Chapter 456

Barbarians typically form small to medium-sized tribal communities.

Within their own territories, they dominate the vast expanse of the 31st floor.

However, there is one exception—

The kingdom where the King of the Barbarians resides.

Its scale was no different from that of a major city.

A fortress housing over 30,000 barbarians, where culture and art intermingled to create the most bustling area on the 31st floor.

Though calling this place ‘bustling’ was a stretch—an ordinary high school festival probably had better quality.

“The village ends here. Beyond that gate is the royal capital.”

Barakdu pointed ahead with his finger.

While they were taking in the sights, Jinhyuk and the Veteran Corporation members had reached the castle gates.

The entrance had a deep, wide moat.

The level of craftsmanship was almost too refined to believe it had been built by barbarians.

“Barakdu! Long time no see! What brings you to the kingdom in such dreadful weather?”

A barbarian who seemed to be the guard captain approached.

As expected, barbarians were nothing but sweaty, muscular lumps.

The higher their rank, the more pronounced their muscles seemed.

Kururung…! Kwaang!

Lightning flashed, followed by a deafening roar.

By barbarian standards, this was considered bad weather.

In modern times, it would have been enough to issue a nationwide evacuation order.

“Oh! Jencar! How long has it been…? One, two, three… ten, twenty, fifty nights!”

“You actually counted the days? As expected of Barakdu, the smartest barbarian. So, what brings you here?”

“The humans from another floor wish to meet the king.”

“The king? But he does not grant audiences to just anyone.”

“They are not just anyone. They are intelligent humans.”

“Sorry, but I can’t just take your word for it.”

Well, as the gatekeeper of the kingdom, he seemed at least a bit smarter than the others—about as much as a goldfish.

“If you doubt us, give us a challenge.”

“Alright. This is one of the most troubling problems in the kingdom. Solve it, and you will be granted an audience with the king.”

Jencar pulled out a piece of parchment.

It was covered in hieroglyphs of all sorts.

No discernible pattern, just a chaotic jumble of symbols thrown together.

Even the one who wrote it probably wouldn’t be able to decipher it, let alone players or residents of other floors.

This must be why the barbarians remained so closed off.

But—

[On rainy days, many barbarians die from lightning strikes. Even enduring with sheer willpower has its limits. How can this be prevented?]

Jinhyuk had already grasped the general idea.

After encountering the writing systems of various dim-witted races, he had naturally developed a knack for understanding their intent.

‘No doubt, they keep getting struck by lightning because they wear metal all over their bodies in this weather.’

It wasn’t surprising that many barbarians met their end while enthusiastically raising their spears and shouting, “Muscles! Muscles!”

Setting up lightning rods was one solution—

But there was no way these fools would just leave them alone.

‘Idiots and smoke always rise to the highest points.’

Clearly, their strongest warriors would claim the highest ground to prove their might, only to end up extra crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

In that case…

Jinhyuk pulled out a glowing green gemstone from his subspace inventory.

One of the five elemental stones stolen from Guntafer’s treasury—’Lightning Stone.’

Next—

“Undine, come out for a moment. Relax, I’m not going to overwork you.”

Jinhyuk summoned Undine.

“M-Master, what is it?”

“It’s nothing serious… just wear this around your neck for a moment.”

The beautiful gemstone moved toward Undine.

She had been on high alert, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Wow… Is this a gift? Thank you, Master! It really suits me! But… why are you casting a binding spell on it? Wait… huh? Hold on a second!”

Undine panicked and tried to remove the stone.

But no matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn’t budge.

…Something was definitely wrong.

At that moment—

Kururung…! Kwaaaang!

A golden lightning bolt streaked across the dark sky.

A straight, fiery path hurtled toward another unfortunate barbarian.

But then—

“Why won’t this come off—Kyaaaah!”

Undine let out a shriek as she was engulfed in flames.

Having taken the lightning head-on, she was completely dazed.

“Now, the lightning problem is solved.”

“What do you mean, weak warrior?”

Weak? This was the perfect physique, actually.

“Anyway, from now on, all the lightning will only strike her. So you don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

“You expect me to believe that just because of a single gemstone—”

Kururung…! Kwaaaang!

“Kyaaaah! Save me, Master!”

Kurung…! Kwak! Kwak! Kwakwakwakwak!

“…Kyaaaah…”

“I believe you! Weak but wise warrior! You are worthy of meeting the king! Here, take this pass.”

Jencar beamed with a bright smile.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Thanks to Undine’s noble (and unwilling) sacrifice, their entry into the fortress was effortless.

“This place is really something.”

“So this is the world of barbarians… I can see why the martial world never expanded past the 30th floor.”

Chun Yoosung and Chuhon Sayoung let out exclamations of awe.

They had just witnessed a barbarian standing with his mouth wide open, drinking rainwater to measure precipitation levels.

“Gulp, gulp! Keuk! Kuuuh! It’s raining a lot. If I’m gagging, it must be a downpour!”

