Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 99 – Nano (1)

[…How long does the replication take?]

After a brief silence, the Tower Master asked.

[Preparations are needed. Right now, we’re preparing for replication. But it won’t be long. We will perfect you and eliminate the unfairness of this world.]

[So, it’s still impossible. That’s somewhat a relief.]

[Are there any more questions?]

Ketal had said to Nano that if they revealed their purpose, Elene might join them.

Nano explained to Elene the reasons they wanted her and their entire objective.

Nano looked at Elene.

[There is no reason for you to refuse. Join us and help this world.]

“So, Elene, what do you think?”

Ketal asked.

Elene answered immediately.

“Of course, I refuse. I have no intention of joining them.”

“It seems that’s the case. Unfortunately, even after hearing your purpose, she has no intention of joining you. What a pity.”

Ketal said with genuine regret.

Nano, who had been watching them for a moment, rippled.

[You deceived me.]

“Oh, you realized it. It seems you’re not entirely naive.”

[Fools who forsake their luck. Why do you refuse even when grace is bestowed upon you?]

There was genuine confusion in Nano’s voice.

It was clear that they saw them as idiots for throwing away the chance to be perfect.

[I cannot understand you. But I am merciful. So I will replace you.]

In that instant, the dark form vanished like mist.

It became an entity so small that it was invisible to the naked eye and moved to engulf the castle.

However, it was blocked by a translucent barrier before achieving its goal.

A bewildered voice echoed within the barrier.

[This is.]

[Did you think I would summon you without any preparation?]

The Tower Master chuckled.

Nano quickly condensed its entities.

It swirled like a sandstorm, battering the barrier with brute force.

But the barrier didn’t budge.

Barbosa pressed his forehead.

“My head hurts.”

[This is the worst scenario we considered.]

While they were deliberating, Ketal quietly watched Nano hammering at the barrier.

“Tower Master, I have a question.”

[What is it?]

“Is there no way to counter their replacement?”

[It’s not that. They cannot replace freely. They need to subdue the target in advance to gather information.]

The Tower Master had already gathered information about Nano through Farman.

Elene widened her eyes.

“What? But I have no memory of that.”

[They must have judged that memory unnecessary and erased it.]

“Oh.”

They could make people lose the memory of death itself.

Removing specific memories would be an easy task for them.

[As long as you’re not subdued, there’s no danger of being replaced.]

“I see, that’s how it works.”

Deeming it not dangerous, Ketal entered the barrier.

Elene tried to stop him in alarm, but his body was already inside with Nano.

[You!]

Seeing Ketal, Nano charged in anger.

It whirled like a sandstorm.

Ketal clenched his fist.

Crack!

The sandstorm exploded outwards, shaking the barrier.

The Tower Master spoke in a worried tone as he reinforced the barrier.

[I hope you don’t break it.]

“Don’t worry. I’m just confirming something. It seems they are affected by physical force even in a non-replaced form.”

[So, what are you going to do!]

Nano reformed.

They were a collective of very small entities.

Even if they were destroyed and scattered, it had no effect.

They charged at Ketal again as if nothing had happened.

So Ketal moved his arm.

He caught part of Nano in his fist.

The advancing Nano hesitated.

[…Wait.]

Ketal tightened his grip.

A small wave spread through the barrier.

When Ketal opened his hand, there was a rainbow-colored particle.

The Tower Master let out a hollow laugh.

[…You killed it just by gripping it.]

“This level of force is enough to kill it.”

[You, you! Youuuu!]

Nano showed emotion.

Their twisted rage and hatred stabbed sharply at Ketal’s senses.

Ketal pocketed the rainbow-colored particle and spoke.

“Seeing as you can be killed like this, it seems you’re not entirely perfect.”

[HUMAN!]

As Nano swelled and charged.

The Tower Master waved his hand.

The barrier shrank.

The barrier, which had been the size of a small room, compressed to the size of a pouch in an instant.

[Don’t kill it too much. We need to study it.]

“I needed to confirm as well.”

[How dare you!]

[Silence.]

The Tower Master snapped his fingers in annoyance, and the sounds inside the barrier became inaudible.

[It was worth having this conversation.]

“Yes.”

Barbosa gave a bitter smile.

“They aren’t inherently hostile to humans.”

Those entities harbored no malice.

They were full of goodwill.

Yet, their goodwill was akin to malice for humans.

“The possibility that they lied.”

[Unlikely. To them, humans aren’t valuable enough to lie to.]

Humans were just current byproducts to be replaced eventually.

Nothing more, nothing less.

There was no reason for them to lie.

Barbosa pressed his temple.

“…We need to respond accordingly.”

[Indeed, confirmation is necessary for that.]

The Tower Master waved his hand.

The compressed Nano followed his movements.

[Now that we know they are hostile, we can experiment without reservations. Wait here. I’ll go check their properties.]

* * *

A few hours later.

The Tower Master returned.

[The confirmation is complete.]

“That was quick.”

Barbosa was surprised.

It had only taken a few hours to understand this unfamiliar entity.

The Tower Master spoke casually.

[With a sample of that size, it wasn’t difficult. But it’s surprising. They have a very high resistance to most damage.]

The Tower Master paused and corrected himself.

[No, it’s more of an adaptability than resistance.]

“What’s the difference?”

[The difference is that they adapt rather than resist.]

If exposed to extreme heat that could burn air and melt sand, instead of resisting, they adapt to withstand the heat.

The same applies to extreme cold.

They possessed an almost universal adaptability to any environment.

