Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: My Pet Human is Obsessed with Me #Regret #Torment #Obsession
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Gate Clear Confirmed] [All Survivors Confirmed: 20/20] [Gate will no longer go berserk] The gate clear message popped up right away.
I let out a sigh of relief and glanced around at the same time.
Crystal-clear walls like glass enclosed the space, and soft beams of light streamed down from the ceiling.
It felt just like being a fish swimming inside an aquarium.
As a hazy, peaceful sensation washed over me...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [All survivors will now move to the reward room] The walls of light rippled like waves, and the awakeners—lips turned blue from the cold—were pushed inside one by one.
"Hah... huff..."
"......"
"...Hoo..."
Blank faces, eyes filled with terror.
Just looking at their expressions told me how much they'd suffered in that blizzard maze.
"H-Healer-nim... You were already here..."
"No way... did Healer-nim find the exit first?"
"That maze wasn't made for people to escape..."
I gave an awkward smile and nodded.
Then, one by one, I cast Heal on the awakeners groaning from frostbite.
"I was trapped alone in there... I thought I was gonna die... H-hic..."
"I'm never stepping into a gate again..."
Some collapsed right there and sobbed.
Others stared blankly at the ceiling before quietly bowing their heads.
And through them, the White Night Guild Master appeared.
She slowly scanned her surroundings with unfocused eyes, then murmured in a voice so low it was barely audible.
"...This was absolutely not an intermediate gate."
Right then...
A vibration echoed through the center of the space, accompanied by a resonant 'whirr—', and a round table slowly materialized.
Atop it sat twenty identical boxes—same shape, color, and size.
In an instant, every eye turned to the boxes.
The most impatient-looking awakener rushed forward without hesitation and reached out.
Clunk—
But the box didn't budge.
After tugging at it repeatedly, he seemed to realize something and turned to shout.
"...Looks like personal rewards!"
At those words, the awakeners' expressions completely changed.
Personal rewards.
Unlike shared rewards, these were known to offer rare or special items based on contribution, survival rate, and clearing method.
"For real?"
"Personal rewards?"
The ones slumped on the floor.
The ones who'd been sniffling about never entering a gate again.
All of them moved toward the boxes like they'd been enchanted.
They bustled about among the twenty identical boxes, searching for the one holding their reward.
That was when...
Vrrr—
My weapon began vibrating wildly.
'...What's this? A hidden harvestable inside one of the boxes...?'
I quickly stepped toward the source of the intensifying vibrations.
And soon stopped in front of the box shaking the hardest out of all twenty.
'...This must be my reward.'
I opened the box.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Relic Title 'Prelude of Purification' affects rewards.] [+30% Legendary Grade Item Acquisition Probability applied.] The title effect message appeared, and inside the box lay three neatly arranged items.
'This seed must be what made my weapon react.'
The first thing that caught my eye was a small, round seed.
Its pale green surface bore intricate, faintly glowing patterns.
As soon as I touched it lightly, a faint vibration hummed, and a message appeared before me.
[Ancient Spirit's Seed] - An extremely rare seed found in primordial forests. - Contains the 'primordial consciousness' of a dormant spirit. - Faint bio-waves flow through it, allowing a 'contract' via emotional or mana resonance. - Germinates upon meeting specific conditions. '...An ancient spirit seed?'
Come to think of it, that shady 'Groa' who kept spamming me with messages claimed to be an ancient spirit too, right?
And I could contract a spirit without awakening as a Druid or Spirit User...
'Maybe the spirit could fight in my place...?'
Images of auto-farming gates flashed in my mind.
I swallowed hard on instinct...
I carefully pocketed the seed and picked up the next reward from the box.
[Legendary Recipe: Ultimate Sandwich Combination] - Guarantees 'perfect quality' regardless of cooking proficiency. - However, modifying or improvising the recipe may cause unforeseen side effects. Reading the recipe description, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
The sandwich itself seemed ordinary, but that 'ultimate' label piqued my curiosity in a weird way.
What kind of flavor justified a title like that?
'Plus, sandwiches are perfect for selling at the cafe.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Imprint the recipe?] No reason to hesitate.
I nodded immediately.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Legendary Recipe 'Ultimate Sandwich Combination' imprinted in your mind.] [Auto-correction system activated.] I had no idea what the auto-correction system was exactly.
But maybe... even I, who used to boil Han River ramen and grill charcoal fries...
...could finally make food fit for humans?
My heart pounded fiercely.
'I want to make it right now...'
And finally.
A single sheet of paper etched with intricate magic patterns caught my eye.
[Relic Grade Equipment Blueprint: Shadow Scale Bow] 'This isn't something I can use.'
Probably for someone who awakened as a blacksmith or to sell at auction for profit.
As I went to pocket the blueprint without a second thought...
"Healer-nim! What'd you get, Healer-nim?"
Someone strode up and asked.
They spotted the paper in my hand, covered their mouth, and their eyes went wide as they shouted.
"H-Healer-nim, that's... a relic blueprint...!?"
