Chapter 67
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: That Suspicious Fellow (2)
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The linked MonMonMak had a Favorability system.
When certain triggers were met for summoned monsters, their Favorability score would increase.
Once the Favorability score reached 100, the summon would gain a new skill.
…At least, that was the information I could recall about the Favorability system.
‘The Favorability window doesn't pop up every time, so I'd completely forgotten about it.’
It was the same with Gono.
I had learned about the Favorability system through him, but after the initial stages, no related windows had appeared at all.
I was busy with dungeon clearing and wave defenses, so I had forgotten about the system itself.
But now, it had suddenly appeared before me like this.
“Kiruk, kiruk.”
Along with a Gono that seemed strange for some reason.
“A quest to acquire a new skill, huh.”
Still, I felt like I’d been blindsided.
I thought the skill would unlock immediately upon reaching 100 Favorability.
“Kiruk, kiruk.”
“…No, I'm not upset with you, so stop scrubbing the floor so hard.”
I patted Gono's head as he nervously pushed the mop across the floor and checked the quest.
[Checking exclusive quest for skill unlock.]
The smooth hologram window vanished like a slide, and a pixelated window appeared.
[Special Quest]
[Through endless battles, the goblin slave has transcended his lowly status. He now wishes to be reborn as a warrior befitting his Lord. Only battles that dance on the edge of life and death will satisfy him.]
Just like during the settlement after a wave, a series of phrases that seemed written by someone scrolled by.
[Special Quest - The Flowing Blood of a Warrior]
[Win battles with all equipped items removed 0/10. After fulfilling the prerequisite, win battles with items equipped 0/2]
[Reward: New skill unlocked, evolution into a Named Monster, all base stats +20]
“Huh?”
Wait, I'm not seeing things, am I?
All base stats +20 was a massive reward, enough to change his grade. The new skill would surely be even more incredible than a 20-point stat increase.
But what surprised me were the quest conditions.
‘Remove all equipped items?’
Without his items, Gono was just the weakest of the E-rank goblins.
“Kiruk, keruk.”
I stared at Gono, who was wiping the wide glass window on the other side of the room.
With his cumbersome armor and weapons removed, the goblin wore only a clean cloth covering his lower half.
From a distance, he looked like a pitiful, starving child.
And he's supposed to fight ten battles like that?
“Hmm.”
I let out a low groan.
This was tricky.
“Still, I should probably check his base stats.”
Come to think of it, I hadn't checked Gono's stats since right after I first summoned him.
The reason was simple.
Thanks to the bonus effects and stat increases from the items he was decked out in, his status window was so cluttered it made my eyes hurt.
So, this was only the second time I'd checked his stats since summoning him in my studio apartment.
‘Gono without his items had stats similar to mine right after linking with MonMonMak.’
In other words, garbage, averaging around 10.
[Gono's Stat Information]
“…Huh?”
That's how it should have been.
My eyes widened as I checked Gono's ‘base stats’.
***
“Good work, Gono.”
“Kiruk, keruk!”
The place was at least twenty times bigger than my old studio, so the cleaning took longer than I expected.
If Gono hadn't helped, I would have spent the entire day mopping.
I smiled and patted his head.
“You practically bought me half of this house.”
“Kiruk?”
Gono's eyes lit up at my words.
Uh oh, I think I saw a glint of greed in his eyes.
I clarified my meaning before he got the wrong idea.
“It's just a figure of speech. If you hadn't been my first summon, I never would have made it this far.”
“Kiruk…”
“Thank you. You're already a better warrior than I deserve.”
The phrase that appeared with the special quest list. That's why I added those words; it had been bothering me.
“Kiruuk?”
Gono's eyes sparkled at my words.
His usually narrow, slanted eyes became as round as a cat's.
Ha. I guess this is what they mean by growing fond of someone over time. He's actually kind of cute now.
I finished with a smile.
“Let's go clear that quest together soon.”
“Kiruk, kiruk!”
Gono bowed, and with a *poof*, a purple orb appeared in my hand.
As I was attaching it to my bracelet, my smartphone rang.
[Sancheon: The item's finished. I'd appreciate it if you could come pick it up by the end of the day.]
Hmm, no time to rest.
