Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 251

Gnome Tree (5)

There’s no point in making excuses anymore.

No matter how cleverly I try to deceive him with words, he won’t be fooled.

He’ll want a definitive answer somehow.

‘Shibal.’

Aside from the discomfort of having to make a choice, my mind was already meticulously considering each option and its consequences.

What is the best course of action for me?

“Hey? Why don’t you answer me? Why have you suddenly become so friendly?”

Fuck, this brat is persistent.

Honestly, I just wanted to say “I just felt like it, is that a problem?” and go into the thoughtless barbarian mode.

But…

‘Doing that might actually get me killed.’

I am weaker than him.

Therefore, when he is persistently showing suspicion I can’t just brush it off and start swinging my mace, claiming there’s something wrong with his head.

Because I’d be the one getting my head smashed in.

“Damn, look how quickly he becomes unfriendly again.”

Lee Baek-ho sighed in frustration and glared at me with his piercing blue eyes.

“Why do you keep asking, you’re not going to believe me anyway.”

I didn’t bother to hide my sigh.

But, Was he as frustrated as I was?

“No, but it’s not the same as hearing it from your mouth, is it?”

Yeah, I know what he means.

That’s also why I tried to keep it hidden until the end.

‘So you want to hear it from me no matter what.’

It was time to admit it.

Too many things had already gone wrong to resolve this situation.

I need to give up something.

For example…

“Manners maketh man.”

Even though he’d had many suspicions, I’d never once confessed my true identity until now.

“Uh?”

Lee Baek-ho looked startled by my sudden change in attitude.

Having made up my mind, I had nothing to lose.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s polite to just pretend you don’t know?”

“What? Really? You were really a player?”

Hearing the truth from my mouth, Lee Baek-ho’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

‘So, you were really just curious’

Rage welled up inside me.

Does he even realize?

This is the first time I’m using this tone while in Bjorn Jandel’s body.

‘Still, I feel a strange sense of relief.’

I glared at him, feeling a strange mixture of relief and despair.

But does this guy have no empathy at all?

“Wow, so you watched that movie too!”

Even in this situation, he focuses only on topics that interest him.

Does he have no social skills?

“…An apology should come first.”

It was a bizarre scene where a barbarian lectures a human on social etiquette and morality.

“Oh, sorry. But hearing you watched that movie makes you feel more familiar. It’s one of my favorites.”

Lee Baek-ho offered a hollow apology and then cautiously asked another question.

“…Did you watch the sequel too?”

What kind of guy is he?

Isn’t his level of stupidity enough to make even barbarians weep?

“…I did.”

I answered for now.

Who knows when he might suddenly change his attitude if I ignore him—

“But why are you speaking informally to me?”

Huh?

“Why are you talking down to me? Don’t you understand mutual respect?  Just because we’re both players doesn’t mean we can’t die if stabbed.”

Suddenly, Lee Baek-ho, looking serious, began to emit a murderous aura.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

“…I’m not used to speaking formally.”

“Oh, so you were from the West!”

That’s how he interprets it.

I had the Barbarian character in mind.

“Then let’s speak informally to each other. Good?”

Lee Baek-ho extended his hand with a bright smile as if nothing had happened.

‘But it cleared my head.’

It was refreshing in a way.

Perhaps this was his way of keeping control.

He used his power to keep me off balance, preventing me from having any time to think.

‘Could it be that he talked about the sequel to find out when I came, and just now to check if I was from the East?’

Maybe it’s just a wild guess.

But it’s better to be cautious.

‘I should still hide that I’m Lee Han-soo.’

This was my final dilemma.

If I’m going to reveal that I’m a player, wouldn’t it be better to reveal everything and try to become friends?

However, one thing made me hesitate.

[That cat seemed to have some idea. Isn’t it better to kill her?]

Earlier, it was just a casual suggestion.

It felt like unsolicited advice from a passerby.

But the moment I reveal that I’m Lee Han-soo.

This issue will become his concern.

Because he cherishes Lee Han-soo.

No, he cared about the few ‘Korean players’ in this strange world.

“But the fact that I’m a player…”

“Oh, don’t worry! I won’t tell anyone. Do I look like someone with no manners?”

