Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 151

Ah, uh, um….

I snapped out of my daze, having been blankly staring at the scene of madness-fueled brainwashing, and entered the village.

Actually, even calling it a village was a bit of a misnomer. The Barbarian sanctuary was more like a campsite.

Tents were pitched haphazardly, with no regard for whose land was whose.

I passed through them and headed straight for the shaman’s place. Now that I knew the location, I didn’t see the need to go through the chief to meet him.

‘What, no one’s here?’

I peeked into the shaman’s tent, and it was empty.

In the end, I had no choice but to go to the chief’s tent.

But what was this?

The chief’s tent was also empty. Even when the chief was away, an elder would always be there to watch over the place.

‘What’s going on?’

As I stood there, hesitating, an elder I had seen a few times before spotted me.

“Bjorn, son of Yandel? Did you also come to attend the funeral?”

There was no need to ask whose funeral it was.

It had been exactly half a year since Ainar had secluded herself in the sanctuary.

“…So, it was already that day.”

“It is an honorable thing to leave something behind for posterity.”

I asked for the location of the funeral and headed straight there.

A forest so silent it was eerie.

After about 30 minutes, I saw the Barbarians gathered deep within, their expressions solemn.

The shaman and the chief were there, of course, as well as the elders I recognized. Well, the first person I noticed was someone else.

“Ainar.”

Ainar was standing there precariously.

She was staring blankly at her master’s body, which was leaning against a thick tree.

“…Bjorn?”

Ainar’s gaze as she called my name was vacant.

When I got a little closer, she bit her lip.

“If I had known it was like this, I wouldn’t have done it.”

So, she didn’t know.

I had assumed they would have told her.

“…Bjorn, did you know?”

“Yes.”

The training that Ainar had been doing for the past six months was called ‘Tempering’ among the Barbarians. [A process of training the body to create a vessel for spiritual power.]

In the game, after completing ‘Tempering,’ the physical stats would increase significantly, and one would become eligible to receive ‘Soul Succession.’

Of course, it could also end with just ‘Tempering’…

“I heard that the elder was suffering from a chronic illness.”

I had heard that the elder who had made Ainar his successor didn’t have much time left, so I had considered this situation as well.

It seemed she was hearing this for the first time.

“That… I didn’t know!”

“It seems that elder cared for you a lot.”

Soul Succession. [A ritual where a Barbarian passes on their spiritual essence to a successor.]

Along with Spirit Imprinting, it was one of the unique shamanistic rituals only possible for the Barbarian tribe. Through this ritual, a Barbarian could pass on one of their possessed essences to their successor.

For reference, receiving it is only possible once…

The one who succeeds it must lose their life.

“…Why didn’t anyone tell me? If I had known it was like this, I would have stopped immediately.”

Ainar muttered in despair.

A voice filled with deep regret and self-reproach.

At this, the chief, who had been watching silently, opened his mouth.

“Kiduba was a coward.”

“Do not insult him! Kiduba was a warrior who knew no fear!”

“Then it must have been because you were a coward. That’s why Kiduba couldn’t explain Soul Succession to you.”

“I am not a coward—!”

The chief cut off Ainar, who was getting worked up, with a sharp tone.

“Then stop whining. If you want to prove that you are not a coward, then do not further insult his death and watch, warrior.”

“…”

“There is no one in this world who does not feel pain. Nevertheless, face it and move forward. That is the path of a warrior.”

Ainar shut her mouth, and the chief didn’t say anything more.

In the silence, the funeral continued.

The shaman approached the body leaning against the tree, smeared blood on its face, and shook a rattle. Then, he sprayed a solution around the body to prevent insects from eating it.

The Barbarians silently watched the process, and as time passed, the shaman announced the end of the funeral.

“The soul of Kiduba, the third son of Tohar, has left his body and dwells in the forest.”

Now, the body left in the forest would rot and become bones, and when that time came, even the bones would be finely crushed by the shaman’s hand and scattered in the forest.

The warriors, standing in order before the body, cut their hair or made a wound on their hand and sprinkled blood around the body before leaving.

It didn’t take long.

“…”

Now, only Ainar and I remained.

I approached the body first and cut my hair with a knife, scattering it around the body.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Ainar didn’t answer.

However, rather than urging her, I simply left without a word. Since it was an unprepared farewell, she would need time to sort things out on her own.

***

“Heh heh, I knew you’d come, warrior.”

I left the forest and went straight to the shaman’s tent.

“Did you bring the materials?”

“Yes.”

“Show them to me.”

As the shaman instructed, I took out the ‘Immortal Heart’ that I had carefully kept in my backpack. The troll’s heart, placed on a cloth in a box, was beating faintly.

“Did you get it yourself?”

“No, I bought it at the trading post.”

“How much did you pay?”

I didn’t know why he was curious, but I answered anyway, and the shaman chuckled.

“How did such a fellow come to be? You were truly born with good fortune, warrior.”

Most of the conversations with the shaman were like this, but today, I felt strangely annoyed.

Was that why?

Without realizing it, I snapped back.

“Don’t talk about good fortune or whatever when you don’t know anything.”

The shaman just grinned at my words.

“Hmm, you’ve returned alive and well, so it can’t be your own problem… Did you lose something?”

“I don’t want to answer.”

“Alright, that’s not bad either.”

“…”

“Warrior, the more you lose what is precious, the stronger you will become.”

It was like he was cursing me, but I just kept quiet. Somehow, I felt like I was getting drawn in the more I talked to this old man.

