A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 93 – Devouring and Evolution (3)

[Achievement Unlocked: True Corruption (1)]

[Reward Selection Available]

The boss of Chapter 3 has been defeated. The guy who was trying to kill us using bugs got devoured by the bugs instead and struggled in our hands.

Seeing the notification of rewards popping up, I chuckled softly and approached Riena, who was catching her breath. Her growth knows no bounds. There may not be levels like in a game character, but it’s clear to see.

“—?”

She turned pale and looked at me, opening her mouth. The expression on her face clearly indicated that she was concerned. It was understandable, but it was meaningless as I was not the real me she was looking at.

Characters are merely characters. They move according to my will, and that’s all there is to it. Even if they get attacked, it merely depletes my character’s HP. However, for someone unaware of that fact, it’s easy to misunderstand that I’m putting myself on the line for them every time.

‘I’m more worried about you.’

Having taken her out of the game and brought her to the village, I watched as she let go of the sword she had been gripping so tightly that it was drawing blood.

Up until now, her talent and rapid growth had led us to victories against enemies blocking our path, but those enemies were getting stronger, evolving into variants combined with bugs.

Like the boss of Chapter 3, Baros, who looked like a parasite, it was hard to predict how they might change.

“Phew, I’ll think about that later.”

Of course, worrying like this would never end. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I turned my attention elsewhere the moment Riena returned home to rest.

The reward obtained for defeating the boss. This reward was different from the usual points provided by other rewards.

If it was an ordinary boss, it would have just given points without any announcement. This was more of a special reward for taking down a boss infected by a bug.

[Frost Blade] [Dragon Slayer Greatsword]

Two lights were floating above the boss’s corpse. These were the items given as rewards.

In a typical game, the rare item obtainable in this chapter would just be the boss’s weapon, the Frost Blade, a large sword imbued with cold. However, there were now two items floating, including the corpse of the skeleton dragon the boss had been riding.

‘One of them is mine.’

At this point, I could sense it. One of those two weapons was definitely mine. When I clicked [Reward Selection], I could indeed choose one of the two items.

Just like when I had drawn out the Hermit’s Cloak into reality, I could bring one of the two weapons into the real world.

‘I hope I won’t need it.’

Sighing softly, I ultimately chose the [Frost Blade]. Not for myself, but purely for Riena.

According to the tooltip, the Frost Blade granted the power to wield chilling cold, overlapping with the divine light of judgment that Riena possessed.

[Selection Complete]

“Ugh.”

As I selected the Frost Blade, the monitor shook and emitted a strong light along with a chilling blue aura. At the same time, something suddenly sprang toward my horrified face and began inching closer.

A large greatsword with a pitch-black body, which I had only seen in the game, had become a tangible object, its hilt protruding first.

“Ugh, this is insane.”

With my face contorted, I grasped the icy hilt of the sword and pulled it out. True to its name, the Blade was taller than me, and its blade was wider than my palm.

It was so cold I thought I might get frostbite and lose my hand, and the hilt stuck to my hand, not letting go.

Was this really a sword imbued with the power of a demon?

‘There better not be any side effects.’

The sword was completely drawn out from the monitor, and then it transformed into a thick mist, seeping into my right hand.

As long as I wished for it, I could draw it back again. It was practical that I wouldn’t have to carry such a large weapon around, but to be honest, I obviously hoped I wouldn’t need to use it in this reality.

– Are you looking up something online right now?

But if I really believed nothing of the sort would happen, then the Master Program wouldn’t have gone out of its way to allow game items to come out like this.

Setting aside my racing heart, I sat back down at my desk to manage the residents once more.

Then, I received a frantic message from Lee So-Yeon. Just a glance at it gave me an instinctive sense of unease.

– Nowadays, even if you try to hide it, you can’t. Everyone is wandering around with cameras.

“I was hoping for our country’s third user to follow in Lee So-Yeon’s footsteps, but it seems that person… must have had an unfortunate encounter before even opening the manual. If they had opened it, we could have helped them.”

Hearing her words, I opened the internet and found it buzzing furiously across social media and community forums.

The cause was a single video someone had posted. It seemed the site administrators were frantically trying to delete it, but the video was going viral; a horrifying scene of a monstrous bug, crawling like a black insect, breaking down doors in a residential area and devouring people.

What we had feared had finally happened.

– I looked into it right away, using my family connections. It seems the higher-ups are in an uproar too. Foreign governments are trying to cover it up too, but it seems impossible. The world will soon undergo major changes…

“That doesn’t matter. Regardless, we’re the only ones who truly know their identity.”

