Chapter: 2
In Superego Online, there exists a system called proficiency.
It’s a common element found in various RPGs where handling or researching something increases the abilities and stats of the category it belongs to.
What’s peculiar is that, perhaps prioritizing user convenience, whether you wield a one-handed sword or a two-handed one, you can simply whack everything with just one sword.
Consequently, it wasn’t uncommon for a great sword-wielding berserker to convert into a dual-wielding ninja. Especially during guild wars when rankers loved to flex their skills while having fun.
‘Though the skills used are mostly the same.’
Anyway, taking it a step further, we can’t ignore the standout feature of this game: ‘achievements.’
In layman’s terms, when your proficiency increases, if you achieve certain results, the increase in proficiency spikes significantly. It’s kind of like inspiration in the usual sense, or at least that’s how folks usually describe it.
However, it’s tough to expect explosive changes from a mere flash of brilliance occurring now and then. No matter how high your freedom is, this is a game limited to keyboard controls, so we can’t really get around that.
Everyone hopes to shine; if they don’t, well, that’s just how it is. Basically, this feature has often been treated like it doesn’t exist.
But here’s the kicker. There exists a category of players who can intentionally trigger ‘achievements.’
Crackle-
[14 ▶︎ 15]
And that category? It’s farm equipment.
While sword techniques might rely on precise stances or magic might require some sort of awakening, farming produces clear and tangible results—crops! And you can even see them sprouting!
You might argue that it’s the same when hunting monsters, but that’s not the same apples-to-apples comparison.
The evaluation criterion for achievements is their ‘target point’. It assesses whether you’ve made strides toward it.
No matter how much you swing your sword, if you just end up cementing bad habits, or if you waste your days flinging fireballs under the guise of practicing magic, your proficiency might lift, but will you really see results?
In contrast, farm equipment? It doesn’t care about that nonsense.
Whether you sprinkle seeds with a triple axel move or do some inertia drift with a cultivator, what difference does it make? As long as you produce a bountiful harvest, you’re golden!
‘Wow, this is unbelievably fast!’
So why didn’t any rankers, myself included, touch this glitch-like mechanic?
Because its ceiling is low.
In any game, you inevitably hit a cap eventually. The incomparable speed of growth will return incomparable differences in performance.
I mean, the reactions of those who discovered this trick and the meltdown they went through as they saw what skills they’d learned and the final items, oh boy, those were pure gold!
And I have this aspect.
I’m thinking of covering for that.
Although the description states ‘farming,’ I hope they also consider the act of swinging a scythe as part of it. Just like dwarves racking up extra damage with a hammer!
To begin with, if you want to get by on your own, this is literally the only option right now. Plus, with this miserable situation, approaching others to learn feels rather awkward.
Well, isn’t a peasant uprising also technically part of agriculture?
[16 ▶︎ 17]
Thanks to the increased proficiency level, I took a look at the expansive golden fields which sprouted back quickly as soon as I harvested them.
This wheat field is situated on the outskirts of Shijakumaur and is originally a spot for daily quests.
As games typically go, cutting wheat doesn’t even register much on the screen. But here, it seems to reflect differently.
As such, I could promptly hone my skills without needing to stress about the next harvest day.
‘Really, it’s just so relaxing.’
My gaze turned vigilant. Not even a baby rat was wandering around, but that was precisely why!
As mentioned, this wheat field is a place for daily quests where you need to collect ten pieces of wheat to hand over to an NPC.
Yet, while I repeatedly boosted my farm tool proficiency, a single user didn’t show up. Not one!
Daily quests are assigned randomly every day and even factoring in those who find them annoying and skip out, there should be thousands of players online per server daily.
Surely, a game that was flourishing worldwide wouldn’t just collapse overnight. It feels reasonable to suspect that this isn’t merely a game environment but a separate, similar world.
‘No wonder there’s not even an NPC to accept my quest.’
