Chapter 127
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Luck Blues and a Level 4 Dungeon
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I've been thinking about it for a while now, but isn't my Luck stat way too low? It's starting to bug me more than it should.
Some people with high Luck get 3 Coins every time they take down a single zombie. Makes me feel pretty hard done by.
It's not like I chose to have low Luck, and even if I wanted to raise it, there's no clear way to do so. That's the problem.
Maybe there's some method out there to boost Luck?
Honestly, with the Status Window popping up and all, and my Combat Specialist skill letting me pump up my Strength stat, it stands to reason there must be a way to level up Luck too.
Stats going up feels just like a game, so I'm cautiously guessing there might be special items that can raise them.
The only downside is I haven't seen any such items yet.
If they existed, I'd have scraped them all up by now.
Anyway, I'll think about that later. First, maybe I should check on Seoyun.
She said yesterday she had something to tell me, but I couldn't go because Yejin and I were having sex late into the night.
Probably nothing but black magic stuff, but let's go see.
As I threw off the blanket and got up, Yejin, who was sleeping beside me, rubbed her eyes and started to stir.
"It's still early morning. Sleep more if you want."
"Mmm... okay? Then I'll sleep a bit longer..."
Yejin pulled the blanket up over her head with those words.
We'd lost track of time going at it with our pregnancy sex marathon last night.
I threw on some clothes roughly and headed out, climbing the stairs to the room where Seoyun was staying.
I opened her door and stepped inside.
Maybe because it was early, Seoyun was lying in bed, fast asleep. I hadn't made much noise coming in, but she seemed deep in sleep, unaware of my presence.
I reached out to shake her shoulder and wake her, when a small voice leaked from her mouth.
"N-no... don't... please don't..."
She was frowning, mumbling in refusal, like she was having a nightmare.
Feels like memories from her school bullying days are surfacing in her dreams. Better to wake her now. I put my hand on Seoyun's shoulder and shook her gently.
"Hey, wake up."
Seoyun, who had been frowning, slowly opened her eyes.
"Uh, huh... M-Master?"
"Yeah, it's me, you idiot. Having a nightmare?"
"Yeah... It was the old bullying coming back in my dream."
Seems those past events left a real trauma for Seoyun, enough to haunt her nightmares.
Seeing the scars left on her body, I can understand why.
"Alright, you're up now, so forget the nightmare quick. You came looking for me yesterday, right? Yejin told me."
More like I overheard it hiding in the shadows, but close enough.
"Oh, it wasn't anything big, but... I think my Demonic Energy control has improved a bit, so I wanted you to check."
"Yeah? Figured it was something like that. How much has it gone up?"
"Want to check the Demonic Energy gathered in my dantian?"
Seoyun lifted her blanket and pajamas, exposing her lower abdomen to me.
Wondering how much she'd accumulated to bring this up, I placed my hand on her belly.
"Hmm? You've gathered more than I expected."
Whether from steady practice or because Seoyun has more talent as a Black Magician than I thought, she'd stockpiled Demonic Energy in her dantian way faster than I'd predicted.
Compared to me, it's still whale versus shrimp levels, but considering it's only been about a week since she started with black magic, this progress is insanely quick.
The environment for learning is top-notch too, but damn, she's picking it up fast.
"Good. You're doing pretty well at this level. A bit more growth, and you might even pull off basic black magic."
"R-really?!"
"No reason I'd lie about this. You're just at the starting line, though."
Seoyun beamed, ignoring the caveat.
"So, you're starting to get some control? Then... how about learning Mana Drain?"
"Mana Drain?"
"It's the absolute basics every Black Magician must master. You need it to supply yourself with Demonic Energy."
Plus, once she can use Mana Drain, she could enchant weapons for Sohee, Ha Dongseok, and the underlings with it—hunt, then recover the Demonic Energy afterward.
Not sure if she'll have enough Demonic Energy for all that yet, but it'll grow as she practices, so let's get her started.
"Once I learn Mana Drain, can I pick up attack spells next?"
"Pretty much. Depends on how fast you learn, though."
Excited about reaching the stage where she can wield black magic, Seoyun grinned ear to ear, completely forgetting the bullying nightmare from moments ago.
She started learning black magic to get revenge on Joo Hyeri, who tormented her and left scars that won't wash away, so this reaction makes sense.
"I'll work hard!"
"Good. Just follow my instructions, and you'll learn quick."
Truth be told, I've never properly taught black magic to anyone else, so I don't know if she'll really pick it up fast.
But it'll work out somehow.
I told her that and scheduled Mana Drain lessons for tomorrow.
I've got a busy day ahead today.
Stepping outside the building, I saw Ha Dongseok and his crew prepping to head out for zombie hunting.
"Thanks for your hard work."
They all spotted me, bowed their heads in greeting.
Ha Dongseok especially nailed a perfect 90-degree bow.
"You see the morning announcement? Big event starting today, so go nuts hunting zombies. You know the more Coins you rake in, the more you guys get a cut of."
Hearing that, they all smiled, probably recalling how I handled the shop controls.
I can share plenty if they bring in hauls like that.
Not that they'll match it in one day easily.
With that, I was about to head out to my own tasks.
First up: elementary school area. Pull a ton of aggro with noise, then massacre them en masse.
Won't be Zombie Wave numbers, but the notice said zombie counts are up slightly, so still a good haul.
No matter how low my Luck, hunting that many should trigger a 3-Coin drop eventually, right?
Wish I knew the odds.
Games announce item drop rates. Shouldn't they do that here?
Really want to know how much Luck affects the probabilities, but no way to find out.
Nothing for it but ignore it and slaughter everything.
After that, check the solar panels I set up yesterday, clean up around there, and scout spots for water sources to secure drinking supply.
Han River's the safest bet, but there might be better options, so I'll look properly.
Oh, and after that, clear out those Difficulty 3 Dungeons the guys scouted recently.
No one's touched them since only I can handle Difficulty 3, so first-clear rewards await.
Bet those are juicy. Gotta grab 'em quick.
Then Ha Dongseok called out to me.
"Jaehwan-nim, I've got a report."
"Huh? Something important?"
"Yes, quite important."
Wonder what's got him saying that all serious.
If he's calling it important so firmly, it's probably big.
"While cleaning up the area with my guys yesterday, we spotted a new mutant zombie type... and a Difficulty 4 Dungeon."
"What? For real?"
"Yes. I'll show you the location on the map..."
The spot Ha Dongseok mentioned was pretty far from base, straight west.
"No idea why, but the mutant zombie was patrolling around the dungeon entrance like it owned the place."
"Huh. So how'd you know it's Difficulty 4?"
"Hid for a bit, waited till the mutant stepped away briefly, dashed in to confirm, then out."
This is huge intel.
Difficulty 3s already gave great rewards. One step higher?
Have to clear it, no question.
Excited to see what goodies it drops.