Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 694

However, even then, Lee Baekho didn’t seem too worried.

“Wow, this punk’s at it again. Does he really think we’re pushovers?”

Lee Baekho, looking dumbfounded at the slumped-over Bryatt, chuckled before giving him a strong kick.

“See? If I give him a good whack like this, he’ll get right up—”

Thud-!

“…Huh? What the heck, why isn’t he getting up?”

Bryatt didn’t even flinch after getting hit by that kick. It didn’t take long for Lee Baekho’s expression to harden.

“What the hell?” Lee Baekho, looking genuinely flustered, quickly bent down to check on Bryatt’s condition. Or rather, he slapped his cheeks repeatedly.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Get up! Stop messing around and get up! Hey! Get up!”

“Stop it. He’s already dead.”

“No, this is weird, isn’t it? Why would a guy who just drank a potion suddenly die? Hey! Old Man! Did you do something wrong? Did you kill him while opening a subspace?”

The Old Man of Destruction, suddenly held responsible, slowly walked over and poked a needle into Bryatt’s neck. And then…

“…Poison.”

“…Poison? Ah! Could it be because of the poison powder from earlier?”

“This is a far more potent poison than that. It seems his organs have all melted away, even though his exterior looks fine.”

“So, he’s really dead?”

“That’s right. There’s no room for doubt this time—”

Just as the Old Man of Destruction was about to confirm, Lee Baekho acted first. Thwack-! Without warning, he kicked Bryatt’s head, sending it flying like a soccer ball.

Thud, roll. A moment of silence hung in the air due to the sudden situation. Then, Lee Baekho muttered briefly.

“Ugh, why does nothing go right?”

As if nothing had happened, Lee Baekho stretched and casually walked towards us.

“Old Man! Tell me, why did this guy suddenly kick the bucket?”

“As I said before, it was a potent poison—”

“That’s why it’s weird. We were the ones who got hit by the poison powder, so why did this guy die from poison?”

“It’s not like I know everything in the world.”

The Old Man of Destruction frowned, as if telling him not to be annoying, and Lee Baekho sighed.

“…Hmm, could he have taken some kind of poison beforehand?”

“Ah, I’ve heard of that. People on secret missions always carry poison pills in their mouths…”

“If he bit into a poison pill when everyone was distracted by the subspace, that would explain it.”

It was a plausible explanation, but there was still something suspicious about it. However, bringing it up here would only create a more awkward atmosphere.

“Haa…”

It seemed like Lee Baekho also had other thoughts on his mind, but he didn’t say anything.

It was probably because he had just finished interrogating them with strained trust, so he felt awkward about openly suspecting them again.

“Whatever, let’s get back to searching the center. If anything suspicious comes up, let me know right away.”

“…Ah, okay.”

“If you guys get caught with your hands in your pockets in this situation, I swear I’ll lose it, so be careful.”

Lee Baekho didn’t forget to warn his comrades until the very end.

If I were in their shoes, I’d feel terrible, but they didn’t react much other than shaking their heads. It seems they’ve gotten used to Lee Baekho.

“Okay, then it’s pretty much done.”

Anyway, after that, we all started organizing the dropped items, and the sorting was almost finished. Equipment was equipment. Consumables were consumables. Currency was currency.

As humans, it was impossible not to look, but everyone focused on something else this time. It was the place where the suspicious items with unknown uses were gathered.

“Let’s appraise them one by one. Wolf mask, wolf medal. Those are done… What do you think this painting is?”

“Well… it just looks like a piece of art…”

“There are no hidden inscriptions written with magic ink or anything like that.”

“Okay, next. What the heck is this?”

“Isn’t this… women’s underwear…?”

“So, I wasn’t the only one who saw it that way…”

“Ugh, seriously! What is this doing here!”

We used our collective intelligence to appraise the suspicious items one by one, but there were no significant findings. Until a piece of parchment appeared.

“Why is this classified here?”

“Isn’t it just a magic scroll?”

