While denying it—telling myself it couldn't be, that it was ridiculous imagination—negative thoughts crept in anyway.
Anxiety surged, and before I knew it, I was gnawing at my nails.
Evan Dreadnote had been such a pathetic wretch that it was possible for him, but...
Compared to Celine, he was a lower class, yet the family head and younger brother were both highly skilled.
Count Dreadnote, the family head, was a competent commander known as the Shield of the North.
There was no way someone like him could be breached so easily.
'Did he get taken down?'
Cold sweat trickled down at the worst-case scenario flashing in my mind, but I quickly shook my head in denial.
No way that happened.
That left only one possibility.
They were a small reconnaissance unit or a detachment on a special mission.
And that mission was to retrieve this Warrior's Ring.
Outside, their conversation continued amid the rustling of bushes.
"Searching for an artifact in the middle of a war? Isn't that lord starting to lose it?"
"...You can't even fathom Lady Imir's insight with your shallow mind."
"Yeah, right. Fucking whatever."
'What?'
Imir?
I frowned briefly at the vulgar speech from the barbarian called Tundra.
But a keyword from the other barbarian made me hold my breath.
This was someone who shouldn't appear yet.
'Frostfang Imir. Why the hell is that crazy bitch here already?'
Frostfang Imir.
The moment I heard the name, vague memories of The Glory's setting resurfaced.
Chieftain of the Northern Barbarian Alliance and the sworn enemy of House Dreadnote.
A calamity incarnate who united the barbarian tribes with her foresight ability, leading them to invade the entire North.
But that bitch was after this artifact?
'How she knows is secondary, but there's no reason she'd care about this ring.'
The Warrior's Ring was a solid artifact, but nothing a barbarian chieftain would obsess over.
In the game, its performance was barely B-grade.
Generously, at best.
Yet Imir herself had sent her underlings to find it?
Even infiltrating during a war with House Dreadnote?
'Doesn't make sense.'
This wasn't the The Glory story I knew.
'Something I don't know about.'
...I had no idea.
I wasn't supposed to run into any barbarians here in the first place.
"Tundra. Check that side."
"Fuck. Got it."
The sounds were getting closer.
If they started searching, discovery was only a matter of time.
Even if I got lucky and escaped, my pathetic current stats meant I couldn't outrun these barbarians.
Only one option.
Strike first.
Here. Right now.
Exploit the element of surprise before they noticed me.
'This is insane.'
I knew it was crazy.
But it was far better than sitting here waiting for death.
With trembling hands, I slipped the Warrior's Ring onto my index finger.
Hummm.
The moment the ring settled on my finger, searing heat poured from it, spreading through my entire body.
A fierce sensation like the flames of a blast furnace racing through my veins.
"Urk..."
I clamped both hands over my mouth to stifle a scream, curling into a ball.
I couldn't make a sound here, or they'd pinpoint my location.
Pain like my bones twisting and muscles reforming assaulted me.
But amid the agony, I could feel my body changing from the ground up.
My screaming muscles brimmed with vitality,
and my nearly depleted stamina was refilling, a sensation I felt throughout my body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Artifact 'Warrior's Ring' equipped. User's physical abilities have been enhanced. ⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: F → D💨 Agility: F → D✨ Magic Power: F → D💪 Stamina: F → D🍀 Luck: F🛡️ Endurance: F
Still bottom-tier, but at least now I could pass for human.
Crack.
I snapped the wooden sword quietly, gripping the sharp broken end like a dagger.
Holding my breath, I peered through the gap in the vines at the cave entrance.
"See? We've been searching forever and nothing. Borin! Let's just head back!"
"Quit your whining. It's Lady Imir's order. If you're a warrior, search again properly."
I picked my target.
The flippant barbarian—Tundra, was it?
He was so sloppy, it made me question if he was really one of them.
I gathered my magic power, preparing both abilities at once.
