Getting stranded in the mountains was the kind of dangerous accident that could easily threaten your life.
Especially in a world like this one—full of monsters, demons, sword-wielding lunatics, deranged wizards, dwarves who hated fairies, and fairies who hated dwarves—it was even more dangerous.
But I wasn’t panicked in the slightest.
Actually, this wasn’t even my first time getting lost in this world.
Plains, mountains, swamps, forests—even cities—I’d gotten lost plenty of times.
If I had to make an excuse, it really couldn’t be helped.
In the game, an area that would take 30 minutes at most to pass through now took three full days.
And of course, there was no minimap or world map showing my location.
I didn’t even have a decent quality map to rely on.
And I was just a regular barbarian character—there was no way I’d be carrying around military-grade maps.
In other words, in this world, I was no different from a lost child in an amusement park.
A total pro at getting lost.
‘Not exactly something to brag about.’
The only silver lining was that, thanks to my increased physical abilities from leveling up, I probably wasn’t going to starve to death in the mountains.
Crackle, crackle.
The fire made more noise than usual, probably because I’d thrown in some damp branches.
The sun was already high in the sky, and since I had good night vision, I didn’t need the fire for protection against the dark.
“Well… time to eat, I guess.”
Grease sizzled and dripped from the fire.
I picked up one of the wild boar hind legs I’d thrown in earlier.
The fur had been only half-assedly cleaned off, and to be honest, it didn’t look very appetizing.
It was cooked past well-done—nearly to the point of being a rock.
But I had no choice, not if I wanted to get rid of that gamey stench.
…As soon as I took a bite, I grimaced.
The charred smell and taste hit my nose like a punch, and the musky flavor clawed at the back of my throat and rose straight to my brain.
And the texture—ugh.
Like biting into half-burned chunks of wood that just rolled around in my mouth.
‘This is… beyond terrible.’
It was a flavor from some uncharted corner of hell.
But if I wanted to stay alive, I had to eat.
It wasn’t like I knew anything about edible mushrooms or plants, and I didn’t have any jerky or rations packed for the journey.
Still, I managed to fill my stomach.
My stamina recovered, even if my mental strength took a hit.
“Well then, let’s get moving again.”
I smothered the campfire with dirt.
‘Eventually, I’ll reach a town or village, right?’
If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve at least asked for directions before heading out.
For reference—
It was already the morning of the third day since I’d gotten lost.
002. Northern Barbarian
The boy, Damian, let out a long yawn.
“Yaaaawn… cough cough.”
A bug flew into his mouth mid-yawn, making him gag and cough violently for a moment.
But once that was over, he calmly looked down from the top of a tall hill as if nothing had happened.
Below him was a panoramic view of the village.
He could see forests, valleys, and gently sloping hills.
On one side, gray sheep grazed peacefully, and a short-legged dog—acting as the sheepdog—was wandering nearby.
The usual peaceful scenery.
But Damian, now thirteen years old, found that familiar picture boring.
“Sigh, isn’t there anything interesting to do?”
Well, technically, that wasn’t true.
There were plenty of odd jobs a boy could do around the village, even if most of them were trivial.
But Damian wanted something different.
It was a vague thirst, the kind only a teenage boy could feel—
The curse of being a kid stuck in a rural village.
…Huh?
Just then, something caught his eye.
A huge figure, wearing a robe that covered his shoulders and body.
The glint of metal at his waist.
He looked more like a mercenary than a traveler.
“A mercenary…”
Damian immediately thought of the group of suspicious-looking travelers staying at the village inn.
They weren’t causing trouble exactly, but there was definitely something off about them.
Still, those travelers didn’t carry weapons, whereas this man clearly did.
‘No way… he’s not one of them, is he?’
The thought made Damian shake his head quickly.
Mercenaries or travelers stirring up trouble and getting kicked out of the village wasn’t unusual—it happened now and then.
‘Well, it’s not like it’s my problem.’
That was what Damian thought. He was ready to ignore the man walking into town—
Until that mercenary started striding straight toward him.
“Eh, huh?”
The reason Damian didn’t bolt the moment he saw the stranger wasn’t just because of his thirteen-year-old pride—
There was also a sense of curiosity at how the mercenary seemed to grow larger and larger the closer he came.
‘Those feet are huge… at least six of them… he’s gotta be 6 feet tall. No, wait—maybe 7 feet? At that size, he’s less a person and more of a giant.’
As Damian observed, the difference between the boy and the mercenary was about the same as between a dwarf and a giant.
“U-Um, excuse me?”
(Just a bit nervous) Damian looked up at the mercenary who had come to a stop in front of him.
The shadow cast by the man completely engulfed the boy.
“Hm.”
The mercenary cleared his throat in a low voice and pulled something out from the pouch inside his coat.
With a ting, a silver glint caught the sunlight.
The silver coin arced through the air and landed neatly right on top of Damian’s head.
“A s-silver coin?!”
Not a copper, not even a bronze—an actual silver coin.
Far too generous for pocket money.
Without thinking, Damian caught the coin and looked up at the mercenary with a conflicted expression.
…Up close, he looked even scarier.
It was hard to describe, but he felt like someone—or something—Damian had never seen before.
Maybe this was what fairies or dwarves from beyond the village looked like.
And then—
That lost barbarian-mercenary casually asked Damian a question.
“Inn.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“A tavern would be even better.”
The tone wasn’t exactly polite, but Damian understood right away.
He jumped to his feet.
“Ah, of course! Leave it to me!”
“Hehe, welcome to our mountain village!”
A smile crept across Damian’s lips—he couldn’t hide it.
