A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 78 – Northern Region’s Tempest (8)

“What is that?”

I murmured absentmindedly as I zoomed in on the screen to examine it. There was a low hill obstructing my view, so Riena and the residents hadn’t noticed it yet.

‘It’s a nest.’

No matter how I looked at it, it was a nest. It seemed like it had been created where a village once stood, an odd nest. The numerous egg shells and debris, along with the swarming glitches, resembled what I’d seen in the Bug Nest before.

I had no idea why it existed. It was best to think it had spontaneously appeared, just like the creatures that had emerged so far.

Of course, what was most important wasn’t how it came to be, but how to remove it or why it had emerged here.

‘Is it for hunting food?’

Based on the habits and behaviors the creatures had shown, I concluded it was ultimately about food.

They consume prey, absorb energy, and grow—glitches become bugs, and bugs turn into higher-level bugs. This insatiable growth and their instinct to consume everything around them was what I knew of these creatures.

However, the residents I was helping were no longer easy prey for them. Thanks to the training and programs available through the game, the residents were no longer at a level where they could be ambushed without resistance.

In fact, it was apparent they would be eager to take down those creatures for the by-products.

As a result, the creatures, facing a shortage of food, would have no choice but to look elsewhere—toward those locals from the other world who lacked my assistance and knowledge about them.

“This is going to be troublesome.”

I frowned and tapped the mouse in my hand.

I knew that the existing strong ones like Garhan who claimed their territory were tough opponents. However, if they failed to adequately resist the unexpected attack from the unfamiliar bugs, those creatures would exploit any gaps to quickly consume and grow stronger.

Even worse, once they grew stronger, they would come attacking us. The bugs were even trying to emerge into reality through the “desktop” where the residents lived.

‘We must stop that too.’

Our ultimate goal was to fend off those monsters. Therefore, I could not just stand by as they spread elsewhere and wreaked havoc.

“—.”

While I was pondering this, Riena and the scouts continued to ride their horses, gradually coming closer to the Bug Nest. Since fighting the glitches swarming within the nest was impossible at their level, I picked several individuals preparing their tasks in the village with my mouse to deploy them as reinforcements.

The warriors, including Shura and Rakum, appeared surprised by the sudden situation, but upon seeing Riena ahead, they quickly joined her.

A number of warriors and several soldiers—I decided this should be sufficient and watched with a tense expression as the battle unfolded.

‘It looks like we’ll need more equipment.’

Now that I had sharpened my observation skills a bit, it was as expected: our allies were easily contending with the glitches swarming the nest.

As Riena and the warriors unleashed skills they had honed through practice and real-life combat, those monsters resembling centipedes were instantly cut down and exploded. Mana-infused attacks proved particularly effective against them.

Moreover, the ordinary soldiers were calmly banding together, hunting down the monsters like they were large beasts, so there was no indication we would lose.

[lv 1 Bug Appears]

However, a slightly larger enemy that crawled out from the black crack in the center of the nest was definitely not an easy opponent.

While Riena alone could handle a lv 1 Bug, its size and the sturdy carapace covering it were far stronger than the glitches.

“—!”

In that situation, a soldier named Les fired an arrow that, unlike the others, shattered the creature’s carapace and embedded itself in its body.

That arrow was bigger and made of different materials, specially crafted by hunters for creature hunting, designed to take down mutants.

With that arrow, even ordinary soldiers could deal damage to the bugs.

“—, —!”

As Riena’s sword severed the enemy’s body, Shura, having jumped nearly a few meters high by kicking off the ground and air, swung both hands wielding a sharp white bone dagger to split the bug’s head in a cross shape.

Not just the arrow, but the weapons swung by the warriors were also much more effective than ordinary steel weapons—this was the reason we needed to procure more special equipment made from the by-products of mutants.

[Medium Object Destroyed, Crack Sealed]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Crack Sealed]

“—?”

“— —.”

When all the enemies were taken down, I clicked on the crack with my mouse as the residents gathered around it, expelling those monsters.

It was possible to seal the crack since a medium had been destroyed. Could that bug that had just come out have been the medium? For now, I hurriedly sealed the crack.

The residents looked astonished and murmured as the crack slowly began to disappear.

‘We need to increase the number of hunters and grind for loot.’

Having gathered the by-products from their hunt, I escorted them back to the village with my mouse and opened the game window to check on the two warriors, Naru and Dune, who were still active as hunters in Creature Hunting.

Today, I planned to add teammates for them. If four individuals formed a single team and hunted together, they would earn materials and money, which I intended to use to purchase special equipment to arm the residents.

‘Rua and Urka.’

