Damned System

Chapter 92. Compounding Interest (2)

“If he tries to kick you out, tell him you’ll report to Rashar immediately.”

Walter shivered and stopped in his tracks, creaking as he turned back.

“I’ll make sure there’s no formal sanction for a month, so whatever he tries, just hang in there.”

It was advice to not hesitate to threaten Allens, if necessary.

There was no need to face a deceitful person with fairness.

“Not even a fool lets himself be threatened for nothing.”

Showing courtesy to someone beneath humanity wouldn’t earn one gratitude; it was just a delusion that they were deserving of such treatment.

‘Trying to reason with those who don’t understand words is pointless.’

It was better to treat such people according to their level.

In just about a month, with similar threats, one could wedge in and hold their position until an official appointment came through.

After a brief silence, Walter bowed deeply and apologized once more.

However, I was no longer focusing on him. My arms were crossed, and I was immersed in thought.

‘Did he expect me to keep quiet and suffer known?’

Most victims of bullying or oppression often can’t speak openly about their situation.

The shame of being victimized.

Or the fear of facing even worse consequences.

Various other reasons act as shackles.

That’s one reason why school bullying worsened.

I had many headaches over it during my time in the student council.

Of course, that didn’t mean I belonged to that type.

‘I would probably be the guy who immediately stood up and grabbed the other person’s collar.’

Thanks to that, my animosity towards Allens flared up.

‘It’s most likely him…….’

While passing between the training ground, there were those who stealthily stared or whispered.

One particularly frequent contact was a blond guy.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Allens Jeremy spoke of was that guy.

‘I thought it was merely discomfort towards my presence.’

If it was more than that, it would sufficiently explain this behavior.

‘A guy who became a knight through connections, filled with inferiority complex…….’

Probably felt uneasy seeing someone as insignificant as me occupy one of the rare personal training grounds.

While I could understand Allens’ perspective, I couldn’t sympathize with it.

I wouldn’t resort to petty and crude actions just because I disliked an outsider.

Allens’ harassment wasn’t direct, but it was enough to cause unpleasant feelings indirectly.

So, it seemed necessary to pay him back.

‘How should I deal with that guy?’

While pondering methods briefly, a sound of a horse neighing in the distance reached my ears.

It came from the direction of the stables.

‘Come to think of it…’

The things that Walter and Jeremy brought today were horse manure, weren’t they?

I recalled learning horse riding under Rashar’s recommendation a few times.

While fiddling with the ring on my left hand, I stood up from my seat.

Rather than seeking out Rashar or Chandler, the one I sought wasn’t them.

“So, you want me to teach you magic?”

It was Ahel, someone I didn’t want to approach willingly.

He greeted me with a bright face from his room at the furthest end of the east corridor on the 5th floor of the mansion.

‘I tried to avoid entanglements, finding it hard to read his mind.’

Despite my preferences, it was always likely that I would eventually approach him.

The random chest never once yielded ‘knowledge’.

From what I’d experienced, the probability of acquiring magical knowledge from a random chest was low.

Therefore, I thought it essential to pave the way to learn magic on my own, rather than relying on low odds.

“Yes.”

“The cost is mana exchange, right?”

“Exactly.”

Spatial mana boasted limitless utility.

Yet, by objective measure, Ahel’s mana was ranked lower than mine.

‘So I have to gain something extra.’

I proposed not just mana exchange but also lessons.

“If you accept these conditions, I intend to regularly engage in mana exchange.”

The odds were high that Ahel would accept my proposition.

‘Higher rank mana has a denser concentration.’

Getting my mana, even just ten amounts, was more efficient than obtaining 100 of the different types of second-rank basic attribute mana.

That’s why the higher the rank, the more pronounced the mana scent is.

‘Now that I think about it, I should learn to conceal the resonance soon.’

Failing to hide it would be like announcing the rank of my attribute mana everywhere.

‘There’s no need to voluntarily expose my full power.’

With dedicated time, in the current preparatory phase of restructuring my total capabilities, there was ample time to learn.

Ahel merely observed me steadily for a brief period.

“Interesting.”

But soon enough,

“Alright! Mana exchange, along with lessons,” he agreed with a beaming smile.

“Let’s proceed step by step from the basics.”

From that day, I started learning magic immediately.

* * *

On the day marking two weeks since I discovered the culprit behind the bullying, I visited the stables and filled two buckets to the brim.

I intended to repay the accrued grudges with interest as I headed to the training ground with a bucket in each hand.

In those past two weeks, Walter and Jeremy had come up to warn me.

They said Allens was scheming again and advised caution.

True enough, there were incidents of flowerpots falling from above or water being poured, among others.

Of course, thanks to the barrier, there weren’t any additional damages.

‘That doesn’t mean Allens should be forgiven.’

Two weeks. I had immersed myself in magic learning with the sole intention of repaying the grudge.

Having completed all preparations, I executed my plan, which brought me to this very moment.

“Ahk! Wh-what is this?!”

“Ugh!”

Allens, who was jogging with other knights, found himself drenched in horse dung.

