Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Chapter 21: Tomb Raider (8)
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All my efforts proved futile in the end. Nothing happened until I had gathered every last spoil.
That silence felt like it was severing the horrors of the past from my present self.
After collecting the spoils, we moved to the next location, where a Meso awaited.
I found and destroyed the remaining Meso soon enough.
In total, it took about an hour to clear the mission.
But even after finishing my business, I didn't exit the underground tunnel.
Instead, I kept wandering inside, inspecting everything.
Yang Tae-ho followed me diligently without a single complaint.
Thanks to that, we uncovered yet another tragedy.
If there was one difference from what we'd seen before, it was the size of the remains.
"What the hell is this? Don't tell me these are kids?"
"...It looks that way."
Skulls only half the size of my head, limbs that hadn't fully grown, and tiny scraps of clothing.
The scattered, filthy dolls and crude drawings on wooden planks made it clear this was a space prepared for children.
'Like a kindergarten?'
Staring at the scene stirred an uncomfortable, sticky emotion in my chest.
I wasn't the only one; Yang Tae-ho muttered in disbelief.
"Damn... They just left these ones behind?"
"Probably."
"This is insane."
"Well, relatively speaking, they weren't a priority."
Unlike the vault room where the spoils had come from, the traces of battle here weren't intense.
They couldn't have been. There were hardly any elements that could even be called signs of combat.
The remains of one 4-star evolved species.
A single spear impaled in the wall, piercing through the creature's abdomen.
Another set of remains collapsed in front of it.
A diamond-shaped shield clutched in those remains' grip.
That was the extent of anything tying back to the fight.
I carefully examined the remains sprawled on the floor.
The skull's shape was similar to a human's.
It was dented, but it was wearing armor and other gear.
"Hoo."
Even though I wasn't particularly curious, a rough picture formed in my mind.
Dozens of shadows rushing toward the vault upon realizing the raid.
And a single back, racing toward this place.
It was a sight that naturally drew a sigh.
'I get it, but...'
Abandoning the bunker because of intruders meant losing the safe haven I could stay in right away.
So, you'd need a foundation to discuss what came next, right?
It's not strange that while someone grabs provisions for others' lives, another secures money for their own future.
I would've thought the same.
'Humans are selfish by nature; that's just how it is.'
My head understood that fact clearly.
But a corner of my heart felt uneasy.
'I didn't want to see such blatant disparities.'
I shook off the sticky feeling as best I could and stood up.
Since this was a space for children, there wasn't much worth scrutinizing.
I didn't want to linger in such an uncomfortable place anyway.
It was time to check other sections.
But I hadn't taken ten steps before my feet stopped.
"Tsk."
In the end, I turned back around.
If I left like this, today's events would haunt me for quite a while.
'Better to clean it up properly and move on than keep dwelling on it.'
I had no intention of judging the rights and wrongs of the actions of the already dead.
But I do believe there are deaths that deserve personal time and emotion to honor.
By my standards, the deaths left in front of the vault weren't worth investing time to revisit.
Wearing armor meant they were combat personnel.
Yet they'd run not toward the people, but toward the wealth.
A choice to secure their own path after abandoning the bunker.
'If you chose an option for yourself, you have to own the deaths left behind.'
The death here was different.
It kept pulling my eyes back.
It forced me to endlessly question what choice I'd make in the same situation.
'Could I rush here to protect those kids' futures?'
Maybe that's why it felt heavier—because I couldn't nod confidently.
In the end, unable to leave, I began organizing the remains.
"What are you...?"
Yang Tae-ho started to ask but shut his mouth.
Then, realizing what I was doing, he pitched in to help.
Soon, I gathered stones by chipping away at the nearby walls.
To build a stone cairn.
'Whether there's a real afterlife or not, I don't know.'
But isn't having a grave better than none?
For ages on Earth, cultures across the world had buried their dead.
A custom developed to protect the living from rotting corpses, sure.
But separating death from burial felt alien to me.
That's why it seemed right to make one.
Yang Tae-ho and I covered even the children's remains, dusted and webbed as they were, with stones.
The work didn't take long.
After building the cairn, I tossed the evolved species' corpse outside the room since it was an eyesore.
To do that, I had to pull out the spear lodged in its abdomen, but the weapon's condition wasn't great.
'This thing's junk.'
I could melt it down for repair materials, but...
Still, as a personal effect, taking it felt off.
I even placed the dented shield nearby in front of the cairn.
Right then, something appeared between me and the crude, simple stone pile.
HIDDEN MISSION
[Kerax's Lingering Thoughts]
Comfort Kerax, who fell in battle unable to protect the weak in the end.
