Chapter 94
Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Twins
Liliana.
It was a familiar name. If my memory served me right, the shadow wolf I had seen yesterday had that exact name. To confirm my suspicions, I used [Full Appraisal] on the twins.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
⚡ Skill: [Polymorph]
'As expected.'
Both of them possessed the same ability. It was intriguing to see twins both holding such an extremely rare, Mythic-grade skill.
'But Han So-hee knows them?'
"Oho. You know the White Sisters of Novakrest? As expected of the Cheongsung Group's heir," Shin Seo-yeon said, shooting a sly glance and poking Han So-hee in the ribs.
Han So-hee simply scoffed in response. "Who knows."
"Don't be like that. Spill it. What's your relationship with them? You guys definitely don't look like casual acquaintances."
They certainly didn't seem close, but it was hard to call them mere nodding acquaintances either. If anything, there seemed to be some bad blood between them.
"Are you curious too?" Han So-hee turned and asked me.
I just shrugged. It didn't really matter to me whether I knew or not. But for whatever reason, she gave a flat explanation anyway.
"We're just acquaintances who have bumped into each other since childhood because our families' businesses overlap. They always get overly competitive whenever they see me. It seems they view me as a rival or something."
The moment she said that, the twins—who had been quietly eavesdropping on their own introduction—reacted fiercely.
"Ha, what? Us, seeing you as a rival?"
"Ridiculous. Our only rivals are Emilia and Ekaterina! Right, Lily?"
"Yeah! As if a nobody like you could ever be our rival!"
Did that remark strike a nerve? Thankfully, the riled-up twins completely missed Isera's offhand comment. They were the type who would have flipped out if they had heard it.
But their anger ended up spilling over in a different direction. The older twin—Eliana, was it?—suddenly glared at me.
"But who is this guy? Some fuck buddy or something?"
"You don't need to know."
"Hmmm. Judging by the vibe, you aren't just friends with benefits... is he your boyfriend? Have your tastes really fallen to poor commoners?"
"What a downgrade, right, sis?"
"Yeah, Lily."
Just like that, they dragged me into the crossfire just to diss Han So-hee.
"......"
"Hey, say something. The girl who claimed she had no time to date because she had to run a company picked a guy like this?"
"Pfft. Pathetic."
They snickered, closely watching Han So-hee's expression. She furrowed her brow.
"...You're taking this too far."
"Whoa, So-hee's pissed."
"Cute."
They were using polite phrasing, but it felt like they had zeroed in on a weak spot and were relentlessly prodding at it. It was an overt provocation.
Gurgle~
Because their stomachs had been loudly growling this entire time, their words lacked any real bite. How should I put it? I felt like I had already won the argument without even needing to fire back.
"You guys must be hungry."
"Yeah, they've been starving for a while," the Saintess noted.
Both the Saintess and Isera had heard the stomach gurgles too. In that case, I knew exactly what to do. I deliberately opened a bag of snacks and started munching.
"Look at him eat! So tacky... right, sis...?"
"Yeah, it is. Lily... gulp."
The twins, who had just been tearing into me, froze, their eyes completely fixated on the junk food in my hand. I crunched the potato chips loudly, blasting ASMR levels of noise while savoring every single bite.
"......"
"......"
The two of them suddenly went dead silent.
"M-Min-jun oppa."
"...Oppa, you're evil."
"Damn, Dickhead, that's even worse than what I'd do."
I kept flaunting the snacks regardless. The twins were completely ignoring So-hee now, staring intensely at the chips in my hand.
I even used my chip-laden hand to fan the air toward them, wafting the scent in their direction. Their pretty pupils began to quake as if they were experiencing a massive earthquake.
"M-Min-jun oppa... They're from incredibly rich families, you know. What if they get mad?" the Saintess voiced her concern.
But right now, it didn't matter in the slightest that they were heirs to some massive corporation back on Earth. So what if they were hotshots? Right now, they were just two starving twenty-year-olds.
After toying with them enough, I pulled out two identical bags of snacks and dangled them in the air.
"You look hungry. Want some?"
"Hmph. Y-You really think we'd eat cheap crap like that?"
"R-Right. Our tastes are way more refined than that."
Sure, probably. But hunger levels all playing fields. Even the haughty Han So-hee had eagerly eaten Specter corpses when she was starving—and sucked my dick just as eagerly.
"Here, take it. You're friends with So-hee, right? If you don't take them, I'm just going to toss them."
I practically begged as I shoved the bags into their hands. They grabbed onto them tightly, their expressions screaming that they had absolutely no other choice.
