Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 203

Blessing (3)

The Dragon’s Blessing.

One of the few traits that made the Dragon Tribe a legendary race. Unlike Dragon Speech, however, this blessing could be engraved by other races as well.

Yet, in the game, it’s been received less than ten times.

Only by accumulating a certain amount of affinity with the Dragon Tribe and completing a hidden quest could it be achieved.

“If I had chosen a Dwarf as my character, whom the dragons don’t get along with, I wouldn’t have even been able to try.”

Of course, I am not a Dwarf but a Barbarian, but I had already given up on the ‘blessing’.

The conditions for the ‘hidden quest’ were insane, and as far as I knew, the ‘hidden quest’ no longer existed in the current era.

A century and a half past in the game’s universe.

The historical records stated that the problem plaguing the Dragon Tribe had already been solved by a hero.

‘Wait, if i can do this, doesn’t it mean that other things aren’t entirely impossible either?’

I pondered over several blocked hidden pieces. Perhaps, there was a way to tackle them through a different route.

No, it’s the same either way.

Things that were outright blocked by the system in the game.

For instance…

“Just to let you know, choosing multiple ones won’t work. Your body as a Barbarian can’t handle it.”

“What do you mean my body can’t handle it?”

“Exactly as I said. You’d die.”

Hmm, that’s not going to work.

Though I could insist, I wasn’t planning to be stubborn about it.

Especially when the cost could be my life.

Among the Dragon Tribe, only a few besides the Chief Dragon had more than one blessing engraved.

It takes a toll on the body.

“So, what’s your decision? I can give you more time if you want.”

“No, let’s settle on this.”

I shook my head with a sly smile.

After all, my decision was made before I even came here.

Blessing of the Sea Dragon.

Definitely not this one.

Though MP is a crucial resource, if I manage it well during hunting, I shouldn’t feel its scarcity.

I’m not a mage, after all.

Just enough is sufficient.

In that sense…

Blessing of the Volcanic Dragon.

This isn’t a bad choice.

As much as I’ve aligned the combinations of skills, the performance enhancement doesn’t stop at 30% but goes beyond.

However.

“I’ll take the Earth Dragon’s Blessing.”

I ultimately decided it was better to enhance stats than skills.

For a simple reason.

Many of my skills are based on stats. A 20% increase in stats would equivalently boost the performance of my skills.

“A wise choice indeed. Were you thinking of that guy?”

The Chief Dragon nodded at my choice.

He seemed to think I chose this with the Dragon Slayer in mind, and I just went along with it.

After all, I wasn’t without thoughts about him.

[Silence of the Soul]

Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos’ overwhelming Dragon Speech that reduces MP to zero and prevents the use of skills.

That’s why I had to fight him barehanded.

However, if you ask whether that was the main reason for my choice, it wasn’t.

The Earth Dragon has a hidden effect.

‘But they must know about it…’

I narrowed my eyes on Mr. Dragon and the kid.

I wasn’t particularly upset.

There was no obligation for them to share everything with me, a member of another race.

After all, I didn’t need such consideration.

“Well then, that settles it. I’ll step aside.”

With my decision made, Mr. Dragon  moved away, smiling contently.

“Enjoy your time with my daughter.”

No, that sounded weird.

***

After Mr. Dragon left,

The kid and I talked until nightfall. The main topic was my past explorations.

“Do I really need to talk about myself?”

“It is better this way. Didn’t I mention that before? Words have power. It’s easier for me to tune into your wavelength, since it’s the path you’ve walked.

“If you say so.”

I preferred this to blabbering about nothing, so I filtered through my stories a bit and shared them.

It hasn’t even been a year since I became an explorer, but I have more stories to tell than I thought.

Could that be why?

“It’s getting close to sunset, are we there yet?”

We had been talking over meals, and before we knew it, it was evening.

But wasn’t it time to inscribe the blessing yet?

“…Not yet. Your vibe is strangely hard to read. Yeah, that’s right… so keep going with your story.”

“Where did I leave off?”

“The Doppelganger Forest. You were saying how you realized one of the other explorers was from the underground city.”

We had talked all day and were now catching up with my latest adventures.

This would soon leave me with nothing else to say.

I was a bit worried, but after speaking frankly, it seemed there was no need to read more vibes.

“Hmm, I think this will do.”

“That means?”

“Come with me. It’s time to engrave the blessing on your body.”