A scroll that allows even ordinary people unfamiliar with magic to use it just by tearing it. But why was it here?

“Who put this here?”

“It was me…” GM raised his hand meekly in response to Lee Baekho’s question.

“Why did you put it here?”

In response to that question, the Old Man of Destruction glanced at the scroll and stepped forward to answer instead.

“It’s because it’s not an ordinary magic scroll.”

“…?”

“This scroll contains ancient magic.”

“What kind of ancient magic?”

“It seems to be related to spatial movement, but I couldn’t figure out anything else. Do you happen to know?”

In response to GM’s question, the Old Man of Destruction nodded.

“Of course, I do. It might be the very lifeline we need.”

“Lifeline…? What do you mean? Tell me quickly.”

Lee Baekho, intrigued, urged him on, and the Old Man of Destruction spoke the scroll’s name.

“Return Scroll.”

“…?”

“That is the name of this item.”

It was an item I had never heard of before.

Return Scroll. A scroll that I had never seen or heard of even once while playing [Dungeon & Stone]. However, perhaps because of its very intuitive naming?

The Old Man of Destruction’s words, ‘lifeline,’ were immediately understandable.

“…So, if we use this, can we return to the city?”

“That, no one knows. This scroll only has the effect of ‘returning’ you to a designated location.”

“If that’s true, it’s truly amazing. To be able to move through space with just a single scroll, without a fixed coordinate magic circle or a magic power converter.”

“That’s why it’s an ancient magic scroll, isn’t it? It’s said that there were even more amazing magics in ancient times.”

Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t a scroll that could immediately return us to the city, but still, the party members’ eyes were filled with anticipation. After all, things couldn’t get any worse than they were now.

“So, if we use this scroll, we can at least escape this ruin?”

“That’s right. But we must also consider the worst-case scenario. If the place we end up in is the ‘Gray World,’ it would be a disaster.”

“You mean we need to make a careful decision.”

As always, the Old Man of Destruction only provided information, taking a stance that the decision was up to us. Therefore, the party’s gazes turned to me and Lee Baekho.

They seemed to think that if our opinions differed again, it would be a headache. But…

“I’m in favor of trying it out. What about you, Baron?”

“I have the same opinion.”

This time, our thoughts aligned without any disagreement. I didn’t think the Return Scroll was safe, but we had to face some kind of crisis to overcome it. We were tired of being trapped here for days on end.

“However, we should still make full preparations before tearing the return scroll.”

“I agree.”

“…”

“Ahaha, I mean I agree.”

After the agreement was reached, we looked at the remaining items that had not yet been appraised. However, we couldn’t find any items as special as the Return Scroll. Therefore…

“There are a total of eight Return Scrolls…”

“That means we each get one, and there are two left over.”

Since there were six of us, the remaining two were divided between me and Lee Baekho. For reference, the equipment and consumables from Bryatt were distributed appropriately.

After that, we had enough personal preparation time to get into the best condition.

“If everyone’s ready, shall we tear it?”

Lee Baekho raised the scroll, and the others nodded, raising their scrolls as well. And everyone at the same time. Riiiiiip-! They tore the scrolls.

「The character has used the [Return Scroll].」

「The character is moving to the designated location.」

Drip, drip, drip-! The sound of water droplets falling somewhere. Hearing this, I opened my eyes and quickly checked my surroundings.

“This is… a crystal cave?”

“No, it’s a little different.”

Inside a cave that reminded me of the first-floor crystal cave.

“Still, thankfully, no one got separated.”

First of all, everyone in the party had successfully moved to the same space, and there were no monsters or enemies in the vicinity. However…

“Quiet.”

From the opposite passage, the red glow of a campfire flickered. Whoosh-! Lee Baekho, having confirmed this, gave me a signal, and I naturally took the lead of the party.

And I quietly walked forward, trying not to make any noise. Thud, thud. Well, no matter how carefully I walked, it was impossible for this huge body in full armor not to make any noise. Anyway.

