Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Mushroom Factory (2)
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1.
Every Rift has at least one rule.
The Mushroom Factory's rule is "Humans are Mushrooms."
It sounds confusing at first, but it's simple.
Anyone who stays in this Rift for 24 hours or more, or dies inside, turns into a cute mushroom fairy and suffers the punishment of singing "Hmm... hmm..." endlessly.
That's why people usually search for the randomly generated exit inside the Rift and start hunting around it.
"But does that really provide a steady supply of fairy meat?"
"What do you mean?"
"Fairy meat is one of Necropolis's staple foods, right?"
"Yeah."
"I doubt many people stick around here for 24 hours... Won't they go extinct if you keep hunting them?"
"Nah, you're worrying over nothing. Overnus Pharma tosses in half-broken test subjects periodically."
"Wow."
Necropolis never fails to surpass my paltry imagination.
As we searched while listening to these world-building explanations, I spotted an emergency exit sign.
"Here it is, boss! Found it in just one hour."
"As expected from the boss!"
"Luck was on our side."
Next to the emergency exit sign sat a massive door and button, like a freight elevator.
An elevator that goes anywhere, for real.
Anyway.
With the exit secured, I memorized its location and kicked off the real hunt.
But first, a double-check.
"You're sure no other fixers heard the gunshots and came running?"
Even if the mushroom fairies can't hear, this was my biggest concern.
In Necropolis, you can blast away with guns all day without issue. No complaints come in.
As long as you don't cause obvious damage to a "corporation," piss off the big shots (mostly mages), or accidentally touch someone who puts a kill order on you.
But a Rift?
Anyone inside a Rift is basically a fixer.
What happens when two fixers bump into each other in a Rift? Both loaded with loot?
I can only think of one ending besides you or me: mutual destruction like hell's gatekeepers.
Lose and you die? Why fear that?
Just win.
Easier said than done, though.
There's a major problem.
If the other guy is a 6th or 5th-grade fixer, I'd have no choice but to summon Maheura from the Mysterious Insect Scripture.
"Nah, high-grade fixers don't come to places like this. Nothing worth eating from scrubs like us."
Akit brushed off my worry.
"Besides, is this Rift that big? Drop zones rarely overlap, and even if we run into someone, any decent fixer could take them out with your artifact, boss."
"So I trust you on this, Akit?"
"No, if you're that scared, why'd you suggest coming to the Rift! We're shitting ourselves too."
"Not scared, you punk. Cautious."
With Laplace's Eye's help, I took aim at a mushroom fairy's cap.
-Bang!
The scorching recoil sent the muzzle skyward.
Firepower unbelievable for a handgun.
It's meant to drop rhinos or bears in one shot anyway.
The mushroom fairy shuffling toward us lost its cap like a wig flying off, a massive hole in its forehead.
-Hmm... hmmm...
No brains splattered.
It just gushed thick, transparent red blood and collapsed.
"Slow even in falling."
:::Challenge:::
- Hunt a mushroom fairy. +1pt
Challenge cleared instantly.
Akit and Arong gaped, impressed by the one-shot headshot kill, making a huge fuss.
"That artifact is the real deal, huh."
"Can I fire it just once?"
"No way in hell, you punks."
Hunt done, time for loot.
After killing the mushroom fairy, we got to gold panning.
This was easy too.
"This is the collector. Just get close, and it sucks it up automatically."
"I'll do it."
No sweat.
I took the collector from Akit and approached the corpse.
-Whirr whirr whirr
The gears spun, sucking gold dust-like particles floating around the Universal Currency into the transparent cylinder.
:::Challenge:::
- Collect gold dust. +1pt
Another challenge cleared right away.
I blinked.
This easy?
I regretted not doing it sooner.
Thanks to Hero, it was way easier and safer than expected. Point farming smooth as silk.
Even the Bios haul wasn't bad.
"Like this! Tie 'em tight! Packs more in!"
Arong loading mushroom fairy corpses onto the sled could fetch 5,000 Bios each, easy.
Selling the extracted gold dust added a few hundred Bios per head on top—not huge, but extra.
Ten kills netted 50-60k Bios.
Sweet gig.
The rest was a breeze.
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Not even hunting.
Stroll around, spot a fairy, aim between the eyes, bang.
Fights ended in under 3 seconds. Most time spent finding them.
Seven hours in, after ten kills, Akit and Arong beamed.
"With you, boss, the Mushroom Factory's a joke."
"Sled's full already. Gotta empty it?"
But my expression, once relaxed, had turned grave.
"What's up, boss?"
Started great.
But as time passed, reality sank in.
This dungeon's grind efficiency sucked compared to expectations.
Sure, compared to back-alley gigs last round, it was insane.
Rough math: empty sled, re-enter, two runs a day...
My cut after a week: about 400k Bios.
Last round, three side jobs a day barely scraped 230k total. Not quite double.
But here's the kicker.
20-round Magnum cartridge refill costs 1pt.
Hero made it zero-risk cakewalk...
Bullets ain't free.
"Challenges are stingier than I thought..."
One pt per kill, one for gold dust. Done.
This boiled down to cashing pts for Bios.
My goal—challenge farming plus cash for two Arbels—was slipping.
Fine for a month or two...
Could I keep this up till 12.5 million Bios?
Especially with 200k Bios weekly for Arbel's life extension?
"Headache..."
Might need a different playstyle.
"Boss? We gotta empty the sled..."
"Yeah, let's go."
Just as we headed to offload ten corpses at the broker.
Arong, dragging the sled, called me over.
"O! Lucky! Boss! Check this!"
"Boss is thinking."
"But you gotta see this!"
"What?"
