ALL NOVEL Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Sudden Visit (3)
[Achievement Unlocked: Achievement Point Granted]
[Defeated Glitch for the First Time: 100p]
“Master Program…”
While Riena, injured, hurried back to the village with the help of her companions, I was absentmindedly moving the mouse and scrolling the wheel, surveying other places, when a window suddenly popped up on the screen.
Seeing the suspicious program that appeared as if it had anticipated this very situation, I was once again struck by the thought that I needed to escape this bizarre phenomenon as quickly as possible. Yet, despite that feeling, I maintained my tension and clicked on the window.
[You can expand linked programs using Achievement Points]
[Check injured entities, Vaccine program recommendation]
The Master Program kindly informed me what I could do now and what the achievement points I just obtained were.
“What is going on here?”
The result that appeared was absurd to the point of making me chuckle unintentionally.
At the bottom of my desktop, the icon for the Vaccine Program displayed on the taskbar was glowing with a blue border.
‘Is this what it wants me to do? I’m not too keen on that.’
I hesitated with the mouse pointer. It seemed right to follow what it suggested since I hardly knew anything, but my rebellious tendencies were bubbling up.
So, I randomly hovered over the icon next to the Vaccine Program. Normally, a simple mouse hover should only show an indication that the mouse is over it.
[Instant Messenger: 10,000P]
‘That’s expensive.’
What I selected was none other than the messenger program installed for communication with friends or acquaintances. The price displayed was a whopping 10,000 points.
I clicked my tongue reflexively and examined the other icons. Games, office tools, various convenience functions, etc. The only icons that didn’t display a price were the internet browsers that could connect to the internet.
It was clear that something had changed in all programs except for the internet browsers by the Master Program.
[Vaccine Program Function Partially Unlocked]
[Basic Healing: 100P]
‘What the heck am I supposed to do with this?’
After a short exploration, I decided to open the Vaccine Program as recommended by the Master Program. What appeared was a message stating that some functions had been unlocked, along with the standard interface of the Vaccine Program.
The vaccine program I used is divided into three stages: Basic Security, Enhanced Security, and Complete Protection, and the existing Basic Security I used was now surrounded by a blue border.
“Ha.”
As I clicked on it, I sighed softly. Instead of the page changing, something came trailing from the mouse pointer. Upon closer inspection, it was a syringe icon filled with blue liquid.
[Can treat minor injuries]
Naturally, an explanation popped up over the syringe icon. It could treat minor injuries. The meaning of that was obvious.
Unknowingly swallowing dry saliva, I slowly moved it toward the residents on the desktop.
Specifically, toward the injured Riena. I had found her in a tent where the residents were gathered, looking worried, as I rummaged through the tent village they made with the mouse wheel to zoom in.
[Diagnosis Complete]
As I brought what I had dragged with the mouse pointer to her, a blue border appeared around her body, and a message indicated that the diagnosis was complete.
“—…!”
Then, immediately, her pained expression transformed as if released from a frown. I truly healed an injury in such an absurd way.
It was quite fascinating. The way they looked and their reactions didn’t feel like mere data fragments at all.
But that was all. Even though I could have a pretty significant impact on them with just one mouse click, I still had no idea who they were, why they were here, or what their relationship with the Master Program was.
With time, there might be a way to find out, but right now, it didn’t seem like it. I decided to stop there, as I couldn’t understand any of their conversations.
‘They must all be asleep now.’
After that, I kept the work program on until late at night, completing the tasks I had brought home while occasionally glancing at the desktop. Around 1 AM, when most of them had fallen asleep again, I got up from in front of the computer.
When I finally lay in bed, a thought crossed my mind: was all this just a dream? When I wake up, my computer might be back to normal.
*
“I think it’s right for us to leave this place, Father. That monster was a horrific creature I’ve never seen before.”
“But you know there’s nowhere to go. The north is a barren place even in summer. Go further east, and there’s the sea, and to the south, a kingdom that sees us as targets to eliminate.”
“But…”
While someone somewhere is in a state of agitation, handling the tasks to bring to work tomorrow, Balun and Riena discussed the strange events that had happened since that evening.
During the conversation, Riena insisted on leaving this place. After initially thinking it was a monster, she fought and killed the Glitch, but later recalled the chilling appearance of the Glitch and grew cautious.
However, their chief, Balun, wore an awkward expression. They had run far and finally settled in a land that seemed livable. He didn’t want to give up so easily.
“Do you understand the unknown force that abducted us? Don’t you think its intent might be related to that power that healed your wounds in an instant?”
