Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 337

2 years and 6 months.

I’d been there for about half a year, so it’s safe to say that time flowed roughly at a 5:1 ratio.

The problem is that this time ratio doesn’t seem to be fixed.

‘Amelia, did you perhaps arrive before me?’

Even though I was inwardly certain, I still asked, and an immediate answer came back.

‘Yes, it was a long wait. The magic tool you’re holding now is also something I left behind. It was set to emit light and signal me as soon as you returned. Well… I didn’t expect it to take over two years for the signal to come.’

No wonder I heard a ‘beep’ when I woke up.

That was the sound of the magic tool activating.

‘Anyway, I’ll explain everything you’re curious about later, so for now, hurry and run.’

Amelia seemed eager to end the small talk and get away from this place as quickly as possible, but I couldn’t readily agree with her suggestion.

No matter what, I just couldn’t understand.

‘Wait a minute, if the pursuer is Erwen, why do we have to run away?’

‘You may not know, but that woman will definitely try to kill me. If we fight in this city where the oath is in effect, I’m guaranteed to lose.’

Okay, I get that you’d lose, but…

‘Why on earth would she kill you?’

‘Because she thinks I’m involved in your death.’

‘Ah…’

That explanation painted a picture of the situation in my head to some extent.

However, even so, Amelia’s actions still didn’t make sense.

‘But that’s something I can sort out by meeting her and persuading her—’

‘Persuasion won’t be easy.’

‘…What?’

When I questioned her, as if not understanding, Amelia stopped walking. And looking at me, she said in a serious voice.

‘Yandel, that woman is not the fairy you knew back then.’

Her expression was as if she was thinking of some kind of monster.

Amelia was certain that even I wouldn’t be able to control Erwen.

‘No, what happened in the meantime…’

‘A lot has happened. There’s no time to explain in detail.’

Amelia, cutting off my muttering decisively, continued.

‘It’s questionable whether she still has the intention, but the important thing is just one thing.’

‘W-what is it…?’

‘That woman can’t protect you.’

It had been a long time since I felt this way.

It’s like no matter how much I talk, my head just doesn’t clear up?

‘…Protect? Me? From whom, exactly?’

I asked blankly, and Amelia answered briefly again.

‘From the entire world.’

What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Just as that question popped up and I was about to ask something new.

‘Bjorn Yandel.’

Amelia called my name and said.

‘This happened two years ago.’

Like a doctor giving a terminal diagnosis to a patient.

In a firm yet bitter voice.

‘The royal family announced that you are an evil spirit.’

…What?

***

A lazy afternoon.

Warm sunlight streamed through the bars of the window into the office.

However, the inside was far from peaceful.

‘…That’s all.’

Alex Hale, the deputy commander of the 3rd Magic Corps.

He announced the end of the regular report, his chin stiffly raised in a rigid posture, while observing his superior’s expression.

She was frowning as she read the documents.

‘Hmm…’

Soon, after reading all the documents, she raised her head and stared at him.

That unique gaze, always weary.

Seeing this, he quietly let out a sigh of relief.

He knew from past experience. At least this time, he would get through it unscathed.

‘Well written. The report is good too. Especially the part about Noark’s movements was interesting. It’s speculation, but still, I’d say you have imagination? It’s much better than the trash you’ve brought so far.’

Was that a criticism or a compliment?

He didn’t know, but what he had to say was set.

‘Thank you—’

‘Did you think I’d say that?’

Oh, damn it.

Gulp.

At the voice that changed in an instant, he swallowed without realizing it.

His superior’s eyes were no longer weary.

No, the weariness was still there… but at least her eyes weren’t sleepy.

The eyes of a predator facing a herbivore just before devouring it.

If he stayed still here, he would really be torn to shreds.

‘If you tell me what needs to be corrected, I will fix it.’

‘First of all, the format is a problem. Especially this part, I told you about it last time, but you made a mistake again? Don’t you know that if I approve it, it will also be passed on to Commander Febrosk?’

‘…I will fix it.’

