Chapter 9: A party in the forest (3)

Field Stage: Eastern Teberes Plains

The following morning.

-Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

The horses galloped vigorously across the plains.

Perhaps it was thanks to the ample rest they had enjoyed throughout the night, but the horses, previously somewhat fatigued, seemed to gallop with renewed vigor today.

In truth, whenever I observed a fantasy world, I couldn’t help but feel that horses were the most pitiable creatures.

While settings might vary slightly, the steadfast mode of transport in most fantasy realms remained the horse.

Whether their owner was ambushed by bandits, ventured forth to subdue a dragon, or marched into war, they invariably rode their horses, advancing gallantly.

And while the horse’s owner was lauded as a hero, the horse itself remained, invariably, just a horse.

One could say they received no special treatment whatsoever.

“They seem fine today.”

Perhaps it was due to the multitude of trivial thoughts that had occupied my mind over the past six months, but I often found myself dwelling on such inconsequential matters.

Should I call it an inexplicable sense of pity?

“Ah, ha ha! Th-thank you, Lady Cyan.”

Yet, the swordsman who was guiding the horses suddenly flushed, chuckling.

I hadn’t been speaking to him, so why was he reacting like that? While misinterpretations were free, why was he blushing?

‘Ah, surely not.’

-Whoosh.

Just in case, I leaned my head forward from the carriage.

Right beside where the swordsman, Rain, was seated, bringing my face close.

“Uh, uwaaah?!”

“Wait, Rain, be careful!”

Startled, the swordsman slipped from the carriage.

Had the cleric beside him not caught him, he would undoubtedly have tumbled onto the dirt path.

‘Is this a problem too…?’

If I were to pinpoint the reason, it was likely due to my appearance.

Yes, to be frank, the Cyan I created was indeed beautiful.

Thanks to the well-crafted character customization feature in Novel Online, I had been able to create such a flawless beautiful girl.

Moreover, there had even been a user character popularity poll event, and Cyan had placed third in it.

The event rewards were quite good, so I had put some effort into her coordination and design, yet despite my own recognition as a top-ranked player, my Cyan only managed third place.

I had doubted my own eyes at the unexpected outcome.

Even more surprising, the vote counts for first and second place were overwhelmingly high.

Furthermore, both first and second place were male characters.

I had forgotten one crucial fact: this event was not about choosing pretty or cool characters, but a ‘popularity poll.’

First place was a beast-man, entirely purple, modeled after a character named ‘Ao Oni’.

Second place was the ‘Knight of the Sun,’ bearing a sun emblem on his armor.

Honestly, when I first saw the results, I was utterly shocked, but then I looked at the other characters ranked within the top 10 and understood.

Every single one of them had bizarre and grotesque designs.

Seeing that, Cyan’s ranking felt like a respectable showing.

The designs were all either instantly repulsive or irresistibly comical, yet Cyan, I believed, managed to secure third place thanks to her achievement as the first boss created using a user character.

‘Well, that’s something, at least.’

“Seriously, what are you doing being so clumsy? You almost fell just now; it was dangerous!”

“Sorry, you saved me…”

For now, I decided to ignore the pair who clearly seemed like a couple and instead examine the map they possessed.

Even if I were to travel with them all the way to the city, there was no harm in familiarizing myself with the surrounding geography.

First, I checked how much further it was to our destination.

‘Still a long way to go.’

So, this vicinity was roughly the eastern section of the Teberes Plains.

We had about three days left until we reached our destination, the city of Asral.

In the game, one could easily traverse such distances via portals, but here, there was no such convenience, necessitating direct travel.

Even open-world games typically featured portals; Novel Online, which I had played, certainly did, yet this world reportedly lacked them.

It was truly bothersome and inconvenient.

Perhaps that was why adventurers in this world seemed accustomed to camping.

Not that they particularly enjoyed it, though.

‘But what is this place?’

As I examined the map, locations marked with small house-shaped icons caught my eye.

Given that they were also circled, it seemed this was our estimated destination for the day.

“Hey, where is this place?”

“Ah, that’s Fione Village, Lady Cyan. If we keep moving diligently today, we should arrive soon.”

“Fione Village?”

According to the cleric, the place was ‘Fione Village’.

It was a name I recognized.

I had heard that Fione was one of the villages one would invariably visit when progressing through the main story quest via the Elves.

However, it should have been a village accessible only during story quests; could one simply go there here?

“We plan to stop by Fione Village to purchase some food and fuel. Also, we need to arrange for the treatment of the others.”

“Is that so?”

I turned my head to look at the carriage following behind.

The Elf, whose eyes met mine, bowed her head in greeting.

Come to think of it, the injured and the deceased were still in that carriage.

Thanks to the Dwarf’s excellent embalming work, I hadn’t detected any scent.

“First, after we drop off the injured, we intend to report this incident to the Adventurers’ Guild. This is a clear breach of contract. We were supposed to cooperate and provide escort if monsters appeared, but they abandoned us and fled…”

The swordsman spoke, biting his lip.

