Chapter 20: An Unlikely Ally

‘Strange.’

Seyul was quite taken aback.

He might not know the game’s storyline, but he wasn’t oblivious.

He had a rough idea of the role of a monster village, filled only with enemies.

Yet, despite him not laying a finger on it, the village was already in ruins.

It was definitely unusual.

Moreover, he couldn’t shake off a sense of dejavu.

Before crossing the river, he had encountered a similar situation.

Upon arriving at a new location, everything had already been dealt with by someone else.

‘Gerard.’

The forsaken land where everyone slaughtered each other, enthralled by the forbidden arts.

The werewolf who had survived to the bitter end.

The scene now was eerily similar to when he had met him.

“Huh.”

“What is it?”

As he glanced around just in case, the monsters also turned their attention to him.

Those who had been groaning while sitting on the ground were startled at the sudden appearance of Seyul.

“Have they already sent someone to finish us off?”

“No.”

“Look, it’s a human.”

“Why is a human here?”

The monsters, despite their injuries, struggled to their feet.

They scowled fiercely, surrounding Seyul.

“What business does a human have here?”

“Just passing through.”

Seyul replied indifferently, his gaze fixed on the monster who had asked.

“It’s just on my way, so don’t mind me.”

“Would you be able to ignore a stranger casually walking through your village?”

The monster retorted incredulously.

It was such an overwhelmingly logical argument that even the viewers watching couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Get lost, human!”

“Did a s*ave escape?”

“I’m already pissed off, and now a human shows up.”

The monsters all revealed their hostility at once.

Given that their village had just been wrecked, it was only natural for them to react aggressively when a human nonchalantly claimed to be passing through.

They were ready to use force to drive him out.

[Hey, just let him go!]

[Oh no, they’re all going to die again!]

[Poor monsters.]

Seeing Seyul reach for his spear, the viewers silently offered their condolences to the monsters.

But at that moment, salvation arrived.

“Stop, all of you!”

A monster appeared just in time to prevent his comrades from making the biggest mistake of their lives.

His body was covered in scales, and he had a long tail.

He was a Lizardman, a lower-ranked monster that looked like a fusion of a reptile and a human.

As he stopped the others from attacking, the monsters protested indignantly.

“But Koras, this guy says he’s just going to walk through our village in times like these!”

“And what of it? This isn’t a fortress. If he’s merely passing by, there’s no reason to stop him.”

“B-but given the situation… And look at him, he’s a human, yet dressed like a s*ave…”

“That, too, is not much of an issue. Right now, we and they are in the same predicament.”

Koras, the Lizardman, spoke bitterly.

Hearing those words, the monsters’ expressions instantly hardened.

After some hesitation, they eventually clicked their tongues and backed away.

“If we startled you, I apologize.”

Now alone, Koras spoke politely.

“These villagers normally wouldn’t attack humans on sight just because they’re slaves. ”

“But given the current situation, their nerves are on edge. I apologize on their behalf.”

He bowed his head respectfully.

His courteous demeanor left the viewers stunned.

[What the…?]

[Who is this guy?]

Even hardcore fans of Warrior of the Gods had never seen a monster like him before.

[Was there ever a Lizardman like this?]

[I have no idea.]

[For a low-rank monster, he’s strangely polite.]

[Aren’t monsters supposed to attack players on sight?]

[The way he talks is weird.]

[Not attacking humans just because they’re slaves? That’s new.]

[Monsters usually charge at players like lunatics!]

A strange village and a never-before-seen, courteous NPC.

The situation was full of oddities, intriguing both the viewers and Seyul himself.

“Since you apologized, it’s fine.”

Seyul lowered the spear he had subtly raised.

He found it intriguing that this was the first time he had encountered a monster that wasn’t outright hostile toward him.

“You said your name was Koras? What exactly happened here?”

Seeing that they could communicate, Seyul asked about the situation. Koras’s expression darkened.

“High-ranking monsters from a nearby city came here.”

