Nodum looked at the human surrounded by the 'bad guys' and wondered for a moment if they were the ones sent to deliver a message to him.
'Not an Iron Man, no. Not a Small Big Man either. So, this message isnât mine.'
Nodum was a good troll, and based on his experience that humans in the forest wouldnât bother him if he didnât take their horses, he had a vague understanding of what a 'deal' was.
'If I save a human, I get a horse. If I clear the forest path, I get more horses. So, if I save these thin, plump humans, this message will be mine.'
Nodum was really hungry, and the bad guys he had picked up on the way were terribly tasteless, making his tongue so numb that he had to spit them out. If he ate the humans, he wouldnât get more horses in the future, so trading with these thin, plump humans was the best way to fill his empty stomach.
'Gwoh. Nodum is smart.'
Having finished his thoughts, Nodum rushed forward to the humans who were desperately defending the carriage and trying their best to knock Mute off.
Boom!
"Gwoh."
"K, K, Itâs a troll! Sir Knight! The troll is blocking our path!"
"Damn it! Just when weâre escorting the lady! Villac! Daren! You two, get out and pull the carriage! The rest, hold off Mute! Iâll deal with this guy and clear the path!"
Swish!
The man, after saying this, quickly threw off his blood-soaked leather armor and lunged at Nodum with his sword.
'Iron Men become just Men when they take off their shells.'
Nodum nodded, looking at the scattered shells of the Iron Men on the road. Humans seemed to really dislike getting dirty with the blood of bad guys.
'Surely... when the human who first recognized me in the forest said I wasnât an enemy... it was like this?'
Nodum decided to understand the humans' nervous reactions and tried to calm them by mimicking the actions of the human he had met in the forest.
Boom.
"What... what is this...?"
The knight doubted his own eyes. Without any armor, and after repeated battles, his body was exhausted. Fighting a troll in such a condition was a matter of life and death. He had resolved to hold his sword until the last moment, but the troll blocking their path knelt and raised his hands as if surrendering.
"Naked Man. I will help. In return, you must give Nodum horses."
"You... you can talk?"
"I donât talk, I receive messages."
The knight was momentarily stunned by the absurd situation. So, a troll from the forest suddenly surrendered and offered to protect them in exchange for the bodies of dead horses?
"Kraaak!"
"Oh no, Nex!"
Though the situation was confusing, they had no time to think. They needed to grab any straw they could.
"...Alright! If you help us, Iâll grant you whatever you want!"
Nodum stood up, satisfied with the knightâs words. These weak bad guys could easily be killed if they didnât surround and torment him.
Nodum stood with his back to the carriage, pulled up a nearby tree, and unleashed the suppressed ferocity within him.
"Gwoh-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!"
While the knight and soldiers standing behind him were amazed, the girl inside the carriage, who had been trembling, was now watching with sparkling eyes.
***
The mages, who had gathered around Nodum, were nodding and agreeing with his story.
"Those were definitely knights! They must have thrown off their blood-soaked armor to avoid being infected by Muteâs blood!"
"Th, then, did you save them?"
The mage, who had gathered to listen to Nodumâs story, asked, and Nodum nodded.
"I saved them. In return, I received four horse carcasses tied in a wooden box. They were delicious."
"Four horse carcasses tied in a wooden box... Oh! A stagecoach!"
"Youâve really saved a great noble! A talking troll saving a noble lady, itâs like something out of a story!"
The professor, who was sitting beside them and listening to the story, nodded in agreement.
'Indeed. Itâs like a fairy tale.'
The professor calmly thought as he watched the mages speculate about which noble lady it might have been.
It really feels like a fairy tale. A troll from the forest suddenly appears and saves a knight and a noble lady in distress, just like a scene from a heroic poem sung by bards in taverns.
- professor: Speed Wagon, how many heroes in World 3 have their own unique stories revealed?
- Speed Wagon: It depends on the seed you start with. Professor, did you start with the official seed? The Levit Princess 2 World Clear seed?
- professor: Yeah. I bought the official World Clear seed when I was leveling up a warrior character. I had the time back then. I started with the Levit Princess official 2 World Clear seed.
- Speed Wagon: Then there are 34. Since only one 1 World Clear seed is used, all of them are included in 2 World. So, Nolack Lataya, Pam Lataya, Gundar Lataya are the basics, and about a dozen from the Princess lineage will pour out. Roman Gacia Manson, who we met last time, will naturally reveal his history, so heâs included. Charlotte is there too. Since the Castlenight is still active... roughly 34 that I know of. Now itâs 35 with Nodum.
