NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
Chapter 31 – The Miracle of the Outskirts (1)
‘Well, I’ve accomplished something.’
It wasn’t an ordinary game to begin with, but I had never felt such a sense of achievement while playing. It truly felt like I had achieved something.
Of course, I had only cleared Chapter 1 in a game that has up to Chapter 9.
Many things had changed almost immediately, but the overall structure was likely to remain the same. I anticipated that while others would finish this game, which could easily be completed in less than two days, it might take me over a month.
That’s not too strange or unexpected. After all, what I gained from this game was more than just simple feelings of accomplishment. If I felt this way, how much more intense would Riena’s emotions have been?
Just looking at her expression in the final moment suggested as much.
‘What’s she doing?’
As I snacked in front of the monitor, I watched Riena fumbling around her body in front of the village people who welcomed her. I questioned her odd behavior.
It seemed like a reaction of someone who had lost something. She still had the knight’s great sword she had picked up and the potion I gave her, so what exactly was she searching for?
“Ah, no way.”
While munching on snacks, a thought suddenly struck me. The gold coins she had picked up from the ruins during her adventure. Since I couldn’t accept them, Riena must have kept them in her possession.
She was definitely looking for that. Yet, despite her tearful state, she ultimately couldn’t find the gold coins she desired.
‘Is it that items cannot be brought out if they don’t count as items?’
I hadn’t conducted detailed experiments, but it seemed that not everything obtained in the game world could be carried over to the desktop. The first game, a sandbox type, allowed anything existing in the background to be considered an item, thus having no significant restrictions, but the second game was different.
Honestly, in the castle governed by the Death Demon Deus, there was no shortage of treasure. If it were possible, I could have gathered all of it.
“–, —.”
“—.”
The villagers, oblivious to what had happened, comforted her, seemingly understanding her disappointment. I felt regretful as well, but I didn’t dwell on it.
I could earn additional income in the future anyway. What mattered more right now were other priorities.
[Achievement Points: 6000P]
I checked the points I had using the Master Program. The total was 6000P, which included the clearing rewards for Chapter 1 through Riena’s efforts.
This was the result of my careful saving and efficient spending. If I collected just a little more, I could activate the desktop smashing feature that required 10,000 points.
Though I hadn’t confirmed its true power yet, if the power of desktop smashing aligned with my expectations, I would gain another reliable asset, granting me peaceful thoughts.
‘When will I gather enough money?’
But before that, there were tasks to complete. The sooner I unlocked features, the more efficient they would be, so I had to use up the points I had worked so hard to accumulate.
[Unlock Dark Blood Level 2]
[Increase Personnel Capacity]
[Activate Hunting Grounds]
‘So this finally shows up.’
Sipping my coffee, I examined the newly added features in exchange for my points. As expected, the number of personnel that could be deployed in the game increased.
Most importantly, the hunting mode, which was a fundamental feature in the game, had just now become available.
The hunting mode was, quite literally, a mode dedicated to ‘hunting’ the monsters that appeared in the game.
Without regard to the story, players could continuously defeat the regenerating monsters, earn rewards, and use those rewards to progress in the story.
The additional personnel I placed in this game couldn’t enter story mode. Instead, they could quickly awaken their classes and undergo adaptive training in the hunting mode.
“—!?”
To do that, I grabbed Balun, who was working in the first game, with my mouse and pulled him out to the desktop.
He flailed around, seemingly confused, as he landed with a thud in the village’s central area.
While I would need his leadership ability to control the villagers, I considered it wouldn’t be a problem for him to take a short break since numerous veterans now occupied the first game.
‘Riena, Balun, and the remaining slot.’
I could now place two new personnel. One slot was certainly meant for Balun, who had awakened his shaman trait. The other slot needed to be filled.
While I still didn’t know much about the world where the villagers lived, I understood well from Riena’s display that a warrior with superhuman powers was essential.
The strength of the enemies—whether hostile tribes, bugs, or game monsters—was crucial and needed to be increased substantially.
So… if given the opportunity, I must prioritize expanding that.
That was a strategy I prepared for them.
[Daughter of the Chief Riena]
[Trait: Knight (Growth Rate 1%), Leadership (Potential)]
[Deployment: -]
I observed Riena’s information. Currently resting in the village, she had achieved a new level, changing her trait name from Martial Arts to Knight. Using a capture app, I could view more detailed information, including her growth rate.
