Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 92

“Was the computer that was handed over to the police properly retrieved?”

“Yes, we’ve erased all traces, including the memory, so there won’t be any articles or anything like that, like before.”

The old man nodded at the woman’s report, then slowly read the documents on his desk.

Documents summarizing a certain man’s life.

It didn’t take long to read through a page.

“He’s a man with incredibly bad luck.”

The old man muttered a brief remark and continued.

“But that’s all there is to it.”

The woman nodded as if in agreement.

The man’s life was full of twists and turns, so much so that saying he had incredibly bad luck was an understatement.

But there were no other peculiarities.

His job was average, his education was average, and his relationships were average.

Everything was average.

Except for this game.

“I can’t understand it at all.”

That’s why the man felt even more peculiar.

[Dungeon & Stone], the legacy of Auriel Gavis, was a failure. After much deliberation, everyone came to that conclusion.

There was no disagreement that it captured the world better than any other work, but…

It was impossible to clear.

So, it was scrapped five years ago.

“…But now, someone has come along and cleared it. Could it be that it wasn’t a failure after all?”

The old man shook his head as he muttered.

Even if someone managed to clear it, everyone agreed that it wouldn’t produce better results than other works.

His choice was not wrong.

But…

“I’m a little curious about how it turned out.”

The old man opened his laptop and typed in the man’s name.

[Lee Han-soo]

The name of the only player who had cleared his legacy, which everyone had said was impossible.

***

[Owned GP: 139,000]

After selling the information about the 1st floor’s floor boss and Skull Island, I stopped selling information.

There were two reasons.

First, each transaction took longer than expected.

Because there was no transaction history, the buyers were suspicious of me.

Well, they both believed me and bought the information just by answering a few questions…

It’s more accurate to say that they trusted the community rather than me.

If they dared to commit fraud, they would be expelled from the community and would not be able to return.

And second.

Actually, this reason was bigger than the time issue.

‘If I sell everything I have, I’ll definitely stand out.’

There’s a saying that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. [Meaning, those who are different or draw attention will be targeted.]

I want to avoid getting attention from anyone.

It’s not like I desperately need GP right now—

Ding-!

At that moment, a 쪽지 [jjokji – a short note or message] arrived.

[Sender: Ghost master.]

A nickname I had seen a few times in the announcements.

In other words, it was a 쪽지 from the community administrator.

My heart pounded like a thief caught in the act, but when I opened it, it was nothing special.

[Elfnunna’s transaction history is over 10 times. EXP +10]

[Your member level will be adjusted.]

[Deadman -> Goblin.]

An automatic 쪽지 sent as the community level increased.

It’s not like there are big benefits to having a high level, but it wouldn’t hurt to go up.

There are also chat rooms with level restrictions sometimes.

Tap, tap, tap.

I used the GP I had earned to post a question.

The GP I offered as a reward was 10,000 to 100,000.

It was a show of my willingness to pay that much for valuable information.

[A transaction post has been registered.]

After registering, I spent time browsing the community like I was surfing the web.

Looking at the jokes and humor posts on the free board, it even felt like I was back in my original world.

That’s how time passed.

‘100,000 points for 2 million stones?’

While browsing the exchange, I learned the real-world value of GP.

I currently own about 140,000 GP.

‘Crazy, did I earn 2.8 million stones just by answering two questions?’

At first, my mouth dropped open, but after thinking about it, it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t like the information I sold wasn’t worth that much.

‘I could make a fortune just by selling information here?’

I even wondered if there was any reason to go into the labyrinth anymore.

But…

‘Let’s not think strange thoughts.’

I still feel that the act of converting GP into money is dangerous.

‘Let’s not be greedy and use this place only to get information.’

So, I set a new rule and pulled myself together.

That’s when I was browsing the community again.

Ding-!

A notification sound is heard.

When I checked the monitor, a new message had arrived.

[Elfnunalove has requested a 1:1 conversation.]

Elfnunalove.

It was a somewhat unsettling nickname to me, but I accepted it without hesitation.

Because there was only one reason why I would be contacted.

‘I was worried, but they showed up today.’

The information seller had finally appeared.

***

A study with antique decor.

I was slightly surprised as I smelled the faint scent of books.

‘It’s really well decorated. How much did they spend?’

It was on a different level from the empty lot that was the background of the newbie room, or the desolate field that was the base when I started a conversation.

It must have cost a considerable amount of GP.

However, I didn’t think it was a complete waste of money.

‘Certainly, this alone creates a certain level of trust….’

After briefly looking around, I found a white man and greeted him.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello. You’re Elfnunna, right? Please, have a seat.”

As soon as I sat down, the man immediately got to the point.

“You want to know about the Tarutein School, the magician named Shernal Pergan?”

“That’s right.”

Dimensional collapse phenomenon.

If I only asked about this, it would be difficult for me to tell whether the other person was lying or not.

But it’s different if I ask about Shernal Pergan.

Like this.

“Specifically, I want to know in detail about what he has been doing recently.”

The man immediately associates Shernal Pergan’s name with the dimensional collapse.

The reliability of the information that will come out later increases even more.

So, I asked bluntly.

“Is that rumor true?”

The man asked for 20,000 GP in exchange for an answer, and when I accepted, he continued.

“If you’re asking if that story came from his mouth, then yes, it’s true. But if you’re asking about the truth of the rumor… the truth is, it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

The man paused, as if gathering his thoughts, then stated definitively,

‘The dimensional collapse phenomenon isn’t happening.’

‘What’s your basis for saying that?’

‘Well, it involves high-ranking figures and political power struggles…’

In short, it meant the information was too high-level to reveal for just 20,000 GP [Gold Pieces, a common currency].

