A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 61 – Status (1)

‘Wow, this is chaotic.’

Thanks to the program’s assistance, I managed to create a classification table and sort the residents by traits and status for a quick overview, but that wasn’t a cure-all.

At the time when Shura, a warrior with enough experience points, and Rasen were accustomed to hunting for Essence of Monster in the dungeon of the Underground World—

I momentarily pulled myself out of the game and had to busily carry out other tasks. Amongst the throngs of people, I had to find suitable individuals and place them where needed, even playing the game myself to assist them if necessary.

Transporters, miners, farmers, lumberjacks, and others with resource-extraction traits were placed into sandbox crafting, while warriors who surrendered and became our allies were plunged into Dark Blood to change their classes and learn skills.

‘It’s insufficient.’

But this wasn’t nearly enough. Thanks to the newly joined residents, the place was crowded, but there were nowhere near enough “jobs” to utilize them.

With the increase in people, more resources were required, so I raised the sandbox crafting from level three to four and placed as many as 48 individuals there, yet—

“We need a new game.”

I muttered absentmindedly while tapping on the various game icons wallpapering my desktop. If various programs provided me with helpful functions, then games would help me assist the residents.

As soon as they could substitute activities like farming, hunting, and livestock raising, they’d need other jobs.

‘What’s this?’

In the meantime, one of the residents I’d organized had a status abnormality. To be precise, he had a dilemma.

His name was Raoul. It was a name I didn’t recognize, but when I clicked on his name on the table, someone among the bustling crowd on the enlarged desktop was shining with a yellow outline.

“—?”

“–, —.”

Raoul, a middle-aged man with a robust build, was having a serious conversation with others in front of the piled-up items.

Those items were familiar to my eyes.

Black Carapace Fragments, Black Stinger, and the deep red mineral presumed to be a heart. All were by-products left from hunting Bugs. When Bugs die, most of the corpses turn to dust and vanish, but some parts remain like that.

[Tribe Member Raoul’s Dilemma: Chief Balun instructed him to properly store it, just in case, and to figure out how to use the strong mana-infused by-products left behind from the Bugs, but even as a skilled hunter and leather craftsman, Raoul is at a loss.]

“Hmm.”

When residents develop deep troubles, I gain the authority to read them. Through this, I discovered why Raoul had such a serious expression and contemplated with my arms crossed.

How could I solve that dilemma? Transforming it using something like a file converter was impossible.

[Hunting Action Game Program Recommendation]

At that moment, the Master Program sprang to life after a long hiatus. The little guy that had known the convenience of the spreadsheet program had finally decided to speak up for once.

‘Creature Hunting.’

The game suggested by the Master Program was a third-person action game similar to Dark Blood. However, the specifics differed widely.

Unlike Dark Blood, where the main goal was to repeat quests to hunt mobs and defeat bosses to level up and enhance skills, the newly recommended game felt like an ongoing boss battle against gigantic monsters, upgrading equipment using their by-products as you leveled up.

Games are ultimately just a means to an end. Thinking along those lines, I might be able to handle the by-products of Bugs while also learning advantageous techniques for battling these behemoth-like Bugs.

‘Let’s do it.’

Activation cost: 3000P. The price was spot on, excluding the emergency funds.

Having made my decision, I activated the game. Of course, there were other games I was drawn to, but I knew that as I unlocked one by one like this, they’d all eventually open up.

[Available Placement 0/2]

“Wow, this is seriously lame.”

The placement limit for stage one was a paltry two. I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

Yet unlike Dark Blood, there were no chapter restrictions, so if I saved up a bit more points, I could unlock the next stage and fit more people in.

After all, pumping all our power into one venture isn’t the best plan either. There need to be folks to safeguard the village in case of emergency.

‘Who to take?’

The most crucial consideration was choosing the first vanguard to carve a path into this strange new world. The vanguard must thoroughly digest the rules and features of the new game, so regrettably, I could only rely on proven resources at the moment.

“—?”

I lifted up Riena, who was watching from the bustling village, full of newly joined residents. I felt bad for her, but there was no one I trusted more than her.

Balun, the chief, was busy, and those like Rakum were fulfilling other duties elsewhere.

‘How long has it been since this game came out?’

I executed the game by bringing Riena along. It was my first time properly playing this newest series after having played the previous one during my school days.

