Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 521: One on One (4)

After Goblin’s turn, the others quickly followed.

“The Royal Military Strategy Department believes that Noark orchestrated Lafdonia’s recent victory and their advance beyond Dragon’s Mountain Range. Noark’s core members are nowhere to be found.”

Stag Antlers, the second to speak, pointedly looked at Clown, a member of Orculus, as he spoke, as if expecting an explanation.

“The Blood Spirit Marquis, who entered the hidden area with Bjorn Yandel, is still alive.”

Crescent Moon, the third, made everyone tilt their heads.

“Well, considering the previous information, it’s highly likely that she’s alive, but… how can you be so sure?”

“Because the Pureblood within her hasn’t returned to the tribe yet.”

“Ah…!”

Right, there was that method.

Of confirming survival.

“The Fairy Tribe is already certain of her survival and is preparing a rescue team.”

“Pfft, isn’t the Blood Spirit Marquis a traitor to the tribe? They gave her the Pureblood and raised her, and she just threw it all away for a man.”

“…I don’t have to answer that.”

“Pfft, so sensitive.”

Clown and Crescent Moon growled at each other, but it was just a brief interlude.

As the turns continued, they lost interest in each other.

“Fox, it’s your turn.”

It was the fourth turn.

I rested my chin on my hand and listened intently. I was curious what Bersil, disguised as Fox, would say.

After all, I had given her a quest.

[I’ll look into it too. So can you gather some more information?]

I had instructed her to investigate the rumor about Misha Carlstain being a traitor.

How would she approach it?

“Misha Carlstain isn’t a traitor. Not to Bjorn Yandel.”

She had directly contradicted Butterfly’s previous statement.

I was confused.

She would definitely get a red light for this—

‘Ah, so that’s her plan.’

The jewel glowed.

Swaaaaaaaaaaa.

A bright red light.

“Hehe… this is interesting.”

Butterfly grinned, looking at Fox with an amused expression. Okay, so the bait had been taken.

‘She probably sat next to Butterfly for this reason.’

I wasn’t sure if this would work.

But it was a good attempt.

“Pfft, what’s going on?”

As the other members demanded an explanation, Bersil spoke calmly.

“It seems like my conviction wasn’t strong enough. I thought I had enough evidence… Anyway, I’ll try something else.”

Bersil revealed a different piece of information and received a green light.

The turn passed to Butterfly. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Would she take the bait?

“So you don’t believe me, Fox? Or is there a reason you don’t want to believe me? How amusing.”

She had taken the bait.

“Misha Carlstain rejoined Bjorn Yandel’s team because she was instructed to do so.”

‘…What?’

I almost gasped.

‘Instructed… by who?’

There was only one possibility.

‘Lee Baekho.’

There was no one else who would do something like that. I would have to ask him about it as soon as I saw him—

‘Wait a minute…’

As my anger towards Lee Baekho intensified, I suddenly made eye contact with Butterfly.

She quickly looked away…

‘What’s her deal?’

Was it a coincidence that she had brought up Misha Carlstain?

Was there really no ulterior motive?

‘It was a strange timing…’

A cold wave of suspicion washed over me.

Butterfly had revealed this information at the Round Table, which meant she didn’t care if it became public knowledge.

Or maybe she even wanted it to be known.

‘If that’s the case…’

She must have anticipated that Bjorn Yandel would hear about it.

I calmed myself down and thought about it.

‘When Bjorn Yandel finds out that Misha Carlstain is a traitor…’

What would he do?

‘He’ll either kick her out…’

Or…

‘…or he’ll turn against Lee Baekho.’

Would that be a desirable outcome for Butterfly?

I didn’t know yet.

Maybe my suspicions were unfounded. Maybe she had just revealed a random piece of information to get her turn over with.

But…

‘I’m more cautious now.’

‘If someone is trying to manipulate me…’

I just had to wait.

They would be the ones who got impatient.

Thud.

You had to aim before you fired.

______________________

「Character is being transferred to the Archives.」

______________________

After Butterfly’s turn, the meeting continued.

“[There’s an inscription in ancient language beneath the stone tablet on the 1st floor. It says…]

Queen revealed the clue to the hidden area, followed by Black Mask, Clown, and Wolf.

And then it was my turn.

Perhaps because of the recent events…

The other members seemed more interested in my information than usual.

But I betrayed their expectations and revealed another useless piece of game information.

The first round ended.

And…

‘The second round wasn’t very interesting either.’

I heard some news about the outside world, since I was trapped in the labyrinth… but there wasn’t anything useful or relevant to my current situation.

‘And Butterfly didn’t mention Misha again.’

The meeting ended without any further revelations.

I returned to Lee Hansu’s room, browsed the forums for a while, and then logged out.

I wasn’t in the city, after all.

I had to rest and conserve my energy for tomorrow’s exploration.

