Chapter 13
Chapter 13
3. The System's Anchor -2
Why?
I ran solo matching again this time. No matter how much I went back over it, wondering if I'd messed up the system controls somehow, there was no mistake on my part. So why the hell was I running into that bastard?
Was there some hidden feature that let him freeload his way into other people's parties?
No, that wasn’t it. His attitude was more like, “Well, since we happened to run into each other, this works out nicely.” He didn’t seem like he’d deliberately come looking for me.
Which meant this encounter was pure coincidence.
......Had he picked the exact same stage at the exact same time as me? No, that couldn't be it. The moment someone picks a stage, it disappears from other people's lists. I'd tested that with Sohye. So it wasn't a joint entry.
In that case.
"......Ah."
I figured it out.
I'd been thinking of it too much like a game. A stage isn't...... some separate space that pops up like in a game. It's unmistakably another world. Just like the Earth I live on. And Earth alone has thousands of contaminated zones.
They wouldn't work through that many contaminated zones one at a time. That'd be a waste. If I were the System, I'd want to deploy multiple people at once.
In that case, the "Bukhansan Cleanup" and "Dobongsan Exploration" missions could be carried out at the same time. Since the two mountains are close, the mission zones could overlap.
In other words, the "world" where the stage takes place is the same, but the "missions" are different.
That was probably how the spear-wielder and I had ended up face-to-face.
With this kind of structure...... if I was unlucky, I could even run into R-11, the guy I'd made an enemy of in the tutorial. In a one-on-one situation, taking down that bald bastard would be nothing, but if he was moving around with party members, that'd be trouble.
I started to think the party matching function might be more valuable for self-protection than for clearing stages.
That was as far as my thoughts got.
Shhhik──
The spear-wielder's spear thrust in like a snake, almost completely silent. A clean straight trajectory aimed at my temple. I'd thought he'd at least wait a little out of courtesy if I was distracted, but this bastard had no patience.
I put enough force into my neck muscles to make them ache and snapped my head aside to dodge.
He withdrew his spear as if that had been a warning, then looked at me with those insolent eyes and said coldly.
"I believe I told you to raise your shield."
"......Could you show a little respect for what other people want? I came here to clear a stage, not to get lessons from you."
"A trial is not something you can avoid just because you don't want to endure it. And you don't seem to understand that only a fellow hero may talk back to a hero. Don't get the wrong idea. You are still nothing more than a quasi-citizen."
"Please stop talking about things only you understand and try having an actual conversation with another person── you son of a bitch!"
Shhhhik── Clang!
Another thrust came flying. This time I blocked it by angling my shield, but even though it was clearly a light thrust, my wrist stung. Brutal strength.
Fine, if you want to move your body that badly, I'll play along.
The me from the tutorial and the me now are different. I have the skill I got from the Hidden Piece!
"『Azure Wind Wanderer』!"
Whoooosh──!
I scraped wind up off the ground and created a dust cloud big enough to cover the whole area. This limited visibility considerably for both of us, but in this state, I had the advantage.
Even a faint shadow flickering beyond the dust cloud was enough for me. I could see clearly.
If I could drag this into a messy brawl......!
"『Whirlwind Thrust』."
A chill ran down my spine. Goosebumps shot up my back. That. That was the thing that nearly killed me in the tutorial.
The vortex coiling around the spear-wielder's spear sucked in the dust cloud in an instant and expelled it behind him. It was the second time I'd witnessed that attack, and it was still absurdly powerful.
"You said you'd teach me a lesson, you bastard, are you trying to kill me?!"
"Have you no shame?"
“No, like I keep telling you, say it so I can understand⋯⋯ ugh!”
Whiiiiish──!!
I immediately executed a tactical roll. Meaning I rolled around on the ground like a degenerate to dodge the attack. I felt the intense torrent of wind pass over my lower back with my whole body.
[-> Download Slot 2 : 『Whirlwind Thrust』 (Downloading...... 0.7%)]
Clack.
I raised my shield while still crouched, preparing for a follow-up attack. It might look a little pathetic, but it's a stance with considerable defensive capability. One of my juniors used to tease me and call it the pill bug stance, but......
"........"
But the attacks stopped.
Wondering what was going on, I peeked over my shield and saw the spear-wielder looking down at me as if I were pathetic. He suddenly spoke.
"Why did you use 『God's Blessing (Skill)』?"
"......What?"
I heard overlapping voices on certain words. The system's language translator seemed to have kicked in. His "God's Blessing" apparently meant skill.
Judging by his tone, was he unhappy that I used a skill?
He reminded me of a boomer boss telling you to handwrite documents instead of using Excel. I was so dumbfounded that I sneered.
"What are you talking about...... why wouldn't I use a skill? Then why do you use a spear? Just fight bare-handed."
