Chapter 210 – The Chasers From the Desert
After hearing old Nickel’s words, I asked just in case.
“Where did the barbarian you know start from?
“That man was just like your lover. At first, he was just an insignificant third-rate among the barbarians. But at some point, he suddenly grew rapidly and became a first-class soldier in a year.”
It was just what we needed. An actual anecdote about a third-class drone reaching first-class status in the shortest period of time. It’s the same as the test takers on Earth looking for Seoul National University student’s passing memoirs. A no-base examinee works hard and smashes the front gate of Seoul National University in one year! I wanted to hear a memoir like that of a legend.
“Wow! Who the hell is that? How did he train?”
Rebecca looked up at old Nickel, her eyes shining. In an instant, we had hope. Like an old barbarian, you know a lot. Indeed, it is like Old Nick, who is running as a swordsmanship instructor in the swordsman guild.
If you were to compare the nickel inspiration to the earth’s instructor, would it be a shovel handle?
It’s holding an ax, not a shovel, so it should be called an ax handle.
Thank you, old ax handle!
“That man is called ‘Barbarian King’ by the barbarians. A nickname given to the man who united the barbarian tribes and became king.”
“Your nickname is really cool! I want to have a cool nickname too. Sword Saint Rebecca or something.”
“Keolkeol, you’re a girl with big dreams. Anyway, King Yaman wasn’t great from the beginning. But you can say he was born at a good time. At the time King Yava was born, a great war was going on between the barbarian tribes. King Yaman participated in the tribal war as a soldier. He repeated bloody battles every single day, and naturally became stronger. It is said that on one day, he collected more than 100 enemy soldiers by himself.”
Old Nickel continued talking while stroking his long beard.
“Of course, there were many times when King Barbara almost died. But he was lucky enough to survive and fight to the end. The number of historical battles in which King Barbara participated cannot be counted on one hand. After surviving all the mayhem, King Barbara finally became a first-class soldier.”
I’ve heard of great wars between the barbarian tribes. The reason why barbarians are rare now is because their population was greatly reduced at that time. If there hadn’t been a war, the adventurer’s guild would have been overcrowded with barbarians. Tank Barbarian, Far Barbarian, Melee Barbarian. It is the birth of the most perfect barbarian party in the world.
“Could that be the end? You mean you fought so damn hard and now you’ve become a first-class soldier when you wake up?”
“Don’t be impatient and listen to the story. There is a secret to how the barbarian king was able to grow so rapidly. Have you guys ever heard of the word Karma?”
Karma?
What is it? Doesn’t that translate to karma? I don’t know what karma has to do with reaching first-rate.
“Luke, what is karma?”
“I don’t know.”
When we responded that we didn’t know, old Nickel kindly explained.
“Karma refers to the karma accumulated over a lifetime. It can be said to be the special energy that you receive every time you perform a certain action. It is also the secret to growth that only we Barbarians have discovered. The more karma you have, the stronger you become.”
It is a word that smells like witchcraft. It wouldn’t be strange if there was another energy in another world where the supernatural energy called mana exists. Would you like to continue listening?
“The reason why barbarians enjoy battle is because they know about karma. There is a limit to how strong you can become by just training in the corner of a room. Whether you build achievements worthy of being engraved in history or continue to accumulate real-world experience, the total amount of karma can be reached. It increases. Also, there is another method that is the most efficient way to accumulate karma.”
“What is that method?”
“It is to defeat an enemy stronger than oneself. Whether it be a person or a monster, an enemy that is much stronger than oneself can be. That’s what I posted. That’s the secret to how the King of Barbarians became a first-class soldier in a short period of time.”
It seems to be a concept similar to experience. It is said that leveling is accelerated by defeating enemies in the high level zone. Maybe it’s because it’s a different world, and the way they grow is so amazing.
Well, the barbarians I saw were strangely obsessed with combat. Like waking up while sleeping and looking for someone to fight with. I thought it was the culture of the barbarians to enjoy fighting, but it turned out that it was because they knew how to make each other stronger.
‘They were bitter-like bastards.’
As he was organizing the concept of karma in his own way, Old Man Nickel took out a small glass marble from his chest.
“This bead is a sorcery tool called ‘Karma Meter’ among the barbarians. It is secretly crafted by barbarian shamans. If you hold the bead in your hand, you will be able to measure your karma.”
“Can I give it a try?”
“Try it. Squeeze it tightly and then open your hand.”
Rebecca accepted the glass marble that Nickel gave her. Rebecca’s hand held the glass marble, and as she let go, the color of the marble changed. The transparent glass beads were partially stained black.
“Rebecca, your karma can be seen as the size of a coin. The discolored part of the bead represents the amount of karma. You can say it’s just enough karma for a third-class warrior to accumulate. The glass marble is perfectly black. If you can dye it, then you’ve met the conditions to become a first-class soldier.”
Me and Rebecca looked curiously at the glass marble that measures karma. You mean the barbarians have a monopoly on magic tools that display experience points. Somehow, I thought that only those guys had a particularly fast growth rate.
“Is it the end of being a first-class soldier? Can you measure reaching the level of a master or swordsman?”
