I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error

Chapter 29

A totem was a special bond connected to nature.

A special medium linking humans and nature.

“What do you see?”

The bandages covering the girl’s eyes began to loosen, one layer after another.

Each time the fabric slipped down like curtains being drawn back, the white light piercing her retinas gnawed away at her vision.

“When you open your eyes, you’ll see it.”

A gentle hand touched her shoulder.

“The world you wanted.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she began to lift her heavy eyelids.

“The hidden, raw world.”

Darkness vanished in an instant, dazzling colors flaring before her.

“The real world.”

Her eyes sparkled, and a smile spread across her lips.

---

“Karin, Karin! You’re really going to be late!”

“Gasp!”

As I hurriedly raised my head from my desk, my messy blue hair shook wildly.

Ah.

That dream again.

“Geez, you must have stayed up late working on it again.”

“N-no.”

“Yeah, right. I’m going first.”

Bang!

My roommate left first.

Now I was the only one left in the room.

“Haaah…”

I dragged my exhausted body up.

Just like my roommate said, it was already time to hurry to class.

There was no time to clean the desk, still cluttered with half-finished totems.

As usual, I had no time to dress up. I roughly combed my tangled hair and put on my uniform.

“Ugh.”

When I slung the rather heavy bag over my shoulder, my balance tilted to one side.

As I stepped out of the dorm, I pulled a scrap of paper from my pocket.

“Let’s see, where should I go today…”

It was the academy map distributed at Yggdrasil. But unlike the standard ones…

Scribble, scribble.

I drew a circle on the lower eastern section.

And that wasn’t the only mark.

“Wow, I’ve roamed around a lot since enrolling.”

The map was littered with Xs and Os everywhere.

“Today I have to find it.”

I made that vow to myself as I headed toward the lecture hall.

History class was my favorite.

Thanks to the professor’s passionate teaching, no one noticed the sound of me carving totems in the lecture room.

It was the perfect time to work on them freely.

I happily sat down at the very back.

But today, luck wasn’t on my side.

‘Of all people, why him…’

The infamous Villed just happened to sit right next to me.

There was no way I could focus on carving totems.

I couldn’t ignore it.

If I said I wasn’t bothered, that would be a lie.

Rumor had it Villed had calmed down after the Princess incident, but those were just rumors.

I’d seen him abusing his power with my own eyes earlier in the semester, even if it was from a distance.

The memory had left me so shaken that I’d always run away in a hurry whenever I spotted him.

Maybe thanks to my lack of presence, I’d never been directly bullied by him.

I kept my head low, face stiff, pretending to focus on my totem.

Don’t make eye contact. Don’t look like I dislike him. Don’t even look like I’m running away. Anything might provoke this beast.

‘I just hope class ends quickly… ah.’

Lost in thought, I lost hold of my totem.

Clatter—

Unluckily, it rolled right to Villed’s feet.

Of course, he picked it up.

‘Ah…!’

The totem I worked so hard to make was snatched away by Villed.

Typical of the worst delinquent of first year.

I couldn’t even bring myself to ask for it back.

And judging by the way he held onto it, he didn’t seem like he’d return it anyway.

Did he want it that badly?

For a brief moment, I felt a tiny bit happy, as if my totem had been acknowledged.

But no, that wasn’t it.

This was disaster piled upon disaster.

‘What if he threatens me for more later?’

…As if.

Keep dreaming, Villed.

That’s the only one you’re ever getting.

Don’t make eye contact.

I opened my history textbook and grabbed my pencil, acting my heart out.

Even though I could feel Villed’s intense gaze drilling into me, I stubbornly ignored it.

The eyes of a beast.

If I met them, my mind would surely go blank.

“That’s it for today, good work everyone.”

The professor looked like an angel. The timing was miraculous.

I was the first one to spring up, grab my bag, and bolt out.

All I wanted was to get away from this situation as fast as possible.

I dashed out of the building and kept running for a while before finally catching my breath.

Only after glancing back did I let out a sigh of relief.

This far, I could finally feel safe.

Villed was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe I should rest a little.

Having rushed out with my heavy bag, I was short of breath.

I sat down on a nearby bench and placed my bag beside me.

The zipper rasped open, and instead of books, the bag was filled with totems.

Karin picked up one that was still unfinished.

She felt a pang of regret when she recalled the totem in Villed’s hand, but it was fine. She could just make another.

She lifted her carving knife with fresh resolve.

And then—suddenly, she saw two totems in her view.

One in her own hand. Another in someone else’s.

The one that had been snatched away by Villed. She recognized it instantly.

Lifting her head with anxious eyes, Karin froze.

A tall man stood with the sun at his back.

As the shadow deepened across his face and his sharp gaze glinted, Karin lowered her head with a sinking heart.

She thought her heart had stopped.

‘Villed…’

So he had chased her all the way here.

He was already big, but with her sitting on the bench, he looked even larger.

Was she his next target for torment?

She was doomed.

Her legs wouldn’t move anymore.

As she squeezed her eyes shut, trembling at how this beast might strike her—

“With this, you can temporarily summon a water veil to block long-range attacks.”

It was nothing like the painful scenario she’d imagined.

His voice was soft, without a trace of malice.

Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, Karin’s eyes opened on their own.

“And just by being nearby, it can restore fatigue and energy.”

What?

What did this guy just say?

Karin was stunned into silence.

