Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 730
Chapter 730: Traitor (4)
Inspiration: a clever idea or stimulation that preceded an act of creation.
“Good idea…?” Raven asked apprehensively. “What is it?”
I grinned.
Just like how one philosopher shouted “Eureka!” after dipping himself into a bath, I’d also been struck by a sudden moment of inspiration.
“Tura. Piare. Buamin Yandel. Harpu.”
“Area 8. Arson. Yandel is the culprit. Requesting reinforcements.”
The goal was simple: to draw more aggro here so that Amelia could more easily run away in District Four.
In a way, drawing aggro was a specialty of not just Bjorn Yandel but also Hansu Lee. It was a talent any Korean male who had devoted his teens and twenties to gaming was bound to have.
“Tura No. Tetkai. Jigunu, Remgat.”
“Area 8-2. Do not approach. Reinforcements, moving in.”
It wasn’t like this would be my first time doing such a thing either. While I didn’t need to use my brain as much now—what with my strengthened body and all—as I did back then when I was a weakling, I needed to use the knowledge of Hansu Lee to draw aggro toward me.
“Vivian,” I called, checking one last thing. “We can send our own message through the network, right?”
“Yes. But if we draw attention to ourselves, there is a good chance that my access will be revoked.”
Okay, so it did work. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t, but the final obstacle in our path had disappeared.
“So… What do you want to say?” Vivian asked with genuine curiosity.
“You’ll know when you hear it.”
She blinked. “Pardon?”
“Translate my words into the cipher. Don’t omit a single word.”
“Ah! Wait!” Vivian tinkered with the mana crystal for a second, then declared she was ready.
It was time for my words to reach the ears of all the leaders of Noark.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague.”
I spoke slowly.
“Mom.”
Vivian let out a squeak of surprise. “Dead.”
Time to go back to my roots.
***
Bzzt!
A series of messages passed through the communication crystal on the young man’s hip, but he didn’t it any mind.
“Area 8. Arson. Yandel is the culprit. Requesting reinforcements.”
That barbarian had appeared in District Eight and was causing trouble.
“Area 8-2. Do not approach. Reinforcements, moving in.”
Although the situation over there seemed dire, it wasn’t something he needed to concern himself with. District Four, his current location, was quite far from District Eight, after all. Unless he was personally chosen to deal with the issue, the man was thinking of just leaving District Eight to the others.
Yeah, that had been the plan, at least.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague.”
That was, until a familiar female voice entered his ears.
Lyranne Vivian…?
He recognized that voice immediately. He was the man who had taken in that young girl filled with bitterness and hatred and then turned her into the infamous Wailing Witch.
She should be in District Eight, yet she’s calling for me…
It seemed to be a call for help.
Is she in danger?
Even if his guess was correct, he didn’t plan on sending her backup, not when they were in the middle of a war. The reason he gathered each member of Orcules in the first place was for this very day.
“M-Mom…”
Even if she was in so much danger that she was calling for her mother, things wouldn’t change.
There was something much more important he needed to take care of. It would be best for him to ignore this request and pretend that he didn’t—
“D-dead…!”
He froze, his feet coming to a screeching halt in his shock.
A moment later, however, he resumed his chase. Surely, he either heard it wrong or she had misspoken on her end.
It didn’t take long for him to stop again when that voice continued to speak.
“R-Ricardo Lüchenprague! Your mom’s dead!”
The message repeated itself as if to assure him that he hadn’t misheard.
The young man became truly confused at the sudden turn of events, unlike any he’d ever experienced before. Just what was going on?
The messages continued, heedless of his confusion.
“The Order of the Rose… It k-killed her! That’s why your mom’s dead!”
The words were beyond shocking—he could hardly believe he was hearing them at all. However, his mind went icy calm as he began to think through the incident logically.
He was at least that observant.
She’s being ordered by someone…
Lyranne Vivian wasn’t sending these messages because she wanted to. More likely than not, she had been captured and was being forced to send them. However, the problem still remained.
Who is it?
Who and for what reason would they send such messages, and how did they know of his connection to the Order of the Rose? There weren’t many people who did—he was certain of it.
The order of priorities in the man’s mind shifted with a click. On the one hand, it was important for him to chase down Bjorn Yandel’s ally as well as the one who used aura and was very reminiscent of the Order of the Rose.
“Captain…?”
“I will leave the pursuit of Emily Raines to you.”
“Oh, understood!”
He stopped, opting to leave the work to his subordinates as he pulled out his mana crystal.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague, first characteristic. Compared to Corpse Collector… H-his thing is smaller!”
There was only one way for him to figure out who was ordering Vivian to spout such nonsense.
It was to ask them directly.
The man activated his crystal and spoke with a low tone. “You… Who are you?”
However, only mockery returned his question.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague, second characteristic. It’s not even scary when he talks, b-but he acts like he’s tough!”
The insults were now coming in in plain Rafdonian as if translating it into code became too difficult.
For some reason, a single person popped into his mind.
Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.
Corpse Collector, Abed Necrapeto.
Demon Eyes, Roland Banozant.
Every single person who had encountered that brute warned him to “watch what he said” in front of him.
“Bjorn Yandel…”
If that was the person behind this foolishness, then it made sense. He just so happened to be chasing after his ally. It would explain why internal information had been leaked—the barbarian was doing all this to draw his attention to himself instead.
