episode_0017

“Excuse me…?”

Han Sua had to doubt whether she had heard correctly just now.

Understandably so, refusing a gift offered as an apology doesn’t simply mean that one doesn’t need the gift. It also implies, ‘I don’t need your apology,’ which can be quite blunt.

In essence, it’s about the etiquette of the ‘gift receiver.’

Of course, there are people who genuinely refuse gifts graciously, saying, “Oh, you really don’t have to give me anything,” rather than coldly stating, “I don’t need it.”

At that moment, Han Sua, who was taken aback, began to reinterpret the words she had just heard in her head. In a short span of time, the words from the newbie were deconstructed and reassembled dozens of times, transforming into, “I don’t need your apology or your gift, so just disappear.”

-Haha, she got burned.

-Hahaha, seems like she did.

-Seems like she can’t handle a simple apology, what a lousy streamer…

-The way she speaks with that cat avatar, it’s making me uncomfortable.

-Unnie Sua, that person is a bit weird, can’t we just go hunt quickly?

As viewers started chatting in this manner, the phrase “I don’t need it” had transformed into “How dare you try to appease me with such a gift after trying to kill me? If you don’t want to be socially murdered, then disappear from my sight.”

As Han Sua struggled to regain her composure, she wondered if she should put on a show of apology. At the same time, she made efforts to steer the situation in a positive direction.

“…Um, then, how about 5?…”

-Why is she acting so pitiful? Hahaha.

-Who killed our Sua?

-Just witnessed Sua killing a level 1 newbie.

-Deserves to be killed, yeah.

However, from Hae Yerin’s perspective, who had genuinely refused out of not needing it, it was nothing but bewildering.

“…? I said I don’t need it.”

-Another burn, hahaha.

-Confession 2.0, hahaha.

-Newbie, you’re in trouble.

-With that cat avatar making that expression, my body feels strange.

-Why does the upper one keep feeling strange?

“T-then, how about 8…! That’s all I have…!”

“No, I really don’t need it.”

“Please! Please take it!!! Pretty please!!!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I want to give it to you! Please!”

“…Fine.”

Hah Ye-rin had no choice but to yield to Han Soo-ah’s aggressive insistence.

Having obtained permission, Han Soo-ah pressed [Blessings of the Goddess] into Hah Ye-rin’s hands and then fled.

“…?”

Left with a forced gift (apology), Hah Ye-rin could only be bewildered.

* * *

There were originally 10 [Blessings of the Goddess], but they multiplied to 18.

I was planning to use about 5 and save the rest, but maybe it’s okay to use them more liberally now?

It felt a bit regretful as if someone was threatening me from behind with a knife and forcing these items on me, but… since I’ve already received them, there’s nothing I can do about it. Besides, I can’t even return them since we’re not even friends in-game.

“Well, good things should be used well.”

Might as well make good use of what I’ve got.

With a light-hearted step, my goal is the blacksmith! With the bonus money from the [Golden Premium Full Dive Device], I planned to buy basic equipment.

Even if I buy beginner gear, I’ll probably have quite a bit of money left, so getting slightly better equipment didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Upon arrival at the blacksmith’s shop:

“Excuse me! No cutting in line!”

“I was here first, so you should move back.”

“Please don’t push me! Can you all just move aside a bit? I’m still on low HP!”

“Make some room!”

…Indeed. There was such a crowd that it felt like a real game in trend.

It seemed like many newcomers like me had joined this time, and because there were so many beginners, it looked like they had gathered at the blacksmith’s shop to get beginner gear.

I didn’t feel like squeezing into that mess, so I decided to visit other places first.

“Then, let’s start with the shop.”

Although I received high-grade healing potions as a bonus, using them at such a low level feels wasteful, doesn’t it? It’s better to save them for later rather than regret using them carelessly.

Fortunately, there weren’t many newbies crowding the store, so I was able to neatly line up at the end of the queue for about 5 minutes and purchase 5 [Low-grade HP Recovery Potions] and 5 [Low-grade MP Recovery Potions].

“Wow. Did you customize it yourself?”

“Is this a cat’s eye? Can it be shared in the game?”

While standing in line, I was approached several times like this, but since I’m not particularly good at talking, I just laughed awkwardly and let it pass.

