Ojakgyo
The explosion, for some reason, only harmed the slime.
Not a single scratch appeared on the novice adventurer or Rumiel's body.
It was only natural.
After all, they couldn't hurt themselves with their own magic.
The slime that was hit directly by the light sphere vanished from the spot in an instant.
Inside the massive crater, along with 'someone's lost bag', only the 'Greedy Slime's core' remained.
"......"
The novice adventurer stood there blankly, just blankly.
The only movement was occasionally opening and closing his mouth, which was the only sign that he was still conscious.
"......What, what is this......"
After staring blankly for a while, his gaze slowly turned sideways with a creak.
At the end of his gaze was Rumiel.
Rumiel's white hair swayed in the wind.
And in her small, slender hand, she held a shabby branch.
And——
A face that was quietly, slightly, and subtly smiling.
Thump.
The novice adventurer's heart suddenly beat loudly in his chest.
'......What, what is this?'
It was an unexpected sensation.
The novice adventurer scratched his head with a dazed expression and turned his face slightly.
His cheeks were already flushed red.
'Ah, no, wait a minute, ......what!?'
With a panicked expression, he placed his hand on his chest.
Thump thump, his heart was racing violently.
That small smile wouldn't leave his mind.
And, at that moment.
"Then, I'll be going."
Rumiel turned her body without any hesitation and started walking somewhere.
"Eh...... eh?"
The novice adventurer unconsciously extended his hand.
But Rumiel was already slowly moving away.
Behind her, the white hair swayed gently.
The novice adventurer's mind became complicated with the feeling he had never experienced before.
'......What, what am I doing right now......'
¤
Rumiel slowly walked along the path, lost in thought.
Thinking about it, that Greedy Slime.
She had wanted to check out the guy who was famous for being delicious, but if she vaporized it like this, she couldn't taste it.
She looked up at the sky.
It was a pattern she was too familiar with.
Even while playing games, such things had happened often.
Like accidentally killing a monster you were supposed to capture while progressing a quest, or forgetting to pick up an item you were supposed to obtain.
Rumiel had just wanted to lightly hit it, but the result was a perfect vaporization with no trace left.
"I should have hit it weaker......"
Rumiel muttered with a hint of regret.
Her expected gourmet experience had turned into a bubble, so her ahoge drooped.
But there would be another chance.
There were still many monsters rumored to be delicious, like the Greedy Slime.
She would do well next time.
Rumiel comforted herself and moved her feet.
Not long after, the place where Piolo was came into view.
The red-haired man was still sitting there, carefully scanning his surroundings.
"......Piolo."
"Huh?! Ah, Adventurer! You're here!"
As soon as he saw Rumiel, Piolo raised his face with a happy expression.
The way he looked like a dog welcoming its long-lost owner made Rumiel momentarily startled.
"Are you...... looking for something?"
Rumiel opened her inventory instead of answering.
[Return Scroll × 99,999]
She took out one of the thousands of return scrolls piled up and handed it to Piolo.
"Eh......?"
Piolo blinked with eyes full of confusion.
"T, this is......?"
"It's a return scroll to the village."
"Y, yes......?!"
Piolo accepted the scroll with both hands politely, looking surprised.
"T, then, did you defeat the slime and retrieve the bag?"
Rumiel pondered for a moment and slowly shook her head.
"No. I just wanted to give this."
"......Eh?!"
Piolo looked at Rumiel with a startled face and continued.
"T, then, the reward is......?"
Rumiel thought briefly and turned her head slightly to say.
"Someone will be coming soon. Give it to that person."
"Huh?! W, what are you talking about......?"
"The novice adventurer."
"......?"
Piolo's expression was blank as if he didn't understand.
But Rumiel didn't say anything more.
She just waved lightly at Piolo and started heading to the next area.
"Ah, Adventurer! Wait! Th, there......!"
Piolo's voice came from behind, but Rumiel didn't look back.
Her mind was already heading to the next destination.
Rumiel walked quietly, looking around.
As time passed, trees became more numerous and the forest grew denser.
And what caught her eye was——
A massive tree.
"Wow......"
Rumiel let out an exclamation without realizing it.
That tree was also a landmark symbolizing the center of this continent, 'Ojakgyo'.
Ojakgyo was the name given to the path connecting the novice village to the class-specific towns, because it was the intersection point for warriors, archers, mages, thieves, and pirates.
Even when she first saw it in the game, she couldn't help but admire its grandeur, so how majestic would it be in reality?
Rumiel walked with expectant eyes.
As she got closer, the size of the tree became more tangible.
It was big from a distance, but the more she approached, the more its overwhelming presence was felt.
The tree soared into the sky, and even if Rumiel stretched her neck back, she couldn't tell where the end was.
Giant branches stretched high into the sky, and dense tree roots covered the ground like a single city.
Rumiel slowly turned her gaze downward.
"......There are a lot of people."
At the base of Ojakgyo, that is, the lower part of the tree, there were numerous people.
From a distance, they looked like ants, but upon closer look, they were moving with their own purposes.
There, besides people, there were also level 7 tree tots.
Cute monsters with leaves sprouting on their small bodies were running around the roots.
Tree tots are variant monsters of Toto, characterized by hard shells and strong jumping power.
The tree tots were being hunted around the tree roots or chased by adventurers.
In the upper safe zone, various people were promoting their respective jobs and tempting new adventurers.
'This is just like in the game.'
It was the same in the game too.
When you reach level 10, you can go to each class's village from here, Ojakgyo.
The representative NPCs for each class would come out and compete by saying 'Our class is the best!' to new adventurers.
It was a familiar sight.
Warrior NPCs boasted muscles with swords and shields, mage NPCs showed off flashy magic, thief NPCs appeared from shadows with skilled hand movements, and pirate NPCs waved guns energetically.
Archers NPCs shot arrows from a distance on the trees, emphasizing accuracy and agility with a calm demeanor.
It was a class promotion war taking place.
Rumiel watched the scene with an interested gaze.
And, in one corner.
A group of people who looked clumsy were huddled together with serious expressions.
In their eyes, there was expectation, excitement, and a bit of fear.
They were probably new adventurers who had reached level 10.
Rumiel looked at them and smiled faintly.
They were tense, but it made sense; choosing a job to continue for a lifetime requires caution.
Rumiel's eyes sparkled as she looked down.
It was high.
Quite high.
Still——
Rumiel, with her unique smile, jumped up powerfully.
She jumped down directly.
BOOM———!!!!
A moment later, a loud impact sound echoed.
A massive crater was created, and dust flew everywhere.
"......Ouch."
Rumiel sat on the ground and lightly rubbed her face with her palm.
Since she fell from a high place, the sting was unavoidable.
Immediately, she checked her HP.
[ HP : 399,700 / 400,000 ]
'Only 300 damage came in.'
In the game, at least 500 damage should have come in, but she was lucky.
Rumiel lightly exclaimed and dusted off her pants, then stood up.
And, slowly raising her head.
"Eh......?"
"W, what......!"
"......What?"
The sight of people around staring blankly at Rumiel came into view.
The novice adventurers had their eyes wide open and mouths agape, frozen.
Even the class NPCs were watching Rumiel with bewildered faces.
Among them, some were rubbing their eyes repeatedly, unable to tell if what they were seeing was a dream or reality.
Rumiel, after glancing at these strange expressions, tilted her head.
'Why are all of them reacting like this?'
After pondering with her index finger on her lips for a moment, Rumiel soon came to a conclusion.
'......It seems that people coming from the novice village are rare.'
Seeing them react with such surprise, it seems that new adventurers are produced in much smaller numbers than expected.
It was a sad thing.