Chapter 48

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 48

Chapter Title: Rewards Settlement

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"Whoa! We got the bonus stats!"

"No way. They're giving us 10 points?"

The people I liked were thrilled.

Even Lee Se-ra, who had been hiding in stealth, was grinning ear to ear, so she must have gotten them too.

There was no way they'd just hand them out for free. She must have chipped in by smacking a few skeletons while staying hidden.

And the final notification seemed to be just for me—no one else reacted to it.

Alchemy Oversight Bureau Certificate.

It was an official certificate issued by the department overseeing alchemy. Holding it let you enter certain areas to trigger a [Challenge Task].

The challenge I'd done at that restaurant, Eternia Feast, was exactly one of those.

'I got resident privileges for it, but normally you have to take down a raid boss to earn that benefit.'

Theoretically, it was a route that could net you even Transcendent-grade items. Of course, you'd need top scores, but since it was worth that much, I could make a killing selling it later.

'Alright, let's dump these bonus stats into Strength.'

As I was allocating my stats, hurried footsteps approached.

"Min-jun!"

I closed my status window, and there was the Saintess in my view. She came sprinting toward me like a pet dog racing to its owner, then hopped right into my arms with a shout.

"Min-jun! You're amazing! Taking down all those undead by yourself!"

The Saintess pressed her soft chest against me, her eyes sparkling as she unleashed a barrage of praise. Ha, that innocent smile was pure healing.

Her hips especially—why were they so big and perfectly plush?

Full and firm, yet sexy in that priestess robe, the [Robes of Lumina] made them silky smooth too. Just groping her ass washed away all the exhaustion from the fight.

"Min-jun, you're really amazing!"

Of course, our pure Saintess had no idea I was kneading her ass for all it was worth and just kept showering me with compliments.

Thud.

Then I sensed another presence approaching, so I set the Saintess down.

Over the Saintess's shoulder—who was clinging to me like glue—a figure strode up purposefully.

"Dickhead."

The Crimson Flame Witch, hands-down the top S-Rank mage, stood before me with her eyes narrowed intently.

"That thing earlier? That was my ability. How'd you use it?"

Suspicious glare.

She wasn't letting it slide, huh.

I'd expected the question, so I nodded casually.

"Yeah. In exchange for boosting your stats, I get to borrow your ability once a day for a short time."

I held out my left hand and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conjured a flame. Shin Seo-yeon and the Saintess's eyes went wide.

The red flames roared fiercely before gently fading away.

The time was up, and it disappeared.

Shin Seo-yeon crossed her arms and glared at me.

"For real? That's it?"

But her vibe said the explanation wasn't fully accepted yet.

"Really nothing else to say? Spill it. How'd a first-timer use my ability better than me?"

Ah, so that was it.

She must have thought I handled her ability way better than her and got wary about it.

'How'd I use it better...'

...Because I'd watched her practice it a ton back in the day.

After spotting an old acquaintance during the Selection Process, the Crimson Flame Witch always dragged me along whenever she practiced magic in the Rest Area.

She probably needed someone to cover her weaknesses and secrets. Thanks to that, I spent whole days as her errand boy while she practiced.

-Water.

-Come here and massage my feet.

My body worked overtime, and my mind never got a break.

-Hmm, there has to be a more efficient way than just hurling fireballs... Dickhead, got any ideas? Think. Squeeze that dumb brain of yours.

80% of the techniques she developed and used were brainstormed with me. So adapting them wasn't hard for me.

Of course, the ones needing advanced calculations and practice were beyond me.

I shrugged.

"Honestly, what do I know about your ability? I just mimicked stuff from games and movies to see if it'd work."

"......"

"Some worked like I thought, some didn't."

Once I admitted some didn't work, her expression finally softened. It was so blatantly relieved—not like her at all—that I almost chuckled.

Of course, she didn't forget to add a jab.

"Dickhead, clear some time for me later."

"?"

"Help me develop techniques."

So it came to this after all. My future of tech development with her hadn't changed. But there was a difference from back then.

"For free?"

I was the one in control now.

"Ugh. Fi-fine, if you make time for me, I'll... make time for you too..."

Somehow it felt like both tech dev and satisfying my lust were really for her benefit.

"Got it."

I accepted. Best to overwrite bad memories with good ones. Unlike Round 1, this time the practice sessions could be fun.

I reached out, tucked Shin Seo-yeon under my arm, slipped my hand into her panties, and fingered her pussy. Her face flushed as she trembled and stayed put.

Lately, the Crimson Flame Witch just took the fingering without resisting.

"Anyway, good work, both of you."

"Good work to you too, Min-jun."

"You too."

'Lee Se-ra, good work from you too.'

I nodded to Lee Se-ra, who had dropped stealth and was resting at the boss room entrance. She waved back with a nod.

'But where's the other one?'

Right then, I spotted Han So-hee. I stopped fingering Shin Seo-yeon and walked over.

In the corner of the boss room, she was gently closing the eyes of the dead Go Cheol-woo.

Her murmur suddenly felt familiar.

"Go Manager, I'll survive. And I'll prove it—your sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"......"

"Thank you. My first and last protector."

Then the chaebol heiress quietly covered his face with a spare priestess robe she'd kept.

She stood, gave us a plain smile, and felt worlds different from when we'd first met—like she'd grown a ton.

I held out my hand.

"Good work on the raid. Looking forward to more."

"Same here."

She shook my hand, then shook with Shin Seo-yeon and the Saintess in turn.

I'd thought she'd troll in the pinch and get shredded by Shin Seo-yeon, but after fighting for our lives together, some camaraderie must have formed. Shin Seo-yeon just said this:

"I'll let it slide since you worked hard protecting me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Sis at the end."

