Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: The Gullible Toad
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Park Il-su had calmed down a bit and let out a sigh.
"A deal, my ass. Isn't this just blackmail? So, what do I need to do to help you?"
I answered her question.
"Nothing major. Just use your trait to help me out. Then do as I say, and you can live."
Once this was over, I'd send Park Il-su straight to Cha Jin-hyuk's Sun Guild.
So she could prepare for the Demon Realm invasion that would happen five years from now.
"Do as you say and live? For five years?"
"It's all for your benefit."
"You really saw the future, right?"
"How else would I know about your trait?"
"And you're sure I'll die? You're not just lying to use my trait?"
It was a pointless question.
"So what if it's a lie? Doesn't the possibility that I'm right make you even more anxious?"
The moment she heard she might die, Park Il-su had no choice but to follow me.
"Damn it..."
Park Il-su rested her forehead against the steering wheel and muttered to herself.
"I need to make money..."
I knew the real reason she needed money. But without showing it, I casually tossed out a comment.
"You can make money too."
"For real? I can keep doing loan sharking?"
"No. You need to quit the loan sharking. Instead, you'll make money with your trait."
"With my trait? Isn't that dangerous?"
Park Il-su turned to look at me with slightly uneasy eyes.
The details could wait.
"I've got it all figured out, so don't worry. Just hurry up and take my stats already."
For now, I just wanted to get rid of this repulsive magic power.
"Tch. Bossing me around already."
Her trait was [Gullible Toad], which took an old house and gave back a new one without any conditions.
It was a stat redistribution ability straight out of a game.
'The only one of its kind in the entire world.'
How valuable was that?
In her previous life, Park Il-su had raked in a fortune by understanding that perfectly.
Though it didn't end well.
"What do you want to swap? How should I do it?"
I looked at Park Il-su with slightly bitter eyes.
"Split my magic power evenly between strength and agility."
"Giving up magic power? Why? No skills?"
"I have some, but they're all passives."
"Typical you. Alright then, Lee Han. Mind if I take a peek at your skills?"
To give away an old house, her trait required seeing my status window.
"Here."
I held out my hand to Park Il-su.
Her eyes lit up.
"So natural..."
"In the future, I was holding out my hand to you just like this."
I'd used Park Il-su's trait in my previous life too.
But back then, unlike now, I'd dumped all my stats into strength. My trait at the time, [Undying Lord].
No need for agility or stamina—just tank any attack with my body and crush enemies with overwhelming power.
Doing that in this life would get me killed, though.
She took my hand and continued.
"How'd I turn out in the future? Did I make it?"
"Yeah. You made it."
Park Il-su looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"How big a success?"
"Your dream came true, I guess? You reached the top all by yourself, without anyone's help."
Her eyes wavered at my answer.
"Did we seriously date in the future or something? Enough to tell you all that?"
I understood her suspicion. It was a dream she'd kept buried inside her whole life.
"Nah. You were chasing after me, saying you liked me."
"Don't make me laugh. Not even funny as a joke."
I'd said it as a joke to lighten the mood, but it was half-true.
Her life had been so tough that she'd leaned on me when we reunited after so long.
"Truth is, we met up after ages and had a drink. That's when you spilled it while drunk."
"Oh? I told you over drinks?"
"Nothing else?"
There had been.
She'd told me about the hell she was living in.
"Not really."
Park Il-su nodded, flashing a smile tinged with inexplicable sadness.
"Why the smile?"
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I don't drink."
I hadn't known that.
I'd only had that one drink with her at her urging, after so long, to reset my stats.
I didn't know the real Park Il-su as a person.
"But I got drunk and vented to you... Guess I couldn't have suddenly liked you. I must've still been struggling."
She looked at me with a bitter expression.
"To the point where you, someone I hadn't seen in ages, was the only one I could trust around me."
It was too spot-on; I was speechless.
'Poor girl.'
The reason Park Il-su had clung to money from high school, scamming like today.
She believed it was the only way out of her hell.
I won't deny it wasn't the right way—it hurt others.
But maybe it was the only path she had. Or the only one she knew.
'All because of her parents.'
Having grown up in an orphanage, I knew better than anyone how much one's early environment shapes their values.
