Chapter 129. Achievement (5)
“Ahem, I heard that the Outsiders were getting quite worked up about something called contribution points.”
“Though I don’t quite like your antics, I shall lend my strength for the sake of Lord Bennett.”
Now that I had obtained the Gold rank, encounters with general-rank creatures posed less of a threat than they did before.
That was why I seriously considered Shamel’s proposal to go with her to the 8th Battalion.
‘I never imagined that the commander of the 8th Battalion would be her disciple.’
Had I known of such a relationship, I would have sought an opportunity to join the 8th Battalion rather than returning to the 4th Battalion.
‘At least knowing now is better than never.’
Both the cards I held and the surrounding situation had changed significantly from when I left the 4th Battalion.
Thus, I had to keep revising my plans accordingly.
‘Refusing would be foolish.’
Although the thought of being face-to-face with Shamel day after day was already stressing me out.
I couldn’t just let go of the additional contribution points due to personal preferences.
‘Since the escort mission ended, I had to find a new mission anyway.’
Ultimately, I accepted Shamel’s proposal.
However, that didn’t mean I went straight to the 8th Battalion.
‘That phenomenon earlier.’
That something that appeared at the edge of the map before the general-rank had struck.
It kept bothering me.
It could have been a mere illusion, but knowing there were children who had escaped from the farm made it hard to dismiss lightly.
For this reason, I asked Shamel to wait in the campsite for me.
Of course, it might have been another general-rank, not the survivors, that I saw.
I hadn’t observed well enough to distinguish colors.
But it didn’t matter. Now that I could maintain the Gold rank on my own, it was not a big issue.
‘If it’s a monster, I just need to slay it.’
I had recovered the attribute mana used during purification, so I believed I could handle it.
I exited the campsite with only Yang Taeho accompanying me.
“So, it’s an additional search mission, eh?”
“Yes, I have a feeling about this. It might be cumbersome, but please bear with it a little longer.”
We exchanged brief words while running swiftly.
“It’s about the lives of those kids, so no use complaining about useless efforts.”
“I think the same.”
I judged it was better to prevent any lingering uncertainties, even if it meant a bit of extra trouble.
Thankfully, Yang Taeho seemed to agree with me.
He followed closely without any complaints, allowing me to increase our pace even more.
It wasn’t long before a new dot appeared on the map.
Not far from the location where I briefly spotted something.
“It’s blue.”
It could be a straggler or another rescue team that set off separately from Shamel.
There wasn’t any clear factor to be sure about.
Despite that, cold sweat moistened my hands unknowingly.
Driven by anxiety, I increased my pace toward the spot marked by the blue dot.
Though Yang Taeho fell behind, I couldn’t afford to wait for him.
A black dot was closing in on six blue dots.
“The area behind the valley should have undergone purification for sure.”
Looks like a few monsters that were lucky enough to survive were roaming around.
Profanities rose involuntarily. No matter how fast I ran, the monster would arrive first.
It was almost laughable how I was hitting my limits just hours after achieving the Gold rank.
‘How far up must I climb to be satisfied?’
I wanted to demand answers from the Damned System that might be watching this very moment.
But as always, no answer would return.
All I could do was run as fast as possible.
While urging myself to go faster through the forest path, faint sounds reached my ears.
“Kiik, keee.”
I drew the spear strapped to my back and leaped over the visible rock ahead.
The moment the scene beyond the rock came into clear sight.
“Maybe a hundred and fifty, two hundred meters?”
I hurled the spear toward the monster far ahead.
The spear, thrown with unusual speed, pierced through the air in an instant.
It impaled the monster attempting to climb a tree that was much thicker than my own body through its head.
Not stopping there, it went further and embedded itself into another tree several meters beyond.
The overly powerful force made the spear’s tail vibrate.
The monster, with its head cleanly pierced, fell to the side and lay limp.
“There are no black dots around now.”
After resolving the immediate crisis, I closed my eyes tight.
What the short-lived monster had been holding fell to the ground, you see.
Though far away, it wasn’t difficult to recognize what it was.
What slumped to the ground was clearly a human arm.
The issue was that it was markedly small in size.
The traces weren’t just those.
“Damn it.”
Right beneath where I stood on the rock were ripped clothing, crushed innards, and fragmented body parts scattered everywhere.
The dark red hue they emitted seemed to pierce my eyes, preventing me from looking at them too long.
Would rushing more have led to a different result?
Could I have saved them if I had managed the general-rank quickly and searched the area?
If I had raised the level of the Detection Magic more? Wouldn’t the detection range have widened then?
Numerous thoughts collided and overlapped, prompting me to ask myself several questions.
And I knew the answers to all those questions.
‘Pointless thoughts.’
Speculating about alternatives for what’s already passed is nothing but a foolish act.
Regret might hold some value, but lingering is useless.
‘Let’s just do what we can now.’
I exhaled deeply and moved away from the blood-stained spot.
