Surviving in the Trash Hell Game by Tossing a Coin

Chapter 7 - Reblen Village (1)

The sun was setting.

It was clear that in just a few dozen minutes, the sun would set completely, and darkness would blanket the land.

The saving grace was that Maletta had calmed down before it became completely dark.

“So, where are we going next?”

This was the first question Maletta asked after calming down from crying in my arms for a long while.

If she was able to say that, I judged it was okay to start moving.

“Let’s walk for now. I’ll explain as we go.”

“Okay! Let’s go, Captain.”

So I got up from my spot first.

Maletta followed my lead and got up as well.

First, before leaving the forest, I walked over to the spot on the ground where the quest rewards had been dropped and left unattended.

Fortunately, I was able to pick up the supply cube and map that were still there.

It was a relief they hadn't been blown away by the wind.

I didn't have a use for the supply cube right away, so I put it in my coat.

Things like food or a tent could be taken out when needed.

I wasn't hungry, and Maletta would have said something if she were.

What I needed now was our location and destination, so I unfolded the map.

I was worried I wouldn't know how to read a map, but thankfully, it wasn't much different from the in-game map.

Where we were, where the nearby villages and dungeons were, and so on.

“Alright, then. Let’s see. A village nearby~”

Finding a place to relieve our fatigue was the top priority.

I first checked if there was a place close to where I was, the ‘Dark Dog's Hideout’.

“There is one. Let’s go there and rest a bit.”

“Okay! Captain, want a piggyback ride?”

“I’m not that tired.”

Fortunately, there was a place marked with a village marker not too far away.

The map said it was about 4km to the south.

Though, since the sense of speed was different from the game, we would have to walk for a little while.

“But there’s a problem.”

There was no compass.

Of course, it wasn't a big problem.

Even if I hadn't received a proper education, I knew a few ways to find my bearings.

But all of a sudden, a quest window appeared.

As if it could hear my words but not read my thoughts.

[ Finding Direction ]

Kang Woon, who has not received a proper education, doesn't even know how to tell directions.

Fortunately, you have a coin.

Heads Reward: Acquire information on where ‘South’ is.

Tails Reward: For today only, you will definitely get lost.

“Now it's just going all out, huh? What a ridiculous fellow.”

It seemed it couldn't stand not mocking me for being a Dirt Spoon.

But I, too, have learned a thing or two from observation.

“Maletta. Can you cut down this tree for me?”

“Huh? Okay.”

I pointed to a poor tree that would soon be cut down and disappear due to the quest's trickery.

Maletta, without any objection, swiftly cut down a tree with her scythe.

Thud, the tree fell powerlessly.

Oh, tree. Remember that it was the quest window that killed you, not Maletta.

I immediately approached the felled tree stump, knelt before it, and examined the tree rings.

Since the sun hadn't completely set yet, I could still make out the tree rings.

They said the side where the rings were denser was north, and the side with wider spacing was south.

That meant from my perspective, south was to the right, and north was to the left.

I got the Heads reward without a coin. What are you gonna do about it.

[ Finding Direction ]

Ooh….

The quest will now end.

What do you mean, ooh. Makes me want to throw an ogre punch.

You owe me one Heads for this. Got it?

“Let’s go this way.”

“Okay, we’re going to the village, right?”

“That’s right.”

In truth, Maletta was probably much more knowledgeable about survival than me.

She could have probably figured out the direction without me having to cut down a tree.

But shouldn't I do what I can do myself?

I couldn't rely on Maletta for every little thing like that.

Of course, asking her to cut the tree was a judgment call I made thinking it was okay to rely on her a little.

How could a frail and delicate adult man break a tree all by himself?

“Okay! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Following Maletta, who seemed excited as she took big steps, I began to walk south.

***

The day darkened in an instant, but our steps and conversation didn't stop.

“Have you decided on a destination after the village? Or is it undecided?”

“Of course, I have. After resting for a day, we will….”

While walking south, Maletta asked about our next destination.

The destination after we reached the village and rested.

I did have a destination in mind the moment I saw the goal ‘Survive for 2 years’, but I didn't say it right away.

Instead, I decided to resolve the question I had earlier.

For some reason, I felt like if I didn't ask now, I wouldn't get another chance.

In fact, I couldn't ask earlier because of the Dark Dog's attack.

“There’s something I’ve been curious about.”

“Hm?”

“Maletta, you can see the quest window, right?”

“Yeah! I received a quest too, after all. Should I show you?”

Thankfully, she didn't hide it either.

She clapped her hands at my question and said so.

“I’ll see it later. My quest window first.”

“Okay.”

Still, explaining my objective was the priority, so I refused Maletta’s offer.

Fortunately, Maletta seemed to agree and nodded her head.

I skillfully brought up the quest window and pointed from the first part of the paragraph.

Maletta gave me a grateful eye-smile and began to slowly read from the top.

“Annyeong-wangnyeong is so cute, no matter how I think about it. Hello, Wangnyeong!”

“Actually, I just made it up because I couldn't think of anything… no, look at this, not that. This.”

The main point I was trying to make wasn't the mercenary corps' name.

To divert Maletta's gaze, which was still fixed on the top, I pointed to the date.

The date wasn't important, but it was better than having her stuck on the mercenary corps' name, wasn't it?

Year 6 Day 1.

Meaning, the first day of the 6th year since the game service began.

“If it’s Year 6… Wow, it’s been 3 years since I died.”

“It’s also been 3 years since I quit the game.”

“You quit after I died, Captain? This is kind of touching~”

“You’re not really reacting to the word ‘game’.”

I felt a sense of déjà vu from that conversation again.

She recognized this world was a game and understood what it meant to quit.

