ALL NOVEL Chapter 15
Chapter 15 – The Beginning of Advancement (5)
“Is this really helpful?”
The first game felt different right from the graphics, creating a strong sense of alienation, but the clear objective of gathering resources was easy to grasp.
In contrast, this action RPG game lacked any specific rewards that came to mind. The purpose of this game was primarily to strengthen the character and defeat the boss.
Of course, the items obtained from boss-level monsters in the first game were used to enhance the traits of the residents, but in this game, which opened with more than double the points from the first, it didn’t seem like that would be the only thing I could gain.
After all, those who qualified to be brought into this game were only Riena and Chieftain Balun, who had awakened his magical trait just a day before.
‘For now, there’s no choice but to proceed. There must be a way.’
I manipulated the character to lead Riena. Fortunately, she quickly picked up on my intentions and joined me, saving us some time.
The first thing one encounters in a game starting from scratch is the tutorial. True to the genre of the game, the battle against monsters began immediately.
‘Is this okay?!’
The tutorial’s ghost soldiers belong to the weakest category of monsters, but unlike the first game, this one was a game where I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. The combat system was fundamentally different.
“–!”
But Riena, as if she had always fought terrifyingly realistic foes, just paled in the face of these frightful enemies without slowing her movements.
To be fair, even the lowly block-based monsters turned into realistic beasts when they came into contact with the residents.
Ultimately, the two ghost soldiers that charged at her were cut down by her sword, showcasing movements entirely different from my character’s.
‘Level up. Could it be that she also…?’
I too had taken down both of the enemies I was assigned. Overall, while the game was challenging, the tutorial wasn’t too tough.
As a reward for defeating the enemies, my character received experience points. Catching enemies in this way and earning experience to level up was one way characters grew stronger in this game, along with class changing and learning skills.
In the first game, it seemed Riena felt something each time we took down an enemy, so I hurriedly turned to see if the same would happen here.
“Is it true?”
The moment I looked at Riena’s face, I smiled bitterly. Her eyes widened as she fumbled with her body, then sparkled with excitement as she looked at me.
Perhaps because she was a tribe’s warrior, she often appeared cold, but her expressions were unexpectedly rich. Even without words, I could tell what emotions she was feeling.
‘The strategy for ranking number one. But can I really just follow this?’
Before continuing the tutorial, I opened a browser to look up strategies for the game. Being a relatively well-known game, many people had posted guides, which were certainly very detailed and kind in instructing newcomers.
However, my concern was whether those guides were valid. Unlike the original game, which was based on solo play, I was playing with an exotic being named Riena.
It was clear that something must have changed from the existing game, making it impossible to blindly trust the strategies.
‘I guess I can only use it as a reference and try slowly.’
The conclusion I came to was that I had to figure it out myself. The goal for now was to clear the tutorial. We had to navigate the map and reach the castle ahead.
According to my memory and the guide, clearing the tutorial would grant a basic skill. Using that skill to clear the castle in Act 1 would give an opportunity to class change.
While gaining skills was one thing, I was most curious about how the class change system would apply to Riena.
“Did that many appear originally?”
While pondering over that, I led the way and soon, more ghost soldiers erupted from the ground and aimed their weapons at us.
Immediately, a battle broke out, and Riena and I divided the enemies between us once again.
“—…!”
At the same time, I had a strong intuition that this would take quite a while.
In reality, while I could click away at the mouse and keyboard all day long, Riena was different.
She was risking her life, using her entire body in a fierce fight. Even if they were just mobs, such a battle consuming both stamina and mental strength couldn’t be sustained all day long.
‘How should I convey this?’
After defeating all the ghost soldiers and catching her breath, I contemplated how I could express my intentions to her.
I wanted to tell her we should only do the tutorial today, as there wasn’t much left, so she should hang in there a bit longer, but like the first game, communication was impossible in our current state. It was frustrating not to understand Riena’s words.
“Could it be that I need to use another program for this…ah!”
Just then, as I looked at Riena’s puzzled face on the other side of the screen, a thought crossed my mind.
This game had an emotion expression feature. It allowed players to perform certain actions to express emotions using their character.
While it was a feature I had only used when taunting the AI during solo play, I would need to actively use it if I met other players.
Using that feature, I might manage to convey my intentions to her.
