episode_0002
by fnovelpia“Sigh…”
Only a sigh escapes. Considering my current situation and the window in front of me, wouldn’t anyone feel the same?
【Main Scenario #0】
【You are in a state where you have just realized your unique power. Safely arrive at Ardent Academy, take the entrance exam, and pass. The possibility seems very slim, but watching a clumsy person struggling might be enjoyable. Roll hard.】
【Success: Survival】
【Failure: Divine punishment】
【Remaining time: 6 days 16 hours 32 minutes 28 seconds】
It feels similar to what I remember, but it must be due to my mood that the scenario description seems off…
More importantly, clearing the main scenario is crucial.
The average level of Ardent Academy graduates is around 10.
If it were a normal Yukal, it wouldn’t take even a day to surpass the average level, but right now, I can’t even guarantee my life against a single goblin.
“Is there really no solution?”
Even as the 401st turn, no sharp ideas come to mind.
During the 400 turns, I searched the village thoroughly hoping for something, but all I found was the innkeeper evading taxes.
I can’t do anything with that money right away. It will probably be stolen and buried somewhere in the mountains.
I can’t say the village where Yukal is present is a good place.
The moment I decided to fight a goblin with a real stat of 1 was approaching.
Ding!
【※Scenario difficulty judged to be ‘extreme’ or higher. Entering scenario adjustment.】
【Main Scenario #0-1】
【Safely arrive at Ardent Academy and pass. You have awakened a unique ability, but it has become a hindrance, holding you back. It’s a desperate situation, so please look around again to see if you missed anything. There must be something to overcome this. Please be careful and overcome it. I’ll be cheering for you.】
Threats:
-Goblin
-Bandits
-■■■■
【Success: ???】
【Failure: Divine punishment】
【Remaining time: 6 days 16 hours 29 minutes 01 second】
“The scenario is being adjusted?”
Unbelievable things were happening.
This is on a different level from changing unique abilities.
Changing unique abilities is a change in one character, and the impact may be there, but compared to changing the scenario, it’s negligible.
One could be forced into unwanted changes in the game’s crucial flow.
Fortunately, the main gist did not change this time; it stopped at displaying threats and altering rewards upon success.
Moreover, the scenario description felt like it was written by someone else entirely.
“It’s friendly towards me.”
Let’s put aside thoughts about this and focus on the immediate scenario.
Considering the previous reward for success was survival, divine punishment might mean death or a penalty of that scale.
It’s not too late to think about the unknown factors after clearing the scenario.
Or maybe, if I fail to clear it, I might not even get a chance to think about them.
“There must be something to overcome.”
The difficulty is high, but it probably means I won’t fail to clear the scenario.
There isn’t enough time to reexamine the village.
Just as I was getting lost in thought, the innkeeper’s stern voice came from behind.
“Yukal! Go to the general store right now and buy some oil.”
“Yes. I’ll go buy it right awa…”
“Huh?”
Could this be it?
The halo shining behind the innkeeper is definitely not due to my mood…
“Why are you just standing there dazed! Buy it right now!”
Definitely just my mood.
*
A determined night with the moon rising.
The innkeeper’s nose twitched as he heard a sound and cautiously got up.
Given his low stats, he had to be even more careful not to wake the innkeeper.
Sneaking into the kitchen, he packed up leftover food and matches in a bundle.
The key components of this plan, the oil and shovel, were already hidden in the bushes near the forest entrance during the day.
The necessary oil for the inn was paid for with the money given by the innkeeper, while the oil for personal use was left as credit in front of the general store for the innkeeper to settle later.
After grabbing the oil can, he entered the dark forest without hesitation.
Before long, a pungent smell began to pierce his nostrils.
Feeling multiple footprints on the ground, he unpacked the bundle and placed the food on the floor.
Goblins may seem foolish, but their excrement serves as a form of marking rather than mere waste.
They mark with excrement only after multiple safe trips down that path, relying on their keen sense of smell to identify food.
Finally, after pouring oil in a circle around the food, he climbed a suitable tree nearby.
His fixation on directly fighting goblins like in the game “Yukal” was the problem.
Playing with Yukal for 400 turns, he naturally used the sword against early goblins, as expected.
“With weak stats, there was no need to engage in direct combat.”
If not for the altered scenario and the innkeeper’s advice, he might have been defeated by the goblins by now.
“They’re coming.”
It’s dark, so he can’t see well, but it seems like there are five of them.
Although they followed the marked path, the presence of food seemed suspicious. They cautiously approached but couldn’t resist rushing towards the food.
As soon as all five started greedily eating, he swiftly lit a match, set fire to the oil, and threw it towards them.
“Eeeek!”
Startled by the sudden blaze, the goblins began to howl and glow.
“Eeeek…”
Soon, the goblins’ bodies were engulfed in flames, and their screams subsided.
【Level Up!】
【Level Up!】
The notification of their deaths gave him certainty.
He immediately descended from the tree and began covering the fire with dirt using the shovel.
“If the fire spreads, it will be troublesome.”
He would be the prime suspect if a wildfire broke out now.
Investigators from Yeongjuseong would quickly determine that the wildfire originated from oil, not magic, and since he recently purchased a large amount of oil, it would naturally lead to suspicion.
Fortunately, once covered with dirt, the fire died down, leaving behind charred goblins covered in sand.
By repeating this a few more times, reaching level 10 would be easily achievable.
“I’ll reach level 10 today and leave the village tomorrow.”
*
After luring the goblins five times, dealing with the fire, an unexpected notification sounded.
【Acquired skill ‘Arson’.】
“Arson without using magic can still trigger the skill?”
In Sungyonga, skills can be acquired through specific conditions or repetitive actions. Arson is a skill I’ve rarely obtained in over 8,000 hours of play.
How often does one get to light fires in mountains or elsewhere? Especially without using fire-based magic, this was a first.
Quickly checking the status window, he confirmed the addition of the new skill.
【Skills: Swordsmanship Lv.1, Arson Lv.1】
【Arson Lv.1 – 3% additional damage when secretly starting a fire. The flames you ignite are slightly harder to extinguish.】
“The repetition of secretly starting fires rather than using magic flames was the core of acquisition.”
“It’s worrisome that it becomes difficult to extinguish the fire, but from the perspective of needing to clean up the goblin lair last, it’s not a bad skill.”
“Since it’s level 7 now, clearing the goblin lair will precisely hit level 10.”
“Because of the arson skill, we need to take precautions so that the fire does not spread further, so if we want to finish by tonight, time is pressing.”
*
“Kieeeek…”
About 10 minutes after hearing the final scream of the last goblin.
Fortunately, due to the preparations made in advance, the fire did not spread further, only engulfing the goblin lair and burning it down.
I also achieved the goal of reaching level 10.
Now, I just need to collect the money hidden by the innkeeper, deal with the bandits on the way, and arrive at the capital within the deadline.
As I finished tidying up and prepared to return, I thought everything was perfect until a woman’s voice came from right behind me.
“Hey. Do you want trouble messing with fire in the mountains?”
“No way.”
Hoping for a moment, I turned around, but my eyes betrayed my expectations.
“Why is she here…?”
She’s someone who absolutely shouldn’t be here.
0 Comments