Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 491: Declaration of War (2)
The Stone of Honor.
A massive stone tablet located in the center of Hero’s Plaza in Karnon, the Imperial City.
Created alongside the first Dimension Plaza, this tablet was inscribed with the feats of countless heroes throughout history.
‘…Was the last one 600 years ago…?’
For reference, these feats weren’t recorded by humans.
The monument, created with a forgotten ancient magic, was closely linked to the labyrinth. It automatically recorded any noteworthy achievements within the labyrinth.
‘…That’s what the lore said, anyway.’
I was a little dumbfounded.
In the game, the Stone of Honor was just a decorative object. It had never been active in the ten years I played.
I thought it was just world-building.
But…
‘It’s actually functional…’
I arrived at the plaza, escorted by knights, and looked around.
The plaza was cordoned off by the knights, but the surrounding area was packed with onlookers. Most of them were well-dressed, and there were many nobles among them, as expected of Karnon’s citizens.
“It’s Bjorn Yandel! Baron Bjorn Yandel…!”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
I felt like a monkey in a cage.
But I maintained my composure and looked up at the stone tablet.
The inscription at the very top was this:
[Diflun Groundel Gavrilius, the Last Sage, and his companions, vanquished all the monsters in the Crystal Cave and opened a hidden area.]
According to history books, that was the moment the four portals leading to the 2nd floor appeared in the labyrinth.
The other inscriptions were similar.
[Emon Mulmarin, a valiant warrior of the Beastmen Tribe, and his companions, slew the Sea Dragon and discovered a new island.]
A new island had appeared after an explorer defeated a boss monster for the first time.
[Ordel Pikma, the Great Navigator, and his companions, vanquished all the monsters in the Great Ocean and opened a hidden area.]
Two new paths to the 7th floor had appeared after someone cleared the 6th floor.
[Lud El Rimenin, a human explorer, and his companions, reached the Abyss, and the souls of all the Lords awakened.]
The Floor Lords started appearing after someone reached the 10th floor for the first time. And rifts started appearing after the Floor Lords were defeated.
Juggernaut, the Iron Hero.
He was the first to slay a Floor Lord.
Anyway, that wasn’t the point.
From a gamer’s perspective, the Stone of Honor was like a patch note.
It recorded any major changes in the labyrinth.
Which meant…
[Bjorn Yandel, a great warrior of the Barbarian Tribe, and his companions, defeated Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, and opened a hidden area.]
…a new area had actually been unlocked.
Was it a good thing, or a bad thing?
I was lost in thought, staring at the tablet…
“Baron Yandel! Can you look this way, please?”
…when a man who looked like a government official called out to me. I instinctively turned my head.
Click!
A flash of light erupted from the recording device in his hand.
“Smile, please! This will be recorded in history books!”
History books…
‘Well, this isn’t so bad…’
I needed to build a strong support base, and this kind of publicity was beneficial.
I activated [Gigantification] and raised my arms, roaring.
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
Another flash of light.
Click!
That should be a good shot.
______________________
「Character's Fame has increased by +10.」
「Character's Fame has increased by +10.」
「Character's Fame has increased by +10…」
「….」
「….」
______________________
Having my name inscribed on the Stone of Honor was a bigger deal than I had anticipated.
I had to pose for countless photos until the royal photographer, whose identity I later learned, was satisfied.
[The one we took earlier is the best!]
And after the photoshoot, I was summoned by a royal scribe and interrogated.
Well, if I hadn’t been a noble, it would have been a proper interrogation.
[Ah, so you can’t tell me. I see.]
[Experience and knowledge are an explorer’s assets. Why should I share them for free?]
[…W-Well, we can’t force you, according to labyrinth law… but please reconsider. It’s for the good of the kingdom, and our future generations.]
[Well, it seems like the other explorers didn’t reveal everything either.]
[Th-That’s…]
[I’m hungry. I’ll be going now!]
When I finally left the palace, it was evening, and the world around me had changed.
When I first gained fame and earned the title of ‘Little Balkan’…
When I made a significant contribution to the Noark War…
When I became a Viscount, and then a Baron…
I had felt like the world had changed overnight, but this was different.
“It’s… Bjorn Yandel…!”
People were swarming me just for walking down the street.
They were calling out my name, asking for autographs, and even trying to hug me.
‘What the…’
It wasn’t like this before.
This was Karnon, the Imperial City.
The upper class citizens of Karnon, who had Imperial citizenship, would look at me with curiosity, but not with reverence. And the nobles, of course, would ignore me.
But now…
“It’s the Giant! The Giant!”
“The great Giant who will lead us to a new era…!”
“May Lafdonia prosper!”
Even the high-ranking officials were acting like fanatical fans.
It was understandable, in a way.
There was a difference between having the potential to be a hero…
And actually being one.
“A hero has been born in my lifetime.”
Gavrilius, the Last Sage.
Rimenin, the Abyss Seeker.
Pikma, the Great Navigator.
Juggernaut, the Iron Hero.
The names inscribed on the Stone of Honor.
I was now on the same level as those legendary figures.
It was a historic moment.
So I decided to give them a fan service.
“Honey! He… he called our son’s name…!”
“He’ll grow up to be a great man! I’m sure of it!”
The Barbarian Pope Mode.
The commotion continued until I reached the transfer station, and even after I boarded the carriage, they followed me, shouting and cheering.
I couldn’t even take a nap.
And when I finally arrived home…
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!”
A large crowd had gathered in front of the house, as if it was a festival.
It didn’t stop until the Mozelan knights arrived and dispersed the crowd.
“Phew… It’s finally quiet…”
I collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted, and Erwen, who had been peeking outside through the curtains, approached me.
