ALL NOVEL Chapter 34
Chapter 34 – The Miracle of the Outskirts (4)
After being caught up in this bizarre situation, I, a mere citizen who had never thrown a punch in my life, found myself with many enemies. From raiders threatening the residents in the background, to the horrific monsters known as Bugs, and the game’s Monsters that I had to conquer to level up the Guardians.
Now, I even had to deal with other players.
“Why is this blocked off?”
Upon hearing that there was an intrusion from outside, I jolted in my chair and hurried to check the game settings, only to find that the intrusion permission toggle—something I, as the original player, should be able to control—was disabled and unresponsive.
I can’t fathom why this is happening, but the Master Program’s intention seems clear.
‘What would happen if a real player came in?’
I gazed at the residents on the screen with a look of panic. The residents were not NPCs. The enemies that had just invaded were likely real characters controlled by actual, living people.
But a character is just a character. If it dies, it simply suffers a little loss and returns, but the residents before my eyes… if they die… that’s it, game over.
It meant the elite troops I had so painstakingly gathered could vanish in an instant.
“—?”
“–!”
‘No, this can’t happen.’
I watched Riena and Balun, who were startled by the darkened sky outside, ready to move. The eclipse was a mark indicating that an intruder had entered. In other words, it wouldn’t go away until this mess was resolved.
Moreover, while Riena might not be aware, Balun and Shura were still just rookies who had barely switched classes. I didn’t want them to face a player who would attack indiscriminately, thinking it was just a game.
‘Do they understand?’
Fortunately, they stayed put as I intended. Leaving them hidden in this secret room, I stepped outside in search of the enemy player.
The issue was whether I could defeat the intruder. This game is infamous for veteran players bullying newbies. If my opponent came clad in flashy gear, there was no way I could win as someone who had only started playing a few days ago.
As far as I knew, though, there was effectively no penalty for the room owner if they died in PvP mode, so I was beginning to think that it might be better to just die quickly and end it.
‘Is that them over there?’
Finding the opponent was easy. The moment PvP was initiated, both player locations appeared on the minimap.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like they were running around in their underwear, stripped of all gear, but the shiny equipment draped over their body showed they were a skilled player, unlike me with my basic items.
But wait, are they just sitting there? The opponent clearly saw me, yet stood still, doing nothing.
‘Could it be?’
With a slight hesitation, I rushed in first to attempt an attack. The stats of the gear don’t matter in PvP, so even my rookie attack could potentially deal damage if it just connected.
“Uh?”
But as I launched the basic fireball spell, the fiery projectile soared through the opponent and detonated against the wall behind them.
Startled, I froze for a moment, dumbfounded. The opponent even ignored my spell as if they hadn’t seen it, casually passed right by me.
Just to be sure, I swung my staff again to attack, but once more my attack passed right through their body.
‘No way.’
There’s no way they’re deliberately ignoring me. They shouldn’t even be able to ignore spells. Plus, the direction they were heading was towards the castle.
Where Riena and the residents were.
I wanted to believe otherwise, but judging by the circumstances, it seemed my opponent was perceiving the residents as the real players in this game, not me.
“Oh no…”
Grinding my teeth, I glanced at the minimap and began running after the departing opponent.
If this continued, the player would really collide with the residents.
I had no idea why the situation had escalated like this, but if I analyzed it, it didn’t seem strange at all. Even though I had been playing this game alongside everyone else, I was ultimately just a player while the residents were always the main focus.
The game progressed according to Riena’s condition and combat power, and the boss monsters were cleared based on her abilities. Since they had come here, this turned into reality, which made perfect sense. However, still, it was outrageous that I was completely locked out from intervening.
“—.”
At last, Riena, who seemed to have followed me, faced the strange intruder at the entrance of the Lord’s castle.
Balun and Shura were nowhere to be seen. It seemed Riena wisely prevented them from following.
Now I was curious. What kind of reaction would the player have upon seeing Riena? It was a tense situation, but I couldn’t help but wonder. No matter how advanced the customization technology of this new era, it was impossible for an artificial character to show such genuine human expressions.
‘Is that how it is? If so, then I have no choice but to fight.’
