«Ah, uh... um...»
After staring into space at the crazy brainwashing scene, I came to my senses and entered the village. In fact, even the word «village» was misleading. The barbarian shrine was more like a camp. The tents were pitched anywhere, without distinction between their land and mine. After crossing it, I headed straight to the shaman's tent. It's not that I didn't know the location at this point, so I decided there was no need to meet through the chieftain.
What, there's no one?
When I opened the shaman's tent, it was empty. In the end, I had no choice but to go to the chief's shop. But how did this happen? There was no one in the boss's store. Even if the boss wasn't there, the elders used to take turns watching over her.
What the hell...?
As I walked in front of her, I was met by an old man whom I had already seen several times. «Bjorn, son of Yandel? Are you also here to attend the funeral?»
There was no need to ask whose funeral it was. Exactly half a year had passed since Ainar had been imprisoned in the Holy Land.
«...It's already that day».
«It is an honor to be able to leave something to future generations».
After asking where the funeral was being held, I headed straight there, into a dark, desolate forest. After advancing about 30 minutes, I saw the barbarians gathered in the depths with solemn expressions. There were the shaman and the chief, as well as old acquaintances. The first person I noticed was someone else.
«Ainar».
Ainar stood there, weakly, staring at his master's corpse and leaning against a thick tree. «...Bjorn?» Ainar's eyes were blank as he called me. Then when I got closer, he bit his lip. «If I had known, I wouldn't have done it».
She didn't know. She was sure they would have told her.
«... Bjorn, did you know that?»
«Sí.»
The training Ainar had been doing for six months was called «forging» among the barbarians, the process of training them to build a physique. In the game, when you finished the forge, your physique statistics increased significantly and you were eligible to receive a succession of souls. Although, of course, he could end only the forge.
«I heard this old man had a chronic illness».
When I heard that the life expectancy of the old man who had made Ainar his successor was short, I also had this situation in mind. However, as I saw now, she seemed unaware of it.
«I didn't know that...!»
«It seems that the old man cared a lot about you».
The Soul Succession, along with the Soul Impression, was one of the only spells available only to barbarians. Through this ritual, a barbarian could transmit one of his essences to future generations. It must be taken into account that it could only be received once, and that the predecessors lost their lives.
«...Why didn't anyone tell me? If I had known this was going to happen, I would have quit right away», Ainar lamented with a voice full of regret and remorse.
The chief, who had been watching, opened his mouth. «Kiduba was a coward».
«Don't insult him! Kiduba was a fearless warrior».
«Then it must be because he was a coward. Why Kiduba couldn't explain the succession of souls».
«¡Yo no soy un...! »
Seeing that Ainar was complaining, the chief immediately cut her off. «Then stop whining. If you want to prove that you are not a coward, observe his death without further insults, warrior. There is no one in the world who does not feel pain. Still, face it and move on. That is the path of a warrior».
After that, Ainar kept his mouth shut, and the chief did not speak for a long time. The funeral continued in silence. The shaman approached the corpse, which was leaning against a tree, smeared blood on its face and rang a bell. He then sprayed a solution around it to prevent the insects from eating the carcass. The barbarians silently watched the process, and soon the shaman announced the end of the funeral ceremony.
«The spirit of Kiduba, the third son of Tohar, has left his body and settled in the forest».
Now, the corpse abandoned in the forest would rot and turn into white bones. When that time came, the shaman's hand would break even the bones into small pieces and scatter them throughout the forest. Warriors who stood in front of the corpse cut their hair or cut their hands and spread blood around them before leaving. It didn't take much time.
Now only Ainar and I were left. I approached the body first, cut my hair with a knife and spread it over the area. «Now it's your turn».
Ainar did not respond. However, instead of continuing to press, I left without saying a word. Since it was a farewell for which she had not prepared, she needed time to assimilate it on her own.
***
«Keke, I knew you were coming, warrior». Shortly after leaving the forest, I entered the shaman's tent. «Did you bring the ingredient?»
«Sí.»
«Come, take it out.»
Following the shaman's instructions, I took out the Immortal Heart that I had kept in my backpack, the heart of a troll resting on a piece of cloth in a box, beating slightly.
«Did you get it yourself?»
«No, I bought it at the market.
«For how much?» I didn't know why I was curious, but once I answered, the shaman giggled. «How did a barbarian like you appear? Without a doubt you are endowed with economic fortune, warrior».
Most of my conversations with the shaman were like this, but strangely today left me in a bad mood. Was that why? Unintentionally, I responded: «Don't talk about financial fortune when you don't know anything».
At my words, the shaman just smiled. «Hmm, since you're back alive and well, it's probably not a problem with yourself... Have you lost anything?».
«I don't want to answer».
«Yes, that's fine too». I didn't answer. «Warrior, the more you lose something valuable, the stronger you will become».
I really wanted to curse him, but I kept quiet. For some reason, the more he talked to this old man, the more he felt like he was losing. «Okay, can I get the Soul Impression today?».
