Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Player Lee Yoo-hyun_VER.P.NULL
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[Chapter 2]
Anyone who's ever played a game knows this: quests are the lifeblood for nearly every player.
They're the only way to grow and advance to the next stage.
Gamers will do anything for better rewards and quests—it's in their nature.
Dun knew this all too well. Back in his gamer days, he'd been a faithful shuttle for NPCs plenty of times.
And now that he had the NPC title himself, he was exploiting that position to the fullest.
"...Sh-should I put it here?"
Dun crumpled his water bottle, took a swig, and nodded.
While he'd been buying crayons at the market district and playing rock-paper-scissors with the neighborhood kids, the player had finally arrived near the general store and set down the load.
As the player panted heavily and wiped away sweat, Dun gave a thumbs-up.
"Put it in the corner."
To be huffing and puffing like this. What a pathetic stamina for a player.
He smirked inwardly, but kept his lips prim. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he took another cool sip of water and smiled with crinkled eyes.
"As expected of an adventurer—you're strong. Good job."
[Quest completed! You have received 20 exp.]
Maybe because his level was still low, the player clapped his hands in delight at the meager experience.
'I used to be like that once upon a time.'
Finding the player's joyful reaction pathetic, Dun emptied the water from his bottle onto the nearby flower bed.
Anyway, that wrapped up today's chores.
The butcher shop was quite a distance from home, so Rihaowel probably wouldn't assign any more errands beyond this.
She knew there was something off with his body, so after one big task, she'd send him to his room to rest.
Now it was time to put on a little act.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Dun suddenly started jumping in place at a speed so fast his legs blurred. The player rubbed his eyes, wondering if he'd seen a ghost.
Exhausted from the sudden burst of effort, Dun dragged the load into the general store, sweat pouring down his face.
"Need a hand?"
"Shh."
Dun silenced the player with a finger to his lips, then waved him off to scram.
He scattered the bundle from the butcher shop across the floor, then rolled his shoulders as if he'd hauled it himself and stretched with a groan.
"Aaah. Ouch. Oooh."
He started his exaggerated whining in a loud voice.
When Rihaowel didn't seem to hear, he amped it up.
"Ow, ow! I'm dying here. If I work any more, I'll collapse from fatigue. Time to clock out."
Rihaowel, who had been counting gold coins at the counter, finally lifted her gaze and eyed Dun steadily.
"You seem suspicious. You didn't go bossing around adventurers, did you?"
The Dun she knew wouldn't do hard labor so obediently.
"You don't see this sweat? I thought I was gonna die."
Dun pointed to the sweat from his jumping jacks and played innocent.
"Hmm..."
"No, if you're really doubting me, go ask Auntie Lance."
There was a reason he'd made a point of showing his face at the butcher shop. To create an alibi.
"Look me straight in the eye."
Dun shrank back subtly and balked in exaggerated panic, making Rihaowel cover her mouth and snicker.
"Shrinking like that? Busted. Actually, I saw an adventurer lurking outside, peeking your way, so I was testing you."
No...! Ah, damn...
This clueless player, seriously.
He turned his head, and sure enough, the adventurer from the quest was awkwardly waving from afar.
With Dun's scheme exposed, Rihaowel quirked one eyebrow.
"Our adventurers like being bossed around, you know."
"That's right. Call on me anytime you need help."
The player who'd assisted Dun earlier had slipped into the store, pretending to browse, and chimed in.
He must have sniffed out something—still obsessed with chain quests.
Frustrated, Dun scowled at the player.
[NPC Dun's favorability has decreased.]
The player flinched slightly at the alert in front of him, his lips quivering downward.
"Who do you take after, liking being ordered around like this?"
At Rihaowel's response, Dun's pupils trembled for a moment.
Dun and Rihaowel weren't blood-related, but she acted the mother despite not being his real mom. He'd been wary at first, but now awkward fondness filled that space.
Suppressing the faint twitch of his lips, he replied with forced nonchalance.
"The mom who keeps making me run errands."
Rihaowel, who had been about to retract her teasing question after gauging his mood, let out a small sigh of relief.
The subtle, awkward air lingered only briefly before Rihaowel's eyes crinkled in a wicked grin.
"...What? Why are you smiling like that?"
Rihaowel thumbed Dun's cheek before turning toward the player, who had been watching their mother-daughter spat.
"Adventurer, I have a favor to ask. Could you fetch materials for healing potion crafting with my daughter?"
The system registered Rihaowel's request, displaying a quest marker above her head.
[F-Grade Quest] Rihaowel's Dun Training
Quest Details: Go gather healing potion crafting materials with the general store's only daughter, Dun!
Purification Stone 0/100
Leech Fang 0/20
Elric's Tear 0/3
Duration: One week
Rewards: 2 items from the general store, 100 exp
Penalty for failure: Rihaowel's disfavor
A transparent window visible only to the player and Dun popped up behind Rihaowel.
Dun sighed at the quest Rihaowel had unconsciously generated.
"This isn't right."
"Go do the errand nicely together."
Rihaowel stroked Dun's light brown hair, which fell to her shoulders, with a smirk.
"......"
"Come back safe. I'll pack two snacks for you and the adventurer."
Dun, who had been pouting with lips pursed, stared at her mother's back as she started packing snacks, then let out a long sigh of resignation.
"Not sandwiches for me—pack an apple."
