32. W…olf…?
“Hohoho, what is a young outsider like you doing, going through all this trouble in a place like this?”
“Huh? Ah, no…”
This was Jageun Village.
It wasn't actually that small of a village.
Just as Angel noona had said, the Village Chief was a very good person.
Even while saying that he wanted to retire immediately, he was willing to sacrifice his entire body for the sake of the village at any moment.
His values, which put everyone else before himself, were truly admirable.
[Help with the village's work! - Jageun Village, where all the young people have left for the capital, needs as many helping hands as possible!]
[Quest Reward - Warm and Delicious Oatmeal]
However, a day in a village like this mostly consisted of completing quests like this.
Besides, now that the time in the outside world and the time inside the game were the same, there wasn't much to gain even if I invested an entire day.
In other words, the reason things had progressed so quickly and I had leveled up so fast during the testing period was because of the special consideration given to the testers.
Moreover, even after completing several quests, I still hadn't reached level 2.
Apparently, while inheriting the previous character's stats, the amount of experience needed for leveling up had increased tremendously.
Tsk.
I had played during the testing period without paying much attention to my stats, so I didn't even remember what level I had been.
This was a little too harsh.
“Oh dear… I'm sorry… These days… my back hurts…”
“Yes, it looks that way.”
“Hohoho, I thought an outsider would want to go on an adventure! But you're quite a healthy young man!”
“Thank you.”
“It'd be nice if your voice were just a little louder! Do you eat properly?”
“Yes.”
This kind of life wasn't bad.
Somehow, I felt incredibly satisfied, as if I had become a useful person who was spending the day doing something constructive.
Even if it was only a game.
Unexpectedly, maybe I'd do well if I became a farmer and lived in the countryside?
…No, forget it.
When I remembered how I had divided and subdivided whatever free time remained after the official service began, only to be tormented by Junior Trainer, I couldn't possibly consider myself someone who liked physical labor.
Right.
The reason I enjoyed doing these simple labor quests was because they gave me experience.
The villagers were also incredibly kind.
“Let's see now, are you married?”
“Not yet…”
“Aigoo, you've got a perfectly good appearance. How come you haven't gotten married yet, you fool?”
“…”
I had a perfectly good appearance?
I had always thought my face gave people a sense of fear, so I never expected to hear such a compliment.
I decided to ignore the latter part.
As the sun began to set, I finally finished all of today's quests and quietly started a fire.
“Hehe, this much is nothing~”
Thanks to my experience during the testing period and the knowledge I had acquired by reading and watching various things while waiting, I was able to start the fire without much difficulty.
If I took out the Indomitable Chains, I could technically use them as a lighter since Madness had been removed and the chains were now burning fiercely.
But I couldn't do something so lacking in atmosphere.
“It's peaceful…”
It had been about three days since the game's official opening.
I had looked around numerous video-uploading sites, but since there was no one who currently had stats comparable to mine, I was quite relaxed.
I had given up on streaming because no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed too difficult.
Still, I wondered if it might be pretty interesting to edit and collect my current gameplay footage later.
After all, I was currently the only player who knew about the power called Mental Power, which nobody else knew about.
That alone would probably attract attention.
Of course, there were people whose gameplay was so horrifying that what I had done would look like child's play, so the attention would probably only last for a short while.
For example, people who tried to kill every NPC in the village they chose as their starting point.
Or people who kidnapped a perfectly peaceful NPC, threw them among monsters, and watched their reaction.
Things like that would make them unworthy of being treated as human beings if they did them in reality.
Fortunately, they had been subdued by NPCs who possessed the title of Hero and were punished by being imprisoned for one month of game time.
Honestly, I was incredibly jealous.
They had been sent to a prison-like place.
There had to be special events that could only happen there.
Even if they had willingly brought it upon themselves, those exciting events must have been quite different from my peaceful farming life.
“And yet, I… Me, who once possessed the Mental Power of Madness, am sitting here in front of a campfire, shoveling oatmeal into my mouth~”
Unlike when I had eaten goblin meat, the game properly conveyed the taste now.
The oatmeal warming my stomach on this slightly chilly night was fantastic.
It was fantastic.
But the current situation also reminded me that it was time to log out and go to sleep, leaving me with an empty feeling.
