A Possessor’s Strategy Guide in a Trash Game

Chapter 3: Tutorial (3)

“You know as well as I do, to get out of here, you need proper equipment. The gear I lent you is only good for temporary use.”

Indeed, the equipment I was wearing gave minimal stat boosts but came with penalties.

“There’s a fairly skilled blacksmith in the northern shopping district. Go there.”

This is a new development.

I tilted my head. This storyline didn’t exist in the original game.

“I doubt a blacksmith would be forging weapons in the middle of this chaos.”

“Of course not. I’m not telling you to meet the blacksmith.”

“Then what?”

Gerard responded with a calm expression.

“Since this castle’s going to be destroyed anyway, taking a sword shouldn’t be an issue, right?”

[Quest Generated.]

…Calm wasn’t the right word. He was brazen.

With a serious face, he was telling me to steal.

“Is that okay?”

“No witnesses, and if you make use of stuff that’s going to be rubble anyway, the blacksmith would probably be happy.”

As Gerard said, if I wasn’t caught, I could get some good items.

Not a bad idea.

For a gamer, item farming was essential.

In , the number of items you had could even determine the endings you could achieve.

“I’ll be back.”

“Good. Contact me if anything happens.”

Gerard mimed putting a finger to his ear and disappeared toward the northern gate.

***

Slash!

“Kieek!”

A white, dog-shaped monster collapsed, spewing bodily fluids.

[You have leveled up.]

“Phew…”

Lv.3 Artier

Title: Low-Tier Mercenary

Class: None

Strength: 8

Agility: 8

Intelligence: 5

Available Skills: None

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and sheathed my sword.

These guys were meant to be avoided.

But there was no reason to skip the experience points.

So, I took down every Hellmorph that came at me as I moved forward.

“This must be the shopping district.”

I looked around.

The merchants had long fled, and the bodies of travelers and residents who hadn’t grasped the situation were scattered everywhere.

Clatter.

Entering a general store and a blacksmith’s shop, I opened crates and checked display cases.

Most were empty, but there were still a few items left.

[Low-Grade Healing Potion (Common)]

Recovery: 1%

Duration: 20 seconds

[Tori Spear (Common)]

Attack: 4~7

Option: Defense +1

I was expecting a sword, but I got a spear.

It wasn’t surprising. Random item farming was a hallmark of .

“How do you use this again?”

A spear was different from a sword.

It had a longer reach but was less effective at close range, so I needed to maintain distance.

“Something like this, right?”

Switching from a sword to a spear felt awkward.

But after spinning the spear a few times, I swung it with familiar ease.

It was only natural.

Would the game’s protagonist fumble with unfamiliar equipment?

This is pretty convenient.

As I stepped out of the blacksmith’s shop, “Aaah!”

A scream echoed.

A survivor?

I moved reflexively, but it was a situation I couldn’t handle.

“S-Save me!”

Crunch!

“Aaagh!”

A soldier reached out, screaming, but a Hellmorph bit into his shoulder from behind.

“Damn it!”

I quickly dispatched the Hellmorph, but the soldier on the ground didn’t get up.

“Guh…”

“Stay with me!”

The bleeding was severe.

The moment I saw the dying soldier, I knew.

There’s no hope.

I knew this pattern all too well.

This damned game always set up events like this to toy with the player’s conscience and shake their resolve.

“S-Save…”

The soldier stretched a trembling arm toward me.

The strength in his grip was unnervingly strong for a dying man.

Pop!

A quest appeared before my eyes.

[Quest Generated.]

Even if you use the potion, this soldier will die. Will you still use your only potion to ease the soldier’s passing?

Use: Reward: Bonus Point +1

Don’t Use: Reward: Karma Point -1

Damn it…

I gritted my teeth without realizing it.

This wasn’t just about giving up a potion for a permanent stat boost.

If they’re baiting me to use the potion with a stat reward, it means a situation where I’ll need one is coming soon.

Combat in changed every time.

The scale of monsters, their positions, even their strategies varied. These quests were hints for upcoming battles.

But I can’t afford to lose Karma Points.

Karma Points determined the player’s alignment.

High Karma Points made you a saint, while low ones turned you into a villain.

The issue was that tied endings to your alignment.

The closer to good, the harder the game but the better the ending. The closer to evil, the easier the game but the closer the world came to destruction.

To reach the true ending, I had to avoid losing Karma Points as much as possible.

