ALL NOVEL Chapter 54
Chapter 54 – Collision (4)
“Ahem.”
As the sun began to rise, the residents stirred awake and started their daily tasks. Rasen, too, woke up and prepared for action.
Until now, he had assisted the adults with chores and secretly practiced his swordsmanship in his spare time, but things were different now.
He remained poised in the village, conserving his strength while suppressing the urge to puff out his chest and gently caressed his worn wooden staff.
According to plan, he would soon be moving to a mystical and grand castle to battle the monsters that dwelled there.
The thought of fighting for his life against foes was undeniably frightening, yet Rasen, who always wished to act cool like his older brother, felt an excitement that matched his fear.
Even though he had been learning not just sword skills but magic, which he realized was undeniably powerful. He had idolized warriors, believing their martial prowess to be the true strength, but now he found himself entranced by the destructive might of magic.
‘Now I’m a warrior too.’
Though he tried not to show it, pride bubbled within him. Moreover, not only was he awakening mana, but being chosen by the gods to become a mage also provided him substantial justification.
Now that new residents from the Northern Land had joined the village, Rasen felt an itch to be recognized by others.
“Wait. I’ll soon be acknowledged and will go there too.”
“What?”
In front of him stood Shura, armed and crossing the rift into the game world. Unable to resist, Rasen spoke to her first.
She was a girl of his age, but her skill and hunting ability had made her stronger than most warriors. Her presence was a significant shock and motivation for Rasen, having once brought him profound despair.
But now that he had gained the strength to catch up, it’s only natural for him to feel exhilarated. Catching up to Shura as she embarked on missions with Balun became Rasen’s new goal. However, Shura frowned, not understanding what he meant.
“It’s better not to get too excited. I heard you’ve only faced the wraith soldiers so far. The Soul Devourers and Wraith Knights are much stronger. You need to defeat them to obtain potions or gold coins to offer to the gods.”
“I’m… not excited.”
“I still think I’m lacking. The memory of that day hasn’t faded from my dreams. The countless enemies that attacked the village and killed my mom and dad. Even if I returned to that moment, could I really stop them?”
“…”
Understanding a bit of Shura’s situation, Rasen’s mouth twitched. She looked at him for a moment before turning back and leaving.
“Everyone has their own circumstances. If not, how would that child have endured such adversity? Don’t obsess over it, but don’t forget either.”
Rakum, who had been watching from a little distance, chuckled and patted Rasen on the back.
Perhaps having too many thoughts, Rasen wore a complicated expression even as he and Rakum were lifted into the air to move towards the hunting ground.
“There are new comrades joining us, and among them, there are those like Shura and Rasen with talents recognized by the gods. To awaken their talents, we need the blue orbs dropped by monsters.”
Shura, having exchanged short words with Rasen, arrived at the central plaza where Balun was waiting.
As soon as the armed Riena arrived, Balun opened his mouth with a serious expression. With new individuals joining, more resources were necessary.
And these resources were no longer just food or iron tools. They also included potions that could heal wounds and illnesses, and the Essence of Monsters that awakened mana and brought forth talents.
Everyone understood how significant it was for warriors with awakened mana to increase in numbers, so Balun paid special attention to the farming of monster essences.
“The village is a bit chaotic, but it can’t be helped. Let’s go.”
They crossed the rift and entered the game world to start their activities. Their first task was to ride out into the field and hunt boss monsters that dropped the Essence of Monsters.
“When it comes time to fight, Shura and I will step forward. Riena, conserve your strength as much as you can.”
“It won’t be too much of a burden.”
“It’s for our training as well. What’s important for you is working with the gods.”
While riding together, Balun advised Riena to save her strength. She couldn’t exactly refute his words since she would join him later in the afternoon.
“So your father thinks we need more warriors, right?”
“…At least twenty more. But since we’ve been blessed by the gods, we can manage with slightly fewer.”
Balun sighed softly at Riena’s question. The raiders who had devastated their village in the past had been strong and numerous.
Now, they likely either became stronger or got absorbed by an even more formidable force, continuing the cycle of plundering and war.
They were enemies as dangerous as the bugs, which appeared like a sort of natural disaster at any time. Balun expected to clash with them again someday, so he relentlessly pushed himself and his people to prepare for that encounter.
“Over there is the nest of those little goblins. It’d be embarrassing to show my face to the god for having only caught one after a whole day of hunting like yesterday, so I hope they come out.”
