Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 586: Original (3)
The vampire seemed just as awkward as I felt when he said thank you.
Changing the subject like that.
“Anyway, that’s the end of my story. Though, I don’t think I properly explained the world of that time. You seemed more interested in that side of things.”
He was right.
But as the story went on, I was too absorbed listening to his tale to pay attention to anything else.
“If you have any questions, even now, ask away. I’ll tell you everything I know without holding back.”
So finally, question time began.
His story was interesting, but what I was most curious about was the worldview of that era.
“Duke, do you know who the witches really are?”
“I don’t know much. I only know they’re women... everything else is shrouded in mystery. But the pilgrims who follow the witches believe that someday, after death, they will go to the Land of Dawn.”
“...The Land of Dawn?”
“A place without worries, pain, or discrimination, where all are equal and free. A land where you can go anywhere you wish.”
“...”
“The pilgrims say that. Before hearing your story, I hoped this place might be that land. I thought maybe my prayers had been answered before I died.”
“Is that so...”
I didn’t mention that the 8th floor of the Labyrinth is called the ‘Land of Dawn.’
It’s just the same name for a completely different place.
“Anyway, back to the original story... The Empire cried out that if the witches weren’t destroyed, the world would perish... but I didn’t believe it.”
“Why didn’t you believe that?”
“The Empire has a history like that. You probably don’t know, but in ancient times, there were five gods. Two religions were erased from the world by the Empire for political reasons. I’ve heard a lot of blood was shed then.”
From my perspective, hearing an ancient person talk about ancient history.
But since he didn’t seem to know much about the five gods, I moved on.
“What kind of place is the Empire?”
“That’s a hard question to answer.”
“Anything is fine. Just tell me whatever you remember.”
Then I learned about the ancient Empire’s influence, culture, and nature.
It controlled one-third of the continent’s land and influenced another third directly or indirectly.
That’s probably enough to know for now...
“Do you know of Lapdonia Castle or its territories?”
“Lapdonia? You mean the city where you live? Sadly, it’s the first time I’ve heard that name from you.”
So he didn’t know that.
A bit disappointing, but I kept my composure and moved on.
“Did monsters exist in your era?”
“Of course. Goblins, Yetis, Ogres... many monsters lived across the continent. Though they differed somewhat from the ones you told me about.”
“Differed...?”
“For starters, neither the ‘essence’ nor the ‘magic stones’ you mentioned existed then. And most had intelligence. Goblins and kobolds formed villages in forests or mountains and sometimes interacted with humans.”
Apparently, orcs were considered a whole faction back then...
“What about elves and dwarves? And the dragonkin? What status did they have on this continent?”
Curious, I asked, but he looked puzzled as if I said something absurd.
“Elves and dwarves? Aren’t those creatures only in stories and myths?”
“...Huh?”
What was that?
My mind went blank for a moment, but there was no trace of jest in his expression or voice.
“Duke... what kind of race do you think I am?”
I cautiously asked, and through his answer, I realized something.
In the ancient era before the world’s destruction,
monsters did exist.
But...
“...Obviously, humans.”
There were no other races.
Humans, beastmen, elves, dwarves, dragonkin, barbarians.
The six races making up the last fortress Lapdonia.
But the duke said now,
“There were only humans in those days...?”
Barbarians lived in the northern and southern wildlands fighting monsters.
Dwarves built underground cities and had their own states.
The forests where elves lived were safe thanks to guardian trees protecting them from monsters.
Beastmen lived mixed with humans from that era.
Records about dragonkin were scarce and hard to find.
Those other races, just before the world’s end, fled to Lapdonia, the last bastion.
The lord, needing their strength, gave them respect and recognized their own domains — the holy lands.
‘...It doesn’t make sense.’
The holy lands still preserve culture and tradition from that era.
Barbarians still follow communal child-rearing, using the mother’s name as surname for daughters and the father’s name for sons.
The ‘Spirit Imprint’ is said to be an ancient secret technique passed down from then.
But no barbarians existed in the ancient times?
‘Maybe our world and that world were different?’
The thought crossed my mind — like parallel worlds you see in movies or comics.
Maybe that’s the case.
Nothing is certain, though.
“I was a bit surprised by your size. Are you not human?”
“...By our world’s classification, no.”
I went on to explain the six races, then discussed the mystery with the duke.
Unfortunately, no significant breakthroughs were made.
So I kept asking, trying to gather as much ancient information as possible.
I would have liked to talk all day, but as always, everything has an end.
“...It was enjoyable after a long time, but I think we should end the story here.”
“...?”
“Actually... my madness has flared up again.”
Only then did I notice his eyes were unusual.
The whites were bloodshot, and veins bulged on his forehead and neck.