"Well, if you insist that much."
"We'll accept it because of your sincerity, right, sis?"
"Yeah, Lily."
Then, they tore into the bags ravenously. They grinned from ear to ear at the taste. As the 'White Sisters,' they carried a mature air for their age, yet they still gave off a subtly childish vibe.
"So-hee's boyfriend is actually kinda useful."
"Yeah, I guess not all commoners are the same. He's different from our escorts."
"Ugh, don't even get me started on them. I thought I was going to suffocate back then. This guy is... pretty decent-looking for a commoner, too."
"Yeah, not bad for an Easterner."
And just like that, their opinion of me skyrocketed. All it took was a little bit of food—they were incredibly easy to handle.
"So, is it just the two of you left? No family or escorts?" Han So-hee asked.
The twins shrugged nonchalantly before answering.
"They all croaked."
"Mom and Dad swore Earth wasn't going to end, so they stayed behind. We crossed over with some mercenaries."
"Honestly, those escorts were totally useless. We hired them because they were famous, but they died way too easily. Right, sis?"
"No, Lily, it's just that we're that special."
"Oh, yeah?"
They were definitely special, that much was true. Polymorph was an ability that truly shined in the early game.
'Unlike others who are forced to scrape by with mediocre stats, they had it easy in every conceivable way.'
Plus, their performance yesterday proved they had insane adaptability. It was no joke—they had completely outfought actual shadow wolves. It was impressive enough on its own, but they weren't solo acts.
'One downside of Polymorph is that it draws heavy monster aggro.'
Even in large parties, giant monsters typically make Polymorph players their prime targets, which frequently leads to injuries. But these two? The aggro was split between them, and assuming their twin synergy allowed for perfect teamwork... there probably wasn't a single shapeshifter in the entire Selection Process who could match them.
'And yet, no shapeshifters like them ever reached the final trial.'
This meant that, just like the other players, they eventually died to the trial's bullshit. Conversely, with a little help, they could easily survive and reliably pull their weight.
'Above all, they're the perfect fit for our team right now.'
Shapeshifting meant they could fill versatile roles. They were a wild card that could shift to meet whatever the trials demanded. I quietly fiddled with the [Summoner's Letter Envelope] in my pocket.
'I can overcome shapeshifter limits now.'
I could bring high-trial mobs here, then let them farm huge amounts of stats in the trial zones.
'But I can't add them to the party just yet.'
They still needed vetting to see if they were actually team material. Plenty of other shapeshifters would appear later on, so there was no need to desperately cling to these two. The same went for other ability users.
Decision made: I would only provide a minimal investment for now.
"Here."
"?"
I split the remaining trade goods into two bundles and handed one to each twin.
"Is this for us?"
"For free?"
I nodded. "You're friends with So-hee. Her friends are my friends. Come by often, and I'll hook you up every time."
The onlookers who had been watching the exchange nodded approvingly. Of course—if you're going to hand out freebies to build connections, who better to target?
"You're alright."
"Yeah, he really knows his stuff for a commoner, sis."
"Fine, we'll accept it for the gesture."
Still chewing their food, the twins haughtily pocketed the goods. Their upturned noses screamed arrogance, but the smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths were incredibly charming. At the very least, they had some manners—both of them pulled their shoulder bags forward, opened them, and offered something in return.
"A gift."
"Take it."
[Strength Shard]
[Agility Shard]
I was genuinely surprised. No wonder...
"Where did you get these?"
"Huh? These?"
In perfect sync, they shoved their shoulder bags toward me. Their movements were a perfect mirror image of one another, with zero margin for error. That eerie symmetry probably would have startled me if I wasn't so preoccupied.
'Ha.'
There were so many. Stat shards completely filled each bag. There were easily twenty per bag. And that wasn't all. Looking closely, I realized they were actually wearing stat shards as accessories. Some were even sewn directly into their clothes.
'Are their base stats sky-high too?'
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Name: Eliana / Liliana
Level: 2
Strength: 20
Agility: 40
Stamina: 40
Intellect: 52
They had dumped about 110 bonus stats into their profiles each. Accounting for the 20 Intellect provided by [Polymorph] and the 20 stats granted at Level 2, they had each absorbed a whopping 70 stat points. There was no way they...
"We're just pretty, that's all. Right, Lily?"
"Yeah, sis. Guys swarm us like mayflies."
"It's annoying. Weaklings keep charging at us."
