Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 368

My worries about GM didn’t last long.

It’s not like it’s a topic that would yield any answers even if I pondered it, right?

It’s more efficient to spend time doing things I can do rather than wasting it on pointless worries.

For example, web surfing.

Click, click.

Unlike in modern times, web surfing here isn’t just a pastime for killing time. It’s a precious time to gather and organize information for survival next month.

“…Kuhuk, keuheuheuh.”

Ah, why is this so funny?

It’s humiliating.

Click, click.

Soon, time flew by as I kept moving the mouse and checking posts.

And then…

‘It’s about time.’

The time to enter the Round Table had arrived.

***

A study with a classic atmosphere.

A white man sat there, clasping his hands together, lost in thought.

“To think that he was on the same side as Baek Iho.”

It’s not that he hadn’t considered the possibility, but it was definitely not the situation he had hoped for.

Baek Iho, who could only be described as uncontrollable, was already a headache, and now another variable had been added.

“…Where the hell did he come from?”

‘ElfNuna’ joined the community about three years ago.

The appearance of the Lion Mask at the Round Table was around the same time.

And that means.

‘He deliberately acted like a newbie and joined.’

Then, why did he join the community?

His estimated power is not inferior to Baek Iho, and considering his superior information gathering, it seems he has also built his own faction.

‘…The Watcher of the Round Table.’

At the time, the man tentatively concluded that his goal was to enter that secret chat room.

Nickname 0720.

An otherworldly evil spirit who had secretly infiltrated the community, and a resourceful person who created the ‘Watcher of the Round Table’ club and directly filled it with big shots like corpse collectors.

He had judged that he might be related to the Lion Mask.

But…

‘He didn’t seem to know anything.’

He thought there would be some kind of reaction if he saw the password, but what was the reality?

There was no reaction until the end of the conversation.

It was the same when he mentioned it directly at the end.

He seemed clueless as to why he had even brought it up.

Well, that could all be an act…

‘If he really has nothing to do with it, then did he join the community to easily contact Baek Iho?’

Well, maybe that’s it.

The man reviewed and reviewed various possibilities.

It was then.

“I’m sorry. There was a problem with the bulletin board, so I couldn’t come right away after being contacted.”

A white woman appeared in the study where he was alone.

The nickname floating above her head was ‘SoulQueens’.

“So, what did you call me for?”

She sat on the sofa opposite him and asked, and the man briefly explained what had happened earlier.

“I met the Lion Mask.”

“…I see. What happened?”

“He threatened me. He told me to unban Baek Iho.”

“So… what are you going to do?”

“Fortunately, he said he would give me three months. I plan to make a decision within that time.”

At the man’s words, the woman cautiously asked again.

“But… does he really have that kind of power?”

It was a topic that the man had been constantly doubting and pondering.

Because he didn’t know anything about him.

Except that he was a player from Korea.

Clench.

The man clenched his fist without realizing it.

‘Damn Koreans.’

It’s so unfair when you look at it.

That’s because, since creating this community, he hasn’t met many Koreans. There were very few Koreans playing this game.

In terms of numbers, they are far fewer than most Western countries.

But, what about the output?

Baek Iho, who joined much later than him, grew into a powerhouse that he couldn’t even compete with in terms of power.

And now, ‘ElfNuna’ has appeared.

‘It’s even highly likely that ‘ElfNuna’ is also Korean.’

At this point, he even wondered if they were genetically born with something special.

‘By the way, I didn’t ask if he used that nickname because he had some kind of relationship with ElfNuna. Well, I don’t think he would have answered anyway.’

The man thought that if someone were to clear the original version and enter this world, it would most likely be ‘ElfNuna’.

While everyone else was looking for easy ways to enjoy the cheat version, he had consistently dug into the original version.

“Master?”

“Ah, I was just thinking about something else.”

At the woman’s call, the man ended his thoughts and gave instructions.

“You’re right, SoulQueens. We still don’t have any information about him.”

“……”

“So, please look into it more actively. As much as possible, without provoking him.”

At the man’s instructions, the woman paused for a moment before answering.

However, unlike her usual confident attitude of handling things perfectly.

“…I’ll try my best.”

Her voice was full of reluctance.

***

I put on my mask as usual, walked through the quiet corridor, and arrived at the Round Table room.

Everyone was already there.

“…You’ve arrived! I was worried, pishit!”

The clown, as if anxious that I might skip the Round Table, even stood up to welcome me.

