Chapter 2: It’s just a peddler, Part 2

Lucia considered herself an ordinary girl.

Why the past tense? Because she barely remembered anything before now.

Only a single, impersonal sentence echoed in her mind: “Lucia was born to farmer-like parents and lived an ordinary life.”

But that was meaningless now.

The ‘memory’ of her village being destroyed by a sudden monster attack, her family killed.

The ‘memory’ of escaping the monsters and fleeing to the back mountain. And now, a shining white sword, beckoning her to grasp it, as monsters pursued her.

Having witnessed all this, she knew the nearby trees, with their relatively smooth bark and few branches, offered no escape.

There was nowhere to hide. There was only one thing she could do, one thing she had to do, to survive.

Lucia grasped the shining sword.

[Tutorial commencing. Skip?
Y/N
15sec…]

A torrent of information flooded her mind.

“Ugh…”

A terrible headache, like thick needles piercing her brain, made Lucia clutch her head.

Tutorial. Skip.

Stats. Quest. Chat.

Unfamiliar strings of words were forcibly imprinted into her mind.

Things she shouldn’t understand, she now did. With each new understanding, the headache lessened, but the dizziness remained.

And the monster, a mindless enemy, wouldn’t wait for her recovery.

“Grrrr…”

Gray fur covered its body, interspersed with patches of blue.

A wolf-like beast standing on two legs. Distinctly different from the goblins that frequented the area. A monster she’d never seen before.

But Lucia knew it now, regardless of her prior knowledge.

[Raagand Lv. 5]

“Grrrrrr…!”

The string of characters floating above the monster’s head revealed its identity.

Spotting Lucia, the beast let out a low growl and charged.

“Grrrr…!”

[Tutorial: Monster Village Raid.
Your hometown was destroyed by a monster called Raagand.
Defeat the Raagand to survive!
Raagand defeated 0/5]

Through the translucent window floating before her eyes, the Raagand’s jaws lunged.

“Hngh…!”

Lucia, her body exhausted, rolled to the side, sword in hand.

The Raagand clawed at the spot where she’d been, then quickly located her again.

“Hah…”

Mindless red eyes.

Facing the characteristic savagery of a monster head-on, Lucia flinched but steeled her resolve.

She planted her sword in the ground, using it as support to push herself up.

“Ugh… Haah…”

A sharp pain shot through her side, likely from a branch encountered during her roll, making her grimace.

The Raagand, without pause, charged again.

Ten steps, nine steps, eight steps.

The distance between them closed.

Lucia pulled her sword free and raised it, her stance awkward. Yet, she felt a certainty.

She, a country girl unfamiliar with swords, could wield this oversized blade.

[Swordsmanship Lv.1 is…]

Four steps. Three steps.

Now, it was upon her. The Raagand coiled, preparing to leap.

Lucia didn’t remain idle.

She raised the sword’s hilt above her head, pointing the blade towards the Raagand, her small frame shielded behind it.

“Grrrr!”

Clang!

The Raagand’s claws clashed against the blade.

Its slight movement to avoid the thrusting sword disrupted its balance.

Lucia, also momentarily staggered by the impact, used the sword for support.

She swung the sword at the Raagand, less like a swordsman and more like someone wielding a club.

A crude motion, hardly deserving the name “swordsmanship,” her small body practically being swung by the weapon.

Yet, it possessed lethal force.

“Hah…!”

“Kyeet!”

The sword whistled through the air.

The Raagand raised its arm to block the blow.

The sword bit in, stopped by thick hide and muscle.

She lacked strength. It was only natural.

A sufficiently sharp sword could cut with minimal force. But a child’s body lacked even that, necessitating technique.

Like children skipping stones, using their whole bodies, not just arm strength, Lucia put her weight behind the sword.

Not just the force of her arm, but her entire body, adding rotation to the swing.

She pivoted, channeling all her strength into the sword.

Rip

A tearing sound came from the Raagand’s forearm as it tried to rush Lucia, ignoring the weight of the sword.

“Krrrk…!”

The Raagand stopped, howling in pain.

Crack

The sound of something solid breaking.

Again, the sound of tearing muscle.

