Meeting the Boy as a Barbarian (1)
I wanted to shout “What a lively and energetic morning!” but…
It hurt. It hurt like hell.
The feeling was as if my entire body had been scorched by fire, only the senses left behind before the body was paralyzed. I figured this kind of pain was something I’d never feel again, but it had only been a little over a month.
While savoring the pain I hadn’t experienced in ages, rolling my eyeballs, a monster shoved its face right in front of me.
“Keh—hehhehheh! You're lucky, brat! To think you actually survived!”
Whoa. This old geezer is really ugly.
My face isn’t exactly something to brag about to others, but compared to that one, it’s better. I opened my mouth.
“Hmph…. Looks like the old man’s strength has dropped a lot, huh? Thanks to that, I didn’t die.”
“Keh—hehhehheh! You don’t know how amazing it is to stop someone right before they die, you little brat!”
That was indeed impressive. I was sure I was done for when my vision blurred and lightning shot out from there.
That’s why in games, HP doesn’t go to 1.
“But little brat, the fact that you almost died is true.”
“You’re saying my technique is great so I didn’t die? Got it.”
“Keh—hehhehheh! If that were the case, how wonderful it would have been…”
Eh?
This old man’s words are weird. “If that were the case, how wonderful it would have been…”
It seems like there’s some other reason he survived.
“Could it be regeneration?”
When I started the game, the trait that was added steadily recovered my body burned by lightning, so I survived…?
If it hadn’t been that, I would have died.
“This crazy old man. He was a cripple, wasn’t he?”
Looking at the crazy cripple who proudly introduced herself as Martina of the Lightning with narrowed eyes, she grinned, baring her teeth.
“Keh—hehhehheh! Since I survived, that’s good enough. Besides, lately my fellow countrymen haven’t been visible at all, so controlling my strength has been difficult.”
The reason barbarians have been disappearing recently is probably because this old lady ate them. There’s the old lady that Aurelia citizens would like to have here.
“So, did you meet a god?”
“Yeah.”
What I wanted was the power of nature gods, especially those related to earth or water, so that when I formed a party later, I could focus more on tanking.
But life is like that. Nothing goes as planned.
“I met a ghost.”
Ghost.
If ancestor gods are for strong barbarians who have already died, ghosts are like monsters.
Phantoms, beasts, yokai, etc.
Everything from legends is included, and their abilities vary wildly. I wanted a nature god, but…
“Keh—hehhehheh! What is it, little brat! Not to your liking?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Hmm….”
From the previous 4th floor exploration, I leveled up and my body and spirit stats increased.
But more importantly, the newly acquired racial trait.
My body stat got an additional +5. It seems it’s a body-type ghost… The ghost hasn’t told me its name yet, but it did show its form.
For a moment, there was a pressure as if something enormous was looking down at me like a mountain, but the ghost ate something.
It was as if it was eating for its own ability.
Fortunately, there were clues about the ability, so now all that remained was to experiment. No matter how bad the ability, since the body stat increased by 5, this was a fine harvest.
“What is it, little brat. Did you hide your explorer certificate? I can’t see it.”
“Grandma, don’t you know why the private magic was cast because of those who peek at explorer certificates? In the old days, there were plenty of guys who tried to steal others’ explorer certificates and died.”
“Keh—hehhehheh! You don’t understand what it means that I’m still alive, do you?”
Sigh, this old man is strong.
Still, thanks to Martina, I could become strong for free, so I should be grateful.
Ah, but if it weren’t for my regeneration trait, I would have died, so maybe no need to be grateful.
Crackle...
While thinking that, a sound of lightning crackling came from my face.
“Grandma! Grandma! What are you doing right now!? Trying to kill me!?”
“Keh—hehhehheh!”
“Really dying! Really dying, I tell you! Sorry! Sorry! I thought you were an ugly crazy grandma and I’m sorry! I was wrong—!!”
While apologizing so earnestly, what is this?
My face didn’t hurt.
The ugly grandma, Martina, without saying a word, brought a mirror and showed my face to it.
The lightning disappeared, and what remained on my face was a black stripe tattoo like a beast’s claw crossing my eyes.
“Evidence that a god was engraved.”
“Oh…”
Not bad.
It stands out, but not overly flashy either. This is enough to satisfy.
“Thanks, grandma.”
