Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 598

Third Record (1)

Chapter 11 of the Rift of Basement Floor 1.

Or, from my perspective, it would be chapter three. But whatever.

The clear condition for this chapter is simple.

Rescue me and Erwin, then survive in this city until nightfall. That’s it.

By the way, I got this information from Gahyun Versilius hint ability…

“…So you just intuitively know? Can’t you explain it in more detail?”

“Haha, I wish I could…but I don’t have the words to express it any more deeply.”

“Then don’t describe—just answer my questions. Yes or no. You can do that much, right?”

“Well, we have to wait until nightfall anyway, so why not? Go ahead.”

“Do you hear a voice in your head or something like that?”

“Hmm, not quite.”

“Then is it something you have to see before it hits you?”

“Not that either. It’s more like… every time I move to a new location, I immediately get a feeling of what I’m supposed to do. Ah, of course, sometimes clues or information trigger that feeling too.”

“I see.”

After asking the old man about 20 questions, I came to understand why he could only describe it as “intuition.”

‘It’s almost like his sixth sense stat is maxed out when it comes to navigating the Rift.’

That’s as much as I can explain about this ability with what I understand.

Of course, I can’t deny that it’s a convenient ability.

But relying on it too much could lead to disaster. That was my final assessment.

“By the way… Baron Jandel, you have quite the inquisitive mind. I was quite surprised. Haha.”

Gahyun Versilius said this with a warm, grandfatherly laugh.

If I had to paraphrase him, it was something like:

‘Could you stop bothering me?’

Seriously, what is it with nobles and their roundabout way of speaking?

“One last question.”

“…What is it?”

“Can you tell what happens if we don’t wait till night and instead leave the city?”

“No need to answer that with a yes or no. We simply can’t leave the city in the first place.”

“We can’t?”

“The city is surrounded by a high-dimensional magical barrier, not just a regular protection spell. Others may pass through it normally, but we can’t.”

“I see… That’s all the questions, then. Thanks. Get some rest.”

“Hoho…”

He must have been waiting to hear that. Gahyun silently made his way to a corner and sat down.

Watching him crouch down slowly while holding his back was both amusing and puzzling.

‘Why does this old man look like that?’

That’s why I couldn’t fully engage with the story. Erwin, who’s playing the little sister, has turned into a child. Yet the old man, who should be her older brother in the story, still looks like an old man.

‘How did he even attend the academy looking like that?’

I mean, just picture it. A bunch of kids in school uniforms and then one grandpa sitting among them. Didn’t anyone find that odd?

I was curious about what Gahyun Versilius went through in Chapter 1, but I decided to ask later when there was more time.

He’d probably get grumpy if I brought it up now.

And besides, I wasn’t lacking conversation partners at the moment.

“High Priest Hestia.”

“…Yes, Baron. What is it?”

When I squatted down to sit next to the high priest, he scooched over a bit, seeming a little uneasy.

“I’ve nothing more to add about my abilities beyond what I said earlier…”

“That’s fine—I’m not here to ask about that.”

“Then…?”

He shot me with a questioning look.

He probably thought I’d bother him the same way I did with Gahyun earlier…

But that wasn’t my intention.

“There’s one thing I’d like to know about the internal affairs of the Leatlas Church.”

“Internal affairs… of the Church?”

When I subtly brought it up, the high priest’s expression instantly hardened.

Just a moment ago, he’d looked like a kind old neighbor. Now, he gave off the pressure of someone negotiating at a high-stakes table.

“First… tell me what you mean.”

A confusing answer. Neither a clear yes nor no.

So I decided to test the waters first.

“I’m curious about Sven Parab’s standing within the Church.”

“Parab’s standing…”

The High Priest stared at me for a moment, his voice trailing off.

“That’s difficult to understand. Could you clarify what you mean by that?”

His eyes were far too sharp for a clergyman.

He didn’t seem willing to answer such a probing question.

Which left me with only one option.

“High Priest, you and the other believers seem to hate and torment Sven Parab. So—”

“Did Parab tell you that?”

“No, I’m just saying that’s how it looked to me.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

He seemed lost in thought for a moment before his eyes sharpened and focused back on me.

“It must be a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding…?”

“Yes.”

“But from what I saw—”

“Even if it appeared that way to you, it’s simply a misunderstanding. So I suggest you focus only on what you need to do, Baron.”

“Uh…”

“After all, it’s an internal Church matter. Isn’t that right?”

Though his tone and expression irked me, I didn’t show it and took a step back.

“…Fine.”

I hadn’t expected him to react so strongly, which was the first reason I took my steps back.

And the second…

‘The fact that he reacted so defensively only makes it more suspicious.’

His reaction was enough of a gain for me.

If they were just using him as a discardable pawn because he was an evil spirit, they wouldn’t have reacted so intensely.

‘Then there must be another reason…’

Hmm, what could it be?

As I mulled it over, I noticed Gahyun stealing glances at me while leaning against the wall in the corner.

He must’ve been curious about my conversation with the High Priest.

“Ahem.”

When our eyes met, Gahyun looked away awkwardly and closed his eyes.

‘…Might as well get some rest.’

I spent the rest of the time resting near Erwin.

And before I knew it…

“Sir Versilius, it’s been well past nightfall. How much longer do we have to wait?”