“……”

The Queen awkwardly looked away when our eyes met.

Well, there was the last incident, and…

She probably heard about my meeting with GM earlier.

“……”

I sat down, and the Fox Mask was in front of me.

In her case, she briefly made eye contact with me when our eyes met…

“Tsk.”

It’s a shame every time I see her.

If I hadn’t suddenly moved to the past, I could have used that situation to find out her identity—

“Um…”

I was lamenting internally when she spoke.

“Did I perhaps make a mistake…?”

The Fox cautiously asked me.

At first, I was confused as to what she was talking about, but I quickly realized the reason.

‘Ah, it’s because I clicked my tongue.’

It’s like a frog dying from a carelessly thrown stone.

It seems that not only the Fox but also the others are subtly watching me, wondering what I did…

I didn’t feel the need to explain the misunderstanding in detail.

“I don’t know.”

A vague answer that was neither affirmative nor negative.

At this answer, the Fox swallowed hard.

She seemed to think that she had definitely made a mistake without realizing it.

Well, I feel a bit sorry for going this far…

‘Let’s just change the subject.’

“Then, let’s start soon.”

Just in time, the entry time limit ended, and the Round Table door closed, so the other members stopped worrying about what ‘mistake’ the Fox had made and focused on the present.

“I’m already looking forward to how interesting the stories will be this time, pishishit.”

“Then, it’s their turn this time?”

At the Crescent Moon’s question, the gaze turned to the Deer Horn Mask on my left.

It was an unspoken rule of the Round Table.

That’s because starting from my left would mean that I would be the last one.

Usually, they would release information first, and then I would listen to it, make a judgment, and then release corresponding information.

Heh, I really chose a good position, didn’t I?

“…I’ll go first.”

Soon, the Deer Horn calmly released the information he had prepared.

“At the royal family meeting, the proposal to incorporate the evil spirits into the nation was brought up again for the first time in 150 years. Of course, it was immediately removed from the agenda due to numerous objections.”

A short statement that would be difficult to understand unless you had worked in public office.

In other words, simply put…

‘What are you talking about?’

I didn’t understand either.

Of course, it wasn’t a problem.

At the Round Table, there was always someone who would step up when there was a lack of knowledge.

“A proposal to incorporate a nation…?”

When the Goblin asked in a timid voice, SoulQueens explained instead.

“It’s a claim that instead of defining evil spirits as enemies, we should embrace them and accept them as citizens. It was proposed once 150 years ago, but it was canceled for various reasons.”

“Oh, I see… But it’s amazing that such a thing is coming from the royal family…”

“Pishishit, to me, it sounds like they’re running out of power—”

“Well, at least I know that you don’t know anything about the royal family’s power.”

“…Why are you always picking on me?”

“Oh my, you’re so self-conscious. I was just stating the facts, you know?”

When SoulQueens smiled innocently, the clown didn’t continue the conversation.

He’s strangely weak against her.

Is it because he’s been verbally beaten a few times?

‘That clown is a prime example of a weak-to-the-strong type…’

Anyway, the information that the Deer Horn released received a green light on the first try, signaling a fresh start, and it immediately moved on to the next turn.

This time it was the Goblin’s turn.

“Ahem, a few days ago, a divine revelation was given to the Leatlass Church.”

“Surely… that’s not the end, is it?”

“Haha, of course not. Anyway, after looking into it, it was a rather strange divine revelation.”

“Why don’t you stop dragging it out and just tell us the content? It only makes you look pathetic, pishit.”

At the clown’s criticism, the Goblin glanced at him as if wondering why he was always picking on him, and then spoke the content.

“The royal bloodline holds a black star, so help the one who will be its master.”

“…?”

“That was the content.”

The star goddess Leatlass.

As it was a divine revelation from the god who governs the fate and future of souls, there was much room for interpretation.

“A black star… Does it mean treason?”

“It could also be interpreted as being in league with Noark.”

“But… help the one who will be its master…”

“Maybe it means the queen is pregnant. But the baby is black, pishishit!”

“…How can you say such a vulgar thing?”

“Why? What’s wrong with black? Did I say something racist?”

The clown chuckled as if he had just made a funny joke, but the surrounding reactions were cold.

This guy definitely didn’t have any friends.

That’s why he probably lived playing [Dungeon & Stone]—

‘Damn it.’

I stopped thinking because I felt like my self-esteem was going to drop. Besides, the conversation about the divine revelation was ending just in time.

