Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 93

The vision went dark, then slowly the light returned.

‘It’s my room.’

Not Lee Han-soo’s, but Bjorn Yandel’s inn room.

Checking the clock, exactly 12 seconds had passed since I was summoned there.

‘One hour there is one second here, huh.’

The time difference itself wasn’t surprising.

The labyrinth was the same.

No matter how many days I spent there, when I returned to the city, it was always noon the next day.

‘I don’t know the principle, but it’s a convenient phenomenon.’

Still, I think I should be careful.

In other words, it means I’m defenseless for up to 12 seconds. Of course, if it’s an emergency, I can just log out and come out, so it’s not a problem……

What if it’s not an emergency?

Like cooking beans in a flash of lightning [an idiom meaning doing something very quickly].

What if something happens during those 12 seconds?

‘It would be difficult to respond properly.’

Well, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to use the community for this reason. I’m just making my subconscious aware of this risk.

That way, when something actually happens, I can make a decision a little faster.

“Hoo……”

I stretch and take a long breath.

I felt a slight sense of fatigue.

Not physical, but mental fatigue.

‘Well, I’ve been awake for 12 hours.’

Someday, if there’s someone who sleeps in late only on this day, I should suspect them of being a player, I thought as I closed my eyes.

I wasn’t going to sleep right away; I just needed time to organize my thoughts.

‘I’m glad I went in early.’

Ghost Busters.

It was a more complete and well-run place than I expected. It was more than enough to serve as the source of information I wanted.

Thanks to that, I was able to get information about the dimensional collapse.

‘A rumor……’

That’s a good thing. That much is certain.

But a strange sense of emptiness and anxiety grow at the same time.

When I first heard it, I thought this was it.

If it’s not this, what the hell is about to happen?

‘……I need to be more careful.’

With that thought, I fell asleep.

And time passed, and it was the next morning.

The day had dawned to keep my promise with Baron Martoang.

***

“Have a good trip! Make sure to tell me all about it when you get back!”

I came out into the street, seeing Misha off.

And after changing carriages several times at the station.

I arrived at the Martoang Baron’s residence.

“Come this way. We don’t have much time.”

As soon as I entered the vast mansion, I was ushered into a fancy room and changed my clothes.

Was it because my appearance was too barbaric to attend the Count’s banquet today?

‘God damn it.’

I guess this is what happens when you’re a barbarian.

Usually, they would have dressed me up neatly for the opposite reason.

“Oh my, look at those muscles……”

With the help of the maids, I took off my breastplate and shirt.

And put on shoulder pads on my bare body.

Shoulder pads with one side shaped like thorns and the other like an animal skull.

With that on……

“Excuse me, could you lower your body a little?”

“Sure.”

The maids, standing on a footstool, struggled to wrap something around my waist.

A champion belt that was more than a hand span wide by my standards.

Damn it, why do I have to wear this?

A breastplate alone can protect the entire torso.

“Please lift your arms.”

After that, various fashion accessories were added to my body against my will.

Equipment focused on intimidation rather than defense.

The weight balance was so messed up that every movement was uncomfortable, and the hair that the maids had loosened kept falling down and obstructing my vision.

But……

‘I know what they want.’

When I looked in the mirror.

Beyond it stood a barbarian warrior who looked like he could drink dragon’s blood and eat ogre meat as a snack.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

What if my defense or practicality is lacking?

Damn it, if I approach them like this, everyone will be too busy pissing their pants and running away.

The intimidation alone was that great.

It’s called the Show Window (True) Barbarian Mode.

But was this not enough for that guy?

“Tsk.”

A skinny guy with a goatee looks at me with a displeased look.

So, this bastard’s name is……

I haven’t heard it yet.

“What’s your name?”

At my question, the butler frowned and answered curtly as if he didn’t want to talk to me.

“Call me aide-”

“Alright, butler.”

“……Tsk, just like a clueless barbarian.”

The butler was a pain in the ass in many ways.

Is it true that those who grew up without anything are worse?

He treats me with a tone as if he’s dealing with a subordinate. The Baron himself didn’t act like that.

Does he think he’s something special?

‘He’s just a commoner after all.’

While grumbling inwardly, I even put insoles in my shoes under the butler’s instructions.

