Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 202
Blessing (2)
Blessing (2)
“If you set out on a path of vengeance, dig two graves.”
It’s a saying by Confucius.
However, the book I read only contained that sentence, without explaining the intent behind his words.
So, what did Confucius really want to say?
The importance of readiness?
Or just how self-destructive and dangerous revenge is?
It’s impossible for me to know that in the 21st century, so I decided to go with the more resonant interpretation.
Yes, Confucius knew.
When you plan to strike someone, you must be prepared to get struck yourself.
“But it seems he didn’t know that.”
I licked my lips as I watched the kid.
The kid, who had started the personal attack from the get-go, , was now staring into space, dumbfounded.
“What did you just say…? I don’t understand…”
I didn’t use complicated words.
So, it’s not the ‘words’ that don’t make sense, it’s the ‘situation’ itself.
Hmm, or not?
“What, why don’t I have a mom!!”
The kid glared at me and shouted, but I snapped back.
“So, do you have one?”
“No, she passed away…”
The kid flinched and trailed off.
Honestly, I was a bit startled too.
I never expected a ‘Yes’ to that question.
Of course, there was no issue.
“As I thought.”
I nodded, as if I’d expected it.
Not having a mother?
So, what about it?
Bjorn Jandel grew up without a mom too.
Moreover, given the characteristics of the dragon tribe, this child could actually be older than me, despite his youthful appearance.
That’s no reason to stop retaliating against a pre-emptive attack.
“But, how did you know…?”
“It shows.”
“It shows?”
“Yes, if you had been properly educated at home, you wouldn’t resort to such lies.”
As I spoke as if it were obvious, the kid ground his teeth.
Even in a world without extreme profanity, words related to family can still be sensitive.
Oh, or not?
“Apologize, Barbarian! How dare you say I lied? I didn’t lie at all!”
The kid, having somewhat regained his composure, exploded in anger at being accused of lying.
I felt a pang in the pit of my stomach.
To deny it so vehemently.
Doesn’t that mean he really meant the ugly remark?
Bjorn Jandel would have been hurt by it.
But, there was no problem.
“I am a K-Barbarian who believes in returning to the world”
That’s exactly who I am.
“To not even know you lied…”
I looked at the kid with pitying eyes.
“Oh no, don’t tell me you don’t have a dad either—”
“I do have a dad! You crazy fool!!”
The kid interrupted me by yelling.
Thus, I also decided to end the harsh words here.
By now, the kid must have learned that messing with a barbarian could bring major troubles.
Besides, this is the home ground of the Dragon Tribe.
‘Wait, but why is the elder staying quiet?’
Only then did I feel something off and turned around.
There was the Dragon Tribe elder, observing me with a look of interest.
“You are impressive.”
Huh?
“You’re the first one to anger Lady Penitas Eiauros like this.”
Isn’t the elder getting too emotional for the kid?.
Even now the kid is staring at me, breathing heavily with a hiss.
However, my focus was on something else.
‘Lady?’
The elder had used an honorific before the kids name.
That means this kid holds a significant position among the Dragon Tribe.
Wait a minute…
“Could it be, she’s a shaman?”
The dragon’s shaman.
Similar to the only shaman of the barbarian tribe.
Simply put, only she can use the ‘blessing.’
“Ah, didn’t you know?”
“…”
I would have known if you had told me.
As I averted my gaze, the kid was looking at me triumphantly, a stark contrast to before.
“What? Thinking of apologizing now?”
Her sneer was unmistakable.
After a moment of contemplation, I decided to continue my stance.
“Kid, why should I apologize?”
“…You said you wanted a blessing inscribed, didn’t you?”
That’s true.
But even if she’s a shaman, she’s below the chief Dragon. If he says okay, she’ll have no choice but to bestow the blessing on me.
“That’s for the Chief Dragon to decide.”
At my words, the kid grinned.
“Ah, my dad?”
“…”
I froze with a smile still on my face.
No way, she’s the daughter of the Chief Dragon…
***
The Tribe’s shaman and the daughter of the Chief Dragon.
Her status is indeed tremendous, but now the option to apologize was erased from my mind.
It’s not like a Barbarian to do so.
Besides, if I apologized, I’d be admitting that I’m ugly as hell.
“…What are you looking at?”
“Nothing? I wasn’t looking.”
