80. Barbarian King
[We’re you… looking for me?]
Why?
The Barbarian King’s spirit tilted its head.
However, Joo-Yeon opened her mouth confidently.
“I want to receive your power. Not the garbage power that you gave to that sorcerer, but the real Barbarian King’s power. Give it to me.”
[……!?]
[Barbarian King]
The worst evil spirit sealed by the Barbarian’s prohibition.
In the past, it was the being that gifted jobs to players.
When you go with Karasen, he would utter these lines.
-You have been acknowledged by Karasen, who is said to be the greatest among the chieftains…
-I have been waiting for someone like you for a long time.
-Spread my will throughout the continent.
-Trample the continent! Make the name of the Barbarian King roar again.
And then he would give you a job.
[Job: You have acquired ＜Barbarian King＞]
[You have acquired a ＜Legendary＞ grade job)]
[You have acquired the unique trait ＜Right of the Victor＞]
[With this job, you will be able to absorb the abilities of those you have defeated]
The greatest advantage of this job is that you can take the abilities of the enemies you defeat.
Literally, it was a legendary job with endless possibilities.
In addition, the title of ‘King’ also granted special achievements and powerful feats.
Just looking at the abilities themselves, it was a top-tier job. It was a 0th-rank job that everyone desired.
‘But even so, many players don’t choose that job.’
To be exact, it’s not that they don’t choose it, but that they can’t.
That’s understandable because the缺点 was too obvious.
‘It’s too hard to grow.’
In order to obtain useful abilities, you need to defeat strong enemies. However, in the extremely weak early stages, you can’t even think of such enemies.
Of course, time eventually solves that problem.
‘Actually, the biggest problem is that you can’t lose.’
If you lose even once, the abilities you gained after getting this job will disappear.
However, for Joo-Yeon, it wasn’t a disadvantage.
‘With just ＜Reflection＞, it’s easy to defeat the opponent.’
It meant that she could defeat strong enemies and gain equally strong abilities.
‘In the first place, there’s no other ability than this one to raise Reflection.’
Skills and talents that help strengthen reflection could never be acquired from just one profession.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy profession to obtain.
It wasn’t the top-ranked 0th-rank profession for nothing.
Several conditions were required.
The hunter Jack, who you meet after the prologue.
Getting his seal was the beginning.
And then you had to receive recognition from the King of Knights and Karacen.
But that’s usually not easy.
[In order to obtain the ＜Seal of the Savage King＞, a certain amount of favorability is required.]
[Remaining quests for required favorability: 128]
[Remaining quests to receive recognition from the King of Knights: 325]
The case of Karacen, the savage chieftain, was even worse.
[In order to receive recognition from Karacen, you must complete the savage tribe’s quests.]
[Receiving recognition from the savage tribe]
– Remaining quests: 153
[Raising the savage tribe’s status]
– Remaining forces: 12
[Achieving victory against the savage tribe]
– Remaining great warriors: 53
– Remaining warriors: 8,242
– Remaining shamans: 432
[Resolving the savage tribe’s food shortage]
– Remaining starving tribesmen: 43,212
Most of the quests were very repetitive.
They were notorious enough that most players gave up out of exhaustion.
Of course, there was another way to receive recognition.
[In order to receive recognition without completing the quests, you must survive a one-on-one duel against Karacen.]
Karacen, the savage chieftain.
He wasn’t just a man with great strength.
He was also skilled in all kinds of shamanism, and it wasn’t easy to survive a duel against a man protected by guardian spirits.
It was even harder if he had a relic.
He was an unbeatable opponent in the early and mid-game, if not in the late game.
‘Honestly, it’s not because of ＜Reflection＞, but because he’s not very intelligent that I won so easily.’
As the main character, it was actually the past Karacen who was harder to deal with.
Anyway, for this reason, most people completed the annoying quests.
But this time, it was different.
‘I received recognition from the King of Knights by defeating the demons without doing any favor quests.’
I defeated Karacen head-on, something that would have been impossible in the past.
‘At least the conditions are met.’
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Joo-Heon looked at the Savage King.
As expected, he would have given me a job like he did in the Valentino Saga…
[How dare such an insignificant little bug covet my power? Unforgivable!]
The Barbarian King’s aura grew increasingly menacing.
