Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: You Again?
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"You again?"
'Hmm... I barely dodged the suspicion, but you still can't make sense of it? Why on earth did I make that choice?'
Ever since her brief meeting with student Kang Hyun-sol on Saturday evening, Chae Yeon-hwa had been harboring constant doubts.
Why had she warned him to be careful, even though she knew full well it would invite massive suspicion out of nowhere?
And not content with that, on the very day before the artificial dungeon evaluation was set to begin...
She had gone to install a perception-lowering barrier to hide the descent magic circle painstakingly carved by her fellow demonkin from the professors and administrators.
Why had she instead deployed no fewer than three layers of the 6-star sealing barrier technique—Sealing Heaven Barrier—something even she herself still struggled to handle properly—to block the demons' movements?
"...Now that I think about it, it feels like I lost control of myself for a moment back then."
Reviewing the events of Saturday and yesterday once more, she soon realized one key fact.
A sensation she'd never felt before, even after living for ages as a demon.
The feeling of some enormous force subtly twisting her will.
At the time, she hadn't noticed any sense of incongruity or issue, but looking back now, it was definitely strange.
She couldn't put the sensation into words, but if she had to compare it to something similar, it was like the skill succubi commonly used to amplify a target's desires.
It was as if that skill had briefly overwhelmed her mind with the desire not to let the extraordinarily talented Kang Hyun-sol die.
"Haa... For now, I'll look into this separately. I have more pressing issues to resolve right away."
After gazing at the sky in thought for a moment, she pulled out a small crystal orb from her subspace that was throwing a tantrum inside.
"Yes~ What can I do for you, Apostle Beloa?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Is that really what you want to say right now? I've already heard the news. The grand plan failed spectacularly?"
"And that idiot human Park Si-hoon got nabbed by the Association already? And you're asking what's up?"
"Umm... I just heard the news myself, so I'm still a bit out of it. Still, I'll explain all the factors I suspect led to the plan's failure first."
Having gone to Professor Chae Yeon-hwa in hopes of sorting out my tangled thoughts, only to return to the dorm with them even more knotted...
To ease my troubled mind a bit and calm down, I checked the rewards from clearing the main quest.
[Main Quest: Survive Wol Ha-yeon's grasp and record top-tier results in the artificial dungeon evaluation.]
📍 Rewards (upon survival): 3000 SP, differential SP based on final ranking, 2x D~A-grade item gacha tickets.
Rewards granted!
"Whoa... 5500 SP total, plus two guaranteed D-grade or higher gacha tickets... Insane."
The previous rewards weren't bad, but they paled in comparison to these.
Before using the item gacha tickets, I checked my remaining SP first.
Remaining SP: 9100 SP
"Not bad at all?"
At this rate, I could buy the Accumulation trait sooner than expected.
Normally, even after clearing the third main story post-Empathic Constitution purchase, I'd be lucky to have just over 6000 SP...
The extra SP from the sudden variables and barely escaping Chae Yeon-hwa and Yoo Ji-an's temptations had made a bigger difference than I thought.
And with it came a dangerous temptation.
"...Just meet Yoo Ji-an one more time?"
There's no way that pervert only had one of those Temper Bloom potions she nearly made me drink last time.
She probably had dozens more like it.
In that case? I already had permission to visit the student council room anytime, so if I went and wagged my tail a bit...
No, I shouldn't.
The fourth main story was starting soon anyway, and its quest reward would net me at least 1000 SP easily.
No need to rush into the tiger's den just to get one trait faster.
Screw up, and it was game over.
"Phew... Another temptation overcome today. Good job, Kang Hyun-sol."
Having barely resisted, I immediately pulled out the two D~A-grade item gacha tickets.
[Use both D~A-grade item gacha tickets?]
"Yeah."
The two gacha tickets floating in the air began glowing and taking the form of objects.
I hoped to beat the insane odds like last time and get A-grades again, but...
As expected, luck didn't strike twice i...
"...n a row? No way!!"
The first ticket dropped a small scrap of cloth with the coppery effect of a D-grade item.
The second blazed with the golden effect that only appeared for A-grade or higher, just like the bento bag last time.
Shoulders twitching from dopamine, I dashed over, ignoring the D-grade and snatching up the A-grade first.
I immediately checked its info.
[Berserker Ring: Type-SERIN] [Grade: A]
A matte black magic ring. Inside, red mana circuits designed for engraving bullets are etched, amplifying the wearer's neural responses and combat instincts.
In crisis situations, it unlocks Awakening Mode: Berserker Drive, dramatically boosting firing speed, reaction time, recoil control, and stacking bullet engraving effects.
After rampage ends, an auto-stabilizer activates to prevent physical and mental shake for a set duration.
※ Wear Restriction: Yoon Seo-rin Exclusive
• Berserker Drive: Firing speed +45%, Recoil control +60% for set duration
• Over Imprint: +1 extra bullet engraving stack during Drive
• Red Adrenaline: +18% firing damage when HP ≤50%
• Pain Recomposing: +15% damage reduction, confusion immunity for 10s post-end
*TIP: Hand it to Yoon Seo-rin, and you might get rewards beyond its value?
"......"
Having read every line of the item info from top to bottom without skipping a word...
I slowly grabbed the back of my neck with my right hand and slumped down.
"Ah... This fucking... haa."
I didn't know whether to love or hate this thing.
Last time, the very first reward was an A-grade heroine-exclusive item, and now another one?
Unlike Amelia's infinite bento bag, I'd never even heard of this one before today.
But it made one thing crystal clear.
That being...
"Oath of Indulgence, you son of a bitch... Can you even manipulate item gacha probabilities?"
This absurd luck wasn't just me being fortunate.
A being that could intervene in the world itself? No reason it couldn't tweak the system's odds to screw me over.
"Uwaaaah, this is driving me insane."
Normally, I'd be thrilled.
Even if I couldn't use an A-grade item myself, giving it to Yoon Seo-rin would net fitting rewards and boost affection.
But right now? Book of Restraints? Vow of Purity? I was stuck fending them off desperately.
Sure, I was hanging on by running at the first whiff of trouble... but it was precarious.
And now another heroine-exclusive item drops?
No way I could use it.
But I couldn't not give it either? The effects were too good.
Handing it over would drastically cut Yoon Seo-rin's death route odds.
In short, that lunatic Oath of Indulgence knew I'd have no choice and dangled this Berserker Ring in front of me.
"Haa... Absolute worst. Is this life or a death game?"
I flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Calculations clashed in my head.
1) Don't give → Yoon Seo-rin survival ↓, screw Oath of Indulgence possible, but late-game difficulty → hell
2) Give → Yoon Seo-rin survival ↑, affection ↑, Oath of Indulgence gloats "See?!" seizure risk ↑
3) Discard → Total nonsense (why throw it away?)
"...Wow, these choices are no joke. Damn that shitty oath... Show your face just once? I'd rip out a few pages..."
After agonizing realistically for another 10 minutes, I reached one inevitable conclusion.
For the future, I had to hand over this item.
Setting everything else aside, this could be a lifeline for Yoon Seo-rin...
Of course, excluding Wol Ha-yeon, losing one or two heroines didn't derail the game.
The only ending condition was dealing with the Demon King anyway.
But did I have to just watch them die? If I could save them, I should. If there was a way to pull them from danger, I'd do whatever it took.
"...Screw it, guess I have to give it. Damn."
I had an appointment with the Association today, so tomorrow morning would do.
I clutched the Berserker Ring, turning it over and over.
Unlike its name, the ring itself looked like it'd suit Yoon Seo-rin's pale white hand perfectly.