ALL NOVEL Chapter 51
Chapter 51 – Clash (1)
The special class that they call warriors. Not only are they exceptional in combat, but they are also superhumans who have awakened a special power known as Mana.
Their ability to handle multiple foes with a single hand has, since the beginning, brought a sense of order to this rough world.
“Are we really okay not to follow?”
“We have no choice if we want to move efficiently. Don’t worry too much.”
Chieftain Balun mounted his horse with Riena and Shura while telling the other residents to stay back. They could have all rushed together to hunt monsters, but that would mean they could not accomplish the essential tasks at hand.
Currently, all food production in the village relies entirely on this game world. Thanks to this, the villagers could focus on other tasks with their spare time and labor, so Balun needed to manage resource gathering activities as efficiently as possible.
“Honestly, there’s no need to worry too much. We only need to engage in the fights that are absolutely necessary. That’s what we’ve been preparing for all along.”
“Just yesterday, we fought and won against the Black Monsters. Don’t worry too much.”
With only three people galloping on horses, Balun reassured not just the others but himself too, reminding them that he had been honing his skills in constant battle against horrifying monsters in this grim dark fantasy game for a moment like this.
Of course, even without his encouragement, Riena and Shura were unshaken. Riena, as well as Shura, had continued to gather utterly ridiculous experiences compared to their age or awakening period, training themselves in preparation for this.
“This place looks good.”
After exiting the bomb shelter that served as their stronghold on the plains, Balun stopped his horse and raised his staff.
He wasn’t heading out to battle monsters without a plan; he activated his skill to find the optimal conditions for victory.
“Wow.”
Both Riena and Shura were amazed, having never seen that skill before, which was part of Balun’s druid abilities — transformation.
As Balun transformed into a black raven, he soared into the sky from atop his horse and began scanning the area with his eyes.
‘I need to find monsters we can deal with.’
In this world, there are boss mobs like the troll chief or wyverns, so Balun sought out strong-looking monsters that the three of them could handle while also dropping the Essence of Monster.
It didn’t take long to find. A special bear monster appeared right next to them in the forest terrain.
“There! Let’s go!”
Balun quickly returned to his horse and led the group towards the location of the enemy. The massive black bear, formed of angular blocks, had noticed them and began to creep closer according to its scripted behavior, but the moment they got within a certain distance, that fierce-looking, stupid square face transformed radically, letting out a huge roar before charging at them.
*
‘Entrusting the hunt to Balun was the right decision. There’s no need for me to step in now.’
The incessant exploration and hunting. Warriors led by Balun were diligently hunting the monsters that appeared in the field and gathering the Essence of Monster without my intervention.
Fighting the monsters that poured forth endlessly in Dark Blood’s hunting mode was merely for the residents to train their newly acquired powers through class transitions. The experience and strength gained there would be rightfully spent in a hunting field where rewards could be obtained.
‘I should let them take a little break.’
After half a day of continuous hunting, I looked at those who were farming at the stronghold and saw them resting. I decided to start some necessary work with my character.
With the increased population, I needed to expand the farmland for food production, so I demolished the raised wall, widened the site, and planned to plant the seeds of newly acquired fruit trees, fertilizing and rapidly growing them.
Now, the new residents who joined here had become so familiar with me that they merely bowed their heads in greeting even if they were working alongside me, with hardly any of the extreme reactions they had before; I too nodded back when they greeted me.
“There shouldn’t be an issue with food.”
After swiftly collecting the stone blocks haphazardly mined by the miners and completing the wall extension, I admired the farmers with the harvest of ripe grains.
Compared to actual farming, the speed of cultivation and harvest was nonsensical. Overwhelming food production from a small number of people and area. And with the resulting surplus labor, it seemed the game was precisely what I needed for managing the group.
‘Riena seems to be overflowing with ease. I should let Balun and Shura rest.’
Having swiftly wrapped up the day’s tasks, I opened a capture app to check on their conditions one by one.
Though they possessed the stamina of superhumans, they weren’t game characters, so feeling fatigued from continuous battles was an unavoidable reality.
Balun and Shura decided to conclude today’s activities, while Riena, in relatively good shape, resolved to tackle Chapter 2 of Dark Blood together later.
However, before that, there was something to do. It involved using the spoils harvested today to create ‘new warriors.’
