There's a term for so-called "god-tier games" where dinosaurs appear.
But from a newbie's perspective, it was just confusing.
"What is that?"
"A giant monster…?"
"No, what's the Kingdom Hunting Squad doing?"
The NPC passengers started chattering among themselves.
They didn't look particularly concerned.
'Is this a common occurrence?'
Afraid that showing any sign of surprise might draw attention, the newbie barely managed to suppress his true feelings.
'It's just like a roe deer on the road. I was worried for nothing.'
It looked pretty dangerous for a roe deer, but hey, it's just a game world.
At the very least, it's probably just a minor incident, like a fisherman spotting a whale at sea.
Just as he was calming himself down.
"Kraaaaaaarrrr!"
Boom! Crash!
As if angry that the reptile had ignored him, it rammed its body into the carriage.
" "Whoa, whoa, what the—!"
"Aaaargh! A wild monster is on the loose!"
The passengers, who had been watching as if it were a zoo exhibit, suddenly started screaming like animals thrown into a tiger enclosure.
In an instant, the entire floor was engulfed in panic.
Then, a voice came from the crystal orb attached to the small table.
The coachman tried his best to calm the passengers.
"Kraaaaaaah!"
Boom! Clang! Crash!
No sooner had he mentioned the magical shield than the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the carriage.
Even the coachman muttered, seemingly stunned.
He must have been so flustered that he didn't even realize his words were audible to the passengers.
Naturally, the passengers began to riot even more than before.
Crash!
And that was only after that dinosaur had smashed through the carriage wall with its long snout.
In an instant, the carriage came to a halt, and the recoil sent most of the passengers flying out.
A few passengers managed to pull themselves together and stand up, but all they could see was the dinosaur's massive snout, which had burst through the wall.
At first, the passengers were horrified when they saw the dinosaur's snout.
Crack!
When the dinosaur opened its jaws wide, everyone's eyes widened.
Someone was walking out from inside that mouth.
Upon seeing that figure, everyone froze.
Click, click.
It was a knight covered head to toe in black iron.
Even without that, the all-black appearance gave off a terrifying Black Knight vibe, but sharp spikes were embedded throughout the armor, and a red glow shone from the helmet.
That red glow moved back and forth, then.
It stopped on the newbie.
She braced herself, ready to leap backward at a moment's notice.
Before the newbie, the knight moved a finger in midair.
Soon, a message window popped up right in front of the newbie's eyes.
Even as the message appeared, Newbie was still in a daze.
At that moment, she drew her sword and swung it, unleashing a blade aura.
That blade aura smashed right through the carriage wall.
It was a threat that didn't kill anyone, but that alone was enough.
"R-run!"
"Aaaah!"
The passengers all began to flee in a panic.
Soon, the only ones left there were her and Newbie.
She looked at Newbie and said one thing.
"Disarm."
With those words, the rugged black helmet vanished, and her fiery hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
She greeted him with the same clear, bright smile she had when they first met.
"Nice to see you again, isn't it?"
*
"Ugh... I won't let you get away with this."
The fairy was still vowing revenge.
Honestly, if there had been even a single window, it might not have been so boring, but the cargo in the hold had no right to any light.
In fact, the light was so dim that she couldn't even see what was right in front of her.
"I absolutely hate places like this."
She felt a twinge of sadness.
She knew it couldn't be helped, but it still stung a little.
"Once I get out, I'm going to make that guy pay!"
Just as she was grumbling like that.
"Ugh..."
"Sniffle..."
Moans and sobs reached the fairy's ears.
She hadn't noticed because she couldn't see much in front of her, but surprisingly, there seemed to be many other pets trapped just like her.
"Something feels off..."
Even so, the sounds of crying and moaning didn't sit well with her.
How should I put it...
"They don't seem to be pets or animals."
With nothing else to do anyway, the fairy's curiosity got the better of her, and she immediately began exploring.
As she passed by, a tiger pet behind the bars lunged at her.
"You little brat! Shh! Shh!"
"Huh? Huh-huh!"
The fairy, who was already annoyed, landed a furious punch right on the creature's nose.
At that, the tiger pet became even more enraged.
"Hiiih! You, I'll get you later!"
Hurrying past the tiger pet's cage, she finally noticed the others she hadn't seen before.
They weren't caged like the other pets, but they were the saddest-looking creatures of all.
"Huh? You..."
The fairy, who had picked up a fallen lantern and barely caught a glimpse of her face, was startled.
*
"What's with that outfit?"
"Oh, this?"
She grinned and struck a pose.
"It's the gear I wear all the time. Cool, right? I worked my butt off for half a year back then just to get each piece of this armor custom-made."
"Are you a carriage robber, Arien?"
The newbie got to the point.
At those words, she shrugged.
"No? My job isn't stealing—it's recovering things."
"What are you talking about?"
Had the players had something stolen?
In response to the newbie's confusion, she introduced herself with confidence.
"Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Arien, an elite member of the Guild's 1 Million Rescue Squad. Nice to meet you. "
"Wait a minute. Does that mean there are people being held captive in here?"
