A Village Appeared on My Desktop

---

Chapter 24 – Trial (4)

“I don’t think we can go any further. How about we take a break here?”

“Let’s do that. It bothers me a bit that there’s nothing around.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

At his words while surveying the area, he grinned and raised the gnarled wooden staff he was holding. Soon, he slammed it down, and a wave of faint mana spread out, dispersing an unknown power across the vicinity.

“What in the world is that?”

“It’s a sensing magic. Whether it’s a monster or an enemy trying to approach, I’ll know.”

“…It’s certainly convenient, this magic of yours. Indeed, you’ve contributed a lot to this expedition, so the Chief will reward you handsomely.”

The other person admired him softly, realizing that what he had shown was just the tip of the iceberg.

His name was Garon. He learned magic from an unknown sage.

Instead of being afraid of the raiders who attacked his tribe, he showed his power, and since then, he had been using bizarre spells to assist in their expedition.

His capabilities were solid, and he was quickly gaining respect on par with an outstanding warrior, using it to expand his influence.

“Let’s rest here! Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

As Garon spoke, the chief who led the raiders commanded his subordinates, who were trailing more than a hundred prisoners, that they would make camp here for the night.

Immediately, a fire was lit, and a campsite was established. For them, camping under the night sky with the ground as a blanket was a familiar activity.

“Ah, no! Let go of that!”

“Sis!”

“I’ll be lenient, but tell them to play nice. Everything belongs to the Chief.”

Among the trusted veteran warriors under the chief, some naturally began to manhandle the prisoners they were dragging along.

Even when the chief warned them to behave, he couldn’t stop such behavior, as those risking their lives in battle always needed an outlet for their desires.

In fact, he even shot a glance at Garon as if asking if he needed help.

“I don’t have the power to do unnecessary things, but since I have something I want to experiment with, let’s give it a try.”

Garon chuckled and accepted the suggestion, instructing one of the prisoners to be chosen at random. The unfortunate target was a middle-aged woman trembling in fear.

“The power I learned from him isn’t just about summoning mist or creating surveillance nets or breathing fire.”

He aimed his staff at the woman, and what happened next was shocking.

“What in the world did you just do?”

“That’s a type of curse.”

The chief and everyone nearby gasped in horror at the sight.

The cursed woman rolled her eyes back and shivered, becoming a puppet moving at his command.

“Even a strong warrior infused with mana would be helpless against this. Although the warriors of the grassland are sturdy, they don’t know how to strengthen their minds. It’s like how we couldn’t defeat those hiding behind the castle walls due to magic.”

Garon was incredibly confident. He believed that with his power, he could subjugate any warrior, no matter how agile they were.

‘A wicked demon…!’

Of course, his confidence ignited intense hatred and even greater fear in others, especially among those who had suffered from his power.

The woman trembling among the prisoners was no exception. Watching her fellow villagers be slaughtered or violated by the raiders, and seeing someone become a puppet due to a curse, a girl was silently weeping.

But reality was ruthlessly cold, and ultimately, everything revolved around the will of the powerful. No matter how much they begged for their lives, no one would help the losers. Even if they managed to win against the raiders, they would just become new raiders themselves.

Such despair was the most lethal of all. And once their spirits were thoroughly broken, they wouldn’t conceive of resisting anymore, instead blending into becoming their slaves.

At least by the next generation, they would become one with the raiders, thus able to leverage that newfound strength.

*

“Ugh…”

Fortunately, it was just another ordinary morning. Instead of being awakened by a grotesque tentacle, I found myself naturally waking up on the living room floor and headed to the room with the computer.

A soft bed that I likely wouldn’t use for a while and the computer still turned on. When I clicked to wake up the monitor, of course, the residents had already begun their activities.

Having become inseparable from them, checking on their daily happenings every morning had become a new routine for me.

Thanks to that, I had memorized their daily tasks to some extent. For instance, gathering drinking water and food from the nearby river and forest, or preparing for necessary constructions in the village.

“What’s going on?”

However, today they presented a slightly different appearance.

Instead of crafting tools or heading out to gather supplies, they were donning the stored iron armor and brandishing sharply maintained weapons.

