I Became the Guardian of Big Shots in the Game

Ethan was certainly careless.
The world of he had experienced was inside a monitor.
At worst, if the character died, it would just return to the previous save point.
These common sense notions led Ethan to let his guard down.
He wasn’t cautious of his surroundings at all.
No, to be specific, he was a little at first.
But after 5 minutes, 10 minutes passed,
By the time he thought he had walked for about 30 minutes,
His body, tired from the tense nerves, instinctively relaxed its vigilance.
From the moment he stepped onto the path, he didn’t pay attention at all,
Walking while reading Ethan’s stat card he had taken out of his pocket.
“A one-time use trait, really.”
Ethan still couldn’t forget the spinning wheel that had rung out so noisily for the random special reward.
“After all that fuss, shouldn’t it have given a hefty trait like ‘Physical Damage Immunity’ or ‘Great Mage’s Talent’?”
[Trait: Charming Person (One-time use)]
[Description: Have you heard of love at first sight? You are that kind of person! The first person you meet will have infinite goodwill towards you. They will die at your command and dedicate their entire life to living for you.]
At first glance, it seemed like a very useful skill, but
There was one blind spot:
“I can’t choose the target.”
The effect of the skill itself is almost hypnotic app level, but
Just reading the description, it’s forcibly applied to the ‘first person met’.
“Well, it’ll be easy to ask for directions from whoever I meet.”
Ethan decided to think as positively as possible.
If he used the trait in a closed forest village, they wouldn’t be suspicious of him as an outsider.
However, it was true that it was disappointing that the special reward ended there,
So he unknowingly clicked his tongue.
But then,
-Whoosh!
A sound of rapid rotation, as if a small whirlwind had formed in front of him, was heard.
Wondering if it might be a monster, Ethan raised his head and,
“…?”
Made eye contact with a silver-haired girl.
But now she was holding a dagger in reverse grip, just before plunging the blade into his brow.
Even though one more millimeter of thrust would have cut him,
Ethan calmly analyzed the situation.
‘The trait activated.’
The composed (999) Ethan responded nonchalantly.
“Hello?”
As he greeted the girl,
“H-hello…”
As if nothing had happened, she put the dagger behind her back,
Answered in a shrinking voice and bowed her head deeply.
The situation was funny, but
That too was calmly subdued due to the excessive composure stat.

“I apologize. Please forgive me.”
“It’s okay, I wasn’t hurt.”
Ethan said so, but
Inwardly, he was quite surprised.
‘If the trait had activated even a little later, I would have died or been critically wounded.’
The girl’s movements were that concise, powerful, and swift.
When that thought occurred to him,
A normal person would have gotten goosebumps all over and shuddered, but
‘Amazing.’
Ethan’s way of thinking, with maximum composure, was different from others.
‘Even if the ability took effect while she was charging, if she hadn’t controlled her body instantly, I would have died. But this girl…’
As if equipped with a high-performance brake,
She stopped her body movement immediately.
Her innate physical ability was at least that of an Expert Knight.
Maybe even a genius who could easily aim for Grand Master?
For Ethan, whose goal was a comfortable 1001st round clear, the most suitable talent had appeared suddenly like a rare Pokémon in the wild.
It was only natural to be curious.
“What’s your name?”
“I, I’m…”
The girl hesitated for a moment.
‘Why is she trailing off just to say her name?’
Could it be that she has good physical abilities but is stupid?
If so, I should find her a job that doesn’t require much thinking, he thought, when
The girl opened her mouth.
“Levi. Please call me Levi.”
It was a name he had never heard before.
Her physical abilities were good, but is she a not-so-famous NPC?
“Okay, Levi. Call me Ethan. Can you tell me where this is?”
“It’s the Forest of Iliad, Ethan-nim.”
“The Forest of Iliad?”
Was there such a place name?
Ethan unfolded the map of Isilium stored in his head and examined each place name, but
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Ah, it’s also known by another name.”
“What is it?”
“The Forbidden Forest.”
The restricted area he had hoped it wouldn’t be.
There are several restricted areas in Isilium, and
Most of them aren’t a big problem if you match the appropriate level.
Except for this place, the Forbidden Forest.
Even max level, full-gear users die instantly in the Forbidden Forest without knowing why.
Despite the game being over 3 years old, no one knew the reason.
So users treated the Forbidden Forest as a non-existent area and didn’t pay attention to it.
‘If it’s no different from the game setting, this place is dangerous.’
So it would be better to get out as soon as possible.
“Do you know the way out of the forest?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Can you guide me?”
“Of course, just tell me what you need.”
He wanted to ask why she was in the forest,
And how she knew the way in and out,
But for now, getting out of the Forbidden Forest was the priority,
So he decided to hold his tongue.
Ethan followed Levi as they ran.