*

“Guhk.”

Suddenly, I was whisked up into the sky and dropped into a new world. For Riena, this was an experience she was already quite tired of.

Equipped with armor, she naturally shook herself off and stood up.

‘Where am I?’

This place wasn’t the city that served as the backdrop for Dark Blood Chapter 2. It wasn’t made up of angular blocks.

But still, she wasn’t rattled. She’d grown accustomed to scenarios like this. Now, more than anything, she simply believed that her trusted companion brought her here for a significant reason.

“Ah, you really came..?!”

Soon, someone approached her with rustling sounds beside where she stood still. Riena was taken aback upon seeing him.

It was a completely different existence than the robust knight she’d encountered in the Dark Blood world, who had his face covered with a mask.

“Are you, perhaps, that person?”

Riena diligently suppressed her fluster and lowered herself to look at him.

Then, this little raccoon that approached her nodded and drew out the sword he carried, waving it in the air.

‘What the hell, why has it become a mascot and not a playable character?’

Riena had no idea what this raccoon character was thinking as it flailed its short arms before her.

‘But still, I have work to do.’

Biting his lips, he began to march forward, controlling the raccoon character he was manipulating. Riena followed right behind without a word, a strong trust built from the journey they shared up to that point.

“…”

However, her gaze was fixated on the plush tail protruding from the twitching butt. The corners of her mouth faintly rose without her realizing it.

“This is, no way?!”

But at that moment, a gradually intensifying tremor began to shake the forest where they were.

‘So the start is the same, huh?’

The one observing this from beyond the monitor stayed calm. He was aware that this situation was part of the game progression.

The issue was that now this wasn’t just a game, and that predetermined process might not go as it had before. They had already felt that in previous games.

“G-giant monster?!”

Desperately drawing her sword, Riena gasped in shock at the sight of a colossal beast that had burst forth, crushing decent-sized trees and pushing aside large rocks.

Though its reptilian appearance was less grotesque, its gigantic form bore a similarity to Bugs, which reminded Riena of them.

However, it differed from Bugs, which had a cold, machine-like demeanor. The monster in the game was purely a beast.

‘If we get into a pinch, surely a helper will appear to assist with the tutorial.’

He remained composed as he faced the giant lizard, which bared its teeth. After all, this situation would soon be resolved.

“Guhk, who do you think you are?”

Riena didn’t know that. With the enemy charging at them, she swung her sword with all her might, aimed straight ahead.

With her heartbeat fueling the mana bursting forth, she unleashed a skill acquired from a previous game.

With a diagonal slash cutting through the air, it struck the monster. A powerful blow capable of chopping even the largest tree in one hit, yet the lizard didn’t falter to defeat immediately; it merely received a nasty gash from the very first strike.

“Being big means nothing.”

But instead, Riena smiled, showing her teeth as she gripped her sword again. This wasn’t her first battle against a large foe. More than anything, she was a warrior by nature.

While she normally held back in fights to protect someone or fulfill a mission, the zeal for strong opponents and the aspiration to prove her growth by conquering them surged within her.

The game world was a perfect arena for her to unleash that fighting spirit.

“Watch out!”

At that moment, a large arrow shot by someone struck the head of the lunging lizard. The arrow pierced through its blue scales and lodged itself in, and the gorgon, targeted on its weak spot, stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Startled, Riena turned, sword still in an awkward stance, to the archer.

‘There they are.’

Seeing the familiar face on the monitor screen, he took a sip from the coffee he was holding.

“What the heck? How did they inflict such a wound on the Blue Drake? That, with a seemingly inconsequential shallow sword.”

‘It seems the script has changed.’

Approaching them with a specially large bow in hand was a young woman with a sturdy build and bronze skin.

Realizing her dialogue had shifted from its original flow, he began to smoothly transition into conversation.

“Your attire is odd. You look more like a knight than a hunter.”

“What’s a hunter?”

Her gaze focused on Riena. Noticing the raccoon beside her, Riena decided to take the lead in the conversation.

He didn’t particularly intervene. It seemed like the pre-planned events were about to unfold.

“Are you kidding? You’ve got such a friend with you. But if you only lived in the base, you might not know the details.”

She shrugged, looking somewhat incredulous but then broke into a smile. Then she started explaining again.

Though it all started off twisted, technically, the tutorial had begun like this.