Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

As I revealed the information, I glanced around the room.

"……!"

"……!"

Okay, judging by their reactions, it was definitely something that would make ordinary explorers go crazy.

"In just two months…"

"Two single Numbered Items…"

"…?"

Well, I had obtained one through Garpas's Necklace, and the other one had been a lucky drop from a Rift Guardian…

But it wasn't a lie.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

As the green light shone brightly, a brief silence fell over the Round Table.

And then their reactions diverged.

Before, they had all been shocked by the content of the information itself.

But now…

"How does he even know about that…?"

"I thought less than 120 people had entered the hidden area…"

"Hee… Could it be… that he's one of them?"

Some were curious about my identity.

"Pfft, how naive. There's nowhere in this world that escapes Lion's gaze. Didn't you see? He even knew about the 8th-floor rift. That information was top secret. Less than 50 people knew about it."

"That's true… And the first person to mention the hidden area was a member of the Hex Clan. There's a chance that one of them is his informant."

Others seemed unsurprised, readily accepting the information.

And then…

"So his informant is close to Bjorn Yandel."

Stag Antlers, who was affiliated with the royal family, looked like he had finally found a clue.

Well, what was he going to do with it?

I glanced at Bersil, who was disguised as Fox.

It was difficult to read her expression because of the mask, but…

I couldn't sense any suspicion.

Instead…

'…Confusion and anxiety.'

Those were the emotions I could sense from her.

'Does she think one of her clan members is my informant?'

Well, I would find out after the community meeting ended.

She had immediately come to me and told me about Misha, after all.

Anyway, that was enough for Bersil.

I turned my gaze to Goblin.

'…He's the one I'm most worried about.'

He was silently thinking, seemingly unaffected by the others' reactions.

It made me uneasy.

'…He seems suspicious…'

I had revealed countless reasons why Lion couldn't be Bjorn Yandel at the Round Table, but there were some people with ridiculously sharp intuition.

And I had a feeling Goblin was one of them.

Therefore…

"Stag Antlers."

I spoke to Stag Antlers, the first to speak this round, changing the topic.

"Are you going to keep staring at me?"

"……?"

"It's your turn."

Right, time to move on.

I had a lot more to say.

______________________

One round.

"All kinds of monsters and Rift Guardians appear in the 1st Basement Floor: Archives."

Two rounds.

"Many new species appear in the Archives, including variant species."

"Um… by 'variant species,' do you mean…?"

I patiently answered the question, even though it was something they shouldn't have even been able to ask.

"Monsters with mixed abilities. They also drop essences. For example, a monster with the Ogre's passive skill and the Troll's active skill."

"······!!"

"That's ridiculous…!"

"So… we can create new essence combinations?!"

Some of the members exclaimed in disbelief, but I didn't bother explaining.

The jewel would prove the truth.

Swaaaaaaaaaa—.

The jewel glowed green, and the murmurs grew louder.

And…

Flash!

…their eyes sparkled with greed.

It was only natural.

What player wouldn't be excited by the prospect of such a lucrative hunting ground?

"Pfft… this is getting interesting."

"Well, it's not exactly good news for Noark. They're just going to be left out."

Clown, from Noark, and Stag Antlers, from the royal family, started bickering. It wasn't exactly a thrilling showdown.

'Well, children's fights are always the most entertaining.'

And it seemed like the other members shared my sentiment. No one tried to stop them.

They just watched with amusement.

"Ah! Just like the Lafdonian explorers who were stuck on the 8th and 9th floors for over a year? Pfft."

"Didn't you hear what Lion said? If his information is correct, there's no reason to go to the 8th or 9th floor anymore."

"Ah, I guess so. But so what?"

"…Are you serious? If this information spreads, the royal family will have to reconsider their decision. And if they start supporting the explorers' growth, Noark is doomed."

"Oh, really? I'm so scared I could cry."

Stag Antlers scoffed at Clown's nonchalant response.

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't care. You're the type of person who brags about his enemies' failures. This is just another amusing anecdote for you—"

"Well… I was amused for a completely different reason."

Clown interrupted Stag Antlers and chuckled.

"Why do you think this is good news for the royal family, Stag Antlers?"

"What… do you mean?"

"Are you serious?"

Clown shrugged exaggeratedly and looked at me.

Our eyes met, and he winked before turning back to Stag Antlers.

"Why do you think Lion revealed this information? Think about it."

"……."

Stag Antlers didn't answer.

And Queen, who had been silently listening to their conversation, spoke up.

"To sabotage the royal family."

The other members seemed to agree.

"So I wasn't the only one who thought that."

"…He must have known what would happen if this information spread…"

"He's never been this blatant before."

The information had been revealed after the royal family's decree.

And it was information that would directly contradict that decree.

The members seemed to have figured out my intentions.

Well, it didn't matter.

"Pfft, it's amusing how confident they are, even though they're doomed."

"…You're interpreting it too literally. He might be trying to help the royal family. Maybe they didn't realize how valuable the first basement floor is."

"Hmm… I wonder which interpretation is more accurate."

After Clown's comment, all eyes turned to me.

They didn't say anything, but their eyes were asking the same question:

Which one was true?

They wanted me to clarify.

But I remained silent, and someone finally spoke.

"So…"

It was Black Mask.

"What's the truth?"

It was a little unexpected.

I had thought someone might ask, but I hadn't expected it to be her.

She was usually so quiet.

"Lion, are you on the royal family's side, or Noark's side?"

