The Inn

With Natasya on his back, he entered almost all the Inns inside the city, which was already full of players. Even many of the players slept on the floor.

Last resort, he quit the city and moved to Mitten Hamlet, a hunter village near Terrish.

He hoped there was an empty room for Natasya. She got sick probably because she didn't eat or drink, and she became weak. Not to blame her, the food and drink had become shit.

Surrounded by nature, forest, and mountain line, with only one side open facing Terrish, Hamlet was serene away from buzzing life.

Nine humble wooden buildings stood around the chapel. Many buildings had lights on, and haze popped out from the chimney.

As he continued, the natural path was clear from other players while cricket sang a night song. Those players probably did not pay attention to Hamlet, as only the hunter class had business here for doing hunter-class-only quests.

Yung Jae limped to the only two-story building in the hamlet, the only Inn.

As the door cracked open, Yung Jae entered the Inn. The slim girl in a peasant pale blue tunic and white apron welcomed him with a warm smile while the three women discussed something.

They felt silent and watched Yung Jae as he stepped on the squeaky wooden floor.

"Is there any room for us tonight?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but—"

"Please, any room." Yung Jae said with puppy eyes. "Just for her. I'll sleep outside. Please, she was not well."

"Alice." The girl with red-brown long hair raised her mezzo voice. "She could use our room with those four kids if they don't mind. But that man will sleep outside."

The NPC girl nodded. She pulled a little on her gown and stepped on the stairs. "Then, let me lead the way, adventurer. Follow me."

Yung Jae bowed a little. "Thank you." Then, following the girl upstairs.

A warm, cozy smelt was smittering his nostrils. Yung Jae and Aice kept a light steep on a dimly lit corridor. There are six doors, three on each side, with a single long French window at the end of the path.

"What happened in Terrish?" The girl asked. "It is such a rare sight seeing many new non-hunter adventurers come here."

"I don't know." Yung Jae kept his voice low. "How many of them?"

"Sixty and many sleep in other houses." She said as she opened the door for Yung Jae. "Poor little kids. They cried a lot while they came to our hamlet."

"Kids?" Yung Jae entered the room and found three kids sleeping, sharing a single bed, and one kid on the couch.

"Yes, sixty kids and those three ladies came to us." The girl helps move the boy on the couch, giving a lot of room for Natasya to lean there.

Yung Jae remembered the boy. He was the one who asked him for leveling early on.

Aice checked Natasya and gave him medicine. It was a green syrup.

"I made it for my son." She said. "He got sick many days ago, but now he is already fit."

"Thank you."

"Your friend would be fine." Aice blanketed her with a thick brown blanket. "She just needs some rest and eats a lot. If you want, you could sleep in my room."

Yung Jae raised his eyebrow, made her smile a little, and waved her hand.

"No… not in that way," she said. "My husband and kid already sleep with the other two kids inside. I could arrange for you to take my palace there."

"It's okay. I will sleep outside. Besides, I have something to do. Thanks Aice."

After closing the door, he ambled away, and she followed behind.

"So, who are you, Adventurer?"

"Yung Jae, thank you for your kindness."

"It's okay. Back then, when I was a child, adventurers helped me set up this Inn. So, it was my duty to help them." She decided to enter the room, leaving Yung Jae.

He peeked from his shoulder while stepping down the stairs, Aice seemed friendly and thoughtful, but an NPC with personality? It was not new for him, but… just like Kaeya. This game was totally weird.

As soon as he hit the first floor, two of three girls stared at him, while the one snoring on the line of the chair.

Her red eyes sent a signal of mistrust. The girl helping him early, the one with a long-sleeved shirt that crumpled, following the curves of her slender body, darted her eyes on the door. Clearly, she ordered him to get the hell out of her sigh.

Yung Jae nodded and turned his legs to the entrance. His legs and arms are sore after a great adventure in a maze dungeon. Now, he will sleep beneath the stars on an icy night with a rock-flatted deck.

