Chapter 20
What exactly... is this Rock Tribe?
Burta, Chief of the Western Volcano Tribe, had recovered enough to move.
Now he looked around the village with complete disbelief.
Only a few hours earlier, physical pain had not been his greatest burden.
It had been guilt.
I did something terrible to the children of the Rock Tribe.
Before collapsing into sleep the previous night, shame had filled Burta’s mind.
Karga’s failed hunt had become the responsibility of Burta, the chief.
The honor of the Western Volcano Tribe demanded it.
That was the barbarian way.
But the monster they had never seen before was far stronger than Burta expected.
It was intelligent.
Persistent.
Burta had arrogantly hunted the creature.
Then the situation reversed.
He was cornered.
Badly wounded.
I should have taken responsibility somehow.
Unfortunately...
The final battle against the creature had taken place near the Northern Rock Tribe.
Even if he had been desperate...
Even if he had been running for his life...
He should never have led such a monster toward this fragile village filled only with children.
“Chief.”
Huku, who had been caring for him, spoke quietly.
“The Rock Tribe is finished.”
His voice was heavy.
“Everything is destroyed.”
Burta didn’t answer.
But inside...
He agreed.
“It is incredible that such young warriors managed to kill the monster...”
Huku sighed deeply.
His voice faded.
Since Huku had brought the injured Burta here, he probably felt responsible too.
The children had miraculously killed the monster.
But their foundation for survival had been destroyed.
How could these young barbarians survive the harsh Northern Frontier now?
“...I will take responsibility for the children of Rock.”
Burta clenched his fist.
“I owe them both a debt and gratitude.”
He looked toward the village.
“I will bring them to Volcano.”
His eyes became determined.
“I will feed them well.”
“Train them.”
“Raise them into excellent warriors.”
Zakan would obviously grow into a great warrior.
Several of the other children had impressive fighting spirits too.
But there was someone else Burta cared about even more.
Izak.
The young shaman who supposedly received revelations from the ancestor god.
A child whose eyes seemed to see through everything.
From the moment Burta first met him...
He had been unable to stop watching him.
How did he know the weakness of a monster he had never seen before?
Without Izak throwing ash and creating an opening...
Zakan’s attack never would have succeeded.
It was a miracle Zakan could never have achieved alone.
Izak created the perfect plan.
That allowed Zakan to act.
And because Izak trusted Zakan...
He had stood in front of the monster without hesitation.
Those children are truly desirable.
And that wasn’t all.
What happened after killing the monster was even more unbelievable.
Izak had prepared traps as though he knew exactly how the monster would behave.
He built barricades.
Encouraged the children.
True...
The plan had failed because of one insane human.
But even after the plan collapsed...
Izak quickly used his surroundings.
He bound the monster.
Then killed it.
He is not an ordinary barbarian.
Even so...
Burta tasted bitterness.
The child was extraordinary.
But the price of killing that monster had been enormous.
With the village fence destroyed...
The Rock Tribe would never recover to what it once was.
Yes.
Burta had been certain of that.
At least...
Until a few hours ago.
“Heave! Pull! Barbarians, pull harder!”
A strange, loud voice interrupted Burta’s thoughts.
It came from the destroyed village entrance.
“We do not have many materials left!”
The human man who had nearly been executed the previous night was shouting while sweating heavily.
“We’ll weave the usable remains diagonally and build an emergency defense first!”
He waved his hands wildly.
The children of the Rock Tribe began digging like crazy.
They raised heavy wooden posts.
“We are barbarians who repair home!”
“We are smart, so we make home stronger!”
The children shouted strange slogans while pulling ropes.
Every time they pulled...
A geometric structure of crossed wooden beams rose over the previously ruined village entrance.
An arched emergency fence quickly took shape.
Honestly...
To Burta, this so-called temporary fence already looked far stronger than the tribe’s old fence.
Is that man truly a skilled craftsman?
Burta watched the strange sight in silence.
How did that young shaman immediately understand the real value of that human?
And how did he use him so perfectly?
If Burta had been responsible...
He would have followed barbarian law and cut down the arrogant human who destroyed the village.
But now...
The Northern Rock Tribe was rebuilding itself with tremendous energy.
Burta trembled.
It can be changed...?
Their ancestral home.
Barbarians simply lived on the land exactly as nature allowed.
If wind destroyed a tent...
They rebuilt the same tent.
If a fence rotted...
They replaced it with the same kind of fence.
That was how they had always lived.
Yet before Burta’s eyes...
The Rock Tribe was not simply rebuilding.
It was improving.
Becoming better than before.
“Potato! Potato! POTATO!”
