A Truffle's Frenzy and a Sister's Call
Of course it belonged to the Tower Scavenger who had been digging here.
The value wasn't exactly high.
It was on the level of a basic Tower Pass, after all.
But to me, it was different.
The ability to dig had lost all its usefulness.
I scanned my surroundings once, then grabbed the rune stone.
[You have obtained the Rune Stone Endless Digging Passion.]
Category: Normal
Grade: F-rank
Description: Allows the user to use a specific tool at twice the normal speed.
Effect: Can dig twice as fast.
[Do you wish to absorb this Rune Stone?]
AbsorbStoreDiscard
No need to think about it.
Any other hunter wouldn't have known what to do.
I was the one who made a living with digging, so passing up this catch would make me an idiot.
Fuuu-
The rune markings engraved on the obsidian began to glow with dazzling light, and the solid rune stone vaporized like dry ice, sinking into the palm of my hand.
[You have absorbed the Rune Stone Endless Digging Passion.]
And then came the next part.
I immediately pulled out the guy's spatial waist belt from the pit and opened it.
A 4x4 cube appeared right in front of my eyes.
After confirming that the truffles and Beodori were inside, I stuffed his work clothes, machete, walker, prosthetic leg, and everything else that might have value into the belt.
His hunter watch, rings, necklace—those weren't heavy, so I just shoved them into my pocket.
Then I tossed the useless stuff like his underwear into the pit, roughly filled it with the dirt piled nearby, and was about to—
Out of nowhere, a sudden presence made me look around.
From far away, Tower Zombies were slowly approaching.
It had probably been triggered by the last scream he'd let out before he died.
The closest one would reach me in about thirty to forty seconds.
Even in a 1v1, I could probably handle a hundred of them.
The problem was there was no one in front of a multi-kill.
I quickly opened the 4x4 window of the spatial waist belt and pulled out the machete.
While doing so, I wondered if there wasn't something more useful I could use.
That's when I noticed the thing I'd been curious about since earlier.
The Bit-Powered Transparent Straw!
It looked like a random lucky item given as a reward for digging one meter underground, along with one gold.
In an instant, a lightning bolt flashed through my head.
I pulled out the guy’s shovel from my inventory and started madly digging the pit I had just filled.
[You have obtained the item Lower-Class Labor Shovel.]
Category: Normal
Function: Increases work speed by 63%.
It wasn't hard to dig the same pit again.
Plus, I was digging at twice the normal speed with a 64% efficiency.
Three times the speed of an ordinary person.
Kwakwakwakwakwak—
My eyes saw my arms moving as if they were in a video of fast-twirling hands.
It was just simple digging, but it felt like the movement ability of the “Cap A” level in a movie.
When I finished the pit, the first zombie reached two meters away.
Kwahaaa—
I swung the shovel vertically and smashed its head.
Thud—
A weird sound rang out as the shovel stuck into the zombie’s forehead.
The zombie that had come with brain death fell over, so I pulled out the shovel, stepped into the pit, and started sweeping the outer dirt into it with the shovel.
The pit was narrow and my body had volume, so soon the dirt was up to my mouth.
I took out the Bit-Powered Transparent Straw and put it in my mouth.
Amazingly, the straw turned completely transparent.
I tilted my face back as far as possible, covered it with dirt, and pulled my hand back into the unmixed soil.
It was roughly made with my attributes, but the bit was the bit!
Please, zombies. Just fall for it a little.
Please!
* * *
Two hunters were chatting as they walked down the first floor.
“Don’t let your guard down. Even if Tower Zombies look slow and stupid, they hide behind pillars and pop out suddenly. One of my female coworkers got infected and turned into a zombie. Tsk tsk.”
“Is there no cure?”
“No cure, but there is a preventive shot. It’s expensive, so that’s the issue. You, from the guild’s perspective, would you really want to give out millions of won shots to every newbie hunter wandering the first floor?”
From what they were saying, it sounded like a veteran was teaching a rookie.
“Hold on just a little longer. A bit more and we’ll reach the first floor waypoint…”
At that moment, the veteran’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Hey! Stay alert and prepare for battle. A named mob has appeared.”
“Eh, where?”
The veteran pointed with his spear, and the rookie’s eyes popped wide open.
Something was lifting its head and crawling out of the dirt.
The veteran’s hand was trembling.
“H-h-hey… a-are we going to die?”
“I-I don’t know, kid. Don’t run! Fight until the end!”
Unlucky me. I was training a rookie on the first floor and got hit with a named mob.
Please be a weak one.
Please survive.
Mom! Dad!
At that moment, the monster that had come out of the dirt stretched, took a deep breath, shook the dirt off its body, and opened its mouth.
“Huu… I’m not a monster. I’m a human, a hunter.”