He seemed considerably enraged.

Indeed, when I was progressing through that very quest and the NPCs abandoned me and fled, I remember swearing, wondering what was even happening.

In Novel Online, the penalties for a character’s death could be considered quite severe.

For a certain period, stats would decrease, experience points would reset, and any ongoing sub-quests would have to be restarted from the beginning—all quite bothersome.

But for these people?

It wasn’t merely bothersome; they literally died.

Assuming there were no means of resurrection or revival, it would simply be the end—a game over.

Their anger was, understandably, justified.

“Honestly, I was scared too. I haven’t been out of the temple for long, and I just started feeling like I could finally pull my weight, then I wondered if I was going to die…”

Even the cleric, who served a god, was no different.

Yes, a truly realistic reaction.

It was a mindset one could not possess unless they genuinely lived a life in this world.

If these individuals were to learn the ‘hidden truth’ of that quest, I wondered what would happen; they might be so shocked they’d develop a deep distrust of humanity.

“Still, it seems we were fortunate that the Earth Mother Goddess showed us mercy by allowing us to meet Lady Cyan.”

Well, that was none of my concern anyway.

After accumulating the necessary funds for my journey, upon reaching the city, I needed to find a way to recover the rest of the forgotten magic.

While I might be able to traverse these human realms (TL Note: In Korean, ‘In-gye’ refers to the human world, distinct from demon or celestial realms.) without issue for now, the situation would change entirely if I were to cross into other continents like the Demon Realm or the Celestial Realm.

The monster levels there were fundamentally different.

In truth, I was capable of defeating even the boss monsters of those worlds without much difficulty, but that was when I was playing the game; in my current state, I couldn’t be sure.

‘I’ve found all the magic that could be recovered from the Magic Tower’s books; the rest I must discover myself.’

Therefore, my top priority was to acquire abilities on par with Cyan’s from when I played the game, if I wanted to gather the ‘World Fragments’ necessary to return to Earth.

Even if I had insurance, it was merely that—insurance.

[ “Death, I will reject you.” – Passive [★] ]

-Oh Death, I shall reject thee.

※Attribute: Light / Range: None / Max Targets: 1

※Special Note – (Cooldown: 24 hours)

▶A mantra of regression said to be created by the Transcendent of Time; it automatically activates when the user’s HP reaches 0. The user is resurrected with fully restored HP and MP.

‘If this activates in this world too, dying once might be acceptable, but even so, I’d rather not experience death.’

I needed to be as cautious as possible.

I shouldn’t needlessly endanger myself; intervening only when there’s absolutely no threat to me is the safest approach.

In other words, I should abandon any thoughts of helping others unnecessarily.

I held no interest in titles like ‘hero.’

Recalling how much grinding other top-ranked players endured to obtain the ‘Hero’ title, I’d rather die.

“Ah, I see it! Lady Cyan, that’s Fione Village!”

“Have we arrived already?”

At the mention of arrival, I raised my head and looked ahead.

It was my first time seeing that place directly like this.

No, for that matter, all the landscapes of this world were new to my direct sight, but that particular place was somewhere I couldn’t even visit in the game.

“Wait, does everyone see that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Rain?”

However, the swordsman’s expression was unusual.

Curious, I peered out and saw several familiar carriages entering Fione Village.

They were identical to the carriage I was currently riding.

Furthermore, the armed merchant group appeared to be a considerable force, numbering nearly 100 individuals.

His words were true.

‘As expected, the quest has already begun.’

A smile touched my lips at the sight.

I was incredibly lucky.

The probability of this hidden quest occurring was less than 5%.

“Those are the ‘Turk’ merchant’s carriages, those bastards who abandoned us to the Minotaur…!”

****

Neutral Stage: Fione Village

Fione Village.

It was a remote village nestled between valleys.

Crossing beyond this point would lead into the territory of the ‘Holy Empire of Ayres,’ the dominion where human characters would first awaken if chosen.

Yet, contrary to its status as a borderland, the scenery here was quite spectacular.

A single river flanked a small defensive wall, protecting them from monsters.

The guards protecting the village entrance appeared aged, yet all seemed like seasoned warriors.

Furthermore, for a frontier village, its scale was considerable; it was likely structured to grow naturally, being a thoroughfare for many merchants and adventurers.

The thought naturally occurred to me: perhaps those who purchased land here could easily become wealthy?

I suppose I am human after all.

‘Anyway.’

And so, this situation was somewhat irritating.

Upon seeing the merchant caravan, the enraged individuals immediately rushed forward, beginning their protest.

While I considered it a natural reaction, from my perspective, it was an utterly tedious spectacle.

“How can you say that?! Our party was almost wiped out! And there were fatalities! How will you take responsibility for this?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that! I joined midway, so I don’t know if they abandoned you!”

