Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 231
New Age (1)
The absolute monarch known as the First and Immortal King.
Lavigion III.
After his demise, the Reformation King, who succeeded him, implemented numerous policies to remove the deep-rooted remnants of the former king.
One of the most notable changes was the calendar reform.
One year, 13 months, 365 days.
To make it easier to calculate the cycle of the labyrinth opening, he fixed each month to 30 days and created a 13th month with only 5 days to match the remaining days.
Additionally, he adjusted the portal to change the last labyrinth cycle to 35 days.
Of course, there was controversy among scholars.
They argued that wasting five days each year was impractical.
However, the Reformation King steadfastly held grand festivals every 13th month to win the people’s hearts, and as the years passed, the controversy subsided as people adapted to the new calendar.
Oh, and he also changed the name of the era twice.
Initially, it was named after the Reformation King, but because it was long and difficult to pronounce, the people began using the king’s nickname, and eventually, the royal family adopted this name too.
Time passed—
2 May, 154th year of the Reformation.
Seven pillars of fire erupted from each dimensional plaza, covering the sky above Raphdonia. It was a disaster that would be recorded in history books for a long time by the hands of the scribes.
***
“Damn it.”
I struggled to get up, clutching my side.
Then, using the crutch set by the bedside, I left the room.
Ugh, damn stairs.
“Bjorn! If you’re awake, call me. Why struggle alone?”
Misha, who was cooking on the first floor, noticed me and came over to support me.
It really makes me feel like a patient.
Oh, right, I am a patient.
They said I would need a month to recover, but I still don’t have any strength in my limbs.
“Here, sit down. This is your first proper meal since you got out, right? I put some effort into it.”
While Misha went to fetch Aynar, I paused, holding the spoon.
‘Three days have passed.’
It’s been three days since that day.
I hardly feel it though.
On the first day back, all the survivors were dragged to the royal family to testify about what happened in the labyrinth, and after returning home, I just kept sleeping.
‘…Crazy bastards.’
Thinking about the moment the pillars of fire burst out still sends chills down my spine.
Who would have thought they’d target an empty house?
Setting traps in the center of the dimensional plaza where the dimensional gate opens.
All seven plazas, no less.
‘…What happens next?’
Our group suffered minimal damage thanks to the labyrinth closing normally, but the Third Royal Knights and many large clans were literally wiped out.
Of course, not all of them died.
Some who were at the edge of the dimensional gates managed to retreat as soon as the magic circles lit up and luckily survived.
About a hundred people, they said?
Oh, that number includes survivors from all the seven dimensional plazas.
It’s a bit ironic.
[A great commander is not one who makes perfect choices, but one who makes the necessary choices]
Those who made necessary choices died.
Those who were abandoned survived after days of sleepless fighting.
The situation reversed overnight.
What if I had accepted that guy’s proposal and abandoned my comrades to escape back then?
“I would have died.”
As I muttered these words unknowingly, Misha’s voice came from behind.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing. But where is Aynar?”
“She didn’t even stir when I slapped her on the back”
“She must be very tired.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare another meal for her when she wakes up.”
She must be tired too.
Misha woke up intermittently to cook for us while we were just sleeping. She even managed to get me crutches from somewhere.
She’s someone I can really rely on.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Misha asked me
Snapping out of my daze, I picked up the spoon and put it in my mouth.
The taste told me that the hard day was over.
“…What about Erwin?”
As the meal was almost finished, Misha asked.
After the investigation on the first day, Erwin took her sister’s body to the sanctuary of the fairies.
“Well, she said she’d come find us after the funeral, so I’ll talk to her in detail then.”
“Hmm, really?”
Showing a lukewarm reaction, Misha suddenly said.
“How about bringing her to live here?”
What? Is she testing me?
Or is she just drawing a line in advance?
Several thoughts crossed my mind, but her tone didn’t suggest that.
“What do you mean?”
“You said she lived with her sister, right? Staying there would be tough. And it’s worrisome to have her live alone.”
“So?”
“We can’t enter the labyrinth with six people, but I think we should take care of her until she gets back on her feet.”
Oh, right, that’s the kind of woman she is.
Feeling somewhat proud, I teased her jokingly.
“I thought you didn’t like fairies?”
“Ugh, what do you take me for? After all the trouble I went to cook for you, spit it all out. Spit it out!”
Misha grumbled, glaring at me.
