ALL NOVEL Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Beginning of Development (6)
‘I can’t fall behind. It’s not that hard. There have been tougher times than this.’
Fighting against enemies intent on killing her. The fatigue of the body needed to maintain constant vigilance was nothing compared to the mental strain.
Yet, she gritted her teeth and endured. How her once peaceful tribe had been attacked and forced to flee.
In that process, her comrades, mentor, and friends who had died before her eyes.
All those who still haunted her as nightmares were powerless against it. That’s why she longed for strength and couldn’t afford to squander this moment, a chance to gain that strength.
“I can do it. I can go.”
The expression of the one looking at her, covered with a mask, was hidden. But after killing the last enemy, Riena repeated to herself through her trembling voice that she could do it.
Perhaps her determination was conveyed, for he didn’t stop his actions but turned his body instead. It meant he would continue to move forward.
The glade in the forest they aimed for was now just ahead.
‘I’m sure I can gain greater strength.’
Riena chased him, fighting monsters of unknown origin in a forest she didn’t recognize, acting as if she knew something. She had experienced it several times already. He rewarded those who proved themselves.
She believed in that and would follow him no matter what.
‘A person?!’
Upon arriving at the forest glade. Someone was in the middle of the tutorial she had no way of knowing. He approached the person slowly as if he knew.
It was another knight, leaning against a tree and dying from an arrow wound.
“Ah, the pitiful ones who’ve come to earn money have returned. It’s best to avoid the village and the castle. The ones that occupied that town weren’t just simple bandits.”
The knight spoke as if he had been waiting for them.
Riena’s body jolted at the first person with whom she could communicate in this strange world beyond the portal. Of course, this NPC knight was merely reciting lines scripted for the game.
‘Wha, should I say something…?’
The knight struggled to lift his head to look at them but merely stood there like a mountain, so he only gazed down at the knight without saying a word. He merely moved his hand to indicate something.
Riena was flustered by this peculiar silence, glancing nervously at the knight waiting for a response, wondering if she should say something.
“There are only monsters who understand neither words nor acknowledgment. If you must go, I won’t stop you. But if you’re going to die anyway, let me give a gift for the fools who might follow you.”
However, before she could say anything, the knight chuckled and nodded his head. It was as if he had received an answer.
Then, he reached into his coat and pulled out something to offer them. It was a low-grade HP potion, one of the basic items in the game.
“Here, just a moment!”
He only grabbed the potion before immediately turning away. After all, all he could get from a dying knight was a brief explanation and this potion. For him, it was merely part of the game’s progression.
Riena was astonished by his cool demeanor, alternating glances between the knight and his retreating figure.
“You’d best be prepared. You too.”
And at that moment, the knight glanced at Riena and opened his mouth. She felt a chill at the sight of his eyes staring directly at her and her eyes widened.
“Who exactly are you? Is this place… oh no.”
Gathering herself, she called out to him. But the knight soon closed his eyes and breathed his last. With a sigh, Riena had no choice but to close the knight’s eyes and sprint to follow after him.
“This? What is this?”
Watching her, he immediately offered her the potion in his hand.
Looking at the red liquid in the glass bottle with a puzzled expression, she received it, unsure what to do, but he couldn’t explain in detail.
Even if communication were possible, it would have been futile. She didn’t know how the potion, which was a part of the game system, would affect her. However, potions used to fill a character’s HP in the first game had been effective in restoring the health and injuries of the residents.
‘I have no choice. I can’t just let myself die. This must be something beneficial to me.’
She eventually made up her mind. She brought the potion to her lips and chugged it down in one go.
This revealed her resolve, showing she was willing to stake her body based on the trust she had built while fighting alongside him.
“My strength is returning…!”
She could feel the exhaustion and muscle pain that had begun to set in recovering almost instantly.
With her eyes wide open, Riena marveled at her much lighter body. It was the moment when it became clear that this potion in the second game applied the same effect to her.
“Yes, I’ll go!”
He noticed that she had recovered as he started to move again, and Riena hurried to follow behind him. The enemies that reappeared were once again the spectral soldiers.
Now accustomed to fighting, she charged ahead, brandishing her sword at the foes first.
Unlike monsters in the game, the spectral soldiers attacked freely without any set patterns. However, Riena was learning just as well.
The more she fought, the sharper her sword became against the spectral soldiers, piercing and slashing at vital points.