‘Did they decide to launch an attack, and is that happening today?’

Recalling Chieftain Balun’s dilemma from the previous night, I froze midway through putting on my pants.

Although he had mentioned attacking the enemies near the village first, I didn’t think it would happen within a few hours.

From the magic armor for the horses to the shining iron armor they wore, and all the various weapons—it was all stuff I had created in the game world.

Though they could mine resources having awakened their traits, the act of combining them to create things they couldn’t forge was still my task. They planned to use that to march into war.

It was a choice I could understand. As Balun had pondered, it was necessary for their growth.

‘Am I not going to see it?’

I also spotted Riena, wearing a helmet and mounting a horse. It seemed like every warrior capable of fighting was preparing to go.

They looked to be heading west, which meant toward the left side of the monitor. And the battlefield would unfold outside the visible desktop.

Half worried, half intrigued, I quickly sat down in a chair, realizing it was only natural to want to watch. If my guardians failed in stopping the bugs, it would significantly affect me too.

[Fully scouted area, transition possible]

“Huh?”

As they all began to ride out in unison, I brought my mouse over to the left, filled with curiosity, and something popped up.

[Western Grassland (1)]

Double-clicking the popup changed the screen. My desktop literally transformed before my eyes.

Of course, all the various programs and icons were still there, but I was dumbfounded by the sight of a completely unfamiliar landscape unfolding.

It was literally the plain west of the village. In the distance to the north, I could see forests and mountains, and to the south where I was looking was just endless grasslands. So far, there was nothing. The reconnaissance team from the village probably surveyed this area every day.

‘They’re coming now.’

Switching back to the village screen, I saw cavalry approaching at speed.

Unless I zoomed in, they looked like ant-sized figures on the monitor, but they were beginning to inch their way into this western grassland (1) from the right side of the screen.

‘No way?’

At this point, it was only natural to check other areas too. I moved my mouse again and took it left towards the monitor.

[Western Grassland (2)]

The screen flipped again, revealing new plains.

‘There!’

I found something there. A swarm of people bustling in the middle of the field. Zooming in with my mouse wheel revealed numerous armed soldiers and prisoners trembling in fear. These were the raiders Balun had decided to attack and their captives.

[Dedicated program needed]

In a moment of hope, I clicked on one of the soldiers wielding a weapon. However, all that came up was the information: raider Nar and the trait martial arts, but I couldn’t lift or interact with him.

‘What’s this dedicated program even about?’

I sighed, realizing that there seemed to be some conditions needed. I wasn’t sure if it was the location or the person that was the issue.

[Hostile entities detected, desktop destruction recommended]

[Desktop destruction: 10000P]

“…?”

The biggest issue was that the Master Program had recommended a program called desktop destruction, a name I hadn’t heard since elementary school.

It was absurd that this program was installed on the computer I bought just a year ago, but its very existence shocked me even more.

It was basically a crude game or program that scratched and broke my desktop with various tools. Perfect for children. Yet right now, people were living on my desktop, not to mention enemies.

If my assumptions were correct, it meant not only could I engage with them in their game world, but I could also be more proactive in intervening.

‘But I don’t have enough points.’

Unfortunately, activating and unlocking that option was impossible at the moment. Upgrading the games I had activated required points, and maintaining them cost points too, meaning I barely had around 2000P collected.

And that would deplete quickly if I used things like vaccination programs.

“I’m really sorry. I think I need to take a sudden leave today.”

First, I picked up my phone and notified the company I’d be taking a day off. With the residents galloping, it looked like battles would break out before lunch.

This was a crucial battle for me as well. Even if I couldn’t help directly, I still wanted to watch.

“—, –.”

‘They’re almost there.’

When I zoomed in, it seemed Balun and the residents already had the enemies’ positions figured out.

They were sending scouts to observe the unaware enemies, gradually trailing behind the moving foes.

It was hard to predict how they would fight. I was clueless about the world where monsters and superhumans existed.

‘It seems like they could win?’

But I anticipated they would win. They appeared stronger than the enemies since they had absorbed everything I had supported them with in the game world.

Both their weapons and armor looked superior. They had even triumphed over the terrible monsters known as bugs.