Cyborg in a Fantasy World

'Wolf is also a demon.'

Vio stood staring at the wolf's corpse with wide eyes as it decayed at an alarming rate right in front of him. Within seconds, all that remained were blackened bones that glimmered strangely in the dark.

'So this is what happens when a demon dies.'

He reached out cautiously and picked up the glowing bones. Carefully, he pushed them into the black screen used to convert items into system coins.

[3,000,000 Obtained]

'System, why didn't you warn me the wolf was a demon? And where's the mission?'

[The system reveals what the hero knows.]

"What the hero knows…" Vio muttered, piecing together the events.

From the moment he first saw Zaves, Vio suspected he was a psycho, but no mission appeared then. Even when he landed a punch on him, the system remained silent. The mission only triggered when Zaves showed his intent to fight—in that exact moment, Vio felt the ominous aura radiating from him and confirmed his suspicion.

'System, when exactly does a protection mission activate?'

[When a threat is detected.]

'And when is a threat detected?'

[When the hero becomes aware.]

Vio smiled bitterly. He finally understood. The protection mission hadn't appeared when Zaves first planned to attack the village, nor when the first explosion went off. It only triggered when Vio left the house, saw the flames with his own eyes, and fully realized that the village was under attack.

'So... if I know for certain that a specific place is about to be attacked, will the mission appear?'

[Correct.]

Anger bubbled in his chest.

'Do you think I'm the kind of guy who'll run around saving people all day?'

But even in his frustration, he knew that every mission so far—no matter how much it threatened to stop his heart—had ultimately worked in his favor. This understanding was the only thing that slightly lessened his sense of being forced.

[From a protection mission, the hero first benefits.]

Taking a deep breath, Vio reflected on the system's words, which reminded him of an old man's way of speaking in riddles.

'Fine, I killed the demon. Where are the rewards?'

[Mission 'Death to the Demons' Completed.]

 [Grade: B.]

 [Rewards x5.]

 [Secondary Evaluation.]

 [Grade: A.]

 [Rewards x6.]

 [All Rewards Obtained: 110,000 XP, 11 Plastic, 21 Metal, 6 Steel, 2 Points.]

Vio's anger gradually faded upon realizing the mission hadn't appeared earlier simply due to missing the detail that the wolf was a demon. Rewards seemed smaller, but that made sense—the wolf was weaker than its master. The pattern became clear: as levels increased, rewards would decrease proportionally. To gain more, focus on either quantity or quality.

'Open.'

Opened the demon's chest.

[Obtained: 'Demon's Soul,' 'Demon's Bones,' 'Life-Saving Pendant.']

Storing the demon's soul and bones was easy since he already had similar items. Adding them simply increased the counter under each item. However, the pendant was different—a completely new item.

He wanted to store it in the inventory, but it was full—only ten slots were available. Increasing capacity required ten million, an amount impossible for someone as stingy as Vio to spend.

[Inventory]

Zaves's Key

Demon's Soul x2

Demon's Bones x2

Purple Flame Scroll

Unknown Summoning Card

Dagger

Tent

Treasure Detector

Black Key

Gauntlets of Fury x2

With no available slots and not wanting to risk losing anything in his pockets, Vio decided:

'I'll just wear it.'

He slipped the pendant over his neck, ignoring the cold sensation that spread through his body as it touched his synthetic skin.

Finished with that task, he searched the battlefield for Zaves's demon bones. Vio never left anything useful behind—a habit he'd unconsciously developed during his few years of playing video games, even if he didn't realize it.

[3,000,000 Obtained]

'Why the same price? He was much stronger than the wolf!'

[Item pricing isn't related to who or what created it.]

'Whatever, always have excuses...'

He paused abruptly, struck by a strange idea. Looking around to ensure he was alone, he picked up a villager's corpse and tossed it at the black screen. The body passed through without converting.

[Only items of value can be converted.]

'Damn it.'

Frustrated, Vio rushed back to the house he had been in before everything spiraled into chaos. This experiment had revealed a crucial truth—the system only converted items that held value in this world's market. And who decides what's valuable, if not humans? The bitter irony? The very thing humans valued the least was other humans themselves.

Shoved the door open forcefully, only for the system to surprise him with a new screen.

