Surviving the Game as a Barbarian – 231



Episode 231: New Age (1)

An absolute monarch who was the first king and called the Immortal King.

Labigion III.

King Gaebyeok who ruled Lapdonia for thousands of years and ascended to the throne after his death implemented many policies to shake off the legacy of the previous king that had been deeply rooted in the city.

As a representative example there was a revision of the calendar law.

1 year 13 months 365 days.

In order to more easily calculate the cycle in which the labyrinth opens a month was fixed to 30 days and to accommodate the remaining days a 13th month with only 5 days was created.

Additionally touching the portal changed the final labyrinth cycle of the year to 35 days.

Of course there was controversy among scholars.

It is not practical to waste 5 days every year for intuitiveness.

However King Gaebyeok steadfastly held a grand festival every 13 months to win the public’s support and as the years passed the controversy subsided as people adapted to the changed calendar.

Oh and the era name was also changed twice.

At first it was named after King Gaebyeok but because it was long and difficult to pronounce the people called it by the king’s nickname and naturally the royal family also began to use that name.

So time passed—

May 2 154 AD.

Seven pillars of fire emitted from each dimension square covered the skies of Lapdonia. It was a disaster that would be recorded in history books by the hand of a scribe and recorded for a long time.

***

“Nimiral.”

He held his sides with his hands and struggled to get up.

And then he leaves the room holding on to his crutches that were standing by his bed.

Oh those damn stairs.

“Bjorn! “Call me when you wake up why are you whining alone?”

Misha who was cooking on the first floor found me and came over to help her.

This makes her seem like a real patient.

Oh are you a patient?

I was told I would need to rest for a month but I still don’t have enough strength in my arms and legs.

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“Now sit down. Is this your first proper meal after coming out? “It’s been a while since I paid attention.”

While Misha went to pick up Ainar I held the spoon and caught her breath for a moment.

‘It’s been three days.’

Three days have passed since that day.

Of course it hardly feels real.

On the first day after returning even though all the survivors were tired they were taken to the king’s house and had to give a statement about what happened in the labyrinth and then after returning home they continued to sleep.

‘…You crazy bastards.’

When I think back to the moment when the pillar of fire exploded I still get chills down my spine.

I never would have guessed that they were aiming to rob an empty house.

I never dreamed that there would be a trap set up in the center of the square where the portal opens.

In all seven squares.

‘…What will really happen from now on?’

The damage suffered by those of us who came out after the labyrinth was normally closed was minimal but many large clans including the 3rd Royal Knights were literally wiped out.

Of course there were no survivors among them.

Even in the center some who had portals formed on the outside retreated immediately as soon as the magic circle emitted light and were lucky to survive.

About a hundred people?

Oh by the way this is a number that includes all seven dimensional squares.

It’s a bit ironic.

[A good commander is not one who makes perfect choices. He’s a dick who has to make choices.]

Those who made the choices they had to make died.

Those abandoned survived after fighting for several days without proper sleep.

The position changed overnight.

What would have happened if I had listened to his suggestion and left my colleagues?

“He must be dead.”

The moment I said those words without realizing it I heard Misha’s voice from behind me.

“huh? what?”

“It’s nothing. But what about Einar?”

“Even when I hit its back it didn’t budge at all.”

“You must be very tired.”

“huh. “I’m just going to make you another meal later when I wake up for a bit.”

You must be tired too.

Misha really helped us sleep and rest by waking up from time to time to prepare us food even while we were sleeping. In the meantime I found her crutches from somewhere and took care of them.

A colleague you can’t help but rely on in many ways.

“What are you doing if you’re not eating?”

I was staring at Misha blankly and then I came to my senses and lifted the spoon and put it in her mouth.

A taste that tells you that a hard day is over.

“…What are you going to do Erwen?”

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Misha asked as the meal was almost over.

After completing her investigation on her first day Erwen took her sister’s body and headed to the elves’ sacred place.

“Well I decided to come visit you after the funeral so I plan to talk about it in detail then.”

“Uhm really?”

Misha who had shown a lukewarm reaction suddenly said.

“Why don’t we just bring him here?”

what? Are you thinking about it?

Or do you just say no in advance?

Several thoughts crossed my mind for a moment but if you look at the cancer alone it is not like that.

“What do you mean?”

“You… you said she stayed with her sister right? It will be harder if you stay there. “But I’m a little worried about asking you to come out and live alone.”

“so?”

“It can’t be helped because six people can’t enter the labyrinth but I think it’s right to take care of her until she gets her mind back together.”

Oh she was. She was like this.

For some reason she was quirky so she teased him as if she were joking.

“Didn’t you hate fairies?”

“What on earth are you looking at when it comes to profits? She tried her best to prepare food and then spit out everything she had just eaten. Spit it all out!”

