"Team 1, take the lead and form a shield wall! Team 2, evacuate the passengers here to the upper levels!"
The carriage guards had hurriedly assembled on the second floor and were preparing to face the terrorists.
The carriage, which must have been a familiar sight to them, felt like a forest shrouded in fog.
This was because the entire guard force was stationed on the second and third floors, leaving them completely unaware of the situation on the first floor.
"How many terrorists are there? What's their strength?"
"We don't know anything yet. But if they're capable of pulling off something like this, there must be at least ten of them."
"C-Captain..."
The captain of the guards was just as tense.
After all, it had been more than ten years since the stagecoach bandits had been completely eradicated.
For him, who had only been on duty for a few years at most, this was a first.
"Hey! Where exactly are you telling me to go?!"
"No! Who are you to tell me what to do?!"
To make matters worse, the passengers weren't cooperating either.
The constant back-and-forth movement of the passengers was causing chaos.
Of course, his superior, the coachman, had told him to use the passengers as a human shield if necessary.
But what guard captain would follow such an order?
However, everything was clearly stacked against him when it came to upholding his professional duty.
Their only advantage was that they only had to defend the door leading to those stairs.
"No way. I don't know what gave you the nerve to pull this stunt, I won't let this slide."
He was confident.
A hundred years ago, back when games were just games, it would have been no big deal for a single player to slaughter dozens of NPCs.
However, a hundred years was more than enough time for even a single guard NPC to reach high levels.
As a result, it was common for even a mere gatekeeper in the kingdom to be several hundred levels.
When such powerful guards formed a shield wall, even the greatest players in the world were often no match for them.
Gulp...
They kept their guard up, waiting for enemies to emerge from the entrance.
Wheeeing! Wiiiiiiing!
A sudden metallic sound rang out.
An unfamiliar noise crept up from the wooden floor beneath their feet.
Wiiiiiiing! Crackle-crackle-crackle! Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The chilling sound of a chainsaw and the sound of wood shattering.
Following those sounds, the wooden floor beneath the guards' feet shattered into pieces.
Through the gap created by the shattering floor, a circular shield with blades sliced right through one of the guards standing above, cutting him in half.
"Guh...?"
The guard could do nothing but turn into a shower of light and vanish.
The floor collapsed along with the light, and Arien leaped up onto it.
"Ugh...."
"Ugh!"
Unable to process the sudden turn of events, the guards just stared blankly at Arien as she leaped toward them.
"What the hell, you idiots! Raise your shields right now..."
The captain of the guards hurriedly raised his shield, but.
Whoosh! Wiiiing!
The disc shield spun again.
Her shield was not merely a defensive weapon.
The rim of the disc shield was lined with razor-sharp blades, and she didn't swing the shield itself—she grabbed the chain attached to it and swung that instead.
As a result, the shield spun along the chain's trajectory, slicing the guards to pieces.
The captain of the guards charged forward, desperately holding his shield aloft.
"You bastard! Do you know where you are?!"
"Where else? A slave ship that kidnapped people. You damn data scraps."
With those words, she swung the sword in her other hand.
Her sword sliced cleanly through the space between the shield and the helmet, cutting the captain's throat.
The captain vanished into a flash of light.
At that sight, the guards lost all will to fight.
They began fleeing in all directions along with the passengers.
As she advanced, the passengers and the remaining guards began fleeing downward with the passengers.
"Now only the third floor remains."
The third floor was where the coachman and his assistants were located.
If she could just take down that floor, she would be able to comfortably return to the guild with the rescue team in the captured carriage—and that would be the end of it.
However, life was never easy.
"KRAAAAAAAAAH!"
A piercing scream echoed from outside the carriage.
She quickly turned her gaze out the carriage window.
There, the dinosaur monster she had ridden was lying on the ground.
Since it was a monster she had stolen from the Kingdom Station anyway, it wasn't really a problem.
The real problem was the two beings who had taken down that dinosaur monster in a single blow.
