Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Chapter 22: Party Play (1)
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Yang Tae-ho probably saw a message slightly different from mine.
「Contacting Alpha.」
「Alpha is purifying contaminated mana.」
His surprise was only natural.
Purifying contaminated mana without a purification agent would be something he'd never heard of.
Even I hadn't anticipated it until my Purification trait leveled up.
'I never imagined the gap between non-growth and growth types would show up here.'
That trait was also what made me seriously consider forming a party.
Of course, leveling it up didn't make Purification omnipotent.
[Purification (lv.2 - 38.79%)]
• Classification: Trait (Reward)
• Description: A perk given to players with outstanding performance. Allows self-purification of contaminated mana without purification agents, and the range expands as levels increase.
• Effect lv.2: Can purify another person's contaminated mana only through physical contact.
At level 2, contact with the target player is required.
As I purified Yang Tae-ho's contaminated mana, I subtly furrowed my brow.
'Purification agents really are inefficient as hell.'
A 100-mana purification agent cleanses only about 100 to 150 worth of contamination.
Players without the Purification trait struggle to zero out their Chaos Value with agents alone.
Using mana to buy them reduces purified mana, raising Chaos Value again.
Purifying that just repeats the cycle for the next purchase.
'Only purified mana can be used in the shop.'
Players have varying mana pools, and efficiency depends on mana operation skill.
But fundamentally, how Gammas manage Chaos Value is a vicious cycle, not virtuous.
'With all the other stuff you need mana for.'
That's why most Gamma players maintain Chaos Value at a moderate level instead of wiping it to zero at once.
Overusing mana on agents leaves you behind.
The inefficiency of this growth process is why players are ranked Alpha, Beta, Gamma.
'Can't give Purification to everyone, so they focus support on standouts.'
The System hands Alphas the power to raise others.
Probably due to the causality it mentioned.
'The more autonomy players have, the less burden on causality.'
As I purified Yang Tae-ho's contaminated mana, I pondered the System's structure.
Finally pulling himself together after the silence, Yang Tae-ho spoke in a dazed yet excited tone.
"Travelin' with you ain't gonna be borin', no sirree."
He was always shocked by everything; now he claimed he was worn out from it.
Grinning, he added with a lazy exhale and mutter.
"Whew, Chaos down low like this, feels like I'm floatin' on air."
Yang Tae-ho could endure contaminated mana a bit better, but he wasn't free of its effects.
"It'll take a while to fully purify it."
"Gotta keep holdin' on like this?"
"Any skin contact does the trick."
I'd already purified the Palau players.
So the minimum requirement for Purification was confirmed.
'Staying like this would just look ridiculous.'
Glancing up at the pitch-black sky, I extended my left arm to Yang Tae-ho.
He grabbed my wrist, and we resumed moving in that position.
"Man, life's fulla surprises, ain't it?"
Was he giddy from watching his Chaos Value drop in real time?
"Never thought I'd be holdin' onto a fella and feelin' this good 'bout it."
Yang Tae-ho kept chatting in high spirits.
No need to rain on his parade, so I played along casually.
"Never thought I'd be walkin' arm-in-arm with a guy either."
"Hah hah ha! Good thing neither of us swings that way, huh? If someone saw..."
Perfect setup for weird misunderstandings.
Yang Tae-ho laughed with silly jokes.
From traveling together, his kindly face matched his kindly mind—he seemed to live by "good is good."
'His Chaos limit of 70 says it all.'
Optimistically, it's kindness; cynically, conflict avoidance.
Older than me, but mentally different from Jong-hoon, who I could rely on.
No big issue, though.
As leader, my decisions would guide the party anyway.
His easygoing nature was actually welcome.
'Could act as a brake if I go too far.'
Having someone like that makes it easier to reflect on my actions by comparison.
'Nice.'
I was largely pleased with the upsides of Yang Tae-ho joining.
Satisfied for now, he casually probed my background.
"So, how old are ya? Look younger'n me."
Age was no big deal.
"Twenty-five."
"Younger'n I figured. Your mouth moves just like mine when ya talk—Korean, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm thirty-five this year. How 'bout we do hyung-dongsaeng?"
"Whatever's comfortable. I don't fuss over that stuff."
