Golden Experience

"I had a terrible experience....."

"Not at all. What the hell are they..."

Near the border between the prairie and monster realm.

Claude and James woke up in one of the rooms of a small building that used to be used as a cottage, perhaps a hunter's hut, that had been abandoned there.

There's no sign of anything but two people in the cottage.

All those companions were also wiped out by that red robe, or made to ice.

Claude and the others can respawn, but not those who were NPCs.

"... If this is the case, I should have bought the one that can 'appraise' the character of the billing item."

"That's it. But that's disposable, right? I can't use it every time before I attack my prey, and I just can't help it."

"At least if it was during the event, I wouldn't have had to lose my XP..."

"That's right... I don't know, that's fine with us, but which of the others...."

"Ah... They weren't good... but they were convenient to use."

Think of the bandits we lived with in this cottage.

All the characters were scum that loved killing more than three meals, but Claude and the horses were right for each other.

They met along the streets near this city of Keefa, in its prosperity.

At first, it was a relationship between enemies and just commercial enemies, but because they were barren in catching prey and competing with each other, they all started to work together and act like a small bandit.

After all, it was an outlaw gathering, and no one was the leader, but it was doing pretty well.

Claude and James were participants from the Open Beta test, so they could easily take on these standard names.

It was only during the beginning that we played normally, but the second official event, that even more so, the Neuschloss fall, took a turning point.

An eye parabolic attack on a neighborhood shape by veterinarians aroused by the fall of Neuchross.

Claude and James were elf players, but they were part of the raid.

At first I thought it was just such an event, and I was working with the Beasts to attack the dwarf, but I soon realized it was different.

This is just a one-sided killing and pillaging, by revenge. Or maybe it's definitely in the sense that it's an event like that, but it's never right for humanity. If that's the kind of event, it should be the right thing to do to get around to the side of stopping the Beasts somehow.

But the two of them never changed that behavior.

Because killing and looting were extraordinary pleasures.

So the two people, who enjoyed themselves well in the Ain Palace, went back to the pair and discussed what was coming.

It's mostly about the playstyle.

Urban raids were fun, but I don't think they'll ever happen again. Then we have to do it ourselves, but even if the two of us attack the city, we'll just have to fight back.

So I gave up attacking the city, lurking in the streets and attacking the travelers. It is called a footpad. Honestly, I wanted to go with the highwayman, but unfortunately I didn't have a horse.

I decided to go as close to Wang Capital because it would be nice to have as many people as possible.

But around Wang Capital, the guards were just as alert.

It was by the city of Keefa that gradually moved away from the vigilance net and settled down after a while past the city of Latifolia.

That's where we met the bandits from the NPC.

"I wonder what they were. It was tough, and I think it was a player."

"You're too strong for a player. We're not weak either. I certainly haven't attended an official event since then, and it's not like I'm going to be on the leaderboard. Still, perhaps it's not the top layer, but it should be as strong as the quasi-top."

Claude's words are not entirely unfounded.

The NPCs forming this band of bandits, the NPCs they were forming, seemed to have quite a few arms as bandits.

There are more players on foot than NPCs either way.

It can be taken for granted in the sense that the dangers of the streets are not known. Even if it's a natural fact for NPC, players have no reason to know unless someone tells them.

The bandits hunted such rookies and mid-level players all the time.

And the two Claudes were much better in strength than such bandits.

I've never fought directly because I rarely travel on foot if I'm a top player, like making more than a certain amount of money, but it shouldn't be that far off considering the Claudes have quasi-top class prowess given the circumstances.

"I don't know, it's a magical blow. The LP broke apart in an instant. I think it probably died instantly, no matter what. If you're such a strong player, you should be talking more about it."

I see. And there are three of them. I don't know if other robes, such as black and white, were as strong as each other, but it seems like they were paying attention even though the white ones were red, and it's possible that the other two were even better. "

"Well, if it's black, white, red, red stinks a little bit."

Claude and the others were killed in a single blow.