Following the kid deeper inside, I saw a cave hidden behind a thin cloth.

A cave connected to the building walls…

‘Feels like I’m on an exploration or something.’

After walking through the cave for a few minutes, a space about ten square meters appeared.

A chamber furnished with a bed and a few other items.

Jewels embedded in the ceiling emitted a faint light and smoke, giving off the aura of a mystical space.

“Here, lie down.”

“The bed is too small for me to lie down.”

“…”

“Just lie on the floor.”

True to my barbarian nature, I coolly lay down on the floor, and the kid chuckled before beginning to inscribe the blessing on my body

It didn’t take long.

Though it took the form of a tattoo, the essence of the blessing was the special ability possessed by the shaman.

“Where should I engrave it?”

“How big is it?”

“About this size.”

The kid spread their palm to show me.

Much smaller than I expected.

“Does the location matter?”

“No, it doesn’t. But why?”

“I’d prefer it in a place that’s usually not visible.”

After all, it’s a blessing from another race.

Before I become the tribe chief and change the conservative rules of my tribe, it would cause trouble if the Barbarians found out.

“…A place that’s not visible?”

The kid’s gaze naturally shifted to one spot, and she made an awkward face.

“That, that might be difficult…”

Following the kid’s gaze, I nearly fainted in embarrassment.

No way, who would get a tattoo there?

“…Well, I can do it around your buttock.”

What?

“Forget it, do it here.”

I specified the location I had originally thought of.

“The sole of the foot? Oh, right…”

This world was similar to Western culture.

People wear shoes indoors, so it’s rarely necessary to take them off

The kid seemed convinced, then expressed a doubt.

“But couldn’t you just tuck it in among the other tattoos? It wouldn’t be very noticeable. You always wear armor on top, right?”

“A shaman would notice.”

“Ah, right.”

Given the nature of shamans, they wouldn’t likely make a fuss about it.

But I preferred to keep it hidden as much as possible.

With the unpredictable future and the somewhat suspicious nature of shamans, it was better to be cautious.

“Then let’s get started, shall we?”

“Absolutely.”

“It’s going to hurt quite a bit.”

“That’s fine, just get it over with.”

Despite the kid’s warning, I wasn’t overly concerned.

How painful could it be compared to soul engraving?

Even if this was a kind of pain that my tolerance couldn’t mitigate, I wasn’t afraid.

“I am a Barbarian.”

Barbarians always advance through struggle.

“Hmm, really?”

The kid gave a meaningful smile and then produced a white flame on her index finger.

And…

Chiieeeek!

She directed the flame towards the sole of my foot.

“You can scream.”

Oh, can I?

[The Blessing of the Earth Dragon has been engraved into your soul.]

[All additional stats increase by 20%.]

I screamed with all my might.

“Aaaaargh!”

There was no time to worry about the dignity of a Barbarian.

***

Bjorn Jandel

Level: 5

Physical: 555 / Mental: 198 / Special Ability: 191

Item Level: 3,068

Overall Combat Index: 1,907.6 (New +176.6)

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

***

The process of engraving the Blessing was brief, lasting about three minutes.

Compared to soul engraving sessions that could take hours, this was practically instantaneous.

Still, the ordeal felt just as lengthy.

I passed out as soon as it was over.

“Are you awake?”

I slowly opened my eyes to see the kid leaning against the wall, reading a book.

“…Looks like I dozed off.”

“More like you passed out, right?”

“…”

“That’s really funny.”

Ignoring the kid’s teasing, I first checked the time.

9 AM.

It was already time to start a new day.

“Drink this.”

After drinking the water the kid handed me, I got up.

While I felt mentally exhausted, there was a strong feeling of vitality in my body.

After all, with a 20% increase in stats, it was impossible not to feel more powerful.

I was already looking forward to it.

Apart from the Corpse Golem, I only had three essences of rank 5 or higher.

Just filling those spots would increase my stats as much as acquiring a high-ranked essence.

“Kid.”

“It’s Penitas Saurus.”

Not liking being called ‘kid’, huh?

“Alright, Penitas Saurus.”

Even as I said the name correctly, it felt odd.

Is this a person’s name or a dinosaur’s?

“…Just call me Pen.”

“Sure, Pen. So, is everything done now?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, it went well. But just in case, come back later when you have time. This is the first time I’ve done this for someone from another race, so there could be side effects.”

“Alright, I’ll come when I have time.”

