13. The Shepherd Girl and the Black Dog
There were nine wolves surrounding the shepherd NPC girl. Five were the same Gray Field Wolves I'd seen before, and three were Yellow Plain Wolves with different fur colors. The only physical difference between the two types was their coat, but I'd heard the yellow ones were a bit faster and stronger.
And the last one... I had no clue. It wasn't mentioned in any of the Floor 2 info posts on the open community forums. Probably a limited-edition mob like the Black Horned Rabbits from Floor 1's fields—something extinct in other towers. Those rare monsters were usually tougher than the regulars but dropped better loot and more EXP to make up for it.
Since I had zero info on it, better take it out first.
Thud.
I pulled a hefty stone from my inventory. No throwing skills, but with my Strength stat, a casual toss would do. I'd one-shot the elite Goblin Guard from Floor 1 with a rock like this, so it should work here too.
"Hup!"
First strike wins. From outside the wolves' detection range, I hurled the stone full force at the especially huge one. Thanks to the Strength from my achievement reward, it flew even harder than before and nailed the bastard.
Crack!
It let out a ridiculously cute yelp that didn't match its size and crumpled. I bolted straight in, leaping into the middle of the pack.
Normally, throwing yourself into the center of enemies in an open field like this was suicide. The strategy guides hammered that point home as the most dangerous situation. But to me? This setup felt familiar.
Slash!
No skills needed—I just swung my straight sword, cleaving one wolf in half. A Yellow Plain Wolf, supposedly nimbler than the grays, lunged for my neck, but my shield was faster. I didn't block its teeth; I slammed the shield into its face. Crunch. Its jaw shattered in one hit.
"Kyaaak!"
Two wolves down in seconds, and only then did the shepherd girl finally scream in shock. That set one off—it charged her.
Shit, bad timing. I'd never fought while protecting someone, so my reaction lagged.
Grrr-woof!
Right then, the black dog guarding her threw itself in the way. It body-slammed the attacking wolf full tilt. Sure, the weight difference meant it only shoved it back a step or two. But that bought a turn, and that was enough.
Splat!
My sword crushed the wolf's skull. I yanked the blade free from the bone and whipped around behind me. The wolf targeting my back hesitated and retreated, but I pressed the gap, chaining attacks.
Even up on Floor 2, regular mobs were still just punching bags to me.
It only took a few minutes to wipe the whole pack. The spec gap was just too wide.
◈ [Pelt: Armor Reinforcement Material]
◈ [Fang: Weapon Reinforcement Material]
Nothing special about the drops. I'd hoped the weird wolf might cough up something unique, but nope. Pelts for armor upgrades, fangs for weapons—but I had plenty of reinforcement mats already. Junk, basically.
Not that I'd fought for the loot anyway. The quest was what mattered.
Swipe.
I shook the blood off my sword, stowed it in my inventory, and approached the shepherd girl.
"H-Hiiik...!"
A green NPC icon and name floated over her head.
[Shepherd Girl Nora]
NPC names and appearances varied slightly by tower, apparently. This one's Nora. Forum info said the Floor 2 shepherd gave multi-stage wolf-hunting quests—starting with the weakest Gray Field Wolves and scaling up. Final stage rewarded a leather belt with random options. I'd cared back when my belt slot was empty.
But I'd never heard of the shepherd NPC getting jumped in the field outside town.
And above all...
"U-Um... I don't know who you are, but thank you so much, eek."
She was just huddled on the ground, trembling, not offering any quest. Something wrong? Special interaction needed?
I opened the open community and searched "shepherd girl."
Mostly useless crap. Early-game NPC, so too many mentions.
"U-Um, adventurer? Say something, please... I'm Nora, the shepherd from that village over there..."
Strategy board search? Same deal—basic quest info only. Probably a limited-repeat quest, and gen-1 hunter data was a pain to dig up. Too much ghost-posting spam.
Real-name boards, and there's hundreds like [WannaFuckTheShepherdBitch]? How?
"Ah, fuck, seriously..."
"S-Sorry!"
I muttered under my breath in frustration, and the quivering girl jolted up with an apology. What the hell.
Come to think of it, this NPC's reactions were way too realistic. Elite NPCs acted more human-like, sure, but this? Hugging her black dog and shaking—no mechanical NPC vibe at all.
Maybe she needed special handling, different from other NPCs. Talking to them was dumb, but who knows.
"Hey."
I tried cautiously.
The trembling shepherd girl reacted dramatically to my voice.
"I-I don't have any money! You won't get shit even if you shake me down!"
Way too real for an NPC. Called me "adventurer" earlier, now treating me like a bandit. Probably 'cause I was staring at the community without a word. Never heard of NPCs picking up on that, though.
Woof! Woof!
The black dog in her arms barked like it had something to say. She stroked its back, face pale as ice.
"F-Flanders... what's wrong? Don't bark, wh-what? Oh, r-right...!"
Wait, she was legit talking to the dog. And understanding it.
"A-Actually, I do have money! Not on me now, but if you let me go, I'll bring it for sure!"
Dog seemed smarter than the owner. (Note: I hadn't said a word since "hey.")
Felt like I needed to calm her, but how? Basement hermit life had nuked my small-talk skills. And this wasn't normal chit-chat—first-time stranger treating me like a mugger.
"I'm not a bandit."
"Y-Yes?"
"Not a bandit."
She blinked teary eyes and glanced at her dog. Few seconds later, her face flushed red. She sprang up from her spot.
"A-Actually, I knew that! But Flanders kept saying you might be a bandit!"
Woof! Woof woof!
"Quiet, Flanders! You made us misunderstand a good adventurer. Apologize already!"
For a sec, I thought I'd unlocked a new skill—like understanding dog speech.
She bickered with her dog briefly, then calmed her flushed cheeks and cleared her throat.
"Sorry, adventurer. Our disobedient dog was rude. Thank you so much for saving us from the wolves."
She bowed deeply. I awkwardly bowed back a bit.
Woof.
Even the dog bowed. Definitely smarter than the owner.
So... when's the quest?
A few words in, and it was already awkward. I'd thought having someone to talk to—NPC or not—would be nice, but nah.
Seo Jin-hyeok Lv.40 (Warrior)
I wanted to bump even one more number on my status window, climb this Tower of Trials a little higher. That electric rush of achievement from earlier? Craving it again—my hands itched.
"Um... adventurer, if it's not too much trouble, could I ask a favor?"
She hemmed and hawed. Right on cue, the blue interface popped up.
Shepherd Girl's Request - Wolf Pack
And with that, my first Floor 2 quest began.