Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

Episode 236 Awl (1)

A dark room.

Wood-tone blinds that let in white light.

A $200 single mattress and a work desk with a laptop on it. A tea table for one person with only one chair attached to the wall.

A woman was standing in that narrow room.

With a very confused face.

“This place…”

It’s not a place I don’t know.

It is the first rental apartment I signed up for after moving to New York after getting a job, and it has been called in at midnight on the 15th of every month for several years.

“Why am I here…”

The woman recalled with a headache.

slowly emerged one by one.

[It’s a black magician!!]

[Turn off the time. I’ll take care of it soon.]

Day 1 in the Labyrinth where the war began.

A safe zone arrived with multiple teleportation magic.

A heartless choice that had to be made in the end after a long leadership meeting.

[The royal family are trying to abandon us and run away!! Block it!!]

While the knights were dealing with the explorers, he and his clan members ran through the dimensional gate.

And…….

Shuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!

A magic circle that emitted brilliant light from the ground.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

A huge pillar of fire covered the sky.

“I can’t stand it…….”

Only then did I understand.

Why is he, who had just returned to the city through the dimensional gate, come here?

“Has the 15 days passed…?”

The woman hurriedly turned on her laptop.

Then I looked around the bulletin board to find out exactly what had happened.

It didn’t take long for her to get the information she wanted, as she had done this often.

Among the explorers who came out through the portal, only 103 survived.

All of them are unconscious, and even the High Priest of the Tovera religion, who has the nickname ‘agent’, has given up saying that there is no way to fix it now?

“Oh no……”

Versyl Gowland, vice-captain of Clan Larer.

Realizing the reality, her face turned white.

***

As soon as the computer was turned on, I checked the chat room first.

[Long live Korea’s independence] – 0 people are online.

Again, Lee Baek-ho did not return.

Well, since the Ghost Master hit Ben himself, he probably couldn’t have done much better.

It was definitely good when he was around.

‘In the end, I have no choice but to get advanced information from the round table watchers…….’

He moved his mouse, trying to erase his regret.

The round table doesn’t open until three hours after the community opens. Until then, I was thinking of taking a peek and seeing the atmosphere of this place.

‘As expected, the players also died a lot.’

Originally, when the community opens, posts are posted explosively on the free bulletin board of the exchange by players who have been waiting for this time.

But what about this time?

‘Nearly one-third.’

Not only bulletin boards, but also chat rooms.

Even large chat rooms, which have always had more than 50 people, have only a little more than 10 people.

“Ha…….”

Whenever I encounter these changes, I sigh.

What kind of ‘great flood’ seemed to cover the world?

Everywhere I go, everything is swept away, and there is no place that is normal.

‘As time passes, will this place be filled with newbies again…?’

Well it will.

Even in Korea, nothing was left after the war, but in the end, didn’t it come to the present?

Maybe when that time comes, I will no longer be a newbie, but I will become a top player.

Oh, do you still want to hear the top level?

Yeah, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t think there are many kids who even got the title of nobility.

clack clack.

Thinking about this and that, I toured various bulletin boards as if surfing the web.

Most of the bulletin boards I went to were full of stories about this situation, and when I looked around, my stories also came out intermittently… no, with a considerable frequency.

[What the hell is Bjorn Yandel?]

I thought he would be in his 30s because he said he was a level 5 explorer, but it’s been a year since he finished his coming-of-age ceremony?

-What have I been doing for 5 years?

It was mentioned a few times during the 3rd floor lord, but it was incomparable to now.

The number of posts about my topic is huge, and each one has dozens of comments.

[these99: Not even 5th grade in the first place. How is he level 5? If it wasn’t for the guild’s achievements, I think I would have already reached level 4.]

[└Writer: Wow, is that enough? It’s only been a year? I feel more embarrassed.]

[└NExtlevEL: 4th grade is an exaggeration. The author has no sense of self-doubt. It’s a 5th grade, because the standard is to take it within a year if only the essence comes out well.] [

└NExtlevEL: Oh, and it seems like you only have a few essences? From what I’ve seen, level 5 is barely enough.]

[└these99: Level 5 within a year is the default? What are you playing alone? What about the bullshit of a 5th grade pull-up? You already proved it by being a corpse collector?]

[└NExtlevEL: Are you an American? Just looking at it, they’re making a hero, but I believe in that. And even if he really won, would he have done it alone? They’re all teammates.]

