NM 14

Chapter 14

Hye-yeon tried hard to regain her composure.

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And she failed.

Her best effort consisted of desperately dodging the giant sparrow’s short beak as it snapped open wide.

She even opened her inventory and threw out several wild grape desserts, but the sparrow merely smacked its lips and showed no mercy. If anything, it seemed to have recognized Hye-yeon as a snack dispenser that produced treats whenever it pecked her.

Praying desperately for Kingsmaker to arrive soon, Hye-yeon hid between the roots of the trees.

The sparrow became furious.

The standoff, which felt both short and unbearably long, ended anticlimactically the moment Kingsmaker appeared.

“…Why is a sparrow here…?”

The giant sparrow chirped a few times.

Then, as soon as Kingsmaker approached, it fled without even looking back.

Helping the emotionally and physically battered Hye-yeon out from between the roots, Kingsmaker looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Duck. I never imagined a sparrow would show up during those few moments….”

“It’s okay… It was cute. But it was also terrifying.”

Kingsmaker looked at her with obvious pity.

Fortunately, while following Kingsmaker to the guild house, Hye-yeon recovered from the shock by admiring the various creatures they encountered along the way.

Small sparrows.

Large sparrows.

Leaves as large as human bodies.

Squirrels that looked as if they had wrapped themselves in cotton candy.

Still…

The giant sparrows remained terrifying.

“Ta-da! We’ve arrived!”

Kingsmaker spread her arms wide and turned toward Hye-yeon.

Behind her stood a castle.

An ancient fortress deep within an untouched forest, so overgrown that it looked as though nature itself had swallowed it whole.

Its blue roof blended beautifully with both the sky above and the surrounding woods.

Thick ivy covered the weathered stone walls.

And guarding the entrance were not people…

…but densely intertwined vines.

As Kingsmaker approached, the vines retreated as though they possessed their own will, opening the way.

Hye-yeon couldn’t help but stare in amazement.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine how much time and money had gone into obtaining a place like this.

“Come on, Duck! Hurry inside!”

“Am I really allowed in?”

Because of how casually Kingsmaker had mentioned it, Hye-yeon had assumed this was a small social guild.

But no matter how she looked at it…

This was a massive guild.

Could outsiders really be invited in so easily?

Unlike Hye-yeon, who hesitated, Kingsmaker looked thrilled.

As she opened the doors, a butterfly drifted out through the gap as though welcoming them.

“A butterfly?”

Why would butterflies come out of a castle?

Hearing Hye-yeon’s puzzled voice, Kingsmaker puffed out her chest proudly and opened the doors wide.

Just as she’d hoped, Hye-yeon’s eyes widened at the sight inside.

Once again, Kingsmaker felt that every penny she’d spent had been worth it.

“Well, Duck? Isn’t it amazing?”

“…”

Hye-yeon couldn’t answer immediately.

At most, she’d expected an extravagant lobby.

Instead…

An enormous indoor greenhouse unfolded before her eyes.

Countless butterflies fluttered through the air.

“It’s… amazing.”

Thinking about the amount of wealth required to build this greenhouse made her dizzy.

But it really was beautiful.

Kingsmaker guided her toward the center.

Warm sunlight poured through the transparent glass dome overhead.

Beside a table decorated with white flowering vines sat a fluffy white rabbit.

“…?”

There’s… a rabbit?

Just as Hye-yeon wondered whether people normally kept herbivores in greenhouses, the rabbit hopped toward her.

She immediately flinched.

“What’s wrong, Duck?”

“It’s just… that fighting rabbit came to mind.”

The Combat Rabbit she’d hunted during Nol Village’s meat quest had certainly lived up to its name.

For the sake of preserving her HP, Hye-yeon quietly took a few steps backward.

Fortunately, the rabbit ignored her completely and wandered off with a passing deer.

“There are a lot of animals here.”

“Oh! You can let Ethte roam freely too!”

Hye-yeon briefly worried about Ethte ruining the landscaping.

But after seeing rabbits and deer casually munching on the grass, she quickly stopped worrying.

The Ethte she summoned from My Lovely Home also seemed to enjoy the place.

Its beautiful golden eyes soon became drowsy as it wandered through the greenhouse.

Watching the unicorn, Hye-yeon nearly forgot why they’d come.

Kingsmaker reminded her.

“First, shall I give you a crash course on classes?”

“Yes!”

Seeing Hye-yeon’s bright, attentive eyes, Kingsmaker smiled fondly.

This was why raising newbies was so enjoyable.

It had been a long time since she’d felt this excitement.

After gauging Hye-yeon’s gaming knowledge, Kingsmaker organized her thoughts.

“First of all, classes in this game are just the foundation. To properly build your character, you need three things: classes, weapons, and titles.”

“Titles?”

Classes and weapons made sense.

But titles?

Thinking back, Hye-yeon remembered an achievement she’d earned.

[<Sleeve Stuffing…? I’ve Fallen Victim to It, Ugh!>]

“…”

Surely titles weren’t things like that.

A terrible feeling briefly crossed her mind.

She firmly denied it.

“As you’ve probably noticed from your status window, levels don’t exist until you obtain a class. Without a class, you can’t level up.”

“…That’s right!”

Actually…

She hadn’t known that.

“Of course, because the game offers so much freedom, it’s technically possible to choose ‘Beginner’ as a class. It’s complicated, though. You said you planned to get a proper class, right?”

