Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 371

Surprisingly, the conversation with Hyun-byeol was comfortable. Considering our relationship and the things we were hiding from each other, I expected it to be much more awkward. ‘Once a line is drawn, she never crosses it first, which is actually quite convenient.’ Economics, culture, politics, administration, and so on. Even without knowing each other’s true identities, there were many topics we could relate to, and we freely discussed them. How much time had passed like that? “A library… we might have even bumped into each other a few times while passing by?” “Did you go there often too, oppa?” “Just whenever I had some free time?” “Well, there’s nothing quite like books for getting information.” Checking the time, it had been about two hours since I met Hyun-byeol. Wow, it’s been a while since I lost track of time like this. What should we talk about next? As I was pondering, Hyun-byeol cautiously opened her mouth. “But, oppa.” “Yeah, what is it?” “What kind of people are your friends?” “…Out of the blue?” As I tilted my head, Hyun-byeol said it as if it were nothing. “I was just a little curious. Actually, it’s all your fault that you didn’t have any friends, right?” “…Huh? Are you hitting me in the solar plexus here?” As I blankly asked back, Hyun-byeol quickly added an explanation. “No, that’s not what I meant… I mean, it was based on whether you considered someone a friend or not. There were probably quite a few people who thought of you as a friend, you know? Like those people who contact you every New Year or on your birthday.” “Hey, those aren’t friends. They’re acquaintances.” “That’s exactly the problem with your way of thinking.” There was a lot I wanted to say, but I didn’t argue because I understood what she was trying to say. “That’s why I was surprised too. The friends you’ve met now… you think of them as friends too, right?” “I guess so…?” “Honestly, I don’t understand how you, of all people, have changed like this, as if by magic? What kind of people are they?” …Is it that strange for her to say that? That I’ve made friends. A strange sense of bitterness washed over me, but I answered anyway. “They’re just trustworthy. I wouldn’t worry at all even if they were holding a knife behind my back.” “Hmm, it means you were able to build deep trust because you often risk your lives fighting together?” “I guess that’s it?” “But isn’t that just a colleague, not a friend?” Uh…… That’s true, but…… “Considering the setting of this era, socially, colleagues are considered to be more intimate and trustworthy than friends—” “What, so they were just colleagues.” “……” I didn’t say anything. What does it matter if they’re friends or colleagues? The core thing is that we are important to each other. “…What’s with that look?” “Come to think of it, you didn’t have any friends either, did you?” “There were tons of people who thought of me as a friend, you know?” I know that. But you’re similar to me, aren’t you? What I think is more important than what others think. “So, did you make any friends here?” “…I don’t need them. I’m going back anyway.” “Is that so? Then there’s nothing I can do about it.” As I said with a smirk, Hyun-byeol looked up at me with a somewhat resentful gaze. However, that moment was brief. “Huh?” Hyun-byeol suddenly flinched. “I suddenly heard a ‘ding!’ sound in my ear.” “Ah, you must have received a message.” “A message…?” “Do you have anything listed on the exchange?” “I don’t have anything listed, but I did send a proposal to an information purchase post. I thought it would be easier to earn some GP [in-game currency] first. Oppa, how do you check messages?” “You can’t see it here. You have to go out and check it on a computer.” “…Then I’ll have to check it later.” “Don’t do that, go check it now. Seeing how late the reply came, it seems like other sellers might have sent you messages too.” As I said that first, Hyun-byeol’s expression brightened. It seemed like she thought this was the reasonable thing to do as well. “Then, I’m sorry, but I’ll be right back.” “Huh? You’re going back?” “…Are you perhaps going to leave?” “If you wait, you’ll just rush to finish quickly. Why go to such lengths? We can meet again next time.” “……” “Besides, today is your first time on the community, right? Instead of just staying here with me, you should check out the other features too.” “That’s… true.” As expected, when I spoke logically, Hyun-byeol nodded without any further argument. “Then, see you next month.” “Yeah, take care until then.” Soon, we even exchanged brief farewells. Yes, that’s how it should have been. But…… “……” “……” “What are you doing, not leaving?” “……” “Ah, you want me to leave first? Then—” Just as I was about to focus my consciousness to