Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 256

The Royal Family’s army returned.

People learned that the army was real, and the reason they weren’t seen in the Dimensional Plaza was that they had gone underground to loot the place.

However…

‘What happened?’

No one knew the full story.

Thus, all sorts of speculations began to circulate.

From whether they won or lost, to baseless conspiracy theories that the Royal Family was only pretending to fight the underground city.

Every morning, new rumors arose among the gossips, and eventually, a few days later, the Royal Family officially posted notices all over the city.

To summarize the content briefly, it was like this:

We, the awesome ones, have won, and even conquered Noark. So stop worrying.

I couldn’t know how much of it was true.

However, assuming that the notice was based on some truth, let’s fill in a few missing points…

‘It’s certain. There was no battle.’

It was hard to find any traces of battle on the knights returning to the palace.

‘Maybe the Noark guys ran away.’

If so, where did they run to?

A world blocked by walls on all sides.

It doesn’t make sense that they hid on the surface.

If that many people came above ground, there would be traces left somehow.

‘Then they’re still down here…’

“Bjorn! Stop goofing off and come help carry this!”

Right, I should move the luggage.

Would I get an answer by worrying about it all day?

It’s wise to wait for the Round Table to open with the Clown as a member.

So, I stopped thinking and started moving my body.

“Ah, could you put the bed over here?”

The place I’m currently at is an orphanage under the Reatlathus Order, and I’m acting like a moving company employee, taking out luggage from a building scheduled for demolition.

I need to start accumulating contribution points soon.

Sometimes, when suitable requests come up from the Order, those with free time go and take care of them.

“Ainar! You thought you wouldn’t get caught sneaking a break!”

“I-I wasn’t taking a break, I was playing with the kids!”

“Waaaaaaaah! This older sister broke my doll!! A murderer who killed my doll!!”

“That was… I was trying to show them the vital points of a person, and it was unavoidable…”

There were various happenings today as well, but after an hour or two, all the luggage moving was finished.

So, today’s request is over.

After that, I had a simple meal at a restaurant near the Order, and that’s when I heard something strange from Misha.

“You know? The orphanage we went to today, that’s the place?”

“What do you mean, ‘that place’?”

“You know, the one where Dwarki spent some time as a child. That old building that’s scheduled for demolition tomorrow, that was it.”

“…I see.”

“Anyway, just so you know! I’m going! Oh, and I’ll be a bit late today, so take care of your own dinner.”

After the meal, we disbanded immediately.

Misha left, saying she had an appointment with one of her old colleagues, and Ainar headed to the Holy Land.

And…

“Hehe, now it’s just the two of us?”

“I have somewhere to go, so go home first.”

“…Huh?”

After sending Erwen, who had no particular plans, home, I went to the guild alone. The bodyguard who used to be with me every day was gone.

Well, they all left at the end of last month.

I heard that the higher-ups had issued an order to return, saying that was enough.

‘I just thought it was normal back then, but maybe they were called in because of the Noark conquest.’

If the Noark guys all escaped safely and are somewhere in this underground, I wonder if they’ll send the knights again…

But I decided not to expect too much.

Still, we had been together for a month, and one of the knights told me before leaving.

[Please be careful. If assassins come again, the higher-ups believe it’s more likely to be the work of a large clan than Noark.]

It seemed that ‘Deer Horn,’ who had assigned me a bodyguard, thought that the ‘assassination’ the Clown had mentioned meant the work of a large clan.

Well, it’s been almost a month since they said an assassin would come ‘soon’.

[But then shouldn’t they be protecting you more? The target of the large clan would be the Royal Family, right?]

[…You don’t have to worry about that part.]

Besides, judging by the nuance of their words, the Royal Family seemed to have finished all preparations to prevent any damage even if a large clan tried to start a public opinion war again.

So, they don’t need to protect me anymore.

‘Well, it’s more comfortable for me too, without them.’

As I was organizing my thoughts, I arrived at the Explorer’s Guild. However, there was no need to take a number and wait like before.

