Surviving The Game As A Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 739

There’s a prophet named Cassandra.

She foretold the fall of Troy, but the king of Troy didn’t believe her, and in the end, Troy was destroyed.

Of course, the king had an excuse.

Apollo, scorned by Cassandra, spitefully took away her ‘persuasiveness.’ The ‘curse’ clearly influenced why people didn’t believe her prophecies.

But…

‘Well.’

Even with ‘persuasiveness,’ it wouldn’t have been much different.

Who would want to believe an ominous prophecy?

Even when people pay for a fortune teller, they’ll call them a quack and storm out if they hear bad news.

Would the king of Troy have listened to the prophecy and nodded, saying, ‘Ah, so we’re going to be destroyed!’?

‘Probably not.’

Just like I am now.

“Haha… How about calming down a bit? I didn’t come here to fight the Lion King.”

“I’m not here to fight, but to confirm whether I can trust your words or not.”

When I spoke in a cold voice, the guy, who initially seemed flustered, chuckled.

As if his fluster was just an act.

“Don’t you already know? The Elder’s abilities.”

“Oh, I know that old man’s abilities well. He’s completely mastered the art of manipulating people.”

Even at my sarcastic remark, the guy calmly asked back.

“Then why did you stop?”

It was a pointed question.

“You could have just passed me and headed to the sanctuary, so why did you stop?”

“……”

“Deep down, didn’t the Lion King know? That you’d regret not listening to the Elder’s advice.”

I wanted to deny it.

That I was just trying to hear what the old man had to say. Because even false information is still information. I was planning to use it to figure out the old man’s intentions.

I wanted to say that, but as the guy said earlier, deep down, I knew.

That wasn’t the real reason.

“By the way, earlier, did I ask if I would live or die here?”

“……”

“I didn’t get any specific word from the Elder… Well, it doesn’t seem like today is my burial day, seeing as we’re still talking.”

“……”

“So, can you let me go? It’s starting to feel stuffy.”

Ha…

“Bullshit.”

I used my other hand, the one not holding his collar, to rip off his mask.

Swoosh-!

The face behind the mask was very ordinary.

A middle-aged beastman in his 30s, someone you could see anywhere in the city…

Damn, I was hoping it might be someone I knew.

“Haha… Were you that curious about my face?”

Seeing that he wasn’t flustered at all even after his face was revealed, I quietly asked.

“Just one question.”

“Anything.”

“If you also worked under that old man, you’d know about the records, right?”

“Of course.”

“But why do you keep saying the future changes depending on choices? Your position is that nothing changes anyway.”

Whether I believe in fate or not isn’t important here.

I’m just curious why these damn true fate believers are acting like this.

“Hmm… That’s a very difficult question. Would it be okay if it’s a bit long?”

“Just do it, I don’t care.”

“For example, let’s say a person is playing cards with other drunkards at a bar. But the person dealing the cards accidentally didn’t deal them in order.”

I wondered what the hell he was talking about, but I kept quiet and listened.

“If the cards had been dealt in order, he would have received a very weak hand, but because the cards weren’t dealt in order, he received a very good hand. The others are too drunk to notice the mistake. So, he decided to keep quiet and take the advantage.”

I still didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Now, I’ll ask.”

The guy asked.

“Was it his original fate to receive a weak hand, or was it his original fate to receive a good hand?”

I didn’t grasp the point of the question, but I didn’t need to hesitate to answer.

“It would be the good hand. The dealer’s mistake would have been part of fate.”

“Haha, that’s a good answer. You’re quick to understand.”

The guy said that, but honestly, I didn’t understand at all.

But…

“As the Lion King said, a reversed fate is also fate.”

“And…”

“What we’re doing now is like trying to deal the cards wrong. So that someone can get a slightly better hand in ‘a very small game’.”

Unlike perfectly understanding the content, I now had a rough idea of what this guy was trying to say.

So, I asked this.

“So, what happened to him?”

At that question, the guy looked slightly surprised, but he chuckled and opened his mouth.

“In the end, he lost a lot in that gambling game. However, thanks to receiving a good hand, he was able to reduce his losses a little.”

“So, even with a reversed fate, the ‘losing’ itself couldn’t be changed.”

“That’s right.”

The guy smiled like a teacher giving a sticker to a model student.

“But don’t worry too much. The man who kept losing and winning will eventually grow into a much greater person in the distant future.”

It was obvious, but that wasn’t comforting at all.

This incident only made me more determined.

“Now, decide. The Lion King has already been dealt his cards.”

To never talk about this topic with these damn fate-believing bastards again.

***

Above the city wall, where hot air and black smoke rose.

“……”

After a long silence, the guy, unable to wait any longer, finally spoke first.

“Is it that difficult to make a decision?”

“……”

“Think simply. If you were asked whether to lose your car or your house, wouldn’t everyone choose the car?”

Well, yeah, for most people, a house would be more valuable than a car.

But in this wide world, there are also people who think the opposite.

