"I feel like I'm going to die..."
It was literal. My legs ached, and I couldn't feel anything. I looked around with cloudy eyes. The world seemed to be painted in shades of dirt.
I hadn't realized that riding a horse was so difficult. The horse was doing all the running, so I didn't understand why I was having such a hard time. The ground was even bumpy, making me feel motion sickness. Oh, boy... Please help me.
"Just cheer up a little."
I made a whimpering sound, and Kyle, behind me, tried to comfort me. Of course, it wasn't comforting. I thought I would have to spend a few more hours on the horse, so I just wanted to turn off the 'load' and hang around in the hamster's house.
Ugh. It's my eighth. My tired, exhausted child.
I was barely holding the reins with a gloomy expression when a clattering sound rang out overhead. Northern crows circled the sky, chirping unpleasantly.
"Why are you barking, ominously?" "...Do you usually say that birds 'bark'?" "If they can't talk, everyone 'barks'."
I replied and lowered my head to look ahead. After leaving the castle and the plains, we had arrived at a forest filled with conifers. The terrain wasn't very good, and there were some ravines that required two horses to make their way in a single file.
"There is nothing to worry about." Kyle said bluntly. Apparently, my expression was dark, and he was concerned. "Since this is a reconnaissance with new knights, we will only take a light look at the woodland before returning. After making up your mind, unless you are subjugating or investigating, you don't often go beyond a small mountain."
"...A small mountain?"
Did the garden all freeze to death? If you are small twice, you will stumble and die as a group. I clicked my tongue as I looked at the steep cliff that stretched out a dozen steps away.
"What is beyond that?" "Demon beasts?" "Oh, no. Not really a demon beast... I thought there was something like a village."
Kyle laughed as if he was going to hear nothing wrong. "The only inhabitable place in the North is the Blake estate. Well, there must be a village where demons gather."
"...That's really unwelcome news. Then, what is the geographical area?" "Beyond this woodland, there is a black field, which is also called a rocky area because there are ice blocks and rocks here and there. Beyond that, the big mountain continues, and then the sea."
The wind blew so hard that he lifted his sleeve to cover my face. It was natural, as if his attention to detail was ingrained in his body. I tilted my head and looked up at him. Seeing that he didn't even bother to lift an eye in the cold wind, he seemed to be quite accustomed to the cold.
"I don't go beyond the frozen sea. It's hard to get there, and I can't see anything good when I go."
Isn't it just the sea when the sea is frozen? I thought it was weird, so I asked him about it.
"Why? Is it a lawless zone?" "Yes. It is not a place that the Meinhardt Empire can handle. Beyond that sea, even I have to save my life."
What the hell is there? As I thought about the number of different cases, the system that had been quiet the whole time came out and helped me explain.
[The area beyond the Northern Sea is called the 'Sorcerer's Territory.']
"The Wizard's Domain, D. The name sounds pretty gentle..."
But looking at Kyle's expression, it didn't seem like it was. Well, let's think about it later, later. I'm not going today.
"Your Highness. Shall we go back to the northeast road?"
Hearing a voice behind him, Kyle paused for a moment to gauge his path. The road ahead was divided into two. It seemed to be a path up the hill to the northeast and a path down to the canyon to the northwest.
The knights trembled at the word northeast. A murmur of anxiety drifted in the wind. Kyle said in a heavy voice.
"The area where the wyvern nest is located has not yet been resolved. Also, avoid the northeast because it is the spawning season. All the way to the west canyon!"
...If so, does that mean it takes more time? I nervously checked the 'load' time.
['Load' will be lifted after 20 minutes.]
You can't suddenly disappear in the middle of the canyon, so you have to keep your place... I'm going to rob you of all the miracles today. Oh, my life.
I quickly went into the 'nut shop' and bought some cookies.
[Lasting Acorn Cookie | Miracle Consumption 1% | 'Load' Time Extended by 1 Hour] [Current miracle value: 25.0%]
Let's keep it at 20 percent. Let's be diligent and get around, Your Highness. It would be nice if I could arrive at the territory within six hours.
I glanced at him and took out a cookie from my pocket and ate it. Kyle looked down at me.
"Why do you hide and eat like that?"
You have really good ears. Pretend you don't know.
"It's my life."
It was 100 percent pure sincerity.
"You hear all the stars."
Of course, Kyle heard it as a joke. It's serious. It's an acorn cookie that I bought by selling my life. It seems fragrant, but when you finish eating it, your mouth is a little dry...
"Well, I can't give it to you anyway."
