The Stranded Barbarian

AN: And here it is, the 9th chapter of the story. I must thank you all for coming this far. Without all your reviews and support I doubt I would have continued this. So I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Now to reviews.

TheJSmooth: Yeah, it sure does seem like it. XD

Guest: Believe me, it won't come to that. Even Spearman can learn a lesson.

Guest(2): Yep, he sure did!

Ronmr: Good for him, indeed. And you'll get more of them interacting in this chapter so I hope you enjoy.

CasualFictionWriter23: Well, I never really had in mind the 'big brother' angle but it sure does fit.

Evowizard25: Ok, first, WHOA that's a HUGE review! I honestly only saw those in some bigger stories than this one. I must admit that at first, you had me worried that the chapter wasn't all that good, but I'm glad it didn't turn out that way.

Yeah, well, I tried to do something different. With Goblin Slayer being sent to that situation pretty quickly and far earlier than from what I've seen other people do.

And I have to apologize that I don't really read the light novels (despite really wanting to) and I got stuck with the anime and the manga so I won't know ahead of time if I do something that might have major changes to the plot of Goblin Slayer. The problem is that the country I live in doesn't have any place to buy light novels and I don't have the money myself to buy them online. And I didn't find any other means of reading them so I have to use the Wiki.

And Goblin Slayer could really handle dwarven drinks? I find that kind of odd considering he is so obsessed with safety from goblins so you would assume he doesn't drink much, otherwise, how could he handle dwarven drinks and all I've seen was him sipping some wine. I guess you can say Conan helps him build that resistance.

Now, I'm going to go over the arguments, since I agree with a lot of them, but I can point out that you got Conan wrong. He isn't saying 'focus on the bigger fish', it's more on the lines of 'since there is bigger fish your dedication to this is pointless'.

Oh, believe me, I'm building up that sorcerer to make him that forgettable.

And Spearman is the strongest? Spearman?! Really?! I know he is good, he is silver rank after all, but even without the LN's knowledge isn't the Hero the strongest? She is two whole ranks above Spearman after all. And aren't her two companions and Sword Maiden stronger since they are a rank above him?

As for how powerful Conan is, I don't only use the original novels, but comics as well since they continue the story of the original novels (since the creator of Conan died at only 30) and I saw them first. In the novels, Conan is shown to kill men in one hit, move faster than the eye can track and he could throw large boulders around. The comics give more examples such as him collapsing giant pillars, avoiding gunfire, outwrestling and killing giants, dinosaurs, dragons, and fighting more monsters in general. And the humans of that era were far stronger than the present ones, saying children could beat some today's world records and some adults were able to strangle bears with their bare hands or run around while easily carrying several tons. And Conan could kill them with a single punch. After being exhausted, dehydrated and starved. Yep.

And thank you for understanding. Glad you enjoyed it.

Dracus6: Well you will see them more in the future. Goblin Slayer x Harem is going to happen, and Conan did have a harem in the original story so I could give him some additions from the GS verse.


8 A New Light

The temple that previously served as a base for a group of goblins and a tomb for the mighty wizard was under reconstruction as not only goblins, but humans, trolls, orcs, and ape-men were working on it.

And humans are quite easy to manipulate, promise their leaders a hefty amount of gold and you get support from them and people under their command. And if they disobey then show your superiority in power and they succumb quickly. The other creatures, on the other hand, had to be tamed, either by him or using his servants but they eventually also came under his complete command. And there were cases of mind alteration as well, but he tried not to overdo it.

The fact he also had demons under his command helped as well to prove his power and influence.

And now he stood at a place that was previously his tomb, which was now more furnished and guarded by two demons with the wizard being seated at one of the tables. On this table, he had several small saucers with liquids of unnatural color, chemicals in tiny bottles and a bowl of seemingly regular seeds.

He spilled the contents of several different saucers into the bowl and carefully added several drops chemicals, careful to add the right mixture otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. The contents mixed together in the bowl made the seeds glow bright red before subsiding, revealing that the seeds now had a fiery orange color.

The wizard looked satisfied at his work, his prowess in alchemy never failing him. This would be an excellent tool in the future.

"My master, I've returned," said a voice behind him. The wizard turned and was greeted by a kneeling dark-skinned man dressed in a red loincloth tied by a golden scaled girdle and sandals on his feet, with a jewel-hilted sword on his hip.

"Ah, good. Were you able to find it? Did the information hold true?" asked the wizard as he rose from his chair and walked over to the kneeling man.

