Barbarian in a Failed Game

003. Barbarians of the North (3)

[Midland Quest]

With a vast map and a story so long it borders on verbose, a myriad of character builds to intower the drive to conquer, and a hardcore level of difficulty,

this was the name of a game that, thanks to its features heavily catered to the desires of Korean gamers for strategy and challenge, caused quite a stir for a time.

‘I too was seriously into it back in the day….’

It would not be an exaggeration to say he had burned through his college years with this game.

Finding this game once again as a man in his thirties was the result of an impromptu announcement of an expansion pack.

New races only selectable in the expansion pack, new quests, new endings… words that wildly ignited his desire to strategize had him clicking the purchase button without hesitation.

‘If I can beat others to strategizing and post proof, that would make it worth the money spent.’

That was indeed what he once sincerely thought.

Now, thrown into the world of the game, he wishes he could slap his past self across the face. It was, after all, among the choices he regretted the most in his thirty-some life.

Unfortunately… Skipping the story wasn’t the only mistake in his past.

Race selection.

Three races were added in the expansion pack. Elves, Dwarves, and Barbarians, each with distinctly clear advantages and disadvantages.

Elves, a long-lived race capable of summoning special entities known as spirits, with generally high stats across the board.

Dwarves, unique for their ability to craft their own gear and create peculiar items through a special skill known as “Magical Engineering.”

And then there were Barbarian warriors, lacking race-specific skills but unbeatable in sheer stats.

‘Elves seem too mainstream with too many enemies… Dwarves lack flair… So that leaves Barbarian warriors as the only option.’

Hmm, Barbarian warriors.

He delved into his past memories.

‘They were the only human race without mana, but known for their incredible physical strength, right? Probably.’

His uncertainty came from the fact that Barbarians were a rarer choice compared to Elves or Dwarves.

Initially, their homeland of Frost Gorge was situated at the very northern edge of the Midland, and their brute nature often led to early demise.

‘Let’s see… Skill costs health? Must be because they lack mana.’

The racial bonus stated that strength would increase by one upon leveling up, an incredibly overpowered trait. Moreover, combat skills gained proficiency faster, and the rank of each acquired skill was upgraded by default….

‘That’s ridiculously strong.’

Essentially, this was starting with double the strength stats and a cheat for skill proficiency. With this, it seemed like Barbarian warriors were uniquely overpowered, but was the balance right?

It must mean that spirits and Magical Engineering were just that overpowered, he speculated, and without hesitation, chose the Barbarian warrior.

‘But… weren’t Barbarians treated like trash?’

Human meat shields, the most exploited NPC, the best NPC to use and discard without repercussions, human Orcs, morons…

Such were the nicknames given to Barbarian warriors among players, sadly, they were treated even worse among the NPCs.

‘Well, the merit is clear anyway. The initial character setup is…’

[Level 1]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 9]

[Health: 11]

[Intelligence: 2]

The stats were jaw-dropping.

Considering ‘human’ characters start with all stats fixed at 5, intelligence was a stat he could afford to neglect anyway since it related to mana and magic.

‘Next is appearance…’

The default appearance for male barbarian was a tall figure, about one and a half times bigger than other characters, with muscular arms and calves as big as a human head.

Gray eyes and ash-gray skin were quite distinctive, blending well with an… not just wild, but a ferocious face.

‘If there was a mature mode available, that would have been something.’

He jokingly thought about the implications while deciding to stick with the default appearance.

And he was granted two basic skills to start with.

[Swing (F) – 00%]

─ Consume health to swing with greater force. Weapon durability decreases.

[Ancient Bloodline (B) – 00%]

─ Level-up bonus, Strength +1

─ The native rank of combat skills increases by one level permanently.

The former was just slightly better than a basic attack skill while the latter was a character trait of the Barbarian warrior.

After choosing the skills, the backstory of the Barbarian warrior was next, but he scrolled down without reading. What use would knowing that be?

When the final decision button was activated, he pressed it without any hesitation.Immediately afterward,

“From this moment, the Trial of the Warrior begins───!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!”

He had become a barbarian warrior, Gordi Khan.

[Act 0, The Trial of the Warrior]

─A tradition of the northern Frost Gorge. Pass the Trial of the Warrior.

─Failure results in game over.

“Darn it. That shitty memory again……”

While enjoying a bath under the night sky, Khan’s face contorted at the sudden resurgence of an unpleasant memory.

Falling asleep only to dream a nightmare, it seems his guard had been let down due to a much-needed break.

‘The Trial of the Warrior.’

Even now, it was a dreadful memory.

Imagine, a man in his thirties, suddenly dropped into a place reminiscent of the Himalayas, forced to compete with muscular men.

And the content was creatively miserable.

Thrust into Frost Gorge with nothing but your skin, survive the fortnight, wrestle a Frost Gorge Orc—far stronger than ordinary orcs—and win, or subdue a Frost Gorge wolf that could even eat tigers with your strength…

How he managed to survive was a wonder even to himself.

If anything, it was thanks to the barbarian’s abnormally rugged physique and constantly becoming stronger through leveling up.

[Level 24]

[Strength: 58] +1

[Agility: 32] +2

[Stamina: 34] +2

[Intelligence: 2]

In ‘Midland Quest’, each level up awards three stat points.

The character’s build determines the arbitrary distribution of points, but for barbarian, strength, agility, and stamina each increased by one.

