“What are you?”
【I am your guide! Feel free to ask me anything you are curious about!】
When I spoke to the blue screen, it answered. Is it some kind of spirit?
“Were you the one controlling my body?”
【I am merely a guide!】
“Then who was controlling my body?”
【All characters operate under the rules of the System!】
“Characters? And what the hell is this System bastard? Is it your superior? Or your leader?”
BZZZZZZT-
The blue screen flickered.
Text filled my vision.
【System(SYSTEM)】
【The great law and source of possibility that guides every being in Amuse! It bestowed order upon a world once filled with chaos and grants every being an equal opportunity to grow─】
The guide was apparently a fanatic who worshiped this thing called the System. My face twisted involuntarily.
“Spare me the sermon. Are the people who barged into the workshop minions of the System?”
【They are players(Player)!】
“Players…… Players?”
The moment I repeated the unfamiliar word.
BZZZZZZZZT-
The blue screen flickered once again.
【Player(Player)】
【Those who adventure across this vast world! Those who challenge and defeat powerful enemies! Those who sometimes fight against adversity! They are the protagonists of Amuse Online! The possibilities of players are truly limitless. You, too, who are reading this, must advance toward the pinnacle of Amuse Online!】
The screen was filled with unfamiliar terminology.
However, there was one word I recognized.
Amuse.
The world said to have been created by Grid. It was the name that encompassed Arche and the entire world beneath my feet.
I did not know what the word Online after it meant.
Nor was I curious.
There was only one thing I wanted to know right now.
“I suddenly turned into a complete idiot in front of the two players who barged into the workshop. What happened to me? Was I imagining it?”
【You were not imagining it! All NPCs-】
“That’s enough if I wasn’t imagining it. What do I have to do to kill those bastards? Do I need to sell my soul? Cut off a finger for you?”
【Gasp! You must not antagonize players!】
“Why not? Because they’re members of your group?”
【That command cannot be understood.】
“You’re saying they aren’t your subordinates?”
【Subordinates? Players merely use our System.】
I had thought the System was the guide’s leader, or at least the object of its worship. Yet the guide was now speaking as though players were even greater beings than the System.
“Are players above you?”
【The System is a fair set of rules that applies to every being.】
“So it isn’t your leader?”
【That command cannot be understood.】
“Answer me properly before I stab you.”
【Which part caused you discomfort?】
“…….”
Profanity rose to the back of my throat.
However, getting angry at the guide would solve nothing.
Damn it all, this thing was the only one capable of showing me the way right now.
I glared at the blue screen for a long time before finally opening my mouth.
“……Why can’t I kill players?”
【All NPCs must follow their Character Profiles!】
“NPC? What is that?”
【NPC】
【The indigenous inhabitants who have lived in Amuse from the beginning. It is an abbreviation for Non-Player Character. In other words, it means a character who is not a player! They act according to the Character Profiles assigned to them.】
The indigenous inhabitants who had lived in Amuse from the beginning…….
It must have meant people like the old man and me.
Then what were players?
Were they beings who had crossed over from another dimension?
I had many questions.
However, the heart of the matter lay elsewhere.
Character Profile.
Those damned words had seized my body and forced me to flee.
“Tell me my Character Profile.”
【Character Compendium: Akkun】
【Golden’s foremost disciple and the finest apothecary in Arche! He is also the second-best apothecary in Arche! Oh, and let us keep the fact that there are only two apothecaries in Arche a secret between the players and us…… To add one more thing, despite his foul mouth, Akkun is a spineless coward. Please do not frighten him too much!】
A spineless coward…….
Those two words were particularly irritating, but everything else was true. It seemed that a person’s Character Profile was written according to the life they had lived.
I thought I finally understood what was happening.
“So I’m an NPC.”
【That is correct!】
“The old man…… Golden, I mean. The residents of Arche and everyone else who had been living in Amuse must have become NPCs as well.”
【That is correct!】
“And every NPC has to follow their Character Profile for their entire life.”
【That is correct!】
“Then because my Character Profile says I’m a ‘spineless coward,’ I couldn’t do anything to the players who killed my master and ran away instead. Is that right?”
【That is correct!】
“Ha, haha.”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
My anger had not disappeared.
Neither had my sorrow.
‘Soaked ashes.’
That was exactly what I felt like.
Thanks to that, my mind was working clearly.
“I want to change my Character Profile.”
【That request cannot be made.】
“Right. Fuck. Of course you’d say that.”
Ultimately, it meant that I could never escape the setting of being a ‘spineless coward.’
At this rate, I would continue behaving like a coward whenever I encountered players. I might not even be permitted to meet their eyes, much less fight them.
‘Are the other villagers in the same situation as me?’
They probably were.
Arche was a peaceful village where fighting never occurred.
There could not possibly be an NPC with a violent Character Profile in a backwater village like this…… No, wait.
There were some.
They were far from violent, but there were at least a few people who carried weapons.
