Chapter 210

Chapter 210. Succession (2)

Yang Taeho did not stop after his initial remark, continuing on insistently.

“And, coming here all of a sudden like this every time is kinda uncomfortable for us too.”

If there’s a purpose, he mentioned that they should post it on the Order’s website.

“That way, there’s no need to come back and forth, right? So, stop coming here already, that’s what I’m saying.”

Kim Yul next to the resolute Yang Taeho seemed flustered, rolling his eyes.

“Stay safe out there. I won’t be going far.”

Using that opening, Yang Taeho issued a somewhat blatant dismissal.

Rashar’s face reddened at the unexpected cold shoulder she received.

She could no longer stay in the tent.

“… I’ll be cautious.”

Startled, Rashar replied with a trembling voice and quickly exited the tent.

As she walked back into the rain, she overheard the conversation of those left behind.

“What, what’s going on? Why’d you suddenly do that to nuna?”

“Just thought it’d be better to set some boundaries with those folks.”

“All of a sudden like that?”

“If that’s what K wants, what can I do? Just gotta go with it.”

“Eh? K hyung? Weren’t they close…?”

On that day, it was hard to distinguish whether her feet or heart were sinking into the soggy ground from the rainwater.

* * *

– Your help isn’t needed, so go back.

– I’m uncomfortable because it feels like you’d expect something in return for this kind of goodwill and support.

– I have no intention of sacrificing myself for you. I can’t save this messed-up world, ruined by lunatics obsessed with their own gain.

– So don’t expect anything more. There’s nothing I can do for you.

I had never thought that Rashar aided me out of pure calculation.

However, driving her away like this wasn’t difficult.

Every sharp phrase carefully crafted remained vividly in my mind.

If asked whether I regretted it, the answer was indeed yes.

But if asked whether I wanted to reverse it, the answer was no.

Even if I returned to that moment, I’d make the same choice.

“They are people who’ll perish with this world anyway.”

Just think of them as NPCs in a game, like other players do.

Fortunately, I wasn’t in a situation where I could dwell on emotional thoughts for too long.

While brushing off lingering thoughts and following Gretman, another message popped up.

「The Trait Capitalism has been activated.」

「The system is switching to support mode. Supporting Player Kang Hyunwoo.」

「Detecting abnormal access. Attempting to block.」

A black hand, the same one that targeted Zhang Tianyu before, emerged from a fissure in the sky.

I had been warned that it could approach me at any time.

I didn’t expect such a quick response.

But I wasn’t overly worried.

‘We have a strong ally here.’

Even before the system’s message appeared, Gretman, who was walking ahead of me, reacted.

It was only after black blood splattered onto my face that I realized he had moved.

I didn’t even notice Gretman drawing his sword and cutting off the arm protruding from the fissure.

But it didn’t end there.

Blue mana densely enveloped the hole formed in mid-air.

‘Is that the stage of Mana Domination?’

In the stages of Manipulation and Control, mana can maintain its materialization only when in contact with the body.

‘To materialize mana separated from the body, one has to implement magic according to an array.’

But in the Domination stage, such constraints become meaningless.

It’s the stage where you can control the mana you possess completely at will.

‘I knew he was strong.’

The dynamically swirling mana of Gretman left me momentarily speechless.

At the same time, it sparked a sense of motivation.

The thought of replacing that blue mana with my own attribute mana sent chills through me.

Before I knew it, the hole had disappeared.

I stared at the now normal void, contemplating.

‘It was targeting me.’

Reflecting on it, I realized that even when Zhang Tianyu was there, it was trying to kill me first.

Only after that did it extend its hand toward Zhang Tianyu.

Thanks to my growth-type Purification Trait, I survived unscratched.

‘It definitely tried to kill me.’

While I sorted out my thoughts, I heard Gretman muttering.

“Tch, what a persistent bastard.”

My eyes naturally narrowed.

‘He seems familiar with it.’

His following words confirmed it wasn’t a mistake.

“You don’t seem surprised. It’s not your first time?”

“… That’s something I intended to ask.”

“It’s a persistent ill-fate. That thing’s the Vanguard, hence inevitable.”

Gretman was knowledgeable about these exceptional entities.

‘Vanguard…’

That term made me realize the exact role of its dimension-splitting ability.

When it pierces through the dimensions, it seemingly allows other unusual entities to come through.

‘One is a Vanguard, another is monitored by the system, and the third one…?’

The system informed me there were three exceptional entities.

With the topic at hand, I decided to inquire about the other exceptional entities.

“Do you know anything about the others?”

“Yet despite encountering it, you’re untouched….”

However, Gretman ignored my question completely.

“Seems your god is watching over you?”

There was little point in repeatedly questioning someone who obviously didn’t want to answer.

Discussing it further with the system seemed like the only option.

Though it irked me that he referred to the system as my god.

‘Well, it does possess divine qualities.’

There was no plausible argument against it.

In reality, I was indeed receiving the system’s assistance.

“Well, I am receiving some help.”

“That’s fortunate to hear.”

Gretman, seemingly having reached a conclusion, urged me again.

“Nevertheless, just in case, we should hasten our pace. We’ve come too far to fail now.”

I, too, had no wish to waste any more time, so I followed closely behind Gretman again.

While moving swiftly, I glanced at the message, already displayed three times.

‘Abnormal access.’

If that thing continues to interfere unpredictably, I might not live long.

Although Gretman was by my side for now, I couldn’t rely on him forever.

‘I must prepare a countermeasure.’

Currently, no specific plan came to mind.

But hope remained.

