Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pebble

#02

Blackstone Fortress.

The headquarters of the Crow Bandit Group, which had practically seized the entire southern region.

This fortress, with nearly a hundred permanent members, was a place Bran knew well.

‘I’m sure. It’s exactly the same as the game.’

It was a place he had visited while playing most of the characters.

Perhaps because he was the type to lick the game’s content down to the bottom, every single part of the surrounding scenery was familiar.

The watchtower blackened by lightning, the moss-covered walls, the outdoor forge made by kidnapping blacksmiths···.

In a way, it was a moving situation.

Because it meant he had entered the world of his favorite game.

Of course, if he said something like that to the current Bran, he would have immediately smashed his skull with a hoe.

“Ah, seriously, it’s fucking hot!”

Bran spat out a curse.

The summer sky was blue. Merciless scorching sunlight was stabbing into the world.

Perhaps because of the high humidity, sweat was streaming down in rivulets.

Clang-!

The moment he irritably drove the hoe down, a metallic sound rang out.

“Aaagh!”

Bran dropped the hoe.

The impact that traveled up his wrist spread throughout his entire body.

Looking at the spot he had just struck, a large chunk of rock was sticking out.

“A mere pebble···!”

Bran glared.

Crouching down, he began digging out the dirt fiercely with his bare hands like a mole cricket.

Seeing him finally pull out the stone and throw it, the giant nodded his head in satisfaction.

“Very proactive. Everyone should follow his example.”

It was the guy who had given Bran a kick-ass morning call three days ago.

His position was Overseer. He always wandered around holding a club like a Japanese colonial police officer.

Beating or harassing slaves was his job, and sadly, the work seemed to suit him extremely well.

Satisfied with Bran’s passion, the Overseer turned his back.

“Follow my ass. Just die already.”

Bran raised his middle finger.

Three days had already passed since he entered the world of Return Road.

At first, he hadn’t even been able to eat properly due to despair, but by now it seemed he was adapting.

If he hadn’t been a slave without human rights, he would have adapted two days faster.

“Ha··· what sin did I commit···.”

Of course, it was still hard to fully accept.

Once as a righteous adventurer who wiped out bandits.

Once as an extremely wicked villain who sided with the Crow’s boss.

Bran had entered and left Blackstone Fortress in various positions, but this was the first time he was in the position of a slave.

The NPCs he had once passed by were leveling the ground right beside him.

“Huff··· huuuff··· cough! Cough!”

“Hurry up, old man, if we don’t finish the quota like this we’re all fucked. You want to die to me instead of the Overseer?”

“Yeah, that’s right··· sorry.”

The old man who had been catching his breath began hoeing again.

His skinny legs trembling made him look so pitiful it was hard to watch.

The slaves included in the Farming Team were four, including Bran.

Their main tasks were leveling the ground and watering the crops.

For a moment, he recalled a post that had summarized Hitler’s life with the sentence “Failed the art academy and committed suicide.”

‘Even thinking about it again, it’s ridiculous. What kind of psychopath summarizes this as a farming slave?’

Suddenly anger welled up.

Having seen the Nameless Hero’s self-introduction, Bran had naturally assumed he was a serf.

One bound to a lord’s land and farming, who could become a freeman if lucky.

But compared to his current situation, that serf was no different from a noble.

“······ Should I try one more time.”

This was absurd after all.

If justice existed in the world, at the very least “that” should have been given to him.

After confirming the Overseer was far away, Bran muttered while hoeing.

“Status window.”

Nothing happened.

Bran closed his eyes tightly. Veins bulged on his temples.

Honestly, he had expected it. From three days ago··· no, he had tried it the moment he realized he had been swallowed by the game.

Even so, he couldn’t help but be angry.

If they threw a perfectly fine person into a game, shouldn’t they at least give a status window?

Moreover, the absurdity didn’t end there.

‘I can’t remember.’

No matter how much he wracked his brain, the Nameless Hero’s memories from when he was alive wouldn’t come to mind.

In a way, it was a more serious problem than the status window.

Return Road was fundamentally a game where the regressor was the protagonist.

The player started by inheriting a summary of the life they had lived before dying.

Overturning the regrettable choices based on that information was the highlight of Return Road.

‘A hero forgotten even by himself···.’

Still, this was somewhat understandable.

It must be because of the Nameless Hero character’s setting.

He had briefly forgotten that even the self-introduction had not been done by his own will.

Now he had to gradually accept it.

That in this harsh world, the only thing he could rely on was his own ability.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

Bran muttered.

He had not the slightest intention of living and dying as a slave here.

