Chapter Title: Wizley Village (3)
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Dante returned to the village and headed straight for the general store. He planned to sell the monster byproducts he had on him.
What the shopkeeper said there was astounding. Unfortunately, though this was a world inside a game, it was also reality. Which meant a shopkeeper in a small village like this had limited funds.
He had to take his goods to the city to make money, too. The silver lining was that the shopkeeper bought everything Dante brought this time.
But he couldn't do it again next time. It was a shame, but what could he do? The man had no money.
Selling byproducts to farm infinite cash had failed. Dante sighed and thought to himself.
'If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've used the infinite money cheat too.'
He cursed his past self, who figured that with infinite karma and inventory, he'd rake in cash endlessly. Now he scanned for a place to stay.
The large building at the village center—that was Ribel's house. As it was big enough for all the villagers to gather and hole up if needed, there had to be plenty of empty rooms, just as Ribel said.
'Like a last fortress.'
This building was the final stronghold. If the wooden walls on the village outskirts collapsed completely and things got out of hand, everyone would converge here.
And then they'd make their last stand inside. Dante had seen this scenario dozens of times while playing the game, so he knew exactly what this place was.
'But I can't let it get that far now.'
If all the villagers crammed in here, it meant monsters had taken everything else. In other words, the worst-case scenario.
Things couldn't progress that far. He had plenty to do to prevent it.
"Alright. Let's think positive. If this is reality, not a game, the monsters here won't respawn infinitely."
Reality, not a game. So monsters wouldn't keep popping up at set intervals like in the game.
With that in mind, Dante pondered his best course of action.
'Monsters are the problem in the end. Clear them all out, and the immediate crisis is gone.'
All sorts of events plagued Wizley Village. But monsters were what dragged it into peril first. Eliminate them, and there'd be no big threats for now.
"Night's fallen, so rest up. Tomorrow, go hunt monsters."
He lay down on the bed in his room. It was softer than the one he'd had on Earth, which only deepened his gloom for no reason.
"If I wake up saying 'Ah, fuck, it was a dream' and see my bedroom ceiling, that'd be nice."
Clinging to vain hope, he closed his eyes.
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The next morning was a true misfortune for Dante—his desired outcome hadn't happened. He was still in this game world.
Pushing aside his regret that it wasn't a dream, Dante got up and joined Ribel, who had come looking for him, for breakfast at the village's only eatery. He ordered a dish called pork neck steak and dug in.
One irritating thing for Dante: the food was too damn good. He ate ravenously.
After breakfast, he sipped a simple tea and said to Ribel,
"I heard you're taking monster byproducts to the city to buy money or daily necessities."
"Yes. Small villages like ours have limited options. Especially things like toilet paper or soap—we can't get them here."
"When do you plan to leave?"
"Tomorrow. Need anything?"
"Daily stuff? Sure, I need some."
"I'll stock up plenty."
"Could you snag an extra cart for the city trip?"
"A cart?"
"Yeah. I'm hunting monsters today. Expect a lot of hides and byproducts. I'd like you to sell them for me. As a commission for handling it, I'll give you 20% of the proceeds."
"No need for a commission. Happy to help. But hunting monsters means heading into the forest, right?"
"Yes."
Ribel pondered Dante's words for a moment, then said,
"If it's alright, mind if I come along?"
"Together?"
"Yes. Lately, the monster attacks have been too frequent. There must be a reason. I want to find out what."
'Scouting quest, huh.'
The forest where monsters spawned. Right in front of Wizley Village, it birthed all sorts of beasts. And there was a quest to uncover why they suddenly kept assaulting the village.
'Gotta find the totem, probably.'
The reason monsters attacked Wizley Village: a 'totem' deep in that forest. It brainwashed them with one purpose—kill humans.
Its influence spread, driving monsters to raid the human settlement nonstop.
"Won't be a bother. It'll help, actually. You're new here, but I've been in that forest plenty. I can guide you."
Dante nodded at Ribel's words.
"Got it. Then I leave it to you."
Ribel beamed.
"No, please take care of me. When do we head out?"
"Gotta stop by the Statue of the Goddess first. Then we go."
"Meet at the broken wall in 30 minutes? I'll grab some forest essentials."
"Sounds good."
They left the eatery. Ribel headed to his large central house, while Dante went to the Statue of the Goddess and placed his hand on it.
'The Skeleton Warriors were stronger than expected.'
Top-grade, max-level power, sure—but the passive skill 'Aura of Death' was no joke either.
'And who knows when a unique monster might show up in that forest.'
'Unique monsters'—far stronger than regulars. They dropped better loot but were risky.
'To take one down, I need reliable summons.'
Dante could only summon Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Mages right now. He needed something for unique fights.
'Not sure if it'll work, but let's try.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have acquired the new skill 'Dullahan Summon'.
Skeleton Knight was the evolved form of Skeleton Warrior. Evolve it once more, and you got Dullahan.
It was one step below Death Knight, called the pinnacle undead summon players could call.
'Next, skill upgrade.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Would you like to upgrade the skill 'Dullahan Summon'? Skill upgrade requires 100,000 Karma.
'Yes.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The skill 'Dullahan Summon' has been upgraded to C-rank.
He kept upgrading Dullahan Summon after that, all the way to the max M-rank.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Dullahan Summon (M) - Max Lv. - Summons a Dullahan. = Summoned Dullahans' level +25. = Max 4 summons.
"Just in case... gotta learn this too."
Having felt his mana shortage acutely while summoning Skeleton Warriors yesterday, Dante picked up a skill to compensate.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have acquired the new skill 'Lord of Death'.
Normally, players could never acquire this. It belonged to a 'hero' NPC who aided players in-game, exclusive to him.
'But I don't care. Jackpot.'
Its effects were straightforward but perfect for Dante's needs. He upgraded it straight to max rank.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Lord of Death (M) - Max Lv. - Ruler of death, commanding the dead. = +100 undead summons possible. = Mana cost for undead summons reduced by 80%.
"Broken. Totally broken. No wonder that guy cleared the game solo."
Recalling the hero NPC massacring demons with hordes of undead, Dante grinned. Now he could recreate it—maybe even stronger.
With two new skills under his belt, Dante removed his hand from the Statue of the Goddess. Nothing else to learn for now.
'Level up more, boost max mana, then grab new ones.'
His goal was clear: overwhelm foes with sheer numbers of powerful undead. That was Dante's path to survival and growth in this world.