Newbie Despair Arc (Part 2)
“Y-Yeah, if we just stay put here, things'll get better.”
“Right. Like before, if we all pool our strength every time one comes...”
Crowd psychology. The scarier the situation, the more people craved acting together.
But not everyone felt the same.
“Hey! Where do you think you're going?”
“I'm heading out on my own.”
The medical student—Ian—left those words behind and walked out.
Ruby, who'd been glancing around nervously, stood up quietly too.
“Oh, h-hello?”
A stranger approached her.
She turned to see the guy who'd asked if she was Han Chaeyeon earlier.
“Your name... Ruby, right?”
“Yes.”
Ruby flashed a kind smile. Half of it was occupational habit from her idol days.
The man lit up at the sight. He likes me, he thought.
“I-I'm Siu. My real name's different... haha.”
Sisilia named him too? Ruby felt a twinge of quiet resentment. She named others besides me. And his sounds more like a real person's name.
“Pretty name.”
“Th-thank you. Um, I—”
Siu stammered before mustering his courage.
“Wanna team up?”
“Team up?”
Siu scratched his head awkwardly, averting his gaze.
“Uh—have you played this game before?”
“Yeah. You?”
“I was kinda a vet. Y'know, pretty solid player.”
Figures. Everyone summoned here played the game.
But Ruby knew better too. At first, she'd thought it was straight-up Another World—but only parts matched. Most knowledge didn't apply.
Stuff that worked in Another World was mostly useless here.
“Oh, I see.”
“Y-yeah, and as you know, Another World's a party game at heart.”
Ruby knew that too. Positions: tank, bruiser, ranged DPS, support. Four-man teams hunted together.
The game's brutal difficulty meant solo or bad comps got you killed fast.
“B-better than going solo, right?”
Ruby toyed with her lip, pondering. Honestly, she preferred alone.
But Siu had a point.
“Sure.”
Ruby agreed readily.
Siu and Ruby headed to the banquet hall.
Nobles' eyes flicked their way briefly.
In that tense moment, the nobles lost interest and returned to their own affairs.
“Where'd that guy who left earlier go?”
Ruby asked. Siu replied quickly.
“Oh, probably somewhere that only spawns one at a time. Hunting here's risky—aggro pulls packs. Hang on.”
Siu muttered softly, staring into space, then nodded.
“Level 17. Our gear can handle it.”
Ruby's eyes widened.
“You can see that?”
Siu grinned sheepishly.
“Yeah. That's my Aura.”
He added, blushing a bit.
“D-don't worry too much. I'll protect you.”
Ruby beamed.
“Thanks!”
“Ah...”
Siu let out an unwitting sigh of admiration. That smile hit like heart-stop.
“Shall we hunt?”
“W-wait.”
“Huh?”
“L-let's plan first.”
“Haha, sorry. I'm no good at that stuff...”
Ruby clasped her hands, looking to Siu.
“What should we do?”
“Ahem, well—”
Siu spun gamer terms into a cool explanation.
But...
“...?”
Question marks filled Ruby's head.
She'd dropped out after middle school.
“Sorry... I don't get it.”
“Oh.”
Siu simplified. TL;DR: He'd DPS; she tanks aggro, he'd kill.
“It's neutral mobs. No aggro till you attack. Cast a spell, it'll pull here. So...”
But asking a girl to tank felt lame, so he circled.
Ruby, still lost, smiled awkwardly.
“Just kill it, right?”
“Huh?”
Ruby grabbed her sword and charged the nearest noble.
Siu panicked at her bold move.
—Ooh, a new face.
The noble moved like a reanimated corpse. No human.
But facing it...
Even knowing it wasn't human—or if it lied—even killing something intelligent weighed heavy.
“H-hello.”
—Such a beauty. Lady, grant me the honor of a dance?
Even knowing it was a monster, killing a real person? What would that feel like?
No, not the time for that.
Ruby took a deep breath. Remember Sisilia's words.
This isn't human.
Just a monster.
No different from data chunks back then.
—Lady?
Ruby opened her eyes.
No hesitation. She gripped her sword and swung.
Tension. Dread. Fear.
But overriding it all: thousands of swings' muscle memory.
Slash!
Did it.
Ruby beheaded the noble. It crumbled to ash.
“...”
Siu's eyes bulged. Unbelievable. One-shot a level 17 noble?
“Y-yeah!”
Ruby pumped a tiny fist in quiet joy.
As Siu stared blankly—
—Kyaaack!
—M-murder! Murderer!
Nobles panicked and fled.
XP's running!
Buoyed, Ruby chased to slash.
But faster—clanking armor. Full plate knights appeared.
—Protect the guests!!
—Slay the intruder!
Siu muttered again, then backpedaled.
“L-level 48?”
“That high?!”
“R-run!”
Siu bolted.
You said you'd protect me...
Ruby watched dimly, then steadied her breath.
Running changed nothing. Hall was wide, but hiding spots got sniffed quick.
Besides. Sisilia promised she'd protect their lives.
Ruby hadn't maid-ed long, but knights staked honor on truth. No lies.
She'd trust her.
Her job: kill monsters full-tilt.
Ashen starlight cluster. It swelled, stabbing like spears.
Immature skill—once daily. But.
Ruby thrust her hand at the charging knight.
“Astral Lance—!”
Boom-crash!
The starlight morphed to spikes, piercing as imagined.
But—
—Petty tricks!
Crack!
The knight snapped the star-thorn barehanded.
Ruby reached for her sword in shock.
The knight blurred to her in impossible speed.
Clang—!
“!”
Her vision showed a shattering barrier.
Newbie Absolute Safety ring—broken.
—Hmph!
Knight reversed grip, swinging at Ruby again.
No time to react.
Death.
The word flashed in her mind.
Dying's this simple, huh.
Then—
Her vision blacked out.
**
“We won't interfere from here on.”
“...”
Deep silence hung over the users.
Sisilia tilted her head at their speechlessness.
“We'll scout the perimeter then. Betty.”
“Yes.”
Even after they left, users stayed mute.
This—
No way.
They'd all wiped post-knights.
Hiders, fighters—zero survivors.
Yet here they were. Alive.
More like... regressed to the past.
How to process?
Gamers had baseline sense.
Regression. Novel-protag power.
“...”
But no one shared.
“Ahem, I'm off elsewhere.”
If true—this was huge opportunity.
**
Manual regression. Simple method.
“Betty. Out 16. I'll take 2 and 4.”
Light. Wind.
Their Auras' traits: speed, anyway.
Combine 'em—easy system.
First, light-speed KO and snatch newbies.
Dump in safe spot.
Once all downed, return to start.
Wind-fix positions precisely.
Finally, Betty's debuff-clear buff wakes 'em.
Key: move unseen, newbie-blind speed.
Level 1s missing it? Piece of cake for Sisilia—like feeding Betty grapes.
“Eek, heugh.”
Bit tough on Beatrice, though.
“Hang on. Need a break.”
“Mm. I believe performers deserve full work hours guaranteed.”
Sisilia and Beatrice watched users hunt from a scenic perch.
Beatrice panted, wiping her mouth.
“That barrier—wasn't it one-use?”
“Eternal Tomb regenerates everything infinitely.”
Monsters too. Items, potions same.
I.e.—
“Nobel Prize is mine.”
“Pardon?”
“Perfected infinite energy.”
Perfect newbie growth system.
Sisilia smirked satisfied.
Infinite-regen items.
Infinitely farmable XP.
Sisilia's elevator for newbies.
By end, they'll be beasts.
Dungeon clear level: 90.
Till all 25 hit 90, manual regression it was.
Hehe.