[Moreover, they need very minimal energy to stay active. It’s astonishing how such a thing can exist.]

The Tower Master chuckled.

Barbosa’s face grew serious.

“…Does that mean they are unbeatable?”

[Not quite.]

The Tower Master shook his head.

[Though they adapt to most situations, they have one weakness.]

“What is it?”

[Physical force.]

The Tower Master snapped his fingers.

A pouch containing rainbow-colored particles fell from the air.

[They are vulnerable to physical impact and pressure. That’s how I could kill them.]

“In that case.”

If they fought with physical strength, they could win.

Hope sparked on Barbosa’s face, but the Tower Master negated it.

[That’s relative. Unless you possess top-tier superhuman physical strength, you can’t kill them.]

The Tower Master, having understood this, was once again astonished by Ketal.

It meant he could exert such power merely by clenching his fist.

He looked at Ketal with a face full of wonder.

But Ketal, paying little mind, looked at the pouch with a peculiar expression.

“Is that all the quantity you extracted from them?”

The pouch was incredibly small.

It was barely the size of a fingertip.

Killing enough Nano to replace a human resulted in only that amount.

[It’s not as much as I expected. Even considering the entire castle, it might only be the size of one building. Maybe even less.]

“I see.”

“Top-tier superhuman strength, huh.”

Barbosa’s face turned serious.

Top-tier superhuman strength was rare and hard to find.

“Could the Tower Master handle them alone?”

[It’s possible, but it would take a long time. My magic isn’t specialized for physical force. There are too many variables.]

“In the end, we need cooperation.”

Barbosa fell into deep thought.

Ketal also pondered.

‘It’s too little.’

To obtain the mystery, he needed the rainbow-colored particles.

According to Arkamis, he needed at least a human torso’s worth of particles.

But even compressing one person yielded only a fingertip’s worth.

It was far too insufficient.

‘I don’t want to miss this opportunity.’

It was a rare chance to obtain the mystery.

If not now, he didn’t know how long it would take to find another opportunity.

He wanted to experience that sensation again.

After contemplating, Ketal spoke.

“I’ll help.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

Elene and Barbosa were surprised.

The Tower Master also looked surprised.

[…Are you sure?]

The Tower Master honestly hadn’t expected Ketal to offer his help.

Ketal, after all, was a barbarian from the White Snowfields, a being detached from human affairs.

Even though he showed goodwill towards them, there had to be limits.

Whether he held hostility or goodwill towards the Nano, another being from the same Forbidden Lands, was uncertain, but the Tower Master had assumed Ketal wouldn’t get involved.

However, Ketal nodded.

“Help is needed, right? Elene isn’t a stranger, and I can consider this an extension of a mission.”

[Your life could be at risk.]

“I’m not concerned.”

‘It’s not much of a threat, really.’

Given the level of the Nano he had assessed, Ketal was not particularly fazed.

‘I’ll have to go and fetch it myself.’

There would be no small amount of Nano in the castle.

He was confident he could gather enough to acquire the mystery.

‘And there’s the quest.’

The quest’s objective was simply to respond to the foreign entities.

There were no specific instructions on how to respond, so dealing with them by killing them wouldn’t be a problem.

His decision to act was purely for personal reasons.

“K-Ketal.”

However, those unaware of his true motives saw it as a barbarian risking his life to help Elene, who he wasn’t even closely related to.

Barbosa was astonished, and Elene was deeply moved, her emotions evident in her eyes.

[…Very well.]

The Tower Master nodded.

With Ketal’s help, the task would become significantly easier.

[Then let’s move immediately. There’s no benefit in giving them more time.]

* * *

The Tower Master quickly laid out the plan.

He and Ketal would travel to the Kingdom of Lutein to assess the situation.

“That’s a rather brute-force method.”

[We don’t know how long it takes them to replace someone, so it’s necessary. We need to understand first.]

In the stronghold of the Kingdom of Lutein, they needed to confirm what exactly the entities were doing.

Ketal agreed.

“But isn’t it quite far from here? How do you plan to travel?”

[You seem to have forgotten who I am.]

The Tower Master was one of the most skilled magicians in the world.

Covering such a distance was not a problem.

The only potential issue was that Ketal wasn’t affected by mysteries, but even that was not a concern.

[I’ll fold space itself to leap there. It requires a bit of preparation time, but the distance won’t be an issue.]

“Impressive.”

Ketal’s eyes sparkled.

Long-distance teleportation—this was a quintessential fantasy ability.

He never imagined he’d experience it himself.

“I’m counting on you.”

[Uh, sure.]

Elene approached cautiously.

“Ketal.”

“I’m fine. But what about you?”

In essence, Ketal was preparing to bring down the entire Kingdom of Lutein.

This meant going against the place where Elene grew up and the people she knew.

But Elene nodded.

“They’re all dead anyway. What remains are just monsters mimicking them. It’s not a problem.”

To Elene, those people no longer held any meaning or value.

What mattered more was the person in front of her.

“Ketal, please be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

Ketal replied lightly.

The Tower Master waved his hand, and a complex magic circle formed.

[Step back if you don’t want to be caught up in this.]

“Wow.”

Ketal marveled.

Light enveloped their space.

The turbulent mana waves concentrated and then focused.

And the world changed.

Suddenly, they were outside.

The air told him they were no longer in the Kingdom of Denian.

In the dark night, the castle stood before them.

[Here it is.]

The stronghold of the foreign entities.

The Kingdom of Lutein.