leave the chatroom. “Wait!” Hyun-byeol urgently grabbed my sleeve. And…… “Um, oppa.” Hyun-byeol averted her gaze and continued. “How do you leave……?” Ha, I thought I was the only one doing something weird in the empty chatroom. She has a clueless side to her in strange places. “Don’t tell me……” Were you not waiting for someone to come, but trapped because you didn’t know how to leave? *** “22 years ago… is that what you’re saying?” As the white man asked, pressing his lips together, the woman replied. “Yes. That’s definitely what he said. The jewel on the round table lit up with a green light.” “……” “How did this happen? The community wasn’t even properly established back then, was it?” At those words, the man tightly closed his mouth. In fact, he had an idea of what it could be. The masked man he first met after receiving the authority of the spiritual world from the old man presumed to be Auriel Gavis. [It’s your choice whether to believe it or not. I’m just here to give you a warning.] The man initially pretended to be someone else, but when he was exposed, he gave advice that was somewhere between a warning and a threat. And…… [Yes, that was your name.] He forcefully learned his name. “…Master, my hand is trembling.” The man lowered his head without realizing it. His fingertips were trembling slightly. It had been over 20 years, but still. “……” Of course, he knew now. The energy that had bound his body back then was killing intent. But…… Clench. The man clenched his trembling hand into a fist and forcibly stopped the trembling. As the saying goes, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Sometimes, knowing makes things even more frightening. He couldn’t even imagine how many people he would have to kill to produce such killing intent. ‘But to think the Lion Mask was him……’ It was so long ago that he didn’t immediately connect the dots, but now that he thought about it, it all made sense. Knowing his real name, Yurven Havelion. The unbelievable killing intent that Soul Queens reported. ‘He said 3 months……’ The man felt both fear and relief at the same time. If he had been stubborn and refused the threat outright, that man might have become his enemy. However, as much as he was afraid, he needed to know about him. If the unidentified man he had encountered 22 years ago was the Lion Mask. What was his purpose? That would be the key to the current situation. ‘He reappeared in the community 3 years ago.’ His nickname is Elfnunalove. It’s unlikely he’s an evil spirit from another world, but that’s not certain either. He was too secretive to make any conclusions. ‘As soon as he entered the community, he contacted Lee Baek-ho and immediately joined the Round Table.’ Then, what was the reason? The clue was in the conversation they had 22 years ago. “Auriel Gavis……” “Isn’t that the name of the game creator?” He warned him, who had just received the authority. To be careful of the old man who had given him the authority, Auriel Gavis. That he had brought them into this world and didn’t even feel guilty about it. “……” “I’m sorry. I think you were in thought.” The threads were slowly unraveling. The Lion Mask is an enemy of Auriel Gavis. The reason he reappeared in the community after nearly 20 years is…… ‘Because the master of the Round Table… was Auriel Gavis?’ Nickname 0720. The one who created the Round Table’s watchers, and the one he had suspected to be an evil spirit from another world. ‘No, there are many contradictions here too.’ “Soul Queens, you said that the master of the Round Table had visited the Round Table before, right?” “Yes. I wasn’t there at the time, but that’s what I heard.” “And they seemed to be friendly at the time.” “Yes. It’s said that they seemed to be on such casual terms that all the members were surprised.” “I see……” It seemed like the threads were finally unraveling, but the man was once again faced with a wall. It was like the more he dug, the more he sank into a swamp. Auriel Gavis, the Master, the Lion Mask, Lee Baek-ho. He couldn’t understand what any of them wanted. Even if he tried to piece it together, he was faced with contradictions due to a lack of clues. But…… Click. Still, one thing was certain. Even at this moment, in a place he didn’t know. Figures far more powerful than him were scheming and moving towards their goals. “…I guess I have to admit it at this point.” “Admit what?” The man tightly closed his mouth. The owner of the community? GM [Game Master]? The oldest player? Even if countless players looked up to him and called him that, the truth wouldn’t change. “……” In the end, he was just a small fry. “Soul Queens, it seems like a lot of things are happening in places we don’t know about.” “Yes, I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately too.” “I guess we need