What was important now was only the reality he faced.

He had to temporarily set aside the memories of reality that he missed so achingly and think as positively as possible.

“It worked out well. I said I’d make him a Famous Hero instead of Nameless, didn’t I?”

The words he had said before starting the game were not empty boasting.

Neither the status window nor the Nameless Hero’s memories from life were anything special compared to his experience and knowledge.

Thinking carefully, there were many times when what he had experienced in reality was more terrible.

Having steeled his resolve, Bran approached the old man who had been scolded.

“Old man. Switch places with me. I’ve already pulled out all the big stones, so it’ll be easier to work.”

“What? No, how could I···?”

The old man’s eyes widened.

Before he could say anything, Bran took the spot and began hoeing.

“I’m young, so it’s fine. Come on, quickly.”

“Th-thank you, young man··· really, thank you.”

Droplets formed at the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

The old man repeatedly expressed his thanks and moved places.

After looking over his area, Bran let out a hollow laugh.

As expected, compared to the section he had worked on, it was no different from a rocky field.

“I’ll have to put in some effort.”

Bran rolled up his sleeves.

And he silently began hoeing again.

The slaves who had been watching him sent contemptuous glances.

“What a sucker. Showing off.”

“Why is the guy who was so weak acting like that today?”

His ears itched, but he paid no attention whether they did or not.

However, right now he had a purpose besides simply showing goodwill.

“After three days, something should start coming out soon.”

In Return Road, there were several ways to raise a character’s stats.

Eating good things, reading magic books, hunting monsters to obtain items, and so on···.

Among them, the most primitive and intuitive method was to repeatedly perform actions related to the stats.

‘Even without a status window, the system structure should be the same. It has to be.’

Simply put, it was the style where getting hit a lot raised defense, and hitting a lot raised attack power.

From that perspective, the act of hoeing was very suitable for raising stats.

Similar to swinging a wooden sword all day, perhaps?

Because it repeatedly moved the muscles and struck a specific point with a long tool.

Except for the shitty variable of pebbles.

‘Let’s not abandon hope.’

Although he hadn’t seen even a hint of a system window for three days, he had to believe that his own stats were still trending upward even in this situation.

If he didn’t even have that hope, his mind would go crazy.

Fortunately, Bran had weed-like persistence.

‘Build up as much spec as possible and escape.’

At the same time, Bran made an escape plan.

Since he had been here so many times, he clearly remembered the structure.

However, the problem was that this was reality, not a game.

Bran raised his head, and his gaze turned toward the northern wall.

“···Vicious.”

Bran swallowed a thick gulp.

Dozens of spears were lined up along the wall.

On each pole, desiccated corpses that had become mummies were impaled.

Gender and age didn’t matter. The smallest corpse was a snot-nosed kid not even ten years old.

Everyone’s crime was the same. Escape.

Bran knew that the process of piercing those spears from the anus to the mouth was done while they were still alive.

There were no spare lives in reality.

Naturally, there was no save-load function either.

If he acted carelessly, he too would become one of those corpses.

He would feel the sensation of the spear tearing through his organs as it thrust in. While hearing the bandits’ laughter.

‘No. Don’t think unlucky thoughts.’

Bran shook his head.

Now was the time to muster courage.

As long as he had courage while maintaining reason, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Clang-!!

A metallic sound rang out again from the spot where he drove the hoe down.

“Ugh!”

Bran clenched his teeth.

It was a stone root. An impact reminiscent of an electric current spread through his arm.

“This damn pebble···.”

It hurt. He was angry.

But this time he didn’t let go of the hoe.

Instead of acting emotionally, he calmly dug out the stone.

Whether it was his imagination or not, using strength seemed easier than before.

Just as Bran, having thrown the stone far away, was about to resume work.

『You have continued labor that exceeds the limits of the body. By overcoming hardship, “Weed’s Tenacity” has activated!』

『The growth speed of Strength and Endurance increases slightly.』

Suddenly, a translucent window floated before his eyes.

Bran froze in place.

It was the system message he had been waiting for so desperately.

“What.”

However, what stiffened Bran was not the existence of the message but its content.

Before he could do anything, windows rose in succession.

『The proficiency speed of the ability to swing tools increases slightly.』

『If you continuously perform repetitive actions or overcome hardships, new traits may be created!』

Then all the messages disappeared.

Bran couldn’t say anything.

He simply quietly clenched his fist.

That the Nameless Hero was a good character, one who was never destined to wither away as a weed.

“···That’s how it should be.”

Because this was the moment it was proven that his thoughts had not been wrong.