Bullet Taxi
This is a world where only the strong can survive.
A ruthless meritocracy where the weak cannot endure even a single moment.
Satgat let out a quiet sigh and looked around.
“Uuuu...”
Finally, the annoying little brat had left.
Satgat adjusted his deep bamboo hat and slowly looked up at the sky.
“I need a strong adventurer...”
He had survived for decades on the battlefield.
He had met many adventurers, watched their growth, and sometimes fought alongside them in battle.
But now, all that remained was empty time and the wind.
Recently, the number of strong adventurers had been decreasing.
Everyone wanted to choose the easy path and grow in safe places.
In this era of weakness, Satgat was waiting for a real strong one.
But,
A little guy with empty eyes appeared and claimed to be strong himself.
Satgat recalled the appearance of that little guy from a moment ago and let out a hollow laugh.
That, an obviously weak-looking brat pointing at himself saying “I’m strong.”
No matter how much adventurers these days are out of their minds...
Satgat sighed and looked back at the street indifferently.
At that moment,
Thud.
A heavy footstep like a mountain moving echoed.
He quietly turned his head.
And saw it.
The being he had been searching for so desperately was right there.
It was so huge it was hard to call it human, and its entire body was covered in heavy armor.
A massive figure at least three meters tall walked across the street.
He stopped in front of Satgat with slow, heavy steps.
“...”
Satgat felt a momentary thump in his heart.
In his field of vision, the giant’s shadow loomed over him.
He instinctively knew.
Finally, the strong adventurer he had been waiting for had arrived.
Satgat looked up at his face and asked in a low, rough voice.
“... What is your name?”
The giant didn’t answer.
He just silently looked down at Satgat.
Is he taciturn?
Or does he not even feel the need to speak?
Satgat nodded in satisfaction.
A strong one who doesn’t need words—he liked it more and more.
Good.
Then, he should tell this story to him.
“Long ago, I was exploring the area near Ojakgyo in the center of this island.”
Satgat looked into the distance and began to speak quietly.
“At that time, I accidentally discovered a huge temple.”
Under Ojakgyo, between the roots of a huge tree.
There, an ancient temple that no one knew about was buried.
“The temple was deep and filled with darkness. But I was drawn by an unknown power and went deeper and deeper.”
At the end of the temple.
It was all darkness there.
In the darkness, two red eyes stared back at him.
Satgat stepped back a step and instinctively gripped his sword.
“At first, I thought it was a large drake. But it wasn’t.”
It was a being that hunted humans.
“Giant pair of wings, fangs like blades, and bright red eyes.”
“It was... a demon.”
There was a being called Eblis in the temple.
For the first time in his life, he recalled defeat.
It wasn’t a simple monster.
It was an apocalypse.
An existence that the laws of this world did not allow.
Such an unbelievable existence was lurking deep in the temple.
“As soon as it saw me, it raised its spear and flew towards me.”
However, at that moment, someone blocked its path in front of him.
He was holding a shining sword.
“He... was a man holding a mysterious sword.”
While blocking Eblis’s attack, he said to Satgat.
“Run away.”
He fought.
Wielding the sword that emitted mysterious light, he fought against the demon Eblis.
But the demon was strong.
In the end, he was pushed back and pushed back, received a fatal wound, and fell.
“I couldn’t help him.”
“I could only watch blankly.”
In his last moment, he raised his sword high.
“He exploded with his own sword.”
“Even though he self-destructed, Eblis’s throat was still connected. I sealed the demon Eblis with tears in my eyes.”
Satgat let out a deep sigh.
That was the story of the past.
Decades had passed, but he still couldn’t forget that day.
After finishing the story,
Satgat quietly looked at the giant.
“Thank you for listening to the story.”
He rummaged in his pocket and took out a small thing and offered it.
“As a thank you, I’ll give you this.”
It was a small candy.
◈ Sweet taste
◈ Made by Satgat
But at that moment.
“Waaah...”
A soft voice came from in front of him.
The hand that received the candy from his hand was not a giant armored hand... but a small, soft-looking hand.
“... What?”
Satgat froze for a moment.
But it was already too late.
At some point, the giant’s figure that was in front of Satgat’s eyes disappeared, and a small cute girl stood there.
