A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 91 – Devouring and Evolving (1)

“Is everything you said really true?”

“Yes, my Chieftain. It’s a clearly evident truth based on what I saw, heard, and experienced firsthand.”

Chieftain Garhan of the Tribe. Garhan’s eyes flickered at the report from the returning envoy, R’tai.

He was already in a state of confusion from the testimonies relayed by others and Barun’s suggestion. But now, hearing a trusted warrior like R’tai testify after exploring the Arin Tribe’s stronghold only deepened his turmoil.

“Could it really be a special land ruled by deities?”

He tightly shut his eyes. After the destruction and absorption of the tribe he trusted, Luhan’s tribe, he had already given up on the idea of dealing with the Arin Tribe through force.

Now, if he wanted to suppress the Arin Tribe, it would require mobilizing all of his resources. But Garhan’s immediate enemies were not the northeastern Arin Tribe but other tribes to the west and south.

Dividing his already meager power was sheer madness.

“Chieftain, if I may speak boldly, we must ally with them. Considering their abundant resources and the roles they play, it would be beneficial!”

“If your words are true, it means they have a significant role in stopping those Black Monsters, doesn’t it? You speak wisely.”

Garhan could not deny R’tai’s words, who had already fully tilted towards the Arin Tribe. After all, a bug that had pursued them had ended up annihilating a small village and even nesting there, producing numerous glitches.

With carapaces harder than ordinary beasts, lethal poison, and rampant reproduction. Garhan, who was already horrified by the bugs, could not overlook the fact that the Arin Tribe was drawing the bugs’ aggro from the borders and dealing with them.

“Send me back to them as an envoy. I will convey the good intentions of our generous Chieftain and strive to forge an alliance.”

“Very well. R’tai, you’re responsible for establishing communication with them. If we can diminish the dangers from the east this way, it will be easier to focus on other matters!”

Ultimately, Garhan made a decision. He recognized the Arin Tribe as an equally strong force and opted to form an agreement to engage in exchange rather than launching an attack.

Delighted at the positive outcome, R’tai bowed and grinned. According to Barun, who had explained things to him in the past, his success in persuading Chieftain Garhan to forge an agreement would be a significant achievement, possibly earning him recognition from the Guardian Deity.

“Let’s go!”

R’tai mounted his horse and once again galloped across the grasslands. Unlike before, he no longer had to race to the end alone.

“Express gratitude for the Chieftain’s decision and let them know we are also favorable towards the exchange.”

“Understood.”

“Then, let’s see what we can share with each other now.”

Leaving the north to Rakum, Barun returned to the village only to spot R’tai being carried through the air by a mouse, making him chuckle.

Initially startled, R’tai seemed to be enjoying the ride on the mouse instead. Although he appeared as a puppet caught in pincers, it was also proof that he had gained recognition from the deity, so he had reason to be pleased even as a foreigner.

“We have abundant resources. But we lack people.”

Barun pondered what to exchange in light of Garhan’s willingness to ally. In truth, the advantage lay with Barun.

The resources harvested from the game were indeed plentiful. Considering that the grassland tribes desperately sought food, the Arin Tribe, free from such issues, held incredible leverage.

“Does the Chieftain not have enough people under his command? We wish to acquire not resources but those very people.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

Barun’s straightforward remark caught R’tai off guard, nodding hesitantly. Chieftain Garhan had voluntarily and forcibly integrated all tribes in the area under his command.

With numbers reaching tens of thousands, it was no insignificant figure.

“What do you think? Do you think the Chieftain would send people our way?”

“Certainly… Too many tribes have come under his banner in such a short time.”

At Barun’s words, R’tai nodded. Population numbers directly correlate to the strength of a tribe. But a population also represents a massive black hole that consumes resources.

Garhan only wanted young, healthy individuals who could serve as soldiers, but the reality was that more than half consisted of children or the elderly, who couldn’t feasibly fight.

In the end, he was forced to engage in constant wars just to maintain such a vast group, so Garhan had no reason to hold onto people unnecessarily.

“But the Guardian Deity will sift through them and bestow talents suited to them.”

Barun likely felt the same, but he had a strong backing. A backing that could instantly recognize and awaken hidden talents that others, including himself, couldn’t see.

Barun aimed to leverage this and sought to relocate more tribe members through the agreement with Garhan.

“I’ll relay that. It will lead to obtaining goods, including food, so I believe the Chieftain will think deeply on it, making it not too hard to persuade him.”

