NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
Chapter 10 – A Sudden Visit (10)
‘If they can open freely, they can farm by themselves.’
The reason for setting this goal was simple. The moment I manage to repel the Invaders and recruit new Tribe Members while achieving my objectives, my points suddenly surpassed 1,000.
The reward for reaching the second stage of the game looked quite appealing.
That reward was the ability for them to roam freely in the game even in my absence. It became crucial once I confirmed that they wouldn’t just eat the items I provided, but would also gain Experience Points to develop Traits and become independent entities.
‘Right now, I need resources badly. Instead of unlocking other games or programs I don’t understand, it’s better to go all-in on this game.’
By absorbing those who flowed in from the outside, the population of Residents nearly doubled. And if the population grows like that, the demand for resources will inevitably increase.
Essential food, weapons, various materials, and so on. All can be supplemented using this game.
Even if the population expands further, it will be a huge help if they can freely borrow the game’s power themselves.
“–, —!”
‘I need to clear other achievements as fast as possible.’
As I moved my Character, I stopped for a moment to glance back at the ones calling for me, panting from exhaustion.
Currently, I was guiding them to the cave where I had given them Iron to mine, in order to achieve the points.
However, that place was continuously shrouded in darkness, a dangerous area. They couldn’t recklessly step in until they built experience dealing with the various Monsters that appeared there.
“—…”
Soon, we stood before the entrance of the Mine.
As I pointed it out with my hand, the faces of Kun and Riena, who were catching their breath and looking at it, turned pale. They didn’t seem like the kind of people to have a connection with the Mine.
Entering into the vast tunnel consumed by darkness seemed to stir a primal fear within them.
Well, there were people even among the players of this game who deliberately adjust the difficulty because they’re afraid of the dark or the Monsters, so their horror upon facing reality is not unusual.
“This way.”
Muttering for no particular reason, I hoped they would feel my determination to follow me as I carried multiple torches to light up the surroundings and headed inside.
*
“R-Riena, I don’t know if this is a good idea. This place…”
“We have no choice. We have to do as told.”
As expected, Riena and Kun were hesitant about entering the dark tunnel. Especially Kun was shaking so much with fear that he was almost trembling while tightly gripping his pickaxe.
Both were equally unnerved by the creepy noises from both outside and inside, but at least Riena had enough strength to protect herself, so she was slightly less intimidated than Kun.
“I think this is what you need to mine.”
Once they descended a bit, he set down the torch and started to gesture with his pickaxe, indicating something.
What he pointed out was none other than a glimmering crystal, one of the mineral resources visible on the surface. Kun, cautiously but steadily, began striking at it with his pickaxe.
‘Yup, it’s light.’
With the activation of his Trait as a Miner, the solid rock was easily extracted as if he were a game character mining.
Angular blocks shattered into fragments scattered on the ground, and Kun was already ready to tap the next block with his pickaxe.
In no time, intoxicated by the mysterious power activating every time he worked as a Miner, Kun didn’t notice the struggle and mined every crystal in front of him.
“What in the world is this power? I’m breaking these solid rocks and still have energy to spare.”
“D-Didn’t you feel scared at all? Something is changing my body in this strange world.”
“Even if that’s the case, isn’t this beneficial for all of us? I see it as a good thing.”
Seeing Kun seemingly entranced by that power, Riena sighed, as if she couldn’t understand him. While she felt that the Experience Points absorbed during hunts were converting into Mana and accumulating, she was afraid that there might be some issue.
However, Kun’s thoughts diverged from hers. He believed that if this unknown power could help the Tribe, that was all that mattered.
Upon hearing that, Riena was shocked, her eyes trembling. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, realizing she had been too shortsighted.
“Looks like it’s my turn now.”
In the meantime, he swung his angled arms and lightly struck her.
Startled, she turned around to find a bizarrely shaped monster crawling closer to them.
It was a Cave Centipede, one of the monsters in the game. Seeing that large centipede figure, Riena recognized her role as she watched Kun wield his sword.
‘Right. I have no choice but to fight.’
While Kun obtained minerals and achieved objectives under his guidance, Riena drew her sword to engage in battle against the monsters, determined to protect them.
Dodging the venomous fangs of the swiftly crawling centipede, she swiftly swung her sword and split its body in two, then kicked the centipede spewing poison from its wound away with her foot.
