I’m the Only Totem in Another World

Chapter 12: Tribe (4)

It didn’t take long for a reply to be posted.

[Fallen Power Knight: I’ve seen them a few times. They can be a bit overwhelming at levels 1~2, but once you hit level 3 or higher, they’re nothing special. They roam in groups, but their numbers are small and they’re not easy to spot. They’re heathens who worship other gods, so they don’t like us Paladins. If you encounter them, there’s a high chance you’ll end up fighting.]

ㄴ [Have you ever killed one?]

ㄴ [Fallen Power Knight: Since they’re not monsters like demons or infected, I don’t kill them even if I encounter them. It feels wrong, you know? And you don’t get much experience for killing them anyway. If they attack too aggressively, I’ll give them a good beating, though.]

Fallen Power Knight. A user I’ve seen a few times. He mostly posts information, so I guess I can trust him.

The second comment came right away.

[Samurai Jackson: Barbarians. They used to appear as NPCs in the game sometimes.

If they’re warriors, they’re probably a bit stronger than your average infected. We came here with special benefits from another world, but the Barbarians didn’t.

Their priestesses do use some kind of magic, but it takes longer to cast and isn’t as powerful as the skills we use.

Some individuals are ridiculously strong, like, are they even human? But those are special cases. Anyway, they’re not a big deal, so don’t worry too much.]

Samurai Jackson. A user who’s been around since the early days of the community, obsessed with dual wielding.

The fact that he’s survived this long means he’s strong. I can trust this guy too.

So, to summarize, they’re not a major threat, but they’re annoying because they attack first?

Exactly what I expected. No plot twist whatsoever.

I asked both of them the same question.

ㄴ [Have you seen the Loa they worship?]

ㄴ [Fallen Power Knight: Loa? Oh, those things that only appeared in the game’s lore? No. I’ve seen statues that the Barbarians made, but they were literally just statues. I didn’t feel any special power or anything. Why do you ask?]

ㄴ [Just wondering. Thanks for the answer!]

This guy doesn’t know.

ㄴ [Samurai Jackson: Every time I fought them, the Barbarians kept saying things like “Loa will take revenge” or “Loa’s curse will befall you,” but there haven’t been any curses or revenge so far. I think it’s just like folk religion or voodoo. Not a real supernatural being like the goddess who summoned us here (probably).]

ㄴ [Thanks!]

This guy doesn’t know either. They don’t even know if Loa actually exist.

Maybe Paya was telling the truth when she said that no other Loa besides me descended to the ground.

I don’t distrust Paya, but she’s only lived in this small tribe in the high mountains until now. Even if she thinks she’s telling the truth, it might not be true, so I needed to cross-check.

Phew. I might be a genius for a part-timer, huh?

Anyway, the chances that I’m the only Loa in this world have increased. I doubted it, but I’m really the only Loa.

This could be good news or bad news.

The good news is that there’s no information about Loa, so there’s no one to keep me in check. The bad news is that I can’t get help from other Loa (possessed or real).

“It’s almost raspberry season. They’ve bloomed a lot. Oppa, it’s the food we used to eat a lot with Chieftain Kanto.”

━ Oh.

“Raspberries are good. It would be nice to pick some and give them to the kids.”

Kanto responded to Paya’s words with a chuckle.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Paya took out a leather pouch and started picking raspberries.

If you just look at them like this, they’re just ordinary natives of an ordinary mountain.

“We’ve come down quite far, so they might appear soon. We need to be quiet.”

Paya nodded at Kanto’s words as he looked around, and she quieted her footsteps.

I also widened my eyes (not my real eyes) and focused.

Soon, a strange cry was heard.

A cry that mixed the growling of a wolf and the phlegm-filled cough of a patient.

I could see them through Paya’s eyes. This is the first time I’m seeing the infected directly.

They looked quite gruesome. A wolf with mushroom spores growing all over its body.

There are about fifteen of these guys.

Kanto, hiding in the bushes, gestured to command the warriors.

Paya was waiting at the back with two warriors to ensure safety.

One of the warriors, who exchanged glances with Kanto, crawled towards them.

She was short and skinny, but she had an air of strength, perhaps because of her fierce eyes.

“Hiya!”

The warrior crawled stealthily, then suddenly jumped up and threw her spear at the largest one.

With a whooshing sound, the spear pierced the body of what appeared to be the leader wolf.

“Now!”

Kanto charged, swinging his double-edged axe, and the warriors followed with war cries.

