Damn System

Episode 17

Chapter 5 K(1)

Thomas has lived his entire life in a secluded fishing village in the Philippines.

Tired of repetitive fishing every day, he always dreamed of escaping.

I wanted to move to the city and live a better life.

But about three months ago, Toma realized how peaceful and happy his life had been.

Toma, who had been watching the community, sighed.

‘Everyone is quiet.’

It’s only ten days since the three-month grace period ended and the game started again.

Six people have already died.

It seemed that everyone was frightened by it.

Since then, no one has challenged the mission, and the community, which was actively exchanging opinions, froze.

Thomas was equally frightened.

‘Eight thousand… … .’

No one took on the challenge, but there were so many missions that it was impossible to include them all at a glance.

Every time I look at that list, my breath stops.

I even felt sick to my stomach thinking that someone I didn’t even know was dead over there.

Suddenly recalling the time of the tutorial, Toma shuddered.

I will never forget the feeling of the moment when the lion’s fangs ripped through the belly skin and ate the intestines.

Before I knew it, Toma’s back was wet with cold sweat.

He wiped his face with trembling hands and sighed.

I woke up with nightmares every day for the past 3 months, but nothing got better.

‘It’s natural to be quiet.’

In fact, it wasn’t strange that everyone started ignoring the game as if they had promised.

‘Where would anyone want to die?’

Toma scrolled down the mission window with a complicated expression.

It was not an action of any particular significance.

It was just a habitual, unconscious action.

“… … uh?”

I didn’t even think that I would find something unusual at the end of that unconscious action.

Toma stopped scrolling and rubbed his eyes.

For a moment, I thought that I hadn’t seen it well.

However, no matter how many times I looked at it, the numbers in front of me did not change.

“02-07 (1/5)”

Like two days ago, the number of missions had changed to bold.

This means that someone has started a mission.

The shock came twice in total.

Once again, the person who challenged the mission came out.

Again, the number of missions is 02, not 01.

‘A level 2 mission?’

Until now, the dominant opinion in the community is that the first number is the difficulty of the mission.

In such a situation, the mission starting with 02 became bold.

Toma, who had been blankly looking at the mission window for a while, hurriedly posted on the community window.

「Title: Looks like someone entered the 2nd level mission right now.

Content: Exactly as the title says. Didn’t I look bad?”

Was everyone keeping an eye on the community despite the tense atmosphere?

Comments came in unbelievably quickly for what had been quiet so far.

– You went in again?

– You’re a bastard.

– It’s true, it’s crazy. Wasn’t it impossible to enter level 2 yet?

– Did you freak out because you wanted to die? Why are you going down there?

– Are you alone this time?

– Leave it alone, it seems like you’ve decided to die, but there’s no reason to stop it.

The community quickly turned into an uproar.

* * *

“The barrier is activated.”

“The hall is open.”

“Enter the mission site.”

「This place is not a player protection area.」

It was the first mission in three months after the promotion test.

I was a little nervous, but not scared.

Because I believe in the efforts I’ve made so far.

I quickly skimmed through the contents of the mission.

MISSION

[02-07(1/5)]

Eliminate enemies. (0/7)

[compensation]

Choose from the rewards below.

• 40 HP

• Attribute mana 20

‘Attribute mana.’

I noticed the number on the mission window and my eyes lit up.

If I get all 20 of that elemental magic this time, I might be able to use the attribute stone.

If the lowest point where you can really feel the magical power is 50, it will be clear.

‘It’s about when I succeeded in this mission.’

After taking a deep breath, I scanned the entire mission window.

I skipped the 1st level mission because of the phrase that it exceeded the magic standard.

Although it may be a bit more difficult as you level up.

Considering that the entry condition is magic, it must be a difficulty that I can handle now.

Fortunately, the composition of the second level itself was not very different.

The very simple and clear premise of this game was the same.

Kill monsters and absorb magic.

Even the white wall covering the sky was like a promotion test mission.

If there is anything that has changed, it is the terrain.

