Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 435
C435: Rival(1)
Today, Lee Han-soo’s room felt unusually foreign.
“It feels… cramped.”
I felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation in this room that had always been filled with cosiness.
And I’m not even in my massive barbarian body.
Well, whatever. First, let’s turn on the computer.
Temporarily setting aside the strange feeling of alienation, I quickly powered up the PC and logged into the community.
Long Live Korean Independence-0 users currently online.
I checked the Korean chat room first, but it was empty.
“Is Hyun-byeol not here yet?”
There was no reason to enter an empty chat room, so I proceeded to check the message boards.
Sure enough, posts were already generating rapidly.
From nonsense posts to advice queries.
Among the various topics, I clicked on the most eye-catching one.
[Breaking] Bjorn Jandel, the man everyone thought was dead, is alive].
Content..
That’s literally the entire post. It’s as if the author really wanted to be the first to post, so they just wrote “Content” and hit submit.
However, being the first post, the comments refreshed in real time.
[Harbinn: Whoa! The Marquis must be shocked and the royal family must be stunned!]
[└Sogeking33: More shocking is that OP is calling this ‘breaking news’ about two weeks after everyone already found out.]
[└these99: And the content is literally just ‘content.’]
[└Author: But it was quick, right?]
The comments were generally similar.
After all, my return had already been announced, so no one was making a fuss.
But there were still some who seemed to be hearing it for the first time.
[showmustgone: Huh? Is this for real? How is Björn Jandel alive? He was dead, right?]
[└Sogeking33: Were you locked in a cellar or something? Jandel announced his return in the Palace of Glory ages ago.]
[└IsABot: I was there when he announced his return, honestly, it gave me goosebumps].
[└arolf5205: It was no joke to see him apologise to the family in front of the empty throne before even greeting us. I always thought I was a real man, but apparently real men are like him.]
[└WingPizza: The faces of the nobles when that happened were priceless.]
[└showmustgone: Wait, he was an evil spirit, right? Even if he’s alive, how does that make sense?]
[└ReDCod: Turns out he wasn’t an evil spirit. People say he faked his death and was carrying out a secret mission under the royal family’s orders or something.]
I continued reading the amusing responses and clicked the refresh button one more time.
[vaman: Am I the only one who finds that commenter suspicious? How do you not know a rumor that’s spread across the entire city?]
[└vaman: That guy must be from Noark, right?]
Oh, that is indeed suspicious.
Of course, the upper echelons of Noark would know I exist, but if they were clamping down on information, it’s plausible some people still haven’t heard the news.
[└WingPizza: Just in case, I’ve reported it to the admins.]
Looks like they’ve taken care of the reporting, so I stopped reading and checked the chat room.
And then…
Thump-
I froze for a moment with the mouse in my hand.
It’s not that I’m flustered—more that the inevitable has come.
[Long Live Korean Independence] – 2 users currently online.
Despite my being outside, two people were already in the chat room.
There were three possibilities.
A total stranger wandered in by accident.
The GM approached Hyun byeol.
Or…
Thump—!
Lee Baek-ho has returned.
“Phew…”
If the GM granted my request to lift Baek-ho’s ban within three months, then there’s a solid chance the person in there is Baek-ho. But…
“All right, let’s find out.”
I’ll know once I go in. Let’s see if the user inside is that ‘Baek-ho’ or not.
Click-click.
I double-clicked the mouse, and my surroundings shifted in a flash of white.
The grand mansion, fully tailored to the tastes of the original room owner, Lee Baek-ho.
Tack, tack, tack-
Crackle, crackle, crackle…
Two figures sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, which was crackling with peaceful sparks.
“Oh, oppa!”
One of them is, Hyun-byeol
“Why are you so late?!”
Hyun-byeol’s voice was filled with both joy and relief, probably because I had left in a hurry last time to deal with the Marquis.
But before even responding to her greeting.
Swoosh.
I shifted my gaze, which had briefly rested on Hyun-byeol, to the side.
The person there was also looking at me.
“Ah, right. You two should greet each other. This is—”
Hyun-byeol, sensing the mood, tried to take the lead in the conversation, but it was unnecessary.
“No need for introductions.”
“No need for introductions, sister. We already know each other.”
The person got up from the sofa with a grin and approached me.
“It’s really been a while, hyung. I missed you.”
He’s treating me completely differently compared to how he acted in the outside world. The change in his attitude is jarring, but of course I accept the greeting.
“Yeah, it’s been a while, Baekho.”
I missed him too—after all, I have a mountain of questions to ask.
***
Crackle, crackle, crackle…
The fireplace peacefully spat out sparks.
The three of us sat on the sofa, chatting cozily.
“Wow, so you and noona knew each other in real life, and then you met again here?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s crazy. Man, if someone I knew showed up, I’d totally roll out the red carpet for them.”
Baek-ho tilted his head like why isn’t anyone I know showing up here?
