A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 12 – The Beginning of Progress (2)

“What on earth are those monsters? I’ve never seen, or even heard of, creatures like these in my life!”

“We don’t know either. They’re just speculated to have appeared here since ancient times.”

The newcomers were witnessing the Glitches for the first time. In fact, many of the existing residents had never laid eyes on a Glitch either.

Their appearance was bizarre compared to ordinary monsters. Unlike the existing monsters that could at least be called living beings, the Glitches possessed bodies made of black carapace and tentacles, giving off an unsettling vibe as if they were something other than living organisms.

“Are arrows useless?!”

They came out with bows, firing arrows in unison, but even when struck, the creatures nonchalantly continued to crawl forward with arrows stuck in their carapaces.

While the other residents were flustered, Riena bit her lip, as the situation unfolded just like before. Ultimately, if they were to truly crush these creatures, they would have to get up close and break their bodies.

“We can do this! So everyone, charge forward!”

In the end, she was the first to charge ahead, wielding a sword and shield. If they were going to fight anyway, she intended to do so at a distance far enough from the village to avoid any damage.

It wasn’t a reckless charge. In the previous battle, she had allowed an enemy blow that left her injured, but this time, she was protected by sturdy armor.

Others followed her lead with less hesitation. The presence of reliable weapons and protective gear was certainly reassuring.

“Ugh…”

Soon, the first to rush in collided with the leading Glitch. Gritting her teeth as the tentacles squirmed and launched attacks, she swung her sword to slice off the tentacles while raising her shield to block.

Tentacle attacks coming at her from all angles were troublesome, but she was skilled at dealing with them since she had fought monsters in the game nearly every day recently.

“Ugh!”

“Get in close! Stick together and stab!”

The real problem lay with the other residents who were nearly ten strong against each Glitch.

They were pushed back without being able to defend against the tentacles or were thrown off as their ankles were ensnared. They couldn’t adequately respond to the attacks of an enemy they were facing for the first time in their lives.

Without shields or armor, several of them would have already been pierced or broken.

“Defend against the tentacles and then attack the main body!”

Riena shouted as she cleaved the head of the Glitch she was facing with her mana-enveloped sword. Yet, it seemed pressing forward with numbers was effective; others shifted to position themselves and began to restrain the tentacles of the Glitches that had broken through while mercilessly beating their main bodies.

“I… got it.”

“Is that it!? Is there no more!”

Not wanting to retreat, the battle was quickly resolved. In the end, while there were some injuries, all three of the monsters that had invaded the village were defeated and turned to black dust, disappearing.

As the residents, still buzzing with the excitement of battle, scanned their surroundings with weapons in hand. Taking a breath, Riena looked down at the ground where the Glitch had died, leaving only a powdery black residue.

“Excellent. You have saved the tribe again.”

“What on earth is their identity?”

Chieftain Balun welcomed those who returned victorious along with other tribe members. However, Riena’s expression was not so bright despite hearing her father’s praise.

It was in stark contrast to the other soldiers who were feeling triumphant.

“Those monsters give me chills just by looking at them. Who knows when and how many more will appear? There’s no sturdy wall here… What if they come back when we are not around?”

“When the village was in crisis, he noticed it and urged us to return to the village. It won’t happen, I believe.”

Noticing Riena’s fears, Balun sighed and shook his head.

It was a reasonable fear. The Glitches were indeed something entirely different from the monsters they were familiar with.

“That’s why we still need to grow stronger.”

After hearing Riena, Balun’s determination became more resolute. The primary reason they could defeat the three monsters that had attacked was thanks to the newly acquired weapons and armor.

As the leader of the tribe, he could not abandon these. Henceforth, he would devote himself more fervently to strengthening the village and tribe.

He firmly believed that this was the path for everyone.

*

“Phew.”

An ambush occurred just as the day’s tasks were wrapping up.

Fortunately, it seems to have ended well. The injuries didn’t seem too severe, so there was no need to spend points on the vaccine program.

Maybe that’s why the villagers, who would usually be asleep by now, were still awake with lights flickering on in various places. The aftermath of the recent battle lingered on.

Of course, seeing them smile after victory brought some relief, but my heart was not entirely at ease.

“There could be more, stronger Glitches appearing. Then what the heck are the Bugs?”

A question I had briefly forgotten amidst the game began resurfacing.

