Ch.2Chapter 2 Start.

The name of Balok’s youngest son was Balt.

But right now, Balt wasn’t the real Balt.

‘This is driving me crazy! What am I supposed to do?!’

Balt’s true identity was a young man named Han Taejun who lived in modern-day South Korea.

‘Why can’t I speak? My mouth won’t move!’

That’s right.

Taejun had been possessed.

And not just anywhere, but in “The Fantaria,” a game he enjoyed playing.

The possession happened exactly three days ago.

His first quest was this:

【Sudden Quest: Don’t Get Caught.】

<Description>

The barbarians are suspicious of you because of your strange behavior.

Be careful with your words and actions.

If they discover you’re a fake, something terrible might happen!

<Completion Condition>

Survive as Balt for 3 days.

<Reward>

Success – Splendid Barbarian Attitude, 5 Stat Points

Failure – Death.

Get caught and you die.

He barely managed to complete that damned quest and succeeded in surviving.

But because of that so-called reward, the “Barbarian Attitude” or whatever it was, Taejun couldn’t even speak properly.

‘Is this a reward? More like a restriction!’

Just now, when he was dragged away by the man who was his father, he had no choice but to answer “yes” because of yet another quest.

【Main Quest: Kwan’s Command.】

<Description>

You are the son of the great conqueror Balok!

You have a duty to pass on magic to your tribe to fulfill his wishes!

The path to learning magic won’t be easy, but let’s take on the challenge!

<Completion Condition>

Arrive at the Halkin Empire Academy within 60 days.

<Reward>

Success – Acquire a new trait, 5 Stat Points

Failure – Kwan’s Wrath.

<Quest Special Note>

I’ll give you a little help to make learning magic easier!

Kwan’s wrath?

As soon as Taejun saw Kwan, he thought:

‘If this person gets angry, I’m dead.’

That’s basically the same as death.

He reluctantly accepted the quest, but the strangely cheerful quest notification window irritated him.

And what was this “little help”? When Taejun checked his status window, there was another strange trait listed.

【I Won’t Harm You: That intimidating physique is just for show!

Effect: You cannot directly inflict damage on living beings using your body.】

Finally, a mutter escaped from the lips of Taejun in Balt’s form.

“This will be difficult.”

What Taejun actually wanted to say was:

‘Damn it!! You should ask people to do things they’re capable of! How is a barbarian supposed to learn magic?! There wasn’t even such a setting in the game! And what? You’re sealing direct attacks for a barbarian whose only strength is his physical power? This is fucking ridiculous!! I can’t help but swear!’

But there was no other option.

If he didn’t want to die, he had to do it.

Taejun suddenly looked at his robust body.

Pectoral muscles bulging insanely, arms with veins about to burst.

His abs could crack nuts, not just wash clothes.

And his thighs? Thicker than most people’s entire bodies.

And now he couldn’t use any of it!

Taejun casually picked up a solid-looking stone from the ground.

Then he applied pressure.

Crunch—

The hard stone crumbled to dust.

Fortunately, it seemed the restriction didn’t apply to inanimate objects.

After dusting off his hands, Taejun began to think deeply.

The past three days had been spent keeping an extremely low profile.

Because he couldn’t get caught, there was nothing he could do proactively.

Moreover, Taejun had never played as a barbarian when enjoying the game. No, he had deliberately avoided it.

This was because Taejun was a hardcore magic enthusiast.

In every game he played, it was always magic! Mage!

“Magic is a man’s romance!” he thought, always playing as a magic-wielding character.

Something seemed fundamentally wrong, but anyway, he was told to learn magic.

That was what Taejun was best at in the game.

He also pondered the reality he had contemplated endlessly over the past three days.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back, but…

In fact, Taejun was an orphan.

But he didn’t think his life in reality was bad.

He had somehow graduated from high school, joined a small company where his boss bullied him, worked unpaid overtime regularly, had work dumped on him by others, and often received delayed wages…

Ah, come to think of it, it wasn’t an easy life…

That led him to one conclusion.

‘Do I really have to go back?’

From the moment of possession, this place became Taejun’s reality.

And it was inside the game he enjoyed playing, something he had once fantasized about.

It was almost like his wish had come true.

Except for the race.

Balt’s mouth moved, and for the first time, words similar to Taejun’s inner thoughts escaped.

“Yes, I’ll give it a try. I am Balt!”

‘Yeah, what’s life about? Just give it a shot! I’m Balt now! I’ll live as Balt!’

