The River of Thought
The fifteen people gathered before me were only the beginning. More users who had not been stopped earlier began trickling in, clustering together. Until now, the ones who had tormented them were far more terrifying—especially since this mess had clearly spilled into the real world.
“Hmm. This works.”
There were many kinds of chaos. You could stab someone in the middle of a brawl, or you could build it up slowly like this. “Who’s the highest-ranking among you?”
The moment the question left my mouth, a battle of glances began. Before long, every gaze shifted toward one man. He had deliberately carved scars into his own body and left them untreated. So he’s the representative type.
If I only wanted information, keeping him alive would have been enough. But my goal was chaos, so the approach changed.
“……It’s me.”
Shhhk!
Thud!
The head of the Chinese user who had raised his hand exploded. Unfortunately, my level did not rise this time.
“You can’t even block a single strike, yet you call yourself the highest? Pathetic.”
I mixed in a little multiple-choice chaos. If a representative existed, I killed the representative. If none existed, I would sow discord. Naturally, this logic only worked because I held the strongest card.
“I’ll ask again. Who is the highest-ranking here?”
They had shed most of their beginner aura. Though shaken by the death beside them, none fled. The remaining representatives were desperately wide-eyed, fighting to survive.
Finally, the greediest-looking man summoned his courage.
“Th-the supreme one of the Black Dragon Room stands before you!”
Swallowing sounds echoed here and there. The Black Dragon Room was clearly no easy opponent. As the representative Chinese ranker guild, its name carried weight.
“We greet the supreme one of the Black Dragon Room!”
“We greet the supreme one of the Black Dragon Room!”
Flattery poured out. At this rate, rumors that a Black Dragon Room executive had visited Boa Village would spread quickly. Of course, that too was part of the buildup.
“Half of you are correct. How dare you speak the name of the Black Dragon Room’s supreme one.”
Thinking back, they might have given the right answer. I simply did not know their way of expressing it. But I was the one who had set the question, and no one here could argue with my judgment.
Crack!
“I was merciful and only half-destroyed you this time. Yet you still died. How pitiful.”
High-level hunting was extremely efficient. Especially when the targets were high-level users who offered no resistance and simply died.
“W-we’re sorry!”
“Please spare us!”
Thud!
Crack!
The sight of people playing a game as if only I existed made me even more disgusted. Not a single user tried to rush me even though they had no grasp of my capabilities. At this rate, it would not be a test of the weak being despised—it would be a one-sided massacre.
These people were not playing the game as a game.
“What exactly are you sorry for, and who are you asking to be spared? You don’t die. You simply log out.”
“I have a child, sir!”
“……”
A bearded user who was clearly older than me had just called me “sir.” It was a title I had no desire to hear from people who mercilessly exploited others.
Crack.
“Then go to your child.”
At this point, they should have risen up, yet they did not. I felt the reality that this was still China, even in another world. A clear direction for the chaos had formed. These people needed a new revolution.
“You lot are useless. Enough. There are still many others here.”
I did not need to monopolize the experience. I could use this as material to strengthen other users.
“I won’t say it twice. Pick up stones, all of you.”
Stones had many uses in the previous playthrough as well. Their attack power ranged from 1 to 5 or higher. Larger rocks were stronger, and adding a user’s strength and technique could amplify the damage further.
“S-stones!”
“Kuh! It’s too late! Hurry and pick them up!”
Fortunately, the exploited users responded immediately. Some even panicked when they could not find stones fast enough. I calmly waited.
“It seems you’ve all gathered them. No need to wander far for a single stone.”
At my single command, the users froze. Killing only six users had raised my level by two, and I had secured hundreds of soldiers.
“Now throw those stones with all your strength at the vermin before you.”
They should have learned by now. There was no need to repeat myself, nor any reason to lift a hand further.
Whish! Whish-whish!
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
The targets were bunched together, and game character body correction helped. Anyone could hit with a stone thrown at close range.
Whoooosh!
Of course, stones also flew toward me. When debuffs affecting physical condition stacked, that much was understandable. I decided to join the training to loosen up my body.
Bang!
“Gurk!”
