The Damn Family Is Back Again

206 – 206. The Enraged Ones (6)

It’s a bit different from what I knew before, but I think I’ve laid the groundwork somehow.

Talphon didn’t reject my proposal and presented me with conditions, which means I can continue as planned.

However…

[ 1. Pass the seal stone and entrust the contract and seal. ]

[ 2. Defeat the Scorpion King of Urome region. (0/1) ]

[ 3. Achieve 80% or more in the battle with Talphon. ]

I still don’t understand why one condition was added.

“Karcein? Where are you going?”

“I’m going. I have to catch this according to Talphon’s conditions, don’t I?”

“That’s what I know. We need to gather those we’re going to defeat and go together, but why are you riding a horse?”

Ah, come to think of it, I did have a conversation with Tasha at this timing.

Since Harney’s been replaced, I forgot about it.

“I’ll go alone.”

“Whaaat?!”

She opens her eyes wide in disbelief.

“You never said I had to do it alone. Let’s go together!”

“That’s not possible.”

“The Scorpion King is a monstrous beast even in the West, so hunting it alone is absolutely forbidden!”

She says this as she firmly grabs my arm.

“Besides, you didn’t mention it earlier… Why did you leave without watching over Talphon engraving the seal, after handing over the authority of the engraving stone? You know it could become dangerous!”

I’m well aware of such information.

The game’s manual has explained it over and over.

But there’s always a reason for such reckless actions.

‘After all, it’s all about affinity.’

Talphon didn’t give a direct hint, but those conditions are ranked according to ‘how’ they are cleared.

Increasing this rank to satisfy Talphon boosts a slight affinity, and with it, recognition in Lilpheton also rises.

That’s the key.

Since Lilpheton is an external workforce hired by me, the temporary lord of Chatren, increasing their affinity and satisfying them will increase the number of following tribespeople and expand the scope of work.

In short, if you’re recognized and trusted by all of Lilpheton’s tribespeople, you naturally do better work.

Affinity equals agent rank, that’s the formula.

‘But Harunie wouldn’t know that.’

It seemed I needed to explain a bit to convince her.

From noble mtl dot come

I held up a finger and said to her.

“First, handing over the engraving stone to Talphon was to instill trust.”

“Trust?”

“Yes. For Lilpheton, who has been backstabbed by the Imperials several times, this is unexpected, or rather, a first. I could have deliberately ruined it, but I took the risk and handed over the engraving stone to express my trust to the fullest.”

Then I explained about the Scorpion King as well.

“And secondly. Talphon is testing me with those conditions.”

“A test? But you said it was an offer…”

“The Westerners test who the person is in any deal or alliance, to see if they’re worth following.”

“A test… Now that I think about it, Westerners rarely get employed or take on requests from others…”

It’s good to see the connection. Harunie seems slightly convinced, fiddling with her lips.

“It’s a consistent story. According to my research, only those who have completed the task of defeating the Scorpion King receive a title that signifies a true warrior here. So similarly, I’m being tested for my strength.”

“I’ve never heard this story before… Does this have to do with going after the Scorpion King alone?”

“You have to prove your strength, don’t you? To be recognized by the Lillpeton tribe, including Talphon, it’s easier to prove yourself if you handle it alone without a team.”

Indeed, that’s how you raise intimacy.

“Hmm.”

Harunie narrowed her eyes slightly.

I thought this was enough. Is something strange?

“How did you conduct that investigation?”

“Are you doubting it?”

“Of course. You didn’t know much about the West, did you?”

Harunie glared with suspicion, as if she knew too much.

Well…

It’s just information from the game. What do I know.

‘…There’s no helping it.’

I have to betray one more person.

“I heard it from Pollux. I had sent a letter before, asking to be informed about Lillpeton.”

“…Sigh. Why would the Count of Aipheros tell you such a thing.”

She grumbled, thinking she’d have to point it out sharply later.

Sorry, Pollux!

It couldn’t be helped!

“Alright. Then… I’ll follow you alone.”

“Harunie. As I said before, I have to go alone─”

“Absolutely not?”

Harunie cut me off sharply and gripped my arm tightly.

“If you don’t allow even this, I won’t let you go either. It’s okay to step in when it’s dangerous.”

“…”

“I don’t want to see you collapse twice. I’ll concede other things, but not this.”

As Harunie’s eyes sharpened and I alternately looked at her and my arm, I sighed deeply.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

“You should have said that sooner.”

