Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 382

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What the heck, what’s he doing here?

At first, I didn’t even have such thoughts.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart was pounding harder than when I fought the Deep Sea Giant, and my head felt like an eight-tonne truck had slammed into the back of it at full speed.

I came to my senses only after he spoke to me first.

“Hey, what’s up with you? Did you really take it down by yourself?”

I hadn’t had many conversations with him in that form, but even so, his voice and manner of speaking were unforgettable.

Lee Baek-ho.

As I realized that this moment was real, the figure standing next to him caught my eye.

The Ruin Scholar.

For now, I could see these two.

When did they become companions after threatening to knock each other’s teeth out back then?

My mind was racing.

Putting aside that they became companions, why are they here? Could they possibly be after me? No, more importantly, what happened to Erwin and Amelia, who were behind me?

I had told them to keep waiting until I returned.

“Interesting. I’ve never heard of someone like you.”

“Well, haven’t you heard of that guy who made headlines recently?”

As the Ruin Scholar interrupted, Lee Baek-ho nodded with an “Ah!” expression.

“Oh right, that’s true. There’s that guy, right? His appearance is similar too.”

“It’s not certain yet, though,” the Ruin Scholar added.

“Well, that’s something we can find out now. Hey, are you that guy, what’s his name, Schuiz or something?”

It was unbelievably rude for a first-time conversation, but I felt rather relieved.

‘…So, they’re not here specifically for me.’

Lee Baek-ho wasn’t after me.

And if that’s the case, perhaps…

Their goal is probably this place itself.

Hadn’t I already been wary of the ‘competitors’ who had completed the Rock Island event alongside us?

Perhaps they were these guys.

Then this meeting is purely coincidental…

As my thoughts reached that point.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

Tch, what a rude bastard.

“Wouldn’t it be polite for you to introduce yourself first?”

At my question, the guy chuckled as if he found me amusing.

“Leel Baek-ho. And you?”

“You probably already know who I am.”

“Wow, this is wild. Running into a celebrity in a place like this.”

“Celebrity?”

“Didn’t you fight those Noark lackeys, 4-on-1? A guy like that falls out of the sky, how could you not be famous? Plus, that fairy girl is so protective of you.”

I couldn’t really argue against that.

Because the population distribution of the labyrinth decreases exponentially as you go up.

By the time you reach the seventh floor, everyone knows everyone, so the sudden appearance of a powerful, unknown figure would seem unusual.

“Wait a minute, does that mean the fairy girl is here too?” Baekho asked.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t see the mage either. Looks like we didn’t run into them because we came over by teleportation.”

At their conversation, I once again sighed in relief.

If what they said is true, it means that Erwen and Amelia are safe.

“So, what’s your business here?”

Saying that, I walked slowly in the direction of the essence. If a fight broke out, I planned to consume this essence immediately.

Even though the color is different, I judged that it would help for now.

“Hold it right there.”

Baek-ho’s voice was playful, but the command was clear.

“First of all, don’t touch the essence.”

Essence?

It was a clue that helped me analyze the current situation.

Lee Baekho’s goal is the Deep Sea Giant’s essence.

Normally that would be the end of my reasoning, but my brain, sharpened by survival instincts, began to question something I might otherwise have overlooked.

‘Instead of gathering it from the ninth floor, where the Deep Sea Giants come in dozens, why go through the trouble of coming here?’

There were two possible explanations for this.

[“You beat the 10x challenge, right? Maybe in ten years, you’ll catch up to me. Honestly, I don’t have much room left to grow, so…”]

Contrary to what he told me back then, maybe Lee Baek-ho isn’t actually that high-ranked.

Or, he was in a situation where he couldn’t reach the ninth floor.

Thud.

For now, I stopped moving toward the essence.

I didn’t want to provoke that crazy guy and find out how he might react.

However…

“This is my loot, though.”

It wouldn’t be good to show that I’m just obediently following his orders.

As I asked in a somewhat aggressive tone, Lee Baek-ho raised his hand in a gesture to calm down.

“Whoa, whoa, why so sensitive?  I just thought maybe we could make a trade.”

“A trade?”

