Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Never Even Got a Casting Call Back in Korea (2)
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Regin accepted the letter after some deliberation.
“I’ll deliver this to Lord Chimihi.”
In DAT terms, it felt like picking up a personal quest.
And one that wasn’t even all that difficult.
‘Having built up a bit of rapport with Chimihi beforehand should help.’
Regin had already spoken with him once before.
Delivering a letter was no big deal.
The reward was decent for the difficulty level.
He’d promised help gathering materials, after all.
‘If I hadn’t known Preton, I might’ve doubted that talk of 10th-floor-level materials.’
He wasn’t talking about anything from higher floors. Sticking precisely to 10th-floor stuff was reassuring.
Preton was connected to the black market.
It meant he was making an offer he could actually back up.
‘Above all, I like that accepting this doesn’t tie me completely to Preton’s Delbach family.’
Unlike that woman earlier, Preton’s proposal felt more temporary.
Though who knew what might happen if things deepened later.
It wasn’t a deal that shut the door on alliances with other families.
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands. Please enjoy your meal before you go. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Thank you.”
He even went out of his way to let him eat comfortably, which was a nice touch.
Regin nodded with a smirk.
“See you after you return from the Tower.”
“Yes.”
After Preton left.
Regin dug into the spread before him, eating his fill.
You can’t prepare well on an empty stomach, after all.
‘Anyway, now I need to head up the Tower.’
As he’d organized in the library, there was plenty to do once he got there.
With Preton’s offer added on top, he needed to gear up for a solid climb.
* * *
“Tomorrow, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Time passed, and the day the Tower portal opened arrived.
It was exactly one month since the last portal, and eleven days since Regin had exited the Tower.
As he stopped by the Spellcraft Association to pick up his gear, Boland smirked and handed him something.
“Three Haste magic scrolls.”
“You’re giving these to me?”
“Yeah. Think of it as support from the school. Honestly, aside from letting you use the lab, we haven’t done much for you.”
“Haha, your advice alone has been a huge help.”
“Keuk. I didn’t want to just pay lip service. I’d love to give you more, but... better to give just what you need instead of filling up your bag with extras.”
He could carry hundreds thanks to his inventory. Too bad he couldn’t mention it.
“Oh, and Boland, didn’t you prepare something too?”
Watching Regin, Boland handed over a scroll as well.
“It’s an improved version of the one I gave you last time. Boosts strength by nearly double.”
Two Strength Enhancement scrolls.
These were the latest ones Boland had completed with new materials.
“I’d give more, but those are the only two fully optimized ones.”
“Thank you. I’ll put them to good use.”
Less versatile than Haste magic, sure, but nearly double the strength.
It meant he could match ordinary gladiators even in close-quarters brawls.
Just two scrolls, but they could create variables depending on how he used them.
‘The more options I have, the more I can do. Like how Clina’s Shield scrolls proved crucial.’
Regin stowed all the scrolls he’d received in his bag.
It already held fifteen Regeneration scrolls he’d made himself, plus standard ones.
He’d filled the Regeneration scrolls with the best magic he could inscribe now.
Thanks to steady level-ups, he could manage low-end Phase 1 spells.
‘For example, Triple Flame Ball instead of just Flame Ball—upgrading all elemental magic a notch.’
Standard Phase 1 magic was good up to the 5th floor.
Phase 2 handled up to the 10th.
Phase 3 was rated for the 15th.
‘Judging purely by the scrolls in this bag... I’d say Phase 1 to 2 level.’
He could output between 8th- and 9th-floor strength, but the 10th was iffy.
“Regin.”
Just then, Paphoni approached and handed him a scroll.
“It’s a Phantasm scroll. Turns the caster’s body ghost-like, if only for a moment.”
“Thank you.”
“Use it in a pinch. Even if it’s not Lycanthropes chasing you this time, it could save your life once.”
Regin smiled and accepted the scroll.
He hadn’t talked much with her compared to Boland or Bauman.
But her favor hadn’t dropped, apparently.
‘This puts me at Phase 2 level.’
Two scrolls that granted ghost form for about 30 seconds.
A highly useful item—well used, it could mimic Phase 2 power temporarily.
“I’ll be off then.”
Regin was the only one entering this portal.
Bauman and Paphoni weren’t big on climbing the Tower anyway.
Boland said he wouldn’t go until he perfected 2.5x scrolls, so probably next portal for him.
“Yeah. Let’s research together next time too.”
Bauman waved at Regin with a smile.
Meaning: Don’t die in the Tower—come back to the lab.
* * *
“Oh, tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
As he walked to the communal lab table, Clina set down a scroll and looked at Regin.
