Damned System

Chapter 90. The Beginning of Change (6)

At first, she had been cautious, but now she seemed to be enjoying the situation in a peculiar way.

“Not just once or twice.”

Rashar seemed to be waiting for me to notice something. But I had no clue. What in the world was I unaware of?

A bit stung in my pride, I bit my teeth and lunged again. Rashar, too, didn’t back off, charging at me in the same manner.

Of course, I had thought she would retreat, so I couldn’t help but flinch for a moment. In that brief opening, Rashar squeezed in closer and slashed with her sword.

The blade, which had been coming straight for my face, dropped downward. Rashar had flipped the sword 180 degrees so that the handle jutted out in the front.

“Ouch!”

With a thud, the sound of the sword handle striking me resonated as I was flung back, and only then did I realize.

“Are you okay?”

“The distance…”

“Hmm?”

I alternated my gaze between Rashar and my spear as I got back up. As I stood with my spear once again, Rashar also assumed her stance.

But this time, she waited without moving. Rashar’s lips curled up slightly.

When she closed the distance as she approached, unlike before, I stepped back. Rashar, tapping the spear’s blade with her sword, chuckled broadly.

“You finally took your first step.”

I understood why I always used the spear in the initial clash and then switched to a dagger or a long sword.

“The polearm has a long reach.”

But what if the distance between me and the opponent closed? The advantage the weapon provides would be lost.

To maximize the spear’s power, I must not allow the opponent to approach. But I had always rushed in first or engaged in close combat, finding it more comfortable to use the dagger.

Until now, I had only known that the spear’s reach was long. Without utilizing it, my knowledge was ultimately wasted.

Because it was unfamiliar, I couldn’t handle it as naturally as I breathed.

“The range of my sword is about this.”

While I realized the mistakes I had been making, Rashar resumed her stance and extended her sword forward. I, too, adjusted my grip on the spear and stepped back a few paces.

The distance between my spear’s blade and Rashar’s sword was much farther than I had thought.

“Do you understand the range of your spear?”

“… More or less.”

“Don’t forget that distance.”

Rashar added a word and then pushed off the ground, closing the gap between us. It finally felt like the training had truly begun.

* * *

The most important point of training is repetition. It should be repeated and repeated until the body reacts without conscious effort.

The same goes for the method used to form a mana core. Repetition was the only answer to not lose that sensation.

I dedicated all my time to forming the mana core, even giving up hunts. And every time I meticulously layered mana alone, the same message appeared.

「Mana Manipulation is attempting to evolve into Mana Control!」

“Mana Control.”

It’s a common skill being sold for a staggering 500,000 Mana in the store. And it’s in the Silver rank tab.

‘If I succeed in evolving, can I acquire Mana Control for free?’

Or will there be additional costs involved?

Since I hadn’t succeeded yet, I couldn’t be sure. But one thing was clear: there was a skill tree in this game.

A design allowing the acquisition of higher-level skills by filling up proficiency in specific skills.

Once I realized it, I tried to badger the system when I was alone in my room.

– Hey, system. If there’s any information on the skill tree, spill it.

But what came back was the all-too-familiar silence.

– If you can’t just give it, I’ll do a hidden mission, so hurry up.

So I tried to negotiate, but there were no results.

“Tsk.”

Since the secret conversation with the 7 Great Virtues, the system had remained silent. It no longer directly intervened in my play as before.

Even when the map and radar appeared, it was not due to the activation of the capitalism trait.

It was merely that the corresponding function was turned on, as if it had been pre-programmed.

‘The capitalism trait is like an entry point for the system’s involvement.’

Perhaps an indirect route to avoid the restriction of interfering in the dimensional world?

The fact that it wasn’t activated meant there was no direct intervention by the system.

Despite trying to provoke it several times, the system remained silent.

‘It hasn’t gone to someone else, has it?’

I ground my teeth with anxiety, but I had no method to call the system.

And without the system’s cooperation, obtaining information on the skill tree was impossible.

‘Is it information that can’t be touched at this point…’

If the skill tree were disclosed, player growth would accelerate.

‘It would also reduce the occurrence of mediocre or failed characters.’

It was unfortunate.

But clinging to something and demanding answers from someone who wouldn’t respond was foolish.

‘For now, I’ll wait for an opportunity.’

Just because there’s no breakthrough now doesn’t mean it will be the same later.

For anything, there’s a right time.

And choosing to focus in line with that time can maximize efficiency.

Ignoring the timing and proceeding recklessly would only waste time.

‘For now, I’ll let it go.’

I added tasks related to the skill tree to my to-do list and focused again on core formation.

As a result, after a day of intensively layering mana and repeating training.

‘Damn, I’m exhausted.’

I was truly left without even the strength to move a single finger.

My limbs trembled, and even sitting up straight was difficult due to sheer exhaustion.

Collapsing with a thud, I lay down to release a heavy breath and looked at the sky.

Though handling mana was inherently taxing, it had been especially strenuous lately.

Would it be any wonder if I was losing weight because of it?

The pants I had brought from Earth were becoming looser, so I had to tighten my belt.

‘Since I can’t reduce the training, I should increase my food intake.’

From today’s dinner, I thought I should increase my consumption, and I painstakingly reached out my hand.

Since I was lying down, the sweat kept getting into my eyes, and I thought to wipe it off.

Water, high-protein snacks, and a towel…

They were always within reach near the place where I trained.

“Hmm…?”

As I picked up the usually fresh towel, something suddenly dropped with a thud.

