Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 10

Episode 10

A moment later, a faint pain was felt on the back of my hand.

"...Ouch."

Only then did I remember the setting that he extremely avoids contact with others.

HP 826

'Is it real that 174 was cut in one hit?'

I can get beaten by a horde of monsters all day and barely die, but I take almost 200 damage just from him shaking off my hand?!

Isn't this just a ridiculously broken balance.

On top of that, this is supposedly with part of his power sealed, so he was truly a totally broken character.

Feeling a trace of unfairness, I hurriedly put on the glove item from my pocket that blocks one's presence.

It's something you get from grinding monster-killing quests, but most users would sell them all to the general store and then beat the ground in regret.

"I'm sorry. From now on, I will not forget to wear gloves before coming in, ...Sir."

I couldn't get a game over just for this, so I bowed my head and apologized politely.

I worried a bit about what to call him, but decided to play it safe.

This was because I knew full well what happened to the early users who acted recklessly here, saying, 'You're just a prisoner!' or 'Hey Lord of Nightmares, good to see ya!'

"..."

But even after a while, there was no response.

I peeked up with the head I had bowed low.

I could see a system window floating in the air.

The Lord of Nightmares is currently unable to move due to a status abnormality.

When I looked down at Kassel again, the eyes that had been glaring at me as if to tear me to death were gradually losing their strength.

It seems the setting is that he's very tired, and the chains binding his limbs are extremely limiting his power.

'Did he use up all his remaining strength threatening me just now?'

I remembered this as something that was originally supposed to happen to the apothecary NPC brought by the user.

'There was also a low probability of the apothecary's wrist or arm breaking, causing a progression penalty...'

By the crime of being stationed as an NPC character at the game's starting point, I handled almost all the complaint consultations from this period.

Maybe that's why I remembered even the minor details, despite not having played the game.

The Male Lead of this game showed extreme aggression toward those who touched his body without permission.

Kassel Ludwig, dragged here as a prisoner, was actually the Crown Prince of the empire, who had manifested an unknown curse as a child.

Nightmares of monsters killing humans, disasters and natural calamities continuing endlessly, and the world burning to ruin.

His curse was that when he had a nightmare, it would be reproduced in reality.

The emperor, the nobles, and the high priests worked together to break the crown prince's curse and protect the world.

But one day, a nightmare Kassel had caused a horde of high-grade monsters to attack the imperial capital, resulting in a massacre.

From then on, he was called the Lord of Nightmares, treated as a prisoner, and subjected to all kinds of abuse and contempt.

Nevertheless, he did not resent the people who abused him.

Not only that, but he doesn't give up and strives until the very, very end to save the world from ruin.

'...He's a bit pitiful.'

Even though I already knew, seeing the man lying there covered in wounds didn't make me feel very pleasant.

"Sir, can you come to your senses a bit?"

The Lord of Nightmares is currently unable to move due to a status abnormality.

The 'Stop the Disaster' quest required the user and the apothecary NPC to divide several tasks and complete them simultaneously.

So I was worried about how it would proceed in my situation, being alone...

There was no need for that. I had no choice but to personally feed him potions until he regained his strength.

'That is my miserable fate as both an NPC and a player.'

Muttering nonsense in a state of resignation, I slowly went over the Male Lead's settings.

Due to the trauma of abuse and repeated self-harm, Kassel extremely loathed contact with others.

If I earned his dislike at this point, which was practically our first meeting, the possibility of it leading to a game over later was very high.

Because of this, I worried about this part more than any other quest that would happen at the Count's estate.

'What did the users who got the penalty of the apothecary NPC getting hurt here do?'

A dirty and familiar method came to mind first.

A few overly-immersed users, smitten by Kassel's appearance, fed him potions via a kiss, which led to an immediate game over.

The Lord of Nightmares's displeasure explodes.

The Lord of Nightmares's disgust reaches its peak.

The Lord of Nightmares feels a strong murderous impulse toward you.

The Lord of Nightmares rises with superhuman strength and... your neck...

Of course, anyone would be displeased if a stranger suddenly kissed them under the guise of feeding them a potion.

But Kassel, for a protagonist, had an unusually foul temper.

Not only did he not let his guard down around the comrades he had recruited as subordinates for their high abilities, but he was also a sociopath who would occasionally draw his sword on the user just because he didn't like them.