The man nodded before extending his hand and opening it, revealing a rose red jewel on his palm. The wizard then took the jewel with his bandaged hand and examined it. "So the bandits were correct, this is the Red Gem. I can feel the magic flowing inside it," he then looked back at kneeling man. "I must applaud you, from how it was described, the ruins would be too dangerous for any bandit or thief to cross. It appears that people calling you the greatest thief in the world isn't an exaggeration."

The thief then looked up with a smile on his face. "That is why you ended up bringing me back, isn't it, master? You wouldn't have if you haven't heard of my skill."

"Indeed," the wizard said before putting the gem in his green robes and going back to his table. "Now go back and oversee the work on this temple. I need to continue with my experiment."

The man nodded before rising up and walking back up to the temple.

The wizard was now even more pleased than he was before. This magical gem had just enough mystical energy for him to start his ritual, but he needed several more ingredients before it can begin. But when it happens, this entire continent shall feel his power.


Back at the Adventurer's Guild, the members still had their celebration in honor of their newest and one of their best recruits, Conan of Cimmeria.

Many sat their own tables, drinking, eating, talking and telling jokes but there were also many seated around the table where Conan was, drinking his ale, and sitting next to him was the muscular woman that welcomed him, or Amazon Warrior as she was called, with Witch also being there and several other adventurers as well.

"…and then, this man comes up to me. He claims that he is the greatest swordsman from Asgard to Stygia. He challenges me to a duel to prove it, and got quite a crowd to watch as well."

"And how did that end up?" asked one of the adventurers.

"Well, I must admit I was surprised. He lasted three swings more than I thought he would," said Conan with a smirk as he took a drink.

"And how many swings were there?"

"Three."

That caused the group around Conan, including Conan himself, to burst out laughing.

"Oh, that poor bastard," said Amazon Warrior through her laughing fit.

"Did you… end up… killing him?" asked Witch.

Conan's laugh died down for him to talk. "No, I didn't, just disarmed him. Though, I was certain he would die of embarrassment considering how many people he got to watch."

That got a few more chuckles out of them as well.

Goblin Slayer sat more on the side but not too far from the group, while also having a tankard of ale that Conan got him. People didn't recognize him without his armor so they thought he was just a comrade Conan picked up. He was honestly surprised that Conan didn't reveal who he was. None of his teammates were here so he didn't really talk with anyone.

He took a drink and found himself more used to the taste, proving Conan's words on it getting better. He watched Conan interact with the other adventurers, telling them stories of some his adventures, like how he took over a pirate band and fighting some strange monstrous humans, infiltrating a tower for some loot only to find some strange elephant man, being picked by a princess to be a general to fight the forces of a powerful wizard, being stranded in a desert before finding himself in a city where there was a mysterious monster lurking in the shadows.

All of the stories were interesting to the adventurers, even to Goblin Slayer. However, the one story that stood out to him, the end mostly, was where Conan was on a search for something called the Teeth of Gwahlur, jewels that could easily make you the richest man in the world, but in the end, he abandoned the opportunity for such riches to save a woman's life. It's something that resonated with Goblin Slayer really well.

"Hey, I have a challenge for ya," exclaimed Amazon Warrior as she got on the opposite side of the table, put her elbow on it and held her hand out. "You beat Spearman, that's all well and good. But how good are you in pure muscle?"

Conan grinned at the arm-wrestling challenge. He then turned to Witch and held out his tankard. "Can you hold this for me?"

She gave him one of her usual smiles. "Why… of course," she said as she took the tankard and, in her seductive fashion, held it in between her breasts.

"Alright then," Conan said as he turned towards the Amazon, held his hand out in a similar position to hers and they clasped them together. The adventurers around them looked anxiously at them, wondering who was going to win.

"Three…" Amazon Warrior said with a smirk.

"Two…" Conan returned the gesture.

"One!" they both said at the same time.

And with that the arm-wrestling started, their muscles flexing, putting much pressure into their arms and pushing down. The Amazon gritted her teeth as she felt the power behind Conan's arms, those steel-like muscles of his obviously not just for show. She was really struggling to keep her hand up.

Conan had to admit, the woman was definitely impressive. She gave an impression of great strength and it certainly shows. Many men he arm-wrestled before couldn't last as much as she did.

Cheers came from the crowd.

"Come on, get him!"

"You can take her! Come on!"

"My money's on Conan!"

"No way, she is going to win!"

"Show this guy what a woman can do!"

"You beat Spearman, you can beat her!"

