Surviving the Game as a Barbarian - Chapter 579 - : return (5)

Ghost Busters.

A space created over 20 years ago that became a refuge for countless users nostalgic for the past.

The end of that space came suddenly, even until the very last moment.

[Urgent Notice] The server will be shut down soon.

[If forcibly disconnected, unforeseen problems may occur, so all logged-in users are advised to log out promptly.]

About five minutes after receiving Hyunbyeol’s message, this notification popped up.

After pressing the refresh button, the bulletin board, already radiating an apocalyptic atmosphere, went into chaos.

Posts ranged from “Why is this happening so soon when there’s still plenty of time before the community closes?” to messages searching for someone, and even mindless spam posts rarely seen during normal management.

[Guys, urgent. Please respond.]

Curious about what was so pressing, I clicked–and unsurprisingly, it was nothing significant.

[What happens if you don’t log out and just wait?]

Ugh, I figured as much.

Still, since I was secretly curious myself, I checked the comments on the post.

[these99: What do you think? You’ll just be logged out.]

[+Author: Really? Then I’ll just wait until it disconnects me automatically before logging out.]

[+fliccolo: Didn’t you see the part about “possible issues”? Just quietly log out yourself. If you mess up, you might end up an idiot for life.]

Quite a chilling statement.

That you’d become an idiot if you failed to log out on time…

I wondered if it could really happen, but given the uniqueness of this place, I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility.

“The wording ‘possible issues’ left by the GM himself also bothers me a bit.”

Even without that, there was no reason to stick around till the end, so after reading through some posts on the bulletin board one last time, I clicked the logout button.

[Are you sure you want to log out?]

The choice window divided between “Yes” and “No” brought back memories of when I first entered this world.

Click, click.

As I pressed “Yes,” my vision darkened to black, and a sensation as if being sucked into somewhere blossomed.

It was time to return.

No longer the mysterious absolute investigator Maske, nor the ordinary office worker Lee Hansu.

But Bjorn Yandel.

Come to think of it, since when had it started?

Every time I came back from the community, Amelia was always there.

No matter how many times I told her it wasn’t necessary, she’d secretly come, so I gave up trying to stop her.

Honestly, I wasn’t ungrateful…

“You said you were just going to sleep earlier? Now you’re even lying?”

“I was planning to.”

“But?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Couldn’t sleep indeed.

When I smirked, Amelia continued as if making an excuse.

“…And you never know what might happen inside the labyrinth.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

As I sat up, Amelia handed me a cup of water and asked again.

“So, what exactly happened inside?”

I quenched my dry throat with cold water and told her the details of what happened.

The announcement that the community would be closed right after logging in.

And the closure information obtained from the roundtable.

“Hmm, so Auril Gavis was involved in the closure…”

“The official reason is to prevent evil spirits from growing complacent, but that can’t be the real reason. What about you? Do you suspect something?”

“Not really… If something comes to mind later, I’ll tell you immediately.”

Hmm, I guess she didn’t suspect anything either.

Well, she hadn’t met Auril Gavis properly anyway, so that was to be expected.

At that moment, Amelia changed her tone and stared at me.

“So, Yandel, what else happened inside?”

“…Huh?”

“You wouldn’t have that expression just because of that.”

“What expression…?”

When I tilted my head, Amelia cautiously spoke.

“I might be mistaken, but…”

“No need to beat around the bush, just say it plainly.”

“You look like you’re in pain.”

Ah…

“Did something else happen inside?”

Ha, I really can’t hide anything in front of her.

What should I do? Should I say it or not?

After a moment of hesitation, I finally told her everything honestly.

It wasn’t something to hide anyway.

…And it felt a bit awkward to lie in front of someone with such wide eyes.

“I see… So that’s what happened inside.”

It didn’t take long for her to finish listening.

I had excluded my personal views and strictly laid out the events in chronological order.

But Amelia seemed to immediately grasp what was bothering me.

No, maybe she knew better than I did.

She then said,

“You’re struggling with whether you have the right to be angry at Misha Kalstein.”

Amelia summed up my psychological state, which even I hadn’t fully understood, in one short sentence.

It felt like I was completely exposed and naked.

Maybe that’s why I unwittingly defended myself.

“It’s not that simple. It’s not just Misha but a complex issue involving everyone–”

“But the core of the problem is Misha Kalstein.”

“……”

“Am I wrong?”

…I had no response.

So I just closed my mouth, and Amelia calmly asked,

“Can you tell me what happened that day?”

There was no need for clarifying which day she meant.

That was the day I said nothing happened.

Because that was when Misha started isolating herself, refusing to talk to anyone, hiding in a corner alone.

‘…Where should I even begin?’

After a short pause, I started explaining from the beginning.

“Do you know about the Resurrection Stone?”

