Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Chapter 368: Black Star (1)

Chapter 368: Black Star (1)

Click, click.

I checked the chat rooms first, using the mouse.

It was one of the first things I always did when I logged into the community.

[Long Live Korean Independence] - 0 users online.

The Korean chat room where I first met Lee Baekho.

As expected, there was no one there.

‘Well, it would be nice to meet him and talk, but…’

I moved to the free forum. The forums were usually flooded with posts after the community opened.

It was the best time to catch up on the events of the past month.

-I heard the captain of Orculus took him down with four others.

-They’re saying the Chief of Staff, who was acting commander during the expedition, is the most likely candidate to take over the vacant position.

[these99: The weakness of [Wall of Thousand Gold] has been revealed, so the rear isn’t a safe haven anymore.]

[?SecureId7: It’s still a safe haven. They barely lost anyone. The only difference is that there will be more patrol teams.]

[stevencastle: Wait, isn’t the Chief of Staff that Eltora Terserion guy?]

[?OP: Yeah, the Prime Minister’s son.]

[?stevencastle: Damn it, I’m never going to the 3rd Corps. I’ve never had a good experience with that guy.]

As expected, the forums were mostly filled with posts about the war.

[Anyone heard about the Blood Spirit Marquis?]

-She killed that Lighthouse Keeper guy from Orculus, is it true? I heard the Blood Knight, the Corpse Collector, and the Wailing Witch were also there.

[marcelone: It’s confirmed information. It wasn’t a solo kill, she worked with the Golden Mage.]

[?OP: Wow, really? They used to be companions, I guess they’re not on bad terms.]

[marcelone: There are a lot of speculations because the enemy was so strong. It doesn’t make sense for even the Blood Spirit Marquis to have killed the Lighthouse Keeper, who was a support class, against those opponents.]

Damn it, there are people who are suspicious.

If there were doubts even here, then there might be an investigation going on outside.

Click, click.

I continued reading the posts.

And after some time…

Ding!

I received a message.

[Sender: Ghost master.]

The sender was ‘Ghost master’, the GM’s nickname, but I wasn’t surprised.

System messages and announcements were usually sent under that name.

90% of the messages in my inbox were from the GM.

But…

‘I can’t help but feel nervous.’

I clicked on the message, knowing it was inevitable.

And as expected…

[I apologize for the late reply, things were a bit hectic last time. Let’s meet if you’re free.]

…I had received an invitation from the GM.

_____________________

It wasn’t surprising.

I had expected him to contact me.

It was actually stranger that he waited this long.

‘Honestly, I thought he would contact me immediately after the last session.’

I had revealed his identity at the Round Table.

And SoulQueens would have told him.

‘But he waited until the next session…?’

There were two possibilities.

He wanted to meet me after carefully considering the situation.

Or he wasn’t in a position to receive messages while the community was active.

Well, it wasn’t important.

‘So what should I do…?’

I contemplated, staring at the message.

I didn’t think the GM would ban me even if I refused his invitation. After all, I had acted like a big shot while wearing the Lion mask.

He wouldn’t want to make an enemy out of me, especially since he almost died after banning Lee Baekho.

‘…Let’s just meet him.’

I closed the message window and entered the secret chat room’s password.

‘0720? Is it some kind of anniversary?’

I had a thought, but it wasn’t something I had to worry about.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

The monitor flashed, and I opened my eyes.

I was in a luxuriously decorated study.

“…….”

The faint scent of books.

It was a familiar place.

I had been here once.

It was when the rumors about dimensional collapse were spreading. I had come here to get information from a man.

[Elfnunalove]

The man with that strange nickname.

I didn’t know he was the GM back then.

Well, it must be the same for him.

“It’s been a while, Elf Noona. Or should I call you Lion?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I ignored his probing question and sat down on the sofa across from him.

He smiled fakely.

“Your tone has changed a lot. Or is this your true self?”

I ignored him again.

“…….”

“You’ve become quite taciturn.”

“…….”

“Then I’ll ask you directly. I don’t believe in fate. What do you want from me?”

What I want…

“Why do you think I want something from you?”

“Your first meeting with me might have been a coincidence, but the second one definitely wasn’t.”

Right, that’s how he interpreted it.

It really was a coincidence.

“You were the one who invited me to the chat room.”

“Yes, I did. But looking back, it was strange. You specifically asked about the Tarutein School and the mage, Shanel Pergang, in your post.”

“…….”

“I can’t help but think that you were trying to lure me in. You deliberately posted something I would be interested in.”

This guy is funny.

What would I even gain from that?

“It’s a bit creepy, now that I think about it. You knew that much about me.”

It was a ridiculous leap in logic, but I didn’t bother refuting him.

“…You didn’t call me here to talk about this.”

“Are you avoiding the question?”

Avoid?

Damn it, I can’t tell him the truth.

“Think what you want.”

“I will.”

“So why did you call me here?”

I firmly took control of the conversation.

He chuckled and answered.

“That’s a strange question. You’re the one who called me.”

Huh? What is he talking about?

“…….”

I remained silent, confused, and he continued.