[00:00]

Day 36 of the labyrinth expedition.

I woke up in my sleeping bag and looked around.

Crackle—

The bonfire was still burning, illuminating the cave… or rather, the inside of the giant tree.

It was the same campsite we had set up before I was summoned to the community.

‘…I was only gone for four hours, but I’m exhausted…’

I closed my eyes again.

And after a while…

I heard a rustling sound next to me. Amelia’s clone, who was on watch duty, approached the source of the sound.

“Do you want some water?”

“…Yes, please. Thank you.”

So it was Bersil.

Judging by the slight difference in our wake-up times, she must have stayed in the community until it closed.

“Is… Yandel asleep?”

“Yes.”

It would be awkward to talk now, so I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

And the next morning…

As we were preparing for our next exploration…

Bersil approached me, her face pale with exhaustion.

“Yandel, can I talk to you for a moment? Privately?”

“Sure.”

I pretended not to know what she was going to say, but it was obvious.

“Misha Carlstain… there’s a suspicion that she rejoined our team because she was instructed to do so.”

That was the reason she had come to see me first thing in the morning.

“Instructed…?”

“…I’m not sure. I mean, I’m sure… but I don’t know the details.”

She was trying to cover up the fact that she had already heard about it at the Round Table.

If I hadn’t known the truth, I would have been suspicious.

“Ahem! Anyway, the important thing is… I have something else to tell you…”

“What is it?”

“It’s possible that time is flowing normally outside.”

I hadn't expected her to report this right away.

Had she decided to tell me immediately, even if it meant arousing my suspicion?

It was commendable.

“What’s your reasoning?”

“…The Elder. There are a lot of things that don’t make sense about him. He’s from thousands of years ago… And he’s been here for a long time too, hasn’t he? The only way it makes sense is if time is flowing normally in both places.”

Her reasoning was surprisingly sound.

‘…If I hadn’t known the truth, I would have been convinced.’

So she had been preparing her excuses.

“So it’s been over a month outside?”

I asked, pretending to be ignorant, and Bersil shook her head.

“No, that’s not it. I mean, I don’t think so… I think the ‘rainy season’ was the turning point.”

“Why?”

“…I don’t know.”

She didn't know?

The fact that fifteen days had passed in the city was the biggest clue.

So she hadn’t prepared an excuse for that.

Anyway, her theory about the time flow was the same as mine.

The rainy season had ended on Day 21.

And the community meeting had been held on Day 35.

If time flowed at a 1:1 ratio after the rainy season, it would all add up.

“If my theory is correct, the next labyrinth opening will be on Day 50.”

“And?”

“The 1st floor will close again on Day 57, and no one will be able to enter. And then the rainy season will start again on Day 64.”

That matched the Elder’s description of the rainy season’s cycle.

______________________

After Bersil shared her shocking(?) information, we held a clan meeting.

“Time is flowing normally in the city…?”

Everyone was surprised, but they didn’t doubt it.

I had told them about the community meeting.

Only Ainar and Auyen, who didn’t know I was an evil spirit, were oblivious.

“Oh! That’s amazing!”

“Th-This is bad! What if we’re trapped here forever… like the Elder…?”

Their reactions were mixed, but…

The information sharing was just the beginning.

“We need to decide on our next course of action.”

“Clan Master, what do you mean?”

“We have to choose. Do we focus on our own exploration, regardless of the other explorers? Or…”

“Or?”

“Do we help them and build a larger group to find a way out of here?”

We were all explorers, so we didn’t need a long explanation.

We started voting immediately, and the votes were evenly split.

“I’m in favor. We need to find a way out, even if it means sacrificing short-term gains.”

“I-I agree. It’s not just about escaping… if we leave them alone, most of them will die…”

Amelia and Auyen voted in favor.

And…

“I’m against it. I don’t think they’ll be much help…”

“Me too! They’re explorers! They should be able to take care of themselves! And it’ll be too troublesome!”

Erwen and Ainar voted against it.

“I think we should at least meet with them. We can confirm the information and hear about what’s happening outside. We can decide whether to help them later.”

“I don’t think we need to go out of our way to find them… We can decide when we meet them…”

Bersil and Misha were neutral.

Why was I always the last one to vote?

I didn't understand, but I voted for what I thought was the best option.

“We should return to the rocky island.”

The library, the rainy season, the giant tree…

Considering the high difficulty of the end-game content, having more people would give us more options.

‘And we might be able to slay that giant bird if we have enough people…’

We continued exploring for about ten days and then returned to the rocky island.

It was Day 53.

We set up camp at the starting point and waited.

Day 54, Day 55, Day 56…

By Day 57, I was starting to doubt if anyone would even come.

Whoosh-!

“B-Bjorn! Portals! Look!”

Dozens of portals opened in the sky, and new explorers poured in.