I Am the God of Games

Chapter 257 Errand Boy

Leading his new guardsman, Marni arrived the Western Continent through the Lifestone, reaching the simple settlement which the Players were using as a temporary base camp while following markers that the other Players left.

By coincidence, he ran into Edward who had likewise arrived, and was reprimanding the Players who had returned in defeat from the Mountain Tigers’ village.

“I got the general idea through video. The Mountain Tigers’ village can be considered a difficult dungeon, but it’s not too difficult either since they would stay injured.”

At that, Edward’s tone turned nasty. “But even though there would surely be obstacles and losses against unknown enemies, your performance is just embarrassing!”

“But we really did our best!”

A new Player who appeared unaware about the reason why Edward was recognized as a leader amongst all Players—that his level was high just because he became a Player earlier retorted in dissatisfaction. “I died so many times that I dropped one level!”

“Doing your best isn’t an excuse for failure!” Edward glared at the newbie, unable to be reasoned with. “And if what you’re doing is wrong, what good does it do aside from troubling others? Would the cost of dropping a level like you would hold any strategic value?”

Edward wasn’t angry, but his confidence and air as a champion which had been refined from skirting around life and death after becoming a Player easily crushed the newbie, denying him any confidence to continue protesting.

Walking up to them, Marni nodded as well, knowing that Edward was right.

Even if they didn’t share the same path, they were both acknowledged as first-rate veteran Players. Therefore, they were mutually supportive and shared the same views when it came to certain issues.

On the other hand, it was Angora, the Liege Player who once shared Marni’s path who recently gave up on acting as a leader for the Players. Instead, he poured all his attention to the development of the unnamed town, expanding his fief in considerable scale within a short time.

As for Princess Leah, Marni had initially assumed that she was someone who would do everything she could to rebuild Tierra, that the reason she would always be at the frontlines and the most active person in any new System Events was to build her reputation amongst the Players.

However, Marni vaguely realized after a period of acquaintance that the Warrior Princess seemed to have no such intention. The reason that she would fight so hard was simply because that was a playstyle that provides more fun, which also matched her way of doing things...

Meanwhile, Edward’s scolding continued.

“If you know that you can’t take the dungeon, what you should have done is try your best to scout the interior of the dungeon before other Players come. Not Leroy Jenkins like an idiot!”

“And if the Boss’s skill and mechanics are all still unknown, why would you rush inside without Marni around? It’s lucky that you’re blasted into pieces—you’ll have a taste of real trouble if you get caught in there.”

Beside him, Marni’s face blushed when Edward mentioned his name and in a favorable light, believing that he was quite reputable amongst the Players.

That was when Edward added, “Many Bosses aren’t affected by Taunt. We can’t control who they attack without Marni! Let Marni take the lead so that we have the time and opportunity to check the Boss’s skills, and only then could we tackle them. Get it?!”

The newbie Players all nodded, indicating that they understood and from now on would have Marni die twice before attempting to challenge the dungeon.

And beside them, Marni wasn’t sure if he should be angry or proud.

‘Should I just retire from being a frontliner and become a normal merchant?’

Still, that idea was immediately dumped after dancing a circle around his head. He had long since fallen in love with the new adventurers that the Players keep experiencing, and despite the pain and suffering those things were outweighed by the joy of adventure and a life of delights.

As a matter of fact, Marni was one of the few who enjoyed going on journeys to see different sights even before he became a Player. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to travel all over as a merchant with his flair for business, and he definitely could settle down in a peaceful town after making his first bucket of gold as a business owner. Wouldn’t life have been easy that way?

“It’s some serious pressure being held in such high regard.”

Marni hence walked up to Edward, half complaining and half joking.

Although Edward wasn’t bad-mouthing Marni (merely stating facts), he wasn’t exactly praising him either—with the truth being revealed, Marni made an awkward look.

Luckily, he didn’t care much about being described as an errand boy, and instead cut straight into the heart of the matter. “How are things at the moment?”

“Still going alright. It’s not a problem yet.” Edward replied, scratching the back of his head.

While his reprimanding was rather strongly worded, he was simply disappointed in the newbies’ development.

Unlike pioneers such as them who diligently ground the frontlines and established facilities and pave the way for their juniors, newbies these days were led by the hand by the older Players and never suffered the pain of leveling through farming dungeons. That was why most of them had the flaw of blindness and arrogance, which was why having a setback like this wasn’t bad.

And to tell the truth, Edward wasn’t worried about the Mountain Tigers.

“There are three hundred enemies—but just about thirty of them are Tigermen, averaging at level twenty-five if we don’t count the women and the children. There would be fifty if we count the women and the young, but the average would drop three levels. Only two are Bosses, with one being the Level 35 Ancient Imperial Wrath Tiger Warrior with an elite monster template and a Level 30 Mountain Tiger Tribe Chief with a normal template. The rest are all Hyena-men.”

“Normal template? At such a low level?”

Marni was taken aback. A Level 30 monster with a normal template was small fry to Players like him who were above level 40—the Tribe Chief would be no match for Marni’s own new guardsman either!

As for the other monsters, even the second-rate Players could just charge at them to win in sufficient numbers, let alone first-rate Players. Only newbies who lacked both experience and proficiency would be repelled.

“Hmmm. It is a normal template in terms of damage and speed, but his HP bar is extremely long for some reason and he heals quicker than most normal monsters. He also has a buff, but it’s a blur, as if...”

Edward considered how he should describe it, eventually doubtfully saying, “As if it’s not in its final form.”