Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

Lin Miao, who was ambushed in her sleep, arrived at the company with a mind full of turmoil, barely managing to suppress her chaotic emotions.

After the initial excitement of victory subsided, the residents who had defeated the Zerg in the fierce battle were also caught in a complex state of mind.

Attila, who hadn't gone to Minecraft and was resting and tending to his worn-out weapons, spoke up: "You mean, the unknown monsters we encountered for the first time since arriving here are attacking the lord who once helped us?"

"It's just speculation, but it's quite possible. The black monsters attacked without any reaction, yet they healed the wounded the moment the monsters fell."

After listening to Lillie's explanation of why she rushed out despite being advised against it, Attila fell into deep thought.

"Although there is no clear evidence yet, the force that sent us into the sky... I think it may be sending us to a different world."

These people, who spent their lives fighting against the ferocious beasts of the north and other tribes, were called barbarians by the settlers as illiterate and lacking in technology, but they were by no means stupid.

Attila was convinced that the unknown forces ruling this mysterious grassland were closely related to the portals that had appeared in the village and the connected game world.

This prediction proved to be entirely correct, fully demonstrating his extraordinary insight.

Lillie couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is He? The power of the grasslands, the one from the blocky world, and the mysterious knight I met... are they all different entities? Could He really be a god?"

Attila shook his head: "I don't know either, but one thing is certain: we need His power. What does it matter if He's an evil spirit or a mystical sorcerer? He who gives us everything we need is our guardian angel."

Seeing her daughter's confused expression, Attila took her hand.

Although she couldn't bear to see her daughter suffer, this was ultimately a trial that concerned her life.

If it were the Lillie of the past, she probably wouldn't have been able to play a role in the battle against the Corrupting Beings.

"You'll be here today too, won't you?"

After roughly cleaning up the mess, the residents, just like yesterday, started getting busy with their own tasks in the afternoon.

Although some people suffered serious injuries such as broken bones or torn flesh, everyone recovered thanks to the reward points Lin Miao earned from capturing the eroding creatures, which she used to exchange for treatment.

When Attila returned to Minecraft to gather various resources, Lillie dressed herself in armor, equipped herself with weapons, and quietly waited in the village.

As expected, that person would take her to the new world by evening at the latest, a world filled with monsters she had never seen before, a world even more terrifying.

But for some reason, she felt less fear in that world.

When Lillie realized that this was all because he had always been there for her, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Could it be... that I'm actually enjoying it?"

For her, a warrior of the steppes, battle was a death struggle, a fight that directly tied to life and death. Hesitation meant defeat, and defeat meant death.

Despite possessing exceptional talent, she has gained far less from battles than she has lost so far, and therefore, whenever faced with battle, she always hesitates for fear of losing something again.

For the first time, Lillie experienced joy in battle, because fighting alongside Lin Miao always brought her something, and this was the first hope she had ever felt in her life.

When Lillie sensed he was in danger, her act of rushing out despite her own safety was ultimately a struggle to avoid losing that hope.

I don't know how long we waited like this.

Lillie, who was lost in thought, suddenly felt someone gently stroking her head. She opened her eyes wide, but there was no one around. She could only see the busy figures of the residents in front of her.

"You've arrived!"

Recognizing the subtle touch, Lillie leaped from her seat and shouted to the sky.

Just as she expected, she was soon transported to the world of Dark Souls.

Even now, Lillie can laugh without being surprised when she sees Lin Miao's strange behavior.

In the dimly lit underground passage where they parted yesterday, watching Lin Miao stubbornly roll forward and rush towards her, Lillie slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

◆◆◆

"Since it has already happened, and we don't know what will happen next, there's nothing we can do about it."

Just as her female boss said, even with a mountain of work piled up, Lin Miao still started her journey home earlier than usual.

Having just left the company, I was forced to rethink those issues that had been forcibly shelved.

On the swaying and bumping bus, looking at the familiar city streets under the setting sun, Lin Miao's mood was completely different from a few days ago.

Neither numb from exhaustion nor elated by the thought of going home to rest and play.

But after paying these prices, he finally made a decision: to observe for a while longer, one more time.

No one, including those around him, would know that Lin Miao was prepared to risk her life at this moment.