Slightly sour-smelling, unpleasantly colored, and with a squishy texture.

What fell from inside the folded towel looked distinctly like food waste.

Due to the overpowering stench of sweat all around, I hadn’t detected this sour smell.

“Who did this?”

Although I didn’t know who, sensing hostility directed toward me, my combat instincts started to ignite.

* * *

Walter, a commoner who had served as a squire for five years, lowered himself into a hiding posture among the thick bushes near the garden connected to the dining area.

Jeremy, studying under the same knight, was also with him.

They waited, hidden in the bushes, for a moment.

Jeremy, unable to swallow his anxiety as he constantly glanced around, suddenly whispered to Walter.

“I’m not seeing you all day yesterday. Are you sure you didn’t tell the butler? What if we get caught doing this?”

“Quiet.”

If they got caught harming a guest of their lord, they would surely be expelled.

Moreover, the other knights of different families would not accept them if such a scandal were known.

This would mean abandoning the dream of being knighted. The efforts of the past five years would become futile.

Yet, despite knowing the worst possible outcome, they couldn’t help but proceed.

– Why, you don’t want to? Then stop being my squire.”

Walter gritted his teeth.

“I should have found another knight back then.”

If he had done so, he wouldn’t have been facing this predicament.

The knight who had taken Walter and Jeremy in, Allens, was quite literally trash.

He was obsessed with money and women, and his personality was petty and mean.

In terms of skill, he was one of the least competent in the order, and his inferiority complex had grown to a twisted state because of it.

Initially, Walter had wondered how such a person managed to join the reputable Bennett family’s knight order.

He later heard rumors that he got knighted through connections with the order’s head.

“It’s said he saved the head’s life on the battlefield before and was his son.”

Most evaluated that he wouldn’t have become a knight without those connections.

Whispers of having bought the knighthood with his father’s life were rampant.

Consequently, Walter and Jeremy, his squires, were also often sneered at.

Of course, it wasn’t because Walter fancied him that he sought his tutelage.

At the time, Allens was the only choice Walter had for becoming a squire.

Most knights accepted relatives or other family members as squires, leaving no room for others like Walter.

Even if there were openings, knights were reluctant to accept the common-born Walter.

The only knight who willingly offered Walter an opportunity was Allens.

More accurately, since no notable family’s children wanted to be his squire, he had no choice but to pick among commoners.

Even then, Allens shamelessly demanded money in exchange for taking him in as a squire.

Although he wasn’t the most dependable knight, he was nonetheless a noble knight.

Walter persevered through the unfavorable circumstances for five years, all to reach the same status.

Next year, Walter would be 16 and eligible to be knighted.

How could he risk being expelled with the finish line in sight?

If he didn’t follow Allen’s orders, getting expelled was inevitable.

But in the opposing case, there was at least a slim hope of not getting caught.

Even when facing such petty threats, it was utterly miserable to find himself succumbing.

Walter swallowed his bitter self-reproach with gritted teeth.

However, he also understood why Allens would instruct them to do such a thing.

In truth, Walter himself didn’t have favorable opinions about the Outsider.

“He’s more clumsy than me.”

His grip on the spear and his proficiency were exceedingly poor.

It was disappointing to think that such people could be the long-awaited hope.

And yet, to be directly taught by Rashar and have access to a private training ground?

Many at the order whispered among themselves.

The soldiers either openly expressed their dissatisfaction, or attempted to suppress their complaints out of respect for Rashar.

Allens was undoubtedly in the former category.

“To do something like this to Baron Bennett’s guest…”

Walter held back a sigh as he looked at the leather pouch in his hand.

He had stopped by the kitchen the day before, but today he had come from the stables.

He didn’t want to do such a thing, but…

“Just until I get knighted, just until then…”

At this moment, he should hold on tight and should intercept the attendant hurrying by to fulfill Allens’s instructions, regardless of his self-loathing.

Walter blocked the path of the attendant who had come out of the kitchen’s back door.

“Eek!”

Startled by Walter and Jeremy suddenly appearing from the bushes, the attendant exhibited an overly sensitive reaction, almost having a fit.

With his expression twisted, Walter interrogated half-accusingly.

“Why are you so startled when it’s not even the first time?”

Jeremy, his expression tightly set, pressed down on the attendant’s shoulder to immobilize her.

“We’re having a tough time because of this, okay? You’re not hoping I spill everything, right?”

Walter had caught him a few months earlier, smuggling goods into the mansion.

Feeling sorry for his dire situation, he had kept his mouth shut and even received a promise that he would stop such acts.

“Of course, I did report it to the butler.”

The attendant thinks Walter hasn’t told anyone about it.

Thanks to that, they had something to threaten him with and were using him to harass the Outsider.

Before, it was simple pranks like putting food waste in a towel or filling drinks with salt or vinegar.

Today, they went a bit further.

“This time, put it in the food the Outsider eats.”

Walter offered the leather pouch filled with horse dung gathered from the stables.

Recently, the Outsider had been frequenting the kitchen late at night.

Slipping it in the food he took would be enough to give him an unpleasant experience.

All of it was Allens’s idea.

“The coward.”

He was downright pathetic, doing petty harassment like this instead of speaking up front.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and take it.”

Seeing the attendant biting his lips and hesitating, jeremy urged him on.

But instead of taking it, the attendant was constantly glancing around.

Why is he acting like this? Walter frowned as he thought.

At that moment, he sensed an unknown force pushing down on him and Jeremy’s heads before they could turn.

“Gotcha, you guys.”

A voice unfamiliar to them rang out.