Return to the Camp
Returned to the camp. As expected, an incident had occurred.
“Kill them! Kill them!”
It was as if the French Revolution had broken out. The camp was overflowing with madness. The targets were the former ruling class.
“More stones! Throw even more stones!”
“Stop! Pick up the stones you already threw and throw them again!”
“U! U! U! U!”
I watched the scene in silence. The targets of that madness were already dead. Those who had been lucky enough to escape the workshop in the forest, or who had wandered out of the village and boasted loudly, had ended up like this.
There was a reason the spark refused to die out. The scattered reports of the ruling class vanishing one by one were part of it, and so were the grim realities that reached them after death.
“Stop! Stop! The boss has arrived!”
“Stop!”
The chaos only halted after a Chinese player recognized me and shouted. The situation had already spiraled, and I was the only hill these people could lean on.
“……”
I didn’t need to say a word. The crowd tidied itself up on its own, thanks to the character concept of the Black Dragon Room’s cruel powerhouse. They knew that if they crossed me now, while they were free to run wild, everything would twist into something ugly.
“You’ve got some sense. You lot deserve to keep living.”
“Ooh……!”
I wasn’t actually going to kill them, but the more I played up the cruelty, the more they cheered. I had no choice but to match their expectations.
“We’ve gathered all the tribute here!”
On one side lay piles of money; on the other, weapons and armor sorted neatly by type. It felt more like a street stall than a department store, with the notable exception that everything was free for me.
“Money is enough. Split the rest among yourselves.”
“We receive your command!”
I didn’t even bother checking the options. None of the gear was useful to me. Equipment from players who had barely left the beginner stage still fell under the category of newbie honey items. I was technically still a newbie myself, after all.
‘4 gold 28 silver. Nice.’
Money, on the other hand, never lied. The 4 gold I’d just picked up alone was worth about six million won, and adding what I’d collected from the southern forest brought the total to 5 gold—nearly 7.5 million won. It was an enormous haul.
“Those who will stand at the front, take weapons and armor first!”
“Then I’ll take this armor!”
“I’ll wield the sword!”
“I-I’d rather stay in the back.”
“Then grab some rocks!”
The group sorted the equipment distribution among themselves. The atmosphere was grim, as though they were about to wage war at any moment. After stirring up such a massive incident with no way back, this outcome was only natural.
‘The situation is resolving more smoothly than I expected.’
I had predicted mutual destruction as the result of this chaos. Chinese players were famous for their sheer numbers, after all. No matter how many players were here, they would be no match for the high-level users rushing in to restore order.
‘Something must be happening inside the village as well.’
By this point, I was half-convinced that unknown events were unfolding within the village itself. The most likely variable was the training instructor. He was probably still recovering his strength through that golden fox-fur eyepatch.
‘No, it could be dangerous. If the instructor is involved, the village might report this to the higher-ups and summon high-level players.’
Inside the forest, nightmare wolves rampaged, while outside, the players had united to thoroughly smash the ruling class’s heads. With this, the southern forest was essentially under my control. I hadn’t completely solved the drinking water problem, but swallowing one pillar of Boa Village was still a promising achievement.
“H-Hiik!”
At that moment, someone’s scream sent the surrounding players into a panic.
“Boss! Nightmare wolves! A pack of nightmare wolves has appeared!”
“Why would monsters that never leave the river come here?”
Looking in the direction they pointed, I saw the exact pack that had been in the southern forest. The large nightmare wolf I’d seen earlier was among them, blood smeared around its mouth.
“……How noisy.”
I stepped forward. After all, I was the only one who could properly deal damage to spirit-type monsters. If necessary, I could simply wipe them out myself.
“You should be full by now. What brings you here?”
-Krrk?
The nightmare wolf tilted its head at a 45-degree angle. It gave off the impression of “Did this guy eat something weird?” They really were clever creatures. Thanks to that, my skin crawled, but with so many eyes watching, I had to maintain my dignified image.
“Have you come to do harm? If so, our cooperative relationship ends here.”
Thud.
The nightmare wolf’s answer was a pile of more than ten money pouches. And then—
The rewards were enormous. Especially the hidden class rewards—they were no joke. A boost of 8 points and such widespread rumors were both firsts for me.
“……I see. You’ve come as my friends.”
-Krr.
Thanks to the unexpected reward, a new method of causing chaos came to mind.
“From this moment on, the nightmare wolves are my friends. Therefore, you are also friends of the nightmare wolves.”
“We will obey!”
The method was simple: reclass every member of the camp into ‘Spirit Tamers.’ If things went well, I could even operate the nightmare wolf pack in earnest and double our forces. Moreover, this hidden class change seemed possible with a bit of trickery. Normally one would need to display overwhelming combat power against the nightmare wolves to form the alliance, but I already had a friendly relationship with them.
“Earn their recognition by any means necessary. This is the clue for the hidden class ‘Spirit Tamer.’”
Any Another Dimension player knew the value of a hidden class. They also knew that being handed this clue for free was an immense opportunity.
“A hidden class!”
Greed filled the players’ eyes. The air around us seemed to grow hotter.
At those words, one player cautiously stepped forward.