But she was as composed as if it were an everyday occurrence.

However, I decided not to worry about it for now.

There was something more important.

“Next, the sentence right below it.”

Fortunately, Maletta's gaze was slowly moving down, and I pointed to my most important objective, which her eyes had reached.

Maintain the ‘Annyeong-wangnyeong’ mercenary corps for 2 years and ensure the survival of player ‘Kang Woon’.

Since I didn't know how to maintain the mercenary corps yet, the latter was more important.

Maletta focused on the sentence for a few seconds before nodding.

“Maintaining the mercenary corps and surviving for 2 years? It’s harder than I thought, and yet, easy.”

“Looks like you didn’t know about my final objective?”

“Nope. I only know my objective. The Captain's survival.”

Since Maletta had confirmed all the details, I closed the quest window.

She closed her eyes for a moment, pouted her lips, and then opened her mouth.

“Okay, I get it. So, the most important thing is, where are we ultimately going?”

It was a question that needed to be answered, and there was no reason to hide it.

Now that she knew the objective, she would agree with me.

“You remember the shelters in our surrounding areas, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. There was definitely one in Area 35, one in Area 33….”

Shelter.

An area designated by the game company where PVP was forcibly disabled.

A safe zone where not only labyrinths and monsters, but even players couldn't fight each other.

I was going to head there.

“We just have to survive safely for 2 years, right? A grand adventure, conquering the world! Is any of that necessary?”

“That’s true.”

It's much better than living a life by flipping coins.

They say nothing is impossible if you keep trying, but it's best not to create such situations in the first place.

Meaning, there's no need to take unnecessary risks just because I want to be the hero of an adventure.

“If I remember correctly, there was one in Area 15 and one in Area 41. I don't know about any others.”

“That’s right, Maletta. Then we have to find the closest one from here.”

Agreeing with Maletta's recalled memory, I nodded as well.

In truth, I didn't remember it clearly, but since Maletta said it, it must be right.

Then, the distance to those areas was important.

“The place we’re at right now is… so, if it's Area 84.”

I unfolded the map again.

The day had grown dark, but thanks to Maletta lighting up a small flame, there was no problem checking it.

After confirming the words Area 84 written in the center of the map, I immediately scanned the surrounding areas.

Focusing on whether Area 15 and Area 41 were there or not.

“Ugh, I don’t see them on the map?”

However, they weren't visible nearby.

The connected areas were Area 74, 83, 85, and 94.

If areas with similar numbers were grouped together, I could only guess that they were extremely far away.

“Wow, damn. We’re going to be walking a lot.”

“Really? Hmm… should we think of another way?”

On top of that, this game was made so you could only use things like teleportation or portals by spending money or items.

Meaning, as a penniless person right now, I had to walk.

Of course, in-game, the travel time was shortened tenfold for convenience.

But that was just a game system, not something that applied now.

“Still, if we can just get there, it’ll be certain. Let’s make that our goal.”

“Okay, I get it, Captain! Off to the shelter~!”

It was true that the thought of walking hundreds, or perhaps tens of thousands of kilometers, was dizzying.

However, not only did I not have any other clever ideas, but I needed a ‘clear goal’ right now.

If I didn't set a goal, there was a high chance I'd get sidetracked by various stories and curiosity.

Going to the shelter.

I set that as my final goal.

Fortunately, Maletta didn't refuse either and just smiled brightly.

Her child-like appearance, cheering 'waah' and stretching her fist forward, made me let out a small laugh.

I felt this is what it would be like to have a younger sibling.

“Alright, then your quest window too….”

I tapped Maletta on the shoulder and brought up the next topic to continue the mood.

To find out why she was so obsessed with my death and knew my real name and my quest window.

But.

“What is it?”

I knew it.

Maletta frowned as if she had seen something strange.

Following her gaze, I saw the shape of what looked like a village and a light.

It was good that we had arrived at the village in an instant after all the hectic and trivial conversation.

But the words Maletta uttered were not a very good omen.

“That village, even though it’s dawn, there are lights on everywhere.”

The question of whether there might be people staying up all night came to mind.

But there was no way Maletta hadn't thought of that question first.

At first, I didn't understand, so I just walked a little closer.

My eyesight wasn't as good as hers, so I had to get closer to understand what she meant.

And when I finally got very close to the village, I realized what she meant.

It wasn't a light created by the design of the buildings.

It wasn't a light emitted by a light source like a lamp or a light.

“Wait, that’s not a light!”

That's right.

A huge, crimson conflagration, similar to Maletta’s ‘Hongyeom’, was engulfing the entire village.

The village was on fire.

“What in the….”

There wasn't even time to express my bewilderment.

[ The Burning Reblen Village ]

You, who walked for several km to finally find a place to rest your body.

But the village you reached was, for some reason, on fire.

The weapon provided differs depending on the coin.

Objective:

You must find out the truth behind why Reblen Village is burning.

If there is a reason for the fire, you must eliminate it.

Reward: Restoration of Reblen Village and permanent residency rights

On Failure: Annihilation of Reblen Village and ??

Heads Reward: Acquire the +2 Emergency Firefighting Set.

Includes armor, a skill card, and a weapon.

Tails Reward: Acquire the +0 Dirt Spoon again.

If it is a part you already possess, it will be enhanced to +1.

As if excited by the incident encountered not long after defeating the Dark Dogs.

The quest window updated in an instant, ringing with a ddiring notification sound.

“Maletta.”

“Hm?”

“It seems like resting is out of the question.”

A sigh escaped me automatically, but what could I do.

When life itself was determined to give me trials.

I clicked my tongue, tsk, and once again took the coin out of my pocket.