Chapter 384

Chapter 68: Growing and Accumulating (4)

“There’s no way I could be angry!”

I had been looking blankly at Rashar, who suddenly raised her voice.

“How shameless do you think I am to assume that I would be angry over this?”

Somehow, things were unfolding differently than I had imagined.

“I owe you a debt that I could never repay in a lifetime, so what kind of chunk of land would make me angry with you?”

Rashar’s voice rose as she clenched both hands tightly.

“Although it’s slightly bewildering, it doesn’t mean I resent you! Instead, I should be shouting thanks with all my might, but this is just……!”

She seemed so furious that her breathing became so rough that I could distinctly hear it.

I had been quietly listening to Rashar for a while before I finally spoke up.

“You’re not angry?”

Did she perceive it as me testing her?

With eyes wide open, lashara glared at me and shouted even louder.

“I told you I’m not!”

“But you’re clearly angry now.”

“This, this is……!”

Just as Rashar was about to shout once more, she quickly adjusted her tone.

Ahem, she cleared her throat and lowered her voice considerably.

“That was just because you said something absurd, and I got momentarily agitated.”

“It wasn’t just increased; it seemed like you were boiling with rage.”

“…… Boiling?”

Rashar seemed puzzled by the phrase.

“It’s something like that.”

Instead of explaining in detail, I reached out and pulled her back onto my lap.

“You’re not truly angry.”

Only then did my worries seem to melt away.

I had been a bit uneasy about confessing to having disrupted the world she lived in.

Logically, it was a dimension bound to disappear, and I just used it more efficiently.

But emotionally, I thought Rashar could have been angry.

That’s why after much deliberation, I finally confessed.

I had also thought about a way to resolve it just in case our relationship turned awkward like before.

I reckoned that if I could help with the situation of the Biharin, she might forgive me a bit.

But it turned out to be unnecessary.

“So, you’re not angry.”

I let the corners of my mouth naturally lift as I wrapped my arms around Rashar’s waist again.

“Good.”

There were times when even I wanted to rest and share warmth in this way.

But I hadn’t realized how satisfying it would be.

The feeling of openly sharing warm body heat provided more reassurance than I expected.

It suddenly dawned on me; perhaps I was relying on Rashar psychologically, just a little.

Though she was still breathing a bit heavily, lashara didn’t push me away.

I found comfort in that fact. It meant that my relationship with Rashar had developed that much.

I thought I’d seize the opportunity and try to take it a step further.

Someone was coming out from Rashar’s side of the accommodations.

“The nation …… That way, we might also be able to secure a foundation for ourselves…… My goodness, how did you ever come up with this idea…….”

Though the presence was obvious, lashara seemed too engrossed in her own thoughts to notice.

‘Leave quietly.’

I didn’t want my solo time with Rashar to be disturbed.

So I shot a sharp look in the direction of the presence.

However, instead of retreating quietly after seeing us, the other party reacted intensely.

The moment she and I locked eyes, she covered her mouth with both hands, shocked.

“Gu, guildmaster……!”

Even Rashar, who had been deep in thought, snapped back to attention and gaped.

I chuckled as I held her down when she tried to stand up suddenly.

“Why are you so surprised?”

It made sense for her to be shocked since she didn’t know about our relationship.

But I wondered why Rashar looked so flustered.

“But it was discovered……! If this gets out to everyone…….”

“What are you talking about?”

I glanced at the player as I firmly held Rashar’s waist.

I hoped she’d leave once she grasped the situation.

Seemingly understanding my glare, the flustered player backed away hastily, saying,

“I’m, I’m sorry. I raised my voice because I was worried! Anyway, have a good time!”

She bowed deeply, almost at a right angle, then scrambled back inside her accommodations.

‘She should have left earlier.’

Why did she have to acknowledge anything? Happy that the interrupter left, I interlocked hands with Rashar.

But Rashar kept looking around and tried to release my hand.

“It’s best to return now.”

Her reaction was very different from just moments ago, and my eyebrow twitched.

“If word about seeing us like this gets out……”

“What’s wrong with that?”

I didn’t plan to publicly discuss my personal life.

But that didn’t mean I intended to deny or hide my relationship with Rashar.

“Are you embarrassed to be with me?”

“That, that’s a ridiculous question!”

But when I asked why she thought of hiding it, lashara was speechless.

I intended to solidify our relationship during the pause.

“Oh, no.”

I felt something flowing from my nose and quickly tilted my upper body to the side.

Splat.

Seeing the dripping blood, lashara froze, like a statue.

Meanwhile, I calmly handled the situation without indication of surprise.

I had experienced it a few times over the past few days, so there was no reason to be alarmed.

“Thought it would stop bleeding at night since it happened once this morning.”

The timing was unfavorable.

To make matters worse, the amount of blood was steadily increasing.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was pouring out.

Fortunately, the bleeding didn’t last long.

But by then, more than a bucketful of blood had been lost.

“Blood, blood is……!”

Rashar’s voice quivered violently.

She even extended her hand to directly wipe away the blood.

‘She must be quite shocked.’

I stopped her hand from getting stained with blood and replied lightly.

“It’s nothing……”

“You think this isn’t serious when so much blood is coming out?”