[Basic Achievement: Defeated Cave Goblin]
It wasn’t only the giant centipede that emerged, but also various adversaries armed with crude bone bows and bone arrows, appearing one by one from the cave, charging at them with eerie cries.
She parried all the arrows shot by the child-sized monsters with pale skin and red eyes, and hacked down the Cave Goblins that barreled in without knowing their place.
In truth, for Riena, a Warrior awakened with Mana, typical monsters weren’t difficult to deal with one-on-one.
The adrenaline of battle surged within her, and the accumulating Mana elevated her mood.
Before she knew it, she had killed nearly thirty monsters in a row.
“Shield…”
Meanwhile, Kun, making torches to light up the cave, created something and handed it to her.
It was a large shield made by combining iron and wood. Realizing this gift meant she was supposed to continue fighting, Riena took a breath and gripped her already chipped sword again.
She no longer cared if her sword broke. The more openings she made, the more resources Kun would find behind her, and once he mined it, they could obtain iron swords again.
[Achievement Points: 2000P]
And while they were desperately fighting in the dim cave mine, the points they accumulated had surpassed the targeted 2000P.
*
[Second Stage Activated]
‘Primary objective achieved.’
The moment he filled the points, he activated the game to the next stage. There were no immediate visible changes, but change was definitely occurring.
“Look here, Chief. It’s growing remarkably fast… huh?”
“Something must be going on inside!”
The moment he operated the Master Program and added four more Residents to the game while in the Mine.
Ruso and Balun, who were farming next to the Bomb Shelter with the Portal, sensed the anomaly and hurried into the Bomb Shelter.
“C-Chief!”
“Where on earth is this place?”
They were shocked to see the Residents who had suddenly appeared in front of the Portal. Unfamiliar with their situation, they were flustered, similar to how they acted just days ago in this strange world.
‘So this was the answer.’
Upon witnessing that scene, Balun firmly reassured himself that this game could provide hope for them. A place that could supply the resources to overcome all their deficiencies.
This odd world, which was real yet not real, was an opportunity for them.
“I’ll explain what’s happened and what this place is.”
Calmly changing his tone, he tried to appear relaxed while he explained to the confused Tribe Members, as if it were no big deal.
The Residents, genuinely filled with fear, had no time to doubt Balun’s words, so he calmly guided them and naturally handed them tools.
“That person just went to another place with Kun and Riena. If we accomplish something before they return, they might look favorably upon us and reward us.”
“Is there really such a being? One who bends the land with astounding powers, instantly forges iron swords, builds this massive wall in a heartbeat, and can even push aside giant mountain ranges?”
“Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities to see it, so you can just witness it then.”
Yet in that process, the way Balun viewed his game character had turned into a transcendent being showing numerous miracles.
The Tribe Members murmured in disbelief, yet it was pointless to doubt or distrust it.
Eventually, they all gripped shovels, axes, pickaxes, and so forth, spending time pounding on the angular wood outside, digging the earth, and mining the exposed stones, despite the fact that it was still daylight outside.
“Look! That person is coming!”
And so, that activity continued until he returned with Kun and Riena.
As he appeared, everyone momentarily halted their actions, their faces tense, watching his movements.
True to Balun’s testimony, he had bizarre, angular features, and he found this scene quite interesting as he silently surveyed the working Residents.
‘I’d love to give them a compliment, but I can’t.’
Unlike his character, whose expressionless face made it hard to read emotions, he was actually feeling quite joyful.
It could only be delightful to see the Residents working with enthusiasm on their own. However, in the form of this character, he couldn’t communicate otherwise and was limited in gestures to express that feeling.
“The easiest way is this.”
While looking at the Residents focused on him on the screen, he couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as he opened the crafting table on the spot.
The simplest and most obvious way to express emotions towards them was to give them gifts. The materials were made from the iron he had mined today in the mine.
Placing the Iron Ore on the crafting table, he swiftly created something and spat it out onto the ground.
In terms of game graphics, these were incredibly crudely made armors.
However, once they landed in the Residents’ hands, a miracle occurred.
“It’s an entire suit of iron armor. Oh my!”
“It’s iron armor!”
A full suit of iron armor. For them, this was a strategic resource, far more difficult to obtain than weapons, and more valuable than jewels or gold.