However, no matter how much I tried to delay, things I didn’t want to do were getting closer. Eventually, the next place after the store would undoubtedly be the blacksmith’s shop again. Even in front of the store, there were still a lot of people gathered in front of the blacksmith’s shop.

…Should I just buy some items? Fighting with a dagger for processing like earlier doesn’t seem entirely impossible.

As I was thinking that, something suddenly caught my eye.

“Huh….”

An old blacksmith’s shop at the end of an alley, unnoticed by anyone.

Only occasionally the sound of metal being hammered could be heard, with no other signs of popularity.

“….!”

My ears and tail perked up. It’s a feeling. It’s not an actual sensation. This is, well… you could call it a gamer’s intuition.

Don’t all gamers dream?

Wouldn’t everyone want to obtain hidden items that no one else has and become a high-ranking player, or acquire a hidden job and receive people’s praise…!

Isn’t that the true ‘romance’ of gaming?

In that sense, the sensation I’m feeling right now was enough to stimulate my gamer’s intuition.

The creators are sincere about games to the extent of creating this virtual reality game. Wouldn’t they understand the romance of gamers? Wouldn’t they know what gamers expect?

Right now, all the conditions are met.

Just because the area under the lamp is dark, does that mean that there is a hidden blacksmith’s shop right next to the crowded blacksmith’s shop?

It’s dark and damp there, and even if you wash your eyes and look, you won’t see any traces of people passing by for a while.

What can be felt from there, what can be heard, is only one thing.

The solemn sound of a craftsman…!

There was no hesitation. I immediately turned my steps towards that place, imagining myself raising a legendary-grade weapon high and receiving praise from everyone…!

And so, I arrived at the shabby blacksmith and ended up witnessing the crimson truth of this world.

The game had been out for several months already. It was hard to believe that no one had stopped by to visit a blacksmith that was visible in a place where many people passed through. And yet, there was no gathering of people here at all…

It meant that there was no romance for gamers in this place…!

World Tree is the worst game developer in history.

They undoubtedly created a fake location to lure in people like me. One could say it’s a truly malicious and trashy idea.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It’s nothing, grandpa.”

There were a few rather impressive-looking swords and an elderly blacksmith NPC with dulled hearing in the blacksmith shop.

At first, I thought I hit the jackpot when I saw the sparkling swords on display…

But the moment I picked them up and [appraised] them, all my expectations vanished.

[A seemingly decent iron sword]

Attack Power: 2~5

It looks decent, but it’s just an ordinary sword.

[A beginner’s longsword resembling a legendary weapon]

Attack Power: 3~5

Resembling Excalibur wielded by the legendary hero Arthur! It’s just an ordinary sword.

[Iron armor resembling a paladin’s armor]

Defense: 2

It looks like something a paladin would wear, but it’s just ordinary armor.

Truly despicable.

It looked so convincing that hope filled me until I picked up the weapons… only to have my expectations shattered into pieces.

In the midst of such despair, the old blacksmith gives a quest!

Since he’s not feeling well, he asks if I could fetch some herbs for him.

Could it be that everything up until now was a high-level fake, and clearing this hidden quest will grant me a good scam item!

With that thought in mind, I went through the trouble of getting the herbs.

But what was the result?

The grandfather’s health improved a bit, and my reputation increased by 1!

“What about my legendary item…?”

Even the illusion of the weapon that seemed like a fantasy crumbled away. It couldn’t get any more despairing than this.

As I felt that way, I noticed farming tools displayed separately from the weapons.

[Hoes, sickles, spades, and hoes for plowing. Even their appearances were rusted, unlike weapons.]

I wonder why I [felt] that way. Perhaps it became a habit to [feel] the tools like weapons without giving up for a long time.

…Anyway, before I knew it, I had [felt] attached to the farming tools too.

[Rusted Harvesting Scythe]

[Rare]

Attack Power: 54

Attribute: Corrosion (Low)

A scythe for harvesting. With its long handle, you can harvest a large amount at once!

What you harvest is up to you!

It has corroded from not being maintained for a long time. It’s unlikely, but if someone gets pricked by this… they’ll have quite a hard time.

“…Huh.”

Unexpectedly, it seemed like I found quite a good item.

It wasn’t the [Legendary] grade item I was hoping for, but it’s a fairly usable item for now.