#61
The Calm Before the Storm (2)
“Wa-ha-ha! This is fantastic! I love it!”
Clang!
Harley beamed as he lovingly patted his new helmet.
[Gray Bear Head Helmet]
– A helmet crafted by a master artisan using the head of a magical gray bear. It excels at absorbing external shocks with its cushioning material. Made as an integrated piece so that tough leather covers the shoulders and back.
This special item was made from a monster head he had set aside right before rescuing Cecily and returning to the city, replacing his broken black leopard helmet.
With the mercenary industry thriving in Tarak, the overall skill level of artisans was impressive, resulting in a magnificent product.
This was all thanks to Hubert, who scoured the area to find a capable artisan and commissioned the work.
On top of that, he had also recently acquired new magical tooth accessories, allowing him to return to his perfect barbarian warrior look.
“Anyway, weapons can only be sold to the person who will use them. These artisans are so picky!”
The only thing he hadn’t found yet was a weapon for Harley himself.
While Hubert was walking around the blacksmith district, he discovered a rather decent weapon, but the artisan refused to sell it unless the user came in person.
‘Honestly, it wouldn’t be a big deal to go in person. I actually quite liked it.’
Because of that, Harley continued to stride proudly through the streets of Tarak today.
Everyone whispered while avoiding his gaze, not daring to speak out against him.
However, that situation wouldn’t last long.
“Cough, what a ridiculous getup! This idiot is making a fool of all of us from the South.”
Whisper!
A complaint was spat out openly as if meant to be heard.
Harley’s steps abruptly halted.
With a slow turn of his gaze towards the source of the sound, he thought, ‘Now this is an unusual situation.’
To hear such words in the face of his intimidating presence… who on earth was this brave person?
Three men had gathered by the roadside, scowling and staring at him.
They all had average builds, broad shoulders, and hard muscles, exuding the aura of skilled warriors.
One thing they had in common was the various tattoos adorning their bodies.
They met Harley’s gaze without flinching, even raising their voices higher.
“Look at the pathetic display of someone who doesn’t deserve to call themselves a warrior.”
“What’s with that clumsy scribble? Trying to imitate engravings, I see?”
“Is he really a Southern guy? With those mismatched eyes? Is he mixed-blood?”
···From their words, it seemed they were indeed warriors from the South.
Given that the mercenary industry was flourishing in Tarak, it wasn’t strange to encounter people flowing in from different regions.
Harley had already altered his facial structure to closely resemble someone from the South, according to the information he had collected, but to the locals, he probably seemed out of place.
‘What’s needed in times like this is shamelessness.’
He puffed out his chest and approached them with confident strides.
A real man like Harley didn’t shy away from trouble.
“Are you insulting me right now? I have no shame as a warrior! You all claim to be warriors from the South; what’s the deal with picking on my magnificent appearance?”
He smoothly diverted from the fake Southern accusations and focused the topic on his outfit, standing tall before the warriors and looking down at them.
Though their builds were certainly not small, there was a noticeable height difference as Harley stood tall above them.
“Hah! You’re the reason all Southerners are a laughing stock!”
“That kind of outfit belongs in a traditional festival. Don’t strut around like that here!”
“With an impractical getup like that, there’s no way you can fight properly. I see you have no injuries, just a muscle-bound clown!”
Their attire was ordinary armor partially reinforced with metal, typical of average mercenaries.
It was a rather unfortunate reality.
‘I knew this already, but it’s disappointing. The romance of a barbarian warrior has truly vanished in this era.’
After several exchanges of words, they still couldn’t narrow down their differences in perspective.
“There’s no point in talking! Then I guess the only solution is to settle this now? Ha-ha-ha!”
One piece of information about the South that had left a deep impression on him was the custom among warriors to resolve conflicts through barehanded combat.
A tough method that involved battling purely with physical power, without weapons or aura.
“Don’t just flap your gums, prove your worth with your skills, huh?”
“Some no-good loser without an engraving…!”
With that bold provocation, one of the men gritted his teeth.
He handed over his weapon to his companion and stepped forward, quickly setting up a fight around them.
“I don’t mind if all three of you come at me at once!”
“What do you take a warrior’s honor for? I can handle it alone!”
“Oh? Really?”
