Outsider 1

Needless to say, Lee Baek-ho has a team.

And I know a fair bit about his team.

Well, that’s because until I returned, Misha was once a member of that team.

“Ah! Baron Jandel! By the way, how is Miss Karlstein? She was such a good person, you know! Though she was a bit cold to us!”

The former Noark gatekeeper, Lex Aures.

Like me, he’s a tank. We crossed paths once in the past, and we even have a small connection.

Back when I was disguised as Rihen Schuiz, he was the one who ingested the ‘Deep Sea Giant’ essence that Yi Baek-ho took from me.

And…

‘Ruin Scholar.’

Belbev Ruinzenes

The first mage to join Lee Baek-ho’s team, and someone I must repay someday.

Crunch

Fearing she might act rashly, I caught Erwin’s wrist and felt it trembling violently.

Well, that was to be expected.

“That person… my sister…”

Erwin’s sister, Daria, died.

While blocking a spell the Ruin Scholar cast trying to kill Erwen.

“It’s not time yet. Don’t act recklessly.”

After I muttered briefly and let go of her hand, Erwin paused for a moment before taking a step back.

Despite facing her mortal enemy, she managed to regain her composure.

“Hm, how fascinating. I never thought you could lose so much of your light in such a short time.”

The Ruin Scholar mumbled incoherently as he watched Erwin from afar. “Is it because someone with a greater destiny is near you?”

His mumbling was unsettling, like the ramblings of a heartless psychopath.

I shifted my gaze and saw two other figures.

Judging by his appearance, that must be the archer Misha mentioned…

The other was wrapped head-to-toe in a robe.

Judging by his build, probably male…

Anyway, he must be that new companion Baek-ho mentioned.
The one who wasn’t supposed to be revealed publicly just yet.

Given the team’s composition, he’s probably a healer…

Of course, that’s not something to worry about right now.

Especially since Baek-ho finally decided to speak.

“Ahem! It’s been a while, Baron Jandel!”

The way he said the word ‘baron’ made my hair stand on end with awkwardness, but I understood. We aren’t alone right now. He probably kept quiet at first because he needed time to think things through.

However, the reactions of his allies were quite noteworthy.

“…Baek-ho, did you eat something weird?” The gatekeeper asked bluntly, while the archer looked genuinely shocked.

“You… you can use that kind of speech…?”

For people to react this way simply because he spoke politely… just how arrogantly had he been living all this time?

I was genuinely baffled, though given how he’d carried himself in the past, I could understand it.

Though, phrasing it that way made it sound as if he’d changed somehow.

“Ah, and you too! Long time no see! So your name now is… Emily Raines, right?”

“……”

“But it’s really strange. First the kitty, and now you. Why is it that all my companions end up flocking to Baron Jandel? Doesn’t anyone value loyalty anymore?”

Value, my ass.

Misha was my ally from the start.

And Amelia? She didn’t even join his group willingly—she infiltrated as a spy on a mission.

“Jandel, be careful.” Versyl warned me “That man Baek-ho… he’s extremely dangerous.”

Of course, Baek-ho heard it even from that distance.

“Hm? You know me? I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

“…We haven’t.”

“Then why say such nasty things?”

“…”

“Tch, tsk… See, this is why preconceptions are scary.
You’ve never even seen me, yet you’re acting like you know everything…”

Even at Lee Baek-ho’s rude remarks, Versyl didn’t answer and averted her eyes.

She clearly looked terrified…

“What, am I going to kill you or something? Lighten up—”

“That’s far enough.”

As the leader, I couldn’t just let it continue, so I cut him off and intervened.

Although I was taken aback by our sudden encounter, I needed to confirm something first.

“Lee Baek-ho.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Did you… follow us?”

What exactly were Lee Baek-ho’s intentions?

We were outnumbered in terms of both quality and quantity, so this was the first thing I had to clarify.

If not, I might end up regretting not bringing the entire clan.

“Follow you? Isn’t that a little narcissistic?”

