Chapter 55
“We look amazing!”
“So shiny! So incredible!”
“BARBARIAAAAN!”
What a ridiculous day.
Seriously.
I stood there with an exasperated expression, watching the kids gallop around like horses and make an incredible amount of noise.
“...Izak. What exactly are our kids wearing?”
Zakan had approached after hearing the commotion.
He stared at the children with a bewildered expression.
“Ask Mari.”
“...Mari. What did you make?”
I gestured toward Mari beside me.
She flinched and nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
“W-Well... I thought it would be all right. Ahaha... I-Is it too flashy?”
Yes.
Very.
Extremely.
Mari laughed awkwardly while watching our expressions, but when Zakan stared at her seriously, her voice quickly became quieter.
“I-I’m sorry... I didn’t realize it would be this flashy. But there are Ink Mushrooms everywhere in the northern forest. If I gather some and dye the fabric, it should be fine.”
Zakan nodded at her hurried explanation.
Right.
The material itself was incredibly light and durable.
If it was properly dyed, it could become the best workwear and combat clothing in the Rock Tribe.
“Good. Do that.”
Since the forest was dangerous, Zakan ordered her to take Malko and several teenagers from the combat group with her.
Mari sighed in relief and left.
I watched the children run around blinding everyone for another moment before clicking my tongue and heading toward my quiet fields.
This place is exhausting.
All right...
Time to take care of something I’ve been putting off.
I sat down in the middle of the quiet field and opened my status window.
I had accumulated quite a few unused Stat Points.
==========
【Player Information】
• Name: Izak (Kang Jinho)
• Race: Barbarian (Shaman of the Northern Rock Tribe)
• Class: Intermediate Farmer
• Level: 14
【Basic Stats】
• Strength: 20+5 / Agility: 15+2 / Constitution: 22 / Intelligence: 20+1 / Mental Strength: 8+12
• Fame: 12
• Remaining Stat Points: 6
【Traits and Skills】
• Unique Traits
·
Barbarian Mind / Warrior’s Roar / Affinity
·
• Skills
·
Farmland Cultivation / Growth Acceleration / Peeking / Finding the Best Plot / ?????
·
【Farming Journal】
• Cultivation Slots: 250
·
Directly Managed Land: 50 slots
·
·
Tenant Land: 100 slots (Tenant Farmers: 4)
·
• Special Cultivation Slots: 5
• Registered Crops
① Potato
·
Total Harvest Count: MAX
·
·
Understanding: 100%
·
② Fire Chili Pepper
·
Total Harvest Count: 501/2,000
·
·
Understanding: 40%
·
【Special Items and Familiars/Guardian Plants】
• Gamjadori (Earth Spirit)
• Crunch-Crunch Moo Grass Flower (Ancient Defensive Plant)
• Arken (Northern Frost Wolf)
【Titles】
• A Barbarian Farming?!
• Maybe I’m Good at Farming?
• A Barbarian Serious About Farming (Cultivation Speed +5%)
• Beginning of a Legend
• Farmer with Hawk Eyes
• I Like Potatoes (Potato Harvest Time fixed at 24 hours)
• Farmer Who Grew Two Crops! (Growth Speed +10% while cultivating two crops simultaneously)
• Persistent Farmer
==========
This had gotten complicated.
As I continued leveling up, my traits and skills had steadily increased.
My Farming Journal was filling out nicely too.
I had more familiars now.
More titles as well.
Six remaining Stat Points...
I rubbed my chin while staring at my status window, which had become much more impressive compared to the beginning.
I knew better than anyone how difficult it was to increase a raw stat by even one point in the brutal game L.O.C.
A smile naturally crept onto my face.
So...
Where should I put these precious points?
I can increase Strength with the Muscle Potatoes that’ll start multiplying from tomorrow.
I glanced toward the five glowing Special Cultivation Slots.
Muscle Potato leaves were already poking out from the soil.
There was no need to waste precious Stat Points on Strength.
Intelligence and Mental Strength wouldn’t help much right now either.
Both were currently around 20.
For the time being, I would mostly be dealing with barbarians.
This was enough.
My current Mental Strength was sufficient to suppress the penalty from my unique trait, Barbarian Mind, and maintain rational thought.
Then the answer is Agility and Constitution.
The Northern Frontier was a place where anything could happen at any time.
Whether I needed to run or endure an attack...
I had to survive first if I wanted the other barbarians to survive too.
Without hesitation, I invested all six remaining points into survival-related stats.
[Agility has increased by 3.]
[Constitution has increased by 3.]
Now I had become a fine barbarian with:
Strength 25.
Agility 20.
Constitution 25.
Intelligence 21.
Mental Strength 20.
I stood and tried running.
My steps felt as light as feathers.
Strength surged through my body.
The feeling that my chances of survival had increased made me chuckle without realizing it.
Perfect.
I was about to walk away with a satisfied smile when...
SKRIIIIII! KIAAAAA!
“...!?”
A sound that should never have been heard echoed from the peaceful center of the village.
I instinctively drew the axe from my waist.
Then sprinted toward the sound.
BOOM...!
A massive shadow crashed into the village square where the children had been running around only moments earlier.
“KYAAAAAA!”
“M-MONSTER!”
As the dust cleared, the children saw the horrifying creature and scattered in all directions while screaming.
It was as large as two adult men combined.
Its body was covered in tough grayish-brown hide.
At the ends of its four legs were sharply curved, sickle-shaped claws capable of cutting into solid rock like tofu.
Sticky acidic saliva dripped from its gaping jaws.
Damn it...!
That’s a Hooked Sickleclaw Lizard!
Alarm bells screamed inside my head.
I had fought these things in the game.
And they were incredibly troublesome opponents.
Their toughness was already annoying enough.
But there was another reason they were so vicious.
These things...
You have to kill them twice!
Cutting off the head wasn’t enough.
The monster’s heart and brain operated separately.
Even after its brain was destroyed, a second nerve cluster inside its torso would continue controlling the body.
Just before death...
It entered one final frenzy and sprayed highly poisonous acid in every direction.
A spiteful monster that tried to take everyone nearby down with it.
At the moment, Zakan was probably the only person in this village capable of reliably killing one.
“GET BACK!”
As expected...
Zakan was the first to move.
He roared like thunder.
He drew the huge greatsword from his back and launched himself forward.
“KIAAAAAK!”
The Sickleclaw Lizard opened its jaws toward a nearby child.
At that exact moment...
CRAAACK!
CRUNCH!
Zakan’s greatsword smashed halfway through its thick neck.
Green bodily fluid erupted like a fountain.
It was a fatal wound that would have instantly killed an ordinary monster.
But just as I feared...
The lizard’s neck bent at an unnatural angle.
It did not die.
Instead...
Its body began convulsing and swelling.
Phase Two.
Its postmortem frenzy was beginning.
“Zakan! Get back! That thing isn’t dead yet...!”
SLASH!
Before I could finish shouting...
Zakan instinctively sensed the danger.
He reversed the motion of his greatsword and tore a cross-shaped wound across the creature’s chest, exactly where its heart was located.
“KIEEEEEK!”
CRASH!
Only then did the Hooked Sickleclaw Lizard collapse.
