I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

29 – The Second Hero (3)

Merilda, or rather, the wolf, spoke with a voice full of annoyance.

“What are you mumbling about now?”

“Just as I said, I wish for you to return the Executioner’s Sword.”

In contrast, the absolute figure of darkness, or rather the half-beast, continued to stare straight into her eyes with an endlessly gloomy expression.

“After all, didn’t you obtain the Executioner’s Sword by throwing a tantrum and taking it for yourself before the owner could even react?”

“…”

In response to the half-beast’s words, the wolf glared at the absolute figure of darkness with eyes now filled with anger, but she did not open her mouth willingly.

Thunk!

Her words were true.

The wolf felt jealousy toward the half-breed receiving expensive items from their master, leading to outbursts of envy and tantrums directed at the master.

Despite knowing that the Executioner’s Sword was a weapon she couldn’t wield, she foolishly acted out, and in the end, before handing the Executioner’s Sword to the half-breed, the master gave it to her.

…And like an idiot, the wolf was extremely pleased with that.

Crack!

Ten years ago, as the image of herself wanting to tear herself apart played in her mind, her mood plummeted further into despair.

It felt like a reminder of how impossible Merilda’s desires were right now.

“I hate it.”

That’s why Merilda decided to flee from the suffocating image of herself just by thinking about it.

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Fortunately, there was someone here who could help her escape.

“That’s mine.”

“You’ve only stolen pride from the master by making trouble for him.”

“Shut up…!”

Growling wolf.

The half-breed stared at her, then dispersed the darkness that lurked behind her.

Thunk-thud-thud-thud! Thunk!

From the darkness, numerous weapons scattered about, from spearheads to bizarre instruments that couldn’t be considered ordinary weapons, all strewn across the ground and embedded in the earth.

“Even if you hate it, I’ll take it.”

As the half-breed spoke, the wolf was already swinging claws at her.

Kwaaaaang!

A mighty roar.

Yet, the half-breed, who clearly had nothing in their hands, suddenly wielded a sword to block her attack.

“If you can, try.”

Merilda’s murmurs accompanied by her gleaming crimson eyes.

Kwa-aaang!

The cliff shattered into pieces.

───Kwoong-!

“?”

Kim Hyun-woo, who was walking towards the front of the tavern, momentarily turned his gaze and raised his head at the sound that seemed to be collapsing from a very distant place.

“I’ve been hearing that kind of sound quite often lately.”

Soon after recalling that such sounds had been more frequent recently, he shrugged his shoulders and moved into the tavern.

Squeak-

As he opened the door and entered, the view of the tavern was clearly different from Level 1.

The tavern from the previous stage, as he remembered, was quite cramped, but now, despite the fact that the level had clearly risen, the size of the tavern looked overall larger.

“There she is.”

Glancing around the changed tavern for a while, Kim Hyun-woo immediately turned his gaze to a girl sitting in a corner of the tavern.

She was wearing a robe, as if she didn’t want to reveal her identity, but the pink hair peeking out through the robe clearly displayed her presence. Without hesitation, Kim Hyun-woo moved towards her.

Perhaps because of the approaching footsteps, the girl who turned her head slightly due to the sound spoke.

“I want to recruit you. Is that possible?”

“…Yes?”

In response to Kim Hyun-woo, who opened his mouth without hesitation, she momentarily made a blank expression, then responded with a bewildered tone.

“Yes? Me?”

A voice that was clearly flustered to anyone who heard it.

Seeing Rani’s visibly confused appearance, Kim Hyun-woo felt a small doubt, but soon he realized what the issue was.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t introduce myself. I am Kim Hyun-woo, the Lord of Lartania.”

“Lord? You?”

“Yes. As a lord, I am making a recruitment offer to you.”

Kim Hyun-woo’s words.

Rani, in response, made a blank expression for a moment, then, like before, she showed a bewildered expression, but soon a subtle smile appeared on her face, as if she felt quite pleased with the recruitment offer.

“…I appreciate your words, but it seems impossible.”

However, after recalling something at some point, she, with a clouded expression accompanying the smile, soon expressed her refusal to Kim Hyun-woo.

[★Do you want to make a recruitment offer to the hero ‘Rani’? Y/N]

[※Caution: If you accept this hero to your territory, hostile territories will be created.]

[※Caution: This is a fugitive. Someone is tracking the target.]

[Antalia Territory Relationship -47]

[Malla Territory Relationship -25]

In that moment, Kim Hyunwoo stared blankly at the notification window that popped up at the perfect timing.

####

For Kim Hyunwoo, a hero with the same cooking specialty as the present Rani was quite a necessary existence.

Cooking heroes could provide buffs to soldiers or heroes, minimizing the loss of troops or hero injuries.

“Hmm.”

