I Became an NPC

After Seo Arin left the cave — the dungeon — I was left alone. Ignoring the players around me who kept stealing glances my way, I set my feet toward the depths of the dungeon.

With the game now fully underway, something in the dungeon had to have changed.

For example, maybe the stairs I hadn't been able to descend before were now open.

And my guess was half right.

I couldn't descend another step just yet — but in exchange, a gatekeeper barring the way to Floor 6 had appeared.

"Krrurgh…"

A black-furred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kobold, about twice the size of the ordinary kobolds I usually ran into.

On top of that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unlike the rusted-sword-swinging kobolds I knew, both of its hands were fitted with razor-sharp steel claws.

"A beast wearing claws. Cute."

"Krugh… KRAAAGH!!"

The kobold — Black Dog — had been prowling around with fierce, searching eyes, surveying its surroundings, until it caught the low mutter of my voice and whipped its head toward me.

In the same instant, it came charging at full speed, both claws raised as if to skewer me where I stood.

Players who had only just logged in probably wouldn't find that charge easy to dodge.

Me? Obviously not a problem.

"Your size is different, sure. But I've carved up plenty of kobolds just like you."

This stupid kobold was running at me in a perfectly honest straight line.

Which meant all I had to do was swing my sword toward the spot it would arrive at. The only thing that separated it from a normal kobold was the claws on both hands — keep an eye on those, and that was it.

"Krugh…?! Kehak…!"

Then again, for something calling itself a Gatekeeper, it felt awfully weak.

We didn't even get to trade a few blows. One strike. Down it went.

"Can't pass up item farming, though."

I gathered whatever looked useful from the bisected corpse of Black Dog.

Tch… if I could use an inventory, I could've taken so much more.

I'd made up my mind to accept that fact, and yet it still stung.

A few slabs of meat to serve as emergency rations, plus the claws the kobold had been wearing, hung from my waist. Luckily, they didn't look like they'd get in the way while walking.

More importantly…

"There's nothing to prepare, you dumb system."

It's not like I could go back to a village.

The best "preparation" I could manage was grabbing jerky from my makeshift shelter, or a whetstone to sharpen my sword.

But I wasn't short on food right now anyway, and I didn't have the space to carry much more besides.

The blade wasn't dull enough to need the whetstone either, so there was nothing stopping me from going down right now.

Just then, a message announcing a new notification floated up before my eyes.

…Maybe I'll rest up before heading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down, after all.

While I was resting and browsing the gallery — the only pastime available to me — I stumbled across a thread talking about me.

I had sensed someone's presence nearby earlier, but it didn't feel hostile, so I'd ignored it. Turns out it was nothing other than a player who'd been stalking me.

Wait, more importantly — is Battojutsu really such a difficult technique?

You just draw and cut at the right moment. Done.

I have no way of checking a skill window, so I can't know how the skill mechanism actually works.

Then again, I don't even know whether I have a skill called Battojutsu in the first place.

"It just works, so I used it."

Saying it like that makes me feel like some absurd prodigy.

Having skimmed through what the gallery had to offer, I closed the window soon enough.

It being launch day, there apparently wasn't any genuinely useful information yet.

Makes sense — the developers never even ran a CBT.

"Ughngh…"

I stretched lazily and looked down at the stairs before me.

Time to head down, I suppose.

When I arrived at Floor 6, the dreary cave scenery from moments before was gone — replaced by a wide-open grassland.

So this is still inside the dungeon, apparently.

I could even see the sky.

Still, the fresh air filling my lungs after so long left my head feeling wonderfully clear.

"This would be wide enough to hold an entire village."

I'm not exaggerating — walk a little farther and you'd half expect to find people living here.

…Wouldn't that be nice.

But more to the point —

"Krrrrgh…"

"Grrowl…"

"We really are still inside the dungeon, huh."

As I took in the scenery of Floor 6, a pack of wolves slunk out from hiding.

After staring down kobolds all this time, these wolves almost looked cute.

Of course, they'd be stronger than your average kobold.

Those horns, for one thing.

"Grrr…"

I drew my sword and moved forward slowly to deal with the pack in front of me, and the wolves flinched, growing all the more wary of me.

Then, without warning, one of them lunged at me at breakneck speed.

"So that black kobold really was a boss monster, then."