‘It’s the first time.’
A thought that could be misunderstood as something suggestive if spoken out loud.
Levi blushed while guiding Ethan.
‘It’s completely gone. My body and mind feel so light.’
The euphoria of regaining freedom,
Excited her because,
The ‘Curse of Subordination’ that the family elders had placed on her was broken.
For 14 years of her life, Levi had no free will.
She trained and studied solely for the family’s revival and was raised to be the best.
The family elders marveled at Levi’s talent, but
On the other hand, they were wary of insubordination,
So they placed a curse on her, making her a puppet.
-Can you really bind this child until the time comes with just a few curses?
-“Just a few”? The 23 intricately woven curses couldn’t be completely undone even by a dragon.
-Well, even if she’s the most outstanding child in the family’s history, her abilities haven’t fully awakened yet…
‘They said even a dragon couldn’t easily break the curse.’
But this person-

Levi stole a glance back at Ethan, who was breathing heavily.
‘With just one eye contact, he completely broke the curse on me.’
That alone was already amazing, but
Thinking back,
Ethan wasn’t afraid in front of Levi’s blade.
Until now, no one had reacted so calmly in front of Levi’s blade.
That made him even more mysterious and attractive.
Levi felt that Ethan resembled the protagonist she had once seen in a legend.
In the fairy tale, he defeated evil dragons with his bare hands, saved suffering people, and punished the wicked.
Although he turned his back on the world,
He left a message to his comrades that he would return someday.
The promised one who would drive away darkness and bring light.
‘Ah, so it was him.’
Levi finally became convinced.
Along with such misunderstanding,
As the trait ‘Charming Person’ cast on her took effect,
All the emotions Levi felt spread into loyalty and affection solely for Ethan.
‘I’ll help you by your side forever.’
For now, as he commanded,
She guided the way out of the forest.
Unaware that Ethan’s trait had removed the curse binding Levi in the process of resetting the priority of the subordinate target.

“Huff, huff.”
Levi’s stamina was beyond imagination, and
For Ethan, with his poor stamina stat, it was a difficult pace to keep up with.
But he ran for his life.
‘I need to get out quickly.’
He didn’t want to die mysteriously.
Fortunately, the two made it out safely.
“Ethan-nim, are you alright?”
“I’m, I’m fine, huff, gasp.”
As he plopped down in a suitable spot to catch his breath,
Somehow the unfolding scenery looked familiar.
An endless expanse of green prairie stretched out refreshingly, with a giant tree faintly visible beyond the horizon.
“Serdin Plains?”
“Yes, that’s right. From where we were earlier, heading west was the shortest route.”
Levi had already sat down quietly beside him.
“How do you know the geography of the Forbidden Forest so well?”
“Well, the forest is my hometown.”
“Hm?”
‘People lived in the forest?’
As far as he knew, there were no playable characters there.
A hidden village. An NPC village?
Could she know anything about the mysterious deaths that occurred in the Forbidden Forest?
Curious, Ethan muttered softly.
“Maybe I should have asked to be guided to the village instead.”
At that, Levi’s expression turned cold.
“That’s not possible.”
“…Why?”
“They don’t welcome outsiders. I don’t know what harm the villagers might do to you, Ethan-nim.”
Since it was Levi, full of goodwill due to the trait’s effect, saying this,
Ethan quickly understood.
“Then shall we head to Serdin for now?”
“Yes, Ethan-nim. I’ll guide you.”
“Oh? You’re coming along too, Levi?”
“…Have I become useless to you?”
Levi’s eyes turned red.
“No, no. I thought your family might worry if you suddenly come with me.”
“That’s not a problem.”
At that,
Levi’s expression, which looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, suddenly brightened.
“My parents passed away when I was young, and my grandfather is being cared for by the villagers together. I can send news with this.”
Saying so, what Levi took out was,
A mana messenger ball.
A convenient item that, when you write a letter and insert it into the translucent blue ball,
It flies to a pre-designated place to deliver it.
Ethan immediately understood as he had often used this item while playing Isilium.
“If you’re okay with it.”
‘I’m grateful.’
When talent volunteers to follow,
There’s no reason to refuse.
“I look forward to working with you, Ethan-nim!”
“I look forward to it too, Levi.”
By the time the two arrived in Serdin, the sun was setting,
And Ethan used his money to get an inn room.
Of course, separate rooms for him and Levi.
‘Let’s get a good night’s sleep.’
Because it’s going to be busy from tomorrow.
After all, to become a guardian, you need a lot of money first, right?
‘There are plenty of hidden pieces in Serdin too.’
Vast amounts of gold coins, skill books, equipment, and so on.
Ethan planned to secure those first.
He turned off the candle and lay down on the fluffy bed.
Meanwhile,
In Levi’s room, separated by just one wall,
-Swish.
Figures in pitch-black outfits holding sharp throwing knives rushed in and surrounded her.