Glitches were a different category of foes compared to the invading monsters or outsiders. They were a type of ‘main enemy’ that the Master Program itself warned of, unlike the usual deals where it just let things play out.

It was clear that today’s raid wasn’t the last. The ones that had attacked were only the lowly level 2 ones.

“I need stronger power.”

Thinking this through, both from my perspective and the residents’, I couldn’t feel safe.

Residents armed with decent armor and weapons were no longer victims of ordinary wolf-type monsters. They could gain the upper hand in battles against outsiders.

The problem was that this was their peak. Unless the game provided them with quality equipment made from extraordinary ores beyond regular armors, or even if it did, they still had their limitations.

More people like Riena were needed. People with special traits who were exceptionally strong.

Some members like Kun and Russo had obtained a few traits in the sandbox survival game currently unlocked, but the miner or farmer traits didn’t seem to offer much outside the game.

“There’s no solution… Wait?”

[Chieftain’s Dilemma: Traits]

I realized at that moment that Balun was also mulling over similar frustrations while staring blankly at the grassland outside his house.

I instinctively right-clicked to peek into his dilemma.

[I have discovered some conditions to acquire traits, but I’ve realized that for each trait, there’s a talent that needs to be accomplished to obtain it. However, I’m struggling with how to convey this to the master of the world.]

“Speaking of which…”

Reading Balun’s thoughts, I muttered absentmindedly. It was something I hadn’t considered before. Those who had acquired traits had all blossomed their abilities within half a day.

Being the only one among the others to acquire traits indicated that they had innate talent. Conversely, not obtaining traits within that timeframe meant a lack of talent for that task.

Holding onto those who couldn’t succeed was meaningless. With over 60 residents in the village, it was much more efficient to rotate quickly to discover talents.

“I’m glad he noticed and is contemplating.”

I smirked, feeling relieved that Balun was reflecting on something I hadn’t considered in my distracted state. Given my own shock at the abrupt situation, how fortunate it was that the residents were able to supplement what was lacking on their own.

Even though it felt indirect, I indeed wanted more direct communication. I couldn’t open up their dilemmas one by one every time, so I hoped for at least some minimal communication device to be established.

Surely among the countless programs installed on the computer, there would be one that could help with that.

“Take it slow.”

Of course, at this moment, I had no luxury to dig into other matters.

Once I could use the one game that had been unlocked to its fullest, which currently carried the fate and development of the village residents, I could figure things out afterward.

To that end, I decided to exclude four residents from the previously assigned eight who had not acquired traits from the list. Instead, I registered four new residents.

Hoping the newcomers would quickly discover their traits.

“One, not bad.”

Then, when I logged into the game the next day, I learned that one of the newly registered four had unlocked the miner trait, allowing me to send out the remaining three and bring in three more.

“They’re getting the hang of it now.”

As the other residents arose in the morning to forage for food in the forest or near the water, or to tend to livestock and repair the village.

For them, entering the game through the portal in the village and doing their respective tasks had become routine.

All those who had acquired traits, but even those who hadn’t, were following Balun as they rotated between the forest, mine, and fields, engaging in what could be called a merry-go-round.

They were charging ahead like headless chickens trying to discover their hidden traits by tackling any job thrown at them.

So far, the only discovered traits were that of a farmer and a miner. I had secretly hoped that Riena’s martial trait would also emerge as I observed her battling monsters, but it hadn’t appeared.

“Is this the limit?”

Given all that, doubts naturally arose in my mind.

This game was touted as all-purpose, allowing for production, combat, gathering, and everything else; if one could acquire traits from it alone, there’d be no reason to use anything else.

The Master Program, which tasked me with gathering achievement points, was also nudging me to unlock various programs to use the countless functions they provided in combination.

In other words, to obtain something more advanced, something else was needed. Another game, or anything really.

“I need to achieve more achievements.”

With that thought in mind, the required action boiled down to one: to accomplish achievements and gather points.

Now that the number had increased to three, I was watching closely as mining operations flourished. I knocked Riena on the shoulder as she dealt with monsters threatening the miners with her weapon.

Startled, when she turned to me with wide eyes, I pointed at the stone block that I had previously placed to block the passage where the cave goblin shaman couldn’t enter.

As she rubbed her arm where I had hit her, she seemed to understand what I meant, her expression shifting accordingly.