"Thanks for waiting."

Unlike our rocky first meeting, we'd built trust with each other and safely cleared our first Trial.

Personally, I saw it as the biggest win of all.

"Alright, we've got the raid boss down, so let's farm and settle up."

The mood brightened instantly at my words.

"Yes! Let's do it!"

"Dickhead! Let's go!"

I led the group to the raid boss first.

Resetting the corpse made it vanish with a whoosh, dropping a small spellbook.

"Pfft. Boss mob and only one drop?"

"We got 10 bonus stats. Don't count that out."

"Hey, that's separate. This guy's a priest, figures he's broke. Looks like he embezzled, but why's he this poor?"

True enough. But the item wasn't bad.

"Not bad at all."

"For real?"

Shin Seo-yeon snatched the book, her eyes bulging.

"Epic-grade? How good is Epic?"

"One step above Rare. It's Common-Rare-Epic-Legendary-Transcendent."

"Oh, so one step above my staff? Pretty decent then."

Yeah, decent. But way too stingy for the ordeal.

Field bosses dropped Epic too, so not great in that sense.

"Anyway, summoning fits you best, Hana."

"Huh? R-really? Wouldn't it help someone else more for hunting?"

"You need guards to protect your body, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. After one raid, they'd realized healers were just as crucial as DPS.

"Give it a summon."

The Saintess took the Necromancer's Book and tried summoning.

Whoosh.

Channeling mana into the book turned it black, rising like haze.

It shot off to the nearest player corpse around us and vanished inside.

Crack. Crunch.

The body twitched immediately, and a skeleton rose from within.

Freshly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shed its flesh? Chunks of meat clung to the bones, blood dripping...

"Eek!"

The Saintess shrieked like she might faint and plastered herself to my side. Clatter clatter. The skeleton toddled after her, oblivious to her terror.

"S-save me!"

She played tag with it, using me as a shield.

Looked like summoning wasn't for her.

Sure enough, she canceled it without hesitation.

"N-no thanks for me!"

So the Necromancer's Book went to Shin Seo-yeon.

"Oh, boosts Intelligence too? Sweet."

"Is that it for settlement?"

Even the innocent Saintess seemed a bit disappointed after all that for just one item.

"No way. Let's grab the next rewards."

"Huh? There's more?"

Of course. We wouldn't risk our lives for one drop. The Selection Process was pretty fair on rewards.

"Go outside and grab our stuff first."

Excited at more loot, the group dashed out and returned with their bags.

Meanwhile, I scanned the vast stone chamber and headed to one spot.

'This seems right.'

Checked everywhere—only this wall had cracks. So...

"Seo-yeon, blast this wall with some fireballs."

"Got it."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wall shook, cracks deepening. They spiderwebbed out, widening until...

Rumble rumble rumble.

A hidden chamber revealed.

"Oh my god."

"Wh-what is all this?"

"Incredible."

Waves of gold and priceless treasures.

The 300-pyeong stone room brimmed with loot.

Most raid bosses dropped items and had separate treasure vaults like this.

"But what's that orb in the center? Most valuable? Or a trap?"

Shin Seo-yeon—greed tempered by caution—pointed at the vault's heart and nudged me for analysis. I eyed it and snorted.

'The lich's core was here.'

"Remember that guy we killed? He regenerated every hit. That's the energy source."

"Ah-ha. Valuable then?"

"...Depends, but probably."

Shin Seo-yeon bolted and snatched it. Then she started grabbing everything pricey in sight.

Not to be outdone, the Saintess and Han So-hee lined up like at a buffet, picking as they went.

I followed, checking for useful stuff.

Mostly gaudy gold and jewels. Sellable for cash but heavy and inefficient.

Lots of fancy robes too. [Rare]-grade like the ones from normal mobs, but way better options.

'Sell to other players for profit.'

Nothing beat the Legendary [Robes of Lumina], so no need for the Saintess to swap.

As I browsed, the two ahead slowed, peeking at me. I waved it off, guessing why.

"Don't mind me—grab whatever looks good. I'm only into weapons."

"Still..."

"Really, no bullshit."

They finally joined Shin Seo-yeon in looting. I nodded at their picks.

'A few Epic items. Guess the real rewards were here—that's why the drop felt stingy.'

[Full Appraisal] showed they were low-end Epics, but still.

Profit was profit. Epics sold well.

The two left plenty, so I started grabbing too.

Scoop. Scoop scoop.

Stuffed my backpack, hung extras, used duffels when full.

"Dickhead, that looks good? Got spares? Lend me one."

Shin Seo-yeon clung, whining at my duffel. I was happy to lend.

"50% of profits."

"What? Too much! We're not strangers! We've done it tons like this!"

Han So-hee was nearby, so the Crimson Flame Witch wiggled her hips emphatically instead of spelling it out. I shrugged.

"No thanks, then."

"......"

I packed my duffel to overflowing—more than hers—and she held up two fingers solemnly.

"20%."

"50%."

"30."

"50. But I'll lend two."

"Damn cheapskate. Fine, gimme."

Sweet, one porter hired.

"You two want loans too?"

"Really?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Two more porters added.

Ugh! The women stuffed duffels like moneybags unleashed.

Yet the vault was so packed, picking was tough.

'...Empty inventory and take it all? Nah. Most for shop anyway—99 mediocre items might beat one good weapon.'

I ended up dragging two duffels like the rest, cherry-picking valuables like Shin Seo-yeon.

'This looks pricey, that one's not bad.'

That's when something in the corner caught my eye.

I approached the gold pile, where part of a body peeked out, and brushed coins aside.

'What's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this?'

Amid the treasure and gold heap sat a shabby old lantern.

But its value was anything but low.