“Honestly, as someone who gave up climbing the Tower, it’s impressive. You’ve already made the scrolls you wanted, and you’re going back up.”
Spellcrafters inevitably struggled with Tower climbs.
Their path to power wasn’t stats—it was developing scrolls.
And most focused on support scrolls.
‘Clina hit a wall in the Tower because of that, and now focuses on research.’
From her view, Regin’s unwavering prep from day one might seem extraordinary.
Spellcrafters rarely aimed for the Tower in the first place.
No wonder she found it fascinating.
“Well, I need materials for more scrolls. And the Regeneration ones aren’t fully complete yet.”
“They’re not?”
Regin nodded.
His current Regeneration scrolls were prototypes, really.
‘The first Regeneration scroll I ever made in DAT. Truth is, they have issues in this state.’
Reusable twice—revolutionary, yes.
Bauman had even said it warranted reporting to the kingdom.
If it went public, the fame would eclipse surviving the Lycanthrope.
‘Like smartphones in the feature phone era in Korea. Revolutionary on its own.’
But early smartphones didn’t vastly outperform feature phones in raw power.
New mechanisms, sure, but hardware wasn’t superior yet.
That’s exactly how his current Regeneration scrolls felt.
Still lacking in performance for real use.
“They only restore about 50% of initial state. Second use is half power.”
“...Isn’t that already amazing? Reusable at half efficiency?”
Regin shook his head with a smirk.
“I think we can push recovery higher. At least 70% is the goal.”
“...Really?”
“Yes.”
He was confident.
Maintaining 70% magic efficiency post-regen.
He’d reached that clearing Chrome once.
‘And it was three uses, not two.’
He’d thought it was the peak then. No further progress despite digging through game info.
But here, he learned otherwise.
“And the ultimate goal... 100%. Full restoration of the original scroll’s power.”
He could increase uses too.
Regin recalled library info, black market materials.
And know-how from Bauman and the other spellcrafters.
‘...That wasn’t the final form.’
What he’d used in-game wasn’t final.
Realizing more was possible naturally raised his ambitions.
Swish—
Clina smirked at Regin’s gleaming eyes and pulled something out.
“Honestly, you look pretty amazing right now, Regin.”
“Hm?”
“Just seeing that inspires me a ton. Guess all I can do is cheer you on.”
“I appreciate the cheers.”
“Words alone felt cheap, so... I brought something from my Tower-climbing days.”
Clina handed him a small box.
“It’s an artifact. Low phase, I heard, but better than nothing?”
Regin’s eyes sparkled again.
It was a ring.
A magic-infused artifact, no less.
‘Ring of Plexis.’
Rare drop from low floors, and now from Clina.
Quite useful too.
Plexis egg dropping this? Solid hit.
‘One use per day of stored magic.’
Practically the precursor to his Regeneration scrolls.
Store a spell, and it’s a potent one-shot.
Up to Phase 2 magic too—plenty of options.
‘Seriously Phase 2 level now?’
With prior scrolls plus the ring, he matched Phase 2 explorers.
Temporary power due to his class, but so what.
Tower fights were one-shots anyway.
“I’ll use it well. I prepared something too... hope it’s a good gift.”
Regin had something for Clina too. He passed her a notebook of ideas.
“Thoughts I had watching your scrolls.”
“...Really? Thank you!”
“Not sure if it helps someone more experienced, but reference it if you’re stuck.”
He’d learned from her, so he wanted to help.
Bauman’s words came to mind.
—Your mysterious ideas could help Clina too.
She had better fundamentals, but Regin excelled at out-of-box thinking.
He hadn’t learned spellcraft by the book—he’d gamed it.
No rigid frame for him.
“...This’ll help. Thank you.”
Clina skimmed it, smiled, and nodded.
“I’ll have these perfected by your return.”
* * *
The next day.
Regin waited for the portal in the plains by the Tower.
Quite a crowd, same tension as last time.
Sss—
The portal finally opened.
Good news: no corpses spilling out like before.
How often do raiders dump all bodies at the exit anyway.
No word yet meant the last portal’s team was alive.
‘Probably no panic this time even if bodies did pour out.’
Unlike before, the kingdom’s investigation team controlled the front.
Not just a few guards now.
Three ranks of soldiers with kingdom banners guarded it.
‘The team investigating the 4th-floor Lycanthrope incident?’
Regin watched warily.
First time for this.
No investigation team this early before.
Lycanthrope butterfly effect. He had to track the variables.
‘...The kingdom never sends teams for one purpose only. There’s another goal.’
Time to find out the hidden agenda.
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