A New Beginning
With Seolhwa by my side, we sat eating our meal as the mercenaries’ voices rose in conversation.
From the left side of the wagon, the mercenaries eating their food continued chatting.
Now from the right side of the wagon, another group of mercenaries were chatting loudly.
We finished eating and stood up immediately.
Rion Castle and Sirio Village were close by.
There was no need to take a long rest.
Thirty small goblins suddenly appeared from the forest.
[Surprise Defense. (Commander Intelligence Influence)]
A surprise defense alert appeared.
I chose option 1.
I still didn’t know their level.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
They would hold, and Seolhwa and I could clean them up.
[Morale Up. (Commander Charisma Influence)]
“Seolhwa, we do this.”
Seolhwa moved toward the nearby goblin as she spoke.
It took time, but the battle ended without any casualties.
“New recruits are on the same level as goblins?”
It wasn’t bad.
I thought they’d only gathered beginners for sudden recruitment, but each one had the strength of a full goblin.
The journey ended without anything special except facing goblins and a few animals.
I chose 1.
I had to return anyway.
There was more work in the castle than in the village.
“We’ll wait at the inn on the day we leave.”
The merchant pulled the wagon toward the center of the village.
And then.
I chose 1 and dismissed the mercenaries.
I could have hunted by choosing 2, but…
Soon it was time to log out.
“Seolhwa, see you tomorrow.”
**
The next day.
After school, I logged into the game.
I had to escort the guild tomorrow and return to Rion Castle.
So I had to stay in Sirio Village today.
“Let’s go find the village chief first.”
Finding the village chief in a small village was easy.
“Oh… so there was such a thing?”
I remembered the first time I met the Green Grape Mercenary Corps.
Back then they were exterminating wolves.
By becoming their captain and speaking to the village chief, this quest would be generated.
I chose 2.
Team 3 Mission: Exterminate Wolf Pack.
Start: North of Sirio Village (30 minutes remaining).
Three teams of mercenaries had gathered north of Sirio Village.
When everyone had gathered, I chose 1.
We arrived at the grassland north of the village.
There was a wolf habitat similar to the starting village.
I chose 2.
Individual ability was higher than goblins’ for wolves.
Of course, in groups they were harder than goblins.
Wolves traveled in family units, while goblins moved in clan units.
Large goblin packs of over a thousand were rare.
We entered the wolf habitat and the mercenaries attacked in ten-man groups.
Meanwhile Seolhwa and I took down the wolves.
They were now an easy target for someone who had grown since the beginner days.
The fear-inducing howl effect that scared beginners no longer affected me.
Instead, the stat difference caused the wolves to go stiff or slow from my shield bash.
Seolhwa finished off the stiffened wolves.
“Exp is a pity.”
We had reached the point where leveling up on wolves was no longer feasible.
To level up quickly, I would have to hunt goblins or stronger wild animals.
“No choice…”
I took the guild escort mission to check the recruits’ skill.
One day remained before returning tomorrow, and I had accepted the wolf extermination in the remaining time.
Among the given choices, wolf extermination was the best.
For four hours I cleaned out the wolves in the habitat.
I gathered the wolf meat and hides from the corpses and stored them in my inventory.
“Seolhwa, let’s go back.”
As we moved toward the village, the mercenaries followed.
Then suddenly the door opened.
[Door Opened!]
Memories flashed.
I didn’t remember the exact date, but around this time my mother had sprained her ankle.
It wasn’t a severe injury.
With a month of treatment, it would heal completely.
But then.
She hadn’t rested.
She had rested for a week and immediately gone back to work.
Because she hadn’t fully recovered,
on days when the weather was bad, she always massaged her ankle.
She never complained, but on rainy days she would do the same thing.
“Seolhwa, I’ll take care of this first.”
I asked for Seolhwa’s understanding and logged out.
Then, together with Hye-mi, we left the house.
In the past I never went to the hospital.
When Hye-mi opened the door, she had invited me to go to the hospital together,
but I refused.