['Believers' Unlocked]

'What now?'

[Believers]

 Name: Shama, daughter of Uzair

 Title: ???

 Age: 13 years

 Entity: Valuable Soul

 Influence Center: Zeer Village

 Production Rate: 1 BP, 1 System Coins, 1 Plastic, 1 Metal, 1 Steel per 10 years.

Vio squinted at the screen, trying to process what he was seeing, but logic failed him completely.

'System.'

[Believers: Individuals who believe in the hero, pray for him in times of need, and answer his call.]

He thought it over—it was like a city-building game where residents were recruited and then taxed or assigned tasks.

'Man, you're doing your best to force me into being a hero... Didn't I just save the whole village? Why is there only one person listed?'

[One person admitted to you.]

'One person...'

Only the girl he had just let off came to mind. His eyes widened as he reread the girl's details.

"Th-Thirteen?!" Vio stammered before bursting into hysterical laughter. "Hahaha!"

After catching his breath, he mocked the system.

'You idiot, you got her age wrong.'

[The system does not make errors.]

'Idiot, I saw her. She's at least in her twenties... unless we're talking about someone else.'

[The hero is mistaken. The girl you saw earlier has joined the Believers and is, in fact, thirteen.]

Vio froze, beads of sweat forming on his synthetic skin. Where was all this sweat coming from if he was a cyborg?

He recalled how he had held her waist and the sensation of her body in his hands, which only increased his discomfort and anxiety.

He hadn't thought of her in any improper way, but for a moment, she had reminded him of Sarah, which left him feeling deeply embarrassed and flustered.

'S-System, there's nothing like an FBI in this world, right?'

[Searching external data for 'FBI'... No results found. Please provide details.]

'I'll take that as a yes. Okay, let's think about something else.'

He forced himself to shift focus.

[Wolf Slayer]

 It seems the hero enjoys hunting wolves. From now on, when the hero fights wolf-type creatures, his stats will increase by 100%.

Vio earned this title after killing multiple wolves, which didn't surprise him. What did surprise him, however, was that he could only use one title at a time.

[Titles: Skull Crusher]

 With a simple thought, the title changed.

[Titles: Wolf Slayer]

This left him with a choice: use one or the other during combat.

He stared at the title screen, conflicted. One provided a 40% damage boost but only for headshots, while the other doubled his stats but only against wolves. What puzzled him was which would be better if the enemy happened to be a wolf.

While lost in thought, a knock came at the door.

'Who's that now?'

He opened the door to find a long line of villagers waiting outside.

'What's their problem? Don't tell me... have they figured me out?'

At the front of the line stood the village chief, who immediately bowed his head.

"I am the village chief," the elderly man said. "We have come to pledge allegiance to the Honored One."

Vio ordered the system to record the conversation immediately, but it didn't help him understand the situation any better. The chief stood like a statue, hand over his heart and head bowed, as if waiting for something.

Fortunately, Vio caught sight of Shama standing at a distance.

When she noticed him looking at her, she placed her hand over her heart, clearly signaling him to do the same.

Left with no choice, Vio mimicked the gesture, placing his hand over his heart. The old man smiled and stepped aside to let the next villager approach. Each person repeated the same motion, and Vio responded in kind.

With each new villager, the Believers' screen updated. Whenever Vio glanced at it, he saw a new name appear.

Finally, when the long line of villagers finished, Vio shut the door, feeling like his mind was about to explode. One last look at the Believers screen showed:

 Name: Zeer Village

 Title: Hero's Supporters

 Location: Aiz Mountain

 Influence Center: Aiz Mountain

 Influence Rate: 1%

 Production Rate: 1 BP, 1 System Coins, 1 Plastic, 1 Metal, 1 Steel per year.

'So that's how it works. From ten years to just one year—how wonderful. But, System, why is Shama listed separately from the rest of the village?'

On the screen, Shama's details were distinct from the others. He could see everyone's names by selecting the village, but Shama's information remained separate.

[Because the Title is different.]

'Now that you mention it, why is there a question mark on her Title?'

Before the system could answer, another knock came at the door. Vio opened it.

'Speak of the devil.'

Who else? Shama came to visit.