Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the bespectacled man to accept reality.

With stiff movements, he took a step back and looked me straight in the eye.

“Bjorn Yandel… you’re making a grave mistake right now.”

His voice was full of sincerity—an earnest warning.

But as soon as I heard that, only one thought came to mind.

Hmm, how many people have said something like that to me so far?

“Do you know how many troops are stationed nearby? There’s no way you’ll get out of here alive. You maybe, but your companions—never.”

“Oh, I see.”

I nodded in understanding, then reached out and grabbed him by the neck in one swift motion.

I yanked him close.

“But how many lives do you have, exactly?”

It had been bothering me for a while now.

Does this guy not value his life?

If he really thought my companions were my weakness, shouldn’t he be more careful when poking at such a sensitive spot?

“Hmm?”

I asked a question. Why isn’t he answering?

“…G-Ghhk!”

Ah, right. Can’t speak with your throat being crushed.

Srrrk.

I relaxed my grip just enough to let him talk, and he gasped for breath, quickly speaking.

“Wh-Why are you doing this…!”

“Hmm?”

“We made a deal to get what we both wanted, didn’t we…!”

Ah, that…

Yeah, I guess we did.

“But the situation’s changed since then.”

“W-What…?”

“Ah, sorry I broke our agreement! Truly, I apologize!”

Since I was the one who broke it, I offered a sincere apology.

Maybe he didn’t believe in my sincerity?

“…An apology? You think that’s enough?!”

That was the kind of response that made even a barbarian tilt his head.

“Hmm? What do you mean? If an apology doesn’t fix it, what’s the point of apologizing?”

“…?”

“I did wrong, so I apologized. That’s the end of it, no?”

“W-What kind of nonsense logic is that…!”

The bespectacled man shouted in disbelief.

“Nonsense logic, huh…”

Being the broad-minded barbarian I am, I let that slide—but I did offer him some advice.

“Don’t use big words like that. Makes you look weak.”

“……”

“Anyway, I’ve apologized.”

Just when it seemed things were settled, he switched gears and threw out a new line of reasoning.

“…If apologizing fixed everything, why would we have laws? Why would we have prisons?!”

Ooh, sharp.

But still wrong.

“That’s why barbarians hate laws and prisons.”

“…”

“So this conversation’s over.”

I cut the discussion short.

Come on, now.

It’s more productive to talk about the future than waste time on blame and resentment.

Therefore—

“Withdraw all troops stationed nearby.”

“…Are you mad? You broke the agreement unilaterally—why would we accept such a demand—”

“If you don’t comply, I’ll fire Urae at the District 4 main building.”

The moment I showed my K-barbarian commitment to peace, the man’s face turned pale.

Well, the Noark lord is in that building, after all.

‘I was a little worried, but looks like he’s still there.’

It had been a few days since I heard that from the Chancellor’s son, so I was slightly concerned, but judging by that face, no need to switch to Plan B yet.

“Your decision.”

“W-Wait, let me consult with—”

“No.”

I shut him down firmly, and the man ground his teeth.

“How am I supposed to make a decision on something this huge?!”

“You’ve worked with the lord a long time, haven’t you? You can more or less predict what he’d do in a situation like this, right?”

“……”

“You decide. On your own.”

I get it. His head must be spinning.

He’s supposed to punish us for breaking the deal, but doing so might get his lord killed.

Still, I wasn’t too worried.

This guy was loyal enough to mention my companions just to protect his lord.

And now he has justification to protect the lord and avoid blame…

Plus, he gets to live?

‘It’d be weirder if he didn’t take that option.’

Once the path opens—even if against your will—it’s only natural to glance at it.

“Decide fast. I broke a promise, yeah, but I also apologized. You really want blood over that, or are we going to just move on?”

“……”

“Not sure if you’ll believe me in this situation, but I wasn’t planning to fire Urae at you guys.”

“…Not at us? Bjorn, don’t tell me…!”

“Shh. No more talking. Your answer?”

Despite my push, the man hesitated.

But only for a short time.

Eventually, he forced out a response.

“…I refuse.”

…What?

“Don’t treat me like an idiot, Bjorn Yandel.”

Before I could say anything else, the alarms installed throughout the building began to blare all at once.

BWAANG—! BWAANG—! BWAANG—!

So he had a panic button or something…

“This is how we operate.”

“……”

“Better to destroy everything than let it all be taken.”

Guess I underestimated the Noark mindset.

Tch. I figured he was at least a semi-rational type.

“…Didn’t think you’d turn out to be such a macho bastard.”

I genuinely admired him for a second—but that didn’t stop my hands from doing what needed to be done.

“I’ll say it one more time. Don’t treat me like—”

“Enough. Die.”

CRACK—!

I crushed his skull with my hammer and turned to head for the room where my companions were.

Well—tried to.

‘Wait, where are they?’

With alarms blaring everywhere, I had to pause and think about which way to go.

“Yandel…!”

Just then, the door at the end of the hall burst open and Amelia appeared with the group.

They must have rushed out when the alarm went off…

“What happened?! What’s going on?!”

Amelia asked, and I let out a heavy sigh.

