Chapter 514
Chapter 514
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 514
Chapter Title: New Skill
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A regular hexagonal box marked with a [?] symbol shook and emitted light on the smartphone screen.
And then, an ice pack dropped from within the screen.
"......"
I fell silent.
My precious 1 point, worth less than 5,000 won, had turned into a tiny ice pack. It was infuriating, but cruelly, I didn't even have the energy to get angry right now.
I spent 200 points over the next hour on Random Gacha pulls.
I at least broke even.
I snagged over ten Spirit Jewels and a Universal Antidote worth more than 3,000 points. Though for me, with Complete Recovery, it wasn't all that useful.
At first, I was pissed.
Of course I was—pouring in points and only getting junk. When I hit thirty straight pulls of useless trinkets or kitchen tools, I cursed up a storm.
I cursed the ground, the sky, the Playful Life app, the country—everything that came to mind.
But time passed, and now here we are. I didn't even have the energy to curse anymore. Anxiety surged at the thought that I might burn through all my points without getting a single decent skill.
'Please, just give me any skill!'
At some point, that's all my mind could scream.
I could stop the Random Gacha here.
But if I did, all the points I'd spent so far? They'd be truly wasted.
'I've already broken even. Stopping now wouldn't be a loss. My head knows that, but...'
Not getting a skill would be the real loss. That's all I could think.
My sunken mood flickered for a moment. That was it.
Skill reuse cooldown reset. It's useful, even if not super relevant to me.
'Among my skills, the longest cooldown is Complete Recovery.'
12 hours cooldown.
But that doesn't feel that long. I don't use Complete Recovery every day, and situations requiring back-to-back uses aren't that common.
'Still, better than nothing. Decent as a trump card.'
I tapped away at the smartphone again, firing off more Random Gachas.
300 points down.
No skills. No other standout items.
'It's fine. Totally fine. That's just 300 points so far. I've still got over 600 left.'
My index finger trembled as it pressed the screen.
And then.
Exactly on the 336th pull.
I widened my eyes and read the skill description.
"......This."
It's a good skill. Summoning characters from fictional works into reality? Sounds insanely overpowered just hearing it.
Similar to Connection Summon in a way. Except skills aren't shared like with Connection Summon.
Downsides: point-hungry and an insanely long cooldown.
'Skill cooldowns run separately between reality and the Playful World.'
Connection Summon's cooldown only ticks in reality. Other skills tick independently. I've confirmed it with Complete Recovery—if it's on cooldown in reality, I can still use it in the Playful World, and vice versa. Only unusable if on cooldown in both.
'While auto-progress runs, my avatar uses a skill, and when I enter the Playful World, I have to wait out the cooldown.'
Drawbacks, sure, but kinda advantages too.
'More importantly, what worries me is...'
The summoned character's reaction. Random means no clue who'll show up—could be good or evil.
'If it's a nasty-tempered one, it might try to kill me instead.'
Skill says no unsummoning. Means killing them to send back.
'If something world-ending gets summoned?'
Then I'd have to kill it?
'......But with identical stats, that's probably impossible.'
I tapped the floor with my fingertips.
Got a new skill—wanna test it. Gotta use it once to know exactly what it does.
'Test safely in the Playful World? Nah. Opportunity to summon fictional characters to reality. Reality's where it matters.'
Don't just think negative—look on the bright side.
Hot fictional babe appears in reality. Same stats means low rape success odds, but seduction works. Or use remaining aphrodisiac to force heat.
'Fucking in Playful World vs. reality? Totally different. Heh heh heh.'
Plus, I've got a way to fix mistakes.
30-Day Regression Ticket.
No Playful World restriction, so works in reality too.
'500 points? Easy to earn! Let's summon!'
Light burst from the smartphone, forming a shape. The light vanished, revealing a creature.
It wasn't the beauty I hoped for.
A beast standing on four legs.
A fox.
A white fox with two tails. It eyed me warily with black pupils.
'Fuck. What a troll. A non-human character? From what fictional work... Huh?'
