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Chapter 8
“……”
When she blinked, the story unfolding before her eyes came to an end.
Heeyeon looked around the village.
The villagers all wore calm expressions.
But now that she knew the hidden story, there were things she couldn’t help noticing.
There were children and elderly people in the village.
But no young adults.
For a game story, this really knows how to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
To think the starting village would already have a story like this…
As the villager who had been waiting patiently still stood there, Heeyeon asked one final question.
“Did that lord ever receive punishment?”
Despite the sudden question, the villager showed no confusion.
For them, there had only ever been one person deserving punishment.
“…No. He merely fulfilled his duty of collecting taxes and used the resources within his territory.”
He paused.
“We were simply one of those resources.”
With those words, he turned and walked away.
There was no anger left in his retreating figure.
No resentment.
He had no need for meaningless comfort.
Heeyeon, who had unconsciously raised a hand to console him, slowly lowered it again.
Nameless Lord approached her and asked,
“It wasn’t exactly a cheerful story, was it?”
“…No.”
“You’ll notice this as you keep playing, but this game is realistic in some strange ways.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“Sometimes realistic enough to make you uncomfortable.”
That had been one of the controversies surrounding Märchen Horizon ever since launch.
People often played games to escape reality.
So forcing players to confront reality even within a game could easily be called cruel.
And yet—
It was also true that this was one of the most beloved games around.
There was a reason people said masterpieces drove both fans and haters insane.
Those who cursed it and those who adored it were equally captivated.
In that sense, it really was an incredible game.
Heeyeon merely nodded and started walking.
She intended to head for the mine.
Nameless Lord waved at her, but she didn’t bother replying.
***
From behind, her retreating figure looked slightly dejected.
Watching her disappear into the forest, Nameless Lord sighed.
Märchen Horizon wasn’t nearly as innocent and childlike as its name suggested.
Even if she chose not to clear Nol’s main quest right now, she wouldn’t be able to avoid unpleasant stories forever.
There were unavoidable quests.
Main quests.
Job quests.
Eventually, everyone had to face them.
She’s finally a newbie worth remembering…
But if this story makes her quit…
Well… even if it’s disappointing, it can’t be helped.
No matter how hard people tried, some newbies simply never settled into the game.
He glanced over Nol Village before finding a comfortable spot to sit.
He planned to prepare more gifts for when she returned.
Specifically—
Potions.
“I already have recovery potions… Hmm… What should I make?”
“Condensed Malice.”
“I already gave that to her long ago—… huh?”
He snapped his head upward.
A heavily armored man stood before him, completely out of place in the peaceful village.
Bright red hair.
Golden eyes like the sun.
The moment Nameless Lord recognized him, his face twisted into a scowl.
“You…!”
It was “There’s No Newbies in Your House”—
Vice Guild Master of a guild filled with lunatics.
A top-ranked Paladin.
Nameless Lord clenched a fistful of dirt and scrambled to his feet.
The reason this man had appeared before him at this exact moment was painfully obvious.
“You’re not planning to throw that dirt at me, are you?”
“Correct!”
[Title <Arkart Formula Practitioner / Yevkeni Alchemical Theory Practitioner> activated.]
[Understanding of Sorcery (Passive) / Elemental Blessing (Passive) / Magical Medium (Passive)…]
[Using Skill <Path of the Magician>: ‘The Delight of Broken Regularity’]
His cloak fluttered.
The silver embroidery sewn into it lit up brilliantly.
The scattered grains of dirt expanded—
Transforming into miniature meteors without flames—
Before raining down upon the armored man.
Despite the threatening spell, No-Newbies didn’t flinch.
He was a Paladin.
The class most hated during PvP due to their absurd health and defense.
No matter how famous a mage ranker his opponent was, hastily cast spells couldn’t do much.
He even spread his arms dramatically, willingly taking the barrage like it was nothing more than a shower of pebbles.
Nameless Lord grew even angrier.
Paladins were a plague.
No-Newbies smiled brightly at the trembling mage.
“Hey, Fake Voldy. Attacking me without warning? You don’t even know why I’m here.”
“You came to steal the newbie!”
“Oh. You figured it out.”
He didn’t even bother denying it.
That only made Nameless Lord angrier as he searched through his pockets for another catalyst.
