Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Precarious Companionship (4)
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“If we can boost the firepower, then bomb scrolls are definitely worth researching.”
“They’d make for a perfect trump card to carry around.”
“But simply raising the magic’s rank or swapping out the scroll’s materials won’t cut it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Raising the magic’s rank takes time, and using better materials for the scroll just doesn’t add up cost-wise. I’m not after expensive bombs, after all.”
“Is it because you need to invest in those regeneration scrolls you mentioned yesterday?”
“Exactly. If we have spare resources later, we could consider premium materials for bomb scrolls... but not right now.”
Even as he said this, a flicker of hopeful anticipation stirred in Regin’s mind.
Bomb scrolls.
Could they unlock potential beyond their current use?
‘There might be another method I haven’t discovered yet.’
Voland had lived in this world his entire life, after all.
He was one of the spellcrafters with a clear personal style and convictions.
‘If we can amp up the bomb scroll’s firepower...’
Regin’s mind raced.
‘It would open up completely new ways to use them. I wouldn’t even need to detour around paths on the 11th Floor.’
He had countless playthroughs under his belt, with strategies he’d established as near-perfect answers.
But Regin never believed they were the only answers.
He’d felt the same while writing guides.
Right before hitting the post button, the same question always looped in his head.
‘Is this really the best way?’
The thrill of uncovering a brand-new path was indescribable.
He wrote those guides to share that joy and spread it to others.
And at the end of every one, he always added:
— Builds can change anytime. If I find a better strategy, I’ll update and repost.
He’d concluded that bomb scrolls had clear limits, no matter the structure—from usage to firepower.
That’s why he’d rushed to develop regeneration scrolls.
But if all those assumptions could be overturned...
“Is there another method?”
Regin’s guide could be revised once more. In an even better direction.
“We’ll know once we try.”
Voland continued with a serious expression.
“If we add more key elemental formulas that trigger the explosion and strip out all the unnecessary ones entirely... the blast’s power should improve, don’t you think?”
“...!!”
“Optimization is possible. In my view, the current bomb scroll structure has inefficient parts.”
“...So, you mean keep only the formulas that cause the explosion and increase their number?”
“Exactly.”
The corner of Regin’s mouth curved upward slightly.
“I’ll come back this afternoon.”
He now had something to do before the black market opened.
“We’ll test it out here in the training grounds.”
It was an attempt he’d never tried before.
Advice from spellcrafters raised in this world, who’d grown up handling scrolls firsthand—something they alone could provide.
It opened another possibility for Regin.
“Good. I hope today brings you your own answer.”
Voland added the phrase spellcrafters always carried with them.
It was just like them—always harboring their own possibilities, no matter the situation.
* * *
BOOM!!
“Ahem.”
A massive explosion rocked the training grounds.
Amid the swirling sand and smoke from the blast’s aftermath, Regin coughed and stared straight ahead.
‘The key elements are confirmed.’
After hearing Voland’s advice, he’d been tweaking explosion scrolls nonstop.
The core of these scrolls lay in the excessive formulas clashing together, harnessing the resulting explosion like a skill.
It was one of Regin’s go-to methods for big damage in low-level zones.
‘In the game, I never bothered pinpointing exactly which formulas caused the explosions when crafting.’
The game system had limits on researching and dissecting scrolls.
But now that he was inside, he could craft more freely.
It meant he could gain a deeper understanding of his old scrolls—not impossible at all.
“You’ve already optimized the formulas?”
“For now, I’ve identified the main ones that trigger the explosion. We’ll need more tests for the final version, though.”
“Haha! I didn’t expect you to sort them out this quickly.”
“It’s thanks to you, Voland. Without that hint, I wouldn’t have even attempted it.”
“If possible, you plan to double the scroll’s firepower?”
“Yes. Going beyond that would require changing materials or raising the magic rank, which is inefficient.”
“Hmm. You’ve got a solid direction there.”
Voland, who’d been watching the tests, chuckled softly and continued.
“I’ll have to step up too and show you the completed form of my scroll.”
“Completed form... You mean the final version of the scroll as you envision it?”
“That’s right.”
Truth be told, Regin was a bit curious.
How far did he plan to develop the strength enhancement scroll?
And what potential had he seen in it to pour so much time into strength enhancement?
“Honestly, I’m not sure. Like why you’re so fixated on strength enhancement scrolls.”
“Is that so? Well, on the surface, it does seem to have clear limits.”
It wasn’t just on the surface—the results had always borne that out.
Regin hated to say it looking at those passionate eyes, but he knew Voland’s future.
‘In the final phase, I never saw Voland make it... not once.’
Bauman’s side had better survival odds, at least.
They had solid funding from side-effect removal scrolls.
In some playthroughs, he’d leveraged that strength to form a pretty strong party.
‘Voland’s personality just wasn’t suited for reaching the final phase.’
Bauman developed support-type scrolls, so he had no qualms teaming up with others.
