A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter

43 – The Wind of Change (3)

“What are you staring at blankly for, Rasen?”

“Oh, nothing…”

After a mutual agreement and the merger, and following the commotion of the divine sword descending from the sky, it was the first dinner for Rakum’s tribe as they joined the village.

Despite it being a hearty meal made of rich grains and high-quality meat, Rasen, Rakum’s younger brother who had yet to shed his boyhood, was distracted and couldn’t focus on the meal.

“Isn’t it fortunate? Honestly, I was worried about when the raiders would attack.”

The middle-aged man next to him, seemingly oblivious to Rasen’s thoughts, laughed heartily as he devoured his food.

‘No matter what, seeing my older brother bow down without a fight…’

In reality, very few could understand Rasen’s feelings right now. He was dissatisfied that his brother Rakum submitted to Baron without putting up a decent resistance.

Though Baron generously accepted Rakum’s tribe, he certainly didn’t share his authority. The chief was just Baron. Now that they were one, Rakum became an executive member rather than a leader of his own tribe.

Of course, Rasen understood that Rakum made the most efficient and wise choice as a chief, considering their circumstances and negotiation terms. He was just behaving like the hot-headed boy he was.

His usual pride in his older brother made it even more pronounced.

“Enemy! Black Monster!”

The sudden clamor arose just as they were finishing their meal.

Despite not hearing any commotion from the surroundings, the village people urgently shouted about an enemy ambush, leaving Rasen and the other newcomers in a state of shock.

“B-brother!”

“Rasen! Get to safety!”

Rakum, now a member of this tribe, sprang into action, preparing for battle. Watching the dazed villagers run around, Rasen hesitated for a moment before cautiously moving to the outskirts of the village to find out what was happening.

‘W-what is that?’

Thanks to this, Rasen saw what had attacked the village. It was not some bandit. It wasn’t even a beast or monster typically seen on the grassland.

It was a gigantic black monster or bug. Anyone who had just joined, like Rakum’s tribe members, could only think of it as a new kind of monster. As if they were familiar, the villagers naturally grabbed their weapons and charged.

“Chief, what on earth are these monsters!?”

“Black Monsters… they are the monsters that exist in this land. We must fight them.”

Having engaged in a sudden struggle against the glitch creatures, Rakum, with a pale face, asked Baron. Finally, Baron began informing Rakum and the newly joined tribe members about the glitches and bugs.

“To think we have to fight such monsters. That’s…”

“Isn’t it unreasonable to gain such blessings from him without paying any price?”

Just as they were almost done repelling the suddenly appearing glitches, Rakum, caught off guard by this information, was met with Baron shaking his head as if to say it was no problem. He wasn’t wrong.

A divine sword falling from the sky, arriving at its destination in an instant through unknown powers—there were undoubtedly benefits, and the world works on the principle that there’s a cost for every gain.

“Young chief. Think well. Beyond simply fighting the monsters, consider what we can gain from this fight. After all, it’s the same no matter where you go.”

Baron cleverly dangled a carrot in front of Rakum, wary he might decide to leave again. The indication of a cost meant there would be something to earn after paying that cost.

Rakum was also a warrior who revered strength. If he heard about the power that breaks rules and makes warriors stronger, he couldn’t remain unmoved.

“I understand well what you mean.”

“He wouldn’t overlook a warrior like you. He would surely grant you a special power, so if you accept it, you must fulfill your duty.”

Eventually, Rakum calm his confusion and decided to fight. Even if he wanted to reverse the decision to join now, he had no place left to run.

“They’ve appeared over there too! They’re heading to the village!”

But this situation did not end with just one ambush. Enemies also appeared at the northern point, away from where the soldiers were fighting to the west of the village.

“W-what! Quickly, return to the village!”

Shocked, Baron hurriedly instructed the warriors and soldiers to go back. He had not anticipated that they would launch successive ambushes from completely different directions.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Grinding his teeth, Baron raised the staff in his hand against the glitches already attacking the village. Normally, he would have swiftly dealt with them at the site of the problem, but his powers remained silent now. There was more than enough reason to suspect his control wasn’t functioning against glitches or bugs.

“It’s the chief’s magic!”

“Protect the people! Quick, get to safety!”

Soon, one of the Druid’s skills activated—thorn vines shot up from the ground, striking the tentacles of the glitches that charged toward the villagers and wrapping around them.

