RTTGB CH 09

Chapter 9

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry for recommending this shitty game to you…!!”

Today—

In the end, I hurt my friend.

“I’ll find a way somehow…! You can’t give up!”

Mag left while crying loudly.

She disappeared before I could even say that it was okay.

I’d prepared myself for it, but it was still hard to watch.

‘…I didn’t want to make her cry.’

Sigh.

Everything tasted bitter.

‘We finally met again after so long, and I show her this.’

I gathered the newspapers and covered myself again while counting the time.

It’s been about two weeks since I ended up like this…
including before that, we hadn’t seen each other in-game for almost three weeks.

And this was how we reunited.

‘No wonder she was shocked.’

I reflected on myself.

‘But I didn’t really have a choice.’

There were circumstances that forced me into this.

Everything started that day.

“I’m quitting!”

The day I declared I’d quit this stupid game.

Back then, I was furious at a game that returned my patience with humiliation.

And not just quitting—

‘I’ll get revenge!’

I wanted revenge badly enough to actively pursue it.

Of course I did.

I spent 768,000 won on this game.

And instead of the level-ups I wanted, I got stood up.

“Revenge!”

This wasn’t a situation where I could just walk away.

I had to squeeze out as much as I lost—no matter what.

‘…I lost a lot in the process.’

But I also took a lot back, so I had no regrets.

And I planned to keep sucking it dry and throwing it away afterward.

‘Heh. Just you wait.’

I was laughing nastily to myself when a shadow fell over my head.

“Oh~?”

At first, it was an unfamiliar voice.

So I pulled the newspaper up over my face—

and heard a strange chuckle near my ear.

“Pretending you don’t know me?”

The pitch and tone kept changing unpredictably until it finally settled into a voice I recognized.

The shadow stopped moving.

I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“…Natisha.”

I lowered the newspaper and saw the NPC smiling lazily.

“Stop sleeping and come play with us.”

A woman with a drowsy look.

Natisha, a Chaos-aligned Bard NPC, spoke in a drawn-out tone.

“Pierre and Kain are waiting too.”

Hearing those familiar names, I narrowed my eyes.

Tiamo Village is a fantasy job-experience theme park for players.

And because of that, the number of class-change NPCs acting as cast members is quite large.

That’s partly because of how many jobs there are—but not only that.

“I don’t want to.”
“Eeh~ Don’t be like that.”

I glanced at Natisha as she whined after I rejected her offer.

“You shouldn’t treat a fellow bard like this.”
“How about going back to your original face first?”
“Huh? Is this your first time seeing me like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll switch back~”

She said it casually—and her body changed.

Like a nine-tailed fox transforming.

“Ta-da! All done.”

Natisha spread her hands wide.

Before and after transforming—

her long fingers were worn down with calluses.

“So. What is it today?”

Hands that clearly belonged to someone who had played instruments for a long time.

Like Kain, she was also a Bard NPC.

But her alignment was different.

‘Natisha is Chaos-aligned.’

The alignment system that affects advanced classes.

There are three total alignments, determined by player behavior and the NPC they change class with.

Even if the starting class is the same, after advanced class changes, they become completely different jobs.

That’s how big the impact is.

So Tiamo Village has three NPCs per job.

Bards included.

“So what do you think it is~?”
“Stop messing around.”
“Alright then—time for the big reveal!”

Natisha, one of the three bard NPCs.

According to the setting, she should be very different from Harmony-aligned Kain, but—

“Undead~! Ta-da!”
“……”
“Wasn’t that fun?”
“Ha…”

Alignment differences, my ass.

They were all just as self-centered.

I rubbed my forehead.

‘I may be blinded by revenge, but…’

“Why aren’t you reacting?”

‘Getting close to these people might’ve been a mistake.’

“Junior—!”

Should I take it back now?

I seriously considered it while staring at the whining NPC.

Of course, taking it back was impossible.

“Let’s go~.”
“……”

I got dragged along by the excited bard.

There was no resisting.

[LV. 419]

“Why are you like that?”

The reason was obvious.

An overwhelming level difference, just like someone from Tiamo Village.

“…Let’s just go.”
“Are you excited too?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Then we should hurry.”
“……”

For now, following along was the best option.

‘Damn it. I should’ve kept my distance.’

My plan to lie down and watch the world had been derailed.

I should’ve considered she was a bard.

‘But this was the best option…!’

I remembered the first day I explored this village after deciding on revenge.

A village with nothing to exploit.

“Is there… really nothing to squeeze out?”

A place designed to completely reject you if you don’t hunt.

If I stayed like this, I’d become a diligent leveling player.

I’d rather die.

I had to find some way to profit.

“Oh my.”

That’s when I found it—befriending NPCs.

“What’s with you two? That’s a weird combo.”
“Is it a date?”
“Oh dear, we got caught.”

Not long after entering the shop street, another NPC stopped us.

I greeted them naturally while listening to the three of them chat.

“Or is Natisha kidnapping you?”
“Huh?”
“Told you so.”
“You’re both mean!”

