Chapter 41 - Delia Island (4)

“Yohan has become our friend!”

At the chieftain’s declaration, the Barbarians all roared in acclamation.

No one raised any questions.

If the chieftain said so, then it was so. That was the Barbarian way of life.

“Yohan is an Earthling! From now on, we will treat other Earthlings as our friends!”

“Treat as friends!!”

Another fierce cheer erupted at the chieftain’s words.

But I had no choice but to put a brake on this atmosphere for a moment.

“Chieftain. That’s a dangerous thought. Although I am your friend, I can’t guarantee that other Earthlings will be the same. So, just discarding the prejudice that Earthlings are invaders should be enough.”

At my words, the chieftain immediately corrected himself.

“I cancel my statement that all Earthlings are friends!”

“Cancel!!”

“But we will no longer call Earthlings invaders!”

“No longer!”

Waaaaah!!

The chieftain, who changed his stance at the speed of light, and the Barbarians, who unconditionally supported and cheered whatever the chieftain said.

Seeing this, a hollow laugh escaped me.

But this was also a part of what clearly showed the purity of the Barbarians.

The chieftain’s name was Babangida.

Babangida showed an almost burdensome level of closeness to me.

I wished he would refrain from physical contact, but this too was the Barbarian way.

He called me separately to his room.

“Yohan! You are my friend, so feel free to call me by my name!”

“I understand. Babangida.”

“By the way, were there any other words left by your ancestor?”

“For now, there’s nothing other than resolving the misunderstanding between the Earthlings and your tribe.”

“I see! Once again, I’m sorry, Yohan. For misunderstanding Earthlings as invaders!”

My conscience pricked a little at the Barbarian’s innocence, but this was a white lie.

With this misunderstanding cleared, the clashes between the two forces would be greatly reduced in the future.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. And I’ll let you know if I hear anything from your ancestor again, so please don’t ask anymore. You know this is the eighth time we’ve had the same conversation, right?”

“I understand. Yohan!”

And now, it was time to get to the main point.

“Babangida! I have a favor to ask.”

“Say anything. Yohan! We never refuse a friend’s request!”

“As I said, we Earthlings came here to hunt monsters. So, help me find some monsters.”

“What kind of monsters is Yohan looking for?”

“The monsters that have newly appeared on this island.”

“You truly are my friend, Yohan! Our tribe has been having a headache because of those bastards!”

“From now on, I plan to return to Earth after catching 4 different types of monsters.”

“Not difficult! Our tribe has already figured out where the newly appeared monsters are showing up!”

“I like that very much. Babangida. You really are my friend.”

According to Babangida, there were a total of 12 new monster species on Delia Island.

There was no need to catch them all; I just needed to pick four of them and map out the most optimal route.

And there was one important thing to consider here.

I had to catch high-tier monsters.

My purpose for coming to this island was to hunt monsters that would fetch a high price.

I already had a candidate in mind.

“I heard a flying monster appeared on this island. It looks like a stingray. Do you know where it is too?”

“Of course! That one circles the highest point of this island!”

The highest point of the island must mean the peak of the sharp mountain rising in the center of the island.

So now, the plan for the route was set.

To sweep through three other monster habitats with the mountain peak as the final destination.

“Babangida. Can you assign me one guide?”

Of course, it was not an easy request.

It meant sending one of his own comrades to a dangerous place for a stranger with whom he had just established friendly relations.

“Yohan! I will be your guide myself!”

“What?”

“The best guide in our tribe is me!”

I had momentarily forgotten the nature of Barbarians.

There was no need for him to be this kind, but there was also no reason to refuse.

With Babangida, the chieftain, a certain level of forces would be mobilized as well. It would make for a very smooth hunt.

***

The scale of the expedition turned out to be larger than I thought.

About twenty Barbarians followed behind us.

They would serve as a reliable shield in case of an emergency, so my heart felt much lighter.

Right now, Babangida was walking on my right, and Min Ha-rin on my left.

“Senior! Are you understanding everything the Barbarians are saying right now?”

“I just know by a rough feeling, do you really think I’d know everything?”

“Something’s strange! The Barbarians here seem to understand everything you say, senior! They’re definitely using the same language as me.”

“They probably know by a rough feeling too, what else could it be?”

“So why do they only react to your words, senior, that’s what I’m asking!”

“How would I know that?”

Even as I played dumb like this, Min Ha-rin was still looking at me with suspicious eyes.

Well, Min Ha-rin was no fool either.

“As expected, you’re a man of many secrets, senior! The way the Barbarians’ attitude suddenly changed at your words, too.”

“I don’t know anything about it.”

Come to think of it, that wasn't entirely a lie.

I also didn’t know why I was the only one who could communicate with the Barbarians.

“Yohan! I want to join the conversation too! What are you two talking about right now?”

“It’s nothing. We were just praising your tribe’s excellent fighting skills.”

“That is true! Our tribe is very well-trained! So praise us to your heart’s content, Yohan.”

