ALL NOVEL Chapter 42
Chapter 42 – The Wind of Change (2)
“There’s a guy named Garhan, the Wolf of the Rock Mountain. He’s been rapidly expanding his power around here by raiding and conquering… I’ve only heard of him, but I heard he has over a hundred warriors under his command now.”
“Raiders and conquerors pillaging around here. I think I know who you’re talking about.”
At the dramatic moment when Balun’s appropriate persuasion and Rakum’s resolution aligned, Rakum began to share what he knew with Balun, who was now an ally.
Upon hearing who the conqueror in the area was, Balun nodded, indicating that he knew who it was. Recently, they had personally attacked the raiders. The ones involved, including the shamans, were surely Garhan’s subordinates.
“Garhan, who subjugates numerous small tribes and expands his influence, won’t stop. He’ll certainly stretch further north and east. One day, he will strike here. And more displaced people like us will emerge.”
Rakum warned that Garhan, acting as a conqueror, would soon sweep through this area. Balun, who had experienced dealing with pieces of that wreckage, did not deny Rakum’s words.
Raiding conquerors springing up from everywhere would inevitably become a significant obstacle.
However, Balun had to respond to Rakum’s words. The question Rakum posed was essentially asking if they could properly protect themselves from such outside forces.
“No matter how many warriors they may mobilize or how they attack, we will win.”
“How can you say that? No matter how fertile the land is, we—”
Rakum could hardly comprehend Balun’s relaxed answer. What Rakum had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg. Balun hadn’t even begun to convey the kind of grace they were receiving.
“Like this?”
“Uh!? W-what is this!?”
But at that moment. Just as Rakum’s tribe members finished their hurried preparations to migrate, everyone on site suddenly floated into the sky.
Balun looked up at the astonished Rakum, who was pulled into the air along with him, and laughed heartily.
“He has accepted you all. Don’t be too scared; just let yourselves go.”
“W-wait! No one said anything about this!!”
The frightened Rakum let out a high-pitched scream that a leader or warrior shouldn’t be producing. But that scream quickly faded as they soared east toward the village.
‘About thirty at a time, I guess.’
With Rakum’s tribe now allied, Balun’s mouse control was activated, and he began dragging and clicking the residents to move across the screen without pause. Once he realized the efficiency of mouse control, there was no hesitance left.
From the desktop, Balun watched the tribe members flailing about in the sky and counted how many were being lifted.
Since there was a limit to how many he could move at once, he needed to transfer them five times using the mouse.
*
“It’s nice to save time. I feel a bit bad for those getting motion sick, though.”
After successfully persuading Rakum and achieving his goal, Balun was now waiting for them to finish packing up. Those among them, including the elderly and children, would have to trek for a day or perhaps even two to reach the village, but he had no intention of waiting that long.
As the hostilities and neutral relations dissolved and Rakum’s tribe became allies, Balun swiftly used the activated mouse control to transport them to the village in one go.
Although he could move thirty people at a time, it didn’t take long to finish the migration since he repeated the process a few times.
“—.”
“—, –!”
The new residents, dazed, gazed blankly at the village that had suddenly appeared before them. There were quite a few who were nauseous and struggling.
Nevertheless, they would soon become accustomed to it just like Balun and Riena did and would casually chat while dangling in the air.
‘I’ll leave the caring for the people to them.’
With over a hundred new residents arriving at once, it was only natural for it to be chaotic. However, Balun didn’t pay much mind. After all, it was the responsibility of those already there to comfort and teach them.
Once they found stability with the help of their seniors, Balun would investigate their talents and abilities to assign them appropriately.
What he was currently focusing on was how to encourage the residents to be more proactive in expanding their power, just as he had done today.
To that end, he was contemplating what kind of gift to send to Balun, the leader who shared similar thoughts with him.
‘What should I give?’
The problem was figuring out what to give and how.
When Balun gave him a gold ring, he had received it quite unintentionally. When they offered their spoils, the object transformed into a file, and he had simply chosen it, causing it to pop out from the monitor.
I reached out to touch the monitor, but nothing changed.
‘Maybe?’
With a hint of hope, he rummaged through his computer to find a file to send using the transmitter. The first thing he clicked on was a few photos in the picture file. Strangely, there were files that could be sent and those that couldn’t.
