Barbarian in a Failed Game

“Hey, chief Han! Are you listening to me? Chief Han! Oh, come on… What’s up with you today? You seem more out of it than usual. Chief Han-aaang?”

The moment I reach transcendence, the laws of the world will bind and constrain me. But if my predictions are correct, there are forces that do not want me to transcend…

“Hey! Chief Han! Woaaah!!”

Suddenly, a hand flew towards my face. Instinctively, I caught it and threw a punch. As I pulled the hand towards me, I smoothly delivered a precise strike to the opponent’s jaw, the movements flowing seamlessly as if rehearsed.

Pause.

“Oh.”

“Oh? Oh, what do you mean ‘oh’? Chief Han! Let go of me! Ow… I’m dying here!”

“Deputy Chief Kim?”

“What do you mean ‘Deputy Chief’? Let go of my hand already! How are you this strong?”

What the heck just happened?

The sequence of movements felt so natural, more like something out of a real fight than a choreographed action scene. I’ve never been in a real fight in my life…

“Uh, sorry.”

“Sorry my foot! I thought my arm was going to snap! You give a beating and then apologize?”

“I didn’t mean to…”

Deputy Chief Kim rubbed his wrist, now marked with a red handprint, while scolding me, but I was more shocked than he was. My body had moved on its own, and I almost hurt someone. Not even when I was drunk had anything like this happened.

“Wow, chief Han. That was incredible! Have you been learning MMA or something? That was art!”

“Right? The usually timid guy just turned into someone completely different. Even your eyes were scary just now.”

“What are you talking about… MMA? I don’t even know how that happened. My body just moved.”

“That’s what makes it even more amazing. Maybe you have a talent for martial arts or something? You should give it a try!”

“No, thanks.”

I brushed off their chatter as usual, but Deputy Chief Kim’s scolding made me reconsider.

“Martial arts my foot! Didn’t I tell you I used to be an amateur boxer? If I wasn’t such a nice guy, I’d have laid you out! I even medaled at the national sports festival! You know, like how pros don’t use their fists on civilians.”

“You mention that every time you drink…”

The junior from the sales department, who shared the office, gave him a skeptical look. Other office employees gave him similar glances. I had no choice but to go along.

“Yeah, deputy Chief Kim is right. It was just a coincidence. If he hadn’t gone easy on me, I’d be on the floor right now.”

“Haha! See, chief Han gets it. Even now, my punches are lightning fast, you know…”

The middle-aged man, slightly balding, making swooshing sounds with his mouth, looked a bit pitiful, but I didn’t react.

‘Lies.’

Since I knew it was all bluster anyway, I could tell from the way he reacted when his wrist was grabbed, the unsteady look in his eyes, and his shifting weight. It was always the same old tale from Deputy Chief Kim, embellishing his past.

At most, he probably attended a boxing gym for a few months. Maybe it was one of those trendy fitness boxing classes.

If it were me, I’d have headbutted the moment my wrist was grabbed, or pulled out an axe and aimed for the crown—

I flinched.

‘What am I thinking…?’

Headbutt? Pull out an axe? I’ve never done such things in my life, and yet here I was, thinking about them as if they were second nature. What the heck is wrong with me today…?

Even figuring out that Deputy Chief Kim was lying just from his reactions was odd. I’ve never had that kind of perceptiveness before.

“Can you see? Can you see? My punches, they’re as fast as they used to be.”

“Yes, I can see them very well. But didn’t you have something to say to Chief Han?”

“Oh, right. Uh… We have a staff member sent from headquarters. They’re here for some survey about improving working conditions or something. The director wants you to show them around and make sure they’re well taken care of.”

Swish. Wobble.

Director Chun, notorious for his keen ears and love for martial arts novels, waved his hand over the partition. I nodded in his direction and then lowered my voice to ask Kim.

“Why me…?”

“Come on, who else in our department knows as much about the working conditions? Plus, you’re reliable and have a good reputation. It wouldn’t look right for me to be escorting that young lady. You understand, right?”

“Ah, I see.”

In other words.

Do I look like I have time for this? It’s a hassle, so you handle it. Typical delegation of grunt work.

“Sigh…”

“Don’t be so down about it. Think of it as taking a half day off. Entertain the employee from HQ for a while, then head home. You know what I mean? Once you’re done, head to the meeting room.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Great! Then, I’ve got work to do!”

Pat, pat.

As Deputy Chief Kim disappeared, having patted my shoulder in his annoyingly friendly manner, I felt like letting out a deep sigh. One of the reasons was this troublesome body of mine, which instinctively wanted to punch the moment it was touched.

“Work? He’s probably off to see that cute new hire at the front desk. No wonder he’s still single past forty, right?”

“Yes, well…”

“If you really don’t want to, I can do it instead. We’re in the same office even if we’re in different departments. I wouldn’t mind leaving early, especially if it means getting a fancy omakase dinner on the company card.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The cheerful sales department junior—was her name Yu Yeonhwa? She was popular with everyone due to her friendly demeanor, unique name, and cute face. Even now, she smiled brightly and moved closer, her eyes sparkling in a way that felt oddly unfamiliar.

‘Was she always like this?’

