Barbarian in a Failed Game

The number of dwarves easily exceeds ten thousand, even excluding the scattered dwarf pirates. And the enormous ship that accommodates such a vast number of dwarves is none other than Gigantus.

Hence, dwarves do not classify Gigantus simply as a ship.

It is a massive floating settlement, with a gigantic residential area where tens of thousands can lead their daily lives. There’s also a production area dedicated to the dwarves, most of whom are master craftsmen. Surrounding these areas is the combat zone equipped with magitech cannons that even the empire acknowledges as superior in naval battles.

With all these elements present, calling Gigantus a mere ‘ship’ because it sails the sea felt excessively reductive to the dwarves; they often referred to it as:

The Floating Fortress Gigantus.

Boom─! Crash……!

Gigantus was ablaze.

“That’s impossible! Gigantus is made from material that doesn’t burn…!”

William, who spoke these words, looked ready to jump off the ship any moment if no one stopped him. The sight of Gigantus, the pride of the dwarves, crumbling was enough to unhinge him.

“Those ships. They look just like the elf fleet we encountered at Sea Dragon Archipelago!”

At that moment, Ron, who had been observing Gigantus with narrowed eyes, pointed towards the ships surrounding Gigantus.

As he said, the ships approaching Gigantus were made from the trees of Paradise, not dwarven craftsmanship. However, their scale was vastly different from those at Sea Dragon Archipelago.

Even a rough estimate showed dozens of them. When counted precisely, the number of elf ships easily exceeded a hundred, clearly indicating who was behind this assault.

“Those damn elves!”

“W-Wait! Jumping off won’t help…! If you’re going, take the ship!”

“Shut up! I’m going to crack those bastards’ skulls-.”

“Prince William. Take a closer look. Gigantus isn’t actually burning.”

About to shout at Elena for what he thought was nonsense, William hesitated when he met her calm eyes. He then turned again to inspect Gigantus’s condition.

“It’s true…?”

Thanks to closing the distance, William could clearly see that Gigantus was in better condition than expected.

But what about the flames? What were those towering, vivid flames above Gigantus?

“The spirits… are screaming!”

Then, like someone witnessing a horrific crime scene, the half-elf Neria covered her mouth and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Help us-. No, kill us…! It’s not just one, but three of them mixed together─.”

“Calm down.”

Thud.

A large hand was placed on Neria’s shoulder, who was evidently unaware of the words she was uttering.

“I get the gist of what you’re saying.”

Khan slowly pushed past his companions and leaned against the railing. When elves and mages work together, they create truly monstrous things.

‘Spirits mixed together.’

At least three.

Or rather, three spirits with particularly noticeable presence. Including the lower-grade spirits, at least hundreds of them seemed melded together like dough.

Whenever the mass of spirits moved its formless body, flames spread out like a carpet along its path. This was the fire William had seen.

“Indeed, enduring such flames suggests it could withstand dragon’s breath as well. Natrix.”

“No one can withstand a dragon’s breath. However, it seems that horrid entity would not be affected.”

Natrix acknowledged the impossibility for a simple reason.

“You can’t burn something that has no physical form. Moreover, it looks like it might eventually extinguish itself if left alone.”

That formless mass of spirits was like a wax candle. Melting away in the flames until it finally consumed its own existence to the very end and extinguished itself.

“The problem is we can’t just wait until that happens.”

“Holy magic can hold it back for a while.”

Elena looked up at the sky, adding more explanation.

“But the duration won’t be long. Strangely, the goddess’s gaze doesn’t reach around Gigantus….”

“The energy emitted by the core of Gigantus must be the cause. Apostle of the gods. The power of a transcendent repels another transcendent’s power.”

『Shroud yourselves.』

Answering Elena’s question, Natrix promptly activated her draconic command. An invisible barrier enveloped the group.

“As long as you don’t drift far from me or unless I die, the draconic command will prevent the flames from reaching you. It might be a bit painful, but it’s better than being burned alive.”

“Hurry! We need to help those spirits!”

Neria gripped her ‘Neria’s Magic Awl’, which she had regained for this journey, and leaped. Khan shot a glance at William, who took control of the helm with urgent action to steer the ship towards Gigantus.

“Oh no…! They’re firing from over there!”

William urgently swerved the ship. Just as the warning reached the group, a magitech cannon wreathed in flames emitted a brilliant burst.

Bang──!!

“Cease your nonsense!”

The deafening explosion shook even the air, overlapped with Natrix’s angry roar. In an instant, a blast occurred right before their eyes.

“Ugh!”

The explosion was so powerful that it made everyone’s ears ring. However, it wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the large wings that had spread out in an instant.

“Advance.”