“For what reason?”

“They wanted to take us away.”

Koras spoke with a tremble in his voice.

“When we refused and resisted, they destroyed our village and left us in this state.”

” They beat us mercilessly, but we endured with everything we had.”

Seyul tilted his head in confusion, his small frame making the gesture appear unexpectedly cute.

Even with the explanation, some things didn’t quite make sense to him.

“Why would those high-ranking monsters try to take you away? And why did you all resist so desperately?”

Destroying an entire village just to take some monsters with them?

And refusing to go even after seeing their power?

Neither side’s actions made logical sense.

When Seyul pointed this out, Koras’s face took on a sorrowful expression.

“It’s because of a certain technique that has been spreading through this land recently a cursed ability that allows the user to absorb the power of those they kill.”

It was an explanation Seyul had heard before.

“Because of this cursed Drain technique, everything has become a mess. Now, anyone can learn it, and everyone is killing each other.”

“Again with this?”

Seyul’s delicate face twisted into a frown.

The Drain ability had already caused him trouble twice before, and now it was surfacing again.

The viewers reacted with the same frustration.

[Drain, is it you again?]

[Ugh, seriously!]

[It’s like this skill became mass-produced overnight.]

[Literally anyone can learn it now.]

[Is that goblin master senile or something?]

A skill that was initially exclusive to players was now appearing everywhere.

And not only that, it was causing serious problems.

But Koras’s explanation was only the tip of the iceberg.

“Fighting back against lesser monsters is one thing, but the real problem is the high-ranking ones.

The high-ranking monsters who rule over the nearby city have taken an interest in Drain.

“They’ve been rounding up lesser monsters like us to use as sacrifices.”

Even a lesser monster like Gérard had gained significant strength from Drain.

If high-ranking monsters, who were already powerful, started using it, the effect would be even greater.

That was why they fabricated a justification to take the monsters of this village away.

The villagers, realizing the true motive, resisted, leading to the destruction of their home.

Not that they actually fought back they simply refused to go, lying down in protest.

They had no chance of winning.

Because no matter what they did, their attacks wouldn’t land.

“As you know, human, ordinary attacks do not work against high-ranking demons. ”

“If an attack doesn’t contain magic, it’s completely nullified, which meant we had no choice but to endure the beating.”

Koras spoke bitterly, his frustration clear.

Hearing this, Seyul’s eyes gleamed.

‘It’s just like me as a Melusine.’

Just as the high-ranking monsters in this game nullified regular attacks, the high-ranking beings of this otherworld had similar abilities.

It was a standard trait among high-ranking races.

That was why normal attacks were useless against them something that had worked in Seyul’s favor many times.

‘Maybe they took inspiration from the real-world kaiju for this setting.’

Seyul tilted his head for a moment before speaking.

“So that’s what happened. Thanks, now I have a general idea of the situation.”

“There’s no need to thank me. You should hurry and leave.”

Koras looked at Seyul with concern.

“With your current state, I’d tell you to rest here, but we don’t have the luxury for that.

“They let us go last time, but we don’t know when they’ll return. You need to escape before then.”

“And what about you guys?”

“We have nowhere to run. But you’re human you can still flee to human territory. Hurry and go.”

To the monsters, a human s*ave was just food waiting to be eaten.

Koras, seeing his own plight reflected in Seyul’s circumstances, sympathized with him.

He genuinely worried for Seyul’s safety.

But as they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

“Koras, village chief! We won’t be leaving empty-handed today!”

Before Seyul could leave, the high-ranking monsters from the nearby city arrived once more.

‘They’re not human.’

At first glance, Seyul almost mistook them for humans.

Unlike the lesser monsters, high-ranking ones had humanoid appearances, and many were strikingly handsome.

There were six of them, all dressed in noble attire, strutting into the village with arrogant airs.

“Ugh!”

“D-Damn you…”

The ones responsible for destroying the village and brutalizing its people had returned.