Monster village (part 1)

"Thhhhe one whhho crrrrrushes! Act like a warrrrrior and face me instead of attacking the village like a cowarrrrrrd!"

The wolfman tribesman clearly didn't know where Zorey was, so instead, it barked a challenge while keenly looking around.

*THUMP*

"!!!"

Despite the bravado it showed before, the moment that the black-haired boy jumped down from the tree and hit the ground a few yards in front of it, the wolfman's tail dropped between its legs, and its ears laid flat against its head.

"..."

Zorey straightened his back and glared at the tense monster without a word.

"Thhhe one whhhhho crrrrrushes... we didn't offend you in any way... l-leave us alone..."

The wolfman raised its spear, pointing it at the young human, but any threatening effect was lost because of how much its body and voice shook.

It was obvious that the beast was utterly terrified.

"I will not have this pointless conversation again. You all know what your shaman did."

"...!"

Zorey shook his head and scoffed at the trembling monster, making it flinch.

"H-hhhaven't you get back at hhhhim enough...? You've killed dozens of our people already...!"

Despite its fear, the monster managed to bark back.

"..."

Zorey frowned and stared at the beast, who, despite its fear, stood its ground between him and its settlement.

"The truth is that I am a liar and a bad person."

"...wh-what...?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders and confessed, making the wolfman gasp in confusion.

"I could wipe out your entire village, but killing your shaman would mean that I would lose the girl I love. But at the same time, if I let your village alone and let it develop, you will get the attention of the humans in the area, and you all would get wiped out, leading to the very same outcome...."

Zorey revealed with a dismissive shrug and a melancholic smile.

"You know? I am disgusted with myself... but as long as I can stay with her even a day longer, it's worth it."

The boy spread his arms, and his smile grew into a self-deprecating grin.

"...I thhhhink I underrrrstand you a bit..."

"...how so...?"

The wolfman gulped down its saliva and barked, making Zorey raise his brows curiously.

"...I... evrrrry fiberrr of my body is scrrrreaming at me to rrrrrun... But I hhhhhave a mate and a cub behind me... I will not back down..."

"..."

The monster barked, standing up tall and declaring, which made Zorey lower his head.

"..."

"!!!"

But after a second, the young priest of death lifted his head, and the cold look in his eyes sent shivers down the wolfman's spine.

*UMPH* *WHAM*

The next moment, Zorey charged forward, propelled by the shockwave that was released by his legs.

"...!"

The wolfman's eyes widened, and it tried to jump back while raising its shield, but...

*WHAM* *CRACK* *CRUNCH* *THUMP*

Zorey's knee accelerated even more and shattered the wolfman's shield with ease, breaking its arm and causing its chest to cave in before sending it flying all the way inside the monster village...

...tumbling on the ground like a lifeless ragdoll...

[You defeated Humanized wolf (Wolfman tribesman)]

[EXP points granted]

*TA-DING*

[You leveled up!]

[Level 28 → Level 29]

[All base stats incressed]

[Your skills have leveled up]

The reason for that was simple – Zorey's attack did kill it in one shot.

"...I have to stop talking with them..."

Instead of satisfaction, the black-haired boy was feeling like shit.

The black-haired boy turned his back on the monster village and went back into the forest.

"...it would feel worse only if Vernlily showed up and asked me whether I was serious..."

Zorey moved behind one of the trees and leaned against it, hiding his face in his hands.

But then, as if the universe heard him and accepted the challenge...

{Daily objective:

Push-ups: 400 (400/400)

Sit-ups: 400 (400/400)

Squats: 400 (400/400)

Pull-ups: 400 (400/400)

Running: 40km (40/40km)

Eliminate magic beasts: 20 (19/20)}

"...huh...?"

...Zorey checked on the list of his objectives and froze in shock...

The objective of magic beast elimination hasn't been completed, even though it definitely should.

"Ma'am. There's something wrong with the counter."

Zorey gulped down his salvia and declared into the void.

{The counter works fine, maggot. You haven't eliminated 20 magic beasts yet.}

"...! What?! NO!"

The message that responded to him left the black-haired boy in denial.

