Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 176



Episode 176: Doppelganger (1)

Red short hair that goes down to the shoulders.

A tattoo under the eye.

He is a little over 170 cm tall and has a slim muscular body.

“….”

Standing in front of her mirror Amelia tucks her hair behind her ear revealing the scar on her half-cut ear.

If she wants to live a woman’s life her wounds will definitely be a flaw.

She had no choice but to leave it alone because she didn’t have money to buy a bottle of potion at that time.

Of course if she was the way she is now it wouldn’t be impossible to treat her cleanly…

She didn’t have to.

“We’re almost there.”

This wound always reminds me.

Who is her own enemy?

“The Lord of Amelia Lane Wales is calling.”

She carried her previously packed bag and headed out.

An unexpected person was waiting for her.

“I didn’t know you would come.”

A member of Orculis.

The most famous evil spirit both above and below ground and a major criminal known in the world as the Corpse Collector.

“Because the situation is so urgent.”

“How bad is it?”

“The royal family put a strong emphasis on it. “I never imagined that they would release that crazy guy from prison.”

“…Could it be that he came out?”

Amelia who always had a blank expression couldn’t hide her embarrassment this time.

If the ‘Corpse Collector’ was a publicly known evil spirit that man was the opposite.

Few people know his name but…

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A being that is bound to be feared more than anyone else by anyone who knows even a little bit about its identity.

“Yes he came. Thanks to you things got a little messy. “Right now our side is dying in droves.”

Her bespectacled man grinned and patted Amelia on the back.

“So let’s go. “Everyone has already gathered and now you just have to come and it’s over?”

“…i get it. “Let’s move quickly.”

Soon Amelia walked after her man.

A quiet hallway where only the sound of fast footsteps can be heard.

“Did the dragon slayer also participate in the battle?”

“huh? Ah… he’s got a sore arm what can he do? “Maybe he’s still resting in his room?”

“…I see.”

Amelia carefully asked one more question.

“Is there any way to get out?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

The man suddenly stops walking and turns around.

As he is famous for his intelligence he may be connected to the incident where the dragon slayer’s equipment was released on the black market.

‘I made a mistake.’

Although it seemed like she was impatient in hindsight Amelia answered as calmly as possible.

“If it’s no longer useful I’m going to kill it.”

“…huh? Do you have any ill-fated relations with him?”

“I don’t like the eyes.”

A moment of silence followed Amelia’s answer.

She wasn’t long.

She was a man who burst into laughter as if he had heard a pleasant story.

“Ahahaha! but! Those snake eyes are a little annoying. Especially since I don’t even know the topic.”

The man’s steps which had stopped started moving again.

“Still please bear with me. “It seems that the body will heal in about half a year to a year.”

“Dragon Slayer Sword? “Without that he’s really useless right?”

“Oh that. I’ll have to look for it. “Grandfather Alchemist said there’s no way to restore her memories?”

“…I see.”

A way to restore memories.

I wanted to ask what that was but I held back.

Isn’t she the one who has never been interested in others?

With this quick-witted guy he would definitely feel uncomfortable.

‘I’ll have to look into this separately later.’

After passing through her hallway for about three minutes a huge door loomed before her eyes.

The white gate leading to Daejeon in Seongju.

As I entered I saw the Lord sitting on the throne.

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“It’s been a while since I saw you.”

“Welcome. Amelia Lane Wales.”

Amelia gave a curt salute and looked at the other four people in the main hall. Three of them were familiar to me and one was a stranger to me.

“I’m an explorer from the Orculis side. “But since I don’t have time I’ll say hello later and get to the point.”

She also erased her curiosity and listened to Seongju’s words.

“You can tell just by looking at the fact that I called you here but the situation is not good.”

“Hehe I heard! “I heard that crazy guy came all the way down here?”

“I see. Miss Carmilla. The leader is dealing with him now but he says it will be difficult for him to last long.”

Seongju smiled bitterly and continued.

In the end he ended up blocking the city.

So for two years no one will be able to go outside or come in.

“I will activate the sealing magic circle as soon as you exit through the secret passage. “Do you have any questions?”

“No there is none.”

“See you in two years! “Handsome Seongju oppa!”

“What kind of manner of speaking is that to Lord Carmilla?”

“What a smelly man.”

After a short conversation Amelia and her four companions moved to a secret passageway in the floor.

Soon we came to a point with a red flag.

[Arrived.]

[I wish you luck.]

As soon as contact was made through the message stone a huge force of magical power erupted from the direction of the city.

“Wow that’s amazing. “You really can’t get over it?”

A huge barrier made of blue magical energy.

‘I never thought I’d leave this city like this.’

