RCMT-Chapter 3

Ch.3 The Regression Of Calamity-Level Monster Tamer

Grrrr—

Freki and the Gray Wolf pack growled low, displaying hostility toward the Blood Wolves.

“Judging by how things are turning out, my guess was right.”

The reason Freki came outside, leaving a perfectly good Gate behind.

The reason Blood Wolves suddenly appeared through the Wave.

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s reading situations.

I didn’t know what caused things to flow differently from before my regression, but I understood the current situation well enough.

‘The Gray Wolves had their Gate stolen by the Blood Wolves.’

Allies and enemies were clear.

This time, there was no reason to show mercy.

“Awoooo—“

[The buff effect of Freki’s ‘Wolf Pack (A)’ increases the Gray Wolves’ abilities by 10%.]

At that moment, Freki let out a long howl, and simultaneously, thirty Gray Wolves charged at the Blood Wolf pack without hesitation.

I also drew the utility knife stuck in my back pocket and gripped it in a reverse hold.

Shaaaak—!

“Kyaaang—!“

The short blade sliced a long gash across the Blood Wolf’s belly.

Its hot innards spilled out along with white steam, soaking my clothes.

But without time to hesitate, I immediately threw my body forward.

Then I rolled on the ground, entangled with a Blood Wolf trying to bite an ally’s throat.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Blood fountained up along with the sound of butchering meat.

“Ugh…”

I barely extracted myself from beneath the massive Blood Wolf corpse and got to my feet. Then I checked my weapon’s condition.

The utility knife’s edge had already dulled, becoming nothing more or less than a lump of metal. I hadn’t expected much from a regular commercial product that wasn’t even an item anyway.

In any case, when you don’t have teeth, you have to fight with your gums.

Without hesitation, I used my first talent.

[Using talent ‘Empathy (C)’ on Magic Beast Freki.]

[Partially awakening Freki’s latent abilities.]

[Magic Beast Information]

Name: Freki

Classification: Gray Wolf—(Special Entity)

Rank: E (Conditional Growth Type)

Level: 15

Loyalty: 100

Skills: Two Are One (S-), Wolf Pack (B)

[Latent Abilities: Riding (D), ??? (B), ??? (?)]

‘Perfect timing!’

The latent ability awakened right now was ‘Riding (D)’.

Though the rank wasn’t high, it was one of the more useful utility abilities.

“Freki—!”

At my shout calling its name, Freki, who had been mercilessly tearing at a Blood Wolf’s throat, raised its head.

Then, as if reading my eyes, it immediately ran toward me.

Pabat—

I ran toward Freki, grabbed its mane, and mounted its back in one motion.

Freki’s Loyalty stat was 100.

When its loyalty combined with my experience, we were practically one body.

I guided Freki to charge straight at a Blood Wolf engaged in a brawl with three Gray Wolves.

Thud.

A charge utilizing speed.

The collision created an impact. Naturally, the Blood Wolf’s balance, caught off guard, crumbled.

Not missing that opening, three Gray Wolves instantly tore at its throat and legs.

Kyaaang—

Despite the Blood Wolf’s scream, Freki kicked off the ground again.

The battlefield was wide, and there were many small-scale battles where we needed to intervene.

“Freki, this way!”

I used Freki’s mane as reins to guide it toward the next target.

‘Blood Wolves are fast and strong, but that’s why their weakness is clear too.’

They’re as ferocious as they are powerful. Which means their vision narrows in front of enemies.

That’s why Freki, following my commands, thoroughly approached from blind spots.

Thwack—!

Freki leaped high and landed on a Blood Wolf’s crown, crushing its skull.

“…Careful!”

Another Blood Wolf ambushed Freki, but we had four eyes. Following my command, Freki flexibly twisted its body and tore at the charging wolf’s throat.

Crack!

With the chilling sound of neck bones breaking, the opponent sprawled like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Next!”

Shaaaak—

Immediately after, Freki’s claws traced a crescent arc.

Then a Blood Wolf’s head rose into the air.

[Defeated 3 Blood Wolves.]

[User’s Level has increased by 1.]

[Freki’s Level has increased by 1.]

“Kyaaang!“

“Kyaaaaaang!!“

When my battlefield awareness combined with Freki’s physicality, the tide of the fierce battle quickly turned in our favor.

And once the momentum shifted our way, it became a weight, rapidly determining victory and defeat.

[Defeated 7 Blood Wolves.]

[User’s Level has increased by 2.]

[Freki’s Level has increased by 2.]

The Blood Wolves’ numbers rapidly dwindled, and eventually, we achieved a great victory.

[Successfully defended against all Waves!]

[User’s Level has increased by 6.]

[Calculating achievements so far…]

As soon as the system message appeared, the Blood Wolf corpses scattered like dust.

“Awoooo—!!“

“Awoo—!“

The Gray Wolves blew victory fanfare with their howling.

“Good work, Freki.”

I dismounted from its back and stroked its rough mane. Then it licked my face.

We savored the victory, feeling a full sense of camaraderie.

It was only a small victory, but it would become the first step toward my goal anyway.

However, the system seemed to think differently than I did.