Kyle's red eyes stared down at me. It is an absurd attitude.
"I don't need it. Rather..."
He squeezed my chin slightly and turned it to the side. I asked him in a mumbled voice, "What is it?" and Kyle spun around with his chin clenched into position.
"Over there. Do you see the bush?"
My gaze stopped at something shining in the bushes. A few pairs of round eyes were staring at me. It was a furry animal that would be just right to hold with both palms. It was smaller than a puppy and a little bigger than a mouse, and it had a small horn on its forehead between its round ears.
It's an animal I've never seen before, but it's strangely familiar...
"Northern vole."
Come again?
"When you grow up and have a gem in your heart, it will be like that. The northern Masugago is small."
No, if a normal rat is that big, it's a lot bigger.
"If you don't touch it first, it's relatively calm. It was around here that I first met cashews."
Kyle's tone instantly faded. His expression gradually softened, thinking of the soft and cute demon beast waiting for him in the castle... Hey, that's it. Don't you see that soft and cute demon beast is suffering from muscle pain in front of you?
[Current Holdings | ❤ ×198]
Cancellation. Miss it a lot. Just two more hearts.
"Shall we try a joint venture..."
...One minute. Crazy, what are you doing? I hurriedly replied to Kyle's mutter.
"Nope!" "..." "Absolutely not. Is it a combination of demons?" "Northern voles would normally work in groups." "It's a northern field mouse, and cashew nuts are pets. It grows slower than other individuals, so it hasn't even gathered magic in its heart yet, so can it be eaten by a single person?"
No matter how big the house is, I don't have the same desire to share it as I do with it. Opposition to roommate association.
"If you want to see the cashew nuts die and fall out, take one from there and put it in."
On that day, you die and I run away from home. You understand?
Kyle nodded regretfully at my bloody gaze.
"...Convincing. I understand. As soon as I get back, I'll have a meeting with the mages and infuse them with magic."
No way, there are no side effects, right? If he said he didn't need to inject magic, would he be too cheatful? I looked at him with a sad expression, and then looked at the northern voles for a moment.
'But I'm not an ordinary hamster?'
He doesn't have a magic stone in his heart, and he doesn't show any signs of growing. Maybe the day when I'm that big won't come... I don't know if I'm worried that it's not big.
"As expected..." Kyle looked at the northern voles. "There's nothing cuter than cashews."
He's like a hamster otaku.
[Current Holdings | ❤ ×200]
But it's okay because you're happy. Thanks to this, I was able to buy a demon beast book. I pretended to stretch and slipped out the "Demon Beast Encyclopedia."
"Let's see..." "What is that?" "A must-have and a textbook for demon mathematicians. It's the Demon Beast Encyclopedia. Master, who has a bit of a grumpy personality but is good at handling things, sold it for a lot of money."
[┗|｀O′|┛]
Honestly, it's not cheap. If you've eaten all my heart, be quiet.
He slowed down a little so that I could read the book comfortably. The deeper they went into the canyon, the darker it became, and the knights who were following them changed their formations, lit up the lights, and began to fill the blind spots.
Let me see...
"Goblins, Ogres, and Wyverns... Bear, unicorn? It's all there. Northern poisonous snake, forest mermaid? Why are there mermaids in the forest?"
There are really everything in the world. Korea was a very ordinary place.
"Oh, here it is. Northern voles."
Curious about the word "vole," Kyle lowered his gaze toward the encyclopedia.
"The northern vole is one of those animals that is not very threatening, and it boasts unremarkable physical abilities... Wow, you're talking too much."
System, do you want to work like this? Who's not doing much? This is definitely revenge.
[（￣︶￣）]
"And?" "The process of creating a gem is more complicated than other demons, but once it is established, it is possible to use simple magic. Mostly of the earth's attributes..."
I muttered and read the book, and I shut my mouth tightly. A foreboding had flashed through my mind. I think he'll ask me to use some kind of magic later... Not? It shouldn't be. It's sad that I became a hamster.
[(⊙ˍ⊙)]
'No, what are you surprised...?'
Bang!
Then, about ten paces ahead, a huge rock fell and the floor shook.
No way...
"Change to the defensive ranks!" Kyle stretched out his arm and covered my Demon Beast Book. "From now on, everything I say is a military order, and you must not disobey it."
I felt chilled all over my body. Before I could say yes, Kyle said in a subdued voice.
"No matter what, don't get off your horse."
With that, he jumped off his horse. The sword on his back slid out of its sheath and glowed pale.
"Goblin! Fall near the cliff so as not to be damaged by falling rocks!"
