ALL NOVEL Chapter 44
Chapter 44 – The Wind of Change (4)
“Is that what it meant to be divided?”
As Balun delayed giving some instruction to them, Rakum, who couldn’t understand that action, realized its meaning by morning.
As Balun stated, it wasn’t up to them to choose what kind of mission would be assigned to them.
“It was all true. There really is a world made of square boxes!”
“If you cross the bizarre crack in the center of the village, it truly leads to another world.”
Those placed there by ‘choice’ all bore expressions of disbelief as they testified about what they had seen.
Their reactions were no different from the seniors who had experienced those events much earlier.
“Those worlds are our secret and blessing.”
“Now it all makes sense.”
As Balun grinned, Rakum nodded blankly.
Having learned about the abundant resources of Balun’s tribe and the secrets of genius warriors like Shura, Rakum sincerely marveled.
If all of this were true, then fighting against unknown monsters while protecting this place certainly made sense. He thought it was worth the risk.
After all, they were all wanderers who had left their homes. They were steeling themselves.
“So, do we continue living here as planned?”
“Looking at your face, it seems like you really want to, Rasen. You didn’t seem too fond of it at first.”
Rasen, Rakum’s younger brother who had previously been uncomfortable, had also changed his mind. Rakum couldn’t help but chuckle at how obvious it was.
“If I could gain his recognition…” Rasen tensed and averted his gaze. From Rasen’s perspective, the power Shura had displayed last night was shocking. Especially hearing that Shura had originally been an ordinary girl without mana like himself, he had developed a longing to become that strong.
“Good.”
Balun felt satisfaction seeing that. After all, those who joined after learning the truth might have felt burdened and tried to leave.
Yet contrary to Balun’s expectations, the weak who had nowhere else to go decided to stay and fight together for appropriate rewards.
“We don’t have time to waste. It’s already been confirmed that the raiders and the Black Monsters are continuing to grow stronger.”
“If so, what should I do?”
“Well, if my guess is correct, he will call us around afternoon. So until then, you should do something productive instead of idling about.”
Balun pointed to the horses that had been brought into the stable in response to Rakum’s question about what to do.
“Riena, you probably felt it, but the monsters appearing are becoming more powerful.”
“That’s right. We have no idea what kind of creatures will come next.”
“As long as they keep getting stronger, we cannot afford to stand still.”
Balun spoke to Riena with a serious face while on his horse. Although they couldn’t see the status screen, those fighting knew their opponents were getting stronger.
The lv 2 and lv 3 glitches were not only larger but also much more powerful compared to the lv 1 glitch. Moreover, the number of monsters appearing was on the rise as well.
The glitches that could have been easily dealt with were akin to mere babies compared to the bugs they failed to stop due to one fleeting mistake last time.
If time continued to pass this way, who knows what would happen.
Of course, as the enemies grew stronger, they too had been getting stronger, equipping themselves or increasing the number of awakened warriors. However, they had still yet to deal with the Bug Nest that appeared near the village.
“So, I thought we should use our time efficiently.”
Balun had already grasped a certain pattern through his experiences. They were not spending all their time in the game’s world, so during the remaining time, he had given instructions to the people of his own accord.
Now, he intended to scout around on horseback, which was another aspect of that plan.
“According to Rakum’s testimony, many more tribes are coming from the east where we are. We need to find them before they fall under another power.”
Gathering dozens of soldiers on horseback, Balun assigned reconnaissance missions to all including himself.
The goal was to find other refugees who had arrived here, like Rakum’s tribe. Until now, they had been too strained just defending their village to even scout around, but as their numbers grew, they found the capacity to take initiative.
“This isn’t just my decision. Do you see this? Every bit of this is His will.”
Balun held up the blessed sword he had received. It was just an intricately designed, inefficient sword, but its symbolism was firmly imprinted in everyone’s mind.
With that renewed resolution, they soon scattered in all directions.
*
“Hmm…”
As late afternoon settled, I sat in front of the monitor. While I believed the residents’ autonomous actions were important, it seemed that those who had grasped my intentions based on the blessed sword I gifted them had become even more proactive than I had expected.
Balun and Riena included, they had spread in various directions for the purpose of reconnaissance, requiring me to scroll through multiple screens to find them.
Dozens of achievement unlocked messages popped up. Those messages were notifications that they had discovered new areas for the first time.
‘I can’t believe they just went without thinking.’
The teams that separated in all directions looked like they wouldn’t return for ages. If they had genuinely set out to scout the surrounding geography, it would be unreasonable to expect them back in a day. Considering they took provisions, it was clear they were prepared to camp.
