A Village Has Appeared on My Desktop

5 – Sudden Visit (5)

It’s impossible not to be surprised. In fact, it’s natural to be astonished beyond belief. This experience is more shocking than being lifted into the sky by an unknown force.

“Father, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. Is everyone else okay? Koon, Rousso, are you all right?”

Lienna took care of her father, Barun, while Barun helped the other two who had fallen. Only after confirming that they were all unharmed, could they properly assess where they were.

“Where are we?”

And then, someone’s muttered word shook their senses. They were no longer in the meadow they were just in. This place was a completely different space, another world.

Barun, unable to believe it, sat down and gently touched the dirt on the ground that had come closer. This humble dirt couldn’t have naturally come out in its current state. It was something strange and alien, composed of sharp edges and dots.

“Oh my.”

But the dirt that his hands and feet, along with the parts of his body that were in contact with it, turned into actual soil with a faint ripple. Only the area where they stood.

The distant land and trees still had the peculiar and alien shape made of blocks.

“That power brought us here. How do we go back?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a place like this in the world… Look over there!”

At Lienna’s words, filled with chaos, Barun saw something in his dazed eyes. Someone standing tall a little further away. Clearly, it was the figure of a person.

“Is that really a person?”

For a moment, everyone fell silent and exchanged glances, suppressing their movements.

The presence, which seemed to have its back turned, was wearing clothes and had something hanging from its arms and legs. However, they did not perceive the presence as human.

The appearance of the entity, with its angular body unlike their own, was not just foreign but instinctively evoked a sense of fear.

“Oh, it moved!”

“It saw us!”

At that moment, the unknown being twitched and swiftly turned around. Its movement was so peculiar that it startled them, causing them to falter.

“Don’t come any closer!”

The only armed person, Rienna, drew her sword from her waist and aimed it at the figure. Though the figure seemed to understand the meaning, as if unable to speak, it briefly paused before taking another step towards them.

“Huh. What’s this!?”

Naturally, she swung her sword. The opponent, unable to react to the swift and precise attack, was struck by the sword, but there was no spurt of blood or severing of the body.

It simply momentarily reddened and was pushed back.

“St-Stay there!”

Immediately after, the figure swiftly turned and began to flee. Startled, Rienna instinctively gave chase, but the figure, moving in an inexplicably agile manner, eluded her despite her best efforts.

“If it’s fleeing, don’t pursue it. We don’t know what danger might be here.”

Barron advised her not to push herself as she returned, flustered.

In reality, they had only intended to explore the vicinity a little and had been left stranded in a place where they didn’t know what to do or how to do it.

“Look over there. It’s come back again.”

“It doesn’t seem to be hostile towards us. Perhaps that monster is the one who called us here.”

And so, after some time had passed, they encountered the peculiar being once again.

The residents, including Rienna with her sword at the ready, watched the approaching figure with wary eyes.

As the resident who had spoken cautiously observed, the figure slowly advanced, seemingly taking cues from their reactions.

‘What is this?’

And when the distance had shortened somewhat. Something suddenly popped up in the stick-like hand of the opponent, which had clearly not made any sound.

“Could this be…”

The opponent fidgeted with their hand, then suddenly threw what they were holding to the ground. The endlessly pouring red masses clearly resembled the shape of meat.

Then, as if they wanted to pick it up, they took a step back.

“I’ll go check it out.”

Barun gathered his courage and stepped forward without giving others a chance to stop him. Then, he grabbed the items scattered on the ground with his hands.

Certainly, what was made up of small blocks and looked bizarre at first glance turned into ‘real meat’ literally flowing with blood the moment he touched them.

Quality meat that had been hard to come by recently. More than ten pieces of such meat were now placed in front of them.

If they could take all of these to the base, all the members of the tribe could eat their fill.

“Chief, can’t we eat it now?”

“Come to think of it, we came all the way here without being able to eat the food we gathered. It can’t be helped. To survive, we have to eat.”

The eyes of others who saw the meat turned towards it. Barun, who considered this a kind of gift, decided to quickly cook and eat it, thinking about the situation.

“I’ll light a fire quickly.”

Kun, who saw the items transformed into appetizing pieces of meat by their touch, licked his lips again and looked around. It was to gather firewood and create sparks.