Fortunately, the soldiers were not too late. Just before the glitches could inflict damage, they dove in and successfully defended the village again.

“Ugh, ughh…”

There were certainly moments of crisis. Just before the soldiers rushed back.

Facing a glitch that infiltrated the village, Rasen took up a sword only to falter as he came face to face with the monster.

It was not merely a simple monster. It exuded an air of emptiness as if it were not a living being, an embodiment of the void itself. Having admired his older brother, the tribe’s greatest warrior, and diligently trained with his sword, the sight of a real enemy left Rasen hesitant.

“Get out of the way.”

Just as the tentacle of the glitch lunged at the petrified Rasen in fear—

He was saved by a girl who dashed past him.

Her daggers glimmering red in her hands, she vanished in an instant only to reappear behind the shattered corpse of the enemy. Shura, a seemingly ordinary girl who awakened her talent in a special manner, had now showcased her skills honed from hunting undead monsters in the game.

‘Unbelievable.’

Rasen sat down, entranced by the image of Shura, who had already reached the level of a mature warrior. It was a sight that completely defied common sense.

*

“Wow, what a mess.”

It seemed that the urgent incidents had come to an end, and during that short time, the world inside the monitor had turned into a disaster.

The villagers who fought during the glitch attack were now busy cleaning up. It appeared one house had collapsed as they penetrated into the village.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no dead. There were a few injured, but no one had severe injuries that my vaccine program couldn’t treat.

‘Indeed, it’s impossible for me to keep watching constantly.’

Sitting back down in my chair, I watched the expanded screen, my face stern.

In the past, I would have blamed myself for not being able to hold my ground, but now my thoughts had shifted a bit.

It is impossible for me to remain seated in front of the monitor for even one second without taking a break. Even if I quit my job as I would wish, the same goes for that.

I’m a living person; I need to sleep, go to the bathroom, and cannot entirely ignore social activities. Trying to supervise everything while amassing my presence is fundamentally an unreasonable venture.

‘Designing them to overcome on their own.’

From everything I’ve experienced so far in this bizarre program, looking at the intentions of the Master Program reveals everything connects to a single point: to develop and cultivate the guardian residents, making them strong both collectively and individually.

Like unlocking constraints one step at a time to enhance auto-mode. As I grow more attached to them, my worries increase, but if I try to do it all, I’ll be the one who collapses first.

‘But now that I can breathe a bit…’

Though my role seems very important now, in reality, the more the residents flourish, the less I have to do. Merging with other tribes to increase numbers is fundamentally the purpose of it all.

I deleted the glitch attack from my mind that was as trivial as level 1 and continued with the tasks I was doing before stepping away.

That task was gathering and recording all the information on the residents, including the newly joined members. People possess diverse talents.

Even if that talent is buried due to lacking innate mana or missing the opportunity for awakening, there’s no need to worry. I can awaken those talents.

‘Miners, farmers, woodcutters, transporters, martial skills, spear skills… quite a lot.’

There are numerous talents. Some can awaken themselves, while others can only awaken within the context of a game connected to the Master Program.

‘Prioritize transporters and warriors.’

Among those talents, I determined there were some with priority. For instance, transporters like Morin, who looks set to build a castle alone, or warriors who will have to fight enemies.

Fortunately, a few of the newly joined seemed to possess such talents. I rearranged placements to enable them to awaken their abilities as a priority.

The essence of monsters is necessary to awaken those without mana, so I also needed to hunt periodically.

“—.”

There was a glitch attack, but it seemed the newcomers, guided by seniors like Baron, didn’t attempt to flee.

As I prepared to return to work after the weekend, I watched them pursuing their tasks without worries.

Now that the system for the residents’ activities had somewhat settled, as long as unexpected variables don’t arise, when I return from work, I should simply resolve the few problems that have accumulated as if playing a game idly.

It seems I’ve established a certain cycle now.

“Things are going well.”

Finally, I took out my phone and opened an app. The app that allows me to check and control my PC via my phone connected successfully, allowing me to look down at the desktop.

If something urgent arises, I could check it this way.

Not abandoning my work at the company comes from my greed for the job I’ve fought hard to obtain, but if I determine that balancing both isn’t possible… I probably will quit.

Anyway, what’s unfolding on the desktop is more important right now. There’s also the fact that it’s possible to profit from the spoils yielded by residents.

Initially, it was just a single gold ring, but as their forces grow and their operational scope expands, the spoils collected will inevitably increase.