Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Lee Hansu's room felt unusually strange today.

'It feels... small.'

I felt a strange sense of claustrophobia in this room that had always been my sanctuary.

And I wasn't even in my large barbarian body.

'Whatever, let's turn on the computer first.'

I quickly dismissed the strange feeling and turned on the computer, logging into the community.

[Long Live Korean Independence] - 0 users online.

I checked the Korean chat room first, but it was empty.

'Hyunbyul isn't here yet?'

As expected, the forums were already filled with new posts.

Nonsense posts, advice requests...

I clicked on the most eye-catching post.

[Breaking News: Bjorn Yandel, presumed dead, returns alive.]

Content.

The poster's intentions were clear.

He was so desperate to be the first to post about it that he didn't even bother writing anything in the content section.

But it was the first post, so the comments were flooding in.

[Harbinn: Wow! The Marquis must be shocked, and the royal family must be in an uproar!]

[└Sogeking33: Well, I guess they would be surprised, considering this news is already two weeks old.]

[└these99: And the content is just 'Content'.]

[└OP: But I was fast.]

The reactions were mostly similar.

They weren't surprised, since they had already heard the news.

Well, some seemed to be hearing it for the first time.

[showmustgone: Wait, is this true? How can Bjorn Yandel be alive? He's dead!]

[└Sogeking33: Are you living under a rock? It's been a while since he made his return speech at the Palace of Glory.]

[└IsABot: I was there when he made his speech. It was chilling.]

[└arolf5205: And the way he apologized to the families before even greeting the empty throne... it was impressive. I thought I was a tough guy, but he's on a whole other level.]

[└WingPizza: The nobles' expressions were priceless.]

[└showmustgone: Return speech at the Palace of Glory? What are you talking about? Even if he's alive, he's still an evil spirit!]

[└ReDCod: He wasn't actually an evil spirit. He faked his death and was working on a secret mission for the royal family.]

I chuckled as I read the comments, and then I refreshed the page one more time.

[vaman: Am I the only one who finds the OP suspicious? He doesn't even know about the news that's spread throughout the city.]

[└vaman: Is this guy from Noark?]

Oh, he's right.

Noark's higher-ups would have known about my existence, but it's not impossible for some of their members to be unaware if the information was controlled.

[└WingPizza: I reported him to the admins just in case.]

Someone had already reported him, so I decided to check the chat room.

And...

Thump—

My hand froze on the mouse.

It wasn't surprise, but a sense of inevitability.

[Long Live Korean Independence] - 2 users online.

Two users were online.

There were three possibilities.

Someone random had stumbled into the chat room.

The GM had contacted Hyunbyul.

Or...

Thump!

Lee Baekho was back.

"Haa..."

If the GM had unbanned him, it was highly likely that one of the users was Lee Baekho.

But...

"Let's go in."

I would find out once I entered.

Whether it was a tiger or something else.

Click, click.

The screen flashed white, and I was transported to a familiar location.

A luxurious mansion, decorated according to Lee Baekho's taste.

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

Two figures were sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"Oppa!"

One of them was Hyunbyul, as expected.

"Why are you so late?!"

She sounded relieved and happy to see me. I had left abruptly after my conversation with the Marquis.

But before I could greet her...

Swoosh.

I shifted my gaze to the other person.

He was also looking at me.

"Ah, right. Introductions. This is another Korean—"

Hyunbyul tried to introduce us, but it wasn't necessary.

"We've already met."

"We've met, noona. We know each other."

He stood up from the sofa and approached me with a grin.

"It's been a while, hyung. I missed you."

His attitude was completely different from when we last met.

It felt strange, but I greeted him naturally.

"It's been a while, Baekho."

I had missed him too.

I had a lot of questions for him.

______________________

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

The fireplace crackled merrily.

The three of us sat on the sofa, chatting idly.

At least on the surface.

"Wow, so you two knew each other in real life?"

"That's right."

"That's amazing. I would be so happy if someone I knew came here."

