Howard’s POV
Okay, this is far from the ideal starting point for my village, especially with only an hour to prepare for a monster rush... God, this is so frustrating. Why is my village getting jumped first thing in the morning?
Setting aside my plans for a leisurely tour of the village, I scrambled to my feet, urgency coursing through my veins, and hurried to check if Gallimaufry had any sort of military presence or at least a contingent of guards.
Dashing through the village in a frenzy, I navigated my way toward the entrance, where guards would typically be stationed. However, my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the voices of miscellaneous passersby and village residents, each offering their greetings and well wishes.
“Morning, Mr. William!”
“Chief Howard, always on the move I see... ufufu~”
“You seem rather energetic today, wahaha! What's the rush, Chief Will?”
“Good to see you're up and about, Mr. Chief.”
“Thank you again for your help the other day, Chief.”
As the dissonance of unfamiliar voices and faces blurred past me, it became increasingly apparent that every resident of Gallimaufry held the genuine belief that I am their rightful Chief, someone who had been with them for who knows how many years. This seemed to result from some divine intervention or, perhaps, the manipulations of the system.
Glancing at the quest log beside me as I started to pick up the sprinting pace, a floating window that from the looks of it is invisible to everyone aside for me, the host.
Difficulty Classification: Crisis
Main Quest: Defend Gallimaufry and repel the monster invasion!
Objectives:
- Survive and clear the waves of monster rush [0/3]
- Maintain a casualty count of less than 30 [0/30]
Wave 1 starts in: 00 Hours 54 Minutes 09 Seconds
I don’t know what monsters or how many in fact await at the door stop at my village. I have no choice but to put some faith into the system so that it wouldn’t give me too much of a difficult starting main quest. Difficulty class is in crisis? How bad is that supposed to be?
【SYSTEM TIP】
[About Difficulty Classifications: There are a total of 7 classifications in order of least to most difficulty: Trivial, Perilous, Crisis, Catastrophe, Calamity, Apocalypse, and Armageddon.]
Trivial Class [✩]: Involves tasks or minor objectives that are relatively easy and pose minimal threat or danger. Rating: E to D-
Perilous Class [✩✩]: Signifies moderately difficult challenges or situations with some inherent risk. Rating: D to C-
Crisis Class [✩✩✩]: Indicates significant difficulty, often involving urgent situations requiring immediate attention to prevent widespread harm. Not recommended for solo action or expedition. Rating: C to B-
Catastrophe Class [✩✩✩✩]: Denotes extreme challenges or events with the potential for massive damage or destruction, necessitating intervention by a large party or army. Could lead to the destruction of town-level civilizations. Rating: B to A-
Calamity Class [✩✩✩✩✩]: Represents dire situations posing severe threats to city-level civilizations, requiring immediate and decisive action, possibly at war level. Urgent large-scale military intervention advised. Rating: A to A+
Apocalypse Class [✩✩✩✩✩✩]: Signifies challenges or events that poses existential threats to the masses or even the entire world. Requires a joint effort of several major powerhouses to deal with. Rating: S.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Armageddon Class [✩✩✩✩✩✩✩]: Represents the highest level of difficulty and danger, used as a placeholder when threat levels cannot be measured conventionally. Rating: EX
Ah, here I am, a level 2 facing a non soloable quest is such balanced gameplay indeed. As I finally reach the entrance to my village, I observe what appears to be two guards stationed by the village gate, lazily idling away their time without a care in the world.
I'm really in deepshit. Just look at their equipment—no metal or plated armor, only leather vests and boots. Are they seriously using pitchforks as melee weapons? Aside from that, both of them have worn-out wooden bows strapped to their backs, with mini quivers on their belts containing no more than a handful of arrows.
These "guards" bore more resemblance to rejected hunters than trained defenders, making it quite evident that my village's technology and military capabilities were severely lacking, a fact highlighted by the state of my so-called village guards as I approached them.
Among them stood a disheveled, presumably late-teenage to adult girl, her beige eyes gaze listlessly into the clouds. Beside her was a half-awake young man, his bald head betraying his age, yet his dark eyes reflecting weariness beyond his years.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of irony at the dissonance between our wealth and our military prowess. Based on the ledger, I knew for a fact that my village was not short on funds. Yet here we were, relying on makeshift farming weaponry and untrained guards.
This is utterly ridiculous. Did seriously no one in Gallimaufry put any thought into allocating some budget for the defense of our village? Like, hello? We're literally about to be ambushed by monsters in less than an hour.
"Well, well, if it isn't the chief himself. What brings you here at this early hour?" The disheveled hunter girl, now realizing my presence, greeted me interrupting my inner thoughts. Her tone was casual despite my unexpected appearance. Her fellow snoozing coworker behind her suddenly went alert, standing up straight and feigning diligence, masking his earlier laxity.
Ignoring the girl’s casual greeting and the sorry sight before me, I cut to the chase with the question that weighed heavily on my mind, taking a mental note of the time crunch the system imposed on me: "Where are the rest of you?"
