Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Despite suggesting we follow, we didn’t immediately rush to chase after the figure.

The distance between us and the mysterious figure was quite far, barely visible at the edge of our sight. While the figure was ignoring the Imps and passing by, we had to engage with every Imp we encountered, which naturally slowed us down.

There was no way we could catch up quickly.

We decided to take it slow, wanting to observe what the figure was doing and where they were headed.

As I followed, I half-guessed the figure might be from Remegaton. The only suspicious figures we could encounter in places like this were probably from that faction. Although I wasn’t sure how they were able to avoid the Imps.

Swoosh-!

“Keyaek!”

With a swing of my spear, another Imp’s body crumbled.

I muttered to myself as I watched the creature fall.

“Ugh, these damn Imps, don’t they have any fear...?”

They must have seen their kin getting killed one after another, yet they still charge recklessly. It was quite annoying. Watching them charge without any thought, it was clear they were nothing but monsters.

Like other demons, when Imps died, they turned to ash, leaving behind only the smallest trace of their existence.

The little mana stones they left behind were useful. They were small, crystal-like formations of condensed mana. They made great fuel for various magical tools, so I picked up every one that dropped, even though they were rather insignificant for their size.

While walking, Shin Hanbyeol muttered.

“Is that the strange one the kids saw...?”

She said this after noticing that the Imps were ignoring the robed figure. It seemed we weren’t the only ones who had witnessed this strange sight.

Now that I thought about it, Bepuri had also mentioned something similar. She had heard rumors about strange figures roaming around and advised us to be cautious.

I guessed that someone else had probably seen the same thing and passed on the warning.

Could it be that this robed figure had been sneaking around, drawing the attention of others? Or was it that there was someone else besides the figure who the Imps were ignoring?

Unfortunately, that was a mystery we couldn’t solve just yet.

As I thought about this, Chae-rin carefully asked Hanbyeol.

“Hey, Hanbyeol, I’ve been wondering about something...”

“Go ahead, ask.”

“Where’s your armor? Why are you just wearing that?”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had been distracted by the exposed chest area. Of course, Chae-rin herself had a relatively revealing outfit, but the important parts of her body were covered by thick leather armor.

Unlike Hanbyeol, her chest didn’t bounce around every time she moved.

“Hah... yeah. I’ve been meaning to wear something, but it hurts every time I move.”

[So jealous] [Mom, why is my chest so flat?]

In the end, Hanbyeol had to explain again how she ended up in this state. She still didn’t seem particularly embarrassed about it. But as for me, I still didn’t know how to respond to this.

“......”

Anyway, we continued to move deeper into the ruins.

Even though the kingdom had been destroyed, its size hadn’t vanished. The Imps might have wreaked havoc, but the buildings weren’t so fragile that they’d collapse completely.

Because of that, there were still plenty of places where we could hide, though we had to be extra careful not to be detected. The tracking had become quite a bit longer because of this.

[It feels like we’re playing a horror game] [Yeah, sneaking around gives off that kind of vibe] [Don’t horror games tear you in half when you’re seen..?]

As we ventured deeper, Hanbyeol muttered.

“I’ve never been this far in before...”

“That person is walking through it so calmly.”

“Yeah. Hah... but when is my armor going to show up?”

“Just give it up. If you haven’t found it by now, it’s gone.”

“No, it’s definitely somewhere!”

As we walked, the mysterious figure suddenly veered off to the side. It was a narrow, winding path, and it seemed to lead into what might have been the kingdom’s back alleys.

For a moment, I thought they had noticed us and were trying to shake us off, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

The figure was just heading that way. They were moving with clear intent.

We immediately followed them into the alley.

As expected, the path was incredibly narrow. It was so tight that it was hard for all four of us to enter at once.

We had no choice but to split into two rows: Hanbyeol and I in front, Chae-rin and Haneul behind. The reason for this was to position our combat forces at the front, since the Imps would likely appear there first.

The alley was so narrow that hiding places were scarce, which meant we’d inevitably run into some Imps along the way.

“Keyeek!”

Every time we caught an Imp, it made such a loud noise. Each time we killed one, the ruckus worried Chae-rin, who looked at us with concern.

“Aren’t we going to get caught at this rate...? We should pull back.”

“No, the path is too winding. If we move too far away, we might lose them.”

“Isn’t it better to just lose them? If the Imps swarm us, we’re screwed. This place is big, and we won’t be able to escape easily.”