‘Cliff… … Is it a canyon?’

There was a steep cliff right next to it.

When I leaned out and looked down, I could see the water flowing wildly between the deep ravines.

The terrain was completely different from the last promotion test mission.

Even then, there were so many trees and grass that it could be called a forest, but the slope was not too steep.

At most a gentle uphill road.

‘Can I assume that the map changes for each mission?’

I quickly looked around and stood with my back to the cliff.

‘surely.’

It’s hard to see that it’s the same area.

In the promotion test mission paper, there was no tree that stretched out in a straight line like that.

Everything was twisted and tangled here and there, and the height was not consistent. It was literally overgrown.

Even if I didn’t know much about plants, it was enough to recognize that there and this place were completely different areas.

The climate was not too hot to breathe. Moderately cool.

After looking around for a while, I held out my hand.

‘From reconnaissance.’

Red magic like smoke bloomed on the palm of my hand.

As he concentrated on mana management, the fluttering mana began to take shape and form.

“Hoo-wook.”

Soon, a butterfly fluttering and fluttering its wings appeared in the place where the red magic had accumulated.

「Magic detection begins.」

It was the guy I bought for 400 mana on the tech tab.

I decided to save my store pass.

This is because of the warning text written below the license.

The price range at which I could purchase it for free with the pass was five times the magic power I had.

‘What kind of free pass is that?’

It was clear that the system didn’t understand the word free.

Today, as always, antipathy towards the system was seething, but the way to solve it was far away.

Despite cursing, I didn’t use the ticket.

It wasn’t something to buy cheap technology like magic detection.

If my magic power increases, I will be able to purchase more expensive skills and weapons.

I glanced at the ticket in the locker and opened the status window.

And I checked the information about magic detection again.

[Magic detection lv.1 (5.89%)]

• Classification: permanent technology

• Description: You can detect magical energy within the active range of the medium.

– Recognition range: 300m based on medium

– Activity range: 10m based on caster

This skill, which displays both level and proficiency, literally made it possible to detect magical power.

The world seen through the butterfly consists only of magic.

A world full of smoke and light.

Of course, I didn’t see it with my own eyes. I could only feel it.

It is estimated that the magic power will not be maintained and will be scattered if it is out of the active range, but the range will increase as the level increases.

‘Then let’s go.’

Sending the butterfly forward, I followed suit.

When I first learned this skill, I felt dirtier than I thought.

The sensation of the knowledge being forced into my brain caused nausea, and I had to suffer from a headache for two days.

However, thanks to that, a knowledge that was unfamiliar to me took up my mind and sat down.

I felt dirty, but when I bought and mastered this skill, I saw hope.

‘There are still many products in the technology tab.’

Most of them are expensive enough to be difficult to buy right now.

The more mana I collect, the more skills I can learn.

The possibilities are endless.

After accumulating more mana, I moved forward while thinking about the skills I needed to buy.

Through the butterfly, you can feel the magical powers around you.

The magical power of plants scattered here and there like dots, pale in color, and small in size.

‘After catching the monsters to some extent, I have to retrieve them as well.’

I brought everything I needed.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how much I can take.

Five minutes to move while concentrating on magic detection.

‘It’s too quiet.’

I can’t even see the shadow of the monster.

The mana felt through the butterflies sent earlier is all too small.

‘Shall we go inside?’

I was currently walking along a canyon and over a cliff.

According to common sense, no animal lives on a cliff.

If you’re looking for a monster, you might as well go into the woods.

So the moment I tried to change direction.

“huh?”

The gaze that had subconsciously looked down the cliff was fixed.

I saw something strange between the bushes, moss, and large rocks.

‘no way.’

Blinking and stiffening my eyes, I soon lowered my posture by the cliff and looked around.

It was to find a way down.

But there was no right way, so I just jumped down.

I was confident because I went through confirmation work every time my body changed.

I was able to come down to the valley just by stepping on the 5 or 60 meter cliff three or four times.

Right after that, when I checked beyond the place where the muddy water gurgled and flowed ferociously.

gulp.

