Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: White Snake's Bracelet
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[2,000 points are required to enter the chat room.]
[Would you like to pay the points and enter?]
It was a room with an entry fee.
The cost was equivalent to the value of Level 2.
"Yes."
Jae-hyeok nodded.
'I can't afford to hesitate and miss the opportunity.'
[Resource Consumption Reduction Artifact for Sale. Auction (18/20)]
Only two spots left until the chat room reached capacity.
Splash!
Jae-hyeok pressed the entry button and felt a light dizziness.
The community was a space where consciousness resided, not the physical body.
The form of consciousness resembled the physical body, but its nature was closer to a spirit.
His consciousness pierced through the ceiling and soared upward, rapidly gaining altitude.
The dormitory building vanished from sight in an instant, and he ascended so high that the full view of Lion's Castle came into sight at once.
Flash!
A brilliant light burst forth, and Jae-hyeok's vision went black.
"......"
When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar space.
The living room of a grand mansion that reeked of age.
In the center, twenty chairs were neatly arranged.
"You look like a newbie, standing there all dazed."
"Who the hell burns 2,000 points to join an auction as a newbie?"
"True, but why's that punk so spaced out? Haha! He's gonna die quick."
A burly man spotted Jae-hyeok quietly surveying his surroundings and casually hurled insults.
He too wore a mask flipped over his face, just like Jae-hyeok.
'The downside of anonymity.'
As long as players set their information to private, the community absolutely guaranteed player anonymity.
It wasn't an environment where one could expect manners or common decency.
After gauging the mood and finding an empty seat, he sat down with a question in mind.
'Is anonymity really guaranteed?'
The masks people wore varied wildly.
Most were anthropomorphic animals or objects, differing greatly in color and design.
For example, even the same rabbit mask—one had an eyepatch over one eye, another had a folded ear.
No idea what they did in real life, but the masks were structured to be memorable and identifiable.
"Looks like you're really frugal? How many points do those mask customization items cost that you're sticking with the basic one?"
The person next to him spoke up.
He seemed intrigued by Jae-hyeok's plain mask.
Thanks to that, Jae-hyeok figured out how the masks worked.
'It's not like fingerprints—it's customizable like an avatar.'
"Not uncomfortable? If you go to a regular chat room without an entry fee looking like that, you'll get treated like a newbie and shunned."
The guy saying that had a basic mask with just a single feather stuck on it.
"You too."
Jae-hyeok replied indifferently.
His modulated voice came out as a beastly growl.
A glint appeared in the feather-mask man's eyes.
Just then, a system message rang out that the twentieth person had joined the chat room.
People who had been meticulously scanning every corner, as if trying to deduce the room owner's identity, began slinking to their seats.
Among them, the tiger-masked woman and the old gentleman in a bowler hat made Jae-hyeok's heart race.
'Do top-tier players have their real-world stats reflected in their avatars or something?'
The auras emanating from those two were overwhelming.
It was rare for Jae-hyeok—brimming with confidence under the belief that effort never betrays—to feel this tense.
The feather-mask man clicked his tongue.
"You're bothered by them too, huh. If you want respect, just show your face instead of being a coward hiding behind a mask like us, shelling out 10,000 points for a Projection Elixir—what's the psychology there?"
'Projection Elixir?'
From the context, it seemed like an item that applied real-world stats to the avatar.
Jae-hyeok agreed with the feather-mask man's view.
There was no way combat was possible in the community, where only consciousness transferred.
What was the point of flexing power by spending 10,000 points?
"Thank you all for participating in the auction."
Once everyone was seated, the room owner appeared. She wore a fox mask and a red dress with a plunging back.
"Since we're all busy, let's get straight to the auction without delay."
She pulled out a beautiful white bracelet.
"As the title says, this reduces resource consumption. By 20 percent."
"20 percent?"
"Insane."
Vigor, vitality, divinity, demonic energy, etc.
Depending on class or skills, some people used resources other than mana.
Items that reduced resource consumption were far more valuable than those specifying reductions for particular resources like mana.
Because they worked unconditionally on whatever resource was used.
And a 20 percent reduction at that?
No wonder the reactions were explosive.
"My budget's probably not enough..."
People were already worrying about the bidding price.
Jae-hyeok frowned too.
'Is there a problem with the item?'
If that bracelet was truly that valuable,
The room owner would have specified in the title that it reduced resource consumption by '20 percent' to draw in top-tier players with plenty of points.
'And the entry fee would've been way higher.'
"It's a flawed product."
The feather-mask man voiced the exact same thought as Jae-hyeok.
The room owner shared the item's information.
[White Snake's Bracelet]
Grade: Legendary
Reduces all resource consumption by 20% when worn.
However, each time the effect activates, it inflicts [Dead Snake's Curse] on the wearer.
[Dead Snake's Curse]
One of: Poison, Blindness, Paralysis, Partial Necrosis occurs.
"What the fuck!"
"Selling a cursed item and charging entry fees to boot?"
People who checked the bracelet's info spewed curses. One even threw a chair.
