Chapter 251 Gnometree (5)

Chapter 251 Gnometree (5)

Gnometree (5)

There was no point in making excuses anymore.

He wouldn't be fooled, no matter how cleverly I tried to deceive him.

He would try to get a definite answer.

‘Damn it.’

Aside from the unpleasant feeling of being forced to choose, my mind was already meticulously calculating the options I had and their consequences.

What was the best choice for me?

“Hello? Aren’t you going to answer? I asked why you’re being so friendly.”

Ha, this bastard is nagging.

I wanted to go into Mindless Barbarian Mode and say something like, ‘I just felt like it, is there a problem?’

But...

‘I might actually die if I do that.’

I was weaker than him.

Therefore, I couldn’t just smash his head with my mace and say he must be crazy for being so suspicious after I stubbornly refused to answer.

He would be the one smashing my head.

“Ha, look at this bastard, he’s back to being unfriendly.”

Lee Baekho sighed in frustration and glared at me with his blue eyes.

“Why do you keep asking? You’re not even going to believe me anyway.”

I didn’t bother hiding my sigh.

But could it be that Lee Baekho also felt frustrated?

“No, but it feels different hearing it from you.”

Right, I know what you mean.

That’s why I tried to hide it until now.

‘Right, so you’re determined to get an answer.’

It was time to admit it.

Too much had gone wrong to resolve this situation without any sacrifices.

I had to give up what I had to give up.

For example...

“Manners maketh man.”

...my identity, which I had never revealed before, even though I had been suspected many times.

“Huh?”

Lee Baekho seemed surprised by my sudden change in attitude.

But I had nothing to lose since I had already made up my mind.

“Hey, wouldn’t it be polite to just pretend you don’t know and leave?”

“What? Really? You really were a player?”

Lee Baekho’s eyes sparkled as he heard the truth from me.

‘So you were really just curious.’

I was furious.

Did he even know?

That this was my first time speaking like this in Bjorn Yandel’s body.

‘But it feels good.’

I felt a strange sense of liberation and anger at the same time as I glared at him.

But could it be that this bastard’s sense of shame was broken?

“Wow, so you saw that movie!”

He was still focused on the topic he was interested in.

Did this guy really have no social skills?

“...You should apologize first.”

A bizarre scene of a barbarian lecturing a human about social norms and morality.

“Ah, sorry. But I suddenly feel closer to you since you saw that movie. It’s one of my favorites.”

Lee Baekho gave a half-hearted apology and then cautiously asked,

“...Did you see the sequel?”

What the hell is this guy?

His ability to not read the room was almost on par with barbarians.

“...I did.”

I answered.

Because I didn’t know when he would change his attitude again if I ignored him—

“Then why are you speaking informally to me?”

Huh?

“No, why are you speaking informally? Don’t you know about mutual respect? Are we invincible just because we’re both players?”

Lee Baekho suddenly turned serious and started releasing killing intent.

I felt like I was going crazy.

“...I’m not used to speaking formally.”

“Ah, so you’re from the West!”

So that’s how it can be interpreted.

I was talking about barbarians.

“Then let’s speak informally. Okay?”

Lee Baekho smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened, and offered a handshake.

Although he seemed like a manic-depressive...

‘I’m wide awake.’

...my mind felt refreshed.

Maybe this was his way of talking.

To take the lead based on his strength and then confuse you, not giving you time to think.

‘Don’t tell me he asked about the sequel to find out when I came here, and he just asked if I was from the East to confirm?’

It might be just a delusion.

But it was better to be safe.

‘Let’s keep Lee Hansu a secret.’

Actually, this was the last thing I was worried about.

If I was going to reveal that I was a player, wouldn’t it be better to reveal everything and be friends with him?

But I put that decision on hold because of one thing.

[It seems like that cat girl is starting to suspect something. Wouldn’t it be better to just kill her?]

It was just a suggestion earlier.

It was closer to him being nosy about a stranger he happened to meet.

But the moment I revealed that I was Lee Hansu...

...this would become his problem.

He cared about Lee Hansu.

No, the ‘Korean player’ who was one of the few in this strange world.

“But about me being a player...”