It’s up to me to decide what’s more valuable.

So, that means…

“I’ve decided.”

After a long deliberation, I made my decision, and the guy’s pupils were filled with deep curiosity.

“What will you do?”

He acted like he knew everything; when did he start doing that?

Looking at the guy’s eyes, I shrugged my shoulders, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction.

“Why should I tell you?”

“…?”

“Get lost.”

“What do you—”

I threw the guy, who was no longer of use, down below into the burning District 7.

“Ugh…? Ugh! Uaaaaaaah!”

He wouldn’t die from falling from here, would he?

Seeing him genuinely shocked and fainting, it was clear that he didn’t know this future at all.

Thud-!

Watching him fall into the sea of fire until the end, I felt like a few years of indigestion had been relieved, but that refreshing feeling didn’t last long.

“Hoo……”

A feeling like a heavy stone had fallen on my chest, something that couldn’t be compared to a few years of indigestion.

But there was nothing I could do.

“……”

After throwing the guy off the wall, I stood blankly on the wall for a long time before starting to run again.

Towards the destination I had decided on after much deliberation, the sanctuary and District 7.

***

My body was a bit uncomfortable, but how long had it been since I came into the closet, which was more comfortable than anywhere else outside?

Sven Parav had decided that he wouldn’t leave this closet until everything was over, even if he had to soil his pants.

But…

“Um…”

Was it too much to expect that decision from his roommate?

“Ah… Is something wrong?”

“Um… C-can I go out for a moment?”

“Yes…? It’s dangerous outside the closet…”

“I know that, but… It’ll be just a moment, really?”

Even as she said that, her roommate, Lyris Marone, was shaking her legs non-stop like someone with anxiety.

Thanks to that, Sven Parav, who was often told he was oblivious, could tell why his roommate was trying to leave the closet.

“…Go quickly.”

Even the brief moment the closet door opened made him anxious, but he couldn’t think of a reason to stop a ‘woman’s’ ‘physiological need,’ nor did he have the confidence to do so, so he opened the closet door as quickly and discreetly as possible.

And…

“I-I’ll just go to the next room and be right back…!”

Soon, Marone left to the next room to take care of her physiological needs, and even during that short time, Sven Parav closed the closet door and waited.

Squeak.

The closet door opened about 4 minutes later, and Lyris Marone’s expression, who had returned later than expected, was somewhat urgent.

“Parav! It’s fire, fire!”

“Yes…?”

“The entire eastern part of District 7 is engulfed in flames!”

If it’s the eastern part of District 7, that’s the direction of District 8… Did something ‘happen’ there?

“Parav, you should come out and take a look too!”

“…Yes?”

“Come and see? It’s not normal… It might even be covered in flames up to here.”

“Ah…”

“Ah… is not the point, we might have to move to another place to avoid it?”

“T-that’s true…?”

Even at Lyris Marone’s words, he had no intention of leaving the closet.

But he was still a little uneasy, so…

“Could you close the closet door for a moment…?”

“…Huh?”

“It’ll be just a moment.”

At the same time, he closed the closet door himself.

Thump-

With the sound of the door closing, his heart, which had been beating anxiously, calmed down.

Click-!

Although the closet door was quickly opened by Lyris Marone, the peace he felt in that short time was enough to convince him.

It didn’t matter if there was a big fire in the east or not.

I’m safe as long as I’m in this closet.

That absolute certainty, beyond intuition, dominated his entire body.

Of course, if he told anyone this, they would think he was crazy…

‘Yeah, you have to follow your intuition.’

Sven Parav had been saved many times by this intuition, and even Yandel, who was called a ‘giant,’ acknowledged this intuition and sometimes even relied on it.

Therefore…

“It’s okay, Miss Marone. We’ll be safe here.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Miss Marone is a mage, and I’m a paladin. If we take turns using our abilities, we can protect this closet from burning even if the whole city is on fire.”

In reality, it wasn’t an unreasonable claim.

Paladins have various abilities such as shields, barriers, and divine enchantments, and the same goes for mages.

“Hmm…”

Did it sound more plausible than the word ‘intuition’?

Lyris Marone also seemed to be agreeing with those words, and Sven Parav didn’t miss the opportunity.

“There are a lot of Noahrc people outside, aren’t there? It’s too dangerous to move right now. Even if we do move, it’s not too late to do it after the fire reaches here. By then, they’ll be too distracted by the fire.”

“Ah… That’s true. Then let’s just wait and see…”

Just as Lyris Marone was nodding her head, agreeing to stay in the closet as long as possible…

“……”

Suddenly, Lyris Marone’s head turned towards the window and froze.

At first, he wondered why she was doing that, but…

“…Kyaaaaaaak!”

A loud scream came from the ground outside the window, and he could also understand the reason.

“Boss! We found a bitch hiding here!”

“Aaaaaaak! P-please save me…!”

“Hahaha! She’s asking to be saved? What should we do?”

The moment he heard that conversation, his heart sank.

Thump-!