“Master…? It’s the limit to find out if you can become first-class with that entry-level measuring device. There are very few people who cross the first-class wall anyway, so there’s no need to measure.”
“Luke! Would you like to touch a marble too? This is really amazing.”
This time I touched the glass marble that Rebecca held out. He squeezed the marble in his hand, secretly expecting it inwardly.
‘Doesn’t it turn completely black when I touch it? Only one talent is like a great wizard, but all of them can change. You may have already met the conditions to become first-class…’
But it was the moment when he opened his hand and examined the glass marble. I realized that the marbles didn’t change color at all. Unlike when Rebecca touched it, it was completely transparent.
“What is it? The color hasn’t changed at all. Does that mean I have no karma?”
“Hmm…? As long as you’re born as a human, you always accumulate karma. Whether you eat or sleep, karma accumulates little by little every day. Besides, you’re an adventurer, so you must have had a lot of experience killing monsters. I can understand that you don’t have karma at all. I can’t… Is it broken?”
I suspected a malfunction, but the karma meter was normal. Old Nickel invited a few trainees to touch the glass beads. Then, unlike me, part of the beads were properly stained black.
“No, they discriminate against people on the subject of magic tools? Why is it that I’m the only one who doesn’t see anything? Anyway, I always have trouble with tools.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen a karma meter fail to respond. Anyway, if I could measure your lover’s karma, wouldn’t it be enough? Aim to dye the orb perfectly. I’ll lend you a karma meter for the time being.”
Old Nickel willingly lent us glass marbles. It lends coolly without expecting anything in return.
“It’s useless to this old man. He’s been past the first-class barrier for quite some time. A young man like you could put it to better use.”
“Thank you, Grandpa!”
“Taheuheuk! Thank you!”
A glass bead-shaped experience bar came into my hand. If you fill all the marbles to the top, you become first-class, but what is this if not an experience bar? Seeing her own growth, Rebecca seemed even more motivated. The nickel inspiration gave me a clear goal.
After taking the glass marble, I came out of the swordsman guild by myself. I wanted to personally find work to build up karma quickly.
*
The most efficient way to accumulate karma is to fight against the strong. Just like the fighting races that flew from space, the battle beyond the dead line soon makes a person stronger. After hearing the explanation from old Nickel, he said that the same goes for wizards who become stronger through battle.
In short, we needed something to break.
Not just scarecrow-like enemies, but enemies with intellect and brute force.
Tear and kill, tear and kill, and you’ll quickly reach the top!
“Okay! The train to Hell is leaving!”
Chick choo choo!
I came out to town and visited the Adventurer’s Guild. Beating normal people to death is just murder, so beating the criminals is better. I was thinking of asking Wendy for a quest to chase down a criminal. Or it didn’t matter if it was a subjugation quest to hunt monsters.
“Mr. Wendy, she came looking for something to ask.”
At the reception desk, a brown-haired receptionist with a big heartache was working today.
Wendy greeted me with her warm smile.
“You came just in time for work. What are you curious about?”
“I’m looking for a quest to chase down a criminal. Or a subjugation quest to hunt a large monster. I want a quest with a high level of difficulty that my fixed party can carry out.”
“A high-difficulty quest…? You don’t want a quest that’s easy and pays well? Luke-sama, you always wanted to eat quests raw.”
“I realized that life can’t only be taken the easy way. There must be a certain degree of difficulty to gain something. They say that a lesson without pain is meaningless.”
“Oh my! Luke-nim has finally grown up too. He’s all grown up, he’s all grown up. When I first saw him, he was a complete baby…”
When Wendy recited a famous line she had heard somewhere, she made a moved expression. She is the eyes of a mama looking at her grown son.
Wendy Maman… !
“It would be nice if it was a quest with many opportunities to fight.”
“If it’s a battle-related quest, I have something to recommend. Recently, a phantom thief has been making a fuss throughout the Northern Kingdom. He leads an armed group of thieves and steals here and there. They say it was stolen.”
A precious potion?
I think I’ve heard it a lot…
After looking around for a while, I quickly realized what I was talking about.
“Ah, isn’t that the love potion? That the Mage Tower was robbed. I know it well because it’s the reward from the labyrinth exploration quest.”
“That’s right! The thief who robbed the Mage Tower has been active ever since. They say he stole important treasures from all over the Northern Territory.”
Wendy told us in detail the damage caused by the phantom thief.
The treasures stored in the lord’s castle of Yoensu were robbed.
Merchants in the trading city lost their gold and silver treasures.
In addition, there were thefts in several cities. Since the damage would be severe, it was only natural that adventurers would be ordered to pursue quests.
“The phantom thief has learned alchemy. He said that he armed the thieves he leads with magic tools. Receiving the quest will be a good way to gain experience in interpersonal combat. There are things you should know before carrying out the quest.”
Wendy told me what to watch out for.
“To catch the phantom thief, we have to go abroad. That means we have to prepare for the trip.”
“If you are abroad, where are you talking specifically?”
“The Principality of Morph! You could say it’s the country of beasts.”
