Barbarian in a Failed Game

12. Dark Mages (6)

Looking at his body, dirtier than before he had bathed, Khan frowned due to the mess left by the dark mage. His face, already marred by distorted scars, made him look fierce enough to knock out a crying child, but Aries approached him nonchalantly and smacked him on the shin.

“Why do you do that, little lady?”

The feeling of being kicked in the shin was somewhat stronger than expected, but Khan was sturdy enough not to consider it painful. It was more like being poked by a young nephew.

“…Explain.”

“Ah. You’re asking why we let that bastard go.”

Aries nodded.

“The scent is fading. We’ll lose him.”

“Dark magic isn’t infinite. Soon enough, he’ll be exhausted and drop on his own. His escape speed will decrease too. There’s no need to hurry,” Khan explained.

Despite the explanation, Aries still looked puzzled. She understood why they had deliberately let him go, but shouldn’t they follow the scent right now?

Sensing her confusion, Khan elaborated further.

“What can a lone guy do? Seems like he was relying on a Dark Knight, which you crushed… He’ll probably try to run and tattle to his master. All we need to do is follow him leisurely.”

But there’s something to do before that. Muttering to himself in almost inaudible whispers, Khan started heading somewhere.

Curiously yet briskly, Aries followed him, and they arrived at the monastery’s backyard.

“Why are we here?”

“What, you expect me to roam around naked all day?”

“Ah.”

Khan grabbed and donned his gear from the laundry line in the backyard.

‘Lizardman Elite Warrior’s Clawed Hand,’ ‘Floor-Crawling Rat’s Leather Boots,’ ‘Ogre’s Groin Protector,’ ‘Snow Mountain White Wolf’s Fur Armor,’ ‘Courier’s Wrist Guard’…

Every piece of equipment boosted his stats. Khan checked the improved condition of his body briefly and smiled contentedly. Now, he felt more at ease.

“Follow me again. We have to meet our faithful little rat.”

“Rat?”

“The old, cowardly rat you know well.”

With that hint, Khan pushed open the back door of the monastery.

The interior of the decaying monastery was eerie enough to not be surprised if a ghost appeared, but they were not the type to fear ghosts.

“Where is the priest’s room?”

“At the very end.”

“Right.”

They walked through the relatively spacious corridor, past the rooms where children studied the bible, offices for various tasks, and the storage for supplies, until they reached a door at the far end.

Bang!

“Yeek!”

As the door opened, a suppressed scream leaked from inside.

Aries immediately recognized it as the old priest Bethel’s voice. It dawned on her that Bethel was the ‘faithful little rat’ Khan mentioned.

“I knew it. All bark and no bite-.”

“You… barbarian?”

“Yes. A barbarian. And a rat.”

“Aaargh!”

Khan effortlessly lifted the old priest with one hand.

Bethel, feeling the terror from Khan’s strong grip, struggled to break free but couldn’t, as his feet dangled in the air.

“Little lady. From what I see, you’ve been chasing Darkin Perayas for a while. During that time, have you ever exposed your identity to them?”

“…No.”

“That’s peculiar. According to what that runaway said, he was under the impression that a paladin was here. If so, that was a considerable force.”

The implication was clear. Betrayal. Aries’ face stiffened slightly.

“No, it wasn’t…”

“It might not be,” Khan conceded.

Bethel hastily claimed his innocence, but Khan’s gaze remained chillingly indifferent.

“To be sure of having a paladin here, they must have used Ericksen. And with his death, they attacked, confident… Meaning, either you slipped up and exposed yourself, or there is a traitor among us. One of the two, isn’t it?”

“No, it was probably my mistake.”

“Ah, is that so.”

The confession seemed almost like a jest as Khan released Bethel’s neck.

“I said it wasn’t me…!”

Bethel, aggrieved from being wrongfully accused, vented his frustration, but Khan responded indifferently.

“Well, whether it’s true or not. If you were hiding away while everyone else was fighting, you’d have no right to complain even if you were beaten up.”

“…That’s…”

“I don’t care what you want from that little lady here, but with an attitude like that, you’re bound to fail in life. You must have really gotten on their bad side.”

