The Protagonists Are Murdered by Me - Chapter 95

Player.

It was a term referring to people who suddenly fell into Pleidin and gained an ability similar to a ‘game’. They could grow stronger by leveling up by hunting monsters or going around dungeons and also by enchanting their weapons.

It is said that most ‘players’ have ‘class’ and ‘special skills’ that match each individual’s personality, and they are said to be able to further refine their characteristics through the main system called ‘enhancement’ by equipping the appropriate items.

However, there was one important point.

The fact that this world that looks like a game at first glance was by no means a game.

<It seems that the game system has been gifted to the real world. It is similar to the previous ‘The Arache World’.>

“Are there many worlds that share a similar setting as this one?”

<It’s not many, but this kind of setting is the best environment for the protagonist to be born, so you might encounter it quite often in the future. Game system setting is built on the basis of enormous probability. It is not uncommon for it to focus on one person.>

I know it because I had studied till then. In game-based fantasy, or game-based fusion fantasy, the protagonist always got the best from the system. Such as hidden class, highest grade weapon, and hidden piece.

<That is correct! You studied hard!>

“…..”

I ignored the system’s words and looked around.

The architecture and the fashion in this world were around medieval times. However, the civilization itself has developed considerably.

Of course, the hygiene side of things was very neat, and the technology used magic power as their fuel. Power poles and streetlights were lined up around the street. There were also horseless carriages here and there.

“It’s a bustling city.”

As I walked the streets, I slowly grasped the culture here.

First of all, the place where I was standing was a place where a lot of players gathered, to look for ‘party’ members. In order to raid dungeons or hunt monsters, you can systematically group up and hunt to receive rewards and experience points.

Most of the party-lookers were below level 100, and those who had slightly  higher level left their recruitment post at the mercenary office.

“Hey. I’m also a player, but can I level up by hunting monsters?”

<It’s not possible.>

“Why?”

<Players in this world have officially received the game system, and their growth potential has been raised significantly through ‘potential liberation’. Originally, it means that even those who have lived their entire lives as ordinary people can become superhumans. However, you do not have such privileges at all. I just temporarily turned you into a player.>

“Ah, okay.”

I don’t know what you are talking about.

<In addition, every talent had their own ‘level cap’. For some, level 100 was their cap and for some other level 200 was their cap. And your level cap has been fixed at level 15 since birth.>

“Ah…. That’s why.”

No matter what kind of training, education or even shortcut I take to accumulate experience, my level wouldn’t rise.

I could only improve my skills proficiency, learn about magic and use more techniques with my current stats, that’s all.

<Don’t be heartbroken. It is rare across all dimensions to achieve level 15 with zero potential.>

“No, it’s not like that.”

I’ve been heartbroken for 15 years, and I have already moved past it because now I could break through my limit by hunting protagonists.

‘By the way, where is the protagonist?’

I roughly understand about this world setting. Other parts could be learned while observing the protagonist. As I hesitated at the mercenary office like that, someone came up to me and talked to me.

“Hey, brother. Are you a ‘tank?”

“Tank?”

Tank was an occupation that stood in the forefront of the party and drew the monster’s aggro towards themselves. My fighting style was far away from a tank, but for now, I nodded.

“Yes. I am. How did you know?”

“I just knew it when I saw you. You are wearing heavy armor.”

It seems like this guy was thinking that my ether suit was heavy armor. Well, it’s indeed quite thick.

“That armor, at least, looks Unique to Epic grade item. I think the defense is also high. What is your level? I’m going to raid the ‘Doom High Pike’, but you need to be at least level 80 and have a weapon with level 3 enchantment.”

Enchantment?

The system indeed said that there is a system called Enchantment in this world.

But.

<Unfortunately, Hunter Yoo seodam couldn’t use it. Because enchantment is an act of accumulating probability.>

‘Is there anything I can do?’

I replied honestly.

“Ah, I don’t have an enchanted weapon.”

“What? Did the weapon break during the enchantment process?”

“Ah, well…. It’s not like that.”

During the enchantment process, there’s a chance that the weapon would break.

I was glad because it seems like it’s possible to obtain information that the system hasn’t found out yet from this person.

“So, uh… How did you enchant a weapon?”

“Why don’t you know that? Are you really a player?”

This is a question I anticipated.

There’s not much answer I could give in this kind of situation.

The First method, I lost my memory pattern.

It’s a very common cliché, and it’s also a universal line that the main characters in novels use often. Usually, if you said this line, the other person would kindly explain it to you.