Lee Baekho wondered why none of his friends had been summoned yet.

Then he looked at us with a sly grin.

"So... what's your relationship?"

Hyunbyul glanced at me and answered first.

"We're not in a relationship."

She didn't like talking about her personal life.

That's one of the things I liked about her.

"Come on... you're not fooling anyone."

Lee Baekho persisted, his voice teasing. Hyunbyul's smile vanished.

"Lee Baekho."

"Y-yes?"

"Why are you speaking informally?"

"Uh... it's not informal... it's... you know... that thing... banmal... we use it when we're close..."

"Are we close?"

Wow, it's been a while since I've seen her so serious.

"..."

Lee Baekho seemed flustered, but he quickly recovered.

"You're so sensitive."

His tone had become more aggressive, as if his true personality was starting to show.

But Hyunbyul didn't care.

"I'm the one who decides what's sensitive or not."

"Well, that's true. But technically, I'm older than you in real life."

It was a statement that would have been unthinkable in Korea, a Confucian society.

Only Lee Baekho, who had lived in this world for over ten years, could say such a thing.

"Haa..."

Hyunbyul sighed in exasperation.

"First, you're the one who called me 'noona' because you said real-life age matters."

"But—"

"Second, I never asked you to treat me like your older sister."

"But—"

"Third, I don't see you as my younger brother. You're a stranger I met today."

"Uh..."

"And I'm still using honorifics."

She continued, her smile returning.

The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

"So please respect my boundaries. It's not a difficult request, is it?"

Lee Baekho was defeated.

"Uh... uh..."

"Can you do that?"

"Yes..."

He nodded meekly, unable to retort.

But he couldn't hide his amusement.

He seemed to find the situation ridiculous.

'He can't win against Hyunbyul either.'

It was valuable information.

I had learned that I shouldn't provoke Hyunbyul, even though Lee Baekho had grown mentally stronger.

"Ahaha... So, hyung... have you met Hyunbyul noona in the city?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Met her in the city?"

I quickly responded to Lee Baekho's attempt to change the subject.

"Ah, he's asking if you've met in real life... not in the community... Damn it, how do I say this?"

"You're asking if we've met in the city?"

"Yes! That's it!"

Not yet.

I was about to answer honestly when...

"Why are you curious about that?"

Hyunbyul interjected, and I closed my mouth.

Lee Baekho did the same.

"You're so nosy, Lee Baekho. You've been asking so many personal questions."

"...Ahaha, have I?"

"Yes."

"..."

This is so awkward.

"Hyunbyul, stop teasing him."

"But he keeps asking personal questions."

"...He didn't mean anything by it."

"How can you be sure? He's a stranger."

"S-stranger? But we're both Korean! Noona!"

Lee Baekho protested, but Hyunbyul didn't budge.

"Are there no criminals in Korea? That's not the Korea I lived in."

"..."

"If you're that curious, why don't you tell us about yourself first? Who you are, what you do, where you live..."

"...Me? Why?"

"Wouldn't that make me feel more comfortable?"

"Uh... but that's a bit... you know... Men should be mysterious... Ahaha..."

"You're an interesting person, Lee Baekho."

Her eyes weren't smiling, and an awkward silence followed.

Damn it, he's going to run away at this rate.

We haven't even gotten to the main topic yet.

"Hyunbyul."

"Yes?"

"Can you excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to Baekho."

Lee Baekho flinched at my request.

He looked at me as if I was insane.

He didn't know Hyunbyul well.

"...Okay. I'll be back later."

Hyunbyul hated it when people crossed her boundaries without permission.

And she never crossed the lines drawn by others.

Well, there was that one exception...

"Don't disappear without telling me. I'll be back if I see that there's only one person online."

"Okay. And thank you."

"..."

Did she find my gratitude strange?

She stared at me for a moment and then left the chat room.

We were alone.

"Hyung...!! No, hyungnim!"

Lee Baekho stood up, impressed.

