Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: I'll Ask You to Trust Me This Once
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I’ll ask you to trust me this once.
Having spent five days hunting on the 43rd floor, I descended to the 42nd without getting lost.
I was only waiting to take down the floor boss one more time before leaving, after all.
[Welcome to the 42nd floor. Defeat the floor boss monster, Elemental Drake.
Quest Reward: Random Stat +1]
The quest appeared the moment I entered, but the reward was different from what Tae-soo had told me.
He said it was supposed to come with a 43rd-floor pass, but I guess it's because I came down from above.
The 42nd floor consisted of five peaks surrounding a central basin.
Each peak was said to possess one of the five elements. Seeing the snow pouring down, I figured I was on the ice mountain.
“It’s snowing here, but it’s fine over there. There aren’t any trees, either.”
The peak Hanna pointed to on the left had no trees at all; it was an earth mountain, made entirely of soil.
“Mister, what’s that over there? It looks like magic.”
Rina pointed to the peak on the right, where whirlwinds were forming everywhere.
That must be the wind mountain.
“Tornadoes? The wind is just blowing really hard, that’s all.”
Turning my head to look at the basin, I saw small tents clustered together in the center.
“I think that’s our destination. Let’s head down.”
“There are monsters up ahead. Aren’t we going to fight them?”
“No. We just need to go down.”
Normally, you’d have to defeat the mini-boss monsters at each summit to collect their essences.
Only by gathering all five essences can you summon the floor boss, the Elemental Drake.
But Tae-soo had said he would have everything ready for me to challenge the Elemental Drake as soon as I arrived.
“It’s slippery, everyone. Be careful.”
There were no monsters on the way down, but the path was completely frozen, so it took some time to reach the basin.
“Wow, Mister, it’s not snowing here at all.”
“If I take one step back, it’s snowing. This is so strange.”
I didn’t show it, but I found it strange too.
The weather changing completely with just a single step was something unheard of in the real world.
Is it because this is a game world?
“Oh? Hyeon-ung!”
“This is the ice mountain side. How did you end up here…?”
It was Mi-jeong in her brown leather armor and Chan-ho in his gleaming golden plate.
“I came down from above.”
“Ah, right.”
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Late? We only just finished gathering the essences this morning.”
“Are these your companions? They’re all so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
It wasn't just the two of them; other members of the Golden Lion Guild came over and showered them with compliments.
“So cute.”
“His name is Alpen? That’s cute too. My son was about his age once…”
My companions are quite popular.
To be honest, I was a little worried that there might be trouble because of what happened with the guys from the Four Stars Guild.
But thankfully, it seemed no one from the Golden Lion Guild had any ill intentions.
“Kkyuing!”
And even more popular than my companions was the Golden Dragon in Hanna’s arms.
“Whoa, what’s that? A dragon?”
“Huh? Isn’t that the Golden Dragon? The one sold during that super short event.”
“There was something like that? It’s so cute.”
“Wow, seriously. Hyeon-ung, can I touch it?”
“Whoa, it even has wings!”
It was an explosion of interest.
“You can touch it, but be careful not to get bitten.”
“It seems so calm. Is it fierce?”
“It bites?”
“I’ve fed it a lot, so it should be fine for now, but it does bite. For your information, if it bites you, money will disappear from your inventory.”
Everyone looked startled.
“M-money disappears?”
“Tae-soo lost two gold just last week. Oh, and it doesn’t just take money. It eats equipment too.”
The people who had crowded around the Golden Dragon all hastily backed away.
“It’s a terrifying creature, unlike its appearance.”
“To think it steals money.”
“And not just money, it eats equipment too. Hyeon-ung, are you okay?”
“Why are you carrying around a demon like that?”
“Kkyuing…”
The Golden Dragon looked a little dejected now that people were keeping their distance.
“It’s cute.”
I didn't bother mentioning that it compensates you with better items later.
As the saying goes, seeing is wanting. Telling them the truth might just stir up unnecessary greed.
