Chapter 152: Chapter 152 Barbarian Lord (4)

Barbarian Lord (4)

Barbarian Lord (4)

Ah, uh, hmm...

I snap out of it, staring blankly at the scene of frenzied brainwashing, and enter the village.

Actually, it's a bit of a stretch to even call it a village.

The barbarian sanctuary is closer to a campsite.

Tents are pitched haphazardly, with no distinction between mine and yours.

I pass through them and head straight towards the shaman's tent. I don't need to go through the chieftain to meet him, now that I know where he is.

'What the, no one's here?'

I peek into the shaman's tent, and it's empty.

In the end, I have no choice but to go to the chieftain's tent.

But what's this?

There's no one in the chieftain's tent either. It's a place where the elders usually take turns staying even if the chieftain isn't around.

'What's going on?'

As I'm standing there, an elder I've seen a few times spots me.

"Bjorn, son of Yandel? Are you here for the funeral too?"

I don't need to ask whose funeral it is.

It's been exactly six months since Ainar confined herself to the sanctuary.

"...So that day has come."

"It's an honorable thing to be able to leave something behind for future generations."

I ask for the location of the funeral and then head straight there.

A gloomy forest, eerily quiet.

After walking for about 30 minutes, I see barbarians gathered deep inside, with solemn expressions.

The shaman, the chieftain, and even the elders I'm acquainted with are present. Well, someone else catches my eye first, though.

"Ainar."

Ainar is standing precariously.

Staring blankly at her master's body, leaning against a thick tree.

"...Bjorn?"

Ainar's eyes are vacant as she calls my name.

She bites her lip as I approach.

"If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have done it."

Right, she didn't know.

I thought they would have told her.

"...Bjorn, did you know?"

"Yes."

The training Ainar has been doing for six months is called 'tempering' among barbarians.

It's the process of strengthening the body and creating a vessel.

In the game, completing 'tempering' greatly increased physical stats and qualified you to receive 'Soul Inheritance'.

Of course, it could also end with just 'tempering'...

"I heard that elder was suffering from a chronic illness."

I had heard that the elder who chose Ainar as his successor didn't have much time left, so I was also considering this situation.

It seems like this is also news to her.

"That... I didn't know!"

"That elder must have cared for you a lot."

Soul Inheritance.

It's one of the unique rituals that only barbarians can perform, along with Spirit Engraving. Through this ritual, barbarians can pass on one of their essences to their successor.

For reference, you can only receive it once...

...and the one who passes it on inevitably dies.

"...Why didn't anyone tell me? If I had known it would be like this, I would have stopped immediately."

Ainar mutters in lament.

Her voice is filled with deep regret and self-blame.

The chieftain, who was watching silently, then speaks.

"Kiduba was a coward."

"Don't insult him! Kiduba was a fearless warrior!"

"Then I guess you were the coward. The reason why Kiduba couldn't tell you about Soul Inheritance."

"I'm not a coward—!"

The chieftain cuts off Ainar, who's about to explode.

"Then stop whining. If you want to prove that you're not a coward, don't insult his death any further and just watch. Warrior."

"......"

"There's no one in the world who doesn't feel pain. But overcome it and face it. That's the way of a warrior."

The funeral continues in silence.

The shaman approaches the body leaning against the tree and smears blood on its face, then shakes a rattle. And he sprinkles a solution around the body to prevent insects from eating it.

The barbarians silently watch the process, and after some time, the shaman announces the end of the funeral.

"The soul of Kiduba, the third son of Toharu, has left his body and settled in the forest."

The body left in the forest will rot and become bones, and when that happens, even the bones will be crushed and scattered in the forest by the shaman's hands.

The warriors take turns standing in front of the body, cutting their hair or making a cut on their hand to sprinkle blood around the body before leaving.

It doesn't take long.

"......"

Now only Ainar and I are left.

I approach the body first, cut my hair with a knife, and scatter it around.

"It's your turn."

Ainar doesn't answer.

But instead of urging her further, I just leave. She needs time to process this unexpected farewell.

________________________

“Kekeke, I knew you would come, warrior.”

I enter the shaman’s tent as soon as I leave the forest.

“Did you bring the material?”

“Yes.”

“Let me see it.”

I take out the ‘Heart of Immortality’ that I’ve been carefully keeping in my backpack, as instructed by the shaman. The troll’s heart is placed on a cloth inside a box, beating faintly.

“Did you obtain it yourself?”

“No, I bought it from the exchange.”

“How much did you pay?”

I don’t know why he’s curious, but I tell him, and the shaman chuckles.

“What a strange guy. You were truly born with luck, warrior.”

Although most of my conversations with the shaman are like this, I feel strangely offended today.

Is that why?

I can’t help but retort.

“Don’t talk about luck when you don’t know anything.”

The shaman just smirks at my words.

“Hmm, you returned with all your limbs intact, so it’s not your fault… You lost something, didn’t you?”

“I don’t want to answer.”

“Right, that’s not bad either.”

“…….”

“Warrior, the more you lose precious things, the stronger you’ll become.”

I just keep my mouth shut, although it sounds like a curse. I feel like I’m getting sucked in the more I talk to this old man.

“Enough, can I receive the Spirit Engraving today?”

“Of course.”

