บท 24: Chapter 24

"What do you mean, emergency?" Siegfried asked.

"T-That is…! All sorts of Mutated Creatures are coming to the ranch! The ranch is being ravaged right now! A lot of people are dying! We have to hurry up and help!" the hunter cried out.

"Huh?" Siegfried muttered in disbelief.

He found the hunter's words to be hard to believe since it was difficult to say that all Mutated Creatures were aggressive mobs even though the unknown energy had mutated the creatures. The Mutated Creatures had the tendency to seek fights, but they were not the type to go out of their way to look for humans to attack.

The Mutated Wolves and the Mutated Tiger were exceptions since they were carnivorous predators even before they got mutated, but the hunter just mentioned that 'all sorts' of mutated creatures were attacking the ranch. This meant that there was a variety of Mutated Creatures attacking, which Siegfried could not help but find strange.

"Are you saying that the Mutated Creatures ambushed the ranch?" Siegfried asked.

"Yes, that's right! All sorts of creatures are gathering, it doesn't matter whether they are carnivores or herbivores! They are gathering at the ranch! Hurry, we have to go help!" the hunter exclaimed.

"Are you telling me that a monster wave broke out?" Siegfried asked.

A monster wave was a phenomenon where monsters grouped up to attack human settlements.

"T-That's right! Yes, a monster wave! A monster wave is happening at the ranch right now!" the hunter hurriedly replied.

"Let's go," Siegfried said as he headed for the door.

"Do you really plan on going?" Jericho asked.

"Yes, I will go and try to resolve the situation," Siegfried replied.

"Ah, thank you very much. Then, I hope that you can resolve it," Jericho said.

Then, a message popped up in front of Siegfried.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest: 'Rescue Operation'!]

The quest was quite simple.

[Rescue Operation]

[Type: Normal Quest]

[Details: Rescue the ranch workers at Grandpa Bukati's ranch from the Mutated Creatures and safely escort them to the Biermann Territory.]

[Progress: 0%]

[Reward: 50 Gold]

[Warning: This quest will be considered a failure if you fail to rescue at least five people.]

The quest reward was quite generous.

50 Gold.

A single piece of gold coin on the Trade Mania website was worth $47.70, and this meant that fifty gold was worth around two million and five hundred thousand won at today's exchange rate.

"Then, I will try to gather as many mercenaries and Adventurers as I can find!" Jericho said before he looked at the hunter and added, "And you should go to the lord and tell him what's happening! We will need the army if we want to have any chance against a monster wave."

"A-Alright! I will immediately go to the castle and tell the lord!" the hunter replied before running out of the door.

"Will you be alright?" Jericho asked.

"Of course," Siegfried confidently replied.

A monster wave was actually something that Siegfried was glad to face since he wouldn't have to scour around the hunting ground to look for monsters. The monster wave could be hell for the NPCs, but it was the complete opposite for Siegfried.

After all, everyone had their own opinion.

"I'll be on my way, so I can send reinforcements as soon as possible," Jericho said.

"Okay," Siegfried replied.

"Be careful out there. I know that you are an immortal, but death is still painful… not that I know how it feels since I haven't died yet," Jericho said.

"Thank you for worrying about me," Siegfried replied with a smile.

He then left the Mercenary Guild and headed for the ranch while thinking, 'Something doesn't feel right… a bunch of mutated animals caused a monster wave…? Had there ever been such a case before…?'

Something felt off.

***

The ranch had transformed into complete pandemonium just like what the hunter said.

"Kyaaaahk!"

"H-Help me!"

"Somebody help me!"

The ranch workers were running around with injuries and blood all over their bodies.

"Mooooo!"

"Meeeeeeh!"

"Oink! Oink!"

The cows, sheep, and pigs at the ranch were also running around trying to avoid the Mutated Predators.

The whole ranch was in total chaos with everyone and everything running around, and the lush green grass was dyed red from blood. On top of that, the sight could only be described as grotesque with the addition of the cries of the Mutated Animals and the way they aggressively hunted down the ranch workers and livestock.

"Why are there so many of them…?" Siegfried muttered while counting the Mutated Creatures.

On top of that, what surprised him the most was the fact that there were small monsters such as the Mutated Rabbits and Mutated Squirrels along with large ferocious predators like the Mutated Panthers running around, and all of these monsters seemed to number over a hundred at least.

'A bunch of Mutated Creatures caused a monster wave? Is this even possible when they are all different monsters…?' Siegfried wondered. He could not understand what was going on in front of him.

However, he did not have the time to continue wondering.

'The people are in danger!' Siegfried exclaimed inwardly.

