Chapter 248: Gnometree (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 248: Gnometree (2)
Back then, the chieftain told me, "If you want my position, become stronger, warrior, and prove you are worthy. I will watch over you."
If I proved I was worthy, he would hand over the position to me. So how should I prove it? I hadn't bothered to ask, because based on the barbarians I knew, there was only one answer.
"Wait, let's move somewhere else!"
"...You really are a wise warrior."
The fight, which almost broke out indoors, was moved to an open field thanks to my insight.
"Behel—aaah!"
"Behel—aaah!"
The battle began with us each charging at each other with a shout.
Bang!
The chieftain swung the ax that had once mercilessly decapitated Oreum, son of Kadua, and I used my hard-earned skills to fight back. But in terms of outcome...
"I won."
After about an hour of fighting, I was defeated. One of the key factors behind my defeat was a lack of variety. The chief and I were the same type. If our tactics had been completely different the fight would have been more up in the air, but since he overwhelmed me on strength alone, there were no surprises.
As expected, I'm not ready yet.
I accepted defeat gracefully. Of course, the outcome could have been different had it not been a sparring match. You couldn't spray Acid Fluid in your opponent's eyes or speak nonsense to confuse them before surprise-attacking them when sparring. The fact was, when I was pinned to the ground and my hands and feet were bound, I didn't bite off his neck with my teeth. Put simply, this was a fight where our ultimate finishers were sealed. But how did the test go?
"You are still lacking," the chieftain said to me. "If you want my position, become stronger."
Jeez, I thought the cutoff would be the sixth floor. Wasn't I there yet? I had been sure he wouldn't do something like refuse to give me the position of chieftain until I defeated him...
"To the extent that you'll be able to defeat even an old man like me."
Oh, maybe it was like that.
To win against an eighth-floor adventurer... that will take a bit more time.
I let go of my impatience. This was also one of the strengths of the barbarian race. Even if I failed to succeed, there was nothing to lose. Rather, there was a lot to gain. Although my body had been pummeled to the point that I had to chug a few bottles of potion as soon as the match was over, I had still made a lot of progress. This was different from last time, when I got knocked out by a single punch. The battle had lasted nearly an hour.
The number of essences I know for sure he has is six.
I had confirmed several of the chieftain's essences. Not only that, but I had also learned his fighting style to some extent. Next time, I would be able to take him on much more easily.
Barbarians are definitely good fighters.
I'd have to fight him some more to accumulate more experience, but through this battle I was naturally able to learn the tendencies of the chieftain, who was once a warrior on the eighth floor.
"He fought against the chieftain for an hour!"
"Look! That stingy chieftain is drinking a potion!"
"He may look fine on the outside, but his insides must not be. As expected, Bjorn, son of Yandel, is a great warrior!"
Furthermore, when the sparring match was over, my fellow barbarians filling the field didn't seem particularly disappointed about my defeat either. Well, I was only in my first year still.
"I thought it would take at least five more years."
"Hmm, perhaps the tribe will change hands much sooner than expected."
Even the elders nodded in satisfaction. And so I may have lost, but I'd gained a lot. The chieftain, on the other hand, had gained nothing.
Yeah, so I think it can be said that I won.
As I was winning the mental battle, my motivation returned. Soon, I stood up and stared at the chieftain. He seemed curious about what I wanted to say considering I had been silent this whole time. "Are you feeling hopeless?"
"Of course not." I chuckled and said, "Again."
After all, it was rare to get the chance to face an opponent with no stakes to worry about.
***
I fought the chieftain a total of three times and each ended in my defeat. However, as the number of fights went up, the length of our spars got longer. This was thanks to Hansu Lee's strength, not Bjorn's. I was good at self-evaluation. That was because I had experienced many failures in my life, and each time, what I desperately sought was the reason behind each failure. Finding that reason was my specialty.
He definitely knows a lot of little techniques thanks to all his experience.
The differences between the chieftain and I lie not just in our stats, but in our skill as warriors, in our ability to make snap judgments, and in our instinct for picking up on the barest hints of an opponent's weakness even in a battle where thinking before you acted slowed down your reaction time. These were all things I had to learn. It wasn't enough to be satisfied with the role of a meat shield even though I'd now consumed the essence of an Ogre.
