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

Dusk.

"That's about it for today, it's time to head back."

"Yes, Chieftain."

While adjusting her disordered breathing caused by the combined depletion of magic and physical strength, Attila took it upon herself to summon Roselle back into the secret space that served as a safe zone.

With their current strength, the two of them were struggling to even clear the inside of the castle from those endless, respawning monsters in the hunting mode.

Attila had long understood that acting within one's means and retreating at the right time was of utmost importance.

"But we're both growing up very fast."

Attila gently stroked the staff in his hand. Although there were still shortcomings, his progress was rapid.

According to the common sense of traditional warriors, increasing the magical power within one's body requires arduous and lengthy training, but they are just like players, who can increase their magical power and combat strength simply by killing monsters to gain experience points.

"The primary goal is to take down that giant skeleton without Lillie's help."

When Attila returned to the village through the portal with Rose, he announced that the elite monster that appeared in the castle—the Abyss Skeleton—would be the next target for extermination.

If the two of them can team up to defeat the monster that once required Lillie's assistance to eliminate, that would be enough to prove their growth.

"It seems the others have returned as well."

At this point, Rose pointed to the others who had returned to the village almost simultaneously.

Including Allen and Uso, the people who entered the sandbox game to collect resources also finished their day's work and returned to the village with the necessary supplies.

Lillie and Lin Miao are still working on the second chapter of Dark Souls.

"The number of people has increased quite a bit."

Soon, dinner preparations began, and the scene of lavishly dumping grains and cooking meat felt strangely familiar.

Looking at the village, including theirs, Attila smiled with satisfaction.

The small group of about thirty people who fled here has grown into a large group of over a hundred people, and their lives are much more prosperous than before they fled to this nameless place.

Moreover, it took very little time to achieve all of this.

Although awakening magic was a miracle, Attila believed that the present scene itself was more valuable.

At this moment, Maureen, who looked extremely haggard, walked up to Attila and said, "Chief, you've had a long day."

"Maureen, you're the one who's had it much harder." Attila shook his head.

Maureen, who started building the castle by constructing stone walls, exhausted all her strength today building a stone wall several meters long.

Although she was physically exhausted, her face beamed with a sense of accomplishment.

"You can feel the progress as you do it. Just like Allen said he swings his pickaxe faster and more efficiently. I think I'll improve too if I keep doing it."

Maureen, who was frantically stacking blocks to build the city wall, was proudly saying that her physical strength was getting better and better.

Attila gave a wry smile upon hearing this, deliberately trying to scare her: "Good news. But once the walls around the village are successfully built, you'll have a lot of trouble to deal with. You don't mind, do you?"

This is not a lie; after all, Maureen's ability to build structures using blocks has considerable practical value.

But Maureen shook her head and said happily, "I've personally witnessed people lose everything because of their powerlessness. Being able to do something is a kind of happiness in itself."

Others echoed this sentiment, saying that these people, who had suffered from helplessness, were content simply to be of use.

Me too.

Attila, holding his staff, felt the same way; he believed he could do anything to protect the scene before him.

◆◆◆

"Uh, uh..."

After sitting in front of the computer all day, Lin Miao felt her body was stiff.

He stretched unconsciously, and a dying groan automatically escaped his throat.

The villagers were all having dinner. After completing the monster-hunting quest and obtaining the special equipment, Lin Miao sent Lillie back to town and went to eat by himself.

Nothing different from usual.

"well……"

Lin Miao sighed as she rummaged through the refrigerator.

Before meeting the residents, Lin Miao's daily routine consisted of staying at home and playing games, unless it was a rare, pre-arranged gathering.

This has not changed, neither in the ignorant past nor in the present.

"..."

Just as Lin Miao was carrying her tray back to her computer, the view of her first night came into view through the window—a landscape exactly the same as it was in the past and present.

Upon closer reflection, it actually feels somewhat incongruous.

Although the fact that I'm just sitting in front of a computer hasn't changed, I'm now working to stop the monsters that could plunge the world into terror.

Of course, Lin Miao didn't have any of those pointless thoughts like expecting others to understand him or treat him like a hero. That kind of thing was the most unbearable.

Everyone has grown very well.

Lin Miao sat down again, watching the residents as she mechanically ate her rice.

Eating at their mealtimes is one of the habits I've recently developed.

Occasionally, I would use screenshot software to record the status of a few people and observe changes in their ability values.

Although the goal was actually to help the residents through various games, for Lin Miao, the entire process, including these games, felt like a game.

Arranging residents in suitable locations, and sometimes even manipulating game characters to help them, etc.

As a result, these people, who were once considered poor by everyone, are now not only able to eat their fill, but their numbers have also increased significantly. Just looking at this scene fills one with a sense of accomplishment.

"They weren't just simple game data from the beginning, but real people. But if this really is a game, then it should naturally have a purpose."

[Insect Nest]

The insect hives that the residents failed to conquer remain intact, and no one knows how many more of those creatures will appear in the future.

That makes it even more unsettling.

More and stronger monsters may emerge.

No, it definitely will be like that. The residents are indeed growing steadily, but the thought of "is this really enough?" always lingers in Lin Miao's mind.

This feeling grew stronger not only for their own safety, but also as they developed a strange attachment to the residents.

"In the end, are we just going to make them fight?"

No matter how you look at it, it seems necessary to increase their numbers.

Although methods have been found to utilize the monster essences of Minecraft and the hunting mode of Dark Souls to unleash their talents, a mere hundred-odd people are far from sufficient unless a more efficient way to cultivate everyone into a powerhouse like Lillie can be found.

Therefore, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our demise. We must increase our population by conquering others through battle, just like the steppe tribes did.

