Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 225 - Sea Dragon Archipelago (3)



The appearance of the elves from Paradise at Haeryong Archipelago was unexpected, but it wasn’t an insurmountable challenge.

Their reason for being here was clear enough.

[Alchemist’s Stimulant]

The elder elf clutched the red gemstone tightly, refusing to let it go as it was buried in the ground.

The item information directly indicated that this gemstone was the creation of the ‘Alchemist’, a Seeker affiliated with the Followers of Truth. Its effects were clear without needing to look at any additional tooltips.

‘This trick is a bit unexpected.’

The Alchemist’s vast array of bizarre creations often troubled players during the game. However, once captured, they could be of great assistance. But this particular item emanated nothing but malice.

Its sole purpose was to provoke the monster of Haeryong Archipelago into a frenzy. Although it seemed impossible for any alchemist to create a stimulant for such a beast, the presence of her made it plausible.

“Stop right there─!”

A sharp voice rang out from behind, accompanied by a massive ice spike flying towards them. It was the ancient elven magic demonstrated by Serenil, the president of Paradise Bank.

However, the opponent was a far more formidable mage than Serenil.

Clang─!!

While occasionally mixing in leaps as he fled, Khan abruptly turned and swung Draupnir.

But the human-sized icicle didn’t shatter; it pushed Khan back. The Sixth Branch continued to infuse power, ensuring the icicle’s hardness could not be cut by anyone other than a swordmaster.

‘Foolish one!’

The Sixth Branch smirked faintly and invoked another ancient magic. She intended to make the short-lived being pay for daring to disrupt Paradise’s plans.

But her expectations were far off the mark. As Khan was pushed back, locked in a clash between the ancient magic icicle and his sword, he suddenly took a step forward and grabbed the sharp tip of the icicle with his hand.

The Sixth Branch scoffed inwardly at such an act.

He must have thought the magic was only for show and tried to grab it with his hand, but that was a grave mistake. Elf ancient magic encapsulates the very power of nature within its spells.

Touch it carelessly, and he would suffer severe frostbite, and worse, his skin would stick so badly he wouldn’t be able to move.

Bang─!

As if mocking the thoughts of the Sixth Branch, Khan took another step forward and hurled the icicle created by the ancient magic.

“What!”

As she hurled the massive icicle, something that should be impossible for a human to swing, with such ease, the Sixth Branch was momentarily caught off guard. No, the speed was so fast that it was impossible to react.

Crash─!

What saved her at that moment was none other than the Frost Spirit. While pressing the dwarf pirate ship, the Frost Spirit responded to the Sixth Branch’s call and appeared just in time, chomping the thrown icicle with its jaws.

“Freeze that bastard immediately!”

The Sixth Branch’s voice, emboldened by the appearance of the spirit, was filled with rage. The spirit, following its master’s will, shot a concentrated breath of frost in the form of a sphere.

An absolutely deadly blow, invisible and imperceptible without an elf’s senses. The Sixth Branch was confident that this time she could retrieve the stimulant from the gray greenskin.

Crackle!

But, once again, her prediction was wrong. As if mocking her.

『Leap』

Just before the Frost Spirit’s breath touched him, the gray greenskin accelerated explosively and darted out of the range. The breath struck the innocent ground instead, forming an ice path before dissipating, and the Sixth Branch, grinding her teeth in frustration, stomped the ground.

“I’ll tear you apart and feed you to the sea monsters─!”

Even with emotions eroded, her intent to kill and anger remained as vivid as ever, and her eyes were nearly turning inside out. She could hardly control her emotions herself.

‘Why is she doing that?’

Khan, who was deliberately provoking the Sixth Branch with a close escape, murmured as he thought of the red gemstone clenched in his hand.

Elven elders are known for their extreme emotional dullness. Even an elder like Urz, when angry or agitated, never showed such dramatic levels.

But looking at the elder elf chasing him from behind, her emotional swings were so clear that it was questionable whether she was really an elder elf. It was almost akin to a human with anger management issues.

‘Is it the influence of this gemstone?’

Probably.

Khan deduced for himself and then considered whether he was affected by the gemstone and soon confirmed he was not.

‘Then, this gemstone is not just targeting the monster of Sea Dragon Archipelago?’

Who else but a scheming mage. It seemed they pretended to make an item for the monster of Sea Dragon Archipelago while hiding something that would also disrupt the elder elf’s mind.

‘Well, if they fight among themselves, that’s fine by me.’

Thinking that they were a perfectly matched pair for plotting against each other despite being allies, Khan used Leap again.

Boom──!!

With each step he took, Khan created large craters as he moved. With his strength stat over 80, it was certain that very few could keep up with Khan as he deliberately mixed in leaps to flee.

As if to prove this, he left the elven elder far behind.

“Hey, you!”

Khan was called by a familiar voice as he succeeded in escaping to the outskirts of the island.

There was no need to ponder who the owner of the voice was. Khan immediately leaped in an arc, and the wind spirit, hidden in his arms, popped its head out and slowed his speed.

Thud…!

“Ugh-!”

“Damn it! What if you wreck the ship with that reckless jumping?!”

“It’s fine as long as it isn’t wrecked.”

