Chapter 196

Chapter 196. Wandering Steps (4)

“No, it’ll tear! Mom will bite me…….”

This was a clear expression of refusal.

‘Tear, huh…….’

Honestly, it’s not entirely impossible.

Berta had claimed to have handled me delicately when we first met.

‘Yet, there were scratches and bruises left on me.’

If that’s how it was for me as a player, I couldn’t imagine how it would be for young children.

‘Berta is still young.’

This means she lacked the practice needed to handle beings weaker than herself.

Occasionally, from what I heard, it seemed she received teachings from her mother, Ramon, for this issue.

‘I suppose when she first poked me, she was trying to check my durability.’

It seemed she was practicing ways to be careful and handle others gently.

And mingling with the kids would probably disrupt that practice.

If Berta had made that judgment, I had no intention of forcing her to play with the kids.

“Alright, then.”

“Okay.”

After that, I greeted the kids I hadn’t seen in a while, and brought out sports equipment like a soccer ball, a volleyball, and jump ropes.

After distributing them to the kids, I met with the priest of Palao who managed the place.

Starting with handing over snacks and toys I had brought from the mart, I checked the operating expenses.

We also discussed various issues for quite a while.

By the time I had finished checking everything I needed to, two hours had passed in an instant.

After the priest left the office, I gazed at the children outside the window.

They were all running around, kicking the soccer ball in the open area.

Watching this scene, a thought I had tried to bury deeply and avoid remembering suddenly emerged.

– It seems young children are making Cratoll.

According to my beliefs, those children were merely perpetrators involved in a crime.

They weren’t worthy of sympathy, and their crimes shouldn’t be overlooked.

Then why did it keep unsettling my heart?

“Ha…….”

A sigh I couldn’t suppress escaped heavily.

‘The U. S. is discreetly extracting the families of players from China.’

In that process, orphaned children involved in Cratoll manufacture weren’t a concern for the U. S. government.

That the children were addicted to substances wasn’t something the U. S. needed to worry about.

Of course, because they weren’t a charity organization.

I understood every calculation behind such actions.

And I also agreed that the calculations were rational.

Moreover, there was nothing I could do regarding this issue.

‘They say there are nearly 200 children found in the Cratoll factory in Beijing alone.’

It wasn’t as if I could take responsibility for all those kids.

That’s why I tried hard to bury it and not look.

But in an unguarded moment, I failed to avert my gaze, and the backlash was stronger than expected.

Perhaps it was because of the words I once spoke.

– Do you think it’ll be easier on your conscience to say it that way?

– If you wanted to live comfortably, you should’ve remained a victim the whole way through.

Did I even have the right to say such things?

Not long ago, I filmed illegal materials to blackmail Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa.

Just because he wasn’t an admirable person didn’t mean that crimes against him could be justified.

Moreover, I was leaving hostage crises in various countries unaddressed under the guise of having no choice.

Considering these topics, it felt haughty of me to have uttered such things.

‘Did I believe I was different?’

Such arrogance. Yet, in reality, I wasn’t all that different from them.

“Damn it…….”

If seen through the power of Agnotia, I would probably be covered in graphite.

I vividly imagined the graphite writhing as if alive.

At the thought of that conceivable sight, nausea welled up.

Self-loathing and a sense of utter helplessness mixed, threatening to drag me back into a pit.

Surprisingly, it was an unexpected presence that helped me avoid getting entirely swallowed.

– Weird guy.

It was the voice of Kerak’s spear stored in my inventory.

From the moment I had rescued the survivors of human trafficking, it hadn’t uttered a word.

Yet, suddenly, it broke its silence.

The sensation of my already tangled mind becoming even more tangled was uncomfortable.

“Shut up.”

Perhaps due to the recent invisible stress, a sharper voice emerged than I intended.

– As you command.

With Kerak returning to silence, I had to cover my face with both hands.

I didn’t want to think.

“K?”

Fortunately, before I could fall into deeper thought, Berta called out to me.

“Phew.”

Forcing myself to calm down, I spoke to Berta.

“Do what you want from now on.”

“Really? Really, can I play?”

“What do you want to do?”

“That!”

Berta, bursting with excitement, pointed at the soccer ball rolling around the children’s feet.

It seemed she wanted to do it herself but restrained herself because she thought she shouldn’t get too close.

Recalling Berta’s athletic prowess, my vision momentarily darkened.

I swallowed a sigh filled with resignation and regret and mumbled internally.

‘Let’s consider it physical training.’

I texted An Kijun in anticipation of a schedule that should be read as physical training but is effectively a solo childcare stint.

Requesting him to send a massive shipment of soccer balls if he had no urgent tasks at hand.

It turned out to be a wise decision, for more than fifty soccer balls were destroyed by Berta’s kicks that day alone.

* * *

A few days passed after the restoration of Somol castle was complete, and the movement of the Order army had begun.

As Lily had hinted, a new main scenario commenced.

However, this newly started main scenario differed slightly from the previous ones.

MISSION

「Main Scenario Act 1 Chapter 6: Territory Restoration」

The Order army successfully pushed back the frontlines in cooperation with the players. Now it’s time to eliminate the traces of corruption remaining across various frontline areas. Players must complete purification tasks until not a single corrupted area remains in the frontline regions.

「Rewards」

Participation Reward: Choose from the following rewards

• Mana 600, reputation 30

• Attribute Mana 300, reputation 60

Ranking Reward: Rewards are given according to rank. (1st to 200th place)

• Order Points

• Achievements

• God’s Blessing

• Random Box

※ Contributions to the mission will determine the ranking.

Especially in the reward section.

The unnecessary victory ceremony attendance reward was removed.

‘It’s a deeper intention suggesting players should hunt more rather than playing the clown at a victory ceremony.’