They continued for about a minute, with the crowd cheering them on. Their arms twitching from side to side, veins bulging from their muscles, signs of perspiration starting to appear, grunts coming out of their mouths as they struggled to overpower each other. To many, it seemed like an even match.

"Well… I must admit," Conan grunted out. "You're doing really well."

"Thanks," Amazon Warrior said through her gritted teeth. "Not too bad yourself."

"However, it's time to end this," Conan said as his face suddenly strained even more, putting more force into his arm.

This caught the Amazon off guard as her arm was suddenly being pushed down. She tried applying more force as well, straining herself so much she had to shut her eyes and sweat began trickling down her head.

"Yeah, get her!"

"No, no, fight back!"

"Ha, ha! Get ready to pay up!"

"Just a little more and she's done for! Come on!"

"You can still beat him! Just try harder!"

Conan then let out a grunt and pushed his arm down. The force was so great that the table beneath them practically exploded and got reduced to chunks of wood. The Amazon was also thrown from her chair causing her to land on the ground.

Silence prevailed the room, as other adventurers who weren't paying attention suddenly got their attention to what happened. Many just stared at the two, before some letting out cheers while others let out sighs at their loss.

The Amazon Warrior started getting up from the floor; she groaned as her other hand went to her now sore one.

"Sorry about that," she heard Conan's voice as she looked up and saw him standing over her. He then grabbed her by the good arm and helped her get up. "I may have overdone it."

Amazon Warrior gave a few stretches with her sore arm, with several joints popping. "Bah, don't worry about it."

"Um, I think we'll need another table," commented one of the adventurers as he gestured towards the remains of the table.

"Forget it, I'll pay for the damages," said Conan.

"Like Hell," said the Amazon. "You won our contest, I'll pay for the darn thing. Plus, you only had a single quest and I've earned more with all the quests I've done so this will hardly make a dent in my money."

Conan gave her a shrug. "Suit yourself," he said before turning to Witch. He held out his hand. "May I have it back?"

The purple-haired woman gave him a chuckle before giving him his tankard back. "Why… of course."

"Say," began Amazon warrior as she put her hand on Conan's shoulder. "How about the two of us go on a quest? I'm sure it'll be fun."

Conan gave it a thought before he suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his sword from his sheath, making those around him wonder what he was doing, and inspected it. He saw that his sword was slightly worn down and chipped in several places. The damage wasn't that great before he fought Spearman so it seemed that some of it came from that fight. The blade honestly shouldn't have been damaged as it was, showing that his sword was nearing its limits from the constant fighting it has been through.

"I'll need to replace the sword first. This one can have just one more good battle before it cracks. Might as well sell it," he said as he sheathed his sword once more. He then looked at the Amazon and gave her a smile. "But I don't see the problem with the request. Sure, I accept."

"Ha, ha! That's the spirit!" exclaimed Amazon Warrior as she tapped Conan on the shoulder several times.

Conan chuckled before turning towards one adventurer. "What time is it?"

That adventurer thought for a moment. "I think it's… past noon."

Conan nodded before turning back to the Amazon. "Here," said while extending the hand that held his drink. "Since you offered to pay for the table, I think I should at least give you this."

The woman grinned before taking the tankard and drinking from it. "You sure know how to make a woman happy."

"So I've been told," Conan said before turning and walking up to Goblin Slayer. "We should get our equipment checked. I think they should be done by now."

"I see."

Goblin Slayer gave him a nod before downing the rest of his drink and getting up from his chair.

"Leaving already?" one adventurer asked.

"We'll return later," Conan answered.

And with that, the two of them walked out of the Guild Hall, with the adventurers watching them leave.

"Well, I cannot wait," Amazon Warrior said before sitting back down and once again drinking from the tankard given to her by Conan.

"If I may… ask," said Witch, gaining the Amazon's attention. "Why the sudden… request that Conan… joins you?"

That caused the muscular woman to look at her with a smirk. "Why? Is someone getting jealous? Again?" she asked with a bit of mocking tone, knowing what her thing was with Spearman and seeing her talk with Conan before.

"Why… I'm just curious. That's all," Witch said, feeling slight irritation but not showing anything.

"Well, I really want to see him on a real battlefield. I'm pretty sure it will be quite a sight," Amazon Warrior answered as she took the last gulp of her drink. "Besides, why not let him hang out with a real woman for once?"

This sentence made Witch stop inhaling her pipe mid-smoke before exhaling. The people around them actually able to feel slight tension in the air for some reason. "And what is… that supposed to… mean?"

