Damned System

Chapter 79. Laying the Foundation (4)

“Should I call you ‘Yokai’?”

Codenamed Yokai, real name An Kijun, was a player who belonged to Yang Hyewon’s party.

“Ah, yes…”

“Nice to meet you. I’m K.”

“Ni-nice to meet you.”

Today was the day Kim Yul and Yokai were set to go hunting together.

“But what’s with that carriage? Where did you get it?”

“Someone I know lent it to me.”

“… You have someone you know here? Just a day after the server connection? How is that possible?”

“If you’re good at it.”

“Huh?”

While Kim Yul engaged in trivial chitchat, An Kijun appeared slightly uncomfortable, glancing nervously in my direction to gauge my reaction.

I had no intention of prolonging this awkward situation unnecessarily.

Hence, I decided to intervene and cut off Kim Yul’s chatter.

“No need to wait any longer, right?”

“Yeah, we’re relying on you, hyung. You know that if we die, it’s all your fault, right?”

Though it may have sounded like he was shifting the responsibility to me, his intent was slightly different.

Despite his smiling face, Kim Yul was subtly expressing his nervousness.

After all, there were only three of us heading into the mission area.

‘Then again, their side has quite a few members.’

Including those who didn’t join the intelligence agency, the party members numbered seven.

And that was around the time when Namkyu joined; their numbers might have increased since.

Having always operated in a larger group, moving in such a small team must have been concerning.

But the advantages of this small group were significant.

“Soon, instead of blaming me, you’ll be thanking me profusely.”

“Men who are all talk aren’t very attractive, you know.”

I quickly caught on to the meaning behind those squinted eyes and sidelong glance.

I shook my head and handed him a potion from my inventory.

Thanks to the large purchase I made previously, the quantity was ample.

“Is this enough for you?”

“You’re the best, hyung.”

“Enough with the nonsense, let’s get going. Yokai, please take one too.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Lingering here would only make us a spectacle.

‘Already attracting attention.’

It was natural since there were three people with peculiar attire gathered, each with something peculiar attached to their heads.

Among those watching were several players like us.

I heard whispers and felt eyes scanning us as if searching for something.

“A group of three?”

“They’ll probably meet up at the forward base.”

“What’s with the guy in the middle? He doesn’t even have a sword…”

To avoid the unwanted attention, I led Kim Yul and An Kijun directly to the castle gate.

Those who had been whispering and glancing at us moved aside.

When we reached the gate, the guard standing there stepped aside, creating a path for us.

“If you follow the right staircase, you’ll find the teleportation magic circle.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The guard’s attitude towards us was quite natural.

He didn’t seem particularly surprised.

Come to think of it, it was expected.

‘A day has already passed since the servers were connected.’

Quick movers probably already headed to the hunting grounds.

According to the reviews posted in the community, outlander access to forward bases 1, 4, and 5 was open.

‘The other five forward bases are still closed.’

They were likely located near perilous corrupted areas.

At that moment, only areas equivalent to level 3 and 4 were accessible.

And quite a few players already hunted there and shared their reviews.

“Five teams left before you arrived, hyung. All had seven or more members, one even had a full team of ten.”

“They’re diligent.”

Those with initiative were moving promptly.

‘I can’t let myself fall behind.’

I quickened my pace, though, of course, that didn’t physically speed up their travel.

“Do we have to climb up here every time? Is there no other way? At least install some safety rails!”

“Don’t pull, Kim Yul, hey! Don’t pull on me!”

The path we had to climb was part of a cliff, unfortunately.

Because of that, Kim Yul and An Kijun were inching along, almost crawling.

I shook my head at the fuss they were making.

“Can you hurry up? Are you planning to live there forever?”

“Isn’t it scary for you, hyung? One slip and you could fall!”

Instead of talking about falling, wouldn’t it be better to be cautious and not fall?

“If you’re really keen on falling, I can push—”

Apparently, that wasn’t the case since Kim Yul, clinging to An Kijun, vigorously shook his head.

“Then be quiet and hurry up.”

“Yes.”

For some reason, as soon as Kim Yul clammed up, climbing the stairs seemed a bit easier.

It didn’t take long to scale the cliff, which was likely several meters high.

It was the same spot Rashar’s party and I had arrived at a few days ago.

Instead of examining the strange drawing on the ground, I first looked over the abyss beyond the cliff.

The clear river and the endlessly stretching plains beyond the horizon still exhibited an overwhelming presence today.

The view from atop the cliff was beautifully breathtaking.

‘We’ll be seeing it often now.’

With that thought, I felt slightly cheerful.

After savoring the panoramic scenery that filled my vision, I turned my focus back to my surroundings.

The peculiar runes covering every inch of the surrounding ground formed a drawing.

It was a magic circle used by the Resistance to travel to and from forward bases.

Around the large magic circle, prepared for a large force, smaller ones clustered around for use by smaller groups.

Activating all those circles could supposedly allow simultaneous transport of up to 2,000 people.

I confirmed this while waiting for Rashar yesterday by inquiring with Chandler, so it should be accurate.

Beside the teleportation circle stood a lone building.

‘It must be over there.’

When I visited last time, I was so entranced by the view beyond the cliff that I hadn’t noticed there was such a place nearby.

After ensuring Kim Yul and An Kijun had also climbed up, I stepped forward first.

“Excuse me.”

There were three people present.

I addressed the mages wearing shackles on their necks, wrists, and ankles, much like Ahel.

“Is the teleportation circle available for use?”

