12 – The Beginning of Progress (2)
“What in the world are those monsters? I’ve never seen or even heard of such creatures in my entire life!”
“We don’t know either. It’s just a guess that they might have appeared here since ancient times.”
Those who had just joined the group were seeing glitches for the first time. In fact, many of the existing residents had never seen glitches either.
These creatures were unlike any ordinary monsters, from their bizarre appearance to their black exoskeletons and tentacles. Unlike the creatures they were familiar with, which could at least be called living beings, glitches gave off an alien sensation.
“Are arrows useless?!”
They shot arrows at them with their bows, but even when the arrows hit, the creatures, with the arrows stuck in their exoskeletons, continued to advance without flinching.
While the other residents were bewildered, Rienna bit her lip. The situation was unfolding just like before. Eventually, to properly eliminate them, they had to get close and break their bodies.
“We can do this. Everyone, charge!”
In the end, she stepped forward first, wielding her sword and shield, and dashed ahead. If they had to fight, she intended to do so further away from the village before any harm was done.
It wasn’t a reckless charge. In the previous battle, she had allowed the enemy’s blow to injure her, but this time, she had sturdy armor to protect herself.
The others followed her without hesitation, less hesitant due to the presence of reliable weapons and protective gear.
“Ugh…”
Soon, she, who had rushed ahead, collided with the leading glitch. In response to the attacking tentacles, she grimaced, swung her sword to cut through them, and raised her shield to block them.
The dizzying onslaught of tentacles was challenging, but she was skilled as she had experienced it before. Above all, she had honed her skills by battling monsters in the game for the past few days.
“Ah!”
“Stick together! Pierce through them together!”
The real problem, however, was the other residents, nearly ten of them crowded around each glitch.
They were unable to properly respond to the attacks of the enemy they were facing for the first time in their lives, getting pushed back by the tentacles, getting their ankles entwined, and so on. If they didn’t have shields or protective gear, several of them would have already been pierced and broken.
“Stick together to block the tentacles. And attack the main body!”
Riena shouted as she cleaved the mana-wrapped sword through the head of the glitch she was facing. Nevertheless, the coordinated effort seemed to be effective, as others also calmly took their positions, blocking the tentacles of the glitches that had pierced through and then indiscriminately began to pound their main bodies.
“We, we got them.”
“Is it over!? Is there nothing else?”
With no intention of backing down, the battle itself soon came to an end. In the end, there were some injuries, but without any casualties, the three monsters that had invaded the village were all defeated and turned into black dust.
As the residents, still not over the excitement of battle and slaughter, roamed around with their weapons, Riena, catching her breath, looked down at the floor where only the traces of the dead glitch remained in the form of black ashes.
“Excellent. You have saved us once again.”
“What on earth are these creatures?”
Barun welcomed back those who had returned victorious with the other tribe members. However, Riena’s expression did not brighten at her father’s praise.
It was in stark contrast to the other soldiers who were in high spirits.
“They are monsters that give you chills just by facing them. We don’t know when, or how many more will come. There are no sturdy barricades here… What if they reappear when we are not around?”
“When the village was in a moment of crisis, he noticed it and urged us to return to the village. There probably won’t be such a thing.”
Barun, who noticed her fear, sighed and lowered his head.
It was a valid fear, considering that the glitches were something different from the monsters they knew.
“That’s why we still need to grow more.”
Upon hearing Rienna’s words, Barun became even more certain of his decision. The primary reason they were able to overcome the attack of the three marauders this time was none other than the newly acquired weapons and armor.
As the leader of the tribe, he couldn’t afford to abandon them. From now on, he would cling more passionately to them, making the village and the tribe stronger and larger.
Barun firmly believed that this was the path for everyone.
From Noble mtl dot com
***
“Heh.”
The assault happened when it was time to finish work and rest.
Nevertheless, it seemed to end well. The injuries didn’t appear severe, and there was no need to use the vaccine program, even if it meant paying points.
Perhaps that’s why the villagers, who would normally be asleep at this hour, were still awake, illuminating various places with fires. The aftermath of the recent battle had not yet faded.
Of course, seeing them victorious and smiling put my mind at ease, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.
‘More, stronger glitches could appear. Then what is the bug exactly?’
The questions I briefly forgot while immersed in the game for the past few days resurfaced.
Glitches were a different kind of enemy from the monsters or external threats that invaded. A kind of ‘enemy’ that the master program, which usually left things to its own devices when other enemies attacked, directly warned about.
