Pinwheel Village
Pinwheel Village
042
Pinwheel Village
I had to revise the route.
I had originally planned the path considering only the walls and the Fruit of Good and Evil.
But there was an unexpected problem.
I had never considered the possibility that the storage device's energy would run low.
Honestly, it felt unfair.
I never expected to encounter so many native creatures in Seabird's Bath.
Thanks to the bracelet and the map, I was discovering the Fruit of Good and Evil faster than other users, which created a problem they never faced.
'Well, it's a good thing, I suppose…'
I sat on a nearby rock and studied the map.
I needed to redraw the route to pass through zones with more native creatures.
"Mmm. Baengnae is bored."
Baengnae, who had grown tired of her puddle-jumping game, wandered over and peered around.
Then my eyes fell on the item hanging around her neck.
'Ah, that was there.'
"Baengnae, give me that."
Baengnae removed the Whistle of Calling and handed it to me.
A Stage 3 sponsorship from the cat.
'With this, things should get easier.'
The way to recharge the storage device was by killing native creatures.
It worked like experience points in a game.
Therefore, the gauge filled with every death I was involved in.
In other words, if I scattered zombies across the entire map, the gauge would steadily fill on its own.
But this was purely for energy purposes. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a particularly useful strategy.
There was a high chance the summons would get lost, and unless they were strong zombies like Baengnae, they risked dying alone.
This maze didn't only contain creatures on the level of monkeys.
'This should cover those problems.'
The Whistle of Calling had the function of revealing my location to the recipient.
It would prevent the zombies from getting lost.
Additionally, it would reduce the risk of them dying alone.
Zombie hordes had a structure where they inevitably grew weaker if left unattended.
It was due to the nature of infection.
Zombies that couldn't grow alongside their summoner would produce second- and third-generation infected that were even weaker with each infection.
In the end, only trash zombies would remain, easy prey for strong creatures.
The cat had deliberately given me the whistle in advance to prepare for this situation.
Or so I assumed…?
Either way, I was grateful.
For reference, she had gone off to find another sponsor.
When I asked what would happen if she synthesized [Grasping Pincers], her shallow knowledge had hit its limit.
She said she would ask someone who knew and disappeared. More than two hours had already passed.
I had no idea when she would return.
'Anyway, shall we start sweeping up some energy for real?'
I summoned Nareun-i and Bangsil-i first.
They would lead the second party.
I showed them the map and explained the detailed operation.
There were three things to keep in mind.
Kill native creatures while roaming the maze.
Turn any promising ones into zombies and have them join.
If there were signs of an [Event], flee immediately.
"Baengnae will take the crocodile rock. Nareun-i and Bangsil-i will handle the monkey habitat. Come when I call periodically."
"Madda."
"It shall be as you wish."
"Jjuin ordered a hunt!"
I assigned two hundred monkey zombies to each of them and sent them off.
With this, we had three groups: my party with Baengnae, the dogs' second party.
A total of three hordes would roam and sweep the surrounding area.
Just in case, I bought paper and writing tools from the [Shop] and drew copies of the map for them.
Even if the monkeys got lost it wouldn't matter much, but losing these two would be too costly, so caution was necessary.
After sending each party off, I looked at Boots, who was sitting there alone.
This one would stay with me.
Since I didn't know when the cat would return with information, Boots would wait.
"Let's go too."
"Boots follows Master."
Boots waddled unsteadily, its center of gravity off-balance.
"You just stay inside."
I stored Boots away.
Then I ran toward the next destination.
This time, the destination was a place users called Pinwheel Village.
Users without maps marked it as "somewhere near the monkey habitat," but its more precise location was near Seabird's Bath.
That was why I had chosen it as my next target.
Pinwheel Village was the smallest zone in all of Stage 4.
Because it was literally just a small village.
If you pushed through the dense forest, you would find a single small village.
Orange roofs and white walls.
Cozy houses that looked like they belonged in a fairy tale filled the streets.
And strangely, pinwheels were planted everywhere throughout the village.
Purple, blue, yellow.
Colorful pinwheels beautifully decorated the entire village.
They stood in the streets, at intersections, even indoors—everywhere, these toys spun in the wind.
That was why this place was called Pinwheel Village.
'Honestly… I can't blame the people who tried to settle here. On the surface, it looks incredibly safe.'
Above all, there were no native creatures in this village.
If you discovered such an odd place in this bizarre maze, it was only right to be wary.
But for users who had been chased by countless cannibal monkeys and two-meter-tall blood-drinking pelicans, perhaps simply finding this space would have felt like a blessing.
Before the information spread, quite a few users had tried to settle in this village.
No, even users whose only goal was climbing deliberately sought out this village.
What was the way to enter Stage 5?
