Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Chapter 33: Small World (4)
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"Goddamn System"
“Sometimes you’d forget and not bring him, hyung. He’d just show up on his own and scratch at the door. I let him in a few times.”
There were days I didn’t bring that guy along...
‘I must’ve spaced out a few times on days we came through the gate.’
Portals dropped us inside Palau’s temple, but gates spat us out in front of the world tree statue.
On those latter trips, I’d sometimes forget about him and head straight back to base.
I didn’t love the beast or anything, and I sure didn’t feel any sense of ownership.
I’d picked him up, so out of a sense of responsibility, I took care of him by force of habit.
‘Plus, he only eats my mana.’
Yang Tae-ho and Kim Yul had tried feeding him theirs, but no dice.
Honestly, that made me regret picking him up more than once.
But killing him? He’d already gotten used to my touch, and that felt off.
‘If he’d been draining my mana during fights, I’d have put him down despite the guilt.’
Unfortunately, the mana it took to care for him was easily covered by what I stockpiled during downtime.
‘No real justification to off him, I guess...’
I’d gotten used to killing, but I didn’t want to go around slaughtering every life I’d already touched.
Still, keeping him around was a hassle.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I let out a deep sigh, and the beast peeled away from the door, looking up.
“Woof! Woof!”
Then it zeroed in on the window where Kim Yul and I stood, barking its head off.
Like it knew exactly where we were.
Even if it heard our voices, you’d think it’d glance around first.
How’d it know we were on the second floor—in Kim Yul’s room—no hesitation?
“Hmm...”
Once the unease hit, questions piled up.
‘Does he find the base on his own?’
The beast knowing the way wasn’t a shock.
‘I’ve been dragging him between base and the temple for over a month, so plenty of chances to memorize.’
From feeding him mana and observing for over a month, I already knew his intelligence was higher than expected.
But the timing of him showing up at base? That bugged me.
‘Does he know when we’re back?’
How? Does someone tip him off?
But we’d just teleported straight to base via Ahel’s magic.
No way the temple knew I was back.
‘Or maybe he just drops by on a whim, whether we’re here or not?’
If it was coincidence, no big deal.
‘Why does this still feel off?’
I eyed the beast suspiciously.
“Isn’t that Lashar noona?”
I checked where Kim Yul pointed, and sure enough, there she was.
‘She’s back.’
Heard she’d been pulled to the Galbaric Plains—a massive battlefield not yet public to players.
When high-evolution species too tough for regular troops popped up, they needed someone to handle it.
‘No real news of victory or defeat.’
Probably just another pointless war of attrition.
At least she didn’t look badly hurt. Small mercies.
‘Perfect timing.’
Gretman’s words gave me something to ask her.
I’d been waiting for her return.
I headed downstairs to greet Lashar.
Kim Yul followed.
“But hyung.”
“What.”
“When’re you gonna name him?”
“Him? Oh, the beast pup... Name? I’m thinking of ditching him.”
All he does is eat mana on the regular.
‘Too much hassle to keep around.’
What the hell to do with this thing? Headache.
‘If he ate other people’s mana, I could pawn him off on some weirdo who wants an exotic pet.’
But no, only mine. Real pain.
Dumping him means certain death, so I can’t just kick him out.
I sighed and opened the door.
“Woof!”
The beast bolted in like it’d been waiting, circling my feet.
Compared to when I first found him, he’d doubled in size—no more wobbling when he walked or ran.
My head was a mess over him, but oblivious, he bounced around distractingly.
I scowled, grabbed him by the scruff, and hoisted him up.
He didn’t resist, just wagged and barked.
‘His behavior’s spot on.’
Looks more fox than anything.
Staring at my headache-on-legs, something similar popped into mind.
“Snowball...”
“Huh?”
“Looks just like a snowball.”
“...You mean the cookie?”
“Yeah.”
I shoved the beast into Kim Yul’s arms.
“Name’s Snowball. Good enough?”
“...No other options? It’s alive, y’know. Food names feel off.”
Options? Whatever.
“Just call him that.”
I brushed off Kim Yul.
I checked the leather cord around the newly christened Snowball’s neck.