The feather-mask man let out a hollow laugh.
"We got properly scammed by a con artist."
'Not quite.'
Jae-hyeok didn't agree with the con artist label.
*A knight's mental fortitude is rigorously tempered, allowing resistance to most status ailments and great endurance of pain.
With the [Noble Knightly Virtue] skill, status effects weren't a big obstacle for him.
How many people like him could there be?
'But it's not like there'd be one in every twenty people.'
Maybe only a handful across the entire planet.
If there were many, the room owner would've known.
She wouldn't hide the info—instead, she'd promote it aggressively to sell.
'In this auction, I'm the one in the best position.'
"The bidding starts at 40,000 points."
The room owner scanned the participants' reactions and spoke in a tone tinged with regret.
Having to sell a legendary item from a grueling S-rank quest clear at a bargain price was depressing her.
'Why the hell does the system label this legend-grade trash?'
The system activated.
[The auction for [White Snake's Bracelet] has begun. Minimum bid: 40,000.]
"That bitch must be loaded."
"Who'd buy a cursed item for 40,000 points?"
"What are you waiting for? Let's bail!"
People shot up from their seats.
They planned to exploit the rule that entry fees were refunded if no one bid.
Jae-hyeok stayed seated, deep in thought.
'It's Dead Snake's Curse, not White Snake's Curse.'
The curse's potency would be weakened, making it manageable.
Even if not, it was fine.
Things would change once his Noble Knightly Virtue skill leveled up.
As Jae-hyeok prepared to bid, the feather-mask man beat him to it.
"I'll bid 40,000."
He'd called her a con artist to her face, yet raised his hand first.
Jae-hyeok stared at him, and the man said meaningfully,
"What if there are people who don't care about the curse? Buy it cheap and resell to them for a huge profit."
"......"
"Haha, just kidding. No matter how big the world is, no idiot like that exists."
The heavy tone in the feather-mask man's voice lightened again.
"Poison, blindness, necrosis—those can be cured with antidotes and potions. Super annoying, but usable just for ultimate skills that guzzle resources. If you unluckily get paralysis, you'll cry bloody tears in regret, though."
The mood stirred.
A few people tentatively raised their hands.
"45,000."
"41,500."
"42,000."
The tiger-masked woman and bowler-hat old man joined the fray.
They weren't jacking up the price aggressively, still doubting the item's value.
Having to chug potions or antidotes every use was a massive hassle.
'Drinking potions mid-intense battle isn't easy.'
Especially paralysis was the issue.
If paralyzed, you couldn't even drink the potion.
"45,000."
The feather-mask man bumped the bid up at once.
Most dropped out with groans.
"45,500."
The tiger-masked woman kept her pace.
"If it weren't for paralysis."
The bowler-hat old man clicked his tongue and gave up.
"50,000."
"......"
When the feather-mask man spoke again, even the tiger-masked woman went quiet.
"Looks like I'll win..."
"51,000."
"...55,000."
"60,000."
"Thought you were frugal, but you don't match the looks? 65,000."
The feather-mask man stared at Jae-hyeok in disbelief.
This time, Jae-hyeok shrugged.
"You too. 70,000."
A voice evoking a massive beast.
As Jae-hyeok's growling modulated voice echoed, the tiger-masked woman and bowler-hat old man flinched.
'A voice modulated like that—could it be...?'
'Why's a big shot like that here?'
Was the bracelet more valuable than thought?
They debated rejoining the auction.
But the bidding had soared beyond what they could handle.
"73,000."
"80,000."
Enough to buy a flawless legendary item.
"Ugh."
At 80,000, even the feather-mask man's enthusiasm broke.
"Saving up for masks made you rich, huh? I give up."
He dramatically raised a white flag, then whispered in Jae-hyeok's ear.
"There's an idiot here who doesn't care about curses after all."
"......"
"Next time I find something like this, I'll come to you. I'm confident I'd be a big help."
[[Conscientious Merchant] has sent you a friend invitation.]
[To accept the invitation, please set your community activity name.]
"I 'yielded' this time as an investment to build a valuable connection, so please accept my goodwill."
The feather-mask man shared his point balance.
He seemed community-savvy, but turned out to be an absurd veteran.
'And as a merchant, he probably has all sorts of info.'
No harm in connecting.
'Activity name.'
Jae-hyeok reflected on himself.
A noble and knight.
The one to punish his father's enemies and restore the fallen house.
I am the norm, a beacon to some, terror to others.
'...Yaksha.'
[Community activity name set to <Yaksha>.]
[Friend invitation from [Conscientious Merchant] accepted.]
"Yaksha? A nostalgic name. Anyway, you're not who I expected—surprising."
His wide-eyed shock seemed genuine.
He'd apparently mistaken Jae-hyeok for someone else.
"Better this way. The world is vast, indeed."
Grinning, his body was enveloped in light and slowly faded.
Now, only Jae-hyeok and the room owner remained.
Meaning he was the winning bidder.
The room owner's gaze on him was peculiar.