16 – The Beginning of Progress (6)
“Don’t fall behind. It’s not that difficult. We’ve been through tougher times than this.”
Fighting enemies who were trying to kill her. The mental exhaustion was more severe than the physical fatigue of exerting all her strength without a moment’s rest.
But she gritted her teeth and endured it. How her peaceful tribe was attacked and how they had to flee.
In the process, her deceased comrades, teachers, and friends right before her eyes.
Even now, all of that, which had become a nightmare tormenting her, was the result of her powerlessness. That’s why she yearned for power and couldn’t afford to waste this moment, the opportunity to gain that power.
“I can go. I can do this.”
His expression was hidden behind the helmet as he looked at her. But Riena, who had just killed the last enemy, repeated to herself in a trembling voice that she could do it.
Whether her determination reached him or not, he eventually turned without stopping there. It meant he would continue moving forward.
The open field in the forest, which had been their goal, was now right in front of them.
“I’m sure I can gain even greater power.”
Riena followed him, as if she knew something, fighting unknown monsters in the forest. She had experienced it several times. He rewarded those who proved themselves.
Riena believed in that and only followed him, no matter what.
‘People?!’
In the midst of the forest clearing they had arrived at, she found someone in the middle of the unknown tutorial. Slowly, as if he knew, he approached the person.
It was another knight, leaning against a tree, dying from an arrow wound.
“Poor souls who came to earn money have come again. It’s better not to go to the village and castle. The ones who occupied that neighborhood were not just ordinary bandits.”
The knight, as if waiting for them, spoke after seeing them.
On the other side of the portal, in the world beyond, Leana, for the first time, felt a strong jolt in her body at finding someone who could communicate. Of course, this knight, an NPC, was just reciting predetermined lines for the progression of the game.
“I-I should say something in response…”
The knight, with great effort, looked up at them, but the one standing tall like a mountain just gazed down at the knight without saying a word, simply moving his hand as if making a gesture.
Leana, bewildered by this strange silence, looked around, unsure of what to do. She wondered if she should speak to the knight who seemed to be waiting for a response. Her lips trembled, feeling the need to say something to him.
“It’s filled with monsters that don’t even understand language. If you’re really going, I won’t stop you. But for the body that will soon perish, I’ll give you a gift for the scavengers that will follow.”
But before she could say anything, the knight chuckled and nodded, as if he had heard an answer from her.
Then, he reached into his embrace and pulled out something for them. It was a basic game item, a low-grade HP potion.
“W-Wait a moment!”
He just took the potion and turned away immediately. For the dying knight, a brief explanation and this potion were all they would get. For him, this was just the predetermined progress in the game.
Leana, taken aback by his composed attitude, looked back and forth between the knight and his retreating figure.
“You should be prepared. You too.”
And at that moment, the knight, glancing at Leana, spoke. She shivered as she looked into the knight’s eyes.
“Who on earth are you? Perhaps, is this place… like this?”
She called out to him, gathering her resolve. But the knight closed his eyes and breathed his last. With a sigh, Leana had to close the knight’s eyes and then hurried to follow him.
“For me? What is this, exactly?”
He who had been watching Rienna handed her a potion out of the blue.
Staring at the red liquid in the glass bottle with bewildered eyes, she took it without knowing what to do. However, he couldn’t provide detailed explanations.
Even if communication were possible, it would have been impossible. After all, the potion, an integral part of the game system, could have unpredictable effects on her. Yet, in the first game, potions used to replenish the character’s HP had proven effective in restoring the health or healing injuries of the residents.
“Well, there’s no other choice. I can’t afford to die. Besides, this item is sure to be helpful to me.”
She eventually made up her mind. She brought the potion to her mouth and swallowed it all at once.
It was a moment that revealed her determination, built on the trust she had earned by fighting together until now.
“My strength is coming back…!”
The immediate sensation of her stamina and muscle ache starting to recover was noticeable.
Rienna, with wide-open eyes, marveled at her considerably lighter body. This moment unveiled that the potion in the second game also had the same effect on her.
“Yes, I’ll go!”
He noticed her recovery. As he resumed walking, Rienna hastily followed him. The newly appeared enemies were once again phantom soldiers.
Seeming more accustomed now, she first swung her sword towards them, rushing into battle.
The phantom soldiers fighting against her were different from the monsters in the game, attacking freely without a set pattern. Yet, Rienna, too, was learning.
With each fight, her sword against the phantom soldiers became sharper and more precise, piercing their vital points and bringing them down.
