Chapter 4: The ‘Barbarian’ Sun Fei
Chapter 4: The ‘Barbarian’ Sun Fei
“What am I doing here? What the hell is going on?”
Sun Fei racked his brain but found no answers. The only thing he knew for sure was that after hearing that strange, cold voice, he’d somehow ended up in the World of Diablo. Now he was trapped as a Barbarian character from the Diablo game.
The rusty handaxe in his right hand and the crumbling wooden shield with gaping holes in his left told him everything he needed to know.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Sun Fei’s mind. Almost without thinking, he focused his thoughts.
The next second, an image like a high-tech hologram appeared before his eyes out of nowhere—
Player: Sun Fei
Character: Barbarian
Level: 1
Experience: 0/500
Strength: 30
Agility: 20
Vitality: 20
Energy: 10
Attack Damage: 3-7
Attack Rating: 102
Defense: 11
Stamina: 92
Life: 45
Mana: 10
Fire Resistance: 0
Cold Resistance: 0
Lightning Resistance: 0
Poison Resistance: 0
…
These are my character stats?
Seeing his own name at the top of the holographic screen, Sun Fei gritted his teeth. A bitter laugh escaped him. What was this madness? He’d just become king—how did he end up inside a game as a clumsy Barbarian? No, no! He wanted to be a magic-user princess. He wanted to be a dreamy Paladin…
Sun Fei mentally kicked and screamed like a child throwing a tantrum.
Just then, a blue-robed figure rushed toward him.
“Hello stranger,” the man babbled. “Seeing folks like you doesn’t surprise me anymore. Plenty of adventurers show up here lately…. Guess you’ve heard what happened in Tristram… They say Diablo, the Lord of Terror, has returned…”
Wariv.
As a huge Diablo fan, Sun Fei instantly recognized the man’s clothes and rambling words. Warriv was an NPC from the Rogue Encampment—the type who’d swoop in with a shiny gold question mark floating overhead whenever a newcomer appeared.
Sun Fei studied the NPC while listening to him talk. Everything about this character felt human: his gestures, expressions, even the warm puffs of breath turning to mist in the chilled air. Sun Fei could almost feel the dampness of each exhale.
“Do NPCs have real intelligence here?”
Once Warriv stopped talking, Sun Fei deliberately asked nonsense questions like “What’s your mother’s last name?” or “Where’s your wife? How many family members? How much land? Farm animals…” But Warriv just ignored him. With vacant eyes, he turned and walked off without replying. Sun Fei got no answers.
After thinking for a moment, Sun Fei decided to find someone else—Nun Auntie Acarra.
Based on his gaming memories, if he recalled right, the first quest in Diablo’s opening Rogue Encampment map came from this high-ranked sister of the Sightless Eye. Plus, she was the camp’s leader—their spiritual guide. To figure things out, he’d need to talk to another NPC.
The streets lay eerily quiet.
Moving past tents and wood fences, Sun Fei spotted Acarra’s small shelter behind a rickety cage-cart. Odd little pots and jars covered the ground around it, each leaking bizarre smells. Standing by the entrance was Acarra herself in purple nun’s robes.
As Sun Fei approached, a tiny golden exclamation mark blinked above Acarra’s head.
“I am Acarra,” she announced, identifying herself like clockwork. “High Nun of the Sightless Eye Sisterhood…” Every word matched the game exactly.
True to form, the sister gave him a quest before ending their talk: eliminate the vile creatures lurking in the Den of Evil—the exact quest stored in his memory.
A red button hologram popped up on the left side of Sun Fei’s vision.
He thought about checking it, but found no choices. With little options, he accepted the mission.
“Honorable Nun Auntie, could you tell me more about this place?”
Sun Fei chose his words carefully. He needed to test whether this NPC had genuine intelligence. Maybe he could pry clues about ending up in this weird world.
“Young adventurer,” the sister replied, “You must finish your task before gaining such knowledge…”
Her answer stunned Sun Fei. This line wasn’t part of the original game script… meaning these NPCs might truly think for themselves instead of just following old programs.
Sun Fei wanted to ask more, but Acarra turned and went back inside her tent.
An invisible force blocked him from getting within three feet of the shelter. After several failed tries, he finally gave up.
“Guess I’ll deal with the quest first…”
After striking out with every other NPC at the Rogue Encampment, Sun Fei reluctantly walked through the camp’s gates. Passing across the Stone Bridge guarded by a female Rogue, he stepped into the monster-infested dangers of the Blood Moor.
Right then—
“Warning!! Player Sun Fei has entered the first trial grounds: Blood Moor. Defeating monsters here will earn unexpected rewards… Fail your mission? The punishment will be like nothing you’ve ever known, hahaha!”
That sudden, icy voice filled his head again.
It spoke too quickly. Sun Fei only caught the first few words, missing whatever threats came later. But that drawn-out “hahaha” stuck with him—it dripped with unmistakable glee, almost friendly compared to the voice’s earlier coldness.
…
Three hours later.
Crunch!
After splitting his twentieth low-level creature—a spiny, rat-like monster—another milky-white light beam fell from the sky, swallowing Sun Fei whole.
“Level-up again!”
This kept happening. Sun Fei barely reacted anymore.
Wrapped in the soothing glow, he nearly moaned aloud. Gashes from fighting monsters faded before his eyes as the light bathed him. Bleeding wounds patched shut. Strength trickled into every muscle—intense, staggering relief, like a breathtaking high.
After five seconds, the beam vanished.
Two crimson buttons flickered onto Sun Fei’s vision: [Updated Stats] and [New Skill Point]—his leveling rewards.
Focusing his will, Sun Fei tapped [Updated Stats] first.
Each level-up gifted five attribute points. Without hesitation, he spent them all: three on Might, two on Vitality.
Next came the [New Skill Point]. He dumped this one into Axe Proficiency.
Now level five, his brutish Barbarian had grown stronger. Sun Fei had prioritized Might and Vitality every time stats upgraded. His five total skill points went mostly to Axe Proficiency, with two ending up in the Howl skill.
This choice was deliberate. Unlike the original game, this place felt painfully real.
Putting his character in harm’s way wasn’t abstract anymore. Sun Fei felt each injury. Life points dropped, but agony struck at one hundred percent.
Worse still? The monsters were like actual deadly predators, not coded victims. Their shrieks during battle, blood spraying the earth, flesh tearing under his axe—the raw primal stink and violence tested his fragile sanity.