After the long night passed, the morning sun rose.
The entrance to the village bore clear signs of battle.
But the atmosphere was brighter than ever.
We had survived. Without a single casualty.
After watching the delighted children for a while, I quietly returned to my small field at a corner of the village and sat down.
'My whole body aches.'
Every part of my body screamed as the tension drained away, but my attention was focused on the system messages floating before me.
DING!
[Achievement Accomplished! You have survived your first Red Moon. You gain experience.]
[Level Up! Your level has become 5. Lv.4 -> Lv.5]
[Level increase: Stat Points +1; class-skill proficiency increases.]
[The number of cultivable slots increases. 13 -> 15]
[The class-exclusive skill ‘Sneak Peek’ has been unlocked.]
It seemed I gained experience from killing monsters too.
In any event, I was finally Level 5! I had barely taken off the novice label.
And I had gained a new skill.
==========
[Sneak Peek]
Description : Sees through the target's hidden information.
==========
It was a simple description. It said it let me take a sneak peek, so there was not much to say.
In any event, I had to check how useful it was.
To use the skill, I tensed my abdomen.
I could not use a skill unless I shouted the Warrior's Roar.
Perhaps because I had done this often, I had gotten used to it...... Though it was still a little embarrassing.
“Barbariaaan!”
[The skill ‘Sneak Peek’ has succeeded!]
==========
[Reclaimed Farmland]
Status : Normal
Moisture : Slightly lacking
Nutrients : Ordinary
==========
“......”
I deflated.
What was this, was that all? It would have been great if I had gotten a skill that found something like hidden seeds.
I was starting to want to plant something other than potatoes.
This time, I used the skill while looking at a potato beside me.
==========
[Harvested Potato]
Grade : D
Status : Fresh
Nutrients : Sufficient (Satiety x2)
==========
“Damn it.”
I gave the potato a light kick.
Did I really need to use a skill to see that? I could tell it was a potato just by looking at it.
It would help when I farmed, but it did not have enough impact to be a class-exclusive skill.
'I feel like I pulled a dud.'
Feeling as though I had been cheated somehow, I stuck out my lower lip.
Just then, I saw Malko coming from far away.
He really was good at running around everywhere. Perfect timing.
'What if......?'
Out of curiosity, I used the skill while looking at Malko.
“Barbariaaan—!”
“Oh! Izak full energy in morning? I cannot lose. Barbariaaan—!”
The foolish Malko came fluttering over and abruptly shouted the Warrior's Roar.
Ignoring him, I examined him.
DING!
A window unlike any I had seen before appeared above Malko's head.
==========
【Target Information】
• Name : Malko
• Race : Barbarian (Northern Rock Tribe)
【Base Attributes】
• Strength : 21 / Agility : 15
• Vitality : 30 / Intelligence : 3
【Potential】
• Overall Rank : A (Scent Detector)
• Growth Progress : 20%
==========
Holy shit! What was this!
I drew in a breath.
This was it. This was the skill's true purpose.
Perhaps it was a skill that appraised the potential of these barbarians, who could not level up as the only player in this game could.
But why would a Farmer have this......? Was raising children(?) still farming? In any event, it was a jackpot.
'But Malko of all people has A-Rank Potential??'
And his base attributes had no Mental Strength.
What was that? Did only I have Mental Strength?
It did not matter. There was a barbarian who farmed, after all.
In any event, this was amazing! I did not know what Scent Detector was, but still.
At C Rank, one was an elite soldier. At B Rank, one was knight-class. At A Rank, one was at the level of an Imperial Order commander!
Of course, that was if he grew safely to that rank.
That meant that a man with such immense talent had been starving until now, leaving his Growth Progress stopped at just 20%.
'Ah...... Barbarians, what on earth are you all doing!'
Malko, who was picking his nose with a vacant expression, now looked different.
His Vitality was 30, so he was probably able to run around everywhere without getting tired, sticking his nose into everyone's business.
In any event, the fact that Malko was an unscratched lottery ticket was surprising, but it was good news too.
My heart began pounding.
If Malko was like this, how incredible could my ocean sunfish, the pillar of our tribe, be?
With that thought, I left Malko behind and ran toward Jakan's tent.
“Izak! Where go! I go together!”
Malko shouted behind me, but I did not look back. I kicked open Jakan's tent as though I were tearing it down and rushed inside.
