Chapter 5
The atmosphere inside the horse-drawn carriage became awkward.
After some time, with only the sound of the carriage wheels filling the silence, Tom finally gathered the courage to start a conversation.
"Miss..."
"Hm?"
"Are you a Player?"
Darius, who was sitting beside his father, immediately looked at Izumi with curiosity.
Izumi tilted her head.
"Player?"
"What's a Player?"
Tom blinked.
"Eh?"
"You don't know what a Player is?"
Izumi shrugged.
"First, I don't know what a Player is."
"Second, is it some kind of organization?"
"Third, are they that strong?"
Tom remained silent for quite a while.
Countless questions appeared in his mind.
This girl had killed the bandits with a single attack.
Even the bandit leader was almost on par with a knight.
Yet she didn't know what a Player was?
Looking at her clothes, she certainly didn't resemble an adventurer.
Much less a Player.
But still...
This was strange.
"I'll explain."
Izumi nodded.
Tom began explaining slowly.
"A Player is an individual chosen by the System."
"System?"
"Yes."
"It doesn't matter what race they belong to."
"Humans, Elves, Beastmen, Demons, even Angels."
"If the System chooses someone, that person becomes a Player."
Izumi listened calmly.
"So they're not an organization?"
"No."
"They're simply lucky individuals chosen by the System."
"And of course, they're very powerful."
"Extremely powerful."
"Especially those from the major races."
Izumi slowly nodded.
"Then what do you mean by major races?"
Tom froze.
"Eh?"
"Don't tell me..."
"You don't know about that either?"
Izumi answered casually.
"No."
Tom and Darius immediately looked at each other.
Neither of them could believe it.
Izumi frowned.
"Why are you reacting like that?"
Tom let out a long sigh.
"At the very least, anyone who wants to survive in this world should memorize the top ten races."
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"Why?"
Tom fell silent again.
He was genuinely curious.
Just what kind of village had this girl come from?
Even small children knew things like this.
Huff...
Tom sighed.
"Then I'll explain that too."
For the next twenty minutes, Tom explained the various races that lived in the world.
The Dragonoid race.
The Demon race.
The Angel race.
The Flugel race.
The Lamian race.
The Titan race.
And dozens of others.
According to Tom, the number of documented races had already exceeded three hundred.
"I see..."
Izumi nodded slowly.
But then she realized something.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
"You only mentioned around fifty races."
"Yes."
"But you said there are more than three hundred."
"That's true."
"Then..."
Izumi looked at Tom.
"What about our race?"
The atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Tom lowered his head.
Darius lowered his head as well.
Izumi raised an eyebrow.
Tom smiled bitterly.
"To them..."
"The human race is lower than Goblins."
Izumi fell silent.
"...."
"The human race is ranked two hundred and ninety-one."
"Even lower than some magic monsters."
Izumi tried to process that information.
This world was far crueler than she had imagined.
Tom spoke again.
"Well..."
"At least human life today is much better than it was a thousand years ago."
But suddenly—
"Stop."
Izumi abruptly interrupted him.
Tom and Darius turned toward her at the same time.
"Hm?"
"How long has it been since we left the bandits' location?"
Tom thought for a moment.
"Maybe thirty-one minutes."
Izumi's expression immediately changed.
"Damn."
"Damn!"
"DAMN!"
Tom and Darius were startled.
"What's wrong?"
Izumi grabbed her head.
Her dirt bike.
Her dirt bike was still back there.
How could she forget something so important?
Without waiting another second, Izumi immediately jumped out of the carriage.
"Can you wait here for a moment?"
"I'll be right back."
Tom was still confused.
"O-Of course."
The moment she received permission—
BOOM!
The ground beneath Izumi's feet shattered.
Her body shot forward like a bullet.
Within seconds, she disappeared from sight.
Tom and Darius could only stare.
"...."
"...."
Darius swallowed nervously.
"Father."
"Hm?"
"Are you sure that Miss isn't a Player?"
Tom slowly shook his head.
"I don't know anymore."
"But judging from her general knowledge..."