He heard what most artists live on, but he never believed that phrase until now.

"Stay," said the other girl in the dark blue shirt.

She crossed her arms beneath her gigantic apples and leaned on the chair. Her motherly expression gave him a warm sensation. "Please stay."

"He said he sled outside." The red-haired said.

"Outside the room, not outside outside." The black-haired girl gazed at the empty chair. "You could have slept there. Better than outside."

Yung Jae nodded, placing himself on a flat wooden chair.

The red hair pushed herself closer to her friend and whispered, but her voice was high enough to be heard by Yung Jae.

"We don't know who he is," she said. "He might call others here, and soon, this Inn would be filled with those filthy players,"

The motherly girl sighed as her long hair leaned on her chest. She smiles at Yung Jae. "My name is Hosokawa, and she is Cecilia. The one there, Tia."

She gazed at a petite girl with tan skin and short waved hair.

Yung Jae introduced himself to them while studying both girls. They are all level ten players and, like others, still in the newbie class.

"You and your friend could stay here," Hosokawa said. "But please, don't say anything. We need this village to be pristine for the kids."

"And girls," Cecil said. "We don't need dirty mind players here, considering you're lucky. Do you hear me?"

Yung Jae nodded. "Noted, only a girl and kids."

"And you," Cecil stabbed her table and glared at his voice. "If you want to stay here, try not to do anything dirty, or I swear I P.K you."

"Noted, and thanks." He didn't know this player's experience, but their goal was worthy of appreciation. "What happened early? Sorry, I was busy leveling up, and when I returned, the city was in chaos."

Hosokawa sighed and sipped clear water as she cleared her throat. "The logout button suddenly disappeared. At first, everyone thought it was part of the event, but while it was getting dark and many players had work and school to attend, they asked for the logout button."

Yung Jae nodded. "And, what happened?"

"Those Game Masters said they can't activate the logout button," Hosokawa continued. "The food started to sour. The drink was not better. The party crashed, and everyone demanded an answer."

"And those filthy bastards started a riot," Cecil hollered, hitting the table with her mug. "The chaos ensued. The sentry Guard was outnumbered until the government asked for help from the Jakuta. Thousand cavalry came, and the riod subsided. But, the NPC and player are now in a cold, cold relationship. Those NPC hid in the main keep, academia, cathedral, and armory because those stupid players, now, NPC hates us."

"Most of them," Aice said as she blanketed Tia with a thick brown wool blanket. She put many blankets on the empty table and gave YUng Jae an empty mug. "And please stop calling us NPC."

"Sorry, and thanks," Hosokawa said.

"We are human, not NPC." Aice poured water into an empty mug that she had given Yung Jae early. "I don't know what happened to the adventurer who started the riot, but please don't do that again. We lived in peace and harmony before."

She put out kettles filled with clear water. "And keep your voice down, kids sleeping upstairs." She moved into the room behind the bar.

Yung Jae tasted the clear water. It was good. The water was fresh like real water, better than the real world. "Weird."

"I know," Hosokawa gleamed. "The cole, the syrup, tasted bland, but the eater was good. The milk that came out from the cow tasted good. Don't ask me why."

Yung Jae craned his eyes down, admiring the water. He remembered Chae Wo was here at the event. What happened to her? "Can you send a message to another player?"

The girl was shocked. "I tried to send a message to our friends, but I couldn't. Yet, the Game Master could message every player via announcement."

Perhaps they had the answer. "So, where is Game Master now?" he asked.

"On the control tower," Cecil yawned while pulling her arms high. She rose and went to the second floor with a blanket. She curled up on the stairs. "I call it a day, sleep. If you dare to do something funny, I will P.K you."

Yung Jae smirked. He was too tired to start arguing and fighting back. He will find out what happened the next day.

"Sleep, perhaps when you wake up the next day, that pesky button is already there." Hosokawa gave a blanket to Yung Jae. "Goodnight."