Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 38

“Master, what are you talking about? Why are you suddenly telling me to go to the guild?”

“Didn’t I say that there’s someone looking for you, so you need to go?”

“That’s true, but…”

Aruea Raven, a 6th-grade mage affiliated with the Magic Tower, trailed off with a sullen expression.

It’s true that she had business with the guild…

But first, she planned to rest for a while, and then, after roughly researching the ‘thing’ she had obtained this time, she would go.

“The branch manager has officially requested support. I heard that something big happened over there, so wouldn’t it be worth a bit of pocket money?”

“…Okay. I’ll go.”

Raven reluctantly agreed to this task.

She had to go to the guild anyway.

If she went now, she could get some monetary compensation, so there was no reason to put it off just because it was annoying.

‘I spent a lot of money in the labyrinth this time…’

Besides, it wouldn’t be bad to meet that barbarian a little earlier.

An unprecedented variant rift.

Wasn’t he the one who ate the essence of the guardian that came out of it?

He’s as interesting a specimen as that ‘thing’.

“Then, I’ll be going.”

“Ah, take Tarjin with you too.”

“No, thanks. That person isn’t very useful.”

Raven used the warp gate on the first floor of the Magic Tower to move to the closest location to the branch.

It was about a 10-minute walk to her destination.

Soon, she came out onto the main street and frowned.

“Why are there so many people?”

There seemed to be several times more people than usual.

And the closer she got to her destination, the more densely packed the people were, to the point where she couldn’t even take a step.

It was as if a major incident had occurred here.

‘Come to think of it, the branch manager said he officially requested support, right?’

Raven sighed deeply.

She had intended to earn a little pocket money, but now she thought she might have to work just as hard.

“Excuse me, can I ask you something? What exactly is going on right now?”

Raven grabbed a male bystander who seemed the most approachable and asked.

And she heard something that made her doubt her ears.

“The plunderers who were imprisoned in the branch have escaped en masse.”

It was truly an unprecedented incident.

Not only had a breakout occurred, but some of them had even managed to escape into the city…

And one, presumed to be the ringleader, had taken the regional manager’s daughter hostage, who happened to be visiting the branch.

“They must be brainless. There’s no way the guild would negotiate with them.”

Negotiation or anything, the guild has no authority in the first place.

The Lafdonia royal family had transferred a significant portion of the authority related to the labyrinth to the guild, but they strictly adhered to the principle of executing plunderers.

If they had just escaped outside like the other inmates, they would have had a slightly better chance of survival.

“But it’s kind of interesting.”

“What do you mean?”

“The guy who’s holding the hostage is shouting that he’s been framed.”

“Framed?”

“That’s right. He says all he wants is to gather the people involved in the incident and use magic to reveal the truth fairly in front of everyone.”

He wasn’t asking for a pardon or anything like that.

The hostage-taker only demanded ‘truth clarification’.

Because of this, there was even suspicion among the onlookers that his words might be true.

‘What kind of crazy bastard is this?’

Of course, if that story is true, the initial cause would lie with the investigator who mishandled the case.

But even so, to stage a mass breakout and take the regional manager’s daughter hostage in the process?

It’s definitely something no sane person would do.

“Anyway, that’s why everyone’s waiting. The branch manager requested support from the Magic Tower, but, ugh, when are they going to come, tsk.”

Looking at the bystander clicking his tongue, Raven smiled awkwardly.

Now she knew for sure.

That she was the mage they were talking about.

Raven sighed deeply and chanted a spell.

“Batuna Kor Bier.”

Blue light bloomed beneath her feet, and her body began to rise into the air.

“Oh, oh, miss! You’re a mage?”

Raven passed over the crowd and landed on the third-floor terrace of the Explorer’s Guild branch.

And she froze, startled, when she spotted a man.

“Bjorn… Yandel?”

Why is this man here?

***

Was it because the regional manager’s daughter was being held hostage?

Everything was processed quickly.

“I’ve brought the investigator, Koldo Birman, as you requested. He was unconscious down below, just as you said.”

“Thank you. You can go now.”

The first to arrive was the investigator bastard.

For reference, he was still unconscious.

Since it wasn’t a pretty sight, I shoved him into a closet for now.

After waiting for a while, the second delivery arrived.

“W-wait a minute! Even if it’s the guild, is it okay to be this forceful?”

The name of this 20-something male explorer, walking awkwardly, was ‘Hatz Young’.

That moron who tried to do something to Erwen and lost his manhood.

“Thank you for handling it well without asking. Then you can go down now.”

“Yes.”

“B-branch manager? W-why am I here…?”

At the same time as the sound of the employee going down the stairs.

I jumped out from behind the door and punched the bastard in the face.

Thwack-!

One punch wasn’t enough to relieve my anger.

If the investigator was the number one contributor to this mess, then this bastard was number two.

If this guy hadn’t given false testimony, the investigator wouldn’t have had any grounds to sentence me to death.

