"Owwww!! My cheek is gonna fall off!"
The player held his cheek in pain.
"Oops… I'm sorry. I forgot you were bitten by the Cursed Hornets," Kea apologized.
She got in the heat of the moment and slapped him without thinking.
"N-No. It's fine," the player replied.
By this time, Misho and Maia had already noticed him waking up.
They stared at him. Instantly, the player realized that they were also players.
"Who are you guys?" the player asked.
He slowly stood up while covering his cheek.
"I-I'm Maisha," Maia replied.
"I'm Quarter," Misho replied.
The two of them stared at him warily. He was a player, and they didn't know if he was trustworthy.
"Wait, this is Aphrodos?" the player asked.
His brain started processing the noise in his surroundings. He realized that a battle was going on, and he turned around to look. He saw blood splashing everywhere.
Many villagers were struggling to fend off hideous short goblins.
"I-It really is…"
His mouth opened wide in shock.
"Who are you?" Misho asked with squinted eyes.
"Ah! Pardon me. I'm Vivien."
He turned around and introduced himself.
The text above his head changed.
[Player] Vivien
"Hmm… Did you encounter a wasp nest on your way here?" Misho asked.
"Oh, right! I knocked my head on a wasp nest. I was looking around and didn't realize there was a wasp nest above my head," Vivien replied.
"..."
"..."
Maia stopped sniffing her snot and stared at Vivien like he was an idiot. Misho also couldn't believe someone could be so clumsy.
"Ehem. Anyway, what is going on?" Vivien asked as he looked around.
"Eh? You're not scared?" Maia asked and stared at him in disbelief.
In her mind, no one in the real world should be able to tolerate such violence. After all, almost none of them experienced it before.
"Why would I be? This is just a ?$-=, right?" Vivien replied.
"Huh? What did you say?" Misho asked.
His voice suddenly cut off at the end of his speech.
"This is just a !<@\, right!" Vivien shouted.
"..."
"..."
Misho and Maia stared at him silently.
"So that's what happens," Misho muttered.
"Mm." Maia nodded her head.
Any mention that breaks the reality for the NPCs would be censored. It was a nice feature. At least, it wasn't an instant ban.
"What…"
Vivien also realized that something was wrong with his voice. His mouth stopped making sounds when he mentioned the word 'game'. Instead, he spoke it in his mind.
"We will explain to you later," Misho said to him.
"Alright."
Vivien nodded his head.
Maia and Misho were able to ease their nervousness from Vivien's lack of response to the blood and death around them.
They watched on and felt weak. If they were strong enough, they could protect the villagers. Then, none of them had to die or fight.
Even though this was just a game, Misho and Maia already treated them as real people. They had emotions, thought, ambitions, and other things that define a human being.
Gerald swung his spear and hit the face of a goblin that was attacking him. He was covered in red blood and sweat. Though, most of them were goblin blood.
Since the goblins used blunt weapons like clubs and their punches, he carried countless bruises in his body, and most of them were hidden under his clothes.
It was painful, and he wanted to rest. But the village chief's earlier words gave him strength.
(If you give up, your wife will be r*ped. That is the reality of the goblins. That is why you must sacrifice yourselves for them. Unless, of course, you don't care about them.)
The village chief's words were like fuel. It turned the sparks of their love into a bright flame of hatred for the goblins. Most of them had wives or were interested in a woman. They certainly wouldn't like the idea of them getting r*ped.
That was why Gerald kept pushing himself on and on. The light on his spear was slowly dimming as he was losing more yang elements.
The light made the tip harder and sharper. If it stopped, the wooden spear would not be able to hold itself.
"Auntie Kea, aren't you worried about Uncle Gerald?" Maia asked.
Right now, she was feeling worried instead of feeling nervous and fearful. The more she watched them fight, the more she realized that they would not last any longer.
As for the goblins, they continued attacking. There were at least a couple hundred of them.
"I'm worried, but he looks so cool right now…" Kea replied.
Her eyes were glued to her husband. She already forgot the fact that Vivien saw her panties.
"C-Cool? He's exhausted!" Maia exclaimed in disbelief.
"I know, but I trust him," Kea answered.
It was an answer that Maia couldn't refute. She was right. The best they could do right now was trust them.
"Maisha," Misho called out her name.
Maia turned her head and looked at him.
"Let's help them," Misho said.
He was anxious. As a man, he felt ashamed of himself. In this society, men were the pillars. Instead of watching them battle, he wanted to battle with them.
"But you don't have any spell art," Maia replied.
"You do…"
"Ah…"
Maia finally realized what he meant. She was too worried and nervous earlier that she forgot about that.
"Mm. I will help them," Maia said as she stared into Misho's eyes.
"I… trust you," Misho said, a little embarrassed by his own words.
"Ah! You're so unfair!" Maia shouted in anger.
She ignored him and stood beside Kea.
"Auntie Kea, can I help them?" Maia asked with serious eyes.
"H-Help? Do you know a spell art?"
"Yes. I can cast a fire spell art called Fireball," Maia replied.
"Fire!?"
Kea's eyes widened, and she looked at Maia in surprise.
"Did you realize..?" Maia asked.
"*Sigh* Didn't you trust me?" Kea asked in disappointment.
She realized that she was not a human. Humans could only use the yin and yang. As for demons, they could only use fire and wind. It was obvious what race she was.