After the shocking reveal of the kid’s identity, an awkward silence filled with a subtle power struggle ensued between us.
And then some time passed.
“Let’s both stop now.”
The elder intervened, aiming for reconciliation.
Well, more accurately, she scolded both of us.
“Bjorn Jandel is a guest of the Chief Dragon and a benefactor to our tribe. Judging someone by their appearance upon first meeting is not polite.”
Calmly and logically, the elder pointed out my mistake and then turned her gaze to the smirking kid.
“The shaman is also at fault.”
“…Me too?”
“It wasn’t a lie, though?”
“Sometimes, you need to keep silent, even if it’s the truth.”
The kid sullenly lowered her head.
It didn’t feel good.
Rather…
“…What? Is this some kind of reverse insult?”
Even if it’s the truth, keep silent?
Agreeing that I’m hideously ugly, but saying it was wrong to speak it out loud.
“I need to attend a meeting now, so I’ll leave.”
The elder left me alone with my throbbing heart and returned to where she had been.
Not wanting to just stand there, I casually sat down.
And so began a suffocating silence.
The kid was the first to break it.
“Let’s talk.”
“…?”
“Weren’t you an explorer? Don’t you have any interesting stories?”
“Why should I tell you?”
The kid glared at me, annoyed by my question.
“Words have power, and I have the ability to feel the nature of that power.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Ah, that means I need to get used to your energy wavelength before I can inscribe a blessing later. Perhaps that’s why my father sent you here early.
I hadn’t heard about the setting of powers or wavelengths before. But there was something else that caught my attention more.
“You make it sound like it’s already been decided.”
“If it were a refusal, you wouldn’t have been brought to this room.”
“Then, what is the meeting going on about?”
“Maybe they thought it would be too easy just to give it to you.”
Hmm, that could really be the case.
“Anyway, so say something. I need to keep talking to you so I can read your wavelengths. That way, it will be less stressful on your body when I inscribe the blessing.”
In contrast to our first encounter, it was a surprisingly reasonable request. So I complied, even if I was not quite ready for the change.
“Is there anything in particular you’re curious about?” I asked the kid
“Why did you become an explorer?”
“That’s a strange thing to ask. We are born warriors. If we can’t fight, we die.”
“Because of taxes?”
Well, if I put it simply, yes.
“We aren’t as well-off as you guys.”
The Dragon Tribe don’t pay taxes because of their great contributions in the war thousands of years ago. In contrast, other races struggle daily with taxes.
“I’ve heard that some races lend money to pay taxes, but not the Barbarians?”
It seemed like a genuine question, so I smiled bitterly.
“Yeah, we don’t.”
Dwarves have their taxes reduced when they become blacksmiths.
Beast tribes and fairies have financial flexibility as their unique abilities help with farming and livestock in Gnome Tree.
They’re given interest-free loans for the first two years, making it generally unnecessary to deal with taxes.
But Barbarians?
They just get a weapon.
‘When I become chief, I’ll start with donations and overhaul everything.’
Clearly, Barbarians are at a disadvantage.
Many areas need improvement.
Did my expression look bad?
“Fine, let’s leave that aside for now, then tell me about that.”
The kid shifted the topic first.
“About that?”
“You fought with the dragon slayer, didn’t you?”
Ah, that.
Since it was our only common ground, I slightly embellished the story of that time, removing potentially disadvantageous parts.
Methods of obtaining Ogre’s essence or anything that could make me seem like an evil spirit.
Even without those, the story remained quite interesting.
“Leor Wuerv Dwalkii… Sounds like a name that’s going to stick with me for a while.”
Like everyone else who had heard the story, the kid was particularly focused on the Dwalki part.
I felt secretly proud whenever I got such a reaction.
It felt like validation that the guy was recognized by others too.
“The sword… So you obtained it that way. You really are incredibly ignorant. Anyway, what happened next?”
After the dragon slayer story, I naturally moved on to the part about finding new companions, that’s when I heard something interesting.
“Did you know? My sister could have been part of that team.”
It sounded like she was talking about the two-year contract for ‘companions’ that the Chief Dragon had proposed.
“What kind of person is your sister?”
“She’s nice. I don’t see her much because she’s busy.”
No, I was asking how strong she was.
I was genuinely curious and wanted to ask more, but I couldn’t.
Just then, the door opened.
