World of Masks

Chapter 10

Translator: Seven

Editor: Ana_Banana

While playing the World of Masks, Jin-suk was really happy.

Although it was just animals, he was able to feel blood splashing and bones being cut every day.

Jin-suk had already begun hunting wild boars in the mountain after moving on from the rabbits in the grassland.

The worn out short sword was still a problem, but Jin-suk had managed to level himself up a bit already.

He had less problems hunting after he invested the 5 stat points he gained by level up to his dex and str.

He didn’t even look at his int.

From the beginning, his play style was to use his weapon to smash his prey. That way he was able to look at their faces and feel his weapon cut into them.

So Jin-suk’s job in most virtual reality games was always warrior.

Jin-suk sold half of the prey he’d caught that day at the general store in the village and when he was picking up his money from the counter he remembered the hunchbacked man that he had seen a few days before.

“Come to think of it. I saw an old man with a hunchback walking with a cane a few days ago. Is he from this village?”

The owner of the store, who was in a good mood because of all the boar meat that Jin-suk had brought back, answered him after losing his smile.

“Ah? That guy?”

From the harshness of his voice it did not seem to be a good topic.

“He’s not from this village! Instead of being helpful, all he does is beg!”

“…a beggar…?”

It was true that he had been wearing clothes that were no better than rags.

Just thinking of it made the store owner angry as he grabbed Jin-suk and began swearing loudly.

“He’s a cancer. A begging bastard. He appeared a few years ago, built a hut on the back mountain, then dug out some grass roots to sell in the village. The bastard couldn’t sell them so he went to people’s houses, going house to house, begging for food as he went.

If he sold something useful then he could get enough to live off of but instead he chose to beg, going from door to door. It was extremely annoying. Where could we get the food from?

And everytime he comes down to town, something bad happens. Rumor has it that he is the descendant of a Demon King who flipped the world upside down just 50 years ago.”

The grocery store owner spoke till spit flew out of his mouth.

Whether it was because he felt that Jin-suk was really interested or whether his grievances were large, the store owner kept getting louder and louder and he recounted all the unfortunate things that happened whenever the old man came into the village.

But Jin-suk, who had listened to the store owner’s entire tirade, had a completely different feeling when he learned of the villagers’ reasoning.

‘It’s just bullying.’

The supposed bad things that happened to the village all turned out to be incredibly trivial.

Other than claiming him to be the descendant of a devil, there was really no reason for the villagers’ persecution.

However seeing the store owner shout so vehemently with spit and foam coming out of his made it seem like that was truly what he thought.

Perhaps these were just rumors that sprung because someone with an unusual look came to live close to their small village.

And this thought became solidified when he made a stop at the blacksmith after level the general store.

“He’s just a poor old man.”

As he swung his heavy hammer, the blacksmith, who was rippling with muscles, spoke of the old man in a tone filled with pity.

“I don’t know where he came from, but he built a little cabin on the back cabin about four years ago. But the villagers were disgusted by his appearance. He didn’t do anything to hurt us. Well, I don’t know if it was because he tried to beg for food when it was already so scarce. The closedness of the villagers might have played a part as well.”

Tch.

Clicking his tongue, the blacksmith looked in the direction that the old man might be living in.

Now that he thought about it, Jin-suk had only been able to really get close to the store owner and the blacksmith since he came to the village.

The others were still vigilant and cautious toward him.

The blacksmith as though he didn’t want to endure the solemn mood anymore burst out laughing, revealing his white teeth.

“Now that I think about it. How much money do you have? I heard from Langster that you’ve been very diligent in bringing us wild game. Thanks to you I’ve been able to grease my throat for the first time in a while.”

The blacksmith seemed truly satisfied. He couldn’t remember when last he could eat meat in the village so easily.

So he couldn’t help being in such a good mood.

“It’s fine. I don’t think it’ll be much longer if I keep earning like this.”

“That’s great. Honestly I couldn’t even know when I’d be able to sell it if it wasn’t for you. But I can’t discount any more. I already gave you a huge one with 50 silver.”

He didn’t really know if the blacksmith had cut much off the price but it was a good sword so Jin-suk didn’t complain.

After chatting with the blacksmith a bit longer, Jin-suk finally left the smithy.

Then without hesitation, he left the village and began climbing the back mountain.

From what he’d gathered by combining the stories of the general store owner and the blacksmith, the old man lived alone on the mountain without family.

He had no relatives or close friends.

No, he was treated like a plague by the entire village.

After finding a small footpath at the foot of the mountain behind the village, Jin-suk couldn’t help the wide smile that stretched across his face.

Jin-suk took the short sword from his bracelet.

The dried blood had been roughly washed off in a stream near the village but it didn’t help much so the sword still appeared worn and not properly cleaned.

But he could still kill something if he stabbed it.

