Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Sanctuary of Mist （1）

‘It’s cold.’

Khalid reached out and touched the curtain of mist. The fog was so thick that he couldn’t even see his own hand right in front of his face.

Neigh.

The horse backed away, seemingly frightened. It seemed bringing it along would be impossible.

‘Is there really another space in here?’

『I told you, there is. It’s a place only you can enter. If you don’t go in soon, this fog will never disappear. Then the merchants of Windfall won’t be able to go to other villages.』

‘You expect me to believe such nonsense?’

『Believe it or not, just go in. What, are you scared?』

The moment Khalid thought of Becky as a pseudo-prophet, their positions were reversed. He began to wonder if he had to acknowledge Becky’s supernatural powers once again.

Khalid dismounted, took only his weapons, and pushed himself into the fog. A cool air enveloped his entire body.

『Ugh. I really can’t see a thing.』

‘Didn’t you tell me to go in?’

『I thought I’d just pop in with you.』

Khalid didn’t know what she meant by “pop in,” but he started walking forward. Even with his eyes open, it was no different from having them closed.

『Are you sure you’re walking straight?』

‘Yes.’

His sense of direction gradually dulled, and it became unclear whether he was moving forward or just walking in place. Now, even if she told him to go back, he wouldn’t be able to.

After walking for a long time, Khalid felt the fog gradually thinning. The gray fog gradually turned into a pure white light.

Zing.

『Ugh…… It’s bright.』

Khalid closed his eyes momentarily due to the strong light, and when he opened them, the fog had completely cleared. And before his eyes, an open space as large as a village square unfolded.

Behind him, he could see a grand, old-fashioned building that looked like a castle, along with its entrance. The surroundings were completely shrouded in clouds and mist. It felt as if he had climbed to the top of a towering mountain peak.

‘This is……’

『We’ve finally arrived. This is the ‘Sanctuary of Mist’.』

‘Sanctuary of Mist?’

It’s the place that becomes the protagonist’s base in the game.

Including basic NPCs like health recovery, blacksmith, and merchant, colleagues or additional NPCs that can be recruited as the story progresses also gather in this sanctuary.

All the protagonists chosen by the players start the game in different locations, but they all have to visit this Sanctuary of Mist after the tutorial is over.

In other words, conversely, it also meant that the protagonist chosen for this journey was Khalid.

（Now everything is clear. To go home, I have to get a proper ending. It must mean that fulfilling his wish will fulfill mine as well.）

Becky felt relieved when the Sanctuary of Mist actually appeared, but she was also worried about what lay ahead. Compared to the main story, she wondered if she could watch the incredibly intense hidden story to the end.

She felt her mission had become even more crucial.

‘Hey, Becky.’

『Huh, huh?』

Khalid called out to Becky, who was lost in thought.

‘You seem to know what kind of place this is, don’t you?’

『Uh…… Yeah. It’ll be helpful in various ways as you travel. I’ll explain in detail once we’re inside.』

‘What’s that over there?’

『What do you mean, that?』

Khalid’s gaze was directed towards a statue in the middle of the square.

A statue of a knight in a heavily rusted full suit of armor, a thick greatsword stuck in the ground. It resembled a full-plate armor stand that would be placed as a decoration in a nobleman’s mansion.

『Ah~. That’s a scarecrow.』

‘That’s a scarecrow?’

『Not for chasing away birds like you think, hmm…… How should I put it?』

A damage meter.

He wouldn’t understand if I said that. It’s a kind of sandbag that the protagonist can use to test new skills or weapons. A suit of armor with the unfortunate fate of just standing there and getting beaten up.

『Ah! That’s right, training. It’s a training scarecrow. If you want, you can test your new axe before going inside. It’s sturdy and doesn’t break easily…… Well, even if it breaks, it resurrects quickly.』

Becky whispered the last part so Khalid wouldn’t hear.

‘No thanks. I don’t have the hobby of needlessly destroying inanimate objects.’

