The Barbarian coming-of-age ceremony was incredibly simple.
First, you went to the temple and chose a weapon.
Then, you entered Nau Forest with your chosen weapon and hunted a demonic beast worthy of the coming-of-age ceremony.
The end!
It was simplicity on an entirely different level compared to those insane elves, who had to live for over two hundred years and learn spirit magic of two different attributes before they were recognized as adults.
That was why most young Barbarian boys and girls immediately found a companion to accompany them into Nau Forest once they'd chosen their weapons.
And so Grom, who had intended to enter the forest with Uldar, waited for his friend to emerge from the temple.
For two whole days!
Most Barbarians took less than five minutes to enter the temple, choose a weapon, and come back out.
Grom himself had taken only a minute, so he'd assumed that even someone as thoughtful as Uldar would need no more than thirty minutes.
But then one hour passed, followed by two hours, half a day, and finally an entire day.
Grom desperately wanted to enter the temple and see what was happening.
However, there was an unwritten rule that once someone entered the temple for their coming-of-age ceremony, nobody else was allowed inside.
Even the shamans who guarded the temple had been unable to enter for two days.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Grom had turned down his other friends' invitations because he wanted to go with Uldar.
Now, the only Barbarians who had yet to complete their coming-of-age ceremonies were himself and Uldar.
If Uldar failed to complete the ceremony, Grom would have to enter the forest and hunt a demonic beast alone.
‘That'll make it difficult to earn Father's recognition….’
During the coming-of-age ceremony, the Best Warrior was selected.
It was an honor bestowed upon the Barbarian who brought back the most powerful demonic beast, and the winner received an honorary shamanic tattoo.
Along with the tattoo, the winner was also given a specially crafted weapon of the highest quality.
The weapons obtained from the temple were also made by dwarves.
They were exceptionally good weapons, far beyond anything an ordinary person could hope to obtain.
However, the Barbarian selected as the Best Warrior would receive a weapon custom-made by a dwarf to suit their body, rather than a standard-issue weapon.
That was precisely what Grom was aiming for.
In terms of raw combat strength, several of their Barbarian friends were stronger than Uldar.
However, Uldar always managed to produce unexpected results.
He was a wise warrior.
A warrior who possessed wisdom could wield even greater strength.
The other Barbarians didn't understand that, but Grom had recognized it.
‘I'll wait just a little longer before leaving.’
He couldn't afford to delay much longer.
There were only about three days left until the coming-of-age ceremony ended, so they needed to depart quickly.
“Come out already… Huh!”
Grom was standing guard in front of the temple, repeatedly swinging his axe, when someone finally emerged.
“Uldar!”
The friend he'd been waiting for had appeared.
But the weapon in his hand….
“Uldar, why are you carrying a hammer…?”
“Ah, I just felt like using one.”
“……!”
“Ugh! What's that smell?!”
An overwhelming stench, something resembling the smell of excrement and filth, drifted through the air.
“Sorry. I had some business to take care of inside.”
“You did your business inside the temple?”
Grom was dumbfounded.
As though choosing a hammer for his coming-of-age ceremony wasn't enough, Uldar had apparently gone and taken a shit inside the temple!
The wise warrior must have gone insane after being trapped inside the temple for two days!
***
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of Donar's statue.
And there was a hammer in my hand.
‘Was it all a dream?’
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.
Perhaps I'd simply experienced an incredibly vivid dream and had now awakened from it.
Well, there's only one way to find out.
I checked whether there was any natural energy inside my body.
But there wasn't even a trace of it.
“…It was a dream?”
Come to think of it, I could no longer hear the voice that had spoken to me when I first entered the temple.
‘Ah, the hammer….’
Should I just put it back?
If Donar hadn't actually chosen me, there was no reason for me to choose a hammer.
Let's check one last time.
If I concentrate mana into my eyes, I might be able to figure something out.
“Hup!”
I slowly circulated my mana and concentrated it into my eyes.
As I did, my vision gradually began to change.
“Huh?”
I could see the natural energy I'd seen in my dream.
Does that mean everything really happened?
I immediately sat down on the floor.
Then I began absorbing natural energy into my body.
Closing my eyes, I filtered out every other kind of energy except natural energy, again and again.
Unlike when I'd attempted it while moving around, the process was incredibly easy.
I drew the natural energy into my entire body rather than concentrating it within my heart.
As the natural energy entered my body, my body began to react.
And the sensation was different from what I'd experienced in Valhalla.
