Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Fwoooosh—!

As the portal opened, the one who stepped into the room was someone I hadn’t accounted for at all.

Contrary to my assumption that the one entering the portal would be the Marquis himself, or at the very least one of his closest confidants—this guy had nothing to do with the Marquis.

Well, maybe not nothing.

“Bjorn… Yandel…?”

The man muttered like he’d seen a ghost the moment he saw my face.

But I was just as surprised.

“…The four-eyes?”

It was the guy who’d tried to recruit me a few days ago before my duel with the Evil Eye. One of the Lord of Noark’s closest agents, with no specific assignment—more of a troubleshooter, apparently?

Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered now.

“How did the Lord of Noark find out about this place?”

I stopped my hammer inches from his nose and asked. He answered nervously—volunteering more than I asked for.

“While the Marquis was unconscious, the Lord assumed full authority. He is now being safely sheltered under the Lord’s protection, having let go of his ambitions.”

“So basically, while the Marquis was knocked out, the Lord hit him from behind and locked him up?”

True to Noark’s pragmatic nature, the guy admitted it plainly.

“Correct. The Marquis was too swayed by personal emotion instead of striving for true victory.”

“Like what, for example?”

“He used Urae on you multiple times, did he not? Even though there were far more strategic uses for it. He was blinded by sentiment—and even after all that, he still failed to capture you.”

Considering Urae was originally under the Marquis’s command, that logic was shameless. But I couldn’t say it was entirely wrong either.

Didn’t they need a huge number of sacrifices to fire even one shot? The Lord’s faction must’ve helped gather them too—so they probably felt entitled to a share of its use.

But that still wasn’t the point.

“That’s not what I asked. How did the Lord of Noark find this place and end up sending you?”

When I brought things back on topic, the guy made an “ah, crap” face and answered quickly.

“A-Ah! The Lord didn’t know you were hiding here. If he had, I wouldn’t have reacted this way.”

That… still wasn’t an answer to my question.

What kind of idiot is this guy?

“Just the point.”

“The Lord is an exceedingly wise man—”

“Just the point.”

“…The Marquis requested it. He asked us to check if Countess Ragna Peproc was here.”

“The Marquis himself made the request?”

“Specifically, to leave her be if she was safe… but if she’d vanished from here, to find her at all costs. That was his directive.”

“And what was the price for that request?”

He seemed to consider for a moment, then muttered plainly.

“Transfer of Urae ownership.”

That made the situation clear.

After waking from unconsciousness, the Marquis had lost all military command. He’d gone from ruler to puppet in an instant.

And that meant he was no longer able to protect Ragna himself.

‘So he put Urae on the negotiation table. He must’ve wanted to protect Ragna, no matter what.’

It felt… surreal.

‘This is how it all ends?’

All Auyen did was knock the Marquis out for two days. And yet, that one event shattered the grand scheme before it could even begin.

‘Well, if the Lord and the Marquis had a strong relationship, it wouldn’t have gone this far over just two days…’

But in this savage world, showing a weakness is the same as inviting the bite. The Marquis, having exposed his neck, had no choice but to lose flesh and bone.

It all snowballed from one captured navigator.

“…W-Why am I suddenly being praised…?”

“Just impressed.”

The small ball Auyen launched had pierced the atmosphere and become an eternal star.

‘Anyway, that’s that…’

While I understood the Marquis’s situation, one question kept nagging at me.

This four-eyes—an agent of the Lord—why was he spilling everything without even being interrogated?

The answer came soon enough, straight from his own mouth.

“Isn’t it obvious? I figured this was the only way to fulfill my mission—by persuading you.”

“You think if you convince me, I’ll help transfer Urae’s ownership?”

I scoffed in disbelief, but he calmly threw the question back at me.

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“…What?”

“We know. Noark isn’t your enemy, is it?”

That wasn’t something you said to a noble of Lafdonia, let alone one hailed as the city’s hero.

But in terms of raw facts… there wasn’t much I could argue.

My goal in this war was to survive the crisis while saving as many comrades as I could. And this crisis would be resolved if I just took out the Marquis.

So, yeah…

“Tell me what you want. There must be a point we can negotiate.”

Hoo… how do I even respond to this?

***

Before making a decision, I asked him about the situation outside.

Not just how the war was going, but things I was personally curious about.

“Ibaekho? He held the line for a bit after your group vanished, then retreated. Even though we pursued, we failed to catch any of his people.”

Hmm. So Ibaekho disappeared…

What’s that bastard aiming for in this war, really?

No idea. But putting the pieces together, the war was practically in a ceasefire.

Both sides had their frontlines drawn along the district walls and were in a deadlock.

“We need Countess Peproc. And if you hand her over, the Lord will consider granting whatever you desire.”

“Oh? Even if I ask for the Lord’s head?”

“…….”

“Relax. I’m not that unreasonable.”

At that point, I got serious and checked one key thing.

“What if I ask for the Marquis himself? Can you give him up?”

