White.
The whole world was white.
Above and below.
An infinite white space where even the ground beneath my feet was impossible to distinguish.
I sat with a blank expression in the middle of a temple, dreamlike mist curling around my ankles.
“Um...... I'm really sorry.”
And before me stood a woman who was fidgeting in a way that did not suit this unreal space at all.
She wiggled her fingers as she spoke.
Brilliantly shining golden hair, an elegant dress, even a faint halo visible behind her.
She was a woman with a nameplate that plainly read “Goddess,” yet she looked like an elementary school student summoned before her teacher for failing to do her homework.
“Well...... to sum it up.”
I dragged a hand over my face as I asked.
“Are you saying it was a mistake?”
“Yeah......”
“I wasn't fated to die, but you got confused?”
“Well...... an Excel cell shifted over by one......”
Goddess Irea offered that excuse in a trailing voice.
Even gods used Excel to process their work in the modern age.
In short, lightning meant to take a notorious serial killer had struck the crown of an unrelated, diligent young man named Kang Jin-ho instead.
“So how are you going to take responsibility?”
“R-Responsibility?”
Irea's eyes went round.
I put on a stern expression.
The truth was, I was not angry.
If anything, I felt calm.
After all, I had grown up an orphan, working fourteen-hour days in a cramped kitchen.
The aftereffects of childhood polio had left my right leg weak, and my perfectionism meant I lived under constant stress.
Rather than feeling wronged by death, I had felt relieved at the thought that I could finally rest.
'That's one thing. But I still need to get what's mine. Of course, if this really is the end of my life, that's a different story.'
Thinking that, I looked at Irea.
From the moment she admitted her mistake, I had already planned everything out.
“You said my original body has already been cremated, so I can't go back. Then shouldn't the compensation at least be proper?”
“Y-Yeah! I'll grant you anything you want!”
The goddess cried out, her face brightening.
“Let me live the life I want......”
“I-Is that enough? All right. Pray in your heart for the life you desire. Where you want to live, and what you want to look like. With my divine power, I'll create the most perfect body and environment for you.”
When she waved her hand through the air, glittering radiance enveloped me.
Watching it, I slowly closed my eyes.
The life I wished for.......
I hoped I could stand firmly on two healthy legs.
I wanted to breathe clean air instead of city exhaust.
Somewhere with neither cutthroat competition nor people lined up in ranks.
'I want to be born with a healthy, sturdy body and quietly live in a scenic place, just farming.'
That would be enough.
Perhaps my humble wish had reached her, for a dreamlike voice rang beside my ear.
[All right, I shall grant your wish. May you be happy there......]
As my consciousness grew dim, I smiled.
This time, I would really live my life properly.
But.......
But, Goddess.
I never said I wanted to be a barbarian!
.
.
.
“Gah!”
I opened my eyes with a scream like a death rattle.
Cold, dry air rushed deep into my lungs.
What? Ah, right.
I had been promised a new life.
This was the world where I would live anew.
“......!”
I froze halfway through inhaling.
It was because of the being before me.
He was enormous. His trapezius muscles and forearms bulged rough as boulders, scars slashed across them like medals, and an animal-bone necklace rattled at his neck.
'That look in his eyes.......'
Like a butcher looking at a cow just before slaughter, or a starving beast.
He stared me down.
The white ash smeared over his pale skin made his appearance all the more grotesque.
'That's...... a person?'
I could not even scream.
They said overwhelming fear paralyzed the vocal cords. This was exactly that.
I could say without doubt that he was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen in this world.
“Izak.”
The man spoke in a deep, low rumble.
What did that mean? Did it perhaps mean he was going to kill me?
When I remained frozen and could not answer, his brows drew together.
It felt as though that enormous palm could crush my head like a watermelon at any moment.
Then—
- Thump, thump.
A dull sensation struck my side.
I turned my stiff neck to look beside me.
Then I drew in another breath.
“Gasp.”
