Chapter 13 …

Outsider in a Broken Game,

Harsh but Kind Initiation

Stagnant veterans are never merciful. Those who lead a party must never be.

A party can only function when each member fulfills their part.

Yes, I am not enjoying the current situation at all.

“Of course, I’m sad. Really, really sad. The fact that such a small, fragile girl has no choice but to face this…”

“It’s just so, so, so sad.”

Abandoning comrades, killing, getting wounded by monsters, being vilified by villagers.

Since Nyummele fell into this world, all she had experienced was harshness.

And this harshness brought her not only coldness and cruelty but also anger.

At times, even sadism blossomed within her. She had been broken.

Nyummele spoke with a calm face. But inside, she was smiling.

Im Sujeong answered in a trembling voice.

“Ah, that, th-that’s…”

“You can’t leave unless you kill it?”

Nyummele didn’t speak in lies. She had only watched for a few days, but she could see through to the bone. Kal and Azoff were silent too—they agreed.

“You’ve had plenty of time to adapt. While you stared blankly like you were watching a movie, we risked our lives to fight.”

A cold voice whispered into her ears.

Grrr…

A female baring her teeth to protect her young. Only hostility was contained within. At that moment, Im Sujeong began to feel reality.

Perhaps she had thought this situation was a game all along, just an endless nightmare…

Thud.

Gripping her club, Im Sujeong moved—not toward the kobolds, but stepping backward.

Her psychological aversion was stronger than the thought of killing. She had never killed anything beyond frogs in her life.

Grrr… Kyaa!

Did that hesitation provoke them? Suddenly, a kobold lunged. In an instant, it was on top of Im Sujeong’s upper body, biting her shoulder and clawing her entire body with its nails.

“…!”

Her half-crazed eyes widened.

“AAAAHHHH!”

Blood splattered as her scream ripped through the air.

Grrr!

As the kobold, greedily seeking flesh, aimed its teeth at her neck—

Thwack!

Nyummele’s kick smashed into the kobold’s face. It tumbled and thrashed on the floor.

“Does it hurt?”

Nyummele said with a laugh, brushing off the dirt from the floor.

“U-ugh… aahh.”

Im Sujeong groaned and whimpered, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

Hmph. Nyummele, watching her drenched in blood, reached out her hand.

[Heal]

A bright yellow light enveloped Im Sujeong. New flesh sprouted, and wounds began to close. Though less effective than a priest’s healing, a paladin still wielded the divine power of the gods.

Nyummele used her limited holy power to carefully heal her. Then she spoke:

“Sujeong.”

“…”

“Im Sujeong.”

“Yes… uh-huh.”

“Does that still look like the pet you were raising?”

Im Sujeong remained silent. In that silence was her answer.

Nyummele thought.

Compared to when she first fell into this world, balancing guilt and survival, how merciful is this situation?

She didn’t have to abandon comrades to survive. She didn’t have to stab anyone in the back. She didn’t have to beg NPCs for her life.

It was truly a tutorial.

“Saved, cared for, comforted.”

“That’s pretty damn kind, isn’t it?”

“I’m an angel!”

Feeling pleased with herself, Nyummele helped Im Sujeong to her feet. She even handed her the fallen club.

“Recognize this. This is a monster. A monster that can devour you at any moment.”

She repeated her experience as a senior, almost like brainwashing.

“This is all for you. Don’t you want to see your family? Your mother must be worried sick by now…”

The more you hesitate, the more you get hurt. The more you suffer.

“Ugh…”

Several kobolds charged at her again. Each time, Im Sujeong became a rag. But the warm light surrounded her, keeping her alive.

Pain, despair, resignation. In the end, all that remained was a woman brimming with poison.

“AAAAHHHH!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

That day, Im Sujeong killed two female kobolds and eight of their offspring. She even caught the male kobold Nyummele had knocked out.

The newbie reached level 3.

The southern end of the Western Continent, a remote corner of the Minot Kingdom.

