The late dinner was over, and the Sophie family went back to their homes.
In the room given by the old couple, Dojin took off his robe.
“Whoa.”
As I took off my coat, the cold mountain breeze that came in through the window felt cool on my skin.
Dojin leaned against the window and looked outside.
Above the wooden fence surrounding the village, I could see the sky that was starting to get full of clouds.
The moon was also obscured by clouds, so there was literally no darkness.
It looked like it was going to rain, as the air smelled of rain.
Well, right now I’m indoors, so the rain wasn’t a problem.
Dojin calmed down by looking at the sky like a black drawing paper.
At that time, something disturbing Dojin’s senses caught on.
‘A mana wave?’
It is unknown exactly at what distance and how much of the waves occurred due to the lack of ability as a wizard yet, but it was clearly an artificial wave.
At this time and in such a place, the mana wavelength is heterogeneous, so Do-jin activated the magic circuit to increase the mana sensitivity.
‘for a moment. Isn’t it just once?’
The mana waves that he felt as if he had just brushed them were repeating with a certain frequency and intensity.
Do-jin focused on identifying the source of the mana wave.
By the way.
‘Did it break?’
The reaction was cut off as if nothing like that had happened.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but something is happening.’
Do-jin quickly put on the robe he had taken off and jumped out of the window, while at the same time reducing the impact of the fall by using a telekinetic wave just before reaching the ground.
thud.
Even so, a considerable amount of shock was transmitted to the body, but it was not too much because it was a strong Dojin for a wizard.
《Suggestion》
A pale light shimmered in Dojin’s eyes and then disappeared.
It is a magic that sees through the darkness, and it was one of the magics learned by pouring gold obtained from raiding dungeons.
Dojin, who moved his gaze around, found a watchtower installed on a wooden fence and ran towards it.
When I climbed the log stairs clumsily nailed to the wooden fence, the view was wide open, and unlike the other directions where there were some trees, I saw a particularly desolate rocky ridge wriggling.
“sh*t… … .”
Considering that the place that came out after crossing that rocky ridge was the Gulag Wasteland, it was obvious what was wriggling over there.
“Gulag Ant.”
The outlaws of the Gulak Wasteland crossed the low ridge and pushed towards this side.
[quest]
Crisis in Gulag Village
Class: Destiny
[Tonight, a village is in danger of being wiped out due to one man’s ugly greed.
Save as many villagers as possible.]
Goal: Survival of the Gulak Villagers
Rewards: EXP, Gold, ???
At that moment, a message appeared in front of Dojin’s eyes.
Fate Rank Quest.
Beyond Hidden, it was actually the highest-ranked quest in LOST.
Destiny level quests are more difficult to meet than hidden quests.
This is because, no matter how small or large, the moment an event that can affect the world of Rostania itself occurs, you have to be there.
The fact that such a quest appeared.
‘That’s what those bugs wipe out this village, I guess.’
But is the disappearance of a village with a population of only a few dozen people worthy of a fate quest?
It can’t be.
There are other reasons.
What is it?
The hint was in the quest content.
It says not to protect the village, but to save as many ‘villagers’ as possible.
‘In other words, among the villagers, there are people who should not die, no, who would benefit this world if they survived.’
I came up with an answer to the given problem, but it didn’t mean much.
It is a guess and an answer that will be of no use if we cannot overcome the immediate crisis.
I don’t know who needs to live.
There is no guarantee that there is only one person who needs to live.
Then all you have to do is try to survive.
After thinking, Dojin rang the rusty bell installed on the watchtower.
If no one is going to monitor it like this, why did they install it?
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding.
The roaring sound made the village, which had been as quiet as a mouse dead, become noisy.
“What are you talking about?”
“Maurice, you bastard! Didn’t I say that if I rang a bell again in the middle of the night as a joke, I would hang it upside down!”
People poking their heads out of windows in bewilderment.
Some were annoyed as if they thought it was a prank by a neighborhood kid.
But that was until Dojin shouted.
“Monsters are coming in right now!”
The word ‘monster’ made the villagers widen their eyes.
“Mo, it’s a monster!”
Someone shouted, and a few ran to the fence.
It was something he wanted to see with his own eyes.
“Ouch!”
“Oh, you bastard. Did I tell you to lose some weight? Get out of the way!”
The fat man who was climbing the watchtower installed in a different direction from where Dojin was standing fell down, and instead a skinny man climbed the watchtower swiftly.
Then, he cast his gaze away, and his face was bleached pure white.
It was dark, but Hans, a village boy familiar with the mountains, saw through the darkness, albeit with difficulty.
The ridge that shouldn’t wriggle wriggling as a black silhouette.
“It’s a monster! Monsters are coming over the ridge on the wasteland side! sh*t! Not one or two!”
The villagers also turned white at Hans’ cry.
Still, like the people of the harsh world, I was scared and couldn’t do anything.
“Jennie! Take Sophie to the basement! Don’t forget to bring something to eat! Don’t come out until it’s completely quiet!”
“Hannolds, you! Hide with you too!”
“Don’t be stupid! Then who guards the village?”