"Yeah, so we punish them, and they cough these up sometimes. Not always, though. The smelly corpses usually have them, so we just take those. We picked some off the road, too."
...Good. At least they weren't aspiring [Human Hunters].
Anyway, smelling stat shards on corpses? That was a first for me.
'Do they gain new abilities from their monster forms?'
That explained yesterday's events to some degree. One of them had hung back to loot hidden shards from the corpses. Isera, completely unaware of this, had been digging through the bodies for her own target shards and got spotted.
'They attacked us, but we were tougher than they expected, so they bailed because they were suspicious.'
It was better to ditch a single shard than risk fighting an unseen foe. There was no need to theorize any further—their bags were stuffed, and their bodies were practically adorned with the things.
"Why carry stat shards around without absorbing them?" I asked.
They immediately shot back.
"We aren't idiots."
"You don't know?"
Han So-hee let out a deep sigh and whispered the explanation to me. "They're showing off."
"......"
Uh, so... they weren't saving them for later, they were just flaunting their wealth? It was completely ridiculous, but when I thought about their habits back on Earth, it kind of clicked. A little bit. It was just like toting around pricey jewels or luxury bags.
"Sis, this is really good."
"Yeah, eat fast so we can try the others."
Completely separate from the conversation, they eagerly devoured the cheap snacks.
'Junk food always tastes the best.'
I beckoned them over. They looked curious, but driven by the favor of free food, they approached obediently.
"Do you want to trade those stat shards to me?"
"These?"
"Yeah, I'll give you something of equivalent value."
Hmm. They pondered it for a moment, then snickered.
"So-hee's boyfriend is cute."
"Pfft. You think you can buy all of this?"
It was a mock-worthy proposal. Just how many shards were there? Enough to completely flip a fingerless slave's entire status. But they laughed purely, with an attitude of, "Of course a commoner would think that."
So, I pulled an item from my waist pouch and held it up.
"See this?"
They gawked, their sapphire eyes widening instantly.
"Wha...?"
"W-What is that?"
⚙ ITEM ⚙
Name: Subspace Pouch
Grade: Mythic
Explanation: A pouch infused with an ancient god's power. It looks small, but it can hold a massive amount.
Their eyes bulged so far I thought they might pop out as they read the description. I dangled it teasingly.
"It's a Subspace Pouch. You can easily fit the contents of two large duffel bags inside. But the real kicker? The weight never increases, no matter how much you stuff in it."
"R-Really?"
"Are you convinced now?"
I didn't even need to ask—their eyes were sparkling, and their fingers twitched eagerly.
"Hey, wait. You're trading that rare thing for stat shards?" Shin Seo-yeon jumped in, surprised.
Han So-hee glanced at the pouch briefly and agreed. "No more lugging heavy backpacks around. Are you really giving that up?"
"Right."
The Subspace Pouch. It was a Mythic-grade item. As they had pointed out, it was a top-tier luxury for anyone in the early stages of the Selection Process.
'But not for me.'
Lugging backpacks around was routine for me anyway. Plus, I had my own inventory. I could hold 99 of any item per slot—which was leagues beyond what the pouch offered. There was no reason for me to cling to it.
'A rough count puts it at a minimum of 30 shards.'
Theoretically, that was the equivalent of killing 30,000 people. It was an incredibly cheap trade for a Mythic item.
"Deal?"
"......"
I watched the twins closely. They wanted it, badly. But they were no fools—they hesitated. Desire flared in their trembling eyes, but the gears in their heads were rapidly turning. Still, the promise of never having to haul bulky backpacks again slowly tipped the scales.
"No more starving if we have that, sis."
"Yeah, I know. But 42 shards... Can't we just forage like we are now?"
I asked them, incredulous. "You guys don't carry food with you?"
"We only have two hands. Are you dumb?"
"Backpacks exist, you know."
They looked at me with pity, then remembered who I was and explained kindly.
"The bags here absolutely suck style-wise. They ruin our class the second we put them on. Right, Lily?"
"Yeah, sis. We'd rather starve."
...There was a very high chance these two had starved to death before reaching the final trial.
"But I do want that bag."
"Yeah, it's not retro, but the leather quality and vintage style are pretty decent."
After appraising it, they eyed me, then eyed the girls in my party. Their decision was made.
"Deal."
"Do you have another one?" they asked, eyeing the girls' waists.
I immediately shut that down. "Gather more shards next time. Maybe then."
"Okay. Do you promise?"
The trade was sealed.
