“Ah, this is… Hibris! Isn’t this your father’s item?”
Adella picked up a metal fragment off the ground and showed it to her.
“This rivet is a soft metal pin used to permanently bond thin sheet metal, like in armor seams.”
Hibris wiped her tears and confirmed under the sunlight.
“That’s right. My father’s armor had golden buttons like this.”
“So that means he hasn’t been gone for long. Let’s hurry and look for him.”
“But where…?”
“Hmm… Should we ask the villagers first? They wouldn’t leave without saying anything.”
Adella and Hibris moved toward the spot where the harvest festival night market was held.
But the atmosphere was off from the start.
The drowsy-eyed merchants yawning stiffened immediately.
The market, which fell eerily silent, sent shivers down their spines for a moment.
A boy suddenly dashed out from the alley.
It was Billy, Hibris’ childhood friend whom she met just yesterday.
A bright smile bloomed on Hibris’ previously tense face.
“Hello, traveler! Are you looking for something?”
“Oh, we were looking for Mr. Brooks. He seemed to have disappeared this morning. Do you know where he went?”
“Mr. Brooks? Hmm, oh that guy! I know him… Haaam.”
Billy hesitated while spinning his fingers, indicating he wanted something.
This behavior made Hibris’ anger boil over.
“Billy! You weren’t like this! What kind of impolite behavior is this for our guest!”
“What? How do you know my name?”
“Well, because we’re friends…”
“Friends? I don’t know you.”
“Are you mad about me asking you to save my spot yesterday? I sincerely apologize for that.”
“Huh? No, I’ve never seen you before. There’s no green-haired girl like you in Wilhelm Village.”
“What do you mean…”
“So are you going to give me money or not? Five, no, three coins will be enough.”
Clink-
Adella handed Billy a handful of coins.
Counting the money, Billy smirked and pointed to the back of the village.
“He rode off under the moonlight that way. He probably passed through Rapavnk since he asked me how much the city toll is. That should be enough information, so I’ll just take my leave. Hehe, how much is all this anyway?”
Hibris froze in disbelief.
“There’s no way…”
It felt like they were being played a cruel prank.
But their misfortune continued.
A young man patrolling the village stopped them.
“What’s your purpose here?”
Adella spoke up instead of the speechless Hibris.
“The atmosphere in the village feels a bit strange…”
It was a remark made after glancing around at the merchants’ watchful eyes.
The young man shrugged nonchalantly.
“Oh, it’s because everyone’s jumpy since a witch is said to be passing through the area. Just grab what you need and leave quickly.”
“But this girl is from the village.”
“Hmm? I doubt that. Are you sure it’s not another village?”
“It’s Zephy, my older brother. He lived in that three-story yellow house.”
“Oh right. Can you tell me who introduced you?”
Hibris, whose eyes were reddening, finally couldn’t take it and shouted.
“I don’t find this joke funny at all! The fruit store uncle is Mr. Tom! The bakery lady is Mrs. Dana! We saw each other just yesterday, why is everyone acting like they don’t know me, why?!”
“Haha, calm down, friend. What’s your name?”
“It’s Hibris. H.I.B.R.I.S., daughter of Mr. Brooks!”
“Who’s Brooks again?”
“Excuse me? You don’t know my father? He’s tall and looks like a bandit, and my brother sometimes goes hunting in the mountains with him.”
“Ah, I remember now. The one from the northern hut?”
“Yes!”
“The drunkard?”
“No, my father doesn’t drink.”
“Then I don’t know. The only Brooks I know is that guy.”
“Why…”
They met countless merchants afterward, but not a single person recognized Hibris.
Doubt began to grow in Adella’s heart.
It wasn’t a matter of time travel or confusion of places.
The very existence of Hibris had been wiped clean from this village.
But if people aren’t deceiving her, who should she suspect?
On the way home, Adella casually asked,
“Are you perhaps a ghost or something?”
Adella suspected Hibris.
Tears streamed down Hibris’ face.
“Why are you doing this to me, Unni… What did I do wrong, huh?”
“No, I’m sorry! I thought wrongly! Don’t cry, stop.”
“Awww…”
Between her ragged breaths came soft whimpers.
Adella embraced her and started searching for a way to resolve this situation.
“Let’s go look for your father first.”
There was no way he wouldn’t recognize his daughter.
*
Most medieval people spend their entire lives in the place they were born.
It’s not like someone is appearing and imposing restrictions like in North Korea.
It’s because demon beasts born with magic litter the roadside.
These creatures still possess survival instincts, so they rarely attack humans when they’re in groups.
After all, humans are the top predators on Earth.
But the moment they think they have the numerical advantage, they rush in with all they’ve got to tear humans apart.
“Grrr—”
Unfortunately, evolution didn’t fix the anger management issues of demon beasts.
A lizard beast with a gunshot wound lunged forth, baring its black fangs.
Adella jumped to evade the monster, aiming her shot with expertise.
Bang-!
A large hole appeared in the beast’s head.
Soon, the hole bubbled and new eyes and teeth sprang forth.
Adella screamed at the grotesque sight.
“AAAAhh! That’s disgusting!”
Dudududududu-!
Now she was just closing her eyes and spraying bullets randomly.
Once she ran out of ammo, Adella dashed toward us without hesitation.