It charged slower than Black Dog had.

A sharp shffk — I cut the lunging wolf's throat, and the pack, already jittery, retreated a full step backward this time.

And then, at last —

"Awoooooo~!!"

"Awoooo~!"

Howls rang out across the plain.

When wolves start howling like this in most games…

With a pattering of footsteps, an even larger pack than the one that had just appeared came into view.

"Figured as much. That's a call to gather the others."

Even better for me.

Thanks to that, I'll be raking in plenty of experience.

Granted, I'm currently flagged as an NPC, so who knows if experience points or level-ups are even a thing for me — but I could feel myself growing gradually stronger with every monster I hunted.

Meaning that even if it's not through levels, I'm getting stronger some other way.

"Growing in any form is a joy, honestly."

My grip tightened around the sword's hilt.

I could feel the corners of my mouth threatening to curl up on their own.

A pack of at least twenty wolves, even by a rough count.

On the upper floors, I'd never faced a group this size.

Weak as wolves might be, against a pack this large, a single mistake could mean death.

Which was exactly why the thrill waiting for me on the other side of victory already had me anticipating it.

"I'll leave a few of you alive. When that time comes, call another pack for me."

"K-Kyaaah…"

"Krrrrr…"

You're monsters, fellas.

No need to be that tense.

Meanwhile, Seo Arin had once again set foot inside the dungeon with her friends.

"Aww… Siwoo-ssi isn't here, looks like."

"You browsed the gallery, so you already know. Your so-called NPC went down to a deeper floor."

"Stilll… I thought Siwoo-ssi was my companion!"

Having naturally assumed Han Siwoo would be there to greet her, Seo Arin let out a whine at his absence — and yet, without so much as a proper glance at the goblin lunging at her, she cut it down.

"Yeah. Ex-Rank 1 for a reason."

Watching her, Jung Ha-yoon raised her thumb and fired off an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"Hehehe… I'm pretty good, aren't I!"

"Yep. Strong. Cool."

"Mweheheh~."

There was Jung Ha-yoon, cheerfully hyping her up, and there was Seo Arin, grinning like a goof at the praise.

Yoon Se-ah, meanwhile, was ruthlessly slaughtering goblins of her own — while sneaking small sighs at the sight of Arin, who wasn't even bothering to dodge the dangerous attacks coming her way.

"Haa… Arin, I don't care how much healing I give you, you still have to dodge what can be dodged."

"Hm? Why though?"

"I can erase your wounds, but every time you get hit, it hurts, doesn't it?"

"It's fine! It only stings a little! Besides, if you heal me like this, your healing proficiency goes up too, Se-ah!"

"That doesn't mean my mana and cooldowns are infinite, you know."

Even at Yoon Se-ah's plea for mercy, Seo Arin just kept on beaming.

"But wait! I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had a great idea!"

"…This isn't another weird idea, is it?"

"Nope~!"

She's definitely not weird, this girl who deliberately gets hit to grind her own proficiency — the thought crossed Yoon Se-ah's mind, but Arin had always been like this, so she let it go unspoken.

"Okay. Go ahead."

"So~ we're going down to Floor 6 too!"

"…Floor 6?"

"Yep yep! Watching Siwoo-ssi take down that big black thing, it didn't look that hard~. And if it gets really bad, we can just sprint away, right?"

"That's still way too reckless…"

"Yeah. I think it's a good idea."

"Ha-yoon?!"

At Arin's proposal, Jung Ha-yoon raised her thumb in agreement.

"If it gets too dicey, I'll carry you two on my back and run. I'm fast."

The rogue-spec'd Jung Ha-yoon nodded, then stuck her thumb up once more.

That made it two votes to one.

Left with no choice, Yoon Se-ah found herself going along with Arin's plan.

"But if it gets dangerous, we run immediately, okay?"

"Obviously! Being locked out of the game for a whole day would be a loss to my very livelihood!"

"…I don't think it's quite that serious."

"Yep. I'll head out first!"

"Ah! Wait, let's go together!"

And with that, Jung Ha-yoon zipped off, weaving cleanly past the monsters blocking her path — while Seo Arin, in complete contrast, charged forward slicing down every single one that stood in her way.

"…Guys, we're supposed to go together!"

And so Yoon Se-ah started running after them both.