Damned System

Chapter 113. Party Play (4)

The moment Yang Taeho noticed someone waving their hand enthusiastically, the surrounding area became noisy.

“Is that K?”

“Did someone say K?”

“Where?”

“Is K in Viceta?”

“Oh my, this is huge!”

The name that had just been mentioned held significant influence.

Murmurs filled the air.

Amid the commotion, several players approached K with familiarity.

Three players, to be precise, possessed remarkably elaborate gear. A black man, a Latina woman, and a man who appeared to be from Southeast Asia.

Despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds, they shared one commonality: they all bore the same symbol above their heads.

‘Are they all from Palao?’

Yang Taeho’s eyes widened in surprise.

Although he had seen it beside K, he was still not accustomed to that symbol. It seemed that the other players at the forward base were the same.

“The symbol of Palao.”

“All of them?”

“So there really were players who joined that group.”

Whether they were aware of the surrounding uproar or not, those wearing the Palao symbol greeted K with a cheerful demeanor.

“You’re late. When did you arrive?”

K replied naturally, “Just arrived.”

“Did you go hunting?”

“Kind of, wanted to stretch out a bit.”

“Ha… you’re relentless. So, did you finish?”

“See for yourself.”

The players, who exchanged a few words with K, glanced curiously at Yang Taeho and Phoenix’s team.

“But what are you doing here? The assembly is on the southern grounds.”

They stood near the western entrance of the forward base.

“The ones who arrived earlier have already set up tents. Let’s go.”

“If you’ve got unfinished business, we can wait.”

K shrugged nonchalantly, “Unfinished business? There’s a problem with my party member.”

“What? A party member?”

“Did he just say party member?”

“You formed a party?!”

The startled exclamations of the players shifted their gazes to Yang Taeho and Phoenix’s team.

Their darting eyes searched for a hint of K’s party member.

“This way.”

K pointed to Yang Taeho, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Codename Pudding, position: Tanker.”

“Wow, unbelievable, you formed a party?”

“The lone wolf has changed.”

“I thought you’d be solo forever…”

K smiled at the reactions flowing one after another.

“Solo forever, what kind of curse is that?”

“You ignored us for so long…”

“Look at that bulk! No wonder we didn’t see it.”

“If that’s your taste, I respect it.”

With escalating dramatics, K lightly kicked one of his friends. His actions were free of formality, as one would among friends.

“You’re all Fire-type, same as me in position. Enough with the nonsense, make your introductions.”

Then he patted Yang Taeho’s shoulder and introduced him to them.

“These are friends from the same order. We often run into each other, so we’ve become acquainted.”

“Wow, being K’s party member feels unreal. Am I dreaming?”

“Um, may I shake your hand?”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Uh, oh, nice to meet y’all…”

After the brief introductions, the players aligned with Palao turned their gaze to the side.

“Then those people are?”

Yang Taeho’s gaze naturally followed theirs.

In the meanwhile, Phoenix’s team’s expressions had stiffened considerably.

Their complexions turned pale, and for a brief moment, they seemed pitiable.

The reason for their change in demeanor was apparent.

It must have been due to the owner of the gaze scrutinizing them from beside them.

K observed Phoenix’s team quietly for a moment.

“Hm…”

At length, when his gaze grew colder, he said,

“Bastards?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

His words, a blatant criticism, continued.

“Those scum who abandoned their party members to save themselves, yet shamelessly show their faces again and spout nonsense about getting along.”

“Whoa.”

“Unbelievable.”

Watching K’s expression grow cold, Yang Taeho gulped without realizing it.

Receiving K’s direct gaze, Phoenix’s team trembled and took a step back.

“In my life, I’ve seen there are plenty of people without hope. And you’re one of them.”

K, cracking his neck side to side, approached Phoenix’s team.

“Being worried about your dirty laundry getting aired, you should stay low.”

Why show up here, picking fights?

“Oh my, look at that grimace. You don’t like what I’m saying?”

A smirk tugged at K’s lips as he probed Pheonix’s shoulder, moving even closer.

“Then go ahead and fight back.”

Despite the provocation, Phoenix’s team remained frozen in place.

K’s smile widened further.

“Why, hearing my codename makes you chicken out? Are you scared I might really be K?”

As they stood face to face, it seemed K’s stature was larger than usual.

Though, in actuality, there was barely a few centimeters difference between him and Phoenix.

“I’d love to say I’m not K, but…”

Before he could finish, a status window appeared, showing all information hidden except for the codename.

“What a shame, reality’s not that forgiving.”

Seeing the codename on K’s status window, Phoenix’s eyes trembled violently.

K took delight in their expression, tilting his head slightly.

“Hey, no matter how much pride you have, you were just barking orders. Where’s that courage now?”

With a slight bend at his waist, K seemed immensely intimidating.

“If you’re going to pick a fight by gauging your opponent, you should have been cautious from the start.”

Speaking in a low, threatening tone, K slowly straightened up.

“Then again, you probably didn’t have the capacity to think that far. Your head’s empty, isn’t it?”

Though his fierce expression eased, his eyes remained sharp.

