Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 784

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Beleg Shusia di Tersia.

Erwin’s maternal uncle, and an evil spirit from another world who operated as crescent moon at the round table.

In a way… no, not just in a way.

No matter how I tried to justify it, the truth remained that I had deceived him.

[It’s certainly not quite like the legends describe…]

[…Thanks to you, I can finally let go of my futile dreams.]

[Though I can’t exactly say I’m grateful.]

On the day the Round Table ended, I revealed the usage conditions for the ‘Stone of Resurrection’—something I had deliberately kept from him until then. As I spoke, I saw a deep emptiness settle into his eyes.

And now, he was bringing up the Stone of Resurrection again………

‘Had I picked the wrong person?’

The thought suddenly crossed my mind, so I had him sit down and confirmed it first.

“The Stone of Resurrection can only revive two people. However, to use it, the person must have died recently, and you must possess the body. You know this, right?”

“I know.”

Hmm, so he knew… that more or less confirmed he was Crescent.

I decided to cut straight to the point.

“Who are you trying to bring back?”

“…Myself.”

“I want you to use the Stone of Resurrection on me.”

His absurd declaration left my mind blank. I could hardly believe what I was hearing…

Noticing my reaction, he quickly added an explanation.

“As someone making this request, I’ll be honest about everything. Originally, the ones I wanted to bring back with the Stone of Resurrection were Belua and Daria.”

“…Belua?”

“The mother of those children… and my younger sister.”

“And?”

“But I do not possess their bodies. Just in case, I didn’t cremate Daria’s burned remains and buried her instead. From time to time, I secretly dug up the grave to cast preservation magic on it. However, after hearing that the recipent must be ‘recently deceased’, I stopped doing that.

It was truly shocking. That meant, until quite recently, Daria’s body had remained intact inside the coffin.

‘……Is he insane?’

Hearing something so psychopathic spoken in such a calm tone sent chills down my spine.

But those were two completely different problems.

“…I understand that you fell into despair because you didn’t have their bodies. But how does that lead to wanting to use the Stone on yourself?”

My reasoning felt like it was about to collapse under that absurd conclusion, yet in the end, I found myself accepting his explanation.

“I heard that when you use the Stone of Resurrection, the resurrected person loses all memory of their former life.”

“Ah”

“…I need the Stone of Resurrection. If I want to keep living.”

At his calm words, I slowly nodded.

In many ways, it was ironic.

That a living person would need the Stone of Resurrection just to keep living……………….

It sounded absurd, yet somehow it made sense.

Probably because I’d experienced something similar myself.

My head began to ache.

It felt like my brain was overloading.

I knew the best way to handle something like this was to break the problem down into its simplest form. He might be a man weighed down by his own suffering, but I was still just myself, with no obligations to him.

“So, you’re asking me to give you the Stone of Resurrection?”

“That’s correct.”

“I doubt you’re asking for it for free. What’s your offer?”

“I’ve lived my whole life without greed, so I have nothing to offer… except this body.”

Surely I was just overthinking it—there was nothing strange about the way he said that, right?

“Use me however you wish. In the labyrinth, in the city, or even beyond it. I will follow you anywhere and do whatever you ask.”

Simply put, he was offering to join the clan in exchange for the Stone of Resurrection.

“I may not look like much, but I’m confident in my abilities. I won’t hold you back—in fact, I’ll be a great asset.”

“You’d be helpful, sure. But what if that help isn’t worth the value of the Stone of Resurrection?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he answered immediately.

“I’ll remain by your side until that happens.”

His answer was so quick and resolute that it left me speechless.

I let out a quiet sigh.

Just like when he wore the Crescent Moon Mask… he really hadn’t changed. Even after being pushed around so much at the Round Table, he was now putting forward yet another absurd proposal.

“What if I squeeze everything I can out of you and don’t keep my promise?”

“I know you’re not that kind of person.”

“And even if you were, I wouldn’t mind.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

For the first time, he fell silent.

But I chose not to press further.

I could more or less guess the reason.

As you live your life, you inevitably meet people like this.

People who live as if they have nothing left tying them to life.

They usually have that same look in their eyes.

‘…Sigh.’

That only made it harder.

If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I’d reject them outright.

No matter how strong Beleg was, he wasn’t worth something like the Stone of Resurrection.

But the problem was…

‘He’s Erwin’s uncle.’

While talking to him, extreme scenarios kept popping into my head.

If he were to suddenly hang himself, how much of a shock would Erwin receive?

And what about me? If the one I had deceived for so long at the Round Table couldn’t bear failing to achieve his goal and, after one last moment of suffering, closed his eyes for good…

I didn’t need long to decide.

The Stone of Resurrection was meant to bring back the dead, not save the living.

