Fate's Cruel Lottery
Everyone was dying to know who on earth Andra would offer up as the sacrifice. Even those who'd stepped forward begging to be chosen shifted their gazes toward the tip of Seol Ara's pointing finger.
But she wasn't pointing at anyone. Her finger had stopped on a large gravestone, where a single crow—the same one that had been cawing nonstop—sat perched quietly.
"The second sacrifice will be that crow."
In that instant, Pierre clapped his hands as if he'd been smacked on the back of the head.
"Ah! That's right. It said to offer a sacrifice, but it never said it had to be a person!"
The Oracle has determined the sacrifice.
Flash!
Krarrrumble!
Lightning crashed down over the crow and Andra's heads. In the blinding light that swallowed everything, Seol Ara caught a faint glimpse of Andra's face—still smiling right up to the end.
After the earth-shaking impact faded...
"……."
"……."
"……."
The two sacrifices were nowhere to be found.
Fate's Lottery
🎁 Reward: Entrance to Floor 15
With the quest finally cleared, stairs leading down appeared. But no one could bring themselves to step onto them.
Amid the group eyeing each other warily, someone stepped forward and stood before Seol Ara. She gently placed a hand on her shoulder and stroked it soothingly.
Seol Ara lifted her bowed head to find Irene's face right there.
"……Unnie."
Irene wore a tender smile, as if she understood everything, and pulled Seol Ara into a soft embrace.
"You did great. It must've been so hard. I'm sorry for letting you shoulder it all alone."
"……Yeah."
Seol Ara buried her face in Irene's chest. Even if it had been unavoidable, she'd been the one to offer Andra as a sacrifice—and that meant his death was on her hands. The weight of causing someone's death tore at her heart.
But she didn't cry. Not even at the end. There were bound to be far worse trials ahead, so she told herself she could endure this much.
What a strong woman.
And the one who'd made her this strong was Han Ji-woo.
Ji-woo. What are you doing right now?
She now knew the Han Ji-woo separated from them here was the same one who'd saved her from death before. Even in the dungeon, she'd been relying on his help all along.
I want to help him too.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she remembered: the Stat Rental Ticket she'd gotten as an achievement reward in her Inventory.
* * *
Seol Ara's 'Luck' stat has been rented to Han Ji-woo.
Han Ji-woo stared blankly at the sudden message.
After being shunted into this mini-dungeon by the Creator, he'd just been wishing for something like a Luck stat—and boom, here it was.
He checked his status window. Sure enough, there was a Luck stat, clocking in at a whopping 50.
Having played his share of games, Han Ji-woo knew Luck was pretty damn useful.
"But why'd it suddenly come to me?"
The system answered his mutter.
Seol Ara has used a Stat Rental Ticket, allowing Han Ji-woo to rent any stat she desires. The rented stat can be returned at Han Ji-woo's discretion.
"No way, for real?"
How perfect was this timing? Thanks to Seol Ara's Luck stat, his odds of survival had skyrocketed. No exaggeration.
"Thanks a ton, Ara. I'll make good use of it and return it the second I get out of this dungeon."
Refreshed, Han Ji-woo strode down the dungeon passage. He scanned carefully for traps or hidden monsters that might spring out.
The straight path wasn't long, ending in a vast cavern that welcomed him. Dead center stood stairs leading down.
No way they'd just let me through that easy.
Clearing the mini-dungeon meant raiding the boss on the bottom floor. Getting down there was the challenge—they wouldn't make it simple.
And yet...
Ibelius's will, dwelling in the Hidden Space, faintly detects Han Ji-woo's presence.
"Huh?"
Ibelius's will relentlessly tracks your trace, refusing to let even a fleeting aura slip away.
"Ibelius! Over here, over here! I'm right here!"
Han Ji-woo raised both hands high and waved wildly, shouting.
Ibelius's will pursues your aura, loses it, finds it again, and repeats!
Ibelius's will probes somewhere intensely.
"Ibelius!"
The moment Han Ji-woo shouted the golden dragon's name—the creator of the Hidden Space—one more time...
Ibelius's will pierces a 1-in-100,000 probability and locates you!
A minute dimensional rift forms in the 'Creator''s 'Mini-Dungeon'.
Energy from the Hidden Space flows into the rift.
The Hidden Space exerts influence on the 'Mini-Dungeon'!
"Yes!"
