Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 571
Last Community (1)
A customization room with dozens of costumes and even more masks lining the walls.
As always, the moment I opened my eyes, I put on my navy suit and placed the lion mask over my head.
It’s become my second nature now.
I’d been coming here every month for so long that I could probably find both the suit and the mask with my eyes shut if I exaggerated a little.
“…So this is the last time, huh.”
Even though the Round Table’s intelligence no longer meant as much to me, a bittersweet feeling still lingered.
For some reason, my feet refused to move. Even after I finished getting dressed, I stood blankly for a while, scanning the displayed masks and outfits.
Then, something suddenly came to mind.
To be honest, I had almost forgotten about it until now.
Back when I first joined the Round Table, I was told that new members instinctively chose the mask that most closely resembled their fate.
So why did I pick the male lion mask?
Sure, it was better than a goblin or an orc, but still—why this one?
Honestly, I always liked tigers more than lions.
It had been quite some time since I chose this mask. I tried to think if there was any clue as to why I had picked it, but nothing came to mind.
So I moved on.
Why was the fox a fox?
Why was the goblin a goblin?
And what was up with Deer Horns?
It wasn’t even a deer mask—just a plain mask with deer horns attached.
“……No idea.”
I couldn’t stay here trying to figure this out forever, so I turned and walked out into the hallway. As I passed the red carpet I’d walked many times before, a thought crossed my mind.
If my comrades had come to the Round Table, what masks would they have chosen?
‘Aynar would probably be a golden retriever…’
I thought of all the members of Clan Anabada, including Amelia and Erwin, and even the masks of my former allies, Raven, the Dwarf, and Rottmiller.
Although it wasn’t intentional, Misha came to mind last.
‘Misha…’
She was much easier to imagine than the others.
While it wouldn’t quite suit a member of the Red Cat tribe…
She’s more like a puppy than a cat…
Not an ordinary puppy, of course.
She’d suit that scarred puppy mask displayed in the far corner in the customisation room, the one barely visible.
The problem was, I might have been the one who left some of those scars.
Enough.
I shut down the thoughts and stopped walking.
“Pssit… You’re finally here. I’m relieved. I was worried I wouldn’t even get to say my last goodbye.”
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
‘It would’ve been disappointing if even one was missing.’
Fortunately, all of the masks that I had seen every month were present.
I couldn’t stay here trying to figure this out forever, so I turned and walked out into the hallway. As I passed the red carpet I’d walked many times before, a thought crossed my mind.
If my comrades had come to the Round Table, what masks would they have chosen?
‘Aynar would probably be a golden retriever…’
I thought of all the members of Clan Anabada, including Amelia and Erwin, and even the masks of my former allies, Raven, the Dwarf, and Rottmiller.
Although it wasn’t intentional, Misha came to mind last.
‘Misha…’
She was much easier to imagine than the others.
While it wouldn’t quite suit a member of the Red Cat tribe…
She’s more like a puppy than a cat…
Not an ordinary puppy, of course.
She’d suit that scarred puppy mask displayed in the far corner in the customisation room, the one barely visible.
The problem was, I might have been the one who left some of those scars.
Enough.
I shut down the thoughts and stopped walking.
“Pssit… You’re finally here. I’m relieved. I was worried I wouldn’t even get to say my last goodbye.”
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
‘It would’ve been disappointing if even one was missing.’
Fortunately, all of the masks that I had seen every month were present.
***
Deer Horns, Crescent Moon, Fox, Clown—
The original members who had been around since I first joined the Round Table.
Then there was Goblin, whom I came to know over the following months, the Queen who infiltrated under the GM’s orders, and the mysterious trio—Black Mask, Wolf, and Butterfly—who had joined relatively recently.
All of them were seated in their usual spots and staring at me in silence.
“……”
Since this was the last Round Table meeting, were they expecting me to say something?
I didn’t know. So, staying in character to the end, I ignored their gazes and headed straight for my seat.
Thud!
Normally, the meeting would begin as soon as I sat down and the doors closed. But today was different.
Instead of jumping into the meeting, people started talking.
“I can’t believe this is really the end… It feels like a bolt from the blue.”
“Right…? So there won’t be another one next month?”
“Well, at least I’ll be able to sleep comfortably. It’s always harder the next day.”
Their murmurs were full of lingering attachment.