The dung, which I personally gathered from the stables, was now on his head.

Naturally, I was the one who dropped it on him.

‘I channeled Ahel’s mana into the Mana Accumulation Tool from the random chest.’

I was also skilled enough in magic to realize the bare minimum.

Thanks to this, each glance at my status window, moved to the upper left of my vision, brought a grin to my face.

Player: Kang Hyunwoo (Beta Tester) – Bronze rank

Mana: 24663.48 (Attribute Mana: 573.1)

Chaos Level: 0.0%

Affiliation: Earth, order of Palao

Race: Human (Player)

Rank: Alpha

Attribute: Lightning (★★★★★)

Skills: Mana Manipulation (99.99%), Sense Expansion (75.88%)

Magic: Mana Detection (lv.2 – 20.31%), Invisibility (80.66%), barrier (67.77%), Telekinesis (lv.1 – 2.13%)

Trait: Capitalism, adaptability, tenacity, Purification (lv.1 – 64.76%)

Titles: Bounty Hunter, alliance’s Mark

Reputation: 26115

‘Looking good.’

With several hunts, the destruction of the messeo, and acquiring the teleportation magic through trait boosts, significant changes had occurred in less than a month since coming to Bihar.

Moreover, because of this accomplishment, I found a method to acquire magic without using the shop.

‘Although, the downside is it requires time.’

I estimated it might take months to learn a single magic for average individuals.

There are roughly a hundred mana formations needed to teleport a single living creature.

Better to go hunting during the time spent memorizing, and practicing each one.

Still, for me, this downside was somewhat mitigated.

Hence, I mastered Telekinesis magic in just two weeks.

‘I didn’t expect the Adaptability trait to be this helpful.’

The trait titled Adaptability had been in my status window since the inception of this game.

Until now, I thought it merely increased the odds of learning skills through pathways aside from the shop and aided proficiency growth.

But it wasn’t that straightforward.

‘Without the shop’s aid, discovering a skill requires personal understanding in the process.’

Adaptability engaged in every aspect of that process.

‘What an insane trait.’

If asked to pick something irreplaceable among the cards I held, adaptability would be my choice.

Thanks to that trait, understanding Mana formations was easy, and memorizing them wasn’t an issue.

I had good memory since childhood.

I was confident that in terms of basic memorization, I wouldn’t lose to anyone.

‘I was even prepared to memorize law texts, so this is a piece of cake.’

Back in high school, I aspired to be an attorney.

Hence, I sometimes perused professional books my mother had out of boredom.

Memorizing appealing articles in advance was common.

As a result, Ahel’s 2,000-page ‘Basic Mana Formations’ book posed no difficulty for me.

‘I didn’t expect to find Pythagoras’ theorem as a fixed formation.’

Some familiar topics from high school mathematics were also visible.

My memory was hazy, so I had to revise with the help of An Kijun giving me math books for brushing up.

By organizing the rules embedded in formations, memorization speed multiplied.

“Ah!”

As a result, I could witness Allens’s hysteria firsthand in two weeks.

Drawing my gaze away from the status window, I reveled in the sweetness of Allens’s scream.

It’s currently 9 a.m., all knights, except those patrolling the mansion, were engaged in joint physical training and tactical exercises.

Until now, I used to slip into their physical training sessions quietly.

Their basic training was grueling enough to push the body of a Bronze-rank player to its limits.

But today, I was contently spectator at my personal training ground.

Sitting leisurely in a pre-placed chair with crossed legs, indulging in the sight of Allens frantically trying to shake off the manure was all I had planned for the morning.

‘I’ll have to diligently rain it down on him.’

Making a gun shape with my forefinger and thumb, I began arranging the Mana formations.

Then after about a minute,

“Bang.”

I shot him one more serving, crafted especially thicker.

Having lodged tissue up his nose, it was a handcrafted piece I meticulously worked on amid gagging fits.

With that, Allens, who now had an even more intense spastic fit, began.

This wouldn’t conclude with a single session.

I planned to persistently, seemingly irritatingly to the extent of pettiness, remind that bastard with the scent of manure of this in every breath he took in the coming days.

What Allens inflicted upon me was by no means a mutual exchange.

It was unilateral hostility and unjust violence.

‘Though it was just petty at best.’

The fundamentals of his acts remained unchanged.

‘Both kindness and grievances, I believe in repaying with compound interest.’

While fervently practicing manure-throwing as my targeted training on Allens for several minutes,

It seemed Allens grasped that this ordeal was my doing.

For he was starting to approach me with a terrifyingly stern face.

“You litt-!”

Before he could conclude his words, I linked the Mana formations I had laid in advance.

“Bleagh!”

“Goal.”

Thanks to that, I offered the rare experience of tasting horse dung to Allens, who had nearly spoken a word.

‘Now you’re screwed, bastard.’

He could certainly expect it. I planned to ensure he’d eternally regret meddling with me.

Watching a busy Allens try wiping his tongue while gagging, I grinned ear to ear.

Damned System