“… okay. But never die! no, don’t get hurt I know you will die if you get hurt.”
The heads of each family had their wives and children hide in burrows dug in the basement of their homes, and they themselves took out crude weapons and came out.
“Hans, if not one or two, how many? Until now, there have been very few cases where animals or monsters have suffered damage even because of the fence.”
In response to the village headman’s question, Hans, who came down from the watchtower, said with a tired face.
“I don’t know. It’s so dark that I can only see wriggling on the ridge… you know How far is the rocky ridge over there? Seeing that the ridge seems to be wriggling from such a distance, it seems that there are at least a few dozen or as many as hundreds.”
At Hans’ words, all the men in the village huddled together made frightened faces.
A brief discussion ensued.
It was a time when people were saying things like, “let’s abandon the village and run away, then what will we eat in the winter,” and “wouldn’t that be better than dying right away?”
“I can keep it.”
Do-jin, who was looking at the situation from the watchtower, came down.
At the unfamiliar voice, the village men’s eyes turned to Dojin.
Their reactions were split in two.
“Could it be that you were the one who first shouted that a monster had appeared? I think I’m seeing this for the first time, but who the hell-“
First, the village chief was wary and tried to ask about his identity.
“Oh, wizard!”
Hanolds and his friends greeted Dojin while the village chief stopped talking.
I was surprised by the sudden appearance of a monster and forgot about it, but now I remembered that a wizard was staying in the village.
Do-jin looked like a savior in the eyes of those who witnessed Do-jin using magic.
“Hey, are you a wizard? What does that mean?”
The village chief was surprised to hear that he was a wizard.
“That’s the good wizard who saved me from almost getting into trouble at the checkpoint.”
“Right, right! He used his magic to get rid of the firewood earlier, and solved it in one go!
Hanolds, who hurriedly approached through the villagers, spoke to Dojin in a desperate tone.
“M-Magician, I know very well that asking such a favor is really shameless. But the only thing we can rely on right now is the wizard. please help us If you do that, I will work with the villagers to pay you back somehow.”
Please save my wife and daughter. Hanolds almost crying.
It seemed that the fear that had been forcibly suppressed by the sense of responsibility as the head of the family had been overcome.
Do-jin tapped him on the shoulder.
“Calm down, Mr. Hanolds. If you lose your strength already, will you still have the strength to protect the village?”
Tears welled up in Hanolds’ eyes.
The tears of a bear-like man. Normally, it wouldn’t be a very nice sight to see, but considering that it was tears coming out of love for one’s family, it wasn’t unheard of.
“We ask questions only from people who want to become ant food.”
At Dojin’s words, those who were trying to ask or say something flinched.
“There is no time. As a result of checking from the watchtower, there were no more ants crossing the ridge, but the number of those who crossed over must be considerable.”
Frightened swearing was heard here and there.
Dojin ignored such a reaction and spoke directly.
“But it can be stopped. As long as you follow my words.”
“Hey, I will fight hard!”
Hanolds answered with a shriek. And those who witnessed Dojin’s magic burned their fighting spirit.
“I will fight with my life! I don’t know, but I can’t make my wife and her children ant food!”
However, Dojin shook his head.
“I am trying to save you. I’m not trying to throw it as ant food. I have no intention of fighting with such crude weapons, lest the ants break through the barrier and invade the village.”
“… … .”
The village men looked at the crude spears they were holding, with irons tied to poles.
As Do-jin said, their weapons were embarrassing because they were insufficient to deal with the so-called outlaws of the wasteland.
But is there anything else they can do besides fighting over this? The eyes, the size of a bell, turned to Dojin.
Do-jin told them.
“I want you to help me in some other way instead.”
“No, just say the word!”
Again, it was Hanolds who was the first to respond more closely to the spinal cord reflex.
“Considering the distance to the ridge and the speed of movement of the ants, there is still some time before they reach it. In the meantime, please move all the flammable things to the front of the village.”
“You mean something to ride? Don’t worry!”
Nodding vigorously, Hanolds looked at the other villagers and said,
“What are you doing? Isn’t the wizard asking you to collect things that burn easily?”
Those who did not see Do-jin’s magic hesitated.
Seeing that, Hanolds squealed.
“Ah, chief! I’ve seen him do magic! So, let’s believe in it and move on.”
Then Hanolds spoke to Hans.
“Hans, you can take the kids and get all the firewood. And you guys are following me Every house has to find something to ride. and the village chief. Since the chief has the key to the hall, I would like to ask you a favor.”
Those who directly witnessed Dojin’s magic moved actively.
It was a bonus to urge others on.
The cold night air in the highlands was hot.
They gathered all the firewood they had bought for the winter, as well as anything that seemed to burn, and moved it to the front of the village.
“I’m going to freeze to death this winter.”
“You have to hold on.”
“Can I hold on?”
“I don’t know. still… You have to survive now to try to hold on. If you really don’t want to do it, we should all try living in the hall this winter.”
It was while the village men were destroying wooden tables, exchanging bitter conversations.
“Into the fence! Run into the fence!”
The ants came right in front of me.