'It was pretty thrilling when that Male Lead lost all his comrades near the end and had his dark transformation...'

Even if it was something that brought about the world's ruin.

Unlike Adam, who was merely difficult to get close to, Kassel would send you straight to a game over if you made one wrong move, so I had to be careful, and then careful again.

Unlike users, I wouldn't die and just be auto-teleported; instead, I couldn't reset.

That meant I would have to live trapped in the game for four years, unable to even try to get out.

In that situation, if Dover Village, my auto-teleport point, also disappeared...

'Horrifying!'

I shivered once at the ominous thought and hurriedly took a potion from my pocket.

"Sir. I'm sorry, but by the Count's order, you must drink this potion."

First, considering his high pride, I placed the potion bottle in his hand so he could drink it himself.

Of course, I didn't forget to put all my effort into not making contact.

But thud, de-gu-reu-reu.

The Lord of Nightmares is currently unable to move due to a status abnormality.

As expected, he seemed to be in a state where he couldn't even grip it properly, and the potion bottle rolled away weakly.

"How truly unfortunate, Sir. It seems you currently do not have the strength to hold it and drink."

I did my best to imitate a pitiful tone so as not to get on Kassel's nerves.

As I did, my operator tone for dealing with difficult users came out unintentionally, but it couldn't be helped.

The standard method was to go to the Count, get something like a spoon or a dropper, and feed it to him little by little until he regained his strength.

But I, who had to play the role of both NPC and user, had no time for that.

"Sir. If you are alright with it, may I help you?"

"..."

It was then.

Kassel's crimson eyes, which had been facing the ceiling, slowly moved toward me.

His gaze on me was clearer than before.

'That's permission, right?'

To avoid direct contact, I reached out with my gloved hand, carefully parted his tightly closed lips, and tilted his head straight up.

Sadly, even in such a position, it was a perfect face, devoid of any humiliation.

I fumbled in my pocket and took something out.

Monster Tranquilizer Gun

The transparent, pistol-shaped magical tool was an air gun used to capture pet monsters, and was used by loading it with a tranquilizer dart.

Click.

But I loaded a potion bottle into the slot instead of a tranquilizer dart.

"This is not a tranquilizer gun, Sir. As you can see, it is a magical tool for injecting medicine. Something like a syringe."

I also explained it step-by-step so he wouldn't have any absurd misunderstandings, like assassination.

I immediately shoved the end of the muzzle into his open mouth.

For a second, Kassel's eyes wavered.

"It's not dangerous at all."

You probably can't see it because of the hood, but I smiled brightly with a gentle voice.

Of course, I had adjusted the pressure to be weak enough that it wouldn't be dangerous even if used on a human, so it was fine.

Although it is a bit inhumane...

'Open your mouth, potion's going in!'

I immediately pulled the trigger.

Pshuk----

The Insomnia Potion immediately shot into Kassel's throat like a water gun.

"Keok...!"

As if the liquid that was suddenly shot in had blocked his airway, Kassel suddenly thrashed.

"Don't spit it out!"

I covered his mouth and also pinched his nose slightly so he would swallow faster.

Potions are absorbed anyway, so there was no risk of him dying from choking.

'One, two, three, four, five...'

Gulp.

As expected, after about five seconds, Kassel's throat convulsed and he swallowed the rest of the liquid, as if part of the potion had been absorbed.

"Time is short, so this was the only way... I'm sorry, Sir."

I immediately took my hands off the man, who was glaring at me murderously, and apologized politely.

'I wore gloves. He won't make a fuss over about five seconds of contact, right?'

As expected, it was a good idea to rack my brain and think.

The Monster Tranquilizer Gun was a common item that could be bought easily and cheaply at the general store.

To think I could minimize contact and solve it so cost-effectively, quickly, and cleanly.

I'll have to stick with this method until Kassel can hold and drink the potion himself.

'Am I really a genius, maybe?'

Anyway, it was resolved better than I had worried.

It was time to retreat.

"Well then, I will come see you again when it is time to drink a potion. Please rest well."

I got up without any lingering attachment and prepared to leave the prison.

But.

The Lord of Nightmares feels a faint murderous impulse toward you.