Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Branch Point (5)

Ghost Master.

The administrator with control over the community, and a legendary veteran player among players.

“As expected, it’s you. GM.”

I feel suffocated for a moment.

‘Hans A. is the GM…?’

I’m confused.

If it’s true, why would a big shot like the GM hide his identity and approach me?

Just to see my face because I’m famous these days?

The GM suspected me of being a ‘player’.

So he approached me during the banquet to test me, and he even followed me.

This seemed like a more plausible hypothesis.

Even though it wasn’t very pleasant for me.

‘Then he must have been the one who cast that Gale spell earlier.’

The question is naturally answered as the hypothesis is formed.

He must have been curious if I was alive after the carriage suddenly exploded and a smoke grenade went off, blocking his vision while he was following me.

‘I’ll think about this later.’

I returned to the most important topic.

The man who fell from the sky, called Hans A. the GM, and exuded an aura that even the knights were afraid of.

Just who was this man—

“Unban me. Or you’ll die here.”

…Huh?

‘Unban him?’

I involuntarily felt a chill run down my spine.

The reason was simple.

There was only one person I knew who would make such a demand to the GM.

The proud Korean.

‘Lee Baekho.’

Of course, it wasn’t impossible that it was someone else.

How many people had the GM banned?

It was possible that someone was holding a grudge and came to make demands like that.

But…

“Mister, can’t you hear me?”

…I kept seeing Lee Baekho’s face.

‘…Is it really him?’

I engraved his appearance in my mind once more with that thought.

‘He’s about 175 centimeters tall.’

He was wearing a neat suit, with no visible equipment, and if he wasn’t disguised, his race was human.

His skin was white, and he didn’t have any noticeable scars.

His platinum blonde hair was slicked back in a pomade style.

Although he had handsome features, he gave off a more mischievous vibe than a gentleman because of his unique gaze—

“Viscount Yandel.”

A knight approached me and whispered as I was observing him.

“You mustn’t run away.”

“…What do you mean?”

“He’s not someone you can do that to.”

His voice was filled with tension.

Don’t tell me he knew who he was?

“Who is that man?”

I hurriedly asked.

And…

“He’s—”

…just as the knight was about to answer…

“Ah, you guys were here too?”

…the man’s gaze shifted towards us.

Ha, I whispered, and he heard it from that distance?

“Bjorn Yandel.”

He knew who I was, judging by how he said my name correctly.

But could it be that he didn’t know me that well?

“You took down that chuunibyou bastard? And in just one year.”

The guy, who was holding Hans A. by the neck, looked at me with curiosity.

As if he had stumbled upon something interesting.

“I’m asking this just in case…”

He then asked,

“Are you a player?”

Ha, no wonder I felt uneasy as soon as he knew my name.

This kind of premonition never fails.

There was only one answer I could give.

“…You’re an evil spirit.”

I didn’t deny it or pretend I didn’t know.

I called him an ‘evil spirit’ and drew a line.

It didn’t matter if he was Lee Baekho or not.

After all, what else could I say when there were so many people watching?

“Hmm, that’s strange. Although you’ve become famous, I don’t think you’re at a level that would interest the GM.”

He muttered, “If you’re not a player…” and narrowed his eyes.

And…

“Hey.”

…he continued, his voice devoid of any emotion, even though he was smiling.

“Answer with yes or no.”

“Don’t answ— Keugh!”

The knight, who was trying to advise me, was punched in the stomach by something invisible and sent flying.

I didn’t have to ask who did it.

“Ah, are you worried because there are so many people? Don’t worry. If you’re a player, I’ll kill them all. Damn right, I can do that much to satisfy my curiosity.”

He grinned and forced me to choose again.

“Yes or no.”

I barely held back from answering, “No.”

Because the question itself was suspicious.

To ask the same question while telling me to only answer with yes or no? It’s like he has the ability to distinguish between truth and lies.

‘There’s actually an essence like that.’

It was wise to be cautious since I didn’t have any information.

“If you don’t want to answer, I’ll kill that cat girl.”

He then cornered me.

I could tell it wasn’t just a threat as soon as I heard it.

‘Damn it.’

What should I do?

Although I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a solution.

That’s when…

[…Mr. Baekho.]

“Huh?”

[See you later.]

A light erupted from Hans A.’s body, who had been staring blankly with his neck still in the man’s grasp.

______________________

“Ha, this son of a…”

Lee Baekho cursed and sat up.

A vast farm filled with the refreshing scent of fruit.

It didn’t take long for him to realize where he was.

There was only one place with a farm like this.

Gnometree, the 6th district of Lafdonia.

“This is so annoying. That bastard won’t leave the Magic Tower now…”

Lee Baekho admitted that he had let him go.

There would be no one left even if he went to the Magic Tower now.

It was clearly his miscalculation.