“……”
“Oh? Our Fake Voldy wouldn’t happen to be…?”
“…Shut up.”
“Oh dear. No gemstones? No catalysts? A mage this unprepared?”
He hadn’t expected to get into a fight.
He’d come to meet a newbie.
He’d brought gifts.
Not combat supplies.
I thought you people had enough decency not to show up this time!
You disappeared for so long that I let my guard down!
Nameless Lord took a deep breath.
Without catalysts, he’d have to rely solely on skill-casting.
And a mage’s greatest weakness…
Their chants were ridiculously long.
If he got agitated, he’d mess them up.
Watching him perform breathing exercises to calm himself, No-Newbies continued mocking him.
“You’re washed up. Maybe it’s time to step down as Guild Master?”
“Our mages fight in melee now, you know?”
“They cast spells while punching people.”
“He—!”
No.
Don’t take the bait.
Nameless Lord sealed his lips again.
He silently recited incantations in his mind.
If this spell succeeds, victory is mine—
“Guess we should recruit the new newbie ourselves, huh?”
“HEY—!”
At that exact moment, a notification appeared.
[Skill casting cancelled.]
[Skill usage unavailable for 1 minute.]
Nameless Lord exploded.
“What the hell is wrong with you?! Who even are you?! Where did you hear about her?! How many times has this happened, you overpowered bastard?!”
No-Newbies winked cheerfully.
“Our Guild Master told us about the appearance of a new newbie~!”
“Your Guild Master…?”
An unexpected name surfaced.
His anger cooled slightly.
Then realization dawned.
“…The unicorn.”
Of course.
It had been strange.
A unicorn.
Not just any unicorn—
An Echteh Forest Unicorn.
Normally, only top-tier players with Tamer skills had any chance of finding one.
Yet a newbie had discovered it?
There was only one explanation.
Snow Duck’s Charge had already met their Guild Master.
Which meant…
The guild’s infamous newbie collector had been dispatched.
And unfortunately, it was the less reasonable of the two lunatics.
Actually—
No.
Both of them were insane.
“Either way, wait your turn!”
“It’s my turn to support the newbie!”
“Can’t hear you! Can’t hear you!”
This bastard…!
“Get lost! You people have no ethics! Do you know how many newbies you’ve kidnapped halfway through? Do you know how many you’ve stolen from me?!”
“What are you talking about?! We raised them carefully before sending them off!”
“Then go raise your own main newbie!”
“Ah, but our Guild Master isn’t a newbie anymore!”
Despite their childish argument, the villagers watching them were horrified.
After all—
They had just witnessed dirt turn into meteors.
Village Chief Pavnet desperately thought,
Go fight somewhere else, you idiots!
Ignoring his wishes, the two showed no signs of leaving peacefully.
Pavnet smacked his friend’s back anxiously.
“Those fools! Do something! They’ll destroy the whole village!”
“Do not ask me to perform miracles, Chief.”
Just as Nol’s villagers sank into despair—
Pavnet’s eyes met No-Newbies’.
His golden eyes curved with amusement.
Then, suddenly, No-Newbies changed his attitude completely.
“You villain!”
“You aren’t trying to interfere with our newbie’s quest, are you?!”
“……!”
Nameless Lord finally noticed his surroundings.
Crater-filled ground.
Terrified villagers.
He immediately reached a conclusion.
Not here.
If the village got destroyed…
If villagers died…
The newbie would fail her quest.
She’d resent him.
She’d leave him.
The newbie collectors would swoop in.
She’d be kidnapped.
Grow stronger.
Forget all about him.
From their joyful first meeting…
To the ending where they could never journey together…
He imagined it all.
Sorrow filled his face.
Watching him, No-Newbies pointed outside the village.
“Let’s settle this, Fake Voldy!”
“It was my turn to begin with!”
“Waaah, it was my turn~ So what?”
That mocking tone was unbearable.
Don’t fall for it.
Nameless Lord inhaled deeply.
Then calmly said,
“Come outside, you bastard! I’m tearing your head off!”
He had endured enough already.
The two players who had nearly overturned the village—
The One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken
and
There’s No Newbies in Your House
headed as far away as possible.
Far enough that neither Nol Village nor Canary Forest would be affected by their battle.
Fake Voldy never realized…
It had all been a diversion.
***
Heeyeon surveyed Canary Forest.