“Agh! W-what are you doing! Who are you—!”

“Enough, let’s get some hits in.”

One hit, two hits, three hits…

After repeatedly punching him in the face, Hatz Young soon foamed at the mouth and passed out.

Again, it wasn’t a pretty sight, so I shoved him into the closet as well.

It looked a little cramped thanks to the fat investigator, but it shouldn’t be a big problem.

They were a well-matched pair, the more I looked at them.

While I was admiring them for a moment, the branch manager cautiously spoke to me.

“…What exactly do you want?”

Ah, I haven’t told him that yet.

But there’s no need to say it twice.

After all, once the next preparations arrive, he’ll naturally find out even if he doesn’t want to.

With that thought, I kept my mouth shut.

However…

“Branch manager! It seems that it will be difficult to bring the priest.”

The priest, the key card for this operation, was missing.

The reason was that the official priest connected to this branch was currently absent.

It was also impossible to call another priest.

Even if it was the Explorer’s Guild, they couldn’t just call a priest who served God like a neighborhood friend.

‘Even if it’s the branch manager’s request, it’ll take at least a day.’

In this world, priests are nobles.

Not in status, but in their actions.

I suddenly felt bitter.

‘Nothing is going right.’

I wanted to handle things as quietly as possible.

If the branch manager heard that, he would have shouted, ‘What kind of nonsense is that after making the situation like this?’…

The breakout could be excused as an ‘accident’.

But what about the fact that the guild sentenced an innocent 9th-grade explorer to death?

The moment this becomes known to the outside world, the Explorer’s Guild’s prestige would be utterly ruined.

‘After all, they’re pretending to be an organization that protects explorers.’

That’s why I requested a priest.

If I could prove my innocence in front of a priest, I could handle things relatively quietly.

At the same time, the Explorer’s Guild wouldn’t dare to cover up this incident.

But from the very beginning, there was a setback in that plan.

“Thank you for the news. You can go down now.”

“Yes! Good work, branch manager!”

Listening to the employee’s footsteps fading away, I finished my brief contemplation.

‘If it’s impossible to have a priest certify it…’

I guess I have no choice but to escalate things even further.

That’s the only way the Explorer’s Guild won’t be able to silence me by killing me.

Among the various methods that came to mind, I chose the most unconventional yet effective one.

“Kyaaaaak!”

“Wha, what are you doing!”

With a sword pointed at the branch manager’s daughter’s neck, I stepped out onto the terrace, and I could see people gathering on the main street.

It seemed they were onlookers who had gathered because of the earlier jailbreak.

“Up there! There’s a suspicious person up there!!”

One of them spotted me and shouted.

All eyes were on me in an instant.

“Ahem.”

After clearing my throat once, I shouted using my natural, booming voice.

“My name is Bjorn Yandel! I am a 9th-grade explorer whom the guild has framed and tried to kill! I swear to the gods, I am innocent!”

The reaction was immediate.

“What’s that guy?”

“Is he one of the escapees?”

Whether they believed me or not didn’t matter.

I had thrown out the bait, and people would gather out of curiosity.

No matter how powerful the Explorer’s Guild was, they wouldn’t be able to bury an incident that everyone was watching in real-time.

Now, I just had to hold out until the mage arrived.

Instead of the shield that had turned into scrap metal…

“Ugh, mph!”

I would make good use of the branch manager’s daughter as a shield.

***

How much time had passed since the jailbreak?

“What’s going on? Why is Mr. Yandel here?”

“I can’t believe the mage sent from the Magic Tower is you.”

While listening to the conversation of two unknown men and women, Kold Birman opened his eyes.

The surroundings were dark, and his body wouldn’t move.

‘What is this? Am I trapped? Why?’

Ignoring the throbbing headache, he retraced his memories. Several scenes immediately came to mind.

Prisoners escaping and running wild.

The interrogation room where he had fled to escape them and locked the door.

And the barbarian who had broken down the door and punched him in the face!

‘Wait, but what happened after that?’

He didn’t know.

He had no clue at all.

So, he focused on his hearing.

“I heard about the situation outside, so I guess the news travels fast.”

“Fast? What do you mean fast! What were you thinking! Does Mr. Yandel have multiple lives or something?”

“If I had multiple lives, I wouldn’t have done this.”

Mr. Yandel?

What was that? Could that barbarian be outside?

“Enough, just use your magic already.”

“If you promise to grant me one favor later.”

“If it’s within my capabilities, whatever it is.”

“Okay. It’s a promise. Dertei Narvas! Uh, uh…? Why isn’t it working? Mr. Yandel, do you happen to have any magic items that create a mental barrier?”

“You can tell I don’t have anything like that just by looking at me, can’t you? Sigh, I guess I have no choice but to wake these guys up. Do you happen to know how to use ‘video memory’ magic?”

