Logging out is too Hard
Episode 10.
[You are dead].
[You are forced to return to the last town you stayed in].
▶ This is a newbie area.
▶ No stat penalties on death.
▶ No item drops on death.
"......."
You open your eyes.
He was alone in the pleasant-smelling shrine.
No wonder, death was an extremely rare occurrence in the Beginner's Zone.
The Shrine of the Resurrected, located behind the Adventurers' Guild.
The shrine's function was simple.
Those who died without a resurrection item would awaken here after a certain amount of time.
As you level up, the wait time for resurrection gets longer, and you may lose some stats, experience, or equipment.
As a result, as you level up, you have to be careful about dying.
'But this is a beginner's zone, where there's no penalty for dying a few times.'
Woojin smiled as if to say, "It's a beginner's area with no penalty for dying a few times.
Death for nothing.
It was a bit of a bizarre decision, but it wasn't a bad one for the price.
Woojin smirked bitterly and poked himself in the temple.
"Status window."
Name: Khan
Occupation: Warrior
Level: 12
Total Points: 240
Points remaining: 0
Traits : Adventurer, Loner, Fierce, Indomitable, Swift, Outwitted
Title: [Swift Hunter]
Specialisation : Illusion (1/1)
Imprint: Imperfect Essence of Sarvandin
Added a new stat to the last line of the status bar.
Talcak-.
He hovered his finger over it, and another window appeared.
Name: Soul of the Incomplete Sarvandin
Description: Due to his death, the contract with his soul was never fully fulfilled.
▶ Strength +15
▶ Agility +15
▶Talent: Black Guardian
▶ Talent: Ravenous Stigma
▶ Talent: Shell Eyes
[You have learned a new trait].
[Do you want to confirm?]
Woojin nodded.
Talent: Black Guardian
▶ When you are at half health or less, you can shroud yourself in a black mist.
▶ While the black mist lasts, wounds heal slowly at a rate equal to your lower regeneration.
Woojin couldn't help but chuckle at the effect of the imprinted essence.
Health regeneration alone was hard enough to get, but to add stealth to it?
But there was more to come.
Talent: Ravenous Stigma
▶ Once per day, you can brand all creatures except yourself.
▶ Apply 1/3 of the branded creature's highest stat to you.
▶ The branded creature's stats are reduced by the number of points taken.
'Living creatures can be branded, even demons.'
If so, the uses of branding are endless.
Branding a dungeon boss, in particular, would be incredibly effective.
'It doesn't stop there.'
You can use branding outside of hunting.
Maybe that's the fundamental use of branding.
Not hunting, but killing.
'Once you pass the beginner's area, you enter a lawless zone where you can PK at any time.'
You never know when something will happen.
If there's something you can do to prepare for it, it's good to have it, whatever it is.
Because [Evil Tale] wasn't going to be a wishy-washy game about hunting demons, climbing towers, and writing heroic stories.
I'm not sure what that last talent is, though.
Talent: Shell Eyes
▶You can see what's hidden.
There was a short description.
"Hmmm...... what does it see?"
I didn't have a clue, but it didn't matter.
The first two were already worth a lot.
"Huh......."
Woojin exhaled loudly to calm his pounding heart.
"I guess I'll have to look into Sarbandin for now."
Ding-ding.
As Woojin left the shrine, he made a promise to himself.
'This will be the last time I come here.'
The pain wrapped around his entire body.......
It wasn't just an effect, but a clear will.
'The will to take my body.'
And it was still in his body.
It had been stopped by his own death, but that had only bought him a little time.
"It was dangerous."
To think that something like that had followed him from the other world.
It would come for him at any moment.
"If you're going to do it, do it. My body is mine."
Pfft-.
He tapped his chest, warningly.
"I'll never take it from you, whoever you are."
* * *
"Sarbandin?"
The member of the Adventurers' Guild cocked his head at Woojin's question.
"Well, that's a name I've never heard before."
"I see."
The member checked the pouch Woojin handed him.
"I got all the goblin teeth."
[Rank D - Collected 10 Goblin Teeth]
[Quest Complete].
[Reward: 1 Silver]
Woojin takes the coin in front of him,
[Congratulations].
[Tutorial - You have completed your preparation as an adventurer].
[You may now obtain your Adventurer Registration Certificate].
The small reward of a single silver was accompanied by an overly gaudy golden notification.
"Well done, here is the sign of a rank 9 adventurer. You are free to roam the villages in the Dark Forest along with Moretti Village."
"What villages are there?"
"To the west is a supply station in the desert called Ogall, and to the north is a mid-level city called Partha."
"A ...... city?"
"Yes. It's the only city in the beginner region. Oh, and by the way, if you're looking for something, go to Partha, there's a library there."
"A library?"
"Yes. They say that books remember things that humans don't, because books don't forget."
The member chuckled to himself, as if pleased with what he had said.
'It's amazing to say the least.......'
The feeling of being too human.
Maybe it's because I experienced the same real life as here.
I wonder if it's a real programme.
"Thank you."
Woojin took the adventurer registration card and left the union.
"Partara......."
