Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Branch Point (6)

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What mistake did I make for her to act like this?

That thought didn't even cross my mind.

After all, Misha had been watching me the longest.

A barbarian who read books.

A barbarian who could navigate.

A barbarian who pretended to be stupid but was actually cunning.

A barbarian who always knew things that others didn't, as if it were natural.

There must have been many suspicious things about me.

Well, she had probably just dismissed them, thinking there were all kinds of people in the world…

…but that day’s incident must have made her realize.

She knew the most about me.

[Is there a reason to do what the enemy wants?]

Although I kept avoiding the question with a barbarian-like excuse, it must have seemed strange to Misha.

She knew that I only acted stubborn when there was a reason.

[If you don’t answer, I’ll kill that cat girl.]

I felt a deep sense of despair when I heard those words from that Baekho bastard.

Misha might have even sensed that.

That I was desperately holding back from answering because I was cornered.

“…Disappear? What do you mean?”

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep…

…I pretended not to know anything as Misha cautiously approached me and expressed her anxiety.

“Why would I suddenly disappear?”

“Ah, no, that’s… because of a nightmare.”

Misha changed the subject, using a dream as an excuse.

It seemed like she thought it might really happen if she voiced her anxiety.

“Nightmare? You can sleep next to me if you’re scared!”

“I, I’m not that scared! Geez! Just go to sleep if you’re going to tease me, you old barbarian!”

Misha then left the room, saying what I was talking about, and I let out a silent sigh.

My chest felt tight.

‘Suddenly disappear…’

I knew why she said that.

Because I had secretly entered her room and read the book on her desk.

It was a book I had read at the library before.

A book that listed the patterns and habits of evil spirits.

[Evil spirits are skilled at acting and cunning. And they don’t cling to relationships. If they’re in a situation where their identity might be revealed, they choose to sever all ties and disappear.]

It was a passage I could relate to.

After all, if my identity was revealed, I would be doomed.

First, I would try to distance myself from those around me, and if that didn’t work, I would eventually have to change my identity.

And if even that option was blocked…

‘I would go to Noark.’

Noark was a city made up of such people. Criminals or evil spirits who couldn’t stay in Lafdonia would hide in the sewers, and Noark would take them in.

‘Even the Clown bastard joined Orculus as soon as he was revealed to be an evil spirit.’

I lay in bed and blankly stared at the ceiling.

My mind was racing.

‘If they find out I’m an evil spirit…’

How would they react?

Would they feel betrayed and angry?

Well, I don’t know.

At least Misha was more anxious about me disappearing than about me being an evil spirit.

‘That damn Baekho bastard.’

I finally admitted it.

I was afraid of them finding out about my true identity.

More than the guillotine I might be dragged to.

I was more afraid of everything I had built collapsing.

Even if it was just a sandcastle.

Whoosh.

I took out a magic tool from my subspace pocket.

A magic tool that allowed you to have a private conversation.

[Fine, if that’s what you want, I’ll make sure you have nowhere to go. Hans Krisen is an evil spirit! I have proof in my backp—]

For reference, it also had a recording function, so the dwarf I met in the Doppelganger Forest used it to corner Hans G.

Click.

I pressed the button on the bottom of the magic tool, and the conversation they had back then replayed vividly.

[What are you so worried about? They’re just NPCs.]

[But they’re still companions I’ve been with—]

[That’s funny. Do you think they would still think that way if they knew your identity?]

Hans G couldn’t answer the dwarf’s question.

Because he knew.

[The one your companions considered a friend was the real Hans. And as you know, the real Hans is no longer in this world.]

We’re evil spirits.

No matter what kind of relationship we build here, it’s a precarious one based on lies.

[But… I consider them to be my real companions.]

Hans G answered that way.

But what about his actual actions?

[Ho… w, why…?]

[I, I’m sorry.]

When the dwarf, who was in danger, forcefully revealed his identity, Hans G burned the warrior’s body with flames and sided with the dwarf.

He knew it deep down.

That they could never go back to the way they were.

That his companion, who was once precious, would now consider him as an ‘enemy’.

Click.

I pressed the button again and turned off the sound.

I suddenly remembered Takelan’s words.

[The day will come when you’ll feel the same way.]

He was wrong.

If that moment of despair ever came to me…

…it would be even more horrifying and miserable.

____________________

Another two days passed.

There wasn’t anything special during that time.

No more clues about the large clan that was suspected to be behind the assassination attempt appeared, and the incident ended vaguely.

There was nothing more to investigate.

Ah, but the number of guard knights increased.

They sent more forces after it was proven that there was a faction that held a grudge against the royal family and was targeting me.

Hmm, it was a bit excessive.

‘Ha, I can’t even go anywhere like this.’

There were already three knights closely guarding me.

Of course, it was only inside the house, and there were over thirty knights standing guard outside. And if I went out, they would all follow me.

Ah, and I even had a food taster.

“I’ll try it first in case it’s poisoned.”

A knight who specialized in Poison Resistance tasted the food first at every meal.

“Th, there’s no need! I, I would never do anything to Bjorn…”

“It’s better to be safe. Hmm, it’s delicious. As expected, Lady Kaltstein is a great cook.”

“Th, that’s not comforting at all!”

Although Misha didn’t seem happy about the food taster at every meal…

…it was actually more reassuring to see her being so inflexible.

‘I don’t have to worry even if Noark sends assassins.’

