Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Karma System (2)
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After getting the skill, what I had to do was obvious.
I immediately started looking for a target to attack nearby.
Even though there had been a few characters nearby, when I looked again, they were nowhere to be found.
Maybe it was because of the rough mountain terrain, but it wasn't easy to spot characters among the similarly colored tiles.
The best I could find was a rabbit grazing on some grass.
Unlike the human characters, the tiny graphic stood still in one place.
This was the first time I'd tried to attack a non-character target.
"That thing I can probably attack it, right?"
Having found the rabbit, I prepared the Lightning spell.
Press.
I pressed the button to activate the targeting reticle, then moved it over the rabbit.
Then, I tapped the reticle one more time to cast the spell.
CRACKLE!
A short bolt of lightning struck down on the rabbit's head.
- You have used Lightning.
Along with the message that the spell was used, the number -15 appeared above the rabbit's head.
The rabbit, struck by the attack, immediately collapsed with a skull icon in a speech bubble.
The surrounding tiles where the lightning struck were also scorched black.
The rabbit that fell to the ground did not get up again.
The Lightning spell had taken down the rabbit in a single hit.
"The damage is 15."
A single Lightning spell dealt 15 damage to the rabbit.
Considering a single tap of my finger only deals 1 damage, this was 15 times more powerful than a basic attack.
Of course, the mana cost was high, so I couldn't just spam it indefinitely.
Still, it was certain that my finger would hurt less.
After testing out the Lightning spell, I felt a bit disappointed and looked around.
"..."
I'd confirmed that the Lightning spell could take down a rabbit in one hit.
But I didn't think it would be able to one-shot a character.
I felt like trying it out on a character target.
I moved the screen and started searching for a suitable target.
Mountain after mountain. A small stream beyond them.
And after that, a dense forest appeared once more.
No matter how long I searched, not a single character came into view.
It seemed the characters I saw earlier were the last of them.
I kept swiping the screen, carefully searching for any trace of characters.
Then, I suddenly felt something and put down my smartphone.
"...My stomach's churning. I should eat some ramen while I do this."
A sudden heartburn in the middle of gaming.
The alcohol I drank yesterday was making its presence known.
With a heavy feeling rising from my stomach, I decided to cure my hangover with some ramen.
Leaving my smartphone, I went to make some ramen.
I returned to my smartphone after bringing over a pot of bubbling hot ramen.
"How can I not see a single person in the time it takes to finish a bowl of ramen?"
I muttered to myself as I looked at the completely empty pot.
And for good reasonI still hadn't found any sign of people.
Forget people, it was hard to find even an animal.
It occurred to me that maybe the Observer's Eye was still too low-level.
If I had known this would happen, I might have been better off leaving a few characters alive instead of wiping out the entire village.
At least the village's location would have been fixed.
With a sense of regret, I continued swiping the screen, and the long mountain range finally began to come to an end.
As if reflecting a real-life mountain range, this one was unnecessarily long and wide.
Swipe. Swipe.
As my fingers busily moved across the screen, I was finally able to find what I was looking for.
At the very edge of the mountain range, which I had reached after a long time of swiping.
There, I discovered a group of characters on the move.
"One woman. And five men, is it?"
At the edge of the mountains, I saw six characters moving about busily.
One woman was running in the front.
And five men were chasing her relentlessly from behind.
The men chasing the fleeing woman held blood-stained knives in their hands.
It looked like the result of an interaction between the characters.
A crying face speech bubble appeared above the head of the woman in the lead.
"Is she being chased?"
They certainly didn't look like they were traveling together.
It seemed she was being chased by some nearby bandits or thieves.
Since the AIs were faithful to their respective roles, it appeared they were also diligently carrying out acts of robbery.
With a look of interest, I watched their movements.
The woman at the front kept running with a crying emoji over her head, until she eventually found a dead end and collapsed to the ground.
Even after she sat down, the speech bubble above her head didn't disappear.
Once the fleeing woman stopped, the bandits chasing her also stopped nearby and began to surround her.
- (Skull)
The man who appeared to be the leader of the bandits raised a skull speech bubble above his head.
It was the same emoticon that had appeared when the rabbit died.
But the bandit who displayed the speech bubble didn't look dead.
It seemed like they were having a conversation.
And judging by the current situation, the conversation seemed to mean they were going to kill her.
"Whoa, they even make threats?"
To think an AI would go as far as to threaten another.
The more I watched, the more I thought this game did a great job of portraying human society.
The graphics and monetization system might have been a bit lacking, but the AI alone was a masterpiece worthy of praise.
The bandit who had been threatening the woman at the front soon began to advance with his blood-stained knife.
The grass tiles on the ground parted as the distance between the two closed.
The distance between them narrowed until only a single tile remained.
Just then, I placed the reticle of the spell I had prepared over the bandit.