So her childhood with parents who did loan sharking and even named their daughter "Il-su" was obvious without seeing it.
Anyway, as Park Il-su chased her dream, the world changed, and she got the [Gullible Toad] trait.
A trait that reeked of money to anyone.
She could've made cash just using the skill.
But she didn't rush.
She lacked the power to protect herself.
Worst case, someone kidnaps her, takes her money, and forces her to use the skill forever.
So she hid it, scraping money together like now.
To hire a powerful guild for protection.
Though the ultimate goal was escaping her hell, as she'd said.
"Did I die alone and lonely too? Come on, how do I die?"
Park Il-su asked while holding my hand.
It was lonely, sure.
"Everyone dies alone. So don't push it."
Where was she getting this bad acting from?
At my response, she clicked her tongue and glared like nothing happened.
"Put on those doe eyes and act sad, and I'd at least pretend to fall for it."
She'd planned this from the start. To figure out how she died.
If I'd had even a sliver of feelings for her, I'd have fallen for it.
Her alluring face and fresh scent in the cramped car were plenty tempting.
"Hurry up and take my magic power already? Unless you wanna keep holding hands."
"Fine, geez."
Park Il-su made a haughty face and took a short deep breath.
"Hoo! Finally gonna use this skill. Honestly, I'm nervous!"
"Huh? First time?"
"Where else would I have tried? Word would've spread instantly."
Then she still didn't know?
"Don't freak out."
"Freak out about what?"
"You'll see soon."
"Why'd you turn into such a secretive guy? Not attractive."
Park Il-su pouted and activated the skill. A message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Do you wish to delegate stat modification authority to 'Gullible Toad'? (Y/N) I extended my finger and hit Y.
My status window was now shared with Park Il-su.
"Summoner type with a common trait?"
She focused on my trait before the stats.
"Not getting murdered then. I die in an accident? That's why you're so confident you can stop it?"
She figured a mere common trait couldn't protect against killers.
'Wrong.'
Sadly, days after the Demon Realm war broke out, Park Il-su suffered a brutally cruel death as a woman.
At the hands of the guild she'd hired to protect her.
'Bastards.'
As the world faced apocalypse, they unleashed their pent-up desires unbound by law or money.
On their always hands-off employer, Park Il-su.
"Enough probing. Move all my magic power—half to strength, half to agility."
"Tch. Fine. But doesn't your Skeleton Creation skill need magic power?"
I didn't know why either.
Other summoner traits consumed magic to create summons.
Not me. Zero magic used.
"You know once it's swapped, can't change again for a week, right?"
"Yeah."
"Here goes."
Park Il-su nimbly tapped my status window with her fingers.
"You have two skills?"
She asked curiously while working.
"Did you see the future and win the lottery? Buy skills with that?"
Made sense after hearing I saw the future.
"Nah. In the future, I had zero interest in lottery. Didn't know the numbers."
"Oh? Your future-sight only covers what you personally saw and heard?"
"Right. Only what I saw and heard."
"So you see me dying right in front of you?"
She pounced on any gap to dig into her death.
"No. Heard about it."
"Tch. Then how'd you get this skill?"
"Dungeon. Targeted the easiest one I'd cleared in the future."
Park Il-su let out an impressed gasp.
"Whoa? Hearing you explain it, your ability sounds seriously cheat."
"Yours is the same. Totally broken."
Time to lock it down as my stat adjustment neared completion.
"And my future-sight? You keep it secret. If it leaks, I might not save you."
"Got it. If your power gets out, people won't leave you alone."
As I spoke, Park Il-su slowly lifted her fingers from my status window.
"Done. Check if the new house suits you."
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 11(+57) 💨 Agility: 12(+57) ✨ Magic Power: 0 💪 Stamina: 90 Magic power: 0.
Finally felt good inside.
"Didn't touch your remaining points. Do 'em yourself."
"Good job."
I nodded, closed my status window, and looked at her.
"Check your status window."
Her turn now.
"Why mine?"
"The shocking thing I mentioned is in there."
Park Il-su immediately opened her status window at my words.
Her face went slack.
"What's this?"
She met my eyes with an incredulous look.