Even the Queen, who was on the admin side, seemed to feel the same.
“It’s a shame… There’s still so much we haven’t figured out.”
When she finally shared her feelings, Goblin glanced at her briefly before asking cautiously.
“Um… then why not just not shut it down?”
“That’s probably not possible. There are… circumstances on our end too.”
“Could you maybe… tell us what those circumstances are?”
“I’m sorry, Crescent Moon. I can’t say too much. But what I can tell you… is that it wasn’t our decision.”
“So it was pressure from the royal family?”
“No comment on that, Fox.”
As expected, the Queen became the center of the conversation. As someone from the admin side, she would naturally know more about the incident.
Of course, some had other expectations.
“…But it seems he won’t be coming, huh?”
“He?”
“The Master. I was hoping he might appear today.”
At Wolf’s muttering, the Queen also nodded in agreement.
Well, Wolf had always been very interested in the Master.
As I listened and glanced around, the Goblin timidly raised a hand.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Um… Actually, since this is the last time, what if we reveal our real names?”
The suggestion was so absurd that every member stared at the Goblin in disbelief.
But Goblin continued, unbothered.
“I mean… isn’t this a kind of fate? If we part like this, we might never meet again. Maybe we could help each other outside… or even create a new space like this—”
“Goblin, stop.”
Fox cut off the Goblin’s rambling.
“This space only works because it guarantees anonymity. Who would willingly reveal their identity?”
“Well, that’s true… but it’s just sad…”
“Pssit, it’s cute that you’re thinking about it, though. Not that I’d refuse—my identity’s already out there anyway. But isn’t that the same for you, Goblin? Isn’t this a sneaky plan? A proposal where only you don’t lose out!”
“N-No! That wasn’t my intention at all…!”
Goblin shrunk back under Clown’s teasing
Surprisingly, Queen stepped in to defend him.
“Goblin, you don’t need to explain. Everyone already knows you didn’t mean it that way.”
“…R-Really?”
“Yes. You’re just feeling sentimental, right?”
“Y-Yes… That’s really all…”
Even with a casual listen, Goblin’s voice dripped with regret.
Seriously, this isn’t a graduation ceremony.
Is this guy just overly sentimental? Or is he just a good person? He’s practically the weakest link at the Round Table.
‘Anyway, shouldn’t we start soon?’
Although it was the last meeting and everyone was feeling nostalgic, no one came just to chat and get sentimental.
But…
“Well then, let’s stop the chatter and—”
Just as Fox was about to officially begin the meeting-
“Wait a moment.”
Crescent Moon cut her off before she could really get going.
“I’d like to make a suggestion.”
“…A suggestion?”
“We don’t know what comes next. This might really be the last time. So, I was thinking…”
Crescent Moon looked around the table before speaking.
“What if we change the rules a bit, just for this time?”
“…Change how?”
“We go around and each ask a question. The person being asked can answer. Everyone’s curious about something, aren’t they?”
“Hmm…”
Upon hearing Crescent Moon’s proposal, all the Round Table members wore strange expressions.
None of them seemed particularly enthusiastic.
Sensing the mood, Crescent Moon quickly added a condition:
“Of course, you don’t have to answer if it’s uncomfortable. And if that happens, we’ll proceed as usual. How about it?”
Her suggestion brought a heavy silence in the room..
While most of us stayed quiet to see how the others would react, one person didn’t hold back and happily broke the silence.
“Pssit, Are you dense? With those conditions, who would answer any questions? Might as well just share the information we prepared.”
It was what everyone was thinking.
Since there was no penalty for skipping, there was no real reason to go along and answer the question. And if someone did choose to answer, it would probably only help the person who asked. Others might not care about the question or the answer at all.
“Let’s just pretend I never said that.”
Crescent Moon admitted her suggestion was lacking, and Fox smoothly resumed her role as moderator.
“Well then, the first turn goes to… Deer Horns. Are you ready?”
“Of course.”
First up: Deer Horns, a knight from the royal family.
His intel was short and clear.
“There is very likely no connection between the royal family and the shutdown of the Community.”
“Sounds like speculation to me. You know you have to justify that.”
“The royal family was preparing to use the Community to share information with the expedition team on Basement Floor 1. If they were planning to shut it down, they wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Couldn’t it just be a classified plan you weren’t told about?”