Approaching the massive tree, whose circumference was too large to hug even with both arms extended, I lifted my gaze.
‘They were definitely climbing here.’
As expected, among the thick branches and plentiful leaves, I found what I was looking for.
Firmly clinging with tiny hands to the branch and trunk were indeed children.
“One, two……”
The children visible to the naked eye were just two due to the leaves obscuring them.
However, according to the map, six figures were huddled on this tree.
The broken branches caught my eye as I looked at the two children, who had frozen stiff upon spotting me.
Not a perfect straight line, but more like traces that extended downward at regular intervals.
Around where I stood were signs of crushed undergrowth and scratches on the base of the tree.
These scattered traces gave a sense of how the events had unfolded.
“They fell.”
The child, seemingly devoured, likely fell from the tree.
They must have encountered the wandering monster on the ground afterward.
“Sa, it’s a person…….”
“Don’t go down! It might be one of those administrators chasing us!”
Around when I grasped the situation.
“Oh, thank goodness, I thought we lost them.”
Yang Taeho arrived.
Saying so while panting heavily, he swiftly slid down from the rock and glanced between where I stood and the traces around his feet.
He asked just one thing.
“Are they up there?”
I nodded calmly.
Yang Taeho squatted on the spot, gathering the traces scattered around his feet into one place and whispered quietly.
“We oughta clean up before the kids see, so drag it a wee slower.”
“We will have enough time for that.”
The children were so wary that they didn’t move even after seeing the symbol above my head.
Their response differed from the previous survivors who approached after seeing Palao’s symbol.
“Perhaps it’s the cautiousness of being in a smaller group.”
Or maybe they had undergone harsher experiences than the children who were hiding.
Regardless of the reason, I had no intention of forcibly dragging the children down.
Once was enough for hasty actions that hurt the children’s hearts.
Of course, I couldn’t leave those children up there forever, so trying to persuade them down was necessary.
After sending a message to Kim Yul, I surrounded the area with a large barrier.
Just in case, I prevented the children from leaving the vicinity.
“They might escape if they jump down.”
There were only two of us, Yang Taeho and me. It would be impossible to handle if six children fled in different directions.
While setting barriers, Yang Taeho started digging the ground with a shield.
As he did so, I looked up the tree once more and said.
“Ilena will come soon, so wait a moment.”
Ilena was the child who explained the escape situation in front of Baron Bolvita.
At the mention of her name, the child who had frozen upon spotting me widened their eyes.
Soon, Ilena arrived in Kim Yul’s arms.
“Judith!”
“Ilena!”
The children’s reunion turned into tears.
* * *
Several days passed since the victorious announcement of reclaiming the Callum Castle echoed far and wide.
Sitting in his chamber, Vellego by himself began to tremble with anger.
Truly, his rage had reached its peak.
“I, survivors from the Callum Castle talk nonstop about that Outsider. And……”
“And?”
“They say that Outsider killed several general-rank creatures in the recent siege……”
It was simple why Vellego was this furious.
Recently, he had been hearing that detested name much too often!
Hence, a decoration ceremony was set for the following week……
“Arghhh!”
Hearing the continuation, Vellego couldn’t contain his rage any longer, sweeping everything off his desk as he screamed.
But instead of dissipating, his fury only mounted even more.
Stories spread among the survivors had, by now, painted K as a hero.
Given the revelation of K’s name and achievements, even his past feats surfaced.
“To think that bastard was the first Outsider……”
Due to the gate appearing in the temple, it was a fairly well-known fact that reinforcements from other worlds could be brought over.
However, hardly anyone knew that it was K who connected the gate.
Vellego himself was one of those unaware of this fact.
But the situation had changed now.
Everyone had come to know of K’s accomplishments.
The public became aware that K, who survived the perilous corrupted area, visited the temple, held talks with the 7 Great Gods, and eventually connected a gate that could bring reinforcements.
As a result, it was unveiled that K, the Outsider mentioned in the Apostle of Meferoseta’s prophecy.
Most demi-humans now understood that K brought a glimmer of hope to the prolonged war.
Completing the prophecy, retrieving the holy relics of the Order, saving the farm’s survivors, participating in the battle to reclaim the castle taken by enemies, and even slaying the dreaded general-rank creatures in just a few months were numerous achievements for one Outsider.
With things being as they were, it was only natural for the demi-humans who heard the news to focus their attention on K.
In their eyes, K was fast becoming hope itself.
However, Vellego’s circumstances were different.
Every time K’s accomplishments were praised, disgust filled his being.
The thought of exalting the rogue who brazenly robbed his safe with a sly face was intolerable!
His shoulder, pierced by K’s dagger, still throbbed as if reminding him of the indelible scar left upon him.
The very notion that the one who did him harm was seemingly prospering twisted his insides to the point of affliction.
“That rascal, looking like he’s always skirting around…”
Everyone should know about his underhanded nature!
Damned System