As a Reincarnated NPC, I Want to Live a Peaceful Life - Chapter 16

Running through the alleyways at night, the place felt even darker than during the day. Every now and then, someone would cough by the roadside, or I’d come across a couple “battling” it out.

I sprinted forward, following the route I remembered toward Central Avenue. Although the alchemy shop wasn’t on that street, wouldn’t having a sense of direction help me find it quickly? And regardless of the outcome, once I was close enough, I could always use [Image · Teleport] to jump to a familiar spot—provided I had enough stamina to use it. I licked my lips, gathered my focus, and quickly turned out of the alley according to my memory.

After glancing around, I spotted that dreaded maid cafe not far away and let out a sigh of relief—this was Central Avenue. Even at night, it was still dazzlingly luxurious. The magical lamps along the street provided ample lighting, making the ornate glass windows reflect faint, colorful glows.

My stomach growled—I was even hungrier now. No other choice, I pulled out the remaining fruits from my pocket—the ones Alec had given me this morning, so they were still fresh. I’d meant to save them for later but completely forgot. One by one, I tossed them into my bottomless pit of a mouth and chewed. The sweet juice instantly flooded my mouth… I watched my satiety level rise quickly, just like this morning, stopping at 80% instead of filling up completely.

Seriously, simulating reality? Eating fruit usually doesn’t make you full—except for elves, but there are no elves in real life… Thanks a lot, game developers. Really appreciate you making such a “great” game for everyone.

After taking a breather, I hurried forward again—though not too fast, just at the maximum speed a 13-year-old could manage. After all, there was no guarantee I wasn’t being watched. Or maybe I was just being overly paranoid, always feeling like someone had their eyes on me.

That sensation of multiple gazes fixating on you makes your skin crawl. It ties your tongue, makes your legs shake, and your heart race. I’ve experienced it before… cough Why am I rambling so much to myself?

All the buildings looked eerie, and the occasional Gothic structure made me jump. I didn’t know if it was instinct or some curse from being reborn, but my courage had become really weird—I wasn’t scared at all when killing or fighting, didn’t make a sound even when near death, yet a sudden shout or strange building could startle me. How ridiculous—even corpses don’t frighten me. How is this possible…

I stopped and quickly hid in the shadows by the roadside because I heard the clanking of iron boots. A squad of guards was approaching from the left front corner of the street. I peeked out slightly and saw the full group—no fewer than twenty infantry, along with cavalry and archers. I didn’t see many mages, probably because advancing as a mage was difficult, so they’d switched to warrior weapons.

They were heading right, which if I remembered correctly was the South Gate. What were they doing there? A routine patrol? But this looked more like they were preparing for battle.

Watching them gradually move away, I brushed off my hands and stepped out of the shadows, continuing toward the center of Central Avenue. There should be signposts or notices there, and maybe Alec would even come looking for me.

Just as I was about to keep moving, I heard threatening animal sounds above me—more specifically, something like a growl from a wolf or large dog. Unfazed, I looked up: it was a wolf, a magical wolf with purple glowing eyes. Now that I thought about it, tonight was a full moon. Could dark magic be at work or something?

The magical wolf snarled a few times and then lunged at me. In this situation, at this speed, an ordinary little girl would probably freeze on the spot and have her throat torn out. Even if she tried to run, she’d be caught quickly—but I was no ordinary person.

I took a step back, making the wolf crash to the ground. It circled me, looking for an opening to attack. Then I stretched out my hand, using force grip to seize its body and lift it sharply upward. The wolf floated mid-air, its sharp claws flailing uselessly, looking as ridiculous as a dog trying to swim.

Luckily, it wasn’t a Breed Beast. If it had been under a Breed Beast’s protection, I probably wouldn’t be standing here so calmly—I’d be covered in blood, fighting for my life.

If I wasn’t mistaken, this magical wolf was the same kind I’d seen three months ago in the Sparkling Woods. They were naturally gentle, their claws shouldn’t be this long, and they wouldn’t actively attack humans. Its eyes glowed purple—purple usually symbolized dark magic. While forbidden curses couldn’t be ruled out, could the full moon be driving them into a bloodthirsty frenzy?

Whimper… whimper… The wolf made pleading sounds like a dog. I wasn’t about to let it go—I couldn’t allow it to harm others.

I clenched my fist, and the wolf’s body compressed accordingly, emitting painful cries. In about two or three seconds, it would be crushed into a corpse.

Grrr! Woof!! Another wolf sound came from behind. My eyes widened, and I quickly dodged left. In an instant, a larger, fiercer-looking magical wolf appeared where I’d just been. Its jaws were massive—one wrong move, and I could be torn apart.

With my focus broken, the wolf I’d lifted fell to the ground and stood alongside the larger one. I suddenly noticed a familiar mark on the bigger wolf—Breed Beast protection… What a pain. So they attack in packs? No wonder those player guards were mobilized—they were here to clear you out.

I stood facing them, unsure if they were plotting something or if the wolves sensed my strength. The larger wolf didn’t rush to attack but instead circled me, just like the smaller one had.

I mirrored them, keeping my distance.

If they were non-Breed Beasts of the same level, I’d have taken care of them by now. But Breed Beast protection always made things complicated. Even the true heroes who defeated the Demon King would need considerable time to handle them, let alone me.

Soon, battle cries echoed from the South Gate. It seemed the fighting had spread there too.

I refocused on the larger wolf, my hands unconsciously clenching. If—if I could unleash all my power—but no, that would turn this entire district into a sea of flames. I couldn’t do that.

Use time stop and run for it. That was actually the best solution. Killing two magical creatures wouldn’t bring me much benefit anyway. Escaping would save time.