Ainar left for the sanctuary after breakfast, and Erwen went out to meet her sister.

And I did the same.

“…You’re going out?”

“It’s time for me to get back to work.”

It was time for me to get back on my feet and take care of the things I had been putting off after resting for a while.

“Work? Are you going shopping again?”

“No, it’s something else.”

“Hmm?”

Although I usually went shopping during our maintenance time, that wasn’t my goal today.

Although I had earned a lot of money this time…

‘There’s no reason to shop now when the value will increase if I just wait.’

The price of equipment had already started to plummet.

Demand had decreased because most of the explorers, who were the main customers, had died.

On the other hand, the price of food had increased.

People had started hoarding because they were worried that the supply of magic stones might decrease from next month onwards.

‘Let’s just hold onto the cash for now.’

The currency here wasn’t just a piece of paper based on a social agreement.

It had real value.

After all, it was a world where people lived off of magic stones, an all-purpose material that could be turned into iron or wheat by alchemists.

The value of currency wouldn’t decrease.

Unless the value of labor hit rock bottom.

‘I wonder if Hikurod is okay…’

I suddenly thought of the dwarf.

His blacksmith’s workshop seemed to be doing well recently, but it would be empty in this situation.

I felt sorry for him.

He had invested all his assets to open the shop, and then this happened.

‘I’ll visit him later when I have time…’

I quickly got dressed and left with Misha.

A carriage prepared by the knights was waiting outside.

Although it felt excessive…

“Let’s go.”

…I got in the carriage.

It wasn’t like I was paying for it, and it was much easier for them to escort me this way, so what could I do?

“Where to?”

“The Grand Temple of the Leathlas Church.”

The carriage started moving as soon as I told the coachman our destination.

“…Leathlas Church? Why are we going there?”

Misha seemed uneasy.

I could understand her feelings.

The religious forces here were practically the natural enemy of evil spirits.

‘Tsk, it seems like she hasn’t completely dismissed her suspicions.’

Although Misha had read books about evil spirits and said meaningful things to me for a day or two, it had all disappeared soon after.

So I thought she had concluded that it was just her imagination and that I couldn’t possibly be an evil spirit.

‘…It’s better to just ignore it and not provoke her in this situation.’

Therefore, I just continued the conversation normally.

“I’m planning to ask for a priest if there are any left.”

“…A priest? Do, do you want to leave the te, team?”

“What are you talking about?”

“But we already have five members… Ah! Don’t tell me you’re going to…”

Ah, what is she talking about?

I sighed and said firmly,

“I’m not leaving the team, and no one else is leaving either.”

“Huh? Then why a priest…?”

Misha trailed off, still confused.

I told her about my future plans.

“It’s time for us to prepare for the 6th floor.”

“Uh-huh, 6th floor? Right, I see. But what does that have to do with this?”

“I’m going to form a clan.”

It was time for our 5-person team to graduate.

_____________________

Even a small group was classified as a clan if it had more than five members. Because it had to be divided into at least two teams.

“Clan? So we’re going to be moving with 10 people from now on?”

Hmm, I guess that would be the case eventually.

But not right now.

‘Since Erwen can navigate, we just need one priest for now.’

We would also have to recruit another explorer with a special role from the 6th floor onwards.

So a total of eight people for now.

‘At our current level, we should be able to reach the 5th floor without any problems even if we split into two teams of four.’

Well, I wasn’t too worried about this part.

If it didn’t work, we could just meet on the 2nd floor.

Although it would take time to gather depending on the starting location, and it would be even slower because of the penalty on the 4th floor…

‘It’s not like we’re a large clan.’

A day or two difference wasn’t significant for a small clan, unless their goal was to control hunting grounds.

The real problem was something else.

‘When will the labyrinth return to normal?’

If the timing wasn’t right, I was planning to wait for a few more months. In the first place, we needed that much time to prepare for the 6th floor.

“We’ve arrived.”

The carriage stopped in front of the Grand Temple while I was organizing my thoughts.

Most of the knights waited in the carriage.

I entered with just the three close protection knights and Misha.

“Captain Krovitz is currently out on business.”

It wasn’t Paal Krovitz, whom I knew, who greeted me, but another paladin.

His name was Sven Parab.

He was the vice-captain of the 2nd Paladin Order of the Leathlas Church.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Viscount Yandel. What brings you to our church today?”

I briefly told him about my future plans.

That I was planning to form a clan, and if possible, I wanted to take a priest with me.

To summarize the result, I was immediately rejected.

“Hmm, even if you’re a Viscount, that would be a bit difficult.”

Neither the ‘Giant’ title I recently obtained nor my status as a Viscount worked at the church.

They were just basic requirements.

I needed achievement points to recruit a priest.

‘Phew, why is this so inflexible, just like the game?’

I asked about the ways to increase achievement points since it was within my expectations, and I received a detailed answer.

‘Most of them are similar to the game.’

In the end, it seemed like the only answer was grinding.

Tsk, I should have done it beforehand.

“Parab, was it? Thank you for today. I’ll come back later.”

“Yes, we’re always waiting for the hero’s visit.”

I said goodbye to Parab and turned around after finishing my short business.

And just as I was about to open the door and leave…

「The activation condition for the Star’s Blessing has been met.」

…the last vine that was blocking the karmic connection with the Dragonslayer broke.

“…….”

Damn it.

It’s truly one mountain after another.