‘Divinity.’

Given the authority of Meferoseta I used in the tent just minutes ago, I thought I might acquire it soon.

‘Once secured, it’ll pave the way for preparing some form of countermeasure.’

For now, sticking close to Gretman was the best strategy.

I matched the pace Gretman set as he accelerated.

Simultaneously, I began manipulating the game interface busily.

Rather than wasting time during the journey, I planned to organize pending tasks.

The first thing was to disseminate information to players I had connections with in clubs, associations, and the Order.

With the state of affairs ever-changing in the player world, identifying new members was a priority.

‘Maxim is dead.’

In his place, a second-selection player named Kiyashko would assume the position of the Russian branch chief, so it would be best to inform that side.

‘They share a goal of defending Earth alongside me, after all.’

Next in line was the surprisingly persistent Cello.

‘I must also relay this to Ethan and Lily.’

There were several third-selection players, like Coconuts, on the rise.

Additionally, Kim Muwon, whom I recently brought under my control.

‘I should also take care of Ahn Hyewon, who recently founded a clan.’

Among others, select individuals from China I manage.

Large clan leaders newly joined Club 249.

Existing gold rank members I’ve maintained exchanges with through the club.

Nadia and Kirish, along with Joseph from the same Order of Palao.

‘Obviously not including Fabian.’

Instead, I decided to include a couple of European players not on good terms with him.

And players from countries allied with Korea.

The list amounted to a total of 35 players.

The number increased by four compared to the list I previously compiled.

Though six notable ones died, it felt that there were certainly more players around.

‘It indeed feels like the number of players has increased.’

Since the third selection, the total number of surviving players was about 320 thousand.

It’s several times greater than the number lingering around 60 thousand after the second selection.

Purely in terms of numbers, the players made up about half of the Biharin frontline forces.

The fact that they were all growing into Earth’s defenders was reassuring.

‘It’s just that with the increased number, more trouble has also arisen.’

I sighed deeply and opened dozens of chat windows.

‘Last time, I informed them that the gates would decrease.’

Providing beneficial information like this helps establish a superior position in relationships and build trust over time.

The simple yet robust trust that the information I provide is reliable.

A strength that cannot be attained in a short time.

‘This also serves to elevate my worth.’

Players have no idea about the source of the information I bring.

Under such circumstances, provoking me is akin to killing the goose that lays golden eggs.

It means they have to be cautious about threatening me or opposing me, as they’d hate to lose the benefit of the information I provide.

Furthermore, they’ll play a role in keeping those who threaten me in check.

If anyone tries to monopolize me or snatch the information away from me, they end up being abandoned on the Nakdong River.

‘There are more than enough reasons to invest time and effort in management.’

And the results of that effort have been quite positive.

‘I bet most would laugh it off even if I played a rude prank.’

Of course, I’ve never tried, nor do I plan to.

It would be like demolishing the carefully built tower with my own hands.

However, being able to confidently rely on it is truly encouraging.

‘The fact that the best and brightest from around the world, who survived fierce wars with monsters, are trying to appease me.’

It also serves as a means to protect myself and my party more securely from increasingly large organizations.

Forming a clan requires a lot of time and effort.

‘If one doesn’t wish to give up on personal growth, it’s an untouched territory.’

Hence, I constantly remind those who claim some power of my value and caution them.

To avoid falling out of favor, I need to remind them of the benefits of the information I provide.

Even today, I wrote the same message in those dozens of chatrooms to reinforce the simple rule.

– K: There is a high possibility that attribute mana of general-rank or higher will drop soon. I recommend actively considering recruiting Normal players.

For silver ranks, casting a magic or two shouldn’t be challenging.

It implies that there’s no one unable to use a wide-area magic if they possess attribute mana.

The clever ones certainly had more than enough ability to figure it out.

Now was the time to exchange information with those with whom I had more solid trust relationships.

Those likely to have already surmised, based on circumstances, that I had some sort of connection with the system.

– K: Does anyone know about %*&%@「email protected」?

Right after sending the chat message, I froze for a moment.

I was sure I wrote about unusual entities, but the text was jumbled and showed up as gibberish.

“What are you doing there? Hurry up and follow.”

Gretman, who had halted with me, urged me onward.

I reflexively began moving again, but my gaze remained fixed on the chat window.

– Lily: The message doesn’t display properly.

– Eisa: Is it a typo?

After a brief contemplation, I decided to rephrase my question.

Of course, it proved unnecessary.

– K: Anyone at the Order hear about ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■?

This time, the entire text was blocked.

‘Is saying it not even permissible to other players?’

Then, I should assume that the Biharin aren’t aware of the unusual entities, right?

‘Surely…… Palao priests wouldn’t have omitted such matters deliberately.’

Especially since classifying monsters was something learned at the beginning when servers connected.

It was too early for different Orders to conspire to deceive players intentionally.

If they genuinely were unaware of the unusual entities, it made sense not to explain them.

I observed Gretman, who walked ahead, and asked.

“Do the Biharin not know about that guy?”

At the out-of-the-blue question, Gretman glanced back at me.

I thought he might ignore me again, as he did before.

“Shouldn’t ants need not to know about the hierarchy of mana?”

It was an affirmation that the Biharin weren’t deceiving us intentionally.

As I inadvertently let out a sigh of relief, Gretman added another comment.

“Although it seems you’re a bit different, thanks to your direct interactions with a god… don’t expect the same caliber from the inhabitants of this world or those of your world.”

The meaning behind Gretman’s words was straightforward.

‘Humans need not even know about these unusual entities.’

Damned System