Before we knew it, we were surrounded by a group of demon beasts. They hid themselves in rocks, branches, and crevices of cliffs, giggling in grim voices. At first glance, it seemed that there were quite a lot of them.
The knights were buzzing in agitated voices. "I think there are a lot of them, right?" "Yes, it's strange... They weren't going to come so close or threaten me." "It's not common, is it, Deputy Knight?"
I looked around nervously. Dozens of goblins filled the canyon, crouching as if they were about to jump.
Goblin. The little demon beast, covered with navy blue skin, looked at me with a grumpy expression and sniffed its hawk's nose. His dark eyes looked like demons.
'I didn't expect to see something I had only seen in movies or novels...'
[(⊙﹏⊙);;;!]
Where was the time to tremble? I had to do something about it.
Knights, in formation, began to gather. New knights surrounded those who were not combat personnel, and regular knights surrounded and protected them.
"Cover the scholars! Stick closer." "There! If you are there, you will be hit by an arrow. Go further back!" "...Yes!" "The one who is scared falls back!"
The battle began without any signal. The knights drew their swords, and the goblins roared and charged. It was filled with the sound of blades swinging, the cry of demons, and the sound of bodies moving to raise dust.
In the midst of the commotion, I looked at Kyle's back.
[Kyle single-handedly did the work of ten, or twenty, even twenty knights; every time he swung his sword, the black blood of goblins rained down everywhere, leaving him stranded with countless corpses.]
It was just as he said. There was no exaggeration in the simple sentences. Kyle moved like a slow dancer. His body rose into the air as if defying gravity, and he spun lightly on the cliff, or stood firmly on the spot as if rooted, and drew his sword horizontally. The way he moved like a painting, as if it were a movie with a heavy and cool atmosphere, made it feel rather unrealistic.
Honestly, it was amazing. So much so that he looked like a different person. I felt puzzled. Why did such a strong man die at the hands of Serena? I don't think anyone can kill him.
[The one who conquered the North with only one sword, with indomitable fighting spirit and overwhelming strength, who named the barren wasteland 'Blake' and built a home for those who had nowhere to go in the territory they had taken from the demons.]
He had a dignity that was difficult to explain in a few lines. The solid back of his struggle seemed to be unbreakable by any wind.
The goblin attack was cleared up sooner than expected. Several researchers took what they needed from the corpses and put them in bags, and the knights got back on their horses. The long gorge was quiet. The people seemed relieved by the silence and began to talk to each other again.
However, I was the only one who was anxious.
'…This is not it.'
According to , Kyle's injury was not caused by an attack by the Demon Beast, but by mysterious soldiers hiding in the North.
'…So, what was the real raid next? When was it?'
There was also a limit to recalling the original content. Tell me more, tell me more accurately.
[(× )=( ×)]
It seems that there is a limit to telling everything. One of the things that the system said the other day was something like that. If you talk about it in detail, the conditions for receiving rewards are bound to be stricter. I don't know exactly, but I think it's a balance issue.
Okay, okay. I have no choice but to be careful.
"Be careful." I said to Kyle on his horse. He brushed the blood and dust off the hem of his robe and asked in a casual tone.
"I killed all the goblins." "Not the goblin. The real thing to be scared of is people."
It was he who killed you, who couldn't even be beaten by thousands of demons. I looked up at him, still frowning, and Kyle pressed his index finger against my brow.
"Yes." "..." "I said I would be careful."
Woouk. He pressed his brow again. Then I relaxed my expression a little. Ok. Because I am here now.
"So it's going to be okay."
No, it will be fine.
Three hours have passed since then. During that time, I ate acorn cookies three more times. Finally, the third time, Kyle asked if he ate the acorns he had hidden.
...Well, it was similar. A quick-witted child.
[Current miracle value 22.0%]
We circled around the canyon where we met the goblins, climbed up, got off our horses, and started walking. This was because the road was steep, and if a horse tripped or ran in surprise, it could lead to an accident.
"Let's go back soon." "Yes, Your Highness. If you do this, you must have learned a lot from new drivers. He will die before sunset."
It was a pleasant sound to hear. Okay, let's go home. I checked the time with an anxious expression.
['Load' will be lifted after 30 minutes.]
Since I have time to go home, should I eat one or two more? As long as you enter the safe zone, you will have something to do for a while, so it would be better to ask them to get off and then go back to a deserted place. As long as you hide your clothes well, you'll be fine.
