Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 039: The North (2)

“Ugh… This is truly magnificent.”

“You like it that much? I can’t really tell the difference….”

“Jan, you’re good in many ways, but lacking in sensitivity is your problem. Look at this! The smooth finish, the substantial weight, and the perfect balance you feel when you grasp the handle!”

He’s overly excited.

Khan, watching Ron beaming while examining the equipment from the ‘Broken Anvil’, let out a slight chuckle.

After arriving at the town of Ermon, following Feneth, Khan and his group were assigned a large house—presumably the town chief’s—for rest.

‘Well, rest is a bit of an exaggeration. We’re essentially being detained.’

It wasn’t too bad for the group.

While Khan might not have minded, Jan, who was exhausted from unaccustomed riding, and the rest, who had experienced a chase through the Shakywood, needed time to recover their stamina.

“What will you do now? You can’t be planning to just stay like this.”

Without turning, Khan shrugged his shoulders at the woman’s voice from behind.

Maya, who had gone to the bedroom saying she’d catch some sleep, spoke in a voice that seemed freshly awakened.

“The outside is noisy… It’s not normal. Maybe we should move now….”

“How does that concern me?”

“How can you say it doesn’t concern you…?”

Maya laughed in disbelief at Khan’s attitude, as if it were someone else’s problem.

“First off, the intention behind locking us up here is suspicious. There has to be an agenda…”

“I understand your worry, but there’s no need to make a fuss.”

“Making a fuss? Khan, where is this confidence coming from? What if the count brings all his forces?”

“Well, if he doesn’t want to die, he’ll just pay up and send us on our way.”

That’s if the count is in his right mind, Khan thought but kept it to himself.

He didn’t bother explaining further since he didn’t think this whiner would understand.

“Just think of it like this. Let’s rest easy for now, and if they make a move, we can respond then. It’s not us but them who should be panicking.”

With Khan having said this much, Maya decided it was not wise to argue further and retreated quietly.

She figured it would only serve to aggravate him without yielding any productive outcome.

Unable to just sit idly, Maya pulled a chair to the window to keep an eye on the outside. It wasn’t long before a situation arose that she felt needed Khan’s attention.

“Why is that guy here…?”

The dwarf who had vanished with the knights was now striding towards them.

“He’s arrived sooner than expected.”

Maya clicked her tongue as she observed Khan, who had just been sitting in the middle of the room, somehow noticing the dwarf’s arrival without looking out the window.

‘What really is your true identity…’

Maya knew Khan from his ‘Executioner’ days to be formidable, but this was beyond that.

Having sparred with Khan briefly, she was certain. He had become stronger, not just in skill or sensation, but it seemed his monstrous strength had increased even further.

It was something Maya found hard to accept.

No matter how much one trains their body, there are inherent limits to a pure human’s physique.

‘There are tales of pure humans born with an amount of mana in their bodies, possessing the strength of giants but…’

The barbarian of the Frost Gorge were a half-breed race, not blessed by mana. Of course, Maya knew well enough that barbarian, by nature, were as robust as Greenskins.

Even so, overpowering a knight who wields aura? How had he grown so powerful since they last parted in the North!

‘Could he really be a descendant of giants, as that person once said…’

Maya recalled the blabbering of a dim-witted mercenary, shaking her head in discomfort.

“Fine. He’ll figure it out…”

Now, she felt it was best to just observe Khan and follow directions when given. In doing so, without realizing, Khan had influenced Maya to adopt the mindset of a passive observer.

Just then…

Thud.

“What’s this? No knock?”

“I knew it by the sound of footsteps.”

“And you’re not even an elf. What, do you think it’s the sound of goblins casting spells?”

Khan swung the door open wide, welcoming the dwarf inside. Lumbering in with a load larger than his upper body on his back, the dwarf immediately drew all eyes due to his awkward gait.

“What are you staring at? Come and help!”

Seemingly annoyed by the dumbfounded stares, the dwarf angrily handed his load to Ron and then hopped onto a chair with a bounce.

“What’s all this?”

“What do you mean, what? What else would a dwarf bring but gear? Open it up!”

“Gear?!”

Already excited about the ‘Broken Anvil’s gear being of dwarf make, Ron eagerly set the bundle on the ground and started unwrapping it.

“Wow…!”

Ron exclaimed in amazement as he went through the contents.

Inside was a commonly referred-to sword belt, a pair of gauntlets, and a longsword, paired with chainmail dyed in dark gray. Uniquely, there was a black sheath coated as if iron were melted and brushed onto its surface.

“The city’s pretty decent, being close to the mines. Snatched some good gear from the captives and fixed it up a bit. It was a bit rushed, but it should serve well.”

The dwarf’s own admittance of the gear’s quality assured its worth.

Ron, already obsessed with gear from ‘Broken Anvil’, nearly lost his mind, and even Maya, who tried to appear uninterested, couldn’t help but gaze at it.

“The chainmail and gauntlets are for you and that woman warrior there. That brute doesn’t seem to like wearing too much. Give the sword to the flashy swordsman.”

“Me, really…?”

“Do I get something too?”

“Just grab whatever, use it as you wish! It’s not meant to last forever.”

Ron beamed with delight, hurriedly trying on his share of the gear upon the dwarf’s blunt response.

Maya cautiously glanced at Khan but, seeing him nod, she eagerly claimed her gear.

“And you. The brute with absurd strength. You get this belt and sheath. Heard you were to carry that ominous magic sword, right?”

“That’s right.”

“As if not to be mistaken for someone else from the Rift…”

The dwarf incredulously pointed at the Draupnir on Khan’s waist.