Temporary collar to hang magic tools on.
Using a ring accumulator that held about 2,000 attribute mana as his food bowl.
One reason I didn’t like him.
‘Accumulators are rare.’
Even Ahel only had four and shot down my borrow request flat.
‘The red one—the highest capacity—is down to 22 across the continent.’
Others lost in war, and with all mage towers collapsed, no new ones.
Couldn’t buy one even with money.
Mages hoarding theirs.
‘Hope some drop soon.’
I sighed again, checking Snowball’s bowl.
Luckily, full—hadn’t eaten yet.
I let go of his collar—no refill needed—and told Kim Yul.
“Take him up later. Gotta talk to Lashar alone.”
No thanks to him yapping during.
“Got it, got it.”
“Hunting tomorrow—don’t flake.”
“...Sorry about today.”
“Apologize to Tae-ho hyung too.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Kay! Yul!”
Lashar arrived right as Kim Yul answered.
“You’re both at the dorm. Squirmy kept trying to leave the temple, so I tagged along for a walk. Good call coming out! How’ve you been?”
“As you can see. Come in.”
I stepped aside at the door.
* * *
Kay ran joint training with his party every other dawn.
Ahel joined sometimes.
Needed his teleport for evac or infiltration drills.
Of course, with years of practice, he didn’t need constant drills like the outsiders.
Just matching Kay’s signals for three or four spells.
After his part, he’d retreat and kill time alone.
About a month since Kay returned from Gemal—same deal today.
“Yawn.”
Sitting idle brought yawns, sure.
But not boring.
Fun watching Kay up close during training.
In the days he’d skipped, Kay’s mana arrays had gotten denser.
‘Skill jumps every other day.’
Tenacity, diligence, solid learning curve.
‘If all outsiders were like him, I’d have hope.’
Sadly, the Seven Gods’ “reinforcements” were mostly peace-rotted small fry.
Case in point: that outsider Kim Yul, barely pulling off rank-4 wind magic.
“Over two minutes again.”
“...Thirteen seconds faster than yesterday.”
Kim Yul burned minutes on wide-area spells.
Kay frowned, unsatisfied.
“Cut it under ten seconds. How long you gonna waste on one spell?”
If Ahel trained him, he’d add something.
‘Mess up that array too.’
Kim Yul’s mana array was painful to watch.
‘Textbook trash.’
Show that to other mages? Laughingstock.
Textbook arrays expose every flaw.
Decent mages dismantle with a flick.
‘Do they even count that as magic...?’
Basics are just minimal nature tweaks.
Skill and rank come from array tweaks.
By those standards, Kim Yul’s “magic” looked childish.
A mage doing that? I’d mock hard.
But not now.
‘Nothing special.’
Most outsiders ape textbook arrays like him.
‘Pigs with diamond necklaces, powering up attribute mana.’
Makes Kay stand out more.
Kay endlessly split and twisted basics to control nature.
‘Flame Storm hit ignition-plus?’
Kay’s went beyond basic fire-in-air ages ago.
Dancing flames like living things? Twist basics repeatedly.
‘Chopping shields solo, no knowledge? Impressed me.’
Shields aren’t high-rank, but fragmenting ups complexity.
Even pros skip it.
Months in, no teacher—wild success.
‘Freak’s a freak.’
And that freak pegged me as a threat.
‘What now...?’
Stoking Lashar’s fear to stick by Kay was supposed to work.
But time together hadn’t eased his wariness.
If anything, sharper than first meet.
‘Bad advice?’
Mana follows owner’s “temperament.”
Nurture shifts it, but innate rules.
Kay struggling with water? Obvious.
‘Cool head, hot gut.’
Lightning holders? Dual-natured.
‘Cautious, rational thinkers.’
But snap decisions sometimes.
Hypersensitive to inner triggers.
‘Calm guys suddenly flipping out.’
Lightning trait.
Water-based but fire-heavy balance.
Challenge-hungry, merciless, aggressive.
Kay mirrored it perfectly.
‘Easiest to puppet in that state.’
Know triggers? Steer him easy.
‘For him, probably...’
Goddamn System