Ch.5 The Presence of Beta Testers

TL note : WARNING! There's a gorey part in this chapter

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It felt like five minutes had passed since I tried my best to see if the status screen would appear, only to end up with a crushing defeat.

The status screen, which should've been shown as a floating transparent screen, didn't appear.

I guess it's impossible unless I remember how to use appraisal magic.

Even when I played as a first-generation human, without that magic, I couldn't see the status screen, and I couldn't allocate the points I received when I leveled up.

Is my current NPC self even works the same way as that of a player?

Anyway, I can do things here that I would be embarrassed to be seen without any problems, since there is no one around.

Ah, there was a sparrow, not a person , but that sparrow wouldn't pay any attention to a mere grass like me.

Well, I feel sorry for that hole-filled fellow. Poor thing. I don't know if it's just a whim or if it's the type that eats grass too, but still, poor thing.

I thought birds only ate nuts.

Is it because it's a monster that it eats grass too? Or is it just playing around and making that fellow look like that? I stare at it perched on a tree, but there's no reaction.

…Okay, let's just silently continue swaying my body to level up.

"..."

At the very least, I want someone to talk to.

Do those of the same race as me not have enough AI to communicate?

So the problem is that they can't speak? Is that why they don't respond? ...Hmm, does anyone know?

"Gigigigigig!"

"Ahhh! Don't come! Nooooo!"

Huh? there's a response. A disturbing response in this forest where the only sounds that could be heard were the wind blowing and the breathing of monsters.

But this voice seems somehow familiar...

"I'm only aiming for your honey! You bastards!"

Oh, I remember now. That person is Honey-san.

That Important character was probably the one screaming and coming towards here.

The buzzing of countless wing flaps and the sound of footsteps trampling through the grass approached this slightly open area.

As I predicted, that important girl and 10 bees, each about a meter in length, flew into the area, destroying the branches of the trees that got in their way

That means...

"Juiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"Hiiiiiiiiiii!"

Yes, she is an important character, but her death is destined to happen. She's a character in the opening movie for beta testers .

Her name is Cern, and she's just an ordinary girl NPC who lives in a nearby town.

She is the daughter of a couple who run an inn, and is a poor character who ends up dying after going into the forest to get honey for free, since it would be expensive to buy.

Apparently this movie will be played when beta testers start playing.

I saw a video someone posted online and remember that I was very shocked.

This game is linked to real time and progresses in real time, so once an event has occurred, it will not occur again.

However, the opening movie for beta testers is recorded, which is then played over and over again for eternity.

Some people have even stopped playing the game after seeing that video.

I thought that the official opening scene was quite cruel, but perhaps they were trying to show that if you want to hurt an NPC, you can, and that you have that much freedom.

I just can't help but think that the direction of their appeal is wrong.

"Why... Why isn't it there?!"

My precious conversation partner will soon die.

She wasn't just attacked by mere bees that was chasing her in anger because their honey was being targeted , but rather I should say that the master of this forest, the Fairy Flame Gerbil, was also after her

"Nooooo! Eh-"

"Juiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"

Please forgive me for being powerless.

I'm just a grass, so I can't even move. Namu.

As soon as she entered a slightly open area, the sparrow caught her eyes and targeted her for taking its aggro.

Right in front of my eyes , it cuts her in the side, gouged her back, and plucked her eye.

No, isn't this too gorey?

Please stop showing me tragedies like this. It's going to traumatize me.

By the way, because the attack was from an invisible flying position, she had no way to defend against the attack, which came from nowhere, and she ended up curled on the ground.

Alas, by not running away when she had the option, her body was getting increasingly torn to shreds.

And, with a thud, her face turned towards me.

"..."

Yes, this is a gore-style horror movie. She's dead. May she rest in peace.

"Juiijujuju."

Oh, I forgot to mention it, but Cern will be resurrected later.

Apparently, after the opening movie for the beta tester version went viral online, the game production company received a lot of complaints, with people asking them to bring her back to life and asking why they killed her off, as a result, bonding events related to her have started occurring in the town of Kanadil in the 8th area.

I'm convinced after seeing this series of events.

No, I had a feeling this might be the case when I saw the sparrow, but now It's pretty much confirmed.

Sorry if I sounded pretentious.

But it seems like I'm going back in time in this second life.

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〘Bonding Event〙

A type of quest that rarely occurs after talking to a specific NPC for a certain amount of time.

Once cleared, the favorability of those involved in the event will increase.

Please note that the degree to which your favorability rating increases will depend on what you say and do.

Also, this doesn't mean that the system is arbitrarily interfering with the NPC's internal data and forcing them to like you.

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