Finally, the soft flesh that had been touching my arm fell away, and Harunie smiled brightly.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Excuse? What do you mean by… Eek?!”

With one arm, he effortlessly lifted her onto the horse.

“What, what, what, what’s this?”

“What do you mean? You need to ride the horse, so I helped you up.”

He said she could tell him if she was uncomfortable leaning against him in any way.

“…You really are something.”

“Yes?”

-Thump!

Harunie, who had been glaring at me for a moment, punched my chest and turned her head away.

“Harunie?”

“Don’t say anything.”

“…Did I do something wrong?”

“I told you not to say anything!”

“…”

Why is she acting like this?

I don’t think I did anything to make her angry.

…I don’t understand.

Let’s just go.

***

▶You have entered the Urome region.◀

▶Warning! A field with strong magical beasts ahead.◀

I had a feeling we were getting close, and just then, a status window popped up indicating the field had changed.

And then.

[ Scorpion King ]

[ Lv. 85 ]

[ HP : ■■■■■■■■■■ ]

A status window appeared above what seemed like a mountain standing alone.

The giant scorpion was curled up, basking in the warm sunlight, asleep.

I dismounted the horse and once again cautioned Harunie with repeated emphasis.

“I’ve already told you, but please don’t step in. I’ll signal you when it’s truly urgent.”

“…”

Even as we rode here, Harunie seemed unhappy with that directive, her face full of worry.

Yet, she complied with my instructions.

“If you deem it dangerous, make sure to use that artifact. Understood?”

“Yes.”

– Trudge, trudge.

The Scorpion King is known to be a formidable beast in Lilpeton. It’s standard for four to five seasoned warriors to group together to hunt it.

The key is to deflect its threatening attacks and gradually drain its strength, causing it to lose its means of attack one by one. This information was easily accessible in the monster manual.

But, to face the Scorpion King alone?

The Lilpeton tribespeople might shake their heads in disbelief, thinking one mad.

‘But I have no choice.’

If I don’t max out my affinity with Talphon, I won’t gain their trust. That could lead to a shortage of people accompanying me from Lilpeton or a drop in my agent rank, preventing me from solving the problems in Chatren.

That would mean a bad ending for me, so there was no other way but to defeat this absurd opponent.

‘Calmly. Just play it like the game.’

I’ve hunted beasts many times before.

Just like in the game, I’ve gained plenty of experience fighting regenerating beasts and occasional bands of thieves to increase Karsein’s stats.

And I know exactly how to deal with the Scorpion King.

– Swoosh.

Walking over the sand-strewn ground, I draw my sword.

As I do, the creature’s red eyes snap open with a clatter.

In an instant, its massive pincers, capable of tearing a human body to shreds, click and flex twice. It has sensed my presence and woken from its slumber.

I had already anticipated that much.

The Scorpion King’s first pattern upon opening its eyes.

That is.

– Boom!

A pincer strike to start.

“Huff. I knew the pattern beforehand, but… this isn’t easy.”

Sand trickles down, and the ground is gouged out.

This situation, where I have to run and catch with my own body, not a keyboard, naturally makes me click my tongue.

But, this advantage isn’t entirely nonexistent.

-Swish!

“Krugh?!”

The gap between the shoulder blades.

Such a thing couldn’t be gouged out in the game, but since I’m moving my body directly, I can slash more easily.

If I find such advantages one by one and confront them, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible to fight alone.

-Clang!

And I possess quite the stats to hold my own against the brute.

It was a fight worth trying either way.

***

The fight began with the giant pincers striking down hard.

I dodged the brute’s attacks time and again, parrying dangerous blows with my sword, and so far, I’ve avoided any serious injuries.

But the process hasn’t been smooth sailing.

“Psshht!”

“That again. Tch!”

-Sizzle!

Green secretions fall onto the sand, and white smoke rises.

Had I not dodged quickly, it wouldn’t be the sand melting but my body.

“This damned game. Why add patterns and mess it up!”

Clearly, such patterns didn’t exist in the game.

Two pincers. A stinger at the tail’s end. Sweeps and slams using its massive body, and so on.

I’ve memorized the existing patterns enough to clear them with no damage, but this pattern never existed before.

“Ha. But it’s unreasonable to keep dodging like this.”

▶Your stamina is below 30%!◀

▶Damage taken increases by 50% when stamina falls below a certain level. Be careful!◀

“Damn it.”