“I told Dad about it too.”

After roughly acknowledging her words, Pen and I left the cave. As I was about to head back, I asked for Mr. Dragon’s location.

“My dad should be where you first arrived. Do you need me to guide you?”

“I can find it on my own.”

Ever since my training with Rotmiller, I’ve been confident in remembering routes.

Just as I was about to leave…

“Sorry.”

I heard a voice from behind.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. For yesterday… being blunt about you being ugly.”

I chuckled.

It was hard to tell if this was an apology or just another jab.

But maturely, I focused on the facts.

“I’m not ugly.”

“What?”

“I am handsomely rugged.”

Pen stared at me intently, then finally nodded slightly.

“…Alright.”

It seems I’ve successfully instilled a proper sense of beauty before the world’s biases could touch her.

“See you next time. I’ll have more stories then.”

“…Yeah.”

After parting with Pen, I found Mr. Dragon.

I handed over the dragon slayer sword and used Dragon Speech to return to the original sewer system.

The familiar, appetite-killing stench of sewage hit me.

Should I just go back and sleep? I briefly considered it.

‘It really is connected to the city.’

Just as Amelia had mentioned, following the secret passage led me to an exit that connected to the city.

Located next to my residing District 7 was District 8.

I had intended to meet Misha and Aynar to catch up, but…

The exhaustion was too much to bear.

‘I can see them in a few days anyway…’

Covering my face with a hood I’d prepared, I bought the skewers that Jingjin had ordered and returned.

“Here are the skewers from the shop you mentioned. I ordered the spiciest ones, like a true man.”

“…”

“Why are you silent? Aren’t you happy?”

“…I am happy.”

“Your voice is too low.”

“I AM HAPPY!!!”

Jingjin’s enthusiastic response made the effort of dragging my tired body to buy them worthwhile.

Now that he’s been warned that I could come back anytime, there’s no risk of Bifron reverting to its old ways overnight without me.

“Are you crying?”

“The skewers are spicy… that’s why…”

“Tsk. It’s because you cry so easily that you lose hair.”

“Yes…”

“I’m going to sleep now, so don’t wake me.”

After returning, I spent almost the entire day sleeping, and even afterwards, I continued to rest as if I was enjoying the last days of a vacation.

Time passed, and finally, the day arrived.

“Bethel—raaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

The end of my short but long exile.

With an enthusiastic send-off from the entire organization, I made my way to the city walls and said goodbye to Jingjin.

“I’ll come visit sometimes.”

“Yes! I’ll be waiting!”

Jingjin seemed much more composed than on the first day.

After reiterating that the secret passage was to be kept between us, I summoned a guard from the city walls.

“Son of Jandel, Bjorn. Confirmed.”

I entered the checkpoint and went through a brief identification process, and when it was over, the guard opened the gate on the other side of the double-doored structure.

Sir Knight of Mozlan has left a message for you. “Try not to cause any trouble next time.”

Trouble, what trouble.

It was their troubles that had me locked up here for a matter that should have ended with a fine. Grumbling, I stepped out into the town and took a deep breath.

Was it my imagination, or did the air feel different somehow?

Oddly, the sunlight felt warmer today.

‘…But why is there no one around?’

After spending 20 days in exile and returning to the city, I found myself standing in the street, confused.

Minutes passed, and none of my comrades appeared.

Huh, I had hoped at least for a welcoming party.

‘Well, they wouldn’t have known what time I was coming.’

I hurriedly caught a carriage and headed to the inn.

Upon arrival, I immediately knocked on Misha’s door.

Bang! Bang!

Despite knocking several times, there was no response.

There was no sound from inside either.

‘What’s going on? Did she go out?’

Maybe she went out to meet me and we missed each other.

That’s what I thought when…

Bang.

The door opened.

It wasn’t Misha’s room but Aynar’s.

“Bjorn…!!!!”

Aynar greeted me urgently, looking as if she had just woken up.

An odd feeling washed over me.

‘What’s going on?’

Initially, it was a subconscious discomfort, but soon, I figured out the source of the unease.

If Misha had gone out to meet me, Aynar wouldn’t be here alone.

They would have gone together.

“Why…! Why did you come so late!!”

“Calm down and talk to me.”

Suppressing my rising anxiety, I demanded an explanation.

“Misha…! Misha has been kidnapped!!”

Something had gone terribly wrong while I was away.