Barbarian

"Eh~ is that so?"

Hopp stared at Carl with a blank expression. At that moment, she possessed a purity untouched by knowledge.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about that anymore. If there's anything you want to know, I can teach you as long as I know it."

"No, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

Seeing that Carl had already taken out her flint dagger and begun carving a piece of wood, Hopp obediently sat across from her and asked cautiously.

In her view, knowledge was extremely precious.

Even the most unsuccessful literate person in Zhuomu could at least keep a family of three fed and warm.

If they mastered a trade, then even if the city lord wanted to arrest people for sacrifice, they would not be among those chosen.

"Why don't we start with construction? If you can learn mortise-and-tenon joinery, we'll be able to build houses much faster. After all, you're stronger than I am."

After finishing carving the piece of wood in her hands, Carl explained the principles of mortise-and-tenon joinery to Hopp while fitting the pieces together.

Whenever she found a flaw, she made slight adjustments.

And so, one taught while the other listened, and time flew by.

In the mountains more than a dozen kilometers from the Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest, a group made up of Dire Goblins was trudging through the torrential rain with great difficulty.

Muddy water soaked their boots, and every step they took consumed a great deal of stamina.

"Hold on! The Rage Tribe's territory is just ahead. Once we get there, we'll have fresh food and warm rooms."

Staring into the darkness ahead, the Dire Goblin at the front could only encourage his subordinates with such pale and powerless words.

In truth, he did not even know where they were now, nor how far they were from the Rage Tribe he had mentioned.

He was not even sure whether they would receive the treatment he had promised once they actually reached the Rage Tribe.

But under the current circumstances, this was all he could say.

This time, however, the Dire Goblin leader received no support from the others. Instead, one of them grabbed him by the arm and asked:

"Chief, why don't we go back? Our tribe may be in a remote location, and near the forest where those Brain Eaters that can control people's minds live, but we can survive just fine. Why are you so determined to find the Rage Tribe?"

A more scheming leader might have executed this man on the spot for undermining morale.

But the Dire Goblins' intelligence ensured they could never think that far ahead.

Seeing that the group had stopped moving, the Dire Goblin leader had no choice but to explain:

"The Rage Tribe knows how to become Barbarians. Those Brain Eaters can't control Barbarians who have activated Rage. If we can all become Barbarians, then the base deep in that forest will be ours!"

Several months earlier, the tribe this group of Dire Goblins belonged to had witnessed Mind Flayers emerge from a Portal and descend into the Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest.

Afterward, the tribe's leader at the time—a Hobgoblin with the Warrior class—had led some Dire Goblins over to investigate.

In the end, everyone except the current Dire Goblin leader was killed by the Brain Eaters.

But they had not come away empty-handed.

As he lay dying, the previous goblin leader had thought of a way to resist the Brain Eaters' mental control: send a group of Dire Goblin Barbarians who had activated Rage charging in to hack them to death.

That was also why the current tribe leader was taking the remaining Dire Goblins to the Rage Tribe.

He should have set out for the Rage Tribe several months ago, but they had spent more time than expected gathering food and supplies.

After a brief disturbance, the entire group finally began moving again.

But how many of them would ultimately reach their destination remained unknown.

Three days later, the heavy rain was still falling.

This ridiculous weather had exceeded Carl and Hopp's expectations.

Their food was nearly gone. If they did not go hunting soon, they probably would not last more than a few days.

"Let's go hunting together!"

Looking at the curtain of rain outside, Carl made the suggestion to Hopp.

"But what if we get sick..."

"Without enough food, our bodies will grow weaker, making us more likely to get sick. We don't know how long this rain will last, so we need to plan ahead."

Seeing the determination in Carl's eyes, Hopp hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

Compared to Carl, who had always lived in a peaceful region, Hopp feared disease much more intensely.

In Zhuomu, where even basic supplies were scarce, an ordinary cold could take a person's life.

Having personally suffered through several severe colds, Hopp wanted nothing to do with that sensation of weakness and dizziness ever again.

But she also knew that hunger was no easier to endure than illness, and being hungry made people more susceptible to disease.

"Don't wear that armor. It'll seriously affect your agility. In this environment, you might expend a great deal of stamina just walking."

Hopp hung four Hand Axes from her waist and was about to step into the rain when she saw Carl preparing to put on her armor.

"Hm? Oh! All right."

Highly amenable to advice, Carl left the armor in the house and followed Hopp into the rain.

Following the Rope of Climbing, the two soon reached the area below.

The standing water had already risen past their knees. As she watched the rushing current, Carl suddenly remembered the terrain surrounding this underground dungeon when they had first arrived.

It had clearly been formed after being scoured by a massive amount of rainwater.

Fortunately, we came here to build our camp back then. If we'd sought comfort instead, the two of us might now be trapped in the cave by a flash flood.

Secretly relieved, Carl stepped forward.

The mushroom forest was not as difficult to traverse in the heavy rain as Carl had imagined.

Perhaps the giant Bioluminescent Mushrooms had absorbed enough water. Carl felt that the surrounding glow had somehow brightened by several levels.

She did not find it dark at all in this environment. She could even vaguely see the ground beneath the flowing water.

As they continued forward, several Giant Lizards soon appeared in their field of vision, sheltering beneath the caps of giant mushrooms.

Carl took the Hand Crossbow, which had been modified into a Repeating Crossbow, from her Bag of Holding. She pulled back the forward grip, cocking the bowstring like she was using a shotgun.

Aiming at the distant Giant Lizards, Carl held her breath and pressed the Wrench.

"Whoosh!"

A crossbow bolt formed from magic pierced through the curtain of rain and stabbed straight through one of the Giant Lizards.

Before Carl could cock the weapon again and fire, Hopp threw two Hand Axes from beside her.

Compared to the crossbow bolt, the Hand Axes' flight paths were thrown wildly off by the torrential rain.

Hopp's throw failed to hit a single Giant Lizard.

"Damn it!"

Realizing that her ranged attacks might no longer be accurate, Hopp immediately activated Rage. Gripping two Hand Axes, she charged forward.

They needed to gather enough food to last through the long period ahead as quickly as possible. To save time, Hopp had rarely used the two daily activations of her Rage ability.