I took a step back, and the wolf advanced a meter. This repeated until my back was against the wall… It wasn’t that I didn’t want to use time stop—I never felt any discomfort using it. I was worried this wolf was being controlled by someone, and that person might be nearby, watching me.

If my time-stop ability were exposed, I’d be socially ruined. There’d be no peaceful life for me after that.

The larger wolf, seeing I wasn’t reacting, was about to pounce but stopped. After a moment, it slowly opened its drooling, bloody maw as if preparing to do something—whoosh! I dropped to the ground, waiting quietly for the falling debris to settle. It seemed to have condensed air and shot it toward me like an airburst spell—similar to an air bullet.

Thanks to my quick dodge, I avoided being turned into a bloody mess. Instead, the wall behind me was left riddled with countless cracks, on the verge of collapse. The building was empty—I’d already checked.

I stood up, calmly brushing the dust off myself. When my nerves were this taut, almost no one could land a hit on me—especially not a loud, clumsy magical beast like you.

Growl… whimper… The larger wolf snarled, seemingly furious, and charged at me along with the smaller wolf—

I was about to engage when an unknown mist drifted between me and the wolves, instantly obscuring my vision. Activating [Soul Vision], I saw the wolves’ souls fade until they lost all color—meaning they’d died.

Impossible. That larger wolf, with Breed Beast protection, should’ve taken at least half ten minutes to defeat… Was it because of this mist? It didn’t affect me. It felt similar to the pervert Lawston’s poisonous incense but not quite the same.

Mana flowed through the air. This mist was either a product of alchemical reagents or the effect of a spell. Either way, it was useless against me. Since the mist included me in its range, the caster probably intended to kill me too.

As the mist dispersed, I saw it—under an extinguished magical streetlight, a figure stood there. Silhouette suggested it was a woman… She didn’t move much before vanishing into the shadows.

Too far to tell if she was a player or an NPC.

I crouched by the wolves’ bodies and found no wounds. They’d just bled from their orifices, limbs stiff—apparently, they’d inhaled some lethal toxin, yet their skin showed no decay… How strange.

Even though they were corpses, I felt no instinctual fear. My courage was really weird.

“Ouch! My hand… When did this happen?” A sharp pain shot through my left elbow. I reached over and found my entire arm pierced through, crimson blood continuously flowing out, staining my dark blue sweater.

My eyes widened. I thought someone had sneak-attacked me, but there was no one else around, no triggered traps. Activating [Soul Vision], I found no signs of anyone else.

“Was it an illusion? Well, whatever the injury, it should heal after a while. Otherwise, my arm would be useless.”

Thank you, game developers, for giving me this innate trait… hiss, that hurts.

…..

Innate Traits: 【High Vigor】 【Forced Recall】 【KRYY’s Blood】 【Recovery】

……

Clutching my pierced elbow, I kept walking. The pain was distracting but not unbearable. Compared to mental attacks, this was minor.

The sound of footsteps on rubble came from above—likely Noelle and Yumi, escaping. Taking advantage of the mansion’s chaos and the gap I’d created, they’d gotten away smoothly.

This might really be the last time we meet. Assassins like them wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. Coming back here would be suicide. With this experience, those arrogant assassins would hopefully learn a lesson.

“Shiling, oh, there you are.”

A familiar voice called out, grabbing my attention. It was the old yet energetic Alec, leaning on his cane, his face still wearing a kind smile.

“Grandpa Alec! I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.” I’d thought Alec might call the guards to find me or just not bother.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I kept seeing black energy swirling around Alec. Well, Alec was a dark elf—it made sense for him to have some connection to dark magic.

But the closer I got to Alec, the heavier the oppressive feeling became. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was strange and confusing. Normally, Alec wouldn’t use magic without reason, especially not potentially harmful spells on me.

“Shiling, let’s go. It’s dangerous here.”

He clearly knew that, yet he did it anyway—I gritted my teeth and used [Soul Vision] again… Sure enough, that “Alec” had no soul reaction. Alec’s soul was supposed to be incomplete and pure white.

“Alec” seemed to notice I’d used magic. Despite my hostile stance, he kept approaching me.

The real Alec wouldn’t be this careless.

Without hesitation, I picked up a decent-sized stone from the ground, enchanted it, and hurled it at “Alec.”

The stone, glowing with brilliant blue light and empowered by my strength, became lethal—boom! It hit “Alec” square in the face, shattering it.

Turns out, it was just a stone golem. A good imitation, but useless. Without a living soul, you can’t hide your true nature. After being hit, it didn’t fall or tremble in pain—just mechanically turned toward me and tried to raise its cane to cast some filthy spell.

Ugh, don’t monsters ever know when to give up?

I couldn’t worry about whether someone was watching me anymore. Since they’d targeted someone close to me, they probably knew my capabilities. As long as I didn’t reveal too much, showing a little power should make them back off.

Just as I was about to attack again—

【Hidden darkness veiled by light, crimson lotus entwined in the night sky, flawless karmic fire, I entrust my scarlet soul to you—unleash your power of destruction!】

A series of “meaningful” lines echoed from somewhere until I locked onto a girl across the street corner. She was surrounded by a hurricane of black-red energy, a strange magic circle floating before her.

【Behold, this world-ending flame! Explosion!】

Then, I calmly watched as a massive fireball condensed from the magic circle and shot straight toward “Alec”…

Whoosh! The flames burst the moment they touched “Alec,” forming a cross-shaped explosion that turned the entire street into a sea of fire…

Fortunately, no one was hurt. I remained calm—so calm that I just stared blankly at the immense power displayed before me, with no thought of escape.

Indeed, humanity has no limits.

…