Could the police or special forces really win against the bugs? I doubted they could withstand real bullets, especially when they could die from arrows. But I knew well that they were not just simple beasts, which made me bite my lip.

At first, I had accepted this task for my own sake. For my own safety. That was my resolve. Therefore, for me to say that I would go fight would contradict that resolve.

However, having watched the residents fighting on-screen and sometimes moving the character to fight alongside them, my feelings had changed a bit.

*

“A monster that looks like a parasite? These guys are really something else.”

“I’ll inform you to be extra cautious, as they possess the ability to control corpses.”

While he pondered seriously about the buggy invaders infiltrating his surroundings, he had obtained a special weapon after successfully driving away the bugs alongside Riena.

There were others who treated the fight against the bugs as part of their daily routine. The Temporary Base in the Northern Region, commanded by Rakum, was being set up as a base to fend off the bugs pouring in from the north and to target the hive with defense towers.

“Is further reconnaissance impossible?”

“Indeed. Unless we expand the reconnaissance team, it doesn’t seem easy to penetrate their sentinels. It looks like they’re aware of this too. No matter how many sentinels we take down, they send even more troops.”

The soldier reporting to Rakum shook his head in exasperation.

After they made one of their enemy’s hives their objective, they dedicated themselves to understanding the surrounding terrain and enemies. Those actions led to new screens lighting up, and from outside the screen, he discerned what enemies were near the residents.

However, that reconnaissance activity had also become impossible at some point due to enemy interference.

“According to the testimony of the dwarven family we rescued last time, many more dwarves seemed to have survived and escaped… but we haven’t found anyone yet, which worries me.”

“The chieftain ordered me to rescue them. If that is the will of the Guardian Deity, I will gladly follow it.”

Rakum fell silent at the subordinate’s words. The objective of the reconnaissance was also to find other dwarves besides the Herson family.

‘Should I take the lead tomorrow?’

After hearing all the reports, Rakum stepped out of the tent as the moon rose.

Though it wasn’t quite up to the standard of high castle walls being built in the village, the defense towers automatically detecting and attacking enemies provided a relatively safe area amidst the land swarming with foes.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. More importantly, why are you still awake? You need to rest to fight again.”

Someone approached and spoke to him. Turning around, Rakum saw his brother Rasen and smiled faintly.

“Shura asked for some training, so I was helping with that…”

“That kid really is something else.”

When Rasen mentioned Shura, Rakum couldn’t help but admire quietly. Shura had been selected even before Rakum to become a warrior and use skills, and her abilities were steadily increasing.

The sheer determination with which she fought, unafraid of battle, wanting to cut down enemies, was something Rakum cherished greatly.

“Your strength can be maximized if there’s someone to fight alongside you in front. Make sure you harmonize well and fight together with her. As for me, tomorrow, I’ll have to clear the northern road along with another reconnaissance team.”

“Y-you’ll go yourself?”

“There must be a reason they’re increasing their sentinels and trying not to fall behind. Before we initiate another large-scale extermination, I’ll gather as much information as possible.”

Rasen was startled upon learning that Rakum would personally lead a small troop for reconnaissance the following day. But Rakum had already made his decision.

Sending a large number of soldiers without thorough preparation could lead to disaster. They couldn’t afford to suffer further losses in their current fraught situation.

“You’ve grown a lot since before. Ever since you became a mage with the power given by that person, even more so. So, don’t be afraid of the fight moving forward. Warriors exist to fight, gain, and protect.”

Being afraid of fighting indicates a lacking confidence in oneself. Rakum, already aware of this fact, offered advice, hoping that his younger brother would come to this realization.

“You’ve already experienced it. No matter what state you’re in, the world moves harshly, and it won’t show you pity for your circumstances. Do you want to die helplessly without doing anything? It’s better to at least struggle.”

“…Yes.”

Rasen took his brother’s advice to heart. Simultaneously, Rakum’s words didn’t apply only to his younger brother. They were certainly words that could be applied to anyone who hesitated in fighting and lacked confidence in themselves.

[As he repeatedly faced war and combat, his faith and mind shaken, Rasen received help from his brother’s advice and resolved his dilemma.]

By observing Rasen’s struggles, which mirrored his own, he, too, had received assistance from the senior warrior Rakum.

‘Have confidence in yourself.’

Smiling bitterly, he raised his right hand, which had been gripping the mouse, and summoned the massive sword he had obtained today.

In the darkened room where only the computer was lit up, the chilling aura emanating from the sword shimmered in his eyes.