The shaman readily nods at my question.

I thought he might be tired from performing the funeral…

Clink.

I put the 1 million stones the shaman asked for as a material fee into the jar and lie down on the ground.

I’ve finally reached the sixth engraving of the Undying path.

“There are three paths again this time.”

After listening to a brief explanation, I choose one.

There’s no room for hesitation.

In the first place, I invested most of my assets in engravings from the beginning just for this.

“I choose the Soul of Armaments.”

“Kuku, you can’t change it later even if you ask.”

The shaman then starts stabbing my body with needles. A sharp pain soon engulfs me.

But it’s more bearable than before.

It’s a mental reason, unrelated to the intensity of the pain.

I know that an enormous reward awaits me after this.

「Ability stat increased by +60.」

It’s a stat with the highest acquisition difficulty.

My MP regeneration rate has increased significantly.

In short, it means I can use [Gigantification] more often and for longer periods.

Well, it’s nothing compared to the main dish.

「The Soul of Armaments is imbued into your body.」

「Equipment performance is enhanced in proportion to the character’s stats due to the unique effect [Unification].」

[Unification].

It’s a passive skill that’s always active, unlike the active skill [Wild Release].

It’s already a powerful skill on its own, but…

…there’s a hidden element to this skill.

Because of its concept of becoming one with your equipment, your equipment doesn’t break even when you use [Gigantification].

In other words, I no longer have to take off my equipment.

No, on top of that, I can now smash enemies with a giant mace and shield!

“Keuhhhh, Behel, laaaa…”

The shaman mutters as he sees me groaning and laughing amidst the remaining pain,

“Kekeke, as expected, he’s not sane.”

I ignore his evaluation, as befits a barbarian.

_____________________

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 4

Physical: 555 (New +225) / Mental: 198 (New +44) / Ability: 188 (New +60)

Item Level: 98 (New -770)

Total Combat Index: 965.5 (New +23.5)

Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7 / Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 (New)

_____________________

How much time has passed since the sixth engraving was completed?

It’s still bright outside the tent.

I gulp down the water from the kettle on the table and ask,

“Don’t tell me a day has passed?”

“Kuku, are you going to whine about it being hard?”

Geez, he could have just said ‘yes’.

I still don’t understand his way of speaking, but I don’t bother arguing.

Well, to be precise, I don’t have the energy.

Just as I’m getting up and packing my backpack…

“Warrior.”

The shaman, who usually tells me to leave because he’s tired around this time, calls out to me.

And he drops a bombshell I didn’t expect at all.

“How did you end up receiving an oracle from the human god?”

My heart skips a beat, but…

…I let out a long sigh.

There’s no point in denying it since he’s clearly asking while knowing everything.

“Who told you? No, how many people even know about it?”

“Don’t you know, with that ring you’re wearing so deeply intertwined with your fate? Kuku, don’t worry. No one else will notice.”

The shaman scoffs as if my eyes are useless since he’s blind.

I realize that he seems strangely happy.

I ask cautiously,

“Are you going to tell the chieftain?”

“Why would I?”

Uh, well, if you say that, there’s nothing I can say…

“It’s just an outdated tradition. Just like what I did in the forest yesterday. We left our homeland and became a part of this city thousands of years ago. We learned that gods exist and learned about civilization in the true sense.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“We rely on and follow the spirits of our ancestors, but why should we deny and hate a being that actually exists and benefits our lives? It’s nothing but foolish stubbornness. Even if we’re called barbarians, there’s nothing we can say.”

The shaman hasn’t changed.

Especially in the sense that he always speaks in a way that’s hard to understand. Of course, I can’t say anything that would offend him now that he has me by the balls.

“…So what do you think the chieftain will do?”

“If he finds out that you received an oracle?”

The shaman chuckles and answers,

“Why are you asking something you already know? That maniac will immediately brand you as a traitor and kick you out. Kick! He might even chop off your head and burn it.”

…As expected.

Damn it, is there really no other choice but to live in fear until I finish the Spirit Engraving?

Just as I’m clicking my tongue in dismay, the shaman continues,

“Warrior, you’re worrying about useless things.”

“Useless things?”

“Beastmen, dwarves, fairies… they all abandoned their old traditions a long time ago. Why do you think that is?”

There’s no need to think deeply about it.

It’s the same as the history of Earth.

Reform.

When new ideas and concepts are needed, there are always those who want to leave the old ways behind.

Future generations call them heroes.

‘This crazy old man…’

I finally realize…

…what the shaman is trying to say.

“Are you worried about being kicked out, warrior? Then the answer to your problem is simple.”

The shaman is also a barbarian, after all.

Or else, he wouldn’t even dare to think of a solution like this.

If there’s a problem…

…you smash it and eliminate it.

So in other words…

“You just have to become the chieftain.”

Before being kicked out, you take over the barbarian tribe.

“What do you think? Isn’t this a much more warrior-like path?”

I don’t know about it being a warrior-like path…

…but I can’t help but grin.

A barbarian who hasn’t even been an explorer for a year.

And one who’s actually an evil spirit.

But to tell me to become the Barbarian Lord and change the tribe as I see fit…

“You’re saying interesting things, shaman.”

It’s a proposal that’s quite tempting.

Especially since it’s somewhat rational.