Garden Colony #1

 

I’ve never been here before, but the scenery is familiar.

The place where I stand is one of the front lines of an empire seeking to expand across the entire continent.

If it were a game, there would have been a sound effect of “drumroll” and the caption “Garden Western Frontier” would have appeared at the bottom of the screen.

The people walking around all had dark complexions.

It is not uncommon to see people with one arm or leg missing.

A village exposed to all kinds of threats, including monsters, hostile kingdoms, and barbarians.

To the people here, words like future and hope are probably more of a joke than anything else.

‘So, what should I do now?’

I checked off the things to do next.

First of all, I have 450 magic stones, so I must not forget to use them to improve my specs.

And you’ll need to get the necessary items for 2100 gold.

What do you need first?

‘It’s the clothes, after all.’

The lower part was so cool.

The cold air rising from the ground was something I couldn’t get used to no matter how much time passed.

The cloak alone couldn’t stop it.

It’s especially lethal when sitting on the floor.

This feeling of sitting on the cold dirt floor with your bare butt… You can never understand it unless you’ve experienced it.

Even Tarzan wore panties.

‘Even if I can’t get underwear, I need to get some clothes other than these rags.’

I should definitely not forget to deliver Yuria’s letter, but since I don’t know who her brother is right now, I’ll put that on hold for now.

I walked towards the center of town, keeping a map of the town in my head.

Ah, another unique feature of the Garden Colony.

“Two swords, practically brand new. And a shield, a little dented but still usable!”

“I don’t know if it’s rat or what, but here are five skewers of animal meat. I’ve carefully selected the plump ones.”

“How much have you found out? ⋯Enough. Don’t talk to me unless you’re going to make the first move.”

There are no proper shops in this town.

All transactions are based on the old-fashioned, street-level exchanges. A newcomer to the village has no idea where, who, or what is being sold.

I stood for a moment and looked around the street.

Stalls open and close without warning, like lightning. Whenever they’re bored, a brawl breaks out, accompanied by loud shouts.

Shaak-

A knife flew past me, grazing my cheek as I stood there dumbfounded.

A man, bleeding profusely, runs away in a panic, and a sturdy woman carrying a nailed-on club chases after him.

“You son of a bitch! If I do as you say, the armor will be duplicated in two! Give me back my armor!”

“It was a mistake to believe!”

The pedestrians paid no attention to the commotion as if it were nothing serious.

‘This is a mess.’

It was an unpleasant sight for me, who preferred large supermarkets where each item had a clearly marked price tag.

But there’s nothing I can do. Rather than waiting for this town to change, I have no choice but to adapt first.

There was no need to rush, so I waited leisurely while strolling around the center of town.

After about an hour, I was immersed in the village scenery.

“We have brought the warriors!”

A group of men came pulling a cart.

These are the famous birds of the Western Frontier, known as the ‘crows’.

I wasn’t the only one waiting for them, as people in the village started to rise from all over.

I also approached the cart.

“Choose carefully! This time, there’s bound to be a lot of good finds.”

The crows opened the cart’s cargo compartment with familiar hands.

Soon, dozens of corpses began to pile up on the dirt floor like pieces of frozen fish.

This is the identity of the ‘hero’ that the crows speak of.

The corpses of adventurers.

 

‘I knew it, but seeing it in person doesn’t make for a very pleasant sight.’

When you go outside the frontier to subdue monsters or build a fort, many deaths inevitably occur.

Most of them are left to rot in place because the bodies cannot be recovered⋯

There are corpses that crows somehow bring back to the village.

After that, valuable belongings that were immediately visible, such as rings, earrings, and good quality weapons, were first taken away into the crow’s pocket.

The rest are sold as they are now, dressed on the corpse.

‘I guess this is what I’ll look like when I die.’

It’s a cruel landscape, but any adventurer in the Garden colony must be prepared for the possibility of meeting this end.

In other words, in this village, even those with the characteristic of “immortality” must be careful not to die carelessly.

Even if you come back to life, you might end up as a ‘warrior’ and roll around on the floor like a piece of luggage.

And on top of that, you get to be stripped naked by the hands of countless people.

Anyway, now it’s time for me to move quickly.

If you hesitate, you may not be able to find useful clothes.

‘I don’t need anything else, just this one thing. Size adjustment is a must.’

I mingled with the crowd and examined the clothes of the corpses.

I’m small, so the clothes that most adventurers wear won’t fit me.

So, the most urgent task was to find clothes with the magic rune of “size adjustment” engraved on them.

“It’s not so rare that you can’t find it. If you look carefully, you’ll definitely find a few.”

I search with fire in my eyes, and search again⋯.

But I was gradually being crushed beneath the crowd. My vision grew increasingly dark and I could barely breathe.