«Of course.» The shaman nodded his head happily at my question. I thought I'd be tired from the funeral ceremony.
Clink.
Then, I put the million stones that the shaman asked for in the jar and lay down on the ground. He had reached the sixth trace of the path of immortality.
«This time there are also three paths».
After hearing a brief explanation, I chose one. There was no need to think it through. First of all, I invested all my money in imprinting for this one thing. «I will choose the battle soul».
«Keke, even if you want to change it later, you can't.»
Shortly after, the shaman began piercing me with needles. Soon, a sharp pain came over me, but I could bear it better than before. It was for a psychological reason that had nothing to do with the intensity of the pain. I knew a great reward awaited me.
[You have activated Imprint of Immortality phase 6. Soul Regeneration will increase significantly. The Special Skill stat has increased +60.]
The statistic with the highest level of difficulty in obtaining, MP regeneration, was greatly increased. Simply put, it meant I could now use gigantization more often and maintain it for longer. However, this was nothing compared to the main course.
[A battle spirit now resides in your body. Because of the unique Union effect, team performance improves in proportion to your skill level].
Union, a passive ability that was always applied with the active Wild Burst, performed quite well on its own. However, there was a hidden element to this ability. Perhaps due to the concept of becoming a single body with battle, if you had one, your equipment would not be damaged even when using gigantization. In other words, I wouldn't have to take off my cumbersome equipment anymore. Not only that, it was also possible to crush enemies with a supergiant mace and shield!
«Ughhh...Behell...ahhh...»
Seeing me cry with laughter even despite the pain I had left in my body, the shaman murmured: «Keke, this one is definitely not sane».
Like a barbarian, I filtered that evaluation through the other ear.
***
Bjorn Candle
Level: 4
Physical: 555 (New +225) /Spirit: 198 (New +44) /Special Ability: 188 (New +60)
Item Level: 98 (New -770)
General Combat Power: 965.5 (New +23.5)
Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7 /Orc Hero – Rank 5 / Ogre – Rank 3 (New)
***
It had been a long time since the sixth stage was printed. Beyond the store, there was still light. As I gobbled up the water from the teapot on the bedside table I asked: «Has it been a day yet?».
«Kekeke, are you crying out for how hard it has been?».
Gosh, why not just respond with a «Yes»? It was a pattern of speech that I couldn't understand no matter how many times I heard it, but I didn't bother to argue. More precisely, he didn't have the strength to do it. I was about to grab my backpack to get up.
«Warrior». The shaman, who always told me to get lost around this time, called me and dropped a totally unexpected bomb. «How did you come to receive an oracle from a human god?».
My heart sank, but I let out a long sigh. It was clear that he already knew everything, so there was no point in denying it. «Who have you heard it from? No, how many people know?».
«The ring you wear is closely related to your destiny. How could I not know? Keke, don't worry. Others will never notice». The shaman sneered, saying that they had holes for eyes. That's when I realized that the shaman was in a strangely good mood.
I asked cautiously: «Are you going to tell the boss?».
«Why should I?»
I didn't really have much to say to that.
«It's just an old tradition. Just like what I did yesterday in the forest. Thousands of years ago, we left our hometown and were placed in this city. Because of that, we learned about the existence of the gods, and we learned civilization in the true sense.»
«What are you trying to tell me?»
«As we trust and follow the spirit of our ancestors, why should we deny and hate a real existence that benefits us? That is nothing more than meaningless stubbornness, something that deserves to be called barbarism». The shaman still did not change, especially because he spoke in a way that was difficult to understand. Of course, I couldn't say anything to get on his bad side as long as I had strong control over my weakness.
«...And what do you think the chief will do?».
«If he finds out about your oracle, you mean?»
«Sí.»
The shaman giggled and replied: «Why ask what you already know? That ruffian will immediately call you a traitor and kick you out. Slash! Or maybe I'll cut off your head and burn it».
And so it was. Damn, he had no choice but to live in suspense until the Soul Impression was over?
As I licked my lips bitterly at that thought, the shaman continued: «Warrior, you care about nothing».
«What do you mean?»
«Beasts, dwarves and fairies abandoned old traditions a long time ago. Why do you think this is so?».
There was nothing to think deeply about. The history of the Earth was like that too. When new ideas and reforms were needed, there were always those who wanted to turn their backs on the old. Later generations called them great people.
This crazy old man...
That's when I realized what this shaman was trying to say.
«Are you worried about being kicked out, warrior? If so, the answer to that concern is really simple».
After all, this grandfather was also a barbarian. Otherwise, he would not dare to think of such a solution. If there is a problem, destroy the problem by destroying it. So, in other words...
«You just have to become the chief of the tribe.»
Take charge of the barbarians before you are expelled.
«What do you think, isn't this a much more warlike path?»
I didn't know if it was a warrior path or not. Without knowing it, I laughed out loud. I was a barbarian under a year old, who was actually an evil spirit. Tell me to become a barbarian lord to change this race to my liking?
«Those are funny words, shaman».
It was a pretty tempting suggestion, especially since it was reasonable.