Ding!

[Successfully Tamed immediately after class change.]

[Successfully Tamed while overcoming a high Level difference.]

[Tamed a Special Entity.]

[Successfully defended against a Wave of sharply increased difficulty.]

[Recognizing user’s unstoppable progress!]

Huh? Not a small victory?

It seemed the system wanted to give me something more besides experience points.

And I’m not the type to refuse what’s being offered.

[Acquired 1,000 achievement coins.]

[Acquired title ‘A Real One Among Made Ones, Loaded Ones, and Real Ones’!]

[A Real One Among Made Ones, Loaded Ones, and Real Ones]

—Rank: Legendary

—Description: A real one writes legends from birth.

—All Stats permanently increase by 10%. (Calculation standard: rounded)

—The ‘minimum Stat’ requirement among the qualification conditions for creating Skills disappears.

Achievement points are literally currency that can only be used in the achievement shop.

Of course, it’s naturally a shop only accessible to Players.

With 1,000 coins, I should be able to purchase a fairly decent item for my current Level.

‘Hah…’

Moreover, the second effect of this title made even me, accustomed to generous rewards, let out a hollow laugh.

‘This is jackpot. This is a complete jackpot.’

I need to correct myself.

This victory was bigger than I thought and became a major leap toward my goal.

‘All Stats permanently increase by 10%!?’

This would definitely become a huge asset as I grew.

Ability scores calculated with rounding.

And that wasn’t all.

[‘Minimum Stat’ requirement disappears.]

[‘Wolf Step Lv.1 (D)’ upgrades to ‘Blue Wolf’s Step Lv.1 (C)’.]

‘I’ll be able to learn skills more easily from now on.’

Though there are many limiting conditions, just having the Stat requirement removed feels like breathing room.

‘Phew, let me pull myself together. I need to leave soon.’

To avoid noisy trouble, I had to slip away before the Gate raid team arrived.

Ding!

[Collected all Hidden Pieces!]

‘…Huh?’

But the snowball Freki had been rolling caught my ankle just as I was about to move.

[Hidden Pieces]

1. Tame ‘Freki’.

2. Achieve 100 Loyalty with ‘Freki’.

3. Keep all Gray Wolves under your command without harming them.

4. Annihilate the Blood Wolves.

[Conditions met, Hidden Quest granted.]

[Hidden Quest: Freki’s Request]

Freki realizes you are a Player with both loyalty and ability. Help Freki rescue his only brother from the Magic Beast ‘Blood Wolf Clan’.

Rewards: — Gate Boss ‘Geri’

— Skill Book, Nest (F)

‘Hmm… so it comes to this after all.’

I didn’t know a Hidden Quest would occur, but I’d been guessing the situation well enough.

It wasn’t very frequent, but it wasn’t extremely rare either.

‘Gate Evolution…’

This meant the Gate’s rank was upgrading in real-time.

‘Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.’

In the past, Freki probably died trying to save its brother and had its Gate stolen by the Blood Wolf Clan. That would be the ‘Gate Evolution’.

The government and guilds that arrived late would have cleared the evolved Blood Wolf Gate.

‘But now, I’ve become a variable.’

Then ‘Freki sensed something in me, the regressor, and made a different choice than before…’ would be the correct deduction.

That’s why this would be my first time seeing it.

‘Whatever the case, this is good news for me.’

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted by the rewards.

Not only could I obtain another Magic Beast at a similar level to Freki, but I could also get a Skill Book.

Moreover, Freki’s ‘Two Are One (S-)’ Skill and the phrase ‘Conditional Growth Type’ also bothered me.

“Would accepting be profitable? No… the losses won’t be trivial either.”

I’d already dismissed the possibility of failure.

If I accepted, success was a foregone conclusion. I had more than enough confidence for that.

The problem was after completing the Quest.

If that happened, I would inevitably draw excessive attention.

A newly awakened Player cleared a Gate alone?

Actually, such cases weren’t completely unheard of, but they weren’t frequent either.

In any case, it was worth a daily news headline.

‘Ultimately, excessive attention creates envy and jealousy…’

All sorts of obstructive forces would emerge.

‘Actually, I’m more worried about those arrows turning toward Mother than me…’

“Whine…”

Moreover, if I entered the Gate right now, Mother would be left alone.

‘Hmm, what should I do about this…’

Noticing my hesitation, Freki approached with a dejected expression and made a pained sound.

I reached out to stroke Freki’s head, my resolve weakening.

At that moment, it perked up its ears and lifted its head.

“…?”

Freki stared at the tall Tower, displaying faint wariness. A group of Players was gathered around the Tower area.

‘…Oh? Already?’

The government and guilds.

I thought they’d be a bit later, but they seemed to be arriving earlier than expected.

‘From what I remember, the government representative is ‘that woman’, and the guild side is Jotunn Guild, probably…’

Jotunn Guild was unreliable, but that woman was trustworthy.

‘She definitely handles work well, handles work well at least.’

Actually, she was frustratingly rigid, so we didn’t mesh well.

But precisely because of that personality, I’d received quite a bit of help from her in the past.

