TAHR Ch 13

He had no idea Dambi possessed such a rare Conimon. More importantly, when did he manage to fill his skill gauge?

To use a Conimon’s skill, you had to fill the gauge through combat. And since it disappeared automatically after a certain amount of time, it didn’t make sense that he could use it now. Unless he hadn’t been fighting the same battles as Jaein…

Then, something suddenly occurred to Jaein.

“Ha, look at this guy. Was he killing other mobs nearby while I was taming?”

He didn’t know if it was intentional preparation or mere coincidence. But he had a bad feeling that fate would favor Dambi this time.

“Oh, no!”

And as always, this premonition proved correct.

Jaein sighed, looking at the Giant Rabbit’s health bar, which had turned gray by a hair’s breadth. To miss out again at such a crucial moment!

Dambi, having claimed the monster, began clearing the surrounding area, showing off. Jaein, holding back his words, stood still and glared at him.

‘Not yet, it’s not over yet. If he fails the taming or gets a 3-star, I win.’

You had to hear someone out to the end, and sports weren’t over until they were over. He was behind now, but there was still a chance.

Having finally cleared the area, Dambi temporarily bound the Giant Rabbit he’d claimed and, as always, taunted Jaein.

[General] Dambi: What now? Your effort with the scroll was pointless lol

“He talks as if he didn’t use one.”

Jaein remained silent instead of replying. Showing emotion now would be amateurish. The results weren’t out yet, and judging by the circumstances, a high-grade Conimon was unlikely.

There was no way a 4-star or 5-star would appear right after he’d already gotten a 5-star. Blaze wasn’t that easy of a game, so he could reasonably believe in that.

Still, just in case, he muttered as if casting a spell.

“3-star, please be a 3-star.”

Dambi glanced at the unresponsive Jaein and immediately entered the taming zone.

Meanwhile, Jaein started killing other monsters nearby, filling his Conimon’s skill gauge, just in case.

It felt strange to be making such thorough preparations, something he’d only done during the open beta, but since Dambi was going all out, he would too. He needed to show him that the server’s 3rd rank, and the path to the 1st rank, couldn’t be achieved solely through luck and money.

With his Conimon’s skill gauge full, Jaein watched the taming zone.

Finally, there was a change within the zone. Jaein, staring intently, saw the faint sparkle of the concluding effect and chuckled.

“A 3-star.”

He knew it.

Dambi finally emerged from the slowly disappearing shield. Jaein tapped happily at his keyboard.

<Mollamolla cheers and applauds Dambi.>

[General] Mollamolla: 3-star congrats congrats

[General] Mollamolla: How does that hard-earned 3-star taste?

[General] Mollamolla: Must be way better than mine, right?

It felt incredibly satisfying to throw Dambi’s own mockery back at him, especially after all that effort for a mere 3-star. This was why they said justice prevails. He should have known better than to provoke Jaein.

Jaein grinned and responded in kind to Dambi’s reaction.

[General] Dambi: heh heh

[General] Mollamolla: hehehe

[General] Dambi: heheheheh

[General] Mollamolla: hehehehehe

A subtle tension, akin to their ambiguous laughter, passed silently between them. It wasn’t quite laughter, nor was it crying; a complex, unreadable smile hung between them.

As they stared at each other, exchanging “heh heh”s, Dambi suddenly threw a curveball.

[General] Dambi: I guess it’s not that great, since I already got a 5-star?

[General] Dambi: Just feels like I had dessert

[General] Dambi: What about you? Only getting dessert without the main course ㅠㅠ

“How cheap, bringing up the 5-star now… He wants to take this to the end, huh?”

Jaein pursed his lips, trying to hide his annoyance, and issued his declaration of war.

[General] Mollamolla: It’s fine, I’ll get one soon

[General] Mollamolla: And you’ll be watching, right?

[General] Dambi: Oh really?

[General] Dambi: Try your best lol

[General] Mollamolla: Yeah, that’s the plan

[General] Mollamolla: See you often, my cure?

[General] Dambi: Well, I hate stalkers lol

[General] Mollamolla: lol

[General] Dambi: lol

Although no insults were exchanged, their words were sharpened blades aimed at each other. It felt like whoever cursed first would lose. As if they were competing to see who could infuriate the other more.

They stared at each other in silence for a long while.

Then, simultaneously, they ran in the same direction, without a word. To find another monster and inflict defeat upon the other.

Two figures, one white and the other dark navy, each accompanied by a Conimon, disappeared beyond the vast field. And following in their wake were these messages:

[Server] Ttunttuni: ★Anonymous0101<<Found/Entire Lukan Server/Rank 5/Reward 10k Gold, 30k if it’s him/Whisper-Ttunttuni, Anew

[Server] Ttunttuni: Stop sending weird tips!!

[Server] Ttunttuni: I’m blocking everyone! ;ㅁ;

[Server] Ttunttuni: Youngil!! Please just show yourself!!!ㅠ0ㅠ

It was Ttunttuni’s desperate plea to find Youngil.

⋆༺⚔༻⋆️

The sun-drenched green field was always heartwarming. Grass and flowers dancing in the gentle breeze, fluffy clouds drifting across the azure sky, shady resting spots beneath large trees, a sparkling lake reflecting the sunlight, and herbivores peacefully grazing.

The Ebeshan plains were so beautiful that they were considered a paradise among players.

However, the monsters inhabiting the plains were notoriously fierce. It was one of the five high-level fields, after all.

Only top-tier players could enter, so it was mostly quiet and peaceful. Even if there were other players, they usually fought monsters alone and quietly, so there was rarely any commotion. The same was true for the other high-level fields.

But currently, the Ebeshan plains were noisier than any other field.

Two figures, each with a different shade, were busily stirring up the field.

Jaein gritted his teeth as he watched Dambi gradually pull away. As always, the Valkyrie’s speed was just too fast. There was a fundamental difference in their base stats, so even with a speed scroll, if Dambi used one too, it was just a standstill. Like now.

“Honestly, shouldn’t this be nerfed?”

If their speeds were equal, his chances of winning would be 90%, not 50%. He felt like he was going crazy, constantly losing because of speed.

“But I can’t just change all my item options.”

Rerolling random options on his items just to add movement speed would be pure madness. True madness.

He’d poured so much gold into getting the best possible attack increase and casting time reduction options. Giving that up just to catch up to Dambi could create problems in speedruns.

The most important factor in speedruns was ‘damage,’ meaning attack power. Movement speed was a trivial option when it came to quickly killing monsters. It wasn’t entirely useless, but since it could be supplemented with scrolls, it was naturally excluded from item options.

So, he had to think of another way…

“Huh?”

As he was pondering how to widen the gap with Dambi, he missed the monster right in front of him because he’d pressed the skill button 0.5 seconds too late. Dambi snatched it.

The grayed-out monster’s health bar and Dambi’s ‘lol’ taunt wavered dizzyingly before his eyes.

“Ugh… annoying.”

Jaein rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.

It was his mistake, but if he’d been just a little faster, he could have recovered. That’s why he needed to find another solution, but all he could think about was increasing his movement speed.

Meanwhile, Dambi entered the taming zone, and the surrounding area, now devoid of monsters, became quiet.

Jaein stopped thinking for a moment and glared at where Dambi was. It would be a 3-star again, right?