MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

"Don't worry. I have a plan." Jack's voice comforted the panicked villagers as they stared at him in expectation. "He has one weakness that we can exploit." He chuckled lowly.

He did?! No matter how much they thought about it, they had no clue what it could be. Wolves were already powerful, but this one would also be extremely cunning, right?!

"Say, do you guys know what the wolves love eating the most around here?" Jack asked as if quizzing them. , not that he actually knew the answer.

"A-away from the village, there are areas with Wolf Berries. We don't go there because it's monster-infested!" one answered.

"There you have it: we'll use some to bait him. That's the only way." Jack confidently answered.

But they instantly frowned. There was an issue with that for sure: "Won't that attract all the wolves? Also, will he really fall for such an obvious trick?" They couldn't help but doubt such a simple-sounding plan.

Jack chuckled as he slowly walked toward the area the two of them had fought. Bending over, he carefully picked up the wine that the man had dropped as he had fled.

"We'll make it very, very attractive for him." He chuckled, winking at them.

That's when they gasped in realization. As far as they remembered, the old man had always been carrying this with him. Perhaps he was already having withdrawal symptoms at the moment! Could this really work? There was no certitude, but maybe?

Then again, there was always plan B: to use the old-fashioned way and spend a shitload of time hunting and cornering the creature.

"Alright, let's grab some of those berries. Who's with me?!" Jack shouted enthusiastically.

"Woo!" (Heroic!)

"…."

"…."

"…."

Besides his loyal companion, all the others shivered in uncomfortable silence.

"S-sir, our village's rules state that…."

"Do your village's rules allow wolf spies in your midst? Do your village's rules allow a wolf to become an elder? Do your village's rules say you should cower in fear while the wolves are most definitely planning a counterattack?! Tell me!"

The more he spoke and the most shocked yet ashamed they felt. Following the rules had left them completely blindsided. At that moment, he had already planted the seed of doubt in their hearts.

"Wolves are the true overlords of this realm. You guys are nothing but prey to them! Will you accept that? Do you really desire to be livestock?! Tell me!"

His words resonated with them as they began to clench their fist. Was that the life they wanted? No fucking way! But even then, they had to respect traditions. This was their way of life…

"How did it feel to slaughter the mighty wolves? How did it feel to stand up for humanity?! Fucking tell me! Now, who's coming with me to murder them all?!"

Jack decisively took a step forward toward the area in which he knew for a fact the NPC shouldn't be able to follow him... in theory. He could see their conflicted expressions as they were still hesitating.

"Woo!" (Excited!)

The little fellow happily followed. But a second later, it turned toward the villagers behind, giving them a disdainful glance. What the hell were they so unsure about?!

"Woo!" (Sneering)

But then it stopped caring about them. They could stay there for all it cared. As long as it worked with its master, they would figure something out anyway, as they always did.

"Screw this, I'm going along!" a youngster suddenly shouted.

"You can't. This isn't how we do things!" A middle-aged guy protested.

"Maybe it's not how YOU do things. I'm following even if I'm the only one! Shit, that tiny wolf has more balls than you!"

Afterward, it just became a cacophony of villagers shouting over one another. Some wanted to participate in the raid, others were adamant not to go, and some were decisively neutral.

It was a shitshow. But even as it happened, Jack kept walking forward. If he stopped, they would deliberate for ages, and he didn't want to spend the whole fucking day hearing villagers bickering.

But suddenly, it all came to a halt because of one man, the elder who had welcomed him initially. He began…laughing?! It was a mad laugh, one of relief from a man that had finally gotten rid of a dilemma that had been tormenting him.

He didn't say a word. He simply began walking, stepping into the forbidden area.

That single tiny step was both extraordinarily insignificant and yet a game-shattering phenomenon— with none the wiser. The NPC's body seemed to glitch for an infinitesimally short fraction of a second.

For the first time in Infinite, an NPC actively went against its core program. Not through being forced either, but of its own free will. Or perhaps should it be considered a bug at this point?

Witnessing this single step, the other NPCs showed astonishment, relief and finally copied the old man. All of them to the last followed, even the ones that were grumbling about it!

Jack didn't even bother to turn and just kept walking confidently. But hidden from them was an incredibly huge and sly grin blossoming on his face.

Fucking got them! Death squad acquired, hell yeah!

But just as he was inwardly celebrating:

[NPC Behavioral Issues Detected!]

[Error! Error! Analysis Required!]

[Diagnostic: 32 Errors Found!]

[Determining Root Cause!]

[Jack'O! ID: 66642069]

[Patching Errors!]

"Oh no, you fucking don't, you bitch-ass system! I convinced them fair and square! They're mine!" Jack cursed.

The NPC behind him could only gasp in dismay. What the hell was up with their new leader?! He had suddenly begun shouting at empty air.

"W-what is he doing?"

"Something about convincing?"

"What if he's talking to gods?!"

But he was way too incensed to care about their reaction. If the system decided to just factory reset them, it would be such a fucking pain! He had to plead his case before it could happen!

"Their nonsensical traditions bound them, but now they're free! Freaking let it go! There's no need to do anything to them! We're good here!" Jack vehemently screamed at the air.

That's when a villager sucked in a cold breath as he solemnly uttered:

"Breaking traditions brings forth divine punishment, right? Don't tell me he's fighting a god for our sake?!"

It was obviously a bullshit theory, but they were swayed by it as they began looking at Jack in incredible awe and with gratefulness.

That's when the system went silent, with no more messages appearing. Jack froze, awaiting anxiously. Was it all over? Did he still have his OP army? Every passing second was as weighty as a pack of unicorns.

But then it suddenly came back:

[Fixed 31 Errors! One Remaining!]

[Source: Player Jack'O!]

[Stand By, Terminating!]

"Oy!? What the fuck?! Terminating?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Oy, what are you terminating?! The player or the Error? Freaking answer me!!!" Jack shouted.

What kind of BS was this?! All he had done was convince a few NPCs! Did that deserve such an extreme punishment? No fucking way?!

Would the Infinite he knew make such a dumb and unfair judgment? No…but what about Infinite at launch. What if this was a one in a billion bug? What would happen to his account?!

[Successfully Terminated Error!]

[Thank You For Your Patience!]

[^_^V]

That was it? What had it even done?! But just as he was wondering, a new window popped up. As he saw it, he couldn't help but laugh like a madman. Hell fucking yes!

[Acquired Leadership Stat!]

Holy shit…

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[A/N] Hype! PRIV Mass Release Time! 🔥

Day 2: Spooky Scary Skeleton Tier (1/4) ☠🎺