"You're the one who controls the situation! I knew it! I knew it all along!"

Control? What is he talking about?

I chuckled awkwardly, and he changed the subject.

"Ah! But what did you want to talk about?"

"Ah, it's nothing special. I just have a few questions. It's been a while since we last met."

"Really? Then how about we take turns asking each other questions? I'm also curious about you, hyung."

A truth game...

Why do I always end up in these situations?

I accepted his offer.

"Can I go first?"

"Sure."

Okay, at least I got the first turn...

I started with some lighthearted questions.

Or rather, they were disguised questions to hide my true intentions.

"First, are you really that famous Lee Baekho everyone's talking about?"

"Ah... so you know now."

He didn't deny it.

Well, it was only natural, considering how openly he had been using his name.

"You're pretty famous yourself, hyung. I mean, you're not that well-known, but..."

"Okay, it's your turn."

Lee Baekho asked cautiously,

"...What's your relationship with Hyunbyul noona?"

My heart sank.

"Why are you so curious about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? What else am I supposed to be curious about?"

He sounded playful, but I couldn't be fooled.

"She was my girlfriend."

He stood up abruptly.

"I knew it! I knew it all along! There was something strange about you two from the beginning!"

The Q&A session continued.

Did he know anything about Noark's activities outside the walls?

Was it true that Auril Gabis was alive?

I asked him some serious questions, but he only asked trivial ones when it was his turn.

Like this.

"How did you even meet Hyunbyul noona? Did you ask her out?"

Is that why he wanted to play this game?

I ignored his question and increased the intensity of my questions.

"You're so nosy. What about you?"

"What? Me?"

"Yeah. Do you have a girlfriend? You've been here for over ten years. You could even get married if you wanted to."

"Hyungnim, that's crossing the line."

"Uh... sorry... I was just curious. You don't have one?"

"Well... it's not that easy."

"Really? Because you're an NPC?"

"I guess... you could say that."

"Hey, don't make that face. It's making things awkward."

"..."

"You're so stubborn. Think about it. I was just kidding about marriage, but you could at least have a girlfriend."

"Hmm... I'll think about it."

"Yeah, you should look around. You have female companions, right?"

"Ah, Misha Carlstain?"

"Yeah, that's her name."

"Hmm..."

Lee Baekho looked at me for a moment and then asked,

"How do you know her name?"

It was a question I had anticipated.

"I heard it from the Watchers of the Round Table. They said you used her to spread the rumor that Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit..."

"So?"

"I'm curious now."

I asked cautiously,

"If it's true... why did you do it?"

It was one of the questions I had been wanting to ask him.

Why did he do such a thing?

"I didn't think you would do something that would harm another player."

I added a reason for my question and waited for his answer.

And...

"Hyung."

Lee Baekho finally spoke.

"It's my turn now."

"...Huh?"

"You asked if I had a girlfriend, didn't you?"

Ah...

Right.

"So it's my turn."

"...Alright, go ahead."

I nodded, and he looked at me for a moment before sighing.

"Ah, this is annoying. I shouldn't be doing this with you, hyung. This is something I should only be doing with enemies."

His sudden change in attitude was unexpected.

"Hyung, let's stop playing games."

"...Playing games?"

That's not the right word.

I was the one who was playing games.

'Playing games...?'

He was playing games with me too?

Thump, my heart pounded.

My mind raced, time seeming to slow down as I analyzed the situation.

Lee Baekho had been playing games with me.

What was he trying to achieve?

It was obvious.

When did it start?

I had a hunch.

What did I miss?

It didn't matter.

The important thing was what to do next.

'Whatever, the order has just changed.'

As soon as I finished analyzing the situation,

"Ah, I can hear your brain working."

I was brought back to reality.

"Hyung."

Lee Baekho spoke.

His voice was calm and collected, as if he wasn't about to expose my deepest secret.

"Are you really Bjorn Yandel?"

He asked.

And after a moment of silence, I answered.

"Yeah."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!