Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 585

The vampire old man seemed just as awkward after saying thank you. That’s probably why he changed the subject like this.

“Anyway, that’s the end of my story. But in focusing on my story, I don’t think I properly talked about the world back then? You seemed more interested in that, actually.”

He was right.

But as the story went on, I was so engrossed in listening that I didn’t have time to think about it.

“It’s not too late, so ask me anything you’re curious about. If I know it, I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything.”

And so, the question time began, albeit belatedly.

His story was interesting enough, but what I was most curious about was the worldview of that era.

“Duke, do you know about the identity of the witch?”

“Not really. I know she’s a woman… but other than that, she’s a mysterious figure shrouded in veils. However, the pilgrims who follow the witch believe that they can go to the Land of Dawn when they die.”

“…Land of Dawn?”

“A land where there is no agony, no pain, no discrimination, and everyone is equal and free. A land where you can go wherever you desire.”

“……”

“That’s what the pilgrims say. So, before hearing your story, I had some hope that this place might be it. I thought my prayers had been answered before I died.”

“I see…”

I didn’t bother mentioning that the 8th floor of the labyrinth was called the ‘Land of Dawn’. It was just a name, and it was probably a completely different place.

“Anyway, back to the original topic… the Empire shouted that the world would perish if they didn’t eliminate the witch… but I didn’t believe it.”

“Why didn’t you believe it?”

“The Empire has a similar history. You may not know, but in ancient times, there were five gods. However, for political reasons, two religions were erased from the world by the Empire. I heard that a lot of blood was shed back then.”

The ancient history told by someone who was ancient from my perspective.

But it seemed he didn’t know much about the five gods, so I moved on to the next question.

“What is the Empire like?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer.”

“Anything is fine. Tell me everything that comes to mind.”

After that, I heard about the influence, culture, and tendencies of the ancient Empire. A vast nation that occupied one-third of the continent and had direct or indirect influence over the remaining one-third.

‘I think that’s enough for now…’

“Do you know about the Lapdonia Castle, or the territory?”

“Lapdonia… are you talking about the city where you live? Unfortunately, it’s a place name I’m hearing for the first time from you.”

Okay, so he doesn’t know about that. It was a bit disappointing, but I tried not to show it and moved on to the next question without any lingering feelings.

“Were there monsters in your time?”

“Of course. Goblins, Yetis, Ogres… many monsters lived in various parts of the continent. Well, they’re a bit different from what you described.”

“Different…?”

“First of all, neither the ‘Essence’ nor the ‘Magic Stone’ you mentioned existed. And most of them were intelligent. Goblins and Kobolds, for example, lived in villages in forests or mountains and sometimes interacted with humans.”

For reference, Orcs were treated as a force in their own right.

“Then what about Elves and Dwarves? And Dragonkin? What was their status on this continent?”

At my sudden question, the old man tilted his head as if asking what I was talking about.

“…Elves and Dwarves? Aren’t they beings that only exist in stories?”

“…Huh?”

What is he talking about? My mind went blank for a moment, but there was no hint of playfulness in his expression or voice.

“Duke… what race do I look like to you?”

I asked cautiously, and through his answer, I realized one thing. The ancient era before the world was destroyed. Monsters existed in that era too. But…

“…Aren’t you obviously human?”

There were no other races.

***

Humans, Beastkin, Elves, Dwarves, Dragonkin, Barbarians. The six races that make up the final fortress, Lapdonia.

But the Duke is now saying, “There were only humans in that era…?”

Barbarians were beings who lived in the harsh lands of the north and south, fighting monsters. Dwarves built cities underground and had their own nations, and the forests where Elves settled were safe from monsters thanks to the guardian trees. Beastkin had been living mixed with humans since that time. It’s hard to know about Dragonkin because there are so few records.

And these different races headed to Lapdonia Fortress, the last bastion, just before the world was destroyed. The lord of the fortress, who needed their power, gave them a lot of consideration and recognized their unique territories. That was the Holy Land.

‘…This doesn’t make sense.’

In the Holy Land, the remnants of the culture and traditions of that time are still passed down to this day. Barbarians still adopt a communal childcare culture, and when they have a daughter, they use their mother’s name as their surname, and when they have a son, they use their father’s name as their surname. ‘Soul Imprinting’ was also said to be a secret technique passed down from ancient times.

But, there were no Barbarians in ancient times?

‘Is it possible that their world and our world were different?’ That possibility suddenly popped into my head. There are those, aren’t there? Like parallel worlds that often appear in movies and comics. Maybe it’s something like that. Well, nothing is certain yet.

“I was a bit surprised by your size. Are you perhaps not human?”

“…According to the classification of our world.”

While I was at it, I explained about the six races, and then I discussed with the Duke about how this could have happened. Unfortunately, there were no particular gains. So, I continued to ask questions and tried to get as much information about the ancient era as possible. I wanted to talk all day if I could, but as always, everything has an end.

“…It was fun after a long time, but I think we should end the story here.”

“…?”

“Actually… my madness is starting to come back.”

It was only then that I realized that the old man’s eyes were not normal. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and his forehead and neck were flushed. In that state, the Duke calmly said to me, “Please, end it now.”