One was linking my shadow to the shadow behind Tundra's back.
The other was releasing the Curtain of Fear enveloping my body, condensing it into a single point to fire at him.
"...Hm? Wait. Faint energy from those vines over there. Check it out."
"Got it, old man."
I held my breath.
Thump! Thump!
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Swish. Rustle.
"...Fuck, what artifact would be in a dump like this."
Grumbling and rustling sounds came from right in front.
Thump! Thump!
One chance.
The instant he poked his head in.
Shhrrk.
The vines parted, and the face of the young barbarian with shaggy beard—Tundra—thrust into the dark cave.
Before his eyes could adjust to the darkness, in that split second.
'Now!'
I dove into his shadow without hesitation.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Shadow Step (Lv. 1)
Instant teleport via shadows
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Curtain of Fear (Lv. 1) - Amplified
Infuses fear into target / Temporary paralysis
Swoosh.
"...Gahk!"
Emerging silently from the shadow behind Tundra's back,
I slammed the wooden sword like a stiletto into his nape, where the Curtain of Fear had frozen him for a brief moment.
Pffk!
The sharply broken wood shard pierced through a gap in his leather armor, embedding deep into his nape.
Tundra's eyes filled with shock at the unexpected attack.
"Huu...!"
He tried to scream, but his blocked windpipe only let out a leaking hiss.
I quickly clamped his mouth shut and slammed him down with all my strength.
Barbarians were barbarians, after all.
His thrashing was fierce enough that it was hard to suppress with my power.
"Bo...rin."
Thanks to the lethal wound, his struggles were gradually weakening.
"Tundra. Find something?"
I gritted my teeth in anxiety.
I felt Tundra's final spasm in my hand.
As the light rapidly faded from his eyes,
I twisted the broken wooden sword to fully sever his breath.
Crack!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Hostile target eliminated. Absorbing negative emotions 'Pain', 'Terror'.
Warm blood poured over the back of my hand.
The nauseating sensation of a person's death—my first—twisted my gut, but there was no time to think.
Heavy footsteps thudded closer. Another barbarian.
"Tundra!"
'Fuck. Caught already?'
The shout of shock from the older barbarian behind reached my ears.
Despite the distance, he was already closing in fast.
Borin's eyes flashed with shock as he burst through the bushes, then twisted into savage fury upon seeing me, blood-soaked, astride his tribesman's corpse.
"You disgusting kingdom dog dare!"
I had to strike first before the rage-blinded bastard charged.
Kicking off the fallen barbarian's corpse,
I launched myself at Borin's heart while he was still assessing the situation.
'More manageable than I thought. Don't stop moving!'
Clang!
The air whistled as his battle axe deflected my wooden sword.
A dull thud of wood against steel.
"You...!"
His eyes, blazing with murderous intent, ignored the Curtain of Fear cloaking me.
'Monster bastard!'
Reaction speed way beyond expectations.
I hurriedly backpedaled to create distance.
"...Tundra."
Borin glanced at the fallen Tundra, then pounced at me like a beast.
"You dare kill a Frost Giant warrior!"
Whirr!
His battle axe cleaved the air toward my head.
A premonition of death chilled my spine.
I instinctively rolled aside to dodge.
The D-grade stats boosted by the Warrior's Ring made power surge through my body—nothing like before—but it still fell short against this barbarian warrior.
Every swing of his axe carried enough weight to sever bone from flesh; even a graze would be fatal.
Blocking those brutal attacks head-on was suicide.
"What are you! A Dreadnote dog?!"
Borin roared, sweeping the axe horizontally with tree-felling force.
I swiftly used Shadow Step to slip behind him.
Swoosh!
"Futile tricks!"
But he'd already predicted my move.
The instant I emerged from the shadow,
as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he twisted and smashed his elbow into my solar plexus.
"Gahk!"
Breath-seizing pain.
The gut-wrenching impact hurled me back without even a scream.
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