“They’re all gone now.”
“I can’t believe this. If it’s this bad today, how much worse will it be tomorrow?”
“It’ll calm down soon. People forget easily.”
“Like when they thought I was dead?”
“…Yes.”
Erwen sat down across from me, and Auyen brought us tea.
“Ah, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Clan Master.”
Auyen’s voice and demeanor were different from usual.
He had always been polite, but today he seemed… reverent.
“It must be fate that brought us together. I’ll do my best to serve you, even if it’s just a small contribution.”
He was acting like a loyal servant in a hero’s party.
It was a little amusing, but I didn’t say anything.
“Have a good night.”
After Auyen left, Bersil and Amelia entered the room.
“Sorry, I ruined your day off.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad I stayed. It would have been difficult to come back tomorrow. And I’m tired anyway.”
“That’s… true.”
I still couldn’t believe it.
They were calling me a hero, but was it really that big of a deal?
I had just stumbled upon a hidden piece and cleared it on my first try.
Ice Rock had been much more difficult.
And many people had died.
‘That was a much more difficult challenge…’
“Anyway, did you get any sleep?”
“No… I couldn’t sleep. Don’t worry, it was only a 7-day expedition. And we were mostly resting, except for the last day.”
Hmm, that was true.
I was usually exhausted after a labyrinth expedition, but I was still relatively fine.
Ainar was the only one who was sleeping soundly.
“So I spent my free time examining this…”
Bersil placed the ‘No. 12 Trust’ bracelet on the table. I had given it to her before going to Karnon with the knights.
“It’s bound to our souls.”
“Bound?”
“Yes. But it’s a multi-bond. It seems like only I, Frenelin, Tersia, and Yandel can use it.”
Bersil demonstrated by trying to put the bracelet on Amelia’s wrist. It fell off, as if it didn’t fit.
“So only those who participated in the trial can use it.”
“Yes, that’s the most likely scenario.”
“Hmm…”
Bersil looked at me and asked cautiously,
“So… who should use it?”
Trust was a versatile item.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
It was useful for any class: tank, damage dealer, mage, priest…
It had three different uses.
1. Immunity to damage from bonded allies.
If a tank used it, they wouldn’t take any damage from their allies’ AoE attacks.
It solved one of the biggest problems for tanks and allowed for more diverse strategies.
2. Damage increase based on the number of bonded allies.
It significantly boosted a damage dealer’s DPS.
3. Doubles the effects of all buffs applied to bonded allies.
It doubled the effectiveness of support skills.
‘We can’t use the third option…’
So we only had two choices.
Give it to Erwen, who had become an Another Class, to further increase her DPS.
Or I could use it to increase the party’s survivability.
‘There’s no need to think about it.’
A barbarian always chose both.
I decided to use it myself normally, and then give it to Erwen when we needed more DPS.
“I’ll also give it to Bersil or Ainar depending on the situation.”
My teammates nodded in agreement.
But Amelia’s expression was slightly displeased.
It was a subtle change, but I could easily notice it because she usually didn’t show any emotions.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. Go get some rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Ah, and Emily, can you stay for a moment?”
Bersil and Erwen, sensing the change in Amelia’s expression, left the room without a word.
We were alone.
Amelia sat down on the sofa.
“…I shouldn’t have bothered with the interrogation.”
She seemed disappointed.
She hadn’t received any loot, and her name wasn’t inscribed on the Stone of Honor.
I decided to be blunt.
“Look on the bright side. It would have been troublesome if your real name was revealed.”
The names of my teammates were inscribed on the Stone of Honor in small letters, like an appendix.
If Amelia's name had been there, her real name would have been revealed.
"I know."
"Really?"
"I'm just... a little disappointed."
"...Huh?"
I tilted my head, and Amelia looked at me and said,
"It means I can't be by your side with my real name."
"Ah..."
Uh, well...
I was speechless, and Amelia, as if she had just been throwing a tantrum, calmly changed the subject.
"Yandel, there's something you should know."
"The thing you said you would tell me later?"
"Yes."
That was actually the reason I had asked her to stay, but her serious expression made me uneasy.
"What is it?"
"There's something wrong with my memory."
"...Huh?"
At first, I thought it was a strange thing to say... but then she explained, and it seemed quite serious.
"After the interrogation, I felt a little dazed. And when I came to, the recording crystal was destroyed. But I don't remember losing consciousness."
"So?"
"I compared the time in my memory with the actual time. There was a discrepancy."
About 10 minutes.
She remembered interrogating the captive for 35 minutes, but 45 minutes had actually passed.
"Could it be a mistake?"
"No."
She was certain, so there must have been something wrong.
"And when I thought about it, there were a few things that felt off in my memory. I had overlooked some details that I would have normally noticed."
"..."
"So I thought it might have been some kind of illusion magic. Maybe someone tampered with my memory."
"And?"
"I don't know. Gowland examined me, but she couldn't find any traces of magic."
Memory manipulation...
Who could have done it?
Did Count Alminus have a mage that powerful?
Or was there a third party involved?
As I was pondering the possibilities, Amelia added,
"And one more thing. The weapons were all clean."
"...Weapons?"
"Yes, even the sword I used to stab you. They were spotless, as if someone had wiped them clean."
That was suspicious.
What had happened?
I was glad Amelia was safe, but I had another problem to deal with.
"They said they received a request from the black market, right? And they didn't know who the client was."
I would start there.
The black market was notorious for its strict security and ruthless enforcers...
But it was still a place where people lived.
"I'll have to pay them a visit."
Someone would talk.
If I applied enough pressure.
