Chapter 163

Chapter 163. Perception (6)

The Beastfolk had long been entangled with human trafficking. They probably understood the ecology and structure of that world better than ordinary humans did.

In fact, just a few months ago, a major brawl against human traffickers erupted in Viceta.

‘I might learn something new.’

As I organized my future plans, I cast a nonchalant glance to the side.

It was towards the players who, trying to evade the situation between me and Jang Ryun, had escaped towards the outskirts of the barrier.

Although I saw none of them in sight, I didn’t worry. These players had set up their hideout in a corrupted area after all.

Thanks to having cleared out the surrounding monsters and the Messio, it wasn’t a dangerous place but it wasn’t protected by Temoria’s Divine Barrier either, hence it was mapped.

Thus, chasing them down and interrogating them wasn’t difficult.

The information Jang Ryun tried to trade while high was easier to obtain than expected.

‘There might have been confidential information only he knew.’

However, I had no interest in gaining it by making a deal with someone like Jang Ryun.

Ultimately, I acquired some information and successfully eradicated the players within the barrier.

Inside Ahel’s barrier, I was the only one alive. Certainly, there were those who were not alive anymore.

-Does that feel satisfying?

Kerak suddenly spoke to me, causing the spear, which had remained silent ever since I saw the pile of corpses discarded in the pit, to seem to gain a voice.

“What do you mean?”

-Not sure…

I glanced down at Kerak’s spear, which was unusually trailing off in its words.

‘There was no amplification buff this time, either.’

According to the item description, Kerak had a lingering regret for not being able to protect the weak. It stated it would support those who would fulfill that role.

‘So why can’t I receive this support?’

Was it because rescuing the imprisoned Demi-humans didn’t satisfy this condition? Or perhaps because I wasn’t directly involved in the evacuation process for the Demi-humans?

Eyeing the spear intensely, I decided to stifle my sigh.

‘It was better when you had no thought.’

At least back then, it didn’t hurt my head with its conversations, and even if it was just once, I’d gained a buff.

The longer I stayed with this weapon, the more I thought it had been better before the enhancement.

‘I didn’t rescue the Demi-humans expecting something in return.’

That was honestly my intent. I merely came to eliminate them because they didn’t align with the future I envisioned.

However, I had anticipated that Kerak’s buff would amplify my mana this time.

Unexpectedly, the reality was different as Kerak once again denied granting me a buff. Puzzled about how best to use this item led to a sense of frustration.

“When will you graciously acknowledge it?”

Impatience in my heart made me blurt out those words.

The response I received added another layer of frustration.

-Not sure…

This time, it didn’t shoot its mouth off despite being told to be quiet. Especially today, it seemed particularly reticent.

Just as I was about to add another comment, the sharp critique came without warning.

-If the choice you made today assures me it’s not a massacre for your lofty ideals, then I can think about it.

I faced an unforeseen moment with pointed criticism. My clenched teeth let out a sinister sound.

Such a terrible feeling. But worse still was that I couldn’t argue against such criticism. It wasn’t wrong.

And yet, I didn’t leave the cave but moved back inside because I had no intention of reversing my decision.

Soon, I reached the area where Jang Ryun’s body lay.

Only after shouldering the dangling lump of meat did I make my way to the entrance, which could be considered the main gate of this cave.

Kerak didn’t speak anymore, so I was able to proceed without any further fuss.

This cave had quite a few small entrances, but the officially guarded access was only one.

I had dealt with the players who stood guard there before setting up the barrier, and it was decided to return there after all was done.

Heading towards the entrance, I checked the list of bounty missions.

‘I guess it’s not updated yet…’

It has been tens of minutes since I killed the player. Yet, from then until now, no new bounty missions have popped up. Considering the immediate results, my guesses might be entirely wrong, but…

‘Let’s keep an eye out for now.’

This damned game had encountered delays more than once. In fact, the bounty mission was updated once every week.

Based on that pattern, a new list was likely to appear by tomorrow evening. It wouldn’t be too late to draw a conclusion afterward.

I closed the bounty mission list and moved swiftly. Upon reaching the cave entrance, I sent a chat message.

– K: It’s finished, tell them to open up.

– Kj: Okay!

As the reply came back quickly, the barrier surrounding us began to distort. The double barrier implemented by Ahel began to dissipate.

The scene seemed much like the collapse of the sky. The double barrier didn’t last much longer, and I was able to regroup with party members waiting outside.

Waiting at the entrance were only Kim Yul and Ahel.

Yang Taeho was with the Demi-humans who had been evacuated to the mountain midsection and the knights sent by the Order of Palao.

‘Judging by the accumulated chat messages, it seems Hyung had triggered a buff.’

Thanks to that, the Demi-humans were evacuated quicker, suggesting that the escape route could be expanded on the way.

Technically, the weapon Yang Taeho and I had was of the same series. Yet the results differed as much as they did, prodding an ache into a corner of my heart.

Even so, I had no thoughts of reversing myself to mold my thoughts and decisions to the eyes of others.

While I was lost in thoughts about where Yang Taeho might be, Ahel, who stood outside the barrier, spoke with a pout.

“I saved it for later.”

To be precise, it was more of a grumble to himself than addressing me directly. But as his mumbling voice was loud enough to give off that impression, I felt compelled to respond.

“You were supposed to help accumulate mana.”

It was a way of saying to do moderately.

“Because you already have the mana, K. Do you think finding fourth-grade spatial mana is easy? Due to the already few mages possessing such attributes, it’s even more challenging to exchange for.”

Despite grumbling, Ahel took out a new mana accumulation tool and handed it to me. A yellow, 5-star mana accumulation tool.