“Ugh━!”

Kanto literally butchered them. After splitting the infected’s bones and flesh with a single swing, he immediately plunged his axe into the next one.

It felt like a very strong lumberjack felling a tree with a single axe swing. And doing it repeatedly.

Strength and speed that made me doubt he was human. Even I got chills watching him.

He’s this strong, but he still can’t take down a low-ranking demon alone?

What’s wrong with the balance of this crazy world?

“Phew, it’s over.”

Kanto, having finished the one-sided slaughter, swung his double-edged axe from side to side to clean it off.

━ Excellent.

I expressed my admiration to Paya without holding back.

“Yes. Chieftain Kanto has always been good at fighting, ever since he was a child.”

Paya nodded, seemingly pleased that her brother was being praised.

“Let’s get to work.”

The warriors took out small knives from their pockets and began to cut the mushrooms from the infected bodies.

━ What are they doing?

“Chieftain Kanto, Malak-nim is curious about what the warriors are doing.”

“Ah, we’re preparing them before taking them back. The mushrooms on their bodies are still poisonous even when cooked. We’ll take them back, skin them completely, and remove the mushrooms that have penetrated inside.”

They’re going to eat that?

George posted that the infected are safe to eat if cooked, but I thought that was only possible because he was a Paladin.

━ Isn’t it dangerous?

Paya relayed my words to Kanto.

“It’s fine as long as you remove the blood properly. You might get an upset stomach, but that’s a risk worth taking. It doesn’t taste that bad either.”

I see. I was a bit hesitant because they’re monsters contaminated by demonic energy, but there was a way to eat them after all.

As always, humanity finds a way.

“Are you okay?”

“Tsk, it’s just a scratch. It’s nothing.”

“Let’s go up and disinfect it.”

I see a warrior with a wound on his forearm. Disinfect? He could just receive my healing.

Hmm, maybe?

[Name: Malak]

━ Available Blessings: Healing Totem (Intermediate), Divine Possession

━ Available Points: 230

━ Followers: Paya

━ Enter Community

Hmm.

[Healing Totem (Intermediate)]

Click.

[Unavailable]

I tried opening the status window to see if I could use blessings while in Divine Possession, but it seems like I can’t.

Actually, I tried it once before when I possessed Paya’s body, but it didn’t work then either. I had a small hope that maybe the blessing didn’t activate because Paya was fine.

It’s a shame because I could have used it strategically.

“We’ve come quite far. We should head back to the tribe now. Come on, let’s finish up quickly!”

At Kanto’s command, the warriors loaded the infected bodies onto stretcher-like carriers and started moving.

I’m still curious about my abilities.

Do blessings just appear as I accumulate points like this?

How do I make followers?

Do I have to stay in totem form forever?

Can I ever feel touch again?

Will all these problems be solved naturally as time goes by?

“I wish Malak-nim could eat raspberries too.”

Paya, who was sharing her vision with me, said as she walked briskly with a leather pouch full of raspberries.

She walked busily, looking at her brother’s back as he walked ahead.

“Should I put some on the altar? As an offering… Would that be bad?”

You barely have enough to eat yourselves.

━ Take better care of the children who are training hard for me. I’ll consider that an offering.

Paya smiled slightly.

“Malak-nim is kind.”

Kind, my foot. It’s just that you can’t offer anything to me no matter how hard you try.

It’s better to let them eat it than to let good food go to waste.

“How many did you catch?”

“Three.”

“Wow, you caught a lot by yourself. Duya will be happy.”

“Don’t even mention that woman. She’s a headache.”

“That woman? Listen to you. Now that she’s your woman, you can call her names?”

“She’s my enemy now. It’s like living with a demon. She nags so much even if I just come home early and sleep. My ears are bleeding. I don’t even know who the hunter is anymore.”

“This is why I don’t get married.”

“It’s probably because no one will take you. Living with you is no different from living with two men.”

“You…”

Seeing the Barbarian warriors chatting with each other makes me feel a bit more at ease. I used to chatter about trivial things like that when I got together with my friends back home.

It makes me realize that they’re just ordinary people like me.

…Should I put aside these useless worries? I should just do what I can.

Maybe the answers will come as I slowly build things up.

Let’s be satisfied with the fact that I’ve seen the Barbarians’ combat strength firsthand today.

* * * * * *

Back in my totem form, I entered the community and searched for ‘Necromancer’s Tomb’.

There are… two posts.