Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 659
Chapter 659: Outsider (3)
It may be obvious, but Baekho had a team of his own, and I knew quite a bit about them. The reason? Because, before I returned, Missha was a member of that team.
“Ah! Baron Yandel! By the way, is Ms. Karlstein doing alright? She was quite a gentle beastwoman! Even though she was a little cold to us!”
The old Gatekeeper of Noark, Lek Aures. He was a tank like me, and I had met him once in the past as well. Back when I was disguised as Riehen Schuitz, Baekho had taken the essence of the Deep Sea Giant, and this guy was the one who ate it.
And the Fallen Scholar.
Belbev Ruingenes. The wizard who was the first to join Baekho’s team, and the target to whom I needed to give a little payback in the future.
I clasped Erwen’s wrist in case she did something impulsive, feeling her violently tremble in my hand.
“That person… My sister…”
Erwen’s sister, Daria, was dead. She had died while blocking the magic the Fallen Scholar fired to kill Erwen.
“Now’s not the time. Don’t act rashly,” I whispered and let go of her hand. Erwen took a moment, then stepped back. She had somehow regained her senses, even after seeing a sworn enemy of hers.
“Hmm, impressive. To lose so much light in that period of time,” the Fallen Scholar mumbled inexplicably, looking at Erwen from afar. “Is it because you are near someone with an even greater fate?”
His mumbling was unpleasant to hear, like the ramblings of a heartless killer.
My eyes scanned past him to see two more people.
Judging by the outfit, that’s probably the archer Missha told me about…
The last person’s entire form was shrouded, bound in a robe. From the shape of their body, they were probably a man. Regardless, he seemed to be the new ally that Baekho had told me about. Someone who couldn’t be made known yet.
Considering the team composition, he’s probably a healer…
Either way, now was the time for that. Not when that guy seemed to have woken up.
“Ah-hem! It’s been a while! Baron Yandel!”
I felt my hair stand on edge at how awkward the word “baron” sounded when he said it, but it was understandable. We weren’t alone here. It wasn’t just the two of us. The reason he hadn’t been talking until now was probably to collect his thoughts after seeing us.
But then, I noticed the reaction of his allies.
“Baekho…” The gatekeeper turned to him and asked point-blank, “Are you sick?”
The archer seemed genuinely surprised as well. “You, so even you get like that sometimes…?”
For his allies to be so surprised that he showed me a tiny bit of respect—how haughty did he usually act?
I found myself honestly baffled. Still, considering how he presented himself in the past, I could understand it.
Though, saying it like that made it sound like he had changed or something. “Ah, and it’s been a while! So, your name… Emily Raines?” Amelia just stared at him.
“Interesting, though. Even Kitty. Why do all my allies go to Baron Yandel? It honestly doesn’t make sense.”
What do you mean it doesn’t make sense?
Missha was originally my ally. And from what I heard from Amelia, she didn’t join to become a true ally but was infiltrating as a spy.
“Mr. Yandel, be careful,” Versyl warned me, stance battle-ready. “This Baekho Lee, he is very dangerous.”
Baekho somehow heard her from that distance, despite her low tone. “Hmm? Do you know me? I don’t think I’ve met you before.”
“…We haven’t met before.”
“Then why are you talking bad about me?”
Versyl didn’t respond.
“Argh,” he complained, clicking his tongue. “This is why prejudice is dangerous. Acting like you know everything about me even though we’ve only met once…”
Even then, Versyl said nothing in response to his openly aggressive tone and avoided his eyes. I could tell at a glance that she was terrified of him.
“What? Did I say I’d kill you or something? Loosen up a little—”
“Enough,” I commanded.
As the leader of the group, I couldn’t just sit by and watch him talk. I may have been taken off guard at our sudden meeting, but I needed to check on something first.
“Baekho Lee.”
“Yes. Go on.”
“Did you… follow us?”
What were Baekho’s intentions?
Since we were lacking both in numbers and power, it was the first thing I needed to check. If things went wrong, I might just regret not bringing all the members of my clan.
“Follow you? Don’t you think that’s a bit narcissistic?”