“Yeah, I need that red essence. But if you don’t need it specifically, why not trade?”

To be honest, it didn’t make much sense to me.

So I inadvertently asked back.

“Why do you want to trade?”

From his rude attitude, it was clear that he looked down on me.

But even so, why was he offering a trade instead of just taking it by force?

“What, should I just kill you and take it instead?”

His unexpected response left me speechless.

“Sure, it’s annoying that I came all the way here for nothing, but it’s not like you pulled some sneaky trick. You just got here faster than me, and whining about that would be pathetic, wouldn’t it?”

“What if I refuse the deal?”

“Well, I’d be disappointed, but I’d just come back later, I guess.”

His reasoning was so normal that it caught me off guard.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but thinking back, it made sense.

He’s the guy trying to return to Earth.

He’s likely set his own boundaries on how far he’s willing to go.

Just as I have until now.

“Fine.”

Surprisingly, the situation is more decent than I thought.

I had considered the worst case of us fighting without words.

At this rate, it seems we won’t get to that point.

The trade proposal itself isn’t bad for me either.

“If I hand over the essence, what will you give me?”

When I asked my demand upfront,  he seemed to think for a bit, then put an item on the trade window.

“Deep Sea Giant’s Essence.”

“…?”

“I’ve been hunting them regularly these days. There’s blue and green—”

What?

I immediately cut him off and replied.

“Make it green.”

I had one more piece of good news.

At least for now.

***

“What, did you really want that one?”

“The green one has a higher market value. Plus, I can save on appraisal fees.”

At my immediate response, Lee Baek-ho nodded as if he understood, then took out a test tube from his subspace.

“But how can I trust that it’s from a Deep Sea Giant?”

“If I was going to scam you, I wouldn’t bother offering a trade in the first place, would I?”

Ha, glaring at me just because I suspected him.

“So, are we doing this or not?”

“…I’ll take your word for it.”

As soon as I responded, Baek-ho casually tossed the test-tube toward me.

The idea of tossing something like that didn’t quite sit right with me, but…

Well, I caught it just fine.

“Now that you’ve got the goods, mind stepping aside? This old man over here makes me nervous.”

After I stepped aside, the Ruin Scholar approached and placed the Essence into the test-tube.

And with that, the deal was done.

‘So Baekho didn’t need the Essence for himself. Is he planning to give it to a comrade?’

As I quietly observed and gathered my thoughts, Baek-ho spoke again.

“You said your name was Schuiz, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Your speech has become formal again? Just do what’s comfortable.”

“I’m fine with how I’m speaking.”

“Suit yourself. Anyway, mind if I ask you something?”

I gestured for him to go ahead.

“Are you Bjorn Jandel?”

Wow, this guy has no filter.

Thump—!

My heart sank, but I tried not to show it.

I just asked back as if I’d heard something strange.

“Why are you asking such a question?”

“A guy no one had ever heard of suddenly pops up out of nowhere, and that fairy girl is following him around, calling him ‘mister.’ She’s not stupid, so that’s kind of weird, isn’t it?”

It was a reasonable argument.

Actually, the members of the Round Table had suspected me for similar reasons.

“So, your answer?”

Then he stared intently at me.

It was obvious what he was doing.

He’s using a lie detector.

The lie-detecting skill that Lee Baekho had. There were two possibilities.

One was a skill that could distinguish between truth and falsehood. The other only identified lies.

Some might say that’s the same thing, but they’re fundamentally different.

I had the gift from Auril Gaviss.

If it was the latter, and his skill showed no reaction, he would interpret my words as the truth.

…If I’m lucky, I might be able to find out which essence he’s consumed.

It didn’t take long for me to decide.

“I am not Bjorn Jandel.”

Looking him straight in the eye, I calmly answered, and he smirked.

“Really? That’s a shame.”

His tone and expression showed no sign of doubt about my answer.

Thanks to that, I was able to confirm one of the essences he’d consumed.

If his skill had been the other type, he wouldn’t have accepted my answer so easily.

It would’ve been natural for him to be suspicious if he couldn’t tell whether my statement was true or false.