“I don’t know how you found out my real name. But you told SoulQueens my name because you wanted to meet me, didn’t you?”

Uh…

This is embarrassing.

I was lost in thought.

But as always, I didn’t hesitate.

“Indeed.”

If that’s how it’s going to be…

“You’re not an idiot.”

…let’s change the strategy.

____________________

“…What do you mean…?”

He looked at me, his voice trailing off.

I shrugged.

“……!”

He was also testing me.

He was clearly trying to get information by asking me questions.

If I agreed, it would be a fact check for him, and if I disagreed, he could eliminate one possibility.

He wouldn’t lose anything even if he was wrong.

Therefore…

‘Let him be wrong.’

I opened my mouth.

“Yes, I want something from you.”

It wasn’t a bad situation.

It wasn’t just a bluff, there were things I wanted that only the GM could do—

“Then you could have just contacted me quietly.”

Ah, that…

“That’s no fun.”

He interpreted it as he wanted.

“…Well, I think you did it to threaten me, but…”

Well, think what you want.

I got back to the main topic.

“So, aren’t you going to ask?”

“……Ask what?”

“What I want from you.”

“…….”

He stared at me and then sighed.

“Alright. Tell me. What do you want from me?”

I answered after a brief pause.

“Unban Lee Baekho.”

That was the only thing I needed the GM’s help with.

If Lee Baekho could access the community, I could talk to him. And I also needed to find out more about our cat.

But could it be that he was expecting this request?

“…So that was your goal.”

The GM’s expression was surprisingly calm.

Well, it wasn’t unusual for players to form groups based on nationality.

“So Lee Baekho told you about my identity?”

He seemed convinced that we were in cahoots.

There was no reason for me to answer.

“Well.”

“What… what are you two planning?”

“There’s no reason why I can’t tell you.”

“…Yes?”

He looked dumbfounded, as if he hadn’t expected this answer.

Geez, at least listen to the whole sentence.

“If you bring me something of equal value.”

I continued, and he frowned.

“Are you… talking about interesting information?”

Right, so he also heard about it.

He tapped his knee with his index finger as I remained silent.

“Hahaha…”

He suddenly started laughing.

It was creepy.

“You seem very confident.”

His tone had completely changed. It was cold and threatening.

“I’m not completely lacking in confidence.”

“We’re similar then.”

“Are you refusing?”

He answered without hesitation.

“Yes. I have no reason to comply with your demands after you revealed my identity and are now making unilateral requests.”

“…….”

“If you want me to unban Lee Baekho, bring me something of equal value.”

He stood up and looked at me as if asking if I had anything else to say.

Well, at least he gave me time to speak.

“It’s a shame.”

I spoke with genuine regret.

“That you think I’m here to make a deal.”

He tilted his head, confused.

What is he pretending not to understand?

I could tell he was scared of me from our first meeting.

[Your tone has changed a lot.]

He maintained a polite attitude, despite my rude tone.

[…Well, I think you did it to threaten me, but…]

He felt threatened by my actions.

[Then you could have just contacted me quietly.]

And he expressed disappointment rather than anger.

Therefore…

“I’ll give you three months.”

“…Are you threatening me?”

I didn’t answer.

As always, the interpretation was up to the listener.

He then said,

“…Even Lee Baekho couldn’t do anything to me.”

Damn it, saying that in such a small voice only made him seem more pathetic.

And there was something I had to correct.

“To be precise, he almost killed me.”

“…….”

“Do I seem as soft as him?”

“…….”

He didn’t answer.

Therefore…

“Remember. Three months.”

“…….”

“I’ll come find you after that.”

It was my turn to leave.

____________________

“Phew… I feel alive again.”

I collapsed onto the bed as soon as I returned to Lee Hansu’s room, exiting the chat room.

It was an experience I had countless times while wearing the Lion mask, but it was still exhausting.

‘I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly.’

My original plan was to find out how much he knew about me.

And maybe bring up Lee Baekho.

Yes, that was the plan…

‘…but I didn’t expect him to be this afraid of me.’

My thoughts changed after talking to him.

Magitechnician, Yurven Habelión.

An unidentified powerful figure.

It seemed like his position as the GM was a source of anxiety for him, and I was able to quickly pick up on that.

‘But it didn’t seem like the royal family was wary of him, even though his identity was revealed.’

As I calmly replayed the conversation, I had a thought.

He would be ruined if the royal family found out he was an evil spirit.

But why was he only wary of direct threats?

‘…Does he have connections in the royal family? Someone who can cover up the evil spirit issue?’

If he did, I wanted to know who it was.

‘…His last words were a bit strange too…’

I recalled his question before I left the chat room.

[Password. You didn’t say anything about the password.]

It was a rather unsettling experience.

Why was he asking about the password? It seemed like it meant something.

[…….]

I didn’t understand, so I remained silent, and he interpreted it as an answer.

[…So you’re really not connected to him?]

[…….]

[Sorry for keeping you. I’ll see you again soon.]

Damn it, that was creepy.

‘0720…’

What was he trying to confirm by mentioning that number?