He quickly moved to rescue the NPCs since his quest was to rescue them.

"Hurry up and escape! I will hold them off!" Siegfried exclaimed.

"T-Thank you…!" a ranch worker said before he hurriedly ran away.

Siegfried wouldn't be able to save everyone, but he still tried his best as he ran here and there to save anyone he could save.

However, his efforts proved insufficient.

'I can't save everyone with my current strength…!' Siegfried thought.

There were simply too many monsters for him to handle alone and on top of that…

Rumble… rumble… rumble…

A herd of Mutated Bisons numbering more than twenty suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wreaked havoc across the ranch. Now, the entire ranch was on the verge of complete destruction.

'I guess I have no choice…' he thought.

Siegfried accepted the fact that he could not save everyone and decided to retreat, and this was something that angered him inside. However, he made this choice since he judged that he should at least be Level 50 if he were to single-handedly handle a monster wave of this scale regardless of whether he was the Debuff Master or not.

"Run away! I will try to hold them off here!" Siegfried shouted as he positioned himself at the end of the ranch and held off the monsters.

Then, a bunch of messages popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: The Biermann Territory citizens' Affinity with you has increased by +10!]

[Alert: The increase of the Biermann Territory citizens' Affinity with you has increased your Fame by +10!]

It was the reward for doing a good deed.

The Affinity of Nürburgians (NPC) with an Adventurer (Player) would increase whenever the players helped the NPCs out, and the latter's Fame would increase as well.

The effect of Affinity was simple. A player would receive various kinds of help from the NPCs and even get exclusive information from them. In the case of Fame, a player would have more access to a plethora of different quests the higher their Fame. However, this effect was somewhat redundant since a famous Adventurer was bound to receive more requests.

The Affinity and Fame system worked just like in reality, and the only difference was that the Affinity of NPCs with Adventurers could be seen through a message notification.

Any good deed was bound to be rewarded whether it was in BNW or in the real world, but of course, there were times when a person was required to be cold and cruel as well.

***

The retreat was successful.

"Damn it…! I won't be able to last longer than this…" Siegfried muttered. He could feel that he was reaching his limits.

Suddenly…

"Hiya! Hiya!"

"Cavalry forward! Charge!"

"We will cut their advance here! Don't let them take a step further than this!"

The army of the Biermann Territory made their appearance just in time as they fended off the monsters' advance, although there were only three knights and two hundred soldiers in their ranks.

"I almost died…" Siegfried muttered as he let out a sigh of relief.

[Siegfried]

[HP: ??????????]

His HP was below 10% once again, and this was the second time he almost died in a single day. However, the risk was worth it considering the reward.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have reached Level 12!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have reached Level 13!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have reached Level 14!]

He leveled up three times at once after gaining a huge amount of experience points from fending off the Mutated Animals while helping the civilians escape.

On top of that, he successfully cleared the quest 'Rescue Operation' as well.

[Alert: You have successfully completed the Quest: 'Rescue Operation'!]

[Alert: You have rescued a total of 11 people!]

[Alert: Go to the Mercenary Guild and collect your reward from the guild receptionist, Jericho!]

He would naturally complete the quest after rescuing an additional six people from the five required by the quest.

"I leveled up and completed the quest as well… but something still feels off. A bunch of Mutated Creatures triggered a monster wave…?" Siegfried muttered to himself while watching the cavalry sweep the monsters.

He could not shake off the feeling that there was more to this…

"I think that there's somebody behind this… is it a Monster Tamer? No… why the hell would a Monster Tamer waste their time and skill on Mutated Creatures…? That's just trolling…" he muttered.

A Monster Tamer was a rare class, and it would be just a waste of their time and class to tame Mutated Creatures.

"Ah, forget about it. Let's just go and rest," he said with a sigh as he decided to leave the battlefield and set aside those thoughts for another time.

He had to rest since he could feel a nosebleed coming from fighting for three consecutive hours while protecting the civilians at the ranch at the same time. Siegfried felt mentally and physically drained from protecting them.

"Log out," Siegfried muttered.

He logged out from the game.

***

Three hours later, Siegfried logged back in and found that the situation was still ongoing.

The guild receptionist, Jericho, came to the inn where Siegfried was staying.

"Hey, Siegfried. We have a problem. The Mutated Creatures are still gathering at the ranch," he said.

"Still?" Siegfried asked in surprise.

"That's right. A call to arms has been issued all over the territory," Jericho said.

"That sounds really serious…" Siegfried muttered.

"We need your help once again," Jericho said in a respectful but desperate voice.

