Damned System

Chapter 103. Tomb Raider (3)

‘Why, why is that happening…?’

Yang Taeho watched the scene with a bewildered expression.

But that wasn’t the end of the surprises.

“Kaayak!”

“Keek!”

Suddenly, sharp winds started to blow from somewhere, and the monsters around began to scream as they were torn apart.

Yang Taeho, who was standing dazed like someone in a trance, suddenly shuddered.

He noticed a figure standing tall among the fallen monsters.

A white male with curly brown hair.

Around him, an unusually large number of monster corpses were piled up.

Only then did he realize what had happened.

Apparently, that player had intervened to save him.

Finally assured of his safety, Yang Taeho’s legs gave out and he plopped down onto the ground.

“Whew.”

In his heart, he wanted to collapse and savor the relief of surviving.

But instead of relaxing, Yang Taeho immediately began drinking potions.

It was to replenish his depleted mana.

It was a habit he had picked up while wandering through polluted areas.

Mana management was an essential task that players should never neglect.

Although today’s urgent situation had caused him to miss the timing, usually he would drink a potion before his mana was completely drained to speed up recovery.

Moreover, wasn’t he in an unfamiliar situation with a stranger?

While it seemed that the player had aided him, he couldn’t just relax without caution.

‘Being prepared just in case isn’t a bad thing.’

Yang Taeho downed about three potions before the unfamiliar player began moving toward the corpse of the mutated monster.

That’s when Yang Taeho shivered again.

Because he saw something protruding from the forehead of the mutated monster.

‘What’s that?’

A black, pointed object.

As Yang Taeho tried to closely examine the mysterious item, the man with brown hair reached out his hand.

Black blood unique to monsters spurted out, and Yang Taeho’s eyes widened slightly.

He thought he knew what the man had extracted.

‘A spear?’

Unlike a regular spear, its length was about 1 meter, making it more of a short spear.

Few players used spears, let alone short spears.

Whether the man noticed Yang Taeho’s gaze affixed on him or not, he briskly flicked the blood from the spear and secured it on his back.

Only then did Yang Taeho notice the man’s gear.

“Wame…”

The man didn’t just have one short spear.

From his right shoulder to his left waist, he had a total of three spears mounted along a diagonal line.

Covering his broad back entirely with spears wasn’t enough, as he also clutched a long spear in his hand.

And that wasn’t all.

The man’s thighs bore daggers, at his sides were leather pouches, and a small knife was tucked into a leather strap on his right forearm.

Most surprisingly, he wore fully-equipped armor.

‘Isn’t that a Jeber set?’

Not only did it include shoulder pads shaped like roaring beasts, but it also had a breastplate and protective gear covering his limbs and other body parts.

The man possessed all five pieces of armor from the Jeber Reconnaissance set.

Since Yang Taeho, a tank himself, was familiar with the armor sold at the shop, he was utterly amazed.

‘How much does all that cost?’

To assemble the entire Jeber armor set would substantially exceed 50,000 mana.

At present, even Taeho, who prided himself as a tank, possessed only a breastplate and a shield.

There were too many expenses for magic and potions to invest solely in armor.

Thus, he compensated by relying on the natural defensive strength of his hardened body.

But this man had acquired the full Jeber set.

In addition, he wore a detachable mana accumulation tool which belonged to the set.

‘Gosh, a yellow one is 5-star, isn’t it?’

Mana accumulation tools are rated in rainbow colors, with a total of seven grades.

Since the highest grade is red at 7-star, yellow indeed is 5-star.

The sheer level of gear was so staggering that it left one speechless.

While analyzing the man’s gear, Yang Taeho suddenly realized something.

‘Is he alone?’

Though he scanned around, there was no player fitting the description of the man’s companions.

With the recent trend of solo players increasing, playing in relatively safer 1-star polluted areas, it wasn’t strange but…

‘There shouldn’t be any 1-stars around here.’

To reach a 1-star polluted area near Viceta, one must utilize the 2nd or 3rd advance base.

The remaining advance bases only had 2-star polluted areas.

Ultimately, this meant that the man had entered a 2-star polluted area alone.

‘He must be highly confident in his skills.’

While observing the man, Yang Taeho’s eyes widened again.

“Huk.”

The dazzling gear had distracted him from noticing a certain symbol.

‘Isn’t that from that one place? What was it called, Pale-whatsit?’

Trying to recall it didn’t help; Yang Taeho couldn’t remember the name of any other order besides Temoria, which he had joined.

‘The name doesn’t matter.’

Knowing what that symbol signifies is enough.

In Bihar, players could choose from a total of 7 orders.

There were 7 types of symbols that appeared above players’ heads.

However, two symbols were particularly elusive.

‘I think their doctrines were Kindness and Charity.’

Though he couldn’t remember their names, players who joined these two orders were rare.

So rare that it was Yang Taeho’s first time actually seeing those two symbols.

That meant the number of players in those two orders was very low.

Moreover, the order of Kindness hadn’t had a single player pass their entrance exam.