While he was thinking this, a barbarian warrior outside Taejun—no, Balt’s tent—called out to him.

“Lord Balt, shall I bring your meal?”

A deep, gruff voice befitting a barbarian came from Balt’s mouth.

“Yes, I’m hungry. Bring the meal.”

“Yes! Right away!”

***

The next morning.

Despite sending a prince who was essentially a hostage, neither the Empire nor the Central Continent sent anyone to escort him.

The same went for the barbarian side.

They had agreed that each would reach their destination on their own.

The Empire’s nobles would surely bring numerous troops and servants, but this was the harsh South.

Balok wouldn’t show such consideration.

One horse, one greatsword, two leather pouches containing food and water, and a money pouch filled with the continent’s common currency.

That was the entirety of Balt’s luggage.

Still, a large crowd gathered to see Balt off.

Even his heavy-bottomed father, Balok.

They understood how symbolic this event was.

“Is there anything you lack, my son?”

Though the words were affectionate, to Balt it sounded like a dinosaur growling up close.

That’s how intimidating Balok’s presence was.

“No, Kwan.”

‘No, nothing’s missing. Old man, it’s not like you were planning to give me anything more anyway.’

Balok nodded, turned around, and shouted to his tribesmen who had gathered to see Balt off.

[Today will be a historic day for us! Everyone, cheer for Balt’s successful return!]

“Wooooooo!! Balt hoo!”

“Wooooooo!! Balt hoo!”

An enormous roar covered the plains, and Balok bid farewell to his son.

“Go and return. I will wait with confidence.”

“I shall return, Kwan.”

And so Balt’s journey to the Central Continent began.

***

After riding his horse for quite some time, Balt’s mouth opened.

“This is troublesome…”

‘Ah… I’m screwed… I think I’m lost?’

He had set off confidently, but Balt had lost his way.

From the beginning, games and reality were different.

In games, there are maps and mini-maps, but reality isn’t like that.

Even with a map, if you don’t know how to read it properly, it’s common to get lost even while looking at it.

‘Hah… damn it. What should I do? What forest is this? There was supposed to be a large wall here?’

So Balt began wandering around.

“Damn. If only I could find someone.”

That level of cursing seemed to come out naturally.

But no matter how hard he looked, there was no one to be seen.

Instead, he encountered a pack of wolves.

“Hmm, wolves… my first encounter…”

‘Damn! Those are Dire Wolves!? This is my first time seeing monsters in real life!? I’m doomed!’

Despite his outwardly calm appearance, Balt’s inner self was in turmoil.

“Grrrrrrrr…”

At a glance, there seemed to be more than a dozen of them.

Enough to frighten even a well-trained person.

“I won’t harm you. Just go away.”

‘Get lost! Get lost! Barbarians taste terrible!! Go away!’

The moment Balt said that,

“Awooooo!”

With the alpha wolf’s howl, the wolf pack’s attack began!

The wolf in front of Balt was the first to bare its gleaming teeth and bite down on Balt’s extended arm!

‘Ah, no!! What is this right from the start!! Fine! Even if I die, I’ll die fighting!’

So Balt flexed his muscles and threw a punch.

Whoosh—

Pong—

Despite the tremendous sound of air being cut, the wolf that was hit squarely by the fist was pushed back with a cute sound effect.

Even that was just from the wind generated by the extended fist.

“Awo?”

The wolf, which had felt the fear of death, tilted its head in confusion.

“Ha, it really has no effect?”

‘This is insane! I had enough force to crush a boulder, but it went “pong”? “Pong”? This is ridiculous!’

Meanwhile, another wolf jumped high and successfully bit Balt’s nape.

‘Ah, no!’

Crack!

Something strange happened.

If it had bitten a human’s neck, a different sound should have been heard, but there was a sound of something breaking.

‘Wh-what? It doesn’t hurt at all?’

Feeling strange, Balt looked at the wolf that had bitten his neck.

The wolf was hanging on Balt’s back in pain.

All of the wolf’s teeth had broken off.

‘Th-thank goodness! My defense is still intact!’

Balt quickly grabbed the wolf by its scruff.

Squeeze!

Then he applied strong pressure, but at some point, Balt’s hand stopped digging into the wolf’s neck.

‘Damn it! What am I supposed to do? What good is strength if I can’t inflict damage!’

At that moment, a good idea occurred to Balt!

‘Right! It said I couldn’t inflict “direct” damage! If that’s the case!’