Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Master Key (4) - Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 199: Master Key (4)

It was actually next to impossible to ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠find the Stone of Revival based on the singular clue that it was on the ninth floor. I was sure Crescent Moon knew that too. He was also a user of this sadistic game. But to him, this information was like a storm after a long drought.

"W-Why..." Pushing aside his joy, Crescent Moon asked me, "Why are you doing me this favor?" He couldn't help being curious about the reason.

There was only one thing someone like Lion had to say here. "Because it seems more fun this way."

Crescent Moon fell silent for a moment, turning my words over in his mind, before shuddering. "You... are definitely a scary person."

Huh? What now? I didn't know what he meant so I just stared at him, unmoving, with my chin on my hand.

He belatedly noticed his mistake. "Forget what I just said. That was idle talk. It doesn't matter what kind of person you are. If it means getting that item, I'd give up my soul," Crescent Moon said resolutely. Then, he tossed in some self-deprecation. "Well, I'm sure you know my situation already."

That statement was completely incomprehensible to me. How the hell would I know that? What was he misunderstanding? I tried recounting the events of previous gatherings, but I couldn't figure it out so I just stayed silent. As always, that got me halfway there.

"Of course... I guess you really knew."

I didn't deny it. It would be weird to deny it at this point, anyway. I just changed the subject like I wasn't interested in whatever the hell he was talking about. "Now it's my turn."

When I started, all the masks turned to me. They seemed to look forward to what I was going to tell them this time. Feeling embarrassed for some reason, I tossed out one of the pieces of information I had prepared, something as fascinating as the Vamdemon but also functionally useless. It wasn't as exciting as the Stone of Revival either.

"Hehe, this time, I already knew that." Although the Round Table's jewel glowed green, Clown seemed somewhat disappointed. Of course, that wasn't my problem. He seemed to be blaming himself for not bringing something more interesting too.

"If it's okay, I would like to continue. How about everyone else?" Fox said.

They seemed to have a lot prepared considering the break last month so the gathering continued after the first round. For round two, I offered up similar kinds of information steadfastly and as a result, the third round began before I knew it.

"I-I will stop after this round." ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Goblin, who went first, spent a moment struggling to come up with something, but eventually waved the white flag and reluctantly passed his turn. But it seemed everyone else was in a similar boat.

"Hmm, I should stop here too." Even Fox forfeited, making this round the final round of this meeting. I wasn't particularly disappointed, though.

Looks like I heard everything that could be heard.

I hadn't been able to figure out how the state of affairs was shifting since the confrontation with Noark, but I was getting a sense for it. It was the opposite of the rumors that were spreading in the city.

As expected, the palace has the greater advantage here.

The failed conquest had come with great losses on our end, but the same went for the underground city. Just based on what these guys had said, Noark's lockdown was more of a last-ditch effort on their part to survive.

And now that the identification tags can't be duplicated, I won't have to drastically revise my plan. Looks like there aren't any pressing issues at the moment, either.

I discreetly shifted my gaze to the Round Table. The green light was on for the information about Orcules that Crescent Moon had just offered up.

"Now it's just you, Mr. Lion."

Naturally, attention shifted to me. For some reason, everyone's eyes were bright.

Geez, no pressure.

Tap, tap.

I tapped the ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠armrest with my finger and pondered what to say. What kind of flourish should I add for the finale? I already had something in mind, but there might be something that better suited the current vibe at the table. It wasn't long before I came up with something fitting.

Tap.

I grinned and stopped my finger. This wasn't a piece of information I'd prepared in advance for this occasion, but... "Goblin."

"Y-Yes?" Goblin was incredibly startled and even stuttered.

I stared right at him. "Come to think of it, you mentioned something like this earlier. About Gramps possibly being a wizard more powerful than the GM, who created this community."

"A-Ah! Yes. I did..."

While Goblin seemed like he didn't understand what I was getting at at all, Fox's eyes lit up. "Is this information about Master?" She was at least better than Goblin, who seemed truly clueless.

"Wrong." I ignored Fox and spoke to Goblin, like I had let his comment pass earlier but wanted to let the group know they were fundamentally wrong about one thing. "This community was not created by the GM. To be exact, it was an existing place that was then remodeled to its present form."

I recited the information I had gotten from Baekho word for word. Everyone then directed their eyes to one place—the gem embedded in the center of the Round Table.

"...It's green."

I already expected this so I wasn't surprised. Not that I'd checked it out myself or anything, but I had no doubts that this information was true.