“Na-me Unni, Hibris! Run away!”
“Ugh.”
“Why is a mid-sized demon beast here…!”
A three-meter high, fifteen-meter wide lizard charged at them.
I pulled out my rifle to show a new system that only existed in this game.
“Adella, can you see the notification above?”
“Uh? Oh, yeah! Something is popping up!”
[✅Long-range Magic: Use the Fragile Orb to cast spells from a greater distance. Use your creativity to overcome obstacles.]
I tossed my annoying hair back and placed the cool metal against my cheek.
Accepting the dense mana throughout my entire body, I drew a magic circle.
[Cast: Gravitational Adjustment]
The magic circle clung to the rifle’s muzzle, and a ball of mana was launched.
Bwoom-!
With a dull thump, the magic circle surrounding the Fragile Orb spun rapidly.
The cylindrical shape formed along a straight trajectory slammed into the lizard monster’s fleshy mass with a quack.
“@&$#@!!!”
The grotesque-crying lizard monster began to shrink.
Its neck retracted, limbs twisted awkwardly, and its eyeballs sunk into its head.
Places popping out transformed rapidly into a round rubber ball, rolling onto the ground.
Wrapping my fists in aura, I punched the black ball.
Boom-!
Black dust scattered everywhere as the demon beast vanished without a trace.
Experience points and gold glimmers from the Resonance system flowed into our bodies.
“Wow, that was so cool.”
Adella gave me a thumbs up.
“Hmm. I won’t deny it.”
Yeah, praise me more.
How much time did I invest in devising this system?
Crackle-
Suddenly, the ground trembled as if an earthquake struck.
The gravel on the wasteland vibrated.
I distanced myself from Hibris.
“Wha— What is this?!”
Adella, covered in mud, rubbed her eyes.
The ground erupted at Hibris’ feet.
A gigantic beastly hand shot out and seized her ankle.
It was a mole-like demon, with only its upper body left, known in past lives as ‘Rovhatch’, a type of underground dwelling creature.
Caught by the mid-sized demon beast, Hibris remained calm.
Instead of cowering, she stared directly into the monster’s eyes.
“Hibris, that’s dangerous!”
Adella grasped the situation and rushed toward her.
But the mole, despite its sharp teeth, didn’t attack her.
Instead, it obediently lowered its head before her.
Demon beasts don’t submit to anyone.
Not even to humans and even demons.
Hibris trembled while looking our way.
“If an inquisitor sees this, I’d be executed on the spot, you know?”
My flippant remark caused Hibris to choke up.
“Please don’t report it. I-I can explain everything…”
*
“Isn’t it kind of OP to enjoy Pokémon alone in a fantasy apocalypse world?”
“No way that could be true.”
Adella scoffed, and I nodded along.
Dudududududu-
The mole demon busily dug into the earth, swimming below.
We climbed onto Rovhatch’s soft back and used it as a mode of transport.
The mole raced at sixty miles per hour.
It truly had digging capabilities rivaling modern civilization.
“Actually, I met a witch long ago.”
With her head resting on my back, Hibris confessed in a barely audible voice.
“When my father went to war, I grew up under the warm care of the village elders. But one day, a large demon beast attacked our village. Even when the whole village gathered, we couldn’t scare off a single beast, haha…”
“Do large demon beasts get scared?”
“At least they wouldn’t mess around in front of an army.”
Accumulated magic in the land mimics the consciousness of life and spews out demon beasts.
Since the entity’s life forms are random, a creature from the Cretaceous period could pop out.
“If you’re unlucky, a T-Rex demon could show up.”
“Our T-Rex brother wouldn’t do that!”
“But you know, given that Wilhelm Village is so sparsely populated… When the roof flew off, I thought I’d be done for, that’s when the witch saved me. Just don’t get me wrong, I’m not supporting her; I’m just saying that’s how it was.”
“Then the witch must be a good person, right?”
“That’s not it. The witch killed the villagers for no reason. Very cruelly…”
“Gasp.”
“Mrs. Dana, the bakery lady’s husband fell victim that day too. I guess that’s why everyone’s been wary of witches ever since.”
“But how does that incident relate to your ability?”
Hibris, lost in thought, stammered before finally speaking.
“I… made a deal with the witch. She promised she’d give me the power to not die until my father returned from war.”
It must have been a promise made under the pressure of suffocating life.
“But in return… she would take my life five years later.”
“What a wicked woman!”
“… Yeah, right.”
By the time my back was wet with the girl’s tears, the foreboding alert appeared in front of Adella and me.
[▶You distinctly feel a powerful energy above the earth.]
“Uh-oh.”
The mole demon slowed down its digging and lifted its head.
Adella followed the beast’s gesture and looked up.
That meant they could see what was above.
Kaboom-!
The ground quaked with a thunderous roar.
The cramped earth split open, revealing an infinite sky.
“Whoa!”
“AHHHH!”
An invisible force ejected us from the ground, crushing our organs.
As dirt flew and hard rocks shattered in the aerial space, a hand shot forth.
“Grrk!”
In an instant, Hibris was grabbed by the nape of her neck.
Then, the hand’s owner revealed itself, opening its red lips.
“Found you, Arrogance.”
Seeing the face made Hibris tremble in fear, while Adella spat out a horrified question.
“Are there two of you?”