[└Pnec: He’s right. The corpse collectors fought hundreds to one, so how could they say that they were blown away? Are you an idiot?]

Players give opinions about celebrities as if they were arguing on the Internet.

There were also a number of heart-wrenching comments.

[fliccolo: From my point of view, he’s also a player.]

[└Writer: Oh, that might be the case. Why didn’t I think of that?]

A question that inevitably arises when you gain fame in a short period of time.

Still, the path I took helped me.

[└arolf5205: Player what. If you guys had seen it for yourself even once, you would never have said such a thing lol.] [

└stevencastle: Those who say this are all lucky enough not to have entered the labyrinth. At the end, if you saw the corpse collector biting off his ear while blinded, you can never say the word player.] [

└cherylvander: Real man himself.]

[└Ykbell: When you scream while stepping on a goblin trap, even I get hot. It was a sensibility that modern people could never express. Everyone present at the time would agree.]

[COOOOL75: Behel—Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa time COOOOL!!!]

It was a strange feeling to see the slanderous or praising posts about me.

You’ve grown so much that it’s become a hot topic.

While the intense interest is burdensome, I think it is a path that must be passed in order to go higher.

That’s right, I’ll keep going up.

It is inevitable that the number of floors and reputation are proportional.

‘It’s about time.’

After looking around the bulletin board for such a long time, three hours had passed since I entered the community.

[03:01]

In the past, I went in as late as possible to attract attention, but this time I just entered as soon as the time was right.

I was also curious about the small talk before the main rally.

‘Couldn’t everyone have died except for the clown?’

I quickly double-clicked the mouse, leaving a little anxiety behind.

Flash-!

A light flickered in front of my eyes for a moment, and when I came to my senses, it was a familiar customizing room. I quickly put on the mask of a lion in the suit I wore every day and moved to the main room with a round table.

Awesome profit.

Three people were there first.

Goblin fox antlers.

‘Looks like the clown is still there.’

Soon after I entered, the three who had come first glanced at me and let out a strange exclamation.

“Ah…….”

“Fortunately, you came today too.”

They are always like this every time they come.

Possessing the mask of a lion, I sat in my exclusive seat and rested my chin on my face as if I wasn’t interested.

If you do this, you know how to play with each other.

You just have to close your eyes and listen.

“By the way, there are already four survivors.”

The goblin was muttering to himself as if the still air was uncomfortable.

“It’s amazing. I thought you were in danger, even if others didn’t know. How did you come back alive?”

That’s the part I was curious about too.

Excluding a few priests, most of the religious figures rode out through the dimensional door.

That means almost everything is gone.

Then what happened to the goblins?

“Well. It’s a story related to my identity. I’ll just say I was lucky.”

“Chit, what a big deal.”

The deer antlers licked their lips as the goblin evaded and escaped. And the two of them had small talk.

Strangely, the fox did not participate in the conversation.

But did they both feel it?

“Fox, something is strange today.”

“Yes. I’ve been blank since before……”

The antlers and the goblin looked at the fox and expressed their doubts.

“…Yes? What did you just say?”

“Look at this, is it strange?”

“If there’s anything wrong, tell me. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can help Mr. Fox with

all his might…” The goblin wanted to be at this point.

The fox let out a long breath and shook his head.

“Thank you for caring about me, but it’s nothing. So please stop paying attention.”

“Ah yes. If that’s the case…”

For some reason, the goblin changed the topic as if he was embarrassed by his tone, which was much harsher than usual.

“By the way, aren’t the others coming?”

Now, there is only 5 minutes left to enter.

There are two members who have not participated yet.

The clown I’ve been waiting for forever and the crescent moon that longs for the stone of rebirth.

“Couldn’t they both be dead?”

“Hmm, I don’t know about Crescent Moon, but I don’t think that clown is dead.”

“…That’s right, right? Maybe?”

The goblin answered with a somewhat regretful voice.

It was then.

Awesome profit.

The customization room on the hallway opened and a chuckle was heard.

‘Am I a clown?’

I pretended to be indifferent and turned my head to check the place.

And…

“Huh?”

Like goblins and deer antlers, it hardened.

It wasn’t the mask I was expecting.

‘Queen?’

A mask studded with colorful jewels.

The eyes are decorated with various gold pieces, and the forehead is in the shape of a crown.

And the outfit she chose was a gorgeous red dress.

‘Are you a returning member?’

Suddenly, I thought so, but I realized that it was not the case when I saw the queen’s mask bowing gracefully.