“Then why haven’t you called Turk?! He was the one who gave us the commission—”

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

A burly, muscular man shoved the swordsman.

Was it due to his youth, or perhaps a difference in levels? The swordsman stumbled backward, powerless.

So I checked that man’s level, and it wasn’t particularly high.

By his appearance, he seemed like a veteran mercenary, but his actual level was 55, which wasn’t a significant difference.

Honestly, it was much of a muchness.

“You insolent brat, thinking you can talk to an adult like that just because you’ve been pampered! How dare you—”

-Clack.

As the man attempted to stomp on the swordsman, a woman stepped forward.

The Elf casually seized the man’s forearm, which was as thick as her own waist.

“Listen, are you attacking us now, on top of breaching the contract?”

“Kuh, you’re an Elf…!”

Well, the mercenaries before them could be dealt with by that Elf alone.

The level difference was too great, and in terms of combat experience, it would be difficult to catch up to her.

‘How long must I endure this farce?’

After all, Elves had racial bonuses that increased combat efficiency, with a passive ability that boosted critical hit and evasion rates.

“That’s right! If the Adventurers’ Guild learns of what you’ve done, they won’t stand by idly! Our temple will also expose your company’s vile deeds!”

“We Dwarves do not forget those who harm our kin, especially if they are humans.”

Furthermore, combined with the wizard’s support and the cleric’s buffs, she could practically achieve a ‘Musou’ (TL Note: A term from hack-and-slash games like Dynasty Warriors, referring to single-handedly defeating large numbers of enemies.) state, though it would be difficult while also protecting other party members.

If a fight broke out here, the other mercenaries from the caravan outside would surely rush in, and then it would be a foregone conclusion that these individuals, cornered, would lose.

In truth, aside from that Elf, none of them were particularly outstanding, and one wasn’t even a combatant.

“These brats…! Lads! These little runts want a beating! Grab your weapons and hurry over!”

As the man shouted, other mercenaries soon swarmed in.

Watching fights was entertaining.

While the flashy battles between top-ranked players, featuring their over-refined, almost rotten techniques, were certainly worth seeing, even more enjoyable were the so-called ‘noob brawls’ (TL Note: ‘Jotbap daejeon’ is a derogatory slang term for a fight between unskilled or weak individuals.).

The sight of the weak utilizing every means at their disposal, fighting back with desperate tenacity, was indeed delightful.

That was why I felt a pang of regret.

Because for the sake of the quest, I had to stop the fight.

‘If a fight breaks out here, the quest will be interrupted, so it’s time I stepped in.’

-Whoosh.

I cast off the robe that had been obscuring my face.

It was best to firmly imprint upon those mercenaries that I was a High Elf!

That way, it would help conceal my true identity and ensure smoother quest progression.

“Ugh…! Do you even know how many people died because you ran away?!”

The swordsman drew his sword.

A fight would likely erupt in ten seconds.

So, before then.

[ Kneel. ]

-Thump!

“C-cough! Th-this is…?!”

“This magic, Lady Cyan?”

It would be best to mediate at this point.

With force, of course.

I adjusted the range of Graviton as much as possible, subduing only the mercenaries and not the adventurers.

“I cannot tolerate this petty bickering any longer.”

I acted the part of an arrogant, prideful High Elf to the best of my ability.

That was the characteristic of High Elves as depicted in the game, and also how they were established in lore.

“I wish to rest in peace, yet you dare disturb me with your trivial disputes?”

“Sil-silver hair…! Could it be a High Elf?! Impossible! Why would a High Elf be with such brats?!”

Simultaneously, the Elf frowned, looking at me.

If even the genuine Elf beside me was fooled, I considered it a fairly perfect performance.

“What concern is it of yours what actions I take? Even if you were to die by my hand, you would have no right to complain.”

“K-kuhhh!”

I moderately expanded the magic’s range, ensuring that even the others outside would notice.

In truth, the most challenging aspect of this hidden quest was this.

One had to display a certain level of ability for the conditions to be met, but showing too much power would automatically fail the quest, rendering all efforts futile.

That was why I used only regular Graviton, not the Giga Graviton I had employed before.

I thought this much would suffice…

‘Now, he should appear.’

Feigning a glare at the mercenaries before me, I subtly shifted my awareness towards the entrance.

-Thump. Thump. Thump.

Just then, someone was approaching.

Four individuals who appeared to be guards, and the one in the very center was likely ‘him.’

Yes, the master of this large merchant caravan.

-Clap-clap!

“?”

The sound of applause echoed from the entrance.

Immediately, all eyes present turned towards the person who had just appeared at the entrance.

“Now, now, let’s end this here, everyone. Adventurers, calm yourselves, and our mercenaries too.”

Standing there was a man clad in luxurious garments.

“And you, too, beautiful High Elf.”

Jackpot.

[ Turk Merchant Guild Master ‘Stran’ ]

My eyes met with the merchant, Stran.