Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

Chapter 11: I Didn't Know (4)

The Inquisitor grasped her shield and mace with all her strength as she watched the man get swallowed by the darkness. She was gripped with a strong feeling that she shouldn’t let go of that man, his expression filled with displeasure.

“Sir Archmage, what… what should I do now?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. This old man has never been in such a situation before.”

“I can’t just let him leave like that. I know he’s strong, but if he gets devoured by Demons…”

“Do you truly think this man will end up eaten by Demons?”

“…I personally hope not, but…”

“I know what you mean. What one hopes and what will happen are two very different things.”

He managed to read a lot from her silence. The Archmage touched his chin for a while before snapping his fingers.

“I’ll just put a mark on that young man for now. Let’s give him some time and… meet up with him again later, making it look like a coincidence. Forcefully following him now would only anger him unnecessarily.”

“…Alright.”

She agreed to that compromise.

* * *

“…Am I back?”

When I reached the city’s entrance, I made up my mind. See if I ever walk down this road again. Damn those Deep Sea bastards.

“…"

Walking all day was fine, but perhaps because I was traveling alone, it felt like an in-game day was equivalent to an entire real-life day, despite only being about eight hours in reality. It was still bearable, though.

No. I had to say something.

What were those crazy Deep Sea Pearl guys playing at? I usually forgot the time while immersing myself in a game, but not to the point where I would mistake eight hours for twenty-four…!

Still, yeah. I could tolerate that much because it could be seen as something positive. If it feels like you played the game for longer than you actually did, it would be incredibly advantageous for gamers with busy lives.

But what kind of game implemented mental and physical fatigue to such a degree? I could understand some games adding a satiety system, but exhaustion?

What? Were they trying to tell us not to hunt for 24 hours straight or something? Were they aware they had made the game far too realistic?

But this was how they decided to regulate it? Shouldn't they just ban Full Dives at that point? I mean, people who’d spent a lot of money to prepare for a Full Dive just to be met with this would get seriously pissed…!

They even made insects appear everywhere. On the dirt, between the grass, on the trees, everywhere!

The optimization was so good that the game didn't lag even once despite having so many moving objects, but it kind of felt like a waste of technology.

Did they know the horror I felt when a bug crawled up my back while I was trying to close my eyes a little in the forest? Did they? Those Deep Sea bastards.

It was fine and all that they made such a realistic, divine game, but this was just too much!

“Huh? You're back already…?"

I couldn't avoid talking to Clerk Izren.

“…Check it."

I had gone through so much to get that. It was really hard.

“A snake… Could it be!"

However, I couldn't cry over something like that as a cool character. After throwing the snake's corpse before the clerk, I sat on a chair in front of the service window.

“A Medusa… So it was a Medusa. In that case…"

Ah, I seriously wanted to log out and stop the Full Dive. This was the first time I wanted to stop a game because it was too well-made.

I was tired enough that I would probably still feel exhausted after logging out. My new condition for games was that they shouldn't affect my real life too much, but this exhaustion would certainly ruin it.

“We'll have to keep an eye on the movements in the forest just in case… That should do it."

But it would be a waste of money to log out now; Full Dives were incredibly expensive. If one were to exit in the middle, they would have to replace both the liquid and nutrient supplements.

This was so damn sad. It was such a divine game, but I was suffering because it was a divine game. Shit.

“After investigating the truth behind this incident, we will declare the request complete and pay your reward. Good work, Adventurer."

Tada Dada!

As she said that, a cheerful sound effect echoed in my ear. It really wasn't pleasant to my ears at the moment.

I currently felt very dazed and my eyelids were extremely heavy, as if I actually walked back here throughout the night. It was so hard to enjoy anything in that state, even though I was playing a game.

“It… It seems like you are very tired. Should I recommend you an inn?"

Recommend an inn? That would be good. I originally planned on going to the one the merchant company had booked me a room in, but staying in a different place might be better.

“Con!"

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“Yes!"

At the clerk’s call, the kid I encountered when just starting the game slowly jogged over to us.

“Could you take Sir Adventurer to the White Wind Inn?”

“Yes. Leave it to me!"

The child looked even more energetic and lovely than back then, while I was utterly exhausted and worn out this time.

“Erm… Did you come back after hunting a Demon, Mister Adventurer?"

“…Yes."

“What kind of Demon did you hunt? What was it like? Was it very strong?"

The kid, who seemed far less timid than back then, got closer to me. It was unfortunate.

Had it been any other time, I would have answered him properly as long as my character setting allowed it, but I didn't have the mental capacity to do that now.

“Demons shouldn't be discussed for no reason."

