Chapter 22
Chapter 22
[Blavis Concentrate]
Info 1: Consuming this will permanently cause blindness.
Oh my god...
Back in the Ruined Game days, poisons at least had a duration.
But the poison right in front of me...
'Permanent?!'
I pulled my hand away from the bowl in surprise, and the village chief looked at me with an intrigued gaze.
"Ho-oh... I guess you do have a useful talent?"
I ignored her comment and used the blessing on the remaining bowls.
And when I checked the information on the fourth bowl,
[Elixir Concentrate]
Info 1: Consuming this awakens the body.
This is it!
I lifted the bowls in both hands and looked at the village chief.
"Is that an elixir?"
"I believe so."
She gave a sly smile at my words,
"Then drink it."
Really... is it okay to drink this...?
Elixirs are the best secret medicine that boosts a character's performance, excluding skills.
But right now, my body only had 5 stats gained from eating the byproducts of a Remote Control Zombie.
'Drinking it now would only increase my stats a little... I've already explored it, so I can buy it anytime.'
I nodded and placed the elixir back on the table, and not only the village chief but even Ha-rang stared at my face at my action.
"Hmm? Why aren't you drinking it? You said it was an elixir."
"I don't know what your intention was in giving me this opportunity. However..."
It'd be a waste if a noob like me drank this medicine.
Gulp.
I swallowed my saliva and phrased my true feelings more politely.
"I am far too weak to consume such a precious elixir."
Inside the tent, only the sound of my nervous breathing could be heard,
Bang! Bang!!
"Pu-hahaha!!! This guy is a riot, kekeke..."
Ah... did I survive...?
The village chief slapped the armrest of her chair and burst into loud laughter, and I was relieved by her expression.
Perhaps because the tension I had barely been maintaining was released, my body lost all its strength,
Thump.
I landed on my butt.
"Honey!?"
"Ah... I just lost strength in my body..."
Phew... I almost died for real.
Thanks to Ha-rang's support, I stood back up, and looked at the village chief, who was wiping tears from her eyes.
"Keu-heuk... Yes. Knowing your place to survive is important."
The village chief wore a warmer smile than before, and shouted outside the tent.
"Hey! Take this out and bring me two Reincarnation Potions!"
Sasak... Basrak.
Two men came back in, took the table, and left, and a moment later, a woman knelt before the village chief, holding small potions the size of yogurt bottles in both hands.
The village chief stood up from her chair, grabbed the potions, and—whoosh!—tossed them at me.
"Ugh!"
Fortunately, I caught the potions before they hit the floor, and looked back up at the village chief.
"I like you. Man. What is your name?"
After handing the tiny potions to Ha-rang, I bowed my head.
"My name is Kim Geum-seul."
The village chief smiled satisfactorily and approached me, placing her hand on top of my head.
"Yes, Geum-seul. From now on, you are a real guest."
The moment the village chief finished speaking, a new system window popped up in my vision.
[The power of Kugabia, the One Who Wields the Axe, enters your body.]
[Manmulcho accepts her power.]
[You have received the blessing of Kugabia, the One Who Wields the Axe.]
[Experience gain is increased by 100% until she withdraws the blessing.]
Holy shit?!
As the system window disappeared, the village chief bestowed the same blessing upon Ha-rang, and returned to her seat.
Perhaps Ha-rang also saw the window that appeared before her eyes, as she looked surprised and linked her arm with mine.
"I have appointed your woman as a resident as well. Devote yourself to the village from now on."
The village chief waved her hand as if telling us to leave, and we bowed to say goodbye before leaving the tent.
As soon as we exited the tent, Ha-rang hugged me.
"Honey! You worked hard!! Did you see the effect of this blessing?! It's amazing!!"
I almost died, though...
I shuddered just by recalling the terror I had just felt.
"Still, thanks to my skill, I cleared the quest easily."
As we were talking about this and that, the woman who had just brought the Reincarnation Potions came out of the tent and approached us.
"It is the village chief's order. Please follow me."
She turned around and walked somewhere.
Ha-rang and I looked at each other and followed the woman as she moved further away.
--
Perhaps out of consideration from the village chief, she explained the village and the rules here at the same time.