“Fine. I’ll allow you to join. But as you said, when you receive the Stone will be decided by me.”

What saves the living isn’t a stone like that.

It’s something much warmer.

***

It only took three days for Beleg’s membership to be formally processed.

During that short time, he wrapped up all political and emotional ties he had within the sanctuary and officially joined our Anabada Clan.

However, he didn’t move his residence. His only request was that, unless something urgent came up, he be allowed to stay in the sanctuary and look after May, who would otherwise be alone—and I agreed.

“Uncle joined our clan?”

I only told Erwin after everything was settled, and her reaction was calmer than I had expected. Or rather, her reaction was a bit subtle.

“Um… he’s in a different team than me, right…?”

“That will likely be the case.”

“Then I don’t mind.”

It felt like she thought of him as family but didn’t want to see him often.

I felt like I understood why.

There were many cases where parents who lost a child ended up separating. Even if they wished to remain together, the pain became more pronounced whenever they faced one another.

I didn’t understand that before, but now I did, to some extent.

Sometimes, for a wound to heal, you have to stop touching it.

Keep picking at it, and it only festers.

Anyway, I decided to keep an eye on their relationship moving forward…

“Here’s the document listing the items registered at the Alminas Central Exchange today. If no issues arise during inspection, they’ll be put up tomorrow morning.”

Lately, I’ve been checking the exchange listings every day with Amelia’s help.

The reason was simple.

Rare items that normally wouldn’t appear on the market had been showing up frequently.

“Oh, thanks. A few items caught my eye as well, even from just a quick glance.”

“I thought it was just a one-time thing, but there’s a lot being put up on the market,” Amelia said, as if she had no idea why. But I had a theory.

“It’s probably because so many nobles were wiped out in this war.”

Many noble houses were ruined when Thunder struck the Palace of Glory. Some lost their heads of house, while others even lost their heirs. Nevertheless, the houses would still appoint a suitable successor to carry on the lineage.

“The effects of that are probably showing now.”

All the noble houses were in a difficult position. And in times like these, what would be the first priority for the newly appointed heads of each house?

Liquidate unnecessary valuables into money.

And since the Sky Auction House—their exclusive playground—no longer had enough participants, it was only natural for items to flow into the Central Exchange instead.

After I explained it, Amelia nodded in understanding.

And then…

“For example, the Ruby of Nomilat?”

I couldn’t hide my excitement, even knowing it would only give Amelia more reason to tease me. “Did you find a way to get it? I heard someone else has already placed a bid.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Amelia grinned, as if she had truly obtained the item.

“How? Did it go up for sale again?”

“There was no way an item like that would come up again. I infiltrated the exchange and secretly checked the registry. Then I tracked down the seller, asked him to sell it to us instead, and told him we’d cover the withdrawal fee.”

“…And he accepted?”

Even as I asked, I felt it was a pointless question. If he hadn’t, Amelia wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

“When I mentioned your name and said it was a necessary item, he agreed without asking any questions. Oh, but he did ask me to convey one name in return: It was Viscount Bertan.”

“Viscount Bertan, huh……………….”

Even though I hadn’t dealt with him personally, I was familiar with his house. The House of Viscount Bertan had a long history, but it wasn’t particularly powerful or well-known—just one of the lesser noble families.

“Oh, and I only asked out of curiosity, but apparently the ruby had been used as a decorative piece in the first-floor hall.”

“…What?”

They used something this valuable as decoration?

Tch. This is exactly why nobles are so extravagant.

‘If it weren’t for times like these, it would never have come up for sale.’

Either way, it worked out for me.

Items like this are the hardest to obtain.

“But… what are you planning to use this for? I heard consuming it increases physical strength, but I don’t think that’s why you’re this happy.”

“Oh, the purpose?”

I grinned.

“This is the final material for Spirit Imprint Stage 8.”

At last, I had gathered everything I needed.

***

Stage 8 of the spirit imprint required fifteen materials, but most of them could be easily found in the city and purchased with money.

All except three.

The three core materials for Stage 8 all came from rank-three monsters, making them extremely difficult to obtain.

Still, when I went outside the walls before, I had gotten lucky and managed to acquire two of those drops…

‘So I’ve finally gathered them all.’

With Amelia using her resourcefulness to obtain the last material this time, I was now ready to grow even stronger.

Well, it’s not like I’d become overwhelmingly powerful or anything.

But being just one step away from Stage 9—that was what truly mattered.

‘Because from Stage 9 onward… that becomes possible.’

Once I reach Stage 9 and consume just two more essences, my big, precious shield barbarian build will be nearly complete…

「Spirit Imprint Stage 8 has been activated.」

There are only a few steps left now.

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