The Heavenly Demon Plunders (8)
Bae Min-hwang had built a house right beside the forest in the middle of the snowy plains with his party members, and he was now holed up inside, doing his absolute best to reinforce it. In the game Thread, laying a solid foundation in the early stages was everything. This was a world of ruthless survival of the fittest where the weak were stripped of everything they possessed. While recovery itself wasn't particularly difficult, the despair of losing the items one had painstakingly gathered and crafted was indescribable. That was why Bae Min-hwang poured every effort into ensuring no one would dare touch his party.
“We need to gather more resources.”
While upgrading his tech tree, he noticed his resources had run dry again and stretched his arms. He and his teammates had agreed to work hard in the beginning, running around nonstop, yet resources always seemed to fall short. Farming resources in the early stages of Thread was grueling work. No matter how diligently one farmed, a single ambush could wipe everything away. In such a world, how could gathering resources ever be easy? That was precisely why veteran players like Bae Min-hwang were so valuable here. Those with decent skill could raid others and still make it back alive.
Having just finished crafting new armor and weapons, he was debating where to farm next when a thunderous sound of footsteps reached his ears. He poked his head out the window. Standing before the fortress he and his comrades had built was a wolf. An enormous beast the size of a large truck. Bae Min-hwang knew exactly what it was.
Why is the forest field boss here?!
“I know that too!”
What the hell? Why is a monster that should be proudly defending the middle of the forest standing right here?! Did some streamer with a troll concept pull the field boss's aggro outside?
“No, let's deal with it first.”
Figuring out why this had happened could wait. Right now, the priority was driving the wolf away with minimal damage. Since it was still early in the game and they lacked proper preparations, completely preventing losses was impossible, but they had to minimize them. They were already busy trying to develop; they couldn't afford to waste time rebuilding a destroyed house.
“Everyone.”
Bae Min-hwang urgently contacted his party members. A wolf had appeared in front of the fortress, and they needed manpower to chase it off.
“Oppa, what is that?!”
“Whoa, hyung-nim. Can we even take that thing down right now?”
“We can't. But we can still drive it away.”
While discussing the situation with his teammates who had also been inside reinforcing the fortress, Bae Min-hwang suddenly noticed a doll standing on the wolf's neck. So that was the culprit who had brought the wolf here. Whoever it was, they shouldn't expect him to let this slide. The world of Thread was a place where grudges were settled in blood. He didn't know what kind of bug had been used to bring the field boss all the way here, but once his tech tree was upgraded, he would definitely… huh?
“Hwaryeong-nim?”
Recognizing the customization he had seen far too often during last week's tournament, Bae Min-hwang broke into a cold sweat. No way. It had to be someone copying Hwaryeong's character. He desperately tried to deny what he was seeing, yet deep down he already knew the truth. The one behind this absurd spectacle was almost certainly Hwaryeong herself.
“Whoa, it really is Hwaryeong-nim.”
“It's my first time seeing her in VR instead of just on stream. Feels like spotting a celebrity.”
“Did she just tame a field boss?!”
The moment his teammates voiced the very thing he had been trying to deny, Bae Min-hwang clutched his face and let out a long sigh. He would have preferred it if it had only been the wolf. If the field boss had simply come to hunt, they could have driven it off somehow. Since they could respawn infinitely inside the fortress, dealing with it wouldn't have been too difficult despite some losses. But if the opponent was Hwaryeong, everything changed.
“What do we do now?”
Hwaryeong had proven her overwhelming power across countless VR games. She was an existence beyond all standards. Could his party possibly defeat her? The answer was painfully obvious. Of course not!
No. There was no need to assume the worst. Hwaryeong-nim might not even be here to plunder. She could simply have been playing with the field boss and wandered over out of curiosity after spotting the buildings.
“Hwaryeong-nim!”
When Bae Min-hwang called her name, Hwaryeong lifted her head. She had been examining the fortress when she recognized his face and smiled.
“It has been a while.”
“Indeed! What brings you here?”
“I was told to bring resources back for my comrade in this game.”
So she had come to siege them alone? Bae Min-hwang's lips tightened as the worst-case scenario he had been denying became reality.
“Could you perhaps show us some mercy, considering our past connection?!”
“Do you truly believe I would?”
