Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Synthesis System
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Synthesis System
“Hey, sir? Isn’t the guild street the next alley over?”
“It is. We’re heading to my house right now.”
When he said we were going to the guild, I naturally thought of the guild house. I didn’t realize he had a home here too.
“The guild house has plenty of rooms, but you need a personal space to truly rest.”
“I see.”
“Besides, even as the guild master, I’d feel guilty eating something delicious all by myself.”
After about three more minutes of walking, we arrived at a house made of red brick.
“This is it.”
“It’s not overwhelmingly large, is it?”
“There’s no reason to get a big house. The other guys would just come over and bother me. Still, it has everything I need.”
He seemed to think he was right as he opened the door.
“Brother-in-law, you’re back? Hyeon-ung, it’s been a while.”
Wearing a pink apron and holding a ladle, Seol-hwa greeted us with a bright smile.
I’d only ever seen her in tidy, professional attire, so seeing her in such comfortable clothes gave off a completely different impression.
She usually had the air of a cool, sharp career woman, but perhaps because of her outfit, she now exuded a warm, domestic feeling.
“Hello.”
“Sister-in-law. Is the kimchi stew ready?”
“It needs to simmer a little longer, but it’s almost done. Go wash your hands.”
As I came out of the small bathroom next to the kitchen, the spicy aroma of kimchi stew stimulated my appetite.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“I’m fine here, but you will be participating in the training, right?”
“Ah, yes. It wasn’t a difficult request, so I agreed to participate.”
The way he’d spoken was so serious that I thought he was asking me to conduct the training, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
The whole thing started a week ago.
While I was in the labyrinth, someone from the Lord’s castle had visited the Golden Lion Guild.
They came with an official notice stating that the place they had been using for new summoner training could no longer be rented out.
Apparently, the venue rental was also one of the Pioneer benefits. Fortunately, all I had to do was request the venue rental again and participate in the training.
I was worried I’d have to attend every session, but thankfully, I only had to show up for the first one.
The Golden Lion Guild would handle all the teaching, so all I had to do was go, sit there, and be the face of the event.
“Right. Don’t get in the way. Come over here and sit down.”
“Kkyuing!”
“Ppoyo!”
As I sat at the dining table, Nyx and the Golden Dragon popped out of my pocket.
“Looks like you’ve got a new family member.”
“Yes. He eats a lot of mana, but he’s an excellent hunter.”
It flew over to Tae-soo and rubbed its body against his cheek.
Unlike someone else, this one was full of affection.
“This little one is cute.”
“My Golden Dragon is also…”
“Right. Ah, wait a minute, everything hanging over there is an item. Brother, you’d better hold on tight to that evil dragon.”
Calling him an evil dragon was a bit harsh.
“The Golden Dragon is fine for now.”
I had already fed him his gold for the day in the labyrinth, and he hadn’t been eating items lately.
After explaining, I let them roam free, and they both went to a corner to play.
We chatted for a moment, and then Seol-hwa brought out the food.
A spicy kimchi stew packed with pork, glossy white rice, and oh, there was even seaweed.
Seol-hwa personally served me a portion in a small bowl.
“Sister-in-law, lots of kimchi for me, please.”
“I’d like the same, please.”
I took a spoonful of the broth first. The spiciness hit the back of my throat perfectly, followed by a subtle sweetness. It was a work of art.
“Is it to your liking?”
“This is trouble.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m worried the three of us might eat this and not even notice if we all dropped dead.”
“Oh, Hyeon-ung. Please, eat a lot.”
A thick piece of meat on a bed of white rice, topped with well-cooked kimchi, and finally wrapped in a sheet of seaweed. A single bite was pure heaven.
I’m not exaggerating when I say it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Before, I could have this anytime with a simple delivery order, but not in Elsia…
The food in Kabisa was excellent, but a Korean needs rice and kimchi.
“I’m glad.”
“I hope we get someone with your kind of trait among the new summoners this time.”
“Are you planning to recruit them?”
“If there is one.”
The competition might be fierce, but well, I doubted anyone could offer better conditions than me.
