Damned System

Chapter 104. Tomb Raider (4)

It felt like being struck by a sound without form.

What did that even mean?

This wasn’t a mere sound emitted by a dozen or so monsters, or even several dozen.

‘This, this might be at least a hundred, right?’

A monstrous swarm of unimaginable size was approaching.

Perhaps it was thanks to past experiences, but that overwhelming scene vividly came to mind.

In the wake of the sudden situation, Yang Taeho’s pale mind raced even faster.

An array of thoughts tangled in his head in that fleeting moment.

Was it right to leave that man here alone?

‘No matter how strong he is.’

Was it really possible to face that many monsters alone?

‘Should I help?’

Of course, Yang Taeho had no obligation to assist the man.

Hadn’t the man himself told him to leave quickly?

Given they had said something about a hunting drive, it was likely that the man had brought this situation upon himself.

Therefore, he should just think about his own safety and leave without feeling any unnecessary guilt.

His head was clear on this, yet his feet remained hesitant, unable to move away.

“Hmph.”

Could the man have read through the hesitation that lingered in Yang Taeho’s heart?

The man, who had been watching the direction the ground was vibrating, turned to look at Yang Taeho.

“Why?”

And then, with a light chuckle, he said,

“Are you planning to help?”

His expression, voice, gestures, and even his posture were all utterly composed.

This was in stark contrast to the dark shadows starting to appear over his shoulder.

Monsters, charging at them with a ferocity that could swallow them whole, yet the man stood there so calmly, as if he were out for a leisurely stroll.

Had Yang Taeho become infected by this unbelievable gap?

Despite the urgency of the situation, his heart calmed.

So he could ask as he turned his foot’s direction,

“Do you really need help?”

Yang Taeho’s body, which was almost directed towards the southeast as though he would flee any moment, had turned towards the man.

As if ready to help anytime.

“Not really.”

Yet, the man shook his head without hesitation at Yang Taeho’s question.

He even turned straight towards the monsters once again.

It was as if he was drawing a line, indicating that he truly didn’t require others’ assistance.

This left Yang Taeho slightly deflated. He wondered if stepping up was unnecessary.

Forcing help on someone who said they didn’t need it would only be a selfish act of self-satisfaction.

Yang Taeho decided to leave without further regrets.

“Well…”

But then a curious, slightly humorous comment held him back.

“If you do help, it might end early.”

Yang Taeho immediately grasped his shield as if he had been waiting for those words.

“Whew.”

What a strange situation.

Surely a multitude of monsters was pouring in behind the man.

While there might be tension, he didn’t sense a real crisis.

It was as if he was unfolding a story whose ending he already knew.

While Yang Taeho was trying to understand this peculiar situation.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The man readied his spear and gestured towards the monsters.

There was no need to ask what he meant.

The man tilted his chin towards the roughly advancing monsters as if telling them to come and try.

‘Does he plan to evaluate me?’

His demeanor was not just arrogant; it was downright condescending.

Thinking that this young lad, whom he had never seen before, was evaluating him slightly bruised his pride.

But strangely, Yang Taeho also thought this could be an opportunity without being aware of it.

It might be more of an instinct than a thought.

Well, by now, the reason didn’t matter much.

‘It’s hard to withdraw now anyway.’

Fortunately, his mana had replenished enough to implement a defensive magic thanks to hastily doping with potions.

Clicking his tongue, Yang Taeho moved forward.

Standing to face the monsters past the man, he immediately squeezed his attribute mana.

“Hup!”

The magic requiring mana of the rock element, Wall Building.

The bronze rank buff of Players from the Order of Temoria allowed them to learn one magic for free at the store.

“I learned this magic as soon as I got the attribute!”

Following the blueprint etched in his mind, he arranged the mana, causing rocks to start protruding around where Yang Taeho stood.

“Since there are many monsters, I should spread it wide!”

While covering a wide area, it was meticulously packed to leave no gaps between the rocks.

Hoping that it would neither collapse nor get pushed in the upcoming clash.

‘You need to know how to do all three to call yourself a tank, right?’

Grinding his teeth, Yang Taeho used up every last bit of remaining mana to cast the magic.

Rocks several meters in diameter extended on both sides like the wings of a bird.

It resembled a scaled-down, enormous wall.

Though the shape and size weren’t uniform, the rock was several meters thick.

Monsters charging headlong failed to penetrate the rock wall and collided directly.

Following this, even the large-sized evolved species successively rammed into the wall Yang Taeho had built.

“Oh?”

At that moment, Yang Taeho inadvertently let out a silly sound and looked up.

Because five balls of fire, each the size of a human torso, were passing overhead.

Boom! Boom!

Soon, with a series of surreal explosions, massive flames erupted beyond the wall.

Caught in the mesmerizing sight, Yang Taeho stood bewildered until the man, ready behind him, hurled the three black spears strapped to his back one after another.

Snap, crunch!

There were sounds of something breaking and being crushed.

It didn’t end there. This time, the man, not the fireballs, leaped over the wall Yang Taeho had built.

He fell between two of the evolved species that were alive even amid the blazing flames.

“T-that!”

In a perilous situation, Yang Taeho gulped nervously.

Of course, the worry was unnecessary. The man lightly dodged the evolved species’ swings with a single-nimble leap.

Not only did he just dodge, but he stomped firmly on the evolved creature’s arm and thrust his spear.

His movements were so swift that afterimages appeared momentarily.

Each time, blue light flashed, accompanied by the pained screams of the evolved species.