『Suit yourself.』

Khalid walked towards the entrance of the castle.

As he tried to cross the square, the silence of the quiet square was broken.

Creak.

The greatsword that was stuck in the stone floor was pulled out. The statue slowly lifted its greatsword.

Khalid stopped at the sudden movement.

“Is this thing…… alive?”

『Huh? Why is it doing this?』

It seemed that the scarecrow moving on its own was unexpected for Becky as well.

Screech.

The scarecrow soon raised the greatsword high above its head and stretched it out to the side. As if to say that no one could pass beyond this point.

“……”

Of course, the suit of armor didn’t speak.

But it succeeded in conveying its thoughts to Khalid.

“It seems it has no intention of letting us pass.”

『Huh……? Why, why is it blocking our way?』

Creak.

The rusty joints that had been stiff for a long time made a creaking sound. As the scarecrow moved its arms forward, the greatsword naturally pointed at Khalid’s chest.

‘This guy. Does it want to fight me?’

Khalid felt a strange sense of the scarecrow’s spirit. However, since it wasn’t emitting any killing intent, he wondered if it was perhaps requesting a spar.

“Well, if that’s what you want……”

Khalid drew the Blacksteel Axe he received from Melissa.

“……I have no reason to refuse.”

As Khalid prepared to fight, the scarecrow gripped the hilt of the greatsword with both hands and pulled it towards its shoulders. It took a stable stance and didn’t move from its spot. It was a sign of its willingness to yield the first move since it was the one who initiated the fight.

“What a polite fellow. But that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”

Khalid grinned and kicked off the ground.

With a thud, he closed the distance with his opponent in an instant. It was lightning fast.

Clang!

The heavy sensation transmitted through the metal was one of the surest ways to gauge the opponent’s skill. Khalid and the scarecrow confirmed each other’s strength with their first exchange.

The scarecrow’s expression was unreadable, but Khalid sensed that his opponent was no pushover. Contrary to its rusty and dull appearance, its reactions were surprisingly fast.

‘This technique, somewhere……’

Khalid immediately noticed that the scarecrow’s reaction speed was a half-beat faster. Otherwise, it would be impossible to deflect Khalid’s swift attack with a full swing of a large two-handed greatsword.

The insight to read the attack trajectory from the moment the opponent raised its arm. It was an unpleasant feeling for Khalid, whose attack had been seen through.

‘This is the same as back then…… Could it be?’

The knight’s posture with the greatsword somehow overlapped with the image of the Emperor wielding the holy sword. The shadow of Emperor Arthur Rainwood, the one who made him experience the feeling of despair three years ago.

“This is interesting. I’ve met an interesting opponent.”

Khalid held the Blacksteel Axe horizontally and charged at the scarecrow. A chaotic flurry of attacks, as if saying, “Block it if you can.” It was an unpredictable, free-flowing attack, but its power was not diminished in the slightest.

（What’s going on? Did Khalid suddenly get excited?）

A deep blue light shone in Khalid’s golden eyes. It was the first time she had sensed such madness from him, who always maintained composure and calmness in actual battles.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A resounding, exhilarating sound echoed through the square.

The scarecrow was on the defensive, but Khalid’s attacks had yet to break through the wall of the greatsword.

It was truly a battle of strength and skill. Khalid was determined to crush all flimsy techniques with sheer power.

Thud.

It was the scarecrow that broke the stalemate after a long exchange.

“Ugh!”

Khalid’s arm, holding the Blacksteel Axe, was pushed back forcefully. The scarecrow’s surprise thrust, which had been blocking Khalid’s attacks with only left and right full swings until now.

（This is…… ‘Greatsword Parry’!）

It was a top-class counterattack skill that even veteran players with thousands of hours of experience had a success rate of less than 10%. A high-level technique with extremely difficult timing, praised even if it succeeded only once out of ten times, the scarecrow succeeded on its first try in actual combat.

