Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Excellent Skill
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'Excellent Skill?'
I'd never seen one before.
Well, I had heard of it. But that was someone's [Unique Ability], not something handed out just because of high Luck.
[Excellent Skill]
Activates with a certain probability, doubling the effect.
It literally puffed up the effect twofold. Seemingly trivial at first glance, yet potentially quite useful depending on how you looked at it.
"Oppa! The amount doubled!"
And sure enough, the [Immortal Balm] quantity had doubled. Checking the container, it was exactly twice as much.
I wondered if the concentrated potion had been diluted, so I smeared some on the back of my hand, but the contents were exactly as I remembered.
A refreshing coolness pleasantly envelops your skin.
Resistance to decay and disease increases by 50%.
"Whoa, your hand looks so fair now?"
"Oppa, your skin's all plump and bouncy!"
"It's soft like a baby's now—feels amazing!"
The [Immortal Balm] had the effect of improving skin quality when applied to the living.
Though it only lasted a day, it made skin look as if you'd had a full spa treatment and makeup done, so women bought it for special occasions.
No wonder it was so popular.
'Anyway, an Excellent Skill, huh.'
I was utterly dumbfounded by this phenomenon I'd never encountered before.
[Luck]
[Arknon's Luck Necklace]
[Blessing of the Ancient God Arseina]
It was probably the combined product of all that luck...
'It doesn't show in the status window, but maybe hitting certain Luck thresholds unlocks features?'
Like how [Sixth Sense] appeared when total stats exceeded 400. It was a sudden thought, but it seemed plausible.
'Fitting for the Selection Process, shrouded in so many secrets.'
Even after 10 years and 4 billion lives thrown at it, parts remained unsolved.
Truly maddening.
Anyway, putting that aside, I beckoned to Shin Seo-yeon and Yi Sera.
"Pull out Barcus and Arknon."
"Huh? Why?"
Shin Seo-yeon blinked in confusion, then her eyes widened.
"Hey, no way!"
She finally remembered the item's purpose and hastily hid her subspatial pouch behind her back.
"No, right?! Tell me it's not!"
"Hand it over."
"No way! Let's just sell it! Why preserve a corpse with that?!"
Yi Sera also quickly tucked her pouch away.
Originally in the Saintess's subspatial pouch, the young reaper had begged to move the expensive stuff to her own—and now she was reluctant to waste it on a dead body.
The two kids shook their heads stubbornly.
But I had my ways.
"Don't want your gifts anymore?"
They froze.
"If you don't wanna give up Barcus and Arknon, fine. No gifts then."
They exchanged glances, then reluctantly offered their subspatial pouches. Always like this—greedy till the end, even if they'd give it anyway.
"F-For real, right? You can't break your promise?"
"I trust Oppa. Oppa never lies to me. I trust Oppa."
"Yeah, yeah. So hand 'em over already."
Yi Sera timidly placed her pouch in my hand.
"You too."
But Shin Seo-yeon being Shin Seo-yeon, she hid it again, so I grabbed her wrist.
"Ugh, Dickhead! Gotta do it like this?! Just sell it! I'm telling you, it'll fetch a ton of money! Easily over 3 million points later!"
Sigh, money-grubber through and through—her nose for cash was uncanny.
How was her intuition so sharp?
"I'm not being selfish here! If you're gonna waste it on a dead guy, use it on the living at least! Not this!"
Shin Seo-yeon was a realist.
Sharp with calculations, but with surprisingly clear principles.
'Human-centrism—she prioritizes humans above all.'
She didn't reject other beings, but when push came to shove, humans came first.
No matter how cute her pet, humans first.
Among humans, her people first; the living over the dead.
...She calculated everything within that framework.
"I can't accept wasting money on a dead body!"
Her strong opposition wouldn't budge even with a long explanation.
If I said I'd blow the sale money on myself, she'd grumble but not argue like this.
I placed one bottle of [Immortal Balm] on the workbench.
"Okay. Half for you then."
"!!"
One bottle was enough for two bodies anyway. This was unexpected surplus, so no big deal.
"...For real?"
Honestly, parts of Shin Seo-yeon's personality still baffled me, but what could I do? People are who they are.
Greedy and quick with numbers, but her gains were always for our party—so I accepted it.
"Th-Thanks."
"Hm?"
"N-Nothing!"
Shin Seo-yeon snatched the balm and scurried to the women. They huddled, whispering, then started smearing it on their faces.
"Whoa, feels so good!"
"This whitening and moisturizing is unreal."
"My skin feels alive."
Money, money, money—yet she indulged in luxuries like this, compromised with the group, and got along well. Surprisingly good with people.
"Unnie, should we not sell it and just use it ourselves?"
"Think so, Seo-yeon?"
"Honestly, it's amazing."
"I'm for using it too, but let's check the price first."
"Oh, good idea."
Shin Seo-yeon took the balm to the shopkeeper, then shook her head. Meaning it was priced like trash.
'Some items just don't fetch fair value.'
Especially player-popular ones not sold in shops—often undervalued.
The clueless women decided to use it as skincare, pocketing it with giggles.
'They've decided to use it—no need to mention the value now.'
I itched to tell them but held back.
Comforting myself that their improved skin benefited me too.
'Prettier girls are better in bed anyway.'
Anyway, let's see. Time to apply the balm.
I placed Barcus and Arknon's corpses on separate workbenches. Freshly dead, they were in pristine condition—blood still oozing from their hearts in real time.
"Everyone, step out for a bit?"
I sent the women away and used telekinesis to carefully coat the [Immortal Balm] over their entire bodies.
Once applied, the bodies would never decay.
Immune to decay-based attacks too.
And an undecaying undead could fully unleash its past prowess—sometimes even more.
'Hearts get ripped out for cores anyway, so damage there doesn't matter.'
No other wounds—perfect.
Outstanding stats, flawless bodies. Hard to find better vessels lately.
For [Death Knights].
'All set now. Just need the final piece.'
I gazed down at the two fully absorbed bodies with a faint smile.
"See you both again soon."
After successfully completing the crafting and fully applying the balm, the women were all geared up and waiting when I emerged.
They knew the drill now—prepped for the [Challenge Task].
"Here."
I split the remaining 90,000 points five ways among the party. Couldn't predict the task, so diversifying for possibilities.
After all safety measures, I focused on the shopkeeper.
A new window had activated beside him post-crafting.
Challenge Task: 'Sunlit Herb Shop' Owner's Suspicious Request
Focusing on it, the shopkeeper spoke up.
"Th-Thank you for boosting our sales. But... I have a favor to ask. Could you help me out...?"
Will you accept the Challenge Task?
We still didn't know the details. But everyone knew accepting triggered it, so tension spiked as we focused.
I eyed the shopkeeper again.
"I'll help. What's the request?"
"Wow, thanks! The pension oversight found a weird ancient machine and wants it checked for safety and functions!"
The stammering shopkeeper rattled off his lines excitedly. I snapped alert to the task type and opened my mouth to the party, but—
"I'll send you right now! Test it thoroughly!"
And in that instant, my vision went dark.
All senses vanished in a flash. When they returned, a musty smell lingered—faint disinfectant, metal, plastic, and old wiring mixed.
Epoxy-gray floor reflected ceiling lights; ahead, massive reinforced glass walls separated my space from the opposite side.
Atop the glass: 『■■ Equivalent Exchange Device』
'Ah, so it's this one.'
Beyond the glass, an empty 3-pyeong space.
But soon, a notification appeared...
The Challenge Task begins.
Lights flickered off, then on—revealing ten goblins sprawled on the floor.