- You have used Lightning.
CRACKLE!
Lightning struck, and the advancing bandit froze in place.
15 damage.
The same amount of damage as when I attacked the rabbit was displayed.
A speech bubble with a spinning star appeared above the bandit's head.
A stationary character. And the contents of the speech bubble.
It looked for all the world like he was stunned.
It seemed the Lightning spell couldn't kill a character in one hit, but it could at least hinder their actions.
I clicked the button again and cast the spell.
- You have used Lightning.
- You have used Lightning.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Two more bolts of lightning struck down, attacking the motionless bandit.
15 damage. And another 15 damage.
The bandit, struck by two more bolts of lightning, collapsed with a skull in his speech bubble.
This was the same lightning that had felled the rabbit in one hit.
No matter how tough he was, it seemed he couldn't withstand being struck three times.
As the bandit struck by the lightning turned to dust and disappeared, a new message appeared at the bottom of the screen.
- Karma has increased by 1.
The new message stated that my Karma had risen.
It was the same format as when I had erased the village.
I had gained experience by defeating the bandit.
I didn't get any Karma when I defeated the rabbit, but I did when I defeated the bandit.
What this fact meant was simple.
You can only gain Karma by defeating characters.
The screen before me, filled with characters, was essentially a hunting ground full of experience points.
"...You're all dead."
I tapped my finger, looking at the screen.
It was time to hunt.
With her disheveled, ash-gray hair flying, the girl ran forward frantically.
Behind her, men of sturdy build chased after her, weapons in hand.
Their weapons were caked with blood.
It was the blood of the villagers who had tried to block the path to protect her.
Seeing the bandits chasing her, she bit her lip.
'How did things end up like this...?'
Yutenia was the young lady of a barony located on the frontier of the empire.
Even as nobles, their family wasn't distinguished enough to boast about.
Her family wasn't wealthy, but the fact that they were a harmonious household was something she could be proud of.
The village where Yutenia lived was also a peaceful and quiet place.
The vast wheat fields stretching across one side of the village.
And the sweet scent of grass that tickled the villagers' noses.
The village, where everyone lived a relaxed life, was a place Yutenia loved.
That is, until the knights from 'Cloud' arrived from the capital under orders.
'Baron Hi-Lost. You are under arrest for treason against the imperial family.'
Her father was taken away by the knights from the capital.
Baron Hi-Lost's arrest was for political reasons.
Yutenia repeatedly insisted on her father's innocence, but no one listened to her.
Not many would lend an ear to the daughter of a baron who governed a rural village in the provinces.
Instead, all she received were shameless marriage proposals from nobles who saw her as an easy target now that she was alone.
As the letters filled with unpleasant content piled up, only distrust and hatred for humanity accumulated in Yutenia's heart.
'I can't let the village my father loved be ruined.'
Despite everything, she worked tirelessly for the village, taking her father's place.
Yutenia had followed Baron Hi-Lost around since she was a child, learning the ropes by watching over his shoulder.
When it came to the village's affairs, she knew them better than anyone.
The villagers, having known her for a long time, also trusted and followed the diligent young lady Yutenia had become.
She knew another knight might be appointed to this small village someday, but until then, she was determined to protect the place her father would return to.
At least, that was what she thought until this morning.
Until the bandits came to the village, slaughtered the villagers, and started chasing her.
"Hah, hah..."
Yutenia's breath came in ragged gasps as she ran forward.
Tears welled in her eyes as she pushed through the mountain path.
It was hard. And painful.
It was a day she longed to see her father, who was imprisoned somewhere.
Yet she couldn't stop running, because the faces of those who had sacrificed themselves for her flashed in her mind.
But no matter how many sacrifices she bore, was it impossible to run forever?
What greeted Yutenia as she ran was a sheer cliff face.
There was no way to escape any further.
Facing the cliff before her, Yutenia collapsed to the ground.
"Ah, ahh..."
Tears streamed from the eyes of the collapsed Yutenia.
She had failed.
She had failed to save her father, and she had failed to protect the place he was supposed to return to.
And in the end, she had even failed to escape from the village's enemies.
Yutenia burst into tears at her own inability to do anything right.
She no longer had the strength to move.
She missed her father.
She also missed the villagers, who were now cold corpses she could never see again.
"Papa... Auntie Ena..."
She was all alone now.
She had grown to hate people.
She despised even the thought of someone approaching her.
And yet, the pursuers chasing Yutenia did not disappear.
Thud. Thud.
As Yutenia sat crying, she heard footsteps from behind.
"Is this the end of the line?"
"..."
"What a shame, you poor noble lady?"
Yutenia looked up at the man before her with tear-filled eyes.
The figure of a man with a scar on his face entered her vision.
The leader of the bandits who had mercilessly slaughtered the villagers.
That was who this man was.