It was evident that traits represented their potential.
And when I examined all the newly joined villagers using the capture app, I noticed one person with what appeared to be a rare potential trait.
[Orphan Girl Shura]
[Trait: Dagger Skill (Potential)]
She was a girl with black bobbed hair, helping to work in the village’s corners.
If the traits held by those moving to my desktop were truly the potential that only I could see, then Shura’s Dagger Skill trait was exceptionally rare.
Among all unawakened potential traits, it was the only one directly related to martial arts instead of vague traits like super strength or agility.
‘How do I awaken this?’
I seriously pondered while observing Shura, who was helping with leather processing alongside the other children.
I believed it was my duty to guide and assist them in awakening their potential since I alone could see it.
Their growth meant my growth. Fiddling with my mouse, I opened an internet window.
What would others know about my situation, but I vaguely thought that answers might reside among the activated items in the game so far.
*
“You’re back! Where on earth has the Chief gone?”
“Don’t worry too much. It seems he was summoned.”
Farmer Russo, who had been quietly tending to his fields, greeted Koon, who had returned from the village outside. Startled by the sudden disappearance of Balun, who was drawn up into the sky, Koon had gone to find out more about Balun’s circumstances before returning.
When Koon explained that Balun had vanished because he called for him, everyone nearby sighed in relief.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but why didn’t you bring the Chief back?”
“It seems… the Chief can no longer come here.”
“Is that for real!?”
However, when Russo, with a relieved face, asked why Balun hadn’t come along, Koon shook his head with a bitter smile. This was a rather shocking reality for those who had adapted to this place under Balun’s leadership.
“He wanted to come, but the rift rejected him. The Chief is currently in a state of deep dilemma. Perhaps he may have fallen out of favor.”
“There’s no way that could be,” Russo replied. “The Chief always means sincerely well.”
Balun had been completely excluded from deployment, meaning he could no longer enter this block world. The villagers, unaware of this fact, trembled with anxiety, fearful that they had offended the transcendent being governing their world.
“Look, look over there!”
“Gasp!”
And at that moment. He appeared with a poof in front of them. A strange creature made entirely of angular blocks, comparable in height to them.
Everyone present instinctively flinched. Though it had a recognizable face, the expressionless pixel features made it impossible to read emotions.
‘Wh-what is this?’
Furthermore, he wobbled over to the storage block created in front of the bomb shelter. This storage block, which held items in bulk, was something he alone could handle in this world.
He opened it and donned the iron armor he had stockpiled inside.
Moreover, without stopping, he scattered the armor he took out across the ground.
The villagers, who had to welcome him in the absence of their chief, halted their tasks and heightened their tension.
“Quick, get armed! Hurry!”
Immediately after, he looked at the eight villagers present with his trademark blank stare and began flailing his arms towards the scattered armor, setting everyone into a panic as they dropped everything to put on the armor and weapons.
‘What on earth does he want?’
Once the eight villagers finished arming themselves, he nods, satisfied, and then begins to stand up and sit down in a motion that seemed to say, “Follow me.”
“It’s clear we’re going to fight. But how can we manage without the Chief?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not just us going. At the very least, we should be fine against a few of those puny creatures.”
As he spammed the jump key and bounced off ahead, the villagers hurriedly mounted their steeds and chased after him.
They had already had experiences defeating goblins that had previously attacked and fled. Moreover, they had certainly faced monsters in resource gathering processes.
Though they felt anxious, the villagers were comforted by the fact that he was with them.
‘The Chief said that he held a fondness for this person. He said he would only do helpful things for us. So this endeavor is surely meant to assist us.’
The most senior villager, miner Koon, clenched his spear and steeled his determination.
It was thanks to recalling what Balun had conveyed about his intentions. Whether in combat or resource gathering, he had always acted to benefit the villagers and had no personal desires. Koon had come to realize this.
“Look over there. What the heck is that?”
As they continued their journey, they spotted something far off in the sandbox game, which circulated notably faster than the outside world, as the sun began to set.
It was some kind of nest that housed one of the field bosses of the game, a creature that dropped a special core item containing unique energy upon death.