Chapter 13
#13. Shepherd Girl and the Black Dog
There are nine wolves surrounding the shepherd NPC in total.
Five are the same 'Gray Plains Wolves' I've seen so far, and three are 'Yellow Plains Wolves' with different-colored fur.
The only visual difference between the two kinds of wolves is their fur color, but I heard the yellow ones are a little faster and stronger.
And the last wolf, I don't know what it is. It wasn't in the floor-two area info post on the open community.
It was probably a limited spawn like the black horn rabbit on the first-floor fields—something you can no longer see in other towers.
Limited monsters like that are usually stronger than the others, but they also drop better rewards and more EXP.
Since it's a creature with no info, I should take it out first, right?
-Thunk.
I pulled a heavy rock out of my inventory. I don't have any throwing skills, but my Strength stat is enough, so I can just toss it.
I was able to take down the first-floor elite monster, the Goblin Royal Guard, by tossing a rock once, so this should work here too.
Hup!
First strike wins, so I hurled the rock with all my strength from outside the wolves' detection range.
Thanks to the Strength stat I earned from the achievement reward, the rock flew even more forcefully than before and hit the especially large wolf.
-Yelp!
The big wolf toppled over with a ridiculously cute yelp that didn't suit its size at all. I immediately sprinted and charged into the midst of the wolves.
Normally, letting yourself be surrounded by enemies in a wide-open place like this is suicide.
Even the walkthroughs on the open community emphasize that this is the situation you need to be most careful about. But I'm actually used to this formation.
-Slash!
Without even needing a skill, I swung the straight sword in my hand and one of the wolves was cut clean in two.
The yellow wolf, supposedly more agile than the gray ones, swiftly leaped for the back of my neck, but my shield was faster.
Rather than blocking the wolf's fangs, I slammed the shield into its jaw. With a crack, its jaw was shattered in one hit.
Kyaa!
Two wolves were knocked down in an instant, and only then did the shepherd girl scream in shock.
As if reacting to that, one of the wolves lunged toward the girl.
Damn, bad timing. I've never fought while protecting someone before, so I was a beat too slow.
-Grrr!
Then the black dog guarding the girl's side threw itself in the way. Launching itself with all its strength, it knocked the charging wolf aside.
Given the difference in body weight, it only got shoved back a handspan or two. But buying me one turn is enough.
-Crunch!
The sword I swung split the wolf's skull open. I pulled the sword free and swung again toward the wolf behind me.
The wolf aiming for my back staggered and backed off, and I seized the opening to rush in and keep attacking.
Even after coming up to the 2nd Floor, ordinary monsters were still nothing more than a one-punch job for me.
**
It only took a few minutes to wipe out all the wolves. The gap in our base stats was just too huge.
[Gray Plains Wolf Leather]
[Yellow Plains Wolf Leather]
[Broken Fang]
The loot was ordinary. I thought maybe killing a special wolf would make it drop something different, but apparently not.
They say the leather can be used to reinforce armor, and the fangs can be used to reinforce weapons, but I already have enough enhancement materials, so in the end they're just junk.
But I wasn't fighting for the loot in the first place, so whatever. The important thing is the quest.
-Swish!
I flicked the blood off my sword once, stowed it in my inventory, and walked over to the shepherd girl.
Hii, hiiik……!
Above the shepherd girl's head floated a green icon and a name, marking her as an NPC.
[Shepherd Girl Nora]
I'd heard that NPC names and appearances differ slightly from tower to tower, and this tower's shepherd girl is Nora, huh.
According to the info posts on the open community, the floor-two shepherd girl gives a multi-stage wolf-hunting quest.
The first stage starts with the weakest Gray Plains Wolves, and as the stages advance, you keep being told to defeat stronger wolves.
Supposedly, if you clear the final stage, the reward is a leather belt with random options. My belt slot was empty too, so I was paying attention to this quest.
I've never heard of the shepherd NPC being attacked out in the field beyond the village. And more importantly,
"U-um... adventurer? I don't know who you are, but th-thank you so much, hic."
The shepherd girl just sat there trembling and didn't seem to be thinking about giving me a quest at all. Was something wrong?
Could it require some special interaction? I opened the open community and started searching with 'shepherd girl' as the keyword.
[What is the final stage of the Shepherd Girl quest?]