If that’s the case…how does he know what happened between me and the Order of the Rose?
The man gripped the crystal again because he didn’t know.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague, third characteristic. He’s shaking with such fright that he can’t even reply!”
Even though he was still being mocked, the young man didn’t do anything. In fact, he felt calmer than he had ever been. His body only shook because he had been running, and for the first time in a while, at that.
As he was now certain of who the opposition was, he asked again, “Where are you?”
Fortunately for him, the answer came immediately. It wasn’t Vivian’s voice this time either.
“District Eight.”
Even though it was only his voice, its very presence alone was massive enough that the man could easily imagine the barbarian’s size.
“Come on over if you’re mad.”
The voice was male, and Yandel had reportedly been seen in District Eight.
My guess was correct.
Of course, it was still baffling for the man.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague, fourth characteristic. Asks where I am but can’t even come to get me because he’s scared.”
How was this the hero of the city, the chieftain of a race, and the person who’d risen to the title of a baron? He was too frivolous and vulgar.
However, it made the barbarian’s intentions all the more clear.
He’s trying to lure me over to him.
Alright, then what should he do?
It didn’t take long for him to make a decision.
“Ricardo Lüchenprague, fifth characteristic. Dad dead as well.”
He didn’t like falling for such an obvious trick like this. But how about falling for it this time?
And so, the man replied, “Don’t think I’ll let you die an easy death.”
He was curious how Bjorn had come to know of that story.
“Ah, like your parents?”
One insult later, and the crystal in the man’s hand couldn’t withstand the pressure and shattered.
“Must’ve been defective,” the man muttered.
He routed the fastest way he could go to District Eight in his mind. However, for some reason, that barbarian’s words—specifically, his voice—continued to echo in his mind.
“District Eight. Come on over if you’re mad.”
Although he had heard countless stories about Bjorn Yandel, this should’ve been the first time he spoke to the barbarian, and yet, for some reason…
He feels… familiar somehow.
A strange sense of familiarity assaulted him. It felt as if he had heard the same voice sometime in the past, so long ago that his memories now failed him.
When was it…?
For a moment, he furrowed his brow, trying to retrace his memories. Soon enough, though, the man quickly began to move again.
The odd feeling should resolve itself when he saw him in person.
***
Have you ever been inside a wardrobe?
Rafdonia’s (former) paladin Sven Parav had. Although, technically speaking, the one inside the wardrobe wasn’t “Sven Parav” but his original body.
To go inside a wardrobe, you needed to bend your body at an awkward angle. You couldn’t fully stretch, nor lay down and get comfy like it were a bed.
However, for some reason, he found wardrobes comforting.
Well, his body wasn’t comfortable, but his heart most certainly was. After all, if he stayed there, no one would be able to find him.
That was why ever since he was young, whenever he was afraid, he would enter a wardrobe.
I never expected to go inside one of these again at my age.
Now that his body had gotten much bigger, he needed to force and squeeze himself into the wardrobe, and it wasn’t just him this time either.
“S-sorry… I’m heavy, aren’t I?”
He had a roommate, and due to that roommate’s fragrant body odor, he had to bend forward at the waist to keep as far away as he could.
However, there was nothing else he could do. This was the only place he could hide anywhere around here.
“N-no… In fact, I should be the one apologizing. Because of me…”
“Don’t apologize. We’re both still safe for now.”
Hearing that, Sven Parav felt an immense sense of gratitude.
It was completely his fault that the two of them were stuck in this narrow wardrobe. A sudden seizure gripped him while he was fighting alongside his allies, and Lilith Marrone ended up being left behind with him when she tried to help.
“Still, it’s amazing… I don’t know how you recovered right after coming in here.”
“Ahaha… M-me neither.”
Sven Parav laughed awkwardly and tried to move away from the topic. Although he felt both apologetic and grateful, there was something he could never reveal to her.
I can never tell her I did it on purpose, never…
That seizure was an exaggeration.
Obviously, he’d been acting—acting so he could naturally move away from the main group.
Just what is this wardrobe…?
Sven Parav rubbed the side of the wardrobe in question.
In truth, there was seemingly nothing special about this piece of furniture. No matter how one looked at it, it was just a simple wardrobe, something he’d spied through a broken second-floor window. However, as soon as he caught a glimpse of its top half through the fighting, a gut feeling stronger than any he’d ever experienced gripped his heart.
I need to go.
That wardrobe was safe. He would never die if he could just get inside that wardrobe.
I need to go.
Like a man possessed, Sven Parav broke off from the group, and since Lilith Marrone had seen it, he had to act like he was having a seizure.
However, the wardrobe had made all that worth it. It was as if the wardrobe was the panacea.
Ba-dump!
The uneasiness that had held his body in its thrall since he returned to the city completely disappeared. Instead, he felt an unyielding sense of security, as if he would be fine here even if the world crumbled.
I’m sorry to my allies…
In a way, this could be called an act of betrayal.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel guilty, but having been pushed to the limits of his exhaustion, Sven Parav made no move whatsoever to leave the wardrobe.
If I just stay in this wardrobe, I can live…!
Sven Parav needed to follow his intuition.
He had to.
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