But I still can't bring myself to throw away the computer without any regrets. I can't let go of the figures on the screen, nor can I forget the warnings in the instruction manual.

I was supposed to continue playing games after I got home, but now it doesn't feel like I'm playing a game; it feels like I'm in a real battle.

"Has Lillie always been fighting with this mindset?"

Although she might get slapped for saying it was exactly the same, Lin Miao seemed to understand a little better at this moment the feeling of fighting those enemies who were just game monsters to her with her life on the line.

"ha."

I arrived home with such a heavy heart, only to find the house still quiet except for the faint noise from the computer.

The lit monitor naturally displayed the desktop, along with a few tiny, wriggling pixelated figures.

As usual, Lin Miao zoomed in to observe them. In the automatically running Minecraft, the residents, including Attila, were working hard to gather resources to sustain their lives.

Other residents were expanding the village, repairing houses, and tending to livestock, while Lillie sat quietly waiting for something.

"Things that need to be confirmed still need to be confirmed."

Lin Miao smiled wryly, unsure how long she had been in this state, but did not immediately start the game.

Before reading the instruction manual this morning, when he had just eliminated the eroding entity, he did see a notification that there were other rewards besides points.

"This is it."

Lin Miao searched through the system for a long time before finally managing to bring up the interface.

[Selectable rewards for defeating the eroded entities]

It said that one could choose a reward. Lin Miao clicked on it casually, figuring it was something for the residents anyway.

[Please select the characteristic to assign to the player]

"Ah, could it be...?"

You can choose one of the characteristics that residents have already acquired, such as martial arts, mining, farming, or magic, and such text will appear before your eyes.

Lin Miao was overjoyed, thinking the reward was quite good, and immediately selected one of them. It was Lillie's trait—martial arts.

I don’t know if it’s because she’s so outstanding as the user, but that special power that allows someone to fight against absurd monsters with just a sword seems too strong.

[Features successfully assigned]

"Um?!"

But at that very moment, Lin Miao witnessed a beam of light emanating from the monitor pierce into his body.

Lin Miao, who already had a phobia of things popping up on the monitor and was planning to lock herself in and sleep outside starting tonight, panicked and struggled to fall backward, chair and all.

If you fall like that and land headfirst, you're doomed.

"Well!"

Finally, he kicked his indoor slippers haphazardly in mid-air, and with a loud thud, the back of his head hit the ground hard, twisting his neck.

In an instant, a stinging pain shot up his spine, causing his whole body to convulse.

"Waaah..."

After wriggling a few times, Lin Miao propped herself up and stood up.

Although I felt sore all over, that was all. I didn't have a concussion, my neck wasn't broken, and my body was completely unharmed.

"No way..."

A strange power enveloped my entire body. Although unbelievable, it was still much more reasonable than the bizarre things happening on my monitor right now.

There happened to be a hand gripper on the table. Lin Miao, a homebody who never exercises, bought it online as a fitness tool, or rather, a finger toy to play with when he was bored, out of a guilty conscience.

Lin Miao tried to hold it. The spring felt soft when it was pressed down, even when it was set to the highest setting. Her arm, which used to tremble every time she used it, was now completely still.

"It seems it's not entirely without guarantees after all."

The instruction manual says it's okay if monsters jump out of the screen, which isn't entirely a lie. It seems like you can get stronger just by playing.

[Residential Configuration]

After helping herself up and sitting down again, Lin Miao started the game.

Although he gained unexpected power, he didn't want to confront the monster head-on; he wanted to solve the problem within the confines of the tabletop.

Will this message get through?

Before importing the waiting Lillie into the running game.

Lin Miao hovered the cursor above her head and quickly clicked the left mouse button several times, as a way of thanking her for working with the others to kill the attacking erosion.

"──!"

It seemed the message had indeed reached its destination. Suddenly, Lillie's eyes widened, and with a smile still on her face, she abruptly stood up and shouted something at the sky.

Even after they met in the game, her smile remained unchanged.

Feeling a little more relaxed, Lin Miao habitually used a forward roll to shorten the movement time and approach her.

Lillie seemed to have gotten used to Lin Miao's strange behavior and did not show any particular surprise.