Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

The question was about what kind of relationship I have with Ibaekho.

From the GM's point of view, it was probably a question they had been holding back until now. There simply hadn't been a good timing to ask before.

It seemed like they were even wondering how to bring it up.

"Well... I'm not trying to accuse or anything, I'm just curious. I saw the two of you stepping out to talk earlier..."

"So?"

"Well, the fact that the man consistently uses honorifics with the Baron... it struck me as a bit unusual..."

That was probably the decisive point.

Why on earth did the arrogant Ibaekho speak respectfully and treat me with courtesy?

That question must have been driving them crazy.

'He even knows how I first met Ibaekho.'

Thinking back to my first meeting with Ibaekho still makes me dizzy.

At that time, the GM disguised as Hans I and Ibaekho clashed, and I happened to witness the scene, which led to trouble.

'Back then, I really thought, what kind of crazy bastard is this...'

Just out of curiosity, in a place full of royal knights, Ibaekho grabbed me and threatened me, asking if I was a player.

'That was years ago already...'

Feeling how much time had passed, I slowly opened my mouth.

"Well? We weren't exactly on good terms. At first, he was my enemy."

"Hmm, enemy, you say...?"

"Yeah, some weird guy suddenly fell from the sky and tried to kill me. For some reason, he vanished right before my eyes."

"...That happened?"

The GM tilted their head casually, acting as if they didn't know about this at all. That made me chuckle a little, and I continued without showing it.

"The next time we met was at the Gnome Tree."

"The Gnome Tree...?"

"Yeah, I visited there with my comrades for a request and accidentally ran into him again. After that, a lot happened... including a bitter tie with my comrades."

Since half-assing lies could easily cause contradictions, I roughly summarized the rest.

Anyway, the GM probably already knew about Misha.

"Your comrades, you say...?"

"It's a bit hard to explain in detail, but through that process, there were several dealings, and things have settled to some extent now."

"Settled, you say...?"

"It's close to a truce. Both he and I know that if either of us messes with the other, there will be bloodshed. So we're cautious."

The GM showed a slightly surprised expression at my words.

'That Ibaekho?' you might say.

It seemed they didn't expect my strength to be that much.

'How disappointing.'

I added some dramatic touches to explain, but it wasn't a lie.

I'm not confident I could beat Ibaekho one-on-one.

But on the flip side, I'm not sure I'd lose either.

Anyway.

"You asked what kind of relationship we have, right?"

Seeing the GM nod their head at my question, I summarized the relationship between me and Ibaekho more ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) clearly than anything else in a single sentence.

"To me, Ibaekho is..."

This time, there was no need for lies.

We just have mutual interests now, so we don't draw swords against each other.

No more confusion.

"He's someone I'll have to smash the head of someday."

Ibaekho is an enemy.

"Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Yes... Because he's a dangerous person, I needed to know your relationship with him first."

"I see."

"I'm relieved to hear you're not on the same side. He's someone who brings nothing but trouble... Ah, of course, it seems the Baron already knows that."

Did the GM feel the sincerity in my final statement?

They didn't doubt my hostility toward Ibaekho at all and seemed satisfied with that feeling.

'Well, it's natural to be relieved. If I said I was close to Ibaekho here, I wouldn't have anyone to rely on.'

Anyway, after wrapping up that conversation with the GM, Ibaekho called the GM out.

"Hey, you, come see me for a moment?"

"Y-yes, you mean me?"

The GM flinched like a school delinquent being called out.

Ibaekho looked at me like he wanted help.

"What's up with my comrade?"

"Oh, Baron, don't worry. I won't leave a scratch. We need this guy to fix the magic circle, so why would I do that?"

Well, I wasn't worried about that.

I just couldn't ignore the way the GM kept looking at me like that.

"...Let's talk where we can be seen."

"Okay. Yeah, that's fine. Hey, that works, right?"

"......"

After the situation was settled, the GM followed him like cattle being led to slaughter, and they started talking loudly.

'I should learn some silence magic later.'

Since the sound was blocked, I couldn't hear what they said.

But judging by the atmosphere, Ibaekho seemed irritated while the GM awkwardly laughed and tried to explain something...

'Come to think of it, their last time together wasn't good either...'

The GM expelled Ibaekho from the community, which made Ibaekho resent him.

I don't know if they met since then.

'That ended sooner than I thought.'

Surprisingly, their conversation ended quickly, and the GM returned looking drained.

"What did you talk about?"

"There was an unpleasant incident in the past... I was trying to explain it... hahaha..."

Tch, that means I can't be told.

I'll have to ask Ibaekho about it separately later.

"Well then, let's sleep soon. It'll be morning soon, so we won't get much rest."

"Yes... Baron, please rest as well."

After that, nothing special happened. Everyone got some short rest, and the next morning we immediately began preparing to activate the 'portal' Ibaekho mentioned.

"Dimensional stele...?"

"It looks similar, right?"

"Could something like this be hidden all over the continent...?"

