Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 402

After confirming the existence of a traitor, I spent each day wandering around, asking questions. Ah, of course, I didn’t act like a detective. I just casually strolled around during breaks or at campsites, striking up conversations. Otherwise, the guy might tuck his tail and hide—

“Wait, hold on! Explain it so we can understand too!” As the team leaders rushed to restrain Pike Neldain, one of the members who had been watching interjected.

“Explain…” I guess there’s no harm in it. It would also help to sort things out. “The first time I suspected Pike Neldain was thanks to Milburn Naria.”

“Naria, you mean…” “That summoner from Akuraba’s team?” The summoner, who didn’t seem very outgoing, flinched and looked flustered as everyone’s attention turned to her.

“Uh, yes? I-is it because of me?” “Yes, when I went to ask you a few things, you mentioned that the trolls seemed to be getting tired unusually quickly.”

“Ah, yes. I definitely said something like that, but…” Why are you so worried? Are you afraid of getting caught in the crossfire? If so, it’s unnecessary. There’s no way I’d harm the biggest contributor to this deduction.

“Anyway! That’s where it started.” Should I say it was a turning point? Before, I thought the ground subsidence was caused by magic or skills that broke the ground, but after hearing that testimony, my thinking changed. I started focusing on the ‘trolls’ themselves, not the outside.

“Convinced that something was wrong with the trolls, I checked if anyone had approached them before and after the incidents.” I recited my deduction in front of the crowd. “Until then, I suspected Akuraba’s team members or the mages who were always near the sled because they had to constantly cast ‘Preservation’ magic.”

In other words, Barbarian Detective Mode. “But after investigating, I found that there was one other person who had approached the trolls.” I pointed to the guy who was tightly bound with ropes. “That was Pike Neldain.”

“… !” “This guy came up with all sorts of excuses to approach and naturally make contact with the trolls, and after the incidents, he vanished like a ghost—” “T-that’s just circumstantial!” Pike Neldain, who was restrained, raised an objection.

“Are you going to treat someone like this based on just that?” Heh, I haven’t finished talking yet. Saint Knight Jun was about to gag him, but I stopped him with a gesture. There’s no need to stop him when he’s digging his own grave.

“Evidence! In the end, you don’t have any evidence!” Yes, there was no evidence. That’s why I had to use this troublesome method. People only want to believe what they see with their own eyes. Without me having to step in, Akuraba spoke up.

“The ability you just used was [Overload].” “S-so what! What’s the big deal?” “Why have you been hiding that you have that ability until now?” “E-everyone has their own hidden cards!” “Hmm, is that your hidden card as a ‘warrior’? A 7th-grade essence like [Overload]?”

The guy shut his mouth at the sarcastic remark. That’s because [Overload] is a skill that temporarily increases weight, reducing movement speed, but increases the damage of long-range attack skills. It’s not a suitable skill for a warrior. That’s why…

“D-don’t try to change the subject! In the first place, [Overload] is an ability that only applies to oneself!” The guy tried to find a way out from this angle, as expected. “Yes, I’ve seen someone use [Overload] before.” “It was definitely… an ability that couldn’t be used on others.”

“What, does that mean we caught the wrong person?” The members murmured, seemingly swayed by his logic. “This man is persecuting an innocent member with ridiculous logic! Everyone, help me. Otherwise, you might be next!” The guy shouted even more boldly. Well, thank you for that. Heh.

I was actually waiting for that logic to come out. The logic he set up to protect himself in the previous conversation would trap him. From now on, there’s no way he can escape, no matter what he does. It’s time to draw my sword.

“Hey, can I borrow a sword?” I forcibly borrowed a sword from one of the nearby members and approached the guy. “W-what are you trying to do…? E-everyone, help—” “Everyone, stay still!” “Cough—!”

I grabbed the back of the restrained guy’s neck and lifted him high so everyone could see. The members flinched and looked at each other. They had expressions that suggested they should all step in. Before their opinions could come together, I quickly shouted loudly.

“An ability that only applies to oneself? Yes, [Overload] is definitely such an ability. But—!” You little brat, trying to deceive me? I’ve been playing [Dungeon & Stone] for years. “If you have the transformation ability [Grant], things change.”

