Barbarian in a Failed Game

Khan, standing at the center of the eerie silence, wore a savage smile as he exerted pressure on those around him, but his inner thoughts were far from calm.

When had it started?

Perhaps it began right after he wielded the Giant’s Strength against Tenel.

‘Something… feels odd.’

What puzzled Khan was a very subtle sense of discrepancy, a trivial question that wouldn’t even be worth considering. If he mentioned it to anyone, they would likely dismiss it as a “luxury problem”.

‘Why am I getting stronger even though I haven’t leveled up?’

His strength was entirely based on the game system’s stats.

Of course, the countless battles he had fought without denying their contributions. However, the explosive physical capabilities derived from stats were indisputably the root of his strength.

Given that this was reality and not a game, it wasn’t impossible to physically strengthen one’s body through training, but there had to be a limit.

Khan had already transcended human limitations, reaching a level where he could arm wrestle with an ogre. Working out shouldn’t have been able to make him stronger.

Yet, he had grown stronger.

Since Paradise, his level had remained fixed, and he hadn’t acquired any items that boosted his Strength stat. It wasn’t just a slight increase; the sensation felt as if he had gained an invisible Strength stat point.

He first noticed this during the battle with Tenel, and he confirmed it while fighting Keltor just moments earlier.

‘But why?’

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. It was frustrating and mysterious because the whole game system’s influence on reality was already irrational.

‘…If I had to identify a cause.’

It would be the Giant’s Strength. It felt as though some of the enhanced strength from activating the skill had gradually impacted his physical body.

Of course, it sounded nonsensical—how could the power of a skill influence his physical body? The old Khan would have laughed it off as a joke.

But not anymore.

‘My Throwing Skill vanished when it evolved into Dragon Fang Cannon. But it didn’t actually disappear. I can still use the Throwing Skill.’

It wasn’t like using a skill consciously. It felt more like he had fully internalized the technique and could use it freely. At any moment, he could perfectly replicate the B-rank Throwing Skill that created wind blasts.

And he could do it with greater power and precision.

‘The skill system itself has always been suspicious in many ways.’

In the Midland Quest’s skill system, skills were acquired based on character actions, and as the proficiency bar filled, the skills would level up and evolve. When he just played it as a game, he merely thought, ‘There are an overwhelmingly large number of skills.’

But now that it had become reality, he had a lot more to think about.

For example, the Heavy Sword Technique.

The Heavy Sword Technique, which Khan developed by adapting the pre-existing “Antares’ Sword Technique” to suit himself, couldn’t possibly fit into the existing skill system. It was a skill he, as the possessor, had created from scratch.

‘From the start, the way skills are obtained is rather peculiar….’

He had created an entirely new skill, Giant’s Strength, through the stacking effect of Surging Strength. And this was before fully mastering the skill. While that in itself might be explained away, how are skill names determined?

Obtaining a skill while battling a giant and having it called “Giant’s Strength”… could that be just a coincidence?

What began as a trivial question was gradually turning into a fundamental inquiry about his own abilities. Breaking free from his reverie, Khan realized:

‘The skill system… no, this entire game system might have deeper layers to explore!’

There might be a completely new growth potential, one that didn’t rely solely on the existing game system-based growth methods he had depended on thus far.

***

“Eek… you… damn!”

Only a few seconds had passed while Khan was lost in thought.

Having an Agility stat over 50 didn’t just accelerate his reaction time; it also granted an additional benefit of speeding up his thoughts. As Khan emerged from his brief but profound contemplation, Keltor, now reduced to an axe stand, forcefully opened his mouth.

“You’re persistent.”

Khan casually remarked. Even though Keltor’s skull had been partially split and his brain crushed, he wouldn’t die.

Khan had heard from Kurtank that as long as their life force remained, the Demonkin Generals could regenerate. He had seen this firsthand with Tenel and the other Demonkin Generals. But what constituted “life force” seemed rather generous.

Of course, the fact that Keltor was a uniquely powerful Demonkin General, influential in the legion, contributed to his tenacious vitality. Even so, Khan could only marvel at the resilience of these beings.

“Lie down again.”

Knowing that preserving Demonkin Generals like Keltor could potentially allow Kurtank to use her powers to turn them into assets, Khan intended to keep them alive. If he completely destroyed their heads, they would be irrevocably dead, so Khan prepared to shatter Keltor’s limbs instead.

Just as Khan raised his axe—

“I’ll… kill you…!”

“Settle down, you damned…! I didn’t think you’d come back without any preparation! What a grave mistake—”

“A grave mistake is being a punk.”

Crunch.

