Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: Aftermath (3)
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The Karma Shop was an essential system for any Awakened who found themselves teleported alone into this otherworld and needed to survive.
No matter how outstanding their unique skill was or how guaranteed their rapid growth might be, in an unfamiliar world teeming with dangers everywhere, one could never have too much power.
"In the early stages, play it safe as much as possible, stockpile Karma, and prioritize strengthening your main stats."
This had become common knowledge on Earth nowadays—practically gospel.
'Of course, there's nothing you can do if you end up screaming your way to an early grave before you can even gather that much Karma. Like how Hans turned undead in just two days.'
Yet this all-important Karma Shop...
The shop that, despite its name, had offered only a sparse selection of "Return," "Unique Skill Enhancement," and "Status Enhancement"—
'...apparently unlocks the next stage only after you hit ten million points?'
This was information even he, who had built up a decent intelligence network on Earth, had never come across.
Well... it wasn't like most people could ever accumulate that much Karma in the first place. And even if they did, they'd spend it as soon as it piled up—who would hoard it indefinitely?
'This whole situation with me is a special case anyway.'
It was completely unexpected, but all the same, it was a fantastic gain.
Satisfied, he checked out the upgraded Karma Shop... "Karma Shop Ver.2."
⚙ KARMA SHOP VER.2 ⚙ Unique Skill Enhancement (1,200,000) Other Skill Enhancement – View Details Status Enhancement – View Details Item Purchase – View Details VIP Market – View Details Dimensional Barrier Mitigation (5,000,000) Unlike its previously barren state, it was now packed with brand-new options.
First up: "Other Skill Enhancement."
Now he could enhance not just unique skills, but lower-tier ones as well.
'...But it doesn't cover the avatars' skills, huh?'
However, the detailed list was limited solely to skills possessed by "Han Seonghyeon" himself.
From Mind Hub, derived from Avatar, to skills like Super Recovery and Clear Mirror Still Water acquired through status enhancements.
'It would've been nice if it included the avatars' skills too. Oh well, can't be helped.'
Brushing aside his minor disappointment, his eyes next fell on "Item Purchase"—a genuine shop where he could buy actual goods.
'This is exactly like the ability Hesferon flaunted.'
The fake unique skill he'd invented as a cover for transporting items via Avatar Cloud: "Summon a specific object by paying a certain price."
Now, he'd gained that ability for real.
'Let's see... Are the purchasable items limited to things available in Outerica right now?'
From equipment like weapons, armor, and magic tools to consumables like food and raw materials like ores.
Pretty much everything obtainable in Outerica was listed.
'...It seems the price fluctuates based on how hard it is for me to acquire them?'
A closer look revealed the rough pricing logic.
Iron ore of far inferior quality to the Aonia-mined stuff Howard was burning through was priced over twice as high, simply because it came from a remote, hard-to-reach source. Need we say more?
Cause and effect were the fruits of karma.
In simple terms, it let you skip the process and get straight to the result by paying Karma.
'Not bad at all. No, it's fantastic.'
As long as there was even a sliver of a chance he could obtain it himself, he could snag it by shelling out Karma. That was a huge advantage.
Like, for example, stuff like this on the list.
⋯⋯⋯⋯ Horn Containing the Essence of the 14th Demon King Reray (5,150,000) Dragon Heart of the White Dragon Shiroinil (1,830,000) Fragment of XX XX XX (30,000,000) ⋯⋯⋯⋯ "Ugh, what kind of ridiculous prices are these?"
It was horrifically inefficient.
The fragment of some unknown thing even cost a whopping thirty million points.
'It can't be forcibly taking items with clear owners, right...?'
Whether these items were actually dormant somewhere in Outerica, or if it was pulling data on lost items for some reason—and if so, if prices were based on acquisition difficulty for similar goods—nothing was confirmed yet...
'...I still have plenty of ammo. Let's browse more and shop as efficiently as possible.'
Suppressing the urge for impulse buys amid the dazzling array of items, he forced his gaze downward to the next entry.
VIP Market – View Details 'VIP, huh? Sounds promising.'
The satisfying label had him nodding along.
Well, with ten million points to his name, VIP treatment was only natural.
But when he checked the details, he realized this system equated "VIP" with "sucker."
Growth Elixir (7 Days) (200,000) Random Other Skill Acquisition (500,000) Otherworld Teleportation Circle Summon x1 (Outerica) (1,000,000) ⋯⋯⋯⋯ 'Growth Elixir is like an EXP booster? Twenty thousand a week means about three thousand less a day?'
A miraculous potion that could burn through a million points—something a typical Awakened might take ten years to earn—in just over a month.
Still, this one was relatively decent.
Expensive, sure, but if it delivered, why not?
He'd racked up ten million Karma in under a month, after all.
