Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 240

Awl (5)

A study filled with the subtle scent of books.

“How was it there?”

“It was a very interesting place.” The blonde-haired woman, Soul Queen, thought for a moment before answering the man’s question.

It was a fitting description.

A place where even the corpse collector is merely a member, and even such a person couldn’t keep up? She didn’t expect such a chat room to exist within the community.

But…

“You’re not really curious about my personal impressions, are you?”

Soul Queen teased, and the man did not deny it.

After all, there was a reason why he had infiltrated her as a member of the Watchers of the Round Table.

[Perhaps the Watchers of the Round Table is a group formed to avoid our scrutiny.]

A spy sent by the royal family.

Or a player from another dimension.

To confirm these possibilities, the man sent her there.

So, what were the results?

The Soul Queen added with a smile.

“‘Looks like Mr. Love’s intuition was right again.”

“In what way?”

“The Watchers of the Round Table definitely seems to be a place created by players from another dimension.”

“I need to hear more details.”

Soul Queen then slowly explained what happened there.

Lion, who exuded an overwhelming presence.

Clown, whose identity as the Corpse Collector was exposed.

Deer Horns, suspected to be from the royal family, and Goblin, who seemed too ordinary to fit in.

“Hmm, I’m not sure about the fox. She didn’t seem to be the quiet type, but I didn’t get a chance to talk with her.”

Still, the fox was a woman to watch out for.

After all, she had approached the lion for a chat at the end.

What if it was some kind of ‘contact’?

“You suspect Lion?”

“Yes, if there’s a player from another dimension among them, it can only be that man”.

The man then asked for the basis, and the Soul Queen answered without hesitation.

“He almost drove the Corpse Collector to the brink of mental collapse with just his killing intent. It seemed like he had plenty of room to spare even after withdrawing it at the last moment.”

This alone was clear evidence.

No ordinary human mental strength could achieve such a feat.

Unless he’s a player from another dimension who fell into this world over a hundred years ago and survived.

Moreover, this wasn’t the only evidence.

During the second round, the Lion had said,

[Ghostbusters was created by an evil spirit from another world.]

He casually mentioned information that only a handful would know, almost as if it were a joke, while denying that the GM created the community.

As if he knew her true identity.

At that moment, she was convinced.

‘Yes, it was just as I thought.’

This dangerous man was clearly not just an ordinary player.

“Come to think of it, he said he knew about the corpse collector’s information from the start, didn’t he?”

“Yes, and the members also anticipated that the Lion might know their identities.”

“…That’s suspicious.”

The community’s security is absolute.

Even the one who took over the administrator’s rights and created the current Ghostbusters couldn’t uncover their identities.

“What do you think, how did he know their identities?”

“Well, if he truly knew, there are two possibilities.”

In response to Soul Queen’ question, the man presented two scenarios.

“One, the Lion has an ally who is comparable to or even greater than the otherworldly archmage who created this subspace. And the second…”

“The second is that the Lion is in league with the one who created the Watchers of the Round Table, right?” the man interjected, finishing her thought instead.

“Yes, that’s right. Currently, all the members were gathered by that ‘Master,’ so if he tipped him off, it’s natural for him to know.”

“But then it doesn’t make sense for him to know my identity.”

“It’s not certain yet, is it? Next time, try throwing out a bait. See if he really knows Soul Queens’ identity or not.”

“I will.”

“Anyway, now the information about the ‘Master’ becomes important. Have you found anything?”

“I haven’t met the ‘Master’ yet. But I heard from Goblin after the meeting that there was a strange login record on the day he visited.”

“So, the one who sneaked into the community that day is likely the one with the nickname ‘0720’, right?”

“That seems to be the case. I wanted to investigate further, but the Goblin seemed to be wary of me”

They continued their conversation for another hour.

They didn’t just talk about the Watchers of the Round Table.

They discussed recent incidents.

The players who had died so many deaths.

How to efficiently recruit new members.

And…

“What about Lee Baek-ho? He’s been turning the Mage Tower upside down looking for you. Right now, you are just one of many suspects, but it will be difficult to keep your identity hidden forever…”

Even the most troublesome recent incident.

“Baek-ho is still contemplating. Given the circumstances, it seems he’s become hostile to the royal family, but we need to be cautious. It could be a trap.”

“Yes, I’ll leave that part to Mr. Love.”

They were engaged in various discussions.

“How’s the investigation on ‘Elfnoona’ going?”

“It’s taking a while to restore the deleted posts, but he has quite a lot of GP.”

“Did Baek-ho give it to him?”

“No, he earned most of it on the first day by selling some high-level information.”

Soul Queen further added that the information was something one could know after playing the game for long enough,and that it would take time to restore the posts and comments he left.

“Hmm, I see…”

The man tapped the armrest with his index finger as if organizing his thoughts.

There was one reason he dug into ‘Elfnoona’.

He suspected the possibility that ‘Bjorn Jandel’ and ‘Elfnoona’ were the same person.

Bjorn Jandel.

A barbarian who showed unprecedented growth speed.

He uniquely chose a shield during his coming-of-age ceremony.

Elfnoona.

In the community, he easily obtained GP by selling in-game information.

Also, he is a ‘Korean’ whom Baek-ho looks up to as a brother.

This point was extremely important to the man.

If the two are the same person, then he might be the one he had been waiting for so long.

‘…Wait a minute.’

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and the man spoke up.

“Soul Queen.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Did you mention that the Lion mask was Asian?”

“Yes, even with a mask, one can’t hide his skin color.”

The proportion of Asian players is very low in this Western-based game.

Take Lee Baek-ho, for example.

He opened a chat room waiting for a fellow countryman, but it took him years to meet one.