I barely restrained myself from saying ‘yes.’

The more I talked to him, the more I understood.

Lee Baek-ho is an unpredictable ball.

So I should avoid getting involved with him.

At least until I’m confident I can control him.

“By the way, I’m really glad you answered honestly.”

“…?”

“I heard you became a noble? I was planning to kill you if you were a real NPC before you joined the royal family.”

My heart skipped a beat at his casual words.

“…What?”

“Why are you surprised? It’s not like I enjoy PKing, but it’s a hassle if they’re destined NPCs.”

I couldn’t understand a word he was saying.

I was curious and asked him indirectly, but Lee Baek-ho dodged the question, saying it was just something like that.

Is it because I’m Bjorn Jandel from the West?

If I were Han-soo Lee, he might have answered.

“Oh, and one more piece of advice, even though it sounds funny to say to someone who’s already a noble. Don’t get too involved with the royal family.

“Why?”

“The royal family isn’t interested in opening the ‘Abyss Gate.’ Actually, they’re committed to preventing it. They might even be behind the disappearance of the Creation Relics.”

The royal family? Why on earth?

There’s a rumor that the key to saving this world is hidden in the deepest part of the labyrinth, but maybe that’s all a lie?

I had so many questions I wanted to ask.

But no matter what I asked, Lee Baek-ho would just respond with a bored expression.

“What are you going to do even if you know?”

It felt like even if I asked who the GM was, he wouldn’t tell me.

So, as I was smacking my lips in regret.

“So, you’re one of them, right?”

“What side?”

“You know, the people who plan to just live here. When I saw you risk your life for that NPC, I thought you might be one of them. But then again, considering your growth speed, I’m not sure. So, Which is it?”

“What if I decided to stay?”

“What do you mean, ‘what if’? There are people like that too. I’m not so close-minded. As long as you don’t interfere with me, I don’t care.”

I quietly observed Lee Baek-ho’s eyes.

It wasn’t a particularly meaningful action.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind those piercing blue eyes.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s just trying to test me…’

After a moment’s hesitation, I opened my mouth.

“I don’t know.”

It was the most honest answer I could give.

“At first, going back was the goal, but lately, I wonder if I need to risk my life to do that.”

“Because of that damn cat girl?”

“…”

I didn’t answer.

But was that enough?

“You remind me of myself back then.”

Lee Baek-ho said with a faint smile.

“Still, you seem promising, so let me give you some advice: don’t expect too much from NPCs. You’ll definitely regret it.”

The cold emotion hidden in his laughing voice made me wonder.

What on earth had happened to him in this world to make him such a broken monster who only wants to ‘return’?

I couldn’t know.

“Well, I’ve said all I wanted, so I’ll be off now.”

With that, Lee Baek-ho turned his back, signaling that our conversation was over. Then, with a gesture, he collapsed the wall that had been self-repairing.

Or should I say, it disintegrated?

The wall’s remains crumbled to dust.

With another gesture, even the dust disappeared.

‘…Good thing I didn’t go into the thoughtless barbarian mode.’

The thought that my head could’ve been turned to dust gave me chills.

As I watched Lee Baek-ho leave.

“Oh, right.”

He turned back to look at me.

And delivered his final words.

“By the way, next time we meet, we’re strangers, okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend to be familiar if we run into each other.”

“…”

“I don’t build any attachments in this world.”

Jeez, this guy.

Damn, how cold.

***

After Lee Baek-ho left, I returned to my lodging without looking back.

The next morning.

“Ugh, mister… I’m dying…”

I spent the morning with the trio, who were all suffering from hangovers.

“Bjorn… When did you get back? Did you finish what you needed to do?”

Incidentally, Misha seemed to have forgotten everything from last night, including my return to the lodging.

It was probably for the best.

[“Is it because I can’t give birth to a barbarian?”]

It would have been awkward to talk to her if she’d remembered what she’d said to me yesterday.

“Since we’re done with the quests, can we just relax and have fun today?”

“Of course.”

I had planned a 2-night, 3-day trip just in case, but all our business in Gnome tree was completed on the first day.

So the rest of the time was free.

“Woohoo! Time to have fun!”

We spent the second day enjoying ourselves late into the night.

It was quite a fun day.

