Barbarian in a Failed Game

“Oh, my, my… If it swings its arm one more time, the Karius Sea will split in half.”

The alchemist, now the only human on the vast Gigantus, kicked aside the corpse of the Second Branch, which had perished along with the annihilated mixed spirit, and laughed maniacally.

Truly an ancient being. A single swing of its arm had cleaved the Karius Sea, said to be more extensive than the North Sea between Northland and Midland.

And this wasn’t even its full power. Thus far, “Desegonos’s Right Hand” had only restored the hand and wrist. In terms of its overall body proportion, it was merely one-tenth of its original form.

Yet, it could alter the world’s geography in an instant?

“A divine miracle, or perhaps a blunder.”

Though the knowledge and spells bestowed by the Apostle of Truth played a significant part, along with the materials gained from melting Gigantus, it was the alchemist who had brought this monster to life. Even he was horrified by its might.

In the ancient past, such monsters reportedly roamed in their full form.

Dragons that defeated giants and demons who rivaled the gods and carved out sub-dimensions known as hells—all these played their parts in the chaos of the ancient continent. The scenarios were clear without having to see them.

No wonder the geography changed daily, and nations vanished constantly.

‘How did the humans of that era manage to maintain any empire? It’s mind-boggling.’

Could humans have a chance against such a being? The alchemist knew with certainty that it was impossible. Even thousands or tens of thousands of the continent’s superhumans couldn’t handle one fully-restored giant.

Yet, the ancient humans had wrested control of the continent from these transcendent beings. Moreover, the mages of the Council of Truth, the predecessor of the Followers of Truth, had left records of capturing transcendent beings alive for human experimentation.

‘Initially, I thought it might be an exaggeration….’

It was normal for records to be simplified or slightly exaggerated over time. Among the few Seekers favored by the Apostle, those entitled to read the documents of the Council of Truth had concluded that more than half of the content was likely untrue.

That belief didn’t change even after the Apostle commanded them to revive the giant.

‘But now, I can’t help but believe it.’

Seeing the destruction wrought by Desegonos’s Right Hand changed his mind.

Usually, the reaction would be, ‘They captured such insane creatures alive for experiments? That’s utter nonsense!’

But the alchemist was also a mage, and mages were creatures of logic. To deny what he had seen with his own eyes would disqualify him as a mage.

“Replacing the flesh with the power of alchemy, imprinting that entity’s form onto the world with spells… And if you install a power source to replace the giant’s heart, the transcendent being will crave life….”

Perfect─!

Clap, clap, clap.

The alchemist, in a deserted and lifeless place where no one else was left, applauded while praising the ‘certain entity’ who had devised this enigmatic spell.

Though the spell itself had been provided by the Apostle of Truth, there was no doubt that the originator was an ancient archmage. No matter how great the Apostle, it would be impossible to devise a spell to resurrect an ancient giant, something never seen before.

“Ah… I almost forgot your contributions. It’s thanks to you that the existence of a transcendent being could be clearly recognized.”

Tired of his own mad praises to the ancient archmage in an empty setting, the alchemist spoke into the air and laughed as he turned around.

“I almost ended up as ashes before witnessing the completion of the grand project.”

“Wasn’t it that parasitic tree that saved you? Kur’gel.”

“Oh, come on. It was thanks to you securing the core of Gigantus in time that the mixed spirit still had value. Your actions were what allowed me to escape death. I owe you my life, Queen of Lesser Dragons.”

As the alchemist turned, there stood a woman who seemed to embody the darkness of the night sky.

Even the elves who perished in making this Gigantus their tomb paled in comparison to her perfect appearance. She exuded the elegance of a noble lady through her flawless posture, though her hands were stained with blood.

“Queen? I am far from such a grand title. And didn’t I ask you to call me Mrs. Roswell? Kur’gel.”

“How could I, to someone who has achieved the resurrection of ancient dragons? Moreover, the Apostle considers you his equal. Without your research on transcendent beings, the idea of resurrecting an ancient giant would have been unthinkable.”

“I merely fulfilled his request. Please, let’s drop the excessive courtesy.”

“Well, if you insist.”

Her true identity was none other than Mrs. Roswell, an alias for the one who had resurrected the golden dragon Aereolus in the Argon Kingdom.

“Though I must say, calling you ‘Mrs.’ feels a bit odd. Do you have a significant other I’m unaware of? Ah, is that question too forward?”

The alchemist shrugged before Mrs. Roswell, who responded with nothing but a smile.

Even among lesser dragons, wyverns, and hydra-like creatures, drakes were formidable enough to make them pale in comparison. The reason why a drake was operating under the alias “Mrs. Roswell” and taking human form was beyond understanding.

However, it was clear that her presence greatly benefitted the Followers of Truth. That had to be why the Apostle of Truth had valued and dispatched her to this place.

“By the way, what did you do with the dwarf king’s body? If we need to directly move Gigantus to Sea Dragon Archipelago, we’d need the hammer the dwarf king carries…. But the hammer seems to be missing.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to secure it. Nor did I get hold of the Rebel King.”