To do that, I examined the status charts of the residents and contemplated who to make into a hunter. Since I could see talents they weren’t aware of, I could place the optimal individuals in the best positions.

The two selected were a male and female pair, both former warriors who had surrendered and joined us this time.

Seeing that they had unawakened hunter traits on their status charts, I picked them up with my mouse and placed them into the game.

“–!? –.”

It was the earlier arrivals who comforted the flustered new recruits and explained the situation. Naru and Dune were surprised by their presence but soon caught onto my intentions and informed them what kind of place this was and what they needed to do, right in front of me.

Thanks to that, the expressions of the newcomers stabilized at a noticeable speed. After all, they were individuals who inherently possessed talent.

Having specifically chosen those capable individuals, their adaptation would surely be swift.

“Then let’s go.”

With a sly smile, I moved my character forward, leading the way. Now, it was just a matter of repetitively hunting as if playing a game. Perhaps it would be even easier than in the game. I could simply step back and watch, as they would hunt on their own.

Moreover, their skills far exceeded my ability to control characters using the keyboard.

*

“I heard about it, but experiencing it firsthand makes it hard to believe.”

“It seems everyone says that at first. We were the same. But you’ll adapt quickly. It’s not that hard.”

On our way to the city with the association, where we would process the by-products from the mutants and bugs we had hunted, a bipedal raccoon led the way while Naru and Dune continued explaining to the still-dazed newcomers.

Although they themselves didn’t have much experience yet, they certainly had enough information from their observations. Knowing that their selection meant the Guardian Deity had chosen them filled the newcomers, Rua and Urka, with tension as they listened carefully.

“That’s the city over there. We’ll sell the items to an association employee named Brant there.”

They soon entered the city. Although Naru and Dune were growing accustomed to it, the newcomers were wide-eyed, surprised by the diversity of the other residents around them.

‘I wonder if there will be an opportunity today?’

While the raccoon took the lead in disposing of their items to Brant, Naru and Dune subtly scanned the surroundings. The city was not only mysterious in scale and appearance.

If you had money, there were endless options for enjoyment. While it’s somewhat natural for cities where people gather to have taverns and entertainment, it was all foreign and shockingly new to the Grassland Tribe.

Whenever the raccoon stepped away briefly and left them to explore, Naru and Dune tried little by little to enjoy those experiences.

What they saw and enjoyed here would later become thrilling and fascinating adventure tales for the residents outside, prompting them to seek those experiences even more.

“…Tina?”

“You all seem to be working hard.”

Familiar faces approached them—Tina, one of the characters in the game, and someone Naru and Dune recognized.

However, unlike their last meeting, she was wearing a bitter smile, appearing injured and wrapped in bandages, without any protective gear.

“Weren’t you supposed to go hunting for a new mutant?”

“It’s a common occurrence. You get injured or die while hunting.”

While briefly glancing at the raccoon still conversing with Brant, Dune spoke to her first. With a hollow laugh, she shook her head and recounted what she had experienced while out hunting.

“That creature was quite strong. Its black carapace couldn’t be pierced by ordinary weapons, and its powerful claws could snap thick trees and tear people apart with each swing. Its tail could spray venom that would dissolve a person alive and poison the ground with extreme toxins.”

She elaborated quite a bit on how formidable the foe she faced was—it sounded like a high-level mutant.

However, as Naru and Dune heard her descriptions, they exchanged glances, experiencing a sense of discomfort. This was because the appearance of the new type she described seemed vaguely familiar.

“W-wait…”

“It uses tentacles too? Right. In the last moments, it lashed out with tentacles from its back, killing several people.”

As if he had heard their conversation, the raccoon suddenly interjected. Naru and Dune flinched at the raccoon’s sudden approach and, while startled, Tina managed to understand what the raccoon said and nodded in agreement.

‘This is insane.’

Upon hearing that response, he was left stunned and frozen at the screen.

All of Tina’s testimonies pointed to bugs. The fact that bugs had emerged in the game world made him chuckle awkwardly in reality.

“We killed it in the end. The creature that devoured even hunters kept moving; it might have come close to the city without us noticing.”

Tina provided additional details about what the bug had been doing at that time.

The more she explained, the more his expression hardened.

‘Does that mean it can follow us anywhere we go?’

The bugs’ goal was the erosion of the world. They employed any means necessary to achieve that.

To infiltrate the game world and slay its inhabitants was certainly one of their objectives.

“Why is everyone reacting this way? Don’t worry too much. It’s just the emergence of a new variant.”

Tina chuckled at their reactions. In reality, having become a high-level hunter, facing all sorts of monsters, to her, a bug was just another kind of monster.

However, for those who would have to battle that monster in reality, they still lacked the legendary equipment and skilled hunters that appeared in the game.