Plate boots that weighed a whopping 7kg due to excessive design greed. With foreign objects stuck in them, it was truly hell, but……

“Now it’s somewhat presentable. Before, it was too small.”

What the hell, you little shit.

‘Hoo, let’s just suffer for one day.’

No wonder they said they’d give me 1 million stones as a daily wage.

It wasn’t just talk; it was real compensation for my hard work.

Anyway, after being educated by the rude butler on things like the route and where to stand when the Baron is talking to others.

The departure time had arrived.

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

I left the palace-like room and headed for the main gate.

A luxurious carriage was already waiting.

The Baron, whom I probably won’t see today, must be in there.

“What are you standing still for? Your position is there.”

I stood at the very front of the carriage procession.

I would walk out in front, and they would follow behind me?

“It’s an important mission, so to show the Baron’s dignity, you must keep your eyes forward and your posture……”

The butler, as if he didn’t trust me, kept nagging until we departed.

“Start!!”

Soon, a knight on horseback behind me raised a flag and shouted, and I led the procession at a moderate pace.

Thump, thump.

As I stepped out of the main gate, the wide paved street came into view. The streets of the 1st district, the imperial capital of Karnon, which I wouldn’t have been able to enter with my original status.

Even the store buildings were magnificent, and the people’s clothes were all elegant.

Also, the imperial palace, which I had never seen in my area, was revealing its presence from afar.

‘Tsk, I need to break through here quickly to use the Sky Auction House……’

The butler told me to look straight ahead, but I didn’t miss this opportunity and looked around as I walked.

Was that why?

“Stop!!”

The procession stopped once because I took the wrong turn.

The butler ran to me in a panic and shouted something.

But I just nonchalantly picked my ear.

Who told them to entrust it to a barbarian?

***

The distance from the Baron’s mansion to the Count’s mansion, where today’s banquet was being held, was about 6km.

I’ve even moved more than that distance on all fours, but……

‘God damn it.’

I overlooked the fact that I was wearing a full set of equipment that was the epitome of irrationality.

Sweat was pouring down.

If it weren’t for the insoles I shoved in at the end, it wouldn’t have been this hard.

“Baron Martoang is arriving!”

As I was cursing the butler and walking, I finally arrived at my destination.

As soon as the Count’s main gate opened, curious gazes flew from all directions.

They’re nobles who wouldn’t be satisfied with any kind of spectacle, but it seems that the sight of a barbarian leading a carriage procession is a first for them.

“To put a barbarian at the front, he must have been inspired by that anecdote and followed suit!”

“What a great intimidation. It felt like a giant was entering.”

“Wow, Father, can’t we enter like that next time?”

The nobles gathered in the outdoor banquet hall, where the feast was laid out, added to the atmosphere by expressing their impressions one by one.

Was it a pleasing reaction?

The Baron, who got out of the carriage, kept bursting into a hearty laugh that I had never seen before.

“It’s the first time I’ve received this much attention just by entering. I’ll give you a generous reward when I get back.”

The Baron was so happy that he even promised a bonus.

“I’ll go greet the Count, so you all enjoy the banquet.”

Soon, the Baron entered the mansion with only a few of his retainers. Then, the knights naturally scattered and mingled into the banquet.

Only then did I realize.

“……”

That I was left alone in this vast banquet hall.

“Oh my, look at the horns on that helmet. How scary.”

“It looks like it was made to resemble the ancient demon Parseira!”

Suits, tuxedos, dresses with exposed backs.

Sparkling jewels and the white luster of the knights’ armor.

And me, alone in the midst of it all, looking like a savage.

This is like being a monkey in a zoo.

“Oh, he’s walking. Where is he going?”

Just taking one step caused words of curiosity to burst out from here and there.

I felt like the PTSD I thought I had overcome was about to relapse.

Then a man approached me.

“You’ve worked hard.”

It was the knight who was the standard-bearer right behind me.

“You’re a monster too. To walk this far without rest while wearing that.”

The knight, who had watched my suffering from the closest distance, chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.

“How about we go over there and rest together until the Baron returns?”

What is this? Is this man the light?

“Okay.”

I followed the knight and sat down in an empty seat.