After the meal, I sold off some of the items I had obtained in the labyrinth.
I had hoped to get another Blessed Armor Enhancement Scroll, but unfortunately, he said the one he gave me last time was all he had.
[You have acquired a Random Item Box.]
The Pioneer notification had popped up earlier, but my inventory must have been too full for it to be added.
“Thanks. For selling me the items at a good price.”
“Come on, sir. We’re not strangers, are we?”
I could trust him with my sales.
I also gave him a little information about the 44th floor before we parted ways.
On my way back to Kabisa, I stopped by the general store first.
I was planning to come back tomorrow if it was closed, but thankfully, the lights were still on.
When I went inside, the owner was sitting at the counter today, not Latina.
“Oh, I thought you weren’t coming today.”
“I came after dinner, so I’m a bit late.”
When I placed the items on the counter, his expression turned to one of slight surprise.
“Hippogriff leather. Looks like you made it to the 51st floor. Impressive.”
“How did you know that?”
It was a bit amazing that he could guess the floor just by looking at the byproducts.
I could understand for the lower floors, since other summoners would come to sell, but I was the only summoner who had reached the 51st floor.
Could it be that Mr. Arnold, like the Lord, still had memories from when he was a summoner?
“To open a general store, you have to pass a test at the Lord’s castle. The study materials list what comes out on which floor.”
Oh, so that’s how the system worked.
“I see. By the way, I don’t see Latina today.”
“She said she’s having a sleepover at a friend’s house tonight. Anyway, you’d be better off selling some of these items elsewhere…”
“I’ll be counting on you again this time.”
“Thank you. Here you go.”
Mr. Arnold handed me a pouch.
[You have acquired 14 Gold and 20 Silver.]
As expected, it was less than last time.
It couldn’t be helped, since I had given the Hippogriff’s heart to the harpies as a fee for item storage.
And I hadn’t taken out the Hippogriff’s feathers because of the Lord’s quest.
“Well then, I’ll stop by again soon.”
I left the general store and returned to Kabisa.
After a brief exchange with Luke, who greeted me as cheerfully as ever, I went back to my room.
Ah, I also paid for my room again.
After a shower, drowsiness washed over me.
Nyx and the Golden Dragon seemed to be out of battery as well, sprawled out in a corner, sleeping soundly.
I wanted to lie down too, but I still had things to do.
As I thought of the Summoner Shop, my vision shifted.
“Welcome, Hyeon-ung.”
The assistant bowed her head in greeting.
“One cookie gift set.”
[You have purchased a Cookie Gift Set.]
[VIP attendance rewards have been reset. You can receive the Day 1 reward again starting tomorrow.]
“Um, are you not purchasing anything else this time? We have many new and excellent items in stock.”
“We’ll see. First, exchange this for Jewels.”
I handed her the Contribution Orb I had received from the Lord a while back.
[You have acquired 10,000 Jewels.]
Considering the initial amount given is a mere 1,000 Jewels, this was quite a lot, but I felt no particular excitement.
I already had 100 million Jewels, not to mention the attendance rewards.
More importantly, compared to the price of the Orb of Wishes, this was practically dust.
“Even if there’s nothing you need, why not take a look? A new system was just introduced three days ago.”
A new system?
“What is it?”
“It’s a synthesis system. You can synthesize equipment, mounts, and companions you don’t use to obtain better items.”
Oh, I understood immediately.
It was a feature present in almost every game.
Of course, Elsia might be slightly different, but thankfully, it was identical to the synthesis systems I was used to.
By gathering four items of the same grade—be it equipment, mounts, or companion summon cards—you could synthesize them for a chance to obtain a higher-grade item.
The only slight difference was that synthesis required Jewels.
Synthesizing normal items was free, but Magic and Advanced cost 10 Jewels, Rare and Exquisite cost 50 Jewels, and Unique and Heroic cost 100 Jewels.
It wasn’t an exorbitant amount, but even games notorious for their monetization schemes offered synthesis for free. This felt a bit much.
“Hyeon-ung, you have many Heroic companions, don’t you? Why not try for a Legendary one?”