And that person was ‘Elfnoona.’

The very one suspected to be the same person as ‘Bjorn Jandel’.

“The only identity the Lion explicitly revealed was that of the clown, correct?”

The man adjusted his posture and asked.

“Uh, it’s hard to say definitively since it was his first visit, but that seemed to be the atmosphere.”

“I see…”

The man trailed off, lost in thought.

After all, ‘Bjorn Jandel’ had recently fought with the ‘Corpse Collector.’

Was this really just a coincidence?

Of course, it was still a wild leap since they hadn’t confirmed if ‘Elfnoona’ and ‘Bjorn Jandel’ were the same person.

But, because of that…

“When is Bjorn Jandel’s conferment ceremony?”

“I believe it’s in three days.”

“In three days…”

The man made a decision.

“It seems it’s been a while since I went out.”

Rather than endlessly worrying, he decided to meet him in person.

***

“Hey, wake up, wake up! Wake up!”

The morning after returning from the community.

I woke up to Misha’s smack on my back.

I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion after using my killing intent after a long time, but…

“What did you do yesterday that you’re so weak this morning?”

After visiting the community, it’s best to get up on time, even if it’s hard.

If anyone knows about this place, my unusual late sleep could look suspicious.

Now, there are more eyes on me.

‘There would be a fuckin assassin too..’

Yesterday I just collapsed from exhaustion, but I doubt I’ll get proper sleep from now on.

Ugh, it’s really annoying.

‘Why is everyone so eager to get me?’

In my current state, I can’t fight as usual. Sighing, I quickly washed my face and went downstairs to eat with everyone.

It was a slightly unfamiliar scene.

After all, there was a new face at the breakfast table.

“You’re awake?”

“Of course I’m awake. Don’t just stand there awkwardly, sit down quickly. The food will get cold.”

“Yes, yes!”

Erwin sat at the table, eating nervously.

“…”

An awkward silence hung over the table, unlike usual. Fortunately, Misha sensed it and spoke cheerfully first.

“So, how is it? My food?”

“Mmm. It’s delicious… Thank you…”

“If you have anything you want to eat, let me know. I’ll make it for dinner. And let me know if there are any ingredients you can’t eat.”

As always, Misha took care of the details.

“Carrots! I can’t eat carrots!”

Aynar took this opportunity to chime in and got smacked on the back.

Pfft, as if.

I’ve tried at least ten times, and all failed.

She insists we need to eat these because we eat meat all the time.

‘I appreciate the sentiment, though…’

Sigh, barbarians have their own way of life.

“I’ll do the dishes!”

After the meal, Aynar went out to the sanctuary as usual, leaving the three of us to spend time together.

The atmosphere wasn’t bad.

It felt like the hierarchy was perfectly sorted.

“Erwin, come here and sit. We need to talk.” Misha called Erwin for a chat.

“Yes, yes!”

“This might be a bit early to ask, but what are your plans? Our team is already full.”

“That’s…”

Erwin trailed off, glancing at me.

She’s probably wondering if it’s okay to talk about clan-related stuff.

Well, there’s no reason why she couldn’t but…

Feeling too exhausted to have a long conversation, I just gave a vague response.

“It’s too early, Misha. We don’t even know if we can enter the labyrinth next month.”

“That’s… true.”

Honestly, it’s wise to put labyrinth exploration on hold unless this situation is resolved.

We don’t have any immediate financial problems.

‘…Although, it’s annoying that the city isn’t safe either.’

The dragonslayer.

The corpse collector.

The Noark’s assassin.

Even the unpredictable royal family’s moves.

There are too many reasons to get stronger quickly.

But…

‘Still, it’s better to watch and wait until things settle down somewhat.’

I tried to push aside my impatience.

There’s a saying that haste makes waste.

‘I’ll discuss this properly with Raven later.’

Anyway, we continued to chat over tea.

At first Erwin seemed uncomfortable and shy, but Misha’s kindness quickly put her at ease.

She seems to have sorted out her feelings about her sister before she came here.

Thanks to that, I felt much lighter.

While Erwin would inevitably carry a heavy burden in the future, she had stood up on her own.

So, she would surely go further.

“Really? You have a younger brother?”

“Yes, he’s still young and stays in the sanctuary. When he comes of age… I’ll have to take care of him like my sister did for me.”

“Don’t worry too much. Isn’t there plenty of time left? By then, you’ll have more resources.”

“Do you think so…?”

Erwin and Misha were having a surprisingly warm conversation. Then Erwin suddenly bowed deeply.

“I didn’t properly apologize for that time. I’m sorry, I must have lost my mind back then…”

“…No need to apologize. It’s fine. In fact, it turned out well.”

I tilted my head.

That time?

Did they have an incident worth apologizing for?

“And… are you okay now?”

“What’s there to be not okay about? My perspective has changed a lot since then… I didn’t have the right to judge in the first place.”

Misha glanced at me as she said this.

For some reason, I felt a chill.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it.”

I quickly got up and approached the door.

Normally, I would have just opened it right away, but after hearing about a potential assassin yesterday, I asked for the visitor’s identity first.

“I’m Raymond Keplo of the 2nd Royal Knights.”

The knight announced his identity politely, likely because of my impending baron title.

Peeking through the peephole, I saw that he was fully armored, with several other knights standing behind him.

‘Doesn’t seem like a lie.’

With some suspicions in mind, I opened the door.

I faced them and confirmed their purpose for visiting.

It was good news for the first time in a while.

“We’ve received orders from above.”

“Orders?”

“To protect Sir Jandel from any potential threats.”

So, Deer Horns has moved the Royal Family.