Jackpot Skills and Gallery Mayhem
[Mana has been recovered.]
Mana has been recovered.
“Agh-! Finally vanishing right in front of my eyes.”
That damn red window that kept messing with my head was finally gone, replaced by the recovery message. My hands were already shaking, my head spinning, and now it had to scare the crap out of me too. I really thought I was gonna die there.
“Huuu… Feels like I can breathe now.”
The tension drained from my body and legs. Now I could finally relax. My dizzy head cleared up, my shaky hands steadied. Hell yeah, I felt great.
“Alright, time to try pulling some skills.”
Might as well, since my body's all recovered. My refreshed brain craved that fresh dopamine hit. With a grin, I summoned the shop window in front of me.
“My skills still have way too many gaps.”
It wasn't just for the dopamine rush, okay? My skill set was seriously lacking. Sure, fusing Cook Your Food with Hell's Furnace Fire gave me something solid… but it felt like an ultimate move. Nothing for everyday use without burning through mana.
I slapped my hand on the skill pull button without a second thought.
“Might as well blow it all now?”
No point holding back. I could farm more points climbing the tower—or clearing quests. Saving them might just screw me over like with that hidden boss last time.
Click.
The slot machine spun wildly. No dreams of jackpot here. Just give me one decent everyday skill, please…
[9] [9] [9]
“999…? What the hell are these numbers?”
The slot machine showed numbers I'd never seen before.
And then.
Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Holy Endowment.
Cheerful music and fireworks particles exploded with the win message, followed by the skill acquisition notice.
“Oh… so this is what winning feels like.”
A bit bland, but hey, better than nothing. At least something came out.
“I'll stash this one. Still need more firepower.”
The name was pretty self-explanatory: Holy Endowment. Didn't scream offense to me. Best guess? Infuse a knife with holy power or something. But that wasn't enough.
“Bigger skills! Better skills!”
I mashed the skill pull button like my life depended on it. All these points were getting spent anyway—no room for hesitation.
Four slot machines spun at once. How many would hit? Excitement and dopamine built up…
And the results.
[Miss] [Miss] [Miss] [Miss]
[Miss] [Miss] [Miss] [Miss]
[Miss] [0] [2] [1]
“Ah… come on, man.”
Why me? Just one out of four? It wouldn't kill them to give me a couple more.
“Luck's… snff… gotta be… on my side… right?”
Self-pity party over. At least something dropped. The skill notice popped up right on cue.
Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Cleansing.
“Another lame-ass name.”
Skills from the tower sounded badass like Hell's Furnace Fire. System pulls? Always felt like a prank. No flair, just trolling.
“Sigh…”
I glared at the system message for a sec, sighed, and pulled up my status to check the new skills.
(Detailed descriptions shown thanks to Appraisal Eye skill!)
1. Hell's True Taste Lv. 1
2. Appraisal Eye Lv. (X)
3. Hell's Furnace Fire Lv. (X)
4. Holy Endowment Lv. 1
Beautiful golden light, like a mother's embrace.
◇ Can endow a target with holy power.
5. Cleansing Lv. 1
Let me wash that for you, or you'll get in trouble~
◇ Freely manipulate water.
“Whoa… what? Convenience just skyrocketed.”
The skill window looked different from what I remembered. Appraisal Eye notes next to each one. Used to need to test 'em first—now they just show up. God-tier patch, saving me tons of hassle.
“Yeah, that's more like it. No more trial-and-error bullshit.”
I nodded and inspected the new ones.
“Pretty basic.”
Basic as hell. Holy Endowment endows holy power. Cleansing? Kinda vague, but water control sounds useful.
“Not bad overall.”
Perfect for filling my everyday skill gaps. Still felt a bit meh, though. Especially Holy Endowment—super iffy.
“Guess I'll ask the gallery.”
Nothing better for clearing up ambiguity. Plus, prime baiting material.
I hopped up, grabbed a spare mana condensed jelly from the fridge, and fired up the computer.
Why the jelly? “This is yogkas, you uncivilized savages.”
Gonna be hilarious. Perfect aggro bait.
PC booted, VPN on, gallery loaded. Time to post.
“Hmm, yogkas aggro too OP maybe.”
No Holy Endowment replies—just nonstop roasting my jelly. Guess starting with nukes killed the vibe.
Was about to post a new thread when one finally dropped.
“Elf… bitch? What bullshit is this?”
A hunter bro finally bit— and it was wild.
Your shit's straight alchemy, total elfbitch vibes lmao rofl
“These assholes comparing me to an elf bitch?!”
Outrageous. Vatican holy citizen? Totally possible. But straight-up calling me elfbitch to my face? Insulting AF.
“Sigh… my bad for asking. I'll figure it out myself.”
Not running away. Just no point chasing answers here.
Anyway. I shut down the PC and geared up to head out. Test in some empty park.
Phone pinged—gate break cleared. Perfect timing: sunset, no crowds.
Grabbed my kitchen knife and new white hoodie, then bounced.
Meanwhile, at Myeongwol Appraisal Office.
“President, that guy we think it is—he posted again.”
“President?”
The office had been hustling to track down Jiha Lee. Kang Taejun showed Sio the post he'd found.
“Haa… where the hell are you hiding this time?”
No answer from Sio. Taejun sighed—this wasn't the first time—but he knew her situation best, so he kept searching silently.
He scoured every corner. He'd checked everywhere else, so it'd just take time.
And then.
“…No way this is the ending…! It can't end like this…!”
“There you are.”
Right in front of the president's office. Another manga meltdown? Probably some shocking plot twist.
Taejun sighed at the wails from behind the door and opened it.
Creeeak.
“No, this makes no sense…!!!”
“Haa, President. What now?”
Sio was tearing her hair out over a manga. Taejun gave her a pitiful look.
“How is the finale a fucking dream ending?!”
“Calm down. Found that post from our suspect guy.”
Taejun soothed the hysterical Sio, handed over his phone, and swept the manga aside.
“Aah… ahem. Sorry, got a shock.”
“…No problem. Anyway, this is the post. Take a look.”
“Nah, gimme.”
“Pardon?”
Sio snatched the phone in a flash.
Fwaaah.
“P-President. You can use skills again?”
A faint light emanated from Sio, enveloping Taejun's phone. He stared in awe—he knew better than anyone she hadn't used skills since that incident.
Moments later.
“…Pack up. We're heading to Incheon.”
“Understood.”
The light faded from Sio. Her expression turned deadly serious as she eyed Taejun and issued the order.
That gaze? Straight out of her old S-rank pursuer days.