It felt strangely comforting.
Just moments ago, I felt suffocated by all sorts of thoughts.
“Why are you laughing? It’s annoying.”
“I was just thankful.”
“…Oh, suddenly.”
Misha averted her gaze and gulped down water as if she was annoyed.
I quietly watched her.
Honestly, without the ears and tail on her head, she would look just like an ordinary human.
Her short red hair had grown a bit longer since I first saw her.
Her sharp nose and slightly upturned eyes.
Although a few words were enough to reveal her goofy nature, at first I thought she would be very distant and proud, just looking at her face.
“……”
“……”
I realized the surroundings had become quiet.
An awkward silence filled the kitchen.
“Uh…”
Just as Misha was about to say something, there was a knock at the front door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Let me get it.”
“…Okay, I’ll clean up the table.”
Leaning on my crutch, I walked to the front door and opened it to see a familiar face.
“Kyle Febrosk“
“Haha, nice to see you. Have you been resting well?”
‘I’ve been sleeping since I got here, and just got up.’
“Then you have some time to talk?”
“Of course. Come in.”
As I stepped aside, Kyle entered the house and greeted Misha, who was tidying up the table
“Oh! Sir Kyle?”
“Sorry, Miss Karlstein. It seems I’ve interrupted your cozy time together.”
“Oh, don’t tease! We’re not like that.”
“Hmm, is that so? My apologies then.”
Kyle genuinely seemed to apologize, as if he didn’t know. Misha shot me a glance, then quickly turned her head and continued with the housework. Kyle and I then moved to the living room sofa.
“I would have come sooner, but as you know, I’ve been quite busy.”
“I understand. Considering what happened…”
“Yes, indeed…”
An uncomfortable silence followed as we mentioned the incident.
Misha placed some cookies on the sofa table and left us to talk in peace.
“Oh, these are from Lanermoss Bakery?”
“Really? Is it a famous place?”
The atmosphere lightened up, and I felt more at ease.
“If you have time, I’d like to hear everything from the beginning.”
“I have plenty of time before my next appointment, but from the beginning?”
“The Ruin Scholar. What happened to that old man?”
It was a story I was curious about but hadn’t had the chance to hear.
It was a story I was curious about but hadn’t had the chance to hear. When I woke up, it was just before the end of the seventh day, and I had to take care of Erwin. And after returning to the city, there simply wasn’t any time to talk.
“Ah, that…”
Kyle began to talk, nibbling on a cookie. The battle with the Ruin Scholar was filled with details that were difficult for me to understand, but the gist was simple.
He lost in a one-on-one fight.
The ‘awakening’ he had prepared for years was overwhelmed by a series of overwhelming spells before he could even use it properly. Activating his incomplete magic caused some damage, but.
“I thought I had finally caught up to him through hard work, but it was all an illusion. In fact, it seems the gap has only widened since then.”
Kyle seemed to face an insurmountable wall.
A wall he could never overcome.
The most humiliating part was that he survived.
“He said my talent was a waste. Isn’t that funny? I wasn’t even his opponent. If he hadn’t intended to keep me alive, I wouldn’t have been able to inflict any damage at all.”
When Kyle finished his story, his face was filled with shadows.
“Thank you for sharing, even though it must have been a topic you didn’t want to discuss.”
“I thought you should know. After all, you might become their target because of this incident.”
Sigh, so the old man thinks so too.
“Because of this incident, the royal family has upgraded the Ruin Scholar’s threat level by a notch. He’s just below the commander now. Honestly, from my experience, he’s on par with the commander, but… No matter how many times I say it, they don’t believe he’s that dangerous.”
“They won’t understand until they face him directly.”
A mage who could pierce through my meticulously crafted anti-magic resistance with regular attacks.
How many such monsters exist in this world?
If we ever encounter each other in the labyrinth under normal circumstances, we’d be annihilated within minutes.
“Anyway, I wanted to warn you to be careful.”
Hmm, considering the Ruin Scholar’s personality, he probably wouldn’t bother coming for revenge. The Corpse Collector, on the other hand…
“What about the Corpse Collector?”
“No news yet. I heard you inflicted a fatal wound before leaving, but he’s probably alive.”
“…I see.”
The Clown is at least better.
He lost thousands of his corpse army this time.
It will take him a long time to recover, giving me time to grow.
“So, how many survivors are there?”
