Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Chris's Property
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[1st Named Monster]
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Minotaur]
[HP 947,051/8,600,000 (11%)]
Swish, swish, swish!
My beloved sword, 'Astaroth', danced across the body of the minotaur, which was in a groggy state after ramming its horns into the wall.
Shing, thwack!
White trajectories left deep scars on the ancient golem's sturdy body. The minotaur's HP was decreasing rapidly.
The sword, emanating a white aura, returned to my hip, then shot forward with my body like a flash of light.
Flash!
And soon, a straight, white line of light was drawn, connecting me and the minotaur.
Vwooooom-!
Thud.
I immediately twisted my body back, reset the cooldown with my bracelet, and prepared for a second Flash. This time, diagonally up and to the right.
Flash!
Crack, crackle!
Following the path my sword and body had traced, the magic crystals that formed the minotaur's body cracked wide open. My destination was the empty air, diagonally above the minotaur.
Here, I would unleash the power of 'Astaroth'.
[Unique Ability: Reset all skill cooldowns (10-minute reuse cooldown)]
Fwoosh!
With the cooldowns reset, I could use Flash again.
Twisting my body in mid-air, I faced the back of the kneeling minotaur and slashed downwards.
Flash!
Vwoooooom-!
Crack! Crumble.
I flicked my sword once, then glanced at the minotaur, now nothing more than a pile of rocks.
"Hoo."
Sheathing Astaroth, I briefly reviewed the battle.
Back when I was using the temple weapon, I couldn't drain all of the remaining HP before the groggy state ended after the final wall slam pattern. But the legendary weapon, Astaroth, made it possible.
A cooldown reset on the bracelet, and a cooldown reset on Astaroth.
I could reset cooldowns twice in a row. As expected, the triple Flash unleashed an incredible amount of burst damage.
And the 'All Skill Damage +60%' option on Astaroth. This also applied to Flash's damage.
Of course, some elite dungeon weapons had options that increased Flash's damage. But in terms of DPS (Damage Per Second), the 'Moonlight Slash Damage Increase' option, which also enhanced Starlight Slash, was more beneficial. That was why weapons that only increased Flash's damage weren't favored.
Even if the next elite dungeon weapon's single-skill multiplier went up to 80%, no, even 100%, Astaroth, which increased all skill damage, would still be stronger.
PvP Attack Power or Additional PvP Damage didn't mean much to me, but Astaroth was an overpowered weapon just from its base attack power and options alone. The fight with the minotaur just now was almost as fast as when I ran the bus with Chris and Beimerung.
As expected of a legendary weapon. I should be able to get a lot of use out of this.
"Wow...! That was so cool!"
"Whitey, no, Ms. Rain! How did you use Flash three times?"
The female customers, who had been huddled in a corner squealing during the tremors that shook the boss room, rushed over to me as soon as the minotaur fell and started asking all sorts of questions.
"Ah, um. Astaroth has a cooldown reset, and this has one too."
I linked the information for the 'Bracelet of Hammer and Anvil' to show the customers.
[Bracelet of Hammer and Anvil]
[Elite]
[STR+35 AGI+35 INT+35]
[Additional Damage to NPCs +5% (High-Grade Magic Crystal Enhancement MAX)]
[Unique Ability: Reset all skill cooldowns (10-minute reuse cooldown)]
A slightly taller female customer clapped her hands and exclaimed.
"I've seen this before! Someone on the forums got one recently. They said they discovered a highest-grade magic crystal vein, reached 100 Dwarf Affinity, and got it as a reward!"
"Really!? I want one too! I guess I need to keep doing the Dwarf Affinity quests!"
"Ms. Rain, you must have worked hard on the affinity quests too, right?"
"Yes, yes."
In reality, it was an item I got for free as soon as I entered the dwarf village.
Even after the first customers, the 'Rain's Safe Ride Bus' that launched today had a constant stream of passengers.
Since the bus inquiries were flooding in, I didn't take separate reservations. I chose the customers myself.
Mostly women.
For some reason, I preferred women over men.
Could it be the influence of my past life's memories, which were now incredibly faint?
They say women usually like handsome men, but I like cool women.
Like Chris, or people like Chris.
However, this was a bit troubling.
"So tiny... like a baby's hands... Can I hold your hand?"
"I want to pat your head!"
"Aah! A monster appeared!"
Whoosh.
