Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Barbarian in a Suit
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A few days had passed since the desert ant extermination.
I was staring blankly at my reflection in the clear waters of the oasis.
"...Who are you?"
The man in the water wasn't the 'Edel' I knew.
His once refined, aristocratic features had turned rough and rugged, and dark stubble shadowed his jaw, giving him the look of a wild beast.
His body was one thing, but why the beard...?
Gone was the scrawny frame, replaced by densely packed, battle-hardened muscle.
His shoulders strained against his shirt, and his abs were etched like steel plates—a sharp six-pack.
Others might applaud a total transformation, but I despaired.
"My beautiful hands..."
Each finger, once slender and perfect for holding a pen or pouring tea, was now callused like medals of war.
Blisters that had formed and burst repeatedly— the unmistakable hands of a warrior.
"If I go back to the Empire like this... who would hire me as a servant?"
Picture this brute of a bandit offering tea: 'Please have some tea, young master.'
Would his master drink it out of fear? He'd probably complain it tasted like booze.
Become a knight, then?
A barbarian knight? Absurd. The Empire's pure-blood obsession was insane.
Best case, he'd be a gladiator slave or a mercenary pack mule.
Worse, the city guards might spear him at the gates, yelling 'Enemy invasion!'
I feared how I was assimilating into the barbarians.
What if I lost my mind and started ripping into raw meat like them, roaring 'Raaargh! Meat! Give me meat!'?
A chill ran down my spine.
As I grappled with this identity crisis, Karack's booming voice echoed from outside the tent.
"Kel Bark!! Time to train!! The sun's at high noon!"
"...I'm not doing it, you bastard. I'm depressed."
"No excuses! You said to drink when the water comes! Your body is in prime condition to absorb the earth's power now!"
Drink? More like row the damn boat...
But he wasn't wrong.
Since the ant hunt, excess unprocessed energy churned inside me like molten lava.
My muscles throbbed, veins bulged—like a balloon about to burst.
To fully contain this power, the next step was needed.
Time for the second-stage tattoo.
"Fine, I'm coming. You nag like hell."
I sighed, brushed off the dirt, and stood.
I headed to Aila's tent.
"Whoa... already ready for stage two? You really are Kel Bark blood."
"...I'd rather not be."
Aila poked and prodded my forearm, her eyes widening.
Don't grope me like that, it's embarrassing.
"Your body's like a rock. Your earth power adaptation is top-tier among past Kel Barks. Growing like this in days? You're a monster."
"Doesn't sound like praise, so just do it quick."
I stripped off my shirt and lay on the leather bed.
Aila prepared the stage-two tattoo pattern—for my left arm this time—and her ritual tools.
"By the way, stage two can use 'wolf's blood,' but not from stage three on."
Wolf's blood was the mana ink shamans used for Scars.
"What? Why?"
"Stage three enters 'Imprints' territory, not just Scars. Plain blood can't hold that massive power. The ink would burn up, or your flesh would burst. Needs special ingredients."
Aila heated the bone needle over flame and added,
"Wyvern heart, eternal snow essence, rock giant core... stuff from spirit beasts like that. Heard of 'em?"
Just hearing the names made my head throb.
Ridiculously expensive, rare materials no one could just grab.
"Where do you even get those?"
"Our Grom Kel tribe's treasure vault used to be full of them. Back in our golden age ruling the south."
Bitterness laced Aila's voice.
"But the tribe splintered and weakened, and it was all looted. Now the overlords of southern regions or powerful monsters have them."
Ha...
To get stronger, I'd have to tour the south breaking dojos.
Mountains beyond mountains—layers on layers.
Prick—
The needle pierced my skin.
"Ugh..."
"No whining. Pain's the same for stage one or two. Real hell starts at Imprints, stage three."
Aila skillfully etched the tattoo on my left arm.
The tent filled with the creepy scrape-scrape of friction.
"Hey, it's gonna skew."
"Shut... up."
To kill boredom and vent frustration, I grumbled.
"Hey, Aila."
"What. You're breaking my focus. I'll really mess it up."
"Why... do we have to live like this?"
"Like what?"
"Be honest, it's all so primitive. Sleeping on dirt floors, never bathing, constant fighting. No soft beds, no warm baths. No good food."