They fought over the pouch for a while—Eliana (the older sister) versus Liliana (the younger sister). They finally agreed to alternate days, with Eliana belting it on first.
From somewhere behind me, I heard Shin Seo-yeon stifle a laugh. Glancing over, I saw Han So-hee smiling faintly beside the giggling Crimson Flame Witch.
"Heh heh. You completely hooked them."
In short, they knew the shards were far more valuable than the pouch, too. I had used reverse psychology to bluff them, and the twins bit down hard.
'Cunning as ever.'
I smacked their asses approvingly.
"...Min-jun oppa's pouch is gone," the Saintess murmured, eyeing the transferred pouch wistfully, completely oblivious to the scam.
Isera sucked on her fingers enviously as I absorbed the shards, looking up at me. "No Intellect?"
"Nah, none."
They had probably absorbed all of those while farming to extend their transformation times.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Strength stat increased by 1.]
[Stamina stat increased by 1.]
...
'Phew, a total of +44 stats?'
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Name: Kang Min-jun
Level: 2
Strength: 148 (+4)
Agility: 109 (+10)
Stamina: 131 (+18)
Intellect: 104 (+37)
I didn't even need to farm shards anymore—these numbers were insane. These girls were unbelievable, casually carrying around that many unabsorbed stats.
They stuffed their new snacks into the pouch, bounced around excitedly for a while, and then trotted back over to me.
"?"
They both pecked me on the cheeks, smacked my ass, and laughed.
"Nice, right? Feel free to brag about it everywhere. A poor commoner kissed by Eliana."
"You should be honored to be kissed by Liliana."
"???"
Then, they turned to Han So-hee.
"And So-hee, prepare yourself for next time. We haven't forgotten what happened 10 years ago."
"Right. You'd better pray we don't meet in battle."
"......"
They finished their monologue and immediately zipped off toward their lodging. No goodbyes. It was so one-sided and swift that we were all just left standing there, dazed.
Shin Seo-yeon recovered first and patted Han So-hee on the shoulder. "Total free spirits, huh? Weren't they denying being your rivals just a minute ago? They're totally marking their territory. Tough break."
"...Nah. This happens all the time."
Anyway, we had stocked the pouch with food, gained solid stats, and had the shadow wolf shift—we wouldn't die easily now. Even if we headed straight to the toughest third trial location.
"Why were they starving when they had all those shards?" I asked.
"They probably blew all their money."
"Pardon?"
Han So-hee shook her head as if the answer was incredibly obvious. "I bet they hit the priciest restaurant the second they got here and spent every last dime. It's obvious."
"......"
People certainly had different spending habits. They blew it all on day one and clearly had absolutely no regrets.
The petty storm passed, dusk fell, the world darkened—and we finally closed up shop.
Back at our lodging, we divided the earnings into exactly five equal shares. The Saintess had contributed the most, followed by me. But we maintained equal shares based on her stubborn stance that "we all worked hard together."
[Total Revenue: 87,284]
"Whoa, that much!"
"J-Jackpot."
"Everyone worked so hard!"
"Good job."
Business had boomed, and the results followed.
[Personal Share: 17,456]
17,456 points each.
Grinding trials for two days had only netted us 300 points. But this? This was 60 times that amount—all for just a single day of work. It was massive.
"Umhahaha!" Shin Seo-yeon bellowed heartily—it was her signature happy laugh.
The others smiled broadly, avoiding any crass guffaws, but they were clearly drunk on the joy of earning so much. Plus, there was a sense of fulfillment in knowing we had helped people rather than just robbing them.
"Dickhead is the best!"
"Yeah, Min-jun oppa completely fixed our finances."
"Hee hee. Oppa is the best."
"Kyaaang...!"
The quick-witted harpy joined the celebration, happily kneading my shoulders. It felt good. I finally understood why Seo-yeon had made me do it.
"So, what's next?"
[Remaining Points: 29,630]
I checked my balance and spoke without hesitation. "We made bank, so let's eat. We skipped lunch, right?"
We washed up and headed straight for the priciest spot in the area. Rest Areas all had commercial districts; the higher-tier ones were simply more specialized and expansive. This one was split neatly down the middle into two sections.
'The priciest places are always right in the center.'
Using the customer intel I had gathered from vending earlier, I asked the group, "What do you guys want to eat? The left side is meat, the right side is fish."
"We had beef last time—should we do fish now?"
"Anywhere is fine with me."
"Tuna!"
The Saintess and Han So-hee abstained from voting, so fish it was. I led them to a massive, familiar-looking Japanese restaurant.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Entered 'Tsukihara'.]