Seeing large parties compete to attend the victory ceremony was frustrating.

Thus, I decided to remove it entirely.

Additionally, I removed the store’s free use ticket, which provided little benefit to me.

Instead, I added a random box and changed Order rewards to be provided in points rather than physical items.

‘With those points, we can prioritize Order-exclusive missions to strengthen the growth of Order players with valuable corrupted areas.’

It was a sort of balance adjustment.

This resulted in the reward rank, which typically cut off at around 50 to 60, extending to a remarkable 200.

‘The store free use ticket was probably of greater value than I realized.’

Skills or magic, after all, are ‘knowledge’.

Unlike typical items that just end with ownership, knowledge allows for endless possible deconstruction and examination.

Starting off possessing that would have been largely against causality.

Seeing the reward range expand almost three to four times the moment the free use ticket was excluded suggests it likely was.

All these changes were accomplished through negotiations with the system when establishing the investigative brigade.

‘And there was still divinity left over.’

At that time, the system had directly conveyed a message to me, much like during the private conversation with the seven great gods.

It had said that a considerably large amount of divinity was returned due to the removal of two out of three existing gates.

Instead of using it immediately, I suggested holding onto it as a contingency.

‘I intended to think of a more efficient way to use it.’

This game had more than a few places needing tweaks.

And just now, I found that efficient use.

Before the flash of inspiration disappeared, I needed to organize the content to convey to the system.

While lost in thought for a moment and jotting notes in my notebook.

“Hyung.”

Kim Yul descended from the sky, calling me.

The fellow who claimed my dyed hair encouraged him came down to summon me with brilliant pink hair.

‘It’s fascinating enough that he decided to go with that color.’

More fascinating was how the color suited Kim Yul exceptionally well.

Fixated by the bright pink hair resembling cotton candy or cherry blossom petals, Kim Yul spoke to me again.

“Why aren’t you checking the chat?”

“…… I had something to think over.”

“Should I wait a bit more? I’m ready now, though…….”

Leaning against a mossy rock, I straightened myself.

“Let’s start right away.”

There wasn’t any need to wait further since preparations were complete.

My thoughts had almost entirely settled, too.

“Okay!”

Kim Yul, utilizing Wind Walk, soared into the air, where his mana began to stir as he prepared his area-of-effect magic.

Watching Kim Yul prepare, I subtly raised my left hand.

A transparent mass of water started gathering above my palm.

And soon, it cascaded downward with a splash.

“Ha…….”

A sigh emerged uncontrollably.

Since visiting the orphanage, it had become difficult to control my water attribute mana again.

‘Damn it.’

Just as I was about to sigh once more, I felt a tug on my pants.

“K, K, give me a piggyback ride.”

Hastily lowering my gaze, I saw Berta clinging to my pant leg, gazing up at me.

‘This is driving me nuts.’

Neither Horfe nor Ramon, no one came for Berta.

If they were busy, they could have sent someone else to retrieve her, but only a letter asking me to care for her for now arrived.

Despite my discomfort, I even attempted to leave her at Bennett Mansion.

But Berta resisted fiercely.

Crying and throwing herself was the least of it; she even unleashed her mana for the first time for a show of force.

As a result, the hall in Bennett Mansion partially collapsed.

Recalling the conversation I had with Rashar at that time, I furrowed my brows slightly.

– Seems like Berta has no intention of giving up this time… if you’re okay with it, how about you live together for a while? Our family will compensate you for this.

– What are you talking about? I need to head to the corrupted areas. I can’t take a kid to the battlefield.

– To Berta, it won’t be such a foreign experience.

– What?

– Lady Ramon used to take Berta with her to the battlefield.

I was momentarily at a loss for words, but the shock wasn’t overwhelming.

I already knew that the mentality of beastfolk differed from humans.

And having witnessed Berta’s combat ability, I had no choice but to understand.

For various reasons, taking care of Berta became my responsibility for now.

With no method to separate a child stronger than myself, it was inevitable.

Thus, Berta tagged along to the corrupted areas.

After swallowing my usual stack of sighs, I lifted Berta by the nape and moved to the side.

“Go stay with Ahel.”

And I handed Berta over to Ahel.

“Until when?”

“Until I clear the area…… or until I decide we take a break.”

“Will you play with me then?”

“Sure.”

“Berta can wait!”

“Quietly.”

“I’ll wait quietly!”

After receiving Berta’s confirmation and patting her head, I felt a sharp gaze.

Lifting my head, I found Ahel glaring at me with an expression full of dissatisfaction.

“What’s with that look?”

“Unlike you, I value my life dearly and find it terrifying to hold onto this beast. So, I would like to put it down right away.”

“Just bear with it a bit. We have nothing to do while hunting, after all.”

“With all due respect, you could have this beastie perched on your head during combat and it wouldn’t obstruct you. It might even help.”

Reflecting on the events at Bennett Mansion a few days ago, I couldn’t deny the statement.

Introduction of Berta’s combat power would have made hunting easier.

Yet, I excluded Berta entirely from the hunt.

This decision wasn’t based on personal biases about the child’s age.

‘Biharin are not registered users of the system.’

Having hunted alongside Breche in the past, it was certain.

Unless aided by the Capitalist Trait, the mana they harvest from defeating monsters would all disappear.

In a situation where every bit had to be amassed, such inefficient hunting was unacceptable.

“Let’s just say it’s your guard.”

As I stood firm in my decision, Ahel ceased his grumbles.

Just then, Kim Yul completed his area-of-effect magic in the air.

‘Still takes a while, huh.’

I clicked my tongue silently and readjusted my grip on the spear.

It was the moment hunting for the contributions to Act 1, scene 6 of the main scenario began.

Damned System