That’s how most divine revelations were anyway.

No matter how much you interpreted and speculated, you would only truly understand its meaning later when time had passed.

“Now it’s my turn.”

The third turn was the Crescent Moon.

He had brought great information about the Creation Artifact in the past, but there was nothing like that these days.

Unfortunately, today was the same.

‘Ugh, he always tries to switch to war information.’

Well, it would be helpful to know, but since I’m not leading a faction, it’s difficult to gain any profit from this kind of information.

In that sense, next.

“The royal family has begun to transfer warship manufacturing technology to the private sector. It seems to be an unavoidable choice to produce damaged warships in a short period of time. Perhaps we will soon see large clans traveling on warships.”

The Fox’s information was the same.

As if representing her usual personality, she logically explained the information and its impact, but was that all?

‘The information is a bit lacking because it’s the first round.’

The only things that piqued my interest were the divine revelation and the ‘incorporation’ proposal that came up at the royal family meeting.

‘Accepting evil spirits… Will such a world really come?’

I imagined it once, but I didn’t have high expectations.

Didn’t the Deer Horn say it?

It was just mentioned once, and it was quickly removed from the agenda due to opposition.

“Pishishit, then it’s my turn this time?”

The clown’s turn came after more than half of the round had passed. Unfortunately, his information was also not helpful to me.

No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that it caused harm?

“The lighthouse keeper is dead.”

The clown, who started with a statement that everyone here would know, revealed my information to the Round Table as expected.

“It’s known to the world as the work of the Blood Spirit Marquis, but the reality is completely different. It’s not the Blood Spirit Marquis, but the work of a strange man that the crazy woman is taking around.”

“…A strange man?”

“Yes, after seeing that he had even fed him the [Giantification] essence of the Orc Hero, I initially thought that the Blood Spirit Marquis was taking him around as a substitute for Bjorn Yandel, but…”

“Richen Schuitz. He’s someone the royal family is also watching.”

“Pishit, is that his name? Anyway, I’ll tell you more details next time if you want information about him.”

“……”

“I don’t know where this guy came from, but he was an unbelievable monster that we couldn’t kill even if the four of us attacked together. Pishit.”

“…There was such a person?”

“Wait, there was no report of such a thing from the Golden Magician? Are you sure?”

“Or would the green light have turned on?”

The members were shocked and showed deep interest at the clown’s words.

‘Ugh, it’s daunting to think that all these guys are going to investigate me…’

I was sighing inwardly when it happened.

‘What, why is this woman looking at me again?’

I glanced to the side, feeling a gaze, and saw SoulQueens staring at me.

For some reason, she was muttering something.

Just loud enough for me to hear next to her.

“Giantification… joined 3 years ago… Blood Spirit Marquis…”

Did she perhaps notice something?

No, maybe she’s just in the process of finalizing her thoughts in a situation where she’s almost figured it out.

Moreover, it wasn’t just this woman who felt a sense of unease.

“Wait a minute, isn’t he the real person, not a substitute? [Giantification] isn’t a common essence. And you said he also ate the ogre’s essence…?”

It started with the Goblin.

“Certainly, even if the Blood Spirit Marquis is crazy, she wouldn’t have set up a substitute and used a nickname…”

The Fox nodded.

“Pishit, what are you all talking about? Bjorn Yandel is dead.”

The clown scoffed at such suspicions.

But…

“What if he was alive? And if he secretly grew stronger? Then it would make sense that the Golden Magician omitted this report.”

Soon, the Deer Horn murmured.

“That makes sense. His identity as an evil spirit was revealed not long after. There’s a possibility that he faked his death because of that.”

The Crescent Moon said as if summarizing.

And…

“If Bjorn Yandel is really alive…”

The Queen said, looking at me.

“That period overlaps with the period when Lion Mask was missing.”

At that moment, all eyes were on me.

Are you perhaps Bjorn Yandel?

They wanted to ask directly, but they had a lot of experience being severely punished for testing the waters, so they were clearly hesitant to speak.

‘Well, I thought this might happen, but it really did.’

However, I didn’t feel like I was cornered.

All I need is an alibi, right?

“That story again.”

I put my hand on the Round Table’s jewel.

And…

“It seems everyone is curious about me, so I’ll go first this time.”

I said.

As if mocking the suspicion in their eyes.

“I joined this community.”

“……”

“22 years ago.”

The green light turned on.