‘No, the content itself is the problem. The Noark guys might be living inside the labyrinth? Why don’t you become a writer? Well, I don’t think it would sell.’

‘I will fix it.’

‘What, are you a parrot? How are you going to fix it? You have to say that.’

Whew, it’s finally over.

‘…I’ll rewrite it.’

‘Okay, then.’

Soon, his superior’s gaze moved to another document, and Alex, somehow holding onto his shattered soul, turned his back.

And he closed the door very carefully so as not to disturb his superior, who was already focused on new work.

Creak-

Through the narrowing gap of the door, he could see his superior. Even with a tired face, the way she focused intently on one thing had something that caught people’s attention.

Was that why?

He could understand why the soldiers in the corps feared her, but didn’t hate her.

‘If she were just a little kinder, she would be much more popular…’

The Golden Magician.

The deputy commander of the 3rd Magic Corps, better known within the corps as the ‘Little Goblin’.

‘She certainly has an amazing appearance—’

‘What are you doing? Not leaving?’

‘S-sorry, I apologize. Nia Lafdonia!’

In a panic, the man saluted and hurriedly slammed the door he had been carefully pulling closed.

And…

‘Haa, I wonder when that one will become useful.’

The Golden Magician, Arua Raven, who had been staring at the closed door for a moment, sighed.

Of course, the time her attention shifted was not long.

She moved the pen she had stopped again and solved the tasks piled up on her desk one by one.

And how much time had passed?

‘That’s enough for today.’

Raven stretched her stiff body and looked at the window.

Outside the window, the world had become dark as the sun had set.

‘The important thing is that I finished everything today, so all that’s left is to come early tomorrow morning and finish it…’

Raven, who was unbuttoning her uniform one by one, smiled bitterly and buttoned it up again.

She thought, since she would be wearing this outfit again to work tomorrow, was there any point in changing?

Soon, after putting on her officer’s coat and finishing tidying up her desk, she checked the calendar one last time.

Year 156 of the Great Opening, December 2nd.

She still felt strange when she looked at the calendar.

It seemed like it was about time to get better.

Still, sometimes her body stiffened and her heart sank like this.

Having known loss, she realized it even more keenly.

That the short adventure she had with him and his companions was so enjoyable and brilliant. However, that time… could never come back now.

‘It’s already been over two years…’

As much as 2 years and 6 months.

It would take days to explain in detail how much had happened during that time.

But if she had to express it briefly.

It had been a truly long time.

The ties she had tried so hard to maintain were torn to shreds.

Enough for a 6th-grade magician from the Altemion School to join the royal army and grow into the deputy commander of a corps.

Click.

Raven approached the window and opened it wide.

The chilly winter wind quietly flowed in.

Whoosh-

She recalled the last moments of her companions in her memory one by one.

The barbarian warrior, Ainar Fnellin.

Abman, who was unreliable at times but trustworthy when it mattered.

And even Misha.

‘It’s been more than half a year since I last saw them…’

The most recent companion she had met was Abman.

Even that was half a year ago, and the conversation they had wasn’t as friendly as before. They had met by chance on the 6th floor, talked about their recent situations, and then parted awkwardly.

Well, she had seen Erwen even two months ago…

Now they were hardly even former companions.

They had only made eye contact for a moment, without even saying hello.

‘Still, it seems like Abman and Ainar are doing well…’

She closed her eyes quietly as she thought of her former companions.

It was because she suddenly remembered the most painful one.

‘Misha…’

Where and how is she living now?

Raven reached out her fingertips to the open window. And as she caught the snowflakes that began to scatter on her palm, she recalled the last conversation she had with Misha.

[I have something I need to tell you…]

That day was about 2 years and 4 months ago from now.

October 28th, year 154 of the Great Opening.

It was the end of an unusually lonely autumn.

***

Intuition.

Something that explorers jokingly call the sixth sense.

Surprisingly, this sense is very useful in life.

Even without clear information or evidence, just feeling a chill and ducking down, only for a claw to pass over you, is a very common story in this industry.

Thump-!

However, this is not a sense that one is born with.

