Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 545: Ghost (3)
He glanced around the room as he spoke.
“......!”
“......!”
Okay, judging by their reactions, it’s certain that ordinary explorers would have their eyes pop out.
“Only two months...”
“Two Single Numbers...”
“...Two?”
Well, one was pulled from Garpas’s necklace, and the other was luckily obtained by defeating a Guardian...
I wasn’t lying.
Those were items that could only be gotten from magic stones found on the first underground floor or from the ‘Guardian’ monsters.
Swaaaaaaah—!
As the green light glowed vividly, a brief silence settled over the round table.
From here on, everyone’s reactions differed.
Until a moment ago, they were all shocked by the content itself.
“How on earth do you even know about that place...?”
“I heard fewer than 120 people have gone down there so far...”
“Heh... no way... inside there?”
Some expressed curiosity about my identity.
“Pisit, how dumb can you be? Where in this world doesn’t the Investigator have eyes? Didn’t you see? He even knew everything about what happened at the eighth-floor rift. That was... a top-secret that fewer than 50 people knew about.”
“True... The first to reveal information about that place was someone from the Hext Clan. It’s impossible to deny they might have an informant among them.”
Others accepted it as unsurprising.
And also...
“Then, this informant must be close to Bjorn Yandel.”
The stag-antlered noble from the royal faction finally showed a predatory gleam in his eyes, as if he had found a clue.
Well, what does he think he’ll do if he finds out?
Sliding my gaze, I checked the fox mask—Versil’s—reaction.
His expression was hard to read because of the mask.
Yet, there was no sign of suspicion in his eyes.
No, rather...
‘Flustered and uneasy.’
I sensed the faint trace of such feelings.
‘Thinking maybe one of their clan members is my lackey.’
Well, I’d find out for sure what Versil does after the community closes today.
He ran straight to me during the Misha incident ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to accuse me of betrayal, after all.
Anyway, Versil was fine for now.
Sliding my eyes again, I checked the goblin.
‘Hmph, honestly, he’s the one I worry about the most.’
Unlike the others, the goblin was silent, seeming to think deeply, unaffected by the atmosphere.
Yeah, he was just sitting there...
‘But that just makes me uneasy.’
Many reasons on the round table made it impossible for the Investigator to be Bjorn Yandel, but some folks have absurd gut feelings.
To me, the goblin seemed like that kind of person.
Therefore...
“Stag-antler.”
I addressed the first speaker, the stag-antlered noble, shifting the conversation.
“How long are you going to sit there?”
“......?”
“Now it’s your turn again.”
Come on, let’s get this show on the road.
There’s plenty more to tell anyway.
One round.
“All kinds of monsters and Rift Guardians appear in the first underground floor’s archive.”
Two rounds.
“Many new and variant species appear in the first underground floor’s archive.”
“Um... variant species?”
Even the normally impossible question, I answered kindly.
“They’re creatures with skills from multiple monster types. They drop essences too. For example, an entity with an Ogre’s passive and a Troll’s active skill.”
“......!!”
“That’s absurd...!”
“Th-That means you can combine new essences, right?”
Some members shouted, disbelieving, but there was no need to argue with them.
The gem would verify the truth on its own.
Swaaaaaah—.
Every time the gem emitted green light, the members’ murmurs grew louder.
Also...
Flash—!
Some eyes glowed with a greed even stronger than the gem’s light.
It was natural.
Yeah, what player would stay calm hearing about such a sweet hunting ground?
“Pisit... this story is getting interesting.”
“Well, I don’t think the Noark side will find it so fun. They’ll just have to sit around and twiddle their thumbs no matter what they hear.”
A war of words between the jester from Noark and the stag-antlered noble of the royal faction.
Of course, there was no stirring feeling in anyone’s chest.
‘Well, fights between those two are always the most entertaining.’
And it seemed others shared the sentiment, as no one tried to stop them despite the quarrel.
They just watched with interest.
“Ah! Like the explorers of Raphdonia who lagged behind for over a year because they couldn’t get to the eighth and ninth floors, right, Pisit?”
“Didn’t you hear what the Investigator said? According to that, there’s no reason to go to the eighth or ninth floors anymore.”