With that in mind, I approached the startled Balun and waved my arms while poking him to hand over the essence we farmed today.
“–, —!”
Balun, who had stepped back in surprise, seemed to understand my intent and soon hurriedly produced the Essence of Monster from his belongings and handed it to me.
Although they must have hunted all day, only one essence had been obtained. Indeed, the drop rate for the field bosses, which were the lowest tier, was abysmal. To gather more Essence of Monster, they would need to venture into the Underground World, Inverted World, or Void World and defeat higher-tier bosses residing there.
“Let’s see…”
While glancing at Balun, who was rubbing the arm I had poked, I opened a document file I had previously organized.
The file contained records of each resident I had captured earlier, examining and documenting their information.
Each of them possessed various traits, but unfortunately, I lacked the resources to unlock all of them. I planned to prioritize awakening the most promising and necessary talents first.
‘What a pity.’
Everyone, regardless of age or gender, had at least one talent. Some talents were related to combat. If only I could awaken all of them.
It seemed the ratio of warriors who had awakened Mana was not very high. We had a way to artificially increase that ratio.
“Is this the one?”
Like a coach scouting promising players, I carefully scanned the list and found someone I had noted previously.
Interestingly, there was a boy named Rasen who possessed the trait of [Magic].
Seeing Shura, of a similar age, adapt and diligently excel, I decided to awaken this boy with the monster essence we obtained.
“—!?”
I released Balun and Shura from the game setup to let them rest and recuperate their spent stamina, while I picked up Rasen, who was outside tending to the horses with the adults, to place him in the game.
He was immediately mouse-lifted and dropped into a new location, appearing before my character with a pale face, holding feed meant for a horse.
“–. –!”
Riena, the remaining one, understood the situation and approached first, soothing the boy with a gentle smile. Judging by his wide, trembling eyes, he still seemed tense, but he looked a little calmer after hearing an explanation.
‘Sorry about this.’
In truth, I had no idea what this child was thinking. I didn’t know what he had wanted or whether he had wished to have his talent forcefully awakened in this manner.
But I had no choice. All I could hope for was that he would grow strong enough to overcome his fear and shine, just like when I had burdened Shura.
[Tribe Member Rasen]
[Trait: Magic]
[Setup: Sandbox Crafting]
As the monster essence slipped from my hand into Rasen’s, it became his strength, awakening his latent trait.
Just like when I awakened Riena’s martial arts trait, awakening would lead to realizations on his part as well. The intense energy radiating from within him.
Rasen felt it too, and his eyes widened in amazement.
‘I’ll slot Riena into Chapter 2, and place Rakum and Rasen in hunting mode to wrap things up.’
After awakening Rasen, I was busily moving the rest of the characters around. Since Balun and Shura had achieved a kind of graduation, I sent the Rakum brothers in to be turned and trained.
Still, with two warriors left, I had to tackle Chapter 2 and unlock its hunting mode.
If not, I could open a new game and place characters there.
However, even managing two games was already consuming much of my attention, and opening one more didn’t seem plausible unless it was due to an uncontrollable surge in numbers.
‘They all react similarly.’
Meeting the brothers in the knight characters of Dark Blood, they displayed reactions reminiscent of Balun and Shura’s initial arrival in this place.
They had been briefly briefed by Balun, yet their responses were still this intense. I pointed out the weapons they could use to attain their class, with a glimmer of caution in their mixed gazes of wariness and awe.
For Rakum, who had always been a warrior from the start, it didn’t matter which weapon he chose. Only Rasen, endowed with magical talent, needed to select a staff to become a mage.
“-, –!?”
As Rasen reached for the sword, following his brother, I quickly jumped in front of him.
Seeing my action startled Rasen badly, and as he staggered, I pointed repeatedly at the magician’s staff while repeatedly sitting and standing.
‘Good.’
Finally, when Rasen grasped the magician’s staff with trembling hands, everything proceeded smoothly from there. While Rasen was a complete novice compared to Shura, who had absorbed the player essence and vastly increased his experience, he’d be fine with the mature warrior, his brother Rakum, by his side.
“Busy, busy.”
With a mirthless chuckle, I immediately logged out and returned to Riena, who was waiting in the city of Chapter 2.
Even now, with just a handful of individuals, it was overwhelming. If the numbers increased further, it would be impossible for me to attend to everyone individually.