“Then are you saying this is a coincidence?”
“Yes. I was really surprised, you know. Why is Baron Yandel here? In this dark and remote place without any witnesses or anyone to help you?”
A chill crept over me at his threatening, throwaway comments, but in the end, I could tell he only said it to gain the initiative in the conversation.
I ignored it, instead only using the information I had been given. To be honest, from what I could tell from the situation, there was a decent chance that our crossing paths was just a coincidence.
Thus, I went on to the second question.
“Then what about you? Why are you in this dark and remote place?”
What was he doing down here?
The answer Baekho Lee gave me was something I could have never imagined.
“I’m going to the convenience store.”
Uh…
I blinked. “What?”
“Oh! Right, Baron Yandel, you don’t know what a convenience store is, do you? That’s my mistake! My mistake!”
Was this guy seriously out of his mind?
When I just glared at him with a stiff expression, Baekho continued, looking a bit embarrassed. “That was a joke… We probably have the same reason, right?”
“If by the ‘same’ reason…”
“Hmm? Aren’t you trying to go outside as well, Baron?”
Right, so that is why you’re here too.
“But that leaves me with a question. Why are you suddenly trying to go outside? Could you whisper it into my ear? I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”
Somehow, he sounded even more annoying than usual, maybe because it wasn’t just a one-on-one conversation with him. This guy might live his life without a care about what others thought, but I couldn’t do that.
“Quit joking around. If you’re serious and this meeting really is a coincidence, I’ll let you go first.”
“Hmm… Sure, I guess.”
I took my allies and moved far away from the gate, while Baekho led his allies toward the side door and entered Noark.
“But do you think she’ll be enough?” he asked me offhandedly as he walked past.
I stayed silent because I couldn’t tell who he was talking about.
He smirked in response. “What the, so today is your first? I did wonder…”
Wonder what?
The way he said it bugged me, but I didn’t want to talk with him for even a second longer. “…Just piss off already.”
“Okay. Then have fun!”
Could there be a more annoying person in the world?
Baekho didn’t warn me off following him or anything like that. He just walked straight ahead as if we didn’t matter. From his actions alone, I could tell that the letter he wrote me in Korean was not a lie.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure. Not until now, at least. It was why I had asked Amelia to go and double-check.
But Amelia told me that the place was probably the square as well.
After quickly moving in front of us, Baekho’s team stopped at that very place.
“They stopped moving.”
It was the Noarkan square, which had been bustling with plunderers at one point.
Soon, there was a flash of light, and both Amelia and Erwen both lost any and all track of them.
“…They disappeared.”
At that, we quickly headed for the square. After taking a look at the empty square, Erwen asked Versyl, “That…was magic, right?”
“Yes. A mass-teleport spell. Considering the echo of the mana…it seems they activated a magic circle below the square…”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I know the spell to activate the magic circle.”
“Pardon? You know it?” Versyl’s eyes seemed to scream, Just how?
I just gave an awkward laugh. “I’m a noble. I have my ways.”
Ah…
I mean, I couldn’t tell her I heard it from Baekho Lee, right?
“Alright, I’m starting it.”
Once we were all standing in the middle of the square, I huddled my allies around me just in case something happened, then slowly spoke the activation spell. Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing to say the chant because it was more like a poem, but it couldn’t be helped. I just had to accept that this was how the ancient wizards thought about such things.
“My body is a sword. My blood is steel. My heart, glass…”
Still, it got me curious. It was a magic spell, so why was a sword being mentioned?
Whatever the case, I continued to enunciate each word carefully.
“…and that body is formed from swords.”
I endured the embarrassment and completed the spell, and then…
There was no flash of light or a thunderous echo.
My allies looked at me with questioning eyes, but the one who was the most confused was me.
What the, why did nothing happen?
It didn’t take long for me to understand what had happened to me. No, to be precise, I realized it.
“What the, so today is your first? I did wonder…”
I realized what Baekho’s last comment meant.
I should’ve noticed it when he didn’t get angry.
I’d been tricked. A seething rage welled up from deep within my heart. Still, just getting angry wasn’t going to help me.
