Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 566

Destination(5)

“If it’s Iblis…….”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already confirmed that the [Heretic altar] is inside the palace.”

It was just a guess, but I said it anyway.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie—I was almost certain, anyway.

“…That’s surprising.”

“I thought you’d say that. Iblis’s essence isn’t exactly something you come across every day.”

“Not that. I’m surprised you’re the one making this proposal.”

After hearing my offer, the village chief didn’t said anything for a while, and a long silence followed.

“……”

“……”

But that silence didn’t bother me.

I’d been thrown into this situation the moment I opened my eyes, so I needed time to organize my thoughts.

‘Jerome Saintred…’

What would happen if I handed over this bastard’s body to the village chief?

I’d made the proposal, but I hadn’t thought the consequences through.

So, if I had to summarize it now…

‘…Not bad, actually.’

The village chief becoming the First Royal Knight Captain was a fairly positive outcome.

For one, the royal family’s strength would weaken.

And since we had a secret connection, we could share information or make deals behind the scenes when necessary.

The only issue was the moral aspect…

‘But he was the one who stabbed me in the back first.’

If that bastard hadn’t tried to betray me, none of this would’ve happened. Hell, maybe in another world, we could’ve teamed up to take down the village chief.

And if the chief had been truly overconfident, he would’ve just beaten everyone and stolen my body by force.

[“Coming here, I became certain. You were the one who operated under the name ‘Iron Mask’ in Noark decades ago.”]

Jerome had already been convinced I was the ‘Iron Mask.’ For me, that meant I had to either find a way to disprove it or shut him up.

Because if that got out to the royal family, it’d become a weakness—

“I have one question.”

Right when my thoughts reached that point, the village chief slowly opened his mouth.

“What happened after I lost to them?”

I figured he’d be curious about that.

He probably still wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth. He’d want more information before making a final decision.

So this time, I answered honestly.

“You were executed. By Jerome’s hand. Struck seven times with a sword until your head rolled.”

“That doesn’t make sen—”

“And then, one of my comrades used the Stone of Resurrection on my corpse.”

That was the scene I’d seen in the future.

“The… Stone of Resurrection?”

“Believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

“…….”

The village chief fell silent, as if organizing his thoughts, and I waited patiently.

“If what you say is true… it makes sense.”

“Which part?”

“If I really don’t succeed in achieving my goal, then it makes sense why you’re offering me this deal.”

So that’s what he was wondering.

Once again, I was reminded of how sharp this guy was. Keeping my expression neutral, I replied:

“Anyway, as long as the Stone of Resurrection exists, your goal can never be achieved.”

The Stone of Resurrection has two key properties.

One is that it can only be used immediately after death, when the corpse is intact……..

And the second…

“Using the Stone of Resurrection causes memory loss.”

Memory loss was the second property.

In the game, using the Stone of Resurrection would reset a character’s memories, along with all their accumulated affinity stats and other values.

Even now, it felt like a scam.

You’d use that precious item to revive someone, only for them to leave the party anyway.

“…That is troublesome.”

Fortunately, the chief seemed to know about the Resurrection Stone’s properties. If not, I’d have wasted a lot of time explaining it.

“The record stone says you’ll eventually leave this place, but with that artifact around, the one who escapes might be someone else entirely.”

Hearing that, I felt like we were almost there.

The chief’s main reason for trying to take my body was the certainty it offered.

My body would escape this floor.

So, stealing it meant a 100% chance of leaving.

Now, thanks to the single Resurrection Stone, that certainty was gone.

“So, what’s it going to be?”

It was time for him to choose.

Would he still try to steal my body despite the Resurrection Stone? Or would he use Jerome’s to escape the city instead?

I was uneasy about leaving it up to him, so I sweetened the deal.

“If you decide to take Jerome’s body, I’ll help.”

“You’re nothing like the man I’ve heard about.”

“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but this is self-defense. He tried to sell me out first, didn’t he?”

“That’s fair.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

I swallowed hard and waited for his reply.

“I refuse.”

…You son of a—

***

I couldn’t understand it.

I’d laid out all the logical reasons why he should choose Jerome over me, and yet he refused? This emotionless bastard wouldn’t make a decision based on feelings, so…

“…Why?”

“Because of your existence.”

“…What?”

The answer was baffling, but his explanation made sense.

“Even if I take his body, you’ll know my true identity? If you were to reveal anything after returning to the outside world, the life I worked so hard to obtain would become difficult.”

He wanted to eliminate any witnesses.

“So?”

“So I’ve decided—it’s better to just kill you here and take Jerome’s body.”