"I really don't think she's anyone special."
"She doesn't even know the race rankings."
"Maybe she was raised in an extremely remote village."
Darius looked sympathetic.
"That's kind of sad."
Tom nodded.
"Yeah."
"At least we're fortunate enough to live in the Royal Capital."
Even if they had to work hard every day.
Darius asked again.
"But Father."
"Hm?"
"Isn't she really strong?"
Tom smiled faintly.
"That's true."
"She's very strong."
"Almost as if she were a Player."
Darius' eyes sparkled.
"Then could she defeat the Kingdom's Player?"
Tom immediately understood who he meant.
"The Player of the Kingdom of Monotiz?"
"Yes."
Tom thought for a moment.
"I don't think so."
"He's already reached 1 Star and Level 48."
"He can even kill magic monsters."
"Though he does receive support from adventurers."
Darius nodded in admiration.
"Wow..."
Meanwhile...
Eight minutes later.
Izumi arrived at the previous location.
However...
The dirt bike was gone.
"Hah?"
Izumi stared blankly.
"It's gone?"
She searched the surrounding area.
Nothing.
It had completely disappeared.
She even followed the tire tracks.
But the tracks simply stopped.
"Wait."
"If someone stole it..."
"There should be new tracks."
Izumi began thinking.
Then a possibility appeared in her mind.
What if...
The things she created vanished when they were no longer needed?
To test her theory,
Izumi threw her revolver onto the ground.
Then imagined that she no longer needed the weapon.
And then...
Puff.
The revolver disappeared.
Izumi's eyes widened instantly.
"!!"
Then she laughed.
"Hahahaha!"
"So that's how it works!"
"Good."
She finally understood.
Just like the plates and glasses she had used before.
Everything created through her ability would disappear once it was no longer needed.
A feeling of relief immediately filled her heart.
She began running back toward the carriage.
Nine minutes later.
Izumi reappeared.
She stretched her body while yawning.
"Aaaah..."
"This body is ridiculously light."
Tom chuckled.
"With running speed like that, I don't think you need us."
Izumi smiled.
"Oh no."
"Traveling alone is boring."
Tom laughed.
But then Izumi asked,
"By the way."
"How much longer until we reach the Royal Capital?"
Tom looked at the sky.
"Maybe one hour and fifty minutes."
"As long as nothing interrupts us."
"Interrupts us?"
"Yes."
"Like—"
His sentence was cut short.
Because the interruption actually appeared.
And it wasn't an ordinary one.
The horse-drawn carriage suddenly came to a stop.
Tom and Darius immediately turned pale.
Izumi frowned.
"Why did we stop?"
Tom simply pointed ahead.
In the middle of the road.
A gigantic monster stood blocking their path.
Its body looked like living mud.
Nearly ten meters tall.
A Giant Mud Slime.
Izumi immediately stepped out of the carriage.
"You two."
"Get down."
Tom's eyes widened.
"Wait!"
"Are you planning to fight it?!"
"Of course."
"WHAT?!"
"It takes at least two knights and one priest to defeat that monster!"
Izumi merely shrugged.
"Don't worry."
"I'll kill it."
Tom and Darius finally retreated behind a nearby bush.
Meanwhile, Izumi walked toward the monster.
"Hm."
"So this is what monsters in this world look like."
She observed it for a moment.
"Pretty big."
"And ugly."
The Giant Mud Slime roared.
Then immediately attacked.
Its muddy body transformed into a massive wave intent on swallowing Izumi whole.
But Izumi simply made a light jump to the side.
Easily dodging it.
"Too slow."
She raised her hand.
The revolver appeared once more.
Without hesitation—
BANG!
The bullet struck the center of the monster's body.
Tom and Darius held their breath.
"Did it work?!"
However...
The smile on Izumi's face slowly disappeared.
The hole created in the monster's body closed itself.
Regenerating.
Within seconds.
Izumi stared at it.
Then...
A wide grin spread across her face.
"Huh."
"A creature that doesn't die after being shot?"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"NOW THIS IS INTERESTING!"