There was still no raid. I did encounter a few demons, but the variants that had fallen out of the pack were quickly disposed of. Especially after I read the "Demon Beast Encyclopedia" and told him that the thorns on the left wing of the mutant wyvern were poisonous, the atmosphere only became more friendly.
'It's time for the raid to come.'
...Could it be that there is no attack? But what has changed, and the incident disappears? Did I change it...
'Chandelier.'
Belial didn't fit the chandelier. So his relationship with Kyle didn't go as badly as expected. So Belial won't want to kill Kyle right now. As Kyle says, he hates the Archduke, but he doesn't feel the need to get rid of him if he can press it.
'So, has life expectancy increased?'
I looked at Kyle with anticipation.
[Kyle Jane Meinhardt, about 15 days before the estimated time of death.]
Still, his life is short.
"There is no raid, so why the hell..."
Kung.
At that moment, the ground shook and the horse cried in an anxious voice. The knights drew their swords and began to prepare again.
[o((⊙﹏⊙))o!] [□ □□ □□! □□ □□ □□□□□ from the rift] [Out of Standard] [Danger]
Kyle stepped forward in front of me, taking it for granted, and raised his sword. I looked at four system windows at the same time and looked up with a chilling feeling.
"That's it... What is it?" "What is this..."
The knights' faces turned white. It must have been a demon beast that had never appeared in the North.
A monster with huge black horns that resemble the shape of a goat or sheep, an unusually long snout, and fur-covered but sharp claws that grip the ground tightly. It roared long and stood on two legs.
"...I've never seen anything like that." "He's not worthy of living in the North..."
I was surprised by the different meanings of the articles.
"Crazy."
Why is that here? There was no way he didn't know. It's not a monster worthy of being in the North. It is a monster that lives deep in the forest and drinks from the swamp, and its warlike nature makes it a kind of disaster in the surrounding area.
Swamp goats. That's what people called it.
I mean, my co-workers...
'Hey, system. How did this happen? Why are the monsters from the game I developed here?'
[Confusion] [Temporarily reduce the amount of time you spend in the world.] [If you intervene any further, the power of □ □□]
The system flashed briefly and then disappeared.
Where did he go?
I was dumbfounded. Apparently, that empty place means 'swamp goat'. I wonder if the influence of my use of the system to interfere with this world has brought my memories to this point.
I clicked my tongue and stuffed the Demon Beast Book into my inventory. He is not supposed to be in this world anyway, so there is no way to defeat him anywhere in this book. However, it is in my head.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know what it is."
Kyle straightened his sword. I couldn't see their faces, but I could see how firm their resolve was. Even if he encounters an unknown monster on the road, it is stronger than anything else he has ever encountered, and he cannot fathom its size.
Still, Kyle didn't back down. His withdrawal from here was tantamount to giving up this land.
"Everyone, step down!"
Kyle and the Swamp Goat clashed. He jumped up, brandishing a sword in his batu grip. Kyle lunged at the howling beast that threatened to tear the heavens and the earth apart, and ripped it off its left arm. A louder sound than falling rocks rang out, and dust blew all the way here.
"...It's ridiculous."
Black blood dripped from the cut. But soon they became new arms. The swamp goat was furious, and he stood up and waved his arms widely. His sharp fingernails cut through the wood like a saw, and a strong wind gusted through the trees.
The knights stuck their tongues out, but Kyle wasn't surprised. He just silently grabs his sword and rushes at him again. The red sword flew diagonally, leaving a wound on the back of the beast's neck, and Kyle flew through the beast's body and fell to the other side.
But the swamp goat stretched his arms behind him and tried to grab Kyle. Even though they were looking at each other, they seemed to be looking backwards.
"...Snow!"
I remembered. I exclaimed.
"Your Highness! Snow! Poke your forehead! The bulge above the eyebrows!"
Swamp goats have three eyes. Hiding in his forehead, Maan can see through the skin. Therefore, he has no blind spots in his vision and is difficult to handle.
"Use a bow!"
One who is considered one of the sharpshooters of the Blake Knights pulled the protest tightly. The knight, who was aiming at the target without taking a breath, pierced the beast's forehead with precision.
A piercing cry shook the canyon. The demon beast swung its arms in a frenzy.
"Your opponent is me."
Kyle jumped up to me and cut off his outstretched arm. Dark blood dripped on the floor. If it wasn't for this nasty smell, I would have cheered for him a little more comfortably.
My arm grew back like before. But at that moment, I saw a little thing shining on my shoulder.
"Shoulder!" "What?"
I moved closer to Kyle, grabbed his chin from behind, and turned slightly to the right.
