15 – The Beginning of Progress (5)
“Is this really helpful?”
The first game had a significant sense of alienation due to the different graphics, but there was still a clear purpose of obtaining resources.
On the other hand, in this action RPG game he was currently playing, there wasn’t a clear reward that came to mind. The goal of this game was to strengthen the character and defeat the boss, that itself being the purpose of the game.
Certainly, in the first game, the items obtained from defeating boss-level monsters were used to enhance the characteristics of the residents. However, in this game, which was opened with more than twice the points of the first game, it seemed that obtaining only that might not be enough.
After all, the only ones qualified to bring into this game were Riena and Barun, who had evolved their magical abilities just a day before.
‘For now, I have to keep going. There must be some way.’
I manipulated the character, leading Leina. Fortunately, she quickly caught on to my intentions, saving us time by joining in.
The first thing encountered in a game starting from scratch is the tutorial. True to the game’s genre, we soon found ourselves in a fight against monsters.
“Are you okay?!”
The ghost soldiers in the tutorial belong to the weakest faction of monsters, but unlike the first game, this one is no game where I can let my guard down. The combat system is fundamentally different.
“—!”
However, as if she had been dealing with these terrifying and realistic enemies from the start, Leina’s complexion paled, but her movements did not slow down.
Well, considering that the shoddy monsters made of blocks turn into realistic monsters when in contact with residents.
In the end, the two ghost soldiers who had been attacking her seemed to be collapsing under the dazzling movements of her sword, which were entirely different from mine, who controlled the character.
“Level up. Could it be for her too?”
I, too, managed to defeat the two enemies I faced. Overall, it’s a challenging game, but since it’s a tutorial, it’s not that difficult.
And as a reward for defeating the enemies, my character received experience points. Killing enemies, gaining experience, leveling up, changing jobs, and learning skills were ways for characters to become stronger in this game.
In the first game, she seemed to feel something every time she defeated an enemy, so I quickly turned to her, wondering if she would feel the same here.
“Really?”
After looking at Leina’s face, I smiled. She looked at her own body with wide eyes, then looked at me, her eyes sparkling.
Maybe it’s because of her position as a tribal warrior, but even though she usually seems cold, she subtly has a rich expression. Even if we can’t communicate through words, I seemed to know what emotions she was feeling.
“The strategy to top the rankings. But can I follow it as it is?”
Before continuing with the tutorial, I opened the internet and searched for a guide for the game. Since it’s a reasonably famous game, many people have posted guides, which are undoubtedly very detailed and helpful for newcomers.
But my concern was whether these guides were effective. Unlike the original game, where solo play is the norm, I am playing this game with the alien presence of Leina.
Since something must have changed from the original game, blindly trusting the guide was impossible.
“I can only take it slowly while referring to it for now.”
The ultimate conclusion was that I had to find out for myself. The goal was to clear the tutorial first. I had to reach the castle in front of me while bypassing the map.
According to my memory and strategy, clearing the tutorial would grant a basic skill. Using that skill to clear the castle in Act 1 would open up an opportunity for a job change.
As important as the skill was, I was more curious about how the job change system would apply to Riena.
“Did it originally appear this frequently?”
Contemplating this, as I took the lead and advanced down the path, ghost soldiers emerged from the ground again, aiming their weapons at us.
A battle ensued immediately, and Riena and I once again divided and conquered the enemies.
“—…!”
At the same time, I had a gut feeling that this would take quite some time.
In reality, I could spend all day glued to the game, clicking away at the mouse and keyboard, but Riena was different.
She was putting her life on the line, engaging in intense combat, and it was impossible to sustain such a fight, draining both stamina and mental strength, all day long, even if it was just against basic enemies.
‘How should I convey this?’
After defeating all the ghost soldiers and catching her breath, I pondered how to communicate my intentions to her.
Let’s just do the tutorial today, and there isn’t much time left, so hang in there a bit longer. I wanted to say something encouraging, but just like in the first game, communication was impossible in this current state. It was frustrating not being able to understand Riena’s words and vice versa.
“Maybe I need to use a different program for this… Ah!”
At that moment, as I gazed at her face through the screen, filled with puzzled eyes, a thought crossed my mind.
This game had an emotion expression feature. It allowed characters to perform predefined actions to express emotions.
While it was a fun feature to tease the AI when playing alone, it became an essential tool when interacting with other users later on.