After finishing the simple rules and the village tour, we entered a place lined with modern houses that were different from the village chief's tent.
"This is the residential area where the tribespeople live. With the village chief's permission, you can also purchase a house."
A My Home in the village...
'I'd like to buy one if it's not too expensive...'
The moment I was contemplating about the house, the woman in front of me turned around and looked at my face.
"This was the extent of my mission. Please act on your own from here on out."
She bowed to greet us and then moved away from us.
"She left..."
"Indeed."
As the nameless woman disappeared from sight, Ha-rang clung to my arm.
"Honey! Let's go back to the trading post!"
Oh, how cute.
"I'm also very curious."
We headed to the trading post we had seen on our way.
--
The village was large, but not that large, so we were able to arrive at the trading post quickly.
The gazes around us were still sharp, but perhaps thanks to the village chief's blessing, no one openly drew their weapons.
We ignored those gazes and calmly opened the door to the trading post.
The building looked shabby and small from the outside, but,
Kki-ik, ttallang-ttallang~
"Wow!! What is this?!"
"Oh... this is fascinating."
The inside of the building was very spacious and flashy.
"Hm? Ah, it's you guys. The new travelers who came to our village."
A man walked out from a corner that looked like a warehouse and stood in front of us.
Sniff sniff.
The man flared his nostrils and sniffed me,
"You have the village chief's blessing... Look around on your own, and call me if you need anything."
He turned around and went back to the warehouse.
At his actions, Ha-rang raised her arm to smell her body, then moved the back of her hand in front of my nose.
"Honey, do I smell?"
Sniff sniff.
The sweat shed while hiking and the scent of her skin were enough to excite me,
"Heok?! Th-this scent!!"
I took the liberty of overacting.
"Wh-what!? Do I really smell?!"
At my overreaction, she was startled and smelled every corner of her body again, and she was so cute that I hugged her without realizing it.
"I was surprised because it's such a lovely scent."
"Hey..."
Ha-rang didn't seem to be in a bad mood, as she pushed me away with a small laugh.
"I was worried because I thought I really smelled!"
"Hehe."
"Really..."
Ha-rang linked her arm with mine again, and we looked around the trading post.
--
There were really various items on the display stands,
"Honey, look at this."
There was also a Magnifying Glass of Confirmation in Ha-rang's hand.
"Hmm... there's no price tag, so I don't know how much it is."
I took the magnifying glass she handed me.
"Wouldn't it be the same as the game?"
Just in case, I used the blessing to check the information, but
[Magnifying Glass of Confirmation]
Info 1: You can check the item's information.
Info 2: If you have the Appraisal skill, the number of uses increases.
The price doesn't show up.
I put the magnifying glass back in its original place, and felt an unidentifiable attraction to a flashy box in the corner.
I unconsciously walked towards the box, and tilted my head as soon as I checked the contents.
'Hmm...? Is this a place that values such wooden sticks highly...?'
I was curious about the identity of the over-packaged wooden stick inside the expensive-looking box,
"Mister!"
"Uh, wait a second!"
A clattering noise was heard from the warehouse.
Ha-rang approached me before the mister did,
"Honey, what's up?"
"I'm curious about what this wooden stick is. It looks like an enchantment item, right?"
"That's right... I've never seen such high-end packaging even back in the Ruined Game days..."
When we were talking about this and that while looking at the box,
"Yeah, what do you need?"
The mister approached.
I pointed my finger at the stick,
"Ah, I'm curious about what this stick is."
The mister made a troubled expression.
"Ah... that thing... I'm sorry, but I don't really know either..."
Huh? What kind of bullshit is that?
"Did the Magnifying Glass of Confirmation not work?"
"That's right. I don't know why, but the moment you use a magnifying glass on that wooden stick, it casts an unremovable curse on the caster."
At the word 'curse', Ha-rang asked the mister.
"Then shouldn't you throw it away?"
"Phew... I'd love to do that, but... the village chief told me to keep it well, saying that a user would definitely appear."
The mister opened the box and took out the wooden stick.
"Is it okay to touch that?!"
"Ahahaha, it doesn't react to anything other than a magnifying glass. Here, since you're here, try holding it."
Ha-rang held the stick first,
Whoosh~ Whoosh!