"To think this place wasn't created by the GM..."

"Hehehe, it's the first time I'm hearing this too."

"Then who on earth created this place?"

The members of the Round Table all clammed up as if on cue, and again turned their eyes to one person—the only one here who could answer that question.

Okay, this should be enough aggro on me.

I cut through the tense silence, my tone nonchalant and emotionless. "I hope things will be more entertaining next time."

That was what I left off on. That way, they'd come back with something more useful.

***

"He's... gone."

When Lion left the Round Table, a heavy silence dominated the room for a long while. The reason was simple: his last words. Or to be more precise, the emotion contained in his tone.

"Do you think he's mad at us?"

Clown laughed at Fox's whisper. "Hehehe Fox, you think too highly of us. Do you think we're worth getting angry over for a guy like him?"

"That's—" Fox's mouth shut mid-rebuttal as she remembered what the Master said earlier.

"There is nothing for you to gain by participating."

This was a secret gathering that ordinary players knew nothing about. Fox had been using the information obtained here to good effect, which was why it was hard to accept it at first. However, having heard what the Master said, there was no point in denying it. Lion had nothing to gain here.

I discreetly shifted my gaze to the Round Table. The green light was on for the information about Orcules that Crescent Moon had just offered up.

"Now it's just you, Mr. Lion."

Naturally, attention shifted to me. For some reason, everyone's eyes were bright.

Geez, no pressure.

Tap, tap.

I tapped the armrest with my finger and pondered what to say. What kind of flourish should I add for the finale? I already had something in mind, but there might be something that better suited the current vibe at the table. It wasn't long before I came up with something fitting.

Tap.

I grinned and stopped my finger. This wasn't a piece of information I'd prepared in advance for this occasion, but... "Goblin."

"Y-Yes?" Goblin was incredibly startled and even stuttered.

I stared right at him. "Come to think of it, you mentioned something like this earlier. About Gramps possibly being a wizard more powerful than the GM, who created this community."

"A-Ah! Yes. I did..."

While Goblin seemed like he didn't understand what I was getting at at all, Fox's eyes lit up. "Is this information about Master?" She was at least better than Goblin, who seemed truly clueless.

"Wrong." I ignored Fox and spoke to Goblin, like I had let his comment pass earlier but wanted to let the group know they were fundamentally wrong about one thing. "This community was not created by the GM. To be exact, it was an existing place that was then remodeled to its present form."

I recited the information I had gotten from Baekho word for word. Everyone then directed their eyes to one place—the gem embedded in the center of the Round Table.

"...It's green."

I already expected this so I wasn't surprised. Not that I'd checked it out myself or anything, but I had no doubts that this information was true.

"To think this place wasn't created by the GM..."

"Hehehe, it's the first time I'm hearing this too."

"Then who on earth created this place?"

The members of the Round Table all clammed up as if on cue, and again turned their eyes to one person—the only one here who could answer that question.

Okay, this should be enough aggro on me.

I cut through the tense silence, my tone nonchalant and emotionless. "I hope things will be more entertaining next time."

That was what I left off on. That way, they'd come back with something more useful.

***

"He's... gone."

When Lion left the Round Table, a heavy silence dominated the room for a long while. The reason was simple: his last words. Or to be more precise, the emotion contained in his tone.

"Do you think he's mad at ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us?"

Clown laughed at Fox's whisper. "Hehehe Fox, you think too highly of us. Do you think we're worth getting angry over for a guy like him?"

"That's—" Fox's mouth shut mid-rebuttal as she remembered what the Master said earlier.

"There is nothing for you to gain by participating."

This was a secret gathering that ordinary players knew nothing about. Fox had been using the information obtained here to good effect, which was why it was hard to accept it at first. However, having heard what the Master said, there was no point in denying it. Lion had nothing to gain here.

Well, I guess there isn't exactly nothing.

Fox smiled a wry, involuntary smile.

"I hope things will be more entertaining next time."

Entertainment—something that could soothe one's boredom even for a little while. To put it simply, a pastime. If there was anything Lion wanted from this gathering, that would be it. But how had they done so far? They hadn't even been able to provide that. To demand a one-sided transaction...

"...We must have looked pathetic to him."

"I'm sure. That man is a different type of person from Master. Although they are a bit similar."

Fox tilted her head at Deer's words. "Similar?"

Crescent Moon answered her question. "Since he showed up, we never really noticed Master's absence."