Jokes you’d only hear among close acquaintances.

Sides of them I never knew.

‘We got close really fast.’

I started this socializing just for revenge.

“Look at this—what kind of kidnapper does this?”
“…?”

High intimacy isn’t always good—but there was a reason I built it up anyway.

“And we have quests too.”

***

For someone who gave up on leveling, Pierre prepared a special tea party.
Prepare the tea party with Natisha’s help.

Apples (0/5)
Wild Berries (0/20)

◇ Reward: Pierre’s Unique Handmade Potions (5 types)

Easy quests with good rewards.

And gifts.

[(Rare) Blessed Guardian Garnet]

“……”
“Junior. You’re not falling for this, right? Seriously.”

And on top of that, the items were actually good.

‘Hah.’

Just getting close let me squeeze this much out of the game.

“Kidnapping? Of course not…!”
“Oh wow. Shameless.”
“Why? She’s trying hard.”
“You two are awful!”

If it meant exploiting the game, I’d split my tongue in half.

Compared to what I’d suffered before, this was nothing.

“Alright, we’ll go too. Say hi to Kain for us.”
“Yeah, you take care.”
“Be safe~!”
“You still talk like that?”

It’s embarrassing—but that’s fine.

In the end, I’ll be the one laughing.

‘Perfect.’

“You’re good at this.”
“You too, Natisha.”

I couldn’t let momentary emotions ruin my revenge.

Having taken another step forward, I straightened up.

“So what now?” Natisha asked.

“We’re at the shops but you’re broke—oh! Don’t tell me… hunting?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“Oookay.”

I shut that down.

‘Hunting? No way.’

I looked ahead instead.

A small hill in the distance.

“This time, we gather.”

It was time for phase two of my revenge.

***

Even if you squeeze NPCs dry, there’s a limit.

Quests and gifts depend heavily on luck.

It wouldn’t recover everything I lost.

Pop

[Gathering proficiency increased.]
[Gathering Level 10 (MAX)]

So I turned to gathering.

“All done. Let’s go.”
“Did you do well?”

I silently held up the apple I picked.

[(Common+) Apple]
[Tastes better than a normal apple.]

A perfectly harvested apple using the skills I built up.

And after cleaning it with my level 10 Cooking skill—it even shined.

“Wow!”

Clap clap clap!

“Hehe. Let’s go to the temple now.”
“Alright.”

Perfect results for something picked on a hill.

Living skills had paid off.

‘Completely different from combat.’

Life skills.

Gathering, cooking—anything related to daily life.

They don’t affect combat power unless you change jobs, but they have advantages.

‘They’re satisfying.’

And they make gold.

The perfect way to exploit the game.

“You know…”

As I walked proudly, Natisha suddenly said something unexpected.

“You say you’re living recklessly, but you’re actually pretty diligent.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

‘Is she insane?’

I asked again just in case.

She was serious.

The praise was unhinged.

‘I’m literally doing the bare minimum to exploit the game—what…?’

I wondered if the developers were speaking through NPCs to gaslight me.

“But someone who said they were just messing around maxed life skills in days…”
“…?”

That wasn’t persuasion. It was an insult.

She was saying I was enjoying the game.

“You already got close with the villagers too. That’s not easy.”
“N-no.”

That could not be allowed.

“It’s just my stats.”
“I’m serious!”

Charm and Dexterity—bard main stats.

Useless in combat, but amazing for life skills and relationships.

Less effort, better results.

“No, even considering that, you’re fast.”
“!”
“And you have movement restrictions too.”
“!!”
“And you even go to the temple. Very diligent.”

I was speechless.

I barely heard the rest.

“But being close with villagers only matters here. It doesn’t help leveling.”
“…What are you talking about?”

Natisha looked baffled.

“Do you think they’re just strong?”
“…Aren’t they?”

Apparently not.

“To be here, strength alone isn’t enough.”

At the temple entrance, Natisha counted on her fingers.

“They meet future heroes who might save kingdoms. Skill, character, and connections.”
“…Connections?”
“Powerful people try to recruit talent.”
“…!”

I’d never imagined that.

“Just the two today—one’s an imperial brigadier, the other’s a top aide of the Catlin Merchant Guild.”
“…!!”
“Everyone you met is like that.”
“…!?”
“Back then, travelers stayed here to build connections. Mag did too.”

I didn’t know whether to be more shocked by the NPCs’ backgrounds or my friend’s unknown past.

‘So I was… actually growing properly?’

But the real shock was realizing my ‘revenge’ was helping the game.

My head went blank.

‘Then Natisha too…’

“So stay close to them. Not us.”
“…?”

She said the opposite of before.

“Why? Aren’t you all amazing people too?”
“Because…”

She didn’t answer.

She just showed me inside.

“Are you insane?!”
“They’re all necessary!”
“You bastard! That herb is banned by the Empire!”
“But I grew it myself! Nooo!”
“Let go!”

Inside, Kain and another bard were fighting over a poisonous herb.