My voice rose in frustration.
"Can't we live like civilized people? Build brick houses, pave roads, have merchants come! Eh? We could live comfortably."
Aila chuckled at my childish whining.
"You really know nothing, do you?"
"What?"
"Think we live like this because we want to? We weren't always like this."
Aila paused the needle and gazed out the tent flap into the distance.
Her eyes held longing and yearning.
"Auntie said when the previous Kel Bark lived, there were massive stone cities in the south."
"...Cities?"
"Yeah. Not as grand as the Empire's capital, but dazzling jewels of the desert. Empire merchants lined up to trade."
I doubted my ears.
A city in this barren sand pit?
Well, long before I was born, so maybe.
"For real? Why didn't I know?"
"True story. South specialties like mana stones, rare herbs, monster parts... priceless even in the Empire. We traded for their silk, spices, daily goods. Wore fine silks, drank good booze and tea like Empire nobles."
Aila's words shocked me.
Barbarians enjoying civilization? Unimaginable.
Mana stone mines, monster byproduct trade— that was a goldmine.
"Then why are we like this now?"
"Obvious. Lost our center."
Aila resumed needling.
"Previous Kel Bark vanished, tribe scattered. Greedy rivals slaughtered and looted each other. Monsters rampaged in the chaos, cities fell. Merchants stopped coming."
"..."
"Building civilization takes decades. Destroying it? A moment. Those glorious cities are buried in sand now."
Aila's matter-of-fact tone hit hard.
I stared blankly at the tent's worn leather ceiling.
Lost glory.
Ruined cities.
And... a land brimming with untapped potential and resources.
Suddenly, lightning flashed in my mind.
'Wait a sec.'
Thoughts raced like mad.
Gears clicked perfectly into place.
Flee to the Empire? I'd be a mere servant.
Lucky to gain ducal house recognition? Still a bootlicker forever.
But the south?
'Resources overflow. Monsters are XP and cash. Competition? Dumb barbarians.'
If I unified these ragtag losers and reclaimed power?
Reopen trade with the Empire, import civilization?
'I'm no mere barbarian chief.'
King of a new nation—rich resources, mighty army.
Untouchable by Empire meddling. Absolute power on my terms.
'Just become king here and live civilized. No need to grovel in the Empire!'
Build marble palaces, scout Empire chefs for feasts, sleep in silk pajamas!
My word is law, my will is justice.
"...Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped.
Why hadn't I thought of this?
I wasn't trapped by the desert, but by my narrow belief that civilization meant the Empire.
"Done."
Aila wrapped the bandage.
"Keep it dry for a bit, no booze..."
I shot up before she finished.
"Hey! I said be careful!"
"Aila."
She flinched, sensing my changed gaze, and stepped back.
"Your eyes... what's up? Planning trouble? That greedy glint?"
"Get me a map."
"Map? Suddenly?"
"Yeah. Current south situation. Monster distributions, rival tribes, resource sites, and... old city ruins."
I clenched my fist.
Hot ambition—no, vulgar, massive desire—flared in my chest.
"Spill everything you know. We're about to get busy."
"You... don't tell me?"
Aila's eyes widened. She sensed it too.
The giant ember inside me had awakened.
I grinned.
"Let's reclaim it. Our lives. No—something way better."
Since I'm a barbarian now,
No half-assed chief crap.
The greatest,
richest,
most swaggering barbarian emperor.
And then.
A hilarious image popped into my head.
Two-meter musclebound barbarian warriors in custom black suits from the Empire capital, holding wine glasses instead of axes.
Imagine it.
Karack in a tuxedo, politely asking, 'Shall I cut off their heads?'
"Pfft!"
Insane.
Raw savagery meets sleek suits.
That's true style.
Suit-clad barbarian legion... chest swells just thinking.
Let's do it.
As I vowed, cold water doused me from the start.
"Don't have one."
"What?"
"Think, if you're Kel Bark! You think we'd have fancy military intel!?"
Valid point.
But intel is basic.
No intel, no dojo-breaking.
"Then where? There has to be somewhere."
"Buy it. Duh."
"Buy? No way."
"Yeah, info guild. Only way."
I gaped in disbelief.
What the hell... a barbarian buying barbarian intel from central continent folk...?