Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 260

June 28, 2024 • 11 min read • 1427 views

Clan 4

A Barbarian warrior emerged from the sanctuary.

A man sighed in relief as he watched Bjorn Jandel.

“Thankfully, you came out right away.”

If he had intended to spend the night at the sanctuary, they would have had to wait until the 15th of the next month.

Sneaking into the sanctuary with this body was just—

Stumble.

The man, who had been following Bjorn Jandel, lost his balance and staggered significantly. It was his first time connecting to a golem, and he wasn’t used to its controls.

“Are you okay?”

When the man finally regained his balance in an awkward position, he attracted the attention of those around him.

“I’m fine.”

Feeling a strange sense of shame, the man quickly left the area. He followed Bjorn Jandel with a creaky, awkward gait.

“Mom, that man is weird…!”

‘If it weren’t for Lee Baekho…’

He was using an unfamiliar golem instead of his own body because of Lee Baek-ho.

He never knew when that guy would show up again.

It was too risky to leave the tower in his real body.

‘So, where are you going now?’

In the early morning with the sky still blue, the man continued to follow Bjorn Jandel.

And then…

‘Drinking this early in the morning?’

They arrived at a famous pub in the 7th district.

This pub was known for being open 24 hours a day, with staff working in three shifts.

“Isn’t that… Bjorn Jandel’s son?”

“Ho, is that him?”

“Lucky us. We get to see the man who’s only been rumored about.”

As soon as Bjorn Jandel entered the pub, all eyes were on him. His fame had grown to the point where he was recognised wherever he went.

Smirk.

Enjoying his new-found fame, Bjorn Jandel couldn’t hide his smile and took a seat alone at the center table.

He ordered a drink and began to chug it down.

“Sir, how can I help with your order…?”

The man, who had taken a seat at another table, ordered some food while keeping an eye on Bjorn Jandel.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened.

“Ahhh…!”

Drinking and drinking, again and again.

The table was soon filled with drunkards who smelled the alcohol and flocked to it.

“Haha! Drinking such strong liquor all at once, truly a giant!”

People who initially approached out of curiosity stayed because they found it amusing.

Among them, there were quite a few women.

“Hey, can I touch your arm?”

“…Sure!”

“Wow, it’s really like steel! I’m Amy, by the way.”

Women who were intrigued by the famous explorer tried to seduce the Barbarian warrior, pretending otherwise.

It was to no avail.

Bjorn Jandel was known to have three lovers already, whom he cherished deeply—

“I am… Jandel’s son, Bjorn! Nice to meet you…!”

Huh?

“Ahem…!”

“Oh my, how manly.”

Even as the women’s touches grew more secretive and bold, the Barbarian warrior didn’t stop them.

“Can I touch your thigh too?”

“Hmm! If you want to…”

He pretended to allow it reluctantly, but the slight upward curve of his lips showed he was enjoying it too.

‘Is this a hero…?’

The man was dumbfounded, but the people here didn’t seem bothered by his actions at all.

They didn’t seem to think there was anything ethically wrong with it.

Anyway, the drinking continued into the evening.

“BETHEL—RAAAAHHH!!! Bring more drinks! I have plenty of money!!”

As midnight approached, the man hoped Bjorn Jandel was not a player.

He had good reason.

Bjorn was suddenly arm-wrestling, breaking tables, solving problems with money and intimidating a drunken patron with his strength for staring at him loudly.

This went beyond merely ‘acting’

He was a brainless Barbarian warrior, through and through..

‘This… this couldn’t be Elfnunna…’

Even as he thought this, the man waited until midnight.

It would be a waste to leave without confirming after spending the whole day here.

How much time had passed since then?

[23:59]

There was one minute left until the community opened.

The Barbarian was still drinking with people.

It was something no community user would ever do.

Tick.

The minute hand moved, marking midnight.

The man had set it so that he didn’t have to enter the community this round, so he could watch Bjorn Jandel without missing a second.

‘…It wasn’t him.’

Even at midnight, Bjorn Jandel was still laughing and chatting. Even the quickest logout would cause a moment of stiffness, but there was none.

It meant he wasn’t part of the community.

‘If he received the letter earlier but still isn’t a member, he must not be a player. After all, if he could read the letter, there would be no reason for him not to have joined by now.’

The man stood up, feeling relieved.

Bjorn Jandel wasn’t a player.

And with that fact…

‘Yeah, there’s no way someone like this could be a modern person.’

An inexplicable sense of relief also bloomed.

***

Caron’s account of the previous day’s events was simple.

After all, he had been holed up in the pub drinking all day.

‘No wonder he reeked of alcohol.’

Of course, I wasn’t planning to complain about this.

I was the one who instructed him to drink.

I figured that in a pub, he wouldn’t be able to openly pull any tricks due to the watchful eyes of the crowd.

“So, what happened while you were drinking?”

“Oh, that? It’s a long story…but it was quite entertaining!”

I quickly skimmed over the stories about him befriending a drunkard at the pub and accidentally breaking a table, which he then had to pay for

These were expected.

I didn’t mind the cost of the table or the drinks.

As long as what I wanted to be done was properly taken care of.

“Did you notice any weirdo in the bar?”

“Hmm..”

Caron seemed to be searching his alcohol-soaked brain before giving me the answer I wanted.