“So you’re saying this was just coincidence?”

‘Exactly. I was shocked, too. Why would Baron Jandel be in such a lonely, deserted place where there are no witnesses and no one to help him?’

“…”

The way he phrased it sent a chill down my spine. But I knew it was just another tactic to take control of the conversation.

I ignored it and judged purely by the facts.

And honestly, it did seem like coincidence.

Which led me to my second question.

“Then what about you? Why did you come to such a deserted place?”

Why had he come here?

His answer was something I could never have imagined.

“To go to the convenience store.”

His answer was something I could never have imagined.

“I’m going to the conv’enience store.”

Huh…

“…What?”

“Ah! Right, Baron Jandel doesn’t know what a convenience store is! My mistake! My mistake!”

Is this guy seriously crazy?

As I stared at him with a straight face, Lee Baek-ho continued with an awkward expression.

“Just kidding… Probably for the same reason, right?”

“The same reason…?”

“Huh? Didn’t you come here to go outside too, Baron?”

Right, so he came for this too.

“But I’m getting a bit curious. Why does Baron suddenly want to go outside? Can’t you give me a little hint? I promise I’ll keep it to myself.”

Somehow, he sounded even more irritating than usual, perhaps because there were others present and it wasn’t a private conversation.

This bastard lives as he likes, doing as he pleases, but I’m not in a position to do that.

“Enough jokes. If it’s a coincidence, then move along.’

“…Sure, why not.”

I pulled my allies away from the gate while Baek-ho led his to the side door and slipped into Noark.

“But will she be enough?” he tossed out a parting remark.

I stayed silent, unsure who he was talking about.

Lee Baek-ho chuckled in response”What, so this is your first time? No wonder….”

No wonder what?

His words were a bit unsettling, but I didn’t want to talk to him any longer.

“…Just get lost.”

“Yep. Then, have fun!”

…Is there anyone in the world more irritating than him?

***

Lee Baek-ho didn’t warn me not to follow him or anything like that.

He went straight ahead as if he didn’t care, and seeing this, I could be sure that the contents of the letter he sent to me in Korean weren’t a lie.

I was honestly a bit skeptical.

That’s why I had asked Amelia to double-check separately…

‘Amelia also said the location seemed to be the square.’

And sure enough, Baek-ho’s group stopped right at that spot.

“They’ve stopped.”

It was Noark Square, once bustling with plunderers.

Flash!

Soon, a brief flash erupted, and both Amelia and Erwin lost track of their presence.

“…They’re gone.”

We hurried to the square, where Erwin quickly scanned the empty space and asked Versil,

“That was… magic, right?”

“Yes. A mass teleportation spell. Judging by the residual magical energy, it seems they activated a hidden magic circle below here… under this square…”

“Don’t worry” I said “I know the incantation to activate the magic circle.”

‘Huh? You know it?’ Her eyes seemed to scream. ‘Just…How?’

I just forced a smile.

“I am a noble, I have my ways”

“…Ah.”

Well, I couldn’t exactly say that Baek-ho told me.

“Then let’s begin.”

I stood in the center of the square and gathered my allies around me, just in case something happened, and began chanting the activation spell.

Honestly, it was embarrassing to recite the chant since it sounded more like a poem, but there was no helping it.

I just had to accept that this was how ancient mages thought about such things.

“My body is made of swords. My blood is of iron, and my heart is of glass…”

Still, it was strange. Why was a sword even mentioned in a spell?

Regardless, I finished the chant carefully.

“…That body made of swords.”

The moment I finished the embarrassing activation phrase

Nothing happened.

“…?”

“…?”

My allies stared at me in confusion.

To be honest, I was the most confused.

‘What? Why isn’t anything happening?’

It didn’t take long to realize.

No, more precisely, I realized.

[What, so this is your first time? No wonder….]

What his last words meant.

‘No wonder… he didn’t get angry.’

I had been tricked.

***

I had been tricked, an intense rage surged from deep within my chest.

But anger doesn’t change anything.