Instead, from then on I angrily told her not to open the door whenever she wanted.
“Hoo…”
It was true that my past self was pitiful,
but the actions of that time could not be excused.
We arrived at the hospital and went to the emergency room.
Mom was lying down with a bandage on her ankle.
Hye-mi ran to her mother, crying.
—Past—
When I was locked in my room playing the game, was Hye-mi alone at the hospital crying?
What was she thinking back then?
“Doun came too.”
After the check-up and treatment, my mother came out with a crutch.
Hye-mi ran over to help her mother.
—Back then—
When Hye-mi came alone to the hospital, she would have struggled to support her mother by herself.
I went to the opposite side of Hye-mi and helped my mother walk.
My chest felt heavy.
I…
Ever since I was fired from the big company and became a burden to my family,
I thought I had failed them.
But it wasn’t true.
Since middle school I had never taken care of the family.
When the family was in pain or trouble, I was not there.
Of course, when I was a middle-schooler, I didn’t have the luxury…
“Hoo…”
A deep sigh escaped from deep in my chest.
—
We safely arrived home in a taxi.
“Mom, rest.”
Hye-mi entered the bedroom to nurse her.
I watched the scene for a while, then went to my room and called Eunhye.
It wasn’t a big injury.
As long as she took good care of her body, she could fully recover.
“Good. Oh right, I completed the wolf extermination mission and received the reward.”
I had read the beginner guide for the old Hero game, but the game didn’t last long.
Because death would delete the character, I lost the will to play.
Of course, I had no experience as a mercenary team leader like now.
So I didn’t know the detailed system.
Especially the fact that unlike now, where mission rewards are shared by the whole team, the captain can dispose of the obtained by-products…
I hung up and sat at my desk, opening a notebook.
-Excess income can be disposed of at the captain’s discretion.
“If it were user party, we would have to share, but what about NPCs?”
It seemed I could keep it.
Of course, if I gave it, loyalty or morale might rise, but…
The cash-out for Hero game currency was legalized quite early.
I didn’t remember the exact time, but it was around the time other games had problems.
At that time Human Games made Hero currency cash-out possible.
I immediately turned on my computer and searched for other games.
“This is it…”
It was just before the massive refugee incident.
At this time, disappointed users would wander to other games like refugees.
And.
They came to Hero game too.
Enormous big hands…
“Soon I will be able to cash out Hero currency…”
Money…
Clearly, if I looked ten years ahead to see who would earn more by growing characters quickly, I could earn more money.
But…
I needed money right now.
To relieve my mother’s hardship even a little faster.
After the hospital visit and planning, it was already past 1 AM.
“I have to do this…”
Even though it was late, I logged into the game.
Seolhwa wasn’t online.
She was always alone, but now it felt strange without her beside me.
I visited the village chief’s house alone and accepted the fox extermination mission.
Team 3 Mission: Fox Extermination.
Start: North of Sirio Village (20 minutes remaining).
I sold the wolf hides and meat from my inventory and headed north of the village.
The mercenaries had already arrived there.
I chose 2.
It wasn’t the time to understand the NPCs.
I had to gather money in any way for a week.
Not for me, but for my mother.
I led the way, and the mercenaries grumbled as they followed.
I knew they were tired, but this time it was fox extermination.
Compared to wolves, the difficulty was much lower.
I chose 2 again.
Again the mercenaries formed groups and attacked the foxes.
And I charged straight at the foxes from the front.
Because I forced the mission, I fought harder than them.
Foxes.
Far too easy for a Cain character.
Whether the nearby foxes aggroed or not, I charged at the close fox and did a shield attack.
It was a direct shield bash, but the fox went into stun and was easily captured.
The approaching foxes were also handled smoothly.
After that.
For several hours I cleared the fox habitat and returned to the village with a full inventory of fox hides and meat.
I sold the hides and meat and logged out.
“It’s already six o’clock…”
Instead of going to bed, I headed to the bathroom.
There I washed with warm water.
The accumulated fatigue was slightly relieved.
I ate breakfast alone, left the house.