TAHR Ch 10

“What? Why is the respawn rate so fast here?”

It wasn’t a fixed spawn, so it was likely a coincidence, but the chances of another tamable monster appearing were slim. He himself had never experienced two appearing in the same spot, so he dismissed it.

However,

“Huh? Wait, what?”

Contrary to his expectations, a diamond pointer appeared above the newly spawned monster’s head.

Here? At a time like this?

Jaein hurriedly canceled the portal and rushed towards the monster. But someone reacted even faster: Dambi, the person he had just been arguing with.

Seeing Dambi ahead of him, Jaein gritted his teeth. To catch up to a Valkyrie, which was faster than a Magician, he had to use Blink. But even then, if the distance kept increasing like this, the chances of him losing were higher.

While the previous situation had been a 50/50 split, this time it was more like 30/70 in Dambi’s favor.

Still, he couldn’t give up. He had to try for that 30%, no matter what.

Using Blink, he momentarily caught up to Dambi. But as expected, the distance began to widen again.

“Damn Valkyrie!”

He wasn’t giving up yet. His last hope was his range. His attack range was slightly longer than a Valkyrie’s, so if he could just land the first hit…!

The moment the monster entered his skill range,

“Ah!”

As he used his skill, the monster’s health bar instantly turned gray. He couldn’t overcome the distance and Dambi had snatched the first hit.

Jaein groaned, watching his skill land belatedly and uselessly. He could almost imagine Dambi smirking at him.

His stomach churned as he lost the monster due to his misjudgment. He should have stopped moving the moment he saw the monster spawn. Why had he been so careless? It wouldn’t have killed him to stop for a moment!

“Ha…”

Why was this happening? He had seen monsters spawn countless times, but never had tamable monsters appeared consecutively like this.

It was impossible unless the admins were messing with him, wanting to see him lose to Dambi. This was beyond bad luck.

As he sighed repeatedly, Dambi finished clearing the surrounding mobs and entered the taming zone. Watching them, Jaein composed himself and decided to wait for another chance.

“Right… I just need them to fail.”

While his own failure rate was near zero, other players still failed about 40% of the time. Dambi would surely fail too. No, they had to fail.

Otherwise, he needed at least a 3-star to soothe his frustration.

Ten minutes passed, feeling like an eternity.

Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted from the shield enveloping Dambi and the monster. Golden beams and pure white light swirled, illuminating the surroundings, before exploding like fireworks and slowly fading away.

“…….”

The blood drained from Jaein’s face as he witnessed the spectacle.

That effect was definitely…

Speechless, he stared blankly as the shield disappeared and Dambi emerged. A system notification appeared server-wide.

<A 5-star Graderic, Ruler of the Snowfields, has appeared in the Continent of Kajentain!>

While it didn’t say who obtained it, Jaein knew the monster Dambi had caught was named Graderic. He had seen the brilliantly shining shield with his own eyes.

That was… the effect that triggered when a 5-star Conimon was tamed.

The monster he had lost to Dambi was a 5-star Conimon!

He, Jaein, had missed out on a 5-star Conimon, worth a whopping 30 ranking points, right in front of him!

Jaein stared wide-eyed, unable to breathe. 5-star Conimons were so rare that even top-ranked players rarely had more than five. He knew the rank 1 player, “Commander,” was the only one with eight.

He himself only had four, and he had just lost the chance to get a fifth. And to Dambi, of all people, with whom he now had this unpleasant connection.

[Guild] Ttunttuni: Huh? What?

[Guild] Ttunttuni: A 5-star appeared right after server opening?

[Guild] Ttunttuni: It’s been almost 2 months, hasn’t it?

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Wow, so jealous ㅇㅂㅇ

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Server integration celebratory special?

His guildmates were also surprised by the appearance of a 5-star Conimon after two months. But Jaein couldn’t speak.

[Guild] Ttunttuni: Imagine someone going out to the field right after opening like our Guild Master;

[Guild] Ttunttuni: Everyone’s busy with the event.

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Oh?

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Could it be our Guild Master?????

[Guild] Ttunttuni: Huh???? No way????

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Hold on.

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: How many guild points did we have?

[Guild] Ttunttuni: 955

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Oh? It’s the same;;;;

[Guild] Ttunttuni: See? Knew it ㅡㅡ

[Guild] Ttunttuni: I thought it was strange that that bastard was quiet.

The reason Jaein couldn’t respond, despite their teasing, was because Dambi was slowly approaching him.

Jaein, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn’t describe, could only stare blankly.

Were they just going to pass by? He briefly wondered, but then Dambi stopped right in front of him, as if to show off. They stared at him for a moment before saying just one thing.

[General] Dambi: Crazy bastard lol.

It felt like being hit hard on the head with a giant hammer. His blood pressure spiked, his head throbbed, and his eyes ached.

Crazy bastard? Were they talking to him?

This person, who had just stolen a 5-star Conimon from him, dared to mock him openly, while he hadn’t even teased them for getting a 3-star?

Jaein had never imagined he would experience rage deeper than when he missed getting a top grade in school. He gritted his teeth, grinding them together. The anger simmering within him threatened to erupt like a volcano. Then he saw Dambi trying to open a portal to somewhere else.

[General] Mollamolla: Hey!

[General] Mollamolla: You fcking btch! B*tch! Where do you think you’re going?!

He desperately called out, but his furious curses were filtered, and Dambi vanished without a trace.

Bang!

Jaein slammed his fist on his desk, unable to contain himself. He trembled with unresolved rage.

“…F*ck.”

Not only was he furious about missing the 5-star Conimon right in front of him, but his sincerity, his lack of intention to mock, had been disregarded, and he had been ridiculed on top of it all.

“Wow… seriously. Ha, haha.”

Jaein clutched his throbbing head and let out a hollow laugh. It was so absurd that he wondered if he was dreaming. But this was all too real.

All he had left were unforgettable humiliation and Dambi’s mocking laughter.

After laughing emptily for a while, Jaein’s expression hardened. He leaned his head back against his chair.

He sighed repeatedly, trying to calm his anger. But instead of calming down, his fury intensified. A snow-white weasel, resembling Dambi, appeared before his eyes, prancing around.

“….Dambi, Dambi.”

Chuckling, Jaein slowly straightened up. He gazed at his character, Mollamolla, standing in the snowy field, then ignored the guild chat clamoring for his response and searched for Dambi’s location.

[Dambi / Lv: – / Class: – / Location: Ashan]

While their level and class were hidden, he could at least find their location.

Dambi was currently in Ashan, and very fortunately, that was his main hunting ground.

A slow smile spread across Jaein’s lips. He wasn’t sure if he felt joy or anger. But he was certain of one thing:

Things were about to get very interesting.

Jaein added Dambi to his favorites. They wouldn’t accept a friend request anyway, and he only needed their location. This was enough.

“So you want to play this game, Dambi?”

It was only right to accept a challenge. He couldn’t let such an insult slide. They called him crazy? Fine, he would show them what crazy truly meant.

Jaein stretched his stiff neck and shoulders, his eyes fixed on the monitor.

His pupils flickered wildly, filled with a growing madness.