Barbarian Path

"You've entered the Barbarian's Giant Path? I thought most people who gained this power were adopted children of giants."

Barbarians had somewhat more subclasses than Artificers. This time-honored class currently had nine subclasses.

Besides the relatively common Berserker and Totem Warrior, there were also the Battlerager, Ancestral Guardian, Storm Herald, Zealot, Wild Magic, Beast, and Giant paths.

Unlike Artificers, who directly referred to their advancement paths as "subclasses," barbarians had a specific term for theirs—paths.

The gigantification ability Hopp had just displayed was clearly a unique transformation of the Giant Path.

"I-I don't know. After I activated Rage just now, I felt some kind of energy from the outside world connect with me. Then I advanced to level three and became like this..."

As she spoke, Hopp's body suddenly shrank, gradually returning to its original size.

The undergarments she had originally been wearing had been completely torn into strips and were beyond repair.

With no other choice, Carl took off her own clothes and handed them to Hopp.

"Wear this for now. I'll start making you some clothes later."

Normally, when a barbarian of the Giant Path used Rage to grow larger, their equipment should grow along with them.

However, Carl thought it might also be because Hopp had only just gained control of the ability, and its effects were still incomplete. That was probably why something had gone wrong.

After Carl turned around, Hopp put on the top Carl had handed her.

The two of them were actually similar in build, but Carl, being a woman, had a broader frame than Hopp.

So when Hopp wore Carl's top, its hem happened to cover only a small portion of Hopp's thighs.

If Hopp wanted to be completely covered, she could only clutch the hem of the shirt with one hand.

But because of her tail, that would leave her rear exposed.

Pulling down on Carl's top with one hand in front and one behind, Hopp failed to notice that the neckline had been pulled wide open by her movements.

"Would you mind letting me measure your bust, waist, and hips?"

After returning to the house, Carl took out a Rope of Climbing she had made not long before and formally requested permission from Hopp herself to take her measurements.

Although the two of them had been through life-and-death situations together, some things still had to be asked first.

"Go ahead."

Slowly releasing her grip on the hem, Hopp raised her arms out to either side and let Carl do as she pleased.

"78, 51, 82. All done. Do you have any preferred styles? If they aren't too complicated, I'll do my best to make them for you."

As an Artificer, Carl could basically make anything that could be drawn into a blueprint.

Making leather clothes was somewhat different from making armor, but the gap wasn't large enough to leave Carl helpless.

Even if it came to that, Carl still had the Dream World for simulations.

"I don't have many requirements. It just needs to be suitable for moving around. Oh, right. Since I've advanced to level three, once you advance and get familiar with your abilities too, let's go explore somewhere farther away."

Watching Carl begin planning the design on the leather, Hopp crouched down and made the suggestion.

"Then should we first investigate the place where that strange fluctuation came from before? I keep feeling there's something bad over there. It's been bothering me."

"Sure. Speaking of which, this Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest is pretty strange too. There's only one place nearby where so many enormous mushrooms grow, and Eberron Dragon Crystals can even grow on them. I also happened to enter the Giant Path here. Could there be some giant treasure hidden here?"

"When you put it that way, it really is possible. Who knows how far the giants had spread before their race was cursed?"

In ancient times, the giants went to war with the invading otherworldly plane known as the "Dream World." The elves, who had originally been slaves of the giants, rebelled against their rule during that period.

The Giant King created the drow from the elves' shadows to assassinate those traitors, and even dragged a moon down from the sky to attack his enemies.

This caused the thirteen moons that had originally orbited Eberron to become the twelve that existed today.

That incident prompted the entire dragon race—the descendants of the three Creator Dragons—to mobilize and seal off the giants' homeland, Xi'endrick.

Rumor had it that the gods had placed a curse on that continent, causing giant civilization to decline.

After that, rumors about giant treasures became an enduring topic among adventurers.

The unusually enormous mushrooms and the barbarian who had unexpectedly entered the Giant Path could indeed be considered clues related to the giants.

"Then let's investigate the place you mentioned first. Nothing related to giants is easy to deal with. Their racial abilities alone give them the strength of at least level four. If there really is a giant here, we're definitely done for."

Although Hopp didn't know how serious the "malice" Carl had mentioned earlier was, she felt that no matter how serious it was, it couldn't be worse than a giant.

There were also some giants living in Zhuomu. Hopp still remembered those terrifying creatures that could punch through city walls with their bodies alone.

"Looks like we agree, then. Still, I'm more inclined to believe some kind of giant relic remains here. After all, if there really were a giant in this forest, it wouldn't make sense for us not to have encountered it by now."

Following the marked scratches, Carl cut the leather with a flint dagger.

After drilling a row of small holes along certain edges, she took out thread twisted from tiny Bioluminescent Mushrooms and tied it through them one by one.

Soon, a crudely made leather vest was finished.

Using the same method, she made shorts and a short shirt as well. As the amount of intact leather dwindled, the number of finished products continued to grow.

After putting on a vest and shorts, Hopp took off Carl's top.

Although Carl had measured her figure, the clothes ended up slightly oversized because of the workmanship.

But considering how unusually fast she had been growing recently, Hopp felt that the fit was actually quite suitable.

While Carl and Hopp unlocked new crafting recipes, outside the Rage Tribe, a group of barbarian goblins on the Berserker Path were chasing the Dire Goblins who had come seeking refuge.

The difference in strength between the two sides was completely one-sided. The Dire Goblin warriors, who had only a single decent melee weapon among them, were beaten into disarray by the barbarians' throwing techniques.

"Little ones! Once we finish this battle, we'll return and hold a sacrifice! I have a feeling we'll gain Rage's attention very soon!"

At the very front of the barbarian formation, a Hobgoblin barbarian who appeared exceptionally devout toward Rage waved a crude stone ax and shouted this to his companions behind him.

He was a barbarian of the Zealot Path, capable of strengthening himself through the power of the deity he worshiped.

When he swung the stone ax in his hand, a dark, corrosive energy wrapped around the otherwise ordinary weapon.

"Pfft!"

With a single swing, the victim's entire arm was chopped off.