[Me: I'll head out right away. Thank you!]
“I'm heading out. Watch the house.”
“Nyaaa.”
I said goodbye to San-gun, who was sunbathing on the windowsill, and left immediately with the Sage.
Right, having no time to rest was a good thing.
At least it was much better than lazing around with nothing to do.
And from now on, I was going to be much, much busier.
***
Mullae-dong, Sancheon's workshop.
“Here, a housewarming gift.”
The moment I arrived, a roll of toilet paper was thrust into my hands.
I had to come pick up the item anyway, so I'd already told Sancheon about my move.
“Oh, thank you.”
“It's nothing. People usually give toilet paper to wish for a life that unravels smoothly, but it's not a gift you really need. Things are already going smoothly for you, aren't they?”
“Haha, not at all. I was just about to run out of toilet paper, actually.”
As you could tell from Sancheon's changed tone, we had grown surprisingly close over the past few weeks.
‘Who would've thought this guy liked games too.’
To my great surprise, we found we had a lot to talk about.
My love for classic games meshed well with Sancheon's generation, which was a big part of it.
‘Still, I can't believe he even prepared a housewarming gift.’
Judging by his appearance and actions, he seems like a stubborn old blacksmith, but he's actually a sweet guy.
I think I can see why Sanarae is so fond of him.
“I'll be having a housewarming party later, so please be sure to come.”
“A party? Enough idle chatter. Here it is.”
Sancheon placed something wrapped in a cloth on the workbench.
Even though it was covered by a clean cloth, a faint red light emanated from it.
That's right.
The Bloodflow Stone that Paul had given me at the Woodcutter's Cabin.
The item before me was made from that Bloodflow Stone.
Sancheon stared at the flickering red light and muttered softly.
“I was surprised. A Bloodflow Stone with its mana core split in two.”
“Is it rare?”
I asked because I didn't know much about Bloodflow Stones or their byproducts.
Sancheon smiled faintly.
“Rare? Of course it's rare. A Bloodflow Stone of this type has never been discovered before. If you had shown this to the press, you would've made the front page of the Hunter Times all the way in Britain. It's that kind of item.”
So it was that valuable.
Visiting Sancheon's workshop as soon as I got to Seoul was an excellent choice.
If I'd carelessly shown the Bloodflow Stone to someone else, things could have gotten very troublesome.
“What's more, it even had traces of being processed beforehand. It seems that processing is what split the mana core in two. But this isn't something that can be done with the skills of today's craftsmen. Where on earth do you find these unbelievable things?”
“I received it as a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes.”
From an NPC in a dungeon.
Sancheon stared at me with a puzzled expression, then shrugged and pointed at the item.
“Anyway, thanks to the split mana core, I was able to make two items from a single Bloodflow Stone. Again, I've only refined its inherent properties to suit its purpose. Go on, take a look.”
I carefully unfolded the cloth covering them.
Two jet-black crystals, swirling with red energy, came into view.
One was oval-shaped, the other a three-dimensional rhombus. The red energy within the black crystals seemed to pulsate.
‘Sage.’
*Fwoosh!*
The Sage analyzed the oval crystal first and displayed the results.
[Parental Love]
[Sublime love cannot be broken by any external force.]
[All stats +5. During combat, consumes the Bloodflow Stone's mana to absorb and nullify ranged physical attacks. If all mana is consumed, it becomes unusable for 24 hours.]
Next, the Sage diligently displayed the analysis results for the rhombus-shaped crystal.
[Repayment]
[Until he reaches the end of the horizon, the woodcutter will not forget your grace.]
[All stats +5. Allows you to reflect absorbed projectiles from 'Parental Love' with precise timing. If all mana is consumed, it becomes unusable for 24 hours.]
“…”
I was at a loss for words, staring blankly at the items before me.
[The Sage informs you that these items are difficult to classify by rank, but in MonMonMak terms, they would be considered Unique-grade!]
That made sense. They were items perfectly tailored for me.
These two items precisely compensated for the abilities I was currently lacking.
A defense against ranged attacks and, although conditional, a means of ranged attack.
“Looks like you have a skill that identifies item abilities.”
A voice spoke up suddenly.