[Reward]
• Equipment imbued with Kerax's lingering thoughts
「Congratulations! You have successfully completed the HIDDEN MISSION - Kerax's Lingering Thoughts.」
「Searching for an item for Kerax's lingering thoughts to settle into as a success reward.」
「Kerax's lingering thoughts settle into Kerax's memento.」
Before I could even finish reading the long-overdue hidden mission window, a golden glow bloomed from the stone cairn before my eyes.
The light seeped into the neatly placed spear and shield before vanishing.
When I came to, the rusted spear gleamed brightly.
The cracked and dented shield was spotless, without a single scratch.
At that astonishing sight, I let out a gasp.
"...What the hell is this?"
For a moment, I thought I'd voiced my thoughts aloud, but no.
A glance sideways showed Yang Tae-ho staring blankly into the empty space before him, dazed.
He must have gotten the same message as me.
A moment later, he creakily turned his head to look at me and asked.
"You got the hidden mission too, right?"
"Yeah."
Of course. We'd built the cairn together.
"But why aren't you surprised? You're way too calm!"
Because a hidden mission popping up wasn't surprising in itself.
'I don't know what "lingering thoughts" means exactly.'
But it didn't seem like it'd harm me if I took it.
It was a certainty born from the system supporting player growth.
The game itself was made to cultivate players, so no room for doubt.
Among those, hidden missions were rewards given only to those meeting specific conditions.
'It'll help bolster my strength in some way.'
In fact, every hidden mission reward I'd gotten so far had been pretty decent.
Even after all the hardship, I'd never been disappointed once upon receiving them.
No reason to think this would be different.
Separate from my dislike of the system, I trusted its purpose.
That's why I reached for the weapon before the grave without hesitation.
Naturally, I grabbed the spear first, my main weapon.
[Spear Imbued with Kerax's Lingering Thoughts]
• Classification: Relic
• Acquisition Difficulty: Unique
• Rank: ★★★★★
• Bound to: K
• Description: A reward given only to the one who comforted Kerax's lingering thoughts. The gaze of the Seven Gods, who watched Kerax until the moment of death—eyes unclosed from guilt over failing to protect the weak—has imbued this item with special power. Kerax will lend strength to the players who comforted him should they face the same plight.
• Effect: Kerax's Acknowledgment (Inactive)
※ Can only be used by the bound user.
"Hoo."
Sighing because of the system wasn't unfamiliar.
'Just when I thought it'd behave for a while, here we go again.'
The description was so sparse. Shouldn't it explain exactly how it lends strength?
Does it buff? Boost weapon power? Or something else?
To call it an explanation, it needs clear numerical values, right?
'How many patches and they still can't fix this crap.'
I clicked my tongue but fiddled with the spear anyway.
'A unique-grade item.'
A five-star weapon at that.
Alternating glances between the cairn and spear, I recalled the hidden mission's sudden appearance.
'Comfort... lingering thoughts...'
Those seemingly trivial words held more information than expected.
Like the attitude I need to take toward this game going forward.
'The system made this game.'
But the Seven Gods invested in it.
'Their goals don't perfectly align.'
The system's goal: cultivate players to prepare for Earth's invasion.
It also seemed to want to end the war on Bihar before humanity got too deeply involved, if possible.
The gods of Bihar, on the other hand?
'Salvation of their followers.'
This game was designed to fulfill both the developer's and investors' differing objectives.
Realizing that, I felt I knew how to play to maximize rewards.
I gave the new spear a long stroke.
Just moments ago, it was rusted and chipped, unworthy of a second glance.
'Like brand new.'
Unlike my cross-shaped spear, the one imbued with Kerax's lingering thoughts had a sleek blade.
The engravings on it looked quite refined too.
'This'll do nicely.'
The system's shoddy description irked me.
But getting a new weapon was a happy occasion.
Shamel had been nagging about my cross spear lately anyway.
All while calling it flashy and unsuitable for a basic stabber like me.
Its shape was optimized for thrusting anyway, perfect to shut Shamel up.
Switching to a weapon with special effects now wasn't a bad idea.
As I nodded in satisfaction, examining the spear...
"Huh...!"
A gasp came from beside me.
Yang Tae-ho was trembling as he inspected his shield.
Come to think of it, the golden light had seeped into the spear and shield separately.
'Two items so we wouldn't fight over them?'
If there'd been three of us building the cairn, would there have been three rewards?
Curiosity flickered, but I didn't delve deeper.
No point dwelling on what's past.
We'd lucked out with gear suited to each of us.
Bound items, so only Yang Tae-ho could use his.
No use getting interested.
"Let's get moving."
We'd achieved our purpose in returning to this room; time to head out again.
I dragged along Yang Tae-ho, still glued to his shield, and resumed the underground exploration.
The place we arrived at had a massive iron door.
"Why the hold-up? Something off?"
When I didn't budge easily, Yang Tae-ho piped up.
"Who knows... Let's take a look."
The iron door, flung wide open on both sides, was about five meters tall.
Clearly the entrance to this space.
At a glance.