The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

Episode 27 Forest of No Return (7)

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar darkness.

I couldn’t breathe. The vomit filled with terrible magic was pouring in through all the holes on my face. My limbs couldn’t move. Not only was a binding spell enough to bind a golem cast on my entire body, but I was also bound in chains with a strengthening spell.

If someone else were in this situation, they would probably panic terribly.

But it was something familiar to Kadim. He felt a strange sense of relief. Still, he thought, he couldn’t escape this restraint today.

‘… … .’

But he couldn’t keep going like this. Kadim stretched out his fingers and applied force.

Googoo… … .

A tremble spread from the tip of the finger. The power grew calmly. Before long, it created a strong vibration that shook the entire surrounding ground. Even the intangible magic could not overcome the aftermath and began to crack.

As I clenched my fist, there was a sound of something breaking.

Paddeuk, pachachang!!

The thick film that had been gripping the skin disappeared. The binding magic was instantly released. It was a sight that a wizard who had spent a long time preparing his magic would lament.

Then Kadim lightly snapped his fingers. The power condensed in his middle finger exploded, making a loud noise.

―――――― Pow!

As the soil poured out, a small hole opened. The stuffy, sealed exhalation escaped and the outside air seeped in.

If he applied a lot of force to his forearms, he could easily break the chains, but Kadim decided not to do that. I had already broken three chains and had no spares. There was no need for rescue help coming anyway.

‘… … .’

‘… … sir. … … … … .’

“… … Dear Dim, Dear Khadim! Are you okay? I’m sorry, you had a hard time, right? Please wait just a little while! I’ll take it out for you… … .”

The voice came out blurry. There was light in the corner of my eyes. Kadim narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground. The shaman with a torn rag over her eyes was digging through her pile of dirt, not realizing that her fingernails were broken and covered in blood.

“Get out of the way, Sister Cyril. I’ll do it from now on… … .”

The wizard with deep gashes on both cheeks stepped forward. He chanted a spell and swung his staff, and Khadim’s body emerged from the mound of dirt. The chains that had been tightly binding him also loosened and fell to the ground.

Kadim spit out the foreign substance that had accumulated in his mouth. A handful of pale dirt came out. Only after he had swept his eardrums did he come to his senses to speak.

“Thank you, Melissa.”

“Whew, what’s new…” … .”

“What happened to the devil yesterday?”

“… … What are you talking about? You tore it apart and turned it into meat paste.”

“That’s good. Was there anything else that happened?”

“… … .”

The wizard lowered his gaze to his feet. The shaman fidgeted with her fingers nervously. Even if she didn’t say anything, she seemed to know roughly what happened.

“… … I’m sorry. I don’t mean to harm you, but it’s getting harder and harder to control my madness.”

The shaman waved her hand in anticipation.

“Oh, no, Kadim! Don’t say that! If Kadim hadn’t been here yesterday, someone in our group would have been seriously injured, but thanks to Kadim… … .”

“… … .”

“… … Don’t worry about the side effects of the devil’s blood, I will find a solution, so please continue to be with us… … .”

After a long time of insisting on the necessity of Kadim, he tried to reassure Kadim instead. Even though he lost his vision, his tear ducts did not dry up, and the additional cloth quickly became damp.

Kadim smiled bitterly. She was always like this. Her heart was brave and grateful, but madness was not a problem with a solution. She knew that.

But he was not the kind of person who would listen to someone telling him to give up. Kadim silently averted his gaze from the priestess. He asked the wizard, who was staring blankly at the horizon, about the whereabouts of his other companions.

“Where did Gordon go?”

“I went east again today. They say that the sun is the apple of Elgar’s eyes that looks over the world, so one must say one’s morning prayers in front of it… … . It’s cloudy all year round here, so you can’t even see the sun. What kind of nonsense is this? … .”

“I see. What about Gale?”

“Gail? Why do you ask that? Our hero naturally went to revive the dead demons.”

A cold chill ran down my spine.

Kadim opened his eyes wide.