[Resident perk: A 50% food discount has been applied.]
[Resident perk: A hidden feature has been activated. Check the menu after your meal.]
'Ah, there's a challenge here.'
Early [Challenges] typically spawned in the best shops, usually divided evenly into food, general goods, weapons, and armor. They were easy enough to track down among those four categories right now.
'Later on, when there are endless types of obscure shops, it becomes a real headache.'
I was lucky to have the resident perk providing direct hints. Normally, you'd have to haul around related items, test trades at every single shop, and furiously hunt through menus—a totally tedious process.
"Are we doing omakase this time?"
"Looks like it."
"Whoa, this is my first time at a place like this."
"...Big-tits sis, it's fine if it's your first time, but hurry up and get inside."
"Ah, sorry."
The Saintess scurried inside. The aroma of high-end dining immediately wafted over us.
The hall was made of glossy obsidian, heavily contrasted by a single line of white marble running down the center. Faint lanterns dotted the path; following them led us to a staff member who bowed politely from the shadows.
"How many in your party?"
"Five."
"Right this way."
The staff member led us straight down the white marble path, surrounded by black obsidian. The lights suddenly brightened, revealing a long table meant to seat twenty people.
"Welcome."
The master chef was already waiting and began serving us the moment we sat down. As I gripped my utensils, I felt four intense stares bearing down on me.
"What?"
"How is this one?"
"Is this the right place?"
Ha, they were in full player mode. They were already thinking about challenges before the feast had even begun.
"Yep."
The girls' faces lit up.
"I wonder what it is."
"I hope it's something good. The auction house wasn't a loss, but it was pretty disappointing."
"Yeah. Plus, we actually have money now."
The Saintess and Isera looked especially expectant—last time they were completely broke, missed their shot, and it had clearly stung.
"Do you already know something?" Han So-hee asked. She was probably wondering if I had pre-knowledge of this trial via my abilities, too.
"Nah, I have no clue."
I had my guesses, sure. But the challenges were randomized based on the shop's theme, so I couldn't pin it down exactly. There were some I had never even heard of. The known Round 1 challenges? Those were only the ones reported by successful survivors. Which meant there were deadly, failed challenges lurking out there as well.
But I wasn't worried. I had an ace up my sleeve if things went sideways.
"Anyway, let's just enjoy the meal first."
"Right. We need to eat well so we don't make rash choices on an empty stomach."
"...The food is slow. Can't they hurry up?"
"Kid, have a little class, why don't you?"
"Still better than you, Auntie."
As they happily bantered back and forth, I reached for my utensils again.
Flicker.
'Hm?'
The overhead lantern flickered. The world rapidly flashed between pitch black and blindingly bright; the warm yellow light slowly turned a sinister red. The already dim space darkened even further.
"Is this...?"
"Is this a welcoming lighting effect?" the Saintess asked uneasily, clinging close to me.
It was weird—we had all sat separately. How had she managed to walk right up beside me?
"Hey, I hate the dark—turn the lights back to..." Shin Seo-yeon started, but halted mid-sentence as she looked toward the chef.
The chef was gone; instead, a server stood silently before us. The table and our utensils had completely vanished. All that remained was the black obsidian floor and the long white marble path. The marble was now glowing a deep, bloody red.
'No way.'
I checked the door behind us, but it was barred solid. I pushed against it, but it didn't budge an inch.
"How many in your party?" the server asked. It was the exact same voice from earlier.
"Is this deja vu...?"
It was too eerie to just be deja vu. The shifting lighting completely changed the mood of the room. The server's uniform had also changed—from crisp white to a pitch-black suit.
But his face was much, much worse.
There was no light reflecting off him, and he had no discernible features—just a pitch-black, shadowy form. It was eerie and incredibly gloomy.
"M-Min-jun oppa," the Saintess whimpered, clinging to me even tighter now that she had seen it too.
Han So-hee answered the entity flatly. "Five."
"Right this way."
The server led us forward, and we cautiously followed. It was the exact same interior. A heavy sense of deja vu enveloped us all.
Flicker.
The lights blinked again, but nothing changed. Instead, a single alert popped up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Entered Heat Haze ■■ ■■.]
Now I knew exactly what challenge this was.
It was an infamous, unavoidable Round 1 killer. The rewards were absolutely massive, but the difficulty was brutal—it ranked among the top worst challenges to get. People called it:
'Angel and Demon.'
📜 CHALLENGE STARTS 📜