“Please…”

The soldier was looking at me.

His focus was fading, but he was definitely looking at me.

His ragged breaths yearned for life.

His tense muscles rejected death.

He’s still alive.

The system declared he’d die soon, but the soldier was desperately denying his end.

“…”

Clink.

My hand moved. The potion from my inventory shook as my trembling hand held it.

I can’t lose Karma Points already.

“Guh…”

The soldier’s expression eased after drinking the potion, but his eyes gradually lost their light.

As his eyes fully closed, a small status window appeared before me.

[The soldier met his end without pain. In the final land, the departed will express gratitude to you.]

Reward: Bonus Point +1

“…”

I looked down at the soldier.

Would I have used the potion even without the penalty?

I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t help you out of pure goodwill.

My thoughts carried multiple meanings.

Pondering this, knowing it meant nothing to the departed, was just a way to find excuses for myself.

[Standard Chainmail Armor (Common)]

Defense: 12

Option: Movement Speed -4

I stripped the soldier’s chainmail and put it on, then left the shopping district.

Artier.

At that moment, Gerard’s voice rang in my head. I placed a finger to my ear.

“Captain?”

Yeah. What did you get from the shopping district?

I explained that I got a spear from the blacksmith and armor from the soldier’s body.

I didn’t mention the potion or using it on the dying soldier. Talking about a used potion would be pointless.

Armor and a spear, huh? You achieved the goal.

“Yes.”

Return to the inner castle. The east is almost completely overrun. We’ll likely evacuate to the western port.

I looked up at the sky.

It’s already that time?

It was the dead of night, with no visibility.

The first story would likely begin then.

“I’ll be there soon.”

I glanced at the soldier one last time.

Unlike the other bodies frozen in terror, his expression was uniquely serene, as if asleep.

Rest in peace.

Was there really no other way?

Swallowing my doubts, I moved forward.

***

Wooong!

A massive horn blared through the inner castle, and countless soldiers began gathering in one place.

“Listen! We must break through the encirclement!”

The man shouting powerfully from horseback was Viscount Jestion, the lord of this castle.

“Head to the port through the western gate and board the ships!”

As the strongest knight here, he wielded a massive lance and shield that other knights didn’t have.

“Protect the residents as much as possible, but don’t fall behind!”

Behind the soldiers, countless refugees were gathered.

Some were praying, while others, dazed, clung to their families.

“Jeina, are you okay?”

“Of course. The medic over there was incredible.”

When I returned, Jeina was awake, chatting with Gerard.

That wasn’t a minor injury.

To recover from being slammed into a rock in just a few hours?

Either the medic was exceptional, or she was ridiculously tough.

Can I check? Status check.

Lv.4 Jeina

Title: Mid-Tier Mercenary

Class: Barbarian Warrior

Strength: 13

Agility: 9

Intelligence: 5

Available Skills: Wild Roar (Lv.1), Battle Healing (Lv.1)

As I thought about Jeina, a translucent status window appeared.

While casually checking her stats, my eyes stopped at her skills.

Battle Healing! That’s why she recovered so fast.

Battle Healing was a passive skill that accelerated recovery for injuries sustained in combat.

Since most injuries happened in battle, this skill, which constantly boosted recovery, was a top-tier tank skill.

“I know you’re tough, but be careful. You’re not fully healed.”

“Hey, I’m not an idiot. Probably.”

“Every time you say that, I age ten years.”

Can I check the others?

While they shared a warm moment, I checked Gerard and Dina’s stats the same way.

Lv.5 Gerard

Title: High-Tier Mercenary

Class: Swordsman

Strength: 7

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 8

Available Skills: Wind Slash (Lv.2), Shield (Lv.1), Tactical Command (Lv.1)

Lv.3 Dina

Title: Mid-Tier Mercenary

Class: Archer

Strength: 6

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 5

Available Skills: Mana Arrow (Lv.1)

What kind of mercenary corps is this?

I barely swallowed my gasp as I reviewed their stats.

Typically, you’d get one skill past level 5 and a notable skill past level 10.

But this absurd corps had even Dina, a mere level 3, with a skill.

Gerard might be stronger than Viscount Jestion.

Why were people like this working as mercenaries?

“All forces! Advance!”

At that moment, the viscount’s booming shout rang out, drowning out the castle and cutting off our conversation.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

As Gerard started running, the mercenaries followed.