Chapter 7: A Bugged Monster and a Bloody Confrontation

Fiona promptly added four more coins, and only then, as a subtle change flickered in her usually calm eyes, did the old woman finally hand them the key.

‘Just one room?’ A faint blush crept across Leaf Su’s cheeks. ‘After all, he wasn’t truly a child. Finding himself sharing a room with a beautiful girl was precisely the kind of fortuitous encounter a light novel protagonist would experience!’

‘Excitement surged through him!’

‘Oh, gods, I genuinely wasn’t feigning childhood to lower their vigilance; they were the ones who initiated this entirely.’

The older sister, Fiona, took Leaf Su’s hand, her other hand resting casually upon the knight’s rapier at her waist as they walked with an air of relaxed confidence.

With a distinct click, the door unlocked. Fiona promptly ushered Leaf Su through the doorway, then, stepping outside, she used the key to lock it securely from the other side.

“Little brother Leaf Su, hide yourself well inside the room,” Fiona instructed. “You absolutely must not emerge until I tell you it’s safe.”

Fiona’s voice held a serious edge, and no sooner had she spoken than she swiftly departed. From the receding sound of her footsteps, it was clear she was running.

‘What?’ Leaf Su barely had time to process what was happening before he found himself locked inside the room.

‘Imprisonment play?’ Leaf Su scoffed mentally. ‘Bah, bah, bah, what perverse thoughts were clouding his mind?’ He lightly tapped his forehead, urging himself to focus.

With no light whatsoever, he was left fumbling blindly, unable to discern anything. ‘What exactly was this older sister up to?’

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a tremor in the ground beneath him, followed by sounds resembling explosions erupting from downstairs. Leaf Su nearly lost his footing, stumbling precariously. Then, a cacophony of startled cries and panicked screams reached his ears, seemingly emanating from the street outside.

‘Damn it, what in the world is going on?’

Guided by the meager moonlight, he located the window. Orienting himself towards the source of the commotion, Leaf Su unlatched the window and cautiously peered outside.

There, on the street not far off, stood the older sister who had left him behind. Her armor gleamed under the moonlight, reflecting its rays and exuding an aura of chilling solemnity.

Fiona had drawn her knight’s longsword, now locked in a tense standoff with the very landlady who had initially provided them with the key. The surrounding buildings bore the brunt of the conflict; walls were shattered, and in some areas, flames had already erupted.

The screaming populace largely consisted of local residents, abruptly roused from their nocturnal slumber by the sudden eruption of combat. They now frantically sought to flee the immediate vicinity of the fight.

‘What bizarre turn of events is this?’ Leaf Su wondered. ‘Why are the landlady and Fiona facing off against each other?’

Leaf Su swiftly activated his GM mode, his mind intent on accessing the landlady’s attribute list. Instantly, a glowing blue attribute panel materialized before his inner eye.

[A-Rank Monster] Master of Deception—Stark lv.68

HP: 700/700

MP: 300/300

Attack: 550

Spirit: 450

Defense: 490

[SKILL]: [Human Form lv.3] [Swordsmanship lv.7] [Error]

‘A monster?’ Leaf Su was genuinely surprised; this was his first true encounter with one. ‘Surely, the wolves he’d faced earlier didn’t count, did they?’

The ‘Human Form’ skill explained its ability to appear human, yet a peculiar, unfamiliar skill seemed to be present as well.

‘And the monster’s name… it sounds so familiar,’ he mused. ‘It’s as though I’ve seen it somewhere before.’

As he continued to scan the skill section, a realization seemed to dawn on him.

‘Error? Mistake?’ Leaf Su pondered. ‘He certainly didn’t recall a skill named ‘Error’ being part of their game’s design.’

While Leaf Su was lost in his thoughts, Fiona, the older sister, had her gaze firmly fixed on the woman before her, recognizing the formidable challenge posed by this monster disguised as a human.

Even as she had led Leaf Su to register for their room, Fiona had sensed an underlying anomaly—an instinct honed by her experience as an A-rank adventurer. The inn’s atmosphere felt wrong, and the instant she took the key, a faint wisp of monster aura had emanated from the landlady, solidifying her suspicions and prompting her decisive action.

“You are the very monster widely rumored to be capable of assuming human form, are you not?” Fiona declared, her voice a sharp exhalation. “Today, you shall perish by my blade.” With light, rapid steps, her figure ricocheted gracefully between the surrounding buildings.

Such terrain proved ideal for demonstrating her unparalleled speed. Her signature skill, [Blood Prison], involved a series of intricate, back-and-forth sword strikes, weaving a deadly net of steel!

Once struck, the victim’s blood would flow incessantly, their speed becoming increasingly restricted. The more wounds they sustained, the more severe their immobility would become, until they were utterly paralyzed.

The enemy hadn’t reacted in time. ‘Excellent,’ Fiona thought, a surge of confidence telling her she had already secured half the victory.

As she unleashed her thirtieth sword strike, however, she was stunned to discover that her previous, net-like slashes, though they had connected with the humanoid monster, had merely left faint bloodstains that instantly vanished, healing without a trace!

A chill ran down her spine. ‘Something is gravely amiss!’ she realized, and immediately began to retreat.

Meanwhile, by the window, Leaf Su simultaneously recalled something critical: ‘Wasn’t ‘Stark’ the name of a monster whose bugs he hadn’t yet finished fixing?’ He remembered that its third skill seemed to be bugged; it was a damage reduction ability, and the numerical value for that damage reduction appeared to be incorrect.

‘If his memory served him correctly, it was a 100% damage reduction!!’

……To be continued