MRPO :03

CHAPTER :03

“Since I am not permitted to enter the castle, I apologize, but I cannot escort you all the way inside.”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. Just guiding me to the village is already a huge help.”

Well, at least I don’t have to worry about starving to death in the mountains anymore. Or meeting a sudden end by running into a monster.

I chewed on the jerky Kalion handed me and drank some water. A small pouch was hanging from Kalion’s waist. Despite being only about the size of a palm, it seemed to contain plenty of preserved food, tools needed for camping in the mountains, and even a change of clothes.

‘Is it like an inventory?’

Since I had already considered the possibility of this being inside a game from the moment the system window appeared, I wasn’t all that surprised. It probably had some kind of compression magic cast on it or something.

“We should find a place to stay before it gets dark. Can you walk?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

My legs ached since it had been ages since I last hiked, but with monsters around, this was no time to play the victim. I walked diligently behind Kalion. He moved slowly to match my stride, occasionally looking back to make sure I was keeping up.

I could see him hesitantly raising his hand as if he wanted to take mine and lead me, only to lower it again.

I wasn’t a slow walker, but to Kalion, it must look painstakingly sluggish. I couldn’t reduce myself to dead weight the moment we formed a party. I took a deep breath and enthusiastically scanned our surroundings.

“Kalion. I see a cave over there.”

“Yes. It would be good if we could rest there.”

*If* we could rest there?

“There is a possibility that monsters are nearby. I must inspect the inside.”

Ah. Right.

Kalion went in first to check the cave. After confirming there was no sign of monsters at all, he gestured for me to enter.

The cave was quite spacious and comfortable. It seemed to run deep, but as Kalion said, nothing appeared to be living there. Honestly, I was more worried about snakes or bugs than monsters, but fortunately, there was no sign of any non-human creature in the cave.

Hurrah for a bug-free bedroom.

“Please hide yourself here, Master.”

“What about you, Kalion?”

“I will scout the surrounding area. It won’t take long.”

Kalion spoke slowly and politely, as if trying to reassure me.

For a split second, a wave of anxiety washed over me that he might abandon me and leave.

But if I were a nuisance to him, he would have abandoned me from the start. I decided to trust Kalion.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting. Please be careful.”

“Yes, Master.”

Kalion stepped out of the cave, leaped lightly over a boulder, and quickly vanished from sight.

It was fascinating to see him move so effortlessly, as if his heavy-looking armor didn’t hinder him at all.

Maybe because he was entirely white, he looked just like a snowflake dancing on ice.

I stared at the entrance where Kalion had departed, then turned my head away and curled up.

Kalion told me to hide in the cave. So, naturally, I should stay put and hide. Absolutely.

‘I won’t take a single step outside; I’ll just play dead and hold out here.’

Isn’t it a classic trope in genre fiction for characters to crawl out and cause an accident after being told to stay put? I had absolutely no intention of becoming one of those annoying, useless characters who shove dry sweet potatoes down the readers’ throats.

So, I’ll hold out. Until Kalion returns!

However, despite my ambitious plan, the damn system window popped up with terrible timing.

[No Lazy Do-Gooders!]

You have spent too much time in the shelter.

In 15 seconds, the shelter will collapse.

Time remaining until burial: 15 seconds

Are you kidding me?

It really can’t stand to see me relax, can it?

Sure enough, a low rumbling sound echoed from the depths of the cave. If I stayed here any longer, my only ending would be getting crushed to death or suffocating under the collapsed debris.

Only then did I understand why so many nuisances in those genre stories behaved the way they did.

It wasn’t because they held some grudge against the readers to shove sweet potatoes down their throats—they just had their own unavoidable circumstances.

Just like mine.

‘I’m sorry, Kalion! I want to live!’

Being on a thirty-day time limit was already unfair enough, but I had absolutely no desire to die right this second.

I quickly rushed out of the cave.

With a thunderous rumble, the debris of the collapsed cave blocked the entrance. If I hadn’t made it out, being crushed to death would have been a certainty.

Fortunately, there were no signs of it leading to a landslide. It seemed the otherworld I fell into wasn’t a natural disaster blockbuster.

‘What a relief…’

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, an unusual sound came from behind me.

“Grrrrr…”

The cave collapsing went *rumble*, and the suspicious beast growling went *grrrr*.

