Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 698

Evil Party 3

The Fragments of the Records Stone were, as the name suggested, pieces of the Records stone that supposedly documented every moment across past, present, and future.

And I know the power of these records better than anyone.

Because I’ve experienced it before.

When I was thrown back in time through a Record Fragment, I did everything I could, causing chaos and forcing countless changes, just to stop one person from dying. But in the end, I still failed.

Everything inscribed on the Records Stone was bound to come true. Of course, there were loopholes like Amelia’s little illusion that could bend the rules…

‘But such tricks probably won’t work this time.’

What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t exactly ask them to pretend to be dead just to trick me. On top of that, I had no idea when this prophecy was supposed to come true.

Badump-!

Three people…

‘Three…’

In [Dungeon & Stone], losing party members was practically routine.. So why does this small number feel so vast and despairing?

Badump-!

Even though my chest tightened with anxiety, my mind went cold as I forced myself to stay rational.

Who could the three be?

Or, more accurately, who did I hope they would be?

It was a thought no leader should ever have. But in that moment…

“Knowing the outcome must be truly painful… isn’t it?”

Auril Gavis, who had thrown the biggest dilemma of my life at me, nodded as if he understood.

My blood boiled instantly.

“…What?”

I wanted to punch that wrinkled old face right then and there.
But…

“……”

I had to endure. Punching him here would only put me at a disadvantage.…

“When…”

I forced down a shiver, tightened my jaw, and asked him, trying to keep my composure.

“Do you…know when it’ll happen? When these recorded events will actually take place?”

“I cannot know. If the Record Stone were complete, perhaps. But with only a broken fragment, it is difficult to determine the timing.”

‘So you’re basically telling me you can’t help at all?’

As something inside me snapped, Auril Gavis continued:

“But judging from how it’s recorded here, it seems to be a single event.”

In other words, it didn’t mean three people would die over the course of my life; it meant a single event would take all three at once.

I clenched my jaw tightly as I asked.

“……Can you tell me who those three are?”

A question I had agonized over hundreds, thousands of times before deciding to voice it.

But this geezer answered without a hint of hesitation.

“I do not know.”

A simple “I don’t know,” without excuses or explanations.

Oddly enough, that answer made me angry and relieved at the same time. If he had listed names, I probably would’ve gone insane.

“You seem conflicted. Are your comrades that important to you?”

“…Don’t provoke me. I’m really at my limit right now.”

“If you say so.”

In response to my superhumanly patient reply, Auril Gavis answered in a detached tone and then fell silent.

A heavy silence followed.

Ba-dump!

Even after quite a while, my heart was still pounding and my body refused to calm down.

‘I need Information.’

At least my rationality was returning a little.

“Sir.”

“Seems you’ve regained some sense.”

Well, there’s nothing I can do now about something that’s already been “recorded,”

“Why did you show me this in the first place?”

I decided this was the first thing I needed to figure out. This old man loved toying with people, and there was no way he showed me this without a reason.

“The reason… If I’m being honest, it was close to acting on a whim. If you had just left earlier, or not asked what this place was, I wouldn’t have shown it to you.”

“……”

“You look like you don’t believe me.”

Of course I didn’t. No matter how he tried to frame it, I was convinced that he had a hidden agenda for showing me this.

But then—

“No matter how I look at it, you are the former.”

“…?”

“You said earlier that you belonged to the latter category, but that’s only because you want to be,” he said. “In reality, you’re part of the former.”

At first I had no idea what he meant, but soon enough, I realized. It was an extension of the riddle-like conversation we had earlier. A lie you wanted to see as truth, or a truth you wished could be a lie.

“You wish my decision to act on a whim was a lie, but it’s undeniably the truth.”

It felt like he was insisting on the point just for the sake of it, but I didn’t have any good comeback. Still, while I rummaged for any possible retort—

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m disappointed in you. If I asked a hundred people this question, every one of them would choose ‘truth,’ but when actually faced with that situation, they would change their decision.”

“…….”

“Isn’t that right, Bjorn Jandel… no, Lee Han-soo?”

Damn, now I have nothing to say. Let’s stop trying to beat this old man in a battle of words.

“…Fine. So you’re saying this only happened because I talked to you first, and you weren’t planning anything else.”

As I spoke in a resigned tone, Auril Gavis looked up at the Fragments of the Records Stone drifting through the galaxy-like space, his eyes filled with bitterness.

“I don’t know what you think of me, but I am not some monster. Also, as Baek-ho said, I am not omnipotent either…”

“…….”

“I am just an ordinary human being who struggles and gives my all for one goal. The same as you.”

Well… I don’t know about that.

Sorry to ruin the mood, but no matter how you say it, you still look like a lunatic old man to me. Not that I planned to say that out loud.

“…Since I’m already here, can I look at other things too?”

“Your companions must be waiting outside. Is that fine?”

“…Companions, my ass.”

Calling them “companions” was too much; they were more like ‘traveling acquaintances’.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about them.”

“Hmmm. In that case, I suppose I can show you one more. But which would be best…? Ah, how about you choose one yourself this time?”

His proposal wasn’t bad. If I could choose what to look at instead of being shown things at random, I could at least lessen his chances of tricking me.