That meant the option of asking for help while risking getting hunted was completely off the table.
Considering all the messy risks, maybe it’s for the best?
Moreover, if it truly is a separate world, it opens up possibilities for gaining skills and gear that weren’t available in the game.
In essence, if my expectations hold true, I can reap the benefits of this game knowledge while paradoxically enjoying additional advantages because it’s not a game. In theory, it’s the best-case scenario!
Now, with my once murky path ahead somewhat illuminated, I found my joy rekindled during my scythe work. It felt like the butterflies in my stomach when I first began playing games.
Perhaps it’s because of being a scarecrow, but I’m neither hungry nor tired. I guess the joy of leveling up my stats is all that remains!
*
Upon achieving the maximum proficiency level of 50 for farming tools, I immediately dove into hunting.
The average level of monsters in this basic hunting ground hovers around 7. It’s the perfect spot for characters entering at level 5 after the introductory story.
In contrast, I, a scarecrow without any connections, stand at level 1—armed with nothing but my bare self, lacking suitable gear or skills!
Here, my careful preparations and the scarecrow’s traits came into play.
Grrrrrr-!
One of the representative monsters from Shijakumaur’s back mountains, a gray wolf, unveiled its fangs and growled.
It was already in a wounded state. Monsters don’t perceive me as an enemy until they are first attacked.
That’s likely because we’re of the same monster kind. Due to this, I was freed from the worry of surprise attacks and even guaranteed to land the first blow!
Gyaooo-!!
The gray wolf, watching for an opportunity, finally charged at me.
Judging it to be filled with gaps, it’s safe to say I was thinking the same!
Grrr?
I hooked my scythe onto the claw lunging directly at me, leveraging its force to slam it down into the earth.
Boom-!
The beast—likely over two meters long—crashed down without a hint of grace.
The tenacious creature attempted to bite back with fervor, but instead found itself impaled and squeaking like a toy!
This is the skill of a max-level protagonist. Back when I played the game, I always wondered why defense and evasion stats rose—experiencing it firsthand finally made sense!
Bang-!!
I ended the encounter with a skill I whimsically concocted.
It’s a fighting move inspired by the rice planting posture, where you seize the opponent and slam them straight into the ground.
As I grew accustomed to the flow of mana in my body, reproducing the images dancing in my head became somewhat feasible.
In such a series of processes, only the finishing technique altered, becoming the standard pattern of hunting.
“Wandering Reaper—are you there?”
Ugh. I guess my skill sounds managed to get heard after all.
As I adjusted my gloves, I regretted not scanning my surroundings better. This was my first real annoyance after being possessed.
The voice belonged unmistakably to the village chief.
I had tried hard to avoid people, but I couldn’t just ignore an NPC being attacked by monsters right in front of me, so I rescued them. Soon, every villager began praising me and spreading rumors.
Through this, those who took an interest in me started gathering for a look, putting themselves at risk, and I’d be there to save the day again—it quickly created a comical, ridiculous cycle where I wound up being called the Wandering Reaper and followed around by the entire village.
Naturally, the chief must be my most passionate fan among the lot.
I completely empathize with his sentiments. While I’m grateful, as someone who fears exposure, the last thing I want is for him to come after me!
“Please wait, Wandering Reaper-!!”
As I attempted to escape once again, I decided to hold on when I heard an unusually desperate tone.
The top of his head was bald, several strands of hair were plastered to his forehead from sweat, and the sight of him gasping heavily after climbing a hill was the quintessential sad old man appearance.
Yet, despite all that, he seemed determined to follow. Rather than losing out in a desperate chase, it’s only fair to appease him quickly and send him back!
“Hah… Hah… I really appreciate you waiting, Wandering Reaper.”
“What is it?”
Suppressing a sigh rising up to my throat, I inquired about his request.
If he came again to suggest that I try the village’s famed golden apples, I’d make an example of him so that he’d understand to steer clear!