In the first place, there aren’t many explorers anymore…

“Baron Bjorn Yandel, your identity verification is complete. I will guide you to the branch manager’s office.”

Right, I should enjoy the benefits of the noble title I worked so hard to get, even in this way.

“Not the branch manager, the regional manager’s office.”

The employee asked if I had made an appointment, but I suppressed such trivial matters with the power of a noble.

“Are you a rebel?”

A barbarian who doesn’t understand words, combined with a noble who doesn’t intend to listen.

It’s called Barbarian Noblesse Mode.

“…I’ll take you there right away.”

Soon, I went up to the 4th floor, and the employee knocked to announce my visit. Shortly after, a loud sigh was heard from inside, and the door opened.

I immediately went inside and sat on the sofa.

And I put my feet on the table and said arrogantly.

“Greetings.”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to do it?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the regional manager, who had been working at his desk, got up and greeted me.

“Baron… Yandel… have you arrived…”

Come on, shouldn’t you be used to it by now?

“Yes, sit down.”

Only after I allowed him to sit did the regional manager sit opposite me. It’s already happened several times, but it’s still thrilling.

Is this the true taste of power?

“…What brings you here today?”

The regional manager of the 7th district of the Explorer’s Guild, Nile Urbans.

This guy, with whom I had various bad relationships in the past, is asking me in a polite tone, unlike in the past.

Of course, it wasn’t like this from the beginning.

Originally, he tried to talk down to me using informal language, but when I got angry, asking if he was insulting a noble, he ended up using this tone.

“I came to check if there are any explorers who have responded to the recruitment notice.”

“That’s something that can be done at the branch manager’s office below…”

What is this guy talking about again?

The reason I came all the way to the main branch of the 7th district is because of you.

“Talking back… to a noble?”

“…I’ll check right away.”

“Just in case there might be a mistake like in the old days, do it yourself. Don’t make someone else do it.”

“Yes…”

After that, the regional manager went downstairs to do what I had instructed, and I waited, chewing on the snacks that were on the table.

How much time had passed?

“Here it is.”

The regional manager came back up with a few documents.

Without even a word of thanks for his hard work, I snatched them and read them. There wasn’t much difference from when I came two days ago.

“There’s only one more applicant, and even that one isn’t good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault to apologize for.”

Showing some generosity as a superior, I read the documents again. As of today, exactly 31 explorers have applied to the recruitment notice I posted a few days ago.

There are fewer applicants than I expected.

It’s because there aren’t many explorers who want to enter the labyrinth in the current situation.

‘Still, I thought there would be more applicants than this since the clans were so badly damaged.’

I put down the documents, feeling disappointed.

There were no explorers who were worth going to the interview stage, even on paper.

The ‘special job class’ I was looking for was still nowhere to be seen.

In the end, do I have no choice but to wait endlessly?

“Um, but…”

“Don’t drag it out, just say it.”

“Is there a specific job class you are looking for?”

“Not really, as long as they are capable. But why do you ask?”

“There was a famous name among the applicants, so I was wondering.”

After that, the regional manager talked about how capable, trustworthy, and promising the explorer was.

It seemed like he wanted to find me a companion quickly and hoped I wouldn’t come back anymore.

But…

“Stop!!”

I threw the documents on the floor and stormed out of the regional manager’s office.

No matter how excellent the specs are, that’s too much.

“You just have to do what I tell you!”

Putting Hans on the team? Are you crazy?

***

Almost two weeks have passed since the fire broke out. The things I’ve done during that time can be summarized into a few main points.

Grinding contribution points at the temple.

Sparring with the chieftain at the Holy Land.

Going around the commercial city of Commelby to check prices.

And going to the guild every three days to torment the regional manager and relieve stress.

I’ve had a fairly productive schedule, but there hasn’t been any significant progress in any area yet.

The value of currency seems to be rising for a while, so I’ll keep it for now.

