Chapter 3: Were You a PC?

Dark red blood stained his old clothes, and his frail body fell weakly to the ground.

However, even as he fell, Nick only showed signs of confusion, not great surprise, despite the severity of his injuries being obvious at a glance.

Ain, judging that he might be in shock, hastily took out a transparent stone from his pocket and infused it with mana.

"The freest of all beings, dance across every corner of this world! In exchange for returning a part of you…."

"Got owned in one hit."

"Should I blow them away?!"

Nick's voice was utterly calm, showing no fear, only a hint of annoyance.

"If I die, I won't be able to play for a while."

Then, he pulled his hand holding the knife to the side and repeatedly stabbed the wolf's side.

This was a stark contrast to the earlier scene where he had been vomiting after killing a rat with a club.

"Mr. Mohaji…?"

Ain stared at him with wide eyes. He had thought that 'environment settings' was just an illusion spell, but now he was slowly realizing that it wasn't.

"Ugh! Gah!"

Blood poured from the split belly, and the wolf's jaws slowly loosened. Blood foam gurgled from the mouth that had been biting his shoulder, and the wolf finally fell backward, with Nick gasping for breath.

But it wasn't time to relax yet. The severity of his injuries hadn't changed, and blood was now gushing from his shoulder where the teeth had sunk in.

"Mr. Mohaji!!"

"Huh?"

"We need to stop the bleeding first. You're losing a lot of blood!"

"Blood?"

Nick looked at his shoulder and gave an awkward smile. With the hard mode disabled and another mode applied, his blood-soaked shoulder must have looked different to him.

"My shoulder… it's a rose garden. It's beautiful. There are tulips everywhere."

"It's shock! Your mind is affected by shock!"

Ain rummaged through his bag, took out bandages and medicine, and started applying the medicine.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no pain when applying the medicine, either due to the magic or the heat from the battle.

Once the risk of shock from excessive blood loss was reduced, Ain wiped the blood from his hands onto the remaining bandages and sighed.

"I was really scared. Why were you so reckless?"

"…Because catching rabbits isn't efficient?"

Ain's eyes narrowed. 'Value your life!' The words rose to his throat but were barely held back.

Whether he understood or not, Nick scratched his head and awkwardly laughed, trying to change the subject by pointing at the wolf.

"Anyway, since we caught the wolf, can we go after the boar now?"

"Red Fangs are much stronger than wolves, and you're asking this now?!"

"It's fine. I'll buy a beginner's starter pack."

"Starter pack or whatever… No, buy? What's that?"

Was he talking about buying equipment? But from what Ain could see, Nick had neither money nor expensive accessories. He didn't even have a decent shoulder guard.

Moreover, Ain thought the problem wasn't something that could be solved just by buying equipment.

In the end, Ain decided he needed to point out the reality and spoke with effort.

"You're really lacking in skill."

"Such harsh words all of a sudden?"

"From what I saw, you really lack skill."

"Don't soften it after you've already said it…!"

"But it's the truth. Who reacts only after being bitten by a wolf?"

"I don't care if I die… I'm low-level, so there won't be any penalties."

"I can understand that you're saying something incomprehensible, but saying it's okay to die is too much, isn't it?!"

Seeing how Nick treated his body like an object, Ain finally shouted, and Nick looked at him with a mix of surprise and indignation.

He tried to continue with something about being a player, but to Ain, it was a series of incomprehensible statements.

If this continues, I'll just ignore him! Ain's face, clearly showing his anger, furrowed, and Nick finally caught on.

"…I'm sorry."

"…Really?"

"Yes. I won't troll anymore."

"Troll."

"Yes. It was a hardcore troll."

What is trolling? That was the problem for Ain.

But it didn't seem like the right time to ask, 'What is trolling?' so Ain maintained his angry face while trying to guess the meaning of the word.

The troll, a monster with remarkable regenerative abilities that frustrates adventurers. Except for a few superior individuals, they are not particularly dangerous if you exploit their habit of attacking recklessly, relying only on their regenerative powers.

Was Nick saying he acted like a troll, straightforward and thoughtless? Ain finally deduced the meaning of the word and nodded.

"Good, you understand you were wrong."

"Thanks for trying to help with the spirit earlier. I have a tendency to keep trying until I succeed. I guess I went all out thinking it was a party play."

"Ha… I understand."

Ain's resolve to forgive him was weakened by Nick's visible effort to show remorse.