Voland, on the other hand, was a lone wolf.
A hardcore solo player type.
‘The strength enhancement scroll reflects that. It makes his already strong body even stronger, so he doesn’t rely on anyone else.’
By current standards, Voland was a fairly strong explorer.
He’d cleared up to the 13th Floor on his own, so his actual skill might outstrip others in his grade.
But maybe that lone-wolf style held him back.
In the final phase, Voland never appeared. He’d probably died unnoticed somewhere.
Or ended up unable to fight.
“If you’re using it yourself, wouldn’t elemental magic or advanced spells be more efficient than strength enhancement in the end?”
When Regin asked point-blank, Voland nodded readily.
“You’re right.”
He chuckled and went on.
“If I hadn’t been born with this body, I probably wouldn’t have given strength enhancement a second glance.”
“Pardon?”
“You may or may not know this, but my muscles have higher mana responsiveness than most people’s.”
“Higher mana responsiveness...?”
“Yeah. Whether it’s a curse or a blessing, anything affecting strength... works more intensely on me than on average folks.”
“...Ah!”
Regin had heard of it.
This world had traits unique to races and families.
Some families were known for high mana responsiveness.
They received all buffs and debuffs about 30 percent stronger than others.
‘But usually, families like that...’
Regin looked at Voland silently.
“Right. Our clan once served the Pixad House as retainers. Born with this physique, we excelled at physical labor more than others.”
Regin didn’t know all of DAT’s history, but he knew the major events.
He’d suspected Voland’s clan was the one used like slaves under the retainer name for a hundred years.
He hadn’t expected to hear it straight from the man himself.
“Our generation was freed when the Pixad House fell. But life didn’t get easy after that.”
“...”
“Parties didn’t welcome us much either. Sure, blessings hit harder, but curses do too—worse than other explorers.”
“Other explorers must have seen us as unreliable on certain floors.”
“Exactly. Clear strengths come with clear weaknesses. In a tower where lives are on the line, I wasn’t a competitive party member.”
“...So that’s why you became a spellcrafter?”
“Yeah. Someone told me once.”
Voland’s eyes softened with nostalgia as he recalled the past.
“If you develop your strengths enough to overcome your weaknesses, you won’t need to rely on others, right?”
It all clicked—why Voland went solo, why he chose strength enhancement scrolls.
From the moment he was born into that clan, to being shunned in the Tower.
‘He’d found a way to turn what others saw as a flaw into his greatest weapon.’
Memories of his DAT grinding days flashed by.
Hadn’t Regin done the same?
Gladiator one-shots, assassin agility.
He’d felt his control wasn’t up to pushing them to the limit.
‘I can’t dodge 0.2-second activation skills or parry a dozen patterns at once. Had to face that coldly.’
If he could, he’d be a pro gamer in other games already.
He was skilled, sure, but not control-only top-tier for DAT’s brutal difficulty.
‘That’s when I found spellcrafter.’
Beyond control, what was Regin best at?
Diving deep into the game, unearthing brand-new strategies from nowhere.
Spellcrafter allowed more experimentation than any other class.
Regin had chosen it to leverage his strengths and fix his weaknesses.
“It felt like glimpsing the answer to my path. I knew which way to go.”
“I get that completely.”
After warming up, Voland tore a scroll to boost his strength.
Mana poured from it, hardening his muscles.
KABOOM—!!
Voland smashed the training dummy cleanly.
“I won’t stop until I see the end.”
“...”
After some thought, Regin nodded.
Even if he’d never seen Voland’s end in the game.
“It’s not impossible.”
This time was different.
Regin was here, pulling out all the stops to survive.
“If there’s anything else I can help with, I will. And Voland, if you have more advice for me, I’d appreciate it.”
“You got it.”
* * *
“You’re right on time. That look on your face says you’ve been waiting for today.”
A week had passed.
“It’s always open, sure. But today’s the day you can’t miss.”
In a back alley of Middle Street, near the kingdom’s underground sewers, Bauman grinned.
The stench of the sewers wafted up, but no one minded.
“It’s the biggest black market day of the month.”
Right before the Tower portal opened, the day to make final trades on stockpiled goods.
‘A way to dodge the kingdom’s eyes, too.’
Regin thought as he touched his bracelet. He had plenty to sell and buy.
“The name might sound shady, but it’s not much different from the kingdom trade market. Actually, you can get things there you can’t anywhere else.”
“Things you can’t get?”
Voland, who’d come with Bauman, pulled up his robe’s hood and chuckled.
“They put up rare items and run all sorts of games.”
He was right.
Items you couldn’t buy even for money sometimes came as black market prizes.
‘The scale is huge... and the events are the kind that make any gamer’s eyes spin.’
Regin remembered rerunning the game multiple times for those prizes.
One big reason to crack the black market early.
‘Low odds, though.’
Still, it was a shot at grabbing stuff you couldn’t otherwise.