It Is Legal for an NPC Who Is Being Oppressed To Run Away

3 – Fleeing Mountain NPC (3)

The online game I reincarnated into is called Eight. As the name implies, eight.

An adventure unfolding in eight large and small nations on one continent. And although the open world isn’t very big, it’s still an open world game.

It wasn’t a particularly popular game, let alone a GOAT.

The main story had a gloomy dark fantasy setting, the character balance was a mess, and there were year-long content droughts when the devs got bored.

I still wonder to this day how a game like this lasted 8 years.

Of course, I wasn’t someone who played this trash game very passionately either.

I just came back when I heard there was a good event, leveled up my character a bit when a new episode came out after hearing about it, then quit again. I did this on and off.

If the servers had shut down midway, I wouldn’t have regretted it one bit.

And I don’t remember the story of Episode 4 Ponyia very well, but looking at our house now, one thing comes to mind.

My role.

I was originally a guide NPC for the raid where the protagonists and players come to this ruined country to defeat the mastermind that caused its downfall.

And when the story progresses, our house – the cottage we’re leaving now – appears, and there are two graves in front of the house.

I clearly remember the scene where the main character looks at the graves in front of our house and mutters, ‘Could they be the graves of someone precious?’

And me as the mountain NPC just staring blankly at it.

Well, after guiding them to the boss, I probably just get one-shotted by the boss and die. That was my role, right?

“Dad. I’ll be right back.”

“Rest well.”

My sister thinks we’ll come back here someday, so she says she’ll be right back. But I have no plans to return.

Why would I come back when it’s confirmed I’ll die if I do? Tell them to pick a new mountain NPC.

I mount my sister on my back and start walking up the mountain. I know where the next village is located, and we have enough money, so we can probably catch a carriage midway to travel.

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

“But where are we moving to?”

My little sister tugs my hair and tilts her head, seeming curious about our destination.

“We’re going to Igram first. You don’t know that place?”

“Igram?”

“Yes. It’s a place with lots of people and lots of work. There’s lots of tasty food too.”

“Yummy food? Skewers too?”

“Yes. The skewers will be much more delicious than the ones here.”

“Wow! Oppa, let’s go to Igram! Igram!”

“Okay.”

In the game, it was a distance you could reach in about 15 minutes by mount. With a warp, you could arrive in 20 seconds including loading time. But I don’t know if warps exist in this world. If I get a chance to ask about warps at the next village, I’ll ask and pay to travel faster if I can.

My happy sister sings a tune as we briskly walk along.

I normally didn’t let her go outside because of her frail health, so she seems excited to suddenly go on this long trip.

She’s so cute, isn’t she? I have to feed her well and raise her level safely.

[Villager: Level 2]

My sister also just shows as Villager in her status window. To be honest, it’s aggravating.

Her level is 2. How can those pig-like beings be over level 5, yet my sister is only level 2?

She’d die instantly if a goblin landed a hundred attacks on her.

In other words–

“Ira, eyes closed!”

“Closed!”

When I use the words from our hide and seek games at home, Ira immediately understands and covers her eyes. I lightly toss her into the air and immediately kick out with my back leg.

[Krrr!!!]

The one whose face caved in from my kick collapses and dies. And I lightly catch Ira as she falls back down.

“Ira, got you!”

“Ah! You got me!”

Although there’s nothing to catch or tag, Ira rubs her face against my chest, happy to be in my arms.

Oh our cute baby.

I ignored the magic stone and continued on our way, not wanting to show my sister useless corpses like dead goblins.

“Oppa. Does your arm hurt?”

“I’m fine. Does Ira not like Oppa carrying you?”

“Nooo, I like it.”

“Oppa likes carrying Ira too.”

“hehehehe.”

Our good sister worries my arms might hurt, but she’s really too malnourished and light as a feather.

One day I want to feed her properly so she can say ‘This pig! You can’t carry me cuz I’m too heavy!!’

‘…But my stats are trash even though I’m level 300.’

[-Class: Mountain NPC- Level: 300 Name: Jack. Age: 15.]

[Strength: 50+?]

[Agility: 40+?]

[Intelligence: 3+?]

[Luck: -30+??]

[HP: 300,000+???]