Misha grumbles and looks at me.

She felt so amazing.

Just a moment ago she felt like her heart was being weighed down by thoughts of this and that.

“Why are you laughing? “It makes people feel bad.”

“I just did it because I was grateful.”

“…Oh suddenly again.”

Misha avoids her gaze and gulps down water as if she is annoyed.

I quietly looked at that figure.

In fact if it weren’t for the ears and tail sprouting on top of her head she just looks like an ordinary human.

Her red hair has grown a little longer than when I first saw her.

Her high nose and slightly raised eyes.

Even if you just exchange a few words you can tell that he’s a loser but when I first saw his face I thought he was very harsh and arrogant.

“….”

“….”

I realized late that the surroundings were quiet.

The kitchen is filled with awkward silence for some reason.

“I….”

It was just as Misha was about to open her mouth to say something.

She knocks.

A knock was heard at the front door.

“I’ll go out and see.”

“…Yeah I guess I need to clean up the table.”

When she walked over with her crutches and opened the front door there was a nice figure standing there.

“Kyle Pevrosk.”

“Haha nice to meet you. “Have you had a good rest so far?”

“I fell asleep as soon as I came but now I woke up.”

“Then maybe we can have a quick chat?”

“of course. “Come in.”

As soon as I moved to the side Kyle came inside the house. And I exchanged greetings with Misha who was clearing the table.

“uh! Kyle?”

“I’m sorry Ms. Karlstein. “I think I came to visit and interrupted their private time.”

“Don’t make fun of profits! “Because this guy and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Hmm no? “Then you were rude.”

Kyle apologizes sincerely as if he didn’t know.

Misha glanced at me as if she was paying attention then quickly turned her head and started doing her housework.

Therefore we also sat on the living room sofa.

“Actually I tried to come here earlier but as you know I have a lot of work to do.”

“I understand. Because something like that happened…”

“Yeah right….”

The uncomfortable silence that arose when mentioning that incident.

Soon Misha put the cookies he had bought earlier on her sofa table and went back to her room to talk with her in peace.

“Oh it’s from the Lanmouth Bakery?”

“okay? “It seems like a famous place.”

Thanks to you the atmosphere has changed.

I opened my mouth more comfortably.

“If I have enough time I’d like to listen to it from the beginning.”

“There’s quite a bit of time until the next schedule but you’re starting from the beginning?”

“The Destructionist. “What happened with that old man back then?”

It was a story I was curious about but had never heard before.

When I woke up the 7th day was about to end and I still had to take care of Erwen.

Needless to say only after returning to the city.

The dimensional square that day was truly a crucible of chaos.

“Oh you mean that….”

Kyle started talking while biting into a cookie.

Since it was about a battle with a wizard there were several parts that were difficult for me to understand but it was simple to discuss the main points.

I lost in a one-on-one match.

‘Awakening’ which had been prepared for many years was cornered by overwhelming magic linkage before it could be used properly.

So the magic was activated in an incomplete state and caused damage but…

“I thought I tried so hard to catch up but it was all my mistake. No in fact the difference seems to have widened further than before.”

Kyle faced the wall.

A wall that can never be overcome no matter what.

What’s even more humiliating is that he survived.

“… He said it was a waste of talent. Isn’t it funny? I’m not even his match. “Maybe he wouldn’t have done that much damage if he hadn’t tried to save me.”

When he finished talking Kyle’s expression was full of shadows.

“It probably wasn’t a topic I wanted to bring up but thank you for bringing it up.”

“I thought you should know. “Maybe I will become their target because of this incident.”

After all you think so too.

“Because of this incident the royal family has raised the danger level of Annihilation Scholars by one level. Right below the leader. Honestly as someone who experienced him firsthand I think it’s safe to put him on the same level as the leader… No matter how many times I tell him everyone doesn’t think he’s at that level.”

“Because you won’t know until you experience it yourself.”

A wizard who can pierce the anti-magic setting that I barely managed to achieve with a simple hit.

How many such monsters are there in this world?

If they happen to meet each other in the labyrinth while still in normal condition they will be annihilated within a few minutes.

“Anyway that’s why I wanted to tell you to be careful.”

Well I don’t think he’ll bother coming for revenge given his personality.

Maybe it’s a clown.

“What happened to the body collector?”

“There is no news yet. “I heard that he was fatally wounded by you just before he left so he’s probably still alive.”

“…I see.”

At least the clown is better.

Because we lost an army of thousands of corpses this time.

It will take a huge amount of time to recover but at least there is time to grow.

“Oh so how many survivors are there?”

“You mean those who went through the portal right?”

“Of course. “I think I heard that about 100 people lived there.”

Kyle sighed at my words.

