Terminal 1

It was a stale question, one she was sick and tired of asking. And yet, Versyl Gowland found herself asking it more and more these days.

Because, honestly, she was genuinely confused.

I am…

Who, exactly?

When she had first been dragged into this world, it was a question she could answer without even thinking.

But now that she had lived under this name for well over ten years, the answer no longer came easily.

I am…

A white woman who once worked in New York’s financial district?

Or a mage living in a labyrinth city?

…I don’t know.

To be honest, she truly didn’t know.

So she turned to the process of elimination.

If she were the former, there were too many things that didn’t add up.

If she were the former, there were several things that didn’t make sense. For instance, the woman from the financial district would never have felt such rage, regardless of how many “NPCs” lost their lives pointlessly in Icerock…

The selfish woman who once knew only how to look after herself would never have been so desperate to ensure not just her own survival, but theirs as well.

…What should I do?

As if by habit, Gowland’s gaze drifted towards a certain spot. But all she could see was an empty seat that had remained vacant for days. The man who always seemed able to find a clear path forward, no matter the situation, was not here.

And yet—precisely because of that—

“Get a grip, Gowland! If you hesitate now, we’ll all die!!”

She steadied her mind before it could collapse under the pressure.

“If you can’t do it, I will take comm—”

“Don’t worry.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve come to my senses now.”

In a way, their situation wasn’t that complicated. During the war, the main army had retreated, abandoning the explorers standing at the front lines, leaving them stranded in the heart of enemy territory.

“How many are missing?”

“Sven Parab, Lilith Marone, Auyen Rocklob, Emily Raines..four so far.”

She was desperately worried about the safety of her comrades who had been separated during the chaotic battle, but realistically, she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about them right now. So…

‘I can only pray they are safe…’

Versil Gowland soon hardened her resolve.

“Aaaagh…! P-please, save me…!!”

“The front line is collapsing! We won’t last much longer at this rate!”

“Reinforcements! What about reinforcements?”

“You fools! D-don’t run! Fight to the end!!”

Although the various explorer clans stationed on the front lines were watching each other’s backs, it was clear that the line would collapse at this rate.

“Mr. Kaislan, please gather the masters of the clans still fighting nearby. No—even if they aren’t masters, anyone with decision-making authority will do.”

“What are you planning?”

“Just this once… we’ll all combine our strength and carve a path forward.”

She knew full well that countless sacrifices would be required.

But what else could she do?

If they stayed like this, everyone would die anyway.

“I see…”

“I see…” Kaislan nodded in agreement, then asked sharply, “But will they listen to us?”

“But will they actually follow us?”

That was something she was worried about as well, but the answer was unexpectedly easy to find.

Because that was the path barbarians would have chosen.

“Tell them our Anabada Clan will take the lead. And if they still don’t participate, tell them we’ll leave them behind.”

At her words, Kaislan paused for a moment, as if someone had come to mind, then asked one more thing.

“Then our goal is to break through the encirclement and head toward the Imperial Capital?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know; rather, he wanted confirmation. After all, the king was in the imperial capital, which naturally made it the safest place during the war.

But…

“No. We will not head to the Imperial Capital.”

Verceil shook her head firmly and continued.

“We will head to the Sanctuary.”

“…To the Sanctuary?”

At that, Kaislan made a surprised expression but didn’t voice any opposition.

No, rather, he smiled with an understanding look.

“I think I understand why Yandel put you in the vice-captain position.”

“Is that… a compliment?”

“Of course.”

With that, Kaislan ran across the battlefield, spreading the word to each clan.

Versyl watched his retreating figure from afar, then steeled her resolve one final time.

This passion within herself felt unfamiliar.

But still—

…I will.

She would survive and return alive.

With as many people as possible.

***

The screen spanned the entire wall.

The audio system was perfect.

And visuals so vivid they made my palms sweat just by looking.

The only thing missing was popcorn. If only it weren’t my comrades appearing in those videos!

Beep!

Just as Versil and Kaislan were having an awkward conversation, the King of the New World paused the video.

“Seems you’re well regarded by your subordinates.”

Subordinates…

I wanted to add something to that word but barely held back. Seeing me like that, the King of the New World chuckled.

“You look like you have a lot you want to say.”

I couldn’t deny it.

Why did he show me this video?

And why did he stop it now?

And just how did he manage to film this?

There were so many other things I wanted to ask.

But if I had to pick the most important among my many questions…

“This is…”

Yeah. This, above all.

“…Is this happening now?”

Was the footage live or pre recorded? At that moment, that was the most important thing to me

“A sharp question. Excellent.”

The King of the New World praise me in a satisfied voice. But praising me was one thing, and answering my question was another.

“But it wouldn’t be fun to tell you just yet.”

Damn hedonist bastard!

As I was mentally cursing the king, he asked me a question.

“Which do you think it is?”

Huh…

“No, I should change the question. Which do you hope it is?”

“I’d rather it be live”

“Hahaha! Because you can’t change the past?”