Catching my breath, I cursed under my breath.

Long gaming experience tells me that while the game always seems unfair, if you fill your stats, you can counter most demons through pattern analysis.

First, since the attack is identified as acidic, it can’t be resolved with stats alone.

Let’s calmly gather information about the attack pattern.

The standard strategy for facing that colossal creature, as the Lilfeton tribespeople did, is to continuously deflect and block its attacks, causing it to lose its main means of assault.

The problem lies in the added pattern of poison so potent that it changes the color of the ground it touches.

With no way to counter the venom spewing from its mouth, even when the opportunity arises to neutralize its means of attack, it’s difficult to deliver a decisive blow.

Such a beast with this pattern… is vulnerable to close combat, hence it belongs to the type that gets pushed back.

“So there might be a way to invalidate that pattern.”

The poison forcibly sprayed over a distance.

It’s probably the Scorpion King’s magical energy being converted into poison and flying towards us.

An estimate was quickly made.

The anticipated countermeasure is.

“Wrap mana around the sword, to neutralize the Scorpion King’s magical power that’s been converted into poison.”

Mana cancels out mana.

If the clumps of mana within the venom are dispersed, the converted poison loses its power right there.

It was a fairly reasonable conclusion.

But conversely, it was also a forced conclusion.

Since the combat UI doesn’t show a mana gauge, I have no idea how to handle mana.

All I know is the sensation I felt when I used it directly for auditory enhancement.

If I’m being honest, I should retreat. With my still lacking knowledge of this world, this path ahead is a road to death.

I don’t know the feeling of success.

But the moment I fail, I’ll lose all the senses I have now.

Then, how can I turn back?

The moment I take even a step back, what awaits me is a bad ending.

Both paths ahead are stained with the road to death.

Here, in this place, I am left with no choice but to bring down that giant scorpion, an extreme situation where no other options exist.

To come this far and die in this ridiculous game because of my family?

Don’t make me laugh.

“I’m going back to reality. I’m going to return alive and unharmed.”

I’ve shed blood and sweat to break free from those damned family ties.

I refuse to let my life be cut short for such a trivial reason in this place.

I will survive!

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I gripped the sword once more.

-Clash!

As I kicked off the ground, aiming to draw out its attack pattern, the Scorpion King initiated its first move, the pincer slam.

The sweeping pattern followed, soon to be succeeded by a sting thrust and a body slam.

I dodged all four patterns smoothly, letting them flow past me.

And then, the final pattern.

Seeing me approach, it began to spew its venom.

“Phoosh!”

This time, I didn’t retreat.

I charged forward, straight into the fray.

But then… something strange caught my eye.

Within the venom, a peculiar thread undulated.

That strange thread, that thin line visible only to me.

Instinctively, I felt it had to be severed.

About 3 meters ahead.

The moment the green liquid flew towards me, attempting to dissolve my body.

My sword cleared the green haze from my vision completely.

No.

That wasn’t it.

My blade, having taken on a massive form, had not only cut through the Scorpion King’s attack but something else entirely as well.

-Kwoong!

With a single slash, the Scorpion King’s head was bisected diagonally and fell to the ground.

“…”

So this is the sensation.

Mana.

It’s likely a sensation I’ll never forget from now on.

-Ding!

▶You have successfully awakened your Mana.◀

▶Passive: Acquired Wederos Kingdom Swordsmanship Lv. 1.◀

“…Wederos Kingdom Swordsmanship.”

This was the passive skill that Karsein would acquire upon awakening his mana.

A horse vanished from Lilpeton.

And two people disappeared.

Talphone could vaguely guess the decision they made by the scent.

Just one horse. And a single noble lady who knew how to wield a sword and cast magic.

They hadn’t gathered the manpower needed to capture the Scorpion King.

The word ‘foolish’ naturally comes to mind.

To think that just the two of them went to capture the Scorpion King, a beast that even the seasoned warriors of Lilpeton should band together to defeat.

“If they don’t want to die, they’ll give up and come back.”

But contrary to Talphone’s speculation, they returned much faster.

“…!”

A familiar scent is detected.

From that entrance.

The venomous scent of that gigantic scorpion was present.

“Huh. Just the two of them… no, judging by the scent… did one alone handle the Scorpion King?”

-Ding!

▶By passing the test on a more difficult level, Talphone’s affinity has increased.◀

[ Current Value: -5% ]

From noble mtl dot come