Soon, they discovered a goblin nest while searching for monsters.
The goblin shaman, the leader of those little terrors, was a boss monster that dropped the Essence of Monsters. Deciding to dismount and fight without injuring their horses, they approached the goblins without hesitation.
*
‘Field monsters aren’t much of a challenge anymore.’
Like a professional chart analyst, I shifted my gaze from Rasen and Rakum, who were hunting wraith soldiers to improve their skill proficiency, to Riena.
Having also fought the boss mob of the Dark Blood, Riena—along with Balun and Shura, who had graduated from hunting mode—found the field monsters to be relatively easy opponents.
Since the Essence of Monsters was a resource that could awaken mana for the residents, it made sense to hunt stronger monsters that dropped it at higher rates.
‘I need to open a path to the Underground World.’
To do that, I had to unlock a new map. The underground world literally existed beneath this game—deep down, far beyond where the residents were currently mining.
It couldn’t be penetrated without substantial stamina, and I needed to take the lead.
The problem was that reaching there required equipment superior to iron pickaxes. At least a titanium pickaxe was necessary, but despite numerous miners digging daily, I hadn’t seen one even once.
No matter how inefficient the miners were compared to me, it was clear that the master program had barred access to resources above titanium level.
Of course, the master program wasn’t intentionally restricting resources; it was likely due to unavoidable limitations. But I couldn’t help but feel this was a cap on what seemed an infinitely possible game.
[File Converter Recommendation]
“…?”
At that moment, while mindlessly fiddling with the folders on my computer, the master program finally offered a recommendation after a long while.
It was a program that transformed file types. I wondered why it recommended this now, yet until now, the master program’s suggestions had never been off the mark.
‘1000P’
Of course, payment was required. It wasn’t overly expensive for a basic program, but it wasn’t a small sum to consider lightly.
Ultimately, I paid the points and unlocked the converter. I was curious how it would work to assist me.
[Can convert Protection Armor or Hidden Cloak into Titanium Set]
“Huh?”
However, this program was quite straightforward.
It indicated that items obtained in the Dark Blood world, like the armor Riena was wearing, could be converted into the Titanium Set craftable items.
‘No, this is insane.’
Each item had only one conversion opportunity. That is, it suggested I transform farmed items from another world into usable resources.
My eyes wavered at the thought of a titanium pickaxe, but I quickly shook my head. The armor and hidden cloak Riena wore were special items earned from completing sub-quests. Given the action RPG nature that prioritized control skill over equipment stats, it was unlikely to acquire anything better than that.
It’d make more sense to search for something else. There seemed to be plenty of items available for conversion. It felt like I could convert almost everything.
[Dwarf’s Bracelet can be converted into Titanium Ingot]
“Whoa?”
In the midst of this, I caught a lead. While it wasn’t the full Titanium Set, at least it was an opportunity to obtain materials to craft a pickaxe.
The chosen item was the perplexing Dwarf’s Bracelet. I was certain I had never obtained such an item.
‘Could it be something gotten locally?’
Tracking information about the item, I saw an elderly man in my desktop wallpaper holding a trinket highlighted in red. The old man’s name was Teru.
He was a newly joined resident in the village with no special abilities. The file converter indicated it could turn the plain-looking metal bracelet he bore into a titanium ingot.
A completely unremarkable dark metal bracelet. The only peculiar point was its name, Dwarf’s Bracelet, but I had no way to understand why it was named that.
“I’m sorry.”
Muttering softly, I hesitated before moving the mouse to convert his bracelet. It might have been a precious item for him, but the urgency of the situation left me no choice.
“—?!”
Startled as his bracelet suddenly shone, he jumped up and screamed. Moments later, the bracelet turned into a hefty metal ingot and fell to the ground.
As he stood there, dumbfounded, he reached down to pick it up. I grabbed him with my mouse and transported him into the game world where my character awaited.
“—!! —!!”
“–?”
He yelled in fright at the sight of my character, made of square blocks, and tumbled over. Luckily, Balun and his group, nearby, ran over to calm him down.
With things having turned out this way, there wasn’t much I could do now. I gobbled up the titanium ingot he dropped and pulled out the crafting table from my inventory, placing it on the ground. As long as I had the materials, it would take less than a second to create.
‘Finally made it. Titanium Pickaxe.’
In the actual game, it was a rather easy item to obtain, but today was my first time getting one.