If the man in front of me had the most terrifying face in the world, the man beside me had the ugliest.
'His facial features look like they all parked in the wrong spaces.......'
The gap between his eyes was as vast as the Pacific, his nose was blunt, and his jaw jutted out like comb-pattern pottery.
“......?”
The ugly man blinked at me.
His eyes looked vacant.
He jabbed my ribs again with a thick finger. It hurt.
“Izak. Out. Food.”
Food? The instant that one word struck my ears, he forcibly hauled me to my feet.
My body rose into the air regardless of my will.
Only after I stood did I realize that my line of sight was abnormally high.
And that my forearm was as thick as my thigh had been in my previous life.
'This...... is my body?'
My body, clad in rough leather clothes, was not much different from the monsters around me.
Pale skin, a muscular physique, and a wild air that radiated from my entire body.
At least I seemed healthy and sturdy.
I was pushed forward and began to walk.
The ugly man beside me gave me a nudge and shoved a dented washbasin-like thing into my hand.
Come to think of it, a cauldron hung before the frightening man, and he held something like a ladle.
I awkwardly held out the bowl.
- SPLAT
The ladle dumped its contents into the bowl.
When I looked inside, it was a thin, grayish liquid.
There were barely any solid pieces, and a few unidentified grass roots floated on the surface.
I gave it a sniff.
The smell of muddy water mixed with a sour stench wafted up.
'This is food?'
This was not food. It was food waste.
Though I, a former cook, glared at the insulting meal, the others were too busy greedily wolfing down what looked like water used to wash rags.
The sound of smacking lips came from every direction.
“Izak. Not eating?”
The ugly man asked, gray broth smeared around his lips.
Izak seemed to be my name.
I could feel everyone's gazes turn toward me at once.
The gaze of the frightening man standing before the cauldron was especially terrifying.
What would happen if they found out that something was wrong with me here?
Suddenly, terror seized me that I might be thrown into that cauldron and become tonight's dinner.
'First, survive.'
Glug, glug.
The lukewarm, fishy liquid went down my throat.
The awful sensation on my tongue made bile rise, but I forcibly held it back.
As a chef, I had a keen sense of taste, which made it all the harder to endure.
Only after I emptied the bowl did they finally turn away.
I fled the spot and slumped down in a crevice between rocks at the edge of the village.
“Haah......”
Spitting out the lingering chalkiness in my mouth, I slowly looked around.
It was a spectacular sight.
A canyon split the earth, with magnificent red cliffs surrounding it like a folding screen.
The wasteland spreading endlessly between them looked like a sculpture crafted by a god.
The sky was flawlessly clear. Whenever the wind blew, a whistling sound echoed through the canyon.
And there were pale giants with white ash smeared over their bodies.
'The chieftain's name...... was Jakan, right?'
The fragmented information in my mind began to fit together.
This was the game Legacy Of Chronicles—L.O.C., or “Rock”—the only hobby I had enjoyed!
This place was the world inside that game.
And I had not become a soldier of the Human Empire or a flashy mage...... I had become a barbarian who was wiped out during the tutorial stage.
“That crazy goddess......”
A curse slipped from my lips without my realizing it.
I had asked to be made healthy and sturdy...... Well, I was healthy and sturdy, at least.
I had asked to live somewhere scenic...... Well, the scenery was good, at least.
I had asked to farm for a living...... What was I supposed to do? How was a barbarian supposed to farm?!
To begin with, this was an open-world survival-action MMORPG with a high degree of freedom.
I screamed wildly inside my head.
'Whew...... Calm down.'
There was a bigger problem than my anger.
I knew the game's story.
The barbarians I belonged to did not survive the first winter after the game began.
The Great Famine. The entire race was wiped out by record-breaking cold and starvation, and only Chieftain Jakan survived to become a mercenary. That was the canon.
I looked up at the sky. The sunlight filtering through the blue clouds was still warm.
'Spring?'