Balun changed the subject. The force that had forcibly brought Riena, who was dozing while on guard duty, in front of the Glitch, where they had been taken.
Noticing that the strange power had acted to make him recover swiftly from his internal bleeding, Riena’s lips quivered.
“Do you think that power is on our side?”
“I can’t say for certain. But if that force, which might be a lingering spirit of this land, were hostile to us, I wonder if we would still be here in one piece. It also helped you when you were suffering without herbs, so I believe that existence does not intend to oppose us.”
Balun nailed down his points to Riena, who had not yet shed her vigilance. Even as an acknowledged warrior, it was a power she couldn’t resist. If that power were against them, they certainly wouldn’t have managed to build this tent village.
Finding no flaws in that logic, Riena nodded for now.
‘For now, we need time.’
She also needed time to look after the other tribe members who had drifted for a long time. In the end, they agreed to stay a little longer and gather information about this place.
“Though the corpse of that peculiar monster vanished like smoke, do not worry too much. For now, it seems no other monsters are appearing.”
And so another morning dawned as the sun rose.
After switching with the night watch, Riena squinted at the brilliant sunlight illuminating the grassland.
“We have to check this place thoroughly, given what happened yesterday.”
“We need to find food too. If we go into that forest over there, there will surely be beasts.”
“And we need to build a fence. Everyone, let’s get busy.”
The residents sprang into action as soon as the day broke, each going about their assigned tasks without missing a beat.
Riena, riding a horse, decided to start looking toward the direction where the Glitch had appeared, alongside several armed individuals.
Meanwhile, Chief Balun led the others to secure basic supplies such as food and water.
Those who were too young or disabled to move remained at the residence and began to create needed resources with whatever they could gather or tended to livestock, or repaired their dwelling.
“This way!”
Worriedly watching her father heading toward the forest on the opposite side, Riena turned her horse and dashed straight to the place where she had been flung in front of the Glitch.
Even in that moment, remnants of the battle remained. Her brows furrowed as she looked down from her horse at her own deep footprints and the marks of tentacles wielded by the Glitch.
“It’s too quiet. Too quiet. There may not be any monsters, but not even the sound of wild beasts can be heard. This grassland feels…”
“Let’s go further.”
At the murmurs of the middle-aged man who had followed her, her expression hardened as she resolved to reach the western region where they had entered this grassland.
Indeed, they hurriedly rode their horses, but all they spotted were birds flying far away in the sky.
The only signs of proper animals were the faint sound of deer heard from a distance after they exited the grassland.
‘What on earth is that place?’
The lush greenery and the clear, transparent river flowing, this seemingly peaceful grassland made Riena break out in a cold sweat, unaware.
Surely it seemed livable, but it felt alien as well.
“Did you find anything?”
“Just a few mushrooms and some fruits, that’s all.”
“That’s too little. There are no signs of prey. If this keeps up, we won’t last long.”
And this concern was felt not only by Riena but also by Chief Balun, who had ventured into the forest on the opposite side.
They had lost many livestock on their way here, making securing food extremely important, and the red flag was already raised.
“It’s good that there are no predators. But isn’t it the case that there’s not even any game for us to catch?”
“We caught a few fish in the river, but if we can’t find anything to eat here, there’s no choice but to leave.”
That afternoon, after completing their individual tasks, the atmosphere among the residents was not so great.
With a sigh responding to the words of a shaking tribe member, Balun finally hinted at the possibility of leaving again. Naturally, the faces of the tribe members darkened.
While they fundamentally had the traits of nomads, wandering around an unknown land without knowing what was there was exhausting.
The anxiety of whether they could find a place just as decent again, along with the fear of being ambushed at any time, made them weary.
They were already in a state of exhaustion.
“Father…”
“Don’t worry too much. We’ve made it this far through adversity. For the sake of those who have sacrificed, we must survive.”
When all the residents returned to their homes, Balun, left alone in the plaza that had served as a meeting place, looked at Riena, who gazed at him with worried eyes, and gave a faint smile.
“Uh?”
“Yeah?”
But at that moment, just as the sun was setting on the horizon, the father and daughter, who were trying to muster their spirits to get through tougher times, were taken aback by each other’s appearance.
“Ah, Father!”
“Chief!”
Other residents also jumped out in alarm. It wasn’t just Riena and her father, but several other tribe members were also being yanked into the air by an unknown force.
‘Oh no!’
Balun, being experienced, struggled desperately, waving his limbs. He could see Riena, who was before him, also wriggling. Yet, this unknown power mercilessly did not release them.