Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: That Rascal Appears Again
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Having fully confirmed the effects of Eternal Glacier Crystal, it was time to move on to the next item.
That being...
Contacting everyone who'd heard the news and must be worried sick, to avoid another massive disaster like last time...
"Screw that—time to smash open these item tickets first!"
Humans repeat the same mistakes and regret them over and over?
Oh, Hyun-sol here doesn't know the meaning of that~
They hand me guaranteed S-Rank item tickets, A~S+ skill tickets, and even a guaranteed S-Rank trait ticket? And I'm supposed to hold back?
No way in hell.
Sure, the skills and traits would all be pie in the sky until I hit at least 5th Circle... but so what?
The dopamine rush from pulling them and that satisfying feeling of filling up my status window? That's more than enough.
I dove straight into my inventory, pulled out the three dormant tickets, and ripped them all open at once.
And just like that, a single item glowing with a brilliant rainbow light dropped onto the bed.
An S-Rank item.
At the same time, notifications popped up for an S-Rank trait and an S-Rank skill.
"All three S-Rank? Nice~"
I checked the item info first.
And froze solid.
[Vowweave Mantle]
Rank: S / Heroine-Exclusive Item
(Equipable only by Sophia, Amelia, Seol Yu-bin, Yoon Seo-rin, Wol Ha-yeon, Choi Eun-ha, Yoo Ji-an, Chae Yeon-hwa — 8 people max)
A protective garment woven from faintly shimmering white-silver arc material.
It looks like a light shawl or short cape, but each fiber is made of precise mana crystal structures that recognize the wearer's biometric waves.
Tailored exclusively for heroines, it naturally individualizes to each wearer's unique mana signature.
For Sophia: A lifelong rainbow gemstone.
For Amelia: An absorbable holy stone.
For Seol Yu-bin: A frost-shawl with snowflake patterns.
For Yoo Ji-an: A gem-weave coat tag with thin alchemical circuits.
For Yoon Seo-rin: A dark indigo decorative band linked to bullet engravings.
For Chae Yeon-hwa: A pale wall-colored shawl embedded with barrier patterns.
For Wol Ha-yeon: A light purple scarf with an inner moonlight glow.
For Choi Eun-ha: A pastel ribbon shawl engraved with emotional stabilization waves.
It takes a form perfectly suited to each one.
[Primary Effect]
[ Seal Demon Shield]
If the wearer receives a fatal attack, the internal mana crystal structure explodes into activation.
Absorbs up to 50% of incoming damage on behalf of the item owner.
After absorption, a 10-second shield lingers before slowly transferring to the owner.
Shield effect varies by wearer's mana affinity:
- E.g., Seol Yu-bin → Frost barrier shield / Yoon Seo-rin → Bullet trace mana shield / Chae Yeon-hwa → Barrier formula fixed shield, etc.
※ After one activation, the mantle enters vow realignment for 1~2 months (combat time basis), preventing reactivation.
[Notes]
*Heroine-exclusive vow gear.
This item is system-designed to protect the user; no one but heroines can equip or use it.
"Vowweave... Mantle? Vow?"
This fucking Oath of Indulgence bullshit. You goddamn prick.
This rotten system saves South Korea and instead of rewards or praise...
It pulls this crap again? Again?!
Not even hiding it anymore?
No, if it's an S-Rank item, it should be something I can use. Why make a precious item heroine-exclusive...?
"Haa... but damn, it's super useful for me."
Aside from me not being able to equip it.
Halving instant-death level damage onto the opponent?
That's beyond broken—unbelievable for an S-Rank. A second life, basically.
But the issues: Can I use it carefree? And who the hell do I give it to?
Thinking back to almost dying to that munchkin girl over one ring... Ugh.
My whole body shuddered involuntarily, goosebumps rising.
Still, I stashed the mantle in my inventory and checked the trait and skill.
A mental trait that ultra-stabilizes the user's mind, forcibly resetting consciousness, will, and mana focus disrupted by external factors.
Instantly realigns crumbling mental balance in extreme situations, greatly boosting resistance to chaos, fear, illusions, mana turbidity, etc.
[Consciousness Fix]
Auto-resets mind to normal just before concentration collapses from fear, madness, pressure, mental attacks, etc. (Once per month.)
[Abyss Resistance]
Drastically reduces mental pressure from Demon Lords, lord-class demons, high demons' presence/authority.
Activates on wavering will, blocks external inducements like 'Run away' or 'Give up'.
[Focus Maximization]
Boosts success rate for all focus-intensive actions: mana control, barriers, sword arts enhancement, spellcasting, etc.
Sustained effect minor, but amplifies in extreme situations.