Natrix, in her human form but with wings extended from her back, commanded with authority. William, who had been crouching in shock, quickly got up and resumed steering the ship towards Gigantus.

“If the cannons are moving, then the inside must be in better condition than we thought, right?!”

“They’re shooting at approaching ships—! If anyone was inside, they’d have targeted us—! This shows the cannons are operating automatically!”

“What kind of cannon moves by itself?”

“Less complaining, and hold on tight, you idiot mercenary!”

The magitech cannons, not satisfied with just one shot, continued to blaze. Although Natrix’s wings blocked the damage, the ship couldn’t avoid shaking from the blasts.

With every scrap of wrecked elf fleet they passed, the number of magitech cannons aiming to intercept them increased.

“This is chaos…!”

Despite the ship’s precarious shaking, it did not capsize thanks to something beyond William’s skilled navigation.

“How are you doing this?”

A small fairy circled Khan. The wind spirit was constantly maintaining balance whenever the ship was in danger of tipping, creating gusts to stabilize them.

Khan had only thought of it as providing a simple agility buff, but it was now showcasing a level of control that was keeping their perilous voyage steady.

“Just a bit more. Hang in there.”

Pretending to tweak the fairy’s nose, Khan slowly made his way to the front of the ship.

“What are you planning?”

Natrix asked as Khan moved, and he answered with a smirk.

“What do you think?”

With a brief pause to gauge the distance to Gigantus, Khan stepped forward and spoke.

“Smash it.”

Thunk──!

With Khan’s powerful step, the prow of the dwarf pirate ship dipped into the ocean, only to be steadied by Natrix’s power.

As everyone turned their heads back to the front, suppressing the nausea from the turbulent motion, their eyes widened in shock and amazement.

“Is that really a human…?”

Khan had lept over the seemingly insurmountable web of cannon fire, and was now uprooting a magitech cannon as large as a troll with his bare hands, hurling it aside.

***

Crunch. Crunch!

Once they had made landfall, the automated cannons were no match for Khan. Within minutes, Khan had uprooted and destroyed all the cannons targeting their ship, turning his attention towards the interior of Gigantus.

“Magnificent.”

The exclamation referred to both the sight seen with his own eyes and through Karyan’s eyes.

Who could have imagined seeing the sight of a massive, flame-engulfed mechanical fortress in a medieval fantasy world?

The fact that the flames were created by a bizarre entity formed from a mixture of spirits made it even more horrifying.

“Here. Blessing of the gods.”

At that moment, the party members, who had brought their ship close to Gigantus, disembarked one by one, while Elena performed a miracle through her holy magic.

It was the ‘Blessing of Flame Shield’.

“With the draconic command from the sea dragon, you should be able to withstand it longer than my initial expectations.”

“Understood. And… prioritize protecting the priest if you don’t want to burn to death. I’ll take the lead in combat.”

“Of course. It’s not like I want to jump in and fight out there.”

Despite his seemingly complaining words, Ron held his enchanted hammer with determined eyes, showing he was ready to risk his life if necessary. Khan gave him a faint smile, then turned to Neria.

“Neria said she’s fine. And if it gets critical, she’ll use that.”

“Don’t hesitate to use it. Don’t try to endure just to help us.”

“Of course, that’s the plan. I’m too young to die just yet, right?”

Though it was hardly a statement for someone who had likely lived several times longer than an ordinary human, Khan knew it was Neria’s way of joking and shrugged it off.

“Natrix, conserve your strength as much as possible. We don’t know when we might need your power.”

“For now, I’ll comply. But if it seems impossible to manage, I will take action based on my judgment.”

“You may do as you see fit in that regard.”

It was the last moment they had for conversation.

Uncertain of what awaited inside Gigantus, Khan quickly conveyed the battle plans.

“Hey─! Over there…!”

From the inner part of the combat area, William, with an incredulous look, pointed towards something he had spotted.

The fortress city of the dwarves, combining the essence of magitech and the unique craftsmanship of their race, resembled a city from a steampunk world.

Tall buildings and numerous mechanical devices filled the urban landscape, making it difficult to see what was happening deeper inside, much like how modern buildings obscure the view.

At this very moment, all those countless buildings started to melt away at once. In the midst of the melting structures, a mage with mechanical arms and legs clicked his mechanical eyes, from which red light emanated.

Khan instantly recognized who the figure was.

A mage on par with the Saboteur who had operated as the imperial spy, a pioneer in alchemy who had created homunculi, constantly producing vicious creations that plagued players,

‘The Alchemist…!’

The alchemist, who had melted the dwarven fortress city with some unknown elixir, greeted them while holding the head of an elven elder, who had lost all reason, shaking it like a toy.

“Well, well, unexpected guests have arrived.”