Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 92
Chapter 92 Player (4)
The clearing began to stir with the reveal of my nickname.
I closed my eyes for a moment to grasp the situation.
First of all, Elfnuna, as they call her.
That’s the nickname I used.
I chose it without much thought because my character was an elf at the time.
And…
“I’ve also written a stats summary…”
Was it around my third year playing?
I had painstakingly compiled it and, not wanting it to go to waste, posted it on a forum for safekeeping.
As expected of a forum for a dying game, I remember it didn’t get over 100 views even after a year.
But then.
“Why is everyone looking at me as if I’m some rare named character?”
Come to think of it, that woman earlier said she was a fan of ‘that person’ too.
Why?
The last time I visited that community was about 5 years ago.
“…Have I become famous without realizing it?”
Whatever the reason, I came to a conclusion.
I had become famous.
The cause of my newfound fame could be figured out later.
For now, I had gathered enough clues to deal with the current situation.
“Ah, you’ve misunderstood.”
In about 3 seconds.
Having understood the situation, I waved my hand with a bright smile.
“I am a fan of that person. If you read my nickname carefully, you’ll see. It’s not Elfnuna, but Elfnunna. Nunna.”
It was a stroke of luck that I had changed one letter in the spelling due to a nickname duplication.
I hate drawing unnecessary attention.
“Oh, now that you mention it…”
“The nickname is different.”
The men looked at my nickname again.
“It’s Elfnunna! Not Elfnuna!”
“What, it was an impersonation…”
“Of course not. I expected a little bit because you’re Korean…….”
Soon, they sighed as if in disappointment.
Whether it was because they felt deceived or something else, some looked at me with slightly unkind eyes.
“Ha ha, if you’re a fan, that’s possible!”
The room leader ‘Darkman’ laughed and mediated the atmosphere, then informed us of a few rules to follow in the room.
Something like always addressing each other with honorifics?
There weren’t any particularly memorable rules other than being expelled for causing disruptive aggro.
“Well, I’ll take my leave now so feel free to continue your conversation. It doesn’t matter when you leave.”
The welcoming atmosphere for the newcomer was short-lived.
People returned to their original places and started chatting here and there.
As I was wondering where to go, a Caucasian man approached me.
He was a player with the nickname ‘Pinkguy’.
“How long have you been playing, Elfnunna?”
“Oh, I’m in my first year.”
In reality, it’s been just 5 months, but saying I came here too early might make me look odd.
However, his response was unexpected.
“Really? You received the letter quite late, didn’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, it’s said that only a few people receive the letter after gaining fame, most receive it quite early on when the identity is verified.”
“I see…”
“Well, Elfnuna, you must have done some good acting, because you’ve just received your letter. I started out as a human and was carrying my luggage when the letter came.”
“Oh, yes…”
“Anyway, if you’re in your first year, it’s only been about 70 days there… You must be well aware of the recent happenings there, right? How is it over there?”
I’m not sure if there’s an event worth mentioning, so I pretended to misunderstand.
“70 days… you say?”
I clearly said I was in my first year.
But why is it turning into 70 days ago?
Pinkguy continued with a realization on his face.
“Ah, if it’s your first time, you might not know. Time flows differently here compared to that world.”
“Differently?”
“Yes. One month on Earth is about 5 months here.”
In simple terms, a 1:5 time ratio.
Hearing this, I had a strange feeling.
‘It’s only been a month…’
I’m glad that less time has passed, but I wonder if a missing person’s report has been filed.
There should have been someone looking for me aside from my company.
Continuing the conversation with Pinkguy, I was able to hear various stories.
“How to get back? I don’t know, there’s a lot of speculation…… but I’ve heard nothing definite yet.”
Even players who arrived here much earlier hadn’t discovered a way to return.
The founder of Ghostbusters being a 20-year veteran.
“Clearing that game 5 years ago, isn’t that really amazing?”
“Indeed.”
With each new piece of information, a sense of defeat crept in.
My pride as a veteran player seemed to crumble.
After all, everyone here had reached the abyss’s door before me.
‘It seems they’re all remarkable people, even if they look foolish on the outside—’
“So, Elfnunna, which multiplier mode did you clear it on?”
Multiplier? What does he mean?
As I looked puzzled, he added.
“You didn’t clear the original, did you? You must have cleared the remake version, Elfnunna. Which multiplier did you use?”
I still didn’t understand…
A remake?
“Maybe you’ll understand if I say it’s a pirated version? You know, that one. The game file posted on the Stone Iven forum 5 years ago, where you can adjust the XP and drop rates.”
Uh…
Was there such a thing?
Soon Pinkguy, unable to hide his pride, said.
“Oh, not to brag, but I cleared it on 50 times multiplier.”
How could there be so many who cleared this game.
It was a moment when a long-standing question was resolved.
[Dungeon and Stone].
The game where I had poured ten years of my life to barely enter the final boss’s room.
While playing, I had countless thoughts about how ridiculously difficult the game was.
But then…
“Maximum experience points and drop rates up to a hundred times? Really?”
Insane, what kind of cheat settings are those?
Until now, I didn’t even know the max level you could reach was 30.
Even defeating all the monsters in the Labyrinth, I could only get to level 11.