“Enough excuses. I thought you had potential, but you’re just a lazy fool not worth my attention. You don’t even understand how meaningless power is when all you do is download it and pile it up.”
Swish-
The spear-wielder stowed his spear and turned his back. His whole demeanor said he no longer had the slightest interest in me. This from the guy who’d spent all this time beating on someone who clearly didn’t want any part of it.
"........"
Well, it was a good thing that the unwanted attention was gone. Now I wouldn't get beaten up for reasons I couldn't understand. So I should feel relieved. But it grated on me.
Him getting his hopes up and then being disappointed on his own, fine. But calling me a lazy bastard was something I couldn't just let slide. When I thought back on the life I'd clawed my way through, I even felt wronged.
......Anyway.
That spear-wielder seemed to have some kind of aversion to using skills. Which was a little strange. Assuming the spear-wielder wasn't a hypocrite, that meant that "Whirlwind Thrust" or whatever it was wasn't a skill.
Was that guy that strong without using any skills?
He didn't seem to be equipped with any separate artifact, either. His outfit and the spear in his hand were just well-made equipment with no magic power I could sense.
Was there something I didn't know about?
I’d leave that for later. Clearing the Stage came first.
[Target : Hunt the D-rank elite monster 『Dandelion』]
Another elite monster hunt.
The stage where the spear-wielder Sergios and I had landed looked close to medieval times. Whether this was medieval fantasy or a medieval apocalypse, I didn't know yet. All I could see was a vast grassland and forest.
However, there was something like a road here.
It wasn't paved. It was a dirt path worn by frequent foot traffic, and there were wagon wheel ruts. I could also spot horse droppings here and there, so people apparently lived in this world.
There was no contaminated forest in sight nearby. There was no decent high ground for scouting, either. In this situation...... following the road seemed best. I might run into locals.
Let's meet the locals and get information. I set my goal and started walking along the road.
The spear-wielder must have reached the same conclusion, because he was trudging along about twenty paces ahead of me. I thought for a moment, then picked up my pace.
I didn't like the feeling of following behind. And if that bastard said something like "why are you tagging along," I'd lose my temper. So I planned to walk fast and pass him.
Trudge, trudge, trudge, trudge.
When I caught up to the spear-wielder and passed him, I saw his eyebrow twitch out of the corner of my eye.
Step. Step-step.
And then he also picked up his pace and overtook me.
"Hmph."
"........"
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I overtook the spear-wielder at a light jog. As I passed, I didn’t forget to flash him the same smarmy little smile I’d often used for psychological warfare in music-show waiting-room hallways.
And at the same time, without either of us starting it.
Tadatatatata──!
The spear-wielder and I broke into a full sprint down the road. The spear-wielder frowned as if his pride had been wounded and shouted.
"Don't follow me. Even if you come asking me to teach you the hero's path now, I will not bestow my teachings!"
"You're the one who shouldn't follow me! I'm warning you seriously in advance: if you interfere with my mission, I'll make you regret it by any means necessary. Got it?!"
"Hmph, a quasi-citizen like you must have picked some low-grade hunting mission. I've accepted a commission twice as demanding as whatever you chose. That means I have no interest in your little games. Understood?"
"Is that so? Then let's not interfere with each other and do our own thing. Don't cling to strangers like some people do, and let's just act independently on our own!"
As we raised our voices and snapped at each other while running, we soon arrived at a small village surrounded by a stone wall about one meter high.
The spear-wielder and I slowed down and stopped. I was sweating a few drops, but that bastard didn't have a single bead of sweat and looked perfectly fine. Fuck.
Murmur, murmur.
At the appearance of two unfamiliar strangers, a strange atmosphere of wariness and curiosity mixed nine to one flowed through the village. Judging by the villagers' clothing, the era really was somewhere around medieval times.
In the center of the stone wall was an entrance big enough for about three people to pass through at once, and near it, two middle-aged men who looked like guards were on alert, clutching crude spears.
Beyond the entrance, the worried gazes of the villagers turned toward us.
This was my first time seeing other people on a stage. They didn't seem to be hunters. The fact that ordinary people were living their lives in another world far from Earth gave me a strange sense of familiarity and warmth.
Now I just needed to gather information here and carry out my mission.
So I put forward my most harmless, innocent── fan-signing-event persona and politely greeted the villagers.
"Hello, we are──"
"I am Sergios of Mount Moria. You citizens should properly receive a hero's procession, and gather all the village's resources to treat me with the utmost hospitality so that I may set out on an expedition to defeat the predator."
"?"
I looked at the spear-wielder, wondering if I'd misheard. The guards must have thought the same thing, because they stared at him with bewildered expressions and thought hard. Then, as if they'd finished decoding it.