With this new command, R’tai was already bustling about as a loyal warrior of the Arin Tribe, eager to finalize the agreement.

Having already been completely assimilated, the negotiation with R’tai flowed smoothly.

“He’ll handle it well.”

Not having heard the details, he simply detected the flow of conversation was going decently and converted R’tai back to the border by using the mouse.

*

“The external threat issue is resolved for now. We can really focus solely on the bugs.”

Three groups of enemies threatening the residents: external forces, bugs, and enemies within the game. Among them, perhaps the most dangerous and unpredictable was the external force led by Chieftain Garhan, with the residents having undergone several wars with them.

If Barun’s ongoing agreement succeeded, it would alleviate those worries. I saw it as a significant gain.

While this meant I couldn’t employ the strategy of occupying opponents to secure population numbers, I believed Barun must have considered that aspect too.

“Strengthen our defensive lines and secure more resources.”

My task had solidified into one. Having easily repelled one threat, I needed to bolster the defenses of the Northern Fortress using the activated Defense Game Glory Tower while continuously farming resources from within the game.

The first resource I aimed to secure was the hunter-exclusive equipment that would start being supplied not only to the warriors but also to the soldiers.

In Creature Hunting, those pieces of equipment, which you either had to buy with money or learn to craft, were currently being filled through purchases at the game’s shop.

“That’s incredible. They’re strong, yet where do you get so many precious by-products of these Black Bugs that don’t even show themselves much?”

Brant from the Hunter Association marveled at the massive number of by-products we brought. In this world, hunters regarded bug by-products as quality materials, but they were quite rare.

However, we had just fought a grotesque war against a horde of bugs, collecting the leftover by-products from their corpses piled high.

It was literally raining money. Using the in-game currency I earned, I swept through everything the basic shop offered and transported it back to the desktop world.

I had enough money left over to keep buying until the shop’s stock ran low and even distribute the excess as rewards to the hunters who were struggling in the game. They would take that money to the tavern, buying cold drinks and ordering food, finding ways to relieve their stress.

“Living like this alone isn’t enough. Ultimately, I need to craft things myself.”

However, I was not satisfied with just that. I was sweeping up items from the store, but it still felt insufficient.

To balance things out, we would need to utilize the sturdy carapaces, sharp stingers, and jaws from the bugs’ by-products, not just sell them off.

“—?”

“—!”

Equipment crafting required a new talent different from those of hunters. For that, I closely examined the status screens of the village residents.

[Dwarf Eva]

[Trait: Dexterous, Artisan (Potential)]

[Placement: -]

Then, I noticed the young female Dwarf who had migrated with Herson this time. While Herson, now an architect, was busy building walls, she stayed back at home doing odd jobs.

I thought perhaps her talent might not lie in sewing or such but in specialized equipment crafting, so I sent one of the hunters to assign her to Creature Hunting.

“—!”

Naturally, she and the hunters were taken aback. She had suddenly fallen into a world she had only heard about, and the hunters were astonished by the sudden appearance of a different race.

“What’s the significance of races? We’re all on the same team, after all.”

Unfortunately, I had no time to sympathize with the confusion they were feeling. My character pranced around to capture their attention amidst their astonished expressions.

And as they all looked at me with bewildered eyes, I made my character sit down and get up repeatedly, guiding them somewhere in the city.

“Let the seniors calm them down.”

Following my intentions, the hunters began to explain the situation to Eva, who was still tense and frozen.

Thankfully, her expression quickly relaxed, and I brought them to an NPC.

It was the Master of Equipment Crafting, running a large workshop.

“What’s this, raccoon? You guys have been sweeping up all the equipment lately, haven’t you?”

The master of the workshop, with the face of a muscular wolf, recognized us. I chuckled as I thought about how much equipment they had bought recently and clicked the option to learn equipment crafting with my mouse.

“You want to learn crafting skills?”

The master scanned us with a skeptical eye. He was a gruff artisan, similar to his in-game reactions.

“All of you? No? Then who?”

When asked whether everyone would learn, I shook my head. When asked who would learn, I turned and repeatedly sat down in front of Eva, who looked perplexed.

“—?”

She pointed at herself, trembling as if in disbelief. But I was already confident, having seen through her hidden talent, and I pushed her forward in front of the master.

“Then let’s give it a go.”

With a grin, the master revealed his teeth as he looked at Eva, who stood nervously in front of him.