"Ma'am! I have clearly just killed the 20th monster! Rank C Humanized wolf (wolfman tribeman)! I got the normal notification about defeating it, and the EXP I gained leveled me up, Ma'am!"

The boy called out defensively.

{My analysis recognized the data of the creature you eliminated as the data of a human on the list of 11348 traitors of humanity, and therefore, it doesn't fit the requirement of the objective.}

"..."

Zorey's hands dropped as he stared at the green text in the middle of his vision.

"...the... data...? That monster had the data of a human...?"

{Yes.}

The boy gasped in disbelief but was silenced by a concise answer from the System.

"No! NO! That doesn't make sense! Humans have human data! All of the intelligent species have data on their respective species! And monsters have data of monsters!"

Zorey shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the information that he received.

{IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE YOUR DAILY OBJECTIVE DOUBLED, YOU BETTER NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE AT YOUR SUPERIOR, MAGGOT!}

"TO HELL WITH THAT! QUADRUPLE IT IF YOU WANT, MA'AM! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!"

The message shouted at the boy, and the boy roared right back at it.

{…}

"..."

A message showing a loading animation showed up, making Zorey close his mouth and calm down a little bit.

{... Although the data of the being you eliminated is definitely the data of a human from the list of 11348 traitors of humanity, it appears that the log containing the reason for it has been erased from the System's database.}

"You've got to be kidding me, Ma'am!"

Even though it was a message, it seemed hesitant, making Zorey gasp in exasperation.

{Attempting recovery of the missing files...}

{Attmept failed.}

{…}

{Conclusion: The information of interest has been erased with authority equal or higher to the Administrator.}

"..."

Zorey studied the messages in silence and waited.

"Ma'am?! That's it?!"

...but after another minute or two passed and, and the last message faded away, he shook his head and called out.

{I acknowledge that the inconsistencies within the database need to be looked into, but it's not up to your discretion to make a decision about it, maggot!}

{The reason for it is irrelevant. That being had data of a human, so it doesn't count towards the objective's completion. Adjust to it and continue the program.}

"...! Ma'am! That's not what I'm concerned about! Who was that person! If you can't tell me why their data ended up inside a monster, then at least tell me their name or what in the world the list of humanity's traitors is! Ma'am!"

Zorey stared at the messages that missed the reason for his agitation and called them out – still, he ended up doing it as politely as he could, considering how he felt.

{…}

{The names of the traitors have been removed from the list of 11348 traitors of humanity.}

{All information except for the data signature of the traitors has been removed from the list of 11348 traitors of humanity.}

{The only information about the list of 11348 traitors of humanity is the list of 11348 traitors of humanity.}

The series of messages popped up for the black-haired boy, not answering any of his questions and instead making him even more confused than he already was.

"...oh, my System... Ma'am... is... is it possible that the one I killed isn't the only monster with human data...?"

Zorey opened his mouth to ask a different question, but then realization struck him like lightning, and he trembled while asking.

{…}

{Currently, all 17 remaining specimens in the previous location possess data that corresponds to data in the list of 11348 traitors of humanity.}

"..." *thump*

After a second of loading, the message popped up in Zorey's vision, causing the boy to sway and plop on the ground, feeling faint.

"But... but that means that I killed a human...! That each time I defeated one of the wolfmen tribesmen, I was killing... humans..."

Zorey cried out, shaking uncontrollably.

{Elminating a being with data corresponding to the data recorded in the list of 11348 traitors of humanity does not trigger the Preservation Protocol.}

"..."

A surprisingly reassuring message showed up, but Zorey didn't seem to share the sentiment.

Instead, he got up and made his way back to the edge of the forest clearance.

[Name: (Not registered)

Race: Beastman (Wolfman tribesman)

Not registered in the World System]

"...!"

He stopped behind one of the trees, and his eyes widened as a Status Window of a small wolfman showed up for him, and to the boy's horror, it stated the child's race as beastman.

Despite having many different subspecies, beastmen as a collective were included in the list of intelligent species and were able to register into the World System upon reaching twelve years old – or equivalent, depending on their lifespan.