“Now that you mention it, there was a weird, weak-looking guy in the corner all day. He kept ordering but never ate or drank anything.”

I knew immediately that this was him.

“So, what did you do? Did you talk to him?”

“No, I didn’t. He seemed mentally unstable, so I didn’t approach him.”

“When did he leave the bar?”

“I’m not sure… but it was around midnight.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Staying in the bar all day and leaving right at midnight?

It seemed my plan had worked.

Given how Caron had mingled with the drunkards, any suspicion about me should be gone.

So, this plan concluded successfully—

“Yes, it must have been midnight. I met the beast woman around 1 a.m.”

Huh?

“…What beast woman?”

An uneasy feeling crept over me.

And, as usual, my premonition was spot on.

“Karlstein’s daughter!”

Caron, who was disguised as me, had met Misha.

“What happened when you met?”

I urgently asked Caron to explain.

The summary was this:

“She’s quite fierce, even for a beast woman. I see why you like her.”

Misha had grabbed Caron by the collar and dragged him outside from the midst of other women.

They had a brief conversation alone…

“Sorry, no matter what I said, she didn’t believe me.”

Caron’s identity was soon revealed.

Of course, how could he fool her?

But the important part was what happened next.

“So, what happened then?”

“I just told her the truth.”

“…You told her the truth?”

When I asked through gritted teeth, Caron flinched.

But it seemed he felt the need to say this.

“Bjorn, you’re a hero of our tribe. Just fulfilling your duty, so why hide it?”

“…”

“So, I told her the truth! That Bjorn is fulfilling his duty with the female warriors of our tribe, and not to interfere!”

“…”

“Hehe, she didn’t seem to understand what ‘duty’ meant, so I explained it to her in detail. Thankfully, she seemed to get it and left, saying she understood”

“…”

“You should thank me! Now you can go to the sanctuary anytime to fulfill your duty!”

“…”

“So… why are you so silent?”

Caron cautiously asked, and I continued to answer with silence.

I didn’t know what to say.

Damn it, how did things end up like this?

Getting mad at Caron felt pointless.

“Caron, son of Tarson. Swear as a warrior. Swear to keep everything that happened today a secret.”

“A vow? If you wish, I’ll do it a hundred times.”

Sighing internally, I demanded an oath, and Caron agreed without hesitation.

That’s why I couldn’t be angry with him.

“By the way, what does ‘keep secret’ mean?”

“It means not to tell anyone.”

“That’s not difficult! I’m known for being tight-lipped among our tribe’s warriors!”

Right, what would getting mad at him solve?

I had to accept it like a natural disaster. No one gets mad at rain clouds for bringing rain, right?

Caron had already done his part.

Thanks to him, the GM was successfully deceived.

‘Now, I just have to deal with the aftermath.’

After parting ways with Caron, I headed home.

Step, step.

Unlike usual, my steps felt incredibly heavy.

***

When I arrived home, Misha was on the sofa.

She was sitting in the dark living room, her expression unreadable.

Yeah, really nothing.

“You’re back?”

Misha asked nonchalantly.

But her usually neat nails were ragged, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Could she have stayed on the sofa like that all night?

“Yeah, I am…”

My heart tightened.

So, none of the lines I had prepared came out.

“That’s fine. Go get some sleep.”

Misha, who had been watching me as if giving me time to speak, turned and went back to her room.

Even then, I just watched her.

“…”

What could I even say?

That Caron’s words weren’t true?

To explain that, I’d have to talk about the GM.

Sure, I could try another lie…

‘It might make things worse.’

Maybe in the past.

Right now, Misha was suspicious that I could be an evil spirit. Better this than being suspected of that.

Fulfilling the duty of the tribe?

At least it didn’t make me seem like an evil spirit.

This was the best option.

‘…Bullshit.’

I quickly went up the stairs and knocked on Misha’s door.

There was no answer.

Does she not want to talk to me?

“I’m coming in.”

Like a true Barbarian, I ignored her wishes and did what I wanted.

Bang-!

Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked and opened easily.

Misha was on the bed, covered with a blanket.

“…”

So, she didn’t even want to see my face.

I was right to follow her.

There’s a right time for everything.

A tank protects their comrades, not hurts them.

So…

“If you don’t want to talk, just listen.”

I said.

I still didn’t have the courage to reveal that I was an evil spirit.

Using the body of a Barbarian, straightforwardly.

“Nothing happened at the sanctuary.”

Misha lowered the blanket a little at my words.

Then she asked.

“…Why are you telling me that?”

She meant that there was no need for explanations or excuses.

She wasn’t wrong.

Misha and I were just comrades.

There was an opportunity to become something more, but I pushed it away. I believed that emotional involvement would hinder rational decisions in critical moments.

But…

“Bjorn, if you’re worried about my feelings, you don’t need to—”

“I’m not saying this for you. I’m saying it to ease my mind. Unlike Dwalki, I’m a selfish person.”

I cut her off and continued.

“Misha, nothing happened at the sanctuary last night, and I don’t want you to misunderstand because of that.”

“Why don’t you want me to misunderstand…?”

There was a glimmer of hope and expectation in Misha’s eyes that emerged from the blanket.

Something that couldn’t be ignored forever.

After a brief pause, I continued.

Even if I was just an evil spirit in Bjorn Jandel’s body.

“Because I don’t see you as just a comrade anymore.”

It was a truth I couldn’t deny forever.

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