As if previously arranged, Khan was welcomed by his companions when he landed on the dwarf pirate ship. However, things didn’t look all that good on this side either, as Elena approached with a weary expression to update him.

“The elf fleet’s pursuit is quite fierce. As for the spirits’ attacks, mayor Neria has somehow managed to evade them for now.”

“Sea Dragon Archipelago is full of reefs. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t be crashing into them, but if we keep up this pace, we will collide eventually.”

“Prince William is right. By the way, what about Khan…?”

“There was an elven elder. He was burying this on the island.”

Khan skipped over the explanations and revealed that the gemstone affected emotions. At the same time, he observed the crew’s emotional state through Karyan’s eyes but couldn’t find anything unusual.

“Neria, are you alright? This item even enraged the elven elder.”

“I’m fine. It might be because I’m a half-elf.”

She displayed a calm demeanor, suggesting she wasn’t lying just to alleviate their worries.

So, is this stimulant targeted only at the elven elder?

That seemed too narrow of a focus. Creating an item to specifically target an elder would certainly be far more complex than something aimed at an entire race.

‘The item didn’t even have any particular tooltip….’

Time was of the essence. As Khan pondered the Alchemist’s stimulant, he leaped upward, responding to the danger signal of ‘Combat Foresight,’ and swung Draupnir.

Boom……!!

As he barely managed to slice through the incoming black object, a scorching heat wave hit him. The object that exploded as soon as it was cut was none other than a bomb.

‘Even things like this….’

No matter how tough his body was, he couldn’t emerge unscathed from an explosion at point-blank range. Struggling to keep his eyes open through the burns, Khan, using Karyan’s eyes, saw a red aura overwhelming him and swung his sword mid-air again.

Crack─!

The Frost Spirit’s breath split in half and scattered over the sea. Amidst the simultaneous assault of terrible heat and cold on Khan’s body, a beam of light penetrated his body.

“Khan!”

It was Elena. As befitted the genius who became the Goddess’s Scales within a few years, she, who now exhibited divine skills surpassing that of a high priest, was rapidly healing Khan’s body.

“Let’s get out of here first! We’re too outmatched in firepower…! Kyah!”

“Damn it…! We grazed a reef! Everyone, hold on tight!”

Khan, who was slowly descending from the air with the help of the wind spirit, half-opened his eyes that had been healed through holy magic.

He saw the dwarf pirate ship, unable to abandon him, wobbling heavily as it loitered around the same spot.

The sight of this encouraged the elf fleet to speed up their pursuit, while on the island, an elven spirit-user prepared to fly, flapping membranous wings after manifesting a spirit.

‘This isn’t good.’

No matter how he thought about it, breaking through wouldn’t be easy. This was the peril of the sea. Khan, like anyone else, would be powerless if he fell into the water.

‘… What’s he doing?’

At that moment, he spotted Ron, clinging to the deck and staring intently at the sea.

“Ron! What are you doing!”

Elena, who nearly fell due to the ship striking a reef, shouted at the dazed Ron. But Ron’s gaze remained fixed on the sea. One might think he had lost his mind.

But this was Ron they were talking about. His intuition far exceeded even Khan’s ‘Combat Foresight’, so it was wise to trust that he had perceived something.

‘Could it be…!’

Khan’s eyes, half-open, suddenly widened. He landed on the dwarf pirate ship and shouted,

“Steer the ship towards the fleet!”

“What’s that crazy talk?!”

“Do it now─!”

Right after silencing William, who was at the helm, with a sharp command, Khan, holding the red gemstone in his left hand and Draupnir in his right, strode to the ship’s bow.

“Short-lived being─! I will kill you──!!”

“Eek…!”

As the Sixth Branch, fused with the Frost Spirit, approached with eyes rolled back in rage, William sighed and turned the ship’s bow toward the elf fleet.

Whether it resulted in life or death, they followed Khan’s order as Elena had warned.

“Don’t back down! Smash them completely─!”

The reaction of the elf fleet was equally dramatic; seeing the dwarf pirate ship, which had been fleeing all this time, suddenly charge back at them, they accelerated with the intent of colliding. It was an abnormal response, and Khan confirmed their minds were muddled.

It’s the effect of the stimulant.

‘It’s all about exposure time! The longer they’re exposed, the more they’re affected!’

Khan was able to pinpoint the range of influence of the ‘Alchemist’s Stimulant’ immediately. He also became certain that his plan was correct. Just before the dwarf pirate ship carrying his group collided with the forefront of the elf fleet,

“Get away─!”

Khan leaped up and slammed his left hand into the elf fleet’s ship. Utilizing his superhuman strength and the athletic ability of a barbarian to their fullest, he climbed onto the deck.

“A short-lived being! Kill him!”

Seeing him, the elves rolled their eyes and charged at him, and he threw the red gemstone in his left hand at them.

“I’ll return this.”

Then, using Leap with maximum power, he distanced himself.

Right afterward.

Crashshshsh!

A gigantic scaled entity emerged and swallowed the massive ship whole.

And then. The moment Khan, suddenly facing the entity that had devoured the ship, locked eyes with it, he felt a chill down his spine and muttered,

“Dragon…!”

TL’s Corner:
How to tame your dragon?


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