A Village Has Appeared on My Desktop

13 – The Beginning of Progress (3)

The game seems to have changed in a strange way. That’s what I’ve been feeling from the beginning. Since the residents of the desktop started coming under the influence of the master program, it may have been a necessary measure.

It’s similar to adjusting two different worlds. The fact that all the items the residents encounter are transformed into reality is evidence of that. The iron sword item becomes a real iron sword, and the stone block becomes real stone.

Thanks to this, there were adjustments in various aspects, resembling a kind of balance patch. The residents who returned to the game world don’t have HP, and the minerals that should normally be more abundant have become a bit scarcer.

And such adjustments might be more in areas I still don’t know, like the AI of mediocre monsters, for instance.

“I should check it out, as expected.”

Before taking on Rienna and one of the boss monsters, the Cave Goblin Shaman, I took the initiative to see if there were any differences in the game, especially concerning the shaman.

All the monsters facing Rienna transform from shoddy game monsters made of angular blocks into lifelike creatures resembling real monsters.

Monsters like Werewolves and Cave Gnomes that I’ve encountered so far showed no noticeable changes, but it might be different for boss-level monsters.

“—?”

“Speed Boost Potion.”

I handed her a potion from my inventory, looking tense. It was a potion I had concocted separately from the loot brought in by the residents, mixing herbs obtained specifically for this purpose.

When used, it increases movement speed for a certain period. In reality, at this point, it was an extremely rare item, as I had only managed to create one, but I intended to use it on Rienna as a precautionary measure.

“—?!”

I tossed the potion bottle directly to her, confusing her. When using it on someone else, this was the way to administer it; there was no other choice.

With a clattering sound, she startled and promptly chugged the potion. Seeing her wide-eyed expression, it seemed she was greatly surprised by my actions.

However, that was the end of the commotion. Seemingly feeling the effects of the potion spreading on her body, she looked down at herself with a dazed expression, moving her arms.

“I’ve done everything I can now.”

In a tense state, I began breaking the stone blocks blocking the passage with a pickaxe.

Though I was just sitting quietly playing a game in my room, this game, unlike any other game I had played, was more tense and immersive.

[Cave Goblin Shaman]

“…!”

As soon as the passage opened, as if waiting for us to appear since the moment it got blocked, the shaman, unique with its characteristic wailing, reacted immediately and approached us.

“I’ll take care of the small fry.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the cave goblin sorcerer blew the horn flute. It was the sound summoning the cave goblin minions around. Hoping that Liena understood my intention, I raised my sword and charged toward the oncoming horde of cave goblin underlings.

As they struck my character, I swung my sword relentlessly, taking them down one by one without flinching at the cost of my HP.

“Good.”

Fortunately, it seemed Liena understood my intention. While attracting the aggro of dozens of underlings, I observed her charging straight at the goblin sorcerer, skillfully battling amidst the chaotic swings of her sword.

“—!”

Despite my worries, she had proven herself a warrior several times over. Looking more formidable and slender than me, she faced the goblin sorcerer, who unleashed magic as a real monster, without yielding, wielding her sword and shield.

‘I can do this.’

It seemed the speed-boosting potion I gave her was helping. As the goblin sorcerer, in a spine-chilling voice I had never heard in the game, screamed and swung, the ground shook, and sharp stone spears erupted towards her.

Reacting swiftly, Liena twisted her body in mid-air, evading all of them with incredible reflexes.

The bewildered sorcerer tried summoning thick pillars to block her path, but in an instant, she shattered them with her glowing blue sword and struck the sorcerer with her shield.

The crouched sorcerer, in a fit, unleashed shockwaves, all of which missed her, and in return, she struck the sorcerer’s body with the sword she held.

‘Missed?’

However, her blow only slightly grazed the sorcerer, piercing through one leg instead of the chest. While I should quickly follow up with another attack, in my surprise, I found myself unconsciously moving my fingers towards her.

It was because one of the cave goblin sorcerer’s final attack patterns was about to activate, spewing towards her.

No matter how well-equipped and sturdy Liena was, I couldn’t guarantee that she could withstand a direct hit from that. “No, this is insane.”

And my intuition was right. The moment I pushed her away and took the hit of that spear-like attack, my character died, and the respawn screen appeared.

Even though I was wearing armor, dying in one hit from such an attack was absurd—almost like a bug or something.