…This was no time to be thinking about such things.

Even without turning around, I could guess just by the size and shape of the shadow looming over my head. It was bound to be a monster with a gruesome appearance.

Could this be the monster Kalion had mentioned?

As if impressed by my sharp deduction, a low-quality clapping sound played, and the system window popped into view.

[Skill Acquisition Opportunity]

Sudden Quest! You have encountered a monster.

Please scream with all your might.

Success if volume exceeds ??? dB.

Success Reward: Acquire the skill [Scream].

Thank you *so* very much for kindly confirming that the thing behind me is indeed a monster.

But screaming? Not fighting the monster, nor running away, but screaming? Will it get stunned if I scream?

“Grrk, grk.”

There was no time to think. The shadow raised a massive appendage—whether it was a hand or a foot, I couldn’t tell.

“Gwoooooo!”

“Kyaaaah!”

I screamed as I dodged the monster’s strike. Barely managing to evade the first attack, I finally got a clear look at the monster.

It was as big as a house, covered entirely in what looked like black yarn. No, was it yarn? It was wriggling, resembling thousands of living earthworms attached to it…

“Ugh, ah, aaaaaaah!!”

A visceral revulsion combined with the terror of impending death forced a scream from my throat. It was loud enough to momentarily ring my own ears.

Perhaps because of that, I felt the monster hesitate for a brief moment.

‘Did I succeed?’

Just as that thought crossed my mind, with my breath catching in my throat, a sneakily minimized window popped up below the quest window.

[Current Progress: 77%]

Try a little harder! o_<

Time remaining: 5 seconds

Someone confiscate that damn emoticon.

Channelling all my rage toward the annoying system window, I screamed even louder.

“Help meeeeeeeee!!!”

*Thud.* The ground vibrated heavily, and then all sound vanished. The surrounding scenery seemed to move in slow motion—including my own movements.

The monster rushing toward me seemed to split in half, then tore apart to the left and right.

Unlike its grotesque, bumpy exterior, what appeared between the clean-cut cross-section was…

Kalion’s face, holding a silver sword.

“Master! Are you safe?”

He rushed over to save me after hearing my scream. The moment that realization sank in, another mood-ruining fanfare played, and a slightly larger system window popped up.

[Consecutive Successes!]

Congratulations!

You have successfully acquired the skill [Scream].

[Scream Lv. 1]

Upon hearing your scream, an ally will rush to save you.

Effect: Increases the speed of allies within the range of your voice by 2x.

Duration: 20 seconds

Can be stacked up to 5 times.

I thought I was just being a nuisance shoving sweet potatoes down the readers’ throats, but it was actually an ally buff. And it can be stacked up to five times!

At maximum stacks, speed increases by 32 times. Theoretically, this meant it could make a marathon runner running at 20 km/h go up to 640 km/h.

That’s about twice the speed of the KTX bullet train. Is that even possible?

‘But if I scream five times at that decibel level within twenty seconds, my vocal cords will blow out first.’

Anyway, I survived. I consciously relaxed my stiff shoulders and thanked Kalion.

“Thank you for saving me, Kalion.”

“I ran over after hearing the sound of the cave collapsing. I judged it to be a safe place, yet I put you in danger. I have no excuse.”

Ah, so he didn’t come because of my voice, but because of the cave collapsing.

Come to think of it, I only acquired the skill right after Kalion sliced the monster in half.

“Please don’t apologize. You did it to protect me, Kalion.”

The cave collapsing was the trickery of this damn system window, not Kalion’s fault. Even to me, it hadn’t looked like a place that would collapse easily. If I hadn’t stayed hidden there, it probably would have remained a perfectly fine cave.

‘By the way, if this is how it’s going to be, I won’t even be able to hide alone in places that look safe.’

The acquired skill was also an ally buff, not something that granted me any abilities. Now, unable to even hide alone, is my only option to keep running around, screaming like crazy every time I spot a monster just to buff Kalion?

From Kalion’s perspective, I’d probably look like a troll who keeps running out and pulling aggro despite being told to stay put. Instead of leaving me behind, he might just want to kill me.

‘To think I’m a nuisance of a troll… a troll!’

I’ve spent my whole life surviving diligently on my own without causing trouble to anyone, but this damn system has turned me into a troll.