Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: 29. In the Pitch-Black Night (2)
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Former Gangnam First Sword, Taewon Group Executive Director Jeong Hyun-sik.
His office-cum-residence was the Presidential Suite on the 32nd floor of the Parnassus Hotel, right across from COEX.
Before the Reset, the daily rate for this ultra-luxury room had been a staggering 15 million won.
Of course, there was no way the Serpent of Greed would have turned its head for a reason like that.
「Serpent of Greed」 - Narrative Compass
【Always covets the rare and precious.】
‘Rare and precious... It usually points to gear or something I absolutely need right now.’
Whatever it was, it meant there was definitely something valuable in that room.
“This way.”
Baek Do-hwan, who had escorted Yeongwoo to the Parnassus Hotel lobby, personally pushed open the large glass doors at the entrance to clear the path.
Then, eyeing the Neugig parked in egg-shaped “parking” right in front of the entrance with a look of dread, he cautiously spoke up.
“Um... there’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“The elevators here only operate at night.”
“Ah.”
It meant the elevators wouldn’t move until day-use services started and the building received “residential” status.
That damn petrification phenomenon had affected the entire Parnassus Hotel.
In other words...
“So how did the former First Sword get to his room?”
Even as Yeongwoo said this, his eyes were already on the emergency exit in the corner of the lobby.
Jeong Hyun-sik wouldn’t have had any other options. Unless climbing the outer walls, stairs were the only way.
And sure enough...
“He generally only used the room at night, as far as I know... but in unavoidable cases, he used the emergency exit.”
Baek Do-hwan’s hand soon pointed to the emergency exit as well.
“Yes. Got it.”
As Yeongwoo nodded and moved to actually use the emergency exit, Baek Do-hwan hurriedly added.
“Uh... then, First Sword, do you plan to stay in the room all day today?”
“Well... Do I have other schedules today?”
“If it’s alright with you, I was hoping to personally show you around Gangnam District. You probably don’t know the local specifics well...”
This was probably one of Baek Do-hwan’s political maneuvers.
Yeongwoo wanted to play along if possible, but he had too much to do right now.
He needed to properly check the spoils from the Golden Goblin, the karma paid in card form, and the gear from the last two mutants.
“I see. But I’d like to rest today.”
“Ah, I understand. Still, since you’ll need to keep in touch with us, I’ll station a staff member here full-time. Is that okay?”
“Yes. Please do.”
Yeongwoo nodded, then immediately started climbing the emergency exit.
* * *
Tatatak, tat!
Climbing the stairs from the 1st floor to the 32nd.
Yeongwoo couldn’t help but chuckle wryly at the sight of the Golden Goblin, sub-space pouch slung over its shoulder, scurrying after him.
He hadn’t particularly wanted a grand escort, but it was ridiculous that the regional top dog was climbing all these stairs himself.
“Damn it, what the hell is this? The world really has gone to shit.”
The “apocalypse” finally hitting home.
Still, the old Yeongwoo wouldn’t have been able to climb these stairs in one go.
Yeongwoo reached the 32nd-floor entrance in an instant, exhaled shortly, and pushed open the door leading to the hallway.
Swoosh.
A hotel corridor laid with rugs in bizarre patterns came into view.
‘That way, huh.’
The room number Baek Do-hwan had told him was 3233.
At the end of the long corridor stretching to the left was a large door—that seemed to be the room Jeong Hyun-sik had used alone.
Step, step.
It had been a while since he’d walked in a space where even his Mirage boots made no metallic clank.
-Keekit......
The Golden Goblin also seemed unsettled by this environment, so different from the battlefields it had been running around.
‘No keycard or anything?’
Arriving at room 3233, Yeongwoo skeptically pulled down the handle.
Click.
The lock disengaged.
And as Yeongwoo pulled, the door swung open.
“...Oh.”
The space beyond was so vast and luxurious it almost made him forget he’d come for something “rare and precious.”
“He used this huge room all by himself? The day-use fee must be insane.”
Muttering in admiration, Yeongwoo soon snapped to attention and headed in the direction the snake indicated.
-Shh.
This naturally led him through the spacious reception area to the office space in the corner of the suite.
And there...
“...Huh.”
He found something so blatantly an “item” that he no longer needed the snake’s guidance.
A pure white coin lying casually on the desk, as if it were no item at all.
Tap.
As Yeongwoo touched the coin, an enormous tooltip appeared.
「Blank Check」 - Unique Currency
【Transforms into contacted currency, once only.】
“......!”
Blank Check.
He’d seen it once before through a merchant.
‘He just left it like this?’
Of course, even locking it in a safe would be meaningless in a world ruled by superhumans.
‘Maybe he left it here so he wouldn’t use it carelessly by mistake.’
Yeongwoo shook his head.
Jeong Hyun-sik wasn’t an ordinary guy, that much was clear.
“This won’t activate just by putting it in there, right?”
As Yeongwoo picked up the ‘Blank Check’ and asked the Golden Goblin, it raised both arms high and stomped its feet.
