New Beginning
Lee Doun gripped his avatar's shield tighter, heart pounding with calculated resolve. The goblin horde was closing in, but he wasn't here to panic—he was here to survive.
[Let's go!]
[Whoa!]
The Wild Strawberry Mercenary Leader sprinted ahead, leading the charge against the goblin swarm.
[We start now. New recruits, stick close to me!]
Captain Grape gave the order to advance as well.
[Seolhwa, be careful!]
[Yeah!]
One hundred mercenaries clashed with five hundred goblins.
Overwhelmingly, the allies held the advantage. Still...
In the middle of the chaos, anything could happen. He didn't know.
-[damage] HP
The shield took the blow, but the damage was still heavy.
-[damage] HP
[It's a Goblin Warrior! Everyone, stay alert!]
[Yes, sir!]
Even compared to regular goblins, the Goblin Warriors were stronger. Moreover,
[Goblin Priest Attack]
📍 Location: Rion Castle
🎁 Reward: 50 Copper Coins
A fireball streaked from behind the goblin pack and struck a mercenary.
[Goblin Priest! Stay alert!]
[Seolhwa, stay back!]
[Yeah!]
Seolhwa raised her shield, focusing on defense.
-[damage] HP
-[damage] HP
-[damage] HP
After slaughtering ten Goblin Warriors alongside Seolhwa, the battle ended.
The Green Grape Mercenary Corps had won.
Even low-level mercenaries active within the territory could wipe out a goblin pack without losses if one hundred of them gathered.
If only the strategy had been flawless...
[Jay!!]
[Jay…]
The entire Green Grape Mercenary Corps gathered in one spot.
A familiar face lay collapsed on the ground.
[Jay…]
More than just the Green Grape Mercenaries had suffered casualties. A total of seven deaths occurred.
On the way back to Rion Castle.
Unlike before, the NPCs remained silent.
Even the talkative ones stayed quiet today.
A clearing near Rion Castle.
Jay's grave was dug in the center of the clearing.
The Green Grape Mercenary Corps gathered and prayed for him.
[Rest in peace, Jay.]
[Sob…]
[Sob…]
Sad background music played over the heavy atmosphere.
[Cain… I'm sad.]
[Yeah…]
The Hero game was cruel.
When a user died, the character was deleted.
When an NPC died… they died for real.
Jay the mercenary would never be seen again.
[Everyone, dismiss. Take care of yourselves.]
Captain Grape gave the order to dismiss and left.
Some mercenaries followed, and Lee Doun and Seolhwa headed back to Rion Castle.
The remaining five mercenaries stayed behind to guard Jay's grave until the end.
[Cain, if we die, will the mercenaries miss us?]
[Probably… yes.]
[Even if we make new characters, they probably won't recognize us?]
[Yeah…]
Once dead, it's over.
Real-life relationships aside, all human connections in the Hero game were severed.
[Cain, I want to get stronger.]
Seolhwa seemed to sense the emotion.
Weakness equals death.
Weakness means you can't protect your comrades.
And then you can never see them again.
Level 21.
Despite working hard to raise the character, the level was still low.
Even traveling between territories alone was impossible at this point.
Even a gang of bandits roaming the remote roads could defeat him.
[Seolhwa, let's go equip items.]
[Yeah.]
There were more ways to grow than just leveling up.
Equipping items.
They headed to the Rion City blacksmith.
Unlike the village, countless weapons and armor were displayed.
[Cain, it's too expensive.]
[Buy the cheapest ones.]
Item Name: Rion City Supply Sword.
Attack Power: 30
Description: Supply weapon sold in Rion City.
Item Name: Rion City Supply Armor.
Defense: 20
Description: Supply armor sold in Rion City.
Item Name: Rion City Supply Shield.
Defense: 15
Description: Supply shield sold in Rion City.
Among the options, excluding daggers and single-use items, the cheapest were chosen.
Even so, money was insufficient.
[First, let's buy the sword and armor. I'll earn more later and change the shield.]
[Armor is important, isn't it? My weapon can be changed later. Cain, buy the shield first.]