"But what's your code name? Time to spill it, yeah?"
"Oh."
His next question made me halt abruptly.
I'd only half-introduced myself.
'Guess I'm used to beastkin.'
I'd been meeting beastkin a lot lately.
They sniffed more than asked names.
That habit made me forget to give my code name after asking his.
But Yang Tae-ho thought I was being secretive.
'Not like I'm mysterious or anything.'
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I quickly sent a party invite and said,
"It's K."
"...Huh? Say what?"
The party request popped up, and Yang Tae-ho sounded stunned.
"I said K..."
Answering flatly, my eyes snapped to the map.
A black dot had appeared at the edge.
Monsters on the map weren't unusual.
'A stray or two could linger.'
But my fingertips tingled—bad feeling.
The dot appeared too suddenly.
'Popped up out of nowhere.'
Then the black dot on the map moved toward us.
It closed in fast, slowed, paused briefly, then surged again.
Like leaping off the ground in big bounds.
Similar to when it first appeared at the map's edge.
'No local monsters move like that.'
Corpses around confirmed it.
Monsters here were monkey-spider hybrids, crawling on multiple arms from their torsos.
They wouldn't bound like that.
"Whoa, fer real? Real-deal K? Hot damn, what a twist! Knew somethin' felt off!"
Confirming my code name shocked him, but he accepted the party.
As he excitedly opened his mouth, I'd already raised my spear.
Unintentionally shaking off his hand in the process.
Spotting my expression change, Yang Tae-ho asked,
"Huh? What's up now?"
"It's coming."
Finishing my words, the black dot closed in fast again.
I focused mana into my eyes.
Vision extended farther, glimpsing a shadow between trees.
Unclear against the dark backdrop.
But the black mass bounding toward us, kicking off the ground, was sizable.
'About 3 meters.'
First thought: the 4-star evo corpse from the underground bunker.
"Fall back."
A full party might handle it, but solo with Yang Tae-ho?
He wouldn't help much against a 4-star evo.
Fortunately, his mana was earth-based.
'He can defend himself at least.'
Any dumb questions then would've dropped his score with me.
But he instantly raised his shield and retreated.
Quickly grasping it wasn't his fight, per my lead.
Letting me focus fully on the approaching evo.
Seeing the four black stars above the massive monster's head recalled memories from two weeks ago.
When the Seven Churches' leadership decided to reveal upper contamination zones.
I'd entered a 4-star zone with Palau's holy knights.
Main goal: firsthand danger assessment.
Side goal: gain urgent combat experience.
Needed to test Shamelle-honed skills in real fights.
That day, handling even one person's share was tough.
'Only evos there, though.'
Cold assessment: I could solo three upper evos max.
Luckily, just one now.
Maxed map showed no other approaching dots like it.
Eagerly, I drew my short spear.
'Can't lose to a solo and feel shame.'
Before full engagement, a test shot.
Gripping for a throw, I stepped left foot forward big.
Instantly, Shamelle's nagging voice auto-played, familiar as earwax.
- Why's the waist of a guy usin' spears so stiff? Waist and shaft gotta dance together!
Twisting my now-natural waist to power the flying spear.
- Think chuckin' it hard makes it a throw? Real spear throws pierce air first.
For farther, faster: wrapped fingers on shaft for spin.
Finally, the form perfected over thousands, tens of thousands reps.
Without hesitation, I contracted muscles and hurled the gripped short spear.
Screee-!
It sliced air.
4-star evos absorbed at least five-six times more mana than base.
Basic intelligence for coordinated attacks.
Physicals outpace silver-plate players' perception.
So I threw full power from the start.
The whistling spear's power was no joke.
Post-silver-plate grip strength could crumble marble.
Indeed, spinning fiercely, it ignored obstacles.
Shattered a tree edge on its path, bulling straight.
Reached the evo as it coiled to leap again.
"Tch."
Not a good result.
The evo twisted its upper body blindingly fast, leaving afterimages.
My spear missed, veering harmlessly.
Would've been nice post-injury.
'No choice.'
Regret hit, but I shook it off quick.
No room for distractions against something deadlier than me.
Moments after clearing my mind, the evo's full form emerged.