“W-Woooor……”
He slowly extended his hand.
The result was—
Crunch!
“Kuaaahhh!”
The brave player had his hand bitten by a spirit wolf.
“S-Save me!”
“Your effort is lacking. At least your hand wasn’t severed.”
It went exactly as expected. Thanks to the friendly relationship, the nightmare wolf had controlled its strength and avoided cutting off the hand. It was a hopeful development.
“Khhk! You’re right! Be nice, okay? Let’s be friends!”
Crunch! Crunch!
“Kuaaah! Aigoo! Be nice!”
-Krrr……
Once they confirmed the wolves wouldn’t kill them, the other players steeled themselves and began competing to offer their hands.
“Ugh……”
Crack!
“Aak! Feels good!”
Crunch!
The number of nightmare wolves was fixed, while the number of players was twice as large. This outcome was inevitable. Class changing was also a competition. Through repeated trial and error, someone would eventually succeed in becoming a Spirit Tamer. If this chaos succeeded, the distinction between weak and strong in Boa Village would be greatly overturned.
“I won’t set a deadline. However, when I return, I hope you’ve all completed the Spirit Tamer class change. And of course, don’t die pointless deaths.”
“……!”
I thoroughly prevented anyone from monopolizing the clue. What I wanted was for every player here to become a massive source of chaos.
“We receive the great benefactor’s command!”
At some point, my title had been upgraded from “boss” to “great benefactor.” I let their shouts pass through one ear and continued with the next orders.
“If any thirsty people come here, do not turn them away—share water with them. Once you finish the hidden class change, you’ll be able to drink from the river.”
“We receive your command!”
“However, if anyone who is already full comes here, cut their throats on the spot. At the very least, they won’t be the sort to pity you.”
“We receive your command!”
With this, I had successfully ignited the conflict between the ruling and ruled classes of Boa Village from within the southern forest. The rest was up to time. I approached the largest nightmare wolf and tapped its head. Naturally, since the target was me, its fangs remained hidden.
“They’re pitiful, so go easy on them.”
-Krrr……
This should be enough. I collected all the money pouches the nightmare wolf had given me and left the camp. Now it was time to protect the training instructor, find variables inside the village, and stir up more chaos.
* * *
Eden was faithfully carrying out his assigned mission. The fact that a now-dead Chinese player had exposed his affiliation with Seogwang was something Lady Cha could easily smooth over, so it wasn’t a major issue.
“We got lucky. The situation lined up perfectly.”
Realizing that the VIP was pretending to be a Black Dragon Room executive with some hidden intention had been a stroke of genius. This kind of mission was Eden’s specialty, after all.
‘Shura’ specialized purely in cutting down whoever stood before him.
“Grrrk!”
That didn’t mean covert combat was his weakness. He was simply stronger in chaotic melee. The spies trying to approach the VIP had already been dealt with.
“I heard a high-ranking member of the Black Dragon Room has arrived. Let me through.”
“Denied.”
Swish.
Whether they claimed to be from the Black Dragon River faction or not, Eden cut down every low-ranking guild member under the Black Dragon Room who tried to approach the beginner training ground. They weren’t his equals, but they could still pose a threat to the VIP, so eliminating them served two purposes: delaying the moment the VIP’s tail got caught.
“Damn it! What the hell is going on here!”
Clang!
And now, with the VIP having left for the southern forest, Eden hid in a suitable building and ambushed high-level players passing through the south gate, fulfilling his role.
“Who are you!”
Of course, he couldn’t cut them down in a single strike.
Boom!
“It was you? The Seogwang rat.”
“Don’t open your mouth. It stinks.”
But that was all. The chain attacks unleashed by ‘Shura’ were something even within Seogwang only a handful could block unscathed.
Crash! Boom!
Swish!
In other words, three consecutive strikes were enough to sever an opponent’s shoulder.
“Kkh!”
The name Seogwang, and the position of Lady Cha’s bodyguard, were honors not just anyone could hold.
Clang! Crash!
“Kuhak!”
After successfully assassinating yet another high-level player, Eden confirmed the VIP approaching from afar. Their eyes even met.
“Hah, I surrender!”
“I surrender as well!”
“Hmm. At this rate, we’ve almost finished thinning out the high-level players.”
Eden adjusted his mask, checking that his face remained hidden.
“……It should be fine, right?”
Currently, only his Seogwang affiliation had been exposed to Boa Village’s leadership; his face was still thoroughly concealed. The VIP, meanwhile, was proceeding with some quest without knowing anything.
“It’s too late to run. At this rate, truly dangerous people will show up soon.”
After shaking up the village all day, there was also a chance the real Black Dragon Room would come looking for Eden. If that happened, the VIP pretending to be from the Black Dragon Room would naturally have a hard time surviving as well.
“Good grief. This is troublesome.”
The VIP, unaware of the situation, was walking straight toward Eden without hesitation. For some reason, his steps carried the leisurely air of a powerhouse, but what mattered now was Eden’s response.
“In this situation, Lady Cha would surely agree.”
Eden steeled his resolve and decided to face the VIP directly—after first eliminating every witness in the vicinity.
“Adaptability is everything.”