Although it is unsettling to force those who lost in the competition and fled here to fight their own people again, no one can survive without becoming stronger.

Completely unaware of Lin Miao's thoughts, the tribal chief Attila was speaking to the villagers with a serious expression.

Attila was a leader who was both charismatic and calm, but also a man who loved his people very much.

When I watched Attila fight the raiders last time, he was ridiculously strong, but for some reason I always felt that he wouldn't actively start a war just to increase the population.

"What happened?"

As Lin Miao was spacing out and rotating the screen to check the terrain around the village that the villagers had explored, something that suddenly came into view seemed like a cruel joke of fate.

【Western Grasslands 1-6】As the name suggests, you need to switch the camera six times to reach it from the village's location in the southwest direction. It is one of the farthest areas that the villagers have explored.

On the once empty, dark grassland, signs of activity have now appeared.

Lin Miao zoomed in on the tiny figures in the corner of the monitor for a closer look.

Edward (Immigrant Scout)

【Characteristic: Martial Arts】

After checking the information of one of them, Lin Miao realized that this was a group of immigrants.

They rode lightly on horseback, carrying torches and looking around, just like the village scouts.

This means they were scouts who had migrated to nearby tribes.

If left unattended, they should leave on their own, but Lin Miao's hand holding the mouse suddenly trembled.

The camera could no longer switch westward, making it impossible to continue observing the situation there.

"Should I...should I tell her?"

If they hadn't noticed anything, that would be one thing, but now that they'd seen it, they couldn't just pretend nothing had happened. Besides, if they continued eastward, they might very well encounter the villagers.

Lin Miao switched the screen and used the mouse to lift up Lillie, who had just finished eating. She was now quite skilled at this operation.

Lin Miao then gently placed her in the bushes a little distance away from the enemy's screen.

I wanted to drop it directly near the enemy, but mouse control is limited in the view of non-friendly units, so I had no choice.

"—?"

Lillie looked up at the sky in a panic, then looked around at the empty space.

Whenever she tried to walk towards the village in a daze, Lin Miao had to use the mouse to pull her back.

Just when she was about to become anxious, luckily she seemed to understand Lin Miao's intention.

This time, Lillie turned west and immediately ducked when she spotted the enemy torches.

"..."

She looked up at the sky and murmured to herself, then revealed a resolute expression. Maintaining maximum concealment, she began to slowly move towards the enemy.

When the scouts, having completed their reconnaissance, turned their horses back to the outpost, she quietly followed them.

In this desolate wilderness shrouded in twilight, they were the only ones holding torches to dispel the darkness, so Lillie tracked them down effortlessly.

"really……"

The scene suddenly changes when Lillie steps into an unknown territory that even the reconnaissance team has never explored.

After zooming out of the map, Lin Miao spotted a brightly lit village in the upper left corner of the monitor. Scouts were slowly approaching the village with their tiny torches moving at an ant-like pace.

Lillie was also watching this scene from the far right of the monitor.

[Nameless Village]

It looks like just an ordinary village.

Whether they were native inhabitants or newly arrived villagers, their appearance was not much different from that of Attila's tribe.

Unlike previous raiders or refugees, these people have clearly decided to settle here.

The size of about a hundred people made Lin Miao wonder if Attila could really absorb these people into the village.

Ultimately, can they understand Lillie's intention in revealing this information?

After Lillie finished her reconnaissance and switched the screen again, Lin Miao, who had regained control of the mouse, grabbed her and instantly teleported her back to the village.

As expected, Lillie reported the matter to a shocked Attila.

The villagers, including Attila, immediately began to discuss the matter with serious expressions.

"──"

Attila, with a resolute expression, ordered the residents to arm themselves, as they didn't know how their new neighbor would act, and this was perhaps a reasonable reaction.

Lin Miao, rubbing her sleepy eyes, sat down in front of the monitor at dawn, watching their figures preparing for battle.

"They should reward achievement points, right?"

This is the first time the residents have come into contact with other tribes since they settled down, so there's no reason not to award achievement points.

With the 7000 points I currently have, I only need to accumulate a few more to activate the desktop destruction feature that allows players to directly intervene in the desktop world.

"──"

The residents were clearly more nervous than Lin Miao. One of the armed soldiers, Lik, was asking Attila something with a serious expression.

Suddenly, Attila pointed to the sky, and Lin Miao's heart skipped a beat the instant she saw the gesture: "Could he think I instructed him to do it?"

After listening, Rick showed a look of sudden realization and nodded with a tragic determination. Lin Miao could roughly guess the content of their conversation.

It seems they interpreted their actions last night as an indication of taking the initiative.

Although Lin Miao was happy just to observe their actions and didn't expect any special treatment, being worshipped as some kind of special being seemed to have a good effect.

From the perspective of hoping for the residents to grow stronger, this interpretation is not wrong, but the added psychological burden also made Lin Miao somewhat uneasy.

"!"

However, the fact that this was divine instruction seemed to be of great help to Attila, who was the tribal chief.

When he rallied the men and shouted to the sky, the soldiers all showed resolute expressions and acted without hesitation as if they were of one mind.

That's enough. Anyway, all of this is for them. Since even my existence can be useful, I should make the most of it.

"Could a fight really break out?"

As the residents rode their horses across the dew-covered meadow, Lin Miao remained where she was, watching the scene unfold.

While plundering and annexing the weak is their way of surviving in the wilderness, would Attila and Lillie really make such a choice?

Lin Miao was very curious.

If they didn't intend to plunder, Lin Miao also wanted to know how they would deal with the neighboring tribes.

As a complete outsider observing from the sidelines, Lin Miao always felt that there was no need to start a war. With the tribe's current strength, there were many ways to subdue the enemy without fighting.