A Familiar Stranger

The neighboring game where Azrael appears as an NPC, Knights of Dark Ages, is a game set in a somewhat fantasy world.

A standard fantasy worldview where elves, demons, magical creatures, and monsters appear was truly charming.

But that game is…. a game that progresses mainly through fighting humans.

Not only in PVP but also in forced progress quests like the main scenario war, you end up fighting for your life against NPCs who look like living humans no matter how you look at them.

Because the entire world is in a state of war, no matter where you go on the continent, it is far from peace and safety… it is that kind of virtual reality game with dark and gloomy colors.

Knights of Dark Ages, which received an adult rating due to its cruelty, was even embroiled in controversy over its violence at the time of its release.

The immersion of the story was amazing and the sense of impact from skills was the best among games of a similar genre, so the controversy subsided in an instant though.

…To put it simply, it was a game that was at the extreme opposite of my taste.

I started Knights of Dark Ages boldly with the sole determination to meet Azrael, but I had to stop the game seven times due to mental shock even during the tutorial stage.

Not only that, after starting the main quest, I could not even finish the first chapter before I was diagnosed with brainwave instability by the virtual reality device and had my account forcibly suspended.

From that day on, I became a strange guy who acted pathetically while calling out Azrael’s name every day.

Thinking about it makes me feel miserable.

As I muttered miserably, Yeonparang, the main dealer of our raid party who lives in my house because he does not have one in-game, let out a smirk as if it were ridiculous and funny while working on his tailoring experience.

“Azrael…….”

“You crazy guy…. Seriously, how many years has it been? I even memorized his name because of you. It was not even a story with much impact, so why are you like that?”

“Did you just say Azrael is a character with no presence? Do you want to be a homeless guy starting today?”

I pointed my staff at Yeonparang.

Yeonparang watched the landlord’s tyranny quietly before letting out a scoff.

“When did I say Azrael is a character with no presence? I said the story has no impact. Forget it, what kind of logical conversation would I have with an Azrael otaku who shouts Azrael with every breath. If you were not the only user in this game with all professions at max level, I would have kicked you out of the party, seriously.”

I smiled gently.

“I can kick you out of this house right now though.”

“Master, Azrael is truly the only god-tier character of this century.”

“Good boy.”

I bickered with Yeonparang for a long time like that before I think I fell asleep just like that in the game at some point.

When I woke up and opened my eyes, for some reason, I was lying in the middle of an unknown forest map in Knights of Dark Ages.

It was not very difficult to realize that this place was not inside the game I knew.

The maps in Knights of Dark Ages are dark compared to The Hunters.

As a game with a concept of war and a dark age, it was close to achromatic and the sun tended to have a darker color.

To put it lightly, it is like an eighth-grader syndrome worldview, and to put it heavily, it is a world without dreams or hope.

Even the air is different.

While The Hunters always has a fragrant scent of grass and wild flowers in the air, this side smelled of ash, metal, and fire.

Even after realizing that I was inside Knights of Dark Ages, I rolled my head for a long time to understand this situation.

Even if I tilted my body to the right, then to the left, and back to the right again, I could not understand this situation at all.

Right now, my hair was long and the color of amethyst.

In other words, this body I was currently moving was my avatar from The Hunters.

But I am in Knights of Dark Ages right now….

Is it a second collaboration event?

I came up with a somewhat plausible assumption.

When I waved my hand and opened the profile window, the usual profile window opened.

[<Whisperer : Lv. 150> Andrealphus]

[Health : 759,553]

[Mana : 958,355]

[Status : Normal]

[Satiety : Normal]

When I snapped my fingertips, the inventory opened exactly like usual.

When I put the staff into the inventory and took out a medical book, I could visually confirm that the profession next to the nickname changed and a stat bonus was added to the healer skills.

I stared at the stat window and this time held a wand in my hand.

The profession changed as expected.

Nothing was different from usual.

No matter how I think about it, it must be one of the three: an error, a collaboration event, or a dream.

Still, it did not seem like the last situation.

It was too realistic to be a dream.

But can this kind of error occur in a virtual reality game?

In the first place, The Hunters and Knights of Dark Ages are games from different companies.

I rubbed the back of my neck and turned on the friend list.

…0 people online.

0 people?

I turned off the friend list reflexively and turned it back on, but the number I saw before my eyes did not change.

0 people online.

“No way…?”

[0/2237 people online]

I instinctively realized that this situation was not ordinary.

The number of 2237 in-game friends is not a small number.

While playing the game, it was my first time seeing a phrase saying 0 out of 2237 people are online.

Should I try to log out?

Then it will become clear.

Since I can just go out of the game and check if the second collaboration event started as a surprise and then log back in.

While I am searching, I can also check if I can meet Azrael.

If I can meet him, if I can meet him, I just need to log back in and quickly do the collaboration event quest.

I tried to log out without hesitation.

[You cannot log out during a quest event.]

And as if it were perhaps obvious, I did not log out.

Should I calm down and think for a moment.

Did a quest get accepted automatically while I was sleeping?

Or, did the collaboration event update while I was connected and the event started?

Among these types of event quests where you cannot log out, there are cases where the ‘online’ status does not appear in the friend list.

If everyone is in the middle of doing the event collaboration quest and thus does not appear in the friend list, it is also understandable that there are 0 friends online.

That must be it, right?

I forced myself to be convinced and stood up from my seat.

After coming to a conclusion that this must be a forced-progress event collaboration, I first opened the map.

As expected, nothing was displayed on the map and only the surroundings of where I was currently standing were drawn as if newly sketched.

Just like when you leave the beginner’s village and enter a new area.

“Which direction would be better to go…….”

In times like this, it is best to just pick a direction and go where your gut tells you.

I moved my steps toward the east.

After walking for a long time, I finally encountered something.

…It was a monster.

Is this not crazy?

I suppressed the urge to curse and swung my wand toward the monsters.

Every time I swung the short and thin wand, strong fire magic was shot out from its tip.

Pop!

-Kik, kikikikik, kigigigigig.

As if they were not strong monsters, the monsters disappeared as if melting as soon as the magic touched them.

The monsters all had the graphics of Knights of Dark Ages.

Yes, the humanoid appearance that makes me feel unpleasant!

This pack of monsters that looked like [Kobolds] had a humanoid appearance to the point where it felt realistic, except for the fact that their skin was green and their height was only about half of mine.

At least it was better since these guys were clearly monsters, but the fact that they brought the monsters of Knights of Dark Ages exactly as they were means…….

Don’t tell me a situation will arise in this forced quest where I have to fight humanoid NPCs instead of monsters?

There should be no way to break out in a cold sweat since I am inside a game, but for some reason, it felt like a cold sweat was running down my back.

Becoming annoyed by the monsters that kept appearing in small numbers, I finally stopped dealing with them one by one and began to chant a field-range magic.

As I chanted a fairly strong magic where meteors strike a wide field, the monsters rushed toward me as if they felt a sense of crisis.

It was a fairly long chant, but there was no one capable of successfully attacking beyond my shield item that I had prepared for solo play.

After a large effect and massive damage passed, the monsters perished leaving only items behind.

I wondered what kind of items these monsters would drop, so I bent my waist and picked up the items myself.

[Kobold Armor] [Kobold Ring] [Kobold Dagger] [Kobold Leather]…….

“……It is complete trash items though?”