‘I’ll give you another 20,000 GP.’

‘If you’re that eager to hear it, then fine.’

The man nodded and continued without hesitation.

‘The Tarutein School focuses on labyrinth studies, particularly magic related to dimensions. And its master wanted to conduct an experiment.’

‘An experiment…?’

‘I can’t go into detail, but it’s not a dangerous one. It just requires fewer adventurers entering the labyrinth than usual.’

So, the Tarutein School spread rumors throughout the city through their affiliated mages.

The judgment was that if rumors of a dimensional collapse spread, they could suppress the superstitious adventurers.

‘…Is it okay for you to just tell me all this?’

‘It’s not like I’m just blabbing it around; I’m selling it for GP, you know?’

His confident attitude left me speechless.

The man chuckled and continued.

‘Besides, is it any of my business? I’m not the master of that school. And soon, the royal family will issue an official statement denying the rumors anyway.’

‘…The royal family?’

‘Of course, would the Lapdonia royal family just sit still? If fewer adventurers are around, that means fewer magic stones are being collected.’

Well, yeah, that makes sense.

After listening to him briefly, the situation seemed to fit perfectly. The reasons he presented were convincing.

He didn’t seem to be lying either.

At this point, I decided to complete the transaction and said I’d send the remaining 20,000 GP separately, but the man shook his head.

‘Come to think of it, it’s fine. You seem to be a fan of that person.’

20,000 GP is 400,000 stones, and he’s saying he won’t take it just because I’m a fan of the same person….

While thanking him, curiosity began to bubble up.

How many years has this guy been around?

‘5 years? 10 years?’

Whatever it was, one thing was certain.

He had firmly established himself in this world to the point where 400,000 stones wasn’t a big deal.

‘So, he knows all the inside information that I struggled for days to find out.’

Once again, I was reminded of my beginner’s mindset.

15 times? 20 times? 30 times? Or even 100 times?

Well, it wasn’t my concern what mode they had cleared.

Because this isn’t a game world.

It’s a harsh reality governed by the savage principle that the one who survives is the strong one.

‘So, even if I’m a small fry, I’m still a newbie here…’

I was reminded that the road ahead was much longer than the one I had already traveled.

But why?

Even though I had just renewed my beginner’s mindset.

‘This is fun.’

The man who bought the strategy for the first floor’s boss.

The woman who wanted information about Skull Island.

And this man standing in front of me, who had reached that place over several years.

I chuckled.

The thought that I couldn’t reach that place never crossed my mind.

***

A black DOS screen.

After a short loading period, a beep sounded, and a log of the player’s actions filled the monitor.

Beep, beep-beep, beep-

The rules of the log were simple.

Only actions were recorded here.

Therefore…

‘Successfully completed the coming-of-age ceremony.’

‘Equipped new gear.’

Choosing a shield at the coming-of-age ceremony.

‘Character stepped on a goblin trap.’

Falling into danger as soon as entering the labyrinth.

Stepping on a goblin trap and crawling on the floor for hours while bleeding.

Killing a person on the first day.

Becoming companions with an elf they met by chance.

And, starting with nothing, reaching the second floor on the first try.

‘This guy’s insane.’

The more the old man read the log, the more dumbfounded he became. It was even more so because only actions were recorded.

Every action has a reason.

The old man, who had seen many players’ logs, could clearly see the reasons behind the decisions this person made in each moment.

Because it had to be that way.

Because that was the right choice.

So, this man put it into action.

As if he were really playing a game.

It was truly astonishing.

How many players had made irrational choices due to the gap between the game and reality?

‘…How many people reached the second floor on their first try?’

‘As far as I know, 117 people.’

117 people.

It was quite a number to say it was small.

But the old man was certain.

Among the 117 players, there wouldn’t have been a player who had such a combination of adverse conditions.

‘He’s a fascinating one.’

The old man continued to scroll down and read the log, then suddenly froze at one point.

‘Defeated Vampire Duke Cambormier. EXP +5’

‘Upper Variant Bonus. EXP +1’

‘Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3’

‘The [Vampire Essence – Guardian] has permeated the character’s soul…’

Before he knew it, the log on the screen had reached the most recent entry.

‘Bjorn Yandel’

Level: 3 (New +1)

Physical: 199.1 (New +87.7) / Mental: 105.3 (New +10) / Ability: 152.4 (New +129.4)

Item Level: 114 (New -104)

Total Combat Power: 485.3 (New +201.1)

Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7, Vampire (Guardian) – Rank 5 (New)

Character information that was hard to believe even for someone who had been playing for years.

It was something he had achieved in just two months after waking up in an unfamiliar body.

Of course, luck must have played a part.

But…

‘If it was an area that was possible with luck alone, there would have been at least one similar case.’

That’s what statistics are.

As samples and data accumulate, the number of possibilities decreases, and uncertain information turns into clearer facts. The ‘probability’ derived through this process has almost no error, no matter how much the sample size increases.

In other words, the variable of ‘luck’ is extremely insignificant in statistics.

However, there are cases like this.

The first.

When the impossible becomes possible.

In short, when 0 becomes 1.

An irregular that is outside of statistics, where the cause cannot even be defined because there is no comparative sample.

Click, click.

The old man raised the player’s watch level to the maximum.

‘Abnormal growth rate.’

‘The administrator is watching the character.’

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

When everyone said it was a failure,

The last words he had left behind.

[I just made a rational judgment. Even if there’s only one person in a lifetime, if we can properly complete and send them, that’s more likely to succeed.]

Perhaps, those words were right.