“—?”
Surprised by me suddenly stopping and standing still, Riena flinched. I adjusted my angle and executed one of the emotion expressions I could use.
I placed a hand on her shoulder and raised a thumb with my other hand. It was an action used to express positive feelings.
‘She must have understood, right?’
Riena, flustered, was at a loss for what to do with my hand resting precisely on her shoulder.
While I couldn’t be sure she truly understood, I chose to believe that she did and deactivated the emotion expression.
Then, I pointed with the sword in my hand towards the path ahead, repeating a sitting and standing motion.
Glimpse of the corner of her mouth slightly rising indicated she seemed to understand at least somewhat.
‘Just one more hurdle, and we’ll reach the midpoint of the tutorial.’
As I alternated between the open guide video and my screen, I took another step, noticing a clearing in the forest ahead where I could check the first checkpoint.
Ghost soldiers appeared once again, attempting to attack us, but both Riena and I grit our teeth and swung our weapons to take down the attackers.
How would the NPCs the player first encounters in this game perceive her? Or, do NPCs even exist in the first place?
After defeating the last ghost archer who had shot an arrow at me, I gazed at the clearing visible on the screen with a tense expression.
*
“Everyone did well. It seems like those who came today have all gotten used to it.”
“Has it really been over seven nights already? It feels like it’s hardly been a day.”
“Don’t trust the sun in this world; trust yourself instead. In those seven nights, we’ve only eaten once.”
At the moment Balun was working hard with Riena in the second game, he decided to wrap up today’s tasks after spending several hours in the first game.
Once again, a new resident joined to obtain traits, and one of the two gained the Transporter trait, meaning that 6 out of the 8 residents participating in the game had successfully awakened a relevant trait.
And with the increase in senior members, the newcomers adapted more quickly too.
“Riena hasn’t returned yet?”
“Y-yes, Chieftain.”
However, upon returning to the village, Balun was slightly surprised to hear from those who remained in the village that Riena had not come back. Though he maintained his composure, it was natural to worry about his daughter.
‘What on earth kind of world did she go to?’
Especially since she had gone alone, his concern grew. She was certainly a talented and excellent warrior, but to him, she still seemed like a young girl.
“Chieftain, what’s that? Morin is holding something strange.”
“…That’s wood. It may look like that.”
At that moment, one of the tribe members asked Balun, with surprise in their voice. The subject of the question was Morin, who held a wooden block the size of a child’s head.
Morin, startled by the gathering villagers, placed the wooden block on the ground. At that moment, the piece of wood grew larger, becoming a sizable log sitting on the ground.
The ability of the Transporter trait is precisely that—the ability to directly manipulate the blocks in the game. They could even bring those blocks back to the village.
No longer would resources like mined ore or wood be left behind in the field; the residents could harvest them directly.
‘Just how many hidden powers are there in that world?’
Balun swallowed hard at the astonishing powers being updated day by day. He wondered if there could possibly be anything greater, but with new developments coming, he couldn’t predict how far it might go.
“Uh!?”
“It’s Riena!”
And at that moment, Riena, whom Balun had been waiting for, finally returned to the village. Right next to the first portal, a portal surged, as if consuming space, and Riena staggered out of it.
She didn’t seem to have any injuries, but it was apparent that she was extremely exhausted.
“Riena!”
“Father…”
Balun rushed to his daughter and grabbed her shoulder. In a somewhat dazed state, she recognized Balun and smiled weakly.
“Where on earth did you go, and what did you experience?”
“It seemed like a much more dangerous world, but in the end, nothing much different. Fighting, killing, and obtaining things.”
Balun led her home, asking her what had happened. Naturally, Riena told him in detail about what she experienced that day and what she had gained.
“In that place too, defeating enemies increases my mana. But that’s only part of it. Look at this.”
She stopped walking and drew her sword. It was then that Balun realized that Riena was now carrying two swords. The sword tucked into her belt was the iron sword she had been holding, but the one she drew now was completely different.
At the same time, a bright yellow aura ignited around the sword she was holding.
“W-when did you learn this? Could it be…?”
“Just from that place I just came from.”
At her nod to Balun’s astonished words, she used the basic skill, Strike, granted to players who cleared the tutorial, splitting a massive boulder beside her in half. It was something she couldn’t have done in the past.