She slowly started to understand what they meant. That was how special Master's presence at the Round Table was. He was the one who had gathered the current members and taught them valuable knowledge no one else knew about.

"If there is a difference between them, it's that Mr. Lion isn't the type to run a charity. Hehehe."

"Charity?"

"Why, am I wrong? Or Fox, do you think Master created this place to obtain information?"

Fox did not attempt to argue. She couldn't, because everything Clown said was true. The Master always knew everything and divulged his information generously, like he was a teacher in a classroom with his students.

"Hehehe, that's why you follow Master so eagerly in the first place, Fox."

Fox did not deny that, either. "You're right. If I hadn't thought of it as a charity, then I wouldn't have thought of him as a benefactor, either."

It was all thanks to Master that this gathering could exist. Just look at how things used to be not long ago. Before Lion joined, there were only four regular members. This was because once Master disappeared, attendance drastically fell. The other members, like Goblin, only ever dropped by from time to time to see if the Master was back.

But if they knew someone like this was here, they would continue showing up, just like Mr. Goblin did.

The thought was strange. However, Fox set those feelings aside and focused on the conversation that the remaining members were having. The topic of conversation was the person who had returned after a year-long absence, the Master. Well, strictly speaking, it was about Lion, who seemed to be familiar with him.

"Lion has to be someone we have heard of at least once. If even Master thinks he's incredible, he must be one in a million."

"True, he even treated the notorious Corpse Collector like a child."

"A child... Right, he did say that. Hehehe."

Once again, the time for deductive reasoning had come. "The last thing he shared was a s-shock. To think this community wasn't created by the GM... How could he know such a thing?"

"Perhaps he's acquainted with the GM."

"With the GM who's only rumored to exist?"

"Maybe to people like us, but he called Master 'Gramps.' There must be a whole other world we don't know about."

"I see..." Goblin said admiringly.

"But why are you acting like this today?" Clown asked him. "Last time, you acted like everything I told you about him was far-fetched."

"That was when I didn't know him very well."

"Hehehe, I guess your eyes aren't just for decoration after all." Goblin scoffed at Clown's mocking tone and averted his eyes.

That was when Deer parted his lips. "But am I the only one who sensed it?"

"Sensed what?"

"When Master left, I sensed an intentional thought."

"Oh, I sensed that too."

"Hold on, both of you. What intentional thought? You mean Master left someone a Verbal Message?" Fox was genuinely surprised. A Verbal Message was a kind of telepathic ability that could only be used in this incorporeal world. It was similar in principle to murderous intent, though instead of the urge to kill, you conveyed an intentional thought to the target. "Even Master said that's difficult to use..."

"Hehehe, why are you surprised, Fox? Did you think Mr. Lion wouldn't be able to pull something like that off?"

Clown's tone was annoying, but she didn't exactly have anything to say to that. As he said, when you thought about it rationally, it wasn't that big a surprise. This was the guy who had radiated all that murderous intent during his first meeting. It would be weird if he couldn't use a Verbal Message.

"Anyway, that means Master exchanged conversation with Mr. Lion before leaving?"

"Yes. It's clear the two of them had something to talk about in private."

"And you don't know what that would be either, Mr. Clown?"

"Obviously. Master and Mr. Lion are both pretty much monsters!"

Fox pursed her lips in disappointment. If only she could learn what they had talked about, she could figure out what kind of situation her master was in.

"Hehehe, still, it wasn't a complete loss."

At Clown's words, Fox came to her senses. "Pardon? What do you mean?"

Liking her perked-up ears and enthusiastic attitude, Clown chuckled. "I didn't sense it at all."

"Please include explanations when you speak."

"Mr. Lion's Message! I tried really hard, but I couldn't sense it at all. Unlike Master's, which I could sense at least faintly."

Fox, who had some knowledge about how Verbal Messages worked, froze on the spot, and rightfully so. Even though Clown was speaking in his usual playful tone, the contents of what he was saying were by no means light. "Wait a minute. That means..."

Finishing her sentence for her, Clown shared what they had gained from today's gathering. "Yes. Mr. Lion might be more of a monster than Master."

The truly shocking theory left everyone speechless. Then came silence.

Goblin cautiously opened his mouth. "Um... Isn't it possible that Master was the only one who said something? That would explain why Mr. Clown didn't sense an intentional— W-wait, why is everyone looking at me like that? I'm just saying. Just saying. I don't actually think that!"

The silence continued some more after that.