"Left!"
"Whoa!"
Still, I was a newbie who'd played every game I could get my hands on.
Thanks to my decent reflexes, I dodged the flying iron bars.
"Not bad. I was taught all new outsiders are slow."
But that was only the beginning.
Immediately, the NPC man pulled on the chain, retrieving that massive iron bar.
The sight of him hoisting that man-trapping iron bar onto his shoulder was terrifying beyond words.
"What the hell is that thing! What the hell is it, that thing!"
"What else! A bounty hunter who catches outsiders like you!"
The fairy retorted irritably at the newbie's frustration.
"My apologies, fairy. I'd prefer to be called a Devotee."
At that, the Devotee replied discontentedly.
"I'm different from those lot. I act solely for the Kingdom. Especially for some new outsider appearing after a hundred years..."
As a threat, the Devotee whirled the iron bars again.
"You'd surely be a tremendous asset to the kingdom."
Honestly, Newbie still couldn't fathom how this reality had come to be.
But one thing was clear.
'If I get inside those bars, I'm screwed...'
He had to escape that damn NPC.
'Can I even beat that thing?'
As if answering that question, the Devotee whirled the chains, spinning the iron cage through the air.
Then, leaves rained down in abundance, and a mad gale blew.
'What is this? It's not even a defeat event...'
Objectively speaking, it was hopeless.
Even if that massive, truck-like cage flew right at me, I had no way to stop it.
Then, the fairy stepped forward.
A creature barely bigger than a large parrot stood before the newbie, raising both arms to guard.
Brave as it was...
Just as Newbie was about to squint his eyes shut, thinking that tiny little body couldn't possibly help...
An unbelievable event unfolded before Newbie's eyes.
THWANG!!!
"How dare you!"
With that valiant shout, the iron bar, flying like a mace, struck the fairy and bounced away!
Having lost its target, the ricocheting iron bar shattered a tree in another direction.
"Wh-what the hell!"
Quickly, the newbie's mind began racing.
Having played hundreds of games while streaming.
Thanks to that vast gaming experience, the newbie quickly reached one conclusion.
"You're an indestructible object!"
"What? Don't even thank me, but stop calling me by that weird name!"
In most games, there are many rules that defy common sense.
Like a scarecrow that can't be destroyed even by the world's strongest attack.
Usually, there are objects made absolutely invincible for various reasons.
The fairy was one of them.
"Anyway, I'll block that iron cage, so you attack!"
"No, you could just run away!"
"You think you can run away from a creature like that right now? Snap out of it! Don't take life for granted!"
Of all people, even the fairy was giving him life advice.
The newbie felt a bit wronged, but she was right.
"No, how am I supposed to... Gear! Inventory!"
He had to do something, anything.
[Equipment]
Outsider's Garb
Ordinary Leather Belt
[Inventory]
- Old Sword (1)
Lowest Grade Potion (3)
Barley Bread (10)
Water Flask (1)
10 Billion Event Commemorative Gift Box (1)
Beginner Free Package Box (1)
A pitifully meager inventory list.
Amidst it all, there was the old sword – the weapon that always comes with beginners.
Well, it was the perfect weapon for a beginner hunting goblins and such.
However, things changed drastically when the opponent was clad in plate armor and wielded a massive iron cage like a mace, large enough to imprison a person.
Ultimately, the newbie had only one choice left.
'After everything, now it's a life-or-death gacha!'
All he could do was hope something good came out of those two boxes.
He hurriedly selected the two items.
[Would you like to use the '1 Billion Event Commemorative Box' or the 'Beginner Free Package Box'?]
"Yes! Absolutely yes!"
[1 Billion Event Commemorative Box opened!]
[Obtained 'A Celebration Cake Made with Care'!]
"I don't need that! That crap!"
One was a dud.
So the only one left is the beginner-only box!
"Please, please, please...!"
[Opened the Beginner Free Package Box!]
[Obtained the Beginner Weapon Box!]
[Obtained the Beginner Clothing Set!]
"Dammit...!"
Of course.
Getting something like a legendary holy sword from a beginner box is only in web novels.
This was the reality for newbies now.
'What kind of fantasy game isn't even fantasy-like?!'
[Beginner Weapon Box]
[You can choose a weapon]
This was hopeless.
The newbie instinctively realized.
He recalled old videos of someone fighting the final boss all day with a rusty dagger.
'I can't do that. No, I won't.'
No munchkin reincarnation web novel plot, and no exceptional gaming skills like a veteran player either.
That newbie had only one thing.
"Hey, how long are you gonna keep doing that! Do something, anything!"
"Hang-booooooook!"
A moment of silence hung in the air.
Even the devotee, who had been spinning the iron bars in midair, wore a look of utter bewilderment.
"Just now... what did you say?"
"I surrender."
"This is ridiculous. Suddenly, you just surrender like that?"
"Then what am I supposed to do?! I can't do anything!"
"Huh.... Well, it's better than charging in like an idiot. Can't have you dying by mistake."
BANG!
With that answer, he lowered the iron bars.
"Go in."
"Wait, I surrendered. Do you really have to do this?"
"Tricks like yours are obvious, outsider. But I won't let my guard down."
"Damn!"
Squeak
As if signaling no further negotiation was possible, he opened the iron gate.
Newbie slowly walked towards the gate.
"Hey! Are you crazy? Do you know what happens if you get caught in there?"