“Ugh…!”

At the moment he blocked the mage’s powerful attack with his own body. Reina, pushed back, fell to the ground, clutching her backside in pain.

“No, this can’t be!”

However, there was no time to feel the pain. Right before her eyes, his body burst open with a bang, scattering the items he possessed in all directions, and they disappeared.

In a panic, Reina quickly got up and beheaded the mage. However, even as she achieved the feat and the mage’s head left his body, he did not return.

The remaining cave goblin remnants were also defeated in vain. Gasping for breath, Reina could only stare at the items scattered on the ground with eyes full of disbelief.

“Ah…”

She was speechless. Her mind was so blank that thinking became difficult.

In this world, he had shown unimaginable power, so she never expected him to die all at once like this.

And all for her sake.

With trembling hands, she reached out to the items on the ground, but couldn’t bring herself to touch them.

“No!”

However, at that moment, someone appeared behind her and smacked her on the back.

Collapsed forward, she quickly raised her sword and aimed at the surprise attacker from behind.

‘Ah.’

But right after that, she slowly lowered her sword with a blank face. The one who hit her back was none other than Respawn, who had rushed in as soon as he respawned.

‘Luckily, he ran here before the items disappeared. Whew.’

‘A being transcending even death…!’

Of course, the feelings in the hearts of the two as they looked at each other were slightly different. While she remained frozen, he, taking advantage of her fixation, collected all of his items scattered on the ground.

Among them were items dropped by the cave goblin mage.

[Essence of the Shaman: Granting Shaman Characteristics]

“Was this kind of thing originally in the game?”

As Rieena stared blankly, he sighed after reading the description of the item he had acquired.

The black, dot-marked item was not originally part of the game. From the beginning, the item description was more explicit.

“Let’s all head back. Our stamina is limited, and the time is up.”

“Come to think of it, where did that person and Rieena go… Oh, there they come.”

The underground plaza that the miners had turned into a kind of resting place. In front of the piles of ore, they waited for Rieena, catching their breath.

Rieena, who appeared just then, seemed to be in a somewhat strange state of mind. Similarly, the person who came with her only urged them to absorb all the ore the miners had left behind and return to the shelter.

“It seems like you went deeper. What happened?”

“It did.”

On the way back, Kun cautiously asked Rieena. She nodded with a weary smile in response to his question.

As she led the way, she quietly recounted what she had experienced. The fight with the goblin shaman underground and his sacrifice. And even his return to life.

Naturally, the residents who heard this story were agitated. Unable to imagine the true nature of this world, they couldn’t take dying and coming back to life lightly.

“You’ve worked hard today… Why is everyone in such a mood?”

The atmosphere continued until they arrived at the shelter and were greeted by Barun.

Rieena also shared this story with her father, Barun.

“Hmm, it’s certainly an astonishing event. But think carefully. Wouldn’t it be strange if something extraordinary didn’t happen in the current situation?”

“T-That’s true.”

“It’s actually something to be glad about. The fact that the one helping us is an immortal being.”

Barun approached the situation from a slightly different angle than Rieena and the other tribe members. Thanks to that, he could show a response of approval.

“We’ll stop helping him once we get what we need. Today, Kishan gained the strength to skillfully cut down trees.”

Especially Barun was pleased because he would send away those who couldn’t understand his concerns and acquire abilities, continually testing new individuals.

“If everyone who comes here gains such strength, I won’t need to come here anymore. When that happens, the ones remaining must lead well, especially you, Riena.”

Barun, for the sake of the tribe, had thoughts of leaving even if he didn’t gain any special abilities here.

Now, although he was supposed to take charge of the newcomers, if all eight of them acquire abilities, for maximum efficiency, those like him who didn’t acquire abilities would just be a burden.

“Hmm?”

But contrary to Barun’s thoughts, things began to take a different turn.

Now, preparing to return to the village and about to use the portal, Barun’s path was unexpectedly blocked by him.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

Barun startled, quickly prostrating himself on the ground. Others did the same. Thanks to this, they couldn’t see the black bead in his hand.

‘Mining attributes, martial arts attributes, they don’t overlap with attributes like Barun’s leadership?’

But right now, he wasn’t paying attention to the residents who were prostrated. Instead, he was reading the instructions for the item in his hand.