Barbarian in a Failed Game

The Beastmen.

A race literally composed of beasts. However, since they possessed some human features, they were classified as demi-humans.

‘Midland Quest Community’ had a surprisingly fanatical following for these beastly creatures. Strangely fanatical.

‘Considering all the quests with them were adversarial, that’s saying something….’

Among the “furball enthusiasts” in the community, there were even maniacs who tried to recruit the beastmen NPCs as allies, despite only getting hostile quests. These people treated the beastmen, who were practically public enemies of the continent, as potential allies!

As expected, all attempts failed. The furballs had a hard-coded setting of “hostile” making them impossible to recruit. Those who tried ended up as materials for strange rituals by beastmen shamans or met a slave-ending in the Great Forest.

“So, this must be the Great Forest….”

Ignoring the surrounding beastmen, Khan assessed the situation. It seemed to match. The landscape, filled with long, large leaves typical of a tropical rainforest, matched the background illustrations of the Great Forest perfectly.

Moreover…

“A big human! An Empire mage!”

“He looks strong, be careful when hunting him!”

A variety of furballs surrounded him. It had to be the Great Forest. Anything else would be more surprising. Having grasped the situation, Khan’s attention shifted to the bloodthirsty furballs.

“From what I hear, you’re in the middle of a war with the Empire. Is that right?”

“Don’t talk to the mage! His sly tongue will deceive us!”

“Oh…”

Well trained. Like watching a slow-motion video, Khan smirked as he watched the beastmen charge at him without a word. But they missed something crucial.

“You weren’t taught not to fight gray-skinned people, huh?”

As the beastmen’s faces, a mix of animal traits and human features, slowly twisted in horror, Khan clenched his fist slightly. Despite having just come out of intense battles and a dimensional shift, his entire body was brimming with vitality.

Whether the time spent in transit was extensive or Esperus did something, his power was more than enough for these nameless furballs.

“First, let’s get you ready to talk.”

『How refined of you to say, when you mean to subdue them with violence.』

Khan loosened his tightly clenched fist, intending just to give a light tap. Even that much force would be enough to crush a normal human’s skull, but…

‘Beastmen are sturdy.’

The first one to leap at him was a bear beastman, seemingly the leader of the group. Khan slowly extended his left arm towards the bear’s face.

“Huh?”

And then he noticed something unusual about his outstretched left arm.

‘Veins?’

When did this happen? Veins bulged conspicuously on his forearm. Was it his imagination, or had his arm gotten larger?

Bam!!

『Oh dear.』

A lament similar to a playful sigh escaped Khan’s lips. Damn it!

“He killed Sturdy Fist with one blow…!”

“He took down Sturdy Fist with one punch?! The big human isn’t a mage! He’s as strong as steel!”

“Sturdy Fist of the Bear Tribe was the strongest among us! Fall back—!”

‘Esperus—!’

His kind laughter and unpleasant face flashed through Khan’s mind. The ominous statement to check the gift upon return now made sense.

『You’ve become more monstrous. Hard to even call you human now. What a splendid gift.』

Shut up!

Khan, inspecting his body, realized the horrifying truth and screamed internally.

‘What kind of gift is this!’

His entire body had grown larger. It was puzzling why he hadn’t noticed it earlier. As the Spirit of Resentment mocked, he was barely human now!

He didn’t need a mirror to see it. His size was comparable to or even greater than his brethren from the Hoarfrost Gorge. Moreover, his left arm, which had burst the bear beastman’s head like a balloon, made him shut his eyes tightly.

‘Damn it, dark magic….’

It was dark magic! Dark magic!

If it was just increased size and bulging veins, he might have shrugged it off as becoming stronger. But the dark mist creeping up his left arm—dark magic—was no gift!

The potential problems this dark magic-infused left arm could cause were evident.

Paladins foaming at the mouth, calling him heretic, forming an execution squad, the Empire’s direct support becoming unreliable. Most importantly, how the platinum-haired paladin, who lost dear ones to demons and their minions, would react.

‘This is insane…!’

And this wasn’t just any dark magic. It was high-purity dark magic injected directly by the Arch Demon’s progeny. Visibly, it was far more insidious than that of ordinary demon worshippers or dark mages. This level of dark magic would make even demon contractors, who directly received powers through demonic pacts, pledge allegiance immediately.

Just like the beastmen in front of him.

“He’s an ally of the Great One! Not just a big human!”

“S-Sorry for not recognizing you…!”

‘What kind of development is this…?’

***

“Grr. I received intelligence that there is an Imperial infiltration unit, so I was patrolling the frontlines.”

“Oh, I see. The war must be quite intense then?”

“Because a large part of the Imperial forces has been withdrawn, recently, the territory of the Great Forest has been expanding. Although we haven’t been able to conquer one fortress and it’s dragging on… it’s only a matter of time. Especially now that you and that person have come at the request of the shaman! Krrk. Krrk!”

‘If they received intelligence, there must be an insider leaking information from within the Empire?’

‘The Imperial forces have been pulled out? Something significant must be happening internally.’