Something round entered Burta’s vision.
“What is that?”
He flinched and took a step backward.
A round yellow object was waddling around beneath the children’s feet as though supervising their work.
Three leaves on its head moved up and down.
It shouted encouragement.
“C-Chief...”
Huku’s mouth fell open.
“A potato is walking around.”
Just as Burta and Huku stared in shock at something they had never seen before...
“Oh, you’re awake, Burta.”
A calm voice came from behind them.
Burta flinched and turned.
Izak stood there.
He carried a basket filled with large, fresh potatoes.
Burta stared at the potatoes in his arms and simply blinked.
In front of Izak’s field.
“F-Farming...?”
Burta sat across from Izak.
He looked frozen.
As if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.
“Yes.”
Izak pointed toward the field.
“This is where I grow our potatoes.”
Burta stared.
Green leaves were growing from simple rows of black, fertile soil.
Another lightning bolt struck his mind.
The Northern Frontier had always been cursed land.
Dead land.
Everyone knew crops edible by barbarians could never grow here.
Only strange plants monsters could eat.
Or poisonous vegetation.
And yet...
In the middle of this land of death...
Bright green life was growing beautifully.
To barbarian common sense...
This was nothing less than a miracle.
“H-How...?”
“The ancestor god gave me his blessing.”
Izak answered casually.
“So I can farm.”
Burta stared blankly at the field.
“Is something like this truly possible...?”
Izak tilted his head.
“You are looking at it with your own eyes.”
He pointed toward the crops.
“And you still cannot believe it?”
Burta fell silent.
His hand trembled.
He slowly reached toward one of the green leaves.
Then stopped.
As though afraid to touch such sacred life.
He truly... truly received a revelation from the ancestor god!
This was real.
Simply doubting Izak would be an insult to the ancestor god!
“T-Then...”
Burta suddenly remembered something.
“That moving potato I saw in the village?”
“Oh.”
Izak casually answered.
“A spirit.”
Burta froze.
“An Earth Spirit.”
Izak nodded.
“The ancestor god sent it.”
“I see...”
Burta’s huge body suddenly dropped to the ground.
“It was a messenger of the god...”
He knelt in the dirt.
His voice was filled with despair and wonder.
“The ancestor god... chose the children of Rock.”
Burta trembled.
And he had planned to take the Rock children to the Volcano Tribe and raise them?
What arrogance!
These great children had been chosen by the ancestor god.
They had even received an Earth Spirit.
Burta looked at Izak with reverence and fear.
Then he slowly lowered his head.
His voice trembled as he cried out to the ancestor god.
“BARBARIAAAAN...!”
Did he actually understand what I told him?
Burta was kneeling in the dirt and repeatedly bowing toward my potato field.
Watching him made me strangely uneasy.
Anyway...
At least I no longer needed to worry about hiding my farming from the Western Volcano Tribe.
Burta had even sworn to keep it secret himself.
So I didn’t need to be nervous around them anymore.
Then Burta noticed Gamjadori waddling nearby.
He immediately bowed politely to it too.
“Potato?”
“Great Earth Spirit! Messenger of the god!”
Gamjadori seemed uncomfortable.
A gigantic muscular man kept lowering his head in front of it.
“You seem to have recovered quite well.”
What I really meant was...
Go home already.
Burta had spent far too long following Gamjadori around and making a scene.
Eventually, he finally stood and brushed dirt from his body.
“Thanks to you, I survived.”
He nodded.
“I plan to leave today.”
Good.
Then he hesitated.
“And... one more thing.”
What now?
“Soon, I will formally invite you to the territory of the Western Volcano Tribe.”
Burta looked unusually serious.
“Please come.”
He placed a hand over his chest.
“Allow me to fully repay this debt.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You must come!”
Burta became desperate.
“You must, Izak!”
His voice grew louder.
“Barbarians never forget kindness. You absolutely must come!”
Ah.
I didn’t want to.
Sounded annoying.
But Burta kept begging until I finally gave in and nodded.
“Fine.”
Then I quickly turned away.
“Now go. I have something troublesome to deal with, so I’ll say goodbye now.”
Burta immediately followed.
“Something troublesome?”
He looked worried.
“If I can help, I will.”
Then he frowned.
“Did something happen to the tribe?”
Help?
From a barbarian?
I almost snorted and immediately refused.
Then I remembered something.
His Intelligence.
1.
2.
Burta was an extremely intelligent barbarian.
And surviving to his age meant he had experienced many things.
Maybe he knew something about this mysterious problem.
“Hmm...”
Still...
Saying it out loud was embarrassing.
