Damned System

Chapter 12. The System (2)

“Purification is an Alpha-exclusive Trait.”

I had realized why Alpha ranked as the highest grade. There was no need for purification pills when dealing with corrupted mana.

To kill a monster and absorb its Mana, one typically needed purification pills. However, Alpha could purify corrupted mana autonomously, showcasing its remarkable capabilities.

From observing this, I speculated about the limitations of lower grades. Lower grades might still need to acquire purification pills separately. I figured they could be bought from the shop, but a price would surely be attached to it.

After coming to these conclusions, I decided to let it go. It didn’t concern me, as I had already attained the rank of Alpha. What mattered to me now was figuring out how to use the “Purification!”

Trait.

“Purification.”

I tried saying it aloud, but the system remained silent.

“Trait, Purification.”

I attempted several variations, but the only reaction was the system’s silence. It reminded me of the end of the first tutorial when I had tried all sorts of futile actions to use Mana.

Unlike then, however, I wasn’t frustrated. Thanks to the ten million won reward, I felt slightly more forgiving. I accepted it with indifference instead of lashing out.

“The system isn’t being unhelpful for the first time!”

I thought. It was better to spend time figuring out a method than to express anger.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my Mana. Unknowingly, my body flinched. Moving Mana felt several times easier than before.

Even before the promotion test, I could control Mana, but something had fundamentally changed. Previously, it was like forcing Mana to move against its will. But now, it felt as if the Mana followed my gestures willingly.

I noticed that my Mana Manipulation stat had risen to 10%, which I guessed was the reason.

“So this is what it means to improve proficiency!”

I realized, finding Mana manipulation much simpler.

I was glad I had stubbornly held onto my Mana, not spending it frivolously. My proficiency had increased enormously, preserving most of my Mana.

“One must always protect what’s theirs!”

I nodded in satisfaction and focused on my Mana again.

Circulating my Mana throughout my body, I felt the barbs embedded in me acutely. As I concentrated on them, the smoothly flowing Mana abruptly halted and began latching onto the barbs.

It was an almost instinctive realization: these barbs were filth delivered along with the Mana. And with them embedded in my body, they corrupted my mind.

The system referred to this as corrupted mana.

So, if I could extract these barbs from himself…

‘The Mana absorbed within my body would remain, and the filth would disappear.’

With that understanding, all I needed was execution.

I wasn’t misguided; purification was akin to moving muscles I had never used. More accurately, it was like exercising muscles I wasn’t even aware I possessed.

I ground my teeth, a muffled sound of effort emerging.

Simultaneously, the barbs embedded in my body slowly pushed out like caterpillars crawling.

「Trait Purification has been activated.」

“Ugh!”

I gasped, panting heavily as both Mana Manipulation and the Trait deactivated.

Reading the system message, I felt a mix of joy and fury.

I was thrilled to have finally discovered a method for purification. Yet the difficulty of it all was infuriating.

After exerting immense effort, I had only managed to extract one. Considering the absorbed amount right after killing the monster, I could foresee the challenges ahead.

“This damn game doesn’t make anything easy!”

I muttered softly, again focusing on Purification.

Having started, I was determined to see it through.

It took me two hours that day to reduce the Chaos stat at around 5% to zero.

Truly, it was a game I couldn’t grow fond of.

* * *

In the evening, I proceeded with my discharge. My wounds had visibly healed, and I didn’t want to worry my siblings by staying away too long.

Considering my younger siblings might get anxious, it seemed the sensible decision.

Jaehyuk, having brought a car, made it easier for I to accept the ride.

On the way back home, I mulled over the explanations I had to fabricate for my siblings. Before my discharge, I had coordinated with Jonghun on the story.

“I fell down the stairs and got injured,” they had agreed to say. “The detailed examination was just in case.”

Fortunately, Jonghun hadn’t disclosed how severely I was hurt, leaving room to gloss over the details somewhat.

“No need to worry them unnecessarily!”

I thought. With the school entry ceremony looming, I didn’t want to unsettle them over nothing trivial.

While I was sitting quietly, contemplating the lies I’d tell my siblings, Jaehyuk glanced over from the driver’s seat.

“Are you really okay?!”

Jaehyuk asked.

“You saw earlier!”

I replied. Jaehyuk had observed my wounds healing in real-time over half a day. Though pain lingered, it wasn’t hindering my movements.

Baffled yet feeling relieved, I viewed the situation optimistically.

“The likelihood of dying has diminished!”

I considered.

Staring ahead in silence, I sensed a fleeting glance from Jaehyuk.

“What are you thinking about?!”

Jaehyuk’s voice was marked by careful concern, reflecting his worry for me.

I leaned back in the passenger seat and responded, “Why is this happening to me?”

Jaehyuk offered no reply.

Looking at him, I murmured under my breath, “Community.”

“What?!”

Jaehyuk questioned.

“Talking to myself!”

I answered, my eyes scanning rapidly.

My thoughts turned to something I’d only realized when leaving the hospital—the community was now accessible, much like the shop that had been unusable during the tutorial.

The community had been activated in the system, and messages now appeared normally. There were already five or six posts, with even more comments.

But I wasn’t interested in posts by other players.

“Player 98.”

Seeing the number at the top of the community page made me grit my teeth in frustration.

Two numbers were missing from an even 100.