Distracted by the sudden fox, I missed the notification on my phone.
'Who's Mi-ryeong?!'
I racked my brain desperately.
Gwangmyeong Seungcheon-do's original work is massive—memorizing every character takes time. And it might not even be from the canon.
'...If it's from my Playful World's Gwangmyeong Seungcheon-do, could be from another version. Worlds blend together.'
The fox glanced around curiously at the unfamiliar modern room. Then back at me. We locked eyes.
'Don't underestimate it just 'cause it's a fox. Same stats as me.'
Two tails.
No ordinary fox.
Flash. Something clicked in my mind. Right—there was a fox episode in the Gwangmyeong Seungcheon-do original.
"......Mi-ryeong. I'm your summoner. Why? 'Cause I summoned you."
I spoke in the Gwangmyeong Seungcheon-do World's language.
"Grrrrrr."
The fox seemed to understand, raising its tails and baring fangs. Unusually clean and even for beast teeth.
"Don't play dumb. I know you can talk. Two tails—not a normal fox. Yokai? Or spirit beast?"
"......"
The fox stared silently, then spoke.
"Yokai. Scared?"
A woman's voice from the fox's mouth. Stimulating, sexy—enough to shake any man's guard.
'Female. No need to kill.'
I eased up a bit. Replying meant no immediate fight. First summon—better talk it out.
"That's a lie. No evil yokai aura from you. You're a spirit beast, right?"
"Ha. Funny how humans draw lines between humans, yokai, and spirit beasts. Yokai don't just do evil, spirit beasts aren't all good."
"I know."
"......"
My quick reply made the fox eye me suspiciously.
Not spirit beast, not yokai—maybe human using magic or arts to turn fox-shaped.
"Mi-ryeong. I'm your summoner."
"Hng. I know that. You're Sung Yu-jin. I can only stay 33 days. But so what?"
"I'm telling you, I'm your master."
"Cut the shameless crap. You summoned me, but that doesn't make you my master. And honestly? You're too weak. If I had my full power, you'd be on your knees begging for your life."
"......"
Things might not go as smoothly as hoped.
I shifted tactics.
"Sorry. First time summoning—my mistake."
I bowed politely.
She's probably stronger than me at full power. Gwangmyeong Seungcheon-do World outclasses reality baseline.
"Hng. Surprisingly self-aware? But lacks sincerity. Kneel and apologize properly."
Thud.
I dropped to my knees.
Pride stung kneeling to a beast?
I had a hunch. She's probably a woman—or can become one.
'Cliché says she'll turn into a knockout beauty.'
Kneeling secures momentum.
"Sorry."
"Forgiven."
Simple reply.
I sat cross-legged.
"Won't call myself your master. But I did summon you, so cooperate a bit."
"...Well, I consented to being summoned, so no hard feelings. Curious about other worlds anyway. I'll cooperate. But."
"But?"
"Give me some of your essence. Yours is beyond normal humans—most spirit beasts couldn't match it."
"Pay essence for cooperation? Fine."
"......Agreeing that easily? Know what essence is? Source of life. Drain too much, you wither and die."
"Only if overdrained. Recovers in days, right?"
"Hmph. Not clueless. Don't refuse. I'll take payment first."
The fox parted its jaws slightly. White energy flowed from my body into her mouth. Definitely not mana.
Felt fine at first. Something leaving, but refreshing.
Then cold sweat. Not leaving—being stolen. Body trembled. I clenched my fists. Danger. As I moved to stand, she closed her mouth.
"Haaa. Feels good. Better than wringing out a hundred young men to death."
The fox lay on the floor, chin down, grinning. Eyes crescent moons.
"......Cooperation secured now?"
"Depends what you need. What help?"
She wagged her tails happily.
"You're... Fox-People Clan, right?"
Fox-People Clan.
Humans with heavy spirit beast blood. Half-human, half-beast depending on view. Fox form, essence-draining—fits.
"Right. Not totally ignorant, huh?"
The fox admitted readily.