"Oh... uh... uh...

Staring blankly at the insane brainwashing scene, I came to my senses and entered the village. In fact, calling it a "village" was not entirely correct. The Barbarian Holy Land was more like a tent camp.

Tents were set up anywhere, without distinction between your land and mine. After passing through them, I went straight to the shaman's tent, deciding that now that I knew where he was, there was no need to meet through the chief.

A what? Is there no one?

When I opened the shaman's tent, it was empty. As a result, I had no choice but to go to the chieftain's tent. I wonder what happened? There was no one in the chieftain's tent either. Usually, even if he wasn't there, the elders would take turns guarding the place.

What the hell is this?

As I walked in front of the tent, I was noticed by an elder whom I had seen several times before.

"Bjorn, son of Yandel?" Did you come to the funeral too?

There was no need to ask whose funeral it was. It had been exactly six months since Einar had been locked up in the Holy Land.

— ... Has this day already come?!

"It is a great honor to leave something for future generations.

After asking where the funeral was taking place, I went straight there, into the dark, deserted forest. After about half an hour of travel, I saw that barbarians with a serious expression on their faces had gathered in the depths. There was a shaman, a leader, and familiar elders. But the first person who caught my eye was someone else.

"Ainar."

She stood leaning against a thick tree and staring intently at her mentor's body.

—... Bjorn?

Ainhar's eyes were blank as she called out to me. Then, as I got closer, she bit her lip.

"If I knew, I wouldn't do it.

Apparently, she did not know. I thought they would tell her.

— ... Bjorn, you know?

— Yes.

The training that Ainar underwent for six months was called "hardening" by the barbarians - the process of training aimed at shaping the body. In the game, when you finished tempering, your Constitution stats increased significantly, and you could get the Soul Inheritance. Of course, everything can end with one hardening, but...

"I heard that this elder has a chronic illness.

When I heard that the lifespan of the elder who had made Einar his successor was short, I thought about this situation as well. But as I can see now, she didn't seem to know it.

"This... I didn't know!

"It seems that the elder cared very much about you.

The Soul Inheritance, along with the Spiritual Imprint, was one of the unique spells available only to barbarians. With the help of this ritual, the barbarian could transfer one of his essences to the receiver. Note that it could be obtained only once, and the sender died.

— ... Why didn't anyone tell me? If I had known that this would happen, I would have left right away," Ainar complained in a voice full of regret and self-flagellation.

The chieftain, who was watching what was happening, spoke:

"Kiduba was a coward.

"Don't insult him!" Kiduba was a fearless warrior!

"Then, perhaps because you were a coward, Kiduba couldn't explain the Inheritance of Souls.

"I'm not a coward!"

Seeing that Einar was snapping, the chief immediately cut her off.

"Then stop whining. If you want to prove that you are not a coward, watch his death without further complaint, warrior.

—…

"There is no one in the world who does not feel pain. But even in this case, put up with it and move on with your life. Such is the way of the warrior.

After that, Einar fell silent, and the chief remained silent for a long time. The funeral continued in the same silence.

The shaman walked over to the body leaning against a tree, smeared the blood on his face, and rang the bell. Then a solution was sprayed around so that the corpse would not be eaten by insects.

The barbarians silently watched the process, and soon the shaman announced the end of the funeral ceremony.

"The soul of Kidub, the 3rd son of Tohar, left his body and settled in the forest.

Now the corpse left in the forest will rot and turn into white bones. When that time comes, the shaman will crush the bones into small pieces and scatter them throughout the forest. Soldiers standing in front of the corpse cut off their hair or cut their hands and sprinkled it with blood, after which they left. It didn't take long.

—…

Now it was just me and Einar left. I approached the corpse first, cut off the hair with a knife and scattered it around.

"Now it's your turn.

Einar did not answer. However, I did not insist, but simply left without saying a word. She did not prepare for such a farewell, she needed time to come to her senses.

***

"Keke, I knew you were coming, warrior. "Soon after leaving the forest, I entered the shaman's tent. "Did you bring the ingredient?"

— Yes.

— Come on, get it out.

Following the shaman's instructions, I took out the Immortal Heart stored in my backpack - the Troll's heart, lying on a piece of cloth in the box, was beating slightly.

"Did you get it yourself?"

"No, I bought it on the stock exchange.

"For how much?"

I didn't know why he was interested in this question, but as soon as I answered, the shaman giggled.

"How did a barbarian like you come about?" You're certainly gifted with financial luck, warrior.

Most of my conversations with the shaman went like this, but strangely enough, I was in a bad mood today. Maybe that's why I couldn't restrain myself:

"Don't talk about financial luck when you don't know anything.

The shaman only grinned.

"Hmm, since you came back alive and well, then probably the problem is not with you... Have you lost something?

"I don't want to answer.

— Yes, that's also normal.

—... — I didn't answer.

"Warrior, the more you lose something of value, the stronger you become.

I really wanted to send him, but I just didn't say anything. For some reason, the more I talked to this old man, the more I felt that I was losing my strength.

"Alright, can I get the Spirit Imprint today?"