-Keet! Kit!
Meaning “hand it over quick.”
Yeongwoo passed it to the goblin, confirmed it went into the sub-space pouch, then instructed again.
“Take it out again.”
Fortunately, the goblin pulled out the Blank Check in its unused state.
“Reliable performance.”
Its whole purpose was collecting and storing gear, after all.
But the real settling of accounts was just beginning.
He had to check the gear from today’s mutants and the gear from Gwangjin First Sword that the Golden Goblin had looted.
Since the Yongsan meeting, he’d acquired two mutant gears.
「Mutant Claw」 - Mutant Necklace
【Increased power against beast-type enemies.】
「Frost Crown」 - Mutant Helmet
【20% Cold Resistance】
‘Ah, a helmet like this.’
Yeongwoo felt regret seeing the ‘Frost Crown.’
With so much gear to collect, he knew a day like this would come eventually...
‘That’s why I sold the Extractor back then.’
「Extractor」 - Ancient One-Handed Hammer
【Converts gear into slot gems.】
He still remembered it from his first trade with the merchant.
Back then, that hammer cost 40,000 karma.
Pocket change now, but a fortune at the time.
‘Seeing Jeong Hyun-sik had the Blank Check... I might run into the same item again someday.’
When that happens, buy it without hesitation.
For now, Yeongwoo equipped the ‘Mutant Claw’ himself and handed the ‘Frost Crown’ to the Golden Goblin for pouch storage.
“Now, let’s see the Gwangjin First Sword’s gear.”
At Yeongwoo’s command, the goblin rummaged in the sub-space pouch.
-Keet!
Then it pulled out gear Yeongwoo hadn’t expected or even hoped for.
Thud.
None other than.
「Climber」 - Mutant Pants
【Jump distance tripled.】
Pants.
“Uh......? Gear includes pants too?”
And the unique effect was bizarre.
Jump distance increase... Was he supposed to fight giants someday?
‘Tripled is a huge effect, though.’
The pants he was wearing now were scorched and torn, practically crumbling.
‘Almost down to underwear... Perfect timing.’
As Yeongwoo touched the ‘Climber,’ the pants shimmered and equipped to his lower body.
Shwoosh!
‘Too tight-fitting? Anyway, next...’
As Yeongwoo looked at the goblin, it produced an axe and a ring.
「Merciless」 - Mutant One-Handed Axe
【Increased power against foes with lower total stats than wearer.】
「Agility」 - Mutant Ring
【When Sense is highest stat, gain 10% damage reduction.】
‘Oh, Agility’s pretty good.’
He had plenty of good weapons already, but rings and accessories were always welcome.
And it suited him perfectly, user of Sense Theft.
‘The stronger the opponent, the higher the chance Agility activates. For constant effect, just pump more into Sense.’
Through this settling, he ultimately gained increased power vs. beast-types, conditional damage reduction, and tripled jump distance......
“......”
Yeongwoo stared at the Climber pants that looked like leather trousers for a moment, then began the long-postponed dream project.
By bringing a coin to his mouth.
Flash!
「Character Settings Change」
|Appearance
|Stats
‘Let’s do it.’
What Yeongwoo planned this time was an appearance change.
He’d already set a combat-optimized appearance preset before, which required exactly 2,116,000 karma.
* Available Karma: 3,112,500
With over 3.11 million in cash, now was the time or never.
“Whew.”
He’d tried mutant corneas on his eyes and camouflage changes, but altering body structure and size was a whole new challenge.
It meant becoming an entirely different being outwardly.
‘...Ap, Appearance.’
Selecting appearance change brought up another interface.
「For user convenience, three types of preset bundles are provided.」
|Combat
|Charm
|Special
A menu he hadn’t seen in a while.
Selecting ‘Combat’ from the three presets opened a semi-transparent box on the left side of his view, displaying dozens of body samples inside.
‘Jeez.’
Even the second time, it was hard to get used to.
These samples, in stark nudity, showed bodies the system deemed advantageous for combat within human limits.
Around 2 meters tall, perfect balance of upper and lower body both aesthetically and functionally.
‘......’
Yeongwoo, well aware his own limbs were somewhat short and his upper frame unimpressive, felt a strange mix of emotions seeing these near-perfect bodies.
The phrase “Born 4th Grade” echoed in his mind.
Maybe this was victim mentality.
But even that mentality might be a 4th Grade trait.
Yeongwoo cleared the messy thoughts and summoned the body preset he’d picked out in advance.
A sample appeared, very similar to the others but strangely familiar to Yeongwoo’s eyes.
And below it.
[2,116,000]
The total karma needed for that body.
2.116 million karma.
Still no small sum, but with his increased total stats, a worthy investment now.
The reach from longer arms, the stride from extended legs.
These weren’t gains from stats alone.
‘Basically plastic surgery.’
Yeongwoo chuckled wryly and approved the preset purchase.
A final confirmation, almost a warning, appeared.
「All appearance changes are permanent, and some elements may be inherited in the next generation.」
「Proceed?」