As a barbarian warrior, there’s an additional strength bonus from the racial perk, which accounted for these numbers.

‘I do want to surpass 60, though…’

At level 24, he was transitioning from the early to mid-phase of the game.

Conventionally, one could rush main quests to level up or solidify their foundation through various side quests before easily completing main quests.

Either way, completing quests was the correct path to growth. However-

‘I just don’t feel like doing quests because they’re annoying.’

The game’s quests fundamentally focused on ‘saving the world’, requiring the player character to risk their life constantly battling insane monsters like dragons, demons, and giants.

Not to mention, frequent quests involved mediating or directly ending wars even among humans.

‘Why the hell should I do that?’

Was that even a reasonable request? Even with a body that could smash rocks with a punch, he was still just an ordinary man in his thirties with a bit of a belly.

A commoner whose only good deed was giving up his seat on the bus isn’t meant to save the world…

Being dragged into a messed-up other world and obediently accepting quests to ‘Please save the world, brave hero.’, was something only a protagonist with a head full of flowers in novels could do.

‘A potbellied uncle like me is perfectly suited to be an extra.’

Thus, Khan’s goal was simple.

Survival and return to Earth.

His pursuit of the relics of the mythic era served the same purpose.

“It seems hopeless, though……”

‘Maybe it’s time to get up.’

Creak-

The wooden bath strained under the weight of the barbarian, letting out a scream.

Khan gently tapped the tub as if to say it had done a good job, then started to don his equipment again.

“My lord. Shall I prepare the meal right away?”

“Mm. Bring something hearty.”

Just then, a messenger rushed over and deftly handed him a soft cloth.

Judging by how unasked questions regarding the meal were promptly addressed, it seemed like the innkeeper had been emphatically instructed to milk him for all he was worth. Perhaps it was because he had generously tipped for the bathwater earlier?”What’s good is good, after all.”

“Over here! Please take a seat here, my lord!”

Guided by an excessively friendly attendant, Khan requested alcohol before food.

It was an oddly thirsty night. He found himself reminiscing the past. Perhaps it was because the stars in the night sky, dim and faint, resembled those of Earth.

“Here is your beer!”

As soon as the lukewarm beer went down his throat, Khan grimaced.

“It’s disgustingly bland.”

There was nothing to be done about it.

Getting to drink a cold beer whenever one wanted was a luxury not even the most noble could easily afford.

It was possible with magic. However, mages, being a prideful bunch, often hesitated to waste their magic on what they considered trivialities.

To request the use of magic for a cold beer, one would likely only earn derision unless there was a significant power discrepancy.

“Ah, back in the east, a mere request would suffice. How I miss it.”

Soon after, Khan’s face twisted horribly as he stuffed the food served by the attendant into his mouth.

“Damn, this tastes horrible.”

No wonder he didn’t want to return to Earth. Khan rekindled his desire to return as he vacuumed up the dishes.

“You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Do you always eat like this? Is it because of your size?”

As silky brown hair curtained her face, Khan merely nodded, confirming her identity without a word.

A familiar face.

The curious female mage who had traveled with him from the eastern kingdom to the western lands of the Count of Chernov.

Recognizing her, Khan focused back on his meal.

Chomp, chomp.

“Ah. I didn’t expect to be ignored. Didn’t we get along well?”

“When eating, one should not even disturb a dog.”

“Is that a proverb from the Frostlands?”

“Something like that.”

“One can’t be worse than a dog. Well, I’ll wait until you’re done eating then.”

He wished she would just leave. Instead of voicing this thought, Khan concentrated on devouring his meal. At least outwardly.

‘She’s within arm’s reach. Last time, her spellcasting was quick, and the power, average… Not sure about her shield, though.’

Considering the worst-case scenario, he visualized a battle with her in his mind.

Having awakened in this barbaric world, his encounters with mages had rarely ended well.

‘It shouldn’t be too difficult.’

It wasn’t until after he had finished eating and settled all accounts that Khan spoke.

“So. What do you want?”

“Hmm. So formal… I thought you’d at least offer a drink.”

Seemingly annoyed by his reluctance to beat around the bush, Khan made a motion to rise from his chair—a clear sign he wanted her to cut to the chase.

“Alright! Alright! You’re in such a hurry…”

Her pouting looked somewhat cute but Khan remained unmoved. What did it matter if she was pretty? She was still a mage.

“Here! Bring two beers and something to munch on!”

“Oh. You’re buying?”

“Normally, it’s the one who feels inferior who pays. And I am far from feeling inferior.”

“Eek.”

She shot him a glare.

‘So what?’

Khan couldn’t care less. As mentioned, she was a mage.

Finally, after paying for a snack and two beers, she managed to sit him down at the table.

“You’re nothing like the barbarian I imagined. Quite the slitherer.”

“People are not all the same. Now, what’s the persistent reason you’re sticking around for?”

“Hmm. Before we get to that, may I confirm one thing?”

Khan nodded in response, not intending to drag out the conversation with a cunning mage.

And then… her subsequent words hardened Khan’s expression.

“If my guess is correct, you’re that person, right? The barbarian whom the Witch of Loren desperately seeks…”

“Stop.”

Khan attempted to silence her, conscious of the onlookers, but she smirked and inevitably let slip a certain name.

A nickname he never thought he’d hear in the west.

“Ogre Slayer. That’s you, isn’t it?”