Of course not. Faced with Hwaryeong's complete lack of mercy, Bae Min-hwang sighed. If they couldn't defeat her anyway, wouldn't it be better to simply hand over the resources she wanted? Her inventory had limits, after all. She couldn't possibly take everything here. Rather than letting the house be destroyed, it would be wiser to quietly offer up the resources.
“Oppa, what do we do?”
“It's still just Hwaryeong-nim alone. Can't we just gang up on her?”
“I was thinking the same. If we keep respawning here and wearing her down, even Hwaryeong-nim—”
While listening to his teammates' urgent voices asking what they should do, Bae Min-hwang was still deliberating when Hwaryeong lightly leapt down from the wolf's back. She then casually tapped the outer wall of the fortress with her fist and curled her lips upward.
“Hwaryeong-nim, wait just—!”
Bae Min-hwang screamed as he realized her intent, but it was already too late. Her fist struck faster than his voice could reach her.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the entire fortress. The aftershock of a single punch had rattled the structure as though a massive explosive had detonated. Everyone inside lost their balance and fell. Amid the chaos, Bae Min-hwang was the first to regain his senses. He scrambled to his feet and leaned out the window to see the result of Hwaryeong's punch.
And he saw it. A massive hole punched straight through the fortress wall.
“Look at that, everyone. What exactly are we supposed to do against someone like her?”
His voice, drained of all hope and filled only with hollow resignation, met with silence. Everyone understood now. The absurd feats Hwaryeong displayed in her streams had not been exaggerated in the slightest.
“Let's just give her however many resources she wants and send her off. No objections?”
Hmm. I had intended to bring down the entire fortress with a single blow, yet it proved sturdier than expected. Still, since I have opened a path inside, there should be no further issues.
After drinking a potion to mend my shattered arm, I turned my gaze toward Wolfie waiting behind me.
“This is merely a warning born of caution, but do not even think of fleeing. I can pursue you no matter where you go.”
Should he dare to run and ignore my words, I would have no choice but to teach him the meaning of submission. Upon hearing my warning, Wolfie nodded repeatedly in agreement.
When I stepped inside the fortress, Bae Min-hwang and the others who had been within revealed themselves. Judging by their armed state, they intended to resist? Very well. I would gladly oblige. Let us see the extent of their abilities.
“We'll give you everything we have, so please just leave!”
Before I could even assume a stance, Bae Min-hwang dropped to his knees and shouted, prompting everyone behind him to press their foreheads to the ground as well. Even Wolfie remained still. What a scene of utter submission. …This is making me want to smoke my pipe.
The group offered to hand over whatever I desired as long as the fortress itself remained intact. Since I was not so cruel as to reject their offer and commit slaughter, I accepted their request. Once my inventory was full, I left the fortress under their send-off and climbed onto Wolfie's back. Though I had obtained what I came for, an odd sense of unease lingered.
*
When I returned home with Wolfie in tow, chaos erupted. Pipi, fully armed, came rushing outside and blocked Wolfie's path, while even Enry—who had been complaining about dying just moments ago—stood ready to fight beside her. However, upon seeing my face atop the wolf, both let out sighs of relief.
“Taming a field boss? That shouldn't even be possible.”
“Pipi-nim, don't expect common sense from Hwaryeong-ssi.”
“I know that, but still, from a game system perspective—”
“If you start thinking about that, you've already lost.”
Once the commotion settled and I handed all the gathered items over to Pipi, I brought up the matter most important to me right now.
“How do we make wolf shampoo?”
Pipi replied that as long as we had the materials, she could make it. As expected of the expert Enry had personally recruited. Quite reliable.
“We have almost all the other ingredients, but we're short on the most important one.”
“What is it? Speak.”
“Money.”
“Money?”
According to Pipi, commissioning the alchemist NPC on this island to create the shampoo for Wolfie would require a considerable sum.
“This field boss…”
“Wolfie.”
“…Right. Anyway, Wolfie is huge, so the amount of shampoo needed is enormous.”
Therefore, the commission fee for the alchemist would naturally increase as well, creating a financial problem.
“I understand the situation. If money is the issue, then we simply need to earn some.”
Now then, tell me the methods for making money. Honest work? Plunder? Or perhaps…
“There's risk involved, but the fastest way is still gambling.”