to work harder from now on.” However, the man chose to acknowledge his shortcomings and move forward rather than despair. And as if the heavens were responding to this. “…Ma, Master! The Lion Mask has entered the Korean chatroom! There are two people in the room—” “Who is the other person?” “HS123. The person I helped enter earlier. Ha, they were Korean!” “…That means they’re a newbie from this batch.” The man quickly gave instructions. “Send them a message. We need to meet them.” It might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. *** A small room with a bed on one side and a computer desk on the other. Kang Hyun-byeol thought it was a bit funny. [This space is a manifestation of your imagination.] The guide she met when she first entered the community had said that. Because her mental barrier was too thick, she couldn’t see it herself. This space was based on the place her inner mind first thought of? It was said to be the place she thought she should be, or the place where she felt most at ease. But…… ‘It’s funny. That it’s here.’ Kang Hyun-byeol smiled coldly. She understood why it was this place. But the most important person, the one who should be here, wasn’t. “…Let’s get to work.” After briefly looking around the room, she sat down at the computer desk. And after checking the message, she frowned. ‘What, it wasn’t a message from a buyer?’ Regardless of the strange annoyance she felt, Kang Hyun-byeol carefully read the message. It was because of the nickname written on the sender. ‘If it’s Soul Queens… that’s the guide woman I met when I first came in.’ For some unknown reason, she was requesting a meeting with her via message. Click, click. Without much hesitation, Kang Hyun-byeol entered the password written in the message and entered the chatroom. There were two men and women there. The woman was someone she knew. And the man was…… [Elfnunalove.] What the heck is this nickname? Kang Hyun-byeol felt a physiological revulsion from the start, but she didn’t show it. “Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Elfnunalove.” “Yes. Hello. But what’s the matter?” “I have something to say to HS123—” “Please just call me ‘you’. It’s a bit awkward to be called by that name while facing each other.” “Ahaha, I understand. It’s a bit like that.” At Kang Hyun-byeol’s request, the man burst into a good-natured laugh. However, she was just dumbfounded. ‘Someone who knows that would choose that nickname?’ She quickly made a judgment while looking at him with a cold gaze. ‘Anyway, I tried to be a bit prickly, but he’s coming out so submissive… that means there’s a reason for it.’ Kang Hyun-byeol had no intention of looking down on the man standing in front of her. He might look a bit foolish, but…… It was foolish to judge by appearances alone. The woman with the nickname Soul Queens was an administrator. And the man standing there as if he was being assisted by such a woman couldn’t be an ordinary person. ‘A person who might be a GM personally called me, a newbie……’ There was no need to think too deeply. The timing of the message, that creepy nickname, the strange submissiveness, and so on. Considering everything, there was only one possibility. ‘It seems like it’s related to Han-soo oppa.’ In fact, her guess was correct. “You said you were Korean, right?” “I’m sorry, but can we get straight to the point? I don’t have much time.” “Haha, I understand since it’s your first visit. When you’re checking things out, 12 hours isn’t enough.” “……” Kang Hyun-byeol didn’t bother to answer. As always, that method was very effective. “You’re a blunt person. Then let’s get straight to the point. What is your relationship with the user Elfnuna?” “Why should I answer that?” “I’ll give you GP.” “We just met today. But why is that?” “Hmm……” The man with the bizarre nickname Elfnunalove seemed to be pondering whether her words were true or not, and then he began to explain why he had called her here. “I want to buy information about Elfnuna.” “Are you telling me to investigate that man? I just met him today?” “Even small pieces of information are fine. Koreans are said to be very close, right? If HS123… no, if you approach him, he’ll lower his guard a little.” “……What’s the reward?” As Kang Hyun-byeol cautiously asked, the man replied briefly. “Everything you want.” “…Do you know what I want?” “Whatever it is, we have the power to make it happen.” “Is that… really true……?” Soon, Kang Hyun-byeol put aside her cold attitude and raised the corners of her mouth. That was only natural. She had no intention of abandoning her position to uphold her faith. That would be too foolish, wouldn’t it? ‘Oppa is so careless… I don’t know what he’s been doing, but he’s got people like this following him around.’ Her eyes curved into a long smile.