But if they're not players, who are they?

It may be a woman from the standpoint of height, but it is also possible that it is a small man.

He should have spoken more than he had shot the magic, but he couldn't even hear his voice from that shrub where he was hiding.

"Maybe a bounty hunter from a nearby city."

Bandits emerge along the street.

This is something that anyone at NPC knows, and players who don't know it will be alert if cautioned by SNS.

Claude and the bandits were hunting to the point where they even failed to gather such information, but it is possible that victims such as the lucky survivors and respawned players cried out to the state and municipalities to arrange a powerful NPC.

"Uh. I see. It's not weird to be here. But if the bounty hunter is just that strong, is it more demonic territory? I don't think it would be strange if there were less dungeons."

"Indeed. Don't make mercenaries too weak."

That is the only setting, and it is possible that a powerful unit is available as a presence that does not fight monsters.

However, Claude and the others thought that in this game, they would not place characters only for the convenience of such management.

This is something I've felt repeatedly about banditry so far.

The NPCs attacked by the bandits were all equally terrified, but none of them were the same.

I don't think it's a stage device that was prepared very uniformly, just as a "victim of a bandit".

Of course, it is equipped with advanced AI, and it is not strange that Claude reacted that way, but Claude and his NPCs certainly felt the irreplaceable reality of people living in the world.

What Claude and the others enjoyed the most was pruning the irresistible raw, and they were attacked because it was real.

From this, Claude and the others thought that if there was such a strong NPC, the first priority would be to fight monsters and expand the area of human existence. And not to do that would mean that they are not on the side of mankind, but on the contrary.

When those robes killed their bandits, they didn't see any hesitation, no matter how many criminals attacked them.

Players who are cut off from the game will not have fun attacking people with decent mental NPCs. The exception is like a bandit.

"I wonder if it was some kind of hostile NPC to mankind. Then why bother interrupting the business of a cheap bandit?"

"If the mystery robe just happened to be on the move normally, well, I guess we were out of luck. It's sad for those who died."

"Which one, the bandits are disbanded. What are we gonna do now?

"Hmm... not the two of us... It's not like I'm in trouble with money."

"Right. I gave it to them anyway. I left it in this cottage. The last few months have been our sum."

The two explored the entire cottage and gathered loot in the inventory that their dead companions apparently were storing. Not a large number of rooms, most of them were miscellaneous fish sleeping in large rooms, so some of them were agarized to such a stylish item as a safe, but it would be fine if I took every safe. You just have to open it again when you get enough offense to destroy the safe one day.

"I don't know. I don't know what a normal mercenary is against a demon right now."

"─ ─ Then let's do it."

"Is that it? Oh, I see, PK"

It is difficult for the two of us to catch up along the street.

Because few people are moving on such a small scale that they can attack.

If you are noble, you have a carriage. The same goes for some merchants with money.

Even if you can't prepare a carriage without money, you will hire as many mercenaries as you can.

If so, it will inevitably mean a mercenary who is acting in small numbers if he tries to attack, and is more likely to hit with the player.

Then let's target the players from the beginning.

At first glance, it is difficult to distinguish between a player and an NPC. We just fix up mercenaries in the city, hunt them down or go to work.

You'll be able to play more exciting than just dealing with demons.

It was then the city of Keefa that Claude and James decided to be the first hunting ground.

The city wasn't so big, but it seems to be gaining momentum with the recent surge in players. Until just before the destruction of the bandits, the prey was rising on the right shoulder, and I knew that, and I didn't write about it, but sometimes even the SNS I was watching, the city was well talked about.

Besides, it was the closest city to the cottage in Asia. Easy to move around.

The state of the mercenary union in the city of Keefa was not so different from that of the city where the Claudes had previously been. It is lively for many people, but the system and atmosphere are not very different.

In the meantime, I headed to the bulletin board with the intention of repairing the prey.

All the requisitions posted there are brand new.

This means that the turnaround rate of the request is good, and it also means that the city is filled with mercenaries of proper strength.