However, the reason Kim Hyunwoo momentarily stopped speaking when he made the recruitment proposal to Rani, despite the penalties he would incur when acquiring her, was not only due to the penalties but also because of the fundamental question that arose.

“Can this happen even to a 1-star hero?”

When Kim Hyunwoo played Arteil, there were occasions when he drew heroes from gacha or refreshed to get a new hero after some time had passed. Sometimes, due to the settings, the relationship level with NPC territories would decrease for those heroes.

But he had never seen a 1-star hero with damaged relationship status like this, so he hesitated with a puzzled expression on whether to try persuading Rani or give up.

“…Antalia Territory -42, Mala Territory -25. Well, judging by the fact that I don’t remember them, they don’t seem like significant territories.”

Kim Hyunwoo had identified territories to be cautious about when he first entered Arteil, and he remembered the names of those territories.

However, Antalia Territory and Mala Territory were not in Kim Hyunwoo’s memory at least. In other words, at least according to Kim Hyunwoo’s judgment, Antalia Territory and Mala Territory were either not important territories or were far away from the Lartania Territory.

“But the relationship status is bothering me.”

From what Kim Hyunwoo remembered, if the relationship status was -70 or higher, it was essentially a state where war could break out without surprise.

In other words, recruiting Rani wouldn’t necessarily bring enemies all over the continent like with Merilda.

However, Kim Hyunwoo was contemplating because the current situation in Lartania Territory was not conducive to making enemies, and above all, what he gained by taking that risk was a 1-star hero.

“…It’s still ambiguous.”

Even considering the high growth potential, it was unclear whether it was worth recruiting a 1-star hero, which would undoubtedly take a long time to raise, with penalties in the relationship status with other territories.

“Especially since she seems to be chased right now; I might need to take care of her immediately.”

Above all, Kim Hyunwoo confirmed that there was some special event or situation that she was involved in, something he hadn’t seen in Arteil before.

“Should I just give up?”

As he leaned toward the thought of not persuading Rani, the moment he was about to open his mouth.

Thud!

“Ugh, so annoying! Why are you bothering me all the way to this remote village?”

Abruptly, with the rough opening of the tavern door, someone entered the tavern.

“Oh, how?! “

At the same time, Rani, who was looking towards the door, reacted with a surprised expression, and Kim Hyunwoo turned his gaze towards the door.

“What, did you think I wouldn’t be able to find you if you ran away? You dumb girl.”

There, Kim Hyunwoo could see a blond man hurling profanities towards Rani.

A man who, at first glance, had a face that couldn’t be considered pleasant, and was grinning with a mocking smile on his lips.

“Isn’t it too soon for something like this to happen even before trying anything in the tracking event?”

Watching that sight, Kim Hyunwoo made an absurd expression, but the man paid no attention to it and approached Rani without hesitation, grabbing her wrist.

“Eugh-!”

Rani, who belatedly regained her senses, struggled to get away from the man.

But.

Smack!

“Kya!”

The man suddenly slapped her cheek.

Violence that was too familiar, swinging without hesitation.

Drool-!

“You think you’re just going to be sold without putting up a fight?”

The man who spoke those words while looking at Kim Hyunwoo, who was just silently watching the situation unfold with a stunned expression as Rani’s face remained lowered, said.

“Who are you?”

“…I am the Lord of Lartania.”

Kim Hyunwoo had guessed when he saw his appearance, but he made a dumbfounded expression and answered, and the man smirked and said.

“Oh, so you’re the village chief of this town?”

“…Village, town chief?”

“Oh~ I see, I see. I can roughly guess from your size. Did you also approach her with ulterior motives? You must have been full of desire, right? But sorry, this girl already has an owner.”

Snickering.

“Unfortunately, I can’t give her to you because I have to sell her as merchandise. Ah, well, if the village chief of this town shows me a little favor, who knows?”

While looking at the man who was blatantly talking, Kim Hyunwoo involuntarily opened his mouth and thought.

“What is this guy?”

Seeing how he presented himself as such a shameless rascal, Kim Hyunwoo was left speechless.

To the point that it made him genuinely wonder whether he should confront this guy or not.

But the man, who seemed like a rascal drawn on a plate, seemed indifferent to Kim Hyunwoo’s thoughts.

However, Kim Hyunwoo, who was contemplating what to do, was unaware of the chaos that would ensue.

“Tsk, can I even show kindness in this failing territory? I asked too much of the incompetent village chief.”

He said so, ridiculing him.

In that moment.

On the hill of the territory.

Due to the repeated clashes, the back hill had already transformed into a dull plateau, even though it couldn’t be seen from the territory.

Careful not to alert Kim Hyun-woo, they both focused on the territory, now with a firm grip on each other’s hair, already engaged in a gruesome fight.

“What?”

Without anyone saying anything, they simultaneously turned their gaze towards the territory.

…With eerie eyes.