Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Chapter 4: Strange Encounter （4）

Becky also understood that this was inside a game.

And that she was, in fact, possessed by a character in her favorite game, ‘World of Pandora’.

Of course, it was unbelievable.

She thought she would wake up from the dream if she slept for one night. But reality didn’t change, and since things had turned out this way, she tried to accept it for now.

She calmly looked around and found parts that matched the game’s content in the familiar scenery of the village.

First of all, this character named Khalid.

He was the Barbarian Warrior, the protagonist of the World of Pandora expansion pack.

Hero, Mage, Thief, Priest, Archer.

The sixth new class that appeared following the five main protagonists.

Becky had been playing it until recently.

Although the Thunder Axe Tribe and the name Khalid were unfamiliar, just by looking at his actions, it was clear that he was a Barbarian Warrior.

Anyway, the ultimate goal of this game is to defeat the Great Demon. No matter who the protagonist is, the main storyline doesn’t change.

（But what’s with the Emperor out of the blue?）

The direction is wrong from the start.

『Hey, my head’s a mess, so let me organize it again. First of all, what was the name of the village we left?』

‘Are you talking about Windfall?’

『Yeah, yeah, Windfall. Where have I heard that before?』

Becky racked her brain.

（If it’s Windfall…… wasn’t that the starting village for the Barbarian Warrior?）

The village that gets destroyed and disappears after a short while due to monster attacks after you kill a few goblins as a tutorial.

The protagonist who barely escapes heads to the next village, and the game begins in earnest from there.

（But he caught an Ogre instead of goblins. And it was Commander-level…… Wait a minute, could this be?）

Suddenly, a chilling phrase came to Becky’s mind.

（Hidden Quest?）

Although it’s usually just a place you pass by briefly, there was a hidden quest in Windfall. A mysterious quest with an unknown purpose.

‘Ogre Subjugation’.

If you choose an Ogre instead of goblins for the tutorial, you can proceed with this hidden quest.

It’s common sense to deal with Commander-level monsters after forming a basic 5-person party.

Fighting alone at level 1 was nonsense.

Since it’s a tutorial, you can’t level up anywhere else, and you have to rely solely on strategy and control…… It wasn’t really a quest meant to be cleared, and she thought it was an option the developers added for fun.

But what kind of beings are K-gamers?

With all sorts of tricks and ingenious strategies, people who cleared it by twisting their bodies like pretzels started to appear one by one. They were hardcore players who could do anything for achievements.

Achievement completion rate 1%.

Becky was also one of that 1%.

However, the reward was poor compared to the effort put in.

Decent experience, some gold and junk items.

It’s not a reward that would change the game from the beginning.

But the real problem was what came next. Becky felt her spine chill and cautiously asked Khalid.

『Wh, where did you say we’re going now?』

‘Stoneberry.’

『It’s obvious!』

Becky despaired.

Even the hidden quest doesn’t end with just one. A series of quests awaited them.

It’s called, ‘Stoneberry of Frenzy’.

Soon, the ones who destroy Windfall are a massive horde of zombies that flow in from Stoneberry. Windfall and Stoneberry, overrun by zombies, were soon forgotten by gamers.

‘I even caught an Ogre, so zombies should be easy.’

The 1% hardcore players who thought this were all annihilated in this quest.

The hundreds of running zombies themselves were a problem, but the real problem was the boss behind the zombies, the ‘Vampire Bat’.

The Vampire Bat, empowered by demonic forces, could even reach the Centurion level depending on the situation.

Incredible agility and stealth abilities.

Plus, the gimmick of turning its victims into zombies.

It wasn’t an opponent that could be dealt with through tricks or control like the Ogre.

Nearly 99% positive game reviews.

The 1% negative reviews were all from hardcore players who experienced this hidden quest.

━You guys try clearing it! This #$%#……!!

━The developers have released poison upon K-gamers.

━Don’t touch the hidden quest unless you want to break your monitor.

━You can see the developers’ wickedness in making it hardcore without even allowing save & load.

Many hardcore players challenged it afterward, but no one cleared Stoneberry of Frenzy. This soon spread like a meme in the game community, even creating all sorts of rumors.

━I heard if you clear Stoneberry, the developers send you a ticket for an overseas trip as a gift.

━No, no. If you clear it, you get a girlfriend.

━I cleared it, and the main protagonist and storyline completely changed.

━That’s right. The protagonist turns into a Succubus and it suddenly becomes an adult game.

━Believing this, I’m going for my 90,000th retry.

（I can’t believe someone actually guessed right among the roughly made-up stories.）

The Thunder Axe Tribe’s Khalid and the declaration of assassinating the Emperor.

Although they haven’t cleared Stoneberry yet, the protagonist and the main storyline have indeed already changed here.