There was all sorts of delicacies around, but I had no appetite. The knight was the same, just sitting quietly and drinking alcohol.

I suddenly became curious and asked.

“Are you okay not mingling with them?”

“I wouldn’t be welcomed even if I went. I’m an explorer like you.”

No wonder he was the only one who looked a bit off.

“I’m Bjorn, son of Yandel. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kals Erimore.”

After a brief introduction, we talked.

I felt it from the beginning, but Kals was a pretty decent guy.

He was an explorer, so we got along well, and that’s why he didn’t show the arrogance that was typical of knights.

That butler should learn from this—

“What are you doing now? Who told you to sit down?”

The butler, who had entered the mansion with the Baron, found me and ran over in a flash.

He didn’t seem happy that I was resting.

“Hey, aide. Enough. I told this friend to rest for a while.”

“…Is that so?”

When Kals muttered, the butler flinched and lowered his voice.

“If you’re done resting, get up. What will people think if a barbarian is sitting down and resting?”

“……Resting?”

“No, people will think you’re that weak. So get up. Whatever your essence is, you must be an iron-blooded warrior today.”

At the butler’s urging, I eventually got up from my seat without much rest.

‘……Okay, let’s just suffer for one day.’

Wasn’t it a promise to be a proud existence like a trophy for the Baron’s family?

Let’s act the way he wants me to, thoroughly.

Of course, it was far from resignation.

Iron-blooded warrior.

A savage in this world where fists come before the law.

Barbarian.

Yes, if that’s who I am……

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!!!”

As soon as I finished my mind control, a shout burst out on its own.

“W-what are you doing all of a sudden!”

The butler, who had been insulting me, saying things like how much it cost to custom-make the equipment I was wearing today and how pathetic I looked when I got lost earlier, frowned.

Looking at that, I wondered why I had been holding back until now.

Am I not a barbarian?

“I just felt like it!”

In that sense, I picked up a piece of meat next to me like a barbarian.

Is it like a tomahawk?

The meat had a bone attached to it like a handle.

“Yes, this is what I wanted—”

As I tore into the meat with my bare hands like a savage, the butler nodded in agreement.

However……

“……?!”

His face stiffened as he watched me crunching and eating the bones.

To him, I spoke politely, maintaining my dignity as a barbarian warrior.

“Butler, I want to crush your head.”

“……What?”

A type of word he had never heard in his life. Looking at the butler with a look of disbelief, I kindly added an explanation.

“I just feel like it!”

Crunch, crunch.

Even as I said that, the bones of some unknown beast were being crushed in my mouth.

***

“T-that’s a terrible joke.”

“A joke?”

When I tilted my head as if asking what he meant, the butler’s face turned pale.

It seems he finally realized.

That I am a barbarian after all.

“Did my words sound like a joke?”

Barbarians are simple and ignorant.

And they are true to their emotions.

Of course, the butler may not have had any knowledge of barbarian physiology.

But……

‘If he had investigated me, he would know what happened in the guild.’

Of course, there are excuses.

I had no other choice at the time.

Except for acts of plunder, tax evasion, and a few laws related to nobles, most things can be settled with fines in this world.

If I could prove that I wasn’t a plunderer, I thought I could handle the rest somehow.

But that’s something only I know.

To others, I must have looked like a crazy bastard.

“……I have something to do, so I’ll, I’ll go. You, you rest.”

As if he had really investigated me, the butler hurriedly left with an awkward expression.

Kals, who had been watching the situation, burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that guy make such an expression!”

For some reason, my actions a moment ago seemed to have been viewed favorably by this guy.

“But is that okay?”

“It’s okay. It’s pretty sturdy.”

Rather than a natural ability, it was a residue obtained by increasing my bone strength stat.

For some reason, my appetite started to return, and I began to eat the food I had taken, munching away.

“Look at that!”

“Oh my, how barbaric!”

The noble young ladies looked at me as if they were seeing a creature for the first time, but I didn’t care anymore.

What’s wrong with looking like a savage?

If I can let go of my shame, there’s no more comfortable position than this.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaa!”

“Why are you suddenly shouting again?”

“It’s delicious!”

After hesitating for a moment in the elegant banquet atmosphere.

I also began to enjoy the banquet in earnest.