“Oh dear, what happened?”

“Would it sound like an excuse if I said the resistance was fiercer than I anticipated?”

“Ah… Well, the legacy of the Leonora Dynasty, which has history intertwined with the ancient empire, is bound to have such capabilities. They couldn’t protect the core of Gigantus and fled for their lives, so there’s nothing to regret.”

The parasitic tree seems to desire the hammer, but it isn’t essential for resurrecting the giant. The alchemist laughed, waving off her oversight.

“So, it’s just a matter of waiting now. The core of Gigantus won’t provide nearly enough energy for a complete resurrection. The transcendent element of the giant will begin to seek out sustenance on its own. It will soon be drawn to the scent of the stimulants buried with the remains of another giant in Sea Dragon Archipelago.”

***

Gasp.

Regaining consciousness while vomiting out the water filling his lungs, Khan hastily helped his companions empty their own stomachs. After finally shaking awake the dwarf William, he took stock of where they had ended up.

‘Looks like we’ve washed up on some island.’

He remembered the moment they had been engulfed by a massive water blast, which had shot up to the sky from the giant’s right arm, recreating a physical version of Moses’ miracle. The last thing he recalled was losing consciousness after being hit by the reverse tidal wave.

Thankfully, Natrix had protected them, sparing them from serious injury—

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m fine… I want to say that, but it’s hard to call this normal. Feels like my heart’s been squeezed.”

It was apparent that Natrix had exhausted much of her energy in protecting them. She had already reverted to human form, likely to recover the expended strength.

“Stop looking at me like that. We need to take out that fake arm.”

Khan’s gaze turned in the same direction as Natrix’s. There, the giant’s right hand had grown even larger in the brief interval.

‘Soon, it’ll grow up to the elbow.’

On the other hand, Gigantus appeared significantly diminished, more so than before. It was evident that it lacked the materials to fully restore the giant’s body.

Khan deduced that this would prompt the giant to move in search of the remaining materials.

“If we head to Sea Dragon Archipelago, we can completely destroy that fake.”

“No. That’s precisely what they’re likely counting on, so we can’t do that.”

Khan dismissed Natrix’s proposal to regroup and fight at full strength. He had a sense of what the Tree of Memory intended by expending the elf elder and leaving behind the crimson gem.

‘There’s something in Sea Dragon Archipelago that can fully resurrect the giant.’

The alchemist’s stimulant was meant to lure the resurrected giant to Sea Dragon Archipelago. But their plan had gone awry from the start. Given that these enemies were adept at manipulation, breaking the gem could unleash unforeseen consequences.

‘It was wise to tuck it away in Aecharis’s pouch.’

“Hey, Khan. It looks like William has found something. You should check it out.”

Ron, who had gone off to search for scattered equipment with William, returned alone.

Khan asked Natrix to keep an eye on the giant and followed Ron along the shoreline. Before long, he spotted William, beating another dwarf into the ground.

“You little bastard! How dare you betray the royal family that took you in!”

“Ahhk! Ugh…! Get off me─! I’m the king of dwarves…!”

“Die! DIE!”

“Oh, Prince William! Please calm down for a moment!”

While Ron restrained William, who was on the verge of killing someone, Khan’s frown deepened as he recognized the battered dwarf. What was he doing here?

“…Dwarf king?”

“Y-Yes! I am the King of Dwarves! If you’ve got any sense, you’d show proper re─! Eugh!”

Khan set aside the mystery of why the rebel king, thought to be dead like the other dwarves missing from Gigantus, was here on the same island. Instead, he picked up the pitiful king, shaking him like a wet dog.

Plop.

When the ‘hammer’ fell onto the sandy beach, a smile spread across Khan’s face again.

“The treasure rolled right into us.”

“That’s mine…!”

Ignoring the rebel king’s outburst, Khan handed him back to William and examined the hammer’s item information. He found a key detail that could turn the situation in their favor.

Control rights over Gigantus.

‘With this, it just might work.’

“Did you find a way out of this? Any brilliant plan to get rid of that giant…?!”

Ron, noticing the sudden brightness in Khan’s expression, asked with a hopeful tone, and Khan shook his head.

“It’s even better. But I’ll need your guide skills for this, Ron.”

“Why all of a sudden—”

“I’m planning to deliver that giant as a whole.”

The plan was simple. Khan would board Gigantus with the hammer. Using the hammer’s control rights, he would seize Gigantus. Then, he planned to steer Gigantus straight into Paradise.

As he explained up to that point, Ron’s face turned pale, and he looked at Khan with a pitiful expression that said, ‘You can’t be serious.’

With the same wicked grin he always wore when he was about to mess with someone, Khan confirmed Ron’s worst fears.

“Next time, I’ll give you a grand title like Dragon Knight Ron instead of Guide Ron.”

TL’s Corner:
Dragon Knight Ron!!!