28 – Call Me Ishmael – 3

1. Leta was a world ruled by points.

2. From the tax that had to be paid once a year, to entering a new area, using teleport gates, buying a house, founding a guild, and even purchasing and charging the communication device ‘Letaphone’ at the summonee-exclusive ‘Point Shop,’ points were required.

3. The message that appeared upon entering Leta only explained that points could be acquired through means similar to those experienced in the tutorial, such as achievements, titles, dungeons, and raid exploration, but to those actually living in Leta, that was simply something to scoff at.

3. Points could also be obtained by ‘killing summonees,’ and the stronger the target, the more exponentially these points increased.

4. Especially if one killed a civilization representative, the amount of points obtained transcended imagination.

1-2. To repeat, this world was ruled by points.

3-2. For most of the summonees in Leta, the primary method of acquiring points was none other than killing other summonees or stealing from them.

“So you were trying to trick us, who have just completed the transition, to find out who the Earth representative is.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Having heard the detailed explanation about points from the almost dying fairy, Gi-jun could only smile bitterly.

“You can’t even enter because of the barrier.”

“If I’m lucky… I can trick those fools and get invited inside. Even if not, once I know who the representative is…”

At that point, the fairy studied Gi-jun’s reaction, pretending not to.

Indeed, even if Gi-jun had been the fairy, if there was such a prominent presence, he would have suspected him of being the representative first.

Moreover, he had no confidence in keeping a poker face.

It seemed his eyebrows had twitched every time the word ‘representative’ was mentioned, and the fairy would have already noticed it from that.

“Also, if I find out how many representatives there are, I can sell that information to other strong individuals. And…”

“And?”

“The barrier won’t last more than a few days. It’s just a temporary measure to protect summonees who have just entered Leta.”

As expected, that was the case.

Closing his eyes for a moment to organize his thoughts, Gi-jun looked down at the fairy and spoke quietly.

“Is there any other information you feel you should tell me?”

“T-There is none! I really told you everything now!”

“No, there must be. Otherwise, you will die right now.”

The fairy, who attempted to resist a few more times, confirmed that her body and mana would not budge, and shouted while gritting her teeth fiercely.

“Kugh, allowing the Earthlings to go through a second round of the tutorial was a complete failure of the system’s balance adjustment! It was a mistake committed by judging based on the average of a million people and underestimating the growth potential of special individuals…!”

“I think so too. But don’t pretend to worry about balance for no reason, and just spit out the information.”

Gi-jun pried every bit of information out of the fairy, even down to things that seemed completely useless.

In particular, what he considered the most important was the situation currently faced by the Earth’s civilization.

Things like where the remaining Earthlings had been summoned, whether there were members of civilizations nearby that posed a threat to the Earth’s civilization, and if so, how strong they were.

Hearing that, the fairy put on a dazed expression and asked back.

“Are you by any chance under some misunderstanding? That this world is a battleground where all civilizations gather to fight a deathmatch until only one survives?”

“Just looking at you right now proves it.”

“That’s… because I’m a fairy. I’m an existence that doesn’t stand out easily, and I moved quietly as an individual. Capturing you was also solely… because I had an informant…”

“In other words, is there a penalty if you fight openly in normal times?”

That was a strange thing.

If they were going to impose such a penalty, shouldn’t they not even give points when killing a summonee?

However, the answer to this seemingly ironic situation was surprisingly simple.

“It’s the NPCs. They don’t like large-scale conflicts between summonees. They want them to compete according to fair rules. The only ones we can openly show hostility toward are civilizations belonging to the dark faction.”

“Ah.”

Gi-jun felt as if he had been hit on the head.

Come to think of it, even in the first round of the tutorial, the million heroes, including Gi-jun, were nothing more than guests visiting a world ruled by NPCs.

Although the tides turned in the latter half as the power of the heroes grew larger than that of the NPCs, before that, they strictly had to gratefully accept and perform the quests given by the NPCs, build up a reputation among them, and adapt to the world by performing better quests or obtaining information about secret areas with it.

“The NPCs in the tutorial and the NPCs in Leta are on entirely different levels in terms of the power they possess. Even the Crimson Draconians, who can be called the strongest civilization among the summon factions, have no choice but to watch the mood of Leta’s great empire, ‘Tyrannus.’”

“I see… If large-scale conflicts between civilizations are suppressed by Leta’s NPC forces, then methods like secretly assassinating civilization representatives like you did, or socially suppressing other civilizations using the standing one gained and built up among NPCs, would be preferred.”

“…That’s correct.”

The fairy nodded with a displeased look.

If that was the case, it was ultimately no different from the tutorial.

It meant jumping into a world that NPCs had already constructed, rolling around hard from the bottom again, and establishing the standing of the civilization called ‘Earth.’

Of course, conflicts with other civilizations would arise due to the added element of points, but if the NPCs served as a breakwater, there was plenty of possibility to aim for a gap and launch a counterattack.

“So, what about the other Earthlings?”

“I don’t know about that… I came straight here after only hearing that this side would be easier. Still, they should at least be within the sphere of influence of the same Gratia Kingdom.”