[No… later…]
“Huh?”
An event video suddenly began to play.
Creak. Creak.
The blacksmith door opened, and Captain Grape of the Green Grape Mercenary Corps entered.
[New recruits, are you short on money?!]
The captain tossed the money pouch to the staff.
[New recruits! Don't die…]
Creak. Creak.
Just like when he entered, Captain Grape walked out with slow steps.
[Cain, is this an event?]
[Maybe…]
The shield he couldn't buy because of lack of money appeared in the inventory window.
Moreover,
The money was still there.
Captain Grape had paid the full equipment cost.
[Cain, jackpot!]
Seolhwa was so happy she dashed around the entire blacksmith as her character.
Even the mercenary captain had prepared equipment.
Recalling the beginner guide read earlier, there was nothing like this.
Anyway.
Good was good.
They had equipped Rion City supply gear and saved money.
[Seolhwa, since we've equipped items, let's go to the mercenary building.]
[Yeah!]
Entering the mercenary building, they checked the quest list.
- Goblin Pack Extermination.
- Mine Reconnaissance.
- Wolf Extermination at the Farm.
- Goblin Remnant Extermination.
There were two missions they could handle together.
For wolf extermination, the current level was sufficient.
And,
Asking the employee, they learned about the 'Goblin Remnant Extermination' mission.
[Four goblins are hiding in the forest around the farm. Please take them out. (Reward: 50 Copper Coins)]
Four goblins… not the best mission.
The experience from four goblins and the reward of only fifty copper coins.
Still.
It looked better than the dog-finding mission they had done before.
[Seolhwa, let's take the wolf extermination and goblin remnant extermination missions.]
[Okay!]
Though efficiency was lower, they took the missions they could handle.
**
“Haaaaam…”
After Jay's death in the mercenary group, Eunhye became even more devoted to the Hero game.
For this reason, she played until 2 a.m. recently.
“I'm tired…”
She stuck to the desk and didn't want to fall.
School class time had long been energy recharge time.
Even the power nap skill had improved, so many times she fell asleep from the start of class to the end without waking.
“Pung.”
“Ah…”
She was sleeping soundly when…
The familiar back-of-the-head hit woke her.
“Hey. Follow Lee Doun.”
Kim Juho…
For a while, he had been quiet, but…
It was annoying, but she followed.
If she didn't leave now, he'd pester her all day today.
A remote spot outside the school building.
Kim Juho, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned around.
“What's up?”
Kim Juho looked at him without speaking, so Lee Doun spoke first.
“What's up? Haa… Did you eat breakfast wrong?”
“Don't worry about my meal. Why did you call me all the way out here?”
“Ah… Really. Want to fight?”
Because of the incident on the rooftop where they were called to the homeroom teacher for a fight, he didn't gang up on her.
“Don't talk nonsense. If you have nothing to do, go back to sleep.”
“Really, what are you eating lately to act so tough. Anyway. You said you got 100 on every subject. Share the cheating method.”
“Cheating? I solved it with my skill. Don't talk nonsense.”
Kim Juho walked over and got close to his face.
“Stop joking. Everyone knows you sleep during class. What skill is that?”
“I solved it with the knowledge in my head.”
“Ah… Really. Waaaaaaaah!”
Kim Juho couldn't hold back his anger and shouted.
“You really. Keep acting like that. You'll regret it later.”
He slapped Lee's Doun's shoulder and left.
The gang also disappeared with him.
“I had to sleep but wasted precious time.”
Since regressing back, had that guy learned about gathering evidence to destroy Kim Juho?
If he had, he wouldn't have acted like that…
When standing at the top, thinking about publicly exposing school violence made Lee Doun feel good.
Previously, there was no evidence, so he had been ruined, but
This time would be different.
He would even add the rage from his past life.
“First. Let's sleep more.”
Ding. Ding.
Finally, class was over.
[Doun! I waited so long!]
Eunhye came running.
[No, let's go home.]
[Okay!]
Eunhye had great stamina.