Riena wasn’t the only one without HP; the spectral soldiers, who had mutated by facing her, were also exempt. Unlike players who would counter after being hit multiple times, these soldiers collapsed and were severed in a single blow.
“Then what happened? Did you go to the castle?”
“Yes. To be precise, to the ruins of the village beneath the castle.”
Telling Balun about her experiences there, Riena couldn’t help but smirk at the memories she was recalling.
Having overcome the checkpoint and recovered her stamina with the potion, Riena moved forward again with him, advancing towards the target point while overcoming more enemies.
And finally, the moment they emerged from the forest path and arrived at the castle and the surrounding ruined village, he concluded their agenda for the day and sent a weary Riena home.
But before that, he bestowed a reward. It was from a half-destroyed cart at the village entrance and the scattered corpses.
The bounty obtained after dispatching the bodies that twisted and stood was one of the basic skills known as Smash.
“In the first world, we could have imagined gathering an unimaginable amount of resources. Food, livestock, materials, iron, and more. So in the second world, what we can gain seems to be that strength.”
“It’s an opportunity. If we just prove ourselves, we could gain unimaginable things.”
Balun realized this since experiencing the first world, and now Riena fully agreed too. They understood how significant the opportunity presented to them truly was.
“As we gain strength like this, we might just be able to take revenge on those guys.”
“R, Riena.”
Balun was taken aback by her mention of revenge. The ones they needed to repay were the hostile tribes that had attacked their peaceful village, killing their people and pillaging.
So far, they had focused on mere survival, and dreaming of revenge was a luxury. But now the momentum had shifted.
No longer worrying about survival, they had enough resources, and even beyond that, they could gain more.
Finding such ease meant there was no reason not to seek revenge. Riena was not the only one; the residents who had lost so much all felt the same.
“It won’t be easy. While strength matters, our numbers are too few. To block those who forcibly consolidate numerous tribes, we will need the strength of more allies.”
“They forcibly enslave and make women their concubines to grow their size, yet plenty flee in revulsion and align with us. Just like us. Bringing such individuals on board could bolster our numbers.”
“That’s true, but that doesn’t seem like a conversation we should share right now.”
Balun nodded, sighing at Riena’s words. He too harbored anger within him. However, as the chief, he had to prioritize the lives of those who remained by his side.
Considering this responsibility, it was still premature to make their intentions known.
*
[Riena’s Dilemma: Blood Revenge]
[Riena desires revenge. She wishes to retaliate against the rival tribe that killed her mother, friends, mentor, and comrades. To do so, she is seeking greater strength.]
“Hmm…”
After finishing the tutorial and sending Riena back to the village, I booted up the first game to organize what the residents had left behind and collect additional item farming when I frowned at the text that appeared on my screen.
Balun and Riena were having a serious conversation; I could roughly guess what topic they were discussing.
Thinking about it, they too likely had their story. Considering those emaciated and ragged individuals had moved to my desktop with mere minimal supplies, it didn’t seem that they had come because of a good event.
The intruders described as invaders were also a sign that the world within my desktop was indeed a brutal, blood-soaked wilderness where dying and killing was commonplace.
‘It’s troubling for no reason.’
My mind wasn’t at ease either. The sudden change on the desktop was akin to an accident or coincidence.
Sure, taking care of them and being involved in something together brought me joy beyond what I expected, encouraging me to invest time so passionately, but I didn’t want anything more than this.
Right now, we were just working together to progress in the game, achieving achievements, and fending off invading enemies. However, if this proceeded, they might start wanting more as they gained power and ease.
Yet, that made me uneasy. Until this moment, my influence over them remained limited, so I wouldn’t have to bear that level of responsibility.
Wanting to enjoy while avoiding responsibility is selfish, but perhaps a natural thought.
‘It doesn’t matter for now? After all, I just barely cleared the tutorial and am still struggling.’
As trivial thoughts piled up, I shook my head to brush them away. All dilemmas could only be contemplated when there was enough leeway.
Right now, the residents, including Riena, were just barely managing to just run forward. After a while of navigating the game alone and watching those active in the dimly lit desktop, I soon turned off the monitor and lay down on my bed.
Tomorrow is another holiday. Being among the lively ones means I can’t even have proper meals, but it brings me a different kind of joy. Tomorrow, I can likely spend the whole day with them, just like today.