I feel trapped in a pulsating, writhing cave of flesh, unable to move.

‘Wait a minute, aren’t we going to fall behind?’

There are people below.

There’s people, fuck.

No one will listen even if you shout.

Everyone’s eyes are wide open and they’re busy searching through the corpses.

At this rate, I too will become a warrior!

At that moment, I was feeling dizzy due to shortness of breath.

Someone suddenly grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me up.

“Phuha!”

I gasped for breath, like someone who had just fallen into water and been rescued.

“Oh, thank you⋯.”

I barely managed to express my gratitude with unclear pronunciation.

The man who saved me was a big man like a bear.

He looks to be about 2 meters tall.

“I survived thanks to you.”

“…”

The man nodded with a blunt face, then paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“What you want-”

“Yes? What do you want…?”

Are you asking me to pay you for saving my life?

The man continued speaking, looking towards the pile of corpses.

“Tell me. I’ll get it out for you.”

“Really?”

“Because it’s dangerous-”

The man pointed at me and shook his palm.

I guess he’s trying to say that I’m too small to fit into that crowd.

If you help me, there’s no reason to refuse.

I pointed at the corpse I had been eyeing with my finger.

“Then that one.”

The man nodded and thrust his log-like arm into the pile of corpses.

Swish.

The corpse was dragged out so easily that my hard work up until just a moment ago seemed futile.

“And that one too. Oh, and that one too.”

As we spoke, I noticed that the man’s leather pants were tattered in an unsightly manner.

It looks like it was torn by a monster’s claws.

“Do you need any pants?”

Nod.

“Pants, pants… I saw them earlier. Oh, there they are. Hurry up! Who would take them?”

After we finally picked up the body, which was wearing good pants, we moved on.

I achieved everything I set out to do.

I’m wearing a long-sleeved shirt, knee-length shorts, and a pair of sturdy-looking boots.

All of them have been granted the “Size Adjustment” magic rune.

Moreover, this was an unexpected find, as the boots were also given a low-grade “Endurance Enhancement” rune.

“How about those pants?”

“⋯.”

“It’ll definitely fit you, right? Try it on.”

The man shakes his head as if he is troubled.

‘Oh. Could it be that you can’t change because I’m right next to you?’

Come to think of it, I’m not a man anymore.

I guess it’s a bit weird to take off your pants in front of a girl…

The size is distracting and shy.

The man pulled his pants up over his legs and made an okay gesture.

There is no word, but the face is satisfied.

“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I should give you money.”

I almost forgot.

Earlier, there was no time to calculate the money on the spot, so the man paid for everything first.

It’s a bit odd to say this, but ‘warriors’ are cheap.

Anyway, the crows took the valuable items first, and the rest are just junk items.

If you have a keen eye and knowledge like me, you can find some great items with magic runes, but most of the items are just as bad as they look.

As I was rummaging through my pockets to take out some money…

“are you okay.”

The man pushed my hand away as I tried to hand him money.

“Thanks to you, I was able to get some nice pants.”

Well, that’s true.

If I hadn’t told you, you wouldn’t have found the pants with the “Size Adjustment” enchantment.

Well, then let’s consider this as teacher teacher.

“Should we just leave the bodies here? Should we return them to the crows?”

“Um⋯.”

The man is drooling.

“If you leave it behind… it’s so pitiful….”

This person, despite his fierce appearance like a black bear, is actually rather delicate.

The man seemed to have difficulty moving forward after leaving the corpses behind.

“Well then, let’s ask.”

“A suitable place-”

“I know a place where I can bury you.”

As I took the lead, a man followed, carrying four corpses on his shoulders at once.

We buried the body in a burial ground located in the corner of the pioneer area.

To be precise, it is the man’s job to move the corpse, dig the ground, and fill it back in.

I kept giving him some training from the side.

Well, that’s because everyone is good at different things.

It is simply part of an efficient division of labor.

At least I think so.

“This will provide some comfort to these people as well.”

Nod.

The man’s face brightened as if a great burden had been lifted.

The simple funeral ended with a clumsy bow, imitating something I had seen somewhere, and a moment of silence.

“Thank you for your help.”

“⋯.”

He taps my shoulder without saying anything.

He is a man of few words until the end.

After we finished our business, we parted ways coolly.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t even ask your name.’

I thought about it belatedly, but I didn’t think it was necessary to go to the trouble of asking.

If there was a named NPC worthy of being a companion, I would have known without you even telling me.

One of the common human warriors that are widely spread throughout “Nine Stars”, that’s about it.

‘Maybe we’ll meet again later if we’re meant to.’

I watched the man’s back as he walked away.

The man’s gait is quite brisk as he lifts his pants and looks around.

It seemed like he wanted to go back quickly and try it on.