“Tell me.”
Burta folded his arms.
“Young warriors grow by learning from adults.”
Then he added,
“Of course, you may be an exception.”
“Well... ahem.”
I cleared my throat.
Then looked around carefully.
Finally, I lowered my voice.
“Potatoes...”
Burta waited.
“Keep turning into rocks.”
He blinked.
“Do you know why?”
“...???”
See?!
Look at that face!
He was looking at me like I had gone insane.
“Potatoes do what?”
Damn it!
I know!
It sounds ridiculous!
But it really happened!
Another potato had turned into a rock.
Now there were four!
“It is true.”
Burta looked completely lost.
“I apologize, but in my entire life I have never heard anything that strange.”
Then he thought for a moment.
“Are you certain they are ordinary rocks?”
“...!”
Huh?!
Why didn’t I think of that?!
“Thank you, Burta! Goodbye!”
Maybe they weren’t normal rocks!
And I had a skill that could check them!
Ignoring whatever Burta shouted behind me, I immediately ran toward the warehouse.
Malko was still staring seriously at the potatoes.
I burst through the entrance.
“BARBARIAAAAN!”
I shouted the Warrior’s Roar without warning.
Malko nearly jumped out of his skin.
“AAAAH! You scared me, Izak!”
Not my problem.
[Skill ‘Peeking’ activated.]
All right!
What are you?!
A special rock?
Right?
==========
【Ordinary Pebble】
Condition: Normal
==========
“...”
“Izak?”
Malko poked my side.
I couldn’t move.
The sense of loss was too great.
A D-Rank Potato...
A potato that made you twice as full and tasted unbelievably good...
Had transformed into a completely worthless pebble.
Who was doing this?
And why?
Fine.
Let’s see who wins.
You or me.
I sat inside the warehouse and stared at the potatoes.
Eventually...
Without realizing it...
I fell asleep.
Rustle. Rustle.
A tiny sound woke me.
I opened my eyes.
And immediately met its gaze.
The potato thief.
Standing right in front of me...
Boldly stealing one of my potatoes.
Chapter 21
Wait a second...
What exactly am I looking at right now?
“What the hell are those?”
My mouth fell open at the unbelievable scene in front of me.
Under the faint moonlight, the identity of the thieves was revealed.
Five beetles.
Or maybe rhinoceros beetles?
Each one was about the size of my palm.
Their shells glittered like jewels, and they had impressive horns and saw-like jaws.
Rustle, rustle.
“Aaaaaah! H-Huge bugs!”
Malko woke up from the noise.
The moment he spotted the giant beetles, he jumped up and threw himself into my arms.
Before I knew it, I was holding a muscular barbarian like a princess while staring blankly at the bugs.
“B-Bugs...! Izak! The bugs are stealing our potatoes!”
“...Get down first.”
I threw the trembling Malko aside and turned my attention back to the potato thieves.
Even though they had been caught red-handed by the owner of the potatoes, the beetles didn’t look surprised.
They glanced at us once, then calmly continued what they were doing.
Their shameless confidence left me speechless.
The beetles moved their six legs quickly while rolling a plump potato away.
And in the exact spot where the potato had been...
A shiny pebble had been left behind.
So that was it.
The mystery of why potatoes had been turning into stones was finally solved.
“Hey, bugs.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Freeze.
The beetles stopped rolling the potato.
Their antennae twitched.
“Were you the ones stealing our potatoes?”
Ah...
Why am I talking to bugs?
It wasn’t like they could answer...
Shake, shake.
They answered?!
It was a little different from a human shaking their head, but there was no mistaking it.
The beetles were moving their bodies from side to side in strong denial.
“Aaaaaah! Izak can talk to bugs!”
“Malko... please go back to your tent.”
“No! Malko protects Shaman and warehouse!”
Haa...
Anyway.
The potato-thieving bugs were shamelessly insisting that they hadn’t stolen anything.
If I let this go, they would probably keep coming back.
Let’s ask the question differently.
“Did you exchange this pebble for the potato?”
“...!”
The beetle-like bugs immediately raised their front legs and spun around in circles as if celebrating.
“Then that is stealing.”
“...!?”
Why?!
The beetles began bouncing around angrily.
Apparently, they thought they had traded the pebble for the potato.
Not stolen it.
“Because we don’t need pebbles.”
Why?! It is so pretty!
They bounced around again in protest.
“So listen. Potatoes can be eaten, but rocks...”
I stopped.
“...Why am I explaining economics to insects?”
Reality suddenly hit me hard.
“Izak! You understand bug language now too!”
I ignored the deeply impressed Malko.