I could tell what she was worried about. She was concerned that we’d get surrounded by Imps and end up in danger. Haneul might not be so worried, but I had to value my life.

Of course, I wasn’t blindly moving forward either. I had assessed the Imps’ strength and decided we could still make it. I was confident we could backtrack if needed.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to convince anyone. Before I could even speak up, Haneul stepped in to reassure them.

“Don’t worry. If it gets too dangerous, I can use flying magic to help us escape.”

It seemed like she was getting a little bit more determined now. While she may be a bit shy, she didn’t lack courage.

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

With that, we pressed forward again.

It didn’t take long before we were discovered.

“Keyeek!”

“Ugh...!”

The dying Imp’s scream reached the robed figure, who turned around and noticed us.

We could now clearly see the figure. They were a grown woman, and there didn’t seem to be anything particularly threatening about her, aside from the fact she was walking through a crowd of Imps.

What stood out, however, was the ill-fitting steel chestplate she was wearing.

“Hmm?”

Hanbyeol shouted in surprise when she saw it.

“That’s mine!”

“What?”

“That’s my armor!”

Without another word, Hanbyeol shot forward. She’d found the thief who had looted her armor and was desperate to reclaim it.

The figure hadn’t technically stolen it, as it had been left on the ground, but once we were spotted, we couldn’t just stand still. We immediately followed Hanbyeol and started chasing the figure.

“Tch, how did they notice us...!”

But the figure wasn’t standing still either. As we got closer, they started running at full speed.

Even while fleeing, they were blowing a strange whistle.

Beeeep—!

The sharp noise spread in all directions.

The whistle itself wasn’t dangerous, but the sound itself was the problem. Imps, hearing the noise, started converging on our location like a horde of zombies.

“Keyeek!” “Keyeek!”

The narrow alleyway wasn’t devoid of monsters. We had been sneaking through it, so we hadn’t encountered many Imps yet.

But now, the massive swarm of Imps began attacking us.

“They’re coming from behind!”

“Get the figure first!”

We fought our way through the swarm of Imps. Shin Hanbyeol swung her sickle with determination, while Chae-rin stabbed at the Imps’ vital spots with her dagger. Haneul continued to cast buffs to support us.

Despite all this, the fleeing figure remained oddly calm.

For some reason, the Imps weren’t attacking them.

Even as they fled, they kept blowing the whistle to attract more monsters.

They must have known they were suspicious, but they acted as if they were untouchable.

“If we don’t act now, we’ll lose them!”

“No! My 20 million won chestplate!”

“Forget about the armor! If we don’t move now, we’ll all get overwhelmed!”

The Imps were intimidating, especially when they came in numbers. Their mindless charges were enough to pressure anyone. Thankfully, the narrow alley kept the number of Imps in check.

I stood my ground, blocking as many as I could, but eventually, I decided we needed to push through.

‘We can’t stay here forever.’

At this rate, we would be overwhelmed. We had to break through.

“Stay behind me.”

Hanbyeol, startled, reflexively asked:

“What are you going to do?”

“I think I can clear the way with one blow. You stay back and watch over the support mage.”

Thankfully, Hanbyeol didn’t protest and stepped back.

As the Imps charged toward us, I stepped forward.

I focused my energy and prepared to strike. The sharp claws of the Imps came rushing at me, but I blocked only the most dangerous ones, allowing the lesser strikes to land on my body. The pain was intense, but it didn’t stop me.

Blood started to seep from the wounds, flowing freely. I gathered every drop of blood that spilled from my wounds and wrapped it around the tip of my spear.

What I needed was a broad blade, like the glaive I had envisioned—something capable of cutting through everything in front of me.

I imagined the weapon, similar to Guan Yu's Ban Tian Hua Ge, but even wider and sharper.

As the spear’s tip grew larger than my torso, I swung it with all my strength.

Swoooosh!

Everything in front of me was cleaved apart. The Imps that had been charging at me, their sharp claws raised, were cut down. The narrow alley that had constrained their movements also split in two. Everything was shattered and scattered on the ground.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the chat exploding with activity. It was so fast that I couldn’t even read the comments, but I could tell they were full of awe and amazement.

“Keyeek...” “Keyeek...”

The Imps that were struck by the blade quickly burned away into ash, disappearing into nothingness. The sight of everything burning before me was almost magnificent.

I shouted toward my team, who were watching in awe.

“Now!”

Now that the way was clear, we could move forward without worrying about the Imps. Upon hearing me, the team immediately charged toward the robed figure.