I needed to be able to fight better. This was also the best way to protect my comrades.
If my allies are in danger, I just have to get rid of the enemies so they no longer are.
That was my fate, my new fate as a tank that I had to work toward from now on.
"...You look like you've realized something."
"Ah, yeah, thanks. I learned a lot."
"Haha, that's what the chief of the tribe is for!"
What was this man talking about? He didn't seem like it, but he was really weak to compliments. "Can I come back soon?"
"Anytime."
It was slowly approaching sunset. After my spar with the tribal chief finally came to an end, the barbarians who had been enjoying the entertainment all scattered to do their things.
"Bjorn! Are you going home?!"
"Not right away. I plan to look around for a while."
"Really? Can I come with you?"
No reason you can't.
After the spar, I walked with Ainar. We didn't have a particular destination in mind. We just walked in the opposite direction of the city's walls.
"It's been a while since I last came here."
After leaving the campsite, we were greeted by a thick, wild forest—the same forest where the souls of countless warriors, including the elder who performed the Soul Succession ritual for Ainar, would be roaming. But I kept walking.
Furthermore, when the sparring match was over, my fellow barbarians filling the field didn't seem particularly disappointed about my defeat either. Well, I was only in my first year still.
"I thought it would take at least five more years."
"Hmm, perhaps the tribe will change hands much sooner than expected."
Even the elders nodded in satisfaction. And so I may have lost, but I'd gained a lot. The chieftain, on the other hand, had gained nothing.
Yeah, so I think it can be said that I won.
As I was winning the mental battle, my motivation returned. Soon, I stood up and stared at the chieftain. He seemed curious about what I wanted to say considering I had been silent this whole time. "Are you feeling hopeless?"
"Of course not." I chuckled and said, "Again."
After all, it was rare to get the chance to face an opponent with no stakes to worry about.
***
I fought the chieftain a total of three times and each ended in my defeat. However, as the number of fights went up, the length of our spars got longer. This was thanks to Hansu Lee's strength, not Bjorn's. I was good at self-evaluation. That was because I had experienced many failures in my life, and each time, what I desperately sought was the reason behind each failure. Finding that reason was my specialty.
He definitely knows a lot of little techniques thanks to all his experience.
The differences between the chieftain and I lie not just in our stats, but in our skill as warriors, in our ability to make snap judgments, and in our instinct for picking up on the barest hints of an opponent's weakness even in a battle where thinking before you acted slowed down your reaction time. These were all things I had to learn. It wasn't enough to be satisfied with the role of a meat shield even though I'd now consumed the essence of an Ogre.
I needed to be able to fight better. This was also the best way to protect my comrades.
If my allies are in danger, I just have to get rid of the enemies so they no longer are.
That was my fate, my new fate as a tank that I had to work toward from now on.
"...You look like you've realized something."
"Ah, yeah, thanks. I learned a lot."
"Haha, that's what the chief of the tribe is for!"
What was this man talking about? He didn't seem like it, but he was really weak to compliments. "Can I come back soon?"
"Anytime."
It was slowly approaching sunset. After my spar with the tribal chief finally came to an end, the barbarians who had been enjoying the entertainment all scattered to do their things.
"Bjorn! Are you going home?!"
"Not right away. I plan to look around for a while."
"Really? Can I come with you?"
No reason you can't.
After the spar, I walked with Ainar. We didn't have a particular destination in mind. We just walked in the opposite direction of the city's walls.
"It's been a while since I last came here."
After leaving the campsite, we were greeted by a thick, wild forest—the same forest where the souls of countless warriors, including the elder who performed the Soul Succession ritual for Ainar, would be roaming. But I kept walking.
"There's nothing but the barrier in that direction. Why are you going there?"
"I'm just curious about that barrier all of a sudden."
After increasing my speed and walking for about an hour, I soon reached my destination.
Tap.
An invisible wall appeared before me, signaling that this was as far as I was permitted to go. The forest continued beyond it, sprawling into the distance.
When I knocked on the wall with the back of my hand, Ainar jumped and stopped me. "Eh! Bjorn! W-What are you doing?! If the protective barrier gets broken, it'll be a disaster!"