“Please! I beg you to hunt down the invading sparrows troubling our village!”
Fine for now. Let’s spare his unfortunate hairstyle.
“Sparrows?”
“Since yesterday, demons-turned sparrows have suddenly appeared and are attacking the villagers…”
‘This is my first time hearing of such a phenomenon with sparrows.’
There are usually two main causes behind the transformation of common beasts or mutant monsters.
Fanatic experimentation. Or contact with something packed with concentrated mana.
If it was zealotry at work, it’s unlikely they would bother coming all the way to this rural area to mess with sparrows! Pass.
Considering the village head is a different character from what I remember and the game’s context also seems a bit off, judging by the fact that only higher-level characters were involved in related quests, it probably isn’t the case.
The most plausible explanation must be that some sparrow mistakenly ate something bad.
“But what could they possibly have eaten around here?”
Did some lunatic bring in something strange just to feed sparrows?
“It seems they consumed wheat from a cursed field.”
“A cursed wheat field?”
“It’s a field that harbors a substantial amount of mana, continuously regrowing no matter how much you cut it.”
“Uhh… Um…”
“It has been confirmed that someone did cut down a vast amount of wheat and left it unattended. The sparrows likely munched on it and got turned into monsters as a result.”
“Don’t the uncut ones remain untouched?”
“Correct. It’s overwhelmingly dense even when left untouched.”
What the hell kind of crazy person was I?
I’ve honestly never heard of such a setup before. What on earth was the NPC like back when I was farming wheat?
“Alright. I’ll handle this. Have all the wheat been disposed of?”
“There was way too much of it, but the entire village rallied and we somehow managed to deal with it.”
My heart, which wasn’t exactly beating, felt like it was being stabbed.
But… I didn’t know this would happen. I didn’t have enough inventory slots for this mess!
“Well done… If possible, contact the Magic Tower and ensure that the field itself is eliminated. I presume that’s why it had been left unattended until now.”
“Yes….”
The unaware village head nodded his head in embarrassment. He must be beating himself up over this, calling it his fault.
“Lead me there.”
“Thank you, thank you…”
While lacking the courage to tell him the truth, I at least had enough decency to clean up my own mess.
Let’s think on the positive side. Seeing as it’s an unexpected situation, there could be unexpected rewards too!
Putting the village chief as my guide, we set off toward a location where monstrous sparrows had frequently been spotted.
“I guess that’s the culprit.”
Not even five minutes later, before we could even finish clearing the underbrush, a hefty brown mass made its presence known.
If you were to blow up a sparrow into a ball and then enlarge it, it’d look exactly like that. A textbook case of a monster transformation.
“But more importantly, I’ve been wondering about that hammer since earlier. What’s up with it?”
“I thought it might be of some assistance… haha.”
“Forget about it. Just stay out of my way.”
“If that’s your wish, Wandering Reaper… I wish you good fortune.”
The village chief maintained distance just enough to observe the situation.
Is he planning to spectate? His level didn’t seem that high, and observing the progress himself was vital, so I left it be.
Whoosh-!
I charged toward the monstrous sparrow, which couldn’t care less about my actions.
It did appear to be of a higher level than the surrounding monsters, but it evidently wasn’t sharp enough to discern intentions based on threats. Let’s finish this swiftly!
Clang-!
I jabbed the scythe against its neck area. However, it not only failed to breach the skin but seemed to bounce off entirely!
What the heck? Why’s it so tough…?!
Squawk-?
The sparrow turned its gaze toward me.
Despite being a different species, it was clear that it bore an irritated expression. It flapped its wings anxiously and took to the skies.
‘What’s going on? Am I trembling? Am I actually afraid of that sparrow right now…?!
This sensation feels all too familiar.
It was like when some large guys cornered me in an alleyway. Overwhelmed by their presence, I’d shiver with fear before anything even went down. That sort of feeling.
‘I should have the advantage in stats, right? So why is this happening?
What?
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