Their gaze landed on the top of my head before falling away.

“… Which forward base will you head to?”

The term ‘forward base’ referred to regions adjacent to corrupted areas, dangerous zones where purification activities were actively conducted.

“We wish to head to Base 1, the Lamolt Mountains.”

According to reviews posted in the community, the average mana of creatures there ranged in the low 40s.

In contrast, creatures in the other two locations had mana levels in the 20s or 30s.

“Please wait a moment.”

Nodding at my request, the mage began preparations, while Kim Yul and An Kijun, who had arrived by then, murmured among themselves.

“Now it really feels like a game. Earlier, that was like the beginner’s village, right?”

“Something like that.”

While we chatted, the mage announced the completion of their preparation and called us over.

As we stepped onto the drawing, a bright light filled our vision, much like when Ahel activated space magic.

When the light subsided and our sight returned…

“We are entering a corrupted area.”

We had arrived at the forward base, surrounded by high palisades.

The two next to me, experiencing a teleportation spell for the first time, fell back onto the ground with a thud.

But they were too absorbed with their surroundings to care about having fallen.

“Oh, it looks quite authentic, doesn’t it?”

“It’s like a scene from a movie, kind of cool.”

While Kim Yul and An Kijun expressed their amazement, I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the message window.

Unlike them, I was receiving continuous messages.

「Capitalism Trait is detected.」

「Information on the promised recommendation missions for the support target is provided. The map function is activated.」

「The map function is synthesized with Mana Detection. Automatic detection commences.」

Once all the messages concluded, a new, unfamiliar window appeared.

Dots, indicating recommended missions, were scattered in various locations around the corrupted area on the map.

Centered on me, within a radius of approximately 400 meters, red and blue points along with different specks moved unpredictably.

This was unmistakably…

‘A radar.’

Unintentionally, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.

* * *

Many things had changed since the server was connected.

In Kim Yul’s experience, the most significant change was the mission process.

‘Before, they’d just drop us straight in the mission zone.’

Now, players safely traveled to the forward base from the main camp before entering the corrupted area.

Despite the extra steps, the consensus on the community was positive.

The benefits accumulated from these additional steps were vastly apparent.

‘We can withdraw mid-hunt.’

If injuries were severe or the risk appeared too great, one could retreat instead of fighting to the bitter end.

Mission completion wasn’t an obligation any longer.

‘Fewer people will die now.’

When Kim Yul first read the news in the community, he was quite pleased.

Though it held little current significance for him.

“Why complain over such trivial matters? Just push through without resting.”

Ever since the early days of the game, K showed a different level of resilience.

‘There were hints when he was teaching mana manipulation, but make no mistake…’

He underestimated the extent.

Once we entered the corrupted area, K hadn’t stopped for a moment.

He relentlessly killed, killed, and killed monsters the size of pigs bearing rhino-like horns.

With every swing of K’s sword, a creature’s head would drop, or its body would be bisected.

Initially, the pace of his hunt left Kim Yul awestruck, trailing in awe.

Kim Yul’s hunts usually involved two or three people pinning down a creature while others would deliver the finishing blow.

This was why K’s style of slaying a monster with each swing appeared daunting.

Yet after an hour of repetition, the tasks ceased to thrill or impress.

The sole thought consuming him was that keeping up was hard.

“Will you keep slacking off? Catch up.”

“I… I can’t, I just can’t anymore!”

Finally, Kim Yul collapsed to the ground, raising his voice in exhaustion.

The repeated hunting escalated his chaos points, gnawing away at his patience and self-control faster than usual.

With Kim Yul’s surrender, An Kijun, dragging himself along, too inhaled slowly before lowering his weapon.

“This is ridiculous! This is sheer abuse!”

The grievances accumulated throughout the relentless hunt were about to spill when…

“I said I’d hunt with you, not drag you through hell…”

“Shut your mouth.”

K’s eyes turned cold as he pointed his longsword at Kim Yul’s throat.

“Are you out here for fun?”

The somber tone added weight to his words.

“Do you think you can use a revival item to come back to life if you die? Is that why you’re yelling in an area swarming with monsters?”

K’s eyes glimmered with a fleeting blue hue while staring down at him.

Faced with that piercing gaze, the complaints he thought he could voice vanished.

“N-no, it’s just that your pace is too fast…”

“Then go back.”

“…….”

“If you don’t intend to leave, stand up immediately.”

Faced with the icy warning, An Kijun retrieved his weapon.

Though expressing slight dissatisfaction, Kim Yul eventually rose to his feet.

Seeing this, K sighed deeply in frustration.

“Given how much you’re complaining, I can guess the type of hunting you’ve been doing, but honestly, this pace isn’t even strenuous.”

“…….”

“The proof is you still have the strength to run your mouth.”

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, K tilted his head as he continued.

“I don’t roll like that. If I hunted leisurely like your party did, I wouldn’t have accumulated this much mana on my own.”

“…….”

“Today’s target is over 3,000 mana per person, equivalent to running two level-3 zones. If you don’t like my pace, go back. I’m not going to beg you to stay.”

After the repeated warnings and lectures, Kim Yul murmured apologetically.

“… Sorry, I was complaining too much.”

Having glared down at the relatively short Kim Yul, K turned now to An Kijun.

“Yokai, if this is too much for you, I advise you to leave. Though I owe you, helping accumulate mana, I’m not in the habit of coddling unwilling parties.”

Upon An Kijun’s reply, Kim Yul bit the inside of his cheek.

Damn System