However, seeing that, someone who had been observing from a distance as if sensing something slowly approached them.

“We… we need fire. Fire.”

Once Reina, who had sheathed her sword, understood the intention and attempted to communicate.

Words failed to communicate, but gestures and expressions did. Suddenly, the figure held something in their hand and placed it on the ground. It was a kind of crafting table.

They then crafted something on the table and placed it in front of them. It was none other than a blazing bonfire.

Realizing the transformation, they began to grill meat over the now-real fire.

***

“If I were here alone, I’d probably doubt if I’m still dreaming at this moment.”

“To be honest, I’m still doing that.”

“Could it be that we can’t go back?”

They hurriedly had their meal. In contrast to reality, time in the game was passing quickly, and the sun had already set, heading into the night.

Now gathered together, they were leisurely observing something, somewhat relaxed.

“Who on earth is the author?”

Liena murmured absentmindedly. What they were watching was a being swiftly creating stone walls around them with quick, light movements.

With each jump and flick of its hand, large stone blocks piled up beneath its feet, forming a massive barrier.

They judged it as not being hostile, but still remained cautious. The seemingly comical ability of that being was actually quite formidable and evoked a sense of fear.

“Let’s ask after… it’s done.”

They dared not disturb the being. The creation of walls and a roof was to protect them from the monsters that appeared at night, but it was impossible to convey that in words.

Finally, after completing the walls and roof, they were able to slowly approach the being who had hastily illuminated the interior of the shelter with torches placed around.

“What’s that sound?”

“It’s coming from… outside.”

It was then that a grim, eerie sound reached their ears—a mix of wolf howls and human screams.

It was the sound of a werewolf, one of the game’s monsters, roaming to kill them.

“Please take a look at this. It’s a sword!”

He set up a workstation on one side of the bunker and created something to give to them again.

What he created in a hurry was a weapon made of obsidian, one of the basic resources classified in the game.

As a game item, it was just a lower-quality item used before transitioning to the Bronze or Iron Age. The residents were familiar with obsidian-made arrowheads and such from real life.

“My entire body is made of obsidian embedded in wood. I can’t believe I can make something like this.”

“Does giving us weapons mean we have to go out and fight?”

The steel sword that Rienna was holding was a valuable item they obtained from the outside world, as they lacked the skills to make it. They marveled at the transformation of this item, made from pixels, into something real, and nodded with determined expressions as they guessed the reason behind receiving this weapon.

“We must have not come here for no reason. And this unknown person who gave us food and swords surely has a purpose.”

“That’s right. We cannot stay here forever.”

Everyone agreed with Barun’s words. They had homes and families to return to, so instead of staying still, they chose to find a way.

“Could this be it?”

However, when they tried to leave the bunker through the only entrance, the terrified man blocked the door with his body.

He even swung his blunt and angular arms to push them away. Although it didn’t hurt, the residents were taken aback and became restless.

“What’s that?”

Instead, he pointed behind them. On the exact opposite side of the door they were about to exit, a crack resembling a black portal appeared.

He walked towards it, pointing at the portal with his hand, jumping, sitting, and standing repeatedly, conveying his intentions.

“Let’s go. Maybe it’s the way back.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s the only thing we can do right now.”

Barun made the decision to go there. Naturally, there were doubts, but everyone agreed that they had no other choice.

“Is this what they want me to take?”

As they moved, he pointed to the meat and obsidian swords that were lying on the ground. Rienna glanced at the others and grabbed them, nodding vigorously without bending her legs or jumping on the spot repeatedly.

“It’s true. We’re back!”

“We’re in the village!”

And when they had gathered all the items and crossed the rift, they instantly traveled through space.

They had only taken one step, yet they had returned to the village they had longed for. And they had obtained plenty of quality food as well.

“Can we go back again? If we can go back and get more meat from him.”

As the villagers who had been frustrated came rushing out to cheer for them and grab the spoils, Barun gently stroked the black rift that remained in the village square, without disappearing.

This black rift seemed to refuse re-entry as if it were a one-way street. But Barun, who had recognized the potential of that mysterious world in an instant, secretly harbored the desire to go back there.