Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Chapter 2: Strange Encounter （2）

The rumor that a barbarian mercenary had defeated a Commander-level ogre spread like wildfire.

While Khalid was leaving the Mercenary Guild after receiving his reward, the entire village was abuzz with the news.

“I heard that barbarian took down the ogre?”

“What about the mercenaries who went with him?”

“I heard he was alone when he left and alone when he returned.”

“No way. He must have run away.”

“I saw it with my own two eyes. He was carrying a blood-soaked bundle. It must have been the ogre’s head.”

“If that’s true, he’s the village’s savior. So many people died because of that ogre.”

“Ha! A barbarian, a savior? He’s just another mercenary blinded by gold. A savior, my foot!”

“They say he came from beyond the （Forbidden） Mountains. Is that true? I heard they were all wiped out during the Great Expedition three years ago.”

“The Volcanus Plateau is nothing but a wasteland now. He’s probably a descendant of a barbarian who infiltrated the Empire before the Great Expedition.”

The villagers glanced at Khalid as he passed by and whispered, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

Khalid headed for the blacksmith’s workshop.

The blacksmith was startled when he saw him.

It wasn’t a pleasant situation, but he quickly hid his embarrassment with a business smile.

“You, you’re here again, customer-nim. What can I do for you today?”

Instead of answering, Khalid tossed the broken axe handle at him. It was the one he had sold to Khalid yesterday.

A cold sweat ran down the blacksmith’s back.

“The inside of the axe handle was all rotten.”

“Th-that’s impossible……”

“Your shop’s emblem is clearly engraved on it, so you won’t deny it, will you?”

“Ugh……”

The blacksmith was embarrassed.

He hadn’t expected to see this barbarian again. He knew that he was a mercenary who had come to take down the ogre, but he had assumed it was unlikely he would return alive.

Why would he need a good weapon if he was going to die anyway?

He should just spend all the money he has.

With that thought, he had sold a defective product that wouldn’t even sell for 10 coppers at ten times the price.

‘Wh-what should I do……?’

The blacksmith was sweating profusely.

While he was wondering how to appease this ferocious barbarian, Khalid spoke first.

“First, I’ll take a proper axe in return.”

“Of-of course!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the blacksmith ran into the shop.

He rummaged through the best quality items.

According to the rumors, this barbarian had actually defeated the ogre.

If it got out that he had cheated the village’s savior, it would be as good as being unable to do business in Windfall anymore.

Khalid smirked as he watched the blacksmith flustered and bewildered.

‘Now I understand their behavior.’

In just one day after returning from the ogre’s cave, his perception of the fenced-in people had changed completely. It’s easy to understand if you think it’s all about money.

The reason why the price of the axe was more expensive than he thought.

The reason why they deliberately gave him a rotten axe.

It was all because of their greed for money.

After a while, the blacksmith returned with a sharpened axe.

“This is the best axe I’ve ever made. The handle is made of high-quality oak, so it’s very sturdy.”

Khalid took the new axe and examined it.

This time, it wasn’t a product disguised for deception. It was an axe of good quality that anyone could recognize, even without a discerning eye.

“What’s the price?”

“Oh, no, it’s alright. You’re the hero who saved the village, so it’s only right that I show you this much courtesy.”

Khalid, satisfied with the new axe, nodded.

“Good.”

The blacksmith was relieved.

He had lost a little, but it was a good save.

Fortunately, Khalid didn’t seem too angry, so he thought the situation would end here. But the words that came out of Khalid’s mouth next sent chills down the blacksmith’s spine.

“Then it’s time to get compensated.”

“Excuse me? Compensation?”

“I almost died because of that rotten axe, so isn’t it only natural?”

The blacksmith’s face was as if he had been struck by lightning.

“B-but I just replaced it with the best axe……”

“Didn’t you say this was your courtesy?”

“Th-that’s……”

What a calculating barbarian!

The blacksmith regretted the words he had spoken.

But it was too late to take them back.

He had no choice but to settle the matter quietly, even if it meant losing a little more.

“……Alright. How much compensation do you want?”

“I paid one silver coin for that rotten axe yesterday.”

“Yes……”

In fact, it didn’t make sense to receive a silver coin for a rotten axe. It was a product that wouldn’t even sell for ten copper coins in the first place.

“I’ll take it back tenfold.”

“Wh-what?!”

The blacksmith, who was searching for silver coins in his pouch, was so surprised that he dropped the coins on the floor.

“That’s absurd! Tenfold! No matter how much I made a mistake, there’s no such law!”

“That’s funny. Did it make sense for you to receive ten times the price?”

Khalid’s words sent a shiver down the blacksmith’s spine. Did he realize that the rotten axe was originally cheap?

Moreover, he was standing his ground as if he wouldn’t leave until he received the compensation. The already large barbarian’s physique looked even more gigantic.

“Uh, uhh……”

Is this what it would feel like to actually face an ogre?

The blacksmith’s youthful arrogance, which had briefly considered fighting back, vanished without a trace.

It would take several strong men to even stand a chance.

It was an outrageous demand, but he couldn’t complain to the lord either.

After all, he was the one who committed the fraud.

After much agonizing, the blacksmith had no choice but to comply with Khalid’s demand.

‘This is a good method.’

Khalid was inwardly satisfied after finally receiving the compensation of 10 silver coins.

The habits of the fenced-in people, learned from the precedents of the mercenaries.

He had learned firsthand how to inflict pain on them without resorting to violence. This made him feel more accustomed to their culture.

‘Now, if I can just get rid of this……’

After the rotten axe, it was the dagger’s turn.