Holding the short sword tightly, Jin-suk looked up at the mountain where the hunchbacked man’s home should be.

A person with absolutely no combat ability chose to live in such a place without any family or friends.

It was as if they were asking for death.

Jin-suk slowly moved up the path as he climbed the mountain.

It was surprisingly difficult to find the old hunchback’s house. The path was the only sign that a person had passed by here and even then it was very inconspicuous.

The back mountains that were filled with the squeaks of wild boars as he kept searching along the shallow path.

It was long after the sun had set that he finally managed to find the hut.

Jin-suk, who had finally found his target, was speechless for a moment.

This is a house?

If he was to compare it to something, it would be like the structures from the Neolithic era that were showcased in the Amsa-dong Prehistoric Settlement1.

The hut was made by half rotten branches and seemed to only have enough space for one person to enter.

A pile of black ash lay in a small area that appeared to be a bonfire and on a nearby wooden table there seemed to be wooden utensils.

Rustle.

As if they had felt his presence, someone crawled out of the hut.

His bent back and ragged clothes let Jin-suk know that it was the Hunchback that he had been looking for.

“Hello.”

The man glanced at Jin-suk who then gave him a kind smile.

Even if he didn’t look dangerous, you could never tell what might happen.

Jin-suk tried to approach the man while wearing that smile, but the man flinched and fell away from him.

“Wh-…who are you?”

As he heard the sound like scratching a broken brass bowl, Jin-suk couldn’t help the slight frown that came across his face.

The man in front of him seemed to have something wrong with his vocal chords.

“Ah, I am a traveler who stopped by the village at the bottom of the mountain. I came here because I became curious after hearing that someone lived here.”

The man looked up at the word traveler.

“Tr-…traveler? That…one who came to save the world…that…traveler?”

What was he talking about?

Jin-suk tilted his head slightly as he heard a statement that he hadn’t encountered before.

However now that he thought about it, he realised that he had never really asked any questions about travelers.

Jin-suk made a note to ask the general store owner or the blacksmith when he went back to the village.

Anyway he decided to make use of it since the old man had misunderstood so conveniently.

“Ahh. Yes. That’s the traveler.”

He tightly gripped the handle of the short sword that he was hiding behind his back and began to approach the man, all while maintaining his kind smile.

When Jin-suk got closer and was about to stab the man with the short sword.

“I…I…He-…Help me. Frien-…I want friends. The villagers…I want them to be my friends.”

Jin-suk’s eyes trembled slightly as he looked at the old man who was holding onto his close as if he was a savior.

Friends?

What was he talking about?

Maybe this guy had mistaken him for a genie from a lamp?

The man in front of him seemed to have had a misconception from the word traveler.

As the unexpected situation caused Jin-suk to pause since it seemed like the man had mistaken him for something else, the man limped into his hut before bringing something out.

“P-…I’ll pay. Here.”

The man arranged some objects in front of Jin-suk. There were a few copper coins which seemed to have lost their distinctive glimmer due to dirt.

It was probably all the wealth the man had, but in truth it was practically nothing.

Jin-suk’s cold eyes which were watching at the items the man brought out, suddenly widened in surprise.

‘A Bead of Life?”

The blue bead that was beside the coins surprised him quite a bit.

“Th-…this. I will give them to you.”

Jin-suk felt that he was lucky.

He would never have expected this beggar to actually have a bead of life.

He thought he would leave the beginner village before he got the chance to get a better Bead of life…

Thinking that it was truly his lucky moment, Jin-suk gripped the short sword behind his back and got ready to launch his attack.

Frankly, he didn’t think he could help the man with his request.

From looking at the attitude of the villagers, he felt like it was practically a quest with S rank difficulty to get the man in front of him to be their friend.

Therefore Jin-suk who did not intend to waste his time on an impossible task, intended to steal the item after killing the man.

If it wasn’t for the quest window that appeared before his eyes.

Ding.

[Quest- Poor Hunchback Ranphral’s friends…

Difficulty: D

Ranphral was abandoned by his parents at birth due to his disability and has lived alone for as long as he has known. So his biggest wish is to make friends. Of course, it may be difficult for him to make friends because of Ranphral’s appearance. But Ranphral has recognized you as the savior. Help Ranphral make friends.]

Jin-suk alternately looked between the quest window in front of him and at Ranphral alternately.

Then he smacked his lips and relaxed his grip on the short sword.

He could kill the man in front of him at any time.

So it would be better for him to clear his first quest in the World of Masks first.

Thinking up to here, Jin-suk smiled even brighter and put his hand on Ranphral’s shoulder.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be successful, but let’s try.”

With a quiet ‘thank you’ Ranphral also returned a bright smile to Jin-suk that was as pure as a child’s.

However Jin-suk’s eyes as he looked at Ranphral were still cold.