Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Hardworking Pay-to-Win Knight
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[Your vitality has increased by 1 point for an unknown reason!]
The battle wrapped up in no time. From the goblins' perspective, these were troops they'd practically thrown away to unleash their area-of-effect magic, so it was hardly surprising.
"Casualties?"
"Ten shield soldiers, fifteen sword-and-shield troops, and twenty-one spearmen. Roughly twice that many wounded, but the healers got them back on their feet."
"That's a lot..."
"I'm sorry."
"No. This was completely out of left field—no one to blame."
In recent battles, the elite troops had taken down more than twice their number without a single loss, thanks to solid armor and tightly packed formations.
No matter how fiercely the goblins charged, they couldn't break through or infiltrate. That let them handle superior numbers.
But when an area-of-effect spell detonated right in the middle of those packed ranks?
The damage was inevitably worse than usual.
'It was a scenario I should have seen coming.'
In Ardenia, even a Class 1 was a proper mage, Class 2 a skilled one, and Class 3 a high mage. There, no one batted an eye at area spells in combat—it just wasn't a thing. But as an Earthling, I had to think differently.
Looks like I'd gotten too carried away with my chakra training.
"Swordsman. Check on the families of the fallen and handle compensation. Scout the parties with openings. If any have two or fewer losses, I'll turn reserves into elites and slot them in. Parties with more should merge or request new elites. We're camping here tonight and securing the leyline by tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord."
"Steelstone, Hundred, Smile, Flower—you four, tend to personal gear and get plenty of rest. Dungeon dive tomorrow."
"Yes!"
I gave orders to the officers and watched the soldiers hustle.
'Not easy.'
Just imagining what would've happened if we hadn't wiped those goblins today sent chills down my spine.
Nearly fifty casualties from one blast.
If we'd let that caster slip away and faced more raids like this, hundreds of elites could've died.
"Log out."
I retreated to the carriage for some rest, then headed back to Earth. Time to hop into the connector and learn about new chakras from Sohyang.
'Deepening bodily awareness won't help much. I'm stuck on floor 1 anyway.'
Better to expand the elements I could control and boost adaptability.
[Iyap! Bunny Bunny appears!]
[A level-10 bunny has appeared in Bube Plains!]
"Huh?"
A sudden announcement made me glance at the monitor. Next to my character, diligently hunting away, a sparkling effect heralded the arrival of a bunny-eared girl.
[Have a joyful Chuseok!]
Level-10 Bunny (Rare)
"Event monster!"
I hurriedly took manual control from auto-hunt and attacked the level-10 bunny.
"Nice. This is doable!"
Event monster with rare rank—not too tough.
Its health was a bit high for rare, but chugging MP pots and cycling buffs whittled HP down steadily.
Pop! Pop!
Then players popped up across the screen—teleport scrolls, judging by the look. No chat, straight for me.
"Thieves!"
Too late!
The bunny's HP was already nearly half gone.
I'd landed first hit, and my contribution was solid. Even if they finished it, loot rights were mine.
"You're too late!"
As I shouted, an elf character dashed up and loosed an arrow.
One-shot. My character.
[You are dead. Respawn?]
[Yes] OR [No]
"...!?"
I stared at the monitor, refusing to process it.
Thwack!
Another arrow dropped the bunny.
Loot dropped.
Tank Body (Rare)
"...!"
I hammered out chat.
KilliansThrow: What the hell was that? Why kill me?
HotBody: Sorry.
"What? Sorry? Sor-ry?"
While I gaped, the elf stood over the dropped skillbook.
Couldn't pick it up.
"Ah! Yeah, that's my item!"
I quick-respawned in town, summoned a mount, and raced back.
I'd topped contributions on the bunny kill.
"If I hurry back and grab it...!"
Thwack!
[You are dead. Respawn?]
[Yes] OR [No]
"..."
I watched the elf who'd killed my rushing character stand over the skillbook.
Realization dawned.
"...Right. After one minute, it's free-for-all."
Like how I'd snagged that wild boar haunch no one else touched.
KilliansThrow: Hey... I killed it...
Pitiful plea, but HotBody ignored me.
Fair enough, maybe. Tank Body went for 1,100 diamonds.
110,000 won in cash. Anyone would take it—passing would be weird.
Time ticked by.
Pop.
HotBody acquired Tank Body (Rare).
[HotBody has acquired Tank Body (Rare) in Bube Plains!]
World message. Job done, HotBody messaged me.
HotBody: Hey
KilliansThrow: Yeah?
HotBody: If you're weak, don't touch event monsters.
KilliansThrow: ...
HotBody logged off.