To explain what happened with Misha, I first had to explain this.

I hadn’t told anyone the full story yet.

“To some extent.”

“Misha Kalstein received the Resurrection Stone from Ibaekho before returning to our clan. When I found out, I questioned her about it.”

“And?”

“I asked if she knew that using the Resurrection Stone causes the target to lose all memories of their previous life, and she said she didn’t know. So I told her I understood and told her to leave.”

“So… what happened after that?”

I sighed as I answered.

“Misha didn’t leave. I asked her to say something, even if angry. So I just spoke honestly.”

“……”

“I can’t trust you… Even after hearing what you said today, my first thought was whether you’re hiding something.”

After those words, silence settled between us for a while.

“…And?”

“That’s all.”

Misha left the room without a word, and since then, we haven’t had a proper conversation.

That is the whole story.

“I see.”

After hearing everything, Amelia was silent for a long time, seemingly organizing her thoughts, then unexpectedly asked,

“Why did you hide the story about Misha Kalstein from us?”

Well… I don’t know. Why?

Why hadn’t I told Amelia about the Resurrection Stone either?

I wanted to dodge the question, but I actually knew the answer.

“…Because Misha would become isolated.”

Misha’s position in our clan was already precarious.

Elwen looked at Misha with disapproval, and Versil was openly watching her as a candidate for betrayal.

Even socially withdrawn for over two years, Misha couldn’t get along with Ainard, her former comrade, and was alienated.

If the fact that she received orders from Ibaekho came out here, it was obvious what would happen.

‘She’d be even more isolated.’

Maybe it would even end with her leaving on her own.

But that made me feel even more foolish.

‘What exactly do I want?’

At the moment when it became increasingly difficult to understand my own state, Amelia finally nodded as if understanding.

“So that’s why you couldn’t use ‘Broken Trust’ on Misha Kalstein.”

“……”

“You must have thought she was hiding more.”

That was the point.

It was a paradoxical story, but because I didn’t trust Misha, I couldn’t use that item.

Like Schrodinger’s cat.

Once you open the box, the result is already determined, and there’s no going back.

So for now, I left the box unopened.

Seeing my pathetic self, Amelia said,

“That’s so like you.”

It sounded like a reproach, but Amelia’s gaze was gentle.

“Bjorn Yandel. At dawn, take the ‘Broken Trust’ and ask Kalstein if she’s hiding anything else. If she says no, treat her as a comrade like before.”

“And if she is hiding more from me?”

“Well, then you’ll have to reconsider.”

“That’s… a bit irresponsible advice, isn’t it?”

“But you know you can’t keep postponing it forever.”

Well, she was right.

Sighing in frustration, Amelia comforted me,

“Even * Novelight * (Continue reading) if you don’t want to, do what you have to.”

“……”

“Bjorn Yandel. Be yourself.”

Be myself…

What kind of person did she think Bjorn Yandel was?

That question suddenly came to mind, along with thoughts about how I saw her.

“…Why do you see me that way?”

“Just because you seem more mature than usual?”

A sincere answer without any filtering.

“Ugh…?”

For some reason, Amelia flinched as if struck in the solar plexus.

Then she looked at me for a moment and sighed.

“Take it as a compliment.”

Huh… could that be interpreted otherwise?

The next morning, after a good night’s sleep,

I immediately went to the chief and received the ‘Broken Trust’ to use on Misha.

But I hesitated.

‘Is this really the right thing to do…?’

Not because I was worried about what Misha might be hiding, but because using such an item on a comrade felt very uncomfortable.

If I get past this with this item, then what next?

Would I start relying on ‘Broken Trust’ every time I felt suspicious?

And would such a relationship still be called camaraderie?

That was the fundamental doubt.

But…

‘This is the last time I’ll use it.’

No matter what happens later, once I decided that, my hesitation lessened a bit.

Yeah, so…

Knock knock.

After standing dazed for a long while, I knocked on the door.

No response. She didn’t seem to be sleeping.

“I’m here, Misha. Let’s talk for a moment.”

Knocking again and calling out, soon I heard movement inside.

“Huh? B-Bjorn? W-Wait a moment…”

The door finally opened nearly five minutes later.

“What… is it…? So early…?”

Unlike the stories about being a shut-in, she looked much cleaner than expected. She was probably in the middle of washing, water still lingering in her hair.

“Can I come in for a moment?”

“Um… it’s a little messy…”

“That’s fine.”

I stepped inside through the slightly opened door.

Then I took out the Broken Trust right away.

“That is…”

Misha’s expression, recognizing the item instantly, was mixed with many emotions.

It looked like relief, happiness, disappointment, and fear all at once.

Because of that, she couldn’t easily speak.

But I forced my voice out.

“Before we talk, I want to turn this on. Can you allow that?”

After a short pause, her answer came back.