“Yes. You mean recording everything from now on, right?”

Just as his confusion was growing with each word of the conversation…

“Ack! Aaaack!”

Suddenly, the space expanded, and his center of gravity shifted downwards. He fell with a thud and hurriedly raised his head.

The branch manager’s office on the third floor, a place he had only been to a few times.

“What, you were already awake.”

Four people were looking at him.

The barbarian and the branch manager.

A woman who seemed to be a mage and a woman who seemed to be of noble birth.

He didn’t know what was going on, but he shouted anyway.

“B, Branch Manager! This is the guy! He instigated the jailbreak!”

“That’s already a known fact.”

“Y, yes…?”

His mind went blank for a moment.

He couldn’t understand at all.

If they knew he was the one who committed the outrageous crime, why were they just watching him?

“I heard you were in charge of this man’s investigation. Is that correct?”

“Y, yes, but…?”

Only then did he feel the heavy atmosphere that filled the room.

Having only gained the ability to read the room from his work as an investigator, he could tell.

That the atmosphere in this place was not at all favorable to him.

“This barbarian… no, Mr. Yandel here claims that you declared him a plunderer based on uncertain information. What do you have to say about that?”

“That’s absurd!”

“That statement… it better be true. It won’t end with just you losing your job.”

“W, w, what do you mean! He’s just a 9th-grade explorer!”

“Watch your mouth! How can an employee of the guild say such things, no matter what their grade is!!”

“Y, yes?”

Birman was completely dumbfounded by the thunderous reprimand.

Why was someone who usually looked down on low-level explorers suddenly acting like this?

As if he was conscious of the public eye.

‘Ah! Come to think of it, they were talking about ‘video memory’ magic earlier!’

It seemed that the conversation they were having was being recorded in the crystal ball held by the mage.

“Ahem! As we are judging right and wrong, the guild’s actions must be cautious and perfect. Tell me the basis for your judgment.”

He snapped back to his senses and recited the investigation details as instructed by the branch manager.

He thought that was the only way to survive.

“F, first of all, it’s the magic stones. At the checkpoint, he presented magic stones that far exceeded the average income of a 9th-grade explorer, and when we suspiciously checked his backpack, we found equipment that seemed to have been stolen.”

“And?”

“As a result of the investigation, the truth of this part could not be confirmed. Because magic didn’t work.”

“Then, on what basis did you ultimately decide that Mr. Yandel was a plunderer?”

“It’s because of a separate incident. A message stone was found among his belongings. Based on this, we tracked the original owner’s whereabouts, and as a result, we were able to secure testimony from a member of the same clan that Bjorn Yandel had murdered an innocent person and stolen their belongings.”

As he spoke about the investigation, his voice gradually filled with confidence.

He didn’t know why the branch manager was treating him like this, but it was clear that there was some kind of mistake.

“Branch Manager, there is no problem with my judgment. If you suspect that I have said something false, you can use magic to verify the truth.”

“I’m doing it without you having to look at me like that. So far, everything you’ve said is true.”

The mage, who had been watching quietly, nodded.

However, at that moment, the barbarian, not knowing his place, sneered.

“It was just the testimony of a fellow clan member. It wasn’t even verified by magic, so it’s not valid.”

“Is Mr. Yandel’s statement true?”

“W, w, well, that’s true, but…”

“Why didn’t you verify that part?”

The branch manager’s voice had become cold again.

It wasn’t that he had nothing to say.

“First of all, this barbarian’s constitution is the problem! Knowing that magic doesn’t work on him, he was uncooperative and only made false statements!”

“False statements? What exactly do you mean?”

Birman answered confidently.

“Once, he said that he survived even after being stabbed in the neck. But when I questioned him because there were no traces, do you know what he said? Oh, my! He said that he ate the essence of a vampire from a rift, and that’s why the scar disappeared?”

“He ate the essence of a vampire?”

“Yes! Branch Manager! Does that even make sense? A vampire appearing in a first-floor rift?”

From beginning to end, this barbarian was talking nonsense.

“Trying to hide one lie by telling a new lie. That’s the most common statement pattern of criminals. But why should we make these precious mages waste their time just by listening to this guy’s words?”

Of course, there were times when he wondered if his claims of innocence were true.

But he didn’t think it mattered much.

After all, what would happen if one innocent barbarian, barely an adult, died?

‘…Besides, if I call a mage, the money I can pocket will decrease.’

Still, it was a stroke of luck.

A vampire on the first floor, of all things?

If it was confirmed that he had made such a preposterous statement, he would be able to convince everyone of his judgment.

‘If you’re going to lie, you should have come up with a better one!’

He then looked at the barbarian with a triumphant gaze.

But that was only for a moment.

“That’s actually true, though?”

His mind froze at the words the mage blurted out.

“…Huh?”

“Haa, I was there at that time… what should I do? I can’t use magic on myself.”

What on earth was this mage talking about?