“Why? Oh, have you seen the employee sent from HQ?”

“No. Why do you ask…?”

“Oh, I thought maybe you had. Everyone’s talking about her. They say she’s more beautiful in person than a celebrity. But of course, you wouldn’t be fazed. You’re always so stoic.”

“Hmm.”

Her playful tone and the glint of concern in her eyes were clear signs of her interest in me. Thinking back, maybe she’d always been like this.

‘Why am I only noticing this now?’

It might sound crazy, but it felt like I could read Yu Yeonhwa’s emotions. Then again, things hadn’t been normal since my fist flew out on its own earlier.

“… Well, I have to get going.”

“Okay. Oh, by the way, are you free this weekend? You said we’d go to that new izakaya last time, but you bailed using your nephew as an excuse.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I brushed off her invitation, as usual, and headed toward the meeting room where the HQ employee was waiting.

As I walked, various thoughts swirled in my mind.

A man with a bear-like build, a soft belly, and a face marked by fatigue. Someone who didn’t even mind being called ‘uncle’ anymore. A dull man, completely assimilated into a monotonous routine, living life on autopilot.

That was me.

But today, everything felt different.

Almost taking down the braggart deputy chief, supposedly a national sports festival medalist, like a special forces operative. Suddenly noticing a coworker’s interest, which I had been oblivious to for years…

Thump, thump, thump—

And my heart pounding heavily as I made my way to the meeting room.

Click.

“Oh, you’re here now.”

A woman with violet eyes, sitting alone and looking around the room with fascination, felt strangely familiar.

“So this is what it’s like? Beyond the void. It’s amazing how such a civilization can develop without mana.”

And the feeling that I’d forgotten something important.

Everything was… strange.

***

“Ahhh! Great Warrior! Do something about him! We’re all going to die…!”

“Hmm! It’s been a while since I’ve had to discipline! I know just the remedy for this—!”

“My lord! Can you hear me? My lord!”

“Maya, you’re wrong…! That form… he’s been completely consumed by chaos!”

“My magic isn’t working! I’ve tried several times to bind him with spells, but…!”

“It’s not that it isn’t working; it’s just that he’s overpowering the pressure of high-level spells with brute force…! What kind of monster—!”

“Hahaha!! I’m proud of you—! As expected, you’re my son! Khan—!”

“The son you are proud of is going to kill us! Do something…!”

***

Rumble, rumble!

“So?”

“So, that’s it. My entire life’s story is so simple that it can be summed up in a few minutes of conversation. Just like everyone else, I went to school, graduated, got a job… and spent decades of my life with nothing but a repetitive routine of commuting to and from work.”

“Really? That’s all there is?”

“If there were more, I would’ve told you. Besides…”

Rumble, rumble! Boom!

“Is that an earthquake? It’s shaking a lot.”

“Don’t worry about that. Cheers.”

The clinking of beer glasses made a refreshing sound.

The pleasure of drinking draft beer after so long. Wait—after so long? Didn’t I just drink a can of beer by myself after work yesterday? Why did I think it had been a long time?

‘And… why am I drinking beer with this woman from HQ in the middle of the day at the omakase Yu Yeonhwa suggested?’

Everything felt inexplicable. The bigger issue was that I didn’t find it unpleasant to have this conversation with her. It was odd that I had talked about my life for so many minutes, something I hadn’t even shared with my peers.

Most troubling of all was the sense of relief I felt after sharing everything. It was as if I had been wanting to unload these thoughts on someone all along.

Whether she knew about my inner turmoil or not, the woman, who claimed to be an HQ employee, set down her beer glass with something resembling tentacles and smiled.

“So, you wouldn’t have any regrets about your life here? If you could suddenly leave to a place where no one knows you?”

“Well…”

“Why hesitate? Your current life is boring, isn’t it? You don’t have any strong desires. You unconsciously push away even the women who show interest in you. You could indulge in various hobbies if you wanted, but you don’t. You’re just tired of this place, aren’t you?”

She was right.

And then I remembered.

Why was I drinking with this tentacle-armed mage in the middle of the day?

“… What a shitty dream. Or is this a nightmare?”

“Oh dear, calling it a nightmare is harsh.”

The face of the HQ employee, who had been grinning, blurred and distorted.

“What is this place? This can’t be the real Earth…”

“It’s a record. Think of it as a repository created by the countless memories collected in the void scattered around the world. And the fact that you ended up in such a place means…?”

“Tch. I got devoured.”

I had thought I had a safety net when I tried this crazy stunt, but seeing the apostle of the void in front of me suggested that it had worked.

The sorcerer I encountered on the tree of past memories had explained that summoning me was beyond his capabilities. That old hand had even fallen into another world with a game system. And as if to explicitly warn me against chaos, he had sabotaged my growth within the system, sending a clear message to be wary of chaos.

Almost as if he were warning against the laws of the world itself. And right after I was consumed by chaos, this woman claiming to be the apostle of the void appeared. With so many clues, you’d have to be a fool not to figure it out.

“So, how long do you plan to sit here drinking? Don’t you have something you need to do?”

At my words, the woman—Mortalia—smiled brightly.

“Follow me. Our God wishes to see you.”