Damned System

Chapter 25. Player (5)

Fortunately, being close to Gwanak Mountain made it easy to hide.

Thirty minutes had passed since escaping the hiking trail to arrive at a secluded location with no sign of human presence.

I glared at the little kid, who was kneeling with his hands raised, with a piercing gaze.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

I originally had no intention of getting involved so actively.

The plan was only to observe what happened after this kid got caught.

But multiple thoughts and circumstances overlapped, causing my body to move on its own.

In a way, this was like a traffic accident.

It was like seeing a child almost get hit by a car and instinctively stretching out a hand.

It was close to a reflexive action, stepping beyond the realm of thought.

But that didn’t change the fact that I had caused a disturbance.

‘Bringing him here, now what?’

I sighed repeatedly and rubbed my face roughly when the kid’s hands started to lower bit by bit.

“Keep them straight, alright?”

“But, it’s getting too hard…”

Even though I wanted to believe those words, I just couldn’t.

From the level of mana I detected, the kid’s mana was around 40 to 50.

His bodily changes were in the steepest range, exceeding the physical capabilities of people who professionally trained their bodies.

Even as a child, his physical abilities must have surpassed those of an average person.

Holding his arms up as punishment should have been something he could easily endure.

“You managed to catch and kill a beast right after the tutorial ended, and you’re saying this is hard?”

As soon as I pointed that out, the kid immediately stood up, glaring at me with wide eyes.

“As expected!”

I frowned, wondering what this brat was on about.

“A-are you a p-player too?!”

With a face that looked about to burst into tears, the kid crawled on his knees toward me and clung to my leg.

Tears were already pooling in his eyes, ready to fall.

“Please, help me! Please, save me!”

Dragged from the water only to demand the whole bundle?

I was about to snap and shout at him out of sheer anger when I noticed the scar on his neck.

A scar that looked like the torn skin had healed over.

It was similar to the scars on my side and knee.

Seeing that, I couldn’t bring myself to utter harsh words.

The events I went through during the tutorial flashed rapidly through my mind.

And the words Kj said started floating before my eyes.

First, a standard guard dog, then three hyenas, and finally a tiger.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine the expressions this kid would have faced against beasts several times his size.

My insides churned with fury.

‘This damned system.’

I clenched my teeth to refrain from yelling as I suppressed my anger.

After a fairly long while, I sighed and helped the trembling, tear-stained kid to his feet.

The kid was already shaking, tears streaming down his face.

“What were you thinking doing something like this? There’s already been news articles, and the police are investigating, what do you plan to do?”

Though I tried to hold back, my chiding voice was sharp.

The kid hung his head low, sniffling.

“I was just… I was just s-scared…”

He muttered a few words and then went on to rub his hands together in a pleading gesture.

“Heong, heong, I was so s-scared, I just wanted to p-practice…”

From that moment, it was as if a river of tears overflowed.

‘This is maddening.’

Right, what’s the use of blaming him now?

I had already brought this kid with me.

Regretting wouldn’t undo what’s done.

Now, I had to put aside my regrets and find a way to solve this.

Watching the kid with a bewildered expression, I finally sighed and reached out.

As I picked the kid up and sat him on my knee, a somewhat old memory surfaced.

The time when I consoled the twins crying in the corner at my parents’ funeral.

‘This feels filthy.’

I placed my hand on the small back and patted it gently, just as I did that day.

The kid began to sob his heart out, as if the whole world had left him.

For a while, I silently comforted him.

And only after the kid had calmed down a bit did I start asking questions.

His name was Im Namkyu, he was twelve years old, and seemed to have grown up in a single-parent household.

Listening more, it turned out his father was an alcoholic.

He hardly ever came home, so they hadn’t run into each other during the tutorial.

A heavy story that weighed on my mind, but one that wouldn’t resolve the current situation.

‘I can’t take him with me.’

I already had enough burdens to carry without suddenly taking responsibility for another.

But just leaving him here wasn’t an option either.

‘This is why you shouldn’t meddle in other people’s affairs lightly.’

Since I was already involved, I had to find a solution.

Otherwise, I’d toss and turn, losing sleep over it.

‘Let’s think of a way.’

Since I couldn’t be fully responsible for the kid, the first thing that came to mind was a foster institution.

But I immediately shook my head.

With his father’s issues, sending the kid to a foster care facility was fraught with complications.

Beyond practical feasibility, there was the game to consider.

‘This kid is a player too.’

Without a guarantee against forced summoning, adapting to this game was essential for survival.

Meaning this kid would eventually have to undertake missions.

‘A normal foster institution won’t do.’

A place that either knew about this game or was willing to overlook it would be preferable.

Among them, a place where the latter might make sense came to mind.

However, it didn’t seem like a particularly promising option.

I glanced at the north, deep in thought.

People who walked around in alleyways with guns.

– Don’t stand around, start looking!
– They couldn’t have gone far, move!

Their response was swift when the kid unexpectedly vanished in front of them.

Though perhaps surprised, they quickly composed themselves and zeroed in on their search.

They regained their composure in the face of an unrealistic situation with unexpected speed.

As if they had experienced it before.

‘I suppose it’s safe to assume they know.’

Though I didn’t know who they were,

there was a sense that they had caught on to this game.

The trouble was, they didn’t seem particularly friendly towards players.

“Tsk.”

To make matters worse, they had seen the kid.

Would it take them hours to scour the vicinity’s CCTV footage or vehicle black box recordings?