This matched the number of scratched-out names I had seen in the promotion test mission.

“The selection message mentioned 100 players!”

I recalled. Out of them, two had perished.

The gruesome bodies I’d witnessed flashed uncomfortably before my eyes. I swallowed my nausea down, tightening my focus.

’98…’

I pondered the number before noticing something odd.

‘The tutorial wasn’t so forgiving!’

Only two had died out of a hundred?

Thinking it over, one thing stood out: “Safe Zone”.

The white space where the tutorial occurred, and the forest where the monster appeared. The difference was the presence of a Safe Zone.

‘Did failing the tutorial mean you wouldn’t die?’

My hypothesis was accurate.

「Title: All Clear.」

The information related to this theory was boldly contained within a short-titled post.

「Content: “Those who cleared entirely aren’t human, huh? How did they catch the lions? I was too busy getting torn apart. If it hadn’t failed, I would’ve definitely died.”」

– Lions are easier than polar bears, I think.
⌎”Right, I was knocked out after one hit. I woke up to a failure notification.”
⌎”But there was a spear for the bear. You could lure it into stabbing itself with its weight. Catching the lions was more impressive. There were three of them.”
⌎”So, did you catch the bear? You’re amusing.
– I’m curious how they cleared stages 2 and 3, but more curious about what they’re doing now.
⌎”What rewards did they get? They must’ve received something good. The system was all about scores.”
⌎”That’s uncertain.”
⌎”Surely a special perk. The system didn’t calculate scores for nothing. I ranked 5th after catching something. They give additional rewards for high rankers. Among those who cleared additional missions, those in the higher ranks received something extra.”
⌎”I’m jealous.”
– Are you the author of the bold comment?
⌎”Yes, that’s me.
– I’m rather glad I didn’t go for all-clear. The player count dropped. The rest must’ve waited in the Safe Zone, no reason for the numbers to drop. Two of those who cleared must’ve died.
⌎”Wasn’t it said that injuries healed after the mission ended?”
⌎”But it was a tutorial. It mentioned ‘Safe Zone.'”
⌎”Does that mean no healing after the tutorial?”
⌎”In most games, yes. During a tutorial, characters aren’t damaged.
– Damned those Coca-Cola guys.
⌎”Got quite the beating from the polar bear, eh? Hahaha.”

Failing the tutorial didn’t mean death. It was a Safe Zone. I didn’t know this because I didn’t fail, but those who did were already aware.

A brief thought of the struggles during the tutorial almost stirred my anger.

But the time for anger had long passed. With a near-zen state, I sighed heavily and read through each comment.

“It seems there’s an automatic translation in the community.”

For players from various nationalities, the system provided an auto-translate feature.

While there were awkward phrasings, understanding the content wasn’t difficult.

The issue was that none of the comments contained useful information.

Eventually, I decided to return to the main page to check other posts.

“Uh?”

I suddenly hesitated, unable to click another post.

A new entry had appeared that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

Title: K, I have something to tell you.

All community posts were anonymous. The posters and commenters remained unknown.

In such a platform, seeing a post mentioning something related to me was surprising.

“K…?”

My codename, it seemed.

If it truly referred to my codename, then the person had seen the mission allocation list.

Conclusively, excluding himself, it had to be one of the remaining four from the promotion exam, considering two had died.

Someone among those was trying to contact me.

“But why?”

Still hesitating over the title, I decided to check the post’s contents. There was no major risk in doing so.

「I have something I must tell you. Would you understand if I said I want to repay my life’s worth? If you’re K, leave a private comment. It’ll be helpful.」

Reading it, I guessed the writer’s identity.

“Based on the mention of repaying a life debt, it seems like Ethan!”

I concluded.

As I deliberated over the open page, comments quickly began to accumulate.

Observing them, I decided to leave a short comment.

True to Ethan’s word, the comments had a private feature, which offered privacy from the view of others.

This functioned perfectly for my intentions, as there was no need to publicize their exchange unnecessarily.

(Private Comment) Ethan, is that you?

Whether he was eagerly waiting or not, a reply arrived swiftly.
⌎(Private Comment) Do you remember where I first got injured?
⌎(Private Comment) How about you confirm your identity first?
⌎(Private Comment) I will not until I know who you are.

Playing cautious, wasn’t he?

Clicking my tongue briefly, I added another comment.
⌎(Private Comment) I think you were strangled, leaving bruises around your neck and tongue.
⌎(Private Comment) So it really is you. Sorry for being touchy about it. With real names listed under codenames, I thought it could be someone else. I wanted to properly thank you since I couldn’t at the end of the mission… Truly, without you, I would’ve died.
⌎(Private Comment) Shouldn’t you prove you’re actually Ethan too?
⌎(Private Comment) Can I describe my physical traits? Brown hair, blue eyes, over 6.2ft tall. You were Asian… Oh, I kicked up a fuss, and you had to carry me around.

“190 centimeters or so, over 6.2 feet?”

As I translated the units in my mind, the mental image of tall, teary-eyed Ethan emerged clearly.

“Based on the mention of being carried, no room for doubt there.”

Reminded of that reality, the singularity of the person in the text seemed apparent.

No other player had joined them during those times.

Reassured it really was Ethan, I pondered his sincerity and what he aimed to discuss.

Damned System