"Who knows if there are more? They say this was discovered by that mysterious old man... I've never seen any other portals connected to this one."

That mysterious old man must be Auril Gavis for sure...

"But although it looks similar, it's a bit different from the dimensional stele we saw in the labyrinth. It doesn't open just by touching it—you have to put magic power into it."

Hmm, so that's why it required a magic power wave or something.

When several mages share magic power, they said they need to have practiced coordination often or prepare in advance.

"Then let's get started."

"Yes..."

The ruin scholar and the GM simultaneously approached the dimensional stele, placed their hands on it, and closed their eyes.

And then...

Whoooooooosh—!

Magic power flowed visibly in dense, multicolored waves.

Sshhhhhhhhhh—!

The flowing magic gradually condensed and took the familiar shape of a portal.

"I'll go first, so follow closely. This portal only lasts about five minutes!"

As soon as the portal opened, Ibaekho jumped in first, and his comrades naturally followed.

"Uh..."

"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"

"Yes... I'll go in first..."

To prepare for any unforeseen situations, I sent the GM through the portal first, then hurried in myself.

And then...

Flash—!

I felt the floating sensation similar to when entering portals in the labyrinth, and my vision cleared.

I quickly started scanning the surroundings, but froze in place.

An artificial spire-like structure of unknown origin.

The ground was flattened and even for easier walking.

Rows of log houses stood in a grid pattern, and in the distance, half-collapsed wooden palisades were visible.

"A village...?"

"Oh, did I not mention? This is where the Noark guys settled."

It was a Noark pioneer settlement.

While the GM and I were looking around curiously, Ibaekho shrugged and started introducing the Noark settlement.

"It's not comparable to a city, but doesn't it look livable? There are houses, a wooden palisade surrounding the whole village, and several wells drilled so water isn't a problem. Outside the palisade, there are fields where they used to grow crops. It's not a big river, but there's one to the east."

Contrary to my expectations, the Noark settlement was much more properly set up than I thought.

I guess I could have been happy living here, too?

Well, the problem would be that 'monster' I mentioned earlier.

'A completely ghost town...'

The huge wooden palisade surrounding the village was half broken, and the houses showed clear signs of damage.

Blackened bloodstains were easily found here and there as well...

"Oh, and this."

Ibaekho poked the dimensional stele that had disappeared after the portal closed and continued.

"This is how the portal to the labyrinth is opened, but only that mysterious old man can do it; no one else can. Even our old man couldn't figure it out."

"He couldn't figure it out? Didn't he at least identify it as a space-time magic?"

"That's just an excuse," Ibaekho said, mocking the ruin scholar. Actually, Auril Gavis is the strange one.

He opened a portal straight to the 7th floor.

Teleported tens of thousands of people.

It feels like that old man always plays with the rules of this world however he wants.

"But if they worked so hard to build this village, why did they come into the labyrinth so much?"

"Well, they had to eat, right? I heard they couldn't even properly bring food when they fled, so they ate monster meat on the way here."

"...Didn't you say there were fields?"

"Oh, those were made later. Even then, they were only experimental. The crops barely grew, and it wasn't nearly enough for all those people."

"So they came for magic stones?"

"Well, that's probably the biggest reason."

"You sound like there's another reason?"

When I asked slyly, Ibaekho shrugged again.

"Well, monsters show up here too. Eventually, if you don't gather essence, you're doomed to fail. And... the royal family might find them too, so there was some fear."

Hmm, now that he says it like that, I understand.

The Noark settlement is located on the 'Grey Plains' of the Dark Continent's 7th floor.

The monster grades there would have been quite high.

"Oh, of course, after that monster showed up, all of that became meaningless. It destroyed the village several times, so even that stubborn lord finally gave up and decided to stay inside the walls."

"I see..."

"Anyway, that's all the questions for now. Let's get moving!"

After finishing the village introduction, Ibaekho led us out of the village.

And then...

"...This is very different from the Grey Plains I knew."

The plains stretched far with green grass and bushes up to waist height.

"Oh! The labyrinth definitely feels more apocalyptic, right? But the monsters here are all similar. The terrain matches too."

"Is that so...?"

The GM looked embarrassed after Ibaekho kindly answered his murmured question.

"Baekho, there's a monster ahead."

Right after we left the village, archer Layton Briot's sensors detected something and he warned us.

And at the same time...

"Kraaaaaaang—!"

A monster crouched in the bushes rose up and howled threateningly.

"It's a Vaiterion. Grade 3 beast type monster. No particular elemental weakness, very high physical resistance. It's better to use magic against it."

The GM explained in a tone like reading an encyclopedia.

I think I have some idea how he must have felt when he was an explorer long ago.

'Convenient, but he must have been a bit tiring to travel with.'

Anyway, to add to the GM's explanation, the 'Vaiterion' is a rare mob found only occasionally on the Grey Plains.

And...

"Lucky."

It dropped the ingredient for the level 8 Immortal Mark.