“W-well! Looks like the information was wrong! It happens!”

“…Don’t blame yourself. Even nobles don’t always get the right intel.”

“……”

Regardless of their reassurances, I quickly started thinking about solutions.

“Versil, can you—”

“Not right now. Ancient magic circles like these require countless conditions to activate.”

“How long would it take?”

“…I don’t even know. I don’t have the knowledge to estimate.”

That damned Baek-ho.

“………I don’t have any knowledge in this field, so I have no idea, not even how long it might take.”

That damned Baek-ho.

[Do you think she will be enough?]

Now I understood whom he had meant.

Unfortunately, Versil seemed to have realized it as well.

‘I don’t know why, but everything is making me mad today.’

Although she said she was angry, the emotion in her voice felt more like acceptance than resignation.

I could understand how she felt.

Realistically, becoming a top-tier mage like the Ruin Scholar is something only a few per generation can achieve.

‘It’s something she’ll have to overcome alone.’

Thinking back, it was the same with Rotmiller.

No matter what anyone says from the sidelines about these kinds of feelings, in the end, there’s no way other than to overcome them yourself.

“…May I look around on my own for a bit?”

“Go ahead. We’ll keep our distance.”

“Thank you.”

So we stepped back, leaving her to study the circle.

And while she did, we walked around Noark aimlessly.

To be honest, Versil wasn’t the only one with a complicated mind.

If anything, I was worse.

“…Erwin.”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes, I’m fine. It’s just not the time yet, right? Not yet.”

Even though she said that with a smile, I still felt uneasy.

Perhaps thinking the same, Amelia changed the subject.

“By the way, Jandel, I’ve been wondering since earlier… what exactly is a convenience store?”

“Oh, that…?”

Seeing she wanted to change the subject, I forced a brighter tone and continued the conversation.

And after some time had passed..

“…This feels like a nice outing.”

Thankfully, after a while, Erwin seemed to brighten a little.

Still, I couldn’t understand how walking through the pitch-dark underground city, without a trace of natural light, could feel like an outing.

“Come to think of it, this is also where I reunited with you, Mister…”

“That’s right. You have no idea how surprised I was then…”

“…I’m sorry. I was so out of it back then.”

“I’m not blaming you, so no need to apologize.”

Anyway, when we returned to the square,
Versil was still examining the ground intently, investigating something.

“How about taking a break? We cleared our schedule in advance, so we can stay a few more days if needed.”

“Ah… Yes.”

“…Did you find out anything?”

When I asked, Versil remained silent for a while before answering in a whisper.

“………Yes.”

“Oh, that’s great to hear—”

“The fact that even if I were given years, I wouldn’t be able to figure anything out.”

Ah…

I was at a loss for words for a moment, but when I heard her next words, I realised her morale wasn’t completely broken.

“Honestly, it’s only natural. I never studied this field seriously. All I ever learned was combat magic.”

She wasn’t rationalizing, she was accepting the reality.

“So I’m just giving up. Please don’t say I lack perseverance.”

“I never had that thought from the start.”

“It’s really embarrassing, but what can I do? I’m sorry. For further investigation, we’ll probably need a much higher-level and more specialized mage than me.”

A specialized mage…

“Do you have anyone to recommend?”

“There is one person. If it’s that person, he might be able to shorten the time even more than the Ruin Scholar.”

“More than the Ruin Scholar? Who could that be?”

When I tilted my head and asked, a completely unexpected name came from Versil’s mouth.

“Urben Havellion”

“The one they call the Magitech Engineer—the head of a school and a god for crafting-type mages.”

Her explanation was not wrong. But if you looked closely, one crucial detail was missing.

Urben Havelion.

The GM of the evil spirits’ community, Ghost Busters.

‘…Maybe this is a good chance to finally meet him.’

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com

Please join here, I need supporters to help me continue translating Surviving game as a barbarian and Lee Gwak
If it doesn’t work support me here buymeacoffee.com/hennoveltranslations. There are advanced chapters for supporters as well.