The elderly priest’s face twisted markedly, revealing anger and fear in a way that seemed impossible for a deeply devout cleric.

“Oh, no. That’s not the case! O esteemed one, promised by the Lord’s side…! I have done my utmost. I’ve ensured our defenses are fortified without missing a single day of blessings, and armed the faith of our followers…!”

“You thought doing so would make your achievements stand out.”

“What…!”

Bethel was visibly startled by the insight that didn’t seem to come from a barbarian. Khan sneered repeatedly at Bethel.

“Are you truly aiming to be of help to that little lady? I’m somewhat doubtful.”

“That is the truth…! Do not insult my faith, barbarian!”

“A faith that disappears in danger and flourishes only in peace. This isn’t a buffet… picking and choosing as you please.”

Bethel’s face flushed with insult. Although he didn’t quite grasp the meaning of a buffet, he was certain it was a slight against him.

‘Is this enough?’

Thinking it was time to dangle a carrot, Khan grinned slightly.

“If you want to achieve what you desire, you’ll have to be of enough help to gain that little lady’s recognition, don’t you think?”

“O-Of course, that will be the case.”

“Yes, that’s more like it.”

Khan’s smile deepened at the priest’s firm response. A vow made in front of a paladin was not one easily broken.

Khan then issued various commands to Bethel, who had no choice but to become a yes-man, accepting all of them.

“I trust they will be well observed, Priest Bethel. One can only imagine what will happen if they’re not…”

With those words, Khan left the monastery, thinking the frail body of the mage would be growing tired by now.

*

*

*

“Huff. Huff. Huff!”

Devin simply ran. With his mana for shadow-moving spells exhausted, his only means of travel was his two legs.

‘I must hurry and inform them.’ Devin thought of the gray barbarian.

The scars covering his bare body, a size that seemed twice that of ordinary men, and a brutishly simple combat style.

‘The intel was wrong. He’s a monster.’

A barbarian warrior fortunate enough to hunt down a young ogre.

That was the extent of the information provided by Darkin, and while Devin had agreed it might not be entirely accurate, he didn’t expect a significant discrepancy.

But the creature was a monster capable of easily downing knights of considerable skill.

“Damn. Damn…!”

His master, Darkin Perayas, was a merciless figure who wouldn’t forgive an incompetent disciple.

Having served him for years, Devin knew all too well that returning now would mean certain death at his master’s hands.

He stopped after a long run and scraped together the last of his mana to cast a life-tracking spell to survey the surroundings.

No response. Finally, Devin took a breath and pulled out a tiny worm from his pocket.

Its body was black with red patterns, and it had more than ten tentacle-like legs – its appearance was designed to invoke disgust.

“Eugh. Euh.”

Devin clenched his eyes shut and shoved the worm corpse into his right ear.

Then, the corpse, thought dead, awakened and began to nibble away at his flesh.

Crunch, crunch – the sound of his flesh being eaten echoed in his head, but soon stopped.

“M-Master. This is Devin! Can you hear me?!”

-What happened?

“I’ve failed…! There’s a monster by the paladin’s side! It, it killed all the other disciples alone!”

-A monster? Explain in detail.

Devin explained the situation as quickly and desperately as possible, hoping to convey that ‘it was an unforeseeable variable that led to his failure.’

After all, a dark mage still holds the rationale of a mage.

While fear and horror spilled from his mouth, Devin’s eyes remained unshaken, a testament to a mage’s cold logic.

“…I couldn’t stop him with my abilities. He’s a monster that wrecks artifacts with his ax swings. At least, if you could assist, Master, or the remaining forces in Kirutz!”

-Enough.

“Master!”

-I said, enough.

The voice echoing in his head was icy. Although the voice created by the flesh-eating organism in his ear differed greatly from his master’s, Devin could tell his master was angered.

It was time to step back and seek his master’s opinion.

“Then, what should I…”

-As you know, its completion is not far off. So, you need to stay hidden for now. I will personally deal with the paladin and the barbarian later.

“…Yes, I understand.”

I survived. I made it out alive.