“Of course. As long as the matter of Urae’s ownership is resolved, we don’t care what happens to him.”

“That so? Fine, I get your position.”

“It’s not just my position. The Lord would reach the same conclusion. I’ve served him closely for many years—you can trust me.”

“That’s something I’ll believe when the time comes.”

With that, I finished the conversation.

I blindfolded the guy and put noise-cancelling gear over his ears.

Ah, not literally a headset—just a magic device with similar effect.

I needed some time to think.

“Amelia. What do you think?”

Having listened to the entire exchange, Amelia’s stance was clear.

“It sounds worth trying. Assuming, of course, that everything he said is true.”

“What’s the Lord of Noark like? Is he trustworthy?”

“Hardly. He’s a composed man, but trust is another matter entirely. That said… he never had the habit of making pointless enemies.”

“Yeah, he tried to recruit me before too. Anyway, you’re in favor then?”

“Personally… I think the odds of a clean deal are pretty high.”

Amelia’s judgment was decisive.

“Huh? What about me? Don’t I get a say?!”

I ignored Ainard’s nonsense and removed the blindfold and earplugs from the guy.

Then—

“I’ll talk to the Lord directly. You’ve got a way to contact him, right?”

“Of course. I can do it right away—ah, not here, though. The signal won’t work properly. Let’s go outside.”

“Fine.”

It might be risky, but I didn’t hesitate. Because even if the deal went south, I’d at least find out where the Marquis was.

“Let’s go.”

We exited the ruined building together. He immediately used a magic device to contact the Lord.

The Lord was startled to see me pop up on the network out of nowhere, but it didn’t ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) take long to explain and negotiate.

[You’re saying: convince the Marquis to transfer ownership of Urae, and in exchange, you’ll take custody of him. That’s the deal?]

“Yeah.”

[Then I see no reason to refuse. Hand Countess Peproc over to him. Once the transfer is complete, we’ll send the Marquis wherever you want.]

“What, just like that? I’m going to meet the Marquis in person.”

[…You’re being greedy.]

The hell?

“You’re the greedy one. What if I just run off with her right now? You think you can catch me?”

There was silence for a moment on the other end… then finally, the Lord relented.

[I’ll allow you to accompany him to the Marquis’s location. But please understand—we’ll need to make certain preparations.]

“Preparations?”

[If you happen to betray us, we need some form of insurance. But don’t worry. As long as the deal goes smoothly, no harm will come to you.]

“Alright. But aren’t you going to show up yourself?”

[Hah! I’m not foolish enough to meet face-to-face with someone even the Evil Eye couldn’t stop. Oh, and make sure to bring your comrades along.]

“…Huh?”

Shouldn’t it be the other way around—asking me to come alone?

But the next words made sense.

[Just precaution. Even you can’t escape safely with all your allies.]

‘Hoo… now everyone and their dog knows my weaknesses, huh.’

[Next time we speak, I hope it’s good news.]

After the call ended, we waited a bit longer until the Lord sent word that preparations were complete.

Then we followed the four-eyes to the location.

The building where the Marquis was imprisoned was on the outskirts of District 4, near the wall bordering Viphron…

Step, step.

As we entered the building and climbed the stairs, Amelia leaned in and whispered to me.

“Yandel. The whole building… no, the whole area is packed with enemies.”

“How bad?”

“For you, me, and Ainard—not a problem. But escaping with the others? Not even close to feasible.”

Yeah. So that’s how it is.

The Lord’s really been busy, huh?

“This room.”

The four-eyes turned to look at us once, then slowly opened the door.

And—

“……!”

The middle-aged man on the bed sat up, saw me, and his eyes went wide.

Chancellor of Lafdonia—Ageni Roten Tertherion.

As I stood a short distance away and stared at him, I frowned.

There was an unshakable sense of wrongness.

Like… he felt like a different person?

‘Was the Marquis always this small…?’

He didn’t seem skinnier or anything, but…

Why did he look so aged and shriveled the moment I saw him?

Maybe it was the lack of flashy clothes, but the instant our eyes met, I realized what felt off.

‘His eyes…’

The look in them had changed.

That beast-like gleam I’d seen before was nowhere to be found.

‘Well, I guess it’s only natural. Lost all military power, locked in a room…’

While I was thinking that, watching from a distance, the Marquis gave a slight nod—seemingly grasping the situation.

“…So, you came in the end.”

His voice sounded like a man resigned to fate—like something he’d long expected had finally arrived.

I spoke plainly.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’d come find you.”

Well, to be honest, I didn’t think we’d meet like this, so I was a little off balance.

But I’m a K-barbarian—doesn’t matter how I get there, as long as I arrive in Seoul.

“Nice to see you.”

With those words of greeting—I slammed my fist into the back of the Marquis’s head.

Thwack—!

Huh. That was surprising.

So that’s the sound his skull makes.

Ever since the Ice Rock expedition, I’d been waiting and imagining this moment every day.

‘Kinda underwhelming.’

Honestly, it didn’t feel that satisfying.