Pretending to be surprised by a monster that popped out in the mob section, I put some distance between myself and the woman who had tried to get closer to me.
"A-Are you okay? Please follow behind me."
As an excellent bus driver, I had to serve my customers.
But these kinds of customers were overwhelming.
Vwing.
The bus ride for the overzealous ladies was over.
Returning to the entrance of the Berbeia Ancient Temple, I saw the customers off and caught my breath.
"Haaah."
I let out a deep sigh and shook my head.
I was more exhausted by the female customers trying to get close to me than by the named monster.
Running a dungeon bus was a type of service job.
I definitely lacked the communication skills to work in the service industry.
I was even timid. I'd get startled whenever someone almost touched me.
Could someone like me continue running a solo bus business?
Still, I had to make money. I had to pay Chris back the gold.
Chris said it was fine, but I wasn't fine with it.
As I was sighing repeatedly and writing another promotional message in the area chat...
"Rain~?"
"Hah!?"
I let out a shrill scream.
I was startled by the voice that came from right behind me.
My people-detection radar hadn't gone off.
There was only one person who could bypass my radar and approach me.
I cautiously turned my head to look behind me, where the voice had come from.
Red hair, a tall, beautiful Yin-Yang Master. It was Chris, of course.
But today, Chris's expression seemed a little displeased.
A wave of fear washed over me.
"C-Chris?"
"Rain. Were you running the bus by yourself?"
"Yes. I need to earn some gold."
Why does Chris look like that? Did I do something wrong?
"You should have told me. We could have run the bus together."
"You went to work today."
I puffed out my cheeks slightly.
She was the one who went to work, so why was she using a questioning tone with me?
Chris, looking a little worried, pulled up a browser window and showed it to me.
"Look at this. It's a social media site, and your face is plastered all over it."
"Gasp!"
Screenshots of me fighting the named monster, taken from various angles, had a ton of 'Likes'.
There were several close-up shots too. It was nothing like the screenshots taken from afar during the Green Dragon raid. Even the peach fuzz on my face was visible, far too clearly.
One of the customers on the bus today must have been a social media user.
"Rain, your in-game face and your real face are exactly the same, right? It's one thing in the game, but it could get annoying later if people recognize you when you're walking around outside."
"Th-th-that's true."
Chris was worried about my personality, how I felt uncomfortable around strangers.
Iseulbi wouldn't be walking around outside alone much in real life, but in any case, there was nothing good about having my face exposed so much.
But if I didn't put up with this much, I wouldn't be able to run the bus.
Chris, what should I do?
I gave Chris a pitiful look.
Receiving my gaze, Chris's expression softened, and she let out a small laugh.
"There's a function to restrict screenshots and video recording inside dungeons. The party leader can set it. I've always had it on when running the bus with you. Of course, there are external programs, so you can't block it completely, but you can at least express your wish not to have your picture taken."
"Ah."
"Ever since virtual reality became so integrated into people's lives that it holds as much importance as reality, there have been a lot of issues concerning one's virtual self. Now, avatars in the metaverse have something similar to portrait rights. These days, even game companies have to sign an official advertising contract if they want to use a player's avatar as a model."
This was a bit of a surprise.
So in the future, even virtual reality avatars are treated like people.
Chris cleared her throat and continued, avoiding my gaze.
"A-ahem. Anyway, your face is valuable. You can't just go showing it up close to anyone."
"Okay. I understand."
Chris let out a sigh of relief.
"Haaah, I left work early today because of this. On that note, want to go grocery shopping with me today? I could order it, but I wanted to go out with you for the first time in a while."
"Okay. Let's go grocery shopping together."
Chris had always chosen the best ingredients to cook for Iseulbi's weak body.
Chris was an excellent cook, too. I was able to enjoy the food she made.
We smiled brightly at each other.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, Chris urgently grabbed my shoulders and asked.
"By any chance, were there any customers on the bus today who tried to touch or pat you!? If there were, you tell me right now! I'll teach those witches...!"
"There was no one like that."
There were female users who got quite close, but I avoided them.
I can only accept Chris's touch. I will not permit the touch of other women.
Beimerung might be a little okay, though.
Still, Chris is more special to me.
I was hired by Chris, and now I even owe her 20,000 gold.
In a way, you could say I'm Chris's property.
It was understandable that she was worried.
I gave Chris a gentle smile, reassuring her.
"I'm yours, so only you can touch me."
"*Gasp!*"
Chris clutched her chest.