If it was spring now, then there were at most about six months until winter......?
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
I would die in six months!
Either from starvation or the cold.
To survive, I needed to secure food...... But what could I do in this barren land?
Hunt? Should I hunt?
That was when a clear chime rang inside my head.
[Ding-!]
A translucent blue window appeared before my eyes.
[A Barbarian has worried about the ‘future’ and devised a ‘plan’!]
[The System is moved by intelligence that surpasses the limitations of the race.]
[You have changed to a hidden class.]
“What?”
What kind of bullshit is this?
There was a system too? It really was a game!
No, more importantly, a class change. Normally, a barbarian would become something like a Berserker or a Marauder, right?
“Status Window.”
I muttered in a trembling voice.
==========
【Player Information】
• Name : Izak (Kang Jin-ho)
• Race : Barbarian (Northern Rock Tribe)
• Class : Novice Farmer
• Level : 1
【Base Attributes】
• Strength : 20
• Agility : 15
• Vitality : 22
• Intelligence : 20
• Mental Strength : 8
• Fame : 0
【Traits and Skills】
• Unique Traits
① Barbarian Mind
- Your soul belongs to a noble modern person, but your body is a barbarian through and through.
- The lower the player's Mental Strength, the more they speak and act like a barbarian.
② Warrior's Roar
- A barbarian's body rejects magic.
- You can only use skills by roaring Barbarian!
• Acquired Skills
- Farmland Reclamation : Converts a designated area into land infused with life.
- Growth Acceleration : Crops grow quickly.
- ?????
【Farming Log】
• Registered Crops : None
【Titles Held】
• None
==========
“......”
I was at a loss for words.
Ah, so she really was letting me farm?
The goddess had granted my wish with remarkable faithfulness and precision.
She wanted me to farm in a scenic place as a sturdy barbarian.
'This is insane...... How is a barbarian supposed to farm?!'
I clutched my head and wailed.
Wait. Maybe I could do it.
First, I needed to assess the situation.
We needed to find out how much food we had left.
Only then could I make a plan.
Just then, the ugly man I had seen earlier passed by. I grabbed him by the collar and asked without warning.
“How much food do we have!”
What was this?!
I had only meant to ask normally, but Barbarian Mind was incredible!
My body moved on its own, and words flew out of my mouth on their own.
But perhaps my violent behavior did not bother him, because he answered without thinking.
“Potatoes! Lots. Barbarian rich!”
“Potatoes. How many?”
An idiotic conversation went back and forth.
Good heavens.
“Um...... one, twooo...... threeee......”
He held out his thick fingers and began folding them one at a time.
After counting to five, he opened his other hand and counted to ten. Then he hesitated, and a deep crease formed between his brows.
“Eleven...... tweelve...... tweelve...... t-tweelve......”
He used even his toes to count, but he could not get past twelve.
Whew...... Just as I was reaching the limit of my patience.
“Tch! You'll know if you go look for yourself!”
He sprang to his feet and began walking ahead.
When I hurriedly followed him, a shabby tent with no door appeared.
Don't tell me this was the storehouse?
“We're here. Storehouse.”
Good heavens.
When I went inside, it was a sorry sight.
The only thing inside the large storehouse was an old leather sack.
The ugly man strode over, lifted the old leather sack, and dumped it onto the floor.
Clatter—
Scrawny potatoes rolled across the floor.
I quickly counted them. There were exactly twenty.
“Look! Lots potatoes. Barbarian rich!”
There had seemed to be around forty tribe members at mealtime.
This was not a great famine. It would not have been strange for them to starve to death tomorrow.
This was more serious than I had thought.
As I stood there in despair, a lightning-like realization came to me.
Wait. I was a farmer......?
And thirty minutes later.
.
.
.
“Chief, Chief! Big trouble. Bad barbarian! Report bad barbarian!”
I...... had been arrested.
Just one hour after arriving in this world.
Oh, right.
They were barbarians.......