And against Khalid, no less.

（No way. Is this really the scarecrow I knew?）

But now was not the time to be surprised by such things. The reason ‘Greatsword Parry’ was a dream for veteran players was because of its high risk, high reward nature. It was because of the thrill of the guaranteed attack that followed the parry, smashing down with the greatsword.

Swish.

While Khalid was being pushed back, the scarecrow had already swung the greatsword behind its back and taken a stance for a drawing slash.

（We’re screwed.）

‘Cross Slash’ is coming.

A horizontal slash and a vertical slash that come in almost simultaneously, a special move boasting the highest speed among greatsword techniques. This skill, which combines both power and style, is difficult to land normally due to its slow startup, but after a parry, it has a guaranteed hit. It’s practically a set with Greatsword Parry.

Anyway, all this is just game talk.

The place Becky was in was reality, where she could die if she wasn’t careful. She felt goosebumps rising on her skin.

“Heh, this really takes me back.”

Khalid smiled in the face of clear danger. Becky thought he had finally lost it, but Khalid focused all his strength on his repelled arm.

Flash.

The scarecrow’s ‘Cross Slash’.

Khalid’s ‘Full Power’.

Two flashes collided in the middle of the square.

A ringing tinnitus echoed in their ears.

『……?』

After a single loud bang swept through, the square became quiet again as if nothing had happened. Khalid and the scarecrow, who had exchanged their final attacks, soon lowered their weapons. It meant the spar was over.

Crack, clang.

The greatsword the scarecrow was holding broke in two. On the other hand, Khalid’s Blacksteel Axe didn’t even chip after all those exchanges. It was indeed the effect of ‘Immortality’.

Khalid traced the axe blade with his fingers, recalling a bitter old memory.

“Back then, I was helpless against his techniques. But it wasn’t a good choice for you to use the exact same techniques as him.”

“……”

『What do you mean? Were you pretending to be excited just now? I was so scared, thinking you were fighting for real!』

Half of it was Khalid’s curiosity. He wanted to see how far a knight who took the same stance as the Emperor would react in the same way. So he projected his own image from three years ago, when he lost his reason and charged in blindly, to induce a reaction from the scarecrow.

Strangely, the scarecrow acted exactly as Khalid intended, just like the Emperor, and it was a reenactment of that day from beginning to end.

However, the result was the opposite of that time.

The battle ended with one side’s weapon breaking.

The scarecrow had no expression, but it felt as if its shoulders had slumped.

“Don’t be so disappointed. This was just a spar. Let’s postpone the outcome of the spar until the next one. That’s my rule.”

“……”

“Let’s have a rematch for real when we have the chance.”

Creak.

The scarecrow picked up its broken greatsword as an answer. Then, with a clinking sound, it walked towards the entrance of the castle. After taking a few steps, the suit of armor suddenly looked back at Khalid.

“……”

‘What, is it telling me to follow it?’

『It seems so.』

Upon receiving the silent signal, Khalid followed the scarecrow, and only then did it start moving again.

Becky was inwardly surprised by the scarecrow’s sudden change, but she was relieved that it hadn’t turned hostile. Perhaps the fact that the scarecrow used the Emperor’s techniques was proof that he had stayed here when he was the Hero.

But Becky didn’t bother to explain that far. It would be troublesome if Khalid showed any aversion after hearing that it was a place used by the Hero.

Meow.

As they reached the entrance of the castle, a gray cat appeared out of nowhere and landed softly on the scarecrow’s helmet.

『Oh! Misty!』

Becky’s voice brightened when she saw the cat. The cat curled up, wagging its tail, and lay down comfortably. It was a pair that suited the scarecrow quite well.

According to Becky, it was the mascot of this Sanctuary of Mist.

‘Mascot? Is it a sacred creature?’

Clang, groan……

At that moment, the scarecrow pushed open the firmly closed iron gate of the castle with all its might.