As soon as I said that, I aimed for the guy’s forearm. Specifically, I deeply cut his vein with the sword. Sluuuurp. Blood flowed down. Thanks to the wide cut in the vein, a fountain of blood didn’t gush out due to the pressure difference, but the amount of blood flowing out was even greater.

“With that amount of bleeding, he won’t last a few minutes.” “…W-we need to treat him… S-saint!” The members panicked at the sudden execution scene. “Everyone, stay still!” “Please trust us and wait. Nothing like what you’re thinking will happen.”

However, when the team leaders who had been watching the situation intervened, they also couldn’t act rashly. One minute, two minutes, three minutes… Time, which seemed to be frozen forever, passed, and a few with good eyes noticed the abnormality first.

“…Why isn’t he dying?” “With that much bleeding, he’s still conscious?” “Look at the blood pooling on the floor. Even if all the blood in his body was drained, it wouldn’t be like that…” As expected of explorers, specialists in hunting and killing. They noticed much earlier than I thought.

Anyway, at this point, the situation is ripe. “Ahem.” I cleared my throat, which was hoarse from the cold, and shouted again. “What you just saw is called [Blood Spring], the embodiment ability of the 5th-grade monster Bloodroar!” Embodiment ability. A term that means passive skill in this world.

“…[Blood Spring]?” “What’s that?” “I’ve seen it in a book before. It was an ability that made you never die from bleeding.” “Wait a minute, if it’s Bloodroar… isn’t that one of the monsters with [Grant] that you mentioned earlier?” “That’s right. I remember that its ability was very tricky because it always formed groups with other types of monsters.”

“Then… !” The members began to understand without me having to persuade them further. I then threw the guy I was holding onto the floor. Thud. He should have been quite shocked, but the guy didn’t even groan. He must have judged that he didn’t even have time for that.

“W-wait a minute! I-it’s true that I ate the essence of Bloodroar, but that doesn’t prove that I have [Grant], does it?” He’s still talking about evidence even in this situation? Again, I didn’t need to step in. “Then, try using Bloodroar’s other abilities.”

“T-that’s…” “There were four, I believe. I remember they were all easy to see with the naked eye.” “I-I admit it! It’s true that I have [Grant]! But that doesn’t mean I betrayed you!” “Then, why did you deny it at first?” “I-I was just scared…! I was afraid of being branded a traitor!”

The last plea he uttered with a trembling body. The sight of the guy covered in blood and tied up with ropes, rolling on the floor, was miserable, but I wasn’t worried. “W-why are you all doing this! I don’t have the ability to do such a thing, it can’t be that I’m the culprit!” The principle of presumption of innocence.

If it were a modern trial. No, even if it was a trial in a city where ‘law’ existed, even if it was a bit barbaric, those words would have worked. But… “Pike Neldain, how long are you going to keep saying such naive things?” This is a labyrinth. And above all.

“What are you all hesitating for? It’s obvious from his expression and tone that he’s lying.” The explorers aren’t idiots either. “Come to think of it, it was strange that the ground collapsed twice. That never happened when we came before.” At this point, everyone had come to accept it.

“So, it was all because of that bastard?” Pike Neldain is a traitor. And the fact that all the hunger and discomfort during the last journey came from this guy. Thump, thump. The guy, who had been crawling towards the members to avoid me, suddenly turned and came towards me.

“P-please! S-save me! I’ll tell you everything honestly if you ask!” Good, then let’s move on to the interrogation. *** Pike Neldain, a 4th-grade explorer. An explorer who had been active in various places, including small elite teams and large clans.

So, why did this guy betray the expedition? No, to be precise… “Who’s your backer? Noark? Alminus Trading Company? Or is it the Explorer’s Guild?” Come on, tell me. If you tell me honestly, I’ll press the happiness button on your head with this hammer. Huh?

“…I-I don’t have a backer! I just hated you…” Heh, this guy still hasn’t come to his senses. “Jun.” At my short call, Jun, who had been waiting beside me, mercilessly drove a long awl under the guy’s fingernail. “Kaaaaaak!!”