“Everyone, that’s enough. You’re making Hyeon-ung and his companions uncomfortable.”
“Right. Let’s go, Hyeon-ung. The guild master must be waiting.”
Thanks to Chan-ho and Mi-jeong, I was finally able to escape.
After a five-minute walk, we arrived at the tents.
“Oh! My friend, welcome.”
“Guild Master, we’ll go help prepare lunch.”
“It should be ready in about ten minutes. Please come out with Hyeon-ung then.”
“Alright.”
The two of them left, leaving just Tae-soo and me in the tent.
“Have you been well? I apologize for being late.”
“Late? We only just finished our preparations this morning. More importantly, your companions are all stunning.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“This man has a good eye.”
“I am rather pretty.”
Good grief. With all the compliments from the other guild members and now even Tae-soo, I felt like my companions’ shoulders had risen a good few inches.
“My, my, it seems everyone has fallen for my beauty.”
As for Timi, hers hadn't just risen a few inches; they seemed to be soaring to the heavens.
“I… I don’t think that’s it.”
“Oh my, are you jealous, Hyeon-ung? You know you’re the only one for me.”
Haha…
“What are you talking about, you vixen? They said that because Hanna is pretty. Stop hitting on the mister.”
“Is our little Rina upset because no one called her pretty?”
The two of them were causing a scene.
“Stop.”
“Stop what? Are they fighting?”
“Ah, no. They’re saying thank you for the compliment.”
I was too embarrassed to tell him the truth, so I just made something up.
“Is that so? And you’re still carrying that demon around.”
“Kkyuing!”
He eyed the Golden Dragon with displeasure.
Even though I already compensated him for everything…
“Um, it’s a secret from the others, but it’s said to give back a better reward later for what it eats.”
I figured it would be alright to explain it to Tae-soo.
“Oho, is that right? So it’s like a savings account.”
A savings account. That was a fitting analogy.
“Exactly. If the preparations are done, are we starting right away?”
“Let’s have lunch first. Ah, but before that, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
As he spoke, Tae-soo took out five orbs from his inventory and handed them to me.
“Sir? Aren’t these the essences?”
“They are. The system is designed so that when you place these essences into the five holes on the central altar, the Elemental Drake is summoned.”
I remembered him explaining it before.
“But why are you giving the essences to me?”
“Because there’s a hidden rule.”
A hidden rule?
“I oversimplified. Let’s go have lunch and talk about it.”
“Ah, yes. By the way, sir, do you happen to have some spare inventory space?”
“Inventory? I have plenty. Why?”
“I’ve picked up too many items. I’d appreciate it if you could hold onto some for me.”
“Really? Sure, that’s no problem.”
As I took out the items one by one, Tae-soo’s eyes grew wider and wider.
“There’s still more? These are all rare items!”
“If you see anything you like, you can have a few. I just have a few more to take out. Ah! Girls, you’ve been struggling carrying two weapons each. Give me one.”
When I took one weapon from each of my companions and handed them over, his jaw dropped.
“The weapons are all rare too, no, there are even uniques… Hyeon-ung, where in the world did you get all this…?”
“They just dropped?”
****
Over lunch with Tae-soo, I received a detailed explanation about the 42nd floor’s boss.
Summoning the Elemental Drake required essences of five different attributes, but the summoned Drake didn’t possess all five.
It usually had two to three attributes, which he said was related to the Luck stat of the person who placed the essences.
Tae-soo had placed the essences most of the time, and with only one or two exceptions, a three-attribute Elemental Drake had always appeared.
But when Chil-seong, who had slightly higher Luck, placed them, it always had only two attributes.
“In short, I believe the higher the Luck stat of the person placing the essences, the lower the difficulty.”
Tae-soo seemed almost certain, but I wasn’t so sure.
“You said it came out with two attributes even when you did it, right? Couldn’t it just be random?”
“The time before last, when Mi-jeong, who has the lowest Luck stat, placed the essences, a four-attribute one appeared for the first time. We couldn’t even attempt it back then.”