One was a woman in fighter's attire with an orange ponytail, and the other was a cold-looking young man with blue hair.
"Oh dear, I wonder why those two have come here?"
Her tone was calm, but she was actually quite flustered.
"Why did the Devotees come here?"
*
The fairy was certain that these fluttering figures were by no means pets or monsters.
Eyes of every color, glowing in the darkness.
No, quite literally, the colors of their eyes were truly diverse.
And no wonder—the players' customizations were truly diverse.
However, unlike their unique appearances, their clothes were all identical.
They wore gray-and-white plaid outfits with large numbers written on them.
They had chains attached to their arms and legs, and around their necks were necklaces emitting strange static.
"Are you all prisoners?"
"..."
The fairy asked, but no one answered.
"Hey! Are you ignoring a person—no, a fairy! Hey! Hey!"
The fairy flew over, grabbed a lantern from the wall, and waved it in front of them.
Only then did they notice the fairy and were startled out of their wits.
"H-huh, h-haaa! What is this!"
"A fairy?"
"It's a fairy."
At first they were surprised, but soon they began muttering blankly, as if they'd seen a ghost.
They all seemed to be struggling to keep their wits about them.
One of them, who appeared to still be in his right mind, stepped forward.
"What are you? A pet? I wouldn't put a pet that can talk in the cargo hold."
"Pet? Hey! I'm not a pet! Believe it or not, I'm a noble guide!"
"Hmm... It's been so long since I saw a tutorial fairy that my memory's a bit fuzzy... but those guys definitely all had really quirky ways of speaking."
"What?! We're not weird!"
"Yeah, you're definitely a tutorial fairy."
He nodded.
The fairy grumbled at him for jumping to that conclusion and asked again.
"Are you guys prisoners?"
"If that were the case, at least we wouldn't feel so wronged."
"Then what are you? Why are you in the cargo hold? And what's with those weird necklaces?"
"Well, we're property."
"Property? What are you talking about? Are you saying we're slaves?"
"Slaves? That's probably the closest thing to it. Though it doesn't quite fit perfectly."
"No! Then what are we?! Tell me quickly!"
Fed up with his endless, puzzled complaints, the fairy snapped.
At those words, he let out a deep sigh.
It was a sigh steeped in the bitterness of decades of captivity.
"We're warehouses. Living, mobile warehouses."
"A warehouse? What are you talking about? I don't get it."
"What do you mean, people are warehouses?"
To the innocent fairy, it was truly incomprehensible.
Realizing this aspect of the fairy's nature, he sighed again.
"You know what an inventory function is, right?"
"Yeah! Of course! It's one of the greatest powers you outsiders possess."
"It's a convenience feature, I suppose. Anyway, thanks to the inventory function, we players have been able to carry an infinite number of items since way back."
It was only natural.
In games, players are bound to receive a wide variety of convenience systems.
Among them, infinite inventory was the most basic of basics.
But for some, it was a power no different from a miracle.
The same was true for the kingdom's NPCs.
"That's why those damn NPCs use us as living warehouses."
"D-does that even make sense?"
"Where on earth have you been living that you don't even know this?"
"W-well… haha."
"Phew, you'd have been better off staying there. The outside world is full of stuff like this now."
It was the kind of advice you'd get from a life mentor with a cigarette hanging from their lips.
But, like most juniors, the fairy didn't accept that.
"That's ridiculous! Even if it's tough out there, we can't just keep living inside forever!"
"Anyway, if you're a fairy, you must have a player too. I'm saying this for your master's sake."
"He's not my master! He's my friend! My best friend, my true friend!"
"Regardless, even if it was for your friend's sake, leaving that place probably wasn't a good idea."
"Well..."
"Are you really sure you left for your friend's sake? I doubt it. Didn't you just send them out because of your own greed?"
"Ah, no!"
"Whatever. Anyway, we still have a long way to go to our destination. Let's stop arguing."
It was exactly the kind of remark meant to provoke an argument.
But I could understand his perspective.
The more you talk, the more emotions flare up, and that just makes the role of an inventory slave even more grueling.