“To have a body that doesn’t die even with severe bleeding, this is very precious.” “Ugh, ugh, ugh!” “He can withstand bleeding, but he won’t be able to withstand organ damage, so be careful.” “Don’t worry. That person doesn’t want him to die yet.”

Is this what a Saint Knight is…? It was a merciless remark that made me think that, and the torture was unusually skillful. ‘What, this guy… was he an inquisitor or something in the past?’ It’s a matter worth considering. The fact that he abandoned his title, and the fact that the name ‘Jun’ was not known in the city…

It’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it? Well, for now, that ability was a great help. “S-stop…! I’ll tell you everything…!” The guy, who had endured for over an hour as a warrior, finally broke his will and began to confess. “Who’s your backer?” “Ilya Adnerus…”

“The guild master of the Explorer’s Guild.” What the hell… Suddenly, such a big shot is being mentioned? “Speak properly. Are you sure?” “Y-yes! I didn’t meet him directly, but it was his aide who commissioned me for this job!” Ha, it doesn’t seem like he’s lying. Let’s put the guild master issue aside and continue the interrogation.

“So, what orders did you receive?” “…” “Jun?” “T-the order was to make the expedition fail!” “What were the specific orders?” I then asked several questions and grasped the situation in detail. To summarize, it was like this.

The guild master knew that we were heading to Ice Rock and tampered with food and supplies to make the expedition fail. “I-I swear I had no intention of harming anyone. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have done it!” “What are you talking about? Two members were caught and almost fell down. If our team’s mage hadn’t stepped in, they would have died.”

“T-that’s…! I didn’t know they would try so hard to protect the supplies!” The guy shouted as if he was genuinely wronged. Well, this doesn’t seem like a lie either… Thwack-! After getting everything I needed, I punched him in the jaw and knocked him out. Then, I called the team leaders who had been outside, shared the information, and had a discussion.

“To think he was really the traitor…” “More than that, the backer is the guild master, this has become a bigger issue. I wonder what will happen when we return…” “It would have been better if it was Noark’s doing.” They had agreed to my request to cooperate in identifying the traitor, but perhaps they secretly hoped that I was wrong.

Their expressions were all dark. However, the only difference from ordinary people was that they accepted reality faster. “Let’s discuss this first. What do you think is the reason why the guild master wanted the expedition to fail?” “The most likely reason is political maneuvering. If the expedition fails, he can blame the marquis.”

“Perhaps the Explorer’s Guild didn’t want this war to lean towards either the royal family or Noark.” “I doubt it, but… it’s not entirely impossible. The explorers can be seen as the ones benefiting the most from this war.” “Jun, what about you? Do you have any opinions?” “…”

The meeting didn’t yield any particular results. Various speculations came out, but there was no way to know the truth yet. “Um… what are we going to do with Pike Neldain?” James Kala cautiously asked, and each team leader gave their opinion.

“Of course, he must be executed. If someone who has disrupted the military order is allowed to roam free, morale will surely decline.” Melrand Kaislan. “I have a different opinion. If we keep him alive and return, it will help to corner the guild master in the city. Jun, why are you silent?” Titana Akuraba.

“That matter is solely for Sir Shuitz to decide.” Saint Knight Jun. “…” Their gazes turned to me. Well, isn’t it obvious what I’m going to do? “Execute him.” We have a long way to go, and I don’t have the energy to take a rat with us. ***

The execution was held that night, with all the members watching. The method of execution was beheading, which was the easiest during wartime. Hanging was troublesome because it required a lot of preparation, and I could feel that everyone was craving blood.

Swish-! The execution ended with a single stroke of the sword. However, some were still not satisfied, and they approached the cooling corpse in front of them and even spat on it. Well, explorers hate traitors more than looters. “Where are you going…?” “Patrol.”

After the execution, I immediately left my seat and headed to the outskirts. And… 「The character has equipped No.6111 Fate Tracker.」 I put the ring I had been keeping in my pocket back on. But what is this? 「The ring has detected the character’s fate.」

I thought the light would go out since I caught the traitor. The ring emitted a faint glow as soon as I put it on. Shwaaaaaaa- I stiffened when I saw the color. What, why is it still red?