The more experience one has, and the higher one’s intelligence, the more often intuition is correct. Intuition is the result of information accumulated like grains of sand in the subconscious.

It’s just hard to explain how one reached that result.

The evidence clearly exists in the subconscious.

‘Something you need to tell me…?’

Raven tried to ignore the ominous feeling and asked again.

Nothing has been confirmed yet.

It’s common for intuition to end up as a simple misjudgment.

No, if you had to be specific, it’s much rarer for it to be correct.

But…

‘Yeah… I have something to tell you… no, I do…’

‘Um, your way of speaking…’

‘Ah, this…? I’m trying to change it. I can’t stay like this forever, so…’

‘Ah… is that so? Good thinking. G-good? I’ll support you too.’

From a flat perspective, Misha’s change was positive.

Raven knew Misha’s situation to some extent.

She had heard that she had injured her tongue in the past? That even though the wound had healed over time, it was a mental issue that made her speak like that.

Yes, that must be it…

Thump-!

Why is my heart beating so much faster?

It’s making me feel more ominous for no reason.

‘…So, what is it that you wanted to say?’

‘Actually…’

Misha trailed off, avoiding eye contact, and then, as if she had made up her mind, she opened her mouth with difficulty.

‘I’m going to leave the team.’

A declaration of withdrawal.

However, Raven did not ask for the reason.

It wasn’t a very surprising story in the first place.

‘I see…’

To be honest, she thought that this was how it would end up.

No matter who they brought in, they wouldn’t be able to fill the void left by that barbarian. The labyrinth exploration would be suspended indefinitely, and the team’s eventual disbandment was a natural course of events.

But…

‘I understand. If you’ve decided that it’s better that way, it’s not my place to say anything about it.’

It didn’t matter if the team disbanded.

The important thing was their bond.

Just because they weren’t going into the labyrinth together didn’t mean that their bond would end here.

‘So, what are you planning to do from now on?’

‘I’m going back to my family first.’

‘Ah, even if you’re just planning to rest without a plan, I’m in favor—’

‘And I’m going to enter the labyrinth. No… I will enter the labyrinth.’

‘………Huh?’

Raven couldn’t understand at all.

She said she was leaving the team, but then she was going into the labyrinth?

Her head was spinning.

‘The labyrinth? With whom? Did you perhaps already find a new team?’

Raven felt an unknown sense of betrayal and urgently poured out questions.

However, Misha did not answer.

She just changed the subject in a somewhat bitter voice.

‘More than that, what I have to say isn’t over…’

At that, Raven felt the ominous feeling that had barely calmed down become even stronger.

Was that why?

Her voice, which had been raised in excitement, became calm.

‘…Go ahead.’

Perhaps because her mind had turned cold, her voice also came out somewhat coldly.

Misha, unable to avoid her gaze, fixed it on the floor.

And she said in a very small voice.

‘You know, soon… rumors will start spreading that Bjorn is an evil spirit…’

‘…What?’

‘Ah! Th-that’s just a rumor! N-no matter what anyone says, don’t ever believe it! I, I just wanted to tell you that…’

What on earth is she talking about, Misha?

Did she go crazy because of Yandel’s death?

While she wondered if the conversation they were having was normal, she also had this thought.

It was intuition.

The sixth sense that reaches the truth before rational thinking.

‘So, you’re going to spread those rumors, Misha. I don’t know why, though.’

As if answering that, Misha took a step back.

‘So you came to tell me in advance. You wouldn’t want us to remember Yandel as an evil spirit.’

Raven took a step forward.

‘But you know.’

She had already realized it.

‘You said that there would be rumors that Yandel is an evil spirit.’

What was the identity of this ominous feeling that had been eating away at her body since earlier?

‘That… it’s not just a rumor, is it?’

Soon, Raven grabbed Misha’s wrist and asked.

It was an uncharacteristic misjudgment.

There was no way a magician could restrain a physical explorer with force.

‘…Ugh!’

Misha shook off her hand and turned to run away, and the next day, rumors spread throughout the city that Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit.

And…

‘Where on earth did this person disappear to…’

That was Misha’s last appearance.