The guard who'd heard the spear-wielder's proclamation shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Bandits!! Battle stations!!"
I thought to myself.
You fucking bastard.
The spear-wielder subdued the village guards and began occupying the village by force. Watching that mess, I just...... stayed still.
There was no point trying to talk things out with that spear-wielding prick, and as for fighting him on the villagers' side...... how should I put it.
"Owwww......!"
“Ow!”
"The gap in strength is clear. If you haven't realized it yet, I'll oblige you as many times as it takes. But in the end, you will have to accept the hero, citizens."
That bastard was more decent than I had expected.
He twisted away the weapons the guards swung at him and flung them aside, or hooked their joints and tripped them. He used his spear strictly to subdue them rather than striking them directly.
Given the temper that had launched a Whirlwind Thrust or whatever at me out of nowhere, I'd thought he might cut someone's arm off first and then threaten them. It was unexpected.
If blood had been spilled, I would have stepped in...... but if he was handling it that mildly, I had no intention of picking a fight. Eventually, the village surrendered to the spear-wielder's force.
He gathered the villagers in the center and said.
"Tell me of your troubles. A hero has a duty to hear the pleas of citizens and resolve them."
"........??"
Hearing those words come from the mouth of someone who'd suddenly barged in and occupied their village by force, the villagers wore bewildered expressions, wondering what this was about.
I saw this as my moment to step in.
Most people formed their impression of someone at the first meeting. First impressions were powerful. So I approached with a warm smile that radiated trustworthiness.
"Now, now, everyone. Hello. We are mercenaries dispatched to resolve the incidents in this area. I apologize for the unintentional commotion. My colleague has a somewhat aggressive side. Haha."
"......Don't interrupt-"
"We have not come to plunder or threaten. In fact, we've already been paid by our employer. So we have no reason to harm this small village. Quite the opposite── we're full of reasons to help. Our employer instructed us to be as kind as possible."
"........"
As I calmly persuaded the villagers, the wariness that had been thick on their faces slowly melted away. The spear-wielder, seeing that, started to say something but then shut his mouth.
"Could you give us information about what's happened around here, especially anything related to the plant creatures? And if you could also spare some food and drinking water, that would be more than welcome. Hahaha......"
Once I'd broken the ice like that.
A girl from among the villagers hurried forward. She looked about fifteen. I’d expected people to start talking one by one only after the mood thawed a little more, but things were moving faster than I had expected.
Which meant this girl was── desperate enough to ask something of still-suspicious strangers.
With an earnest expression, she said.
"Eve, my friend Eve suddenly disappeared the night before last! I thought she'd gone to wash up, but she still hasn't come back...... She must have been lured into the Dark Forest. Please, mercenaries, please help!"
"Shh, shh! You fool, no matter how much they're outsiders, you mustn't send people into the Dark Forest!"
The adults around her scolded the girl as if that name shouldn't even be spoken. The Dark Forest── that was probably their term for the contaminated forest.
A missing person...... and of all names, it had to be Eve. My heart felt inexplicably heavy.
It had nothing to do with the stage mission: hunting the 『Dandelion』. But even so, I didn't think I could just let it pass. So just as I was about to say I'd save her──
The spear-wielder beat me to it.
"Don't worry. I, Sergios of Mount Moria, will rescue her."
"........?"
"The missing person is still alive. If she were already dead, the hero's path would not have reached this far. Rest assured."
He was accepting?
The guy I'd expected to say "That's unrelated to my mission, so save that woman yourself" and blow it off?
He even reassured the girl that the missing Eve was still alive.
The more I learned about this guy, the more decent he turned out to be. I still couldn't get used to all his hero-this and citizen-that talk, and he generally seemed like the type whose spear moved before his mouth, but.
Someone who knows to save people first...... can't be that bad of a guy.
Sergios, gripping his spear and heading toward the contaminated forest the villagers had pointed out, turned around at the sound of my footsteps.
"Why are you following? Didn't you say we should act independently?"
I drew the line first, in case he started in on hero education or whatever again.
"I don't like you either, and I have no intention of learning anything from you. But...... you said you're going to rescue the missing person. A rescue operation is rough to do alone, so you need at least two people."
"That's not your mission."
"My mission is hunting the 『Dandelion』. But there's still plenty of time left...... and if you have the leeway, you're supposed to save people first, aren't you? Not doing something when I can── that doesn't sit right with me."
"......So you're not entirely a layabout."
He faced forward again with an inscrutable expression. Since he made no objection, he seemed willing to tolerate me coming along.
Good. If he just kept his mouth shut like that, I'd be twice as comfortable.
Trudge. Trudge. Two sets of footsteps echoed out of sync. Sergios and I headed toward the contaminated forest.