“That sword. It’s got something sinister about it. Just keeping it could spell disaster. Not sure why, but you seem to handle it fine, but doing nothing is worse than taking some precaution.”

“The sheath will do that?”

“Yes. The black iron from the Western Great Mountains repels mana. It’s coated inside and out on the sheath, so it should mitigate any mischief from the sword to some extent.”

Considering the feasibility of a mere sheath offering such protection was doubtful, but Khan obediently accepted the sheath and belt from the dwarf.

“A simple spell might even be deflected by the sheath. Anything more will depend on your skill. After all, it’s been smelted with plenty of mana-rich iron from the Western Great Mountains.”

It’s even more valuable than gold of the same weight! You know that? With this revelation, Khan realized why the dwarf was in the shaking woods.

‘It was to create this sheath in the first place. To snap that count out of the Draupnir’s thrall.’

“Use it well.”

It was a sincere wish.

For now, the Draupnir’s mischief was nullified, but who knows for the future? Moreover, a sheath capable of deflecting spells was quite the useful piece of equipment in itself.

“Of course, I have to make good use of it! Threw everything I was saving into it. This is how I set things square.”

“I wasn’t planning on accepting it, but…”

No reason to refuse a gift.

Substituting the hastily obtained sheath from Wagner, Khan slid the Draupnir into the dwarf-made sheath, displaying a content smile.

“The belt goes here with the sword, and the axe over here…”

The dwarf went on to thoroughly explain the correct usage of the belt and offered various tips to Ron and Maya until he was satisfied.

“Looks like that’s enough for the gear… When that swordsman wakes up, pass the sword along.”

“Is that all you needed?”

“What else is there? I’ve got to hurry. Need to pack my bags and run before that dimwit causes more trouble.”

“Run away?”

Jan, who as a mage had no interest in physical gear, asked in surprise.

“Why? Running from whom?”

“Why ask the obvious? It’s Hefeldt. He’s out of his mind right now. I thought he had been getting his act together lately, but the moment things slipped, his old personality showed up again.”

“We should get out of here before we get dragged into trouble.” The dwarf said, with a tone of disapproval, as he twiddled and tidied his bushy beard.

“Well. Considering what I’ve done, it’s more than my life’s worth. It’s about time I left. Never thought I’d get fooled by that guy’s father and end up stuck here for decades.”

“So… you mean to say, Count Hefeldt is likely to act out now, at this moment?”

“That’s how he’s always been. Even in the past, if things didn’t go his way, he’d act all crazy. When his father passed away, he was so unsettled he couldn’t even sleep, so that says it all.”

So you all better watch out too.

Saying this, the dwarf left the town leader’s house with a much lighter step, appearing to revel in his newfound liberty as his figure quickly disappeared.

“……”

“……”

The silence descended upon the room after the dwarf had left.

The trouble that was likely to ensue seemed all but confirmed through the dwarf’s words.

“This is pretty handy. It can even fit a dagger.”

Only Khan seemed unfazed, having believed from the start that everything would be manageable.

“We might need to wake up Diego, who’s passed out inside.”

“Even so… we have a warrior here, don’t we? Surely they wouldn’t attack?”

“Considering what the dwarf said about the count… We should probably expect it.”

Ron sighed as he glanced at Khan, who was, after all, the centerpiece of this gathering.

Whether that was fortunate or not remained to be seen.

“No need to watch me. I was planning to move anyway. Let’s go wake up Diego.”

“As expected! I was counting on you, brother!”

With a clatter, Ron, as if only waiting for those words, hurriedly darted to the room where Diego was asleep.

“So, what exactly are we planning? You don’t mean to… bury the count in the ground, do you?”

“If need be.”

Jan’s face went pale at Khan’s indifferent remark.

Having accompanied Khan so far, and experiencing firsthand that if Khan decides on something, it usually happens, Jan’s reaction was somewhat expected.

‘And here I thought we were getting a break!’

“It seems like the warriors of the frost valley are all crazy for fights.” Jan thought to himself that the saying must indeed be true.

After all, everything he had seen while with Khan amounted to ‘problem arises, solve with force’.

The puzzling fact was, most problems did indeed get resolved when Khan stepped in with force.

‘If there’s enough strength… maybe there’s no need to use one’s head? Could it be, my master wanted me to learn this by sending me with the warrior?’

Jan was dizzy with thoughts. His mage’s logic was crumbling in the face of shallow experience versus the stark reality.

‘Alright. Then, according to the warrior, let’s bury the count’s head first…! I’ll worry about whether it’s right or wrong later…!’

If Jerome, Jan’s master, knew of these thoughts, he would have facepalmed and urgently called him back to the mage tower.

“What the… What’s happening all of a sudden.”

“Don’t grumble. Your weapon is here, too. It’s even made by a dwarf!”

“Dwarf-made?”

With Diego’s joining in, the group finished their preparations to leave.

Maya’s hand already on her spear’s shaft seemed ready to fight, while Jan, under some delusion, was selectively going through useful spells in his robe.

Even Ron, exhilarated by the dwarf-made equipment, was huffing with anticipation.

‘Why are they like this.’

Khan scratched the back of his head in slight annoyance at the sight of his companions, eager for a fight without being prompted.

Have these mad ones been bedark mageed by some fallen barbarian warrior into seeking fights?…

‘As if to prove they’re not from the Middle Ages. Violent, every single one.’

With a light click of his tongue, Khan turned and reached for the doorknob. As he pushed the door open and saw something unexpected, Khan froze momentarily.

“You are…….”