I spoke in an extremely icy voice. And as I intended, the kid immediately shut his mouth at my harsh words.

“…I'm sorry."

Aaah! It wasn't something he had to apologize for! It was this useless adult who should apologize here! If he were a real child, I might have actually groveled in apology. I'm sorry for not being a mature enough adult to apologize to you properly, NPC kid…!

As I struggled with my guilt, we reached the inn. Fortunately, the boy even told the innkeeper to take good care of me despite my being so harsh to him before.

He was a really mature kid who could set his personal feelings aside.

“…! Thank you very much!"

And I was just an immature adult who only knew how to praise him by giving him a tip…

“…Should I just log out?”

After giving the boy a big tip, I continued to ponder that as I entered my inn room.

I should just do it. Roleplay was incredibly fun, thanks to the lively responses from the NPCs, but the game itself was very exhausting.

To put it differently, this didn’t feel like I was enjoying a fun game, but more like going through an extremely difficult movie shooting. This sentiment was hard to change, even with the fun memories and appreciation I felt.

“Sigh…”

No… I just felt this way because my fatigue was maxed out. Of course, the game company that made me feel this way was to be blamed…

As I fell on the bed, a window appeared before my eyes.

「 ▲ Sleep for 0 hours 00 minutes ▼ 」

I set the counter to an appropriate six hours. After sleeping, I would decide whether to continue playing this game or log out. I knew I would regret making decisions while extremely tired, after all.

Ah… Now that I thought of it, I still needed to wipe the blood off my body…

They made the grime disappear from my equipment over time, but why didn’t they do the same for the dirt on my head and skin…?

Unfortunately, just as I thought of that, I had already pressed the confirm button, my vision already gradually fading to black.

* * *

* * *

‘I have to get up.’

「A hostile existence has entered a radius of 10m.」

My eyes immediately opened. Seeing how even less light was coming through the window than before I had fallen asleep, it seemed to be around midnight. Absolute silence entered my ears. Not even a single cricket let out its cry.

That aside, it seemed like [Detection] had just sent me a notification, right?

…I also didn’t leave my window open like that.

I grabbed the sword I had placed beside me as I slowly blinked. As soon as I did—

Bam!

A heavy blow hit the blade I had reflexively lifted.

I felt a chill go down my spine. I could feel a clear presence behind me, so clear that I wondered how I hadn’t noticed it until then.

“Shit!”

The first thing the stranger did was cuss. I was the one who should do that, though. That damn skill didn’t wake me until the enemy was right before me.

“Die!”

The heavy object that had hit my Zweihänder pulled away, and along with the sound of the wind, a thick killing intent poured toward me.

Of course, there was no reason to just take their attacks. I quickly raised my upper body. As befitting of a game character, my eyes adapted quickly to the darkness, immediately reflecting my current situation.

Baam!

A club hit the empty bed as I twisted my upper body to turn toward my enemy.

Then I swung my Zweihänder at them. Since I hadn’t assumed the proper posture, my swing lacked force, but it was enough to cut the enemy’s skin.

“Argh!”

The enemy grabbed his chest as they backed away. As long as they widened the distance between us, victory would lean toward me.

With my Zweihänder pointing toward the enemy, I fumbled around to find the lantern I usually kept at my waist. I could still see well enough, but I wanted a closer look at the other person.

“S-shit!”

In the room that had turned upside down, there was a man with a hooked nose before me. I had never seen him before.

He was holding a club stuck with iron pieces in his right hand, and his left hand was holding his chest, smearing blood all over it.

“S-spare me.”

He staggered back and sat down. How funny. Wasn’t he the one who attacked me first?

“I-I just wanted to steal your money…”

“So money comes out after cracking someone’s head open these days?”

Just what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten [Detection]? I would have rather had the Inquisitor smash my head in. Hitting someone over the head while they were sleeping just wasn’t cool.

I gritted my teeth as I continued to point my sword at him.

“Put that down and place your hands over your head.”

Wow, I never thought I would say something a policeman would with this character setting.

So what now?

“I-I’ll put it down, so just spare my life…”

“Will you move faster if I put my sword under your chin?”

The guy jumped at my quiet words. Thump. Something fell on the wooden floor, and both of his hands rose over his head.

I went around the bed and approached, the blade of my sword still pointing toward him. It really was convenient that the sword was so long. With it, I could keep him in check even from a distance.

Kick.

The club I kicked away with my foot rolled to the corner of the room. I then grabbed one of the man’s arms. His hands were firmly attached to his head, even when I pulled him like that.

Instead, he made himself heavy before taking out a dagger hidden inside his chest pocket.

“This is just ridiculous.”