‘My whole body feels full of vitality!’
At first, I felt an overwhelming surge of energy.
But gradually, something began to feel strange.
How should I describe it?
It was as though I'd covered my entire body in cooling pain-relief patches.
A cool, tingling sensation spread through me, only to turn hot moments later.
“Urgh!”
Then something began oozing from my entire body.
It was far too sticky to be sweat.
And it seemed to give off an unpleasant smell, too.
After absorbing natural energy for quite some time, my body eventually refused to take in any more.
“Oh….”
When I examined the energy within me, I could feel natural energy circulating throughout my body.
And the mana I'd accumulated in my heart had disappeared, with natural energy taking its place.
“It really worked.”
I'd become the first Barbarian to absorb natural energy in hundreds of years.
Of course, according to Donar, Barbarians had once been capable of using natural energy.
But there hadn't been a single Barbarian who could do so in the past several centuries.
“All right, then. Shall I head out?”
Since Donar apparently couldn't speak to me right now, I'd have to return to the temple after finishing my coming-of-age ceremony.
I still hadn't learned the location of Mjolnir, which was the most important thing of all.
I had to find out where it was, no matter what.
“Ugh!”
A horrendous smell assaulted my nostrils.
The stench coming from my body was so foul that it made me angry.
When I looked down at the floor, I saw that something resembling filthy wastewater had been oozing from my body.
Is this like those martial arts novels where all the impurities inside your body get expelled?
For now, I'd better get outside and wash myself.
I picked up my hammer and walked out of the temple.
Grom was standing outside, swinging his axe.
When he spotted me, he came running over with a delighted expression.
But after exchanging a few words with me, his face twisted into a grimace.
***
After washing myself, I heard some astonishing news from Grom.
Apparently, I'd only just emerged from the temple after spending two entire days inside.
And Grom had been waiting for me because he wanted us to complete our coming-of-age ceremonies together.
“So, why exactly were you waiting for me?”
“Because I wanted to borrow your wisdom and be chosen as the Best Warrior. Although you seem to have become an idiot now.”
That last remark bothered me, but Grom had waited because he acknowledged my abilities and wanted us to form a team.
To be honest, I'd assumed nobody would want to team up with me.
Those simple-minded Barbarians weren't particularly fond of someone like me who used his head.
They were happy enough to receive my help, but when it came to combat, they looked down on me.
Yet Grom, the son of the chieftain, had acknowledged me.
He'd even sacrificed two days of his time waiting so we could become teammates.
To be honest, it felt good.
Grom's combat strength was easily among the top three Barbarians participating in this coming-of-age ceremony.
If someone like him wanted to be my teammate, I could only be grateful.
“Grom, I'll make sure you don't regret your decision. After all, I'm the wisest warrior.”
“R-Right. Understood.”
Grom answered with a doubtful expression, but I didn't care.
I could simply prove it to him.
“Let's go.”
We immediately set off for Nau Forest.
“Hurry up. We don't have much time left.”
“No. We have plenty.”
“You say we have plenty of time, but your feet seem to be moving awfully fast.”
“That's just your imagination.”
Of course, we only had about two and a half days remaining.
But that was more than enough.
We continued traveling without rest for approximately three hours.
“Uldar, there's no need to push ourselves. It'll be dangerous if we go too deep into the forest.”
Rather than remaining near the outskirts, I was heading toward the central region of the forest.
“It's fine. We need to go deeper if we want to find a demonic beast powerful enough to earn us recognition as the Best Warrior.”
“If we go much farther, we'll reach an area we're forbidden to enter.”
The demonic regions were divided into designated zones.
Different demonic beasts inhabited each zone.
Apparently, the Barbarians had managed to put at least a little thought into the matter, because they'd established restrictions to prevent young Barbarians from venturing too deep into the forest.
Beyond those boundaries lived demonic beasts that were extremely difficult to handle.
Warriors were stationed in certain areas, while other boundaries were marked with signs to prevent people from crossing.
However, I was certain that the place I was looking for lay beyond those markers.
“Uldar, we've crossed the boundary marker. We need to head back outside.”
This guy knows one thing but fails to understand the next.
“Grom, think about it. If we hunt the demonic beasts inside the marked area, can we be certain that we've caught something stronger than what everyone else has?”
“N-No.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We need to find a stronger demonic beast.”
“Exactly! And where would a stronger demonic beast appear? Farther inside, beyond the boundary markers!”