Amelia tried to erase her strange feelings and recalled her current mission.

“I heard you are the commander. “What should we do now?”

Her mission is truly simple.

Information gathering in Lapdonia.

This is the main task and if possible….

‘We’re finally here.’

Killing one explorer.

A long line was drawn at the corner of her mouth as she recalled her second mission instructed by Seongju.

***

There were all kinds of rumors going around in the city.

From conspiracy theories that claim that the failure of the subjugation was the result of the royal family’s intention to apocalyptic theories that the city will be destroyed in a war with Noark.

‘This world is no different.’

I spent several days touring bars and listening to such nonsense over and over again.

A tedious yet stressful task.

However it was also an inevitable choice.

Maybe it’s the mask of the round table lion.

What can a barbarian do from scratch?

I have no choice but to run with my body.

“Bjorn are you going out for a drink today too?”

“Okay you’ll be late so go to bed first.”

There is less than a week left until entering the labyrinth.

Today again as soon as the sun went down I went out into the street and had a drink alone.

Even if I just did that I heard the information on my own.

“They said payment of compensation for death would be delayed until next month.”

“Well if that many people died the royal family wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Haha it’s the opposite. “They say there is enough money but there are so many deaths that it takes time to count them.”

In some ways it was similar to the early days.

Well I didn’t have money back then so I couldn’t go to bars and just keep my ears open when eating.

‘Nothing special today either.’

Since the royal family did not properly express its position after the failure of the subjugation the rumors were endlessly reproduced as if they were copied word for word.

However if we were to summarize only the things that are close to the facts it would be as follows.

1. Noark also suffered significant damage and was saved by a blockade just before its defeat.

This part is certain because there are many witnesses.

No matter how many people participate how many people will it be hidden?

2. There is a great explorer unknown to the royal family.

It was a story I heard directly from a drunk survivor.

How did Derbez whom I met at that meeting come back alive and well?

Did you say he fought on equal footing with the leader of Orculis?

Well it’s a royal family so it wouldn’t be strange to have at least one such expert.

Anyway here’s the next one.

3. In this subjugation three teenage clans were disbanded.

In fact it is not dismantlement but destruction.

There are less than 10% of survivors so recovery is completely impossible.

For reference not only the teenage clans but also more than half of the small and medium-sized clans on the 5th and 6th floors were disintegrated.

‘But thanks to this there will be less control over hunting grounds.’

It is the only positive factor in the current situation.

The issue that comes with it as a reward is too serious to be happy about it.

‘If it’s a long game we’ll have no choice but to end up fighting in the labyrinth.’

This is something I have been worried about ever since I saw signs of war.

Honestly when I think about it I just laugh out loud.

‘Infinite PK content….’

Isn’t this content that you haven’t experienced in the original work?

If the labyrinth turns into a battlefield I who have to make money and grow there have no choice but to get caught up in it.

‘If the supply and demand of magic stones decreases inflation will certainly begin.’

Unfortunately it was difficult to even hear about these concerns in a cheap bar.

Well if there are explorers who are already worried about inflation they should start by suspecting evil spirits.

‘Now I have to make a decision too.’

Slowly the time for decision arrived.

Do you stop exploring until things calm down or just enter the labyrinth as usual?

In fact the answer was fixed.

‘…I guess it’s right to go in after all.’

There is no guarantee as to when this chaos will end.

Taking a break is closer to shaking hands.

Because the bad relationship with the dragon slayer bastard is not over.

You must become as strong as possible before the vine ring breaks.

That’s the only way to live.

‘Anyway if you are forced to conscript later you will eventually have to participate in the war.’

Above all Noark suffered significant damage in this battle.

To put it simply that too will require maintenance time.

Even if we say no we are better off than other explorers.

Of course the first floor can be breached with a bug.

The 4th floor is an independent level so even on the 5th floor you can free yourself from PK and hunt by simply entering through the mirror.

‘The problem is how to persuade the two…’

Wizard Raven and Mr. Bear from 10 Years Jjambap.

I still don’t know if those two will actually say they will enter the labyrinth.

‘The only way is to face it directly.’

As soon as the decision was made I emptied my glass and left the bar.

Barbarians have their own ways.

“I’m sorry but business is over for today… Oh Mr. Yandel. What’s going on here? Because of him?”

“Is Abman there?”

“He’s probably sleeping drenched in alcohol. Please wait a moment. “I’ll wake you up immediately and take care of you.”

Is it because I received proper financial treatment this time?

Mrs. Gom seems to be several times kinder than before.

She sat down at a less-cleared table and waited for a while and soon Mr. Bear was brought in rubbing his eyes.

