Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Can't Eat It, But It's Still Good
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Flash.
The brightly shining Tower Zulgu.
A blue portal opened, and Regin stepped out.
Bright sunlight pouring from the sky.
Time flowed differently inside and outside the tower.
If it had been afternoon inside the tower, it was morning outside.
Since the 5th floor had been evening, the kingdom was somewhere between morning and lunchtime.
Even with the sudden bright sunlight hitting his skin,
"I'm back."
Regin curled the corners of his mouth and took in the entire scene.
"I survived."
It was only his first expedition, but the thrill of survival began to envelop his body.
This was a world where he had to repeat such expeditions countless times, but if he died, he couldn't challenge it anymore.
Above all, the fact that he had turned what he'd only done in the game into reality—and returned successfully.
That fact was melting away Regin's tension just a little.
"Welcome back."
"Thank you."
Two guards stood in front of the portal on the grassy plain where it appeared.
Everyone entered together, but you could exit the tower at your own discretion.
'People like me who use an escape portal come out the moment they activate it.'
There was only one other possibility.
Just like what he'd seen on this plain on the first day. If a corpse was transported through the portal... it would be ejected outside the moment the entry portal opened.
...So, in short, as long as you didn't die, you'd walk out like this and see the guards.
"Is your body all right?"
"Yes. No problems."
The guards eyed Regin's body with a hint of caution.
They had to check if he'd brought something strange from inside the tower.
'That's the real reason guards are stationed here.'
What if someone carried out a deadly curse from inside? They'd need guards to detect it early.
"Welcome back safe and sound."
Only after the inspection was complete did the guards greet Regin warmly.
"Please head to that tent."
Here it comes.
Regin nodded and moved toward the nearby tent.
The exhilarating sensation of surviving the tower nearly vanished in an instant.
'These kingdom bastards. Their treatment of explorers isn't just a little shitty—it's straight-up awful.'
It was absurd enough to face all sorts of suspicions right after returning, but something even worse awaited.
Tax. He had to pay taxes.
The tower belonged to the kingdom.
As such, any items brought out had to be converted to cash, with a portion going to the kingdom.
The split was 8:2.
Explorers got 8, and the kingdom took 2.
'Doesn't look much different from Korean tax rates... but this is literally paying with your life.'
How much could he even bring in this small bag?
Typically, you'd only pack valuables, and then they'd skim 20% off that.
In normal DAT play, Regin would have felt like they were tearing flesh from his body.
But this time was different.
"We'll check the items you've brought."
"Here they are."
He dumped the bag onto the table inside the tent. That infinitely light bag.
"Is this everything?"
"Yes, that's all."
"Hm. Understood."
At best, it was just a few mana stones.
The guard handed the bag back as if it was nothing special.
'...Yes!'
The tax was just two out of ten mana stones.
Regin hid the smile tugging at his lips.
They had no idea.
'Thanks, Ketchup Thief.'
They didn't know what was in his bracelet. This was another moment where the infinite inventory proved its worth.
"Then I can head back to the kingdom?"
"Yes. Oh, one moment."
Just as he grabbed his bag to leave the tent, the guard tilted his head and continued.
"What's that bracelet on your wrist?"
...Damn it.
The guard's gaze landed on the subspace bracelet on his wrist.
* * *
"I've been wearing this since before entering the tower."
"Even so, could you remove it for a moment? It doesn't seem to have been registered last time."
"What?"
It was baffling news.
Thinking back, that day had been the one when corpses poured out of the portal.
Had the guards been too busy with that to register the bracelet?
'...This is ridiculous.'
Kingdom incompetence was something DAT players were used to, but experiencing it firsthand was even more absurd.
"What do you mean? I distinctly remember applying for registration that day."
"...Sorry for the inconvenience. Truth is, we didn't follow procedure properly that day. Would you mind letting us check it once, even if it's a hassle?"
"Now?"
“...”
The guard looked troubled as well, clearly aware that things had gotten messed up because of that incident.
No matter how low Regin's explorer rank was or how much of a newbie he seemed, it would be hard for them to keep insisting when it was their fault.
"No, it's fine. Go ahead and check."
After a moment's thought, Regin readily removed the bracelet. The black bracelet slipped off his wrist.
"This isn't a tower item to begin with."
"...I see."
The guard picked up a staff infused with magic and began scanning the bracelet.
If it were an item from the tower, it should have reacted here.
Items created in the tower generally had slightly different properties.
"...You're right. No tower aura at all. Not even any mana. It just feels like a plain metal bracelet."
The guard returned it with an awkward expression.
Honestly, Regin had been confident.
It hadn't reacted when he entered before either.
'I was worried what if there were items inside.'
Truth be told, he wanted to test it. To see if the reaction changed with stuff inside.
'As expected. It masks the signatures of everything stored in the inventory.'
This was just the medium.
The infinite inventory that emerged through the rift from this bracelet existed in an entirely different space.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"No problem."
If anything, he was the grateful one.