You pressed [Combat Start] and defeated every enemy that came.
In that sense, this village—made of architecture familiar to humans—was extremely advantageous for defense.
No native creatures, favorable for defense, fresh water available, pleasant atmosphere.
Could there be a better location than this?
'As long as the wind doesn't blow…'
In the end, after countless sacrifices, Pinwheel Village was designated a high-risk zone.
Because something other than native creatures lived here.
I picked up a pinwheel and blew on it.
Whoosh—
The proof of life I blew into it spun the pinwheel round and round.
Hearing that sound of life, they came.
For every spinning pinwheel, one ghost returned to the village.
The pinwheels were gravestones.
They were the wind that honored those who lost their lives here and called them back.
Then why come to a village swarming with ghosts?
What a ridiculous question.
I came to find the artifact following the snake's head.
Sss—
Something summoned by the wind I blew stirred in the distance.
A chilling presence.
There existed something that should not be in this world.
I immediately kicked off and ran toward it.
And the moment I turned the corner, a ghost without eyeballs was looking up at me.
It was ugly enough to be called something from the underworld.
"What are you looking at?"
I grabbed the ghost by its hair and slammed it against the wall.
Thud—
Blood flowed from the empty eye sockets.
The ghost whimpered.
Since it didn't seem to have passed on yet, I struck it a few more times.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
And the ghost returned to where it came from.
Probably?
Either way, seeing the storage device's gauge rise by a fingernail's width confirmed it had disappeared.
I was an intellectual living in the twenty-first century.
I knew that if ghosts could exert physical force on us, then I should be able to touch ghosts as well.
If I couldn't touch them?
Then they were illusions caused by electromagnetic force, so I would use a machine that generated a magnetic field.
'Besides, there aren't any spirit-type creatures in Stage 4 anyway.'
I summoned Boots.
Then I demonstrated once, just like before.
Blow into a pinwheel, and if something appears, go find it and beat it until it disappears.
"You do this."
"Boots will do what Master commands!"
From what I had gauged, the ghosts had strength comparable to monkeys.
As long as thousands didn't suddenly appear when the wind blew, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Of course, the reason the users who had settled in the village were wiped out was because of the wind.
A strong wind blew here once every five days.
Many users who settled in Pinwheel Village without knowing this ended up in the arms of ghosts.
I walked deeper into the alley, following the direction the red snake's head pointed.
The red snake.
Soon, the first high-grade artifact I would see in Stage 4 would reveal itself.
I licked my lips.
'Who cares about ghosts? There's a high-grade artifact here.'
After wandering through the alleys for a few minutes, a massive building appeared at a large intersection.
The snake was pointing at it.
It looked like a huge warehouse or auditorium.
I approached and opened the door.
Creaaak—
The door opened with the sound of metal scraping.
The interior was ordinary.
What was inside were pillars supporting the ceiling and pinwheels densely planted across the floor.
Perhaps this place had been used for communal mourning.
I walked slowly.
Among all these pinwheels, there might be a special artifact.
At some point while strolling through the garden of pinwheels, the snake's head pointed perfectly downward.
'Underground?'
The way its tongue flicked wildly suggested whatever it was looking for was right below.
I looked around.
But there were no stairs leading underground inside the auditorium.
I widened my search outside the building as well, but still found nothing.
"In that case… well, whatever. I'll just dig."
I called Boots into the auditorium.
Then I summoned about fifty monkey zombies and shouted loudly so everyone could hear.
"From now on, we're digging up the floor! Grab any rocks, tools, or anything that looks sturdy nearby and smash the building's floor to go down! Everyone, move!"
Thud— Thud— Thud—
Thud— Thud— Thud—
Construction by zombies began.
The monkeys went outside, grabbed whatever they could find, and struck the floor.
Boots also helped widen the hole with its pincers.
"Hurry up and work, you lot!"
"Ook! Ook!"
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
Thud-thud— Crack— Bang!
While the construction was in full swing, I checked the storage device.
The gauge, which had been around 3% when I arrived at the village, had now exceeded 10%.
'Hmm, everything's going smoothly.'
And at that moment, an ominous sound that shouldn't have been heard outside began to echo.
Whoosh—
'Wind… sound? Why?'
I opened the auditorium door and looked outside.
A strong wind was being sucked inside, spinning the pinwheels round and round.
Hundreds of pinwheels inside the auditorium spun.
Thousands of pinwheels throughout the village spun.
'But… it's not time for the wind to blow yet? Don't tell me this is also due to the difficulty increase? Changing the climate too?'
Whooooosh—
The wind that summoned ghosts blew.
There was no time to question the cause.
I immediately summoned all the zombies and shouted.
"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"
Ghosts would come riding the pinwheels.
Round and round.
Thousands of ghosts would return.