“……!”
The atmosphere around them became heavy, as if the mountains themselves were groaning.
Joo-ahn was taken aback by this unusual reaction.
‘What the heck? This isn’t right?’
Usually, he would give me a job as soon as I spoke.
He had never reacted so violently before.
‘Could it be… because I didn’t come with Karasen?’
That couldn’t be it.
With or without Karasen, the Barbarian King had always given him a job.
After all, he had acknowledged Joo-ahn’s accomplishment in passing the barrier that the Chieftain guarded.
If there was one thing that made him suspicious, it was this:
‘Could it be… because that Archmage guy got to his power first?’
Originally, the barrier was a space that no Shaman could enter. This was because it was strictly controlled by the successive Barbarian Chieftains.
When Karasen was around, no Shaman would have even dreamed of entering the barrier.
However, Karasen was currently unable to perform his duties properly due to the Demon King’s curse.
And the Barbarian King had chosen the Archmage to be the one to spread his will.
‘Well, it seems like the power that the Archmage took is a different kind of power.’
In fact, from the moment he arrived at the Barbarian village, he had noticed that the ‘blessing’ that the Barbarians spoke of was the Barbarian King’s blessing.
However, even that was a power that he had never seen before, so he was just curious.
‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the ＜Right of the Victor＞ that I need to obtain.’
It was clear that the Barbarian King had a hidden power that had not been revealed until now.
Was this situation related to that, by any chance?
It was possible.
After all, the Barbarian King that Joo-ahn had seen until now had always been lethargic.
-I have grown weary of waiting for so long.
-There is no one among my descendants who is worthy of inheriting my full power.
-Therefore, I shall give you my last chance.
-Spread my will throughout the continent and show them the might of the Barbarian King.
‘In any case, it seems like the situation has changed a bit.’
Just then, the Barbarian King’s spirit cried out.
[You worthless fools! Why do you just stand there and watch!?]
-Forgive us, Your Majesty.
The vengeful spirits rushed forward at the Barbarian King’s command.
However, Joo-ahn did not take any defensive stance.
[＜Reflect＞ has been activated.]
Phantasmal Stone.
The vengeful spirits that had rushed at Joo-ahn collapsed from their own attacks.
The vengeful spirits shouted in a panic.
– Your Majesty… Our attacks aren’t working on him.
– My body is breaking apart…
– I’m sorry…
The vengeful spirits floundered around, not knowing what to do.
The Barbarian King’s soul was genuinely furious.
[These useless beings! All of you are useless!]
Joo-in let out a smirk.
“No matter how great of a king you were, you’re just a soul now, with nothing but your mouth left.”
[You dare… You dare mock me!]
At that moment, Joo-in took something out of his pocket as if to stop him.
It was the seal he had received from the Hunter Jack.
[…That’s!]
“Barbarian King. It’s something you left behind.”
[How did you…]
“Do you remember what this seal means?”
[Of course…]
This seal was something that the Barbarian King had used in the past.
He handed this seal to his successor with one promise.
Just once.
No matter what the situation, he would grant one wish to the seal’s owner.
So Joo-in confidently opened his mouth.
“As the owner of the seal, I demand it. Give me your power, Barbarian King.”
[Hmph.]
The Barbarian King was taken aback, but a promise was a promise.
It was even more important now that he had become a deceased vengeful spirit.
“You know, right? A soul that breaks its promise immediately perishes forever.”
If he broke his promise, he would never be able to dream of resurrection again.
Joo-in’s threat had worked perfectly.
The Barbarian King let out a hollow laugh.
Isn’t this guy the very same kind of rapist that the barbarians hated the most?
“If you don’t like it…”
[Alright, Joo-ma. Take it. Take my power.]
“……!”
With those words, his soul shone red.
He couldn’t use his power now that the Great Mage had collapsed anyway.
He couldn’t take the seal from Joo-in either, so instead of perishing, he decided to hand over his power obediently.
[Job: ＜Conqueror＞ has been acquired.]
[＜Unique＞ Grade Job has been acquired.]
Joo-in’s eyes widened in an instant.
“What? Unique rank?”
Not a legend rank?
He was rarely flustered.
Of course, unlike when he was a part of the Valentino Saga, he had received the King of Knights’ full recognition and had brought down Karasendo.