“Chieftain! I am here!”
Jakan, who had been tending to the greatsword he had used to cut down the wyvern yesterday, opened his eyes wide at my sudden intrusion.
“Izak?”
Without even catching my breath, I shouted.
“Barbariaaaaaaan—!”
[The skill ‘Sneak Peek’ has succeeded!]
The roar was loud enough to lift the tent away.
Jakan looked at me with a blank expression...... More precisely, with the eyes of someone looking at a madman. But that did not matter!
“Gasp!”
A legend was appearing before my eyes.
==========
【Target Information】
• Name : Jakan
• Race : Barbarian (Chieftain of the Northern Rock Tribe)
【Base Attributes】
• Strength : 35+1 / Agility : 20
• Vitality : 39 / Intelligence : 11
【Potential】
• Overall Rank : S (Legendary Hero)
• Growth Progress : 17%
==========
'Jackpot......'
An airy sound escaped me without my realizing it.
S Rank.
It was a hero rank that could be counted on one hand in the history of the game. No wonder he had seemed so damn strong when I played the game.
But his Growth Progress was only 17%?
Even now, he had beheaded a crazed wyvern in one stroke during the Red Moon. What if I raised this guy to 100%?
'He is a lottery ticket.'
A thrill ran down my spine.
That was it.
The genre had changed. This was not a survival game, but a simulation for raising the strongest barbarian legion!
The happy thoughts in my head spun madly.
It had not happened yet, but what if I could grow Strength Potatoes!?
What if I had a bumper crop of Strength Potatoes and poured them all into him?
Who said only Strength Potatoes could appear? Vitality Potatoes, Agility Potatoes, Intelligence Potatoes...... What if I supported his growth with every sort of buff potato?
'Then I do not need to fear something like the Red Moon.'
I could simply farm from behind and cook delicious food, enjoying a leisurely, healing life.
My monstrous kids would do all the fighting, so why would I put myself in danger?
The Western Volcano Tribe? Demonic Beasts? The Empire? Bring them all on! I had Jakan.
“Hehehe......”
I could not stop laughing.
A beautiful, rosy life plan stretched out before my eyes.
“Izak?”
Jakan called to me cautiously, but I did not have time for this.
That was right! I needed to find the other lottery tickets!
Leaving Jakan behind, I ran out of the tent again.
The village's open space.
Little barbarian children were gathered in groups, playing in the dirt.
I stood at the center, took a deep breath, and once again shouted the Warrior's Roar.
“Barbariaaaaaaan—!”
[The skill ‘Sneak Peek’ has succeeded!]
The enormous roar was loud enough to lift the entire village away.
The playing children suddenly stopped at the roar. Their eyes went round as they looked at me.
They looked as though they thought the crazy shaman had finally lost his mind, but I was happy.
[Potential : B+]
[Potential : A]
[Potential : B]
Wow!
I could see the future heroes at a glance.
That little kid with a runny nose was A Rank, and the one eating dirt was B+ Rank.
The children whose promise stood out were being scanned one after another before my eyes.
'And why is this barbarian tribe's potential so absurdly good?'
The lowest was C Rank!
With this, it was plain to see whom I should give more meat, whom to raise as warriors, and whom to raise as hunters. Their personnel evaluations lay open before me.
“Hehehe......”
A quiet laugh escaped me.
Until now, it had vaguely been, ‘Let us all eat well and live well together.’ But from now on, it was different.
'Strategic development!'
I would build the strongest force through efficient resource distribution. And as a former chef, I was perfectly suited for it.
'Ah! This is no time for that.'
Potatoes! I had to plant potatoes!
I ran to the field and began planting potatoes.
[The Title effect ‘A Barbarian Serious About Farming’ applies, reducing cultivation time by 5%.]
[Potatoes - 2 days 20:24:57 until harvest]
Cultivation time had been greatly reduced, so I had to hurry and farm, raise my Potato Comprehension, and start producing A-Grade—no, S-Grade—Potatoes with ease.
Then I would feed them to my adorable future heroes.
'Then the chance of survival will keep rising.'
My hands touching the soil grew faster.
I felt as though I was drawing one step closer to my dream, and the smile would not leave my face.
Hehe!
***
Two hours earlier. Jakan's tent.
