HTACS 18

Chapter 18

After Rudika vanished, Nephti and I were left staring at each other.

“…Well. Hang in there.”

“Shut up.”

Holding my throbbing head, I thought.

That assassin Hassan said she’d come back tomorrow. And I’d have to climb the Sleeping Mountain Range with her, gather a bunch of spicy herbs, and come back.

“Hmm.”

I organized my thoughts.

The convenience stores of the Republic of Korea are filled with insanely spicy things. Dead Chicken, Fire Chicken, Death Chicken—they’re all chicken, but anyway, starting with spicy ramen and sausages. Come to think of it, there was even a Dead Chicken fish-shaped ice cream. I have no idea what kind of person came up with that.

Anyway—I turned around and looked at the shelves of “my convenience store.”

The only things I have are candy, bread, and cream stored in a shady corner. Oh—beans are in my office. I can’t really put those out or sell them.

The cream for doughnuts is hard to display, and since doughnuts are fried, they’re fine if made fresh—but if left out, they quickly harden and become inedible.

But as a super convenience store clerk and store owner, what I wish for is to have the shelves fully stocked. Looking at these shelves now only makes me feel regret and frustration.

I’ll fill them.

With spicy things.

“…Not bad.”

No—it’s actually good.

The strong punish the third-rate villain.

This was within expectations.

Honestly—I’d even thought Kelter might come for my head at any moment.

Right now, a strong person has come to me, shares my goal, and I have one thing to do.

“Extract, utilize, and apply.”

To do that, I need to think. What can Wolfram do? What’s helpful? Even if I trip ahead, dodging enemy attacks and picking up gold while getting back up—isn’t that what a veteran player should do?

The Sleeping Mountain Range is Act 2.

And Act 2 is Act 2. What I mean is—the rewards are incomparably better than Act 1. While Kelter is still playing the little kid at the start of Act 1, I can already access an Act 2 map—that’s a huge advantage.

Let’s see—the Sleeping Mountain Range. My companion is Rudika. If I lock her character into assassination-only, let’s calculate the early monsters.

Hmm.

Hmmm…

I’m uneasy.

No—it’s not Rudika I’m uneasy about—it’s my own life.

Act 2 is, in a sense, the true main story.

After finishing the tutorial and prologue, for players who’ve gotten a feel for the game, it introduces new concepts—giving them that “Oh, so this is how you approach it” mini-puzzle feeling. That’s proper level design.

Naturally, that starts from the very beginning—with a flood of monsters with new patterns.

So—

“Nephti.”

“Y-yes?”

“Tomorrow, you’re coming too.”

“…Are you telling me to die? The Sleeping Mountain Range?”

“I’ll pay you 300,000 rin for the day.”

“This life has always been yours, my lord.”

So the price of conviction is 300,000, huh.

Anyway—it shouldn’t be that difficult. And if I use Nephti’s traits… hmm. It’ll work.

“Then, as your employer, I’ll give you two orders, Nephti.”

“Speak, my lord.”

“I know it’s late, but I’d like you to prepare one item by tomorrow.”

“Hmm. That’s a bit… It’s already night, isn’t it?”

“I’ll add another 100,000.”

“Loyalty, devotion, and fidelity—staking my convictions, I will fulfill your will.”

Good.

Go ahead.

—

The next morning.

Since it happened to be a holiday, we agreed to meet in front of the convenience store—and the first to arrive was Rudika.

“Wolfram. Rudika is here.”

“…Hmm. I see.”

“Then let’s go now.”

“Wait a little longer. One more person is coming. Stay put.”

“I see. Understood.”

Rudika sat down as instructed.

“Have you eaten?”

“Too busy coming here. It’s fine. Rudika can survive a week without food.”

“…Tch.”

I handed her the last black bread, water, and some Mixed Beans to spread on the bread.

“What’s this?”

“Try it. It’ll be a decent meal.”

I showed her how to eat it first—then Rudika skillfully scooped up a generous amount of cream, spread it on the black bread, and put it in her mouth. Chew chew. Swallowing as quickly as possible—she finished her meal, including water, in about a minute, then stretched.

“How is it? Edible?”

When I asked for her review, Rudika tilted her head—and said:

“Hm? …Ughh. Good calories. I can fight for ten days. Good meal. Thank you, Wolfram.”