— Of course.

The shaman nodded his head happily in response to my question.

I thought he must have been tired after the funeral ceremony.

*Click*

After that, I put the million stones requested by the shaman in the jar and lay down on the ground.

"This time there are also three ways.

After listening to a brief explanation, I chose one. There was no need to hesitate. After all, first of all, I invested all my money in the Imprint for the sake of this alone.

"I'll choose the Spirit of Battle."

"Keke, even if you want to change it later, you can't.

Soon the shaman began to stick needles into me. Soon I was seized by a sharp pain, but I was able to survive it better than before. This was for a psychological reason unrelated to the intensity of the pain. After all, I knew that after that I would have a very big reward.

[You have activated Imprint of Immortality: Stage 6]

[Soul Force regeneration has increased significantly].

[Special Abilities +60]

The hardest stat to get, MP Regeneration, has been significantly increased. Simply put, this meant that I could now use [Gigantization] more often and maintain it for longer.

However, it was nothing compared to the main course.

[The Spirit of Battle now lives in your body, and the unique [Unity] effect increases the stats of your gear in proportion to your stats].

[Unity] is a passive skill that, when used together with the active [Savage Surge], gives good stats on its own. However, there was a hidden element to this skill. Perhaps due to the concept of unity with armor, with this skill, your equipment will not be damaged even when using [Gigantization].

In other words, I won't have to take off my bulky gear anymore. Moreover, it was possible to hit enemies with a super-giant mace and shield!

"Uhhh... Behella

Seeing me smiling while sobbing in pain, the shaman muttered:

"Keke, this one is definitely out of his mind.

As befits a barbarian, I ignored the condemnation of those around me.

***

[Bjorn Jandel]

Level: 4

Build: 555 (Nov. +225)

Spirit: 198 (нов. +44)

Special Abilities: 188 (new +60)

Item Level: 98 (Nov. -770)

Total Combat Strength: 965.5 (new +23.5)

Acquired essences:

Corpse Golem - Rank 7

Orc Hero - Rank 5

Ogre - Rank 3 (new)

***

A lot of time has passed since the capture of the 6th stage.

But outside the tent it was also light. Taking a sip of water from the kettle standing on the bedside table, I asked:

"Has the day passed?"

"Keke, are you going to cry to me about how hard it was?"

Lord, why not just say yes? No matter how many times I heard this manner of speech, it was incomprehensible to me, but I did not argue. More precisely, I did not have the strength for this. I was about to grab my backpack to get up...

"A warrior.

The shaman, who used to tell me at this time to fail because he was tired, called out to me and dropped a completely sudden bomb on me.

"How did you get the oracle from the human god?"

My heart sank, but I took a deep breath. It was clear that he already knew everything, and there was no point in denying it.

"Who the hell told you that?" No, how many people know about it?

"The ring you wear is very much connected with your fate. How can I not know? Ke-ke, don't worry. The rest will not notice.

The shaman mocked, saying that they had potholes instead of eyes. Then I realized that the shaman was in a strange good mood.

I asked cautiously:

"Are you going to tell the chief about this?"

"Why should I do that?"

I had nothing to answer to this.

"It's just an old tradition. Like what I did yesterday in the forest. Thousands of years ago, we left our hometown and found ourselves in this one. Thanks to this, we learned about the existence of gods and got acquainted with civilization in the true sense of the word.

"What do you mean by that?"

If we rely on and follow the spirits of our ancestors, why should we deny and hate the real existence that benefits us? It's just stupid stubbornness, something that deserves the name of barbarism.

The shaman still hadn't changed, especially in the way he spoke in a way that was difficult to understand. Of course, I couldn't say anything bad to him as long as he held me tightly to my weakness.

— ... And what do you think the chief will do?

"If he finds out about your oracle, do you mean?"

— Yes.

The shaman laughed and answered:

"Why ask what you already know?" He will immediately brand you as a traitor and throw you out. Kicks! Or perhaps he will cut off your head and burn it.

… I see.

Damn it, did I have no choice but to live in tension until I completed the Spiritual Imprint?

As I thought bitterly about this, the shaman continued:

"Warrior, you are worried in vain.

"In vain?"

"Beastmen, dwarves, and elves have long since abandoned old traditions. Why do you think so?

There was nothing to think deeply about. The history of the Earth was also like this. When new ideas and reforms were needed, there were always those who wanted to turn away from the old. Later generations called them great people.

That mad old man...

And then I realized what this shaman wanted to say.

"Are you afraid of being kicked out, warrior?" If so, the solution to this problem is very simple.

After all, this old man was also a barbarian. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to come up with such a solution. If there is a problem, then you need to destroy it. In other words...

"You just need to become the chief of the tribe yourself.

Lead the barbarians before I am banished.

"How do you feel, isn't this a more barbaric way?"

I did not know whether this was the path of the barbarian or not. Unconsciously, I laughed loudly. I have been a barbarian for less than a year, and also an evil spirit. To tell me to become the leader of the barbarians in order to change this race to my liking?

"Funny words, shaman.

It was a pretty tempting proposition, especially because it made sense.