Barbarian in a Failed Game

『Act 5, Horn of War』

─If failed, the Empire will completely lose its influence over the southwestern continent.

─As a reward for clearing Act 4’s main quest, the difficulty is being altered.

─Due to unauthorized intervention, the quest has been cleared. Rewards are being modified.

─Current difficulty: Nightmare

─The new difficulty is Hell.

─This is a difficulty level where clearance is impossible. Rewards are being enhanced.

─A new ending is being unlocked.

***

It was no longer a realm one could call a mortal’s strike.

With just a single swing of a hammer, he had turned the massive arm of the giant, which seemed like a towering column to the heavens, into a torrent of blood.

Boom—!!

With the sound of an explosion, golden liquid gushed out like a waterfall.

The giant’s blood that poured onto the land of Paradise formed rivers. This signified that all the liquid metal constituting its body had reverted to its original state, which meant—

『Level Up!』

—the giant’s complete death.

As if to confirm this once again, with the level-up message, Khan’s body underwent another transformation.

『Level: 37』

『Strength: 84』

『Agility: 45』

『Stamina: 47』

『Intelligence: 2』

Including equipment bonuses and the buffs activated during battle, all stats except intelligence exceeded 50.

The agility and endurance, which felt lacking compared to the absurdly high strength stat, were now elevated to a level no longer considered weaknesses.

‘Although my strength has ridiculously increased, so has the skill cost… However, the cost reduction option from the mark and my adequate stamina.’

At this level, I wouldn’t say I’m a glass cannon.

Still, there are regrets.

Perhaps because the Tree of Memories was the one to finish off the already dying giant, despite the difficulty of filling the experience bar, leveling up just once seems a bit underwhelming.

Considering it was a resurrected ancient giant, leveling up only filled just over 20% of the experience bar? It’s not like these kinds of prey beg to be killed every day…

While encountering monsters like these constantly would be disastrous, Khan licked his lips, feeling the loss of a power-leveling opportunity.

‘From this point, the difficulty of leveling will increase by tenfold.’

Grr.

At that moment, Khan lowered his gaze to the sound beneath his feet.

“What is it?”

The source of the sound was the wind spirit, transformed into a wolf with two tails. Originally in fairy form, the spirit now acted like a puppy, seemingly influenced by its new appearance.

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

Naturally, there was no way Khan could understand, and as he pondered alone over what this nonsense meant, his brows furrowed upon seeing the wolf’s form gradually fade.

“You, your appearance—”

Just as Khan was about to question what was happening, an overwhelming sensation enveloped his feet. Shortly afterward, Khan’s body sank into the river of liquid metal that had formed on the Land of Paradise.

Splash!

The colossal 2-meter frame plummeted downward, creating a high splash.

“Hey!”

Ron, who had landed on the ground for the first time in a long while with the help of the Tree of Paradise’s first branch, Skadi, screamed in a shrill voice. Was Khan passing out again after exerting all his power like the last time?

“Do not enter. The flow feels strange.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“Exactly as I said.”

Ron, who had not only experienced high-speed flight on Natrix but also actively managed his intuition for the first time, was already mentally and physically exhausted.

As he attempted to dive into the river of the giant’s blood, Natrix stopped him. She explained that Khan wasn’t dead but rather occupied with something inside.

“Occupied with what…?”

A human’s eyes could not see what was happening underwater, but a dragon’s eyes were different. Natrix, reverted back to her smaller human form, had her eyes stretched vertically.

‘He’s manipulating the blood. The source of that power lies in the false heart positioned in his right chest?’

She instantly realized what Khan was doing. Controlling blood and filling another heart with it. And not just any blood, but the liquid metal that had once been part of the resurrected giant’s body.

‘It might not compare to the real giant’s blood…’

There was one fact she didn’t bother explaining to Ron.

‘Even if fake, it’s too powerful for a mortal to contain.’

In ancient times, countless madmen thought they could gain power by merging with the bodies of transcendent beings. But none succeeded.

Instead, the power overflowed, overwhelming them, leading to self-destruction, proving that such power wasn’t meant for them. So, rationally, it made sense to pull Khan out of there.

Rationally, that is.

“…He carries the blood of Karyan. He must have a plan for doing this.”

“No, stop making cryptic remarks. Explain it in detail…!”

“Instead of wasting time on pointless worries, focus on what’s left to be done.”

“Something to do? Everything’s finished, what else…?”

At that question, Natrix moved her short fingers to point somewhere, and as Ron turned his head to follow the direction, he instinctively straightened his posture.