“You’re doing great. If it weren’t for you, the entire kingdom wouldn’t know how much rain was falling!”

“Ahem! I’m just doing my duty as a warrior.”

“Well, keep up the good work.”

“Understood! Gulp! Keuk! Kuuh! Kuuh!”

Meanwhile, others were engaged in desperate efforts to prevent the city from flooding.

Half-naked muscular men swung their pickaxes and shovels relentlessly.

“Heup! Hooah!”

“Just a little more! We’re almost there!”

Thud! Splat!

They dug at an incredible speed.

The depth and width were more than enough to hold water.

The problem was—

“Kuaaah!”

“I’m getting swept away!”

They had dug too deep, causing the ground to erode.

The sudden collapse of the soil buried many barbarians alive.

“Are they insane…?”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue inwardly.

With their naturally high durability, they wouldn’t die so easily, but still…

It was a wonder this kingdom hadn’t collapsed yet.

How much farther did they walk?

Following the road deeper inside, a massive mansion made of thick logs came into view.

A flag bearing the emblem of the barbarians fluttered above it.

This was the palace of the Barbarian King.

A thick, heavy scent filled the air.

Even at the entrance, the overpowering stench of testosterone was everywhere.

“Who goes there?”

A barbarian, easily a head taller than the gatekeeper, blocked their path.

With golden hair down to the waist and a beard so thick even a razor wouldn’t cut through, he stood over 2 meters tall, his arms as massive as a grown man’s thigh.

Clearly, he was one of the royal guards.

To think a warrior this imposing existed…

By appearance alone, he could be the leader among ogres.

“We received permission at the gate. This is the pass given to us by a barbarian named Jencar.”

“Hmm? A pass?”

The barbarian tilted his head.

No way…

“I don’t know anything about a pass. Only those with the proper qualifications may enter.”

Damn barbarians.

Why even bother making a pass in the first place?

Jinhyuk was seriously tempted to ask where they learned their administration skills.

“Fine. So how do we earn this qualification?”

“Enter proudly and meet the king.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

It was almost suspiciously easy.

“Whatever. Let’s just go in. Once we meet the king, we’ll figure things out.”

Thud.

Chun Yoosung reached for the door handle.

“…Hmm?”

But the door didn’t budge—

Not even the slightest movement.

A thick vein bulged on Chun Yoosung’s forehead.

He tried again, but the result was the same.

Boom!

This time, the door shook slightly more than before.

“What kind of idiotically heavy door is this?”

“Ugh! I-It’s really too heavy!”

Even Teresa struggled as she gripped the door with both hands.

“Each side of that door weighs about 3 tons. Even the strongest warriors struggle with it. With your scrawny bodies, you have no chance.”

So this was the first trial.

To meet the king, one had to possess the strength to open this door.

3 tons…

Unless someone had invested everything into strength, opening it with brute force at this stage was nearly impossible.

But—

[Unique Ability ‘Tombgrave’s Right Arm’ is now activated!]

Rumble!

A black aura surged around Jinhyuk’s right arm.

“Hmm?”

The barbarian’s pupils flared.

The sheer intensity of the energy caused his muscles to tense involuntarily.

And then—

Boom!

The massive doors swung open to either side.

“How…?”

“Strength isn’t just about having big muscles. Maybe now you’ll remember that there are other kinds of strength out there.”

“I see… The world is vast indeed.”

The barbarian nodded in understanding.

“Very well. Human, I like you. How about we create the greatest warrior together?”

Wait.

Wait a second.

Did he just hear that wrong?

“By ‘create’… you mean a child?”

“Indeed.”

“You do know that children are made between a man and a woman, right?”

No matter how dumb they were, there had to be a limit.

Surely, it wasn’t—

“Excuse me. I am a woman. I just recently turned twenty. And I assure you, I am more than capable of bearing strong offspring.”

“….”

Without a doubt, since arriving on the 31st floor—no, since the Tower of Trials appeared—this was the most shocking thing Jinhyuk had ever heard.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

At the same time—

Inside the palace, commotion broke out.

“The door has opened?”

“A young warrior has already grown strong enough?”

“It must be a child from the Godrit Tribe. I remember one who was as big as a buffalo at twelve.”

“If it’s strength, then surely it’s someone from the Mera Tribe. I recall one who ate 100 loaves of bread a day.”

“Don’t lie. The whole kingdom knows your memory is goblin-tier.”

The barbarians inside murmured among themselves.

The ‘Gate of Trials’ had not been opened in a long time.

Only those with true muscle and a mad spirit could enter.

It was only natural that their hearts pounded in anticipation.

And then—

Step.

The one who entered was not a barbarian warrior.

A figure far too frail in their eyes.

A human with black hair confidently strode across the grand hall.

“I’ve brought a historic gift for the barbarian kingdom… Now, who here is the smartest?”

Jinhyuk grinned from ear to ear.