Ain had gradually noticed that Nick used formal speech only when it was to his disadvantage, but he still chose to trust people.

"But how did you know I could use spirits? I didn't even summon one."

"I thought about becoming a spirit user and checked the settings. But I gave up when I read that lower spirits are like children. I'm not good with childcare."

"Childcare…"

Ain gave a bitter smile. It was actually a pretty apt metaphor.

While the personalities of spirits vary by attribute, lower spirits are generally difficult to command and are playful, regardless of their attribute.

"Then, what kind of job do you want to do? From the way you use 'environment settings,' I thought you were already a mage…."

"Environment settings? Oh, that… it's not a combat spell."

"Really?"

Then how did he kill the slimes and beetles? Ain thought Nick must have been incredibly lucky.

"Usually, a shield and a longsword make a stable fighter."

"Shields reduce damage output."

"Damage output?"

"The thrill and catharsis of seeing the damage meter spike?"

Ain rubbed his forehead and muttered the name of the god of mercy and compassion, Hiros. Acknowledge and respect the other person. Consider the other person's feelings….

"If you're confident in your physical abilities, a martial artist or assassin would be good."

"I'm not that confident."

"I know. I saw earlier."

"…Ugh, but I agree. I'm more physically resilient than I thought. I'll think about what job to take."

At least recognizing his limitations was a step forward. As they returned to the guild, Nick mentioned something about an online Zoom lecture and quickly disappeared.

Where is he going with those injuries? Ain was worried about Nick's condition but wasn't close enough to follow him, so he decided to return to the guild.

After meeting Nick, every moment felt exhausting. He went to his room hoping for a good night's sleep, but instead of a soft bed, he received a call from the vice-guild leader.

It seems bad luck lasts until bedtime. With a frown, Ain went down the stairs to meet the vice-guild leader, who had just returned from a trip, standing with his arms crossed.

A rough, rock-like appearance.

His body, covered in large and small scars, clearly showed his past. His black eyes exuded a calm and heavy presence, as if they wouldn't waver even in the midst of a raging fire.

Just looking at him made one feel the urge to confess and repent for all their sins.

The vice-guild leader, with a stern face, bent down and met Ain's eyes.

After a long silence, he spoke softly.

"Ain, keep an eye on the new recruit you're in charge of."

"Me?"

"That guy doesn't seem to care about his body at all."

The trained D-rank mercenary's intuition made Ain nod.

"…Yes, I noticed that too."

The image of Nick's actions came to mind. From not flinching when bitten by a wolf to saying he didn't care if he died.

Bits of knowledge slowly surfaced in Ain's mind.

The vice-guild leader, as if waiting for this, continued slowly.

His face was unusually serious.

"That guy is a fragment of chaos that has flowed in from the open beta."

"…Open beta? Chaos?"

Ain had vaguely heard about the open beta yesterday.

A new dimension opening, neither heaven, hell, nor the spirit world.

But no one expected it to be a gap through which chaos could flow.

It is commonly referred to as the origin of all sacred things or the destruction that can even take away light.

One of its most distinctive features is its immortality, which even the emperor of the largest empire in history and the demon king who plunged the continent into chaos did not possess.

"Recently, beings suspected to be fragments have started appearing across the continent, including humans, all races, and even monsters."

"Monsters…"

Chaos is a divine entity, but its nature, whether good or evil, is still debated among theologians.

What is certain is that its blessings are distributed equally to all, regardless of their nature.

"The most distinctive feature of those blessed is that they can't die, no matter what. They also use incomprehensible words, which might be languages from the divine realm."

'Environment settings,' 'bad game,' 'damage spike,' 'meter'—words whose meanings Ain couldn't understand flashed through his mind. These were languages from the divine realm, beyond the understanding of mere mortals.

"Can I handle such an existence?"

"If I or the guild leader were to monitor him, he would notice immediately. I judged you to be the best candidate, but if it's too much, I won't force you."

"…No."

It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared. If he got involved, no one could predict what might happen.

If he offended an immortal fragment of chaos, losing his life might be the least of his worries.

Ain's ambiguous smile made the vice-guild leader frown slightly and give a bitter laugh.

"I'll try."

Where this courage came from, even Ain couldn't explain.

He was just a D-rank mercenary, not a hero, and had no confidence in ruling the continent.

But Ain wanted to show Nick how precious and valuable life is. That was the only reason.

"I will watch over this PC (Piece of Chaos) until the end."