Even though her sleep time decreased because of playing the Hero until 2 a.m., she was full of energy.
[Eunhye, you slept during class?]
[No? Studying?]
[Uh… Yeah…]
Amazing.
Unlike him, who only supplemented sleep during class, she reached this level…
That was why he understood she was the strongest user warrior.
.
.
Mercenary Group Mission: Captain Grape's Summoning.
Current Location: Mercenary Building.
“Huh?”
When logging into the Hero, a mission appeared.
It was different from before.
[Cain, here?]
[Seolhwa, hurry. Did you get a mission too?]
[Yeah, the captain wants to see us?]
[Let's go.]
Captain Grape was sitting on the first floor of the mercenary building.
Approaching him, clicking the character changed the game screen with a cinematic effect.
[Welcome. Cute new recruits.]
[This time, we're expanding the Green Grape Mercenary Corps.]
[So, out of the two of you, one should take the team leader role.]
The cinematic effect disappeared like a shadow, and the game screen appeared.
1) Cain will take the team leader role.
2) Seolhwa will take the team leader role.
[I'll take it, Cain.]
[Me?]
[Yeah! I already selected number 1.]
Lee Doun selected 1 as well.
Green Grape Mercenary Corps
3rd Team Leader Appointed.
Total Team Members: 30
“30 people?”
A considerable number.
When first joining the Green Grape Mercenary Corps, the total was 30.
Three teams of 30 meant…
The Green Grape Mercenary Corps had nearly 90 members in total.
[Cain, you've agreed to lead us.]
Captain Grape stood up and said.
[In the 3rd team, operate as you see fit.
Ah, there are many newcomers, so don't overdo it from the beginning.]
He patted Lee's Doun's shoulder and walked to the entrance of the mercenary building.
The building door opened, and bright sunlight poured inside.
It was as if an aurora had formed around Captain Grape.
[All mercenary group missions must attend.]
Captain Grape turned his head with a smile and went outside.
[Ah… Captain is so cool.]
[Seolhwa, did you see the cinematic just now?]
[Yeah… It's cool.]
Leaving Seolhwa standing there, Lee Doun checked the mercenary building mission list.
- Goblin Pack Extermination.
- Merchant Escort (to Sirio Village).
Among the various missions, two seemed good.
Goblin extermination and merchant escort.
[Cain, what are you doing?]
[Looking at the mission list. Wait a moment.]
[Yeah.]
Clicking the employee, he listened to the information.
[Rion Territory has good security. Sirio Village is close, so ten mercenaries should be enough.]
[The goblin extermination mission… I heard the number is around 50 to 100.]
Of the two missions, he chose the merchant escort.
As the first mission, he picked the relatively easier one.
[I'll take the merchant escort? Great. They said it's urgent there. Hurry.]
3rd Team Mission: Merchant Escort
Start: Rion Castle City Gate (20 minutes left)
[Cain, a mission appeared.]
[Let's go to the city gate.]
[Yeah!]
At the Rion Castle city gate, merchants and porters were waiting.
[From the mercenary guild? Thank you for your hard work.]
The merchant approached, greeted, and returned to his spot.
And,
Twenty-eight mercenaries gathered before departure time.
All were wearing Rion City supply swords and Rion City supply armor.
The equipment was satisfactory.
[It's an honor to meet the team leader!]
[Pleased to meet the team leader for the first time!]
…
…
Twenty-eight people spoke at once, overlapping the chat window.
Except for the first few, it was hard to read properly.
[If everyone has gathered, may we depart?]
The merchant approached and spoke.
1) Let's start.
2) Wait.
Every character around looked at it.
Everyone looked ready.
After selecting 1,
The merchant finally started the carriage, and the mercenaries guarded around.
[Cain, are we going to the village like this?]
[Yeah, Rion Territory has good security, so there shouldn't be any problems. Just relax.]
[Yeah!]
Just as the mercenary guild employee said, the safe journey continued.
[Stop!]
The merchant stopped the carriage and prepared food.
They provided food for the mercenaries, and everyone ate while scattered.