He sidled up next to Rihaowel, who was pulling out the lunchbox, and handed her an apple.
* * *
[Normal] Rihaowel's Sandwich
Description: A sandwich made by store owner Rihaowel. Restores 15% of HP and stamina.
Lee Yoo-hyun, the player who'd helped Dun, fiddled with the consumable item he'd received after accepting the quest instead of stowing it in his inventory right away.
"What're you doing? Not following?"
The girl called Dun, daughter of the store owner, called out sharply from ahead.
"I'll guide you. I know all the item spots in the nearby hunting grounds. Let's get it done quick."
"Got it."
Dun scowled at the polite response.
"What's with the formal speech since earlier?"
"Oh, I worked at a daycare once. But honestly, I find speaking formally to everyone more comfortable."
Her overly polite demeanor—or maybe being treated like a little kid—irritated Dun, so she rubbed her chin and blurted out.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"?"
She'd expected him to snap back with informal speech or snark about her being a bratty NPC, but he stayed consistently polite.
"...Never mind, sorry. Let's just go do Mom's errand."
"Yes."
She'd seen plenty of people loaded with profanity and slang to fool the game, but someone this polite and formal? First time.
Did he really need to do that even with game characters?
Dun eyed Lee Yoo-hyun like he was some exotic species and activated one of her installed cheats.
[Player Lee Yoo-hyun Status Window]
Normally, you couldn't view others' info without permission, but Dun was different. She'd made and installed a cheat for that.
Leeches aside, catching Elric would require a decent level. And solid strength to back it up.
[Player Lee Yoo-hyun]
Level: 10
Class: Adventurer
Title: Earthworm Trap Expert
HP: 600/1000
MP: 600/600
Popularity: 10 [View More]
Focusing on this player named Lee Yoo-hyun, she scanned the stats, and something felt familiar. Hold on—Lee Yoo-hyun?
She'd been too busy earlier to notice, but the name rang a bell. Her face soured. Just her imagination?
[Stats]
Strength: 7 Stamina: 15 Agility: 20 Intelligence: 25 Luck: 30
[Skills]
[Improvisation lv.2], [Stab lv.1], [Escape lv.5], [Throw Dirt lv.2], [Essential Goods Crafting lv.3]
What the hell kind of guy is this?
Not a single normal skill name.
How'd he rack up 30 in Luck? Ways to raise Luck were obscure; 10 was considered high. Not everyone even got the stat.
Plus, using his real name meant he was likely a hunter aspirant backed by the association, aiming for top ranks.
A hunter hopeful with game-only Luck that high—what a mess.
"What class are you planning to pick later?"
Lost in thought and silent, Dun suddenly turned to stare at Lee Yoo-hyun.
He turned back to meet the eyes of the pint-sized NPC girl.
"...Me?"
"I'm talking while looking right at you?"
Lee Yoo-hyun hesitated, eyeing Dun's narrowed, dissatisfied brows, before mumbling a reply.
"Ah... Probably warrior? Warrior seems... best."
Because class awakening is easier.
Lee Yoo-hyun trailed off.
Dun's brows furrowed deeper at his uncertain answer.
Hold on—he wanted to go warrior, but with Strength like that?
Starting at level 5, he'd leveled up five times. For warrior, he'd probably dumped most points into Strength.
Yet it was still that low...
"But I'm such a weakling, not sure if I can even make it."
Ninaphanta partially reflects real-body condition in game stats. So his low early-game stats meant his real body was frail.
A healthy physique was key for hunters, making this near suicidal.
"Why become an adventurer?"
"......"
Dun recalled why she'd wanted to be a hunter.
Forced into the association at first, but she ended up staying longer than expected, living most of her life there.
She'd developed a stubborn drive to become one, and the bonds—good and bad—with people there made leaving hard.
Getting kicked from what she'd unconsciously called 'home' felt worse than death.
Thinking of her ultimately pointless death, Dun gave a bitter smile.
"For fun? Money?"
At the follow-up, Lee Yoo-hyun's eyes dulled instantly.
"That's... well..."
He sighed, words dragging. He'd hit a sore spot.
"Adventurers make good money back home. No parents, and my little sister's in the hospital, so I have to earn big to support us."
Being an NPC must make him spill sad stories freely.
Boy supporting family with a sick sister—classic.
Stray thoughts flitted by. Sad, but felt like a story heard before; hard to empathize.
Oh, more importantly—a question popped up. No money, so how'd he afford a game capsule?
"My body's weak, so I level up super slow. Keep failing quests 'cause of it, so no one gives me any... I hunt earthworms nonstop to get stronger, but... it just doesn't work out."
Lee Yoo-hyun pulled a handful of dried earthworms from his inventory to show.
"So give me lots of even the lame quests."
He smiled pitifully, flashing his teeth, but Dun looked uninterested, snorted derisively.
"Struggling with earthworms—how you gonna handle leeches and Elric?"
"...Yeah. Somehow it'll work out."
"......"
Damn, picked the wrong player.
She could force-fail the quest to shake him off, but Rihaowel would scold her.
"Put off monster hunting for now. Let's farm Purification Stones first."
"Huh?"
"Gonna build your Strength. Follow me."
I'll raise this account properly.
Muttering under her breath, Dun suddenly remembered his 30 Luck.
Whoa, what insane specs.