NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter 7 – Sudden Visit
“Listen well, Riena. This might just be an opportunity for us.”
Before coming here, Balun had been staring at the portal as if he had expected to return to this place, and he spoke to Riena with a serious expression.
His decision was born out of the sight of tribe members groaning in pain from their injuries sustained in battles against the monsters.
“We can’t run away forever. It’s impossible to keep avoiding things. Whether it’s monsters, enemies chasing us, diseases, or disasters, a crisis will inevitably hit us. Right now, we don’t have the strength to fend it off.”
“You’re saying that creature we met last night is an opportunity for us?”
“It provided us with what we needed. Who knows, we might obtain something even greater.”
He reminded her of the essential food they had acquired last night. In a bizarre world where it was hard to tell what was real, the food they brought back had certainly been used to fill the bellies of the tribe members.
Riena couldn’t deny this, and she couldn’t stop her father from grasping at any lifeline that could save the tribe members.
‘Can we really trust that guy?’
Yet, distrust in him and in the situation still lingered in her heart. As the last warrior left in the tribe, the burden to protect the remaining people weighed heavily on her.
“Look, this is a deal. There’s no reason not to accept.”
When they would go back to that strange world again, the creature with a blocky body would demand something from them, and when they managed to fulfill it, it rewarded them with food and tools.
Balun had actively engaged in this “deal.” Although for now, food was all they acquired, he believed they could gain even greater items from this mysterious being.
‘It can’t be helped.’
It was an uncomfortable sight for Riena to see her father, not only her father but also the chief, willingly digging away with a pickaxe and an axe, yet she felt unable to step forward.
And when the sun set at an astonishing speed and night fell, as he pointed to himself with his blocky hands and took up a sword, Riena grit her teeth and nodded.
Since she too had to be of help, there was no reason to refuse if she could lend her strongest asset.
“Ugh…”
Thus, the two stepped out from the bomb shelter where monsters swarmed. Right before them were two werewolves circling around the shelter.
As the enemy approached, he was the first to move, wielding his stone sword and attacking one of them furiously.
Naturally, the remaining one became Riena’s responsibility.
As she closed in, the clumsy, angular shape morphed into a true monster, revealing its teeth. She ducked her head to dodge while simultaneously swinging her drawn sword.
‘I cut it. It’s nothing special. Stay calm.’
Clenching her teeth, she successfully slashed the enemy in one blow. The werewolf, fierce in appearance yet just a beast, was certainly no stronger than the enemies Riena had faced before.
The werewolf’s attack, which aimed to claw her, didn’t even graze her hair and instead, with the exposed weakness from its reckless attack, her sword severed its head from its body, splattering blood.
At the very least, she was certain that the warrior from the hostile tribe, who had set their eyes on killing her, was far stronger. Above all, the desperate determination to not fall to such a weak enemy fueled her resolve deeply.
“This is—”
However, the oddities didn’t end there. As the werewolf’s corpse fell, it turned to steam, and simultaneously, something burst forth and was absorbed into her body.
She shivered at the strange sensation, yet her eyes widened. The mana she had expended during the fight returned, and even more, it had increased slightly.
This was an experience she had never had before. No, she had never even heard of the possibility of increasing one’s mana like this.
Unconsciously, she glanced back at him. Like her, he had also finished off his enemy and was quietly watching her.
‘Does he want me to follow?’
He then motioned with his hand and turned his body in the opposite direction. They had killed two monsters, yet the sounds of enemies lingering nearby hadn’t ceased.
Riena instinctively clenched her sword, sensing that this hunt would continue.
Unlike before, much of her fear had dissipated. Realizing that defeating enemies increased her mana brought about an exciting, strange thrill. Theoretically, it was akin to saying that the more one fought, the stronger one became.
“Ha!”
And it wasn’t as if she was fighting alone. He willingly took the lead, drawing the enemies’ attention and blocking their attacks, allowing Riena to fight well.
Clenching her teeth, she powerfully slashed through the werewolves that came at them from all directions, admiring the sight of him mercilessly beating down enemies despite taking some hits himself.
Gradually, her wariness and discomfort towards him shifted into curiosity and fear.
“There’s too many of you!”
Just as she had entered a state of frenzy, slaying numerous werewolves, she was taken aback by the ever-increasing number of enemies.
