for his comrades?”

“This friend, your jokes are too much today!”

The man’s face felt hot for some reason.

Of course, it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling.

He had always been teased and ostracized from the group like this since he was young.

‘Yeah, I guess I’m just wrong again this time.’

The man sighed and returned to his room.

It was always like this.