The second method, I can use is the foreigner pattern.

Although cliché, it is also often used. It’s a bit less used compared to memory loss pattern, so this might be better. Usually, if you said that you lived far away and Extra 1 would kindly respond to you and tell you everything you didn’t even ask.

“Because I lived in a faraway place, I don’t know about enchantment. If you’re okay, could you please explain it to me…?”

“Ah, I don’t have time. Go somewhere else and ask.”

“……”

Right.

It was a cliché that could only be used by the protagonist.

* * *

In the end, I had to snoop around the mercenary offices to inquire about the ‘Enchantment’ and ‘item’ system.

“Where did you come from that you didn’t know about this thing? Are you really a player?”

It was quite easy to acquire that information. I was able to hear about enchantment by asking a free talented player.

“Items are divided into 8 grades. Normal, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Epic, Hero and lastly Legendary. However, only two players in this entire world have obtained Legendary-grade items.”

“Who is it?”

“It is ‘Perutius’, who appeared like a comet a few years ago and awakened to the legendary class ‘Braveheart’, and ‘Pasios’ of the Black Knights Guild. Don’t you know both of them?”

“I know one.”

“Of course you know. If you don’t know about Perutius, who is going to fight against ‘Black Dragon King Carcasedin’, you are not a player.”

“…..”

I didn’t know much about him, I just knew it because he was the protagonist of this world.

“You can do enchantments anywhere and anytime you want. However, the problem is that the success rate is atrocious. The success rate is 50% for the first enchantment, 25% for second enchantment, 10% for third enchantment, 5% for fourth enchantment, And the fifth enhancement is 1%, which is very awful.”

“Crazy….”

“Well, rumor says that there are actually quite a few Legendary weapons…. However, everything must have burst in flames. Pasios’s weapon, once called the strongest, is on seventh enchantment. But Perutius took the place of the strongest when he succeeded enchanting his weapon to 10. Although Perutius has lower level than Pasios… That gap will soon close. It’s okay to assume that no one can go beyond Perutius anymore.”

“Wow.”

Fifth enchantment success rate was only 1%, but he enchanted his weapon to tenth enchantment, you say?

In the first place, he is the main character related to ‘luck’. It must have been possible because of some special privileges. Thinking that way, Pasios, who succeeded enchanting a legendary weapon to seventh enchantment without even correction of the protagonist, felt even greater.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No. Thank you.”

“okay. May the supreme-ruler of enchantment be with you. I hope that Perutius is passing by, and his luck will come to us as well.”

As I said goodbye to him, I left the mercenary office while feeling troubled.

Enhancement, items, level up.

I can’t use the system. However, when I talked to the mercenary player, I noticed one very good thing. It was the fact that I could use the item well.

In other words.

“….If I can’t reinforce, can I take the finished product that has been reinforced?”

As the inventory rank rises to S, it is now possible to bring items of a fairly high grade back to Earth. The other day, I left a second-grade ether blade in another world, so I was using a third-grade right now.

“System, please find out how high is the third-grade ether blade in this world ranking system.”

<When I sensed the energy, third-grade ether blade was confirmed to be a ‘rare’ grade in this world ranking system.>

Considering that the limit of items that could be stored in the inventory(S) was a named grade, it means that I could bring items up to the ‘hero’ grade to Earth.

I have a lot of time anyway. The time difference between this world and earth was 18 times. Even if I stay here for more than a month, only two days would have passed on earth.

I also heard that there are quite a lot of bandits who loot other people’s items in this world, and most of them were intertwined with the protagonist’s storyline. What if I deal with them first?

I think it’s killing two birds with one stone, as I could get items and feel like I’m doing something good even when I am doing bad things.

<Hunter Yoo seodam… The protagonist…>

“Ah. Just wait for now. I’ll do it all. Do you believe in me?”

<I have no one else to trust except Seodam…>

“Hey, don’t worry.”

Somehow, the client asked in a sullen voice.

<But…but you probably have plans on how to hunt the protagonist right…?>

To that, I answered without worrying.

“Maybe.”

How long I’ve been here, there’s no way I already have plans in my mind.

“Think of it with common sense. How do you get a guy who has a tenth enchantment weapon?”

<……>

“So, wouldn’t it be a little easier to deal with him when I become stronger by enchanting? This is all part of my plan, okay?”

<Yes…>

Eventually, the client had no choice but to accept my words.

* * *

In the southeastern part of the Pleidin continent, along the road that connects Kingdom of Su and Dwarven Kingdom, there’s a wide forest called ‘Ceradin great forest’. Due to the nature of the forest, different kinds of races and monsters inhabited this place.