Sancheon was watching me with a satisfied expression, his arms crossed.
“Try them on. They're designed to equip automatically when they recognize a Hunter suit or the owner's skin.”
I quickly understood what he meant.
The moment my hand touched ‘Repayment’, a thin, watchband-like strap emerged from the back of the rhombus-shaped crystal and fastened itself to my wrist. ‘Parental Love’ did the same, settling onto my other wrist.
“Oho.”
Once equipped, the crystals shrank to become smaller than the beads on my bracelet, and I couldn't feel them at all.
Sancheon asked.
“Are they good this time?”
When it came to Bloodflow Stone items, he could only see basic information.
He didn't know their exact abilities.
For example, he would see ‘Parental Love’ as a ‘Defensive Item’.
And ‘Repayment’ simply as a ‘Ranged Attack Item’.
“Of course. You're the one who made them, Sancheon. Thank you so much.”
“Hmph. Sanarae gave me an earful about that last brooch, though. Even after you left, she'd bring it up constantly. Said I shouldn't have made it shaped like a rose, of all things.”
“Not at all. The design was fine.”
And what did the shape matter? The item's performance itself was on par with the authority of a Divine Seat.
I just hadn't had a chance to use it yet, since I hadn't faced any monsters that used charm or mental attacks.
“Come to think of it, that was an item exclusively for a summon, wasn't it? I couldn't check the detailed specs, but I think that was it.”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Hmm… Did you give it to that goblin?”
“For now, yes.”
During the Hong Hansol incident, the only one he got a good look at was Gono.
The Sage had appeared beside Sancheon like a will-o'-the-wisp and then vanished just as quickly.
So, Sancheon must think my only summon was a goblin.
“He didn't seem like an ordinary goblin back then. Is your friend doing well?”
Just then.
Sancheon asked, his sharp eyes fixed on me.
But for a simple inquiry about his well-being, his tone had a slight edge to it.
“Yes, he's doing fine.”
“…”
Sancheon stared at me silently for a moment before shaking his head.
“Right, you wouldn't get mixed up in that sort of thing. Good grief, has Narae's influence rubbed off on me? I'm getting nosy in my old age.”
“What do you mean?”
“It's nothing. It's better for you not to know. Has Narae been in touch with you lately?”
“No, it's been a while since we last spoke.”
The last time I talked to Sanarae was several weeks ago.
It was when I was getting the Mana Fragmentation Contract to receive the Heukgyeon Guild's sponsorship.
We hadn't contacted each other since.
“She must be very busy. Though, it's been an eternity since I've seen that kid rest properly.”
Sancheon's eyes held a mixture of emotions.
But before I could grasp their true nature, he turned away and spoke.
“Well then, use them well. And take the toilet paper.”
“Yes, I'll use them gratefully.”
As I bowed my head, Sancheon added in a low voice.
“And that housewarming party, if you have one, make sure to look after Narae. If you just invite her, I'll drag her there somehow.”
He was a sweet guy, right to the end.
***
After leaving the workshop, I took care of a few things and returned home. It was already past 9 p.m.
“Nyaaa!”
“Did you guard the house well?”
I petted the welcoming San-gun, quickly washed up, and sat down in a chair.
I couldn't rest yet.
[ProspectiveEunuch: VIP-nim, I have something to report regarding the information you requested. I apologize, but it was difficult to find information about a spirit with item crafting abilities. However, after asking around, I did find out about one peculiar spirit.]
News about the ‘blacksmith spirit’ the Lord had mentioned.
Ju Jisan had finally brought the information I'd been waiting for.
But as I read the next message, I furrowed my brow.
[ProspectiveEunuch: But this is as far as I can go. I can't gather any detailed information about that spirit.]
What's that supposed to mean? He found out about it but can't gather information?
[Me: What do you mean? You have to gather detailed information.]
A reply came back quickly.
[ProspectiveEunuch: VIP-nim… I'll literally die if I try to gather that… It's not a place just anyone can go and seeㅠ Please give me a different task… Just let me sell items for you insteadㅠ]
I calmly stared at the message.
Putting aside Ju Jisan's frantic claims that he would die.
This seemed to be a problem that required some deeper thought.
A place one can go and see.
About the meaning behind those words.