"Look over there. A little further left from the side where the blood is gushing out now. No, it's a tiny glowing green dot on top of it, and if you look closely, it's like scales." "..." "Do you see it?"
That scale is actually a special item that can only be broken under certain conditions. It was also an expensive item used to make weapons and shields. It was because of the results of the planning department's meeting that such fun would attract gamers. Thanks to that, we were dying to apply it.
I was tired of playing games anyway, and I wanted to know where I would use this information...
"You have to destroy it with magic. You can't handle spears or anything like that?"
Kyle laughed low. His voice was a mixture of admiration and desire to compete.
"Is there a weapon I can't handle?"
He borrowed a spear from a nearby knight and put his magic in it. The energy concentrated at the tip of the spear burned red, then red, then even redder, until all the light gathered and became so dark that it was black.
And the spear, shot like an arrow, grazed the swamp goat's shoulder. It screamed uncomfortably.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see through his weaknesses at once. But Kyle didn't give up. On the contrary, he rushed even more fiercely. Even when he was blown away by his front paws, he stood up again, and he held his sword even though he hit his back against a rock and coughed up.
Kyle Jane Meinhart swung his sword. He threw a spear. He threw away his cloak, which was heavy from the spilling blood. They step on the ground with their two legs, soar, land again, and roll on the ground...
It wasn't a sense of urgency or cool action. It was different from what I imagined would be cool when I read it as a novel. It was just a struggle to survive. It was a desperate battle for his all.
I couldn't easily say anything about it. He must have lived just like that, and his life seemed so dazzling in the distance.
"Kyle."
[Danger if you intervene now]
I opened the store, ignoring the warning in the system window. It is now or never. An instinctive premonition was whispering to me.
[Hurry Almond Fenancier |Miracle value consumed by 3%|Run speed increases.]
What has already happened cannot be helped, but what has not yet happened can be changed. Because I came here for it. However, there is inertia in fate, and they often try to go back to the flow they have set.
Like now.
"I'm really... I spend 3 percent with a big heart."
Hidden Quest, 3% miracle obtained from 'Community of Destiny'. It is not unfair to think that you are returning the price you earned because you walked into your life.
I took a bite of the fenancier, chewed it roughly, and swallowed it. The sensation of a lump of flour scratching his throat was unpleasant. However, he didn't have time to soothe his stomach. I ran to him in an instant.
The swamp goat, with one arm severed, curled up around the other arm and lunged at Kyle, who had been pushed to the edge of the cliff. Perhaps he was going to hit him and send him flying down the cliff.
It can't be like that.
I quickly intercepted him. I caught a glimpse of the swamp goat that was rushing and fell down the cliff. However, we couldn't escape the impact and rolled on the floor. He reflexively tried to wrap himself around me, but he missed me as I slipped because of my injury.
Then my body fell down. It was caught on the edge of a precipice.
"Shu!"
Kyle quickly reached out his right hand and squeezed my wrist. Their clasped hands were wet. When I glanced at it, I saw that it looked like he had injured his arm a little.
"Wait a little. I'll raise it right away."
He heard knights approaching from behind Kyle. At the same time, the ground he and I were holding on to shook significantly.
"Don't come close!"
Kyle quickly shouted behind him. Apparently, the ground had weakened due to the effects of the battle.
'I'm really on the edge of a cliff.'
I swallowed a sigh and looked up. It is not easy to pull up a hanged person. Not to mention if he is injured. Still, seeing that he endured this much, it doesn't seem to hurt him too badly.
That's a good thing. I won't die anywhere.
"It's okay, so let it go." "Don't talk crazy." "If we continue like this, we will both fall to our deaths."
I can live. When it falls, you can turn off 'load'. But he is not. No matter how much you think about it, there is no way to save Kyle. I thought about using the item, but the situation is not good to use without explanation, and I end up using too many miracle values.
As he repeated the calculations in his head, Kyle's arms were shaking. He didn't seem to want to let go of anything I said.
In the end, I spoke in a very friendly voice, as if I were caressing him.
"I'll definitely go back. So don't worry." "...How?" "By miraculous power."
I grinned confidently and counted to three. And the moment Kyle opened his mouth, he let go of his hand.
My body fell down. I finally stopped laughing as I looked at his face getting smaller and smaller.
Kyle didn't even remove his outstretched hand, but just stared at me falling. His face was pale and white, and I felt like my heart was sinking in.
Snowflakes fluttered from the sky one by one. The fog covered me with opacity, and a pure white light enveloped my body.
[Disable 'load'!]
Don't look like that, Kyle. I'll go back.