Bornandtorn - Chapter 102 Freedom or Death

I was woken up by a familiar scent, I opened my eyes and saw the ant queen placing a shirt next to me with a hood added to it.

This was a nice surprise but it was not the cause for my sudden awakening. There was a certain smell permeating the air and I could tell, that something troublesome was going to happen. I decided to risk a peek from the roof I had slept on and did not see any living person in my surroundings.

I placed my head down once more and thought about where I could have caused something that could mean trouble for me.

In retrospection, I should rather say what not? From sending this lovable idiot to gather as many resources as possible or from robbing the NPCs from any source of food. But for the time being, I should be safe on this roof.

There are no NPCs and players in the closest vicinity. I pondered on whether I should risk leaving the roof to scout the area and to check the houses themselves for signs of NPCs. Although I was now in possession of a disguise that prevented me from getting spotted from a mile away, it will still be suspicious if I am the only one moving around.

Are they hiding from me? To confirm my suspicion I jumped down from the roof and softly kicked the door in. If I get into any sort of trouble I might as well embrace it with open arms. But the house was empty and I started to wonder where they could be.

After I had knocked on several more doors, I had yet to see another NPC or player. The current situation felt like it came straight out of a horror movie. Though it feels like I am the villain here.

My slow footsteps creep through the surroundings and my breathing is heavy. I walk and look for my prey, they can not hide forever. I just want to play with them, I am just a poor innocent young boy

Walking through the inner perimeter of this town, everything had been abandoned and left behind in a hurry. Clothes lay strewn all over the ground and other household items could be found between them.

Did my prior actions force them to do something as drastic as this? Where the hell should they have gone to, most NPCs do not possess enough money to go somewhere else. Unless I take into

account the massive amount of coins I had spent on them.

But even gold becomes useless when nobody trusts it and its value. Why would someone trade a piece of paper for food? Only if the perceived value of that paper is equal to that of the food would you find someone willing to do so.

These people likely have absolutely zero ideas about how the economy functions. Forget about supply and demand or inflation, they are only capable of the absolute minimum.

But even after I had checked every house, I still did not find a trace. They could not have vanished into thin air, so where exactly is everyone?

I left the inner perimeter but this time around I had to act a lot more careful. The hood on my shirt had been pulled over my head and I began to walk slowly and kept looking for any signs of danger.

I still had not located the source of potential trouble and that was the main reason, why I grew weary. Since I was in a town, I can safely say, that monsters are not the problem. Though I would have prefered monsters over players.

It did not take long before I found the reason, why those NPCs were not in their house anymore. I had come into contact with that reason already. I saw 2 players who had “hired” every NPC from this village and let them cower right in front of them.

I recognized them the second I had walked around the corner. They also saw me and one of them walked closer to me. Although he will not be able to hire me, I will have to be careful not to invoke their anger.

” Speak slave, who is your master”

Ah the usual attitude, how I missed it.

” This lowly slaves master is called Hero of War” For such a mighty name its effect was rather unimposing.

” Do you know him?”

“That’s the first time I heard that name”

I just stood there silently looking at the ground full of shame. Acting like a timid NPC is not my cup of tea, but the alternative would cost me a lot more than simply enduring this temporary inconvenience.

” What is your objective?”

They surely are paranoid, relax a bit nobody is out to steal all of your NPCs.

” My master told me to look for the most beautiful women and girls.” I had no problem with throwing my partner under the bus. It was quite convenient to paint him as some sort of leecher.

The disgust on their faces was enough to ruin his reputation before he even got a chance to make one.But If I get him a girl, we should be more than even. To drive the nail into the coffin I even went one step further.

” So please if you find a beauty let my master now. It will not be to your disadvantage.”

E voila the damage is done. I am quite sure, he will not find any form of respect from those 2.

” Just go and do not disturb us anymore. Your kind disgusts me.”

I walked past them and left without saying another word. Even if I could escape from this predicament with ease, the same could not be said about any other NPCs, they became a highly contested object.

If that’s the case I should switch my strategy and not try to hire them. Besides making real soldiers out of them would take too long anyway. Given their strategies, they would not even be capable of utilizing them correctly.

I put the idea of training mercenaries on hold for the time being and marvelled at all of the players who were currently running around in this part of the town. The situation had developed faster than I had initially anticipated.

Most of them tried to hire me but left disappointed after being unable to do so. I just said down and looked at them while they were seeking every nook and cranny for every NPC. From time to time a lucky one managed to find some, but most of them returned empty-handed.

Regardless whether the NPCs tried to hide or run away they could not escape the players grasp. But even if they could manage to leave the city, would they be able to survive against monsters or the attacks of players?

As much as I can respect those who persist until the bitter end, there is nothing more detestable then throwing your life away for nothing at all. Freedom or death? Those 2 are not mutually exclusive but is treated that way.