"I know it won't be enough just to have you, but we will need every hand we can get, especially from someone like you. Our territory is located in the most rural of the rural areas, and we don't even have a single piece of magic equipment to send a message outside. It will take us at least a week to get any help from outside," Jericho explained.

"I will help," Siegfried replied.

"Will you really do that?" Jericho asked.

"Of course…" Siegfried confidently replied.

"Alright, I will discuss it with the higher-ups and make sure that you won't be disappointed with the rewards," Jericho said.

A message popped up in front of Siegfried's eyes the moment Jericho finished speaking.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest: 'Protect The Biermann Territory'!]

A continuation of his previous quest started.

[Protect The Biermann Territory]

[Type: Normal Quest]

[Description: Do your best to defend the Biermann Territory until the situation ends.]

[Progress: N/A]

[Reward: 100 Gold]

[Warning: You will have to defend the Biermann Territory with all your heart until the whole situation ends.]

The quest's clear condition was a bit vague, but the gold reward was twice the amount of the previous rescue quest.

'This is awesome!' Siegfried exclaimed inwardly after seeing the quest reward.

"We have decided to select you as the leader of the Adventurers and the mercenaries active in the territory," Jericho said.

"Me?" Siegfried replied, taken aback.

"That's right," Jericho replied with a nod.

"But isn't my level too low for you to give such a position to me?" Siegfried asked.

"You are the strongest," Jericho said with a straight face.

"What?!" Siegfried exclaimed in surprise.

"Actually… you are the only one we can actually call an Adventurer in our territory…" Jericho trailed off.

Siegfried immediately understood what he was trying to say, and he could not help but think, 'What kind of territory is this…? Isn't this just a village? No, a village would be better than this place…!'

Once again, he felt how underdeveloped and rural the Biermann Territory was.

***

Siegfried formed a team of adventurers and made his way to the town square to meet up with the mercenaries after accepting the quest.

Clap…! clap…! clap…!

The citizens of Biermann Territory suddenly clapped the moment Siegfried arrived in a populated area of the town.

[Alert: Congratulations! The citizens of Biermann Territory have taken a liking to you!]

[Alert: The Biermann Territory citizens' Affinity with you has increased by +100!]

[Alert: The increase of the Biermann Territory citizens' Affinity with you has increased your Fame by +100!]

[Alert: The Affinity of the Biermann Territory's citizens with you has been upgraded from 'Trust' to 'Respect'!]

A bunch of messages notifying him of the increase in these people's Affinity with him appeared in front of his eyes.

'W-What the hell…?' Siegfried thought.

He could not help but blush at the sudden attention. His face flushed red since this was his first time seeing so many people clapping for him, even though this was just a game.

"You are a hero! Our hero!"

"My daughter survived thanks to you!"

"Bravo! Bravo!"

The citizens were clapping at Siegfried because he successfully rescued the ranch workers, and news of his heroic act had spread all over town.

"Come to my bar sometime soon! Everything will be on the house!"

"What a hero!"

"Do you have… a girlfriend… by any chance…?"

"I want to make you my son-in-law!"

The citizens of Biermann Territory expressed their liking toward him by praising him and patting him on the back as he walked past them.

'This is embarrassing… Who knew a day like this would come to me? Haha…'

He tried his best to hide his embarrassment from the crowd, and he earnestly replied to each and every one of the citizens before he made his way to the town square.

"You must be that adventurer. It's nice to meet you, my name is Gazelle. I have heard of your exploits," said a mercenary named Gazelle.

"My name is Thompson."

"My name is Noowu."

The Nürburgian mercenaries introduced themselves and approached him one by one to shake his hand.

"Oh, an Asian? Nice to meet you; my name is Jang Man-Bok, and I'm Korean," said an Asian Adventurer.

"My name is Expact, an American."

"Are you the leader of this squadron? My name is Lowe."

The three Adventurers introduced themselves to Siegfried as well.

"My name is Siegfried. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Siegfried introduced himself to the party members he would be working together with for this quest.

"Hey, Siegfried, how do you plan to lead us?" Thompson asked.

"Hmm…" Siegfried muttered for a moment before he replied, "Jericho asked me to group up with the soldiers and push the monster wave back."

"Hmm… I see… so it's going to be a simple battle, then?" Thompson mumbled.

"But I have other plans…" Siegfried suddenly said.

"Hmm?" the entire party muttered in surprise at his words.

"I plan to fight as well, but I'm thinking of investigating rather than fighting," Siegfried said.

"Investigate? What are you planning to investigate?" Thompson asked.

"I want to investigate why these Mutated Creatures formed a monster wave," Siegfried said.