However, it seemed doubtful that Balun would recklessly go out for reconnaissance without knowing I would call them back into the game.
He trusted me to go that far.
‘Smart, aren’t they?’
Smiling slightly, I positioned them in the game from that spot. Since it was my job to place them in the game, their locations wouldn’t constrain me in the least.
“—.”
Seeing Balun’s reaction to the sudden change of location as if he expected it only confirmed my prediction.
“—?!”
“—!”
Of course, the three were important assets, and the remaining reconnaissance team could have been put in danger.
In fact, those moving with Riena had shown no particular reaction to Riena’s disappearance, but when a large two-headed bear sprang from the nearby bushes to threaten them, they panicked and drew their weapons.
[Activate Desktop Smash]
But now, I wouldn’t just have to watch quietly from behind the screen anymore. Using the points gained from the achievements that the residents unlocked, I had finally activated one of the programs I had seen before.
It had been years since I attempted this after graduating elementary school. While it was amusing when I was younger, I hadn’t even glanced at this childish toy since then, yet it was now a powerful weapon for me.
‘A hammer?’
True to the Master Program’s limitations, the only thing currently available was a single hammer. When clicked with the mouse, it would swing a hammer that smashed the screen.
Still, this seemed sufficient for now. I raised the hammer that followed my mouse and brought it down right on the head of the beast threatening the residents.
“Ha.”
I sighed at the ensuing sight. Normally, the visual effect of cracking the desktop should have appeared, but the hammer I swung was a little different.
In literal terms, a massive hammer fell from the sky and smashed the monster’s body. The citizens witnessing the splattering of blood and entrails up close, as well as I myself, couldn’t help but be astonished and blink at the scene.
‘Good.’
Still dazed, I clicked repeatedly, and the heavy hammer thudded down on the ground repeatedly, turning the monster’s corpse into a pulp and shaking the ground beneath it.
The next emotion I felt after surprise was reassurance. It felt as though I finally found a proper way to deal with the crazy monsters spilling into reality.
‘The number of residents has increased, and I have secured some firepower. Now, all I need to do is proceed as planned. I should feel much safer once I buy a fire wall.’
Considering I was caught up in something I didn’t understand, I confidently felt I was progressing diligently, even though I wasn’t particularly skilled at games despite enjoying them.
After confirming that there were no significant issues on the other side, I placed my hands on the keyboard to continue with the tasks involving Riena and the others.
If things went as planned, I would be able to clear Chapter 2 and level up within a few days. Once that happened, it would be possible to grant professions and skills to newly joined warriors like Rakum.
[Message Registered]
“Huh?”
However, at that moment, an entirely unexpected message popped up. The message reported by the Master Program was none other than a notification from the user manual.
My thoughts froze for a moment. It was impossible to predict why an alert had gone off there.
As I suddenly stopped, Riena looked at me with a bewildered expression, but after conveying with ‘shhh’ to ask her to wait a moment, I opened the user manual affected by the Master Program.
-I’m reaching out. Do you happen to know about all of this?
A message had arrived there. It was a reply to a post I had left on the user community just in case.
‘New user!’
The moment I saw that, I shuddered and held my breath. A new user, who I had no idea when they would appear, had suddenly emerged.
It was obviously something that would happen since I never thought I would be alone from start to finish, but when the situation arose, it was quite unsettling.
‘How do I approach this?’
My fingers on the keyboard wiggled erratically. It was difficult to decide how to speak to someone I didn’t even know.
We were certainly not enemies, but I also didn’t want to reveal too much about myself hastily.
“While we are in the same situation, I’m not completely in the dark. Do you have any issues during the program’s progress?”
-There’s no way there aren’t problems. Monsters are trying to burst out of the monitor, and people are fighting inside.
I cautiously initiated conversation, and a reply came right away. Even though it was just text, I could somehow feel the emotions the other party was experiencing.
Anxiety, fear, and so on. It felt like I was looking back at myself just after the bugs tried to break out of the monitor.
“Please remain calm. Anyway, judging by our chatting, it seems you’ve managed somehow.”
-We managed to catch the monsters, but… too many people have died. If those monsters keep coming, we’ll never win. How can we assist them? Even following the Master Program’s recommendations, they are too strong.
‘Many have died?’
After chatting a bit, there was something off. The bugs, being lv 1, were indeed formidable foes that the residents struggled hard to defeat.
“By any chance, do you have something like a game installed?”
Feeling an instinctive urge, I brought up the game. If various applications were aiding the situations between the residents, the games could be a direct means of empowerment for them.