I had to swallow dry saliva without even realizing it.

What I thought was Gingamin on top of the cliff, became almost certain when I came down.

I went into the water without hesitation.

Splash splash.

It took only a few seconds to cross the chest-length water and reach the other side.

Eventually, the place I arrived was littered with broken trees around the bushes that obstructed my view.

Large rocks were showing off their presence above the rotten and crushed pieces of wood.

But it wasn’t the stone or the plant that caught my attention.

When I pushed a rock the size of my torso with one hand.

“Wow!”

Unknowingly, I spat out an exclamation that bordered on swear words.

Also, it was not an illusion.

“It’s gold!”

It was definitely gold that had been crushed in half under the weight of the rock.

My face flushed red with excitement.

I hurriedly started clearing the bushes and rocks.

Gold, which was first discovered, as well as necklaces and rings with sparkling jewels appeared one after another.

I gathered them neatly into one place.

In the meantime, I found something really strange on the floor where dirt and gravel were mixed.

‘This… … .’

It was a coin. Coins made of gold.

It was three times the size of a 500 won coin.

On one side was a woman with upturned hair, and on the other side was the design of a roaring beast.

Like a lioness, sometimes like a bear.

I looked at the coin for a while without speaking.

‘uk? france? It looks like a currency used in the West… … .’

Have any countries used gold coins of this shape in the past?

When I dropped out of high school, I built a wall with world history, so I have no idea.

However, it was enough to feel a sense of incongruity despite the lack of proper knowledge.

This is because the sentence stamped on the coin was too elaborate.

In the era when coins were used like this, there was such a delicate technology?

The excitement subsided and confusion set in.

Monsters and strange coins you’ve never seen before.

Two pieces of information twisted in my head.

Of course, regardless of the complexity in my head, my hands were still busy.

Thanks to this, I was able to discover new things following gold bars, jewelry, and coins.

It was a tree that had been rotted and cracked here and there.

No matter how you look at it.

“wheel?”

It was broken into a half-moon shape, but it was clearly a wheel.

A half wheel made entirely of wood, without rubber tires.

If it hadn’t broken, it would have been about the size of a medium-sized car tire.

I was lost in thought as I tinkered with the wooden wheel.

Gold and jewels scattered in unexpected places.

And wooden planks and wheels full around it.

I looked up at the two in turns.

After descending into the valley, I saw a butterfly sent upward to monitor the surroundings.

arm and arm.

The edge of the cliff was visible beyond the butterfly repeating its light flapping of its wings.

‘Did you fall from there… … ?’

My body trembled and trembled as I was scared to feel the question.

A mass of magical power suddenly appeared in the cognitive range.

It was so thick and big that it was incomparable to the plants.

It wasn’t rising like a haze, but burning like a fireball.

The moment I realized what that meant, I threw myself away quickly.

The moment I grabbed the spear I had put down while digging the ground.

Creepy, creepy, creepy sounds and heavy footsteps were heard.

The sound that started to stand out without being buried by the sound of the water running without rest gradually got closer.

Let’s hurry up and look up.

A thick head of black hair was sticking out of the cliff.

“Kreuk.”

Pointy ears like a fox, a protruding snout, and four fangs protruding downward.

It matched the characteristics of the monsters seen in the promotion test mission.

‘I think the size is a bit bigger?’

Apparently, the monster I saw in the promotion test wasn’t an adult. The monster was staring down at me from the top of the cliff.

Every time the monster chewed on the red gore in its hand, a crunching sound was heard.

Wouldn’t that sound be heard when a beast chews on the bones of its prey?

I canceled magic detection and kept my head high as I watched him.

The monster didn’t seem to have any intention of moving first.

So what can I do, I have to go first.

The pattern of the monster’s movement from a distance was obvious.

‘At most, the tongue, or the level of jumping.’

In both cases, it can be prevented sufficiently.

Even if an unexpected situation happens, I am confident that I will not be easily defeated.

So I kicked off the ground and jumped up the cliff.