Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Kwaaang!

I charged through the hole in the wall, running down the empty passage. And when I reached a dead end, I swung my hammer again.

Kwaaang!

Sometimes, the path was blocked, but it wasn’t a big deal.

The building’s structure meant there was always a way up or down.

Like this.

Kwang!

I smashed through the ceiling and climbed upstairs, arriving at a strange place.

The lighting was dim, unlike the brightly lit hallways I had been running through.

And inside the cages were… people.

Or rather, demi-humans.

They all had the same tattoo in the same spot, regardless of their race.

‘Slaves…’

They just stared blankly into space, even after seeing a giant barbarian burst through the ceiling.

It was a strange feeling.

‘So slavery still exists…’

Slavery was illegal in Lafdonia.

Criminals used to be legally enslaved, but slavery had been abolished about a hundred years ago.

The most heinous criminals were executed, and those who had been enslaved for minor offenses or debt were granted their freedom.

Of course, most of them died soon after, unable to pay their taxes.

“Hey.”

I spoke to a young boy who seemed to have some life left in his eyes.

“……!”

He flinched and pressed himself against the back of the cage.

I ignored his fear and asked,

“How did you end up here?”

One of the thugs who had followed me answered.

“…S-Stop this, Baron Yandel!”

What? What was he going to do?

He couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch.

I ignored him and looked at the boy.

The thug’s shout seemed to have had an unexpected effect.

“Giant…?”

The boy muttered my title and then approached the bars, his eyes wide.

“They say the Giant is a hero… that he saves people and punishes villains… Is it true?”

“Sort of.”

“…Did you come to save us?”

“No.”

I answered honestly.

“I just happened to find you. Now tell me. How did you end up here?”

The boy hesitated, glancing at me and the thug, and then he spoke.

“My mother… couldn’t pay her debts. So I have to pay them instead.”

“What happened to your mother?”

“She… died because she couldn’t pay her taxes.”

“What about the fairy next to you?”

I glanced at the woman in the same cage, and the boy whispered,

“Riley… she couldn’t pay her debts either. Even though she could have, some bad people stopped her. So she was brought here.”

“…….”

“…She said she would escape and come back for me… but after she was taken away a few times, she stopped talking.”

“I see.”

So that’s why he was the only one who still had some light in his eyes. The others must have been brainwashed.

A person’s will could be easily broken.

‘I’ve gathered enough information…’

I turned my gaze towards the thugs.

The one in front flinched, as if he had been caught bullying a weaker kid.

Step.

I took a step forward and asked,

“Do you know…?”

He gulped and raised his shield.

“I haven’t killed anyone yet.”

I had beaten them up, but I hadn’t killed them.

“Why do you think that is?”

“…Because you don’t want to make enemies of us. That’s what the higher-ups think.”

“Really?”

I nodded.

“That’s right.”

That’s why they had been so passive.

They knew I wouldn’t kill them unless they attacked me first.

If I had been rampaging through the black market, they would have received different orders. They would have been told to subdue me, even if it meant killing me.

So my plan was to establish dominance and then negotiate with their leader.

But…

“Tell me what you want.”

Plan B was Plan B for a reason.

There were always unexpected variables in this world.

Like this.

“We’re ready to talk to the Bar—”

I punched him in the jaw before he could finish his sentence.

Crack!

He flew backwards like a baseball, crashing into the wall and collapsing to the ground.

“He’s tougher than he looks.”

I looked down at him and said,

“I was aiming to kill.”

The other thugs flinched. They hadn’t expected that.

“W-What do you mean?”

Ah, that?

“You said you didn’t want to make an enemy of us, didn’t you?”

“Y-Yes, but…”

I raised my hammer, and his expression changed.

“Stop this, Baron. You’ll regret it…”

That was a strange thing to say.

“Why would I regret it?”

I swung my hammer down with all my might.

Crack!

He stopped moving.

“You’re the ones who should be regretting this.”

That’s how it works, right?

______________________

“…….”

“…….”

The conversation was over. The thugs didn’t say a word, their eyes fixed on me.

Swoosh.

I took a step forward, and they retreated.

I was waiting for the right moment to charge…

Creak!

…when I heard a sound behind me.

A heavy steel door at the end of the hallway was opening.

Several thugs emerged, escorting a middle-aged man.

“That’s enough, Baron Yandel.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Mel, the current head of the Shadow Trading Company.”

In other words, he was the owner of the black market.

He gave his subordinates a look.

“How is he doing? Is he still alive?”

“…He’s still breathing, Master.”

“That’s good.”

Mel then turned to me and asked,

“Baron Yandel, may I heal my subordinate before we begin our conversation?”

“Do you really think a Baron of Lafdonia would accept a request from a rebel group?”