I farmed experience while hitting targets together. Resistance was crushed as well. Open your mouth and you die.
“Aaaagh!”
Scream and you die. If they insisted on following an absolute being this desperately, then I would gladly become that absolute being and continue building the chaos.
[Level has risen!]
Before long the stoning ended. Only those panting with excitement remained in the southern forest. I had given them courage; now it was time to give them nourishment.
“You’ve all worked hard, so you must be hungry. Light a fire with the corpses.”
“Yes!”
Meat was scattered everywhere. This place had originally been where animal carcasses hunted in the southern forest were gathered. All I had to do was butcher them.
“Take it. Each of you must eat at least one. You may keep any extra meat.”
“Th-thank you!”
Sizzle!
◈ Strength +1
◈ Stamina +2
◈ Slight increase in Cold Resistance
◈ Duration: 15 minutes
The deer from this cold region had a fairly thick layer of fat. The taste was similar to beef yet cleaner. The buff was quite decent for a normal-grade item.
Next came securing drinking water. The simple warehouse had a moderate stock of water and alcohol, so there was no immediate problem. However, for proper chaos, these people must not be tainted by the existing users. I needed to establish a proper campsite for long-term camping in the southern forest.
“Alcohol is forbidden. Drink only the water in the warehouse, and sparingly.”
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll be away for a while.”
“Have a good trip!”
People really did need to eat. The users’ eyes were filled with satisfaction rather than worry. That was the look of someone whose dopamine had gone to their head.
“Whew. Acting after so long is no easy task. Now it’s time to solve the next problem.”
The fundamental issue of Boa Village stemmed from drinking water. Solving the water problem was therefore extremely important.
“If I go this way, I should reach the river.”
According to the map, a river flowed near the southern forest. A path should have naturally formed, yet almost no traces of people remained.
“Either the river is so polluted that boiling it does nothing, or a troublesome monster has respawned.”
I arrived at the river. It looked like an ordinary river at first glance. I even spotted a deer that had been drinking from it and bolted the moment it felt my gaze.
“At least animals can drink it. Then why are people drinking from the fountain?”
My vitality was already at maximum. If necessary, I could dump all unused points into vitality to prepare for the worst. For now, I decided to drink a moderate amount of river water.
Slight decrease in movement speed
Wisdom +1
Slight increase in health recovery rate
Duration: 2 hours
“Huh?”
I had been ready to build a filtration device using my previous experience if needed, but the options were so good that it seemed unnecessary. Was the water in the simple warehouse all boiled because only certain users were allowed to drink the unboiled version?
“Just because of a two-hour movement speed reduction? That’s why they banned it? Water they could even sell to mages for money?”
The more I thought about it, the more dizzying the great nation’s system felt. At most, it felt like my walking speed had decreased by a tiny fraction. For my stats, it was hardly a penalty. Starvation debuffs seemed far more lethal.
“Still, I should verify it to the end.”
I lit a fire in a suitable spot, boiled river water in a canteen, and drank it again.
Wisdom -1
Slight increase in health recovery rate
Duration: 1 hour
Boiling it halved the duration and reduced wisdom, but increased health recovery. For newbies, it was actually a good option. After all, anyone who used their body needed constant hydration.
“Is this really it?”
At this point, everything felt suspicious. Could the drinking water crisis in Boa Village really have been caused by something this minor? A river of this size should have been enough to sustain the entire village, which made it even more suspicious.
“No. It’s a more complex problem. Probably.”
Before I knew it, the area around the river had fallen silent. No sound of animals walking through the grass, not even the usual insects. I had experienced this situation several times in my previous playthrough.
“……Something’s here.”
It was usually the sign of a boss monster’s appearance. Yet when I looked around, I felt nothing approaching. Then—
“Something’s coming.”
Rumble……!
The ground shook. It was not the sound of a large monster approaching, but the ground itself trembling. It was likely a gimmick related to the river.
While I stayed alert, an unbelievable sight began to unfold.
-Grrr……
A pack of translucent wolves burst from the ground. These were spirit-type monsters that rarely appeared even in the previous playthrough.