A fierce smile crept onto Harley’s face as his muscles began to swell.
His outfit left his muscles completely exposed, each fiber coming alive and writhing intensely.
Gasp!
The Southern warrior standing opposite him involuntarily flinched, but he didn’t back down, clearly confident in his capabilities.
Of course, his confidence wouldn’t last long.
Thud!
“Cough.”
“Next—!”
One down.
“Ugh—!”
“Next!”
Two down.
Crack!
“Ugh… You’re not a Southerner, are you? With skills like yours and no warrior’s engraving to show!”
And finally, the last one.
There was simply no way these humans could outmatch him in pure physical strength.
Their punches did little against Harley’s solid muscles, and the difference in strength was simply astronomical.
‘Truth be told, this was a rather unfair fight from the start.’
His body, more monster than human, was in a constant state of enhancement, naturally buoyed by his life force, even without using aura.
‘This might actually be a good opportunity for me.’
He looked down at the sprawled Southern warriors.
Unintentionally, he had stumbled upon real warriors from the South while casually walking down the street.
The meeting of the fake Southern man, Harley, and the locals.
‘These guys… might be usable if I play my cards right.’
He promptly relaxed his expression and burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha! Brothers, your skills are quite impressive!”
“Brothers…?”
“Although we had a small disagreement, we’re all from the same hometown, and meeting each other in such a distant place is fate! I think we can call each other brothers! Ha-ha!”
“What kind of nonsense is that…?”
“Ah-ha!”
When he shot a sharp glare at the guy trying to interject, he promptly averted his gaze.
“Hmm! You might have guessed by now, but truth is, I’m not fully Southern myself.”
“Then why look like that…?”
Hmm—!
Harley briefly discussed health with the rude guy who kept trying to interrupt him.
Soon after, he led them into an alley where they could have a serious conversation.
“There’s a deep reason for all this, so where should I start…?”
And thus he began laying the groundwork to rationalize his origins and charm them, slowly starting his tale.
“My father was a renowned warrior even in the South. Oh, don’t ask who he was. I only heard about him second-hand and don’t really know the details. But anyway…”
He suddenly launched into a story from his past.
The warriors, initially put off, had no choice but to listen quietly as hierarchy had already been established in their recent bout.
Thus began the long story of love.
A fateful meeting between one Southern warrior and a woman from afar, who initially made the worst impression on him, yet destiny kept them bound together…
Misunderstandings and conflicts arising from differing values, followed by reconciliation.
Through various events, they fell in love, transcending their status differences.
But their trials were far from over…
The daughter of the chieftain, who had taken a liking to the warrior, began to intervene in their relationship.
Ultimately, the warrior rejected the chieftain’s daughter’s advances and chose to escape with his fated woman.
Feeling humiliated by being turned down, the woman sent pursuers after them…
After overcoming all kinds of hardships, they took refuge in a forest settlement in the West.
By then, the fruits of love had already begun to blossom between them…
“Yes, that was indeed my story.”
As Harley finished speaking, he looked around.
Gulp—
“So… what happened then?”
“Hey, don’t cut me off, just tell it already!”
The Southern warriors, who had donned frowns while forcing themselves to listen at first, were now completely engrossed in his tale.
‘Just mixing up some clichés, but surprisingly it’s resonating well.’
In fact, this would be a common trope on Earth, but here it was an exciting story.
Plus, with the South being a collective of various tribal alliances, it made sense that there would be some riveting developments.
“Ahem… but the tragedy didn’t end there. The relentless villain, the chieftain’s daughter’s influence reached that far too. The three members of that family, who dreamed of a happy life…”
Of course, the classic “K- melodrama” couldn’t be missing from the tale.
Harley closed his eyes tightly and poured his emotions into the story.
Pursuers drawing ever closer, the heart-wrenching struggle of a father fighting to save his wife and child.
In the end, after repeating escape and combat, they succeeded in defeating all the pursuers, but the warrior suffered grave injuries and collapsed.
Oblivious, a child smiled cheerfully in their mother’s arms.
The warrior… the father placed trembling fingers on the magical tooth accessory he wore, hanging it around his child’s neck.
‘If I’m gone, you’ll have to protect your mother now. I will… always be with you, even with this necklace…’
The father collapsing, unable to finish, and the mother crying out in grief.