“You mean those who escaped through the dimension gates?”
“Of course. I heard about a hundred survived.”
Kyle sighed at my words.
“Exactly 103. But I’m not sure if you can call them survivors.”
“What do you mean?”
Kyle explained using terms specific to mages, making it a bit hard to follow. But the gist was
“So, it was a peculiar magic with black magic mixed in, making it impossible to heal with holy power?”
“Yes. They’re all unconscious now. We don’t know when they’ll wake up or if they ever will.”
“That’s really nasty.”
After discussing the survivors, we talked about ‘that incident.’
What exactly happened?
Being part of the upper echelons of the royal family, Kyle shared everything he knew.
“We were confused at first too. How could they prepare such complex magic in just one day, when it would normally take months to prepare?”
That day, every explorer, including myself, had the same question.
The answer was simple.
“Turns out they drew the magic circles in the sewers to avoid detection.”
Like the creatures they are, they worked from underground.
“Upon investigation, there was no issue with Noark’s barrier. This means they either had a way to come outside or had pre-placed personnel.”
I awkwardly smiled at his speculation.
It was likely pre-placed personnel. For example…
‘Amelia.’
A spy from Noark who had infiltrated the city.
So far, I hadn’t considered her a definite enemy.
Their hatred was directed at the royal family, not me. But…
‘Now, it’s right to see her as an enemy.’
That woman would continue working under Noark, and if I’m unlucky, I might lose my life because of it.
Unless I join Noark.
“Let’s get to the main point.”
“The main point?”
“The city’s situation isn’t good. We’ve lost many key people essential to maintaining the city. If this continues, the economy will collapse.”
I had expected this.
Explorers are like miners extracting resources from the labyrinth. Even though knights are strong, they can’t compare to explorers in this aspect.
But the top explorers are all dead.
While a few large clans and some high-ranking explorers who were cautious enough to hold back due to the introduction of identification tags survived…
The real problem lies elsewhere.
“They probably won’t enter the labyrinth until they’re assured it’s safe.”
An unsafe labyrinth.
A funny expression, but understandable. Less than two thousand people survived this cycle’s exploration into the labyrinth. Who would want to enter and mine mana stones under such circumstances?
“There’s no choice. Until now, the ID tags and the presence of the Third Royal Knight Order reassured explorers, but now that illusion is shattered.”
The knights who promised to protect us from Noark in the labyrinth conspired with large clans to open the dimensional portals and fled, abandoning tens of thousands of explorers.
“Embarrassingly, someone at the meeting even suggested that it would have been better if there had been no survivors.”
I laughed bitterly at Kyle’s words.
The more I experience this world, the crueler it seems. But what’s the point of whining?
“So now I have to watch out for the Ruin Scholar, the Corpse Collector, and the royal family?”
“Haha, that won’t be necessary.”
Kyle waved his hand at my mix of joke and genuine concern.
“You’ve been at home, so you might not know, but you are now a very important person to the royal family.”
“…Explain.”
“Right now, stories about you are spreading among the survivors. In a few days, everyone in this city will know of you. The saint who single-handedly took down the Corpse Collector!”
“…Single-handedly? Please, don’t spread such nonsense.”
“You are really modest.”
It’s not modesty; it’s a burden for me.
I just did my best out in front. That’s manageable, but the reputation they’re building is more than I can handle. If anyone fought alone, it was the Clown. He was pushing back hundreds of mid-level explorers with his army of corpses while fighting our team.
‘Thinking about it, he’s a real monster too.’
I sorted out my thoughts and returned to the main topic.
“What does this have to do with the royal family? There must be plenty of explorers like me.”
“But not many symbolic explorers like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mistrust towards the royal family is rising, and this incident is sure to fuel it. The royal family judged that if you become a focal point, it could become a big problem…”
Shit.
“…Huh? Why do you have that look on your face?”
I answered honestly.
“It sounds like they’re planning to get rid of me.”
I was 100% sincere.
Kyle, whether he understood my concern or not, laughed heartily.
“Don’t worry. They’ve already decided on their course of action through a meeting.”
A decision?
Ah, so that’s why he said not to worry about the royal family.
“Stop stalling and tell me. I have a feeling your visit today has to do with this.”
At my urging, Kyle continued, looking pleased.
“Congratulations. You’ll soon receive a very, very, very big reward.”
The royal family decided to offer me a carrot.