He mentally thanked them for confirming another fact as he slipped the bracelet back onto his wrist.
'An item with advanced magic that's hard to replicate at this point...'
Or maybe it wasn't made with this world's magic or concepts at all.
Either way, it was no ordinary object.
Its method of acquisition proved that much.
"May I go now?"
"Ah, yes, of course. Good work out there."
Regin struggled to keep from smiling the whole way out of the tent.
He'd confirmed the inventory's cheat-level nature from various angles.
...A perfect smuggling tool the kingdom couldn't detect.
'...Who'd have thought I'd ever live tax-free.'
It meant he could use all these tax-free items for himself.
* * *
He left the plain and headed for Middle Street.
Toward the fountain square and his master's residence.
Regin gently stroked the bracelet. Getting them out tax-free was great, but the real issue came next.
'Selling them won't be easy.'
Items for his own use were fine, but disposing of the rest was tricky.
These were smuggled goods, after all.
'Just like the registration when entering, there's one when exiting. Through normal channels, he should have registered everything right there.'
They needed to be enchanted with magic proving they'd been taxed and cleared by the kingdom.
It was kingdom wizards' handiwork, hard to fake convincingly.
...So if they found out about these items, it'd be straight to jail.
He had no desire to see the inside of a cell here, having avoided them in the real world too.
'In the end, the black market it is.'
A familiar route for Regin.
He'd been a buyer, not a seller, in DAT.
[Black market here has some surprisingly useful stuff.]
After researching enchantment crafters, he'd started making active use of the black markets he already knew from playing.
[The stock changes constantly, so check often if you have time. Lots of hard-to-get items. Pricey, of course. FYI.]
This was another reason he'd gone to the trouble of dodging taxes.
Black market routes always demanded a heavy price.
Usually paid in massive amounts of cash.
— Newbie here. How do you even get to the black market? ㅠㅠ I keep getting caught.
— Tried once, ended up in jail paying bail for nothing. How the hell do you go?
— Wandered underground sewers all day, character got stuck. Had the map but still couldn't find it ㅡㅡ.
Of course, since they weren't official spots, getting there wasn't easy.
A flood of newbies' complaints flashed through his mind.
'Knowing the location isn't enough.'
You needed an NPC to open the door.
Even Regin had gone through trial and error over multiple playthroughs to find how mages could access the black market.
They were closer than he'd expected.
'Enchanter's Association.'
He recalled their faces as he thought it over.
He had to find the weirdos hiding in the association.
"Been a while."
"...!?"
"Heard you were off exploring. You actually made it back alive."
"You're..."
He was debating heading straight to the association.
Until a familiar voice reached Regin's ears.
'Wanderer...!'
The fountain square was already in sight.
Just like last time, the wanderer—who shouldn't have any dialogue—grinned slyly at Regin.
"So. How was the tower firsthand?"
Every word was new dialogue to Regin.
* * *
Kingdom streets.
The city bustled at this hour when people were most active.
Adventurers traveling in parties, merchants hawking wares, lovers blooming with laughter.
Far more lively than in the game.
Beings he'd dismissed as mere NPCs in DAT felt different now that he was inside.
'...I can't shake the thought that they're real people, the way they talk and act.'
'It was true that DAT earned its well-made reputation for that reason.'
AAA-level volume, of course, but also characters that breathed and lived.
A game packed with temptations for gamers.
But no matter what, he'd always retained some awareness that it was just a game.
“...”
Now that he was inside, all those sensations were fading away.
Regin glared at the chuckling wanderer.
He hadn't expected this guy to speak and act so freely either.
A man in a black robe hooding his face, dressed in ragged beggar clothes.
He was supposed to just sit in front of the fountain silently holding out an empty tin can.
"You're like a mute. Did the shock of your first expedition rob you of speech too?"
"...Cut the nonsense. How did you know I'd gone into the tower and come back?"
"You talked about the tower last time you came with your friend. And now your instincts are sharper than back then. Heh heh. Anyone could tell you're fresh out of the tower."
"Instincts?"
"Just the circumstances."
"...I didn't realize you had such keen insight."
"Haha! Begging from this spot sharpens your eyes. You gotta spot who'll give you coin."
“...”
"And didn't you already agree with my guess last time? I thought I'd earned some recognition... tsk tsk."
Regin quickly sorted his fluster.
Unexpected variables weren't welcome, but he wasn't about to just stand there gaping.
'I need to uncover the wanderer's identity.'
Last time they'd met, the wanderer had claimed a sixth tower would appear in the world.
It had been spot-on. A sixth tower would indeed emerge soon.
But how did this man know? Regin couldn't shake the question.
'Maybe now I can pry more info out of him?'
The wanderer grinned at Regin as he pondered.
"What's got you curious?"
As if peering straight into his thoughts.
But Regin had no intention of backing down.
Dodging never solved anything anyway.
It hadn't in DAT play, or community debates.
Not even when fleeing from the lycanthrope.
For Regin, charging head-on was the shortcut—the royal road.
"Just one question. Do you know about DAT?"