In other words, he might have been the only one in the palace unaware of what was happening behind the scenes.
That was a possibility.
“Judge for yourselves.”
He left it to the members, and surprisingly, they gave it a pass.
Probably because—
“An expedition team…?” Wolf Grumbled “I knew they were trying to control the new floor, but to think the royal family actually went underground…”
Some of the members didn’t even know there was an expedition force until Deer Horns mentioned it. Even though Wolf was the only one who said it openly, the Clown probably didn’t knew either.
Still, it was surprising that they let it pass.
‘Is it because it’s the last meeting? They’re being unusually lenient today.’
Either way, the next turn came quickly.
The second was Fox.
“According to a reliable source… the expedition has already joined forces with Baron Jandel and is conducting explorations together.”
She offered information about our quest. It was understandable. We had been stuck on the first floor of the basement for so long that there was no way she could have any other new information to share.
“I mean… isn’t that kind of low-value information?”
Queen raised a concern, and others nodded in agreement.
So Fox had to give a second piece of information.
“Bjorn Jandel has consumed the Essence of Bellarios.”
Well, there it is.
Even though I didn’t like my personal info being shared, I wasn’t too bothered by it.
There were so many witnesses that it would become widespread news the moment the expedition returned.
Well, Fox probably knew that too, which was why she brought it up.
“Bellarios… that was a Level 3 monster, right?”
“That man… How many Level 3 essences does he have now?”
“Do you know what color it was?”
“Pfft. Does it matter? He’s a brute. Probably picked the toughest one.”
“From what I heard, even aura doesn’t work against him……. and now he’s resistant to magic as well.
Once again, it struck me how famous Bjorn Jandel had become. Members who shrugged at most of the news reacted to this information.
“Then… let’s move on to the next turn.”
Perhaps not wanting the discussion about me to drag on, Fox quickly resumed the meeting.
“Hah, then I’ll go next.”
The next turn was Wolf’s.
A longtime supporter of Auril Gavis, the Round Table’s former master.
“Auril Gavis is currently outside the city walls.”
As expected, another update about that old man.
So Lee Baek-ho’s guess was right after all.
It was just a brief piece of information, but due to the subject matter, it was approved without objection.
“Then, the next turn is…”
After Wolf’s turn, the meeting continued smoothly.
“I recently received a divine revelation. In the form of a prophetic dream.”
“Pssit, you and your revelations—”
“In that dream, Björn Jandel died.”
Having nothing better to share, Goblin presented an already expired revelation as if it were breaking news.
“……?”
“……?”
“……?”
The shocking news sent waves of question marks floating above everyone’s heads, but Goblin remained tight-lipped and ended his turn.
Now that’s how you scam people.
Anyway, the rest of the information that followed was pretty minimal.
“…There is no chance Ghostbusters will ever come back.”
The Queen used her turn to drive the final nail in the coffin.
Crescent Moon talked about the dwarves trying to recreate a Genesis Relic.
Butterfly, Black Mask, and Clown kept things vague, perhaps saving their best for later.
“…Looks like I’m the last one.”
Finally, my turn.
As always, everyone’s eyes turned to me with anticipation.
But I ignored all of them and focused solely on one person.
“…….”
Crescent Moon was staring at me with eyes more desperate than anyone else’s.
For some reason, I found it hard to meet that gaze.
[We take turns asking questions and answering them.]
From the start, Crescent Moon’s proposal to change the rules had been entirely for my sake. If this was truly the last meeting, there must have been something he wanted to ask me.
Sigh… I’ve thought it through, but the words just won’t come out.
Even before I arrived, I’d decided what information I would reveal during the first round.
There was something I absolutely had to say before the group disbanded.
So, I forced my stubborn lips to part.
“The Stone of Resurrection…”
At that, a flicker of hope sparked in Crescent Moon’s eyes, but it lasted only an instant.
“…works only if the death is very recent.”
“…?”
“It can only be used if the body remains intact.”
And with just a few words, I extinguished the hope in his eyes completely.
In that same moment, Lee Baek-ho’s earlier words echoed in my head:
[Isn’t that hypocritical? You’ve always toyed with and deceived people too]
Whether it’s Misha, Baek-ho, or anyone else—
Perhaps I have no right to judge any of them.
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