The opponent, just like me, seemed not to comprehend her words, yet when they saw Riena scowling at them brandishing her sword, they raised their weapon and assumed a combat stance as well.
Whatever this stranger’s thoughts may be, they were ultimately gearing up for a fight. Given how things were going, I could only support Riena’s victory from the sidelines.
*
‘Why am I doing this?’
A typical office worker and casual gamer, he habitually launched a game today too. Despite having been released quite some time ago and even having a sequel, his interest in this Dark Blood game had only recently peaked.
After that, during his leisure time, he had immersed himself in this game.
While he wasn’t a legendary “veteran” player, he had cleared the story mode at the highest difficulty and had moved beyond leveling various classes to invade other players’ games for some PvP fun, becoming a skilled practitioner.
But that was just for a few days. He was starting to lose interest in the game, seeking a fresh experience. Logging in today was purely a reflexive action.
‘Huh?’
In his view, a new target caught his attention. In this game, where newcomers were hard to come by, he spotted a newbie player who had just cleared Chapter 1 and unlocked hunting mode.
“This looks fun.”
He smirked and immediately tried to connect to that location. After all, player invasions were allowed in hunting mode.
Consequently, most players would block it in their game settings, but those confident in their skills, or unwitting newbies, sometimes exposed themselves.
Even he had been thoroughly schooled by an external intruder clad in bizarre customization back during his clueless rookie days.
[World Entrance]
‘I should mess with them a bit before other players show up.’
As he observed his character suddenly in this unfamiliar world, a grin stretched across his face. He momentarily forgot his weary and monotonous reality, filled with anticipation for the amusing events that lay ahead.
His goal was to just toy with them a little before leaving. If he messed with them too long, there was a risk that the poor newbie would quit.
‘There it is.’
He ran towards the red dot marked on his minimap.
Waiting for him was a female knight standing firmly at the entrance of the castle. Staring at Riena, with her long dark hair tied back, he momentarily froze.
Her appearance on the monitor was so detailed that she looked like a real person rather than a mere customized character from a game.
However, no sane person would immediately suspect that what they were seeing was a real person in a game.
He was no different, quickly preparing for a fight. In fact, he paid more attention to her equipment, such as the weapon and armor she wore, than to her face.
‘Definitely a newbie.’
He saw Riena wielding a knight’s sword and was certain of her inexperience. In that case, there was no reason to hold back. There was no need for conversation; they could just enjoy it like any ordinary game, by fighting.
And just like that, his unrestrained charge began. Mixing in a forward roll, he closed the distance in no time. This burly muscle-bound warrior, a Berserker by class, swung the axe he was holding with all his might towards Riena.
“!?”
However, the axe, infused with incredible force, woefully cleaved through the air. Riena merely sidestepped it with a single quick step.
“Too sloppy.”
Riena quickly recognized the power and skill behind her opponent’s swing.
The power was explosive, like a character fine-tuned by a skilled player, but the technique was terrible. After all, the animated moves for the game were all scripted and overly elaborate to provide flashy impact for the player.
In terms of practicality, that strike resembled a form of dancing rather than martial arts, meaning Riena, who was used to dodging attacks all the time, would easily avoid it.
“What the heck? Why didn’t it hit?!”
Flabbergasted, he widened his eyes and unleashed a flurry of skills and attacks.
It was a combo that players had come up with, but as soon as Riena truly began to move, she effortlessly evaded and blocked everything, producing terrifying sounds of splitting air.
[Slash]
At that moment, with an opening created, she swung her sword towards him. Originally a downward stabbing skill, Riena adapted it to an upward motion, unleashing the attack.
‘What on earth is happening?’
Her attack landed, but the character only lost some HP. In other words, it still had plenty of fight left.
No matter how hard he tried to control the character, he couldn’t keep up with Riena’s swift and precise movements. Besides, if he exposed even the slightest weakness, a relentless barrage of attacks would follow.
Although he had played games and watched various videos, he had never witnessed such a skill combo. Even trying to guard was futile. Unlike the game’s monsters, Riena did not mindlessly strike at the guarded part; she went straight for the sides.
Before long, the HP of his character drained completely, collapsing to the ground, dead.
In front of him, unable to pull his hands from the keyboard, the gray screen remained, a lone skull floating above.