Ch.19Changed World’s NPCs (3)

To be honest, the Empire is an ep.5 area.

While the protagonists were clearing episodes 1-4, the Empire just stood by as spectators, saying things like “Oh, demons? Whatever~ The Empire is fine~” and spouting nonsense from the sidelines.

And after the players and protagonists discover in ep.4 that Ponia was destroyed by demons, they come to the Empire—which possesses one of the continent’s most formidable military forces—to request support.

That place is [ep.5 The Sun Already Lost.] The Ottoman Empire field.

As you can tell from the episode name, this place is also hopeless from the start.

Still, it was a country that functioned perfectly fine before the story’s protagonist and playable characters arrived, which is why I chose to escape to this country.

I thought there wouldn’t be any problems if I was just passing through.

However.

“Oh my, you’re Gold rank. Will you be participating in this subjugation?”

“…How many adventurers have gathered for the subjugation so far?”

“Hmm, about 40 people have gathered now. Those people over there are the raid commanders. Would you like to talk with them?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

That was my mistake. To think a raid would occur. Life’s balance is truly messed up.

After getting information from the guild guide, I checked the commanders’ levels.

[Profession Adventurer: Level 61]

[Profession Adventurer: Level 53]

[Profession Adventurer: Level 49]

[Profession Adventurer: Level 39]

[Profession Adventurer: Level 63]

When I look at where the five adventurers are sitting, their status windows automatically display their levels.

Hmm, except for two of them, they all have higher stats than me. But the problem is that all their levels are too low.

The appropriate level for the field boss [Hyper-Acidic Slime] is 400.

It’s a raid where users hunt with NPC support, but NPCs are typically just meat shields that can’t deal damage.

Looking at their levels, they clearly won’t be able to deal any damage. However, when I look at their detailed stats, they might have more HP than me. After all, NPCs used as meat shields were famous for having lots of health.

Still, for now…

“Hello. I heard you’re the commanders for the slime subjugation raid.”

I showed my gold adventurer ID and bowed my head in greeting.

“Hmm? Ah, Gold rank. Are you joining the subjugation? Or participating as a party? I’d prefer if it’s as a party.”

A pleasant-looking man, who appeared to be a level 61 swordsman dealer, spoke to me, and we had a brief conversation.

And then.

“Hmm. A tamer who uses golems and a blue swordsman. You’d definitely be helpful, but I’m not sure if there’s a party that can take you. The dealer positions are already filled with excellent people.”

“Oh? Is that so? How many people do you think are needed for this subjugation?”

“Huh? About 50 should be enough. [Hyper-Acidic Slime] is a common irregular in the Empire.”

What? 50 people at levels 50-60 for a level 400 raid? Did he mean to say 5,000? I widened my eyes in astonishment, but the man seemed to find my reaction strange and asked in return.

“What’s wrong? Do you think something’s off?”

“Ah, no. I just thought you must be veterans. But since this is my first raid, I was wondering if people get injured or seriously wounded with just 50 people?”

“Well, they do. There’s no situation where we subjugate without any injuries. Last time, we went with about 100 people, and around 10 died, 20 suffered injuries severe enough to force retirement, and 10 more got pretty serious wounds. But that incident happened because there were too many people to control properly. That’s why I think 50 is a manageable number. Oh, don’t worry. I’ve subjugated [Hyper-Acidic Slime] three times already.”

“Ah, I see. Understood. Then, I’ll participate with my companion… a Blue rank swordsman and a golem. The three of us. If no party takes us, we can just tag along. As for compensation, please decide as you see fit, Commander.”

“Hmm! Great. Looking forward to your performance. If you move well, I’ll make sure you get equal compensation. Ah, of course, your Blue friend will receive a bit less.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

After our conversation, I left the guild. That person is level 61 and has subjugated the Hyper-Acidic Slime three times.

That information is quite significant.

‘So, before the story progresses, raids in the Empire field are possible even at their level.’

Maybe it’s easier to defeat than I thought. Should I aim for the byproducts and raid drop items? But what were its drops again?

In the game, it was a low-level raid that I didn’t fight much, and once you passed level 700, it became a solo-able raid that passing users would casually kill.

I think it gave decent experience at the appropriate level. Maybe I could level up after killing it.

“…Should I look for growth-assist items to equip?”

It’s standard practice in online games to equip rings or accessories that add extra stats in the very early game to increase total stats.

In Eight, it was possible to do this work later on, but the reason for doing it early is that as levels increase, the importance of each piece of equipment rises, and if you carelessly equip something for stat work, leveling itself can become incredibly difficult.

My current level is 300. My total stats are around 50… Yeah.

“I need to find some equipment.”

Those people looked confident, so I might as well just ride along.

*

I left the inn with my sister. I told Ray and Gor not to follow, as I had no intention of buying anything for them.

Above all.

“Hehehe. Just the two of us, big brother.”

“You like that so much?”

“Yes!!”

Since we started our journey, with the status window, Gor joining us, and the swordsman Ray forcibly tagging along, the time we spend just the two of us has drastically decreased.

Recently, Ira has become much more irritable when I come back late, which wasn’t the case when we lived in the Ponia cabin.

In other words, I predicted that she was stressed because the time spent with me had decreased significantly, and that prediction was spot on.