“Yes!”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Not yet.”

Kingsmaker paused.

Then she pulled out a sketchbook from her inventory and spread it open.

Drawn across the pages were stick figures.

A stick figure holding a sword.

A stick figure holding a staff.

Several more stick figures representing various professions.

Seeing what was clearly prepared in advance, Hye-yeon realized that Kingsmaker belonged to the same category as That Nameless Person.

“Okay, if you look here, classes are broadly divided into combat and production. The skills you gain through classes are limited, and most of them serve as basic skills—the foundation. To put it simply: ‘I want to heal,’ ‘I want to attack,’ or ‘I want to craft things.'”

“I see.”

“The next important thing is weapons. Regardless of class, you can use any weapon you want. Whatever you’re holding adapts itself according to your class. For example…”

Kingsmaker thought for a moment.

Then she picked up a red crayon and drew flames in the hands of a cooking stick figure.

“It means something like a chef wielding a flamethrower is perfectly acceptable.”

“…That’s incredibly free… isn’t it?”

In other words…

No class restricted what weapons you could use.

Hye-yeon nodded.

“And the most important thing is titles. This is why I said classes are merely the foundation. Classes nurture your basic skills and the additional skills granted by titles you’ll earn in the future.”

“You gain skills from titles?”

“Exactly. For example, my class is Mage.”

Hye-yeon’s gaze naturally drifted toward the black scythe on Kingsmaker’s back.

“My weapon is a scythe. One of my titles is ‘Gentle Breeze Yodel Song.’ The skill granted by that title increases attack speed and attack power whenever I sing.”

Kingsmaker tried to demonstrate by swinging her scythe.

Hye-yeon hurriedly stopped her.

The explanation was more than enough.

Kingsmaker looked disappointed.

“It would’ve been easier to understand if you’d seen it….”

“No. Words are sufficient.”

Please don’t destroy the beautiful greenhouse.

Fortunately, Kingsmaker accepted Hye-yeon’s desperate plea and continued.

“But if a baker obtained this title, then instead of attack speed, it would reduce crafting time.”

The more Hye-yeon listened, the deeper her worries became.

Just because classes were foundations didn’t mean they weren’t important.

If she’d chosen blindly, it could’ve been disastrous.

Honestly, the fact that Yodel Song wasn’t merely a concept but an actual skill was the most memorable thing she’d learned so far.

Keeping that thought to herself, she looked over the sketchbook.

The first major decision was whether to choose combat or production.

“If I choose a production class… there would be a lot of restrictions, right?”

“Hm? What kind?”

“Hunting… combat? If it’s a production class, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to go out much.”

It didn’t seem like anyone would invite chefs or tailors on hunting parties.

She wondered which option would be more fun.

But Kingsmaker immediately shattered her assumptions.

“Production classes hunt too.”

“…What?”

“They’re good at it.”

Kingsmaker pointed toward the chef stick figure breathing bright red flames.

“Wasn’t that just a metaphor for aggressive cooking?”

Kingsmaker shook her braided hair vigorously.

“If you’re still unsure, should I bring over some guild members to show you directly? That’s perfect! I’ll show you!”

“Huh? That’s not really nec—”

Before Hye-yeon could finish speaking, a player burst into the greenhouse.

The timing was suspiciously fast, as though they’d been waiting nearby.

Hadn’t Kingsmaker said nobody would be around at this hour?

Several others entered more leisurely behind him.

Kingsmaker addressed the first arrival.

“I called everyone because our newbie has questions! You’re not busy, right? We’re totally. Free.”

“Of course! How could we not come when a newbie is curious? We’re always. Free. Extremely, incredibly. Free.”

The red-haired man emphasized the word free repeatedly.

Dressed in gleaming white armor, his class was obvious without explanation.

Among the others, only the chef’s outfit clearly indicated their profession.

In other words, out of five people, only two dressed in ways matching their classes.

The woman in a black suit and the man wearing clothes similar to the beginner outfit Hye-yeon had received at the start offered no clues.

And the remaining person…

As Hye-yeon examined each of them one by one, she suddenly jumped to her feet.

“The Fairy of Ethte Forest!”

The words escaped her instinctively.

Only afterward did she clamp her mouth shut and glance around awkwardly.

If he was here…

Then he wasn’t actually a forest fairy.

Unfortunately, everyone’s attention had already turned toward the man.

Despite becoming the center of attention, the man merely interacted with Ethte the unicorn without reacting.

Suppressing laughter, Kingsmaker asked him,

“Our Guild Master, since when did you become a fairy?”

“I’m human.”

The exchange flowed naturally.

The one who broke the awkward atmosphere was the man in white armor.

“Unfortunately, Newbie, this gentleman turned out to be human.”

His voice boomed loudly.

Hye-yeon nodded stiffly.

Compared to learning that he was the Guild Master…

Mistaking him for a fairy NPC wasn’t actually the most shocking part.

Still…

Shouting “Forest Fairy!” at an actual person was honestly embarrassing.

Especially when the person involved seemed completely unfazed.

Hye-yeon tried very hard to pretend nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, Ethte circled around the man happily, swishing its long tail in greeting.

Remembering that Ethte’s affection toward her during their first meeting had been –3%, Hye-yeon couldn’t help feeling slightly betrayed.