Chapter 139

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 139

Chapter Title: Rule Break

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Long, sprawling space.

The treasure vault, densely inscribed with runes, was packed wall-to-wall with bizarre equipment.

Arranged like something out of a dressing room, shoes and gloves lined the sides first, followed by weapons farther in.

And every piece of gear had runes carved into it like bricks on a wall, giving off a faint fluorescent glow.

"W-What is this place?"

The party that had followed me inside gawked around in shock. I glanced up at the crisp [918] etched overhead and said,

"Ancient magical engineering gear."

"Magical engineering gear?"

"That's what they call equipment made in the magical engineering era. The precise term is magic-tech items."

I eyed the object next to me.

'So that's how the guard captain jumped that huge distance in one go.'

No wonder it looked familiar—these were the gear worn by the city guard captain, Telamon.

Just in case, I strode deeper inside. The shoes and gloves vanished from view, replaced by weapons.

'Oh, not bad at all.'

Stat boosts plus elemental attacks...

A bit crude for mythic grade, but considering this was the third Trial, it was top-tier gear.

Of course, not what I was looking for.

'Let's see. Anything besides swords?'

I scanned around—swords everywhere.

There was one bow in the middle, but just the one.

No sign of the axe the guard captain had thrown.

'Too bad. That axe was the real deal.'

Still, not a bad haul.

Mythic-grade items, no less. And sets! I counted 93 full sets. I grabbed one, slipped it on, and grinned.

'Anyone else would lose their minds with envy.'

Sets were rare enough, but assembling the pieces? A nightmare. They fetched whatever price you named.

And that was why—irresistible set bonuses like this.

Magic-tech sets were top-shelf among sets.

Just looking at the options, they were insanely good for third-Trial loot.

My party was buzzing too. The girls snatched up shoes and gloves, striking poses like they were in a boutique.

"Man, top gear just has that vibe."

"Yeah. Perfect fit."

"But Dickhead, how'd you even know about this place?"

I held up my ring.

"Varkas tipped me off and handed over the key. Been building rapport."

"Damn! Our Dickhead's prep game is unmatched. Right?"

Han So-hee nodded. She swung a sword around experimentally, then flashed a satisfied smile and hung the rune sword next to Giant Slayer on her hip.

"I was thinking of grabbing a second blade anyway. Not bad at all. A set bonus, even."

"What? For real? Ugh, so jealous. Why swords everywhere but no staves?"

"...No daggers either."

The two brats rolled their eyes.

Shin Seo-yeon started buckling a sword to her waist.

"You gonna wield a sword?"

"Yep. Time to go Gandalf build."

Fair enough—a 50-point stat gap. One sword made the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difference. I'd do the same.

Isera slung one over her back, refusing to be outdone.

The Saintess grabbed one too, and just like that, everyone's stats skyrocketed. Even Isera, the lowest, now outclassed the local soldiers.

'Raid bosses drop one piece each if you're lucky. Here we are, swimming in them.'

This vault was basically the Trial's main prize.

Like the hidden stash in the Lair of Evil Spirits or the Crimson Sea Cliffs secret.

We'd glitched the system—skipped the boss, grabbed the loot first.

"Hey, empty everything out. Everything."

"Got it!"

The girls were dumping their sub-space pouches inside out. Better to grab this stuff than whatever they'd scavenged before. Nobles' vaults had nothing on this.

But...

"Nngh."

"Argh, damn it. Only six sets in, and it's full? Ridiculous."

Sub-space pouches held about two duffels' worth.

They wanted more but couldn't fit it.

"One more? Come on, open wider!"

They wrestled with overstuffed pouches, but no dice.

I leisurely slotted shoes, gloves, and swords into my inventory.

The system let me stack identical items up to 99.

'Downside is only ten slots total.'

I'd offloaded all my potato chips, home-run balls, and sodas to Varkas beforehand, leaving three slots free.

Plenty for this haul.

"Damn."

"...Six sets max, huh."

"Hey, let's grab small stuff only. We can pack way more."

"Oh? Auntie's a genius?"

Weapons were bulky, so they went for gloves and shoes.

I reined them in.

"Just those? Pointless. These are sets—the bonus is what makes 'em valuable."

"But we can't fit many!"

"I'll take these. You grab other stuff. Out there."

The brats pouted.

"We want these too."

"Yeah, big bro hogs all the good shit."

They dug in. The gear must've looked that good. I sighed shortly.

"We strangers or what?"

"......"

"I'll sort these and split the profits, obviously."

They exchanged glances, then quit pouting.

"Promise? No lies!"

"I trust big bro. He never lies to me. Total faith."

"Yeah, yeah. Now scatter and haul stuff over. Loot this clean, then check the palace vault. Before patrols."

"Got it!"

My party fanned out, grabbing magic-tech items. I took them and stacked neatly in inventory.

Gear piled up fast.

I'd told the party we'd sell it, but no plans to.

No player had the cash for this anyway.

'Won't sell cheap, even if below market.'

Investment material.

'Hand it to the Dark Bitch Squad.'

Equipped, they'd survive most Trials easy.

Grow strong, become my reliable force.

I knew Im Ah-rin and her crew well—they returned investments tenfold.

Leverage that: send them to easy Trials for essentials I miss, while I hit the hard ones.

'Squad to safe zones, me to hellish ones. That's the plan.'

Trials stack up, gains snowball, explosive growth eventually—even the final one, no sweat.

"Alright, loot up. Check the back for more treasure."

"Roger!"

We stripped the magic-tech vault bare in a flash, then swept the palace warehouse.

And soon froze, deflated.

"...Mythics fucking everywhere."

"Not a single normal item here."

"Pick from this...? Impossible in a day."

Absolute monarchy, royal extravagance. Nothing ordinary. Superb treasures littered the 700-pyeong space.

Isera hadn't surrendered for nothing.

"...Can't we just grab whatever?"

The least greedy Saintess suggested, but the three shook their heads like it was blasphemy.

"Ugh, this sucks. Choosing? Selling all this would make us loaded!"

"Can't pick."

"Even I'm stumped."

No progress. I felt it too. But what could we do? Our limits. Transition to Rest Areas meant only carried items.

Unchanging Selection Process rule.

One way to break it.

I paused.

'Wait—break the rules?'

I pulled an item from my pocket.

Transcendent grade ignored all bindings. Caused mishaps, majorly impacted Selection Process.

Huge impact.

I hesitated. Try it? But the envelope was already airborne, sprouting wings and vanishing.

"What? Summon envelope now?"

Shin Seo-yeon flinched. Sharp as hell—especially with money. Her eyes widened, staring me down.

"No way you're..."

"Probably exactly what you think."

"Dude, that can't possibly—!"

The envelope returned.

"?!"

This one saluted crisply, reporting perfect mission execution.

Then displayed contents without delay.

Not just Shin Seo-yeon—everyone's eyes bulged.

"Ebon Fang Armory at your service. How may I assist, sir?"

"Sh-Shopkeeper?"

"For real?"

The weapons dealer grinned wide.

Up close, the shop interface activated. Trade window popped.

'Ah...'

It worked.