“……Yeah.”

“Hahaha!’ The King of the New World laughed mockingly at my honest reply.

It went beyond mocking. It was straight-up ridicule.

His laughter left me feeling angry and frustrated, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Grind…

I just had to hold it in.

“…Ahaha. My apologies. It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed talking to someone!”

Fortunately, his laughter didn’t last long.

“Now, what shall I do… Since you’ve made me laugh for the first time in a while… I can’t just let this pass. Ah, should I tell you the answer as a reward?”

Uh…

‘Really?’

When I looked at the figure behind the silk veil with anticipation, he revealed the ‘answer’ quite casually.

“What I showed you just now was a recorded video.”

“The timing…?”

“Well… when was it again?”

The knight standing at attention in front of the King of the New World answered respectfully.

“It was when Your Majesty was enjoying a ‘board game’ with Baron Jandel.”

“Ah, was it then?”

“……”

While I was fooling around with him, my allies were fighting to survive on the front lines. As my heart grew heavy at that fact, I quickly calculated the dates.

‘We played the board game on the 2nd day, and today is the 4th day, so…’

This footage was recorded two days ago. Simply put, no matter who died in that video, I could not intervene in any way.

“You look disappointed and frustrated.”

“……”

“But if it’s any consolation, even if that video weren’t recorded, it wouldn’t have been much different.”

“…What?”

“Because you wouldn’t have been able to change anything anyway.”

When I didn’t respond, the King of the New World tilted his head.

“Ah, was that too blunt to be comforting? I’m a T, not an F, haha.”

Anger welled up inside me. Even though he was just an otherworlder, he casually tossed out references to personality tests like it meant nothing. That was how he spoke about everything.

However, he was an opponent I couldn’t afford to charge at by channeling my inner Barbarian today. As I remained silent again, the King of the New World, seemingly bored, played the video again.

Beep!

The people in the video, who had been frozen for a moment, began to move urgently again, sweating and bleeding as they struggled to survive.

No, actually, it had been like that since earlier.

Thump-thump!

I watched closely, scanning the frame to see if an ally would be struck by an arrow or spell, if the front line would suddenly collapse and plunge them into the worst-case scenario…

If someone got hurt at the front and died.

[Sven Parab, Lilith Marone, Auyen Rocklob, Emily Raines..four so far.]

Are the four who went missing during the chaos safe…?

Clench—

The more I thought about it, the harder I clenched my fists. Because that was the only thing I could do right now. That’s why I thought and thought about what I could do immediately.

“By the way, it’s already the 4th day… only 3 more days to go.”

There were 3 days left until the promised week was up. However, the timing was not what was important. Why did the King of the New World use five “favors” just to ask me to be his conversation partner for a week? Just because he wanted to tie me down and watch me suffer?

Tap, tap…

Well, maybe that was it, but… from what I had experienced of his personality in this short time, I didn’t think that was all. There was another reason. If so, what was it?

Tap, tap…

Thinking from the King’s perspective, a plausible hypothesis came to mind. It wasn’t certain yet, but…

“You seem unable to focus. Is this part boring?”

The king stopped the video again.

“Just tell me if you don’t want to watch it. I don’t mind just talking and playing games.”

I slowly shook my head, then asked him plainly, ‘Are there… any among my allies who have died?”

“If you’re that curious, why not just watch the video?”

“Please answer me.”I pleaded.

The King of the New World was silent for a moment.

I could only see his silhouette through the silk, so I couldn’t read his expression.

But I could guess that he was pleased. And as it turned out, I was right.

“Your words have become more polite than before.”

From his voice, I could hear that the shift had caught him off guard but pleased him nonetheless. That tone confirmed my earlier guess.

“Has anyone died so far?”

“…No one. Not yet.”

He was taming me. This was what this guy was doing to me right now.

“So it seems.”

“I see.”

I nodded quietly as the king leaned back, clearly enjoying how things had turned out. Once again, I knelt and raised my head to look up at him like a servant, then asked one final, straightforward question.

“Your Majesty, then what must I do to return to my allies’ side?”

It was a line I would never have delivered in my life, let alone after becoming a barbarian.

…..

….

His reply came after a brief pause.

“Hmm, I expected you’d take until the fifth day.”

I couldn’t quite understand it myself. Nothing about my tone had changed from before, and nothing in our surroundings had changed either.

“You really are… a clever one, aren’t you?”

So why was it that hearing him speak sent a chill down my spine?

Sshhh.

There was no way to know, but with those words, the silk veil that had remained untouched for four days was finally drawn aside.

And then…

Step.

The King of the New World walked out from behind the silk and descended the stairs. Swinging his arms as if his shoulders were stiff from sitting, he headed towards the door.

“Whew… staying cooped up in this room is suffocating. What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“Uh……”

“Let’s walk and talk for a bit. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Ah, y-yes……”

I followed him, feeling dazed and barely aware of my own response.

I had no choice.

‘This… is the King of the New World?’

He looked too much like him.

Like a certain someone I knew.

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