Even after midnight, nothing had happened. So we decided to leave the basement and go upstairs.

Because, according to Gahyun’s intuition, it felt like we had to go up…

“There you are! I’ve been searching for you all over!”

A knight, walking alone in the empty house, saw us. Actually, he looked at Gahyun before approaching him with open arms.

“Who… are you?”

“Haha! You don’t recognize me? Come now! Even if it’s been a while, surely you recognize an old friend?”

With that cheerful voice, the knight took off his helmet.

“……”

 

Judging by his expression, Gahyun still didn’t recognize him.

But…

“Mister. I’ve met him before. That Imperial knight who helped us escape the village. It’s him.”

“Haha, little miss, you haven’t grown much since then, have you?”

Erwin recognized him.

And then…

“Jandel, seems like the same goes for you.”

Coincidentally, I also knew him.

[Escort the young girl and make sure she reaches her destination safely.]

Though his face was weathered with age, he was the same knight who had entrusted me with the escort mission in Chapter 1.

None of this was surprising.

Helping Erwin hide in the cave and hiring me to escort her? That’s plausible. Being friends with Gahyun? Sure.

What was surprising came next.

“Ah, we have new faces, so I suppose I should introduce myself.”

The knight laughed cheerfully and gave us his name.

“Ravigion Commelby Raphdonia, at your service.”

As soon as he dropped the name that stunned all the residents of this world, a wave of shock responses erupted.

“Ah…”

“Oh…”

“Mm…”

…This guy is the Immortal King?

***

The Immortal King, Ravigion III.

The man who saved Raphdonia, once nothing more than a mere territory, from destruction and turned it into the continent’s last fortress.

The village chief had downplayed his achievements, saying it was all thanks to having “a good friend,” but that didn’t change the fact that he was a historical figure.

But…

“Just call me Ravigion. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And a friend of my friend is also my friend, no?”

Ironically, that made his overly friendly demeanor feel all the more awkward.

Because in my mind, the Immortal King was a monster exuding charisma and an oppressive aura.

“Now then—”

“Wait! Can we discuss this for a moment… or rather, may we?”

Gahyun, currently playing the role of the “friend,” couldn’t hide his confusion and cut him off.

“Discuss…? Very well, I’ll give you some space.”

“No need… for that. We can just use magic.”

“Do as you please. But try to make it quick. We never know when the Imperial army might attack.”

“Don’t… worry. It’ll be… quick.”

With the knight’s permission, Gahyun immediately used voice control magic and spoke.

“That… that guy, is he for real?! What he just said…!”

The first to respond was the High Priest.

“Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Ravigion III implies there was a II and a I before him, doesn’t it?”

“Ah… right. Right…”

It seemed like the mage’s brain was finally starting to work again. Gahyun muttered to himself, trying to sort through his jumbled thoughts.

“I’ve heard that the first and seventeenth lords of the fortress were named Ravigion. Their middle names are lost to history, as they were ancient bloodlines before the Last Fortress was built. But yes, maybe he’s one of those two…”

Gahyun’s words sounded more like desperate attempts to rationalize the situation rather than genuine reasoning.

Of course, the village chief cut him off without mercy.

“Sir Versilius, get a hold of yourself. Witches have already appeared in this age. There’s no way that man is Ravigion I or II.”

“Ah… ah……”

“If you’re really curious, just ask him what his wife’s name is. Not that it would mean much if he’s impersonating the Immortal King.”

“Th-then I’ll deactivate the voice control spell for now.”

With that, Gahyun turned off the magic.

However, he was trembling so much he couldn’t even make eye contact, so I spoke up instead.

“Ravigion, what’s your wife’s name?”

“Ah… So you suspect that I am an imposter?”

“Answer first.”

“Karnon. That’s my wife’s name. She’s currently overseeing the territory in my absence. She’s also handling the tasks you requested.”

“Tasks I requested…?”

Gahyun tilted his head in confusion. He clearly had no idea what the Knight was talking about. This prompted the chief to clear his throat and signal for Gahyun to continue.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, he mentioned that in earlier chapters, acting out of character led to complications…’

There was no need to unnecessarily raise suspicion with the Immortal King, who was probably an ally NPC.

“Anyway, take this first.”the immortal king said, placing something in Gahyun’s hand.

“What is this…?”

“Hm… You’re acting quite odd today. Isn’t this the item you asked for? You went so far as to call me all the way out here.”

“Ah…! R-Right, right?”

Gahyun accepted the black gem with an awkward expression.

And immediately—

Whoooosh—!

A dark mist began seeping out of the gem.

Instinctively, I tried to step back, but my body wouldn’t move.

‘What the, is this a betrayal?’

The possibility flashed through my mind, but thankfully, the Immortal King’s expression showed genuine concern.

“Honsetly… I still don’t quite understand.”

“…?”

“Even if that object works properly, reaches the Demon Abyss, and you come face-to-face with the Evil God…”

The sudden monologue.

Even without the hint ability given to the mage, I understood it immediately.

“There’s no guarantee that the Evil God will grant your wishes.”

‘So this is the next chapter’s mission.’

“I should take my leave before the Imperial army arrives. Good luck.”

With those final words, the world plunged into darkness.

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