Chapter 7 - Oh, Happy Day! (7)

I continued to limp forward using my makeshift cane for the next 2 hours.

The ground in the forest had small rocks and tree roots sticking out, so I couldn’t let my guard down for even a second. I’ll break another arm or leg if I trip on a single one, and then I’ll need to start crawling.

My body was already fragile on its own, but the injuries made the traveling process even more difficult.

“You really can’t call Realistic Mode a videogame….”

The point of a game is that you can enjoy it, isn’t it? It was ridiculously hot, my body was breaking down on itself, and the headache I had was worsening by the second, stealing away my ability to think at all. There’s nothing in this situation that you could call ‘enjoyable’.

“Well, this reminds me of the old f—ing times!”

7 years ago, right after World War III, the first march to the battlefield with my father felt just like this.

After I arrived at the end of the forest, I sat down on a tree stump to rest and organize my inventory.

“Name…. My name….. Let’s just make it Professor.”

Ding-!

<[Information Update / Name : Professor / Surname : Unknown]>

 

When I announced my new name, the ??? next to the name section changed to Professor.

“Let’s seee…. That broken fan-shaped hardwood means it’s Dephlen Wood, right? What area in World 3 has this type of wood?”

- Speedwagon : Entire Northern Rodrick area / part of the upper Aphlen Valley / entire West side of the Blue Line.

- Jokass : Aint that winter grass on the ground over there? West side if Blue Line doesn’t have winter grass cause of the aura there.

- Soygaybar : And it definitely doesn’t look like a plateau, so it isnt the Aphlen Valley.

“Okay, thanks. So the starting area is Northern Rodrick.”

Ding-!

<[Information Update : Location / Northern Rodrick / ]>

 

GG is a pretty old game at the age of 11 years old, and it’s single-player. The plot of the world changes based on every little action the player does, so there aren’t any concrete guides, but there is still enough information on the Community about what item is where and which event happens.

I was a World 2 player, so I didn’t have information about World 3, but my viewers were different. I was playing the game with a couple dozen semi-masters guiding my way.

I got the basic location through the power of my viewers, but I would need a map to get more info.

Next, I secured the branch I used as a cane on the ground and calculated what time it was based on the shadow of the stick and the location of the sun.

“Hmm….. It looks…. around 5pm.”

Ding-!

<[Information Update - Time : 5 Pm(Assumed)]>

 

“Oh, this works in World 3 too?”

I used this method often in World 2 to check the time. Thankfully it seemed to work in World 3 as well.

This solves the time, then. But this method doesn’t tell me the exact time down to the minute. Not unless I had Lv.3 Astrology.

“Sigh. I’ve been able to see the castle wall, but why can’t I get to it? It looks like I’m almost there, though…. A flag with a black eagle and shield…. The city that used that insignia was…. Touran? It was Touran, right?”

- Speedwagon : Correct. There’s only Touran, Molludic Castle, and Pelas in this area in the first place.

“Molludic….what? Isn’t this time period 70 years after World 2? I thought Touran and Pelas were next to Gideon? Can an entire city disappear in just 70 years?”

- Jokass : The name can change. Gideon had a socialist movement or something, but it got crushed by Rodrick the 3rd and got demoted to a kingdom. The Molludic Castle is located where Gideon used to be. When it changed to a kingdom, the lord and name changed too.

“Ohh, that. I knew that would happen at some point. I was suspicious of them since their story in World 2.”

Gr, crack!

<[Status - Right Hand : Sprain \ [Healing(Contaminated Bandage + Splint(88%)] ]>

 

When I checked my wrist, it had healed much more than I expected. I rotated it a little and felt some discomfort, but it was enough to move again.

‘Is the maximum recovery amount low because of the low maximum durability?.’

Well, that’s a relief. If this weak, brittle chopstick body took a long time to recover, I would have spent more time in a hospital bed than actually doing something.

Whoosh-!

Jerk!

“Ugh! This is ridiculous!”