"Simple, you couldn't hold a man before. And now, you're on the verge of losing another one," said Amazon Warrior mockingly. Sure, Witch had that time with Conan but that was because Conan came to her. To the Amazon's mind, a real woman needed to be assertive and get the man herself.

"And what makes… you think that… I want Conan?" asked Witch.

"You mean besides the fact that I saw you going out of the Guild with him the first day he arrived. And I saw you coming back with him as well, not mention I can tell what you two did with that glow practically radiating from you," Amazon Warrior explained. "It isn't hard to tell."

"You're just… imagining things. We only-"

"Zip it! Nobody buys that," Amazon Warrior interrupted before turning to the rest of the group. "Does anybody here believe differently?"

The response she got was a lot of murmurings but some negative responses could be heard and some of them did shake their heads. That actually caused Witch to look embarrassed as if she was being caught in the act of hiding something.

"See what did I tell ya?" Amazon Warrior asked with a smirk before getting up from her chair. "Well then, I better get a quest ready. Hey Guild Girl, how about that troll quest?"

Witch just sat there, without her usual seductive smile, and slightly glaring at the muscular woman as she neared the receptionist's desk. That talk of her's was really irritating. But as she thought about it, the Amazon appeared to be right. Spearman was completely infatuated with Guild Girl despite their years of being partners, and while Conan did ask her to be with him, he did seem to better interact with Amazon Warrior than he did with her.

And considering what he told them of his country, how even the women there are fierce warriors who know how to handle a weapon and would leap in the face of danger, the Amazon seemed to be more of his type. Strong, brash, forward, loud, humorous. She knew that rivals were many in the world, but also really hoped that it isn't really the case. It honestly seemed like she was destined to be alone.


Conan and Goblin Slayer walked out of the Smith's shop, with Conan once again adorned in his chainmail armor and Goblin Slayer in his full body armor. Conan sold his old sword so the Smith could use it for materials and bought himself a new one.

The Smith actually offered him a special two-handed steel broadsword, with the steel in even better quality, which would make it last longer than his previous one. Conan examined the blade, since he could tell the quality of a sword considering all his experience with them, and saw that the Smith was correct and bought the sword. In addition, he also bought himself a steel dagger as a backup weapon.

Goblin Slayer's helmet was fixed, no longer exposing his mouth, and his plate armor was replaced with a brand new one, the Smith saying it would cost more to repair his old one and buying the new one is a cheaper option, so Goblin Slayer took it. He also restocked on throwing knives since that demon from before actually broke half of those he threw, and a new sword.

The two of them then made their way back to the Guild.

"So, how does it feel to be back in armor?" Conan asked.

"Fine. Better protected," Goblin Slayer said causing Conan to give a sigh. He was really a work in progress.

"And why exactly did you buy a new sword? Wasn't your last one retrieved?"

"It wasn't usable. Once it gets covered in blood and fat its functionality is greatly reduced," Goblin Slayer explained, which is something he often did when people asked that question.

Conan gave him a chuckle. "Knowledgeable on many things, yet ignorant in many others," Conan commented. "This is another rookie mistake you make. You do realize you can easily avoid it?"

Goblin Slayer turned to Conan. "And what exactly do I do? If I buy better weapons and I'm killed, then the goblins may use it well." This was yet another response he was pretty used to giving out.

"Not that. Simply wiping the blades with some spare cloth works just as well. But if you think you don't have time for that, then you could prepare beforehand by coating your sword in some oil. That should protect the sword against blood and fat if that's too big of a problem," Conan explained.

Goblin Slayer actually started thinking about it. He never actually thought of using it before, well he thought about using the cloth but it would probably be a distraction and taken advantage of for an ambush. But he didn't really know you can use oil like that.

"I think I understand your problem," Conan said gaining Goblin Slayer's attention once again. "I think you rely way too much on the first experience. Sure it can give you better insight but it isn't always law. That's why you continue to make rookie mistakes, you don't really look into technical terms and mostly rely on experience, which made you think that long swords are useless in a cave or your lack of knowledge in using oil."

"… I see."

"It really shows just how much you still have to learn. See how much your dedication to slaying goblins costs you?"

"That hardly costs me anything."

"It can cost you your life," Conan said with more edge in his voice. "A long sword can keep your enemy away so he doesn't get a shot at delivering a killing blow. That's not a small matter at all. You should really read a book or something when it comes to these topics. Your knowledge of goblins can only get you so far."