“A water totem crafted with Professor Capella’s method. It’s incomplete, but quite sophisticated.”

His large hand held out the totem.

Karin carefully received it and looked up.

“How do you know about that?”

Before she knew it, her eyes were wide, staring at Villed.

---

‘I almost died chasing her down.’

After darting all over, I finally caught up to her. Like some runaway hamster.

If I hadn’t been training my stamina with livestock shed duties, I definitely wouldn’t have made it.

‘Anyway, it looks like she won’t run anymore.’

I sat down beside Karin naturally.

‘Totems are one of the most minor of minor abilities.’

Even in the world’s setting, they weren’t rated highly.

In the game, they’d even been deemed the worst balance.

Because totems had to be placed on the ground and couldn’t move, they were practically immobile. That killed their efficiency.

No wonder Karin was the only one among all first-years with a totem-based ability.

How many chances had she even had to talk about totems with her peers?

Most likely, I was the only one.

Thanks to that, I could earn a shred of her trust. Even a tiny bit was better than complete distrust.

“I don’t take Totemology lectures, but I actually have some interest in them. That one you’re making now—is it a wind totem?”

I glanced at the one in her hand. When Karin nodded, I spoke again.

“Since this one’s also based on Professor Capella’s method, you must really like that professor’s crafting style.”

“It doesn’t drain much mana, it’s durable, and it’s easy to make…”

“And most importantly, two totems can be fused into one.”

At my words, Karin’s face lit up with delight.

“Exactly! Fusion materials are practically a revolution in Totemology, so for someone like me…”

She was brimming with excitement, but then clamped her mouth shut all of a sudden.

‘Not surprising she’s wary now.’

Villed’s reputation was known to every student, especially the first-years who had witnessed his rampages firsthand.

Memories like that didn’t fade easily. Suddenly acting friendly must have felt repulsive.

She probably wouldn’t say another word.

That was enough. I rose from my seat.

“Hey, Karin.”

‘Totem Karin’—the weakest of the weak in the academy.

A character nearly on par with Villed at the bottom.

She didn’t trust people, yet paradoxically craved recognition from them.

If given ‘a certain item,’ Karin’s weakest-tier ability could fully bloom.

Well—blooming only meant rising from weakest to average, but still.

With ‘that item,’ her totems would come alive, even capable of conversation.

Their fatal lack of mobility would be fixed, making her at least worth her slot. That was how players had rated her.

It was Karin’s exclusive item, the one said to grant her ‘human rights’ as a character.

And she desperately longed for it, wandering in search of it every day.

Just like now.

“You must’ve heard of it at least once.”

Desperation.

Toward that place—

“The rumor that various treasures are hidden in this academy.”

I cast the bait.

---

Karin didn’t trust people.

She’d made that vow after her family had collapsed and her father had died.

Naturally, she’d grown distant from others and shut herself away, devoting herself to totems.

At least totems didn’t deceive her.

She didn’t need to rely on anyone. With the totems her father had taught her, she could rebuild her fallen family.

That vow was wavering now.

‘A treasure?’

No way.

Was he talking about the very thing she’d been searching for?

As she pondered, Villed spoke first.

“Walk straight down East Seventh Street. You’ll see a big vine wall on the left. Go inside, and you might find what you want.”

He sounded as if he knew exactly what she desired.

‘…What kind of guy is this?’

It was already strange enough that he knew about totems.

Karin steadied her shaken mind and thought it through.

Then came to a conclusion.

‘It’s probably a trap.’

Of course.

This was Villed, after all.

If he really knew the location, why wouldn’t he take it for himself? Why tell her instead?

It wasn’t something cheap. A rare material like that wouldn’t just be handed over to some stranger out of goodwill.

There were too many suspicious parts.

People, by nature, were deceivers.

She’d seen enough of men like Villed.

She wouldn’t end up like her father, who had trusted such men and paid the price.

Right now he was pretending to be kind, generous—but that was only a mask.

Behind it lurked the beast scheming to devour her.

‘A lie. It’s definitely a lie.’

Just as she was convincing herself of that, Villed added—

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not telling you this for free.”

A deal.

He was asking for an equivalent exchange.

“If you find it, come to the livestock shed. I’ll be there anytime.”

With that, Villed walked away first.

Karin sat on the bench, replaying his words.

‘If he’d just said he was giving it for free, I would never have believed him.’

But he’d asked for a trade.

That meant he had a purpose. She didn’t know what it was, but…

People acted on desire.

Karin knew that all too well. Which was why she couldn’t help but waver.

She sat carving her totem, lost in thought.

Before she knew it, the day had passed, and she hadn’t even explored the place she’d circled on the map that morning.

In the end, she returned to her dorm, shutting herself in to make totems.

‘Ugh, I can’t focus at all.’

His voice tormented her all day.

And it wouldn’t stop at just today—tomorrow too, and likely for the rest of the week.

Finally, after long inner conflict, she snapped her head up.

‘…Sigh, it’s my loss if I keep fretting. I was going to check that area eventually anyway, right?’

There was nothing to lose.

It was close by, and rather than suffer through days of mental agony, she might as well go now.

Karin climbed onto her desk and opened the window.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Instead of the door, she slipped out the window.

Since it was the first floor, the drop wasn’t high.

“…What? Where? Wait, Karin! The dorm master is making rounds, where do you think you’re—!”

Her roommate’s cry wasn’t enough to stop her.