Devin let out a sigh of relief without showing it outwardly. All that was left was to steal a new body and change his identity.

‘Should I get out of Argon? Yes, let’s get out. I’ll head to Bates and wait for my master’s call.’

Having completed its role, the corpse of the transmission insect was removed from Devin’s ear as he got up. Although he had managed to escape the fate of dying at his master’s hand, the list of tasks necessary for survival piled up like a mountain.

A new body to steal. He needed to obtain the body of a vagrant with as few complications as possible.

Black magic and power replenishment. It could be done by leeching the life force of demons to raise the undead. It was a temporary measure, but that part could be taken care of once he reached Bates.

A city known for its outlaws was certainly filled with enough victims of black magic.

“Alright….”

“Alright? You son of a bitch.”

‘What…!’

Startled by the unexpected whisper, Devin spun around. However, the brutish hands of someone who had approached silently and swiftly closed around his neck.

[Stealth (C) – 3%]

He released the suppressed presence and grabbed Devin’s neck.

And from behind, a pure white radiance began to envelop the surroundings. It was the paladin’s ‘Sanctuary Proclamation’.

“How…!”

Despite his fading consciousness from being choked, Devin was filled with questions. He was sure he had confirmed the absence of anyone nearby using life tracking. Even if someone had approached afterward, how could such a large body approach silently?

Could this damned barbarian have eavesdropped on the conversation? No, that wasn’t the important part.

He hadn’t mentioned the master’s name, and the word ‘Kirutz’ was more of a slang used among them.

Then there still might be a way out.

“Spare my life! I will lead you to where my master is! Please!”

‘I can’t fight this brute and the paladin alone anyway. It might be better to take them to where the master is and let him deal with it…!’

“I can hear you scheming.”

“…!”

“Kirutz. The name of the land of the dead established by the Archmage Darkin Perayas after erasing Argon. Is he still planning to use that?”

“What are you…!”

‘What is he talking about?’

Devin’s mind, which had been turning sharply, became confused. The words sounded as if he had seen the future. And it wasn’t just senseless babble; it matched the actual plans of his master.

“I see. So that’s why the capital of Kirutz wasn’t the capital of Argon but located in the western mountain ranges.”

“…!”

Concepts only beloved disciples, gathered by his master and drilled into their ears to the point of exhaustion, were being revealed by the mouth of a barbarian deemed primitive.

‘Could he really have seen the future?’

But the confusion was short-lived.

Crack─.

The brutish grasp of the barbarian twisted and tore out his neck, obtaining all the answers.

“Be gone.”

With such ease. Khan ended the decades-long reign of the dark mage over the kingdom, his gaze shifting to the west… towards where the capital of Kirutz once stood.

Memories that shouldn’t emerge flooded his mind.

The most powerful nation in this world.

The army of the dead that invaded the kingdom’s land. ‘I’, and the ever-changing ‘me’ standing in front of it.

Sometimes a mercenary hired by the senators of the kingdom, sometimes a swordsman who had reached the transcendental realm with just a sword, an assassin who had killed the most nobles in the history of the continent, or an archer who had inherited the techniques of a mystic master…

These were all characters Khan had once played, and their memories overflowed as if they were his own real experiences.

Possessed by the memories of those characters… Khan lifted his head to look at the sky by his own will.

The enormous skeletal dragon that cast its shadow over the land of the kingdom, too vast to be seen in one glance.

And the figure perched on the head of the skeletal dragon came into view.

The first disaster that brought about destruction, the worst named boss that caused numerous players to give up. The final boss of Act 5.

“Darkin Perayas.”

Even though he wasn’t a disaster yet, he was still a formidable dark mage.

Especially, Khan knew all too well that dealing with a mage holed up in their stronghold was several times more troublesome than usual.

‘Well, since it’s something that needs to be done anyway, it’s better to be thorough. After all, he’s one with quite the reward.’

What’s more important was.

Among the rewards dropped by Darkin Perayas, there was an item capable of solving a chronic problem that Khan currently faced.

Therefore.

‘First, I’ll create a situation from which he can’t escape.’