Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Player (5)
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Fortunately, Gwanak Mountain was right nearby, making it easy to hide.
Thirty minutes after arriving at a spot off the hiking trail with no signs of human activity whatsoever.
I glared at the kid kneeling with his hands up, my eyes sharp as knives.
‘This is driving me insane.’
I hadn’t planned on getting involved so aggressively.
My intention was just to observe what happened after he got caught.
But various thoughts and circumstances aligned, and my body moved on its own.
In a word, it was like a car accident.
Like instinctively reaching out when you see a child about to get hit by a car right in front of you.
It was a reflexive action outside the realm of conscious thought.
But that didn’t change the fact that I’d screwed things up.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do with him now?’
As I sighed repeatedly and rubbed my face roughly.
The kid’s hands began to creep down little by little.
“Keep them straight.”
“B-but it hurts so much…….”
Even if I wanted to let it slide, I couldn’t.
From what I could sense through mana detection, his mana was around 4-50 units, a massive amount.
This was the phase where physical changes were steepest, granting him superior bodily abilities compared to someone professionally trained.
Even as a child, his physical prowess far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
He could easily endure something like standing punishment with hands raised.
“You hunted and killed beasts right after the tutorial ended, and now you’re whining about pain?”
Pointing that out earned me a reaction.
The kid shot to his feet, eyes wide as he stared up at me.
“Y-you knew!”
I scowled, wondering what his deal was.
“U-Uncle, you’re a P-Player too?!”
His face crumpling like he was about to burst into tears, the kid crawled over on his knees and clung to my leg.
Tears were already welling up in his eyes.
“P-Please help me! Save me, I beg you!”
I’d pulled him from the fire, and now he was asking me to carry his load too?
Heat rushed to my head in an instant, and I was about to snap at him.
Then I noticed the kid’s nape.
A scar like torn flesh that had been stitched back together.
It looked similar to the ones on my side and knee.
Seeing that, harsh words wouldn’t come out.
Memories from the tutorial flashed rapidly through my mind.
And K’s words floated before my eyes.
First a large dog, then three hyenas, and finally a tiger.
I couldn’t even imagine what expression this kid had worn facing beasts several times his size.
Rage boiled inside me.
‘This damn system.’
I clenched my teeth to suppress my anger without shouting.
Only after a good long while did I sigh and help the kid to his feet.
He was already trembling and shedding tears nonstop.
“What the hell were you thinking, pulling something like this? News articles are already out, and the police are investigating. What’s your plan?”
I tried to hold back, but my scolding voice came out sharp.
The kid hung his head and whimpered.
“I-I’m sorry…… I was scared…….”
He mumbled a few words, then clasped his hands together in desperate begging.
“Waaah, I was so, so scared, so I, I w-wanted to practice, waaah.”
From then on, it was a full-blown flood of tears.
‘I’m losing my mind.’
Yeah, what was the point of rehashing it now?
I’d already brought the kid here.
No use regretting it.
I needed to set regrets aside and find a solution.
Watching him in stunned silence, I finally swallowed a sigh and reached out.
I picked him up and sat him on my knee, and an old memory surfaced.
The time I’d held my sobbing twins in the corner of our parents’ funeral home, comforting them.
‘Feels shitty.’
Just like back then, I placed my hand on his small back and patted it.
The kid wailed as if the world were ending.
For a while, I just soothed him wordlessly.
Only after he calmed a bit did I ask questions.
His name was Im Nam-gyu, twelve years old, raised in a single-parent home.
Hearing more, his father was an alcoholic.
He hardly ever came home, so they hadn’t crossed paths during the tutorial.
It was a heavy story that weighed on my heart, but it didn’t solve the situation.
‘I can’t take him with me.’
I already had plenty on my plate; I couldn’t suddenly take responsibility for someone else.
But abandoning him here? No way.
‘This is why you don’t meddle in others’ business.’
Since I was already involved, I had to see it through.
Otherwise, I’d toss and turn all night in torment.
‘Let’s think of a way.’
Since I couldn’t fully take responsibility, my first thought was a foster care institution.
But I shook my head soon after.
Digging into his father’s issues to send him to foster care would bring too many complications.
Before even considering practicality, there was the game factor.
‘He’s a Player too, after all.’
No guarantee he wouldn’t get forcibly summoned again, so to survive, he needed to adapt to this game.
Meaning he’d have to tackle missions eventually.
‘A normal foster institution won’t do.’
Better somewhere that knew about the game or would turn a blind eye.
I had a vague idea for the former.
But it didn’t feel like a great option.
I glanced north, lost in thought.
The people carrying guns in the alley.
- Don’t just stand there! Find him!
- He couldn’t have gone far. Move!
When the kid vanished right in front of them, their response was swift.
They’d have been surprised, sure, but they didn’t panic or flail around—they jumped straight into the search.
Regaining composure in the face of something unreal, faster than anyone normal would.