“…By any chance, did another fairy go to that side?”

The fairy did not answer and remained silent.

Gi-jun let out a dumbfounded sigh at this crazy fairy cartel, but he believed that if it were Ye-min, she would deal with such fairies wisely without falling prey to them.

Moreover, when it came to dealing with people, she was a master beyond comparison to him.

She was surely swaying the Earthlings by now!

“If you’ve obtained all the information you wanted, please let me go now.”

As Gi-jun was nodding his head while missing his party members, the fairy spoke with a pitiful expression.

“Even if I say more than this, you wouldn’t understand. I won’t target Earthlings again, so please spare me this time. You don’t want to needlessly shed blood either, do you?”

It seemed the fairy thought that the reason Gi-jun had dragged out the time by prying for information instead of killing her right away was that he was hesitating to kill.

However, that was not the case.

“You’ve already realized that I am the civilization representative. Do I look like enough of a fool to just let you go after that?”

“Ah, damn it—!”

Gi-jun raised his shield, which was tinged with a reddish, blood-like hue somewhere, and smashed the head of the cursing fairy.

Beneath the fairy’s corpse, which scattered into fragments, fell several items, including a Letaphone that looked similar to the one Gi-jun owned, and at the same time, a message rose before his eyes.

―You have obtained 2,895 points.

―Updating civilization information.

―You have obtained 2,895 points.

―Updating civilization information.

[Fairy Garden: Danger Level Medium-Low (), 15th-Year Civilization]

[A civilization made up of small fairies proficient in space magic. Because there is a clear drawback of a low maximum growth limit, there is not even a sliver of possibility projected for their final victory in the civilization war; however, they possess many talents, making their utility as NPCs in various fields high, and when considering only the points earned as a result, they rank at the top.

If they are captured, it is recommended to form a ‘contract that spares their life in exchange for confiscating their held points’ rather than just killing them.

Beware of their information gathering ability based on their innate quick wits.]

[Fairy Garden: Danger Level Medium-Low (), 15th-Year Civilization]

[A civilization made up of small fairies proficient in space magic. Because there is a clear drawback of a low maximum growth limit, there is not even a sliver of possibility projected for their final victory in the civilization war; however, they possess many talents, making their utility as NPCs in various fields high, and when considering only the points earned as a result, they rank at the top.

If they are captured, it is recommended to form a ‘contract that spares their life in exchange for confiscating their held points’ rather than just killing them.

Beware of their information gathering ability based on their innate quick wits.]

Thanks for telling me so early.

Since he had no choice but to kill her the moment the opponent realized Gi-jun was the civilization representative, it was an option he couldn’t have executed anyway…

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Toward the end of the tutorial, having at least exchanged a few words with that Tinkerbell guy, he had thought that perhaps he could get along well with the fairy race.

To think that the first race he opposed and even killed after entering Leta would be a fairy.

―It’s not the Contractor’s fault.

Lucy comforted him in a gentle voice.

―This damn moth is the one in the wrong. She tried to trick humans, and if you had let her go, she would have definitely sold the Contractor’s information.

“She surely would have. The reason I’m like this is just that, even though I felt like I could do anything after the tutorial ended… in the end.”

In the end, he was dejected because he realized that he was still only being swayed by conditions and situations.

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proposed the concept of the superhuman, ‘Übermensch.’

That referred to a person who, rather than being oppressed by and submitting to the good and order enforced by social norms, pursued the values of good and evil determined by their own firm standards.

It was indeed a concept that perfectly matched the meaning contained in the name Gi-jun, but Gi-jun, who possessed such a good name, ended up killing the fairy contrary to his wishes, swayed by situations and conditions.

“I still have a long way to go to become a superhuman. I must work harder.”

―Eh?

“It means I lack power. Mr. Nietzsche said that in order to become a superhuman, one must harbor the will to power. In other words, if I become incredibly strong, even if I do whatever I want, no one will dare to challenge me.”

―Yes… Uh? Since it’s not wrong in conclusion, I guess it’s fine! As expected of Nietzsche!

The will to power, and the Übermensch he would reach at the end of carrying it through.

Having completely armed himself mentally once again by interpreting the philosopher’s theory at his own convenience, Gi-jun picked up the dropped items left by the fairy.

Excluding a few gold and silver coins, the rest were just junk, and the only thing that could be called a harvest was a Letaphone that looked similar to his.

Upon picking it up, surprisingly, a message reading [Letaphone 12 (Rare)] popped up.

Unlike Gi-jun’s [Letaphone 15 (U)], which did not need separate charging due to the permanent battery already processed and embedded by Vice—a battery made from a boss-class demon’s horn and tens of thousands of lesser demons’ hearts—it claimed to have 15% battery, indicating it was about time to charge it.

“Come to think of it, she said charging also had to be done using Leta points, right? …Could it be that the battery Vice made for me is actually incredibly amazing?”

―It’s frustrating, but it seems so…?

There were a total of two batteries that Vice had made.