A city located in the northernmost part of the Dark Forest with an average level 25 hunting ground.
'That's where the orc citadel is. Probably.'
Not a bad destination.
It was somewhere I had to go sometime, if only to break the record on the dungeon board.
Talcak-.
Woojin brought up the community window.
The community boards available in-game were full of gossip as well as game-related stories.
In a way, it was the only way he could communicate with the real world.
There was a catch: you couldn't use it on the field or in dungeons, only in town.
"......?"
The community's threads were almost entirely filled with talk of a new ranker in Goblin's Nest.
"Looks like everyone has time to spare. I should be hunting."
Despite his words, Woojin smirked at the unexpected attention and quickly scrolled down.
'Yes, everyone write a lot, so the developers will take notice.'
Tsk-.
Then his finger stopped.
"...... Hmm?"
One of the posts plastered across the community caught his eye.
- [Breaking news] Top 10 clans are calling an emergency meeting.
They were the ones who were currently controlling the course of [Evil Tale].
'Ten clans.......'
Woojin remembered the man who had gathered the party before entering the Goblin's Nest.
He was a member of the Jaina Clan, one of the top 10 clans.
'It's a beginner's dungeon, so there are a lot of people entering, so I think it should be fine.......'
Maybe someone will remember her face.
It can't hurt to be cautious.
'It's still a PK-free zone, but there are plenty of ways to disrupt the hunt.'
You won't die, but you can get your limbs chopped off, even in the beginner zone.
'You'd better be careful in the rest of the dungeon.'
Click-clack-clack.
I pressed the magnifying glass in the community window and a virtual keyboard appeared.
It was out of place in a fantasy world, but this wasn't [real].
It didn't matter.
[No search results for 'Sarbandin'].
Woojin clicked his tongue as he looked at the board, which was empty despite his expectations.
'What the hell?'
Woojin couldn't hide his annoyance, but as the member said, it seemed like the only other option for now was Partha's library.
"You'll find out when you play the game."
He hadn't even set foot on the central continent yet.
"I need a tanker for the wolf cave!"
"Buying herbs!"
"Anyone who wants to go collect slime nukes!"
The square was crowded with people looking for party members before they went hunting, and people trying to make deals of all kinds.
"......."
He felt a little bitter as he watched them enjoying the game in a normal way, unlike himself.
'Get a grip. Even if we're in the same place, they and I are obviously different.'
They have a place to go back to.
'You'd better get ready to leave.'
It was time to move forward a little further.
* * *
"Can you craft armour?"
Woojin found a small shop next to the Adventurers' Guild.
A general store where you could buy armour and various weapons.
It was unlikely that there would be a proper smithy in a beginner's area, but it was still a place where you could make various things with the materials you found while hunting.
"What do you need?"
An old craftsman walked out from the back of the shop.
"How... did you get this?"
The old man's eyes narrowed as he saw the leather in Woojin's pouch.
"Nothing much. I got lucky."
"It's not something you can get by luck, ...... but what can I do? I'm not skilled enough to handle it."
The leather in his pocket was from a goblin lord he'd hunted.
"I thought you said you could handle anything from the beginner's area."
Woojin asked him, remembering the information he'd gleaned from the community.
He was the only crafters in the Beginner Zone.
So even if he hunted for materials in the next region, he had to come here to craft them.
Why did they make it so cumbersome?
It was a common complaint in the early days of the game, but after a few years of having an exchange that could be used anywhere in town, not many people talk about it anymore.
Just a few questions.
'The programme that created Evil Tail, [Ethan], was said to be the most complete A.I. ever.'
Could such an A.I. have made a mistake?
Well.......
I couldn't tell.
"It's a Goblin Lord, it's not a very high level demon, but this is different."
The master looked at the materials and then at Woojin.
Name: Enchanted Goblin Hide
Rank: Rare
Description: The enchanted hide of a Goblin Lord. It is tougher and harder than ordinary goblin leather and has magical powers.
"This is no ordinary material, but a magical one. I've lived in Moretti Village all my life, but you're the first one to bring magic materials."
'Hmph?'
Wu Jin narrowed his eyes slightly at the old man's words.
It had been many years since [Evil Tale] had been in service, so most of the strategies in the beginner's area had already been published.
Even if you just search the community, you'll find strategies for the dungeons in the Dark Forest and various field monsters.
The advantage of being late to the game is that you can get a lot of information.
But.......
'First time.'
It was also a condition where anything could happen.
As a latecomer, he was intrigued.
"If I tinker with it, I'll just make the leather armour a little stronger, which is fine if you like, but...... I'd rather leave it to the experts."
The refusal was a surprise, but his offer was certainly intriguing.
"Do you know anyone who can handle this? I was told you were the only craftsman in town."
"A craftsman doesn't have to be a man."
He said to Woojin with an odd smile.
"Would you like to meet him?"
Ti-ling-.
A sound came to Wu Jin's ears.
"Ah."
At that moment, he realised.
He realised why he had bothered to bring the ingredients to Moretti Village.
It wasn't an A.I. mistake.
[He found the quest].
'This was it.'