PMEVBO 49

“What?”

…A monster appeared? Where?

After looking around frantically, I finally spotted it. Something was lurking in the hallway.

“…What is that? Something like a ginseng?”

It really looked like ginseng, no exaggeration.

The hallway was dim due to the thick, dark clouds overhead, but I could clearly see a ginseng root the size of a cat walking around on two legs. Its limbs were thin lateral roots, its torso a thick main root. And atop it all, a cluster of flowers sat where a head should be.

Since it was the only other thing in this hallway besides me, it must be the monster I’m supposed to catch. It certainly didn’t look human at first glance either…

Sensing my gaze, it turned its head and looked back. Soon, our eyes—or what resembled eyes—met.

“Kyuu?”

“And why is it making that kind of cry…?”

The thing, which had no mouth, let out a strange cry.

I let out a hollow laugh and stared at the ginseng monster. It froze in place. It seemed flustered from locking eyes with me.

It’s strangely pathetic.

Did they assign me a particularly weak mob just because I’m Level 0?

…No, but where did that thing suddenly come from? It definitely wasn’t there a moment ago?

But there was no time to ponder that.

D-0 (9m 27s)

“Let’s catch it first and think later.”

I charged at the monster. The creature, frozen solid just moments ago, let out a monstrous scream and began to flee.

“Kyuuuuuu…!”

“Damn, why is it so fast?”

For something with legs like tree roots, its speed was absurdly fast. My surprise was brief; I quickly gave chase. Well, honestly, I was probably faster anyway, so I wasn’t too worried.

But there was a snag. Perhaps because its body was small, it dodged my grasp like a cockroach, easily scurrying away. Its fantastic evasion skills, weaving through curves and zigzags, kept it just out of reach.

“Hey, just stop for a second.”

“Kyu Kyu!”

Yes, right. Like it would just stop.

Damn it, what if someone sees this…

Seeing such a bizarre creature should only give me nightmares. Who knows what harm it might do to people.

But as I chased the monster down the stairs, there was someone there. It was Paf.

“P-Priest…?”

Is she ablout to faint…?

I was worried about Human Paf, who had unexpectedly encountered the ginseng monster.

“You’re up early. Go-good morning.”

But the kid actually greeted me with a perfectly nonchalant expression. It wasn’t the kind of attitude you’d expect from someone who just saw a monster right in front of them.

…Could it be she can’t see it?

The monster lunged at Human Paf before anyone could stop it.

No, are you crazy?!

But the collision I feared didn’t happen. The monster passed right through the kid’s body. Like a ghost. Human Paf remained perfectly calm, as if she hadn’t seen or felt a thing.

“The weather’s not looking too good today….”

What the hell is going on here…

Only then did the help icon catch my eye. I immediately clicked on it.

───【 Help 】───

Monsters can only be seen by players currently performing the main quest.

─────────────

…Ah. So that’s how it was?

Only then did the situation from just now make sense. The strange feeling that the monster had suddenly appeared out of nowhere the moment the main quest dropped finally made sense too.

I couldn’t just see it before the main quest dropped; the monster had been lurking around there all along.

Wait, so that thing had been lurking around me all along? And I had absolutely no clue…?

It gave me a shiver.

Just then, Human Paf spoke up.

“Uh, did you find the person you were looking for yesterday?”

“Ah, thanks to you, I found him. Thanks.”

“Um……”

Boom─ crash!

The huge thunderclap drowned out what the kid said. But there was no time to ask her to repeat it. I saw the ginseng monster vanishing down the hallway in the distance.

“…I’ve something urgent to do right now. Can we talk about this later? Sorry!”

Without waiting for an answer, I immediately chased after the monster.

I reached the end of the hallway, but the creature was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn it, where did it go……”

I nervously swept my hair back and checked the timer.

D-0 (8m 6s)

I frantically searched for the monster. I ran up and down stairs nonstop, opening every door I came across. But I couldn’t find a single trace of the creature.