‘If someone mistook me, with my dark energy, for one of their own, then a demon contractor must have allied with the Great Forest. This isn’t too different from the original story, is it?’

Excitedly chattering about the war’s progress from the Great Forest’s perspective, this guy.

After piecing together the information received from the red-furred bear beastman, who seemed to be just below the bear beastman killed with a single flick, it was clear that some variables had twisted the plan he had set before falling into hell.

‘The Empire was prepared to put all its efforts into the war against the Great Forest, yet the war is still ongoing? And recently, they’re even being pushed back?’

“How long has this war been going on? I’m not up to date with the outside news.”

“It’s been a while. Krrk! I think it’s been about twenty cycles of the sun.”

“Twenty cycles? What nonsense! Isn’t it twice that?!”

“No, it’s ten!”

“… I shouldn’t even ask.”

The intelligence of the beastmen wasn’t particularly poor, but something seemed off about these guys. It seemed like it would take quite a bit of time to get useful information out of them. Interrogating these idiots required significant effort from the questioner.

‘Still, it’s clear that a significant amount of time has passed.’

In the hellish sky, where the boundary between day and night was faint, it was almost impossible to keep track of the days. He didn’t think it had been more than a month, but his sense of time had become distorted during the dimensional travel…

He could roughly assume it had been one to two months. Judging that this was tolerable, Khan changed his question.

“So, where’s my comrade? If we continue this way, will we meet him?”

“Krrk. That person is at the frontline with the shaman! We will take you deeper into the Great Forest to introduce you to the elders of our tribe! Krrk.”

“Oh, really…?”

Twitch.

Khan tried to suppress the grin that was about to spread on his face and nodded his chin solemnly. The red bear beastman, delighted with his comrades, took the lead. It made sense to be excited about escorting an important figure rather than risking their lives fighting the infiltration unit.

『They don’t realize they’re escorting a massive bomb. Pitiful.』

‘Where else would you find a handsome bomb like me?’

『…….』

On the journey deeper into the Great Forest, they didn’t encounter other beastman groups. According to what he heard, the frontlines were so intense that there were no forces to spare for other directions. This infiltration unit was composed of those who, for some reason, couldn’t go to the frontline.

『They’re the dregs.』

‘I agree.’

‘They’re not even suitable to use as cannon fodder. Essentially, they were sent to confirm the presence of the infiltration team with their deaths.’

‘Infiltration team… Imperial knights? Or mercenaries?’

To infiltrate the interior by circumventing the frontlines, it would naturally have to be a small elite force. If this small group were capable of targeting the leadership of the Great Forest, it was highly likely to include named individuals that Khan was familiar with.

Maybe, there could be quite a few familiar faces.

“This way! Krrk.”

After running continuously for about a day and a half, the red bear beastman stopped in front of an extremely tall tree that was hard to take in with one look. Interestingly, the trunk had a round door-like opening, and the bear beastman squeezed inside, gesturing for Khan to follow.

‘There’s a tunnel here too.’

Khan’s eyes sparkled as he immediately recognized the nature of the suspicious entrance.

A tunnel, a secret passage unique to the beastmen, created using the dense trees of the Great Forest. On the outside, it appeared to be just a giant tree, but in reality, it was a type of barrier created by the shaman’s power. Only those who entered through a specific entrance could get inside, a method achievable only by highly skilled shamans.

‘It seems like a big shot is inside.’

Even as he forced his now larger body through the tunnel entrance, a smile crept across Khan’s lips.

If the leader was inside, that was perfect for him.

***

“Leader! There’s a trail up ahead! And not just any trail—there are bodies! Looks like they’re from the beastmen side!”

A group clad in the mismatched and light armor characteristic of mercenary bands emerged from the underbrush. The group consisted of fewer than ten individuals, with a noticeably young man and a woman at the center, suggesting they were leading.

The young man had a delicate appearance and was completely unarmed, while the woman, exuding a cold demeanor reminiscent of a knight, was distinctively armed with two crossed spears strapped to her back.

“Not your average handiwork. Whoever it was managed to blow up that tough bear beastman in one strike. No signs of a fight, just bodies.”

“It’s not magic. I don’t sense any residual magical energy.”

“Doesn’t look like it was blunt force either. The marks are similar to those left by a gray spell projecting impact.”

“Hmph, so nothing useful then. Strange. Doesn’t seem like they fought among themselves.”

While the mercenary with the hammer, the young mage, the woman with the spears, and the mercenary with the hammer again discussed the signs, another mercenary, surveying the area, approached and removed their helmet.

Golden hair cascaded down, revealing a strikingly handsome face that could easily be mistaken for a woman’s.

“Dark magic. And a very potent one. This is the dark magic of either a demon contractor or a demon itself.”

Leonir von Istantil, his blue eyes burning with chilling killing intent at the sight of the traces left by the demon that had taken his benefactor, spoke through clenched teeth.

“It seems we’ve come to the right place.”

Leonir’s voice dripped with venom.

“The creature we need to tear apart is close. Very close…”

TL’s Corner:
TL’s Corner:
Reunion!!!