“Uh… Maybe the information you got was a bit wrong! That happens!”
“…Don’t feel too down. Being a noble doesn’t guarantee that you will get correct information.”
Ignoring the consoling by my allies, I quickly got my brain running and looked for a way. “Versyl, could you—”
“It’s impossible for now. Too many conditions need to be fulfilled to activate an ancient magic circle like this.”
“How long will it take?”
“…I’m not knowledgeable in this field. So I have no idea. Not even how long it will take.”
That bastard.
“But do you think she’ll be enough?”
I now understood who his offhanded comment was directed toward. And unfortunately, it seemed Versyl realized it as well.
“For some reason, today…is filled with things that make me mad.”
Although she said she was angry, the emotion I sensed in her voice was more acceptance than resignation.
I understood how she felt as well. In reality, there were only a few people in this era who could become a highest-ranking wizard like the Fallen Scholar.
…This is something she’ll have to overcome herself.
Thinking about it, Rotmiller had been the same way. For emotions like this, offering empty condolences wouldn’t do a thing. All that mattered was the individual overcoming and defeating the feelings themselves.
“…Could I take a look at it alone?”
“Sure. We’ll step away from it for you.”
“Right. Thank you.”
Heeding Versyl’s request, we vacated the area. With nothing better to do, we took a walk around Noark.
Honestly, Versyl wasn’t the only one struggling with her thoughts. Someone else was suffering even more.
I glanced her way and cautiously called, “Erwen.”
“Yes?”
“Are you alright?”
She paused. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just not time yet, right? Not yet.”
I didn’t feel at ease, even though she was doing her best to smile. Amelia seemed to feel the same. She piped up from where she had been walking silently beside me, changing the topic.
“By the way, Yandel. This is something I was wondering about from before… but what’s a convenience store?”
“Ah, that…?”
I could tell that she was trying to change the subject, so I forced a brighter tone of voice and continued the conversation.
“…It’s nice. It feels like we’re on a picnic.”
Thankfully, Erwen seemed to feel a bit better after some time passed. However, it was difficult for me to understand how walking around the dark underground city without even a single natural light force felt like we were on a picnic.
“Now that I think about it, this is where I reunited with you, Mister…”
“That’s right. Do you know how surprised I was back then?”
“…I’m sorry. It was so hectic back then.”
“I’m not trying to fault you. Don’t apologize.”
In any case, after finishing our unexpected walk and returning to the square, I could see Versyl still on the ground thoroughly investigating something.
“How about taking a bit of rest?” I suggested. “Since I’ve freed up the schedule already, we can stay here for a few more days.”
“Ah… Okay.”
That caught my attention. “Did you find something?”
Versyl stayed quiet for a while before answering with an extremely quiet voice, “I did.”
“Oh, that’s great to hear—”
“I figured out that I’m not capable of learning anything useful about this. Not even if I had years to do it.”
Ah…
Her admittance left me momentarily speechless, yet I could tell she wasn’t in complete despair, considering what she said next.
“Honestly, it’s only natural. I’ve never studied in this field in the first place, only battle magic.”
It didn’t seem like she was trying to rationalize it either. It was more like she was accepting of the reality of the situation.
“So I’m just giving up. Please don’t say I lack grit.”
“Wasn’t even a thought on my mind.”
“It’s really embarrassing, but, well, it can’t be helped. I’m sorry. If you want to look into it more, you’ll need a wizard who is much higher ranking than me and more specialized for this.”
A specialized wizard… “Do you have anyone you would recommend?”
“One. If it’s him, he might just be able to do it even faster than the Fallen Scholar.”
“Faster than the Fallen Scholar?” I asked with a tilt of my head. “Who is it?”
The name of someone I never expected to hear exited Versyl’s mouth. “Yurven Havellion.”
Yurven Havellion.
“The person nicknamed the Magic Engineer. The head of one of the schools of magic, and the god of production-type wizards.”
Although Versyl’s explanation was correct, looking closely at it, she missed out on one important piece of information.
Yurven Havellion. The GM of Ghost Busters, the community of evil spirits.
…Using this chance to meet him might not be a bad idea.