There were occasional sightings and community activities from the order of Charity, but…

‘Their numbers aren’t high.’

Community speculation guessed there were roughly a few hundred members.

This was negligible compared to the other five orders.

For instance, the Temoria order, which Yang Taeho belonged to, had over 10,000 entrants.

Orders known for easy entrance exams, like Finelpenia or Agnotia, had far exceeded 20,000 members.

Now, expecting any increase in members was practically impossible.

Most players had surpassed the 10,000 mana threshold and chosen their affiliations.

This meant that unless the third generation of players was recruited, a significant change in numbers was unlikely.

Consequently, the odds of encountering a player from that order weren’t high.

So, it was only natural to be surprised.

‘There’s actually someone from that order?’

It was somewhat overwhelming to watch the man.

Though only a few minutes had passed since he appeared, Yang Taeho lost count of how many times he’d been astonished.

As the situation didn’t feel real, he sat there blankly, and just then, the man turned to face him.

Startled, Yang Taeho leaped to his feet.

Then he briskly approached the unfamiliar player and spoke.

“Thank you kindly, truly. I thought I’d be a goner.”

The man glanced him over before giving a light nod.

He then spoke in a relaxed manner, as if out for a stroll.

“Are you going to keep hunting here?”

“Huh?”

Yang Taeho was startled once more.

The white man’s mouth movements perfectly matched the Korean words.

It meant he was speaking Korean.

‘Wow, the pronunciation is really good.’

Was he mixed-race? Had he lived in Korea for a long time?

Yang Taeho’s head filled with questions.

‘Maybe it’s because the two 2-star polluted areas overlap inside.’

Regardless, the man continued speaking in a calm tone.

“There are quite a lot of field mobs here. About three times more than a regular place.”

At the number mentioned by the man, Yang Taeho shuddered.

“And there are just as many evolved species. I’ve seen around twenty, at a minimum.”

Despite that, the man continued unfazed.

“It seems dangerous to go alone. How about heading back?”

Even before Yang Taeho could respond, the man raised his spear.

“That way.”

He pointed to the direction of the southeast, around four o’clock.

“I cleared a path through there, so it should be safe for a while.”

As the man finished speaking, Yang Taeho unconsciously gulped.

‘At least twenty more?’

So far, he had encountered three evolved species with the Phoenix Party, and the one that just died made it four.

Even subtracting those, there were twenty more.

He’d never seen a polluted area with so many evolved species.

‘It’s quite dangerous here.’

Thanks to the man’s information, he didn’t need to ponder for long.

It wasn’t possible to continue hunting alone here.

Given that someone had already cleared the path of monsters, it wouldn’t be too dangerous to head back alone.

If he hurried, he could reach the forward base before more monsters gathered.

‘Let’s not be greedy and head back.’

Having experienced one peril, the decision to leave became much easier.

Moreover, he had to return safely if he wanted to confront the Phoenix Party about abandoning him and claim his promised share.

Having decided to return, Yang Taeho extended his hand.

“Thank you again for the advice and for saving me.”

The man hesitated momentarily but then shook Yang Taeho’s hand.

“Take care on your way.”

His farewell was as straightforward and dry as it could get.

With that, Yang Taeho turned towards the direction the man indicated.

Yet, after merely a few steps, he paused again.

He looked back at the man and said.

“Do you perhaps need potions? It’s not much, but I could spare some.”

“I’m good, thanks. I have plenty.”

“Happily so; take care then.”

“Yes.”

Why did he stop again after only three or four steps this time?

‘Why am I worried?’

In a situation where it was troublesome enough just to protect himself, worrying about others seemed foolish.

Even the Phoenix Party had abandoned Yang Taeho to save themselves.

If the roles were reversed, would he have chosen differently over the Phoenix Party?

To survive this harsh game, one had to be ruthless.

Despite knowing that, his heart and mind were in conflict.

It made it hard for him to leave easily, and he kept glancing back several times.

‘He’s alone after all.’

He must have confidence, having entered this dangerous place alone.

Still, it felt reluctant to leave the man by himself.

‘I think he used wind attributes earlier.’

While the wind element balanced defense and offense well, it was often considered lacking in power.

Earth was better for defense and fire for offense.

‘If the benefactor who saved my life were to die, it’d haunt my dreams…’

Yet stepping forward to help felt imprudent since he had nearly died just now.

What if he stayed out of some misplaced sympathy and faced danger again?

He’d surely regret not leaving immediately.

It was right to be selfish and leave, but this wretched game still hadn’t eroded his sense of loyalty, which held him back.

He thought about speaking up but hesitated when suddenly…

“It’d be wise to leave before it gets too late.”

“Huh?”

The man, who had been quietly observing Yang Taeho, spoke first.

Suddenly, thud, thud, thud-!

The ground began to shake. It was one of the most common signs indicating the approach of an evolved species.

Amid the abrupt situation, Yang Taeho caught the steady, almost monotonous voice.

“I’m in the midst of a mob hunt.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the horrific cries of monsters erupted from all directions.

Damned System