"A perfectly decent S-Rank trait."
That'd be my one-line review.
Regardless, with Mental Resistance as my only mental trait so far, it was welcome news.
Satisfied enough, I checked the last one: the skill.
Ding—!
[Meteor Calibration] (Rank: S)
An auxiliary skill that auto-corrects tiny deviations when the caster's movement misses, or attacks/magic stray from intended paths.
Correction range extremely limited; insufficient for turnarounds in clutch moments.
Precisely: Not for perfect one-shots, but makes mistakes slightly less mistaken.
Effects: 1~3% auto-trajectory correction on attacks/evasion/spellcasting.
Subtly restores balance on loss of center (fall prevention).
Nudges disrupted mana flow to slightly reduce runaway risk.
Occasionally aids ultra-precise scenarios.
Limitations: Corrections too minor for flow changes.
Negligible in melees/AoE/high-authority fights.
Low activation priority (ignored on clashes).
Risk of over-reliance clouding judgment.
"Hm... one-line review? Total dud... fuck."
A dud from an S-Rank skill pull.
Unbelievable.
My mind went blank; nearly passed out.
If not for Eternal Glacier Crystal, I'd never have set out after the system or Oath of Indulgence.
I sighed deeply and shoved the screen away.
Then eyed my smartphone, unscathed after my near-death while it charged peacefully.
"You survived that chaos unscratched... Tougher than me, huh."
I grabbed it, hit the power button.
Hundreds of notifications flooded in.
Guess I slept a good long while.
I cleared them and checked the date.
[August 29th.]
"Over three weeks... asleep."
Made sense.
Bigger injuries inside and out than expected, plus ages in the White Night Tundra.
Felt like three months there.
Anyway, date confirmed, I started reading the backlog messages one by one—
Rattle—click!
The hospital room door flew open; someone entered.
"H-Hyun-sol?"
"...Yu-bin sis?"
Snow-white hair, sky-blue eyes.
Seol Yu-bin.
Spotting me awake, she charged for a hug but slammed the brakes right at the bed.
Then stared down at me with unreadable eyes.
"..."
"Uh... why that look?"
As I asked awkwardly, Seol Yu-bin’s eyes trembled... very slowly.
Soon, tears welled; she gently stroked my head.
"Missed you so much, Hyun-sol."
"I-I missed you too."
'This woman—skin's off-limits!'
The Vow of Purity's watching!
I naturally took her hand off my head, holding it lightly.
"More importantly, status update? What happened while I was out?"
"Of course."
Thankfully calmer, Seol Yu-bin wiped her eyes and explained the three weeks.
The moment I touched the eternal ice crystal, it fused with me, freezing solid.
Over a week before the surrounding ice thawed, allowing treatment.
Seolga was near-totally wrecked, but zero deaths.
Chae Yeon-hwa had barriers up from the start, protecting civilians.
"Speaking of—how's Professor Chae Yeon-hwa?"
"...Chae Yeon-hwa?"
She frowned slightly, displeased, but quickly schooled her face—recalling my history with Chae Yeon-hwa?
"No one's touched her. Only me, Mom, and the Association Chair know the truth."
"Kinda guessed the answer... but why let her be?"
"Her punishment's entirely up to you."
She said, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on the bedside drawer and biting in.
"Mom threw a fit at first, though. Chae was one of the lords who attacked Seolga, after all."
"Fair. But you convinced her?"
"Yeah. Didn't wanna admit it, but she bought time for the ice crystal. Without her barriers, Jeonju—or all Korea—would've frozen solid."
"Got it..."
Chae Yeon-hwa alive was a relief.
Seol Ye-eun aside, the Chair would've decapitated her on sight.
"The Chair really handed her punishment fully to me?"
"Pretty much. They raided gates together back in the day; he says he couldn't kill her himself."
"Didn’t know they had history."
As we wrapped up the rundown...
I asked the big one.
"How's Sophia?"
"Sophia? Hospitalized about a week."
"No aftereffects?"
"Fit as ever. Surprised her family head flew to Korea, though."
Litwell family head? Edmund Litwell?
I knew him well.
The doting dad who appears when Sophia's affection hits threshold.
Fail his side episode approval, and no more Sophia routes—cursed by gamers.
Him here already?
'...Obviously back to England, right?'
"He... went home?"
My voice shook; Seol Yu-bin shrugged lightly.
"Nah, came to meet the punk who enchanted his daughter. Been holed up in Korea's ritziest hotel over a week."
"...Who's the punk?"
"You know damn well."
She grinned, poking my cheek.
"You."
"...Wow."
We're screwed.
Barely survived, now a surprise event.