[Why the fuck does this bitch only give me shit for my belt???]
[How's our server's shepherd bitch look?]
[Why is this even a girl? It's a damn henhouse……]
But most of them were just useless shitposts. Since she's an early-game NPC, there were way too many mentions of her.
"Um, adventurer? Could you please say something, anything……I'm Nora, the shepherd from over in that village……"
Even if I searched only the strategy board, nothing useful came up. It was all just talk about the basic quest.
Maybe it's because there are quests you can only clear a limited number of times, but information from first-generation hunters is still way too hard to find.
There's too much filler and shitposting in the community. It's a real-name board, so how are there hundreds of posts like [I want to fuck the shepherd bitch]?
"Ah, fuck, seriously……"
"S-sorry!"
I got fed up and muttered a curse to myself, and the cowering shepherd girl jumped and apologized. What the hell.
Come to think of it, hasn't this NPC's reaction been way too realistic since earlier?
I had heard elite NPCs act much more like people than ordinary NPCs, but this shepherd girl's reaction goes beyond merely being 'human-like.'
From the way she was hugging the black dog and trembling, there wasn't the slightest trace of that mechanical, inorganic feel typical of NPCs.
Maybe I should treat this shepherd girl completely differently from other NPCs.
I had heard that there's nothing as stupid as trying to talk to an NPC, but you never know.
"Excuse me."
I carefully spoke to her.
**
The trembling shepherd girl reacted dramatically the moment I spoke.
"I-I don't have any money or anything! Shake me down all you want, but nothing's coming out!"
That reaction definitely doesn't seem like an NPC. A second ago she was calling me an adventurer, and now she's treating me like a robber.
I guess it was because I'd been staring at the community without saying anything. I never heard that NPCs could even notice that sort of thing, though.
-Woof! Woof!
The black dog in the girl's arms barked as if it wanted to say something. The shepherd girl, pale as a sheet, rubbed its back.
"F-Flanders... what's wrong? You shouldn't bark, w-wait, what? R-right, I get it...!"
No, wait. Come to think of it, he really is saying something. Looks like that shepherd girl can understand dog speech.
"I-I actually do have money! I don't have it with me right now, but if you let me live and send me on my way, I'll definitely bring it!"
The dog even seems a little smarter than its owner.
For the record, I still haven't said another word since that first 'Excuse me.'
I feel like I should say something to calm her down, but what am I supposed to say to start things off?
I shut myself away in my room for so long without seeing people that I forgot how to have a normal conversation.
And this isn't even a normal situation. I'm being treated like a robber by someone I've never even met.
"I'm not a robber."
"Y-yes?"
"I said I'm not a robber."
The shepherd girl blinked her tear-filled eyes and exchanged a look with her sheepdog.
A few seconds later, the girl's face went red. She jumped up from where she'd been sitting.
"I actually knew that. But Flanders kept saying you might be a robber!"
-Woof! Woof! Woof!
"Shut up, Flanders. You made me misunderstand a perfectly good adventurer. Hurry up and apologize!"
Before I knew it, I thought I'd gained another new skill. For a moment, I understood what that dog was saying.
The shepherd girl bickered with her dog for a bit, then quickly cooled the blush from her cheeks and cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry, Adventurer. Our unruly dog was rude. Thank you so much for saving us from the wolves."
The shepherd girl bowed deeply in greeting. I felt awkward too, so I bowed back for no real reason.
-Woof.
Even the dog bowed its head to greet me. No matter how I look at it, this dog seems smarter than its owner.
So when is she going to give me the quest? We've only exchanged a few words, but she's already hard to deal with.
I used to think it'd be nice to have someone to talk to, NPC or not, but now that I'm actually talking with one, maybe not.
Seo Jin-hyuk Lv.40 (Warrior)
I want to raise even one more number in my status window, and I want to climb this Tower of Trials a little higher.
I want to feel that exhilarating sense of accomplishment I felt just a moment ago one more time, and my hands keep itching for it.
"Um... but Adventurer, if you don't mind, could I shamelessly ask you for one favor?"
The shepherd girl hesitantly began to speak. Then the blue interface I'd been waiting for suddenly popped up in front of my eyes.
[Quest Triggered: Shepherd Girl's Request - Wolf Pack]
And so, my first quest on the 2nd Floor began.