And… the will of the warrior inheriting through the child.
After that, no more pursuers came, but raising the child alone was no easy task for the woman.
Nevertheless, she raised her child steadfastly and proudly.
Every night, while missing her deceased husband, she found joy in sharing memories of him with their child.
“Mom! What was father like?”
“He was a splendid man. Truly the epitome of a warrior. At one time, something happened…”
With shining eyes, the child listened to the mother’s tales, tightly clutching the heirloom accessory and nurturing dreams of becoming a great warrior.
Then… yet another tragedy struck.
“… I buried that accessory with my mother. I thought she needed it more as she loved and missed my father throughout her life. For me, inheriting my father’s will was enough.”
That’s why someone like me, who has never even been to the South, attaches himself to such a persona…
With a serious voice full of emotion, Harley said, closing his eyes again.
A brief moment of silence followed, and the lengthy story finally reached its conclusion.
And then…
Sniff… “Brothers… brother! You are a proud son of the South!”
“Indeed! As long as that will lives on, you are already an outstanding Southern person. What a shame about your knowledge…!”
The Southern warriors, unable to withstand the spicy taste of ‘K-melodrama,’ couldn’t help but shed tears.
They seemed to calm down, but upon looking at Harley’s face, they once again burst into tears.
‘Was that a bit too much? It’s a bit troublesome if they keep this up.’
“Ha-ha-ha! No need to worry so much! Now I have become a truly great warrior!”
Trying to lighten the mood, Harley let out a hearty laugh, but…
“Sigh… you’ve grown… you’ve grown so well.”
“Even without an engraving, you’re already an incredible warrior!”
The warriors looked at him with somewhat proud smiles for some reason.
As real men, it seemed they had now completely forgotten that just a moment ago, he had beaten them up.
‘These guys seem a bit too immersed in this…’
Almost as if they were looking at him like a son.
These were young warriors, perhaps in their 30s.
“Ahem, anyway. Although I have many fantasies about the South, I realize I don’t actually know much about it. Even though I’m not yet prepared to go there, I do plan to head toward my heart’s hometown of the South one day.”
Hearing this, the Southern warriors nodded in unison with serious expressions on their faces.
“Indeed, not having someone to teach you must have been the issue.”
“But don’t worry, brother! This meeting is fate, so we will teach you the true spirit of the South!”
“Yes, I’ll make sure you’ll be something to be proud of in front of father.”
‘Perfect. This means I can receive a crash course from the local instructors.’
Harley, feeling a proud sense of accomplishment, nodded happily.
“Ha-ha-ha! I would be grateful for that! By the way, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. My name is Harley!”
This way, he was able to make new comrades… No, friends.
In his free time, he could also have them help out with Hubert’s work a bit.
A friend’s friend is also a friend!
‘I need to think about the part where young Harley meets Hubert on his journey as well.’
Thus, while Harley of Tarak was busy preparing for his business, and Heinz was occupied managing heterosis back on Earth, each of their moments flowed evenly.
The situations of the remaining two avatars were reaching a climax.
*
Hans organized the laboratory he had been staying in for the past few months.
Soon, the High Elf’s exploration of this region would begin.
He could clear the nearby trees or use summoning release at the right time to avoid detection, but he hadn’t really made any preparations for that.
Hehehe, there’s no need for that now.
However, despite the scheduled time passing, no signs of anything surfaced.
Surely by now, there should be some sign showing up…
‘Has the schedule gone awry? Perhaps they are scouting another area first?’
He wondered if he might not have been found because he was inside the cave’s barrier.
Though he had been somewhat tense, he let his guard down.
Yet it was a bit early for such feelings.
At the same time, at Rosellia Temple.
High Elf Laforey called together the representatives of the organization.
“Found it.”
The eyes of the church representatives widened.
Of course, Heinrich, who was present, was equally agog.
‘Even with my senses on high alert, I didn’t detect anything. When did this happen?’
Despite all not feeling any signs, it appeared the search had already been completed.
‘More impressive than I thought?’
Amidst the excitement of the people around, Laforey continued with a firm voice.
“On the western continent, Forest of Monsters. We have detected the energy of the Undead King there.”
Hans’s location had finally been uncovered.