Even back on Earth society only could function because we hat a set of rules that restrict our freedom. Yet, most people would consider themselves to have freedom. Using strength to deter others, just means that the same can be done to you. Of course, no human being could fight against a tank.

Despite living under the constant threat, of being wiped out, life does not revolve around it. It is quite scary how easily our mind can adapt to such circumstances. Oppressors die, kingdoms fall and the Earth keeps on spinning.

Change does not come to be just from goodwill and prayers alone. Progress is built on countless sacrifices. This sacrifice is done by people who believe in their cause and are willing to give everything for their ideals. Whether those are nefarious or noble truly does not matter.

But those NPCs do not possess a greater cause or great ideals worth giving their lives for. They only live their lives day after day. It is not wrong to do so nor should it been seen so but death is not a worthy risk for this kind of life.

A life without meaning is still preferable to a meaningless death.

The players we still busy running around trying to locate NPCs and were not willing to let one stone unturned.NPCs were tasked to destroy any door barring their ways and to support their master in their endeavour.

This peaceful town had fallen under the players’ tyranny and was subjected to their desire for manpower.

And here I was leaning against a house and listening to the music currently playing in my head. Since I did not want to leave town anyway, I enjoyed the current spectacle unfolding right in front of my eyes.

Because even their craze has to come to an end, or rather they will be forced to give up sooner or later. NPCs are a limited resource and their acquisition should, therefore, be highly prioritized. Why should they waste their time searching this area over and over again, if every NPC has been found?

Even the most braindead player should not pursue this matter more than necessary. But the universe is not the only thing that is seemingly infinite, so I will have to wait and see.

Sadly, some players had other ideas in mind and decided to decimate the competition and sending their NPCs to kill the competition. I would not mind that if I was not the target of their affection.

I just stood up and casually walked away. My attacker’s lifeless body fell to the floor, much to the confusion of their players who tasked them to attack me. They had not paid any attention to them, as they were still busy searching.

I could not stay in one location for too long before I was targeted again. Although this act was not without any risks most of them would not care about the deaths of their slaves and simply revive them.

Using my arm hair was highly effective against human flesh and my weapon of choice. There was no need to use poison or other means to get rid of them. In the end, it was just slightly more work for me.

Neither those NPCs nor their respective masters had any idea how they died all of a sudden and it will stay that way. Who would expect someone like me to be behind all of their deaths?

In their eyes I am just an NPC, which already has been “enslaved” and my stats are particularly low. Not many heads will turn for me. I am just a bystander leaving the area before the crime has even been noticed.

The orders were given to the attackers also works in my favour, because I am not the only target of them. So, most of them won’t even bat an eye if their NPC dies and just think that it has been attacked by another one.

The death of their NPC loses all significance if they can be revived instantaneously. On top of that, those NPCs are nothing more than dirt for them and can be killed by the weakest monsters. Its no wonder, that no one cares if they just drop dead on the spot.

I had no intention of going for flashy kills or using more strength than necessary. Why should I, I have nothing to gain from stunts like that. Flaunting my skills to stroke my ego is not something I need.

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I placed more significance on enjoying the songs in my head then on reputation. Listening to my favourite bands was much more fulfilling, then simply killing NPCs. The current situation was not quite suitable for metal, that is why I decided to listen to some Green Day. I am just a basket case, was a fitting way to describe myself.

I was humming along to the melody as I spent my time walking between locations, it was a good way to spend my time.

As time passed and I kept on rocking to my music, the craze started to finally die down as more and more players left this town and went elsewhere. The murdering NPCs also were getting less and less before being finally stopped after only a select few people were still searching.

Nobody was paying any attention to me and even they had to realize how futile it was to proceed on. Afterwards even they left the town leaving me behind in a town devoid of any life.

Just to make sure I scanned my surroundings and the rest of the town whether a lonely soul was still hiding somewhere inside of it.

Only after checking multiple times could I finally let down my guard. Everything went as planned.

I created the reputation I wanted for my partner in crime and learned a bit about the interaction between the players and their NPCs and got myself a really good hideout.

No one would expect to find the NPC many people had been looking for, in the middle of a ghost town.

Now all that is left to do is to wait for my partner in crime to bring me the resources I need. If mercenaries are not promising enough I will just produce something those people have yet to think off.

How much gold I could I earn by mass-producing weaponry? I should produce them first before I start to sell them otherwise it’s pointless.

Mr Observer you wanted me to leave a lasting impression you got it. If there is one thing I can do, its exactly that.

Though for one reason or another I still could smell the trouble in the air. But as long as it does not affect me I could not care any less.

I will think about the weapons to build and use while I am forced to wait for my resources.

So, what about a sword…