I shuffled over to what Arong pointed at.
Inside a massive furnace big enough for 500 Arbel-sized folks, glowing blue moss sparkled like the Milky Way.
Unreal, dreamlike scene.
"O, does this sell?"
"Probably not?"
"...? Then why call me?"
"...? But it's pretty, right?"
My eyes narrowed to triangles.
Oh ho, irritation bubbling up amid my worries.
Pondering how to dress down this fool—
-Ding!
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Discover the hidden "Glowing Moss Colony." +1pt
"Nice, it's pretty! Arong, you've got an eye for beauty!"
"Right? If I'd spawned in Aden, I'd be a painter."
"Yeah yeah, starting point matters. If I'd picked right early on, I might've built a harem at the Academy."
"Puhaha! Good one, boss!"
Yes! This is what I wanted.
Challenges dropping free like candy!
If only they were all this easy!
Wait.
"...Freebies? Eating for free... free...?"
That moment.
Lightning struck my frontal lobe.
"Uahaha!"
"Boss?"
"Uahahaha! Uahahahahaha!!!"
Sometimes I share dilemmas with my esteemed philosopher Nietzsche.
Ah, why am I so brilliant? So clever!
Let's think.
What are Challenges?
Actions worth commemorating: rare, hard, risky, even lossy.
Rewards for pulling them off.
Example: "Obtain Universal Currency" nets 1pt.
But "Kiss big sis" gives a whopping 10pt.
A wise man like me grasps the implication.
Remember.
Genre grammar.
Half of Challenges are dumb shit.
And rarer dumb shit = higher value.
"Whoa? Boss, don't touch that with your hands...!"
I plucked a vibrant mushroom blooming everywhere in the factory.
Red base, white spots—like Super Mario's dream poison shroom—
"Hup..."
And ate it in one bite.
"T-Tongue...? Boss?!"
"What are you doing?! That's a poison mushroom!"
Numbing tingle spread in my mouth, texture and stench like chewing rotten garlic.
Vile bitterness, throat burning with every swallow.
Dry heaves cramped my diaphragm, body heating up.
Every cell screamed, "What?! Spit it out, idiot!!!!!!"
"Gulp...!"
Ignored it all and swallowed.
"No way! He ate poison mushroom!"
"Face muscles'll twist, seven orifices bleed, then death!"
Akit and Arong clutched heads, screaming like Guan Yu.
"Whew..."
But I was fine.
Brief nausea, but body snapped back quick.
"So that's poison mushroom taste..."
Behold "Sturdy Stomach"'s power.
- Gain steel-like digestion. No upset from "anything" eaten.
"Anything" includes poison shrooms that foam you to death in one bite, right?
And...
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Consume Mottled Poison Mushroom. +1pt
Yes! Special deaths are Challenges in games!
"Y-You're okay?"
"Kids, hang tight a sec."
My eyes saw the factory brimming with mushrooms.
Glossy white ones like skulls, purple-spore droppers, fluorescent goo-drippers.
Once mere scenery or obstacles, now a gorgeous carpet.
Ah, yes indeed.
A red carpet leading to free Challenge pt.
I unbuckled my belt.
"Uhehehe... Come here!"
Time to gorge!
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:::Challenge (New!):::
- Consume Matsutake Belly Mushroom. +1pt
- Consume Clown Mushroom. +1pt
- Consume Hallucination Mushroom and experience intense hallucinations. +1pt
- Consume Poison Spine Moss Mushroom. +1pt
- Eat Skull Fusion Mushroom. +1pt
.
.
.
:::Title Acquired (New!):::
My word, you've eaten every signature dish of the Mushroom Factory?
Your stomach and willpower deserve respect!
But... I wouldn't dine with you.
▶ Title Acquired: "Poison Mushroom Identifier"
- Drug Resistance slightly increases.
- "Mother of the Silent Forest" holds slight favor toward you.
- 30pt awarded.
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Drug Resistance.
Favor.
Title acquired.
Total 86pt including title bonus.
"Not human..."
"Mommy, scary..."
Akit and Arong patted my bulging belly, staring like at a monster.
"Uuu... so full..."
Truth is, I knew all along.
No bad Relics in this world.
A Relic letting you befriend goats via man-eating tolerance (eating only).
Useless-looking, but SR is SR for a reason.
Scooped Challenges, nabbed title too.
Wanna freebie like this daily.
"...But what's a title for?"
My titles: "Hedonist" and "Poison Mushroom Identifier."
Unlike regular Challenges, titles give big pts and minor stats...
No other use?
Achievements give Relic gacha coupons, but titles? Nada.
Or...
I checked my status.
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[ Death Game (LV.0) ]
▶ User: Sedric Montraven
▶ Achievements: "Zeroth Death" "Lucky for Now"
▶ Held Titles: "Hedonist" "Poison Mushroom Identifier"
▶ POINT: 101pt
▶ Artifacts: [ Sturdy Stomach ] [ Laplace's Eye ] [ ]
◆ Shop
◆ Playground (Locked)
◆ Enhancement (Locked)
※ Death Penalty Active ※
[ Delayed Response ]
======
Hm...
Maybe for the locked "Playground" or "Enhancement."
Really scratching that itch.
As I pondered—
-Ding!
Alert chimed, elevator door materialized in midair.
A hulking man stepped out.
"Huh?"
Blue changbao robe.
Huge hammer in hand.
The punk from the hotel lobby hours ago.
7th-grade fixer Sunming.
He scanned around, spotted us, laughed heartily.
"What? These fuckers actually came in? You're all fu—"
"Welcome!!!"
-Bang!
I pulled Hero's trigger instantly.
Additional Challenge!