Better to blatantly ask for more than grumble incessantly. I took the new mana accumulation tool and began infusing mana into it.

“Then why carry this out?”

All the while, Kim Yul, having approached me, pointed at Jang Ryun’s corpse and asked. As it wasn’t something I intended to keep secret, I straightforwardly answered.

“There’s something I need to convey.”

“… Conveying with a corpse? To whom? Why?”

Confusedly, Kim Yul tilted his head, seemingly not fully comprehending my intent. I opted not to explain each part and simply shouldered the corpse once more.

“You’ll see.”

Seeing is believing. It’s more effective to witness once than hear a hundred times.

「Title: Viceta Square – Author: Ocean」

Content: There’s a player corpse displayed at Viceta Square, what on earth is happening? PK?

– Santa Claus: Just saw it now?

– One-eyed: Seems like K caused a scene.

⌎ Music: Why would K do that? What happened at Viceta?

⌎ Snowman: Check the second page for an article about the corpse exhibition. There’s a picture captured there.

– Lord of the Rings: Told you so, K is nuts. He’s finally showing his true colors.

⌎ Toma: Guys like you thrive off the damned system report and then sneakily bash K behind his back. He must have had a reason; there’s no way he’d do such a thing without one.

⌎ Ferrari: Regardless of the reason, K killed a player. That’s disappointing.

⌎ Toma: The dead fool must have done something to deserve it, I’ll stake my neck on it.

⌎ Mint-choco: I agree. K wouldn’t just kill someone without a reason.

– Strawberry Parfait: What’s happening at Viceta Square?

⌎ Otter Toes: K killed a player affiliated with Senoa and displayed the body.

⌎ Strawberry Parfait: ??? How do you know? Did you see K do it?

⌎ Google Stock: K left a message admitting it. It’s an acknowledgment on his part.

⌎ Strawberry Parfait: Message?

⌎ Otter Toes: You all will eventually be wiped out by me. This fool is just the beginning – K

⌎ Otter Toes: That’s precisely what it said.

The community buzzed with chatter because of my actions. However, I hunted distantly, detached from that commotion.

“… It’s still noisy.”

On the contrary, Kim Yul seemed to be checking the community now and then by the looks of his mumbling while gazing into the air.

“Rest assured, words will soon spread from the survivors’ mouths.”

It wasn’t only Kim Yul, apparently. Yang Taeho also frequently checked the air, reassuringly patting my shoulder.

“I have no particular worries.”

Even though it seemed like everyone was talking about me, it didn’t worry me at all how unrelated strangers perceived me.

The reason I displayed Jang Ryun’s corpse was simply that I had something to say.

‘For those unaware of the specifics, it might seem like a PK incident.’

The phrase accompanying Jang Ryun’s body was a declaration meant for countless others like him, somewhere out there.

He likely would’ve communicated to other players about these events.

There’s a high possibility that the criminal organization Jang Ryun belonged to would recognize my existence.

‘Since there were ones who witnessed the fight, they possibly transmitted my appearance too.’

Connecting the dots could lead anyone to deduce that I was K without much difficulty.

In such a case, staying discreet wasn’t necessary, was it?

I also aimed to inform ordinary players about Jang Ryun’s organization and simultaneously warn them that siding with them would make me their enemy.

‘Maybe, like Hyung said, survivors’ accounts will spread shortly.’

It would reveal sooner or later who I was confronting.

I had drawn a line in anticipation of that time, cautioning never to cross it because crossing it meant becoming my target. That message being conveyed was enough.

The moment I had brought the corpse to the square, that matter was over for me. Right now, my attention was elsewhere.

“Oh? Eh? What’s this, is water now viable?”

Water tendrils stretched from my hand and grabbed a monster by its neck, drawing my focus.

‘Aqua Whip.’

A magic absorbed via the bounty hunter title. Some magics were deleted due to duplication, but quite a few were absorbed normally.

Over seventy percent of them were water-based magic, which could’ve been a headache under normal circumstances.

I’ve attempted to dismantle water attribute mana only to face repeated failures in the arrangement phase.

But mysteriously, the previous night while practicing mana before sleep, an anomaly occurred. The water mana began to move under my will.

Consequently, I trained until a later hour than usual with second-grade water magic, and third-grade magic usable when intertwined with other elements.

‘I can’t use magics requiring advanced attributes for fourth-grade magic, and third-grade involved in-depth attributes.’

High-grade magics of that level aren’t abundant anyway. It seemed best to shelve those until I could secure more mana.

‘I don’t know why this change happened suddenly, but…’

Expanding the scope of implementable magics was a significant gain. I didn’t find this sudden shift unfavorable. Rather, I welcomed it as a fortunate turn of events.

Yet, it seemed someone else held a slightly different perspective.

“Oh dear…”

Hearing faint murmurs, I turned to see Ahel. He was supporting throughout without directly participating in combat, and an expression of frustration crossed his face.

It vanished almost instantly but I had certainly caught a glimpse of it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

There stood Ahel, back in his usual beaming mood, and it occurred to me that his advice about shifting perceptions regarding water, might not have been mere counsel.

Inclined to my thoughts, I shrugged, replying,

“Nothing at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then should we continue hunting?”

“No.”

It was time to prepare myself for the next main scenario.

‘There’s a task to address beforehand.’

I declared an end to the hunting session and returned to the lodgings secured in Viceta.

After washing up, I immediately opened the chat window. It was a chat room that allowed interaction with players associated with Club 249.

Before entering a message there, I gave it one last consideration. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the outcome was in line with the conclusion I had reached last night.

Resolutely, I sent the prepared message without further hesitation.

– K: I have two free shop vouchers. Looking to trade them with two people who can bring a lot of attribute stones.

Damned System