The fairy clung to his side, pouring out a torrent of words about what would happen if Newbie got captured.
But he only half-listened, simply approaching the bars.
Then, as if suddenly hesitating, Newbie started fidgeting with his fingers.
"What are you doing?"
Just as the Devotee lunged to grab him.
"What else! Happy Birthday!"
A cake suddenly appeared from his fidgeting hands.
That cake immediately exploded onto the Devotee's face!
Thud!
"Gah! What the—! I can't see!"
"I might not know much else, but I'm good at reading situations!"
Simultaneously, he shoved him with his shoulder, sending the Devotee tumbling right through the bars.
Grasping the bars urgently, he yelled at the fairy.
"Hey! Close it fast!"
"Huh? Oh!"
Clang! Bang!
"That settles it!"
Even a beginner's weapon can be effective depending on how you use it.
"Can't open it! You damn outsider!"
Bang! Crash! Bang!
I was a bit worried, but.
Fortunately, the old sword I'd hooked onto the latch as a makeshift lock did its job well.
The devotee, however, couldn't even open the door, let alone wipe the cream smeared around his eyes.
Seeing this, the fairy whistled in admiration.
"Wow~. You're smarter than I thought?"
"Don't underestimate me. I've got some serious creativity."
"More like cunning than creativity..."
"Enough! Let's hurry! Do you know the way?"
"Of course! Just trust me!"
After the two hurriedly vanished into the forest.
Still unable to quell his rage at the situation, Heonshinji bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Disgusting invaders from outside! Do you think I'll just let you get away like this?!"
Clunk, clunk!
"No matter what happens, I'll catch you!
I won't stop until every last one of you foreigners is locked away in the Eternal Detention Center! I swear it to the Great PD!"
*
To be honest, as a newbie, he still wondered if this was just some surprise event.
He quickly dismissed such wishful thinking.
'That's ridiculous. No matter what, this has crossed the line by a mile.'
Even in our country, games are under 24-hour monitoring by the Korea Communications Commission.
Thanks to that, Seeker World was famous for being a game where NPCs were careful not to cause players any harm, let alone the slightest discomfort.
But now, those bastards are suddenly hunting players?
That's an absurd setting!
"Hmm... Ahem... What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
"Don't worry, you've got a fairy to guide your path!"
"It's just the tutorial, right?"
"Huh?"
"I'm new to this game, but I know what I know. You're the tutorial fairy. After the tutorial ends, you're supposed to go back to the fairy kingdom, right?"
"What are you talking about...?"
"Huh?"
The fairy retorted with a look that said, What kind of stupid nonsense is this?
"What fairy has a kingdom?"
"Huh?"
"I've lived in this forest my whole life."
"That can't be..."
"If you don't know anything, don't pretend you do, okay?"
There's no way that's true?
I studied Seeker World through JUTUBE videos lasting over an hour...
Yet the world before my eyes didn't match a single thing I'd learned beforehand.
In the end, it was the newbie who had to bow their head and learn.
"So how much do you actually know?"
As if waiting for that question, the fairy struck a pose and declared.
"Hehehe, there's no fairy who knows the ways of this world better than me!"
"Huh? Really?"
"Actually, I don't know. It's been over a hundred years since I last met a fellow fairy."
"Hey...!"
"But don't worry. I know more than you think."
True to her word, the fairy knew far more than expected.
She roughly sketched this world's power map on the ground.
"So... roughly speaking, this world has kingdoms, guilds, and other such entities."
"Kingdoms and guilds?"
On the ground were the shield emblem from the Devotee NPC's armor and a suffocatingly gloomy castle wall.
"Here, the shield emblem represents the Kingdom, and this castle wall is the Guild."
"What's the difference?"
"They're completely different!"
The fairy continued her explanation in a highly pedantic and tedious manner.
The newbie roughly summarized it.
"So, the kingdom is like a nation made up of NPCs... no, insiders who hate us. And the guild is a force formed by us outsiders banding together, right?"
"Yep!"
"Man, this is damn complicated."
Honestly, it was a messy, complicated situation beyond that—war between NPCs and players, disputes over monster hunting rights, and more.
Only one thing mattered to the newbie.
"So, to stay safe, I should join a guild, right?"
"Yeah!"
A refreshingly straightforward answer.
With their path decided, it was time to leave.
"But... are you coming too?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"It is obvious?"
Seriously, why so confident?
"Uh, well, yeah..."
Anyway, two was better than one.
Especially for a newbie like me, who knew absolutely nothing about this world.
"So, do you know the way?"
"No, I don't!"
"What...? Hey, you said you knew a lot!"
"I said I knew a lot. I just haven't actually experienced it. I only lived in the forest, remember!"
"..."
Is this okay?
A sudden wave of unease washed over him.
*
That unease soon became reality.
Because the two realized one major problem.
"But, how do they tell insiders from outsiders?"
"I don't know?"
"No! You said you knew a lot! What do you know?"
"What can I do? Only insiders were ever allowed into this forest!"
"Hmm... Wait a minute. Now that you mention it..."
'Huh? Come to think of it, that NPC did ask me if I was an outsider, didn't they?'
A thought flashed through the newbie's mind.
If they could tell just by looking that I was a player, they wouldn't have asked.
That means...
"So, as long as I don't look like a player on the outside, that's all that matters?"
At that, the fairy answered with just one word.
"Take it off."
"Huh?"
"Take it off."