A wizard who tears his mouth down to his ears and makes a bizarre smile. His skin rose up and was instantly covered with olive-colored scales. The wizard with the head of a huge snake swung his forked tongue and chanted.

– Why… … ? You can’t believe it? Shh, but… … what I say is true. Even if you don’t believe it now… … you will eventually find out… … .

Kadim raised his axe. But what he thought was an axe was actually his severed arm. The pale ground beneath his feet had turned into a dark swamp. Countless snakes were entangling his ankles, preventing him from escaping.

My body gradually sank into the swamp. The disgusting mud clogged my throat. A deep, thick emptiness engulfed my five senses.

Kadim took a deep breath and woke up from his dream.

*

It was evening, the sun was setting. The shadows of the forest covered the view.

Kadim placed his hand on his forehead and pressed his temples with his ring finger and thumb.

“… … .”

It was childish. I’m not even a five-year-old child, but I can’t believe I woke up startled by a nightmare like this. I thought my spirit had improved at least compared to the first time, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

There was a faint sound five or six steps away. I looked at him blankly, and he fell down with a thud as if he had been hit by the snow.

Duncan hid behind a tree and asked cautiously.

“Hey, are you coming to your senses, are you getting better? Are you still feeling uncomfortable? … .”

Kadim looked at his left arm.

There was no longer a snake shape there. I couldn’t hear the muffled tinnitus, and the colors in my vision were normal. There were no signs of mania anywhere.

But I couldn’t feel relieved.

The biggest reason I was afraid of mania was because it was extremely difficult to realize that I was crazy. There was a time before that I swung an ax at a colleague while I was confident I was sane.

Still, it wouldn’t be that serious now. Madness came sooner than expected, but it was unavoidable after overdosing on the blood of a ‘high-level devil’. Kadim gathered himself and waved his hands.

“it’s okay now. “You showed some shameful behavior.”

“… … .”

“You can think of it like a chronic illness. “It won’t be long, so don’t worry.”

“… … .”

“But if I show similar symptoms again, you must never come near me.”

Duncan nodded hesitantly and came out from behind the tree. Even though he felt uncomfortable, he couldn’t help it. Because it’s impossible to survive here alone.

Kadim said in a dry voice.

“By the way, peddler. This time I owe you my life.”

“… … yes?”

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have drowned in the swamp and died.”

“… … !”

Duncan opened his rabbit eyes and couldn’t believe his ears.

Kadim’s words were sincere.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of dying. However, he didn’t want to die without achieving his goal. Especially now that he had heard such words from the devil. He could not help but be grateful to the peddler, since he had almost drowned without being able to solve his mystery.

When I said thank you again, Duncan’s mouth widened. He scratched the back of his head shyly.

“Ah, no, I, uh… … Hehe… … I was just doing what I had to do. There are countless instances where you saved my life. Hehehe… … .”

If he hadn’t been kidnapped as a guide in the first place, his life wouldn’t have been in danger, but Duncan didn’t have time to think about that.

Overwhelming power breeds intense longing. Those subject to that authority sometimes come to regard the infringement as irresistible and focus only on the favor, just as a kidnapped hostage defends his captor.

Such was the case with Duncan. He was both extremely afraid of this barbarian and at the same time extremely reverent. Over the past month, my desire to be recognized had grown as much as my desire for survival.

Unfortunately, the barbarians were quite stingy with their rule. Even after all the hardships he suffered in Malden, he was left cold. But to be acknowledged and thanked so openly? I couldn’t help but be filled with an indescribable sense of accomplishment and joy.

Kadim was not particularly interested in such details. I thought he was just a no-nonsense guy and thought I should give him something in return.

“Peddler, didn’t I tell you earlier that I would give you my life as compensation for being a guide?”

“Yes, yes! Yes, I will be better!”

“You’ve proven your worth, so I’ll give you one more reward on top of that.”

“… … ?”

“I’ll kill just one person you want. Whether it’s someone who insults you and is arrogant, someone who holds a grudge against you, someone who interferes with your business, it doesn’t matter who it is. Just say the word and I’ll take care of it right away.”