He was wary of him escaping using teleportation since he was a mage. He had grabbed him by the neck to prevent him from even chanting.

But chantless teleport?

And on himself, at that?

“Right, so he’s also a big shot.”

Although he was a bit regretful that he underestimated his opponent, he quickly shook it off.

It had already happened.

It didn’t suit him to dwell on the past.

And besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t gain anything.

He found out that bastard was the GM.

‘I have time, so I can just keep running around.’

Lee Baekho scratched his head and then turned his attention to something else.

“So I couldn’t get an answer in the end.”

Bjorn Yandel.

The barbarian he met while chasing the GM.

“…Well, whatever.”

Lee Baekho stopped worrying about whether that barbarian was a player or not.

In the first place, it was more likely that he wasn’t…

…and he had lost interest in him.

Even if he was a player, he wouldn’t be interested now.

Those who were satisfied with this world and obsessed with NPCs weren’t helpful to his plan.

Thud.

Lee Baekho lay down on the ground.

And he used the [Spatial Interference] skill to pluck a grape from a vine and put it in his mouth.

“Ah, grapes are the best when they’re natural.”

The air was clean, and there was a lot of delicious food.

And that GM bastard wouldn’t leave the Magic Tower for a while.

‘And it’s too much of a hassle to go to Bifron.’

He thought it wouldn’t be bad to stay here for a while.

____________________

Two days had passed since that incident.

The title bestowal ceremony, the assassin, the GM, and Lee Baekho.

So much had happened in just one day, and the past two days were spent cleaning up the aftermath.

First, the ‘assassin’…

[We’ll take them and interrogate them.]

…the captured assassins were escorted to the Moselan.

I heard from a knight today that they were hired by someone unknown.

For reference, the explosives that instantly killed three knights were also given to them by that ‘someone’…

[Their mission was to kill Viscount Yandel and steal the essence he received.]

There were many suspicious aspects.

I could understand the essence part.

The box containing the test tube was very sturdy.

It was possible for them to ambush and kill me and take it.

But…

[What were they going to do if I had absorbed it?]

[We also found that strange.]

And the client even offered a huge bounty for my head.

It meant that the essence was just an excuse.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to pay to have me killed.

So the Moselan guessed that the client was Noark.

At least until yesterday.

[…So you’re saying it’s highly likely one of the large clans?]

The Moselan concluded that the culprit was one of the large clans. They said Noark would have sent more competent people if it were them.

They said this kind of ‘request’ didn’t suit them.

And most importantly, the large clans had a motive.

[Yes. They were probably planning to harm Viscount Yandel and then frame our royal family. Actually, we found evidence of such schemes in several bars that night.]

Although it was a plausible guess, there was a question.

Then what about what the Clown bastard said?

Did he say that because he obtained this information beforehand?

‘Well, he did say an assassin would come. He didn’t say it was from Noark…’

He might have judged that it wouldn’t hurt to tell me beforehand since it wasn’t his assassin.

‘…No, maybe the real one hasn’t even arrived yet?’

I feel a sense of self-deprecation.

Phew, why do I have to live in fear even in the city?

Anyway, enough about the assassin. Next…

‘GM.’

To summarize, Hans A. wasn’t the GM.

[The Hans Aiphreya we saw that day must have been someone in disguise.]

When they raided his house, the real Hans Aiphreya was unconscious.

They even checked his mana just in case, but he didn’t have a shred of magic talent.

In short, it meant someone borrowed his identity.

‘Tsk.’

It was a bit disappointing.

I thought I might be able to find out the GM’s identity…

‘But it’s not like there were no gains.’

It was one of the few things that comforted me.

First, I learned that the GM suspected me of being a player.

At least I had time to prepare.

‘He must be even more suspicious now that he saw me not answering. He’ll probably target the next community session.’

Fortunately, I had a guess about this.

So I had also prepared a countermeasure.

Anyway, next…

‘Lee Baekho.’

He was definitely Lee Baekho.

After all, the GM said so at the end.

[…Mr. Baekho. See you later.]

He said it using magic, not his voice, even though his neck was being held.

Hmm, it didn’t really matter.

[That person… I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.]

I asked the knight who was there about Lee Baekho later, but that was the only answer I got.

Is this what they mean by ‘timing is everything’?

It seemed like he would have told me if Lee Baekho hadn’t interrupted him.

‘As expected, he’s a dangerous guy…’

I didn’t think I could be friends with him like before, even if I met him again.

Did I realize that our personalities were completely different?

I didn’t think his innocent persona in the community was his true self, but this was too much.

‘He’s a real madman…’

Anyway, enough about Lee Baekho. Next…

‘Misha.’

This was the most troublesome part, the one that made me feel suffocated.

“Bjorn, listen to me without thinking anything strange, okay?”

“…….”

“You, you’re not going to suddenly disappear? Ri, right…?”

Misha started looking at me anxiously.