Hot on the heels of the Luck stat share came another wave of delightful messages. How welcome that "Hidden Space" phrase was!
The Hidden Space adds a new rule to the 'Mini-Dungeon'.
Synchronization System
Synchronization System
Invest 'Synchronization Points' earned in the dungeon to sync buildings, creations, or pets from the Hidden Space.
"Oh? Sounds great, but... how do I get Synchronization Points?"
'Synchronization Points' can be earned by selling monster loot from this dungeon, discovering stairs to the next floor, or methods like $&***!$&, %#!#$&^&, !$&%$ etc.
"What's with those garbled characters in the middle?"
The 'Creator''s lingering power in the 'Mini-Dungeon' is suppressing the Hidden Space's influence, preventing some text from displaying properly.
"Eh, whatever. Not a big deal."
Hunting monsters and heading downstairs should net plenty of points.
"That Creator or whatever is such a pain in the ass."
Han Ji-woo clicked his tongue, but his face was all smiles. The new Synchronization System had massively boosted his chances of clearing the Mini-Dungeon Game quest.
And Ibelius had pinpointed him right after he got the Luck stat.
"Did the Luck boost make this happen?"
No one could confirm it, but it sure seemed likely.
"Thanks again, Ara."
It probably wouldn't reach her, but the gratitude spilled out anyway. Feeling even lighter, he scanned the cavern.
"No other stairs or doors, huh."
The goal was raiding the bottom-floor boss, so down was the way. But this dead-end cavern was empty.
What now? He glanced up absentmindedly—and nearly jumped out of his skin.
"……!"
Dozens of glowing yellow eyes glared down from the ceiling, where massive bat-like monsters hung upside down, fixated on him. His heart plummeted.
"Shit, not this horror movie crap!"
Han Ji-woo hated jump scares more than anything—gave him the chills.
The ceiling-dwellers were Wild Bats. They'd been holding their breath until eye contact, then screeched in unison and dove.
Screeeee—!
Screeeee—!
The ear-piercing cries carried mana, disrupting the mind and inflicting brief stun. That's when the Wild Bats swarmed, ripping flesh.
But...
Shrrrrrak!
The moment Han Ji-woo's Red Dragon Bone Armor equipped...
Screek?!Screek?!
The Wild Bats froze at the ferocious storm of power surging toward them.
Seizing the split-second, Han Ji-woo's single-horned steel sword flashed coldly.
Slash!
Screeeeech—!Screek!
His flawless, efficient strike traced an eye-blurring arc, bisecting three giant bats in one go.
Thud! Thud!
Ignoring the falling corpses, his sword danced on. A one-sided massacre began.
* * *
"Whew."
It took just over twenty minutes to wipe the Wild Bats. They'd be dead faster if they didn't fly.
The scattered corpses vanished quickly, leaving only loot—unlike in the Hidden Space.
"Yeah, the cleanup speed's different. Let's see."
Han Ji-woo scooped up the loot: Wild Bat Wings and Wild Bat Fangs. Fifty-two pieces total, all stowed in his Inventory.
Then—drdrdr!—with a rumbling vibration, stairs to the lower floor appeared in the cavern's center.
Stairs to the lower floor discovered. +50 Synchronization Points.
"Is 50 a lot or a little?"
Another message followed.
Monster loot earned here can be sold in the 'Synchronization Shop' for 1 Synchronization Point each.
Access the Synchronization Shop?
"Yeah."
A new window unfolded before him.
◈ Loot Sales
◈ Synchronization Investments
The shop had just two menus. Han Ji-woo hit Loot Sales first, dumping all his recent haul for 52 more Synchronization Points.
Next, Synchronization Investments.
How many points to invest in Synchronization?
102/5,000P
* Synchronization progresses every 100 points invested.
"Max is 5,000? Filling that must complete full sync."
He dumped all his points.
How many points to invest in Synchronization?
102/5,000P
* Synchronization progresses every 100 points invested.
Investment exceeds 100 points.
Synchronization begins. One random building, creation, or pet from the Hidden Space will be shared.
A restroom materialized in the cavern alongside the message.
"Oh! So that's how it works."
Thrilled that his first sync preserved basic human dignity, Han Ji-woo headed down the stairs.
* * *
"……What the heck is this?"
Ferrofero, peering into his crystal orb from his room, rubbed his eyes repeatedly with his cotton-swab paws.
The orb showed Han Ji-woo exploring some unknown dungeon.