"Ah, I knew it—you don't know anything about the outside world."
That's strange?
This carriage was definitely just big; there was no mention of it carrying prisoners or anything like that?
Seeing the newbie's bewildered expression, she nodded.
"That's right. The outside world—especially the Kingdom—is full of things you can't understand. But I don't have time to explain right now."
"Um, then can I ask one more thing?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Then what was the reason you helped me?"
At that, she asked back in a tone that suggested she found it truly strange.
"What else would a rescuer do if not rescue people?"
"So, the reason you let me ride in this carriage this time was..."
"I was planning to rescue you as a bonus too, hehe."
So that's the dignity of a veteran player who's survived for a hundred years and even pulled off a rescue.
To Newbie, it almost seemed as if he could see a halo behind her head.
However, Newbie had no intention of just standing around like a bystander behind such a hero.
"So what are you going to do?"
"First, we have to get the passengers off. The ones upstairs won't get off as willingly as the people on the first floor."
Ah, there were passengers here.
When the newbie looked around, the entire first floor was already empty.
She checked her weapons—her disc shield and sword.
"Then just wait a moment."
"No, I'll help too."
"Huh? It'll be dangerous..."
"No, if I can't fight, I can help in other ways."
Newbie continued.
"If all hell breaks loose, they'll definitely come to retrieve the prisoners. I'll be the one rescuing them."
"Do you know where the prisoners are?"
"If they're prisoners, there's a good chance they're locked in the cargo hold."
Of course, Arien knew that much too.
The problem lay elsewhere.
"Do you know how to open the cargo hold door?"
"My friend is in there."
"Friend? Oh, come to think of it... Hehe, looks like they treated you like a pet? You must be pretty angry, huh?"
"The guild will buy me some good food, right? There are plenty of great restaurants in the guild, aren't there?"
"Hehe, okay. I'll trust you on that. But if it gets dangerous, don't look back—just run straight to me, okay? Promise?"
"I promise."
After getting a promise from the newbie, she disappeared with a light step.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
Only a gust of wind remained where she had been.
*
Trop, a carriage driver at the Kingdom Station, was facing the greatest threat of his life.
"Damn it, it was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime when we set out!"
Carriages weren't just a means of transportation.
In fact, for carriage drivers like Trop, the best money came not from passengers but from cargo delivery.
This particular shipment, however, was on a whole different level from the usual cargo.
"Damn it. It's an order from the royal family, of all places... If this goes wrong..."
Losing an expensive item was a big problem in itself, but the client was an even bigger one.
Angering the royal family, who held all the power in the kingdom?
He wouldn't be able to survive in this kingdom anymore.
"Damn it! Is the backup request still pending?!"
At Trop's shout, the assistants were sweating buckets.
They were twisting the crystal ball in every direction, making every possible contact they could.
They pleaded and cried out for help everywhere they turned.
But the only response coming from the crystal ball was refusal.
"It's a bit out of the way, so there are no patrols in the area right now."
"Is that any answer?! If the cargo we're moving gets looted this time, I—no, all of us—are finished!"
His threat did scare the staff, but even if they were scared, that didn't suddenly create someone to respond to the request.
"Ah, wait! Hold on! This is Cart 54! Cart 54! A wild monster and a terrorist who appears to be an outsider have been spotted. Requesting backup!"
"This is Devotee. We are currently on a mission. Backup request denied."
Compared to the employee's urgent plea, the reply was icy cold.
Instantly, the employee listening felt a chill run down their spine.
The Devotees... They were just as terrifying to the employees as the terrorists themselves.
Even so, he pleaded repeatedly on behalf of Trop, who was causing a commotion behind him.
"Um, this is serious. If this place gets ransacked like this, not only the passengers, but the Kingdom's vital supplies..."
"I'm telling you, the terrorists here are outsiders too! Isn't hunting outsiders the Devotees' job?"
An endlessly mechanical and businesslike tone.
As a mere carriage assistant, he couldn't say anything in response.
Then, suddenly, Trop stepped forward from the side.
"This is Trop, the driver of Carriage No. 54. Did you say you were looking for a Bug?"
"Here, there's a Bug right here! An outsider carrying a Bug!"
For a moment, everyone was stunned by Trop's words.
Only the Devotee's tone remained calm.
"Y-yes! If we're not careful, the Bug could spread! So—"
"Understood. We'll make a detour there."
Click.
The connection with the Crystal District was cut off just like that.
"C-Captain! You're lying to the Devotee right now..."
"Shut up! As long as we resolve this somehow, everything will be fine, so just do as I say! That's it! Send the guards down immediately! If all else fails! Tell them to use the passengers as human shields!"
It was something a typical coachman would never say, but to Trop, the passengers' safety didn't matter at all right now.
'Those damn passengers. If I pull this off, I can quit this damn coachman job! This godforsaken town.'
He prayed that the guards alone would be enough to stop that damn outsider terrorist.
If not, he prayed to PD that the Devotees would arrive on time.