“The first branch… It’s true.”

“What has become of the Tree of Memories!”

The place Natrix pointed to. From the spot where the Tree of Memories had been preparing its ritual for evolution, elves who had survived the chaos began to emerge one by one.

“The spirits aren’t listening. What’s going on!”

“Those short-lived ones must have done something! They appeared from above!”

“They’re the ones who crashed that damned Gigantis into our Paradise…!”

And they were all confused.

Naturally so.

The Tree of Memories had never hidden its ambition to become a divine being, and the elves served it as if it really were their race’s God.

That influence didn’t disappear even after the Tree of Memories was destroyed inside Khan’s mind.

“Fight! Avenge him!”

“Drive the short-lived ones from Paradise! No, tear them to pieces—!”

Confusion soon turned to rage. Their misplaced devotion fueled that anger.

“These damn long-ears are always like this…!”

It was at that moment, when the dwarven king, the person who had the longest-standing rivalry and interactions with the elves, cursed as he prepared for battle.

“The fight is over. Now, come to your senses!”

An elf shouted sharply.

“The tree you worshipped was a monster that slaughtered your own kind without hesitation for its own greed!”

That elf was none other than Neria.

“I saw the horrifying spirits created by the Tree of Memories in Gigantis. And the terrible fate of the elder who was tormented by a human mage because of her!”

Perhaps her earnest plea had an impact. The elves of Paradise were silent. Seeming encouraged, Neria continued her persuasion in a slightly calmer tone.

“Even up there, the Tree of Memories birthed those horrific spirits without a second thought. Is that really the God of elves, who are supposed to be friends of nature—”

“Shut up, you filthy half-breed!”

“What…?!”

Neria’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden outburst of abuse. What is happening all of a sudden?

“You half-human, half-elf hybrid, what are you babbling about!”

“Someone who’s neither elf nor human, who came in with the invaders… speaking of kinship? We must get rid of that filth first!”

As Neria stumbled back with eyes like a startled deer, their anger only intensified.

It was as if they found her, an unwilling half-elf, more loathsome than the dwarves they had feuded with for so long. They looked ready to pounce on her at any moment.

“Damn those bastards!”

Enraged, Ron swung his hammer. Being a veteran mercenary from the Argon Kingdom, just like Neria. He understood better than anyone that Neria sincerely cared for the elves, which is why he was furious.

“You ungrateful wretches, after she cleaned up your mess, you dare…!”

“Shut up! You inferior species!”

“If we must die, let’s kill that half-breed first! Not only does she live with dirty blood, she’s a traitor who colluded with the invaders!”

‘It’s impossible to have a conversation…!’

From the beginning, this side had a dragon with them. They couldn’t be oblivious to that, yet the elves, starting quarrels with terms like short-lived and half-breed, gave off a sense of dissonance.

However, it became clear that any conversation was futile. Seeing this, Ron adopted a fighting stance, and the two dwarves, who detested the elves, joined him without hesitation.

In this critical, explosive situation, it was Skadi herself who ended it.

“I can’t stand by any longer.”

Descending along the branch she controlled, she landed between the elves and Khan’s group, causing the fight to momentarily cease. More accurately, the atmosphere among the elves became strange.

Like prey before a predator, they completely lost their will to fight and bowed their heads, speaking in trembling voices.

“F-First Branch.”

“I’m not worthy of such a title. I rejected such a position, and it was the children of the house who cast me out. But one thing is clear: The authority I possess cannot be discarded by my own will, nor taken by someone else.”

“High Elf….”

“I hadn’t exercised that authority till now, but for the first and last time, I will use my power to save our kin walking the path of ruin. However, it wouldn’t look good for a person of the old era to step up at this point, right? Paradise will return to being one community, not divided by the six houses. And the one to lead that community will be…”

With eyes glowing with resolute determination, Skadi’s gaze met the trembling eyes of Neria.

“Yes, you should lead it.”

***

『The Heart of Predation has grown!』

『You have fully absorbed the Giant’s Blood (Refined).』

『Item performance has been enhanced.』

With the flashy system messages lingering in his mind, Khan regained consciousness.

‘Some time must have passed.’

It wasn’t due to the usual extreme physical exhaustion that rendered him unconscious. It seemed more like his body had shut down his consciousness to adapt to the rapid physical changes.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

And as soon as Khan opened his eyes, he was greeted by the familiar voice of the half-elf, Neria. And an even stronger scent of the forest than before.

“Neria. Your ears…?”

With ears now more elongated and pointed than those of a typical elf.