This place, called Deer Antler Village due to rumors of golden deer nearby, was shrouded in darkness.

In this era, oil was expensive, and rural villages couldn’t afford to use it freely. People preferred early nights and early mornings. The labor was not light.

At night, three types of people typically moved about:

• Lovers whispering at the mill

• Magicians hiding secrets

• Plague doctors or undertakers

Night belonged not to humans, but to the world itself.

“Uwaaah!”

Under two dim moons, a woman with brown hair vomited. She was neither mad, nor a magician, nor in love—just a lost stranger.

Thud.

“Are you okay?”

“Eek.”

Seeing Im Sujeong recoil, Kal spread his hands, a worried expression on his face.

“Calm down. It’s me. Kal.”

“…”

The lively expression was gone. Im Sujeong turned her head silently, repeating her earlier actions.

Ugh.

She vomited, rubbed her hands raw.

Kal stepped closer and gently patted her back.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? No, that’s stupid. Of course you have.”

He muttered bitterly, his gaze sinking.

“You did well. You had no choice. If you hadn’t killed them, you’d be dead—either in the hands of the monsters or…”

The retching ceased. Only shallow breaths remained.

Kal looked at the junior who had undergone her initiation with affection. His hands and mouth repeatedly expressed comforting words.

“I remember your trembling. I hear your cries searching for your mother. The feeling when breaking into that tender flesh… I still can’t forget it. Me too.”

But not only empathy and comfort came from him.

Suddenly, Kal clenched his fists.

“But… do you know what drives me insane? Azoff, who does nothing despite knowing it. Nyummele, cheering as if it was good.”

Was it the darkness around him? Or the presence of someone he could empathize with?

Kal finally let out what had been repressed inside him.

“Bravo! Kyaaa! Our Sujeong did it! Look!”

As Im Sujeong caught her breath, covered in blood, Nyummele even clapped and cheered.

Truly a capable newbie. This was enough to clear Chapter 1. There was no human respect or consideration here—only the queen mastering her paw.

“On the second day, you slapped and intimidated her to wake her up. On the fourth day, you forced her to pick up a weapon and kill. Too harsh. I never treated people this harshly! She was nervous! Always failing…”

Thwack.

Im Sujeong pushed Kal away, wiped her face, and walked toward the lodging.

Kal watched her retreating figure, expressionless.

“Don’t trust Nyummele too much. Or players in general. For survival, they’ll betray anyone anytime.”

In the past three days, they had cleared nearby kobolds and gremlins. Any anomalies were fixed with the priest’s powers.

“Ah, what a relief to have this little treasure.”

On the way back to the village, Nyummele patted Im Sujeong. In her hand was a small metal disc—a buckler looted from the kobold cave.

Rusty, cleaned with oil, sanded to remove dirt. Not perfect, but enough to block small stones or bone knives. A small improvement, but Nyummele had become stronger.

‘Never thought I’d get happy over such a normal item.’

“…”

Im Sujeong only gave a faint smile.

“Did you allocate your stat points from leveling up?”

“No, not yet…”

“Let’s push to level 10 with full effort first.”

“Do I not need intelligence? I’m a priest…”

From then on, Im Sujeong began asking Nyummele and Azoff questions whenever she could, learning about this world.

Nyummele, as a veteran, knew a lot.

“To strengthen your powers, yes. Priests don’t get strength or agility bonuses like paladins. But to survive, you should focus on strength first. Monsters attack right in front of you—you need to take them down.”

Of course, Nyummele would cover for her as much as possible.

“Ah…”

Im Sujeong stared blankly at the angelic blonde woman. She had learned enough to know: for party stability, distributing intelligence and strength appropriately to boost body and skills was correct. But Nyummele insisted: strength first, survive first.

She recalled Kal’s words that night. The cruel smile in the dark cave… and yet now, she saw boundless kindness.

‘I don’t know which side to follow.’