“……”

“While I can still be myself.”

“Hoo…”

I took a long breath and calmed myself. My heart was heavy. Not because I couldn’t get more information by talking, but for another reason. ‘It would have been much easier if he had lost his mind and attacked me…’ Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to refuse his request.

I raised my hammer.

“I’m telling you in advance, I don’t know how to kill someone beautifully.”

“I can tell just by looking at you.”

The old man chuckled and closed his eyes while standing still. But then, did something occur to him?

“Ah, I have one last thing to say to you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Since you told me the story of when you met me in the labyrinth, I’ve been vaguely remembering things. It’s not just your memories.”

His closed eyes opened again.

“I don’t know exactly… but in that place, I was always losing my mind and fighting. Probably with those explorers you mentioned…”

His bloodshot eyes were looking at the air, but it was as if he was looking at something invisible.

“This is just my guess… but maybe I’ve been staying here for a long time and being summoned. Whenever there’s a need to fight them…”

“That’s… quite a plausible story.”

“How about it, is it helpful?”

I answered without any hesitation. “Enough.”

What the old man told me was information that could bring me one step closer to the guardian statue hidden on the first basement floor and the secret of the rift. This will be helpful for the journey ahead.

“I see…”

As if he had nothing more to say, the old man closed his eyes again and quietly muttered, “Am I real or fake?” A murmur as if he was talking to himself. “Where do I go when this heart stops beating?”

I didn’t answer. I just thought to myself. The place he would go after death would be neither the afterlife spoken of by the Three Gods nor the Land of Dawn spoken of by the pilgrims. He would be revived again, and he would repeat the same things for countless ages, forgetting the memories of today. But…

“It’s fine, it doesn’t matter where.”

“……”

“If only I can lessen my sins even a little.”

Then the old man said, in a voice that sounded so calm, “Please, end it now.”

The moment he signaled that he was ready, I brought down the hammer. With all my strength, so that it would be clumsy but painless.

Whooosh-!

The hammer struck the heart that I had barely reached through dozens of [Flesh Explosions] in the past.

Crack-!

With a sound that felt eerily familiar today, a flurry of light scattered in the empty stone chamber. Also, a rainbow-colored essence floated up. It was a sight I had seen countless times as an explorer, but I had to watch it silently.

Swoooosh-!

Until the flurry of light that adorned the air disappeared.

***

When I came out through the portal, the outside was a complete mess. Of course, I had gone to catch a vampire and hadn’t returned no matter how long they waited.

“Mister…!

“Yandel…! What happened inside? No, it doesn’t matter what happened. You’re now excluded from the raid…”

“Are you hurt? Are you hurt, nyaa?”

Amelia even went so far as to say something strange about excluding me from the raid… Still, the good thing was that everyone didn’t react as if a dead person had returned. They could confirm my survival by seeing that the portal didn’t open again, right?

“3 hours and 21 minutes…”

Ah, of course, even in the midst of such chaos, the record mage was diligently recording.

“Everyone, step aside. Enough with the worrying. It wasn’t a dangerous situation in the first place.”

“Then why did you come out so late?”

Raven, who had entrusted me with the guardian lecture, approached and asked me in a sharp voice. I was going to tell you even if you didn’t rush me.

“The guardian I met inside had intelligence. That’s why I spent a lot of time talking and finding out about it.”

“…The guardian had intelligence?”

“Yes. In the end, he did go mad, but that’s how it was.”

I didn’t go into details, but I honestly revealed everything about my conversation with the vampire old man in front of everyone. I couldn’t experiment if I kept it a secret.

“In that sense, I have a request for the people who will enter next…”

I then instructed those who would enter next to try to have a conversation as much as possible. But…

“Yandel, what you said didn’t happen.”

“…Me too. As soon as I went in, he attacked me, saying he was filled with murderous intent.”

“I, I couldn’t even have a conversation…!”

Amelia, Erwen, and Misha. Not only the three of them, but no one else who entered experienced the same phenomenon as me. Therefore, the question grew even bigger. ‘What was different?’ Why was Duke Cambormier able to maintain his sanity in front of me? And why were the other guardians the same? Like his guess at the end. [Maybe I’ve been staying here for a long time and being summoned.] If these are the originals, and this space found on the first basement floor is acting as a storage, why isn’t a similar phenomenon happening to the other guardians? I didn’t know. The more I thought about it, the more questions arose. So, I decided to collect more samples for now.

“Yandel, are you trying to catch that guy now?”

“Ah, I have something to confirm.”

“…It’s not too late to do it at the end.”

Amelia expressed her concern at my decision to clear the unidentified statues, not even knowing which floor’s rift guardians they were, but I didn’t change my mind.

“Don’t worry. They’re just 5th-grade monsters. Nothing dangerous will happen.”

With those words, I placed my hand on the troll statue. For some reason, I felt very strange. ‘A guardian troll…’ Normally, I would have been curious about whether I could see the rainbow-colored troll essence. Now, I was more curious about something else. What kind of story did this guy have? What happens to this guy when we reach the Gate of the Abyss? Maybe he can find peace then?

“……”

I couldn’t help but keep thinking about it.