It wasn’t just Rienna without HP; the phantom soldiers mutated in facing her, just as she did against them. Unlike the monsters that counterattacked even after being hit multiple times by the player’s blade, these soldiers fell and were cut in one stroke.
“So, what happened? Did you reach the castle?”
“Yes. More precisely, we reached the ruins below the castle.”
While recounting what she experienced there to Baron, Rienna laughed as she reminisced about the recent memories.
Having passed the midpoint, healed with a potion, Rienna and him once again broke through enemies, heading towards the destination.
And finally, as they emerged from the forest path and arrived at the ruins of the village surrounding the castle. He concluded today’s schedule and sent the weary Rienna back.
But before that, there was a reward. The overturned carriage and scattered corpses at the entrance of the village.
The reward they gained from dealing with the twisted bodies was the basic skill, Strong Strike.
“In the first world, we could have obtained unimaginable resources. Food, livestock, materials, even iron. It seems that in the second world, the power we can obtain is just that.”
“It’s an opportunity. If we prove ourselves, we can obtain unimaginable things.”
Barun had realized this since his experience in the first world, but it was now that Riena, who had also experienced the second world, completely agreed. They had come to understand how significant the opportunity given to them was.
“If we continue to grow stronger like this, it might be possible to take revenge on them.”
“Ri, Riena.”
Barun was taken aback by her mention of revenge. The ones they should seek revenge on were the hostile tribe who had invaded their peaceful village, killing people and plundering. Until now, dreaming of revenge while focusing solely on survival was nothing but a luxury. But now, the situation had changed.
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Survival had been their concern, but now they were in a situation where they could obtain not only enough resources to live, but even more.
If they sought peace, there was no reason not to seek revenge. Not only Riena, but also many other residents who had been deprived of much felt the same.
“It won’t be easy. It’s not just about strength; we are too outnumbered. To stop those who forcibly integrate many tribes and inflate their size, we will need the power of more allies.”
“They make slaves by force, turn women into concubines to inflate their size, but many of those who recoil in disgust and bounce back are also numerous. Just like us. If we accept such people as allies, we can increase our numbers too.”
“That’s true, but it doesn’t seem like the right time for that conversation now.”
Sighing at Riena’s words, Barun nodded. The truth was, he also harbored anger within him. However, he had a duty as the leader to prioritize the lives of the people who were still by his side.
Considering that duty, it was premature to reveal their true intentions.
***
[Riena’s Dilemma: Seeking Blood Revenge]
[Riena desires revenge. She wants to retaliate against the hostile tribe that killed her mother, friends, mentor, and comrades. For that, she seeks even greater power.]
After finishing the tutorial and sending Riena back to the village at the end of the second game, I closed the first game and started to tidy up the things the residents had left behind and planned to do some additional item farming. But as I was about to farm items, I saw a message pop up on the screen, making me frown.
Barun and Riena seemed to be having a serious conversation, and I had a feeling that I knew what they were talking about. Come to think of it, they must have their own stories. It didn’t seem like a coincidence or an accident that they had moved to my desktop with only the bare minimum of supplies. Just like the intruders who barged in with the label “external invasion,” it was clear that the world within my unfamiliar desktop was a place of constant struggle and bloodshed.
“It’s bothering me for no reason.”
I couldn’t help but feel unsettled. The sudden change in the desktop, whether by chance or accident, was unsettling for me. Of course, taking care of them and doing something together with them gave me more joy than I had expected, but I didn’t want more than that.
Right now, we were working together to progress in the game, achieve accomplishments, and fend off the invading enemies. However, as this continued, they might want more than just finding strength and stability.
But that burdened me. If I were to exert significant influence over them, whom I still knew little about, I would have to take on a corresponding responsibility.
Even though I wanted to enjoy it, I didn’t want to take on the responsibility. It was selfish, but perhaps it was a natural thought.
“Does it matter right now? After all, I’ve barely cleared the tutorial and I’m struggling.”
As unnecessary thoughts began to fill my mind, I shook my head and brushed them off. All worries could be addressed when there was enough leisure time. Right now, the residents, including Riena, were struggling just to keep moving forward. After playing the game alone for a while and observing those who were active in the dim desktop, I soon turned off the monitor and lay down on the bed.
Tomorrow is also a holiday. Being with those who are alive and moving may mean not having a proper meal, but it brings a different kind of joy. Perhaps I can spend the whole day with them just like today.
Oh there’s an enemy now