"Now there's even a sheriff's badge... This really is Werewolf!"
Mu You stared dumbfounded at the bloodstained badge that had appeared in his hand.
It could compel other NPCs to do one thing for him. That was a good item. Used properly, it could turn the tide of a battle!
[The hunter handed you the sheriff's badge, hoping you would take it to warn the village chief and the other villagers to beware of the werewolf.] [The hunter's injuries were too severe. After speaking, he breathed his last. His body dissolved into specks of light that drifted toward the respawn point.] [You searched the spot where the hunter's body disappeared and found a piece of mithril.] [Mithril, a magical metal mined by dwarves from the Morrigan Mine. Light as a feather and hard as dragon scales, it also has a strong affinity for magic, making it an excellent material for forging equipment.] [Perhaps you could visit Ironforge in the village and ask the dwarven blacksmith to forge a piece of equipment for you using the mithril.]
Mu You was a little baffled by the latest notifications.
He had planned to loot the hunter after he died. If he was supposed to fight the werewolf, the hunter could at least leave him something. Yet the moment the man died, both he and his equipment had ascended together?
Fortunately, one piece of loot had been left behind.
Mithril. From the description, it was a magical material he could take to a blacksmith to turn into equipment. Not bad, he supposed.
On a more serious note, Mu You had assumed these "extra events" were merely optional side quests whose rewards would be negligible even if he completed them. He hadn't expected such a generous haul. Just one event had netted him a sheriff's badge and a piece of mithril, at virtually no cost.
Just then, another text notification popped up in the game.
[The hunter has long suffered from forgetfulness. After respawning, he will temporarily lose his memories of his previous life. Right now, you are the only person in the village who knows the werewolf's whereabouts. You choose...]
Two options appeared below: [Track the werewolf alone] and [Return to the village and inform the village chief].
Of course Mu You chose to track the werewolf!
The Werewolf had just been seriously wounded by the hunter. Its combat strength was probably at its lowest right now. This was the perfect chance to kick it while it was down!
Without hesitation, Mu You sent his character after it.
[The Poison Apple in your bag gives you confidence. You bravely choose to track the Werewolf!] [You follow the trail of blood left by the werewolf for a long time, finally finding the wounded werewolf beside a well on the outskirts of the village!] [The werewolf lies motionless in a pool of blood. Blood continues to seep from the bullet wound in its chest.] [The werewolf has fallen unconscious from its severe injuries! You realize this is an excellent opportunity to kill it. You choose...] [Beat the Werewolf to death with a rock], [Feed the Werewolf the Poison Apple], [Turn and run], [Lie down and play dead].
Four options had actually appeared!
Mu You was surprised. This was the most choices he had encountered so far.
After hesitating for a second, he tried the first option, "Beat the werewolf to death with a rock." If he could kill it outright, that would be ideal. He could even save a bottle of poison.
[You pick up a rock from the ground and tiptoe quietly toward the werewolf.] [You swing the rock, smashing it down toward the werewolf's head!] [But just before it lands, you see the werewolf suddenly open its eyes!] [It turns out the werewolf was only playing dead. It noticed your arrival long ago and was merely trying to lure you closer!] [The werewolf leaps up and tackles you to the ground.] [The werewolf bites you to death!]
"What the fuck?"
Mu You was dumbfounded. This werewolf could even play dead? Did it have to be so devious?
Wait, was this really an NPC?
If it could pull off a trick like faking its death, could this werewolf be a player too...?
A flurry of thoughts flashed through Mu You's mind. With no time to dwell on them, he hurriedly pressed the Pocket Watch.
[Time turns back, returning you to before your last choice. Looking at the seemingly unconscious werewolf beside the well, this time, you choose...]
"Feed the Werewolf the Poison Apple!"
Mu You picked the second option, but his heart was already in his throat.
If this Werewolf really was a player, the Poison Apple probably wouldn't work either.
[You take out the Poison Apple and carefully approach the Werewolf. Seeing it open its eyes again and lunge at you, you hurriedly offer it the Poison Apple.] [The werewolf looks at you as though you're an idiot, bats the apple away, and gives you a resounding slap in return.] [The werewolf slaps you to the ground!] [The werewolf bites you to death yet again!]
"Fuck!"
Sure enough, the Poison Apple was completely useless against it. It hadn't even spared the apple a glance.
This werewolf was definitely an intelligent player!
Mu You quickly confirmed that and pressed the Pocket Watch once more.
[Time turns back, returning you to the well. This time, you choose...]
"Turn and run!"
[Knowing your opponent is playing dead, you choose to turn and run without hesitation!] [The werewolf playing dead notices you fleeing and leaps up.] [By now, you have put considerable distance between yourself and the werewolf. Just as you are about to escape with your life, the werewolf suddenly flings a meat hook on a chain toward you!] [The Meat Hook pierces your shoulder with unerring accuracy and drags you back to the Werewolf.] [The werewolf bites you to death yet again, again!]
"WTF?"
Mu You looked utterly bewildered. Was this werewolf cheating? He couldn't beat it in melee, and it could throw hooks at range too. Wasn't that fucking invincible?
Rewind, rewind!
Mu You pressed the Pocket Watch again, though he no longer held out much hope.
Encountering this werewolf had made him realize, for the first time, the vast gulf between high-level and low-level players.
That hook was clearly a piece of the werewolf's equipment or a relic. In any case, whether in terms of equipment or raw combat strength, the werewolf completely outclassed Mu You.
Even if he could rewind time endlessly and keep trying new actions, in the werewolf's eyes, he was merely making futile last-ditch struggles. He could never escape death.
What happened next proved his suspicions right.
[Time turns back again, again, and again. Knowing death is inevitable, you choose to lie down and play dead.] [The werewolf gives your "corpse" a puzzled look, expresses its gratitude for nature's bounty, then bites you to death!]
Mu You was utterly speechless. He had tried all four options and hadn't survived a single one. So this was what a truly fatal set of choices looked like!
Yet Mu You didn't simply give up and wait to die.
After dying four times in a row, he had suddenly noticed something: every time the werewolf killed him, it seemed to do so by biting him to death.
If that's the case...
An idea quietly took shape in his mind, and Mu You hurriedly pressed the Pocket Watch.
[Time turns back for the Nth time, returning you to the well. Looking at the werewolf playing dead ahead, you choose...]
Mu You didn't select any of the four options.
Instead, he quickly opened his character panel at the top of the screen, tapped "Poison Apple" in the items row, then selected "Eat" from the options that appeared.
[Knowing you have no hope of escape, you choose to eat the Poison Apple and die peacefully.] [You have died of poisoning! Lifespan -5. Remaining lifespan: 42 years.] [Seeing you lying motionless on the ground, the werewolf assumes you are playing dead and approaches to bite you to death.] [The werewolf eats your flesh and blood. The werewolf dies of poisoning. Werewolf lifespan -10!] [You killed the level 7 werewolf (Deer Eater), gaining werewolf skin fragment ×1, 7 experience points, and 7 reputation points with the justice faction. You also plundered the 10 years of lifespan lost by the werewolf. Lifespan +10. Remaining lifespan: 52 years.] [You completed Peaceful Village's standing bounty on the werewolf. Lifespan +5. Remaining lifespan: 57 years.]
Before you continue