“Yandel what on earth is going on in the middle of the night?”

“I have something important to discuss.”

“Hmm really? Sober up for a moment. honey?”

When Mr. Bear called the wife gave him honey water as if she had been waiting for him.

“Drink it all the way.”

Looking at that generous treatment it seems like he has regained his authority as the head of the family.

“Okay this is it. So what are you trying to say?”

“I ask you directly. Are you going to participate in the expedition this time?”

“Hmm seeing you say that I guess you’ve already made up your mind?”

“I’m going in.”

As she nodded without looking back and forth Mr. Bear chuckled.

“okay? Then I join in.”

“You made a quick decision. “Do you know anything?”

“It’s not like that but aren’t we a team? “If the leader decides you have to trust it and follow it.”

It was a completely unexpected kind of answer.

I never thought they would respect the leader’s authority!

This guy was actually conservative in this way.

“Then this story is over.”

“Would you like to have a drink while you’re here?”

“It’s done. Your wife needs to rest too. “Now that you’re up go help clean up and go to sleep.”

She ended the conversation in an instant and left the bar.

It’s a bonus that Madam Gom’s eyes have become much softer as if she just won some points with her comment.

[03:24]

It was past 3 in the morning but I headed to the magic tower without hesitation.

Anyway for them it’s just daytime.

In fact Raven was also stuck in the lab conducting an experiment.

“huh? Mr. Yandel? “Why at this hour?”

“I came here because I had something to ask.”

“is it so? Just finish what you’re doing. Please sit anywhere and wait for a moment.”

I thought he might rant at night about how rude this was but surprisingly he didn’t say anything.

Is it because we became colleagues?

Still it seems like they no longer treat him like someone else.

“So? “What do you want to ask?”

After waiting for a while Raven cleaned up her surroundings and sat down in front and this time I just spoke out loud.

“Are you going to enter the labyrinth?”

“Oh that… well we had to talk about that too. “What about the rest?”

The tone of voice suggests that he must have come to ask himself the question last.

For some reason my pride is hurt but…

Since it was true I had nothing to say about this.

“Everyone but you agreed to go in.”

“is it so? “Then I’ll go with you.”

“You made a quick decision. “Do you know anything?”

I repeated what I said to Mr. Bear and got a different answer.

“yes.”

“…what?”

“It’s nothing special the royal family didn’t send an official letter to the Magic Tower this time.”

“An official document?”

“Originally if something dangerous happens the first priority is to report it to the Magic Tower. “Don’t go in this time or something like that.”

I felt dizzy for a moment but I understood.

Should I call it some sort of VIP treatment?

Since he is a wizard who is classified as a top-class human resource the royal family directly cares about his safety.

“So don’t worry too much. It was the royal family that led the subjugation but there is still no such official document? In fact it means that the royal family judged it to be not dangerous.”

“…I see. “If there is such a thing please tell me in advance.”

“If the leader wants it.”

With a smile that seemed to be teasing me I left the magic tower and returned home.

And I woke up Misha and Einar who were sleeping.

“Oh whatever. “I was sleeping.”

“Ugh the smell of alcohol!! “Did everyone go to drink without me again?”

“Okay eat this.”

We handed over the packed chicken legs one by one and reported the results.

“We are entering the labyrinth.”

Einar’s response was as if he was saying something so obvious and Misha sighed.

“…Oh I thought so. “You fearless old barbarian.”

It would be nice if everyone on the team were like them.

“So that’s the end?”

“Okay that’s the end. “Go and sleep now.”

“Oh really just tell me about this tomorrow….”

Misha went back to her room complaining and Einar did the same.

“Sleep well! Bjorn!”

I also took out the key and inserted it into the slot.

Just as I was about to turn it sideways and unlock the lock.

Again and again.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

White noise which isn’t particularly strange considering it’s an inn.

But for some reason that sound stuck in my ears today.

Again.

In the end I turned my back to check the stairs and made eye contact with the person who was coming up.

I thought maybe I was mistaken because I was wearing a skirt but…

There’s no way that’s possible.

‘Why is he here?’

Once in the Land of the Dead and once in the sewers.

An 8th floor explorer from the underground city who made me feel like a wall twice.

Commonly known as psychopath.

Gulp.

As soon as I saw that face imprinted in my mind I unconsciously stuck my head in his throat and swallowed.

But the perplexing thing was was it the same on that side?

“I never thought I would meet someone here who knows me.”

“….”

“This is a bit difficult.”

When the woman frowned at me she put one foot behind her and took her stance.

It seemed to her that he had already figured out her solution.

“Well just beat it up and erase its memories like you did then.”

Shit.