“I really detest cowardly bullies like you.”

K lightly tapped Phoenix’s cheek, disdain and displeasure written on his face as he continued,

“If you want me to stay quiet, hand over all the loot from today’s hunt and politely ask for it. Otherwise, things will get uncomfortable between us.”

His intentions were clear and were purposefully insulting—and it worked.

Embarrassed, Phoenix’s face turned beet red as he awkwardly opened the inventory.

His companions, cautiously watching him, placed their belongings in front of him.

Several gold coins and rusty weapons familiar to Yang Taeho caught his eye.

They were definitely spoils Phoenix’s team acquired earlier that morning while hunting with him.

Phoenix, keeping his head low, mumbled, pleading for the morning’s events to stay buried.

At that, K gave Yang Taeho a questioning glance.

Yang Taeho, feeling flustered, nodded.

He never intended to blow the issue out of proportion in the first place.

Though he hadn’t expected the situation to unfold as it did…

Nonetheless, the matter seemed resolved.

With a short click of his tongue, K dismissed Phoenix’s team with a wave of his hand.

“If you’re done here, get lost.”

Yang Taeho stared blankly at the departing figure of the Phoenix leader, who had been so audacious before.

“Some people have the nerve to let things go after hearing such nonsense?”

K complained moodily beside him.

“Endlessly enduring isn’t always a solution. With jerks like that, you’ve got to stomp them out.”

“Well, that is…”

Yang Taeho hesitated, feeling torn.

He thought he was sparing K trouble by enduring it.

But it seemed K wasn’t pleased with that notion.

‘Wow, he sure has some strong opinions.’

Yang Taeho scratched his head, reflecting on K’s fierce demeanor, contrasting the calm and meticulous persona he usually showed in the corrupted areas.

“Even if they didn’t cough up everything, at least have these for now. They’re rightfully yours.”

Despite the situation, K didn’t forget to help gather the spoils, obediently picking up what was on the ground like a child following orders.

“You’re too soft-hearted. Didn’t you say your wife needs surgery? Hospital bills don’t come cheap, and whenever you go back and forth, you’ll probably need a caretaker. Is that service free? You’ve got to scrape up whatever you can.”

Yang Taeho didn’t expect to get a lecture from someone ten years his junior, but it didn’t bother him.

“Haha, you’re absolutely right about that. I owe you big time today. I’ll treat you to a big feast soon, just wait!”

The more he thought about it, the stranger the day seemed.

Meeting K, who he’d only heard about from others.

Bagging a fortune he’d never held before.

And seeing someone who mistreated him turning tails and fleeing.

“Ha ha.”

Try as he might to pretend otherwise, he couldn’t help but feel a slight satisfaction.

Though he disliked conflict, it didn’t mean he was without anger.

And so, a smile spilled over his lips.

Thanks to K’s intervention, Yang Taeho’s ire melted away.

On the other hand, K still seemed irked, mumbling with a frown.

“As if lacking shame, they don’t even have the sense to keep it to themselves. What a bunch of worthless losers.”

“You need to curb that temper of yours! You’re going to make enemies with that personality.”

Next to him, the Latina woman began to nag K.

“It’s simpler to make them enemies. Leave them nearby, and they’ll just stab you in the back.”

“You’ll end up with a knife in your back!”

“If someone’s going to stab me anyways, I’d rather offer them the front.”

“Ack, you’re such a crazy idiot!”

As the not-quite-argument carried on, the black player subtly retreated and approached Yang Taeho.

“It startled you, didn’t it?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, a bit.”

“You should get used to it. He’s got quite the temper.”

Yang Taeho was speechless at the blunt assessment of K.

The black player, unfazed by his reaction, continued.

“He knows how to show respect and normally acts proper, but once he gets turned on, he charges ahead.”

“Oh really?”

“He’s got a ridiculously solid set of principles. Though he’s not without flexibility…”

Changing those principles, however, required a justification that he could agree with.

And most of the time, he saw such justifications as mere excuses, making him a very discerning guy.

“He’s very thorough in his self-discipline and extremely strict with himself. He leads by example, which makes his standards high, too.”

Right on cue, the Southeast Asian-looking player joined the conversation.

“Thanks to him, the troublemakers have all quieted down.”

Seeing Yang Taeho blinking in confusion, the black player elaborated.

“Quite a few who misbehaved at the order received some tough love thanks to him. He’s like a discipline officer, I guess? It’s been convenient for us.”

What had he done to earn the title of a discipline officer?

If he had more time, he would have asked the Palao-affiliated players about their stories of K.

However, Yang Taeho didn’t get the chance.

“There he is.”

“Wow, it’s really K!”

Suddenly, more Palao players began gathering, causing excitement among those watching nearby.

Yang Taeho found himself no different.

“What’s, what’s going on here?”

He stammered, stepping back in surprise.

“Dude, you should’ve reached out!”

“If you’re planning to hunt, let’s go together.”

“K, if you haven’t been assigned a tent yet, do you want to share with our party? We’ve got extra bunks.”

Before he knew it, he was surrounded by players, all bearing the Palao symbol.

Damned System