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Chapter 3
The next moment, Mona’s eyes flew open to a blaring morning alarm.
How many times had it rung? She stared at the clock with bleary eyes—and froze. It was a dangerously late hour.
“Damn it.”
Mona hurled the remote control she’d fallen asleep holding and kicked off the blanket. It was almost pure instinct.
I didn’t even do anything yesterday, so why is it already morning?!
Thanks to years of the same routine, she managed to get ready and board the subway even in a half-asleep state—but being late was basically guaranteed.
She dozed off again, and when she opened her eyes, she nearly missed her stop and scrambled to get off.
After a brief video meeting with the “NPC Newbie Team,” it took less than two hours to log in. Complaining about how time seemed to sparkle and vanish did absolutely nothing.
And then—
“……”
Mona’s eyes narrowed.
“Ugh. Seriously?!”
Damn field system!
Two wolves appeared in front of her as she walked from the village chief’s house toward the potion shop.
Just surviving the morning rush-hour subway felt like it had drained her stamina by a million points. After enduring her boss’s sarcastic attacks, now even a bunch of pixels were causing trouble.
“Get lost.”
“Grrr. Graaah.”
The wolves, appearing among flowerbeds in full bloom, neatly trimmed trees, and round, cozy houses, looked completely out of place.
The drool dripping from their mouths was disgustingly realistic—but to Mona, they were basically stray mutts that had wandered into the wrong address.
Even if this shortcut brushed against the field, how could they appear this perfectly timed?!
And we’re technically on the same side, you know?!
“Seriously, I’ve asked them to patch this so many times. It’s still not fixed?”
“Grrr.”
“Don’t pick a fight. Go away.”
She tried threatening them with the basket of herbs she was holding, but they didn’t budge.
Her hands began to go numb, cold sweat soaking in. Unfortunately, this was a “field” where system protection didn’t apply—and the weapon in her hand was a “Light Herb Basket.”
If she ended up incapacitated on a road this crowded with people…
‘For damaging an NPC’s dignity and showing such an unsightly display, you’ll be staying behind for a while for an interview.’
‘W-What? Team Leader, that was a mistake!’
‘We exist to minimize errors. Got it? Get reported one more time, and next you’ll be featured as a reference case in the Beginner NPC Manual.’
Team Leader Oh’s furious shouting from a past incident came back vividly—terrifying as ever.
Add the splitting headache that followed a forced logout, and this was a situation she desperately wanted to avoid.
Please, not that! What do I do?
She’d always just told others to hunt wolves—never had to face one herself. Panic set in. She did have a bomb potion for self-defense, but…
Oh. Right. That one was expired.
Mona’s face fell.
“!”
At that moment, the wolf lunged.
Baring its teeth, yellow eyes flashing, the monster looked genuinely ferocious. Before she could even gasp, it leaped toward her side.
Where did all the guards go?!
Thoughts raced through her head. Mona’s hands moved frantically.
To hell with it.
Skill window—skill window! Active skills! Active!
She stabbed at the first thing she saw in the hastily opened menu.
“[Assign Quest]!”
* * *
Mona had turned around and was brewing potions with a face that looked like it was rotting from the inside.
She roughly pulled out herbs, stuffed them into bottles, and activated her skill. With a pop, a red liquid sloshed into existence.
She shook the bottle, watching it glint in the sunlight with sharp eyes.
Perfect.
“Mona, are you okay?”
“That must’ve been scary.”
“You said you were on your way to open the shop, right?”
A crowd of players swarmed around her, peering curiously. With every tiny movement drawing attention, cold sweat ran down her back and her head started spinning.
T-This is the first time this many people…
Unlike her usual fly-free shop, there were at least seven people packed inside now. Mona was busy preparing rewards for them.
“Y-Yes… Thanks to you. Thank you for saving me.”
The players spoke casually, their faces completely unconcerned.
“I didn’t think a bug like that existed.”
“Yeah. I was wondering what would happen if an NPC died.”
“Anyway, this is that thing, right…?”
“Did you get a screenshot?”
“Should we post it on the forum?”
They leaned in, whispering and exchanging meaningful looks.
“Well, it’s nothing special, but these are potions I specially made. Please take them.”
What could she do now? Pretending not to hear, Mona handed each of them a [Mona’s Potion (Grade +1)].
