Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Star Bang (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'I wonder how it'll turn out.'
Outside the hideout, he gazed at the empty cavern and the timer floating in the air, stretching his arms.
After finishing a satisfying lunch, posting on the gallery, and even taking a nap to shake off the food coma, he had woken up.
💬 Comments
— Anon
[That bastard went dark again at 9 PM! #Shit] (11)
— Anon
[I was wrong, so please tell me, newbie] (3)
— Anon
[No, seriously, how the hell do you get food?] (2)
— Anon
[Cakes are supposed to slice that smoothly??] (16)
— Anon
[So what the hell is chicken? Tell me, you guys who've eaten it] (22)
— Anon
[Booze... the booze I only dreamed of for hundreds of years...] (7)
As expected reactions poured in. He opened Star Bang to resolve the questions from his first order.
'Has a minute always felt this long?'
He hadn't ordered anything particularly special.
[Water] - 1 TP [Cool Water] - 10 TP [Bread] - 1 TP [Warm Bread] - 10 TP
More like test purchases than investments.
To check the difference between regular water and "cool" water, bread and "warm" bread. And to confirm exactly how delivery worked.
[Cola 1L] - 30 TP [Ice] - 5 TP
There were a few without that purpose, too.
⚙ DELIVERY ARRIVED ⚙
Your ordered items have arrived!
The arrival alert chimed at the same time as his ordered items appeared in the center of the cavern.
They were just there, as if they'd always been.
He hadn't taken his eyes off the spot or even blinked, yet he hadn't noticed them appear.
Step.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he headed toward the center of the cavern.
His plan to take down a delivery guy and escape had sadly fallen through.
He bit into a hunk of tough bread he'd sharpened against the hideout wall, walking slowly.
'...Not everything arrived?'
As he approached to pick up the items, he realized only the cola and ice had arrived.
He'd clearly ordered bread and water too, but they were nowhere.
[Delivery completed][Delivery location: Outside the door]
The bread and water were clearly in his purchase history, so why?
He gathered up the cola and ice, fiddled with the Star Bang app, and returned to the hideout.
"...It's stocked up?"
This morning, he'd eaten one bread, then half more after returning from the Tower of Fate.
Excluding the one in his hand, only half should have been left, but somehow there were two more.
"Hot...!"
One felt freshly baked to the touch. Probably delivered straight here.
'The water refilled too, so that's confirmation.'
His canteens had doubled. The half-empty one was now full.
'Items already in the hideout get auto-applied when ordered?'
Maybe things like pillows or blankets from the daily goods category upgrade in place.
He couldn't be sure, but this way he could stock up without moving beds or heavy furniture.
'Too expensive to buy right now, though.'
Someday, he could turn this into a luxury penthouse.
Thud.
He set the cola and ice from outside next to the basket and plopped down on the blanket.
'Ordered ice for nothing.'
The hideout wasn't especially hot, but without a fridge, it wouldn't last long.
He didn't know if they sold fridges, but price would probably prevent buying one now.
Glasses needed washing to reuse.
Earlier, in high spirits, he'd mixed beer and cola without care, but using the now-sticky, dirty glass again felt... off.
'Gotta buy detergent and a scrubber too?'
He could rinse in the bathroom roughly, but only once or twice. Long-term was impossible.
Realizing every daily necessity cost money dulled the satisfaction from the wiki.
Like grasping reality amid the unreal.
Of course, with overflowing TP, it'd outshine the wiki, but not yet.
Swipe.
[New comments have arrived.]
[New comments have arrived.]
[New comments have arrived.]
[New comments have arrived.]
Checking his phone, notifications had piled up again.
Two hours since posting his flex, and comments were still flooding in nonstop.
"Gonna play hard to get for a bit, guys. Love you?"
He wanted to chat with the gallery folks, but he still had mountains to check out.
[Star Bang][Purchase History]
Ignoring the alerts, he opened Star Bang and checked prices of his purchases.
'Roughly, 1 TP is about 100 won.'
Chicken at 200 TP, glass at 50 TP.
Water at 10 TP, ballpark figured it'd come out around there.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
[TP Balance: 4,443]
So, right now he had about 440,000 won on hand.
'50k a day is decent pay, but...'
The issue was this was essentially his lifeline, and no telling when the next payout came.
Probably after clearing floor 20.
'If the next one's at 100, I'm rioting.'
Couldn't confirm till he reached 20 anyway.
Hell, not even sure he could.
[Weapons/Armor]
Finished rough pricing, he tapped the category he'd been most curious about.
Others were somewhat predictable.
This one too, but his imagination was running wild beyond expectations.
'Guns to nukes, tanks... laser beams or demon swords maybe...'
In this world, this tower, something insane had to exist. His heart raced with anticipation for glorious weapons to fulfill a man's dreams.
A moment of waiting for that splendor.
🛒 SHOP LIST 🛒
[Wooden Sword] - 1,000 TP [Wooden Staff] - 1,000 TP [Wooden Shield] - 1,000 TP [???][???][???]
"..."
Blinking at the list—nothing but wooden sword, staff, shield.
Where was his railgun? The holy sword that glowed just from swinging?
Unlocked for clearing 10 floors, couldn't they at least show what's there?
Everything else just question marks. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
Squeeze.
[Unlocked upon prior weapon/armor purchase]
"Ah."
A small sigh at the text popping up on tap.