“Save skill points for later. When you reach level 6, new skills unlock, and you’ll need points.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Alright, good work today. Rest well, our priest.”

Arriving at the inn, Nyummele patted Im Sujeong on the butt as she went upstairs.

The others stayed in the adjoining room—Kal and Azoff sharing it.

The bed was just rotten straw, no table, yellow walls crawling with cockroaches. Still, far better than the barn they stayed in before.

Sitting cross-legged, Nyummele cursed the innkeeper with a smile.

“Four fairy tales a day, and this is what we get? This guy’s worse than Lockheed.”

“What can we do? We’re outsiders here.”

Azoff shrugged. Nyummele snorted.

“That’s exactly what I fear. Worn down by unfairness until giving up. So I vent sometimes to remind us—we deserve better.”

‘That person…’

Kal sneered cynically, Azoff nodded in agreement.

“He’s right. Goals matter. So our next goal?”

“I’m level 10, Sujeong level 4, Azoff what about you?”

“Leveled to 9 today.”

“One more and you can unlock Rapid Strike.”

“Kal?”

“Also leveled to 6 today.”

“Combat skill was Smash, support was Howling?”

Paladin skills were divided into miracle, protection, and holy battle; warrior skills into combat and support.

“Yes.”

“What will you pick?”

Nyummele asked, chin on her hand. Kal met her gaze, then glanced away.

“Thinking of Smash. It’s the early-game powerhouse skill…”

Even level 1 gives a 30% stronger attack. Not bad.

“Hm. Okay?”

“Problem?”

“No, I thought maybe you should pick Shout first for aggro management. Better for the party, right?”

A newbie who can barely fight… Nyummele hid her true feelings.

“…”

Kal stayed silent. Nyummele stared. Awkward silence.

“Then Shout…”

Kal hesitated; Azoff was about to intervene. Nyummele smirked.

“Do as you like. Even a leader can’t crush someone’s personal choice.”

“…I’ll think about it more.”

“Good, good~”

Ah, if I were level 12, I’d pick Shield and lead the front.

Nyummele saw Azoff change the topic.

“When will we challenge Chapter 1?”

“When Sujeong reaches level 6.”

“Sure… with the priest’s blessing, it’s doable.”

“Healing is far stronger than mine, so no risk of being exhausted by trash mobs.”

“Yes, need more arrows, and want Gambeson at least, if not full steel.”

They still wore beginner outfits from being sucked into the game.

Money, again, was the reason. Lodging, food, repair costs—it was expensive.

Now, things were better, and they sought armor.

“That damn old man… raising prices steadily.”

The NPCs were the problem.

They colluded. Pretend no stock or demand crazy prices. Tailor Kale, blacksmith Lockheed, even rural monks—all smiling while lying.

“Even that old man knows. We’re about to leave. Losing a golden-egg-laying goose—he has to trick us.”

Without Nyummele or Im Sujeong, injuries would have killed them.

“Damn NPCs.”

Azoff clicked his tongue. Nyummele sighed, checking plans. All low-risk, high-experience monsters nearby had been cleared. Only truly dangerous zones remained.

‘Goblin nursery or gnoll den.’

Gnoll dens were risky—mad types could appear. If not, the nursery—how many hob goblins were born?

Low-level dungeons in-game were avoided even by suicidal adventurers. Rewards existed, but survival was different.

“Better check wandering villages…”

Or go further to the wolf lair.

As Nyummele pondered, Kal at the window spoke:

“Look over there.”

“Hmm?”

They approached the window, frowning.

“Mercenaries…”

Shiny weapons under sunlight. Scarred bodies. Bloodthirsty eyes. They were mercenaries. Azoff scratched his head.

“Quite a force. Nyummele, we…”

Nyummele touched her sword sheath.

“Right, we need to speed up the plan.”

Like my home planet Blue Star, in this world the most dangerous creatures are not monsters.

The real enemy is always humans.