WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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Chapter 13: The Shepherd Girl and the Black Dog

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Nine wolves surrounded the shepherd NPC.

Five were the same type of Gray Field Wolf I'd seen before, while three were Yellow Plains Wolves with different fur.

The only visible difference between the two types was their fur color, but I'd heard the yellow ones were a little faster and stronger.

As for the last wolf, I had no idea what it was. It wasn't listed in the Open Community's second-floor area guide.

Like the Black Horned Rabbit on the first floor, it was probably a limited monster that could no longer be found in other Towers.

Limited monsters were usually stronger than normal ones, but they also gave better drops and experience.

Since I didn't have any information on it, I should take it out first, right?

-Thud.

I pulled a heavy rock from my inventory. I didn't have any throwing skills, but my Strength stat was high enough that I could just wing it.

I'd taken down a Goblin Royal Guard, an elite monster on the first floor, with a single thrown rock, so this should work too.

"Hngh!"

The first strike decided everything. From outside the wolves' detection range, I hurled the rock with all my strength.

Thanks to the Strength stat I'd gained as an achievement reward, the rock flew with more force than before and struck the unusually large wolf.

-Yelp!

The large wolf let out an adorably tiny yelp that didn't suit its size as it collapsed. I immediately sprinted forward and charged into the pack.

Normally, letting enemies surround you in an open area like this was suicide.

The Open Community guides even stressed that it was the situation you had to be most careful about. But I was more used to this kind of setup than anything.

-Slash!

I didn't even need a skill. One swing of the straight sword in my hand cut a wolf clean in half.

A Yellow Plains Wolf, supposedly more agile than the gray wolves, lunged for my throat, but my shield was faster.

Instead of blocking its teeth, I slammed my shield into it. Crack. The wolf's jaw shattered in one blow.

"Aah!"

Two wolves went down in an instant, and only then did the shepherd girl scream in shock.

As if reacting to her scream, one wolf rushed at her.

Shit, terrible timing. I'd never fought while protecting someone, so I reacted too slowly.

-Grrrwoof!

Then the black dog guarding the girl threw itself forward. It launched itself at full speed and knocked the charging wolf away.

There was a difference in weight, so it only pushed the wolf back a foot or two. Still, buying a single turn was enough.

-Crack!

My sword split the wolf's head open. I pulled the blade from its skull and swung behind me again.

The wolf aiming for my back hesitated and retreated. I didn't miss the opening, rushing in to continue my attack.

Even after reaching the second floor, ordinary monsters were still no match for me.

* * *

It took only a few minutes to wipe out the wolves. The difference in our base stats was simply too great.

[Gray Wolf Hide]

[Yellow Wolf Hide]

[Broken Fang]

The drops were ordinary. I'd expected something special after killing that unusual wolf, but there was nothing.

They said hides could be used to enhance armor, while fangs could enhance weapons, but I already had enough enhancement materials. They were just junk drops.

Still, I hadn't fought expecting loot in the first place. The quest was what mattered.

-Swish!

After shaking the blood off my sword, I stored it in my inventory and approached the shepherd girl.

"Eek...!"

A green icon marking her as an NPC floated over the shepherd girl's head, along with her name.

[Shepherd Girl Nora]

I'd heard that NPC names and appearances varied slightly between Towers. So this Tower's shepherd girl was named Nora.

According to the Open Community guide, the shepherd girl on the second floor gave a multi-stage wolf extermination quest.

It started with the weakest Gray Field Wolf, then each stage had you hunt stronger wolves.

Apparently, reaching the final stage rewarded you with a leather belt with random options. My belt slot was empty too, so it was a quest I'd been keeping an eye on.

I'd never heard of the shepherd NPC being attacked in a field outside the village. More importantly...

"Um... I don't know who you are, but thank you so much, eek."

The shepherd girl just sat there trembling instead of giving me a quest. Was something wrong?

Did this require some special interaction? I opened the Open Community and began searching for "shepherd girl."

[What's the final stage of the shepherd girl quest?]

[Why does this fucking shepherd bitch only give me garbage belts???]