I was dumbfounded by the contents of the compensation, which I could not have imagined. Duncan stammered and pursed his lips before finally opening his mouth.

“that… … I… … Thank you for the suggestion, but maybe… … Just plain money… … “Can’t we do the same thing, right?”

“Nothing can’t be done. “If you can collect it during your journey.”

“Then, why don’t you just give me money for the amount I collect… … .”

It would be easier to kill someone, but if that’s what you want, then… Kadim nodded softly. Duncan wiped his sweat and sighed secretly.

“Oh, by the way! Please wait a moment, Nauri. “I have something to bring you.”

Duncan left for a moment. Kadim took advantage of the intermission to lean his back against a tree stump.

As I sat still, a thought came to me. I couldn’t help but think back on the conversation I had with the devil.

‘One of my old colleagues is reviving dead demons and causing a rampage… … .’

I couldn’t believe it. But it had to be true. Before it died, Hydra must have been genuinely laughing at the irony of such fate.

I couldn’t understand it at all. The group of warriors went through bloody hardships to destroy the demons. I couldn’t even guess who was wasting all that effort and for what purpose.

Melissa? That sorcerer had a terrible aversion to demons. Gordon? There was no way a priest of Elgar could revive a demon without going mad. Cyril? There was no way a priestess who had lost her eyes to a demon could do such a thing.

……game?

“… … .”

I remembered the words I heard in my dream and suddenly felt uneasy.

But in fact, Gayle was the least likely candidate. He is the one who received the revelation to slay the great evil. Because he was a noble warrior who always wanted to save people with good intentions.

… … However, there was a long gap of 300 years.

Just 10 years is enough time to completely change a person’s values. It is even more strange that it remains the same if 30 times as much time has passed. In the end, the frustrating conclusion was that nothing could be inferred from worn-out memories.

“… … Phew.”

It went back and forth to the starting point.

Anyway, there was no clue as to the whereabouts of my colleague. The goal was still to go to the magic tower and look for Melissa’s records. That was the only way for now. I could only hope that all the information I wanted was written there.

After gathering his thoughts, Kadim looked at his equipment. The ‘mosquito’ and the dwarven axe were both safe and sound. However, his clothes were in rags and he seemed to need to get new ones.

As I was getting up and hanging my weapons on my belt, Duncan came dragging a sack in, groaning.

It contained olive scales and a full leather canteen.

“There is a devil’s head floating on land. He removed the scales and took the blood to see if he could possibly use it. I think it was thanks to this demon’s blood that Nauri’s injuries regenerated quickly… … .”

“… … .”

Kadeem gave him a strange look that made it impossible to know what he was thinking. Duncan felt his X-ball shrink. He struck him first, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“Tsk, if I did something useless, please tell me! I’ll throw you out right now… … .”

Kadim shook his head. I couldn’t give up this powerful devil’s blood just because I was mad. The peddler’s tactful judgment deserved to be rewarded.

“Peddler, what was your name?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll get better! “Duncan, this is Duncan Wheeled!”

“Yes, Duncan. I swear it here and now on Atala’s name.”

“… … .”

“At the end of this journey, you will receive so much gold and silver treasure that you will not be able to use it all in your lifetime.”

The peddler’s eyes were half bulging out.

Even though it wasn’t Atala, the peddler could tell. The oath I make to them in the name of God is by no means light. In fact, if you had the strength of Khadim, you could easily make a lot of money no matter where you went or what you did.

From a hostage whose life was held in limbo, he became a guide with a golden future in one breath. Duncan couldn’t hide the corners of his mouth that were rising in a smile.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you very much! But by any chance… … Could you tell me the exact value of the gold and silver treasures? I, I am a merchant, so I am more motivated by certain promises of these things… … .”

Kadim slowly narrowed his eyebrows. Forgetting about 300 years of rising prices and falling currency values, I inadvertently answered like this.

“… … 10,000 luden?”

“… … .”

It was enough money to buy about three ponies.