Did that NPC have a death wish? He really hadn’t learned his lesson.

I used my Zweihänder as a shield to block his dagger before kicking one of the thief’s legs and breaking his balance.

Just as my opponent was about to collapse on the floor, I hit him on the back with my right elbow.

“Kuhuk!”

Anyway, it wouldn’t do any good to treat criminals too nicely. There were no human rights here that would protect them.

“Urgh…”

I kicked the fallen criminal's hand. To be precise, the weapon he was holding. While I only stepped on his hand a little, I achieved my goal. The dagger rolled over the floor, just like the club.

“Did you really think you could kill me with that insignificant blade?”

I slightly bent down and grabbed the back of the NPC’s neck with my gauntlet-clad hand. He let out a pain-stricken sound, but I just ignored it.

The thief should be thankful I didn’t kill him.

“Hey.”

Grabbing the assailant by his neck, I strode downstairs. I could see an NPC dozing off at the counter.

Bang!

Instead of raising my voice, I kicked a nearby chair.

Bam, clatter, clatter!

The sound of falling chairs echoed throughout the hall.

“Holy hell!”

Sorry for throwing this little temper tantrum, but well, you were the ones who didn’t take care of this place’s security, so I wasn’t actually that sorry.

“Wh-what?”

I pushed the thief I had caught to the floor. The clerk immediately jumped up in surprise, looking at the guy on the floor, then me, before finally screaming. It was a scream that horror movie directors would admire. Extremely loud.

“Wh-what’s going on…?!”

Soon, the whole inn was in an uproar. Some guests even stuck their heads out of their rooms or jumped out into the hall.

“A-a murder…!”

No, I mean, I did have blood on me, but it was just dried blood.

There was no way that blood would have already dried if I were covered in it recently. How the hell did they program these NPCs to misunderstand things like real humans would?

“I guess your eyes are just for decoration, screaming about murder and—”

I raised my sword and tried pointing it at the thief. Just the fact that he was trying to raise his body was proof enough that he was still alive, so that meant that the misunderstandings should get resolved.

「A hostile existence has entered a radius of 10m.」

“Did you actually kill someone in that short time?!”

That would have been the case, if not for that notification and interrupting voice reaching my ears.

“As expected, a Zombie maintaining its ego is—!”

Hey, she was the one I ran into in the forest, right?

“No need for words!”

Booom!

Before I could even grasp the situation, a mace hit the spot I had just been standing in. I managed to dodge by a hair’s breadth, but that was a little too close for comfort. The Priest, no longer wearing her full metal armor and shield, was now incredibly fast.

“You…!”

“I shall get rid of you for good this time!”

I had no idea why she was here, but I certainly knew she misunderstood me again.

She was such an annoying NPC. If she acted like this every time we ran into each other, that would be quite a pain in the ass.

Or was this plot-related as well? It seemed a bit too convoluted and coincidental to be called a part of the plot, though.

Anyway, if the player didn’t wake up at the right moment, they might have died.

“I’m pretty sure I said I would kill you if you followed me…!”

Or was not waking up the right course of action? Like an event where we would have to cooperate once more to retrieve my stolen money.

The likelihood that the player had [Detection] this early in the game was pretty low, after all.

“Dirty Demon!”

“…I’ll really cut off your jaw and pull out that tongue of yours this time!”

Incidentally, every time the Priest appeared, my immersion switch got turned on, so having her around was also a lot of fun. Whenever she appeared, it seemed she could only say things that would stimulate my character’s complex.

“In the name of God, die—!?”

“Wait a second!”

When the Inquisitor and I were about to clash, a bluish-white chain popped out of the floor and bound us in place.

{Binding}. It was a CC spell that would bind enemies in place, giving the caster time to cast more spells. It would automatically release the target after a set period, but if one resisted against it, they could shorten that time.

Well, I would remain bound like this for at least two more seconds, though. That was how it was in the original, at least.

“Just stand still for a second!”

Still, I thought I should try to resist a little, so I activated [Breaker] and swung my Zweihänder. That was when the Archmage’s shout reached my ears—

“S-sir Archmage, but why—”

Baaaam!

My movements had destroyed the chains, and my Zweihänder collided with the floor.

Crack!

A crack splitting through half of the hall formed where my sword’s blade had struck the wooden floor. The thief, whom I had thrown to the ground, barely dodged the crack and trembled.

“Uwaaaaargh!”

“A-a monster…!”

“…”

…W-well… I mean…

A-about this. In the original game, people were always whining about how this skill should get nerfed and was just too much of a cheat during PVP because it was basically game-breaking…

A moment of silence passed between me and the Archmage.