‘It seems like it will take at least two or three more months to reach the minimum contribution points for a priest…’

The same goes for recruiting companions.

The special job class I need on the 6th floor shows no sign of appearing, and I haven’t found suitable people for the remaining two spots to fill the 10.

‘In the end, if the labyrinth opens before that, do I have no choice but to go up with just six people?’

It’s a bit of a shame.

Usually, when dividing a team into two or more, they meet on the 5th floor.

If the number of people exceeds 5, it takes a considerable amount of time to pass through the 4th floor.

It’s a painful loss for explorers for whom time is money.

‘…Still, there are still many unstable points to divide into three and three and go up. It’s better to meet on the 2nd floor and go up safely.’

Of course, it’s a bit early to worry about it.

If the labyrinth entry is delayed by a few more months, it will all be meaningless. The important thing is when the situation will stabilize again.

‘I might find out today.’

The 15th, when Ghost Busters opens [a reference to a game or event].

I headed to the Holy Land in the morning, preparing to enter the community [a virtual world or online space].

Because I can’t just go in this time.

‘GM [Game Master].’

The situation is that the GM is suspecting me of being an evil spirit.

It’s highly likely that the GM will target today.

Because if I were him, I would do that.

12 hours spent in the community.

In other words, 12 seconds in reality.

I’ve always thought that this short moment is a very big weakness for community users.

Because they are cut off from reality for 12 seconds.

Even if they are stabbed in the neck with a knife, they won’t wake up, so if you use this moment well, you can distinguish whether they are a player or not.

But…

‘As expected, not going in is a bad idea.’

I decided to enter the community.

I judged that there would be a lot of information coming out since there was a major incident between the Royal Family and Noark.

Besides, last time, ‘Soul Queens,’ the GM’s right-hand man, also joined the Round Table as a new member.

Due to the absence of ‘Lion,’ it might be possible to connect me and Lion later.

‘…Is that a bit of a stretch?’

Anyway, the point is this.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

I don’t know if the GM will try to check by targeting those 12 seconds, but there’s no reason not to prepare.

“Bjorn, you called for me?”

“Ah, I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“Would you try wearing this on your face?”

I called Caron to the Holy Land and handed him the hidden item I had obtained from the Crimson Fortress before, the ‘Golden Mask’.

“What is this? It’s shiny, so I like it…”

“It’s a magic tool that changes your face for 30 days.”

“Huh? But why are you giving it to me?”

“Because you have the most similar body type to me.”

After that, I asked Caron to drink in the city with my face until tomorrow morning.

“It’s not a difficult request, but why do such a troublesome thing?”

“I have somewhere to go at night, secretly from my companions.”

“…It seems that the beastkin doesn’t understand you well.”

Huh? Why is the beastkin suddenly coming up here?

I was wondering what he meant, but I understood immediately after his next words.

“The desire to have offspring is the instinct of a warrior. Is that why you came to the Holy Land today?”

I hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Thinking about it, this seemed like a much better way to keep secrets than the excuse I had prepared.

“Anyway, don’t worry about this part! I’ll make sure that even if that beastkin woman comes, she won’t suspect anything!”

No, if she comes, she’ll definitely find out.

That’s why I told him to just drink outside all night.

“I trust you. You are the wisest warrior after me.”

“Y-you thought of me that way too?! I’m happy!”

After giving him instructions and the route to take, I sent Caron, who had turned into me, out into the city wearing my equipment.

And…

「The character has used the ‘Golden Mask’.」

「The character’s appearance will change for 30 days.」

I also put on the mask and took it off, changing my face to Caron’s.

Because if I’m in the Holy Land with my face, I’ll stand out.

If there are sightings of me in two places, everything I did today will be meaningless.

‘I need to go back to the city for now.’

In case my identity is revealed to Caron’s acquaintances while I’m in the Holy Land, I quickly put on Caron’s equipment, came out of the bushes, and headed to the city.

And I grabbed any accommodation and locked myself in the room.

How much time had passed since then?

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

I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble with my face.