Most players were probably only just starting to become active now.
To prevent Junior Trainer from barging into my house, I had to wake up early and exercise with that human who was like a dog waiting for its walk.
I had no idea why someone who seemed like the kind of person who could become friends with everyone in the world kept taking only me along.
Could it be pity?
“Oh, that poor guy. Who else is going to drag him outside if I don't…?”
If that was the case, she had judged me correctly, so should I be grateful?
“Thanks to you, I have so much stamina left that I can't even sleep after getting tired from playing games, and now I've gotten used to going outside in the middle of the night to run…”
Damn it!
What kind of healthy lifestyle was this?!
Eating nutritious meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Exercising in the morning and evening.
Kim Ingwang, are you really me?
Why are you so diligent?!
Ahhh, I want to be lazy.
I desperately wanted to be lazy more than anyone else!
I had even achieved my childhood dream of becoming a rich unemployed person, so why was I still moving around so diligently?!
“B-Big trouble! Run away quickly!!!”
“Huh?”
A hunter who lived on the outskirts of the village was running toward me in a panic, completely unlike his usual relaxed self.
So events like this really did happen.
But this was an online game.
What triggered events like this?
Considering the nature of this game, I didn't think these events would occur periodically at certain times.
Could events perhaps be triggered around places where players were located?
Huh?
Now that I thought about it, wouldn't that explain why I had randomly encountered Pai in the Maze Forest?
“H-Hey, young man! Run away quickly!”
“It doesn't really seem…”
I had intended to answer, “I don't want to!”
But what actually came out of my mouth was a very timid little sentence.
I had become so accustomed to behaving that way in the village that I had acted like that without even realizing it.
Good grief.
Didn't they say people unconsciously put on masks?
Perhaps I should be grateful that my first meeting with Pai had been so intense.
If I had first met Pai while hiding in some corner of a village and happened to run into her by chance, we probably wouldn't have developed such a deep relationship.
We might have become the kind of people who barely greeted each other.
Thinking about it that way, my first encounter had been with those detestable wolves.
Because of them, I had acted so violently.
Did that mean even my decision to fight the One-Horned was all thanks to those wolves?
…That's a pretty disgusting thought.
I didn't want to have anything to do with those bastards.
If I saw them again next time, I'd exterminate them.
No, if I exterminated the entire species, it could endanger the ecosystem.
I'd leave only one pair alive and kill all the rest.
What incredible kindness…!
Had the spirit of agape been engraved into my heart?!
Hmm.
Let's make that my resolve.
My title was Wolf Hater anyway, so doing that shouldn't cause any particular disadvantage.
“They don't look very dangerous.”
“I told you they're dangerous! Listen to your elders!”
“Eeeh~”
“You frustrating fellow! A pack of wolves is swarming toward this village right now!”
“…W…olf?”
[Quest Activated! These… Detestable bastards…! - Kill the wolves running toward the village! Every last one! Horribly and brutally!]
[Quest Reward - The Trust of the Villagers. Hunter's Gloves.]
“That's right, wol—!”
“That's right! Wolves! These huge creatures that look like dogs! Kahaha! Tell them all to come!”
“H-Huh?”
[Unreasonable Hatred Toward Wolves! The ability of the Wolf Hater title has activated! Your stats increase during battles against wolves! Your stats decrease during battles against beasts other than wolves!]
If this had happened in reality, forget about anger or anything else.
If even one wolf appeared in front of me, I would scream and try to run away while my legs went weak.
But!
Inside the game, things were different!
“H-Hey! Young man! You can't do this alone! Those things used to live in the Maze Forest!”
“Ah! The bastard dogs that walk through the fog! Again! Again! Again! Again! You cute little bastards! I'll burn every single one of you to death!”
“H-Hey! Get a hold of yourself! What's wrong with you all of a sudden?!”
“Ah, just in case, please hide inside your houses. If you can, tell everyone else to lock their doors and not come outside either.”
“W-Who exactly are you?! What are you?!”
“What else am I? I'm just a concept player! Ehehe! I'm coming!”
I was completely different from when I had first encountered them.
I was a monster with utterly ridiculous stats for a level-one character!
If I had to put it another way, I was basically the protagonist who had crossed over into another world!