Becky was troubled.

This was because the voice she heard in her dream right before meeting Khalid was still engraved in her mind.

━If his wish comes true, your wish will also come true.

What did that mean?

Could it mean that if Khalid achieves his goal, Becky can also return to her world?

In other words, a community of fate.

Becky couldn’t interpret it any other way.

And another important fact.

Becky didn’t want to see Khalid die painfully. This was not because she was worried about Khalid. There was a different reason.

『……Hey, can you stop eating that tasteless jerky?』

‘I need to fill my stomach to move properly tomorrow.’

『Ugh, I can’t concentrate because of the fishy smell.』

The fact that Becky shared Khalid’s five senses was holding her back.

This wasn’t just about the jerky.

She suffered all day yesterday as well.

The arrowhead embedded in his shoulder.

The blade stuck in his abdomen.

It was a shock Becky had never experienced in her life. Khalid, the one who was actually experiencing it, just wrapped it up roughly with bandages as if it was nothing.

（Isn’t it unfair that only I’m in pain?! Is this bastard just enduring it while he’s also in pain?）

Fortunately, thanks to Khalid’s ridiculous recovery ability, she was fine now. But the thought that this would happen frequently as she traveled with him sent shivers down her spine.

（I can’t let him go to Stoneberry like this.）

The immediate problem is more worrisome than the Emperor.

Advise him to avoid the thorny path while helping Khalid achieve his goals.

That was the ideal direction Becky had in mind.

『Listen carefully to what I say from now on.』

‘……?’

『When the sun rises tomorrow morning, go straight back to Windfall. And tell the Lord that you can’t do this request.』

‘What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden? Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep.’

Khalid swallowed the jerky and lay down.

『Listen to me! It’s true, you’ll die if you go there!』

‘I’ll die?’

『There’s no rebellion happening there right now. A Vampire Bat is sucking the blood of the residents and turning them into zombies. I’m telling you, the Lord there was also attacked by zombies and died!』

‘Vampire Bat…… How do you know that?’

『That’s…… that’s because. It’s like a revelation! I’ve already seen the future, you know?』

Khalid was dumbfounded.

She said she was an ordinary person, but now she’s even trying to act like a prophet.

At first, she found a dagger that could be worth some money.

And now she’s saying to go back because his life is in danger.

It was suspicious, but it seemed like she was saying it all for Khalid’s sake. However, that wasn’t a reason to give up a request he had already accepted.

‘I’m grateful that you’re worried, but I’m not as weak as you think.’

『Who’s worried about you?! I’m saying this because I hate being in pain.』

‘You’re in pain? Ah, so that’s what it was.’

The reason she complained about the fishy smell of the jerky.

The reason she was disgusted by the stench of the Ogre’s cave.

Now Khalid realized that Becky shared his senses.

‘I’m sorry, but if that revelation is true, I can’t back down even more. I never run away in the face of demons. That’s my rule.’

『Please don’t do that and listen to me.』

‘Becky, you said you were human, right?’

『Huh? Uh……』

‘Then remember this. You can’t achieve anything if you’re afraid of death.’

『Hey, are you really going to do this?!』

‘If you keep making a fuss about this, I’ll shut your mouth again, so you know.’

Becky couldn’t force him anymore when Khalid threatened her with a gag.

She hates being gagged.

It feels like being locked up in solitary confinement.

At the very least, if she doesn’t curse at this guy before he dies, she won’t be able to close her eyes in peace.

（Damn it, this moth to a flame!）

It felt like being trapped inside a time bomb.

Under the beautiful night sky sprinkled with the Milky Way.

Becky had to suffer all night long, imagining being bitten by zombies and having her blood sucked by bats.

◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈

Three days after leaving Windfall.

As they approached Stoneberry, the smell of blood filled the air.

Heehin!

The horse they were riding reared up, refusing to go any further. Khalid had no choice but to tie the horse far away from the village and walk the rest of the way.

『Are you walking from here?』

‘The horse is already scared. There’s no need to needlessly feed the monsters.’

『You admit there are monsters.』

‘It would be strange not to know with this terrible stench.’

As Becky said, it was clear that this wasn’t just a simple rebellion.

Khalid approached the village with an axe in each hand. Black smoke was rising from various parts of the village, and the closer he got, the louder the screams of people and the sounds of fighting became.

『See, I told you. It’s not too late. Let’s go back, huh? We might be able to handle the zombies, but the Vampire Bat is really……』

‘I told you to stop talking about that.’

Khalid was firm.

There was no fear in his eyes.

‘From now on, you just watch quietly.’

Boom.

With those words, Khalid kicked the ground hard.

As the Barbarian Warrior charged into the village like a bull, the screams of monsters, not humans, began to ring out.