‘The Guard Corps.’
Arche had a Guard Corps.
Calling them a Guard Corps was generous. Normally, they were just five old men who did nothing but consume food.
However, it would be a different story if the moment came when they drew their spears or swords.
It would mean that Arche was truly in danger.
‘According to what the guide said, the Guard Corps’ Character Profiles are probably…….’
A dependable bulwark that protects Arche from foreign threats.
Would it not be something along those lines?
‘If I tell them what I saw in the workshop, they might kill the players for me.’
I did not even stop to consider it.
I immediately cut across the mountain toward the village fence.
【Patch in progress. 45%】
Perhaps five minutes had passed.
The closer I came to the village, the stranger the ground beneath my feet felt.
It was like walking through a sticky swamp. Every time I stepped forward, the soles of my shoes refused to come away from the ground. At the same time, I felt as though someone had seized my torso and was dragging me backward.
I dismissed it as my imagination and stubbornly forced myself onward, but eventually I reached a point where I could not take another step.
【NPCs cannot leave their assigned areas!】
The guide drove the point home.
I could not go to the village.
I was even more powerless than I had imagined.
“……Ah.”
A wave of dizziness struck me.
I managed to remain standing by reflexively grabbing a tree, but my thoughts had become hopelessly tangled.
‘……I can’t even go to the village?’
How much of me did it have to control before it was satisfied?
Then what the hell could I do?
I had to think.
But perhaps because the path I had believed to be my only way forward had been blocked, my mind refused to work.
‘……No. Stay calm.’
I had already despaired enough.
One at a time.
Slowly.
Step by step.
I retraced my memories.
I recalled myself fleeing pathetically from the workshop.
I recalled the faces of the two monsters who had killed the old man.
I recalled the infused liquor and the argument I had had with the old geezer.
Before roaring at me like thunder, he had said this.
There were two things I forbade you from doing.
Poison and mana.
He had told me until my ears wore out not to use those two sinister things, and every time, I had nodded.
I had only nodded.
To confess the truth, I had continued studying poison even after Aunt Mari died.
It was not because I intended to repeat the same mistake.
Nor was it because I felt some immense fascination with poison.
There was only one reason.
‘Because I had to take revenge.’
My memories continued backward until they reached five years ago.
That day, too, I had been gathering poisonous plants from the mountain behind the village.
Whether something was poison or medicine depended on how it was used.
Even dangerous substances could prove useful if handled properly.
Master had once thought the same way I did. That was why he had said little about my handling poisonous plants, as long as I did not eat the damn things.
I thought there would be no problem.
I believed there would not be.
After gathering the poisonous plants and returning to the workshop, I went to deliver medicine to the old geezers in the village.
Those old geezers were fools.
I shamelessly overcharged them for the medicine and used the money to buy fine liquor and snacks.
To avoid being scolded by Master and Aunt Mari, I had to finish everything and wait for the smell of alcohol to leave me before returning.
That was why I came back so late.
Even when I stood before the door, my steps felt heavy.
I hesitated to open it.
But the moment I placed my hand on the doorknob and pressed my eye to the gap.
The inside of the workshop was red.
An unfamiliar, sickening stench struck me.
My hesitation disappeared.
I threw the door open.
Aunt Mari had been torn to pieces. The old man had lost one leg and looked like a broken wooden doll.
It was not until several days later that I learned the truth.
There had been a hole in my herb basket.
I had left a trail of poisonous plants throughout the mountain.
The monsters that loved poisonous plants had eaten them without suspicion and followed me.
That was how they reached the workshop.
There, they found two far more delicious pieces of prey.
That was the entire story.
I had been the cause.
‘I shouldn’t think this way, but…….’
Perhaps the tragedy that day had happened for the sake of today.
I opened my mouth.
“Are monsters NPCs?”
【Monster】
【A byword for cruel and ferocious creatu-】
“Just answer yes or no.”
【They are not NPCs!】
I received the answer I wanted.
Now I knew what I had to do.
I walked across the damp earth and bent down.
I saw small white flowers.
The flowers had naturally gathered into the shape of a bouquet, and leaves resembling water dropwort grew beneath them.
I brought my nose closer.
There was no scent.
If it were water dropwort, its fresh, grassy smell would have reached my nose first.
If that scent was absent, then it was not water dropwort.
It was poisonous.
I pulled up every last one and continued deeper into the darkness.
Plants resembling the ugly hands of newborn babies swayed upon the sloping ground.
The way they bobbed with the wind made them look as though they were greeting me.
Bracken.
This was poisonous as well.
I pulled up a handful and continued walking.
I saw a tree branch thickly covered in round, smooth leaves. Small, adorable red berries grew all over it.
Yew berries.
Those were poisonous as well.
After gathering every berry I could find, I trudged toward the mountain’s summit.
A beautiful purple flower bloomed along the path.
I sat down before it.
The flower resembled a round hat.
Depending on how one looked at it, it might also resemble a helmet.