“Haha, rebel group… You think too lowly of us, Baron.”

“Should I think highly of those who break the law?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

He nodded, as if he understood my point, and then he said coldly,

“Everyone, leave.”

His subordinates were shocked.

“…Master!”

“It’s too dangerous!”

But Mel didn’t change his mind.

“I won’t say it again.”

They didn’t dare argue with him and started leaving the hallway.

Step, step.

Mel approached me.

I was confused.

Was he incredibly strong? Or was this just a clone?

Swoosh.

He stopped in front of me and turned his back to me, kneeling down. He pulled out a potion and poured it on the injured thug’s face.

Sizzle!

The thug’s mangled face bubbled and hissed. His body, which had been motionless, started twitching.

“A high-grade potion.”

“Yes, it is.”

I didn’t understand.

What was going on?

I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked him directly.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saving my subordinate.”

“You’re risking your life for that?”

“Yes. He’s one of my men.”

I was speechless.

I had met countless leaders, but this was the first time I had encountered someone like him.

“You’re risking your life for a single subordinate?”

“Value is subjective. Just like you changed your mind after seeing those slaves.”

“…You’re a strange one.”

“Shall we move to a more suitable location for a conversation? This place isn’t exactly… pleasant.”

He turned and walked away, and I followed him, still dumbfounded.

We entered a small room after passing through several doors.

“This is one of the private rooms for our customers. I’ve dismissed all the customers, so we won’t be interrupted.”

He sat down at the table in the center of the room.

And then he looked at me expectantly.

I had to ask.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I am.”

“You don’t seem afraid.”

“But I don’t have a choice. If I harm you, my family and this place will be destroyed. I’m not that reckless.”

“And this isn’t reckless?”

“If I die, that’s the end of it. Someone else will take my place. It might take some time, but everything will return to normal. The bottom always collects the filth.”

“…….”

“Ah, of course, you’ll just leave empty-handed after venting your anger.”

He was surprisingly bold.

We hadn’t talked for long, but I could already tell…

He wasn’t someone I could easily intimidate.

But I didn’t want to waste any more time.

“So what do you want to say?”

“I think you’re the one with something to say. You came here for a reason, didn’t you?”

Ah, right.

Damn it, now I didn’t know what to say.

I decided to just tell him what I wanted.

“Give me the names of your clients.”

That was the main reason I had come here.

[Some mages… are placing requests on the black market.]

Someone was trying to buy barbarian hearts.

[They’re also after… your heart…]

Someone had even placed a bounty on my heart.

[I-I swear… I just received a request from the black market… I don’t know who the client is…]

And someone had hired the Sawtooth Clan to sabotage our raid.

“So… that’s why you came here.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Giving you the names of our clients is a difficult request.”

“So you’re refusing?”

“No, I’m a merchant. This will hurt my business, but it’s better than making an enemy of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll gather the information and send it to you today.”

He readily agreed.

It was an unexpected development.

I had thought I would have to negotiate for a long time, even after all the commotion I had caused.

“Is that all?”

“No, one more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

I made one last request.

“Release the slaves.”

I couldn’t just leave them here.

“Hmm, you seem to believe in human dignity, Baron Yandel.”

“You ask a lot of questions. It was a yes or no question, wasn’t it?”

“…Can I think about it for a moment?”

“Sure.”

He closed his eyes, as if deep in thought.

He opened them after about three minutes.

“Alright. I’ll release all the slaves, and I won’t be involved in the slave trade anymore.”

“…That was a quick decision.”

I tried to sound nonchalant, but he answered readily, as if it wasn’t a secret.

“It’s a business I’ve been wanting to quit for a while now.”

“You have?”

“There have been too many problems with the buyers. They often mistreat the slaves, and it almost caused a major incident a few times.”

He had wanted to quit, but he couldn’t find a good excuse. It was a profitable business that had been passed down through generations.

“But now that you’re here, Baron Yandel, no one will object. It’s a good thing, actually.”

“…….”

“So, is that all?”

“Yes. I’ll leave as soon as I receive the information and the slaves.”

“Then I’ll have to hurry.”

He summoned his subordinates and gave them instructions.

By dawn, I had received the information about the clients and the slaves.

And…

“Mel Asmond.”

I asked him before leaving,

“Why are you giving in so easily?”

He just looked at me for a long time.

“So you know about my family, Baron Yandel.”

I had cleared the black market episode in the game, so I knew about his family. They had been the rulers of this place for generations.

But…

“That’s not what I asked.”

He finally answered.

“Heroes always die young. There’s no reason for us to get involved.”

In other words, he thought I would die soon if I kept acting like this.

‘He’s an interesting one.’

Mel Asmond, the owner of the black market.

I had a feeling we would meet again.