Star Bang was telling him this:
Step-by-step growth fun! Everyone can power up enjoyably!
"Whoa! So exciting?"
Now buying unlocks upgrades or scrolls maybe.
Names like Star Wiki, Star Bang—Star Force for enhancements?
Real gambling thrill made his head buzz just imagining.
'Fine, say unlocking one by one is whatever.'
Problem: first items lacked mercy on price.
Wooden sword, shield: 1,000 TP each.
100 won per TP meant 100k per item.
No clue real weapon costs here, but not his problem.
Fantasy world or futuristic badass place.
Pricey from the start? Come on.
'All three: 3,000 TP.'
No idea exact effects.
Worst case, just items appear—no meaning.
'If I had weapon talent, maybe...'
No way he did.
Lucky hidden talent? Sure, but basics need teaching.
Just buying junk wouldn't make him strong.
"..."
Wait.
'...Maybe I can awaken talent solo?'
Han Seol...
The man who snagged "Irregular" in his 1st regression.
9th Circle archmage fears him, millennia-old sage shocked, mind-controller Eraser panics... ability users fret.
Conquered tower and gallery in a day—a monster. That's "me."
Grab sword, past life memories surge; staff, chants flow.
'Picture it.'
Eyes closed, arms wide, feeling the space's energy, he envisioned.
Buying wooden sword, staff, shield—ramping through the tower solo.
Han Seol 1: slicing air with wooden sword.
Han Seol 2: swinging staff like club.
Han Seol 3: tanking hits with wooden shield.
"..."
Hiss.
No?
Imagined, but didn't seem he'd beat that 10th floor boar.
Staff... instant magic? Doubtful.
Like food delivery, just drops items.
'Can't not buy, though...'
Tower of Wisdom: Walkthrough with wiki.
Tower of Mind: grit through with mental fortitude. Buy some calming pills.
Tower of Fate: somehow manage. Russian roulette vibes—my luck's decent. Wiki helps, money meaningless here.
Tower of Trials different.
Fiercer monsters ahead. Weapons won't change much, but better than bare hands.
"Haa... If only a guidebook to learn from..."
Muttering at the wooden sword pic.
"...What if it really exists?"
A silly thought struck; mesmerized, his finger moved.
[Books/Albums/DVDs]
Category he'd glimpsed before.
Tapped "Books," checked list.
📚 BOOK LIST 📚
[Peter and the Swordsman's Stone] - 110 TP [Human Pass] - 81 TP [Sword, Virus, Iron] - 268 TP [100-Year-Old Princess] - 99 TP [Comic Autumn Tale 1~10] - 800 TP
'Not this stuff.'
Familiar novels to fairy tales, comics—everything crammed in books category. He squinted.
Endless scroll.
No way to find lifetime; used search.
[Star Bang][Swordsmanship]🔍
⚔ SWORDSMANSHIP MANUALS ⚔
[Beginner Swordsmanship Manual (Imperial Knights Official Edition)] - 19,990 TP [You Can Do It Too! C-Rank Swordsmanship Manual!] - 3,200 TP [『Rare』Basic Parrying Technique Book] - 990 TP [Master Swordsmanship in 2 Weeks Package] - 4,000 TP [Path of the Swordmaster - Final Edition] - 335,000 TP
"Insane."
It appeared. For some reason flashier names, but real.
Didn't tap details, but felt legit.
From buying items or acclimating here—unshakable trust.
'Prices are brutally high, but...'
Grab one decently, improve over now.
'Anything else?'
Scrolled, then searched "magic books" instead.
[Magic Books]🔍
✨ MAGIC GRIMoires ✨
[‘Genuine’ Beginner Flame Grimoire] - 9,900 TP [Royal Magic Academy Official Curriculum / 30-Day Completion / ★★★★☆] - 4,500 TP [《5th Circle》Lightning Magic Compendium] - 485,000 TP [Understand Elemental Studies Basics in a Week] - 50,000 TP [Danger Level SS! Necromancer Practical Guide!] - 990 TP
Grin crept up at the list after brief load.
Hundreds to millions TP.
Like swordsmanship, magic books galore at all prices.
'With this, I could be a real mage...?'
Few affordable, but names alone heart-pounding.
Combat stuff: beyond swords/magic, endless.
Any search term yields world's manuals.
Gulp.
'Like gallery folks, I can become real knight or mage.'
This mall alone turns you flashier than games.
TP severely lacking, but dreams and hope surged, stimulating man's instincts.
Like a kid, fantasizing, plugging search terms—then.
"...Huh."
A utterly foolish "maybe" hit.
If this place sells everything worldly... even beyond.
Escape ticket from this space—buyable?
[Star Bang][Irregular]🔍
Gulp.
"..."
Swallowed hard at loading far longer than before.
Prior excitement now pounding tension, anxiety.
❓ SEARCH RESULT ❓
[???] - ??? TP
Over a minute's perceived load ended with one question-marked item.
Squeeze.
⚠️ PURCHASE IMPOSSIBLE ⚠️
[This item cannot be purchased at this time]
-Insufficient regression count.
"Ha."
Chuckle at instant popup.
Path ahead, huh.
Still must climb endlessly, but felt refreshed somehow.
'Can buy something is win.'
Item undreamt even after millennia prayer—hope bloomed.
Smirk.
Gacha with pity guarantee?
Total blessing anyone sees.
```