Then, looking back and forth between us, his eyes narrowed mischievously.
“But then… What was your relationship?”
Hearing that, Hyun-byeol glanced at me before responding first.
“We weren’t anything special.”
Well, she didn’t like to talk about her personal life.
That was something I liked about her.
“Come on… It doesn’t seem like it was nothing special?”
Lee Baek-ho’s voice was teasing as he persistently tried again. And this time, Hyun-byeol’s customer service smile disappeared.
“Hey, Lee Baek-ho.”
“Uh… yes?”
“Why are you suddenly using informal language?”
“Uh… it’s not informal, it’s… you know, that thing… that semi-honourific… used between close people…”
“Oh, I see… But are we close?”
Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her get serious.
Baek-ho looked flustered, but he didn’t stammer for long.
“Well, you’re really sensitive about something so trivial, aren’t you?”
His tone became slightly more aggressive, showing a bit of his true character.
Of course, Hyun-byeol didn’t care.
“Isn’t it for me to decide whether it’s trivial or not?”
“Well, that’s true. But technically, I am older than you in real age, aren’t I?”
Such a line would be unimaginable in the Confucian culture of Korea.
Only Lee Baek-ho, who had lived in this world for over ten years, could be so audacious.
“Ha…”
Letting out an exasperated sigh loaded with annoyance, Hyun-byeol continued.
“First of all, you were the one calling me noona even though age is so important to you.”
“But—”
“Second, I never asked you to treat me that way.”
“But—”
“Third, I don’t see you as a younger brother. To me, you’re just some guy I met for the first time today.”
“Uh…”
“That’s why I’m still using polite speech with you. Right?”
After finishing her points, Hyun-byeol’s stern expression softened back into a smile.
“So, I hope you can respect that boundary in the future. It’s not that hard, is it?”
Ultimately, Lee Baek-ho was the one who backed down.
“Uh… uh huh…”
“Can you do that?”
“Yes…”
Forcing a fake grin, Lee Baek-ho nodded meekly.
It seemed like even he found the situation absurd.
‘He’s no match for Hyun-byeol.’
That was quite useful information.
Even though I think I’ve grown a lot mentally, I’ve found out that I shouldn’t mess with Hyun-byeol.
“Ahaha… But, Hyun-byeol… do you and Han-soo know each other?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Do we know each other?”
It seemed Lee Baek-ho wanted to change the subject, so I quickly responded to keep the conversation going.
“Ah, do you mean have we met each other in the city?”
“Yes! That’s it, that.”
Not yet.
There was no particular reason to hide it, so I was about to honestly answer when…
“Why are you curious about that?”
Hyun-byeol interjected, and I just shut up.
Lee Baek-ho did the same.
“Lee Baek-ho, you seem to have a lot of questions. You’ve been asking them non-stop.”
“……Ahahaha. Have I? Me?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Phew, this is really uncomfortable.
“Hyun-byeol, stop bullying him.”
“But he keeps asking about personal information?”
“……It wasn’t meant in a bad way.”
“Well, that’s unknown. He’s just a stranger to me today.”
“I, a stranger… but we’re both Koreans! Sister!”
Lee Baek-ho cried out as if it was unfair, but it didn’t reach Hyun-byeol’s heart.
“Are there no criminals in Korea? The Korea I lived in wasn’t like that?”
“……”
“If that’s the case, why doesn’t Lee Baek-ho tell us about himself first, who he is, what kind of person he is, and what he’s doing now?”
“…Me? Why me?”
“Wouldn’t that make me feel a bit safer?”
“Uh… but even so, that’s a bit… you know? Men should have some mystery… Ahahaha……”
“Lee Baek-ho, you’re an interesting person.”
Hyun-byeol said that, but her eyes weren’t smiling, and an awkward silence followed.
This is going nowhere.
“Hyun-byeol.”
“What?”
“Sorry, but could you give us a moment? I have something to discuss with Baek-ho.”
At my request, Lee Baek-ho flinched.
And looked at me as if to say, ‘Are you crazy?’
Of course, he didn’t know Hyun-byeol well.
“…Alright. I’ll come back later then?”
Hyun-byeol doesn’t like it when someone crosses a line without permission.
That’s why she never crosses the line that the other person has drawn. Though there seemed to be exceptions, considering that day.
“Don’t disappear without saying anything. If the number drops to one, I’ll come back in.”
“Okay. And thanks.”
“……”
Was it that awkward for me to say thanks?
Hyun-byeol stared at me intently with a strange look and then left the chat room.
Now it was just the two of us left in the mansion.
“Hyung…!! No, hyungnim!”
Lee Baek-ho stood up as if in awe.
“You were the dominating type! I knew it!”
Dominant type? What on earth…
I didn’t know what to say, so I just laughed, and he quickly changed the subject.
