Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Gooongpo's Mansion (4)
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I've cleared the game countless times, and I've challenged this event more times than I can count.
But seeing that statue close its eyes and the door open was something I'd never witnessed before.
"Uwahahat—! How do you like that! The power of my incredible Evil Eye!"
The one who had opened the firmly shut door struck a smug pose, nose in the air and shoulders shrugged.
Everyone watching applauded and tossed out a comment or two.
"Wow, Alicia, you're amazing! I never dreamed you'd use such a sneaky trick!"
"The king of cheats, through and through."
"I figured you'd just tell us the answer, but hypnosis? Talk about a scam."
"Umhuhut!"
It was hard to tell if they were praising or criticizing her, but Alicia seemed pleased either way, snorting with satisfaction and flashing a grin.
The others might've phrased it that way, but the atmosphere was one of genuine admiration.
Sure enough, even I hadn't imagined opening the door like that.
But this proved it.
'No matter the method, clearing is possible.'
In the original game, if clearing was programmatically impossible, players had no choice but to follow along.
But now that it was reality...
A shift in thinking could make even what was impossible in the game become possible, no matter the approach.
"Alright! On to the next one!"
With Alicia's cheerful shout, her mood lifted, we passed through the open door into the next room.
"...This is."
The room we entered was another chamber.
Unlike before, though, there was no exit leading further in.
Just a plain room blocked by bare walls, with three chests at its center.
'Clear rewards!'
I'd never dreamed they'd prepare something like this for an impossible-to-clear event.
Was it some kind of Easter egg?
Well, it was a perverted dev team that loved hidden lore not even mentioned in the descriptions.
They might've made clear rewards for uncleared events too.
"Whoa! Treasure chests? Pretty stylish for a ghost mansion."
"But there are only three."
Elis, who had lit up and rushed toward the chests, froze at Mary's words.
Indeed, there were three rewards.
And eight people here— not everyone who challenged it could get one.
"Hmm, what do we do now?"
"Looks like we need to decide who gets the chests..."
As Siegfried muttered while eyeing the chests...
Everyone turned to look at me simultaneously.
"...Me?"
Caught off-guard by the sudden attention, I pointed at myself in bewilderment.
Adrian smiled and replied.
"You gathered everyone here in the first place. If you hadn't called us, we wouldn't have gotten these rewards."
Mary nodded in agreement.
"I'm fine with whatever method Ken decides on."
The rest didn't object either. They just waited quietly for my answer.
They wanted me to decide how to fairly distribute the three chests.
Reward distribution, huh...
What a burden.
It felt like I'd been made group leader for a class project.
There were three chests.
The obvious first idea was to let those with the most contributions take one each.
Alicia deserved hers for the big finish, but the others had worked hard finding keys too.
Dividing by merit might leave someone feeling slighted.
In cases like this...
"Aza! I win! Yay!"
"Wow! I didn't think it'd work!"
Alicia and Emily cheered with big smiles after winning their rock-paper-scissors matches in a row.
They beamed, holding up the rock and paper that secured their victories.
"Last one?"
Now six remained.
Whatever was in those chests, it was a simple challenge: win and claim the prize. Everyone looked serious in their own way.
After a moment to choose their moves...
"I-I won!"
I raised my winning scissors high and let out a triumphant yell.
"Kuhuk~! I was gonna go rock too!"
"Hehe, congrats, Ken."
Elis trembled with regret over her paper, while Rafne beamed as if she'd won herself.
Hmm... Truth be told, I hadn't really aimed for a reward, but was it okay to take one like this?
...Whatever! They should've been better at rock-paper-scissors!
With that, the three winners stood before their chosen chests.
"Huh? Something's written on the chest."
"Mine too. ...Box of Desire?"
At Alicia and Emily's words, I checked my chest's lid and saw the same inscription.
...It wasn't a mimic or anything, right?
No, events like this never harmed you—that was a key feature. They wouldn't stick a monster in the final reward.
"Alright! I'll open mine first!"
Alicia, eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement, declared and placed her hand on the chest.
—Creak, iiiik.
The lid opened slowly, as if to build anticipation.
And when it fully opened, what lay inside was...
"Kyaaah! Seniors! This is incredible! It's shining gold!!"
"Wow... How much is all that?"
Alicia's chest was filled to the brim with gold coins.
More than enough to buy a mansion like this outright.
"M-Me too!"
Watching her, Emily hurriedly opened her chest.
"......A book?"
What came out of Emily's was a single thick tome.
"Mind if I take a look?"
I held out my hand to Emily, who stood there blankly holding the mystery book.
"...This is."
I took the book she offered and examined its cover.
A luxurious leather-bound volume, quite large, with a mana stone embedded like a lock.
The book's color was pure white.
I'd seen this design in the game.
"......A skill book."
"Skill book?"
"Channel mana into it to open, and you acquire the skill. ...This color means healing magic."
"Whoa! For real? So I can learn healing magic right away?"
Emily hadn't reacted much to "skill book," but lit up like a kid at Christmas when she heard "healing magic."
She hugged the book to her chest and grinned brightly after I handed it back.
"You wanted to learn healing magic?"
The academy taught basic spells, but healing was for temple saints.
Only those connected to the temple learned it separately at the academy.
So Emily hadn't gotten those spells.
Of course, there were cases where she picked up healing via skill books and supported allies from the backline.
But I hadn't expected her to be this thrilled.