Please stay quiet.
My head already hurts.
“Anyway, if you keep replacing our potatoes with pebbles, I won’t forgive you.”
Why?! Why?!
The beetles buzzed noisily in protest.
I ignored them, recovered the potato, and left the warehouse.
“Malko. Guard the warehouse more carefully from now on. Block every gap so bugs like those can’t get inside.”
Then I added,
“If you want, you may appoint one deputy warehouse keeper under you.”
“D-Deputy warehouse keeper?!”
Malko’s eyes widened at the shocking offer.
“Th-Then...”
He trembled.
“Does that mean I... I become the Head Warehouse Keeper?!”
“...”
“Grrr! Do not worry, Izak! Head Warehouse Keeper Malko will perfectly protect potatoes from thief bugs!”
Then...
“Aaaaaah! Izak! The bugs are angry and charging at me!”
Haa...
Watching my Head Warehouse Keeper run around in terror from five beetles made everything go dark before my eyes.
Anyway.
The mystery of the potato-to-pebble incident had been solved.
It was the work of thieving beetles.
The next day.
“Izak, this is Yangko, warehouse keeper directly under me. He is my younger brother.”
“I am warehouse keeper too! I guard well! Bugs never come!”
Malko...
And his younger brother Yangko.
Something about these two brothers made me worry that they shared the exact same level of intelligence.
Still...
Thanks to the brothers taking turns guarding the warehouse like an iron fortress, the shameless beetles stopped stealing potatoes.
Of course...
The beetles that had lost their favorite trading partner still came to my tent every night and protested.
Life really was full of strange things.
“Shaman, I finished dealing with the monster hide too. I should probably head back to the village soon.”
Topu had a huge bundle strapped firmly to his back.
“I just need to buy everything you asked for, right?”
The Varg that had nearly killed us had been completely butchered and processed by Topu overnight.
We didn’t have any potatoes to sell this time because too many things had happened.
But according to Topu, the Varg’s hide would be worth much more than potatoes.
That appraisal came from someone with A-Rank Great Merchant potential, so I can probably trust it.
The children walking around in clothes full of holes were one problem...
But now that we were rebuilding the village, we lacked far too many materials.
Anything we could gather ourselves, we would gather.
Anything we couldn’t gather, we had to buy.
Even if I combined the money we made from selling potatoes with whatever we earned from the Varg materials, our budget would still be tight.
Still...
At the very least, I wanted to replace our miserable fence.
The kind that shattered instantly whenever a monster charged into it.
“Yes. Buy as many useful construction materials as you can.”
“Got it! I’ll hurry back.”
Topu left with light steps.
After seeing him off, I headed toward the construction site outside the village where work had begun in earnest.
Jack had knowledge of human construction.
And barbarian warriors were basically living heavy machinery.
Put those together and construction should move incredibly fast, right?
I wonder how well it’s going.
Every section of completed wall meant my survival chances increased.
Just thinking about it made me hum happily.
Then...
“Nooooo! Please! Please, I’m begging you! Gently! Handle it gently!”
This was not what I had expected.
Jack sat on the ground with his hair covered in sawdust, screaming desperately.
“Understood. I really do gentle. I do good.”
CRACK! SNAP!
“I’m going insane... Please! We barely have any materials left!”
Jack looked ready to cry.
“Use less strength! Please! Like you’re holding a baby... gently... AAAAAH!”
CRASH!
“I definitely did gentle. Wood weak.”
It was complete chaos.
The barbarians couldn’t control their strength.
They shattered entire pieces of wood.
When told to hammer in a wedge, they pulverized the wedge itself.
Eventually, Jack collapsed onto the ground and covered his face with both hands.
“Why...”
His shoulders shook.
“Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep breaking everything I carve...?”
“Huh? We really did gentle!”
“He did strong. I saw him. I did gentle.”
When Jack started sobbing, the children beside him began blaming one another with guilty expressions.
Well... their basic Strength stats are ridiculous.
Haa.
It wasn’t really the children’s fault.
Jack eventually noticed me watching from a distance.
He ran toward me while crying.
“Shamaaaan! Please save me! The barbarians are destroying all the materials!”
“Hmm...”
I looked around seriously.
Thanks to Jack’s plans, the basic frame and structure had already been completed.
The problem was clear.
The barbarians could move huge logs.
They could drive pillars deep into the ground.
But delicate manual work?
Impossible.
I didn’t expect this problem.
Jack couldn’t possibly do everything alone either.
At this rate, the next Red Moon would arrive before construction was finished.
What do we do?
Jack and I spent a long time discussing it.