“…?”

That was it.

Conversations with Rudika seemed to not quite connect—but I didn’t worry about it. Hassan’s were always hard to talk to anyway.

As we chatted, the third companion arrived.

“My lord—I’ve brought the item you requested.”

“Good work.”

“You two have a lord-vassal relationship?”

Rudika tilted her head and asked at their exchange.

“Fixed-term contract.”

“Loyalty. Devotion. Fidelity. My convictions lie with this person.”

“…?”

Rudika tilted her head again—but I ignored it and checked what Nephti had brought.

It was a massive handcart—big enough for at least six people to stand on.

“How exactly do you plan to use this, my lord?”

“Hmm.”

I loaded my prepared luggage onto the cart and climbed aboard. Then I gestured to Nephti, who was holding the handles.

“Drag me and the luggage all the way to the Sleeping Mountain Range.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll add another 50,000.”

“If I can aid my lord in his travels—this too is proof of my devotion!”

And so, I rode atop the cart toward the Sleeping Mountain Range.

Rudika, walking leisurely beside me, occasionally shot me glances that stung.

“…Wolfram, is this comfortable?”

“Hmm. Yes.”

“…No, Rudika was asking about Wolfram’s heart.”

“……”

But Wolfram has Endurance 2—there’s nothing I can do about it. Please think of it as better than collapsing the moment we arrive.

Think.

Damn it.

—

And so, we pooled our strength and arrived at the Sleeping Mountain Range.

At this point, Nephti’s Endurance is around 17 and Strength around 16—she’s not the type to get tired easily.

Anyway—we arrived at the mountain range, got off the cart, and started preparing.

“Let’s all check what equipment we’ve brought.”

At my words, Nephti and Rudika nodded, and I began inspecting their gear.

Even without an “Appraisal” skill, I could identify them to a comparable degree—because I’m a true veteran of this game.

Nephti had the standard beginner knight equipment. Longsword. Shield. Bracers. A padded cloth layer under leather armor. Greaves and leather boots. All well-maintained.

And Rudika—just as I’d expected.

“A dagger.”

“Yes. Rudika needs only this.”

A single dagger with a dark blade. Nothing else.

Of course.

My prediction was spot on.

“Equipment checked. Monsters appear ahead. Unlike the eastern forest with edible slimes and goblins—this is a real battlefield.”

“I see.”

“It might be unpleasant for a non-combatant like me to give orders—but I’ve hired Nephti, and I’m here at Rudika’s request. So I’ll take overall command. Any objections?”

“None, my lord.”

“Rudika has none either.”

“Then here’s the first and final strategy—prioritize protection. Above all, we must protect.”

“……”

“……”

Don’t look at me with those eyes—really.

“You seem to misunderstand. I’ll be hiding behind the cart or in the nearby bushes. What I’m ordering, Nephti—is for you to protect Rudika.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Who said to protect me?

—

At first, everyone was puzzled by my instructions—but after the first encounter with a monster, they all dropped their doubts.

Before explaining the strategy, let’s look at the origin of the name “Sleeping Mountain Range,” Act 2’s stage.

Here, you really do sleep.

That’s not a joke.

[Sleepy]—a worm-like monster that focuses on sleep magic.

[Mothman]—a creature with a human-moth hybrid appearance, scattering sleep-inducing powder from its wings.

The early part of this map is littered with monsters that inflict all sorts of “Sleep” status effects.

If Act 1 was about fighting with physical strength, Act 2 is about fighting status effects. That’s the design philosophy.

And unfortunately, this is a battlefield where assassins can’t use their full strength.

But look at Rudika now—no sound, no footsteps. She just appears behind them and slits their throats.

[Hassan Style: Kill Step: Rear Catch]

[Hassan Style: Throat Slash: Fatal Strike]

“Keeeek!”

“Skreeee!”

“Kraaah! Keeeek!”

With just two skills, countless Sleepies and Mothmen fall.

Poor Mothmen—just die quietly.

But that doesn’t mean the Sleepies and Mothmen’s attacks never hit Rudika. They can’t.

The Sleepies can be dodged—but the Mothmen, by system design, scatter sleep-inducing powder when struck. It’s what you’d call reflection damage.

So what happens? We get put to sleep with a certain probability.