‘500P per use. Really unnecessarily expensive.’
Since the cost was not cheap, it wouldn’t be easy to send just anything.
The points were the sort of power that fueled the Master Program, and considering that the programs produced miraculous phenomena for the residents on the desktop, it was understandable why they were so pricey.
‘But it’ll definitely be needed, right?’
After a moment of contemplation, seeing the bustling residents on the screen led him to make a decision. In his opinion, this expenditure was essential.
The trust and commitment exhibited by the residents, including Balun, though he wasn’t seen as the capable and absolute being they thought, still required him to respond to that trust as a collaborator sharing a significant mission with them.
There was no need for something grand. No matter how extravagant a gift he prepared, it wouldn’t be nearly as impressive compared to what the programs he was using produced.
It seemed that symbolic value might be more important than functionality.
“Will this really work?”
Nervously, he opened the capture app and the internet browser simultaneously. He wasn’t using it for the residents, but rather to create an actual image file.
Later, what he found through internet searches were items that rulers used to strengthen their authority. Elaborate crowns, bronze mirrors, precious weapons, and so on.
The purpose of this gift was to show Balun his support, so he needed to give him something that would be beneficial.
‘A sword is better than a crown.’
He pondered between the crown and the sword but chose the sword. He wasn’t sure if a crown would hold any significance for them, who lived in a semi-nomadic lifestyle, but they certainly made use of swords.
Of course, it was no ordinary sword, as it was meant for a recognized leader. After all, a steel sword was now easy to obtain.
He found an image of a sword that looked elaborate and intricate, as if it could appear in a fantasy game, capturing it and turning it into a picture file.
With a straight white blade and overly intricate golden decorations, a large red gem was embedded in the guard, glimmering.
“It w-works.”
And so, his guess turned into reality. Pressing the send button along with the statement that file transmission was possible, the captured image of the sword from the internet was indeed sent.
To him, it was just a fragment of an image file. However, to those living in the desktop, it was something completely different.
He could see the gift he bestowed descending from the sky in a flash of light.
“—!”
Newly joined individuals, who were surprised to witness the castle being constructed from cubes of stone, along with the senior residents helping them settle down, were equally astonished, stumbling back in disbelief.
Balun, too, stared wide-eyed at the item that dropped from the sky and landed with a thud.
The reaction was great. As someone who put some thought into the gift, his laughter couldn’t help but slip out.
“–. —!”
Soon, Balun carefully approached the precious sword he had received. Others seemed to think that only their leader Balun had the right, as they stepped back and watched until he took the initiative.
‘Good.’
And Balun grasped it gently and raised it. He understood immediately why Balun had given it to him and, showing it high, impressed upon both the new arrivals and tribe members where his authority came from.
This was it. Now they would understand the meaning of what he had given and act upon it.
Of course, for now, they would return to the game, repeating the hard work of gathering resources and hunting monsters, but they would now be more proactive.
*
“It really happened. Of course, it was shocking enough just to have flown here.”
“He wishes for our prosperity. He surely hopes we grow more numerous and stronger, which is why he granted us such a reward. Do we have any reason to refuse it?”
As he expected, Rakum, who was with his tribe members, rushed to Balun with a face full of disbelief.
His voice was filled with excitement. Anyone would have such a reaction witnessing such an inexplicable divine sword descending from the sky.
Balun felt even more satisfied seeing Rakum, representing the new migrants, reacting this way. He knew better than anyone that the most essential thing in unifying tribes was the powerful authority and power.
Despite Balun’s own thoughts, he was not a ruler with formidable military might. However, behind him lay a force that no one could oppose, and that being acknowledged and empowered him.
“If the guardian deity truly protects us, there’s no reason to remain idle. We must take the initiative before others expand their powers.”
“Hmm?”
However, young and armed with fiery ambition, Rakum was more radical than Balun. If there was indeed the help of a transcendent being, he was confident that they could fight and win against the growing powers around them.
‘If we can, then we should.’
It was a good opportunity. Involving themselves voluntarily would be far more efficient than commanding them with an iron fist.
“Still, you must wait a moment. You never know if they might have other thoughts.”
Of course, in assigning individuals and investing, Balun was not the true number one. The real number one regarding that aspect was surely watching over them now, and Balun planned to step forward after arranging everyone according to his intentions.