It was Rumiel.
And Rumiel quickly grabbed the candy from Satgat’s hand and stuffed it into her mouth in an instant.
“...!!!”
Satgat’s mind went blank.
At the same time, Rumiel smiled faintly.
“Tasty.”
With that said, Rumiel turned his back on Satgat and quietly walked away.
Satgat sat there as if in shock.
“... Damn brat.”
Watching the back of Rumiel walking away, Satgat barely opened his mouth.
However, Rumiel didn’t look back at him.
Rumiel’s ahoge wiggled lightly.
¤
Rumiel let out a small sigh.
No matter how much she looked around, except for Satgat, there was nothing that particularly caught Rumiel’s interest.
The adventurers wandering the village were mostly muscular warriors, and they didn’t pay any attention to a small girl like Rumiel.
“Hey, little one.”
He only threw occasional “uhuhu” glances.
Of course, since there was no value in dealing with him, he lightly ignored it.
“...?”
At that time, Rumiel’s gaze caught sight of an old taxi.
[Dangerous Area Bullet Taxi]
A plain car painted in black was quietly parked.
A half-rusted stop sign and faint sticker marks on the windows.
It was exactly that taxi she had often seen in the game.
Rumiel quietly approached the taxi.
When she opened the door, a musty smell came from the old leather seats.
The unique smell of an old car.
“Where are you going?”
The taxi driver, wearing a gray hat pulled deep, turned around and asked.
A smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, but there was a cunning aura in that smile.
The taxi driver spun the panel and presented five destinations.
[Abandoned Excavation Site]
[Bugi's Shelter]
[Warrior's Rock Mountain]
[Deep Valley]
[Ant Tunnel]
The driver skillfully pointed to “Ant Tunnel.”
“This place has a beginner discount! 90% off! Really cheap. I recommend it!”
Rumiel quietly blinked her eyes.
The driver’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction of “caught another mark.”
Rumiel thought inwardly.
This driver is still like this. Really bad guy.
It was the same in the past.
If beginners, lured by super cheap discounts, chose Ant Tunnel, they would immediately fall into a nightmare-like experience.
It was the part where you could see the game’s malicious side trying to lure newbies who hadn’t seen the village chief’s quest from the novice village.
Rumiel slowly looked at the driver.
And without saying anything, pointed to “Bugi's Shelter.”
“... Please take me there.”
In Rumiel’s quiet voice, the driver nodded.
“Yes, understood.”
The engine started, and the vehicle started smoothly.
In the game, when you select a destination, you just teleport to that place, but now that it has become reality, the vehicle moved slowly.
Soon, the car passed through the rock mountain, and through the window, desolate cliffs and rough rocks passed by.
Small monsters popped up on the road in the middle, but the vehicle didn’t slow down.
[Lv.14 Rock Slime]
Thud!
The rock slime that hit the taxi’s bumper bounced off like a ball with no power.
Rumiel indifferently looked at the slime bouncing out the window.
... If this is the case, wouldn’t it be more efficient to get a license and hunt?
Rumiel’s ahoge wiggled slightly.
The slime’s body was as hard as rock, but the front of the taxi was unscathed.
Instead, the slime broke and small stones scattered along the roadside.
The driver didn’t care either.
He skillfully turned the steering wheel and continued to drive the rough road.
“It will take a little longer to get to Bu-gi’s Shelter. Rest comfortably!”
The driver glanced at Rumiel through the rearview mirror.
There was still a strange deception in his eyes.
He had guided many beginners to various places, but most ended up in dangerous situations after receiving his guidance.
Especially in areas like “Ant Tunnel.”
They didn’t know what they were doing and posed in front of drakes and got beaten.
At that time, the taxi driver would take them back to their original place at double the original fare.
But this little girl was different.
Calm eyes, posture without any movement even while watching the rock slime break helplessly.
The driver couldn’t sense any tension or anxiety that usually comes from beginners with this little girl.
“Perhaps...?”
The driver tried to open his mouth, but stopped.
Because the vehicle had already arrived at the entrance of Bu-gi’s Shelter.
“We’ve arrived.”
Rumiel quietly got out of the car.
A breeze blew slightly, and Rumiel’s white hair was lightly shaken.