Would things have been easier had I whisked the kid away before they showed up?

I tapped my forehead, lost in thought.

Or at least, I tried to. But the grating sound of the system’s notification derailed my attempt.

[The trait ????? has been activated.]

[The system is switching to support mode. Support target: Player Kang Hyunwoo.]

[Commencing search.]

[Progress: 1%]

For a brief moment, my thoughts froze.

‘Question marks?’

Despite the main server being activated, I couldn’t have known what that trait was, so why here, now?

While I remained frozen, the progress bar filled at an alarming speed.

[Progress: 100%]

[A patch for updates is underway.]

[Progress: 1%]

The update took barely five minutes.

[Progress: 100%]

[The patch has been completed.]

[The player’s achievement program is running.]

[The player’s auxiliary program (reputation and title) is running.]

[The player’s status window function is being updated.]

[Title Bounty Hunter (Reserve) has been created.]

[First mission accomplished! Reputation increased by 10.]

[Direct contribution to the closure of the hole! Reputation increased by 2.]

[First successful mission 02! Reputation increased by 20.]

[Direct contribution to the closure of the hole! Reputation increased by 4.]

[Direct contribution to the closure of the hole! Reputation increased by 4.]

…….

Once the system’s third update concluded,

HIDDEN MISSION

「Bounty Hunting (South Korea-01)」

Remove the player who killed a compatriot (0/1).

– Check the target’s location on the map. (Check location)

– If the mission fails within the time limit, the bounty hunter’s location will be disclosed to the target.

「Success Rewards」

• Reputation 10

• Random Box (x1)

「Time Limit」

• 24:00:00

A disturbing timer began to tick down.

My expression twisted grotesquely.

* * *

Composing myself, the first thing I did was skim through the community.

Though there was talk of updates, there was no mention of receiving missions.

Upon sending messages to Kj and Ethan, concise but certain replies returned.

– Kj: No mission, just update notifications!
– Ethan: No, there’s no mission. There are just update notifications in the message window.

My mind became a tangled mess.

‘What’s with this system suddenly yakking about a bounty?’

Having this strange mission pop up was headache-inducing enough, but it wasn’t the sole issue troubling me.

The question mark trait that had suddenly activated felt as if it was scratching my insides raw.

‘Support mode? Search?’

What on earth was going on? I pulled up my status window.

Now, unlike before, new tags for titles and reputation appeared, and just like in the messages, my reputation was now 40.

And adjacent to the problem trait with the question marks was the word “activated.”

I swallowed hard and selected the question mark trait, prompting a different event than ever before.

「????? (Activated)」

• Category: Trait

• Description: You can receive system support.

Back when the main server activated, nothing showed up, but now there was a description window.

‘Support?’

What did system support even entail?

I ground my teeth and revisited what just happened.

The trait activated, followed by a message about a search commencing.

Then the update occurred, and once finished, a bounty mission appeared out of the blue.

A memory of something unsettling quickly surfaced as I began to feel something was off.

‘Items…’

When I picked up spoils and a spear from the mission site, the system processed an update related to items.

As if it knew exactly what had occurred to me.

‘Are you watching me?’

A shiver ran down my spine, akin to being clad in utter disgust.

‘Is this bastard a voyeur?’

Feeling as though bugs crawled over me, I scrubbed my skin roughly.

Whoosh, Whoosh, I quickly scanned the empty surroundings with sheer disgust.

“A-are you okay, uncle…?”

The nervous kid rolled his eyes anxiously.

I pressed a hand to the top of his head, trying to reassure him.

“Just hang on a bit, I need to collect my thoughts.”

“Okay…”

Taking deep breaths, I tried to organize my thoughts. Let’s piece this together, one step at a time.

‘When I got the items, the question mark trait didn’t activate.’

Right after I picked up the items, the system automatically started the update.

So why was it different this time?

Search, support, bounty, these scattered and unorganized words floated in my mind.

Then, suddenly, one hypothesis sprang forth.

The message stating the system was conducting a search.

‘Did it search for something I didn’t know about?’

Say, when the trait is inactive, the system operates by comprehending the surrounding situations based on me.

For instance, if there were a monitor above my head or something like that.

I picked up the item myself.

So if the system really was observing me, checking it directly should have been possible.

The same should apply for the second update.

I witnessed firsthand the commotion in the community unfold.

Then, an update occurred that introduced code names within the community.

For both instances, while the questionable trait remained inactive, the updates had a definitive connection to situational occurrences I had directly witnessed and experienced.

However, for this bounty mission, the scenario surrounding a player accused of killing a compatriot, I was clueless.

Perhaps explaining the necessity for a search, if you viewed it from that angle.

The past two updates could perhaps be seen as merely addressing necessary points from instances I had experienced.

‘Thus, this update ought to share a similar angle.’

What could it possibly wish to amend this time?

‘Could it be…?’

Darting my gaze upward, I peered towards the north.

The direction from which I brought Namkyu back, the alleyway where I encountered those individuals, Kj’s story about the NIS, and the player accused of killing a compatriot.

‘The players supposedly killed at the NIS?’

Once I started linking it together, numerous events that had been scattered disconnectedly started aligning one after another.

Those individuals in wait to capture Namkyu today, there’s a possibility they were NIS agents.

If players were indeed killed at the NIS by a fellow player,

“Ha!”

An absurdity that made me chuckle escaped my lips.

Damned system.