At that one shout, the awakeners who'd been chattering about their rewards fell silent.
Every single one turned to stare at me.
"Ah, yeah. It says relic grade, but..."
Before I could finish, the room buzzed with excitement.
"For real? An actual relic blueprint?"
"Whoa, insane... Blueprints like that go for thousands minimum, right...?"
"I saw a blacksmith hunting for relic blueprints before..."
I blinked in confusion.
'...Is it really that big a deal?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In front of the gate.
The White Night Guild Master spoke curtly, without excess words.
"Everyone, good work."
Despite the exhausting raid, her eyes remained sharp and clear.
"The Management Bureau's support team and medical crew will arrive soon. Those who need condition checks, please stay and wait."
She scanned the awakeners briefly before continuing.
"I'm certain this wasn't an intermediate gate. I'll request an official record correction and reclassification."
Her tone was firm, laced with icy anger.
"That's all. Dismissed."
She watched the awakeners trudge away one by one, then finally turned her gaze to me.
And flashed a meaningful smile.
"...Good work, President."
With that, the White Night Guild Master turned and strode off somewhere.
"......"
Left alone in front of the gate, I could only roll my eyes and mull over what she'd just said.
'Not Healer-nim... President?'
Had she figured out who I was?
How? I hadn't done anything suspicious...
Drip—
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
That look in her eyes... it pierced right through me, like she knew everything.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Stepping out of the car, the sun had already set, and the night air carried a chill.
I looked up at the sky for a moment—faint starlight twinkled through the clouds.
'Ugh, I'm beat...'
I wanted nothing more than to flop onto the floor and sleep.
But...
'Still gotta check something.'
I needed to confirm if Pristine, Lily, and the Lumina Spirit were really users in that spirit community.
So I slipped silently into the cafe.
Soon, I spotted the spirits scattered about, engrossed in something.
[...]
[...]
[...]
But only three floating dots hovered over their heads.
No other messages appeared.
'...Are they asleep?'
It was impossible to tell if they were in the community or just spacing out.
As impatience furrowed my brow...
- Beep!!
['Pristine' bellows in rage, demanding who 'Lumi-nyang' is.] Decisive proof emerged.
['Lumina Spirit' calms Pristine, calling it 'some weird spirit I don't know.'] ['Lily' is half-convinced that 'Lumi-nyang' is the 'Lumina Spirit.'] ...These guys.
They really were the users playing around in that spirit playground.
Which meant the spirit who helped me in the maze was definitely Pristine...
I'd suspected as much, but confirming it left a strange feeling.
'Anyway, I promised to comment on Pristine's post.'
I logged into 'Spirits' Playground' and opened the novel Pristine had written.
Then read through it carefully.
'Hmm...'
It didn't take long to see why Pristine had begged me for comments.
'It's... not fun...'
Pristine's novel lacked fundamental entertainment value.
The writing was decent enough...
But the diary-like content made no sense of what it was trying to say.
And most importantly, there was nothing to hook readers.
— Lumi-nyang Nyaa lololol nyang lolol nya lol — Lily Princess♡ What is this trash writing? — Supreme Death God Hmm... Now I understood the cold reactions.
'Using alts here would just be mocking her.'
So I decided to help by pointing out the core issues.
[Whispering to user 'Pristine.'] [Plant Fanatic: Read your post, Pristine.] [Plant Fanatic: But I have something to say from a reader's perspective.] I'd never written a novel myself.
But I could pass on years of honed 'aggro-pulling' expertise.
Just weave that into the title and content, and it'd be impossible not to click.
'Good writers need good input too.'
And showing her some human civilization flavors wouldn't hurt.
- Beep...
Pristine's eyes widened—probably checking my whisper.
Soon, messages began popping up over her head.
['Pristine' realizes the core problem.] ['Pristine's eyes sparkle brilliantly.'] "Ahem..."
...Looks like she got it.
After sending Pristine a barrage of whispers, I finally stepped out from the bushes and revealed myself to the spirits.
- Beep!
- Beep... Beep...
['Pristine' happily greets you, wondering when you arrived.] ['Lily' complains about how late you are and tears up, saying she missed you.] I responded appropriately to the spirits expressing their joy with their whole bodies.
Then plopped into a chair and opened the webnovel app for the first time in ages.
"Oh! Lots of new fun-looking novels!"
I pulled up the popular works screen.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, I shot to my feet.
"Ahem, right! Did I water the Lumina flowerbed...?"
I awkwardly acted and left the room.
Glancing back on my way out...
I caught Pristine peeking at her phone screen, eyes sparkling.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A good while passed after I left.
As I thought about retrieving my phone...
🔔 NEW POST ALERT 🔔 [Favorite: New post from 'Pristine.'] A notification from 'Spirits' Playground'—Pristine had posted something new.
I quickly opened it.
And there...
📜 [Pristine] [My Pet Human is Obsessed with Me (Ch. 1)] #Regret #Torment #Obsession "Ah, no... this is..."
An ominous title and tags greeted me.