“Wait, if the max level is 30, does that mean you can feed 30 essences to one character?”
Honestly, I couldn’t even imagine that.
It’s like, there’s no need to choose what to sacrifice, just shove everything in.
I feel foolish for spending so much time thinking about the best combinations of each essence.
And I’ve heard that you can open rifts at will, which are key to growth…
“With a hundred times the drop rate, Numbered items must be pouring out like rain.”
Thirty essences.
And characters armed with all sorts of treasures, super munchkins.
What if five of such characters form a party?
The Elder Dragon, which had taken me hundreds of attempts to slay, or the Lord of Destruction, or even the Leviathan, could be killed with a flick of the finger.
“So, Elfnunna, how many times multiplier did you use to clear it?”
“…I also did it at 50 times.”
“Oh, really? Wasn’t it difficult?”
Difficult? Under those conditions, I’d be confident to clear any catastrophic event in one go.
But…
“It’s better not to say so.”
Just like the spirit hunters came looking for me as soon as I gained fame, excessive attention is poison. It’s foolish to risk danger by bragging to someone.
Let’s not stand out and just find out what we need to know.
“How many times multiplier did the person who created this place use?”
“Oh, that person? Don’t be surprised. He cleared it with a whopping 15x mod, which is only possible because he was an original user.”
“15 times… I see.”
I felt like I should be surprised, so I feigned surprise for him. Pinkguy mentioned that the average player cleared between 60 to 80 times…
Only after hearing this did I start to overhear the chattering and laughing people nearby.
“Hahaha, isn’t this a crazy world? I still haven’t stepped into a rift, and in the game, all I had to do was click.”
“Ah, right. If it’s this hard just to enter a rift, how are we supposed to reach the last floor…”
“It was a game with many Easter eggs. I should have paid more attention to them.”
Players comparing their experiences in the remake version with reality, lamenting.
No wonder.
This place is a real version with a difficulty level even higher than the original.
“Sigh…”
A deep sense of futility washes over me.
My predecessors, who cleared the game before me.
Thinking of them, I tried to find something to learn from them instead of belittling them…
But look at me now, what a ridiculous situation.
“Elfnunna?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking…”
I continued talking with Pinkguy for a while.
Through our conversation, I learned things that would be common knowledge for an average player and got a much more detailed understanding of how this community works.
Also, one of my questions was answered.
‘The remake… So, the pirated version spread, the game became popular again, and my nickname gained fame…’
The conversation with Pinkguy was enlightening.
And somewhat fun.
“Ha, I’d have no other wishes if I could just eat a proper pizza… Elfnunna, don’t you have any food cravings?”
“Cola and Gukbap.”
“Gukbap? What kind of food is that?”
“It’s the most efficient food I’ve ever eaten.”
How long has it been since I had such a conversation?
After chatting with a few other people, I left the newbie room.
At the end, Pinkguy asked if he could add me as a friend, and I politely declined. He was definitely a nice person, but I didn’t want to get too close.
He was a bit too nice, as if he was treating me like a crush.
‘Anyway, now I feel like I know everything I need to…’
Even after returning to the room with the computer, I continued to absorb information from the forums and notices as much as I could.
Now it was time to fulfill the purpose for which I had come.
‘Let’s start looking into the dimensional collapse.’
Tapping away at the keyboard, I checked the timer in the bottom right corner.
What initially was 12 hours had already reduced to 7 hours.
Even if I don’t log out separately, when the time is up, the space closes, so I had to hurry.
[Marketplace]
I clicked the mouse to open the marketplace.
It offered services such as information and goods that could be purchased with Ghost Points (GP).
Simply put, you could use GP to acquire goods or purchase rare items.
However…
‘It’s better not to touch this.’
I decided not to use this feature as much as possible.
Especially since items must pass through reality.
No matter how complex the intermediary system might be.
Even if this system seems relatively safe.
In the end, actual items are exchanged in reality, creating a potential connection with me as a Barbarian.
[Owned GP: 0]
Therefore, I also passed on the option of charging GP with real money.
Of course, I would need GP to buy information about the dimensional collapse…
But that wasn’t a big problem.
I could be self-sufficient here.
Click, clack.
With my mouse, I filtered the marketplace items to “Information” and changed the category to
“Requests”.
Then, numerous question posts appeared.
[20GP] Is there an easy way to reach the 2nd floor?
[100~500GP] I’m developing a melee skill and want to know how to strengthen it from the beginning.
Easier questions offered less GP as a reward.
But…
[7,000GP] I want to know the special events for each stair of the 4th floor’s Sky Tower.
[2,800GP] I want an exact explanation of the passive skill ‘Dragon Master’.
More advanced questions had higher rewards.
Therefore, I sorted by highest price.
After all, that was the most efficient way.
[70,000GP] Buying a strategy for defeating the 1st floor’s Layer Lord. No jokes.
[TacitRonin sent a 1:1 chat request.]
[Transaction completed.]
[Owned GP: 70,000]
The 6th floor’s hidden piece, Skull Island?
[Bro_78 sent a 1:1 chat request.]
[Transaction completed.]
[Owned GP: 139,000]
There’s nothing about this game that I don’t know.