Perhaps using this feature could help convey my intentions to her.
“—?”
Riena, who had been surprised by my sudden stop and silence, looked at me in confusion. Directing my angle well, I cast one of the available emotion expressions.
She raised her hand to her shoulder and made a gesture with her thumb, a sign of expressing positive emotions.
“Did you understand?”
She seemed flustered, not knowing what to do with my hand resting precisely on her shoulder.
In truth, I couldn’t be sure if she had understood properly, but I released my emotions, believing that she must have.
I pointed forward with the sword in my hand, indicating the path ahead, and repeated the action of sitting and standing up.
Seeing the faint upward curve of her mouth, which had been at a loss due to confusion, I could somewhat tell that she understood.
“Just one more hurdle, and we’ll reach the midpoint of the tutorial.”
I alternated between the strategy video I had put up and my screen, then moved forward again, checking the first checkpoint in the clearing ahead.
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The phantom soldiers appeared once again, attempting to attack us, but both Leana and I fought them off fiercely.
I wondered how the first NPC that players encounter in this game would perceive her. Or rather, do the NPCs really exist in the first place?
After defeating the last phantom archer who had been shooting arrows at me, I gazed at the clearing on the screen with tense eyes.
***
“You’ve all worked hard. It seems even those who came for the first time today have all adapted.”
“It’s been over seven nights already. Hasn’t even a day passed?”
“Don’t trust the sun of this world; trust yourself. In these seven nights, we’ve only had one meal.”
This was the moment when Varun, struggling in the second game with Leana, had decided to finish his work here after spending several hours in the first game from morning till now.
Today, as well, new residents had participated to obtain traits, and one of the two had acquired the carrier trait, making it a success for six out of the eight residents participating in developing related traits.
And as the number of seniors increased, the adaptation of the latecomers also accelerated.
“Leana hasn’t arrived yet?”
“T-That’s correct, Chief.”
However, after Barun returned to the village, he was slightly surprised to hear that Leena did not come to the village as expected. Though he handled it calmly, it was only natural to worry about his daughter.
‘Where on earth did she go?’
It was even more concerning because she went alone. She was undoubtedly a talented and excellent warrior, but in her father’s eyes, she still appeared as a young girl.
“Chief, what on earth is that? The newcomer is holding something strange in his hands.”
“…That’s wood. It just looks like that.”
At that moment, a tribe member questioned Barun with a surprised voice. The person in question was Morin, who had accompanied them today, holding a wooden block the size of a child’s head in his hands.
Morin, bewildered by the gathered villagers, placed the wooden block on the ground. As he did so, the block grew in size, revealing a large log lying on the ground.
The ability of a specialized carrier was to directly manipulate the in-game blocks. Moreover, it was even possible to bring those blocks into the village.
Now, the villagers could harvest Canan ore or wood directly without leaving them scattered in the field.
‘How much more power lies dormant in that world?’
Barun swallowed dry saliva in amazement at the astonishing powers being renewed day by day. Even if he wondered if there was something more, he couldn’t predict how far it would go with each new update.
“Ah!?”
“It’s Leena!”
And at that moment, Leena, whom Barun had been waiting for, returned to the village. Right next to the first portal, a portal that swirled like it was devouring space appeared, and Leena stumbled out from there.
Although there seemed to be no visible injuries, it was evident that she was extremely exhausted.
“Leena!”
“Father…”
Barun rushed to his daughter and grabbed her shoulders. In a dazed state, she recognized Barun and weakly smiled.
“Where on earth did you go, and what did you go through?”
“It seemed like a much more dangerous world, but in the end, there’s nothing different. Fight, kill, and gain.”
Barun asked her what had happened while taking her home. Naturally, Riena told him in detail about what she had experienced and gained that day.
“When I cut down enemies there, my mana increases. But that’s only a part of it. Look at this.”
She stopped walking and drew her sword. It was only then that Barun noticed Riena was carrying two swords. The sword she had on her belt was the same iron sword she had been carrying, but the one she drew was a different, new sword.
At the same time, a bright yellow energy surged from the sword she raised.
“When did you learn this? Seriously?”
“Right after I went there just now.”
In response to Barun’s surprise, she used the basic skill given to players who cleared the tutorial, “Strong Strike,” to split a large rock that happened to be nearby in half. It was something the former her couldn’t have done.