- professor: Only 35? Didnât World 2 have over 170? Why so few in World 3?
- NoruDrug: Yeah, I cleared it without any of that stuff.
- Jokass: He just cleared it by killing all the heroes he could save, so World 4 is a dystopia. The foundation is wrong. He didnât farm at all, so World 4 is a mess. Youâre doing too well, Professor. Just keep it up.
- Ganjang Gayba: Since World 4 is hopeless, many top players are saying we need to properly clear World 3 again. So, many strategy-focused top players are watching your stream. Regular people think itâs too much trouble, but for those trying to clear World 3 properly, youâre a pioneer.
The chat room was full of praise. The professorâs face twisted as he watched the friendly atmosphere.
'This is good news, but I need information that will help me in the game, not just external game information. Does this mean I have to lead in World 3 and clear it from scratch?'
More viewers are good. Rich strategy-focused players are even better. But Iâm doing fine now, right? The guy I live with has a ten million shilling security key. I donât need more money. The important thing is whether I can clear this game and find Gedroyts Company to separate Hyde from my head.
[Do I have to clear everything to find them? Is there no other way?]
'I do have a few ideas, but theyâre all impossible right now.'
Now, Iâm just rolling with these mediocre friends because my level is so low, but GG has a fantasy background, so there are gods, dragons, and all sorts of transcendent beings.
First, dragons. Dragons use a magic called Dragon Speech, which is incredibly powerful. The principle is simple: in this world, the will of entities defines the laws of the world. NPCs are like GMs. But dragons are described as 'representatives of the worldâs will' and 'pillars supporting the end of the world.' They have a different level of influence. Even a million civilians canât have as much impact on the world as a dragonâs will.
Dragon Speech is essentially a dragon, who is almost like a game admin, defining their will through words.
For example.
Thereâs a resident named 'Fin.' Even if everyone from Finâs family, neighbors, and coworkers believes 'Fin is alive and well,' if a dragon defines 'Fin is dead,' the world will accept the stronger belief and Fin will actually die. This is the principle behind the dragonâs most famous command, Power Word of Kill.
To face such beings, youâd need to be a great hero known by everyone in a nation, or a great noble or king with such influence that the moment they die, their impact is felt worldwide. A dragon wouldnât listen to a request from someone who can be killed by a 'die' command.
'So, they should have the ability to separate Hyde and me. In reality, theyâre like system control panels.'
But to ask the greedy and lazy dragons for help, youâd need to prepare a corresponding price. Given that the church says 'die if you donât want to die,' itâs a dream.
[Dragons... sounds interesting? You said 'methods.' Are there others?]
'The others are similar. Asking a god of a large church like the Church of Light. The Pope might be able to arrange it. While a dragon represents the worldâs will alone, a god represents the will of their followers. In terms of influence, the Pope might be slightly higher than a dragon. Another method is to go west and find an elf village near the Blue Line Mountains, and with their guidance, visit the elvesâ sanctuary to make a wish.'
The ultimate spell of elemental magic, 'Wish Upon a Star,' or simply the Wish spell. No one has actually used it, and it only exists in old elf history books. It supposedly uses the power of the World Tree to engrave the casterâs will into the worldâs foundation, but since no one has used it, itâs hard to tell if itâs real or just elf boasting. Iâve noted it as a possibility, but itâs almost impossible to realize.
Anyway, whether itâs dragons, gods, or the World Tree, theyâre all endgame bosses, so itâs pointless to think about them now. Since itâs uncertain, Iâll prioritize the most certain method: [Clear everything -> Find Gedroyts Company and force them to save me].
'And to think about clearing everything, I need to strengthen the worldâs power in various ways in World 3, as the chat room people say.'
To do that, I need to gather as many heroes with significant unique stories like Nodum. Even if they canât be allies, they can still be useful if theyâre alive.
"....Gwoh. Thatâs how I ended up here."
"Wh-what...?"
"Such a thing happened..."
Oops. While I was thinking, Nodumâs story passed by.
- professor: Friends watching the stream? Give me a three-line summary of Nodumâs story.
- Speed Wagon:
1. Joined the western defense line of Kingsland on the recommendation of the noble he saved. Received two horse carcasses.
2. Lived as a soldier for almost a month, gaining some fame, then ate a noble who was beating a young beastman.
3. Turned out the noble was the second son of a famous marquis. He was captured and sentenced to death, but was saved by the noble ladyâs family and the Church of Light, and given a 'sacred mission' as penance.