Therefore, it was natural for Kluton merchants to hire mercenaries to guard them on their way to do business at Dwarven Kingdom.

“It’s reassuring to be with the players.”

The Kluton Chamber of Commerce hired twenty players as mercenaries. These players suddenly appeared in the world a few years ago, and based on their peculiar abilities, they quickly became strong, and now they are comparable to the world’s strongest. Their strength was reliable enough.

“Hoho, don’t worry, we’re also experts in monster hunting.”

Heenen, who led the band of mercenaries, has a level of 104, which is higher than the average players. It was only natural for her to have confidence in herself.

However, there was one thing that was unfortunate, that is the fact that the player was very lacking in experience compared to their strong power.

Kwadudududug!

Suddenly the ground shook and shot up.

Kluton’s merchants all shouted in confusion.

“What, what!”

“Is it an earthquake?”

“No! This, this is magic!”

Blah blah!

The phenomenon only happens in an instance.

When the pre-installed artifact items on the ground were triggered, the ground shook, and dozens of pillars rose up and crushed people. It was a basic item, but Heenen couldn’t respond.

“Ugh, it’s a surprise attack! This cowardly guy…!”

“Haha! Give me everything you have!”

Using an item means that you are a player. Heenen hurriedly pulled her sword and responded to the bandits that were rushing towards her from all sides.

She was certainly on the strong side. If she swung her sword once, three or four bandits would be cut off, and she could run so fast that makes people having a hard time to trace her.

However, Heenen and her mercenaries, who had been leveling up by hunting monsters so far, did not know how to deal with people. On the other hand, the bandits were smart enough to arrange all kinds of items and tactics to drain their stamina.

“Ugh! The floor is sticky!”

“Kek! There are poison arrows installed!”

“Uh, get down! It’s a flare night artifact!”

Each of the bandits were certainly weak. However, they were experts in dealing with players stronger than themselves. On top of it mercenaries had to fight while defending the merchant.

“Haha, level 100 player is no big deal?”

“Ugh…….”

In the end, it was natural in some way that Heenen and her mercenaries were defeated.

“Tie them up!”

The bandits gathered all the mercenaries and merchants and put them together. It was quite ominous for her when she saw some bandits laugh unpleasantly while looking at her face. But there was no time to worry about that.

“Oh oh! boss! There is a unique-grade bow here! It was even enchanted until fourth-enchantment!”

“Great! High-level players indeed use some good stuff. There’s so many epic items.”

Now, the bandits were busy distributing the items they stole, but what would happen to the mercenaries and merchants when the bandits finished their business? The woman would surely be taken as slaves by the bandits, and the rest were likely to die.

‘I don’t want to be dragged into slavery like this…!’

She had a lot of dreams and a lot of things she wanted to do. She would rather die than living as a lifelong slave. When she closed her eyes with such desperate thoughts.

Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwang!!

A loud explosion rang out, and the group of bandits fell into confusion.

“Wow!”

“Wha,..what!”

“what the .... is this magic…!”

It was such a tremendous roar that it seemed that their eardrum would burst. And then they felt the ground shake.

Bang, Kwa-Aang!

The explosion didn’t only happen once. Wherever the black ball things landed, an explosion occurred. But there was no way to know what kind of item it was. And that wasn’t the end.

Tung!

“Who, who are you!”

“He showed up!”

A man dressed in a strange black armor appeared in the middle of the bandits. He pulled out a shining sword and started to cut down all the bandits like autumn leaves!

The bandit group were falling apart without even responding properly.

“Ugh, in a surprise attack! This cowardly guy…!”

“Haha! Give me everything you have!”

Somehow, conversations that she had heard before came out once again, but Heenen brushed it off as déjà vu.

The battle quickly ended.

“Oh my supreme-ruler…..”

“He dealt with all the bandits by himself…!”

The man with overwhelming power succeeded in killing all the bandits by using mysterious items! Somehow, Heenen felt respect towards him. So she told him with twinkling eyes.

“Thank you for saving me!”

Then, the man in black armor replied.

“Yeah, I guess I really saved you!”

Bandits carried a bundle of equipment that they stole from the mercenaries.

“The item.”

“Yeah?”

With that short phrase, the man in black armor disappeared.

“Uh…..”

Heenen couldn’t figure out the situation.

“…Did he just rob a robber?”

More than despondency of losing her items, she was just dumbfounded and couldn’t utter any words.