True, this is a world where everyone would die without a barrier protecting them. Or that's what they say, at least.
This was a question that had popped into my head after I visited Bifron: was the outside world really in the state the palace said it was?
"Hehehe, warrior, it's been a while." When I turned around at the presence behind me, I saw an elderly barbarian with a bandage over his eyes.
"Shaman!"
"Yes, it's been a while for you too, Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin."
It was fascinating to me every time. How could he make his way around so well without eyes?
"What are you doing here? Few warriors come this deep into the forest."
"I just came because I was bored. And you? What are you doing here?"
"Hehe, what else would a shaman be doing in the forest?" The shaman showed me his hands, which were smeared with white powder. Upon closer inspection, it was powdered bone—and it was human, not animal.
"You were carrying out a funeral." When the dead bodies left in the forest finally turned into bones, the shaman crushed the bones into dust and scattered them throughout the vast forest as the last step in the funeral process.
"W-Was it Kiduba, third son of Tohar's turn today?"
"He has a long way to go before being returned to the forest." Put simply, that meant that the elder who had acted as Ainar's mentor had a long while to go before he ended up a skeleton.
"...I see."
"I'm going back to the village now. Why don't you both come with me?" the shaman asked us.
I replied that I would go back later.
"Really? If that's what you want." The shaman turned around without hesitation. "Everything has an order, warrior. It is not yet time to wonder what lies beyond it."
With those cryptic words, he left.
***
"Haha, come to think of it, it's been a while since we've been alone together."
"Has it?"
"Why don't we have a bout for the first time in a while? You don't hang out with me these days because you're recovering."
Oh, she meant sparring. It looked like my match with the chieftain earlier had aroused this kid's fighting spirit too... these barbarians.
"Not today. Let's do it tomorrow."
"All right. You probably know this already, but I'm pretty patient."
Uh-huh, sure.
I nodded absently and spent some more time studying the protective barrier. Maybe it was just because of the shaman's parting words, but something felt strange. But I couldn't figure out what it was.
"There's nothing but the barrier in that direction. Why are you going there?"
"I'm just curious about that barrier all of a sudden."
After increasing my speed and walking for about an hour, I soon reached my destination.
Tap.
An invisible wall appeared before me, signaling that this was as far as I was permitted to go. The forest continued beyond it, sprawling into the distance.
When I knocked on the wall with the back of my hand, Ainar jumped and stopped me. "Eh! Bjorn! W-What are you doing?! If the protective barrier gets broken, it'll be a disaster!"
True, this is a world where everyone would die without a barrier protecting them. Or that's what they say, at least.
This was a question that had popped into my head after I visited Bifron: was the outside world really in the state the palace said it was?
"Hehehe, warrior, it's been a while." When I turned around at the presence behind me, I saw an elderly barbarian with a bandage over his eyes.
"Shaman!"
"Yes, it's been a while for you too, Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin."
It was fascinating to me every time. How could he make his way around so well without eyes?
"What are you doing here? Few warriors come this deep into the forest."
"I just came because I was bored. And you? What are you doing here?"
"Hehe, what else would a shaman be doing in the forest?" The shaman showed me his hands, which were smeared with white powder. Upon closer inspection, it was powdered bone—and it was human, not animal.
"You were carrying out a funeral." When the dead bodies left in the forest finally turned into bones, the shaman crushed the bones into dust and scattered them throughout the vast forest as the last step in the funeral process.
"W-Was it Kiduba, third son of Tohar's turn today?"
"He has a long way to go before being returned to the forest." Put simply, that meant that the elder who had acted as Ainar's mentor had a long while to go before he ended up a skeleton.
"...I see."
"I'm going back to the village now. Why don't you both come with me?" the shaman asked us.
I replied that I would go back later.
"Really? If that's what you want." The shaman turned around without hesitation. "Everything has an order, warrior. It is not yet time to wonder what lies beyond it."
With those cryptic words, he left.
***
"Haha, come to think of it, it's been a while since we've been alone together."
"Has it?"
"Why don't we have a bout for the first time in a while? You don't hang out with me these days because you're recovering."
Oh, she meant sparring. It looked like my match with the chieftain earlier had aroused this kid's fighting spirit too... these barbarians.