[MP: 0+0]

[Skill: Mountain’s Manager]

[Mountain’s Manager Effect: All stats slightly increase in the mountain you manage.]

[Managed Mountain: -Ponyia-]

For a player level 300, total stats should be over 400 normally. But mine is just 93. And my luck is even negative.

At least luck is the crit rate when you attack frontally, so being negative doesn’t matter much.

Converted to player level, it’s around early-mid level 50s. The level where you can barely solo a troll.

My total stats are awful, but this should be enough to act as a meat shield for my sister at least.

Thinking this, I continue carrying my sister towards the next village. We encountered monsters several times along the way, but they were all one-shotted. After all, goblins and trolls are level 5-15 mobs even in the game. There’s no way I can lose to them.

Level 50 is really f*cking low considering the game max level was 1100, but it’s enough that I won’t get beat by noob mobs. So I’m able to lightly walk on.

————

[Goblin (Deceased): Level 23]

————

For some reason, the status window floating above the goblin turning into a magic stone kept distracting Jack.

*

“…What? Can you repeat that?”

“There are no carriages that go all the way to Igram. The horses would die if they directly ran that whole distance.”

“Then how long would it take to walk there?”

“Walking… it’d probably take around 3 years?”

“……”

This is bullsh*t. A 15 minute distance in the game takes 3 years? Does that mean 1 year per 5 minute distance? Let’s see, if I tried going to the closest empire from here, that’d take 1 year too? Hold on. F*cking insane!!

I gave the coachman 100 coins as thanks for giving me lots of info, then went to book a room at the inn to rest before heading to the market.

To buy fruits and drinks for my sister to eat tomorrow.

‘As expected. Is my intelligence 3? I didn’t notice even though my sister pointed it out.’

Tomorrow, I move to obtain free transportation.

*

“My lord! That Jack bastard! He beat up all the villagers then ran away!”

“Huh? Jack? Who’s that?”

The fat village chief wrapping bandages around his face despite looking smug as he yells and points at an even bigger pig is a sight like pigs oinking at each other.

The guards nearby find it simply unpleasant to watch.

“That’s the mountain NPC from Ponyia mountain in our village!”

“…What? Mountain NPC? Why did he run away?”

“Oh, as you know, after I reduced the employment fee for the mountain NPC to 800 coins…”

“I see.”

The noble puts down the meat he was eating and starts thinking. The country provides around 10,000 coins per week as employment fees for mountain NPCs.

Of course. They are originally roles that would require dispatching adventurers to handle the monsters, but are instead taken care of by one mountain NPC, preventing accidents ahead of time.

Moreover, they act as guides for the army and adventurers when dungeons appear or stronger monsters emerge in the mountains. They are the sherpas, so the country does not treat them poorly either.

Isn’t that obvious? For those who always put their lives on the line. 800 coins is unthinkable on a national level.

However, Noble Bagjak Denpura reduced the fees as soon as he took office after hearing the previous mountain NPC had died and the next one was just 12 years old.

If the NPC complained about not receiving money, he could pay out then. And if he was too young to know better, then he could just keep exploiting him.

And as he expected, the guy worked for over 3 years only receiving 800 coins. To think this honeypot suddenly became violent and ran away. He sighed in regret.

“Hmm. So he was caught embezzling money…”

“W-Well my lord.”

“Hm?”

“The money he extorted from my wife…”

After the village chief explained the full situation, the noble’s expression quickly brightened.

“I see. Put out a bounty for him. Say that if he returns, gives back the money, and asks for forgiveness, I will rehire him as the mountain NPC. And increase his wages to 4,000 coins.”

“Understood. But how should the bounty be worded?”

“Disobeying noble orders! Indiscriminate assault. Robbery. That’s plenty!!”

“Yes sir.”

The attendant next to him didn’t think the mountain NPC’s actions were wrong, but simply bowed his head and walked out.

The money the village chief’s wife had given was just 20,000 coins. Barely 2 weeks of wages. He said the guy happily ran off with just that.

In other words, he still doesn’t know his real wage amount. A Ponyia person wouldn’t go anywhere else from Ponyia anyway, so he’ll come back when there’s a bounty out for him.

Thinking this, he happily went back to eating his meat, escorted by his guards.

————

[Occupation: Guard. Level: 16]

————

Oblivious to the gradually approaching signs of ruin.