"Hmm... it seems like just an ordinary wooden stick..."
She shook the stick here and there and gave it to me.
"You try holding it too."
It really is just a wooden stick?
I also shook the stick here and there,
'Maybe the Blessing of All Things won't work?'
With that complacent thought, I cast the blessing on the stick,
and at that moment,
Deol-deol-deol.
Huh?
"Honey?"
"Y-you? What are you... doing right now?"
The wooden stick shook violently,
Flash!!
[Confirming traveler's action. Acquiring new skill.]
"Ugh!! My eyes!!"
"Kyaak!"
Fuck!?
An incredibly bright light flashed, blinding us for a moment.
I hurriedly took a Mom-san Carrot out of my inventory and put it in my mouth,
Crunch.
and as I chewed and swallowed it, my vision recovered rapidly.
Phew...
I fed a carrot to Ha-rang, who was sitting on the floor rubbing her eyes, and she was able to open her eyes not long after.
The mister...
Well, he'll recover on his own.
"I was really surprised..."
"I was surprised too."
"Ugh!! My eyes!!!"
"Honey... how about giving one to that mister too...?"
"It's a waste..."
At Ha-rang's urging, I put a carrot into the mouth of the mister who was rolling on the floor.
Then, a moment later, as if his vision had recovered,
"Heok... heok... What on earth was that light just now... Anyway, where did the stick go?"
At the mister's words, Ha-rang looked at me, and I also looked at my right hand that had been holding the stick until just a moment ago.
But the stick had disappeared somewhere.
"Uh... it's gone."
"What?! You bastard!! Are you talking nonsense?!"
I am telling the truth, though...
"Now, now, mister~ Calm down~"
Ha-rang calmed the angry mister,
'I think some system message popped up just now...'
I manipulated the system and opened the status window.
But there was no change in the status window, and next, I opened the skill window.
Huh?
[A] Blessing of All Things Max
[A] Wrath of the Herb of All Things: You can enhance any weapon you hold.
I saw a new skill that hadn't been there before.
'Wrath of the Herb of All Things...? What does it mean to enhance a weapon?'
I took the Trifoliate Orange Shears out of my inventory to check the skill, but the mister, who had barely calmed down thanks to Ha-rang's efforts, saw my weapon and shouted again.
"Hey! Weapons are prohibited inside the building!!"
"Ah... I'm sorry. I'll just experiment with something for a moment."
After apologizing, I used the wrath skill.
Immediately after using the skill,
red energy flowed out from the Trifoliate Orange Shears,
Holy shit?!
[Enhanced Trifoliate Orange Shears]
Info 1: Grants a health regeneration buff for 5 minutes when killing a zombie.
Durability 951/1000
Attack Power 58 ~ 59
Not only the durability but the attack power had increased by nearly double,
'It became an enchanted item?!'
As I stood there holding the spear without saying anything, Ha-rang hugged me, perhaps worried.
"Honey, are you okay?"
"Ah! I'm okay. I'm sorry, Ha-rang-ssi."
I put the Enhanced Trifoliate Orange Shears back into my inventory,
"I'm sorry, mister."
I apologized to the mister as well.
"Phew... Anyway, where on earth did that stick go?"
He sighed and started looking around the floor here and there,
This... I have to tell him, right...?
I decided to be honest.
"Um... mister, about that stick..."
"Hm? Did you find it?"
"Uh... I think it was absorbed into my body."
At my words, not only the mister but also Ha-rang froze as if time had stopped, and I waved my hand in front of his eyes.
"Ar,, are you okay?"
"Absooorbed?!?!?!?"
Wow, he has a loud voice.
Ha-rang and I covered our ears at his loud voice, and the mister's skin, which was already red, seemed to have become even redder.
"Wh-what should I do?! Th-that's it!! Th-the village chief!!"
He started talking to himself, flustered,
"Hey!! You!! Go to the village chief right now and tell her everything!!"
"Ah... yes."
I nodded at his words,
"Ha-rang-ssi, I think I'll be back soon, would you like to look around here?"
"Nnn, let's go together."
Ha-rang held my hand.
And so, we were kicked out of the trading post and headed to the village chief's tent.