"I'll… look into it," was Goblin Slayer's simple response.

"You'd better."

After a few minutes of walking through the busy street, they arrived back at the Guild. Goblin Slayer was about to enter but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at Conan who's features have softened. "Listen, I never said you should stop killing goblins. I understand tragedy, I went through it many times. But don't let revenge consume you to the point where you lose yourself. It stops being revenge and starts being an obsession, which later turns to bloodlust that will turn insatiable. Just going through motions until it leaves you a shadow of a human being and hurts everyone around you."

"So… what you're saying is…"

"You can keep killing goblins if you wish. But keep yourself in check. Never let your desire overwhelm you. I already told how you can avoid it."

"I…" Goblin Slayer paused, many thoughts going through his mind. Conan wasn't discouraging him from killing goblins but just to… tone it down. Would he really lose himself if he continued killing goblins? Goblins are monsters, deserving to be exterminated and that's what he was doing. Even if it seemed like the only thing he was doing.

He also wondered about what he meant by hurting others around him. His mind went to Cow Girl and how she usually reacted when he finished his quests. The smile she gave him assurance in what he was doing. But he could tell she was worried about him. How she would look when he was too injured or when she heard how he almost died. Twice in fact. He understood how it came to be, by running head-first into any goblin slaying mission he could.

Conan helped him understand desire more than before. Is that what it was? That desire he felt when Conan helped him lay with those two women? Was that how she felt? Was he so obsessed with goblins he couldn't see it?

And what of the Priestess? She has been with him for quite a while now. He could see she also somewhat cared for him. Was that how she felt as well?

Or what of Sword Maiden? He is the one who promised her that he would be there for her. He saw how she reacted around him but didn't really pay much attention to it. He was more and more seeing the patterns now.

"I… see," was all he could mutter. And despite those words, Goblin Slayer felt… blind.

"I hope you see more," Conan said before giving him a smile. "But right now, we need to get going. We still need to earn our living, don't we?"

"… Yeah."

And they went inside.

Conan was greeted by the sight of approaching Amazon Warrior with a contract in her hand. "I got us a troll-slaying quest. Wanna come?"

Conan gave her a grin. "Very well."

He gestured to Goblin Slayer to proceed without him to which he nodded. As Conan and Amazon Warrior walked away, he went to the desk to get his goblin mission. He pushed the thoughts that plagued him before in the back of his mind for now, but he would definitely come back to them later. Right now he needed to focus on some goblins.


Conan and Amazon warrior took a carriage to ride east where the village was located, the trip taking them at least a day and a half. While on the way they talked more about their adventures and such. While on the way, they even stopped in an inn where they drank, ate and talked some more. The Amazon told him more about trolls, basically big ugly creatures, but incredibly strong and durable, really dangerous for an inexperienced adventurer. And they ate humans.

Soon after they arrived and got the details from the village mayor and quickly went to look for the trolls. They found them making a camp in a forest and eating what seemed to be human remains. They didn't give them much time before attacking them, not bothering for an ambush, no sneak tactics, just head on attack.

The trolls were caught off guard as one found himself with an axe stuck in his head while another got a blade between the eyes.

The other trolls retaliated and drew their weapons, which were mostly clubs and stone axes.

"The one who kills the least pays for drinks!" the Amazon exclaimed before going for an attack.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Conan exclaimed as he also went for an attack.

The trolls tried to defend themselves but the two adventurers were too much, avoiding or blocking attacks before striking one of them down.

Amazon Warrior then cut another down. "I hope I don't leave you way behind!"

Conan then chopped the head of another. "Crom's devils, you will! You are the one should watch out for being left behind!"

"Oh, now you've done it!"

They continued killing the trolls before all of them were lying down, either cut through or dismembered and blood flowing out of their wounds.

Conan flicked the blood off his sword. "So, how many do you have?"

"Seven," the woman answered. "And you?"

"Seven," Conan answered. "Huh, I guess no one's buying drinks."

Amazon Warrior then approached him, with her axe slung on her shoulder. "I don't know," she said as she put a hand on her chin. "There is one thing we can both enjoy."

"Oh, and what's that?"

The Amazon suddenly grabbed his chainmail, brought him down and quickly connected her lips to his. Conan was caught by surprise for only a moment before giving into the kiss.


AN: And that's it for now. We saw some more of the wizard, some drama is building up and I'm pretty sure I made some of you shippers happy with this ending.

Well then, keep those reviews coming! They are a great motivator for me to continue! See you next time!