That might just be because Mi-jeong was unlucky…
As I said it, I realized the Luck stat might actually be a factor.
After all, I too had raised my Luck to get good items from Mimics.
“I see. Understood. I’ll place the essences, then.”
It wasn’t a difficult request anyway.
My Luck had increased significantly when I got my class, and an easier monster would be more convenient for me too.
After finishing our meal, we took down the tents and gathered in the center.
Sixty-six people, including me.
Of course, this wasn’t the entire Golden Lion Guild; some members were busy leveling up on other floors.
Most of them knew me, but there were quite a few new faces, so after a brief introduction, we formed up and moved toward the floor boss summoning altar.
“So, my friend, I hear you’re the one placing the essences this time.”
It was the vice guild master, Chil-seong, who was usually in charge of placing the essences.
“Ah, yes.”
“Want to borrow my cape and belt? The cape has +15 Luck, and the belt has +10.”
“Haha… I’m fine, thank you.”
Sorry, but my gear is much better.
“Chil-seong, can’t you tell just by looking at Hyeon-ung’s gear? It looks way better than yours.”
“Then is your Luck over 100, by any chance?”
It’s well over 100.
He looked shocked when I nodded.
“Oh, then maybe we’ll get a one-attribute one this time.”
He was getting my hopes up too much.
“If it’s just one, our boy here won’t even need to step in.”
Goodness, even Tae-soo beside him was chiming in.
They both seemed to have such high expectations, which made me feel a bit pressured.
If a two-attribute one appeared, they’d probably be disappointed…
After about ten minutes of walking, we arrived at a massive altar.
Tae-soo stepped back to command, the formation was adjusted, and I stepped onto the altar with my companions and Chil-seong.
“Hyeon-ung, see these five grooves? Just place the essences in them, matching the colors on top.”
I took the essences from my inventory and placed them according to their colors.
The moment I inserted the last, ochre-colored orb, all five began to glow, and a notification window appeared.
[The five elemental essences have gathered at the summoning altar.]
[In one minute, a Five-Headed Elemental Drake possessing all five attributes will be summoned.]
…Five?
“F-five? Hyeon-ung, how… You said your Luck was over 100, didn’t you?”
Chil-seong asked with an incredibly flustered expression. It seemed the notification had appeared for everyone else too.
“It really is over 100…”
This is so unfair.
It might have dropped a little without Bio, but it’s still easily over 100…
“Really? No, this isn’t the time for that. Let’s get down from here, quickly. A four-attribute one is already impossible to face. A five-attribute one means certain annihilation.”
Tae-soo also rushed up onto the altar at incredible speed.
“What are you two dawdling for! A five-attribute one has appeared!”
“I’m sorry. It’s just…”
“Hyeon-ung, this isn’t your fault. Tae-soo, it seems your hypothesis was wrong.”
“Right. My hidden rule was wrong… No, is that important right now? Chil-seong, you use a Warp Stone and get back to the 40th floor. Hyeon-ung, do you have a Warp Stone?”
“Huh? Ah, well…”
“If you don’t, use this.”
He pulled a blue stone from his pocket and offered it to me.
He must have come up here just to give me this. I was touched.
Looking down, I saw the guild members disappearing one by one in flashes of blue light.
“What are you doing? Take it. We have to get out of here now.”
He offered the stone with an extremely urgent expression, but I shook my head.
“Can’t we just fight it when it appears?”
“What?”
“No, you haven’t experienced it, but even a four-attribute one is completely unbeatable.”
They both looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense, which was a little disappointing.
“Actually, before coming here, I defeated the 43rd floor’s boss.”
“You… you defeated a floor boss alone?”
“And the 43rd floor’s boss at that?”
I nodded.
Not just once, but three times in total, including the one I killed this morning.
With Bio’s help and a legendary weapon, I even took down the 50th floor’s boss.
Whether it has four heads or five, could the 42nd floor’s boss be stronger than them?
I don't think so.
I grinned at the two bewildered men.
“I’ll ask you to trust me this once.”