Looks like “easy mode” really doesn’t exist for me.

“Things got complicated.”

Time for Plan B.

***

Plan A was simple.

Threaten the lord with Urae and escape.

It was a peaceful, non-violent, and constructive strategy.

But…

‘Tch. This is why you can’t work with gangsters.’

That plan got tossed thanks to Noark’s twisted mindset.

So now it’s time for Plan B.

And surprisingly, Plan B was even simpler.

Because…

I use Urae.

Those three words are enough.

‘Now how do I use it? Ah—maybe like this—’

Whoa, what the hell.

The moment I resolved to use Urae, it was like my soul shot out of my body.

My perspective rocketed upward—through the ceiling, through walls, endlessly.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOM—!

By the time I came to my senses, I was high above the city, looking down.

An overwhelming view I’d never seen before—not even from the tallest walls.

But this wasn’t the time to sit around staring.

Swoosh.

I looked down, spotting the building I’d just been in.

All around it, I could see troops that the bespectacled man had gathered—so dense that “swarming” didn’t even cover it.

If I fired directly at the building, even I might not make it out.

So…

I locked the target away from the structure.

Then…

‘Fire. Just think that, right?’

The moment that intent solidified, I felt an unknown force pour out of me.

And then—

SHOOOOM—!

A massive something blasted upward from the building like a rocket.

That was the last thing I saw before—

“What the hell was that just now?! What did you do?!”

Like waking {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} from a dream, I returned to my normal vision.

“Uuh…”

My head went blank for a second, but I forced myself to focus.

“Whoaaa! Something huge just launched from above Bjorn’s head…!”

Ah, so it did fire.

Having just been way up in the sky, it didn’t feel real.

But regardless, there was no time now.

Because Urae would fall here soon.

“There they are…!”

Right on cue, Noark troops appeared at the stairwell.

Must’ve rushed here when the alarm sounded…

‘Look at that gear—no wonder the guy thought he could grab my companions.’

Still doesn’t mean much, though.

Srrrk.

As they approached, I raised my hammer high.

Then…

“Everyone grab onto me! Amelia, take care of Ragna—Ainard, watch over Harin!”

With [Giant Form] active, I let everyone cling to my enlarged body.

KWAAAAAAAANG—!

And I slammed my giant hammer down into the floor.

“Kyaaaaaaaah—!”

The stone-and-steel floor shattered like crackers, and I dropped straight to the floor below.

‘Third floor now?’

Of course, I wasn’t planning to stop.

Like a 2D mining game, I kept smashing downward.

Like swinging a pickaxe top-down—

“Wh-What the hell is happening?!”

KWAANG—!

Second floor.

“What’s going on—kyaaah!”

KWAANG—!

First floor.

I crashed into the tall-ceilinged ground floor, but didn’t stop.

There’s no way a building this big wouldn’t have a basement, right?

“YEEEEEAHHH!! BASEMENT!!”

KWAANG—!

“Wait, just hold o—”

KWAANG—!

Down to B2.

I slammed the ground again, but this time, the floor didn’t collapse—just left a deep crater.

Still, I kept hammering, digging a pit.

‘Okay, this is big enough for all of us.’

Once I had a wide enough space, I tossed my companions down into the pit.

Then—

Plop.

I dropped [Giant Form] me on top like a lid, sealing off the improvised bunker.

“Good, made it in time.”

“What… No, seriously, what the hell is going on?! Can you explain now?!”

From under me, I heard Hyunbyeol’s sharp voice.

But I had only one thing to say.

“Hold on tight.”

Time to explode.

***

A massive boom shook the world, and the supposedly solid ground rippled like jelly.

If the ground was this bad, no way the upper floors stayed intact.

BOOOOM—! KRRRAAANG—! THUUUUM—!

Debris from the collapsed building rained down and slammed into my back.

That was fine.

The real problem came next.

——————————!

Blinding light burst through the debris and seared my entire body.

It felt like I was being cooked alive.

Made me wonder if the ones below me were even okay.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long.

‘Even after dropping to B2, it’s this bad…’

If I hadn’t aimed away from the building, this could’ve gone horribly wrong.

‘Better check on the others.’

The air was sauna-hot, but not deadly.

I shook it off and called out.

“Everyone okay?”

“That’s our question. Are you okay?”

“Feels like I cracked a few vertebrae, but I’ll live. So—answer the question?”

“…We’re fine. Harin Suevi had a pretty powerful defensive scroll on her.”

“Seriously though, what was that just now—!”

God, she’s persistent.

Why does that matter now?

“It’s nothing. Let me think for a minute.”

Hyunbyeol muttered something under her breath, but I ignored it.

Time to plan ahead.

‘Oxygen won’t be an issue—we can rotate through dive scrolls and magic tools.’

It’ll take some time, but we can dig through the rubble and escape eventually.

Then head straight across the city to Karnohn and show Astarotta the Marquis’s body.

Mission complete.

‘It’s almost over…’

Part of me felt this whole incident was finally nearing its end.

But another part…

That creeping unease in my chest refused to fade.

Thump—

Please, let there be no surprises left.