Barbarian in a Failed Game

Compared to the modern intellectuals of Earth, the humans one encountered in Midland were quite simple.

Why, one only had to look at the internet to see that there are many people and a variety of crazy individuals, leading to the saying that “there’s no shortage of insane people on the internet”.

Even a pot-bellied man, whose only joy was the occasional game amidst the drudgery of daily commutes, could sometimes be transformed into a warrior at the keyboard due to the abundance of irrational individuals on Earth.

In contrast, the humans of Midland were mostly similar in nature.

Predators and prey.

In other words, those with power and those without. You could delve deeper into various nuances, but the basic distinction remained.

Generally, a 2-meter-tall barbarian would fall into the former category in most situations, but in a world where miracles like magic and aura existed, a mere strong barbarian warrior wasn’t always considered a predator. At least now, he was firmly in the predator category…

But it wasn’t always this way.

A barbarian warrior with the sensibilities of a naive modern man was clearly in the prey category, and from Khan’s perspective, the most horrifying type of human was a “predator who held a grudge against him”.

For instance, there was an incident involving an old mage. This happened when Khan’s power was still insufficient and he was wandering after losing his first companions to Tilly Ashanumos.

The mage’s grudge against Khan began in a particularly unfair manner from Khan’s point of view. The mage abruptly appeared, saying he wanted to experiment on the barbarian’s body.

Even among mages unaffiliated with the Magic Tower, there were plenty of madmen, but the old mage’s madness was beyond imagination. The old mage, equipped with intermediate-level spells of considerable power and mercenaries hired at great expense as meat shields, forced Khan to flee.

Of course, Khan didn’t just take it lying down. During the chase, he managed to kill some of the meat shields and the mage’s apprentices, getting back at them in the process.

That was the problem.

The old mage, ignoring his own initial actions, bore a deep grudge against Khan for killing his apprentices. He pursued Khan across two national borders, leading the chase with his old, frail body, fueled by deep hatred.

The outcome of that relentless pursuit was evident in Khan’s very existence. The chase ended with the old man and his pursuers buried in an unnamed mountain, and Khan leveled up as a result.

By using the countless obstacles in the mountains to defeat his pursuers one by one, he also acquired skills like Stealth and Tracking, akin to those of an assassin. So why was Khan recalling these sordid, old memories now?

‘Tch… it seems the inevitable has come.’

Just like before, a “predator with a grudge” had started pursuing him. Of course, he had made remarkable progress since then, and now, a single pursuer or two wouldn’t pose much of a problem.

The issue was that the level of his pursuers had also risen dramatically—no, transcendentally.

“How many were there?”

“Two.”

“What did they look like?”

“I detected their presence from afar and retreated. I couldn’t make out their appearance.”

“Cautious bastards.”

But why did he get a pretty clear idea even without hearing their appearance?

“Damn… could it be those guys?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t—”

“Shut up. I’ve got a headache.”

A chilling premonition ran down his spine. The demons, minions of Aecharis, significant enough to not get beaten up and having a reason to venture to the far Blood Domain.

All the clues fit perfectly with two specific figures he remembered. The number matched, too.

Once, they had descended upon Midland with both their spirit and avatar bodies, only to be captured by Khan and offered as sacrifices to the Goddess of Justice.

“Augrabes, Kereaktu…”

Those two demons, vying for the number 2 and 3 spots under Aecharis, were now personally hunting Khan. Moreover, they harbored personal grudges. Extracting more information from Elda proved impossible.

He was a worshiper of the Blood King, not a confidant aware of his intentions.

“Keep your promise…!”

“Of course.”

Realizing that the conversation was dwindling, Elda glared at Khan with fierce eyes, as if he forgot he was missing his limbs. It was a signal to fulfill the promise.

Crack.

Khan kept his promise without hesitation. As Draupnir split Elda’s skull, his body was divided in two. Even at the moment of his death, Elda clung to life tenaciously. There was a reason he had delayed his much-desired death.

“The Blood King will destroy you…!”

『Level Up!』

As he spat out his final curse, his life finally ended. The system message indicating his level-up appeared right after. Given that it was an incredibly tough level to grind, and with an impending battle against a formidable opponent, leveling up was certainly good news.

Yet, Khan showed no reaction.

『Level: 38』

Instead, he stared at the numbers visible only to him, deep in thought.

‘Up until now, I haven’t given it much thought… But this game system, there are too many elements I don’t understand. Moreover—’

Recently, he had experienced growth that couldn’t be explained by the game system alone, growth not reflected in the numbers. Additionally, he was increasingly questioning the fundamental structure of how skills were created.