Unlike usual, Ira asked to be carried rather than riding on my shoulders, and I held my light sister in my arms as we searched for an accessory shop.

This really feels like a game.

Normally, accessories are sold by peddlers on the street or at small stalls, which is common sense here, but it’s quite interesting that there’s a separate building labeled [Accessory Shop].

“Welcome!! Oh my! A cute little lady and a handsome young man! Are you looking for wedding gifts?!”

“Haha! That would be nice. Something for me and my little sister to match.”

“Yes! I’m going to marry big brother!!”

“Hahaha! Such close siblings. Now, the items here are the cheap ones, and those over there are the expensive ones. The cheap ones range from 500 to 2,000 kan, and the expensive ones from 3,000 to 40,000 kan, so take a good look and choose.”

The man, who seemed to be a good salesman, told us to look at the accessories, and Ira’s purple eyes sparkled like stars as she gazed at the glittering rings and necklaces.

I guess that’s what girls like, enjoying just looking at these things.

I quietly asked my status window if I could see the stats or names of the accessories.

And then.

[Critical Necklace: When taking critical damage, leaves you with 1 HP and revives you. (Usable only once, then destroyed.)]

[Tight Ring: Increases Agility by 0.3 per level up (total 10 times) //[This isn’t a proper wedding ring?! I-I need to exercise!! -Chubby new groom-]]

[Named Bracelet: Increases Intelligence by 0.3 per level up (total 10 times)// [Will I become smarter if I wear something that a smart person wore? -Unintelligent student-]]

[Emerald Necklace: Increases Agility by 3 when worn and adds 0.1 Agility per level up. (total 10 times) When completed, loses its luster and fixes Agility at 3. Increases Luck by 10.]

[Ruby Ring: A ring that brings luck. Increases the wearer’s Luck by level×1. (maximum 15)]

Everything I was looking for was on the cheap side.

With just under 100,000 kan, I could afford to buy them all with plenty to spare.

Thinking it would be a good deal, I picked up two each of rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Just as I was about to pay…

“Big brother! Big brother!”

“Yes?”

“I want that necklace! That necklace, I want it!!”

“Which one? That one?”

“Yes!”

“Wow! The little lady has a good eye?!”

Perhaps because I had only chosen cheap items, the shopkeeper smiled warmly and began his sales pitch when he saw the necklace Ira was pointing at. Hmm. It costs 30,000 kan.

[Burning Accuracy Necklace: Increases the wearer’s Accuracy by 10 and Luck by 5. [I survived thanks to this necklace she gave me. -The story of a soldier who survived because an arrow hit the necklace-]

It’s an accessory almost as expensive as all the ones I was planning to buy combined.

It’s not a bad item to use in the early levels, around 20-30, but it’s clearly an extravagance, and honestly not an option I’d want to buy.

It’s not an option for the future, and the accuracy stat was practically useless in the game since you rarely missed attacks on bosses unless there was a specific boss mechanic, especially if you did back attacks aiming for criticals.

But still.

“Mister, I’ll take that one, those two necklaces next to it, and these as well. You’ll give me a discount, right?”

“Oh my!! I thought you were just picking the cheap stuff, but you’re quite generous!! Alright! I’ll remove the price of those cheap rings and necklaces. That’s about a 10,000 kan discount!!”

“Come on, 10,000 kan? I’m buying almost 100,000 kan worth. Let’s do a bit better? Look here.”

I took the necklace Ira had pointed at from the display and put it around her neck.

The red necklace, the same color as my little sister’s hair, sparkled on her neck, looking truly perfect on her.

“It suits her so well. Think of it as a gift for a pretty little girl and give us a better deal?”

“…Well, it’s just 10,000 kan. Ahem. Alright, I’ll throw this in too. But that’s it.”

Maybe I was trying to haggle too much? The shopkeeper’s expression soured a bit, and in the end, he removed one more ring and gave us a 12,000 kan discount.

Still, I’m left with around 10,000 kan. Damn, I’ll have to go out and earn more money.

I thanked the shopkeeper, wished him good business, and put identical accessories on Ira.

“Big brother! This is heavy!!”

“Hmm, should we just do two necklaces then?”

While the bracelets and rings could be worn one on each hand and arm, the three necklaces seemed too heavy for the still-young Ira.

I put one emerald necklace in my pocket and left the red necklace and the critical necklace on her.

Fortunately, either those two weren’t too heavy, or she liked the color, because Ira kept smiling as she looked at her necklaces.

“Big brother!”

“Yes?”

“Am I pretty?”

“Haha. Of course. Our Ira is the prettiest and cutest in the world!”

“Hehehe!!”

Showing off her rings and necklaces while spinning around, Ira grabbed my legs and rubbed her face against them. She’s so adorable. I could just eat her up.

I put on my necklaces—a total of three, including the one bought as a set with Ira’s burning accuracy necklace—and held Ira in my arms.

[Blue Evasion Necklace: Increases the wearer’s Evasion by 10 and Agility by 5. [The necklace he gave me as a gift sparkled, helping me avoid the monster. -The story of a wife who survived a monster-]

Somehow feeling like I’ve really become a couple with my sister, I can’t hide the fact that the corners of my mouth naturally turned upward.