I sensed that if I said the wrong thing, it would lead to something serious.

Realizing this quickly, I opened my mouth hastily.

“Correction, it is something, but it’s absolutely not serious.”

Rashar, who had been about to rise and snap at me, seemed to pause slightly.

I seized the moment to quickly continue.

“I know the cause, and I have a solution. We’re currently preparing for it.”

The sigh that Rashar let out was unmistakably one of relief.

Based on prior experience, it wasn’t hard to figure out what might have angered Rashar.

I spoke further to address that concern.

“I wasn’t trying to downplay the situation; I genuinely didn’t think it was serious from my perspective.”

“…… Then, you can explain it thoroughly, right.”

Having calmed down a bit, lashara asked.

“What on earth could a player’s body do to…….”

Yet, her voice still trembled slightly, visibly revealing her agitation.

I noticed her gaze lingering on the blood-soaked floor and began separating the water attribute from my mana.

Once the blood was cleaned away, the floor and my face—wiped reflexively—were spotless.

I locked fingers with Rashar again, with clean hands, and spoke.

“If you think of it as the body being unable to withstand, it’s easy to understand.”

“What……?”

“I told you I witnessed the end of Karlos.”

I revealed that I was gradually absorbing his status.

Though I already possessed considerable status, and adding Karlos’s was too much for a human body to endure.

After detecting the anomaly, I and the Damned System immediately searched for a solution.

Currently, the Damned System was preparing to implement that solution.

“So there’s nothing to worry too much about.”

“…….”

“You just trust me as always.”

Because, as always, I would solve the problem and repay that trust.

* * *

Yesterday’s date ended up inconclusive.

Not only was I unable to advance things out of self-interest, but I also had to listen to Rashar’s nagging.

She explained there was a distinction between trusting me and being worried.

She laid it out point by point, and I wasn’t tactless enough to make any moves then.

‘Of all times, to have a nosebleed.’

I clicked my tongue silently and crossed causality.

Having just received the awaited call from the system.

‘I’m getting pretty familiar with things here.’

It was an utterly unfamiliar experience at first, but after going through it a few times, I got used to it.

Most decisively.

Having learned my way around, I proceeded without hesitation to find the system.

Upon reaching my destination, I laid my hand atop the white dome without a word.

As I spread my divinity over it, the white wall unraveled, revealing an entrance.

Thanks to the adjustment by the Damned System, this became possible.

The System had added some programs, allowing me to come and go while it managed things inside.

Thus, I entered the dome without any hindrance.

Approaching the core, I saw a white mass protruding from the white floor.

Without anyone having to tell me, I knew that was the Damned System.

“Anything special?”

I asked as I approached, and the system replied a half-beat late.

– I have been meticulously observing, but no new hole has emerged.

And there were also no extreme reactions of causality detected.

In its explanation, I pointed out the uncomfortable truth.

“Don’t we already know we can’t trust causality’s responses? Look how many dolls got in.”

– The search concluded that those were judged to have entered through holes.

When entities with status enter from outside dimensions, causality reacts sensitively.

It instantly moves to exclude them from the material world.

Thanks to this, the System, observing from outside, could immediately notice.

– Status that crosses from dimension to dimension seems to be quietly censored by causality internally. It’s hard for me, on the outside, to notice right away.

“So if a hole opens up, there’s no way to selectively block anything that comes through?”

– Yes, that is correct.

The System, with the defensive walls it had installed across Earth, could only delay the opening of the holes.

Selecting and blocking what crosses from open holes was impossible.

‘Karklein’s authority indeed facilitates dimensional invasions in various ways.’

Not thrilled by the news, I clicked my tongue instinctively.

I couldn’t afford to dwell on this problem, though.

Initially, my purpose here was to resolve another issue.

“Then there’s no choice but to wait. Proceed with what I asked for. You did say the preparations were finished, right?”

– Yes, the programming is complete, but …… Are you sure you want to proceed?

The system’s sphere moved slightly, as if looking up at me.

– I terminated the player’s evolution at the Platinum rank because it seemed the best course of action.

Yet it asked if I really intended to undergo further evolution.

The concern-laden tone prompted my firm reply.

“Bring forward another best option if you have any.”

I was about to evolve the player’s body to a higher level now.

This process was necessary to fully absorb Karlos’s status.

‘Because I cannot give up my human form.’

Managing authority within the material world without constraints was a tremendous advantage.

‘Yet, currently, my body is unable to withstand the increasingly immense status.’

In that case, the solution was to enhance the body to endure it.

Because of the Damned System maintaining the game’s rules, surpassing the human limits to fortify one’s body was not impossible.

Thus, I instructed it to create a new rank for promotion.

The notice of its readiness had come today.

All that remained was the execution, yet the system expressed further concern.

– It will be incredibly painful. To the point of being unbearable.

When building this game, the system had run multiple simulations.

Over half resulted in player fatalities from shock due to intense pain during ascension beyond the Platinum rank.

The System had excluded ranks beyond the Platinum for this reason in the actual game.

However, I couldn’t just surrender without attempting the challenge first.

Damned System

**New Elements and Characters**

– 라샤르 = Rashar (she)