“Since we’ve crossed paths, how about running a dungeon together?”
Someone suggested it, and soon a heated debate broke out over which dungeon to do. Mona did her best to ignore the thesis-level discussion about time efficiency versus rewards.
After a while, the players suddenly shook hands, gave each other thumbs-ups—and vanished in a rush, just like they’d arrived.
Finally…
Quiet.
“Haah…”
Mona stared at the tightly shut door, then flung the stopper of the potion bottle onto the floor. It rolled weakly, spinning in a circle.
My face is everywhere now…
Mona knew she wasn’t a particularly noticeable character.
No matter where you went, good-looking NPCs attracted crowds of players. She’d heard that much.
Was she jealous? Maybe not. She preferred this quiet, peaceful place.
Sure, this was just a shell she wore in a game—but still!
They didn’t take any weird screenshots, right?
That’s just how bugs are, she thought resignedly as she tidied the counter, moving busily for no reason while preparing reward items.
As her hands worked automatically, the earlier scene replayed in her mind.
How did that even happen?
The moment she used the skill, the wolves had stopped moving. They shook their heads like they were dizzy—then actually started fighting each other.
Mona couldn’t tell whether it was confusion caused by [Assign Quest], or because the related quest was “Hunt the wolves and bring back their claws.”
No, more importantly—how does [Assign Quest] even work on them? That makes no sense!
For a while, the absurd scene of wolves hunting wolves continued. All she could do was watch, biting her nails.
Anyone would find that bizarre. Team Leader Oh’s voice—shouting “Standing out is absolutely forbidden!”—floated through her mind.
Just as she decided to run away while the wolves seemed to be losing interest in each other, players appeared out of nowhere.
Wielding beginner branches and wooden swords, they banded together and beat down the weakened wolves.
‘Mona! We’ll take care of this!’
‘We got tired of waiting. You should’ve done it faster…’
‘Hey, be quiet! I can’t hear what Mona’s saying!’
What are they even talking about? How long were they watching?
Anyway, Mona nearly cast [Spread Rumor] or [Adjust Affinity], but instead thanked them calmly.
She only realized later that she’d been holding the herb basket upside down.
Damn it.
—At least you’re lucky. I once used [Arrest] on a goblin.
—What? How did that go?
—What do you think? I messaged the operations team and got chewed out hard. They said I had no sense. I thought I was getting fired.
—You’re unbelievable.
—Isn’t it hilarious? The video went around everywhere. “A typical newbie goblin trapped behind bars.”
Mona sent a rotten smile to the [NPC: Serious Guard] in the chat window.
What a shame.
If that guy’s team leader had known, it would’ve been even better.
She imagined the stern-faced guard striking a pose with his helmet pulled down—it fit disturbingly well.
Did the players know how chatty he really was? Of course not.
“I’m not sure, but I think they saw the quest-giving scene. Anyway, it’s fine. I’m okay now. Don’t worry.”
Clenching her lips, Mona tore at the herbs. The graphics—probably powered by the sacrifice of countless engineers—were perfect down to the shredded leaves.
—Yeah… Oh! A group of goblins just appeared! We’ve got a help request. I’ll hang up!
The chat window went dark.
Other NPCs probably had their own struggles too.
Mona looked around her now-quiet shop again, then gazed out the window at the same unchanging scenery.
Nothing will happen.
And then something happened.
* * *
“Mona! I brought the claws!”
“Oh—thank you!”
“Me too! Man, that was exhausting.”
“Mr. [ThisIsMyTerritory]! Long time no see.”
Mona bustled around, struggling among the players. Her head was full of questions.
Why?
She couldn’t show it, of course. Her face wore a natural smile as she cast [Trade] and [Assign Quest], but inside she was screaming:
What the hell is this?!
Did Ferota’s potion shop close or something?!
She desperately tried to reason out the sudden surge in players.
Should I ask Ferota? No—she’d just say she hasn’t seen anything, and she’s not the type to share information anyway.
[Ferota’s Potion Shop] was located in the town center and appeared in the main quest, so it was always packed.
Compared to that, this place was quiet, with only a single chain quest like [The Talking Slime’s Request].
In other words, there was absolutely no reason for this tucked-away sub potion shop to suddenly be booming!
“Mona… hey. How have you been feeling lately?”