I was startled.
After receiving my special perks at the beginning, the assistant hadn’t been there.
“So you were watching.”
I replied calmly, but I had a bad feeling.
“Hyeon-ung, you’ve used Heroic companions, so you know, but Legendary companions are much better.”
Hmm, did she not see me pull Bio?
“I have no intention of synthesizing my Heroic companions.”
That went for not just my Heroic companions, but also Rare ones like Alpen and Radios.
Even if the synthesis succeeded, they would disappear.
Of course, I could summon them again, but would the new summons have the memories we’d made together?
It wasn’t impossible, but I felt it was more likely they wouldn’t.
If I had never summoned them, it might be a different story, but I couldn’t give up the time and memories we’d shared.
To me, they weren’t just game characters.
“That’s a shame. A Legendary companion would be truly amazing.”
“I didn’t say I’d never do it. It’s not a guaranteed success, is it? What are the odds?”
“As you say, Hyeon-ung, there are cases of failure. However, I cannot disclose the exact probabilities.”
In the real world, disclosing probabilities is mandatory…
It felt a bit shady, but since Normal synthesis was free, I decided to try it once.
One try should give me a rough idea.
“I’ll start by synthesizing Normal companions. What do I do?”
“Take out the cards and give them to me.”
I took a pouch out of my inventory.
It was the pouch where I kept my Normal companion cards.
Although I had sorted them at the beginning, I checked each one as I handed them over, just in case a different grade had gotten mixed in.
“Shall I auto-synthesize until only Advanced grade cards are left?”
“No, just once for now.”
She nodded, and the cards in her hand vanished in a flash of blue light.
[175 Normal Companion Syntheses have been performed.]
[You have acquired 85 Advanced Companion Summon Cards, including Lizardman of the Nepenthes Forest.]
[Remaining Normal Companion Cards: 93]
So, about 50%?
The probability was actually quite decent.
I asked her to synthesize the rest until only Advanced cards remained.
In the end, I was left with 2 Normal companions and gained 97 new Advanced companion cards.
“Will you be synthesizing the Advanced companions as well?”
“Does the probability decrease as the grade increases?”
“Th-That is something I cannot tell you.”
Her flustered reaction seemed to confirm my suspicion.
Well, it didn’t matter, since I didn’t use Advanced companions anyway.
I opened my inventory, took out the Advanced companion summon cards, and handed them to her.
“A total of 337. Shall I synthesize these until they can no longer be synthesized?”
“No, just once for this as well.”
At 10 Jewels per attempt, it wasn’t much, but it was better to check the probability first.
[84 Advanced Companion Syntheses have been performed.]
[840 Jewels will be consumed.]
[You have acquired 20 Companion Summon Cards, including Kazan, Mage of the Red Tower.]
20 out of 84 attempts? That’s almost 25%, exactly half the previous rate.
“What would you like to do with the rest?”
“Synthesize them all.”
I spent about 200 more Jewels and obtained a total of 25 Rare companion cards.
“Will you be synthesizing the Rare companions as well?”
“Wait a moment.”
Including the ones I had from the beginning, I had a total of 74.
I sorted through the cards and handed her only 20.
“Are you only doing this many?”
From the Rare grade onward, some companions had abilities that could rival Heroic ones, depending on the situation.
The ones I gave the assistant were all duplicates.
“Is there a problem?”
“Not at all. I will synthesize them right away.”
Her words said otherwise, but her expression held a hint of dissatisfaction.
[5 Rare Companion Syntheses have been performed.]
[250 Jewels will be consumed.]
[You have acquired 4 Rare Companion Summon Cards, including Alteon, Kalvio’s Finest Hunter.]
Perhaps because the quantity was too small, not a single Heroic companion appeared.
Then again, even in my 1,000-pull session, I had only gotten five.
“Shall we try one more time?”
I looked and saw that, except for one, they were all duplicates, so I nodded.
[1 Rare Companion Synthesis has been performed.]
[50 Jewels will be consumed.]
[You have acquired Succubus Princess Elaine.]
A… a succubus?