Previously, he had dismissed it as some “possession benefit” nonsense, but now that he had dipped his toes into the secrets of the world, that was no longer an option. It was late, but he needed to understand where this cursed power came from.

Of course, there was another true purpose. If he could understand the principles of this system?

If he could manipulate the distribution of his stats, directing all of them into strength instead of evenly spreading them across strength, agility, and stamina.

Or if he could create desired skills on the spot—such absurd feats might become possible. Such capabilities would be extremely beneficial for his future journey.

But more importantly, there was a specific reason Khan began questioning the game system fundamentally.

“That mysterious ‘power’ that Karyan used… It was certainly…”

He couldn’t be certain. It was a power that even endgame characters, who had defeated the final boss demon, couldn’t wield. It was something utterly foreign to players of the game.

Even Khan, a veteran player, had only occasionally seen it mentioned in brief text snippets. It was something he had almost erased from his memory, dismissing it as a “deep setting” not worth considering.

‘But Karyan, a mortal, could wield it…?’

Was it because Karyan was a genius, as he claimed? Or was it something that emerged from the noble blood of the ancient royal lineage? Khan didn’t think so.

He dared to speculate that the reason Karyan could wield that power was entirely—

“Where have you been all day? Still here, I see.”

“…Kurtank.”

“Looks like you killed Elda. I hoped we could use him as an asset, but you must have had your reasons. I prefer a king who keeps his promises over one who doesn’t.”

“Not that I thought that far ahead.”

“Anyway.”

Kurtank approached with a light-hearted smile. Her face had lightened considerably, a stark contrast to the stern expression she had worn since seeing the Blood King briefly descend.

“Aren’t we a burden? Me and the followers who came along.”

It seemed Kurtank had come to talk about an unexpected subject—whether they were a burden to Khan.

“You don’t have to pretend. I know you accepted us because you thought we might be useful.”

“Well…”

“What’s your goal? Is it just to meet the Blood King? Or are you planning to steal his power?”

In reality, it wouldn’t be a problem to pick either answer and brush it off. After all, once they returned to Midland, they would never see each other again. Besides, their first impression wasn’t exactly positive.

But the issue was that human feelings weren’t as simple as that.

“I’m looking for a way to return. To return to where I came from. The Blood King holds something I need for that, and that’s why I need to meet him.”

“Return… Where to? If it’s another Hell Monarch’s realm, you wouldn’t need to meet the Blood King…”

“The dimension the Blood King invaded.”

An awkward silence ensued. Khan interpreted Kurtank’s silence as disbelief in his words, prompting him to let out a derisive laugh and prepare to end the conversation.

“So that’s how it is.”

Kurtank said with a relieved tone, as if she had expected this from the beginning.

“Well, there are all sorts of demonkin in the Blood Domain, but you always seemed… different. It’s not just that you carry a fragment of a Hell Monarch, but your entire way of thinking is fundamentally different. Different from Yoro’s, too.”

“…Two demons have come. They must be the ones who held a grudge against me from another dimension. Now we have to find the Blood King and prepare for battle.”

Khan calmly explained the dire situation. While they had taken over Fadis, the paradise of the Blood Domain, an unstoppable catastrophe was approaching.

“You need to act independently. With the subordinates you have now, you could easily take over most settlements.”

Once in the outskirts, once when they entered the central region, and finally in Fadis. With the additional demonkin leaders and Demon Generals Kurtank had enchanted, her army had grown to a level where even the Blood Domain’s forces would have to consider annihilation or defeat.

After taking in numerous powerful demonkin in Fadis, they had addressed their numerical disadvantage completely. They could maintain their power even without Khan’s presence.

“The Blood King, and two demons are after me. We can’t afford to fight while protecting anyone.”

“True. That makes sense.”

“So… either fortify Fadis as a base or raid other settlements to expand your power. Focus on survival.”

His decision came after hearing about the two demons. Their relationship was one of convenience, and Kurtank would recognize that staying with Khan was now a disadvantage. If she was the Kurtank he knew, she would accept his proposal without hesitation. He waited for her response.

Rumble…

The sky began to “weep”.

Khan and Kurtank hurried outside to see what was happening, and both let out a sound that was a mix of awe and dismay. The sky over the entire Blood Domain had started to rain red.

This sudden anomaly was visible everywhere in the Blood Domain and didn’t stop for a day or two. The rain, though ominous, caused no harmful effects. Which made it even more unsettling.

It felt like this massive phenomenon encompassing the entire Blood Domain was merely a prelude. Soon, an even stranger event occurred.

“Hyungnim…! Yoro! Yoro is acting strange! Suddenly claiming he’s Esperus!”

Why are you resurrecting so soon…?