And then,

Thud!

“Grub? Gblurbb…”

Thump

The severed arm, spurting blood, landed on the ground.

The Raagand’s gurgling cries mixed with the sound of blood bubbling in its throat as the sword lodged halfway through its neck.

Then, it collapsed.

The long green bar floating above the monster turned completely red.

The Raagand fell forward, blood gushing from its neck. Lucia’s legs gave way, and she sank to the ground.

Just two exchanges. Despite their brevity, they had utterly drained her. Her arm ached from the forced swings.

Ding

A clear chime sounded, and the translucent window reappeared before her.

[Raagand defeated 1/5]

It confirmed the Raagand’s demise. One out of five defeated.

A remarkable feat for a former country girl.

However, one out of five meant four remained.

“Grrrr…”

“Grrrr…”

For Lucia to survive, she had to kill the remaining four.

Drawn by the scent of blood and the sounds of struggle, the scattered Raagands gathered. Four of them.

“Sigh…”

Facing a larger mountain after climbing one, Lucia sighed rather than despairing.

Life was truly unfair.

“Haah… Haah…”

One leg refused to cooperate. Her torn ankle throbbed.

She planted her sword and pulled herself forward, using it like a crutch. A trail of blood marked her path.

The burning in her wounds turned to a chilling numbness, likely from blood loss.

[Raagand defeated 5/5]

Thankfully, the faint translucent window indicated no more enemies.

One might question the reliability of this mysterious window, but there was no choice but to trust it.

Mindlessly, she followed its guidance to the next stage of the ‘tutorial.’

As her body grew cold and her consciousness faded, a dilapidated hut came into view.

The door and window were worn, planks were missing from the walls, and mushrooms grew on the door, a testament to its long abandonment.

Only the ‘Shop’ sign hanging by the door looked new.

As soon as she saw the sign, the translucent window shimmered and new text appeared.

Creak

A girl stood with her hand on the screaming hinges and doorknob, long unused.

“Haah… Haah…”

“…”

Exhausted, Lucia focused on the girl.

Long hair, a curvy figure, a pouch at her waist. And then, half-closed eyes that seemed to mock her, and a sly smile.

“…Who are you…?”

The reddish glint in her eyes, similar to the monsters, sent a shiver down Lucia’s spine.

Her grip tightened on her sword. Instinctual hostility flared.

No name tag appeared like with the Raagands. Was she human? No, it wasn’t certain yet.

If she was a monster, could Lucia win? That, too, was uncertain.

But one thing was clear: in this situation, facing an unknown entity with rising hostility, Lucia desperately hoped this girl wasn’t dangerous, that she could help.

The girl’s gaze swept over Lucia, taking in her entire being. The feeling of being scrutinized made Lucia shrink back slightly.

When the girl’s lips curved into a smile again, as if she’d discovered something, Lucia felt a chill run down her spine.

As anxiety welled up and Lucia raised her sword, ready to attack, the shimmering window reappeared before her.

[Tutorial: Use the Shop!]

“Tutorial… shop…?”

As Lucia unconsciously read the words aloud, the girl cleared her throat.

“Welcome~ I’m a peddler. Looking for anything in particular?”

She greeted Lucia.

“Welcome~ I’m a peddler. Looking for anything in particular?”

Wow. Finally.

This was one of the default lines spoken by the shop NPC when a player entered the shop.

And it was the very first line upon entering for the first time.

Judging by the girl muttering about tutorials, was the guide active? Did that mean this was still part of the game?

It didn’t matter. The important thing was knowing where I was in the main story, that I had finally met the main character.

Our protagonist, fresh from clearing the Raagand raid event at the very beginning of the game, just stood there awkwardly, listening to me without entering the shop.

I vaguely recalled the protagonist’s inner thoughts mentioning Kairin’s suspicious nature… but didn’t she enter right away…?

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming in?”

At my words, fear flashed in the girl’s eyes.

Our protagonist stared blankly for a moment, then took a deep breath and stepped inside.

There was no need to be so scared.

Anyway, here we go. The start of my first real business transaction.

Didn’t the tutorial involve buying a health potion?

I took out my notebook and opened it.