D-0 (1m 49s)

With less than two minutes left on the timer, my nerves were shot.

That’s when I saw the ginseng monster standing motionless in the backyard, beyond the window.

I threw open the window and jumped out into the backyard. After a mid-air somersault, I landed softly on the ground. The creature, watching me, panicked and fled. 

Naturally, I gave chase. It headed for the vegetable garden. That’s when the problem arose. They say the best place to hide a tree is in a forest, and this plant-type monster, camouflaged by the garden, was impossible to spot.

D-0 (57s)

“……This is driving me crazy.”

At this point, I had nothing to lose. Without hesitation, I unleashed my divine power onto the vegetable garden.

Unlike the annex where people were moving about, right now, it was just me and the monster here. So, shouldn’t it be possible to detect its presence?

Before long, I could indeed sense the monster’s presence. I ran toward the tomato patch. Through the dense rows of tomato plants, I saw the monster charging forward.

That thing has max evasion. If I just charge in like this, I won’t stand a chance…

And also… I didn’t want to recklessly trample this place just to complete a quest. I now knew this garden was a memento from Iser’s mother.

D-0(39s)

Then there was no other choice.

“Tsk, I really didn’t want to use this unless absolutely necessary…”

I raised my right hand, forming it into a gun shape. Then I aimed the tip of my index finger at the monster.

Since returning from the Babet Plains, I’d been holding back on using my divine power. That experience of unconsciously unleashing my power against Atsula still felt unnerving. So, aside from releasing minuscule amounts into the air, I hadn’t used my divine power at all.

But…

D-0(22s)

This isn’t the time to be picky about hot or cold rice.

I took a deep breath and fired the divine power. A crimson mass of divine power shot from the tip of my index finger, slicing through the gloomy surroundings.

“Thwack!”

The monster hit by the divine power stumbled forward. A direct hit.

D-0(10s)

My relief was short-lived. I approached the creature quickly and cautiously.

D-0(7s)

D-0(6s)

D-0(5s)

As I crouched down and grabbed it, the creature struggled like a fish caught in a net.

“Kyuu…!”

“…Ah, since it’s called hunting, does that mean I have to kill it?”

…It feels a bit pitiful to kill it.

The moment I muttered that, its body suddenly glowed pure white and vanished in an instant.

“…What? Where’d this thing go?”

Ping!

───【 Main Quest 】───

Hunt the monster!

(1/1)

D-0(5s)

Success!

────────────────

“Whew…”

It was fortunate the system counted it as success even without killing the monster. If it had been a quest requiring its death to clear, I probably wouldn’t have succeeded. Despite its bizarre appearance, it didn’t seem like such a bad guy.

“But where did it go?”

…Ah, maybe it just disappeared from my sight again? Well, the main quest is over now.

“Well, I hope it’s doing well.”

I chuckled softly and stood up.

This was my first time clearing a main quest. But having cleared three sub-quests before, predicting the scenario wasn’t hard.

A pop-up window would appear soon saying the reward would be paid out, and I’d have to wait half a day or so before I could actually receive it. That was the pattern of this shitty game.

But my prediction was spectacularly off.

───【 System Notification 】───

Level-up conditions have been met.

Would you like to level up now?

Yes/No

(The location lock for ‘████’ will be automatically deactivated after leveling up)

────────────────────

“Why so fast all of a sudden…?”

It felt a bit off, but that wasn’t a reason not to press ‘Yes’.

And that was the worst decision I’d made since the possession.

───【 System Notification 】───

Initiating system update for level up.

During this process, the player will temporarily lose consciousness.

Progress: 0% (0/100)

This process may take several hours.

────────────────────

“Unconscious…?”

No more words came out.

I felt dizzy, like the ground was caving in beneath me.

Before I knew it, I was sprawled on the dirt floor. The pitch-black dawn sky began pouring rain. That was the last sight I saw.