RPG Veteran Possesses Their Main Character

-《6》

"Phlurp!?"

The slime, seemingly startled by the spear hit, jumped into the air.

Its transparent body trembled, and sticky liquid splattered on the ground.

The guard lowered his posture and blocked the front as if protecting Lumiel.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, right?"

"..."

Lumiel didn't answer.

She just stared blankly at the guard.

"...Mister, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean! I'm saving you!"

The guard continued firmly.

"These guys are more dangerous than you think. Don't let your guard down just because they don't look scary!"

"..."

Lumiel was momentarily at a loss for words.

What should she say?

To her, it was just a cute slime, but the guard's attitude was as if he was facing a giant monster.

'Could it be that he thinks I'm a beginner?'

Hmm, come to think of it, that might be possible.

Lumiel sighed.

Now that she thought about it, this was near the beginner's village.

Even a level 5 mob could be threatening to beginners.

So from the guard's perspective, he must think he's saving a young girl who approached a dangerous monster.

"...Mister, I'm fine."

"That's why I told you. You shouldn't come out alone to places like this, go back to the village!"

The guard said firmly.

But Lumiel had no intention of returning to the village.

Rather, this was where the real adventure was about to begin, and he was telling her to go back?

Lumiel slowly sighed and said:

"I'm telling you, it's okay. I'm strong."

"Strong? What nonsense is a beginner suddenly spouting?"

The guard shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"Because I'm not a beginner..."

Lumiel looked at the guard for a while, then suddenly had an interesting thought.

Since he wouldn't believe her explanation anyway, showing him directly would be the quickest way.

Lumiel quietly looked at the slime.

The one that had just been attacked was still rippling on the ground.

"Mister, I'll show you something interesting."

"...?"

While the guard made a puzzled expression, Lumiel quietly raised her hand.

And—

Tap.

She lightly touched the slime's body with her fingertip.

At that moment—

-《3,000,000,000》

The familiar receipt from the game screen.

This time too, 3 billion damage appeared.

Poof!

The slime disappeared without a trace.

All that remained were small items dropped on the ground.

At this astonishing sight, the guard's jaw dropped.

"Wha, what..."

Lumiel quietly looked at the guard and smiled gently.

The guard alternately looked at Lumiel and the ground with a blank expression.

And then—

"...Wha, what? What was that just now?!"

He fell into a state of panic.

"How did this happen?! You... who on earth are you?!"

Lumiel looked at the clear sky for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

"Just a passing adventurer, so don't worry about me."

The guard was still stammering, seemingly not recovered from the shock.

But Lumiel no longer paid attention to him.

"Well then, I'll be going."

"Wa, wait! Where are you going?!"

"On an adventure."

Saying that, Lumiel slowly walked towards the forest path where slimes were still bouncing around.

The guard watched her figure disappear over the horizon with a dazed expression.

○

After passing through the slime habitat and walking a bit further, a faint sobbing sound could be heard from somewhere.

"Sniff, sob..."

Lumiel turned her gaze towards the direction of the sound.

On one side of the road, a red-haired man was crouching and crying.

"...Ah."

This NPC was also in Lumiel's memory.

Fiolo.

One of the beginner quests that could be undertaken here.

This man named Fiolo is an NPC who had his bag stolen by slimes.

The bag contained a village return scroll, which was the key item for the quest, and he couldn't return home without it.

Lumiel quietly approached him.

"Um... Are you okay?"

When she spoke to him, Fiolo startled and raised his head.

Red hair and a round face, an expression covered in tears came into view.

"Uh, sniff... Adventurer?"

He saw Lumiel, sniffled, and wiped his tears.

"You're an adventurer, aren't you? I'm sorry for showing such an unsightly state. ...If you don't have any plans, could you help me?"

"What's the matter?"

"Sniff, I'm... Fiolo."

It was just as she remembered.

"The slimes stole my bag. That greedy slime over there ran away with my bag... There's a village return scroll inside, and I lost it. So I can't go back home..."

Lumiel reflexively opened her inventory.

[Village Return Scroll × 99,999]

Tens of thousands of village return scrolls piled up came into view.

So many return scrolls that it was a shame she couldn't carry more due to the quantity limit.

This could be resolved by just handing over one of these.

Lumiel scratched her cheek and fell into thought for a moment.

Come to think of it, according to the encyclopedia description she had briefly seen before, greedy slimes were more bouncy, softer, and even described as tastier than normal slimes.