- professor: Thanks a lot.
Sure enough. Listening to it, I can definitely feel it. Nodum isnât just a minor hero unit. My character has a story too, but itâs on the level of 'my family was destroyed, Iâll rebuild it!' Look at Nodum. The depth of his story is on a different level.
The professor, looking at the summary Speed Wagon wrote, tried to guess what kind of hero unit Nodum might be.
'A wild being just stepping into civilization. Pure but not stupid, with a clear sense of right and wrong.'
"Nodum. Why did you kill that noble?"
"Gwoh? Thatâs not a question. A hairy humanâs offspring was being attacked by a weak and useless adult male. Such beings shouldnât live. So, I ate him before the offspring could be hurt. The skin was soft, but there was only bone and the taste was strange. But if I left the body, it would taint the earth, so I ate it."
'Just like when I first met him, he has a strong tendency to protect the young and weak. He treated the beastman the same as a human. There will be a lot of friction in Lodric, where racial discrimination is rampant. Even in the back alleys of Tobrun, you can easily see orc slaves. And that last part... is it a unique culture of the troll tribe? Did Nodum live in a tribe when he was young? But there are no troll tribes near Lodric.'
This isnât a yam vine; the more I dig, the more things pop up. If the story stretches this long, speculation is meaningless. Without proper core information, it just confuses me.
'I did get one clear thing. Nodum needs to be taken out of Lodric to survive.'
Whoever it was, he saved a noble lady and received the right to go to war as a reward. The penance mission is almost a suicide mission. He wonât be recognized here no matter how hard he tries.
While organizing his thoughts, the professorâs mind wandered.
'Hmm. This problem can be thought about after the mission. For now, just remember it and donât think about it. The important thing is the mission. Five water mages from the Lead Flow school, one armed troll. So far... itâs awkward. The balance is off.'
Nodum is definitely a helpful ally. As a hero unit, he has high value and can be used effectively as a sturdy melee warrior. But mages... they have a lot of flaws. Theyâre powerful, but in a covert mission like this, I donât know how to use them.
'If the others can support a bit, it might be okay...'
Next, the bald monk and the beastman man who was hovering around Nodum with a very friendly look.
The professor looked at the muscular man with deep blue, animal-like fur with hopeful eyes. A beastman. Thereâs one thing I always look forward to with beastmen.
"Hey, you furry guy, whatâs your name? Which soul do you follow?"
The professor carefully chose his words, maintaining a respectful distance. When talking to beastmen, you have to choose your words carefully. The Church of Light, which preaches equality for all, actually treats all non-humans as animals. As the churchâs influence grew, racial discrimination worsened. So, beastmen like this donât particularly like human races. Theyâd be upset if you called them animals, saying theyâre dirty and smelly. Iâd be upset too.
The beastman man, who had been ignoring me with his arms crossed, finally answered softly.
"...I follow the spirit of the wolf."
'Oh! A wolf lycanthrope! No way!'
- Speed Wagon: Itâs a miss.
- Jokass: If it was a wolf form lycanthrope, it would have been perfect for the Lataya lineage.
I was hoping for the same. The lineage of beastman heroes with a long history from World 1. The Lataya clan of wolf beastmen. Theyâre always hero units when they appear. I thought maybe there would be more with Nodum, but unfortunately, heâs just a regular beastman. Thereâs no need to ask why heâs here. There are countless reasons a beastman would be captured in Lodric, the sanctuary of racial discrimination.
Iâll ask him slowly on the way north. A beastman, especially one with a wolf form, will eventually be a front-liner...
'Three melee, five mages. The balance is terrible?'
The last one is clearly a priest, so practically, there are six back-liners.
'No. With a bald head and robes, could it be a monk?'
Monks are rare combat priests. They start as priests and, after serving diligently, realize they canât just sit around. They pray during the day and train in martial arts at night to become monks. Theyâre not hard to raise as a player, but itâs rare for them to appear naturally as NPCs. Monks can heal and fight, making them all-rounders.
"Sir... Priest?"
"..."
No response. Heâs a prickly one. Monks are a special breed among priests, so itâs understandable.
"Sir Priest? As the Church of Light has said, Iâm the professor leading this hero party. I have no connection to heresy, so I hope you can calm your anger and..."
Snap!
"How dare you!"
Just as the professor was trying to approach gently, the monk suddenly glared, threw off his pristine white robes, and shouted.
"Calling me a priest since the beginning! How dare you attach the title of those fire moths to those who savor the depths of black mana!"