“…”

As soon as I turned the corner, a mysterious figure sitting in front of a campfire came into view. It was strange that they didn’t notice our presence, yet they were staring at the campfire without moving.

“The fact that you’ve come here means… Bryatt is already dead, I presume?”

The figure spoke slowly, without even looking at us.

“He was a diligent friend…”

“Enough, who are you?” Lee Baekho asked, on guard but with a belligerent tone. ‘Something… his voice sounds familiar…?’

As that sense of déjà vu arose and a warning bell began to ring in my head, then.

Swoosh. The mysterious man lowered the hood that was covering his face and looked at us. “It’s been a while, everyone.” Wrinkled skin. Snow-white hair and beard.

Intense eyes that contrasted with his gentle impression. “…!” It was Auril Gavis, the creator of [Dungeon & Stone].

Auril Gavis. The very person who created this damn game, and a suspicious old man whose intentions I still couldn’t figure out.

Aside from the dream where I met him after returning to the modern world, the last time I met this old man was at the Round Table. He suddenly appeared and said he would shut down the ‘Ghost Busters’ community itself… In the end, he even left some meaningful advice.

[Lee Baekho, don’t get too close to that friend.]

It was quite ironic. I, who received such advice, am now on a journey with Lee Baekho, and I’ve met this old man on that journey.

“…”

“…”

Of course, apart from the strange feeling, I also quickly analyzed what the old man had said.

‘He definitely said everyone a moment ago…?’

It’s been a while, everyone. Moreover, while saying that, the old man even glanced at us.

As if we were all old acquaintances.

‘Could it be that Lex Aures and Jaina also have a connection with this old man?’ I thought as I looked around.

“You’ve all become very taciturn since I last saw you?” The old man spoke again, breaking the silence. Lee Baekho opened his mouth with a growl.

“It’s been a while, old man. You never showed your face when we were looking for you.”

With a belligerent look as if he would pounce at any moment. However, Auril Gavis just chuckled and brushed it off nonchalantly.

“Why would an old man like me appear before you, the ones who are leading this era?”

“…Old man my ass. Hey, old man. Do you know what the common trait of old people is?”

“Hmm, what is it?” Auril Gavis asked back, as if he didn’t know, and Lee Baekho muttered briefly.

“They’re all dead.”

Was he trying to say that if you’re alive, you’re not an old person? The exact intention was unclear, but at least one thing was certain.

“So, if you want to become an old person, just say so.”

Lee Baekho’s hostility towards Auril Gavis.

“I’ll gladly help you anytime.”

This much was genuine. Not an act.

Clack. Well, from Lee Baekho’s perspective, he was an existence that could not mix like oil and water. ‘Auril Gavis’ was the very person who dragged us into this shitty world.

All the hatred accumulated while living in this world would naturally gather towards that old man…

“Elder.”

At that moment, GM, who had been silent, suddenly joined the conversation. GM, who was also a veteran player who had been trapped in this world for over a decade like Lee Baekho, had a completely different emotion in his voice.

“It’s finally good to see you again, Elder.”

GM’s eyes and voice were full of goodwill and respect. It was clear that he wasn’t just bowing down because of the law of the strong preying on the weak.

“I didn’t even get to properly greet you back then. I was truly grateful back then.”

“Haha, was that something to be grateful for?”

“What the heck are you two talking about?” Lee Baekho interjected irritably, but neither GM nor the old man gave an answer to that question. However, if I were to guess…

‘Are they talking about the community?’

Based on the flow of the conversation, it seemed like that was the only possibility. After all, it was this old man who handed over the operating rights of Ghost Busters when GM was a newbie.

“Rather, you should have more to be upset and disappointed about with me, but I’m grateful that you say that.”

“I was a little surprised that you didn’t give me a heads-up beforehand… If I had any shame, I wouldn’t be upset. I was just getting back what you lent me.”

“Haha, my eyes were not wrong after all. I knew you would become great.”