But it’s not like I was groping or kissing him like those perverted players did.
I did my homework and found a way to minimize the physical contact he so despises…
Why should I be treated like the failed players?
“But, but! Taking an insomnia potion won’t kill you! Besides, it only lasts about five seconds…”
“That’s why I only strangled you for five seconds.”
“Don’t lie! That wasn’t just five seconds…!”
“Why don’t we try again to see if it really was just five seconds?”
“…Ah, no. I must have been mistaken, Sir.”
I quickly conceded, recalling the moment when my throat was squeezed.
Even though it felt like five minutes, with my stamina halfway depleted, maybe it really was just five seconds.
In a bitter mood, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a potion.
Perhaps the 100 Lizard Hunt quest that players were supposed to do was a backup plan for times like this.
「 Do you want to use 1 [Recovery potion containing a Lizard’s vocal cords]? 」
「 – When consumed, this potion temporarily increases the speed of HP (Hit Point) recovery and strengthens vocal cords. – 」
Creating this potion felt pointless, but now that I had it, it was perfect for this situation.
However, I couldn’t just drink it in front of the guy who had just tried to kill me…
Avoiding Cassel’s piercing gaze, I crouched down and carefully sipped the potion.
Suddenly, I felt a demeaning gaze on me.
“What are you doing?”
Either he found the act of drinking the potion distasteful or he couldn’t stand not picking a fight, but he decided to provoke me.
My heart trembled, and I wanted to retort with, “Can’t you see?” but I pulled my hood down and lowered my head instead.
“I’m drinking a potion because my throat hurts…”
“A strength potion?”
“No. It’s a vocal recovery potion.”
“Hah, ridiculous.”
I emphasized ‘vocal recovery’ in case he tried to take it from me, and Cassel angrily ruffled his hair.
Then, a system message appeared.
「 [The Lord of Nightmares] finds your actions absurd. 」
‘You’re more absurd.’
I muttered that to myself as I took out another vocal recovery potion and sipped it.
“Are you alone? Is there no one else?”
If he found me absurd, he could have just ignored me, but he kept prying.
The desire to ignore him was overwhelming.
But until I prevented the disaster, I was just an NPC who could die at the hands of Cassel.
Reluctantly, I replied with as much defiance as I could muster, “Yeah.”
Then, out of nowhere, I had a flash of insight.
‘But isn’t this the same question that Adam asked?’
“…Are you alone?”
“Yes. I’m alone.”
Was this line originally in the game?
I tried to recall, but nothing significant came to mind.
Of course, even if I remembered, it wouldn’t matter.
In this game, the main characters with a higher setting of AI than extras often spouted nonsense as they pleased.
Thinking that way, I felt a bit offended.
‘Do they think I’m ugly because I’m alone? I’m the top-ranked genius apothecary with a stunning beauty setting, for heaven’s sake!’
I was still the top-ranked player until I was trapped in the game, as far as I knew.
I grumbled angrily, but there was nothing I could do.
In his eyes, I was just a pitiful commoner in a tattered robe…
“You look like a beggar.”
No, I wasn’t.
As I sat on the cold ground, he suddenly extended a hand towards me.
Then, he firmly and solemnly gestured, as if he were a king demanding tribute.
“Give me the strength potions you have.”
“…”
“And the insomnia potions, too.”
Was this how it felt when one’s vision blurred?
‘He’s not satisfied with choking players; he wants to rob the player, too?’
I had worked in the gaming industry for quite some time, but I had never encountered such a crazy character.
‘…Should I just ban this guy and live peacefully in the game for a moment?’
That was my initial thought. However, I quickly shook my head.
I couldn’t block anyone, especially not the protagonist.
And in this dire situation, where I might starve to death, it wasn’t such a big deal to lose a few game items.
“Are you giving them to me or not?”
Clank―!
The temperamental bastard impatiently menacingly rattled his chain.
“Ah, no! I’ll give them to you, I will…”
I reluctantly fumbled in my pocket.
After calming down and thinking it over, it wasn’t such a bad turn of events.
In a situation where there were no NPCs to administer insomnia potions and I had to complete the greatsword quest, I couldn’t afford to pay attention to every detail.
