Chapter 3 : A Person I See For The First Time

I usually don’t try to dream.

I’m not talking about the kind of dreams people bring up when discussing hopeful views of the future.

It’s just that, after looting (while repeatedly telling myself it’s just NPCs) on a battlefield reeking of corpses, I ended up this way.

[…grrk.]

So, I casually ignored the corpse trying to rush at me with its neck broken.

I shut my mouth, covered my ears, and closed my eyes.

I simply thought about something else.

Usually in times like these, I think about home.

Thoughts of my parents, or regrets about not drinking the cola I left in the fridge.

Silly musings like how I wouldn’t ask for anything else if I could just have a bite of napa cabbage kimchi.

Then I start thinking about chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and so on…

When I focus on the longing for my hometown—

Before I know it…

“W-we’re under attack!!”

……………That’s how I usually wake up from this exhausting sleep.

003. A Stranger I’d Never Seen Before

Outside the inn, it was incredibly noisy.

Something hit the ground, and the sounds of people rushing around echoed loudly.

On top of that, there were occasional screams.

I lifted my head from where I was buried in the bed.

Since glass windows were only found in cities, weak twilight filtered softly through the wooden one.

It was close to sunset.

‘…The sun hasn’t even set yet. What’s everyone so worked up about?’

With a sigh, I finally got up.

I tucked the two axes leaning against the wall into my belt, then listened to the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway.

Clatter!!

The wooden door, which hadn’t been locked, swung open with a harsh sound.

“…H-hey!”

Then he stopped mid-sentence after seeing me standing there.

It was the innkeeper I saw earlier at the front desk.

He must have run here in a rush—sweat trickled down his forehead.

Trying to calm his panic, the innkeeper gulped before speaking.

“…You’re a mercenary, right? Could you help us out? Bandits have attacked the village!”

“What about the guards?”

I asked, recalling the buildings I’d seen around the village.

“W-well, about that…”

Even if they were just a militia-level force, this wasn’t exactly a tiny village.

I wouldn’t expect bandits to try something so reckless.

“…The outpost is burning.”

“…Hmm. From the bandits’ perspective, that would be the first thing to take out. Makes sense.”

“Looks like a few of them disguised themselves as travelers and slipped in… We do get a lot of visitors, but I told them we needed tighter security…!”

The innkeeper cried out in frustration.

Thinking about how this inn was the only place those “travelers” could have stayed, I didn’t feel all that sorry for him.

Anyway.

As I stayed quiet, the innkeeper clutched his leather apron and pleaded.

“I-I took a quick look. There don’t seem to be that many bandits. And the remaining guards are still fighting!”

As he spoke, he glanced at the two axes at my waist.

“…So if you help us, we can take care of this quickly! Please, I’m begging you!”

Maybe it’s because he’s a game character—

He sure seemed very used to asking others for favors.

“A-are you even listening to me..? Oh, right. Reward! If you help us, I’ll talk to the villagers and—”

“Let’s talk about that later.”

Time was of the essence.

I moved the innkeeper aside and stepped into the hallway, heading down the stairs.

“…Huh? He actually came down.”

On the first floor, several men—who looked very much like bandits—had already arrived.

“No, seriously, I told you we should take that guy out first. Look at the size of him. He didn’t even bring a spear.”

Judging by their conversation, they were probably the ones who had disguised themselves as travelers.

The bandits didn’t seem to care whether I’d come downstairs or not—they just kept chatting and laughing among themselves.

“You idiot. What about the guards then?”

“…Well. We’ll go after them next?”

“Ugh. Forget it.”

They acted like they were out for a casual stroll, but the weapons in their hands were already dripping with blood.

Daggers, longswords, axes—

Their weapons varied.

Looking closely, I noticed they were wearing thick gambesons under their robes.

I could see now why they were so confident.

This clearly wasn’t their first raid.

One of them shouted at me.

“Hey! If you don’t wanna die, drop those axes on your belt. And your silver pouch too.”

“Pfft. No way he’s scared with a build like that. Guess he should drop his pants too, just in case.”

“Oh yeah? Drop the pants too. Hahaha!!”

They burst into laughter, cackling at their crude, vulgar jokes.

But that laughter didn’t last long.

Because the axe I threw split the upper body—including the head—of the bandit standing in the middle, then flew out through the doorway.

“…Huh?”

The surreal sight instantly silenced them.

Their blood-splattered faces froze in shock, eyes wide.

“W-what the hell is…”

I gripped the remaining axe in my hand.

Clang.

The metal shaft rang softly in my palm.

To an ordinary person, it would be the kind of axe you could barely swing with both hands.