"Oh, you know, at the outpost in the woods, same as usual," the girl remarked with a yawn. Although, I'd say the main team is probably starting to depart on a hunting trip by now. If you want to catch them, you better run fast, haha~."
Thinking quickly, I immediately commanded her to escort me to the hunter’s outpost because, to be honest, I had no clue where it was. The girl nonchalantly obliged to my authority and led the way before patting her bald coworker on the back, teasing him not to slack off as we departed from the village and walked through the wooden gates. After walking a few feet past the entrance, I could already see from the corner of my eye that the bald bastard had started to snooze off. I am definitely going to fire his lazy ass later.
"Say, uhhhh… my apologies, what's your name again?" I inquired, attempting to hide my embarrassment. Not knowing the name of one of the few guards of my village, especially as its chief, undoubtedly makes me look rather suspicious.
"I’m Meili, at your service, Mr. Williams," she replied with a friendly smile, seemingly unfazed by my self proclaimed forgetfulness.
"So, Meili, the thing is I’m in a bit of a rush, so if you were so inclined to pick up the pace and run when leading me to the outpost site," I said, infusing a note of urgency into my tone, hoping to convey the seriousness of the situation.
"I see. Then let’s take the shortcut. Although the terrain gets more difficult to move, it's worth it as you get there way faster. Do try to keep up with me, Mr. Williams," Meili responded confidently, displaying her competence and readiness to assist.
"How long will it take to get there with the shortcut?" I inquired, briefly glancing at the floating system quest panel beside.
【SYSTEM】
Objectives:
- Survive and clear the waves of monster rush [0/3]
- Maintain a casualty count of less than 30 [0/30]
Wave 1 starts in: 00 Hours 50 Minutes 23 Seconds
"If we don’t take any breaks for rest and if you can keep up with my running pace, hmmm… I’ll say ten minutes or less, give or take," Meili assured with a steady voice making it clear she had done this before.
Ok so I can make it fast enough to the hunter’s outpost to gather some extra manpower and make it back in time hopefully form a defensive front outside of the entrance of the village against the monsters.
Feeling a surge of determination, I swiftly instructed Meili to lead the way to the outpost at her top speed, matching her pace as we darted forward. The urgency of the situation propelled me forward, my determination pushing me to keep up with Meili as we navigated the challenging terrain of the shortcut route. As a former taekwondo black belt and high school footballer in my previous life, I was confident that my body could withstand all this harsh cardio.
Although Meili was used to navigating these woods, I was surprised by her agility and endurance, especially considering she was carrying moderately heavy equipment.
As we continued to sprint through the dense woods, transitioning into the forest region, Meili's expertise became increasingly apparent. Meanwhile, I found myself struggling to keep up, feeling humbled by the second as the strain of exertion causes sweat to dampen my brow.
At that very moment, I couldn't help but reconsider my earlier assessment of her as just a rejected hunter deferred into guard duty. Yet, before I could fully contemplate her newfound significance, Meili abruptly halted in her tracks, her arm outstretched to impede our progress toward the outpost.
I didn’t need to ask any questions given the environment we were in. From the rustling of the dense forest path emerged a dark-skinned creature, thick and resembling a mix between a pig and a boar, its size rivaling that of a cow. In this unfamiliar world, it might well be a completely new species.
Its bloodshot eyes glowed with an eerie crimson hue, its mouth dripping with saliva as it lumbered toward us. The creature's muscular physique, particularly in its legs, hinted at considerable strength, its veins pulsating with raw aggression. It wouldn't be far-fetched to suspect that this boar-pig hybrid was on some kind of illicit substance.
"Hey, Meili, what are our chances of winning against this... animal?" I asked, eyeing the approaching creature warily.
Meili, already poised with her pitchfork, flashed me a deadpan grin. "Well, the dark morning porcus does tend to get more aggressive during this season, especially the lonely ones. They're not the affectionate critters, but don't sweat it, Mr. Williams. If we're fortunate enough, we might make it out unscathed," she whispered softly, her demeanor surprisingly relaxed given the situation, as if she was about to clock into a 9 to 5.
I don’t really have the time to deal with some horny otherworldly pig-boar hybrid but I won’t refuse a way to gain some combat experience and earn EXP. With a simple mental command, the rusty meat cleaver I stored in my inventory materialized from an array of sky-blue pixels, landing firmly in my right hand.
I positioned myself behind Meili, who stood as our vanguard. Adjusting my grip on the cleaver, I switched its blade to its flat side, readying myself for a strike. With a deep breath, I prepared to deliver a hefty blow to the pig's skull as it charged towards us at an increasing speed.
If I die from this, then I guess you chose the wrong person for the job, God.
【SYSTEM】
Objectives:
- Survive and clear the waves of monster rush [0/3]
- Maintain a casualty count of less than 30 [0/30]
Wave 1 starts in: 00 Hours 44 Minutes 13 Seconds