"Not today. Let's do it tomorrow."
"All right. You probably know this already, but I'm pretty patient."
Uh-huh, sure.
I nodded absently and spent some more time studying the protective barrier. Maybe it was just because of the shaman's parting words, but something felt strange. But I couldn't figure out what it was.
Ha... if I were a wizard instead of a barbarian, would I have been able to learn something here?
In the end, I turned back having gained nothing. There was quite a distance between the protective barrier and the castle wall, but the journey back wasn't boring. After all, Ainar was a chatterbox. She especially liked barbarian talk—talk about equipment, who fought with whom and won, and which place had the clunkiest and coolest backpacks these days.
"Oh, did you hear? Kharon is going to be a father soon."
"What?" I was genuinely surprised. "How? He never mentioned that in the labyrinth?"
"Haha, it seems that once he reached the third floor, he started meeting women. Oh, and I only heard about the pregnancy from the woman a few days ago, so he probably didn't have time to tell you."
Afterward, Ainar explained the situation in detail. The woman was one of the warriors of the tribe, which made sense. Humans couldn't give birth to barbarians. It wasn't impossible for different races to conceive together, but in the end, a human child was born. Barbarians preferred their own people anyway. Their standards for what made someone attractive were different from other races'.
More importantly, this way there are no ideological issues with the pregnancy.
In human society, getting married and then having children was the right way to go about it, but that tradition didn't exist in barbarian society. The child was raised by the holy land, and the woman considered giving birth to a child a matter of great pride. Not only that, there were also practical benefits to giving birth. It was small compared to the package humans got, but the palace gave the parents two years of tax relief.
And the pregnancy itself is short.
Each person was different, but it took an average of four months for a barbarian to give birth, and the recovery time was also very short. Perhaps that was the reason why barbarian women were so tolerant of childbirth. It was kind of hard to say this, but childbirth wasn't just a noble process. Pride or not, if the economic factors weren't dealt with, that would only lead to a low birth rate.
"Come to think of it, what are your thoughts, Bjorn?"
"...Huh?"
"Children. I heard the female warriors of the tribe have their eyes on you too..."
Oh, so that was what "have their eyes on me" meant. No wonder they kept poking at my body and complimenting it. I had genuinely thought they were complimenting my muscles and had been flexing the heck out of them each time.
"I don't want any yet."
"Oh, why? Not that I'm one to talk, but we're on the late side. Some warriors went through their coming-of-age after us have given birth already!"
Was it because it was my first time having this kind of conversation? For some reason, I was starting to feel afraid for the first time since entering this barbarian body.
As I tried to hide the fact that I was inwardly quaking in my boots, Ainar seemed to come to some sort of realization. "Ah! Could it be because of Missha? Don't worry! Missha will understand. We are barbarians! She can only give birth to beastpeople!" Ainar seemed like a different person to me at that moment. To think she would tell Mr. Bear she preferred cats yet have these thoughts in her head.
"I'm good. And you?" I changed the topic, feeling awkward. To put it in Wuxia terms, I was employing the method of redirecting your opponent's attack toward another enemy.
"M-Me!?" Yet when the arrow turned on her, Ainar couldn't hide her bewilderment. The reason was simple. "I-I couldn't even if I wanted to. W-What warrior would like a small woman like me...?"
Oh, damn those beauty standards. I'd unwittingly ended up hitting one of Ainar's sore spots.
But the moment I was about to apologize for that, she said, "And... I don't want any now, either."
Huh?
"O-Of course! The more I spend time with you, the more young and unmanly the other barbarians look!" Ainar shouted almost in exasperation.
I found myself just as perplexed and suggested she look for a countryman who had accumulated years of seniority. But her response was unexpected.
"I don't like older men!"
She doesn't like elders, and people our age feel too young...
She was awfully picky, but to be honest, that was a good thing for me. If she suddenly got pregnant and could not enter the labyrinth for a few months, I'd have to deal with the aftermath.
Hold up, how did the conversation end up like this?
Twenty-nine-year-old Hansu Lee aged another year in this strange world and became thirty.
"Anyway, let me know when you do! I will introduce you to a good warrior!"