“Enough, can I receive Spirit Imprinting today?”

“Of course.”

The shaman nodded readily at my question.

I thought he might be tired from the funeral or something.

Clink.

After putting 1 million stones, the price for the additional materials, into the jar, I knelt on the floor.

The sixth imprinting on the path of the Undying had arrived.

“This time as well, there are three paths.”

After listening to a brief explanation, I chose one.

There was no room for hesitation.

From the beginning, I had poured most of my assets into imprinting for this one thing.

“I will choose the Soul of Armaments.”

“Heh heh, you can’t change it later.”

The shaman began to poke needles into my body. Soon, a clear pain washed over me.

However, it was more bearable than before.

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

Because I knew that a huge reward awaited me after this.

「You have activated the 6th stage of the Undying Imprinting.」

「Your soul regeneration power is greatly increased.」

「Your Ability stat has increased by +240.」

A stat with the highest acquisition difficulty.

MP regeneration power has greatly increased.

In simple terms, it meant that I could now use [Giantification] more often and maintain it for longer.

Well, it was nothing compared to the main dish.

「The Soul of Armaments dwells in your body.」

「Due to the unique effect [Unification], the performance of your equipment is enhanced in proportion to your character’s stats.」

[Unification].

A passive skill that was always applied, unlike the active skill [Wild Outburst].

It had considerable performance on its own, but…

This skill had a hidden element.

Perhaps because of the concept of becoming one with the weapon, with this, the equipment would not be damaged even when using [Giantification].

In other words, there was no need to bother taking off the equipment anymore.

No, not only that, but it also became possible to smash enemies with a gigantic mace and shield!

“Kuhuhuhuhu. Behel, raaaa…”

The shaman muttered as he watched me laugh, sobbing even amidst the pain left in my body.

“Heh heh, he really is not in his right mind.”

Like a Barbarian, I ignored the evaluation of others.

***

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 4

Physical: 424.4 / Mental: 320.3 (New +1) / Ability: 736 (New +240)

Item Level: 197 (New -770)

Total Combat Power: 1529.95 (New +48.5)

Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7 / Orc Hero – Rank 5 / Ogre – Rank 3

***

How much time had passed since the sixth imprinting ended?

The area beyond the tent was still bright.

I gulped down the water in the kettle on the table and asked.

“Has it been a whole day?”

“Heh heh heh, are you going to cry in front of me because you’re tired?”

Seriously, just saying ‘yes’ would have been enough.

It was a way of speaking that I couldn’t understand no matter how many times I heard it, but I didn’t bother to argue.

Well, to be precise, it was closer to not having the energy to do so.

I got up and was about to grab my backpack when…

“Warrior.”

The shaman, who usually told me to get lost because he was tired at this time, called out to me.

And then, he dropped a completely unexpected bombshell.

“How did you end up receiving a divine revelation from a human god?”

My heart sank for a moment.

I let out a long sigh.

Since he clearly knew everything and was asking, there was no point in denying it.

“Who the hell did you hear it from? No, how many people even know about it right now?”

“Can’t you tell that the ring you’re wearing is so intertwined with your fate? Heh heh, don’t worry. The others won’t notice at all.”

The shaman scoffed, saying that if you have eyes but they’re no different from knot holes, what’s the point?

Through this, I realized that the shaman seemed strangely happy.

I asked cautiously.

“Are you going to tell the chief?”

“Why would I do that?”

Uh, if you put it that way, I have nothing to say…

“It’s just an old tradition. It’s the same as what I did in that forest yesterday. Thousands of years ago, we left our homeland and became part of this city. Through that, we learned that gods exist and learned civilization in its true sense.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Why should we deny and hate the existence that is real and beneficial to life, while relying on and following the spirits of our ancestors? It’s just a foolish stubbornness. We deserve to be called barbarians.”

The shaman was still the same.

Especially in the way he spoke in a way that was hard to understand. Of course, now that my weakness was properly exposed, I couldn’t say anything that would offend him.

“…So, what do you think the chief will do?”

“If he finds out that you received a divine revelation?”

“Yes.”

The shaman chuckled and then answered.

“Why are you asking what you already know? That madman will immediately brand you as a traitor and kick you out. Heh! Maybe he’ll even cut off your head and burn it.”

…Yeah, I guess so.

Damn it, do I just have to live in anxiety until I finish Spirit Imprinting?

As I was thinking that and clicking my tongue, the shaman continued.

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

“Useless worries?”

“The beastmen, the dwarves, and the elves all abandoned their old traditions a long time ago. Why do you think that is?”

There was no need to think deeply about it.

The history of Earth was the same.

Reform.

When new ideas and concepts were needed, there were always those who tried to turn their backs on the old era.

Posterity called them heroes.

‘This crazy old man…’

I realized what the shaman was trying to say.

“Are you worried about being kicked out, warrior? If so, the answer to that worry is really simple.”

In the end, the old man was also a Barbarian.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t even dare to think of such a solution.

If a problem arises, smash it and get rid of it.

So, in other words…

“You become the chief.”

Take over the Barbarian tribe before getting kicked out.

“How about it? Isn’t this a much more warrior-like path?”

I don’t know if it’s a warrior-like path.

I couldn’t help but grin.

A Barbarian who hasn’t even been here for a year.

And also, a being who is actually an evil spirit.

Yet, he’s telling me to become the Barbarian Lord and change this race to my liking.

“You’re saying something interesting, shaman.”

It was quite an appealing story.

Especially since it was quite rational.