“Ah, well maybe that’s true. But so what?”
“...Are you really that clueless? If this news spreads outside, the royal family will reconsider the entry ban and fully support the explorers’ growth. Then Noark’s downfall will be just a matter of time.”
“Oh? Really? That’s so scary I could cry.”
The jester’s indifferent answer was met with a sneer from the stag-antler.
“Well, Jester, maybe you don’t care. You’re the type to boast about your own failures to the enemy. For you, this is probably just entertainment—”
“Is that so? Actually, the reason I find it fun is quite different.”
Cutting off the stag-antler’s words, the jester laughed his unique laugh and continued.
“Then why do you think this situation is good news for the royal family?”
“What do you mean?” freewebnøvel.com
“Are you really that clueless?”
The jester shrugged exaggeratedly and fixed his gaze on the place where I sat.
When our eyes met, the jester gave a friendly nod and turned back to the stag-antler.
“Why would the Investigator tell us about the first underground floor? Think about it, Stag-antler.”
“.......”
The stag-antler chose silence.
Instead, a member answered.
“To hinder the royal family.”
The queen who had been silently listening spoke.
“That’s the only reason that comes to mind.”
Her words seemed to convince others too.
“I guess I wasn’t the only one who suspected it.”
“Investigator must know what will happen if this story spreads.”
“This is the first time something so blatant has come out.”
Information that was released after the royal family’s entry ban.
And such attractive info, enough to provoke a situation against that order.
From this, the members seemed to have already guessed my intent.
Well, it didn’t really matter if they had.
“Pisit, isn’t it funny to be so cocky without knowing this?”
“You only interpret things how you want. Maybe it was to help the royal family. Maybe they didn’t know how precious the first underground floor was.”
“Hmm... Well? Which side interpreted things to their own liking?”
Ending with the jester’s words, all eyes turned to me.
They didn’t say anything, but their eyes silently asked me to clarify which of the two was true.
But I kept my lips sealed, perhaps frustrating them.
“So...”
Eventually, someone took the lead.
None other than Black.
It was a bit surprising.
I expected someone to step up, but not him.
He always kept quiet except when it was his turn.
“Investigator, are you on the royal family’s side? Or Noark’s?”
Black’s bold question from behind his plain black mask with no ornament.
I muttered briefly.
“Impertinent.”
It wasn’t hostile, but Black looked down to avoid my gaze.
Well, maybe he realized his mistake late and forced himself to meet my eyes again.
‘He’s got a temper, huh.’
I made a mental note about this unknown person.
He had guts, I liked that.
“But, I’ll answer.”
Fixing my gaze on Black, I placed my hand on the gem.
At that moment—
Swallow.
Someone swallowed nervously.
Before I knew it, everyone was looking at me.
The jester hoped I’d be on Noark’s side; the stag-antler hoped the opposite.
The rest just seemed curious about the truth.
But...
“Royal family and Noark.”
I declared clearly before them all.
“I am on neither side.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Noark is my enemy.
The one who first took my comrade was a dragon slayer from Orculis, and because of them, I had to deal with that hell on the first floor.
During that time, Elwen’s sister, Daria, died.
Also...
‘The royal family doesn’t need mentioning.’
The cold rage I felt that day has not melted away.
Someday, they will pay.
And as proof—
Swaaaaaaah—!
The round table’s gem shone with the light of truth.
For some reason, its brilliance looked stronger than usual.
Someone, as if entranced, asked while watching.
“Then why...?”
The voice came from the stag-antler, who was sitting there.
“Investigator, why did you tell us that?”
It was a natural question for someone from the royal faction who had fought many political battles.
A mysterious strong figure wearing the Investigator mask.
Not on anyone’s side.
Why act as if obstructing the royal family?
My answer was simple.
As always.
Tap, tap.
I knocked twice on the armrest before speaking.
“Because...”
As expected.
“Because it seemed fun.”
Yeah, that would be enough.
The round table ended weakly afterward, but there was no regret.
I had conveyed how insanely good the first underground floor hunting grounds were, and others seemed to have run out of info today.
Besides, the timing to end was not bad.
So I just coolly wrapped it up and left.
‘If I insisted on one more round, it’d just ruin the mood.’