Despite its name—
Not a single birdsong could be heard.
She hadn’t noticed during the journey from character creation to Nol Village because Nameless Lord had talked nonstop.
“First, I need to find the mine…”
She had asked the villagers before leaving.
But they had recoiled in disgust and refused to tell her.
Even sympathy had its limits.
Apparently, the story allowed them to mention the mine’s existence—
But not its location.
Meaning…
She had to search the forest alone.
Ordinarily, that would have been difficult.
But Heeyeon had a cheat code.
“Echte.”
Taking out the box from her inventory, she called for her only pet.
The lid opened.
A tiny unicorn poked its head out.
Echte shook its head, surveyed the surroundings, then hopped out of the box.
Surrounded by floating particles of light, it returned to its original size.
Heeyeon gently stroked its nose.
Though she’d only been playing for a few hours, she doubted she’d ever achieve anything greater than this.
The intelligent unicorn spread its wings the moment she climbed onto its back.
Together, they soared into the sky.
From above, Heeyeon searched for anything resembling a mine.
In the process, something else caught her eye first.
Echteh Forest.
Two utterly different landscapes existed side by side.
While unconsciously observing it, she spotted rocky cliffs jutting from the earth.
“…There.”
She guided Echte toward them.
The unicorn moved smoothly in the desired direction.
“Found it.”
There—
stood the mine.
The abandoned mine.
The moment she took a step closer—
A sound brushed past her ears.
A sound that shouldn’t have existed here.
Clear.
Beautiful.
Birdsong.
The song of canaries echoed from deep within the mine.
Gripping her dagger tightly and clutching the Condensed Malice item, Heeyeon cautiously approached the entrance.
Echte followed closely behind.
“I can’t see anything…”
The quest objective was simple:
Find Biyen’s lost apple.
Yet the abandoned mine was swallowed in darkness so thick that neither apples nor people were visible.
There was the scent of soil.
Mixed with something oddly sweet.
“Should I go farther inside?”
Fortunately—
Echte was a naturally glowing unicorn.
For humans incapable of adapting to darkness, Echte led the way.
Its entire body emitted a faint glow.
Its radiant horn shone brilliantly.
A perfect lantern requiring no fuel.
Supported by her dependable unicorn, Heeyeon slowly stepped deeper into the mine.
After what felt like a considerable distance—
The beautiful canary song rang out again.
But this time—
There wasn’t just one voice.
“……”
A chill crawled down her spine.
Sweat gathered in the hand gripping Condensed Malice.
Maintaining her guard, she proceeded carefully.
The canaries sang once more.
And another sound reached her ears.
“Who’s there?”
“……!”
A child’s voice.
Thin.
Young.
Startled, Heeyeon nearly dropped the bottle she held before hurrying forward.
There—
was Biyen’s lost apple.
[You have found Biyen’s Lost Apple.]
[<Biyen’s Lost Apple> condition fulfilled! Return to receive your reward.]
Ignoring the flashing notification, Heeyeon crouched down.
The child was even smaller than Biyen.
A tiny child with beautiful bright-red hair.
Exactly as everyone had described.
Beside the child—
Dozens of canaries cried out.
Their ankles bound together with thin ropes.
“……”
Apparently, the disappearing children weren’t being taken by the spirits of the dead as the village legend suggested.
The fact that these canaries were real, living birds proved as much.
First things first.
That could wait.
Heeyeon approached the exhausted child leaning against the wall.
“Are you okay?”
“…I want to see my big sister.”
The child’s voice was hoarse.
Dry and rough.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have progressed into severe dehydration.
Immediately, Heeyeon opened her inventory and searched for something to drink.
[<Dawn Dew of the Rokutus Desert>: Drink a single drop, and you will not feel thirst for two full days.]
She handed the entire bottle to the child.
The red-haired child’s complexion improved slightly.
Only then did Heeyeon finally relax.
Sitting beside the child, she gently stroked the soft red hair.
It wasn’t simply red.
It truly resembled the vivid color of an apple.
Fidgeting with the bottle in small hands, the child spoke.
“My name is Hawa.”
“What about you, big sister?”
“Hee—”
She stopped herself.
“Snow—”
No.
“I’m just… a passerby.”
It was, in its own way,
the best answer Heeyeon could come up with.