“I heard you two had a fight, but you’re getting along?”
The chief dragon walked in and chuckled upon seeing us chatting.
It made me realize one thing.
That elder hadn’t told the Chief Dragon what I’d said earlier. If he had heard about the family education comment, he wouldn’t have had such a look on his face.
“So, has a decision been made?”
“It has.”
Well, then just tell me the results.
“What was decided?”
“They’ve agreed to your request.”
“Good.”
I nodded, glancing at the kid.
Perhaps what the kid had said was true. The meeting lasted an hour, perhaps just for the sake of their pride?
‘Was all that strange questioning for this reason?’
A rational suspicion was beginning to form.
The Chief Dragon spoke softly.
“However, there is one condition.”
“A condition?”
“We verified through the Leatlas Church that you have received an oracle. You will likely meet Regal Vagos, the Dragon Slayer, again someday.”
“Go on, say it.”
“If you can kill him then, bring us his heart.”
“…His heart? Why do you need that?”
The condition prompted me to ask for its rationale first.
Then the answer came from the kid.
“It’s because of me. I was the one who cursed my uncle at that time.”
“A curse that makes a Dragon not a Dragon…”
A curse profound and complex, wrapped in family and tribal legacies.
As a result, Regal Vagos faced restrictions when using the dragon speech and couldn’t properly wield the Dragon Slayer sword he had obtained, even after betraying his own tribe.
“Wait, but wasn’t that curse left by the previous Chief Dragon?”
“It’s widely believed so, but in reality, my daughter was the one who cast it.”
“…I see.”
It feels like hearing a Dragon Tribe secret.
But the pressing matter at hand isn’t that.
“So, what does his heart have to do with the curse?”
“In exchange for the curse, my time has stopped ever since then. I became bound to live in this temple without being able to step out.”
“Would having his heart somehow reverse it?”
The kid didn’t answer my question.
Instead, the chief dragon muttered softly.
“At least, that’s what we believe.”
It suddenly struck me.
Was that why he offered me a two-year companion? To have someone at my side who could defeat the Dragon Slayer and retrieve his heart?
“But then, how old are you really?”
Initially, I thought the kid was just a few years older than me, but now it seems it’s not just a few years. After all, it was more than 30 years ago that the Great Ancient Dragon died.
Well, regardless, her words and actions seem too youthful for her age…
‘Living only in the temple might explain that.’
“So what will you do?”
“Alright, if I end up killing the dragon slayer, I will definitely bring back his heart.”
“That’s settled then.”
The condition wasn’t particularly difficult, so I accepted the offer without further negotiation.
Now it was time to receive my reward upfront.
“So when can you perform the blessing?”
“If you want, it can be done tonight.”
The kid responded to my inquiry.
“But before that, I must ask this. What kind of blessing do you desire? I need to know to prepare.”
“What blessings are available?”
I asked just to be sure.
There might be differences between the game and reality.
“You didn’t know? I thought you knew and that’s why you asked for it.”
“I only know about one exactly.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll need to explain the rest.”
The kid seemed annoyed, but explained each one in detail.
It turned out there weren’t many differences from the game.
“The first is the blessing of the Earth Dragon.”
The blessing of the Earth Dragon.
When this blessing is inscribed, the additional attributes gained from essences increase by 20%.
Given the importance of raw stats for me, the synergy is very good.
Though, it’s hard to find a type where the synergy wouldn’t be good.
“Second, the blessing of the Volcano Dragon.”
The blessing of the Volcano Dragon.
If the first was about stats, this one enhances the performance of all skills.
From what I remember, it’s about a 30% increase.
Thus, choosing this would mean an increase in size when in [Gigantification] state, and the performance of [Iron Skin] and [Swing] would significantly improve.
“Lastly, there’s the blessing of the Sea Dragon.”
The blessing of the Sea Dragon.
This one uniquely increases only one fixed stat – it adds +100 to Soul Power.
Considering that Soul Power increases by 10 with each level up to level 5, the significance of this increase is substantial.
Choosing this would likely extend the duration of my [Gigantification] several times over.
Until I consume a few more core essences, I would hardly run out of MP.
“Now, I’ve finished explaining. Which one will it be?”
Which one to choose among the three.
The kid offered to give more time if needed, but I decisively refused.
“I’ll go with this one.”
I had already made up my mind.