In an open area, the number of monsters spawning was far too great for just the two of them to handle. Moreover, while he could replenish his HP by consuming food or potions after taking any damage, a single hit could spell disaster for her.
“Riena!”
“What’s happened!?”
Whether he understood her words, he noticed her expression and halted the fight, swiftly leading her back to the bomb shelter.
Her father, Balun, and the companions were startled and rushed toward her, panting and covered in blood when she returned, but she merely took a breath and showed them her broken sword.
“Fighting increases your mana. Honestly, I don’t fully understand what that means, but at least it seems we gain something, right? That’s enough.”
“But Chief, we did get plenty of food, but I wish that guy would give us more work.”
Inside the bomb shelter, Balun sighed as he listened to Riena’s testimony about the battle with the werewolves, but one of the group, Kun, shook his head while glancing at the neatly stacked food in one corner.
Even if they knew it was greedy, they couldn’t help it. This was a matter of survival. Especially after facing monster attacks for two consecutive days, their vigilance was heightened.
“Riena’s sword is completely wrecked now too. Don’t we need more stuff?”
“But can we really demand more? Let’s just wait and see for now.”
Kun’s words had merit. They certainly needed more items. Balun agreed with that statement, yet he was skeptical about whether they could acquire anything beyond what they already had.
No matter how much they looked around, all that surrounded them were just trees and grasslands. Aside from the hastily constructed bomb shelter, there were no other facilities in sight. Even the master of this mysterious world didn’t seem able to create something from nothing.
At that moment, he had left them in the bomb shelter and was away. They had no way of knowing where he had gone or what he was doing.
“Wow. The dawn is breaking.”
“Really? The sun has already risen?”
While saying this, they began noticing the faint light creeping in through the gaps of the open door.
In terms of time, it hadn’t even been an hour. The sun had set late in the afternoon, so they didn’t notice it, but after staying awake through the night, they all found themselves bewildered by the accelerated time concept within the game.
“He’s coming.”
At the same time, Riena muttered in awe as she spotted him bounding toward them from a distance.
*
‘As expected, there’s clearly been some adjustments made.’
After Riena and I finished the werewolf hunt, I locked the residents in the bomb shelter and spent the night moving to another area to dig for mines, resulting in far less harvest than the original goal.
Everything that had gone skewed due to the residents being in this game meant this game was certainly not functioning normally.
What was supposed to be an adequate haul of iron ore had resulted in barely a few lumps; this too was clearly a result of the skewed conditions. Iron isn’t even the final resource among a plethora of resources, so if it were this scarce, no one would play the game.
‘Let’s just call it a day.’
As I opened the door, Riena and the residents timidly stepped outside, glancing at me.
Seeing them, I couldn’t help but laugh wryly at the time that had slipped by unnoticed and decided to end it here without extending any further playtime.
Before that, I intended to give them a final gift and reward Riena for her work in defeating the werewolves.
With the mined iron ore, I swiftly crafted a sword at the crafting table.
Compared to the arduous process of actually mining iron ore to make a sword, this felt like sorcery, an absolute magic-level convenience made possible only in a game. The iron sword created this way was merely an in-game item.
“—…!”
However, if that item were to change hands through me, the story would change. As Riena carefully picked up the iron sword I had gifted, she found herself holding a shining new iron sword.
The look on her face as she viewed it resembled that of someone beholding a precious heirloom. It was a testament to the great responsibility she held as a warrior.
“Things seem to be looking good.”
When the game ended and the residents returned to the village, I muttered as I observed it from the darkened room. It was a stark contrast to the gloomy atmosphere just hours ago.
Upon returning to the village, they were jumping for joy at seeing their fellow residents recovering from injuries using the achievement points they had earned, while the residents cheered at the food and weapons they had brought back from the game world.
It may be an arrogant thought, but my influence was undoubtedly strong. Their joy meant my contribution was significant.
I suspect no one would dislike another person being happy because of me. I just realized that not long ago.
I wanted this unexpected bond that had formed to last a little longer and to keep watching over them.
‘Let’s hope nothing too crazy happens.’
Of course, since I had to live my life in reality, I couldn’t just stare at the monitor all day. I could only hope that until the next time, things would remain calm.
The good news was that the weekend was just two days away. With no particular plans for that day, I would indeed be keeping a watchful eye all day long then.