Well, except for falling into the water at the end.

It happened at the fishing spot.

We were night fishing with lanterns when Aynar had a seizure after being bitten by a fish and the boat capsized.

The problem was, none of us could swim.

How many of us have ever been in such deep water?

‘I really thought I was going to die.’

But I learned one thing from the experience.

When I sank in the ‘Glacial Cave’ before, I thought it was because of my armor, but that wasn’t the case.

Barbarians can’t swim.

It’s not a matter of technique; we just sink.

Well, using my transcendent mode, my head came out of the water and I was able to call for help.

‘I need to find a place to learn to swim when I get back. Aynar and I might be fine, but the others need to know how.’

Anyway, that was how the second day ended, and the next morning.

We slept in after drinking all night and woke up at noon, then boarded the carriage to return home.

“Ugh, I wish we could stay one more day. I can’t believe we’re leaving already.”

“I agree, mister, you don’t drink much at home…….”

“Wow! Misha! Look, there’s a horse running!”

We spent a couple of hours in the carriage, admiring the natural scenery that was hard to find in the city.

Soon, we arrived at the southwestern exit and returned the whistle we had received upon entering.

‘Come to think of it, there’s this.’

The whistle, one of Gnome Tree’s proudest features, would summon the militia wherever and whenever it was blown.

I wondered what would have happened if I had blown this during the encounter with Lee Baek-ho, but it probably wouldn’t have made much difference.

He likely wouldn’t have given me the chance.

“Alright then, I’m going to rest. Let me know if you get hungry later.”

We got home by evening and everyone went to their rooms to rest, and the next day was no different.

A peaceful time of rest.

As always, such time flew by swiftly.

And then…

“I’ll be heading out for a bit.”

Finally, the day arrived.

[22:10]

Two hours remained until midnight, when the labyrinth would open.

I finished preparing to go out and headed to the dimension plaza.

‘They say the royal family is sharpening their swords.’

Rumor has it that the royal family is assembling an army.

Having taken a significant hit, they’re planning to repay the favor with a proper battle in the labyrinth this time.

No one knows the exact scale of the force.

Unlike the previous subjugation, there hasn’t even been an official request for cooperation from the clans.

They intend to handle it entirely with the royal family’s power.

‘Once I get to the plaza, I should get a sense of the royal family’s power.’

I saw other explorers heading towards the plaza, likely for the same reason.

Everyone is curious.

The true strength of the royal family, which no one has seen properly despite all the talk.

“Oh, Bjorn! Are you heading to the plaza too?”

“I’m a bit curious.”

I saw a few familiar faces along the way and chatted with them as we moved.

And after some time…

“…This is unexpected.”

All the explorers who came here, including me, tilted their heads in confusion.

“Who would have thought there’d be no one here?”

It’s not completely empty.

Guards from the Security Office are occupying the plaza, preventing explorers from entering.

But that’s all there is.

“Where’s the army?”

No matter where you look, there’s no sign of the rumored army.

“Have they not arrived yet?”

“Hey, that can’t be. The labyrinth opens in five minutes. If they’re not here yet, it means there was no army to begin with.”

“What a letdown. So the rumor about a big showdown was just a lie.”

Disappointed explorers started to leave the plaza one by one.

The same went for the explorers I met on the way here.

“Jandel, aren’t you leaving?”

“I’ll stay a bit longer to see.”

“Hmm, then I’ll head out first.”

I decided to wait until the portal opened and closed, just in case.

In the end, there really was no army.

‘What’s this? Are they aiming for the next time?’

I had many questions, but staying here wouldn’t change anything.

So, I turned to leave.

That’s when it happened.

Booooom-!

A faint sound of collapse echoed from somewhere.

Thud thud thud thud-!

Soon after, the ground beneath us began to tremble.

“What, what is this? An earthquake?”

The public officials and guards around me froze in confusion.

But…

“…”

The few knights in the plaza were different.

Their expressions didn’t change, and they conversed amongst themselves with a determined look, as if they had been expecting this.

‘So this is what it was.’

I turned my gaze to the ground.

I had a feeling I knew where the royal army was.

Even if I couldn’t see them right now.

‘A surprise attack.’

The war had already begun.

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