He had picked it up because the demon was so noisy, but since he wouldn’t use it himself, he should add it to his travel expenses.

When Khalid went to the tool shop and presented the dagger, the merchant picked it up and began to examine it.

“……”

The merchant was definitely saying something. But he couldn’t hear it. It was as if a goldfish was opening and closing its mouth, but no sound came out.

He had heard the merchant greet him when he entered, so he was definitely not mute.

‘What is it? Is he talking now?’

Khalid suddenly remembered what the demon had said.

‘Ah, this is the effect of soundproofing.’

The effect of the dagger was unintentionally confirmed again.

It seems that the effect is activated when he holds the handle.

“Hey, shopkeeper. It would be better to put down that dagger and speak.”

The merchant was momentarily puzzled and then followed his words.

Seeing that Khalid’s words were conveyed properly, it seemed that the structure only prevented sounds from inside from leaking out. It was just as the demon had said.

“What’s embedded in the handle is indeed a Runestone. But I’m not an expert in magic, so I can’t give you a proper appraisal.”

“Then where should I take it to sell it?”

“You’ll have to go to a Mages’ Guild or a magic shop in a bigger village than this one. All I know is that Runestones in this complete form are traded only with gold coins.”

That the dagger contained a Runestone, and that he could get gold coins if he sold it.

Everything the demon had said was true.

However, it remained a mystery why a demon would do something that would benefit him.

‘What a strange demon.’

Having finished all his business outside, Khalid returned to the inn.

It was already well past dinner time.

Despite the late hour, the inn was crowded with many guests.

The atmosphere was also very different from yesterday, much more excited.

He could tell the reason as soon as he entered.

“The hero who saved the village has finally appeared!”

As soon as a drunkard started speaking, all eyes turned to Khalid.

The inn became even more noisy.

However, not all the villagers were friendly towards Khalid.

“Look, look at the bloodstains on his clothes. He must have really killed the ogre.”

“Hey. Who knows if that’s ogre blood or human blood? I heard barbarians kill demons and humans indiscriminately.”

At least whispering like this in the corner was considered polite.

When Khalid sat at a table and ordered drinks and meat, there were also drunkards who subtly tried to cling to him.

“Hey, man. Is it true that you received gold coins as a reward?”

“Let me see it! I don’t even remember the last time I saw a gold coin.”

“With one gold coin, we could empty all the barrels in this inn and still have some left. How about you treat us? Then I’ll ask a minstrel I know to spread your story throughout the continent. Huh, what do you say?”

Khalid let out a small sigh.

Listening to the drunkards’ nonsense made him feel tired even though he wasn’t before. He even thought that the demon’s chatter earlier was much more beneficial.

“I want to be left alone.”

Khalid warned them in a low voice.

They didn’t seem like the type to back down with just one word, but he gave them at least one chance.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Barbarians are surprisingly stingy, unlike their appearance.”

As expected, the drunkards didn’t back down.

Instead, they lost their fear and raised their voices.

‘I need to sober them up a bit.’

As Khalid was about to get up from the table.

A gust of wind blew right in front of his eyes.

Crash!

“Cough!”

A middle-aged woman who had been watching the situation smashed the drunkard’s nose with a tray.

It was the innkeeper.

“Stop bothering other customers and get out if you’re done eating! You drunkards!”

At the innkeeper’s shout, the drunkards left the inn without a word. To them, she, who managed their debts, was more terrifying than a barbarian.

“They’re regulars, you know. If they get beaten up by you, I won’t be able to collect their debts for a while.”

Her tone was a bit curt, but her heart was fully expressed in the food she brought. High-quality ale, which was only brought out on special occasions, and a glistening whole roasted pig filled the table.

“You’re staying the night again, right? Use the innermost room on the second floor when you’re done eating. No need to pay.”

An unprovoked favor.

Khalid didn’t bother to ask why. The circumstances of the innkeeper, who had recently lost her husband to the ogre, were none of his concern.

He just nodded slightly and took a big bite of the meat.

◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈

Khalid.

A barbarian warrior from the Ancestor’s Land, the Volcanus Plateau, and the last chieftain of the Thunder Axe Tribe.

It was only two months ago that he set foot in the Empire, crossing the Forbidden Mountains, the fence he had sworn never to cross.

The reason he came here, even breaking his oath, was only one. To take revenge on the one who annihilated his tribe three years ago under the pretext of the Great Expedition.

However, now is not the time for revenge.

The three years he spent in the Ancestor’s Land performing the ritual of atonement, and the next three years, are the time to sharpen the blade of revenge he has been nurturing.

Khalid swore to his heart once again.

That he would kill him without fail.

The morning after defeating the ogre.

Someone knocked on Khalid’s door.

“What are you doing here?”

The person who visited the inn was none other than the Guild Master of the Mercenary Guild.

“Did you have a good rest yesterday?”

“As you can see.”

Khalid’s body was perfectly fine.

The Guild Master clicked his tongue.

Although he had bandages on his shoulders and stomach, the lack of bloodstains indicated that they weren’t serious injuries.

‘When I saw him at the Guild yesterday, he was covered in blood, so I didn’t notice…… but this is not the body of someone who has been through a fierce battle.’

He was clearly different from the mercenaries he had seen so far.

Moreover, his opponent this time was a Commander-level ogre that had taken the lives of dozens of soldiers and mercenaries. To have dealt with it alone and still be this fine.

Are all the barbarians from the north like this?

In any case, he was definitely an extraordinary individual.

“What are you staring at? What’s your business?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

He had momentarily forgotten the purpose of his visit.

The Guild Master got straight to the point.

“The Lord wishes to see you.”