[How hot is the shepherd bitch on our server?]

[Why's this a girl? She's a goddamn old hag...]

Most of it was useless shitposting. Since she was an early-game NPC, there were just too many posts about her.

"Um, Adventurer? Could you please say something... I'm Nora, a shepherd from the village over there..."

Even when I limited the search to the strategy board, nothing useful came up. It was all about the basic quest.

Maybe this was happening because the number of times the quest could be completed was limited. Information from first-generation Hunters was still too hard to find.

There was way too much nonsense from these forum addicts. It was a board where real names were public, so how were there hundreds of posts like [I want to fuck the shepherd bitch]?

"Ah, fuck, seriously..."

"I'm, I'm sorry!"

When I muttered a curse to myself in frustration, the shepherd girl, who'd been cowering, jumped and apologized. What?

Come to think of it, hadn't this NPC's reaction been way too realistic from the start?

I'd heard elite NPCs acted far more like people than regular NPCs, but this shepherd girl's reactions went beyond that.

Nothing about the sight of her hugging the black dog and trembling had that mechanical, lifeless quality unique to NPCs.

Maybe I needed to treat this shepherd girl completely differently from other NPCs.

I'd heard that talking to an NPC was one of the dumbest things you could do, but you never knew.

"Excuse me."

I carefully tried speaking to her.

* * *

The trembling shepherd girl reacted dramatically when I spoke.

"I-I-I don't have any money! Even if you rob me, you won't find anything!"

She really didn't seem like an NPC. First she'd called me an adventurer, and now she thought I was a robber.

It was probably because I'd been staring silently at the Open Community. I'd never heard that NPCs could notice something like that.

-Woof! Woof!

The black dog in the girl's arms barked as if it had something to say. The shepherd girl stroked its back, her face pale.

"F-Flanders... what's wrong? Don't bark, uh, what did you say? I-I see...!"

No, looking closer, it really did seem to be saying something. This shepherd girl could understand what the dog was saying.

"I-I actually do have money! I don't have it with me right now, but if you let me go, I'll definitely bring it to you!"

The dog even seemed smarter than its owner.

For the record, I hadn't said a single word since "Excuse me."

I felt like I should say something to calm her down, but how was I supposed to start in a situation like this?

I'd been holed up at home without seeing anyone for so long that I'd forgotten how to have a normal conversation.

And this wasn't even a normal situation. Someone I'd just met thought I was a robber.

"I'm not a robber."

"Y-You're not?"

"I said I'm not a robber."

The shepherd girl blinked her tear-filled eyes and exchanged looks with her sheepdog.

A few seconds passed, and the shepherd girl's face turned bright red. She sprang to her feet.

"I-I actually knew that. But Flanders kept saying you might be a robber!"

-Woof! Woof woof woof!

"Be quiet, Flanders! You made me misunderstand a kind adventurer. Hurry up and apologize!"

For a moment, I thought I'd unknowingly gained another skill because I could understand what that dog was saying.

The shepherd girl bickered with her dog for a moment, then her blush faded and she cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, Adventurer. Our disobedient dog was rude to you. Thank you so much for saving us from the wolves."

The shepherd girl bowed deeply. I felt awkward too, so I dipped my head slightly for no reason.

-Woof.

Even the dog bowed its head in greeting. No matter how I looked at it, this dog seemed smarter than its owner.

So when was she going to give me the quest? We'd barely exchanged a few words, but I was already uncomfortable dealing with her.

I'd once thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to, NPC or not. Now that I actually had a conversation, I wasn't so sure.

Seo Jinhyeok Lv.40 (Warrior)

I wanted to raise even one more number on my Status Window and climb even a little higher in this Tower of Trials.

I wanted to feel that electrifying sense of accomplishment I'd felt earlier one more time, and my hands kept itching.

"Um... Adventurer, I hate to impose, but could I ask you a favor?"

The shepherd girl hesitantly began to speak. Then the blue interface I'd been waiting for suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Quest Activated: Shepherd Girl's Request - Wolf Pack]

And so, my first quest on the second floor began.

Footnotes:

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