Jakan sat blankly, recalling the events of yesterday.
In truth, he had not trusted Izak one hundred percent.
But now he had completely cast aside his doubts.
Izak really was a barbarian who had received the ancestral god's wisdom.
'Izak saved us.'
First, he had resolved their hunger with miraculous potatoes. Second, he had protected the tribe in the crisis where it had nearly been swallowed by the Western Volcano Tribe.
And lastly, on that terrifying night of the Red Moon.
Even when Jakan himself trembled in fear, Izak had coolly understood the situation and blocked the Red Moon.
He had to admit it.
Izak was not an ordinary barbarian.
From the day the ancestral god had bestowed wisdom upon him, he had become a completely different being.
'Izak......'
Whenever he thought of him, his heart felt at ease.
He had become chieftain at a young age, and though he did not show it, he had always been anxious.
The pressure that the tribe members' lives rested on every one of his decisions, and the guilt that he had survived by hiding like a coward, pressed down on him every night.
But now he was not afraid.
Behind him stood a shaman who looked small and weak, but who was more reassuring and wiser than anyone.
'What can I do for Izak?'
Jakan thought deeply.
He had always only received from Izak. Potatoes, wisdom, even his life.
Now he wanted to repay him.
What would make him happy?
For the first time since he was born, Jakan began to think about not food, battle, or survival, but how to make someone happy.
Without even realizing that it was the first time he had such a small concern.
But then.
“......??”
Had this barbarian suddenly gone mad?
He had charged in, shouted loudly enough to burst eardrums, then giggled to himself and ran back out.
Worried, Jakan followed him. In the center of the village, Izak shouted at the children again.
Then he dashed to the field, dug up the soil, and began planting potatoes wildly.
“Hehe! Hehehe!”
That laughter.
That expression that looked as though something had gone wrong with him.
'Has the Red Moon's demonic energy possessed him?'
Jakan was sincerely worried.
If the shaman went mad, the tribe was finished.......
He carefully approached and was about to grab Izak's shoulder, but stopped.
Izak looked too happy.
For now...... Jakan decided to watch.
.
.
.
A few days later.
After reaching Level 5, the number of cultivable slots had increased to fifteen, so the harvest yield had risen slightly as well. A fair number of potatoes for emergency food had accumulated in the storehouse.
The threat to our survival had eased somewhat.
'The Muscle Potato......'
Had it appeared only once?
It had been called a gift from the goddess.
An item like that was unlikely to be a one-time thing.
'Maybe it was a sample to show me that something like that exists?'
I made a guess, recalling how I had spent the past absorbed in countless games and novels.
But in the end, no more Muscle Potatoes appeared.
It was disappointing, but as I raised my Potato Comprehension and produced higher-grade potatoes, it would appear again someday.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing I could do.
“Tch.”
I would be satisfied with knowing that such a crop existed.
'But...... Potatoes are good, but.'
I was starting to grow tired of them.
The human heart was so fickle, was it not? I had only hoped not to starve to death, but now that I was full, other things slowly came to mind.
Moreover, in this village with no seasonings or spices, we ate steamed potatoes every day.
'I want kimchi stew loaded with chili powder, with a bowl of rice......'
I smacked my lips.
Jakan had asked me a few days ago if there was anything I needed.
At the time, I had said there was not, but now there were so many things I wanted.
Seeds and grains for other crops would be good, and I wanted cooking utensils, but above all, what I wanted was.......
'Seasonings! S-Salt!'
Potatoes without salt were torture.
To get such things, I would have to go to a market or shop...... But there was no way a shop would exist in this wasteland.
I suddenly looked back toward the village.
The greatsword Jakan used, my twin axes, leather armor, a large cauldron, and an old iron pot.
Though old and rusted, they were clearly objects of civilization.
'Where did they get them?'
The barbarians could not have made them themselves.
They had no blacksmithing skills.
That meant they had traded with someone, plundered them, or picked them up somewhere.......
'Is there a human village nearby? Or perhaps even a wandering merchant passing through?'
Curiosity and desire stirred within me.
I wanted to go to a shop. I wanted to buy salt and seeds.
I wanted to sell the potatoes piled in the storehouse and turn them into money.
“Jakan!”
Having made up my mind, I burst into Jakan's tent again today.
The Red Moon had passed now, so it would be fine.