However, I couldn’t bury the deep-seated anger in my heart.
I now understood why players rushed to complain to me whenever they completed a scenario.
‘This is potion robbery. I will get my revenge. Definitely.’
The NPC-exclusive robe hood, which was pressed deeply and made my field of vision uncomfortable, had never been more appreciated than it is today.
I glared at Cassel from under my hood as if I were going to kill him and retrieved the potion vials from my pocket.
[Advanced HP Potion] x1
[Insomnia-Inducing Awakening Potion] x5
[Recovery Potion Containing Lizard’s Vocal Cords] x98
As Cassel watched the potion bottles spread out on the floor, his expression gradually turned colder.
By the time I retrieved the last Lizard vocal cord potion, his arrogant face had completely twisted.
It seemed he thought they only had vocal recovery effects, but seeing him like this gave me a small sense of satisfaction.
“Is this all?”
“Yes.”
I had to prostrate myself to reach the game ending, but I wasn’t a fool.
In a situation where I didn’t know how the disaster would progress if I gave away all my items and couldn’t use them later, what would I do?
‘Just drink the vocal recovery potions and behave yourself.’
The level of the lizards I killed wasn’t that high, so its HP recovery efficiency and duration weren’t very good.
It was ideal for maintaining a condition where Cassel couldn’t go on a rampage and I could engage in a reasonable conversation.
However, without understanding my intentions, Cassel laughed mockingly and kicked the lizard potion bottles with his foot.
“Adam Hailey has finally gone insane.”
Crash! Clink―.
The potion bottles I had lined up fell apart in an instant. Although they didn’t shatter, I was shocked by the guy’s volatile personality.
“You lunatic―no, sir! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“How is this supposed to stop me from sleeping?”
“My babies! If you’re not going to drink them, leave them alone! Why are you kicking them?”
Even if it was just some potions, if he left them, they would turn into blood and money!
I frantically gathered the rolling bottles and shouted loudly.
“Besides, I was going to make more! I was thinking of making them right away because I thought it would be easier to obtain ingredients if I was in the Hailey estate!”
“Is there no apothecary other than a blockhead like you in Count Hailey’s territory?”
“I was personally recognized for my skills in front of Count Hailey and even received guidance from the prison. If you have doubts, go ask Count Hailey yourself, Sir!”
My vision went white, and my body trembled.
I desperately held back the urge to immediately scream “Ban permanently!”
In the midst of this, I was pathetic as I repeatedly attached “sir” to my explanations, trying to avoid Cassel’s suspicion at all costs.
Apparently, this bastard doesn’t even deserve a Lizard potion.
‘Just fall sick and lie back down like before, you bastard.’
Despite the inconvenience, I had no choice but to continue both tasks, climbing the tower up and down as before.
Deciding on this, I hastily collected the Lizard potion bottles I had taken out.
That’s when it happened.
Roll… thunk.
When I had almost picked up all the bottles, one last bottle rolled to a stop at Cassel’s foot.
As I scrambled to grab it, I came to a screeching halt at his feet.
The tip of his foot touching the potion bottle came into view.
His bare, shoeless feet were covered in cuts and oozing blood.
When my gaze briefly focused on that, a chilly voice suddenly sounded near my head.
“For a commoner, your tongue is quite smooth.”
I slowly raised my head. Cassel stared down at me with the air of a reigning tyrant unlike me, who was crawling on all fours.
I suddenly had a strange feeling.
I’m the one who’s humbly crawling on the floor to pick up the potion…
But his whole body was scarred, his limbs were chained, and he didn’t look too good.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that I couldn’t decide who was more degraded.
As if he’d had the same thought, Cassel slowly bent over.
When he was down on one knee and eye level with me, he muttered to himself.
“For someone who, at best, would have made and sold medicines to commoners in some rural corner… You seem pretty perceptive and sharp.”
“…”
“When people see me for the first time, they either ridicule me or feel fear.”
His words left me somewhat dumbfounded.
‘Who would mock a lunatic like this guy?’
That’s when it happened.
As if he could see through the hood as he looked at me, a system message appeared above his head.
「 [The Lord of Nightmares] has some suspicions about you. 」
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