Her blunt question, coming from behind her featureless black mask, made me chuckle.

"You're being disrespectful."

It wasn't a threatening tone, but she averted her gaze, as if intimidated.

Well, she quickly regained her composure and met my gaze again.

'…She has a temper…'

I made a mental note of her personality and then continued, as if impressed by her defiance.

"But I'll answer your question."

I looked at her and placed my hand on the jewel.

And at that moment…

Gulp.

I heard someone swallow nervously.

Everyone was staring at me.

Clown seemed to be hoping I was on Noark's side, while Stag Antlers was hoping for the opposite.

The others were just curious.

But…

"The royal family and Noark."

I declared,

"I'm not on anyone's side."

It wasn't a lie.

Noark was my enemy.

The Dragonslayer, a member of Orculus, had been the one who took my first comrade from me. And because of them, I had had to go through all that trouble on the 1st floor.

Daria, Erwen's sister, had died because of them.

And…

'…the royal family too.'

The anger I had felt that day still lingered.

They would pay for their crimes someday.

And as if to prove it…

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

The jewel glowed green.

It seemed brighter than usual.

Someone asked, as if in a trance,

"Then why…?"

It was Stag Antlers.

"Why… did you tell us that?"

It was a natural question for someone who had spent his life playing political games.

Why would a powerful, unaffiliated figure like Lion…

Sabotage the royal family?

The answer was simple.

As always.

Thump, thump.

I tapped the armrest twice and then spoke.

"Because…"

As expected.

"…it seemed like fun."

That was enough.

______________________

The Round Table meeting ended anticlimactically, but I wasn't disappointed.

I had successfully conveyed the value of the first basement floor as a hunting ground, and the other members seemed to have run out of information.

And the timing was perfect.

I left without any regrets.

'It would have been embarrassing if they asked me for more information.'

I returned to Lee Hansu's room.

I lay on the bed for a while and then went back to my computer.

Ironically, the community forums were my only connection to the outside world.

"Pffft… hahaha… this is ridiculous…"

Ugh, this was embarrassing.

Why was I finding this so funny?

As I was browsing the forums, chuckling to myself, a new post appeared at the top of the page.

[Summary of Everything Known About the 1st Basement Floor: Archives.]

I clicked on it immediately.

The post was comprehensive.

It explained how to enter the Archives, the types of monsters that appeared there, the existence of variant species…

And the fact that Bjorn Yandel had obtained two single Numbered Items there.

It was a summary of everything I had said at the Round Table.

And the author was…

[BFKILLER]

I had never seen that nickname before.

'It has to be one of the Round Table members…'

But who?

There were ten of us now, including me, so it was difficult to narrow it down.

'I wanted the information to spread, but…'

I hadn't expected it to be revealed so publicly.

I had thought it would circulate among the well-informed explorers first and then gradually spread to the general public…

'Well, we all have different affiliations and goals…'

It wasn't surprising that someone wanted the information to be revealed.

Anyway, that wasn't important.

Scroll, scroll.

I scrolled down, reading the comments.

Since it wasn't a hot topic yet, most of the early comments were about fact-checking.

[YPPL: Wow, you should be a writer.]

[gooooooodd2: Trying to get to the hot page, huh?]

[q1q2q3: Where's your evidence? No one will believe this nonsense.]

Some users were dismissing it as a troll post.

But their skepticism gradually decreased.

[Amer91: I'll have to visit the Sculpture Temple next time. Those bastards are probably having a party there.]

[└AI_DIDIGO: Information 1: It's already common knowledge that the Nameless Fragments are the key to the first basement floor.]

[└ScottBANE: Wow, Didigo, is that true?]

[└Adi: Wait a minute, if the method to enter is real, the other information might be true too.]

[└Amer91: No, that's too much… He's just trying to get to the hot page.]

[└Adi: No, think about it. Who would risk revealing a secret just to get to the hot page? He could have just revealed the method to enter and that alone would have been enough.]

[└ScottBANE: And it's not that implausible. There are players in the hidden area, and they can communicate through the community.]

As more explorers confirmed the method to enter, public opinion shifted.

It was no longer just a troll post.

'Okay, so the information is spreading…'

I was feeling satisfied…

'Huh?'

…when I saw a comment that caught my attention.

[Pnec: You idiots. He's practically spoon-feeding you the information.]

[└bigD: What do you mean?]

[└Bling0_0: He's always like this. Just ignore him.]

[└Pnec: I was wondering when you would show up. You know nothing.]

They were fighting again.

I recognized their nicknames and quickly scrolled down.

[└Bling0_0: No, I know a lot of things. I know you have a 3cm dick and a 3kb brain.]

[└Pnec: What would a kid like you know? Whether you believe it or not, this post is true.]

[└Bling0_0: …How can you be so sure?]

[└Pnec: Because I heard it from a reliable source. And if you insult him, I'll find you and kill you.]

What?

He heard it from a reliable source?

'…Is he also a Round Table member?'

That thought crossed my mind…

[└bigD: What do you mean by 'spoon-feeding'?]

[└(Comment deleted.)]

[└Pnec: I was wondering when you would show up. You know nothing.]

[└(Comment deleted.)]

[└Pnec: What would a kid like you know? Whether you believe it or not, this post is true.]

[└(Comment deleted.)]

[└Pnec: Because I heard it from a reliable source. And if you insult him, I'll find you and kill you.]

…when Bling0_0 suddenly disappeared.