But to a northern barbarian standing over two meters tall—seven feet, if you’re into imperial units—it was practically a one-handed hatchet.

‘Using the imperial system… You damn backward medieval types.’

After a breath’s worth of time passed—

Only I was left on the first floor.

I walked straight outside.

The smell of burning, villagers running in panic, bandits in pursuit—

Chaos everywhere.

“Hehehe, come here, baby!”

Someone was grabbing at a woman’s dress, trying to pull it down.

“Oh, a silver ring. Lucky me.”

Another was laughing as he sliced a villager’s finger off.

…No point dragging this out any longer.

I walked toward them, step by step.

One swing.

Two.

Three.

The more swings I took, the quieter everything became.

“What the hell?! This damn giant two-handed axe—who the hell’s insane enough to throw this—huh?”

I picked up the axe I’d thrown earlier at the inn.

“R-run!!”

“…Shit. Why the hell is a barbarian here…?”

“P-please, just spare me! Please!!”

Seventeen in total.

A lot, or not really, depending on how you look at it.

But it didn’t leave much of an impression.

Kill one, and you might wake up from the dream.

Kill dozens, and the sense of reality fades away.

There was even a faint sense of accomplishment—like I’d saved a village in danger.

‘What if the top-tier village maiden in the province says she wants to marry me—how would I say no?’

As I turned around, thinking a rare, silly joke not like me—

Of course, what welcomed me was the terrified faces of the townsfolk.

…ot21.

Now that’s more like it.

It’s not like anyone would genuinely feel happy watching a blood-soaked barbarian who looked like he couldn’t even speak properly just slaughter a group of bandits in an instant.

“Uh, um… that is…”

Someone tried to muster up the courage to speak to me.

But the moment they saw me—covered head to toe in blood—they couldn’t get another word out.

I guess I did look kind of terrifying.

Honestly, if this had happened just a few days ago, I probably wouldn’t have acted so violently.

Fame doesn’t bring anything good.

Ever.

After learning that the hard way, I started moving quietly, even on the battlefield.

But… maybe it’s because I’ve started to believe I’ll never make it back to my original world.

So yeah.

I’ve been moving a bit more aggressively.

Anyway, the damage was already done.

I turned, quietly heading back toward the inn.

That’s when a trembling voice made me stop.

“…Thank you so much, young man.”

She was the kind of old lady you’d find in any town.

Tears were streaming down her face as she bowed repeatedly in gratitude.

“No need.”

Young man, huh? Been a while since I heard that.

I tried to leave it at that and turn away, but the old woman reached out her bent, frail hand to stop me.

Gasps echoed around us—people holding their breath in fear—but the old woman didn’t seem to care.

She calmly pulled something out.

“May our god watch over you and your good deeds…”

It was a small carved wooden statue.

Judging by all the cracks and chipped edges, it was so old I could barely make out what it was supposed to be.

Some kind of religious token? Like a barbarian would care.

In this world, there’s a single god that represents the “Sun.”

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other gods or religions.

Especially among the barbarians.

Still… I was only wearing the skin of a barbarian.

I wasn’t actually a heretic.

I took the statue.

Honestly, I only accepted it because I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

The old lady bowed her head again, thanking me over and over.

“…Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

I didn’t respond.

Just walked away from her like I was escaping.

I grabbed some water from the well, washed off the worst of the blood, and went back to my room.

“…God, huh.”

The word itself made me want to curse.

If that bastard does exist, there’s something I’d really like to ask.

Why did you bring me to this world?

What part of my life were you so dissatisfied with that you had to throw me into a literal video game?

I’ve cursed you hundreds, thousands of times.

So why haven’t you shown your face to apologize?

“…Screw god. Just another shitty bastard.”

Without thinking, I clenched my hand—

And crushed the wooden statue in my grip.

Crack.

A piece of it fell to the floor.

I looked down at it and let out a dry laugh.

After giving it some real thought, I came to a conclusion.

God was either incredibly evil…

Or some kind of masochistic freak who secretly enjoyed being cursed out.

That’s the only explanation I could come up with.

Why else would he never show up?

If he ever does appear in front of me, I’ll kill him—

No.

I’d do even more than that.

But even though it’s been years now—

Years spent living inside this damn game—

God still hadn’t answered.

Just like always.

Screw it.

I’ll just sleep.

I collapsed onto the bed.

I guess I hadn’t washed off all the blood, because that familiar, metallic smell clung to my body.

Honestly, I’d rather smell like a lonely, crusty bachelor.

…Shit.

I closed my eyes.

Something wet slid down my cheek—

But as always, I ignored it.

And when I woke up—

“…Huh?”

There was someone I’d never seen before, lying in my bed.