On the outside, it appeared elegant and beautiful.
Only on the outside.
Every part of this flower—the petals, seeds, leaves, stems, and even the roots—interfered with neural transmission and ultimately led its victim to death.
‘It is called monkshood.’
I pulled it out by the roots and shook off the dirt.
RIIIP-
RIIIP-
I tore strips from my clothes and placed the poisonous plants upon the cloth.
CRUNCH! SQUISH!
I picked up a nearby stone and crushed the poisonous plants.
【Patch in progress. 50%】
The things I had gathered no longer resembled plants.
They were nothing more than a mass of viscous slime.
It looked crude, but that did not change the fact that it was an extremely deadly poison.
I played with the poisonous mixture using my fingers as I thought.
‘I don’t know much about the habits of other monsters, but.’
The monsters living in Arche’s mountains were mad for poison.
At the same time, they were highly cautious and intelligent.
The fact that I had scattered poisonous plants throughout the mountain for five years without seeing so much as a single hair from them was proof of that.
‘There’s no reason they would suddenly appear now.’
I needed to change something.
I had to disguise myself so that they would not be wary of me.
‘This is insane, but…….’
SPLAT-
I smeared the poisonous mixture all over my body.
A peculiar stench assaulted my nose.
Although I had not eaten anything, the inside of my mouth began to tingle. Before long, my nostrils and the tip of my tongue felt numb.
At the same time, heat spread across my entire body as though my skin were being seared with heated metal. On top of that pain came the sensation of someone repeatedly driving needles into every part of me.
My fingertips trembled.
The vibration traveled up my arms, through my shoulders, and across my entire body. I shook uncontrollably like someone who had just been pulled from freezing water.
The poison had seeped into me through my skin and respiratory tract.
It was the sort of thing only a bastard desperate to die would do.
Even so, it was necessary.
I had to go this far for them to mistake me for prey and come looking for me.
‘The preparations are…… complete.’
In truth, one thing still remained, but I had finished what I needed to do for now.
I closed my eyes and waited for them to come.
The chirping of insects.
The blowing of the wind.
The singing of birds.
The swaying of branches.
The sound of leaves breaking free and falling.
All manner of noises brushed past my ears.
One by one, I erased them from my awareness.
Only silence remained.
CRUNCH-
Something stepped upon the leaves.
CRUNCH- CRUNCH-
The sound drew closer.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH-
The sounds multiplied.
I opened my eyes.
Dozens of eyes glinted within the darkness.
When I remained still, they approached with elegant strides. Their forms gradually emerged beneath the moonlight.
Pitch-black fur.
Pitch-black mana flowing across that fur.
Fangs as large as a person’s forearm.
A pack of wild dogs, each as large as a grown person.
The nightmare from five years ago stood before me.
Red letters appeared above their heads.
【Lv 17. Pitch-Black Fang】
【Lv 17. Pitch-Black Fang】
【Lv 17. Pitch-Black Fang】
【Lv 17. Pitch-Black Fa─
“So that was their name.”
A hollow sigh escaped me.
They were mongrels I wanted to tear apart immediately, and even that would not have been enough. Strangely, however, a smile spread across my lips the moment I saw them.
The only way to kill the players.
I had to lure those bastards back to the workshop.
However, they were wary of me.
They had good reason to be.
HISSSSS─
A faint red energy surrounded my entire body.
It was one of the things Master had forbidden.
A power that existed solely for destruction and was researched and developed only to make slaughter more efficient.
The symbol of war.
Mana.
This power was why the wild dogs had avoided me for five years.
Today, however, I had deliberately placed myself before them.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to attack?”
Naturally, there was no answer.
Several of the wild dogs were even backing away into the darkness.
If I left them alone, they would all flee soon.
I needed to provoke them.
With something like this.
SLAAASH-
I drew my dagger in a long line across my forearm.
Blood mixed with the poisonous sludge covering my body and dripped onto the ground.
GRRRRRR…….
However, the pack still did not attack.
SHNK-
I drove the dagger deeper.
Perhaps my skin and nerves had gone numb, because the pain was not as severe as I had expected.
“Is that still not enough?”
GRRRRRR-
“Then what the hell do I have to do for you?”
With blood pouring from my arm, I picked up a stone from the ground.
“I said come at me, you sons of bitches-!”
BANG!
I hurled the stone into the face of the smallest wild dog.
YELP-!
With a shrill cry, the wild dog’s skull caved inward in the shape of the stone. It staggered before collapsing onto the ground.
【You have defeated a Lv 14. Pitch-Black Fang Pu─】
BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!
GRRRRRR! WOOF! ARF-WOOF! WOOF!
Just as the guide began to say something, several of the wild dogs glared at me as though they wanted to kill me and began barking.
“I told you to come at me.”
When I shrugged, they strode closer.
It worked.
“Then come and eat me too!”
I immediately sprinted toward the workshop.
【Patch in progress. 55%】