Soft and delicious slimes.

...What would that be like?

Lumiel felt her heart pounding with the sudden expectation that arose.

Since she had come this far, it was an opportunity to check for herself.

After closing her inventory, she slowly nodded.

"Wait. I'll find it for you."

"Re, really?"

Fiolo looked at Lumiel while wiping his tears.

Lumiel nodded with a gentle smile.

"Sniff... Thank you! Adventurer!"

Leaving Fiolo bowing his head repeatedly with a moved expression, Lumiel walked towards the direction where the greedy slime's dwelling was.

She moved her steps slowly, looking around with an excited heart.

However, there was already someone there.

In the distance, a faint human silhouette could be seen.

Lumiel stopped in her tracks for a moment.

This was a place she had passed dozens, no, hundreds of times.

And, clearly—

It was a place where NPCs didn't appear.

Then, that person...?

Lumiel stood up straight. For a moment, she felt hopeful that this person might be a 'player' like herself.

Lumiel had never seen another player besides herself until now.

In this place where all NPCs acted as if they were alive and breathing, there might be someone in the same situation as Lumiel.

If so, could they perhaps set out on an adventure together?

With a pounding heart, Lumiel quickly approached him.

But-

The moment she saw the name and level display above his head, Lumiel's expectation crumbled miserably.

[Lv.8 Novice Adventurer]

Her posture lost its strength and drooped.

Lumiel's eyes also became sorrowful, drawing a gentle curve.

It was an NPC.

But... it was an NPC she had never seen before.

A novice adventurer?

There were no quests that involved such an NPC among the quests that could be undertaken here.

A completely new existence.

Along with disappointment, a strange interest welled up.

Expectation for a new discovery swelled in her heart.

Without hesitating any longer, Lumiel approached in one breath.

"Who are you?"

"...!?"

Startled by the unexpected voice from behind, the novice adventurer turned his head abruptly.

Surprised eyes began to scan Lumiel momentarily.

"Whoa!?"

The novice adventurer, who momentarily lost his balance and staggered, quickly lowered his body and hid in the grass.

His face was clearly flustered.

"Ah, no... What the!?"

Why is he suddenly acting like this?

Lumiel tilted her head and looked at the novice adventurer.

The novice adventurer also stared at Lumiel intently, then sighed as if dumbfounded.

"What, it's just a kid? Why is a kid like you here?"

"What are you doing right now?"

"...What!?"

The novice adventurer looked Lumiel up and down once again.

Then he burst into a dry laugh.

"...Are you joking? Do you even know where this is?"

"Yes. It's where the greedy slime is, right?"

"You knew that and still came here?"

The novice adventurer made an expression as if he couldn't believe it.

"Did you get lost?"

She shook her head.

Lumiel was someone who remembered even the fire hydrant placed meaninglessly in the corner of the beginner's village.

For such a Lumiel, the idea of getting lost was nonsense.

"...You didn't come here without a guardian, did you?"

The novice adventurer scratched his head as if dumbfounded, then glanced at Lumiel and sighed again.

"Haa... Right, kids sometimes pretend to be brave and come out of the village. But you've come too deep. This is not a place for a kid like you. It's dangerous."

Lumiel blinked at those words.

In the game, the greedy slime was a particularly weak monster among those appearing in the early stages.

It even had high HP but low attack power, so beginners who were good at moving could face it without armor.

Lumiel knew this fact so well that she couldn't understand the novice adventurer's concern at all.

"...So, what are you doing?"

"Me? Of course, I came here on a request!"

The novice adventurer puffed out his chest proudly.

"An old man said his bag was stolen! I'm going to retrieve it for that poor old man!"

Lumiel's eyes sparkled with interest.

'It's the first time I've seen an NPC going to solve a quest themselves!'

In the existing game system, quests were always performed by players.

But this NPC was acting on his own, trying to solve another NPC's problems.

It was such a fascinating sight.

"But, did you really come here alone?"

The novice adventurer asked, still giving a suspicious look.

"Yes."

"...Huh, that's really some guts."

Then he suddenly smiled and continued.

"Well, anyway, a kid like you probably can't even properly catch one slime, so hurry up and go back."

"..."

"Didn't you hear me? A kid like you will only get in the way here, so obediently go back to the village."

Lumiel looked at the novice adventurer with a blank expression.

'I wonder what the greedy slime tastes like.'

That was Lumiel's thought.