“It might not be to your taste.”
A steaming cup of tea was placed on a square wooden table.
It was filled with green tea.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like some snacks too? I baked them myself…”
“No, that’s okay!”
Jenna hurriedly responded and took a sip of the green tea.
Velkist sat with his arms crossed, eyes closed.
“It’s been so long since we’ve had guests. We only saw the same faces every day, it’s refreshing.”
The young man smiled innocently.
His clothes were loose, and his glasses were old. He didn’t carry a single dagger on him. He was completely unarmed.
‘What is this place?’
As soon as we arrived at the port of the ruins, a young man with a gentle impression stood before us to welcome us, saying he wanted to host us.
Following his guidance, we came to a villa on the outskirts of the
ruin island.
If this was a trap, we were ready to turn it around, but no matter how much we looked around, it didn’t seem like there was any ambush or attack planned. It was just a genuine welcome.
“What should we do? These people don’t seem to want to fight.”
Jenna whispered to me with a troubled expression.
I could only sigh. I wanted to intimidate them and take all their items, but…
‘I don’t know what Anytng’s intentions are.’
We could easily counterattack if they attacked us first. However, initiating the attack ourselves was a difficult decision to make without our master. Especially against non-combatant players.
“We’ll have to wait.”
“Until the master arrives?”
“Yes.”
If we wiped out these people, Anytng would be labeled. It would be said that we indiscriminately slaughtered innocent non-combatant players. If we were unlucky, some righteous master might start stalking us. It had happened before.
“You carry a sword.”
As I sat silently, the young man spoke up.
I looked up at his face. There was no change in his expression. He just kept smiling gently.
“So what?”
“Are you here to take over this place?”
There was no need to pretend. I nodded up and down.
Still, the young man’s expression didn’t change.
“You’re not actually here to fight, but you need resources, right?”
I narrowed my eyes. Sharp guy.
Indeed. If we were here to attack, they wouldn’t have let us in. Even in a non-combat zone, strength is still necessary. Somewhere around here, there must be forces to guard against outsiders.
“Yes, we have an important mission ahead. A lot of monsters are coming out… You know how it is. We need resources from this place to strengthen our forces.”
Jenna spoke frankly.
The young man nodded.
“My master would probably help. We share all the items we can. If you explain your situation, he will understand.”
I chuckled in disbelief.
How ridiculous.
We were led to the guest room on the second floor of the villa.
We had to wait there until Earth’s evening when Anytng would log in and make a decision.
“But senior, don’t we need a lot of resources? Even if they share, it won’t be as much as if we monopolized it. It won’t be enough, I think.”
“Probably, since there are 24 masters here.”
“This is frustrating.”
Velkist bit his lip in frustration.
He came expecting a fight, but now we were just waiting.
I recalled the young man’s explanation.
His name was Adilung Rizos. He was a scholar from the Radelsi continent. He said his master, “Saechoom,” was originally mission-focused but changed suddenly on reaching the 44th floor, turning peaceful, decorating the waiting room, raising heroes, forming a guild, and mingling with peaceful like-minded users.
“They don’t seem completely unguarded. I felt a presence.”
Jenna, who had a sharper sense than me, spoke up.
I looked at the tightly secured scabbard on my belt.
‘Did they really come here with just five people to take over this place?’
Originally, this ruin was occupied by a PVP-oriented user. He strengthened his forces with resources from here, imposed taxes on other masters, and ruled tyrannically. Eventually, the masters of the “Silver Star” guild, including Saechoom, united and fought a liberation war.
After winning the war, the Silver Star guild started accepting new members and sharing the ruins’ resources to avoid repeating the tyranny.
It was a heartwarming story.
‘Not completely non-combatant.’
Of course.
I looked out the window.
A crystal dozens of meters tall stood on a low plain.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
It became evening, and Anytng logged in.
[Loading complete.]
[T O U C H! (Select)]
As soon as the main screen appeared, the deployment completion screen and selection screen appeared.
[Ding!]
[Master, the deployment is complete.]
[Do you want to check the results?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
The island view appeared on Anytng’s screen. It was a ruin field. There, the heroes of the Silver Star guild were peacefully gathering resources. They were cutting rare trees, hunting animals, and mining ores.
Anytng watched the scene blankly for a while.
[Master, you can issue attack orders to the heroes.]
[The heroes will immediately start occupying the ruin! Do you want to give the attack order?]
[Yes / No (Select)]
Sigh.
I knew it.
Anytng declined the attack.
If they were PVP-oriented, he would have attempted plundering long ago.
[Master, an unidentified channel chat has been confirmed.]
[Do you want to check it?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
This time, a chat connection appeared. The screen changed immediately.
[75-219 Channel]
Saechoom> Is this Anytng?
Saechoom> I’m the master of the Silver Star guild, Saechoom ^^
Saechoom> I saw your heroes at our ruin, do you need resources?
Anytng typed on the virtual keyboard: They are needed for mission completion.
Saechoom> We confirmed it’s our sector. If you meet a few conditions, we can share them with you!
Saechoom> You’re probably aiming for the 50th floor. Feel free to stay here and join our guild if you like. I enjoy chatting with everyone. ^^
Saechoom> If you can do this, I’ll make an exception for you!
I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!