“Ah! But what did you mean that you had something to talk about with me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing serious, just a few things I’ve been wanting to ask you. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“Is that so? How about we take turns asking questions? I have a few things I’m curious about too.”
A turn-based game, huh…
Why does it always end up like this for me?
I don’t know, but I agreed to his suggestion anyway.
“Can I go first then?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Okay, I’ve secured the first move…
I started with some lighter questions.
Actually, they weren’t light, they were more like decoys to conceal my real intentions.
‘First of all, let me ask you this: the famous Lee Baek-ho in the city… is that you?’
“Ah… so you’ve figured it out.”
Lee Baek-ho did not deny it.
After all, how could he, when he’d been going around using his real name so openly?
“Still, you’re pretty sharp, hyung. I’m not that famous.”
“Enough. Now it’s your turn.”
After passing the turn, Baek-ho asked carefully:
“…So what’s your real relationship with Hyun-byeol noona?”
For a moment, I felt completely deflated by the question.
“Why do you want to know so badly?”
“Well, wouldn’t you be curious if you were me? What else should I be curious about?”
He raised his voice in a frivolous way, but I know too much about him to be fooled by that casual tone.
“We used to date.”
As soon as I answered honestly, he jumped to his feet.
“I knew it! I just knew it! From the moment I first saw you two, I sensed something was going on!”
After that, this question-and-answer session continued for a while.
I asked heavier questions: Did he know anything about the Noark folks who’d gone outside the city walls? Was the rumor that Auril Gavis was alive true?
While I threw more and more serious questions at him, Baek-ho just asked trivial stuff whenever it was his turn.
Like:
“How did you end up dating someone like Hyun-byeol noona? Did you make the first move?”
I began to suspect that the only reason he wanted to take turns asking questions was so he could dig into that kind of gossip. Still, I pretended not to notice and kept gradually ramping up the intensity of my own questions.
“You’re awfully curious about me. What about you? How’s your own situation?”
“Huh, me?”
“Yeah. Don’t you have a girlfriend? You’ve lived here for over ten years. Heck, if you wanted to, you could’ve gotten married, right?”
“Whoa, whoa, hyung-nim, that’s crossing a line.”
“Oh… sorry, if that’s too personal. But I’m genuinely curious. So you don’t have anyone?”
“Well… it just didn’t work out.”
“Really? Because they’re NPCs?”
“You… could say that.”
“Man, suddenly getting all serious makes the atmosphere weird.”
“…….”
“Tsk, you’re stubborn about weird things. Think about it. I was joking about marriage, but you could date, right?”
“Um… I’ll think about it.”
“Good, try to look around you. You have female colleagues, right?”
“Oh, Misha Karlstein?”
“Yeah, that was her name.”
“Hmm…….”
Lee Baek-ho stared at me for a moment and then asked,
“But how do you know about her?”
That question was within my expectations.
“That? I heard about her from the Watchers of the Round Table you introduced me to. They said you used her to spread rumors that Björn Jandel was a demon…”
“And?”
“Suddenly I’m a bit curious.”
I asked cautiously, showing some reserve.
“If that’s true… Why did you do it?”
It was one of several questions I ultimately wanted to ask Lee Baek-ho.
Why did he do such a thing?
“It didn’t seem like you would do something harmful to another player.”
I naturally added a reason for my question and calmly awaited his response.
And then…
“Hyung.”
Soon, Baekho opened his mouth.
“It’s my turn now.”
“…What?”
“You asked if I had a girlfriend. That was your question.”
Ah…
So that’s how it’s going to be?
“So now it’s my turn.”
“…Fine, go ahead.”
When I nodded, Baek-ho looked at me steadily. Then he sighed with a frustrated expression.
“Ugh, is it because you’re the one I’m talking to? This really doesn’t sit well with me. I only ever do this sort of back-and-forth probing with my enemies.”
The sudden shift in atmosphere caught me off guard.
Before I could pinpoint exactly what changed, Baek-ho spoke again.
“Hyung, let’s cut the crap. Let’s stop testing each other.”
“…Testing?”
There was a flaw in his statement.
If he said I was testing, that would be one thing.
‘Both of us…?’
Does that mean you were testing me too?
My heart gave an uneasy thump.
My mind started racing, blood rushing to my head. Time seemed to slow, and my thoughts accelerated.
Baek-ho has been testing me.
Testing me about what?
It’s obvious.
From when?
I have a suspicion.
What did I miss?
That doesn’t matter.
What’s important is what I do next.
What’s my choice going forward?
Alright, fine. The order just got reversed, that’s all.
The moment I wrapped up my mental reorganizing—
“Ah, I can practically hear the gears in your head turning.”
He yanked me back to reality.
“Hyung.”
Baek-ho opened his mouth again.
His voice was entirely too calm for someone to poke at another’s sore spot.
“Are you really Bjorn Jandel?”
He finally asked, and after a brief pause, I answered.
“Yes.”