‘Well, I kind of expected this from how our earlier conversation went, but now I’m certain.’

With this knowledge, I now had a way to gain the upper hand in future conversations with Baekho.

But I wasn’t satisfied with just that.

“May I ask you a question as well?”

“Well, it’s give and take, right?”

“…”

“That means yes.”

A question I obtained naturally.

I took a moment to think.

“Not going to ask?”

There were plenty of things I wanted to ask.

Where was he planning to use that resurrection stone?

Why did he team up with the Scholar of Ruin?

And…

[That woman is one of Lee Baekho’s companions now.]

How did Misha, of all people, come to be your companion? 

Where is Misha right now?

What kind of trick did you pull on her, among many other questions?

“……”

I swallowed down the torrent of questions I wanted to ask immediately.

If I asked them now, he’d start paying more attention to me than he does now.

Not yet.

I couldn’t even predict how he would react if I revealed that I was Lee Hansoo.

I still don’t know what he’s planning.

Yes, so…

“Lee Baekho.”

I called his name.

I called his name and he smirked, amused at my surprisingly good pronunciation for a native of this world.

“Since we’re talking about Bjorn Jandel, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you start the rumor that Bjorn Jandel is an evil spirit?”

Lee Baek-ho’s expression stiffened slightly at my question.

“You… already knew who I was, huh?”

“I had to. It’s a famous name.”

“Is that so? Well, yeah, I guess anyone who’s up to date knows by now.”

He flinched for a moment, but Lee Baek-ho didn’t show much suspicion at my question.

“So, even the Blood Spirit Queen managed to find out? That I was the one who spread the rumor?”

He flicked his fingers around his waist as if deep in thought, then opened his mouth to speak.

“They’re coming. His companions.”

The Ruin Scholar, who had just finished sealing the essence into a test tube, gave the warning, and Baek-ho’s expression shifted.

“Really? Then we better get out of here.”

“Is that necessary?”

“If we run into them, it’ll just be a hassle. They’ll be after us. You know what the kitty said—don’t ever mess with his former comrades.”

“But how would she know what happens here?”

At the Scholar’s words, I instinctively gripped my hammer tighter.

In that brief moment…

“…Old man, don’t push it.”

Lee Baek-ho’s voice, which had been carefree up until now, suddenly dropped to a cold, stern tone.

“…It was a joke. I’ll use a multi-teleportation spell.”

While relieved by their decision, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

The “Kitty” they were talking about was undoubtedly Misha.

The sense of loss I hadn’t felt when I learned that Misha had become one of Baekho’s companions hit me hard.

But…

“Wait.”

I suppressed all my emotions and spoke.

“I’d like you to answer my question before you go.”

“Oh, right. You asked why I spread those rumors.”

Baek-ho feigned surprise, like he had just remembered, and then signaled to the Ruin Scholar with his eyes.

Then the Doom Scholar clicked his tongue with a “tsk” and nodded.

Should I say it felt like a situation I’d often seen somewhere?

Why? Why does it feel familiar?

As that thought swirl in my head—

Shhhhhh—!

A magic circle formed around the Ruin Scholar, emitting a blue light.

‘What the…?’

It all happened so suddenly that it took me a while to grasp the situation.

‘Is this… an ambush?’

As such a possibility flashed through my confused mind—

“Ah! What the heck! Old man!”

Baek-ho’s voice rang out in a dramatic tone.

“How can you activate teleportation magic when we’re in the middle of a conversation! Now I can’t give him an answer!”

“……”

“You said your name was Schuiz, right? Sorry, I’ll tell you next time we meet. It’s not that it’s a really hard question to answer, really. Okay? Got it—”

Flash—!

Lee Baek-ho’s voice scattered and disappeared the moment the light flashed brightly.

It was so absurd that I couldn’t even speak properly.

Clench.

Right, he’s Korean too.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this kind of mockery.

Since coming here, I’ve always been the one doing it.

‘No, wait…’

Suddenly realizing my mistake, I hurriedly shattered the test tube I was holding.

『The [Essence of the Deep Sea Giant] permeates into your character’s soul.』

…Fortunately, the essence was genuine.