I was slowly getting used to the body now that I’d been in it for about two hours. It was like I was wearing very thin, expensive clothes. As I continued playing, though, I realized there would be a bigger problem than the Glass Body trait.

“Soybar….. What the heck did you do to my body?”

- Soygaybar : LMAO what do you mean what? That’s the legendary SSS rank trait that made even Mr. Ranking No.2 ditch his character he grinded for a full month in just 30 minutes!

Gyosu barely managed to swallow the curse words that bubbled up in his throat. Inner peace, endure it. It’ll only get worse if I respond….

Jerk!

“F—!”

The biggest problem was the trait Soygaybar added, Weak Mentality.

Weak Mentality

Because of your scaredy cat mind, your head is all over the place, making you dizzy. All of the senses your body picks up feeling negative, overwhelming you.

Sensitivity +1, Danger Sense +1, Concentration -3

Feeling the brunt of the trait for about two hours made the explanation of the trait a little more detailed. The second sentence must be what I’m feeling, and the last part….. It’s showing stats?

‘A normal information update would have been normal, but if it’s showing me the stat points, it means….. I’m being affected by that trait right now. The concentration drop is understandable since I was thinking, but sensitivity? Danger sense? Why are these here?’

The GG’s info page only displays what I know or have experienced. So if there’s something on the info page, I’m somehow experiencing it at that moment. But both sensitivity and danger sense popped up?

Shiver-!

Chills crawled down my spine. The severe headache went from just an overall pain to a stabbing feeling from a very specific direction…..

‘Behind!’

Rustle!

Cruunch!

The sudden feeling of danger made my body move without thinking. The second I forced my legs to move and throw myself forwards, I heard the stump get crushed by something.

When I turned around, I saw a boulder as tall as me sitting where I was just resting a few moments ago.

Thump! Thump!

And behind that, I heard very heavy footsteps.

“Human…. Small human…. Small? Big? No, big is Notum. Small is human. Uhh…. Small big human?”

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A huge figure that looked way over 3 meters tall and with a slurred pronunciation. The one that threw the boulder and almost killed me was a plains troll.

‘Damn it, I wouldn’t know if I’d be able to run even with healthy legs….’

Plains trolls were slimmer compared to other fatter and muscular troll species. They were weaker but that much faster. I would never be able to run away in my current condition.

- Highwaynachoman : 2hrs in and already about to die.

- Soygaybar : That’s just how Gedroits rolls.

That reminded me. The Northern Rodrick that I remembered was mostly plains, so major battles always happened here. And the small forest within Northern Rodrick was…..

‘A quest area! S—! The location I started in just needed to be a hunting quest area!’

It’s near the city, so it’s probably some guard quest area, like [Defeat the troll blocking the road.]

“Ow! Damn it, I barely touch something, and I start bleeding like some water balloon….”

My clothes felt wet, and when I looked at them, it was soaked with blood yet again. I probably got hurt again when I jumped forward to dodge the boulder.

“Grrrrrr….Grkk….! Slurp! Ghhhhh…. Notum…. can’t stop….”

Drip, drip,

“Oh, for f— sakes.”

The bleeding must have triggered the troll, their eyes turned red, and they drooled from their mouth.

‘Well then. Guess it’s the end!’

Gyosu prepared for the worst as he tightly closed his eyes shut.

.

.

.

.

.

’…..Huh?’

Time continued to pass, but the excruciating pain he was expecting did not come. Gyosu carefully opened his eyes again.

“Sniff sniff! Sniff!”

“Aghhhhh!!”

The big guy was right in front of my face, sniffing me. They were unbelievably quiet for their enormous size.

“Grr, Notum. Hungry. Hungry. Very very hungry.”

‘Yeah, I could tell that, you know!’

Red, bloodshot eyes. A nose that’s constantly sniffing his blood. A mouth that’s drooling like a waterfall.

Just by looking, you could tell that this troll called Notum was very, very hungry. Surprisingly, it had a bleeding human in front of it, yet it hadn’t even touched me. There…. there was still a way I could get out of this alive!