‘With a silver coin like this, I can stretch it for a whole week!’
Jackpot.
Trying hard to suppress his rising glee, Damian took the lead and started guiding the mercenary.
The kid turned out to be quite chatty.
“Our village is pretty big, right? You don’t have to say anything—I already know. The adults say it’s because there are a lot of cities nearby. You know, like… uh, a hub? A trade center? Something like that.”
“That’s why we get more merchants than you’d expect. Lately there’ve been fewer, though, since the cities are all fighting each other. Still, if you need anything later, just let me know!”
“If you’re heading to another region, you could even join a merchant caravan! Um, you’re a mercenary, right? I’m interested in that stuff too, so maybe later we could—”
“Shut your mouth and walk.”
“Ehh, but you gave me so much money… Oh, um, no. I’ll be quiet now. Sorry…”
Only then did the kid quicken his pace.
“H-here it is!”
“Hm.”
As expected, the inn wasn’t all that big.
This wasn’t a city, after all, and most of the guests were probably just wandering merchants.
The first floor was covered in plaster, and the second floor was made of wood—your typical medieval-style building.
[Barley and Oats, Soup]
A crooked sign hung above the entrance, clearly not made by a professional.
Guess they serve porridge, not rice gruel.
Still, from the writing on the sign, it looked like they at least served real beer.
‘Though at best, it’s probably some lukewarm ale.’
I wasn’t expecting much anyway.
I brushed past the kid, who was still standing there awkwardly.
“Ugh.”
Looked like he was hoping for another coin.
But given my pitiful situation—possibly stuck surviving in this world long-term—the best I could offer was that one silver piece.
Honestly, if I’d had a copper coin or something, I would’ve given it to him.
Unfortunately, all I had were silver coins.
Anyway, I lightly patted the boy’s head and entered the inn.
Since it was a medieval-style inn, I wasn’t expecting chimes or any friendly customer service.
The place looked average.
A few people sat at tables, and at the counter in the back, a man—who looked like the owner—was stirring something like soup in a pot.
Everything around the place looked kind of sticky, and it was obvious no food safety laws were being followed.
Noticing my presence, the man lifted his head to look at me.
“Lunch isn’t ready yet. If you want something to eat, you better have some coin—”
He stopped mid-sentence as he took a proper look at me.
He must’ve mistaken me for someone else at first.
“Ahem, my bad. You’re a customer?”
“……”
I nodded silently.
The innkeeper—or maybe the cook—casually reached under the counter and pulled out a piece of paper.
He was about to hand it to me, then paused and looked it over again.
“Wait… don’t tell me you don’t understand our language?”
“That’s not the case.”
“Ah, sorry again. That’s two slip-ups now.”
He didn’t really look all that sorry, but I didn’t bother reacting much.
I’d experienced this kind of racism a few times already.
And honestly, I was too tired to care.
I held up three fingers in front of him.
“Three days for now.”
“And with meals included?”
“Yes.”
The innkeeper started doing calculations on his fingers.
“Alright. Including three meals a day, that’ll come to three silver coins. But just so you know, once the food runs out, that’s it. We don’t make just a portion or two, but if you miss meal time, too bad.”
“……”
It was pricier than I expected, but I didn’t try to haggle.
After days of sleeping rough and eating nothing but boar meat, I didn’t really have the luxury to negotiate.
He could’ve asked for ten silver coins and I would’ve handed them over.
Though I might’ve given him less meat.
I pulled out three silver coins from my pouch and handed them over.
The innkeeper couldn’t hide the smile on his face as he nodded.
“Nice and clean deal. Oh, and feel free to use the well behind the inn.”
Wonder if they have shampoo or body wash…
Thinking something that pointless, I asked another question:
“The room?”
More than anything else, I needed a place to sleep.
Specifically, a bed.
Even if it was old and worn down—just one without fleas or bedbugs.
“Hang on…”
The innkeeper scribbled something onto a paper that looked like a guest ledger, writing a “3” next to it.
I didn’t remember giving him my name…
Just as I thought—
[Northern Barbarian – 3]
Well, at least it wasn’t something like “Fur-coat,” “Stone-head,” or “Mountain Pig.”
The innkeeper should count himself lucky.
“Here’s your key. Your room’s the third door on the right upstairs. If you lose the key, that’ll be five gold coins to replace it, so be careful.”
I took the key without replying and headed straight up the stairs.
The room was so small my head almost touched the ceiling, but that didn’t matter right now.
I threw off my gear and robe, then collapsed onto the bed.
I was filthy, both my clothes and my body, but I’d been too immersed in this medieval world to care about that sort of thing anymore.
My body sank into the bed like it was a muddy puddle.
Given that the mattress had no springs, this was expected.
Still, it looked like someone had at least taken a heated iron to the fabric earlier in the day—no signs of bugs or anything crawling.
“Whew… I’m exhausted…”
I was max level, so I didn’t really get physically tired anymore.
But mentally? Yeah, that was another story.
And I had no idea what I was supposed to do next.
If I really was going to be stuck living in this game world… what should I be doing?
Maybe I should gather up a ton of gold and build myself a giant mansion or something?
Pfft.
A laugh slipped out from the absurdity of the thought.
It wasn’t even funny—just laughably ridiculous.
I slowly closed my eyes.
Thanks to the trait I’d chosen earlier—[Talented Sleeper]—drowsiness crept in right away.
For now…
“I’ll sleep on it and think after I wake up.”
“We’re under attack!!”
“Block the entrance!”
“Where the hell are the guards—?!”
…A thick vein popped on my forehead.
It hadn’t even been a few hours.