“Oh, hello. It’s my first time, so there are a lot of things I don’t know, but please take care of me.”

was a new member.

***

First new member since I came.

Naturally, everyone’s attention was focused on her.

Among them, the most enthusiastic was the fox.

“First time? How did you get in? Did you meet the Master, too?”

Unlike the moment before, when he was absent-minded, the fox could not hide his excitement and asked a question.

“Yeah… that’s it, right?”

As the queen mask spoke in a half affirmation, the fox’s voice grew more excited.

“Human! Where is he? No, we can just meet him. There’s one thing I really want to ask of you…” “I’m

so sorry. I don’t think I can fulfill that request.”

The Queen firmly drew a line.

Then, with a smile, he led the conversation with a relaxed attitude uncharacteristic of a new member.

“Anyway, then, shall we talk to each other?”

From the very beginning, the queen talks as if it were her own bedroom.

The deer antlers replied as if they were not worthy.

“The rule is not to use names.”

“okay! Then this one is a goblin, that one is a fox, this is a lion. Hmm then, how should we call it?”

“Antlers.”

“Isn’t it just a deer?”

“Your mask must have had your name on it too?” ”

Ah! It was. So I’ll be the queen Whoops.”

While I was interested in the queen and chatting with the members, I continued to observe her. A

mask doesn’t cover everything.

Goblins have copper-colored skin. So I assumed they were from Southeast Asia or South America.

Then, what about this woman

?

Blue eyes and sparkling blonde hair.

Skin color is very white, like that of a white person.

Of course, this is all the information that can be known from the outside, and even that is not helpful in inferring one’s identity in this world. But even so,

I couldn’t take my eyes off it . ‘

I think I saw it somewhere…’

A feeling of déjà vu arises inexplicably.

Why do I have this feeling?

“Anyway, I’m so glad to see you, fox. As you know, there are not many female users, right? Oh, and Goblin-sama has a very nice voice. The deer antlers seem to be very kind, too.” When the queen, who has the tension that makes people jump up, stared at me,

the fox

quickly warned with words

. ”

“Yes?”

“I know what kind of style you are, but I think you’d better not be too friendly with him.” ”

Yes? Why?”

As the queen tilted her head, the fox looked at me and was puzzled. Did you think that you would overpower the goblins like you did? Maybe you wished it

was normal

. It’s going to be profitable.

But…

“Um, the investigator is very reticent. Let’s talk a lot when we get to know each other later!”

“…….”

I was just chewing on words and didn’t do anything.

It’s a simple reason.

I need to save energy.

‘Looks like you’ve just arrived.’

With about a minute left until the entry deadline ,

another

door in the hallway opened with a squeaking sound

. moved.

“Hey! A lot of them have survived!”

A clown came up from

far away with his characteristic fucking tone

.

hello. Can I call you clown from now on? For some reason, I’m very excited because I think he’s a very interesting person!”

“…What is it? Who is this frivolous woman?

“He’s a new member. He probably joined after being recommended by the master.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

The clown, who had been watching the queen as if observing, took his seat. Then he turned his attention away from her and spoke to me.

“How’s the fishet lion?”

It has always been a repertoire.

This bastard always pretended to be friendly with me.

As if there was only one person equal to me in this place.

“Look forward to it. This time we’ve brought a lot of pretty interesting stories.”

What are you sick?

“…….”

I slowly raised my life.

Originally, I had to have mind control and have a mind to kill, but this time I didn’t even have to.

‘If it wasn’t for this bastard.’

Daria would not have died.

Besides that, many explorers would have been able to return alive and be embraced by their families.

But what about this kid now?

“Since Mr. Phisht Crescent isn’t there, you must be dead?”

As usual, it is splitting brightly.

Yeah so…….

“But why hasn’t Mr. Saja been silent since a while ago?”

I wake up with only one thought filled in my head.

Live sincerely in name.

“Maybe somewhere… Eup!”

The moment our gazes met, the clown grabbed his neck with both hands. Then, he suffered as if he had entered a vacuum room, and soon fell to the floor and wriggled.

“……!”

Members panicked not knowing what the situation was.

I slowly got up and walked in front of the clown.

Then I looked down at him from above.

“That’s it…”

It was a little funny.

He always treated people as idiots with an idiot-like tone, as if anything had happened.

“It’s like a bug.”

You can’t pretend to be friendly from now on, kid.