But we couldn’t find a good answer.
I briefly considered asking the Western Volcano Tribe for help.
Then I remembered...
Those guys were even rougher barbarians than ours.
Anyway, I couldn’t solve Jack’s construction problem right away.
But that didn’t mean I could sit around doing nothing.
Our stored potatoes were slowly decreasing.
We needed to prepare for the Great Famine.
And I needed to farm like crazy to make money.
I also need to reach Intermediate Farmer soon.
After planting potatoes and using Growth Acceleration, I opened my Status Window for the first time in a while.
==========
【Player Information】
• Name: Izak (Kang Jinho)
• Race: Barbarian (Northern Rock Tribe)
• Class: Beginner Farmer
• Level: 9
【Basic Stats】
• Strength: 20+5 / Agility: 15 / Constitution: 22 / Intelligence: 20+1 / Mental Strength: 8+2
• Fame: 5
• Remaining Stat Points: 7
【Farming Journal】
• Farming Slots: 30
• Potato
·
Harvested: 1120/2000
·
·
Understanding: 40%
·
【Special Items and Followers】
• Random Draw Ticket: 1
• Earth Spirit (Mutant): Gamjadori
==========
Level 9.
The Varg was a high-level monster that someone with my stats should never have been able to kill.
But because I had personally dealt the finishing blow...
I had gained three levels almost instantly.
[Class Advancement is approaching.]
A blue system message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
So once I reached Level 10...
Would I become an Intermediate Farmer?
My farming slots had also increased to thirty.
That meant my harvesting efficiency had doubled.
Good.
Keep growing.
I needed to become stronger.
That way, I could farm potatoes in this barren land...
And properly raise my children too.
For now, I dumped all seven remaining stat points into Mental Strength.
Mental Strength went from 10 to 17.
I had definitely stopped getting nosebleeds every time I tried to speak intelligently.
But sometimes, regardless of Mental Strength, the Barbarian Mind still made me act like an unreasonable idiot.
Once I reached Mental Strength 20, I planned to start investing in Constitution and other stats.
I need to become stronger.
The fight with the Varg had taught me something.
There was a clear limit to surviving through tricks alone.
And I couldn’t rely entirely on Zakan.
I needed enough toughness and survivability to keep myself alive too.
I probably couldn’t grow like Zakan, who had S-Rank potential.
Still...
I had to become as strong as I possibly could.
“Right. Is that everything?”
Then I noticed something.
“Hm? Random Draw Ticket?”
Ah!
I had forgotten about that.
Random draws were impossible to resist.
Let’s use it right now!
[Would you like to use 1 Random Draw Ticket? Y/N]
I selected Y.
A holographic roulette wheel appeared in front of me and began spinning so fast it hurt my eyes.
Rrrrrrrrrr!
An exciting sound effect pumped dopamine straight into my brain.
The wheel slowly lost speed.
Click.
It stopped.
POP!
Colorful fireworks exploded.
Golden letters appeared.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a ‘Shining Gift Box’.]
“Oh?”
The message disappeared.
At the same time, a heavy box dropped out of thin air and landed in my hands.
The box shone with brilliant golden light.
This appearance...
Surely there was at least a Heroic-grade weapon inside?
Filled with anticipation, I carefully touched the box.
A dazzling light burst out.
Then the reward appeared.
[You have obtained 1 ‘Savory-Scented Bone’.]
“...”
Tap.
A smooth white bone resembling a chicken drumstick fell into my hand.
“Oh, come on.”
I grumbled and shoved the bone into my pouch.
It was still an item.
Maybe it would be useful somewhere.
What Heroic-grade weapon was I expecting anyway?
I began trudging back toward my tent.
Then...
Rustle, rustle.
“POTATOOOOOO!”
Huh?
That rustling sound sounded familiar.
And Gamjadori’s desperate scream...
“What?!”
I immediately sprinted toward the sound.
Had another monster appeared?
“Izak! What happened?”
Zakan also came running out with his greatsword, fully alert.
“I don’t know either.”
“Stay behind me. It may be dangerous.”
We rushed toward the place where Gamjadori’s scream had come from.
Then both Zakan and I stopped dead.
What the hell?
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
“POTATOOOO!”
The five thief beetles were working together.
They had lifted Gamjadori above their heads...
And were scurrying away while carrying it!
“H-Hey! Stop! Gamjadori is not a potato! It’s a spirit!”
We don’t believe you!
The beetles seemed to scoff at me while kidnapping Gamjadori.
Then...
Tap. Roll...
A shiny pebble rolled toward my feet.
“I SAID I’M NOT TRADING!”