Among civil servants, she was someone who worked with strong sense of duty and honesty that adhered to principles.

Whine…

“…”

After staring at Freki for a while, I walked to Mother.

“Mother.”

“…Are you planning to go into the Gate?”

Just from my expression, Mother guessed what her son was thinking.

“Yes, I think I need to go. But rescue personnel will arrive soon. You must stay with the government people.”

“Alright. I’ll do ‘my role’.”

“Role?”

“I have some sense too. So don’t worry and go.”

“Ah…”

I nodded, having an idea of what she meant.

Then, mindful of the trouble Mother would face, I cautiously asked something else while gauging her mood.

“…Don’t you have anything else to ask?”

“If it was something you could talk about, you would have told me already. So I understand. Hurry and go.”

“…Then I’ll be back soon. For dinner—”

“Let’s have pork stir-fry, your favorite.”

At Mother’s answer, I replied with a smile and entered the Gate.

[Entering Purple Gate.]

[Gate is evolving. Be careful of sudden situations.]

Having become a fire attribute dutiful son, I planned to properly roll this snowball at least once out of sheer stubbornness.

***

15 minutes after the unexpected Gate occurrence.

Government and guild Players began arriving at the Gate one after another.

To be precise, a ‘small number’ of government Players and a ‘large number’ of guild Players arrived.

The government, always suffering from manpower shortages, had no choice but to rely on the numbers of guilds with abundant capital when it came to Gate resolution.

Among them, the one who appeared most swagger was a giant carrying a mace as tall as a person.

“Hey, Manager Seo. Long time no see.”

“Was it Team Leader Jang Seong-han? I guess Jotunn Guild happened to be on duty today.”

The one who received Jotunn Guild’s Jang Seong-han’s greeting was a short-haired woman wearing frameless glasses.

“Happened to be! Don’t put it so harshly. Anyway… Manager Seo. No, Miss Seo Gyeoul.”

“…”

“Have you had dinner yet? If not, later how about some pork belly with soju—”

“I refuse.”

Jang Seong-han made an advance, but Seo Gyeoul rejected him with a tone colder than frost. However, as if this rejection wasn’t the first or second time, Jang Seong-han skillfully moved to the next topic.

“That coldness is what makes Manager Seo charming. Anyway, Gate control is all done, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then, shall I loosen up a bit for the first time in a while?”

However, for some reason, veins bulged on Seo Gyeoul’s forehead at Jang Seong-han’s response.

“As expected, you don’t know anything. We definitely sent an official document from our side telling you to complete the ‘Gate Basics and Understanding’ course. Should our Gate Management Team understand this as Jotunn Guild’s discipline becoming lax, or should we view it as Team Leader Jang Seong-han’s personal capabilities declining?”

“…N-no!? Even without knowing that stuff, I can clear a Purple Gate with my eyes closed—”

“It’s been 3 years since the Gate appeared.”

“Th-that’s…”

Jang Seong-han barely blocked Seo Gyeoul’s rapid-fire attack, but ultimately sank at the following fact missile.

“Isn’t Jotunn Guild’s Player qualification inspection in a month? Then you’d better study hard. I’m scheduled to go as the inspector.”

“…”

At Jang Seong-han’s silence, Seo Gyeoul gave a cold smile and only then began reading the report.

“April 3, 2034, 17:26. Unexpected Gate occurrence in Amsa 1-dong, Gangdong-gu. Gate was initially observed as Purple rank, but currently evolving to Indigo rank. Among these, the most important fact is…”

Seo Gyeoul and all the Players simultaneously looked at the Gate.

The Gate’s surface was rippling roughly like waves.

Entry was impossible in that state.

It meant someone was currently raiding it.

“There’s already a customer inside the Gate.”

“What a damn bastard! Which guild? Dokkaebi? Or those crazy Follower bastards?!”

At Jang Seong-han’s shout, Seo Gyeoul’s gaze reached a middle-aged woman. She was looking at the Gate with an anxious expression.

“That woman’s son went in without fear. He’s probably a newly awakened Player.”

“…”

“…”

The surroundings were colored with silence.

It happened occasionally.

Those who suddenly awakened due to the aftereffects of energy storms.

And such people tended to get their heads filled with air all too easily.

Moreover, if they even managed to block the Wave with heavenly luck, their confidence would pierce the sky.

They’d think they could become the ‘Irregular’ that appears on the news.

“Looks like we’ll be clearing out a corpse soon.”

Someone among the guild Players muttered quietly, but that voice stuck deep in everyone’s ears.

Everyone understood what he meant.

‘At least my share won’t disappear.’

Just that a modicum of humanity prevented them from voicing those dark inner thoughts outwardly.

Only Jang Seong-han laughed boldly and shouted loudly.

“Come on, everyone move! We have to go catch those mongrel bastards in a bit, hahaha!”

“…”

The Players found him uncomfortable yet began moving according to his orders.

Only Seo Gyeoul looked at the middle-aged woman with pitying eyes.

‘I should at least help her receive proper compensation.’

Thinking that, she soon withdrew her gaze and prepared to enter the Gate.

Among the Players who arrived there, not a single one doubted the death of the man who entered the Gate.