I had no choice but to give lip service for a good while.

Until Babangida wore a sufficiently satisfied expression.

This was the rule for dealing with Barbarians.

And a moment later.

“Senior! Monsters!”

Babangida’s guidance was accurate.

This place was inhabited by a new species of monster, the Ice Wolf.

There were eleven of them.

“Go take care of them.”

“Yes. I’ll be back.”

“But is Yohan not hunting?”

“Yeah. For now, I’m leaving everything to Ha-rin, and I plan to catch only that last one at the mountain peak.”

“Understood! If that woman seems to be in danger, I will immediately move my brothers.”

“You won’t have to. By your standards, she might look like she’d break if you flicked her, but she’s quite strong.”

Min Ha-rin charged into the middle of the pack of Ice Wolves and began to unleash her swordsmanship fiercely.

The expression 'her skills change day by day' was not an overstatement at all. Her swordsmanship today was different from yesterday.

In terms of talent alone, she wouldn’t fall behind anyone on the Kalia Continent.

Except for me, of course.

“Yohan! You Earthlings are truly amazing! How can such movements come from such a slender frame?”

“Because we have systematically established the way to wield a sword and have trained in it.”

“Can I learn it too?”

“It’s possible, but it’s not easy to learn in a short time. There are quite a lot of difficult movements to master.”

“Then can you teach me just the simplest thing? Yohan and I are friends, aren’t we!”

Even if we were friends, this was something that deviated from common sense by both Earth’s and Kalia’s standards.

Even in the Haewon Sword Family, the family’s swordsmanship was not passed down between parent and child unless they were the official heir.

Teaching swordsmanship to a friend I had just met was unheard of.

“Alright. Since we’re friends.”

But there were always exceptions.

Especially if the other party was a Barbarian, it was a situation where an exception could be made.

Babangida was also showing me excessive kindness, a stranger he had just met.

“Watch carefully and follow along. I’ll teach you the three most basic movements.”

I decided to teach him the initial part of some third-rate sword style I had learned in Kalia.

It was a sword style that was sufficient for learning the most basic horizontal slash, vertical slash, and thrust.

“This is difficult, Yohan!”

It was perfectly natural.

If it were easy to learn swordsmanship on the first day of holding a sword, that would be rather abnormal.

But Babangida was following along better than I expected.

“If you repeat this movement ten thousand times, you’ll be able to execute it as naturally as breathing.”

“Ten thousand times? Not difficult! I can do even more!”

Perhaps a formidable swordsman might be born on Delia Island.

***

[Quest Progress: (5/6)]

The quest was already nearing its end.

Following Babangida’s guidance, we had conquered the habitats of the Ice Wolf, the Four-horned Rhino, and the Black Orc in order, and now only one more monster species was left for clearance.

“Only Yohan and I will climb to the summit of the mountain! So the rest of the brothers will wait here!”

“Wait here!!”

The Barbarians shouted the last part of what Babangida said and immediately stood at attention.

I, too, intended to leave Min Ha-rin here.

Of course, she wouldn’t understand.

“Are you saying only you are going up, senior, and I should wait here?”

“Yes. You single-handedly wiped out three habitats today, shouldn’t I do something too?”

“S-still, I want to go with you, senior!”

“No. Wait here.”

“Why?”

“The chieftain insisted that only one person should go up.”

Being the only one who could communicate with the Barbarians was a very convenient setup at times like this.

In difficult situations, I could just blame the chieftain.

I planned to handle Ralas, which would be circling the sky at the mountain peak, by myself.

It would be tricky, but Babangida was there, and that way, I could have sole ownership of the monster’s carcass.

“Senior, are we perhaps parting ways here?”

“Probably so, right?”

Once the quest was cleared, we would be sent out near the foggy Spring of Elixir, and I planned to disappear like the wind from there.

“Tch! I wanted to have a meal together outside the Abyss.”

“Maybe next time.”

“You’re playing hard to get. But is there really a next time?”

“You never know what might happen to people, so who knows.”

“You should be prepared for one thing.”

“For what?”

“I’m planning to investigate you thoroughly, senior.”

“Go ahead.”

When I gave a slight smile, Min Ha-rin let out a deep sigh.

She probably expected it anyway.

That even if she investigated me, she wouldn’t find anything.

My name, my face, were all fabricated, and even the swordsmanship I used was not of Earth.

“I hope I can meet you again in the third quest area, senior!”

“If our paths are meant to cross, we might meet again. But why don’t you try to stick with the people from the Muwon Sword Family instead of me? The Abyss is a dangerous place, you know.”

I patted Min Ha-rin’s shoulder as a farewell.

“I’m going.”

“That’s cheap.”

“Yohan! So, shall we go up now?”

“Yeah. We’ll go now. Babangida.”

And so, we left the others below and climbed towards the mountain peak, just the two of us.

As we got closer to the peak, the roars of Ralas grew louder and louder.