As if they’d been through it before.
‘They must know.’
I didn’t know their identity.
But they’d caught on to the game.
The problem? They didn’t seem particularly friendly toward Players.
“Tch.”
Worse, those people had seen the kid.
How many hours would it take to comb through nearby CCTV or vehicle dashcams?
If I’d snatched him before they showed up, things might’ve been easier.
I tapped my forehead, deep in thought.
Or trying to. A grating system alert interrupted me.
「Trait ????? activates.」
「System switches to support mode. Support target: Player Kang Hyun-woo.」
「Search begins.」
「Progress: 1%」
My thoughts froze for a moment.
‘Question marks?’
Even after the main server activated, I had no clue what this trait was, and now it popped up here?
While I stood rigid, the progress bar filled at terrifying speed.
「Progress: 100%」
「Patch for update in progress.」
「Progress: 1%」
The new update took barely five minutes.
「Progress: 100%」
「Patch complete.」
「Player Achievement Program activates.」
「Player Assistance Program (Reputation and Titles) activates.」
「Player Status Window function updates.」
「Title Bounty Hunter (Provisional) created.」
「First mission success! Reputation +10.」
「Direct contribution to Hole closure! Reputation +2.」
「First 02 mission success! Reputation +20.」
「Direct contribution to Hole closure! Reputation +4.」
「Direct contribution to Hole closure! Reputation +4.」
…….
By the time the system’s third update finished.
HIDDEN MISSION
[Bounty Hunt (Korea-01)]
Eliminate the Player who murdered one of your own (0/1)
- Target location viewable on map. (View Location)
- If mission fails within time limit, your location as Bounty Hunter will be disclosed to the target.
[Success Rewards]
• Reputation 10
• Random Box (×1)
[Time Limit]
• 24:00:00
An unpleasant timer started ticking down.
My face twisted grotesquely.
* * *
Regaining my composure, the first thing I did was scour the community.
There were talks about the update, but nowhere did anyone mention receiving a mission.
Just to be sure, I messaged K and Ethan, and got simple, clear replies.
- K: No mission, just the update notification and that’s it!
- Ethan: No, no mission. Just the update notice in the message window.
My head turned into a tangled mess.
‘What the hell is this system on about with bounties all of a sudden?’
The weird mission alone gave me a headache, but that wasn’t the only issue tormenting me.
The suddenly activated question mark trait scratched at my insides.
‘Support mode? Search?’
What was going on? I pulled up my status window.
New tags for titles and reputation appeared—reputation at 40, as in the messages.
And next to the question mark trait: “Activated.”
Gulping, I tapped it, and something different happened.
[????? (Activated)]
• Type: Trait
• Description: Receive system support.
Back when the main server activated, nothing showed. Now, a description appeared.
‘Support?’
What kind of system support?
Gritting my teeth, I replayed recent events.
Trait activated, then a search message.
Followed by an update, and after that, this bounty mission out of nowhere.
The nagging suspicion hit just as a memory surfaced.
‘Items…….’
When I picked up loot and the spear in the mission zone, the system ran an item-related update.
As if it knew exactly what happened to me.
‘Is it watching me?’
Chills ran down my spine. Disgust washed over me.
‘This bastard…… a voyeur?’
It felt like bugs crawling on my skin; I had to rub myself all over.
Whoosh, whoosh—whoosh. Scanning the empty surroundings only soured my mood further.
“U-Uncle……?”
Nam-gyu eyed me anxiously at my behavior.
I pressed down on his head firmly.
“Wait a sec. Need to sort my thoughts.”
“Okay…….”
I took a deep breath and organized my mind. Step by step, from the beginning.
‘I didn’t activate the question mark trait when I got the items.’
The system just started the update on its own after I picked them up.
So why was it different this time?
Search, support, bounty—unsettled words floated in my head.
Then a sudden hypothesis popped up.
The system’s search message.
‘……It searched for something I didn’t know?’
Assume when the trait is inactive, this system gauges my surroundings based on me.
Like a monitor over my head or something.
I picked up the items myself.
So if the system was really watching, it could confirm instantly.
The second update was the same.
I saw the chaos in the community firsthand.
Then the code name update followed.
Both times, the trait was inactive, but the updates tied directly to what I’d seen and experienced.
This bounty mission, though—the Player who killed kin—I knew nothing about it.
So it needed a search. That fit.
The previous two updates could be seen as the system patching based on my experiences.
‘This update’s probably from the same perspective.’
What did it want to patch this time?
‘No way……?’
I jerked my head up and looked north.
The direction I’d come from with Nam-gyu, the alley people, K’s NIS story, and the Player who killed kin.
‘Players who went to the NIS and died?’
Once the connection clicked, disparate events linked up one after another.
If those staking out Nam-gyu today were NIS agents.
And if the NIS killings were by another Player.
“Ha!”
A ridiculous situation drew an incredulous laugh from me.
Damn system