Judging by appearances, the intruders today couldn’t be the only ones. Just looking at the displayed information, they were at most level 2.
‘I need more powerful strength.’
Thinking about it myself and putting myself in the shoes of the residents on the desktop, I couldn’t feel at ease.
Certainly, residents armed with proper armor and weapons wouldn’t fall to ordinary wolf monsters. They could gain the upper hand in fights against external threats.
The problem was that this was the peak for the residents. Unless they were given armor or weapons made from higher-quality ore than iron armor in the game, or even if they were given such equipment, they had limitations.
People like Rienna were needed. Individuals with unique abilities, particularly strong ones.
Some members like Koon and Luso had acquired a few abilities in the currently unlocked sandbox survival game, but at least the miner or farmer skills didn’t seem to be helpful traits outside of the game.
‘No solutions seem to be coming up… Hmm?’
[Leader’s Dilemma: Attributes]
It was at that moment when I realized that Barun, who was standing outside his house, staring at the meadow in a daze, was similarly troubled.
I instinctively right-clicked to sneak a peek at his dilemma.
[I’ve identified some conditions to obtain attributes, but I’ve realized that there is a talent required to acquire each attribute by achieving the conditions. However, I’m currently pondering how to convey this to the master of the world.]
“Come to think of it…”
Having read Barun’s concerns, I mumbled absentmindedly. It was a part I hadn’t considered. Those who obtained attributes all underwent attribute development within a short half-day.
Being the only one among us who had obtained an attribute meant there was inherent talent. Conversely, failing to obtain an attribute within that time meant, at the very least, a lack of talent in that aspect.
Holding onto someone incapable won’t make any difference. With over 60 residents in the village, rotating quickly to discover talents was far more efficient.
‘I’m fortunate you noticed and contemplated.’
I chuckled, finding solace in Barun’s actions as he thought about aspects I hadn’t considered amidst the sudden situation. It’s quite fortunate that the residents can rectify this on their own in this unexpected turn of events.
Even this indirect communication made me eager. Since I can’t open each of their concerns one by one every time, I hoped for at least some form of communication device to be established.
There’s probably a program among the countless ones on the computer that would be helpful in that regard.
‘Take it slow.’
Of course, there was no time to explore other things right now.
Once I make the only unlocked game, the game responsible for the livelihood and progress of the current village residents, more certain and thoroughly usable, I can decide.
For that, I excluded the four residents who didn’t obtain attributes from the list among the eight residents I had initially placed in the game. Instead, I registered four new individuals.
Hoping that the new recruits would quickly desire to obtain attributes.
“One person, not bad.”
And the next day, when I logged into the game, I found out that one of the four newly registered individuals had additionally unlocked the miner attribute. I sent out the remaining three and brought in three new ones.
‘Now they seem to be doing well on their own.’
While other residents woke up in the morning to gather food in the forest or by the water, tend to livestock, or maintain the village, for them, coming into the game through the portal opened in the village and doing their own tasks had become their daily routine.
Those who had already acquired their abilities, as well as those who hadn’t, followed Varun around, going around the forest, mines, and farming fields like playing a game of tag, trying out any work that came their way, hoping to develop their hidden abilities.
They were trying to cultivate their unknown abilities, perhaps hidden within themselves, by working as if they were heading a ball on an open field.
So far, there were only two abilities discovered, farming and mining. I secretly hoped that Riena would also develop a martial arts ability, as I had watched her fighting monsters, but it hadn’t happened.
‘Is this the limit?’
It’s natural for doubts to arise in my mind as I witnessed all these scenes.
This game is versatile enough to be called omnipotent, allowing players to try everything from production, combat, to gathering. However, if this game alone could grant abilities for everything, there would be no reason to use anything else.
The master program, which originally encouraged the accumulation of achievement points, is also in the process of unlocking various programs, urging players to combine the countless functions available there and use them together.
In other words, to obtain something more advanced here, something else is needed. Another game, or something.
‘I need to achieve more accomplishments.’
The action demanded of me, driven by my crazed thoughts, ultimately comes down to achieving accomplishments and earning points.
As I watched the more active development of the mine, now with three more people, I raised my weapon and gave a solid pat on Riena, who was dealing with monsters threatening the miners.
When she turned to me with a surprised look, I pointed to the passage I had blocked with rock barriers to prevent the cave goblin shaman from coming last time.
Understanding what I meant, her eyes changed.