"Lately, someone's been getting into risky stuff. I wanted to learn this."
Emily answered my question with a playful smile.
'...I see. Box of Desire, huh.'
Alicia got gold coins, Emily a skill book for the magic she wanted.
Alicia loved money enough to hypnotize people for her love business.
Likewise, Emily got her dream healing skill book.
So these chests granted the opener's desire?
I placed my hand on my chest's lid, tense.
The others watched intently, curious what it'd be.
What I wanted.
I thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind right away.
With no clue what to expect, heart pounding, I opened the chest.
Creeeak...
"......A potion?"
Rafne muttered beside me as I watched.
I picked up the small vial sitting alone inside.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Acquired rare item. Item: Dragon's Essence 'Dragon's Essence?'
As if answering my question, the status window shifted from acquisition message to item description.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Dragon's Essence: Essence extracted from a dragon's heart, the crystallization of its mana. Greatly increases the drinker's mana capacity. An item that boosted mana capacity.
Such items appeared often in the game.
But essence from a dragon's heart? Never seen it.
'Even killing dragons didn't drop this.'
And at the word "dragon," one person immediately came to mind.
I glanced at Siegfried beside me.
This item boosted the user's mana.
Beyond that simple effect, being dragon-derived, it might enhance magical talent too.
It evoked those secret backstories the devs snuck in.
'...Maybe this was made for Siegfried?'
If he drank it, he'd surely gain not just swordsmanship prowess but magical talent as well.
He'd get the talent he always wanted.
With that in mind, I started to offer it to him...
"Don't, Ken."
"...Y-Yes?"
"I'm not taking it. That's your prize."
He cut me off, reading my intent instantly.
"B-But, Senior. If you drink this, you'll definitely gain the abilities you wanted."
Siegfried smiled faintly at my words.
"I'm good. ...You gave me the answer recently. I'll work toward it myself. I won't rely on some potion."
He refused.
Even if it was made for him, he chose the hard path of honing his skills on his own.
What an impressive guy.
Since Siegfried declined too, I uncorked the potion without hesitation.
"W-Wait, you're drinking it now? Isn't it suspicious?"
"It's fine. I know what it is."
I explained to a startled Elis, then downed the potion.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Used Dragon's Essence. Dragon's Essence effect applied to user. I vividly felt the liquid flow into my body, soon dispersing as a massive surge of energy.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana capacity greatly increased. Dragon's Essence effect: Dragonkin monsters feel strong hostility toward you. Dragon's Essence effect: Strong resistance to dragonkin monsters. As the energy absorbed, multiple status windows popped up.
'Resistance to dragonkin... and hostility?'
There was a message that seemed like a downside, but the upsides far outweighed it.
And among them...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana capacity exceeded base limit. Skill acquired. Acquired skill: Mana Conversion ⚙ SKILL: MANA CONVERSION ⚙ Substitutes mana for missing materials in Item Creation. Mana cost varies by material quality. My mana capacity skyrocketed, granting a new skill for my unique Item Creation ability.
A skill that substituted materials.
'...If my guess is right, this is.'
I'd often struggled with missing materials during Item Creation.
Sure, substituting something like Aspetra's orb with mana—even with boosted capacity—might be iffy.
But now, in a pinch, I could create materials with mana.
"H-How is it, Ken? You okay?"
I flashed a bright smile at a worried Rafne.
"Yeah! Feeling great!"
Great? I'd scored an unexpected massive haul. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Thank you, truly. Thanks for dealing with this headache. Here's the deed to the mansion, as promised!"
After claiming our rewards and exiting, the ominous aura shrouding the mansion vanished.
Opening the doors again revealed a normal mansion inside.
And the ownership deed we received as planned...
"Ugh, I don't want that creepy place.... What about you, Zeke?"
"I don't really need a mansion like that either."
"Uwahat! I've got enough gold to not need some rundown old place!"
"No interest in a mansion from me."
Alicia and Adrian, now rich or already wealthy, naturally passed, as did Elis and Siegfried after their scary ordeal.
With the job done, four of them waved goodbye and left.
Leaving me alone with three women, staring at the scene.
"S-So, about this mansion deed."
Since we'd gotten it together, someone had to claim it or dispose of it.
I asked the remaining three for their thoughts, but...
"...I'm good with passing on that creepy mansion."
"I-I'm fine if you take it, Ken."
"Why don't you hold onto it for now, Ken? Might come in handy later."
In the end, I got stuck with the bothersome mansion deed.
No property taxes or anything, right?
Still, I should repay the others who helped later.
With our unexpected windfall, we headed back to the academy.
A mansion challenge just for testing.
Never imagined it'd yield gains this big.
At the dorm split, I said goodbye to Emily and Mary, then returned to the tower with Rafne.
Perfect timing—I'd gotten a new skill.
I wanted to test it ASAP.
By the time we reached the tower, climbed the familiar stairs, and entered the room, it was already night.
"Thanks, Rafne. You helped a ton today."
"......"
"Oh, hungry? Want dinner first? I was gonna whip something up real quick..."
"......"
"Rafne?"
We'd chatted normally on the way back.
But now, buzzing with excitement as I donned my work apron and talked to her, no reply.
She just stood by the door, back turned.
Then...
—Click.
"......Rafne?"
A locking sound echoed, and she turned.
"Stay over tonight. Ken."
Ah, ...right, she did say to prepare myself on the way back.
Rafne gazed at me with those familiar eyes, smiling.