But these kinds of conversations remained as troublesome as ever.
***
Two days later, after breakfast and a warm-up spar with Ainar, I set out on my own. Oh, I guess I couldn't call it "on my own."
"You have reached your destination. The store has been searched, but be on your guard regardless." I was now accustomed to the faithful escort of the knights.
"Right, thanks." Quickly thanking them for their work, I got off the carriage and entered the meeting place. It was a tea shop I had visited about three times before.
"Oh, Mr. Yandel! Here, over here!" Shavin Emoor, the rank-seven administration clerk, was perched in the corner and waving at me. Beside her sat Ragna, the librarian, in silence. When I sat down with them, all the members of our usual friendly gathering were officially here.
"First, thank you for coming. After you received the title of baronet, I thought long and hard about whether or not I could ask you to come."
"You worry about strange things."
"That's right, Shavin. Do you think this man will change just because he's a nobleman now?" Ragna sipped her tea, her tone aloof. Well, she was right about that. I had no intention of showing off my title everywhere I went.
Yeah, so the title of baronet is not a particularly big deal to you, is it?
Her casual reaction told me that she was a part of a really prestigious family, though I didn't know exactly what family that was. The fact that she wasn't acting any different even in the face of my convoy of knights made me even more curious. Who could it be?
I turned my gaze to look at Shavin. Unlike Ragna, she was glancing at the knights out of the corner of her eye. Well, anyone would be uncomfortable.
Let's just get straight to the point.
"So, what's your business today?"
"Huh, since when did we only meet for business?"
"You have a habit of crinkling your nose when you lie."
"Huh? R-Really? I never knew!"
Of course you didn't.
"I lied."
"Ah—!"
At the sight of Shavin's dumbstruck expression, Ragna let out a quiet laugh. "This is a really rare sight."
"Maybe to you. This is nothing to barbarians." In actuality, if I started acting like a barbarian in earnest, most people made that face. "Anyway, so? Hurry up and tell me your business."
When I picked the conversation back up where we left off, Shavin came to her senses and brought up her business. "I want to commission you, Baronet Yandel, on behalf of the administrative office."
Hmm, a part-time job? It wasn't like I was low on money right now, but you could never have enough money in this world.
"Tell me, what kind of commission is it?"
I should hear it out first.
Ha... if I were a wizard instead of a barbarian, would I have been able to learn something here?
In the end, I turned back having gained nothing. There was quite a distance between the protective barrier and the castle wall, but the journey back wasn't boring. After all, Ainar was a chatterbox. She especially liked barbarian talk—talk about equipment, who fought with whom and won, and which place had the clunkiest and coolest backpacks these days.
"Oh, did you hear? Kharon is going to be a father soon."
"What?" I was genuinely surprised. "How? He never mentioned that in the labyrinth?"
"Haha, it seems that once he reached the third floor, he started meeting women. Oh, and I only heard about the pregnancy from the woman a few days ago, so he probably didn't have time to tell you."
Afterward, Ainar explained the situation in detail. The woman was one of the warriors of the tribe, which made sense. Humans couldn't give birth to barbarians. It wasn't impossible for different races to conceive together, but in the end, a human child was born. Barbarians preferred their own people anyway. Their standards for what made someone attractive were different from other races'.
More importantly, this way there are no ideological issues with the pregnancy.
In human society, getting married and then having children was the right way to go about it, but that tradition didn't exist in barbarian society. The child was raised by the holy land, and the woman considered giving birth to a child a matter of great pride. Not only that, there were also practical benefits to giving birth. It was small compared to the package humans got, but the palace gave the parents two years of tax relief.
And the pregnancy itself is short.
Each person was different, but it took an average of four months for a barbarian to give birth, and the recovery time was also very short. Perhaps that was the reason why barbarian women were so tolerant of childbirth. It was kind of hard to say this, but childbirth wasn't just a noble process. Pride or not, if the economic factors weren't dealt with, that would only lead to a low birth rate.
"Come to think of it, what are your thoughts, Bjorn?"
"...Huh?"
"Children. I heard the female warriors of the tribe have their eyes on you too..."
Oh, so that was what "have their eyes on me" meant. No wonder they kept poking at my body and complimenting it. I had genuinely thought they were complimenting my muscles and had been flexing the heck out of them each time.