In that state, the duke calmly said to me,
“This is the end.”
“...”
“While I still am myself.”
“...”
I exhaled deeply, calming my breath.
My heart felt heavy.
Not because I couldn’t get more information.
But for a different reason.
‘It would have been easier if he’d lost his mind and attacked...’
Of course, I had no intention of refusing his request.
I raised my hammer.
“Just so you know, I don’t know how to kill nicely.”
“You don’t have to. I can tell.”
He chuckled softly and quietly closed his eyes.
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something,
“Ah, one last thing I want to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Since you told me about meeting me in the Labyrinth, some faint memories have come back. It’s not only your memory.”
His closed eyes opened again.
“I don’t know well... but there, I was always losing control and fighting. Probably with the explorers you mentioned...”
His bloodshot eyes gazed into empty space, as if seeing something invisible.
“This is only a guess... but maybe I’ve been here all that time, summoned whenever there was a fight with them...”
“That’s... quite plausible.”
“How about it? Is it helpful?”
Without hesitation, I answered,
“Definitely.”
What he told me included information about the guardian statue hidden on basement level one and the secrets of the cracks.
That will help in the journey ahead.
“Good...”
As if he had nothing more to say, he closed his eyes again and quietly muttered,
“Am I real or fake...”
A murmur as if talking to himself.
“When this heart stops, where do I go?”
I did not answer.
Only thought to myself.
The place he goes after death is neither the afterlife described by the Tri-God Church nor the Land of Dawn spoken of by the pilgrims.
He will be reborn again, forget today’s memories, and repeat the same things over endless ages.
But...
“Enough. Wherever it is doesn’t matter.”
“...”
“If I can at least lessen my sins a little.”
Then, in a voice so calm it was eerie, he said,
“This is the end.”
The moment he announced his readiness, I brought down the hammer.
Though crude, I poured all my strength into ensuring no pain.
Fwoooosh!
The hammer struck the heart I had barely reached before with the [Exploding Flesh] spell several hundred times.
Crash!
The eerie sound echoed through the empty chamber, scattering beams of light.
A rainbow-colored essence rose as well.
I had seen this countless times as an explorer, but could only watch silently.
Whooaaaahhh!
Until the light beams woven in the air vanished.
When I came out through the portal, the outside was complete chaos.
After all, the vampire had taken so long that everyone was worried sick.
“Mister...!”
“Yandel...! What happened inside? No, whatever happened doesn’t matter. You’re now excluded from the raid...”
“Are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Even Amelia spoke strangely about excluding me from the raid...
But the lucky thing was no one reacted like I was some dead person returned.
They confirmed survival by seeing the portal wouldn’t open again?
“3 hours 21 minutes...”
Of course, even in that chaos, the record mage was diligently recording.
“Everyone, move aside. Enough worrying. It wasn’t dangerous from the start.”
“Then why were you so late coming out?”
Raven, in charge of the guardian special training, approached with a sharp tone.
I was about to explain before she pushed.
“There was a guardian inside with intelligence. So I had a long conversation trying to understand it.”
“...A guardian with intelligence?”
“Yes. Though he went mad at the end, that was how it was at first.”
I didn’t go into details but openly told everyone about talking with the vampire.
I couldn’t keep that secret and conduct experiments.
“In that sense, I have a request for those who enter next...”
I instructed the newcomers to try talking as much as possible.
But...
“Yandel, none of that happened to me.”
“Same here. The moment I entered, murderous intent rose and they attacked.”
“I, I didn’t get to talk...!”
Amelia, Elwen, Misha.
None of them, nor anyone else who entered later, experienced anything like I did.
So the question grew bigger.
‘What was different?’
Why could Duke Cambermier keep his sanity in front {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} of me?
And why did the other guardians behave the same?
Like his final guess.
[Maybe I’ve been here all that time, summoned whenever there was a fight with them.]
If these are the originals, and the space we found on basement level one is some sort of storage, why don’t similar phenomena happen with the other guardians?
I had no answers.
The more I thought, the more questions grew.
So I decided to collect more samples.
“Yandel, are you going to catch that thing now?”
“I need to confirm something.”
“...You can do it later.”
Amelia worried when I said I’d clear the unknown statues that might be guardians of some crack, but I didn’t change my mind.
“Don’t worry. After all, they’re just Grade 5 monsters. It won’t be dangerous.”
With that, I reached out to the troll statue.
I felt strange somehow.
‘Guardian troll, huh...’
I would have been curious to see the rainbow-colored troll essence before.
But now I wondered about something else first.
What story did this guy have?
What would happen to him when I reach the Abyssal Gate?
Would he find rest then?
“...”
I couldn’t help but keep thinking.
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