One was embedded in his Letaphone, and the other was embedded in the Shock Absorber just as Vice had instructed, so he had to feel a strong temptation to detach it and try selling it.

If it hadn’t already fused completely with the Shock Absorber and become impossible to detach, he would have tried pulling it off at least once.

[The previous user has died, resetting the data. Would you like to register as the new owner?]

He opened the fairy’s phone, wondering if there might be some information he didn’t know, but it seemed to be a type that thoroughly assimilated with its user, as it had been reset.

Since he had figured as much, he gave up without any lingering regrets and put it in his pocket.

If anything, it was a good thing it had reset.

Since it did not seem to be cheap either, he decided to keep it for now and give it to his party members once they reunited later.

As he pictured his party members, who had to be active in a different place by now but surely on the same land as him, a faint smile formed on Gi-jun’s lips.

“I miss them.”

―Is it a girl?

“There are two men and two women. Let’s see, if you ask who I miss the most…”

Watching Gi-jun seriously ponder, Lucy was slightly relieved.

Apparently, they did not seem to have any special relationship!

Then, as expected, was the only real enemy that demon…!

“What should I do now? Still, it would be the right thing to at least share the information I got from the fairy with the people inside, right?”

―Why bother? Those humans didn’t seem to trust the Contractor all that much.

“Still, there was a party I used to know in the past. I think my mind will be more at ease if I tell them before leaving.”

―Sigh, such a softie… No wonder the demon found this side of the Contractor so frustrating.

“Vice was just a bit too impatient.”

Chuckling as he recalled Vice beating her chest, claiming that Gi-jun’s first round of the tutorial was pure frustration, he hurried his steps back to where the Earthlings were with a lighter heart.

―Attempting to enter the safe zone. Initiating a vote among the Earthlings regarding your permission to enter.

―As a result of the vote, the opposition constitutes a majority, and your entry has been denied.

―Attempting to enter the safe zone. Initiating a vote among the Earthlings regarding your permission to enter.

―As a result of the vote, the opposition constitutes a majority, and your entry has been denied.

“Oh…?”

And he collided with a problem he could not have possibly imagined when leaving that place.

Peering inside the ‘safe zone,’ the figures of the people looked hazy, but they all tried their best not to even glance in his direction, almost as if…

“I’ve been expelled, haven’t I?”

―Ha, these cowards. Our Contractor saved them from a crisis, and yet they kick their savior out? How dare these ungrateful trash who don’t know their place…!

As Lucy tried to build up her strength, muttering about this petty barrier, Gi-jun stopped her in fright.

Even if it wouldn’t last long, it was still a means to protect the Earthlings who had just been summoned to Leta and were out of their minds.

If she actually succeeded in destroying it, it would be a major disaster.

“In any case, I had no intention of moving along while blending in with the Earthlings anymore. In fact, scattering as much as possible might result in a higher survival rate when considering the race as a whole. I only need to associate with people I get along with.”

―Contractor…

Yet, despite saying those words, his heart was not completely at ease.

Call me Ishmael…

Perhaps because Gi-jun’s back looked lonely as he turned around, experiencing the full feeling of becoming an outcast, Lucy raised her voice on purpose.

―Ah—! Suddenly, I want to eat the curry that the Contractor makes! Contractor, can you make it for me? Huh?

“Curry?”

Pondering for a moment, Gi-jun spotted a forest visible away from the safe zone and nodded.

“Right, when you’re depressed, curry cooked with all sorts of things thrown in is indeed the best. If we enter the forest, we’ll probably be able to get the ingredients somehow.”

Making curry using only ingredients gathered in the wild when there were no spices or anything was an absurd thing, but since Lucy did not know what was so amazing about it or how, she simply flew above his head in excitement.

―Entering the Ardennes Forest, Gratia Kingdom. This is a place where exploration is not difficult at your current level.

―Entering the Ardennes Forest, Gratia Kingdom. This is a place where exploration is not difficult at your current level.

Leta’s forest, which he entered for the first time, was incomparably vast compared to the tutorial, and thus, he could discover various plants.

Quickly distinguishing what was edible due to his trained cooking skill, Gi-jun rapidly harvested spices that, when combined, could produce a flavor similar to curry, and even caught a wild boar while he was at it.

He only found out after hunting it that the wild boar, of all things, was actually of Uncommon grade.

“Since I can’t get wheat, I can’t make a roux, so should I make it in a form similar to soup curry… Well, if I add starch somehow, won’t it get thick?”

Fortunately, Leta’s forest was overflowing with tuberous plants that could compensate for the lack of curry roux.

Not to mention sweet potatoes, Gi-jun, who luckily discovered crops extremely similar to modern Earth’s potatoes growing in the forest, excitedly pulled them up by their stems, only to—

―Due to the effect of the Legendary-grade title [Conqueror of the Hidden Dungeon], you have sensed the existence of ruins!

―Due to the effect of the Legendary-grade title [Conqueror of the Hidden Dungeon], you have sensed the existence of ruins!

He ended up pulling up the nearby ruins as well.