"I don't want any yet."
"Oh, why? Not that I'm one to talk, but we're on the late side. Some warriors went through their coming-of-age after us have given birth already!"
Was it because it was my first time having this kind of conversation? For some reason, I was starting to feel afraid for the first time since entering this barbarian body.
As I tried to hide the fact that I was inwardly quaking in my boots, Ainar seemed to come to some sort of realization. "Ah! Could it be because of Missha? Don't worry! Missha will understand. We are barbarians! She can only give birth to beastpeople!" Ainar seemed like a different person to me at that moment. To think she would tell Mr. Bear she preferred cats yet have these thoughts in her head.
"I'm good. And you?" I changed the topic, feeling awkward. To put it in Wuxia terms, I was employing the method of redirecting your opponent's attack toward another enemy.
"M-Me!?" Yet when the arrow turned on her, Ainar couldn't hide her bewilderment. The reason was simple. "I-I couldn't even if I wanted to. W-What warrior would like a small woman like me...?"
Oh, damn those beauty standards. I'd unwittingly ended up hitting one of Ainar's sore spots.
But the moment I was about to apologize for that, she said, "And... I don't want any now, either."
Huh?
"O-Of course! The more I spend time with you, the more young and unmanly the other barbarians look!" Ainar shouted almost in exasperation.
I found myself just as perplexed and suggested she look for a countryman who had accumulated years of seniority. But her response was unexpected.
"I don't like older men!"
She doesn't like elders, and people our age feel too young...
She was awfully picky, but to be honest, that was a good thing for me. If she suddenly got pregnant and could not enter the labyrinth for a few months, I'd have to deal with the aftermath.
Hold up, how did the conversation end up like this?
Twenty-nine-year-old Hansu Lee aged another year in this strange world and became thirty.
"Anyway, let me know when you do! I will introduce you to a good warrior!"
But these kinds of conversations remained as troublesome as ever.
***
Two days later, after breakfast and a warm-up spar with Ainar, I set out on my own. Oh, I guess I couldn't call it "on my own."
"You have reached your destination. The store has been searched, but be on your guard regardless." I was now accustomed to the faithful escort of the knights.
"Right, thanks." Quickly thanking them for their work, I got off the carriage and entered the meeting place. It was a tea shop I had visited about three times before.
"Oh, Mr. Yandel! Here, over here!" Shavin Emoor, the rank-seven administration clerk, was perched in the corner and waving at me. Beside her sat Ragna, the librarian, in silence. When I sat down with them, all the members of our usual friendly gathering were officially here.
"First, thank you for coming. After you received the title of baronet, I thought long and hard about whether or not I could ask you to come."
"You worry about strange things."
"That's right, Shavin. Do you think this man will change just because he's a nobleman now?" Ragna sipped her tea, her tone aloof. Well, she was right about that. I had no intention of showing off my title everywhere I went.
Yeah, so the title of baronet is not a particularly big deal to you, is it?
Her casual reaction told me that she was a part of a really prestigious family, though I didn't know exactly what family that was. The fact that she wasn't acting any different even in the face of my convoy of knights made me even more curious. Who could it be?
I turned my gaze to look at Shavin. Unlike Ragna, she was glancing at the knights out of the corner of her eye. Well, anyone would be uncomfortable.
Let's just get straight to the point.
"So, what's your business today?"
"Huh, since when did we only meet for business?"
"You have a habit of crinkling your nose when you lie."
"Huh? R-Really? I never knew!"
Of course you didn't.
"I lied."
"Ah—!"
At the sight of Shavin's dumbstruck expression, Ragna let out a quiet laugh. "This is a really rare sight."
"Maybe to you. This is nothing to barbarians." In actuality, if I started acting like a barbarian in earnest, most people made that face. "Anyway, so? Hurry up and tell me your business."
When I picked the conversation back up where we left off, Shavin came to her senses and brought up her business. "I want to commission you, Baronet Yandel, on behalf of the administrative office."
Hmm, a part-time job? It wasn't like I was low on money right now, but you could never have enough money in this world.
"Tell me, what kind of commission is it?"
I should hear it out first.