“To be exact 103 people. “I don’t know if I can call it alive.”

“What does it mean?”

Kyle once again explained something using wizard-specific jargon.

To summarize it was like this.

“So you’re saying that because it was an unusual magic with black magic added it couldn’t be treated properly even with divine power?”

“I see. Everyone is unconscious now. When will you wake up? “No it’s unclear whether I can even wake up.”

“That’s so fucking bad.”

After talking about the survivors we had a conversation about ‘the incident.’

How on earth did this happen?

Kyle who can be said to be a high-ranking member of the royal family told us what he knew without hiding anything.

“We were confused at first too. “It’s a magic that requires at least several months of preparation before it can even work so how can you prepare something like that in the square in just one day?”

The question that all explorers including me had that day.

The answer was really simple.

“It turns out that he drew a magic circle in the sewer to avoid prying eyes.”

As befits people living in underground tunnels they worked below.

“As a result of the investigation there was no problem with the barrier on the Noark side. In other words it means that they have the means to get out or have the manpower stolen in advance.”

I laughed awkwardly at his guess.

It was probably manpower that had been stolen in advance.

For example…

‘Amelia.’

A spy from Noark who infiltrated the city.

Until now it was difficult to call them enemies.

I thought their hatred was only directed at the royal family and not at me.

but….

‘It would be correct to see them as enemies now.’

That woman will continue to work for Noark and if she is unlucky I may lose her life because of it.

Unless I’m going into Noark.

“Then let’s get to the point here.”

“Bottom line?”

“The current situation in the city is not good. A large number of people important to maintaining this city have died. “If things continue like this the economy will collapse first.”

This was what I expected too.

Explorers are miners who mine resources from the labyrinth.

Although the knights are strong they cannot even keep up with the explorers.

However all the top explorers died.

Well some big clans were boycotting it.

And even after receiving the dog tags there are still many high-ranking explorers who were watching the situation because they were not at ease…

The real problem is different.

“Maybe they won’t want to enter the labyrinth anymore. At least until we are sure that the labyrinth is safe.”

An unsafe labyrinth.

It’s a really funny expression but I understand it.

In this episode less than 2000 people entered the labyrinth and came back alive.

In this situation who would want to enter the labyrinth and mine the magic stone?

“…It’s something that can’t be helped. Until now the dog tags and the existence of the 3rd Royal Knights have reassured explorers but now the reality has been revealed.”

The knights who said they would protect us from Noark in the labyrinth decided to work with large clans and opened a portal. And then he abandoned 10000 explorers and ran away.

“It’s a shame someone said something like that during a meeting. “It might have been better if there had been no survivors at all.”

I smiled bitterly at Kyle’s words.

The more I experience it the more I think it is a cruel world.

I wonder if complaining will change anything.

“So now I have to be careful not only with the Annihilator Corpse Collector but also with the royal family?”

“Haha how can that be possible?”

Kyle waved his hand at my concern which was both joking and sincere.

“I don’t know because you stayed home but now you have become a very important person in the royal family.”

“…More details.”

“At this very moment your story is spreading through the mouths of survivors who were on the journey that day. In just a few more days there will probably be no one in this city who doesn’t know who you are. “Isn’t he the divinity who single-handedly brought the corpse collector to that point?”

“…I’m alone so please don’t go somewhere and spread such nonsense.”

“This guy is also very humble.”

No it’s not humility it’s that I’m really a burden.

Just a good guy who worked harder than anyone else.

I don’t know if that’s the extent of it but this is a reputation that is difficult for me to handle.

If you say he fought alone he’s more of a clown.

Even while he was fighting our team he was pushing back against the main army of hundreds of mid-level explorers with a large army of corpses.

‘If you think about it this way he’s a real monster too.’

I briefly cleared up my fleeting thoughts and got back to the main topic.

“So what does that have to do with the royal family? “Explorers of my level would have been widespread in the royal family.”

“But there are few explorers as iconic as you.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Isn’t there already growing distrust toward the royal family? It is clear that this incident will be a catalyst. The royal family decided. “If you become their focal point it could easily spread into a big fire…”

Nimiral.

“…huh? “Why does your expression look like that?”

I answered honestly.

“For some reason it only sounded like they were going to get rid of me.”

It was 100% pure and sincere.

But Kyle perhaps aware of my concerns chuckled.

“Don’t worry. “What kind of treatment will be given to you has already been decided through the meeting.”

It’s confirmed?

Oh so you said the royal family doesn’t have to be careful?

“Stop hesitating and tell me now. “Now that I see it I think that’s why I came today.”

When I urged Kyle on he smiled and spoke as if he was prouder.

“Congratulations. “Soon there will be a very very big reward for you.”

The royal family decided to give me a carrot.