“No need to thank me. A moment ago, I heard your excellent confession, and my thoughts changed too.”
She extended her hand and wiggled her fingers. Like telling me to hurry and hand it over. I sighed.
“…Is one gold coin enough?”
Damn.
Feeling the ancestors’ warning to be careful with words to the bone, I paid one gold coin.
***
Three days had passed since engraving the god.
During that time, I had lived by eating, digesting, and eating again to check the abilities.
“Huuu…”
I had no idea what the ability was.
No, I ate it.
I was eating while looking at me.
Was I not eating but tasting my lips while looking at me?
If not, why no change after eating for three days?
I kept eating, and Luna said a barbarian came, not a pig, but I ate so much.
Huuu...
Or was it that? I really just tasted my lips, and the ability was just the body stat increase.
Then I’m really screwed.
A precious racial trait of just body stat +5.
Of course, since it’s a racial trait, I can ask Martina for money later and strengthen it, but that’s that, and this is this.
My efforts to go beyond the 4th floor to the 5th and defeat the boss monster there…!
“Grrrr, I can’t hold back anymore.”
Clank clank!
Eh, shit?
Why are you doing that?
Why are the women moving away from me, and why are the men drawing weapons at me?
Eh? Luna?
The fireball on top looks dangerous.
Eh, eh—, eek——!!!
I almost saw the ghost again, but luckily, Luna wasn’t as strong as Martina, so she didn’t see the ghost.
And she also warned me not to say confusing words again.
Ugh…, I was just trying to enter the dungeon.
Dragging my painful body, equipped with gear, I was about to head straight to the 4th floor, but instead headed to the 1st floor.
This time, I wasn’t going to the 5th floor, just to loosen up my body a bit.
I entered the 1st floor to play with some decent horned rabbits.
I headed straight into the forest.
“Huhung.”
Whoa, this clear air.
Aurelia was better than Seoul’s air, but I still couldn’t beat phytoncide.
While strolling through the forest, healing a bit.
Tadak!
Coming.
Waiting for the resident who came running to greet me.
Kyuaaaak!!
With a scream, the horned rabbit charged. Like the guy who drilled a hole in my arm before, this time too, the horned rabbit rushed at me at a superb speed.
I ‘saw’ that.
“Eh?”
The horned rabbit’s movement was visible…? While wondering why I could see it, I reached out my arm and was able to grab its horn.
Kyua!? Kyuaaaak!?
Grabbing the horn was probably the first time. I was also the first to grab it while it was alive.
Was it because my body stat increased?
While happily watching the horned rabbit who exchanged firsts with each other while lost in thought.
“Hmm…”
Why?
This guy looked incredibly delicious.
I had never eaten a rabbit before, but this horned rabbit in front of me looked so delicious.
Churup....
I brought my face to the horned rabbit that looked so delicious I couldn’t help but drool.
Kwad—!
Kyuaaaak!?
I ate it.
Until the horned rabbit disappeared.
While watching the blood on my lips disappear with the death of the horned rabbit, the thought that came to mind was, ‘Is there a psychiatrist in this world?’
The next thought was.
“Ah—.”
I realized the ghost’s ability.
The ghost hadn’t eaten what people eat.
What the guy ate was monsters.
As soon as I ate the horned rabbit, the horned rabbit’s traits that popped into my mind, and it was a one-time thing, and it was stacked in stock form inside me and could be taken out anytime.
This was the true ability of the ghost, Monster Predation.
“Haa…”
I took out the trait, the power that allowed the horned rabbit to run fast, and ran.
“Uwaaaak——!!!”
Unbelievable speed that made it hard to open my eyes.
I ran until I hammered it into a tree.
Then, with a cracking sound, the tree fell.
“Huhmi…”
The trait I thought was a big hit was a home run.
***
As the sun was setting, I finished the exploration satisfactorily and headed straight to the exploration office.
“Mary isn’t here today.”
Then, what can I do.
The receptionist next to Mary, what was her name again.
Anyway, waiting for the exchange of today’s loot money with the receptionist I didn’t know well.
“Hey, barbarian uncle.”
Someone was calling me.
Was it a new pretty party member prepared for me? I didn’t think that.
The voice was a neutral voice close to male.
Turning around, indeed, a young man with an immature face smiled, showing yellow teeth.
“Uncle, do you need a porter?”