If he were to get a bonus, he thought he would receive a few more skills or something.
But a unique rank class?
[＜The Conqueror＞ is the only class of its kind in the world.]
[It consumes the powers of those with feats of strength of ＜Legend＞ rank or higher and grows stronger.]
[Current consumed title: Barbarian King]
This was different from before.
Voices continued to ring in the protagonist’s mind.
[You have acquired the Barbarian King’s ability, ＜Right of the Victor＞.]
[The Conqueror grants an effect.]
[＜Right of the Victor＞ is strengthened to ＜Conqueror＞.]
＜Conqueror＞
[Unique Trait]
[Rank]: Unique
[Effect]: Can steal abilities and skills from opponents.
Can evolve stolen abilities.
Can forcibly steal abilities.
[Description]: The probability increases when the opponent is weaker than you or has been attacked.
＜Caution＞
There is a chance of having your abilities stolen if you are defeated in battle. If you are defeated even once, your abilities will be halved.
[You have acquired the Barbarian King’s ability, ＜Blood Oath＞.]
[You can acquire bloodlust simply by being on the battlefield.]
[You can bestow bloodlust upon others or control those into whom bloodlust has been infused.]
[The Conqueror grants an effect.]
[＜Blood Oath＞ is strengthened.]
＜Blood Oath＞
[Rank]: Myth
– Can use bloodlust to unleash various abilities.
– Can use ＜Blood Oath＞, ＜Frenzy＞, and ＜Bloodline Domination＞
＜Caution＞
Rapidly depletes stamina.
Can be life-threatening if you run out of blood.
They were great abilities just by looking at them.
‘Originally, I could only randomly steal abilities, and I couldn’t evolve them or anything.’
That wasn’t all.
‘I didn’t know I could even get the ＜Blood Oath＞ skill.’
It was a rare skill that only high-ranking vampires could acquire.
What if I had gotten ＜Reflection＞ while I was in this state?
Wouldn’t my already strong ability have become even stronger?
Joo-Heon couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
However, the Barbarian King only looked tired.
[Is it done now? Then get lost. I need to go back to sleep.]
To build up his strength again.
To be able to resurrect once more.
The Barbarian King decided to go back to sleep while waiting for a new successor.
It was when his soul was slowly heading back to the tombstone.
“What do you think you’re doing? Who gave you permission to sleep?”
Joo-Heon grabbed the Barbarian King as if he wasn’t going anywhere.
‘Do you think I’d let this bastard go?’
Normally, he would just take the job and leave, but what about now?
‘The Barbarian King’s soul is a force beyond imagination.’
Would he just let a Transcender like me go?
Are you kidding me?
But the Barbarian King frowned at Joo-Heon’s voice.
[I’ve given you my power, so shouldn’t that be the end of it?]
“There’s still something else I need.”
The Barbarian King’s face became distorted.
[I’ve given you all of my power. And you’ve even gotten a job class. How greedy can you be? You lowly thing.]
This place was a sanctuary, a resting place for the souls of past generations.
There was no treasure here that Joo-Heon could possibly desire.
As a soul, there was nothing more he could give.
Joo-Heon shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t be like that. I’m not the kind of guy who would scam someone.”
Even though he seemed like the kind of guy who would.
The Barbarian King was annoyed, but he endured it for now.
He was curious to see what this guy, who had interrupted him, was up to.
Then Joo-Heon spoke as if he saw an opportunity.
“You must have realized it. What has happened to the current Barbarians?”
[Hmph, I have no interest in those foolish descendants.]
“But you should be interested?”
[What nonsense are you trying to spout now…….]
“You think you can resurrect without your foolish descendants? Did you plan on leaving the position of Chief empty? If you do, the Barbarians themselves will disappear?”
[…….]
Joo-Heon’s words were not wrong.
The Barbarian King needed a lot of blood in order to resurrect.
And that meant that his descendants, the Barbarians, had to fight a bloody war.
[So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to lift the curse?]
The curse of the Demon King was powerful.
The Barbarian King, who had already lost most of his power, would have to be prepared for annihilation if he were to use his power.
Then, instead of answering, Joo-Heon laughed out loud.
“It’s nothing. Just do one thing for me.”
One thing?
Joo-Heon smiled at him in his confusion.