“H-haaa— shit, I was really startled! What the hell were you doing underground?”
The dirt-covered man spoke flatly.
“I was so sleepy on the way that I took a long nap underground.”
“So you’re a high-level hunter. But what brings you to this shabby first floor…”
The man scratched his head and said,
“I’m level 1. F-rank and…”
* * *
Fortunately, the zombies were dumb and didn’t find me hiding.
I held my breath for a while, then peeked out.
The zombies had scattered, and only the two suspicious-looking hunters remained.
Anyway, I safely joined the suspicious duo.
Of course, I didn’t forget to take out Beodori just in case.
[Bond with the Truffle Search Dog has formed.]
The Truffle Search Dog wishes to show you Faithful Loyalty.
Do you wish to register the Truffle Search Dog as a pet?
YesNo
I naturally clicked Yes, and named the search dog Beodori, just like before.
Even though the situation had suddenly changed to having a new owner, Beodori wagged his tail energetically as if I were still the original owner and acted spoiled.
About an hour later, I safely reached the waypoint.
The moment my foot stepped on the waypoint, the message popped up.
[Level up!]
[Level 2 has been reached.]
Invest 4 skill points.
But when I checked the status window, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
The Endless Digging Passion part was fine.
Effect: Can dig twice as fast.
The problem was the Digging Luck I had expected.
Effect: 1 gold per 1 meter per floor / Random lucky item.
Of course 2 gold. Even in the worst case, I thought I’d get at least 1.1 gold, but I got just 1 gold.
Disappointing.
But…
Today was the day I hit the jackpot.
Just enjoy this feeling!
* * *
After leaving the tower, I immediately moved to a nearby building without even washing up.
The “K-Item Bank” operated directly by the Hunter Association.
It charged higher fees than private companies, but because of its credibility, it seemed better for a level-2 person like me to use it for large transactions.
Of course, direct trade was best.
No fees, no nothing.
The problem was that theft and fraud happened so often that a newbie like me couldn’t even dream of it.
Moreover, I wanted to cash out this mushroom quickly and feel at ease.
Carrying over 40 billion won around made me nervous and stressed.
I confirmed that the department handling mushrooms was on the third basement floor and took the elevator straight there.
The lobby downstairs was bustling, but the third basement floor was quiet.
I went to the counter with the shovel over my shoulder, looking like a miner who had just come out of a mine.
The pretty counter staff said in a languid voice,
“How can I help you?”
“Can you appraise this truffle?”
The counter staff suddenly jumped in surprise, nodded, and said,
“Of course. Please put the item in this basket.”
I pulled out the truffle from my waist and put it in the basket.
I felt all the counter staff’s eyes gather on me.
Until then, the counter staff who had been half-doubtful of my appearance suddenly lit up with sparkling eyes and smiled softly.
“Oh! R-really truffles? Congratulations on the jackpot, hunter-nim!”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’ll appraise it right now. Please wait a moment!”
Seriously.
Was this what it meant to be rich?
Even with dirt all over and a shovel on my back, beautiful women were smiling brightly at me.
A little while later, the analyzer released the precise analysis results of the mushroom’s weight and components.
“Oh, hunter-nim. I really must congratulate you. It’s the top grade even among second-grade items! Oh my, oh my. Hunter-nim! You’re so amazing!”
“So how much is it?”
“432,112 gold. At today’s exchange rate, that’s about 1,209 won per gold…”
The staff hit the calculator and his expression turned surprised.
Then he smiled brightly and said as if it were his own money,
“…5.224 billion 2,242,308 won!”
Haal~
“Please transfer the entire amount to my account right now.”
After that, I headed to the junk item self-disposal shop.
There, I appraised and cashed out all the overlapping junk items from me and the guy, including the shabby ones.
His necklace, rings, walker, work clothes—basic dungeon items, so I could get decent prices.
Ding dong~
—1,540 won has been deposited into your account.
Ding dong~
—6,220 won has been deposited into your account.
It was only a little money compared to the truffle, but the feeling of clearing my narrow inventory and breathing freely was no joke.
At that moment, a call came through.
It was my younger sister Hwang Eunpa’s phone.
I immediately answered the call.
After all, I had received expensive nail support, so I had to be a little cheerful.
“Hello?”
—Still not dead?
“Yeah. That’s right.”
—Where did you get to today?
“The first waypoint on the first floor.”
—I knew that. I was so scared I was shaking the whole day and didn’t go anywhere but that. I hit the second floor on the first day.
“Well, you started at D-rank, so…”
—But did you dig anything?
“Yeah. I just sold today’s haul and got paid.”
—How much?
“O…”
—…?
“O…”
—O? What? Why can’t you say the next part. 50,000? 500,000? What?