Draupnir, following the split in Keltor’s skull, completely bisected his body. Even with the Demonkin General’s extraordinary vitality, its regenerative abilities won’t work if it’s split into two…

“What’s going on, why isn’t he dying?”

However, as if mocking Khan’s thoughts, Keltor’s consciousness still glowed with a red light despite his bisected body. Just then, a lone, intact ribcage floated in mid-air, entering Khan’s field of vision. It resembled a normal person’s ribcage but had a peculiar, crimson aura.

“Blood King! Grant me power… Uhk!”

Suddenly, Keltor searched for someone in the sky, let out a frustrated groan, and vanished without a trace. The loss of consciousness signified the loss of his soul, and the loss of his soul meant certain death.

“What…?”

The guy who was acting strangely earlier had suddenly died on his own, leaving Khan bewildered, if only for a moment. As he watched a new consciousness emerge to fill the void left by Keltor’s soul, Khan’s eyes widened in surprise.

He had observed a similar phenomenon at Natrice’s nest, where he had sacrificed his subordinates’ souls to summon the Tree of Memories, granting him a powerful physical body.

What this implied was—

“A Transcendent is attempting to descend!”

“Everyone, retreat!”

His warning was immediate, and the response was simultaneous. They would destroy the medium of the descent and render the Transcendent’s descent null and void!

With each consecutive slash, the Heavy Sword Technique accumulated centrifugal force to unleash a more powerful strike. This was no simple, brute-force one-slash attack but a skill that leveraged the overlapping of forces.

Khan wielded the Heavy Sword Technique, alternating between his axes and slashing at the crimson ribcage. Even the strongest ancient dragon’s skull would have cracked under this assault.

However…

The ribcage remained intact, and now it was vibrating on its own, making it clear that the Transcendent’s descent was imminent.

“I’ll put it in the pocket!”

If it wouldn’t break, he would just send it to another dimension. Khan, who had dealt with Darkin by storing it in Aecharis’ pocket, now tried to do the same with the ribcage.

However, a dark energy wave emanating from the ribcage repelled Khan, sending him flying across the space. Instead of resisting the shock, Khan chose to retreat, and his vision was filled with an unfamiliar presence.

“Eyes…?”

Yes, eyes.

Despite being entirely black, as if dipped in ink, Khan recognized them as eyes. Because their gaze was fixed directly on him.

“This is impossible…!”

From somewhere nearby, Kurtank’s gasp could be heard, signaling her recognition of the monstrous presence. Khan didn’t need her to explain for him to understand what he was facing. If he considered who Keltor called out to in his final moments, the answer was obvious.

“Blood King.”

Khan uttered the identity. As if waiting for this acknowledgement, the black eyes shifted and curled into a crescent shape. A melodious but eerie voice echoed throughout the space.

『This is an amusing situation.』

The giant black mass, the size of a troll’s torso, winked — a scene horrific enough by itself. But the pleasant tone of its voice only added to the chilling effect, raising Khan’s alertness to its peak.

However, the Blood King, as if indifferent to Khan’s reaction, continued speaking.

『To think that something would wake me after centuries, and it turns out to be an encounter with Gluttony. How truly entertaining. Moreover, the fact that someone by Gluttony’s side brings me even more joy. Kurtank…』

Although the melodious voice called her name, Kurtank was consumed by one overwhelming emotion: fear.

Even though it wasn’t the Blood King’s true form but only a part of his body, the sheer terror eclipsed all other emotions. Her reaction was so extreme that it seemed she knew something Khan didn’t.

“Bl-Blood King…”

『You still fear me, I see. But why do you try to escape my embrace? I never thought you so foolish. What has driven you to this… Surely, it’s the presence of Gluttony by your side.』

The Blood King’s attention shifted back to Khan.

『You possess a fragment of Gluttony. Yet, as far as I know, Gluttony’s master is very much alive. That greedy entity would not share its essence with lesser beings… Hence, your very existence is a contradiction. However…』

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing echoed sharply in Khan’s ears. He instantaneously understood what that sound signified.

『Coincidentally, I have been curious about the powers of another monarch. This is perfect timing.』

The Blood King was eyeing Khan with palpable hunger. Realizing this, Khan was about to respond when—

『Hmm…? This energy…』

The Blood King’s gaze was drawn away by something even more compelling than the power of Aecharis that Khan possessed. Without any warning, the black eye of the Blood King suddenly exploded.

The overwhelming presence that had dominated the entire area with its mere appearance abruptly vanished, leaving an atmosphere of rapid confusion and disarray in its wake.

“Yoro, did you…?”

Tulkan, wearing a bewildered expression, looked at Yoro, who stood beside him, hand extended towards the now-destroyed eye of the Blood King.

Naturally, no readable emotion came from Yoro’s featureless face.