In that case, it won't be a problem to reduce the number of mercenaries somewhat.

If you are the most player, you will not necessarily have fewer mercenaries to revive even if you are defeated.

"Hey Claude..."

"Hmm?... oh, that. Isn't it bad?"

James pulled his arm and looked at him, and there was a party of four Beast mercenaries.

The women read through the request form on the bulletin board, spoke lightly among their companions, and immediately left the union.

It seems that he was repairing a request that could be done with something.

The Claudes decided to target those foursome.

The point is gear.

Rookie is quite elaborate, but it is too low quality for the upper layers. I mean, they're not rookies, but they're not top tiers.

The wetlands near this city seem to be a dungeon for the lower ranks.

If you're not a rookie but you're dull in such a low-ranking dungeon, you can assume that it's not a great deal of strength for the experience you're gaining.

Alternatively, if it is NPC, such safety measures may be taken because it ends when it dies.

I don't know if those four women's parties are cowardly players or solid NPCs, but whatever it was, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

"I've had a terrible time..."

"Not at all. What the hell are they..."

Claude and James woke up again in the cottage they used for Azito.

As they pursued the mercenaries into the wetlands, to a certain extent, Claude attacked the women.

But they seemed to have noticed Claude's followers long ago, and the first shot was quickly lost.

At that point, it was clear that the Claudes no longer had a chance of winning.

Whether it was a surprise strike or a lethal reading, it is clear that Claude is at least as powerful as the others. In that case, Claude and the others who are inferior in number have bad minutes.

But it's hard to escape.

We are in a disoriented position due to being attacked, and they have a spare expression on their face.

It was terrible after that.

Apparently all the gear the women had, especially the weapons, was camouflage or something.

Those women don't need any human-made weapons.

For, behold, before the eyes of Claudes, the wrist of one of the women turned first into a curved sharp sword.

I don't know the details because Claude was immediately chopped into this, but James seems to have been murdered with another monstrous woman in James with a hand tag that he had to interrogate.

When I respawned, there were holes in the armor, so it seems that I was attacked by a spike system.

"I didn't know this one was a prey, with the intention of attacking..."

"I don't think you knew we were after you from the beginning, but, well, what? He said he had a bad partner....."

"Damn, what's going on with external NPCs and encodings in two consecutive days?"

I've never seen the story of monsters that can be turned into humans on SNS, but if you live in the streets with people like that, there's a low risk that ordinary players and NPCs will see you.

Even if there is, PK like Claude's or if he gets attacked by a bandit or something.

In that case, the attacker will definitely die, and if it's the NPC, that's it.

Even if he was a player, he confessed that he attacked the monster by thinking he was a person when he wrote the information on the SNS. It's like confessing a crime while publishing a player's name. Otherwise, they will not actively write.

Naturally, the Claudes are not going to diffuse either.

"... this country isn't working anymore. The risk is too high. Let's go to another country."

"That's right... In this state, I don't know what other monsters are lurking in."

"Let's go to a country with a lot of people. NPC is the weakest, and even if the bad guys were lurking, they would be less likely to hit if they had a large population. Was the east side of this country called Werth?

I nodded at James's suggestion, but I thought about it.

Speaking of Werth, I think I've heard something lately.

"... no, let's not. It is said that a special important NPC such as the Virgin has recently appeared in that country. There are rumors that players make things like fan clubs, and if they are attacked too flashy and the Virgin's associates look at them, they can't do it."

"I see, you do. Besides, he could be a monster if he peeled like the other girl."

There can't be such a trap in the famous NPC that represents a country, but it seems that James's earlier experience has become so traumatic. I don't know, but I don't.

So this is southwest. The Oral over there is also a human country. Apart from the regime change at the last event, it was a quiet place until the recent Archangel Crusade Quest. The Archangel Crusade Quest also seems to have just offered a place because the city in the center of the continent happened to belong to Oral, and perhaps Oral is the most peaceful now. If you're there, you can calm down and get rid of it and get a PK. "