Remarkably, with each swing and thrust of his spear, the man’s attacks shredded or shattered the bodies of the evolved species.

He was overwhelming the evolved species, which usually required a 5-person party to carefully deplete health, inflict injuries, and land critical hits to be taken down.

“Good heavens…”

Every time he seemed to stand still, he jumped into the air, piercing the evolved species with his spear.

Every time he seemed to be standing above an evolved species, he’d have already skewered its head and was leaping toward the next one.

Watching the man’s movements, almost too fast to follow with the eye, Yang Taeho understood.

This wasn’t something a Bronze rank player could perform.

‘He’s a Silver rank.’

Almost as soon as Yang Taeho realized this, the man facing the evolved species gracefully landed.

What remained where he stood was only scorched ground, crackling embers, and a pile of charred bodies emitting a smoky odor.

Among them, a particularly large body with a spear stuck into its head drew Yang Taeho’s attention.

In addition to the 2 evolved species the man had personally hunted, there were as many as 3 evolved species dead with a black spear lodged between their eyes or foreheads.

It wasn’t by coincidence or luck. That player could kill evolved species with a single strike.

‘Those creatures’ bones are incredibly hard…’

One needed to be at least proficient in Condense to sever those bones.

Yet, the man pierced the evolved species, through hide and bone, with a single throw of his spear.

The spectacle of the man’s confidence, who had categorically stated he didn’t need help, was comprehensible.

While being overwhelmed by the possibility of such feats, the man who had landed turned his gaze around.

“Pesky little things.”

Acting as if he wanted people to see, he reached out, and just as dust kicked up, the ground began to rise.

At each rise, the dying cries of monsters, skewered by the earth mound, were heard.

There must have been some monsters left barely alive.

“What on earth…?”

Yang Taeho, having witnessed all this, unconsciously whispered to himself.

It was indeed astonishing. The man had just used as many as three different elements during the battle.

Though he seemed to be using wind elemental magic at first, he suddenly employed fire elemental magic, followed by utilizing earth element.

‘Triple stacking? That’s a triple-stack?’

By the time Yang Taeho had swallowed hard from seeing a triple-stack of elements for the first time, the man who had finished the hunt turned to him.

* * *

‘If he got scared, I’d have just let him go.’

Even after seeing the monsters I was rounding up, he stayed behind offering help instead of fleeing.

Considering he was ready to help, he seemed to be a different kind of breed than the ones who had run off.

‘Maybe he’s not the kind to stab you in the back.’

I looked at the dazed tank before saying,

“What should I call you?”

Asking directly for an introduction startled the man back into his senses.

He hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Y-yang Taeho—oof!”

Was he not planning on mentioning his real name?

Yang Taeho hastily sealed his mouth with both hands.

The anxious way his eyes darted around was almost pitiful.

While it might have been a mistake on his part, it wasn’t disadvantageous for me.

Knowing his real name meant I could investigate if needed.

‘I don’t plan on doing that right away, though.’

The reason I had saved Yang Taeho a while back was because he possessed rock-element attribute mana.

In a situation where I had to enter underground, the presence of someone with earth, specifically rock attribute mana was a boon against potential cave-ins.

That was it. I had no plans of getting further entwined with Yang Taeho.

‘Still, just in case.’

I decided to remember his real name.

Thanks to his accent, I also deduced he was from Honam, which could be useful for potential background checks.

Though I etched Yang Taeho’s information in my mind, I casually asked.

“What’s your codename?”

Having calmed down, Yang Taeho pulled up his status window.

There, his codename appeared as Pudding.

A perfect contrasting charm made me glance at Yang Taeho from head to toe again.

‘Body like a Judoka or wrestler… and yet the codename is Pudding…’

I decided to pass it off lightly, thinking perhaps he had a sweet tooth.

Anyway, I had no intention of calling him by his codename.

‘Sir Pudding or Mr. Pudding, all of them sound odd.’

Ultimately, having decided to omit addressing Yang Taeho by a specific name, I asked.

“Are you running as a mercenary?”

It neither seemed like he was solo-playing nor allying with a particular party.

Instead, those who circled various parties filling specific roles in exchange for a share of spoils of war were known as mercenaries.

It was a widely recognized term in the community.

“Well, yes.”

Upon confirming, indeed, Yang Taeho nodded obediently.

Nothing surprising since it was what I had speculated.

The party with him had abandoned him too easily and run off.

‘If there were any camaraderie, they wouldn’t have all fled at once like that.’

Some of the members would have hesitated.

Yet, not a single one of the four who ran glanced back.

So I was sure Yang Taeho was a mercenary.

“Seems like your original party has dissolved…”

Hence, there was no hesitation as I extended my offer.

“It’s a day or two schedule, are you willing to accompany?”

Yang Taeho’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t anticipated this at all.

He seemed so surprised that he could barely utter a word and merely gasped.

Instead of waiting for him to gather himself, I decided to press for an answer.

“I’ll give you 30 percent of the spoils.”

Ordinarily, mercenary player’s compensation was around 10 to 15 percent of the spoils obtained in a particular battle.

So I offered a larger amount, leaving no room for him to refuse.

“Consider this as an advance payment.”

I tossed him a golden coin from the old Cairo Kingdom that I had picked up on the way.

After hurriedly catching it, Yang Taeho glanced over my shoulder for confirmation.

His silence didn’t last long.

“Deal.”

Thus, an unexpected companion joined the journey.