“…….”
However, as I hesitated for a long time over what to choose, Auril Gavis seemed to grow impatient and added something else.

“What are you thinking so deeply about? Whatever you choose will be according to your fate anyway.”

“If that’s how you see it, then why breathe, and why think at all?” I retorted back

Nevertheless, I had to admit that he was right; there wasn’t much use in overthinking the decision.

“That one. The sturdy-looking inverted triangle over there.”

Out of all the record fragments, I picked the biggest one. I figured the larger one would probably have more written on it.

However, the old man seemed to have memorized everything written on these fragments.

“Hmm… Of all the fragments, you had to choose that one.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s not that there’s a problem per se… Well, if this is your fate, then so be it.”

He asked me one last time whether I wanted to see it, and after a moment of thought, I confirmed my decision.

Whoooooosh-!

The fragment slowly descended toward the old man’s open hand, hovering close enough for the writing to come into view.

However, it seemed I had made the wrong decision.

Why are there so many blank spaces?

Even though it looked like the largest fragment, once I got closer I realized a lot of it was cracked and broken, leaving very little that was actually readable. Still, I read whatever parts I could.

[……… On the day….non’s burning, ………… the evil spirit ‘————’ … trusted… ally… betrayed…]

First, the symbol that indicated a name was identical to the one I’d seen on the earlier fragment, which meant this text was referring to me.

“The day the Imperial Capital of Carnon burned… betrayed by a trusted ally…?”

As I filled in the missing bits based on context, that was roughly the meaning.

“Did I interpret it correctly?” I asked.

“No matter what the situation is, how you interpret it is entirely up to you.”

“… tsk…”

Not reading it might’ve been better, because my already chaotic mind only sank deeper into confusion.

An incident was destined to take the lives of three of my allies, and on top of not knowing whether this new event would occur before or after that, another ally was fated to betray me.

 

Once again, I feel that knowing an unchangeable future is more of a curse than a blessing.

“Fascinating.”

“…Does my suffering bring you that much joy?”

“More importantly, it’s fascinating that out of all the fragments here, you chose the one featuring you. I suppose this is the power of fate.”

He really did seem amused by it. He even asked if I wanted to look at another one.

But—

“No thanks. I’d rather not add to the headache.”

“Hm. If that is what you wish, then so be it. I will not insist.”

And so the Record Stone tour came to an end. We went back down the stairs and returned to the cave. There wasn’t much conversation during the process.

“So, you’re leaving now?”

“Yeah. Being this far behind them will probably make Baekho nag me for a while.”

“That boy resembles you. In his desire to know everything.”

“And yet you told me not to get close to him.”

“That advice still stands. Nothing good will come from staying close to Baekho.”

“Is that from my perspective? Or from yours?”

“Both.”

I’ve felt this before, but long conversations with this old man feels pointless. You can never tell which parts are true and which aren’t, and that only makes things worse.

It’s like, even though we’ve exchanged many words, there’s nothing I can believe.

“…Since the topic came up, I’ll tell you one more thing.”

“Ha… Go ahead.”

“Be careful of Lee Baekho.”

“…Isn’t that what you said before?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Auril Gavis ignored my words and continued speaking, as if insisting I listen to his entire warning.

“Although I said he was a supporting character, but Baek-ho is an exceedingly peculiar existence. Look there.”

He pointed to the countless fragments orbiting above us.

“Not just the ones gathered here. I’ve seen countless other Record fragments, and not a single one mentions Baekho.”

“……?”

“That is an extremely strange thing. Someone with such influence and such close ties to you has no records at all.”

 

If what he says is true, then it is rather strange. Does Baek-ho have some hidden secret we don’t know about?

I don’t know, but Auril Gavis continued.

“So be cautious of him. If he does not appear in the Records, that means he is free from them. He’s not completely free, but he’s a lot freer than the rest of us.”

“…I’m already keeping an eye on that guy, so don’t worry.”

“That is fortunate then.”

“Even if we go our separate ways here, we’ll meet again someday, right?”

“That’s what we call inevitability.”

“Then I’ll be going for today. Let’s try to meet again much later, if possible.”

“That is my hope as well.”

With those final words, Auril Gavis silently watched me, and I didn’t say anything else either. I just scanned the old man up and down one more time, exchanged a nod, and stepped into the portal.

And then…

“Oh! You’re here!”

“Th-thank goodness! I was worried!”

“What the hell! Why are you so late! Baron! You talked with that old man about something, right?”

As I opened my eyes after stepping through the portal, I was hit with a flood of voices.
Lee Baekho.
Rex Aures.
Jayna Flyer.
Belbev Ruinzenes.
Yurben Havelion.

All of them were evil spirits, and with me included, that made six people—the perfect size for a party.

“What? Why are you looking at us like that? I just got chills.”

Ignoring Baek-ho’s fussing, I recalled the Record Fragment I had just read.

Something flashed in my mind like a bolt of lightning.

[“The evil spirit from another world, ‘————’, having lost three comrades, finally realized the path he himself must take……”]

The Record Fragment didn’t mention the names of the companions.

“You guys, become my companions.”

Maybe there’s a way.

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