"No... haha. What the... haha!"
Hollow laugh. Then it hit me.
"So that's why they whale so hard in this game."
Pissed me off. Made me want to recharge. Couldn't stand seeing my character this weak!
And it wasn't just that.
Item loss detected. Restore?
Cost: 10 diamonds
[Yes] OR [No]
No. KilliansThrow's gear was common or rare—no way I'd burn diamonds on repairs.
At least EXP recovery was free five times a day.
"Infuriating... but gotta hold back."
My real body got stronger via spending. Couldn't waste opportunity cost on a game alt.
Especially not with dozens of elites dead.
"Money for game gear? Better gear up my soldiers."
"With guardians and pets, their combat power would skyrocket."
Calmed down, into the connector.
Lesson time.
"The element best for combat is weaponry. [Sword], [Spear], [Bow], [Shield], and so on."
"But aren't attributes more useful?"
Attributes were what most chakra users dove into.
Fire, water, wind, light, dark, lightning... Natural forces pack power with endless applications.
"True, if you have attribute affinity. But yours are all near zero. Never seen every attribute at zero—negative in one would be one thing, but this? First time."
Sohyang shook her head at my baffled look.
"Pick a weapon. Something you handle well. [Weapon] is too broad—progress will stall. Go specific."
Rrrattle!
Walls of weapons slid into view.
Not just that.
Thud!
A bookshelf crammed with dozens of tomes dropped on the right.
"What's with the books?"
"Your bodily chakra unlocked the Heavy Gate. To open the Wise Gate later, build medical knowledge now. Self-control has limits."
Unexpected. I asked,
"Study? How much?"
"Med school level. Focus on anatomy—no need for everything. Good head? Two or three years. Dense? Ten."
"..."
"Not just medicine—don't slack on weapons. Master one to grandmaster level, then forge your own. That's why chakra practitioners pair with other talents. Weapon mastery drags you into martial arts."
"Way different from media chakra users..."
"Media loves attribute or gimmick types. Body or weapons look plain. Oh, [Machinery] is solid for jobs too. Mechanical engineering required, naturally."
Movie chakra masters gazed into campfires for days, slept under polar ice, conversed with inner darkness in pitch cells...
Mystic vibes. Reality? Not so much.
Study...
"Fine... memorize till it sticks."
"Good attitude."
First Chuseok day, mostly in the connector.
Added [Sword] element, started [Anatomy and Physiology].
"..."
Overwhelming volume—nauseating.
Not like memorizing chants or circulations.
'Muscles are muscles, bones are bones—why so many damn names?'
Even rote failed. Zero prior interest didn't help.
Meanwhile, my game character:
"Songpyeon! Let's grab songpyeon."
I stuck to monster-free paths, heading continent-center.
Reason? Forum post.
[Suggestion] greenyongyong: Oof! No more songpyeon pls!
How'd you tweak drop rates... (sigh) Every mob drops three plates?
High-levels drop more, huh... We don't eat ilgohui (common, rare, unique) food. Buff lasts forever—four hours...
Unique songpyeon hogging inventory space. Tweak drops pls.
Or trade 100 low for one high?
Just a suggestion. No edge.
For me? Goldmine.
"Here."
[Cyclops Trainees' Hill]
Board center, next to tian yuan.
Revenge's top field hunt, excluding [Dungeon] and [Tower of Wrath].
Cyclops monsters sat cross-legged everywhere.
Cyclops Samurai (Legendary).
"Whoa. Legendary monsters."
Legendary rank, but regular mobs (not elite/boss)—no names. Level-zone nonsense.
'One trash mob here would massacre lowbie zones.'
But the real prize: ground litter.
Trash.
[Bean Songpyeon (Common)], [Bean Songpyeon (Common)] [Bean Songpyeon (Common)], [Mugwort Songpyeon (Rare)] [Bean Songpyeon (Common)], [Five-Color Songpyeon (Unique)] [Bean Songpyeon (Common)], [Bean Songpyeon (Common)]...
"...Yes! Just like I thought!"
Cyclops Hill: sole top field where mobs don't aggro.
Yet drops hero skillbooks—always crawling with players.
Prime begging spot.
"Jackpot!"
Darted around, scooping scattered songpyeon.
Ten minutes: over 200 in inventory.
And!
[Five-Color Songpyeon (Unique)].
"Whoa, insane! They ignore unique songpyeon."
High-levels drop more—confirmed.
My alt couldn't farm one in hours of auto; here, unpicked.
"Huge."
Grin unstoppable. Event item songpyeon: 0 weight, shelf life absurdly long.
Specifically.
Over 2089 years and 10 months.