No wonder she was shocked.
"Your level went up?"
Just from using the skill.
"People with special traits like yours can level up just by using skills."
"For real? How come no one knows?"
"Not many special traits, and most hide them like you."
Park Il-su got it right away.
"No power to protect themselves?"
"Exactly. They just get exploited."
Lee Si-woo had a special trait too. Probably leveled up using skills nonstop.
'Maybe even higher level than me.'
Yet he died so easily by my hand.
"Gotta put points in magic power."
People with special traits like Park Il-su dumped everything into magic power.
"Then I can spam skills nonstop. Guess I really was filthy rich in the future."
They never planned to hunt in Utopia risking danger.
Or fight other humans.
So I had to steer her away.
"Put it in stamina."
"Huh? Why?"
"To survive."
No need for long explanations.
If you wanna live no matter what, stamina was common sense.
'Not like she'll tangle with that guild anyway, since I've got her back.'
The Demon Realm war.
Park Il-su needed to prepare for that hell too.
"Now, about where you'll stay."
To let me deal with Solomon more comfortably, while benefiting the world.
"Where I stay? Not your place, right?"
Big dreams.
"No. Introducing you to a guild."
"A guild? You want me to join one?"
"Yeah. Stay there five years. Use your skills freely, no hiding. You'll make money and not die."
"So a guild that can protect me? Trustworthy? Really safe?"
"Yeah. Plenty strong to protect you."
"Which one?"
Park Il-su's eyes went wide.
"Sun Guild? The one from Sun Group? For real?"
Sun Guild was skyrocketing with massive capital, but was it that shocking?
"You were in Sun Guild? How?"
She was shocked because of me.
"That last bit bugs me... 'How?'"
"You don't mix well with people. Figured you wouldn't join a guild."
Don't mix well? I wasn't some troublemaker.
"Don't you remember high school? You got around safely thanks to my connections."
"Exactly. That's it. We kept a nice distance, like managing a pond. Otherwise, you'd have hung with those guys too."
Someone I'd never thought about knew me pretty well.
Well, I did end up making something guild-like later.
Just five people, including me.
"Fine, you're right. I'm not in Sun Guild."
"See? Knew you wouldn't join. So what, you got connections there?"
"Yeah. Tell the guy there about your trait; he'll use you right."
Park Il-su tilted her head.
"What? Not coming with? You're not just tossing me a referral and making me interview alone?"
My tone made it sound like I was ditching her.
"Of course not. Hang on."
I pulled out my phone and called right away.
"Woo-young."
Jin Woo-young, waiting instead of Cha Jin-hyuk.
"Underground parking on the right of that cafe. Come here."
I'd told him to bring a Sun Guild member.
No way Cha Jin-hyuk would refuse my request after I handed over Jeong Sia.
Call ended with Jin Woo-young's heavy reply.
"Who's coming?"
"Sun Guild guy. Follow him, answer truthfully. Except my ability."
"Got it. They're really trustworthy?"
"Yeah. No need to covet your power. Don't worry."
Greed comes from the greedy.
Cha Jin-hyuk wouldn't exploit her trait.
Plus, he's kind. He'd protect her somehow. Unless it was beyond even his power.
Park Il-su nodded and stared at me intently.
Very awkwardly.
Thanks.
I didn't like her much for trying to use me, but I admired this side.
Her boldness, unique to her.
All her actions had that same boldness as mine.
Just one word, but I read her feelings.
From our drinks in the previous life, her real story.
Because I'd lowered a rope of hope into her pit of pain.
"And call me Oh Ha-young from now on? Ditched Park Il-su."
"Pulled up Park Il-su easy enough. What nonsense."
"Thanks to you, I think I can ditch it now. Sun Guild's the safest in Korea, right?"
She'd asked once if Sun Guild was safe. Now confirming again in a trembling voice.
Wondering if it could shield her trait from outside pressure?
"Don't worry. No psycho in Korea messes with Sun Group."
I knew why, so I answered confidently.
To ease her anxiety even a little.
Knock! Knock!
Someone rapped on the car window.
I figured Jin Woo-young.
"What the hell? Who're these ugly-mugged bastards?"
Three unfamiliar men glared at me through the window.