I didn’t know what it was yet, but it was probably related to what the troll was saying right now.

Gyosu decided to bet on that tiny sliver of hope left.

“Y…. you’re hungry?”

“Grrrr. Hungry. Human. Late. One, two, three, four late.”

‘It’s confirmed now. I can talk to it. This guy, it’s smart!’

Trolls were considered a monster but also a sub-race. Most of the time, they were controlled by their instincts and treated like monsters, but there was also apparently a troll clan in the southern forest that made its own culture and traded with humans as well.

‘Wait, this guy isn’t just smart, though. It’s way smarter than a troll should be. It can speak human language!’

I didn’t have time to remember since I thought I was gonna die, but trolls usually can’t speak human languages. It would usually be an ugly roar or, at most, a couple words in incomprehensible language.

But this guy clearly expressed his opinion and was starving to the point of getting bloodshot eyes, yet did not eat me and even had a name. This meant that this troll had previous human interaction and even had enough education to communicate properly.

“Ughh… Grghh, C, can’t stop. Human, small big human!”

“H…huh?”

“Tell. You, sent by metal human?”

“What?”

“Say no. Notum, hungry. Can’t stop. No? No, yes?”

They must be at their limit, as Notum’s hands were slowly approaching me. I didn’t have time. I needed to say something to stop him. As I felt my life in actual danger, my survival instincts made the gears in my head run at maximum speed.

‘Think…. think! Trolls have a strong instinct for hunger, even stronger than lust. Notum is enduring even that hunger and waiting for someone. Who is it? Metal human. They called me a small big human, which means they can’t feel the difference between faces. It can, at most, differentiate shape and physique. Metal human. A human wearing armor. Knight? It met a knight? It met a knight and survived? Then it would be most likely they’re the ones controlling this guy. One, two, three, four late. It means it waited 4 days. It was hungry, but it waited. It knew if it waited, it would get food.’

Conclusion. The knights gave Notum food on a regular basis, and Notum, who didn’t get food for the last 4 days, was waiting for a human to come into their territory. Expecting food.

“W, Waaaaait!!!”

“Grr?”

“M, metal human! Metal human sent me here!!!”

Then the only thing I could do to live was this. Fulfilling Notum’s expectations. I needed to pretend I was sent by that ‘metal human’.

“G, ghhhh, rrrrrghhh….”

The big hand, covered in grime and oil, slowly retreated. The second that sour scent cleared up and fresh air entered his lungs, his head was filled with the thought, ‘I’m saved!’

‘It said ‘say no’ because it couldn’t wait any longer, so it wanted me to be a person that wasn’t related to the knight. It didn’t completely stop eating humans. They weren’t completely raised by humans.’

Thunk!

Notum seemed conflicted for a bit before it sat down on the spot. A distraught and dissatisfied expression. But this action certainly meant it had no intention of eating me.

Notum seemed to completely believe that I was sent by the ‘metal human’, as he started to complain to me.

“Notum, promise. Here, live. Human, not eat. Metal human come and give horse, eat.”

“D, did….. you?”

Thump!

“Yes! Hgrr! But! Notum belly, empty! Horse one, two, three, four not in stomach!”

I knew it. I didn’t know why, but the ‘metal human’ had made a deal with this knight.

This looked like it was a part of a bigger quest than I thought. And I spawned in the middle of a quest location I was supposed to progress through one by one. GG isn’t a good world built around the character; it’s more like the character was spawned into a completely developed world. That meant regardless of whether I accepted a quest or not, I could get caught up in a big event by accident. And that’s what just happened to me. S**t.

Tuuk!

After Notum finished talking, he confidently extended his hand out toward me.

“Horse! Give! One, two, three, four, five!”

I sunk into deep thought as I stared at Notum’s grimy, muscular arms. Now, this is where I needed to be smart. What can I say that will save me from the grips of a starved troll that was waiting for its long-awaited meal?

Angel’s Corner

What a cute troll!

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