That was precisely why the other inventory slaves were on the verge of losing their sanity.
To them, hope and joy were synonymous with pain.
Just as he was about to face another agonizing day,
"Sorry, but I don't see it that way."
A voice he'd never heard before came from the door.
It was a voice the fairy recognized, even if the others didn't.
"Huh? Why are you here!"
"Why? I came to rescue you. And I heard there are other people in there, too. "
"Yeah! They're here! I was just talking to them, actually."
"That's great. Open the door for me. And you over there, sir? From the sound of your voice, you're a man, right?"
At those words, he—who had suddenly been labeled "sir"—was taken aback.
"Are you talking to me right now?"
"Yes, but aren't you being a bit too harsh on my fairy?"
"What do you mean? I'm just stating the facts."
"If I hadn't had any ashes to begin with, I wouldn't have known I'd be sitting next to you, right? So please, don't say strange things to my fairy when you don't know anything."
"Hmm… I don't know where you've been living, but…"
"Ah, save that for later. Hey! Open the door! Let's go!"
"Wait a second… What? Are you crazy? Take your hands off the door right now! If you do that, you'll—"
At that moment, the fairy stepped forward.
"Yaaah!"
The fairy simply unhooked the safety latch on the door.
"You, you! What on earth are you doing!"
He, of course, along with all the inventory slaves, turned pale.
It wasn't that they didn't want to go.
They craved freedom more than anyone, but they held back because the pain of failure would be too great, and because the fate of that poor (?) player outside would also plunge into the abyss.
But for that player to actually throw themselves into the abyss of their own accord!
The moment the fairy released the safety latch, the door swung open and light poured in.
Blinded by the sudden brightness, they all shielded their eyes.
"Ugh! Are you out of your mind! You'll end up just like him!"
"I guess you don't know what's happening outside yet. The rescue team is here."
His words created a slight crack in their cold hearts.
"Rescue team? You don't mean the Guild?"
"Yes."
"That's impossible. The Guild gave up on the rescue a long time ago..."
As he said, the Guild had officially suspended the rescue operation.
It was because it could be seen as an act of provoking the Kingdom.
But, as always, there were players like Arien who wouldn't listen.
This incident, too, was something she had carried out on her own.
In any case, they all saw the newbie walking toward them in the light streaming through the square door.
To anyone watching, she looked every bit the saint.
"Hello."
"Whoa..."
He was so stunned he couldn't speak.
He didn't want to deny even a shred of hope, but still, he bowed his head and said,
"Get out of here. If you stay like this, you'll get caught too. You don't want to end up as a living warehouse like us, do you?"
"Why are you being so stubborn?"
"You're out of luck. Take a look at this."
He pointed to the necklace hanging around his neck.
"What is this?"
"We're not just inventory slaves. These are strategic supplies containing the kingdom's most vital resources. This is what binds such important entities."
"What on earth is it?"
"Take a look."
The newbie reached out and examined the item.
Ding
!#!$Test Subject Necklace!@#@!
Defense: 0
Special Ability
When possessed#!#@!##Forced wear!#@!#
!##@#!#Even if you die!#@ Return to Saved#!@# Location.
#!@#!@Cannot be unequipped#@!#!@
#!@$!#%%#@If you move beyond a certain distance, automatically return3!@#!@
"Even if I die. Return to a saved location? And you can't even take it off?"
It was a security measure that would have flustered even Arien.
An item created by exploiting bugs and glitches?
Usually, people don't even use things like this because of the risk of bugs.
But as a newbie who knew nothing about that, she had only one experience to draw on.
Then, her memory of the slime incident came back to her.
'What if… just maybe?'
If I'm lucky, maybe I can remove it?
I might even get something good, like an elixir.
[!@#@!Item$!@%]
[Do you wish to acquire it?]
"Yeah, acquire."
[Acquisition Failed]
[The other party must agree.]
"Um, sir. Can you give me that equipment?"
"...What?"
For a moment, he doubted the newbie's words.