Completely swayed by my words, Grom nodded almost automatically.
“Trust in my wisdom. I'll make sure you become the Best Warrior of our generation.”
“Understood! I'm putting all my faith in you, Uldar!”
To be honest, even I wasn't entirely sure whether things would unfold according to my plan.
However, Nau Forest as I'd seen it in Valhalla was no different from the Nau Forest I was currently standing in.
That was why I was following exactly the same route I'd taken in Valhalla.
“This is the place.”
“Is there a powerful demonic beast here?”
“No. Now we need to build a cabin.”
“…A cabin?”
Grom stared at me with an expression of utter incomprehension.
Everyone reacts that way at first.
“Listen carefully, Grom. We're going to have to stay here for two days. But this forest is crawling with demonic beasts. Do you think we'll be able to rest comfortably in a place like this?”
“Then can't we just take turns standing guard while the other sleeps?”
Hmm… I hadn't thought of that.
But even if we took turns keeping watch, we still wouldn't be able to rest properly.
“No, that wouldn't give us proper rest. In fact, constantly staying alert would wear down our mental strength and leave us in poor condition. That's why we need to create somewhere we can rest with at least a little comfort.”
“I understand. If we're going to fight a powerful demonic beast, we need to be in peak condition.”
“Exactly. So help me.”
“Leave it to me.”
I immediately instructed him to gather branches.
Then, using exactly the same method I'd used in Valhalla, I built a small cabin up in a tree.
Not a single demonic beast appeared while we were working.
“Uldar, will demonic beasts really appear if we just sit around resting here?”
“Be patient. Demonic beasts become much more active after the sun goes down.”
We decided to get some sleep until sunset.
Just to be safe, we agreed to take turns standing guard, and I went to sleep first.
We'd agreed to sleep for two hours each.
At least, that was what we'd agreed….
GRRRRRR!
“Why the hell is this bastard sleeping?”
I woke up again before much time had passed.
I'd thought I'd heard the roar of some enormous demonic beast.
But when I looked beside me, Grom, who was supposed to be standing guard, was sprawled out fast asleep.
And he was making an absolutely thunderous noise.
“Why did you even suggest standing guard if you were just going to fall asleep?”
If I'd listened to Grom and decided not to build the cabin, we would've ended up falling asleep on the ground and becoming food for the demonic beasts.
This is why you can't trust Barbarians too easily.
It's not because they're trying to deceive you.
They're just so stupid that you never know what might happen.
“Good grief.”
I couldn't help sighing.
Might as well spend the time gathering natural energy through my cultivation technique.
WHOOSH….
I sat in a comfortable position and began using my cultivation technique.
Once again, I isolated the natural energy and drew it into my body.
It required considerably more mental effort than I'd expected.
The cultivation technique was originally designed to absorb mana.
Using it to filter out mana and absorb only natural energy meant there were far too many things I had to pay attention to.
Eventually, I'd have to develop a cultivation technique specifically designed for natural energy.
Of course, the ideal situation would be accumulating natural energy simply by breathing.
I passed the time by circulating my cultivation technique several times.
Then, just as I was thinking about waking Grom so I could get some rest….
SCREECH! SCREECH!
I heard a sound that was incredibly familiar.
“Perfect!”
I wasn't completely certain, but Donar had said that if a creature appeared in Valhalla, it might also exist in the real world.
But to think it would actually show up!
I climbed out of the cabin and looked around.
There was a single monkey standing outside.
And it was none other than Monkey Mom!
“Long time no see!”
SCREECH?
She gave me a look that practically said, 'I've never seen you before. What the hell are you talking about?'
She scratched her head with a finger, seemingly wondering what kind of lunatic she'd encountered.
“Hey, Grom! Wake up! It's time to hunt!”
“W-What?! I wasn't sleeping!”
I heard some strange sleep-talking from inside the cabin, but I ignored it.
What does he mean, he wasn't sleeping?
He'd been snoring like a madman.
“Has a powerful demonic beast appeared?”
Grom emerged from the cabin.
And his eyes met Monkey Mom's.
“Uldar….”
His expression instantly stiffened.
“What?”
He pointed his finger at something and spoke.
“Why is that bastard walking around with something so hideous sticking up?”
“Huh?”
What's he talking about?
I turned to look in the direction Grom was pointing.
“……!”
There, hanging from the creature's body, was something that no female should possess.
This can't be!
Monkey Mom has become transgender?!