Back in Ihansu’s room.
I lay on the bed for a while, rolling around and resting before sitting back at my computer to continue streaming diligently.
Ironically, this community was my only window to the outside world.
“Puhuhuhuh... puhuhuh, this crazy bastard really...”
Ugh, my pride is hurt.
Why is this so funny?
Chuckling while browsing the board, I saw a new hot topic pinned at the top of the free board, climbing the ranks.
[Complete summary of known facts about the first underground floor archive.]
I clicked it immediately, and the content was very substantial.
Starting with how to enter the archive, all kinds of monsters and Rift Guardians appear there, and ‘variant species’ exist.
And above all, that Bjorn Yandel had obtained two Single Number items there.
The post neatly summarized all the info I had shared at the round table in brief.
By the way, the author was...
[BFKILLER]
A nickname I hadn’t seen before.
‘One thing’s for sure, it’s someone from the round table members...’
Who could it be?
Now that there were ten members including me, it was impossible to guess exactly.
‘Well, since I released this info hoping the rumor would spread, maybe it’s for the best...’
But I didn’t expect it to be this public.
I had thought that those quick to catch info would hear it first this month, and by next month it would spread in earnest, but this was totally different.
‘Sure, even if we’re gathered in one place, everyone belongs to different groups with different goals.’
It wouldn’t be strange if one of the ten wanted this info to leak.
Anyway, that’s not important...
Screeech, screeech.
Scrolling quickly, I checked the comments.
Since it hadn’t reached the hot topic yet, the early comments were mostly fact checks.
[YPPL: Wow, you should be a writer at this rate.]
[gooooooodd2: Trying hard to get a hot topic.]
[q1q2q3: So where’s the evidence? Who would believe such nonsense without proof?]
Users pouring sharp sarcasm, thinking it was just trolling.
But those reactions gradually lessened.
[Amer91: Next expedition, I’ll try the route via the Fragmented Temple. The idiots must be meeting there.]
[└AI_DIDIGO: It’s already a fact among the royal family and major powers that the fragment is the key to the first underground floor.]
[└ScottBANE: Wow, is that really true, Didigo?]
[└Adi: Wait, if the entry method is true, wouldn’t the rest also be true?]
[└Amer91: Nah, still feels like just trying to troll for hot topic.]
[└Adi: Think about it. Who would post unconfirmed info just to get hot topic? Even releasing the entry method alone would have been enough.]
[└ScottBANE: The more you think about it, it doesn’t sound impossible. There must be players on the first underground floor too, and info can be shared through the community.]
Users who already knew the entry method appeared, and the situation slowly reversed.
From mere trolling to quite credible.
‘Okay, by now the city will definitely have gotten the info...’
Feeling satisfied inside, I scrolled down further.
‘Hm?’
I stopped scrolling at one point.
[Pnec: You idiots. Someone’s spoon-feeding you, and you still won’t take it.]
[└bigD: What do you mean by won’t take it?]
[└Bling0_0: Always trolling, don’t pay attention.]
[└Pnec: Yeah, was wondering when you’d show up. You clueless idiot.]
What? They’re fighting again here.
Seeing familiar nicknames popping up enough to recognize, I scrolled faster.
[└Bling0_0: No way? Actually knows a lot? Knows you’re 3cm and 3kb?]
[└Pnec: Yeah, what could a rookie like you know? Tsk, whether you believe it or not, all the info in this post is true.]
[└Bling0_0: ...How are you so sure?]
[└Pnec: It’s info I heard recently from a very reliable source. And if you try to insult that person, I’ll find you and kill you.]
What the hell?
He heard it recently?
‘Is this guy also a round table member?’
That thought flickered in my mind.
[└bigD: What do you mean by won’t take it?]
[└(deleted comment)]
[└Pnec: Yeah, was wondering when you’d show up. You clueless idiot.]
[└(deleted comment)]
[└Pnec: Yeah, what could a rookie like you know? Tsk, whether you believe it or not, all the info in this post is true.]
[└(deleted comment)]
[└Pnec: It’s info I heard recently from a very reliable source. And if you try to insult that person, I’ll find you and kill you.]
For some reason, the user named ‘Bling0_0’ suddenly fled at the speed of light.