“…Are you stupid? I’m the one helping you betray the Royal Knight Captain. Why would I go around blabbing about it?”

“You can never be too sure with people. Ironically, trust is not built on faith.”

Strangely enough, that line gave me hope.

Trust is not built on faith.

In other words, if I could offer something more solid, he might reconsider.

“So, what do you want?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Your weakness.”

“……”

“Just like you could ruin me with a single word, I want something that gives me the same power over you. Only then can I trust you enough to work together.”

Trying to bleed me dry, huh?

“And if I don’t give you one?”

“People without weaknesses never ask questions like that.”

It was confirmation bias at its finest, but this time, he was right.

The moment he said “weakness,” several things popped into my head.

Evil spirit.

The incident where I killed the Rose Knights in Ice Rock.

And stealing the Fragment Stone from Jerome in Noark decades ago.

If I wanted to, I had plenty to offer.

Besides, if giving this up meant avoiding the future the goddess showed me, it wouldn’t be a loss.

But…

‘Who the hell do you think I am?’

I answered firmly.

“No.”

Not a dodge. A clear, unambiguous refusal.

“You’re… refusing?”

He sounded as baffled as I’d been earlier. But I didn’t change my stance.

The fact that he even made such a request proved everything.

It meant my offer was very appealing to him.

Exactly. That’s why…

“Like I said, there are only two options. Accept my deal, or figure it out yourself. That’s it.”

I added one last thing.

“No conditions.”

“…You’re surprisingly bold, considering your life’s on the line.”

“Barbarian warriors are all like this.”

The chief gave a faint chuckle, then answered without hesitation.

“Alright, let’s put our heads together. Let’s figure out how to take Jerome Saintred’s body.”

Whew. That was close.

***

After successfully negotiating with the village chief, we had a long conversation inside the cave.

How to lure Jerome Saintred into the cave and steal his body.

Planning it didn’t take long.

With the two of us working together, it wasn’t that complicated.

But we spent more time talking about something else.

“So what exactly did you promise Jerome to get him to hand me over like that? Come on, we’re partners now—you can tell me.”

I’d been wondering about that for a while.

What had the chief offered to convince Jerome to betray me?

Surprisingly, the chief answered without hesitation.

“Karui’s Heart.”

“Karui…?”

The name of the ancient evil god popped up out of nowhere.

I tilted my head in confusion, and the chief pointed to a black stone in the middle of the cave.

“That’s what I’m talking about. If you offer a human life, it grants one of the divine powers of Karui. My ability to steal bodies is all thanks to this thing.”

It was an item that never appeared in the game.

But I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

“So why did Jerome want it?”

“Because it’s one of the royal family’s treasures. It originally belonged to the Immortal King. In fact, I ended up like this because I stole it.”

What concerned me wasn’t the village chief’s past crimes, but something else entirely.

“It was a royal treasure? Don’t tell me… the Immortal King’s immortality came from this?”

“Oh? You didn’t know? The Immortal King passed down the throne by stealing the body of his own children. That’s why he always wore a mask.”

A dark secret of the great kingdom of Raphdonia

‘Who would’ve thought the Immortal King had this kind of secret?’

Maybe the New World King overthrew the Immortal King not for ‘liberation,’ but simply to save his own life.

‘Or maybe… the Immortal King died because this item was lost.’

Either way, for the New World King’s descendants, the value of this treasure was beyond measure.

No wonder Jerome’s eyes had rolled back when he heard about it.

His loyalty to the royal family was absolute, after all.

“Wait a second—doesn’t that contradict what you just said? If you disappeared with that artifact, how did the Immortal King manage to live for thousands of years?”

The Immortal King had lived up to his name, surviving for millennia before passing away about 150 years ago.

“Well, I was surprised when I heard that too. But this is the royal family we’re talking about. They must have found some other means.”

“So, you don’t know either…”

The Immortal King. The Heart of Karui. The New World King…

Just what kind of events had transpired back then?

I was deeply curious, but there was nothing more to uncover here.

“Is that everything you wanted to ask?”

“No, one last thing. What happened to the Silver Lion Clan leader you sent to the library?”

“Ah, that? I sent one of the village warriors to keep an eye on you. Taking over a body for a month reduces the offering..Wait, why am I even explaining all this to you?”

Ah, so he noticed.

I had also been wondering why he was answering my questions so easily.

“We’ve talked enough. Let’s head back up.”

The chief abruptly ended the conversation and took the lead.

“He’s probably waiting for us.”

Jerome Saintred.

It was time to make him pay for stabbing me in the back.

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com