Rudika, who came with just a dagger and her bare body, falls asleep—and then what? Wolfram dies.

So I pulled out my trump card.

A veteran’s trick.

“I never imagined you’d use this method.”

Watching Nephti lazily sipping Mixed Bean tea beside me, I curled my lips.

This is why I spent a fortune of 400,000 rin on Nephti today.

A tank skill she’s had since the moment she joined the team in Act 1—

[Guard Formation: Sacrifice for Salvation]

“Thankfully, you’ve attended all your classes.”

“Yes. [Guard Formation: Sacrifice for Salvation] is part of the first-year common curriculum—but I never knew it could be used this way.”

[Guard Formation: Sacrifice for Salvation] distributes the damage received by a designated target.

Right now, Nephti has cast that skill on Rudika—and it’s active.

The key point is that status effects fall within the category of “attacks.”

It’s not in the description—but it definitely works.

Rudika, being incredibly fast, rarely gets hit by Sleepy or Mothman attacks—so only the reflected damage needs watching, and Nephti takes all of that.

And Nephti is drinking the Mixed Bean tea I prepared.

Mixed Beans are originally items—they can be thrown, but usually consumed—and very naturally, minor options like sleep resistance appear from the early game.

So, to summarize the battlefield: Rudika would receive sleep status, but Sacrifice for Salvation counters it; Nephti blocks sleep with warm tea; and Rudika—

“Keeeek!”

“Skreeee! Keeeek!”

—is gleefully tearing apart the Mothmen in the distance.

Peaceful, isn’t it, Act 2.

This is easy mode.

“I’m getting a little sleepy.”

“The moment you fall asleep, I’m cutting your pay.”

“I will never fall asleep. A knight dies standing.”

“Good mindset.”

—

After sweeping the battlefield, Rudika walked back with a smile—behind her lay countless Mothmen and Sleepy corpses.

“I had fun. Thank you, Wolfram. Nephti!”

“Hmm.”

Your ability to describe that as “fun”—cheers.

“Anyway—I caught a bunch! Now let’s gather spicy herbs!”

“Without you saying it, that’s the plan. Nephti.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“From now on, harvest the herbs I name. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Work as much as your pay is worth. I’ll dock it otherwise.”

“I, Nepterian, have run through mountains and fields and have a good eye for herbs. If I can be the foundation for your will—that itself is happiness.”

“Good.”

With that, Nephti went off to harvest herbs—and I walked through the mountain of corpses.

Truly clean work. One precise strike to the neck every time. That dagger itself has magical enchantments for self-durability recovery and critical hit rate increase—but the skill application is another matter.

Poor Mothmen. Rest in peace.

“Rudika.”

“What?”

“Did any gloves drop when you killed the Mothmen?”

“…Hm? Gloves drop? Ah—you mean the Mothmen wearing gloves? There were some.”

“I see. So where are they?”

“They were on the exact 51st Mothman I killed! Wait a moment…”

With that, Rudika kicked through the Mothmen corpses. Thankfully, these creatures didn’t have body fluids—no river of goo flowed.

What a relief.

Anyway—rather than dropping upon death, the way is to loot what they’re wearing while alive. That’s another lesson learned.

“Here they are! Are these the gloves you mean?”

“Hmm. I’ll take those.”

“Fine!”

Saying that, Nephti handed me the gloves—and I stared at them.

I never thought I’d use this item myself.

“What are those gloves? I’ve never seen them.”

“They’re what I need most right now.”

“Ooh—can you explain?”

“Not difficult.”

I recalled the information on the Gauntlets of Balance in my mind.

Tier 9 Magic Item—Gauntlets of Balance.

[Gauntlets of Balance]

[When equipped, randomly increases one stat by 3.

However, does not apply to stats already at 10 or higher.]

Yes—the de-nerdification item D/Z prepared for you, the loser who can’t even reach base stat 10 by Act 2. The gloves you farm to reach stat 10—the so-called “human rights” baseline.

“That’s the kind of item it is.”

After explaining the performance without mentioning the D/Z part, Rudika’s expression stiffened strangely.

“…So there are stats below 10? Wolfram always surprises Rudika!”

You’d be surprised—Wolfram has *all* stats like that! Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Magic, Willpower—none of them are human!

I didn’t say that out loud, though—she might have fallen over in shock.

Damn it.