“Ainar!! I told you not to move like that!!”

It happened at the fishing spot.

We were fishing at night with lanterns, and the boat capsized because Ainar had a seizure after being bitten by a fish.

The problem was that no one could swim.

Well, how many of us had ever been to a place with such deep water?

‘I thought I was going to die.’

But thanks to that, I learned one thing.

I thought I was sinking because of my armor when I fell into the water in the ‘Glacier Cave’ before, but that wasn’t it.

Barbarians can’t swim.

It wasn’t a matter of skill, but rather that we didn’t have any other choice but to sink when we fell into the water.

Well, I was able to stick my head out of the water and call for help since I was in Gigantification (Transcendence) Mode...

‘I should look for a place where I can learn how to swim when we get back. Even if Ainar and I don’t learn, the others should.’

Anyway, Day 2 passed, and the next day...

...we woke up past noon after drinking all night, and we got into the carriage heading back to the city.

“Ugh, I wish we could stay for one more day...”

“I agree. Mister doesn’t drink much at home...”

“Ooh! Misha! Look, a horse is running!”

We enjoyed the natural scenery, which was rare in the city, as the carriage moved for several hours.

We then reached the southwest exit and returned the whistles we received when we entered.

‘Come to think of it, there was this.’

The whistle that would summon the patrol, one of Gnometree’s prides, no matter where or when you blew it.

I wondered what would have happened if I had blown it when Lee Baekho appeared, but it probably wouldn’t have changed much.

He wouldn’t have given me the time.

“Then I’ll rest, so tell me when you’re hungry.”

We arrived home in the evening and each went to our rooms to rest, and it was the same the next day.

Peaceful days of rest.

As always, those days passed by quickly.

And...

“I’ll be back later.”

...that day finally arrived.

[22:10]

Two hours left until midnight, when the labyrinth opened.

I finished preparing to go out and headed towards the Dimensional Plaza.

‘The royal family is sharpening their swords.’

According to rumors, the royal family was forming an army.

They were planning to get revenge by fighting in the labyrinth after being tricked.

The scale was unknown.

It seemed like they didn’t even send a request for cooperation to the clans, unlike during the last subjugation.

They were planning to handle it with the royal family’s own power.

‘I’ll get a sense of it when I arrive at the plaza. Just how strong the royal family is.’

Indeed, I saw explorers heading towards the plaza to check the situation, just like me.

Everyone was curious.

About the royal family’s true strength, which was only talked about in rumors, something no one had actually seen.

“Oh, Bjorn! Are you going to the plaza too?”

“I’m a bit concerned.”

I chatted with a few familiar faces I met on the way and moved together.

And after some time...

“...I didn’t expect this.”

...everyone who came here, including me, tilted their heads.

“I can’t believe there’s no one here.”

Well, it wasn’t completely empty.

Security guards from the Public Safety Department were occupying the plaza, preventing explorers from entering.

But that was all.

“Where’s the army?”

The rumored army was nowhere to be seen.

“Haven’t they arrived yet?”

“No way, my friend. The labyrinth opens in 5 minutes. If they’re not here yet, it just means there’s no army.”

“This is disappointing. Don’t tell me that fight was just a rumor.”

The explorers gathered near the plaza started to leave, disappointed.

It was the same for the explorers I met on the way here.

“Yandel, aren’t you leaving?”

“I’m going to wait and see a bit longer.”

“Hmm, then I’ll be going.”

I waited until the portal closed, just in case.

To summarize the result, there really was no army.

‘What? Are they aiming for next time, not today?’

Although I had many questions, there was nothing I could do by staying here.

So I also turned back.

That’s when...

Kwoom!

...I faintly heard a collapsing sound from somewhere.

Rumble!

And then the ground beneath my feet shook.

“Wh, what? An earthquake?”

The officials and guards around me froze with bewildered expressions.

But...

“.......”

...the few knights in the plaza were different.

They exchanged words with solemn expressions, as if they knew what was happening.

As if something they had been expecting had finally begun.

‘Right, this is it.’

I then looked down at the ground.

I had a hunch about where the royal army was.

Even though I couldn’t see them.

‘Empty house robbery.’

The war had already begun.