The real problems came next.
"Random... gacha?"
Random Other Skill Acquisition.
Meaning something mediocre like the initial Heinz's Toughness could pop out.
For five hundred thousand points.
'I spent a total of three hundred ten thousand to get Super Recovery. And that was a bonus from stat-ups.'
Then the next one, "Otherworld Teleportation Circle Summon," was exactly what he used as a freebie cooldown bypass.
A million points for something he needed in emergencies when cooldowns bit him? Brutal.
He checked for teleportation circles to other dimensions besides Outerica, but sadly, options were limited to that.
All he learned was that a single "Spare Life" cost ten million.
'...Okay, noted. Now the last one: Dimensional Barrier Mitigation... five million?'
Unlike the intuitive "Other Skill Enhancement" or "Item Purchase," "Dimensional Barrier Mitigation" was hard to grasp from the name alone.
Five million points, and no description? Rude.
'Dimensional barriers... the walls separating dimensions? Weakening them? I already hop between worlds freely—does it even matter?'
Pondering the phrase, he suddenly realized it held massive implications.
'Holy power and Abyss restrictions will ease up.'
Summoning penalties would likely follow suit.
That was just off the top of his head.
At that price, there had to be more.
'Chance to reduce constraints on my biggest assets: Hans and Heinrich. Oh, and Harris too.'
He knew he shouldn't decide impulsively, but a subtle pull tugged at him.
His intuition—honed by five transcendent beings—screamed it was essential.
'Yeah, buy it.'
Sure, five million was steep, but this was a system change from the shop upgrade perk.
It wasn't even in the VIP Market—it got its own special slot.
'Must be worth it if it's priced that high!'
The system wouldn't scam its users, right?
Swept up in that odd conviction, he gave in and spent the points decisively.
And the result of that impulse buy—
"Oh?"
Something wriggled around his body—something he'd never noticed before.
But he sensed it only for an instant before it vanished.
'Something changed, I think...'
And that was it.
He hadn't expected fireworks, but torching five hundred thousand in a blink felt hollow anyway.
To soothe that, he'd have to verify it wasn't wasted.
'Gotta use Entity Projection or something to check details. Remaining Karma...'
Including achievement rewards, about five million three hundred thousand left.
Time to deliberate for truly rational spending.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Beorsen, the desert city in the south devastated by the Immortal King's rampage.
Chaos claimed countless lives, but plenty of survivors remained.
Hans had focused on the berserkers while neglecting the "bonus" civilians—relatively speaking.
Even so, a bit more delay and the death aura in the air would've decimated survivors exponentially.
Thankfully, the hero party arrived in time to prevent the worst.
"Hey! Old timer! You're alive!"
"Kekeke—right on time. A little later and I'd have been hauling corpses."
"Granny! You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"Oh, Misty. Safe thanks to you. You've been through a lot."
Morna, the grand shaman and head of the southern delegation, had herded as many residents as possible into barriers right after the anomaly hit.
With mountains of work, she shoved aside reunion joys and threw herself into damage control.
With help from the arriving warriors, Beorsen's recovery began piecemeal. Coordinating with other regions, they tightened the noose on lingering remnants.
"Grand Shaman! The berserkers' minds are clearing one by one!"
"Kekeke, good news."
"But many still suffer side effects from the madness. Worse for those brainwashed longest..."
"Round up those warriors separately. Tough with shamanism alone, but add Harley's power and it won't be hard."
Plenty of issues needed time, but the rest were solvable with their own strength.
The south's crisis was effectively resolved.
And amid that...
As time passed and chaos subsided, a strange shift began spreading from epicenter Beorsen.
"You see that fight back then?"
"Who didn't? So flashy, impossible to miss!"
"Yeah, first time for something that epic."
"Tell me about it! Thought warriors like that were just fairy tales!"
Residents once fooled by Valteon into supporting him and offering up the city whole cloth now felt bitter betrayal toward him. Naturally, they fervently revered Harley, who opposed him and freed them.
Not that strange, really.
Idolizing great warriors was a southern staple.
"That's why you're dressed like that? Imitating that great warrior Harley? Knew it when you showed up in sackcloth."
"Ahem, sackcloth? This is the proud garb of true southern warriors from ancient tradition!"
"Sure, if you had the body for it. Old and pot-bellied—hardly fitting. Know your place."
"...Come here, punk! Let's throw down! Bet I'm still stronger than you!"
"Oh? Think that getup makes you Harley? Fine, let's go!"
But no one foresaw the revival of the "savage warrior look"—faded since the elders' era, now only seen at festivals—riding a wave of idolization...
Superstar Harley's debut sparked a retro fashion boom out of nowhere.
For now limited to Beorsen, but it'd spread southwide soon enough.
"Heard all the rumors—wish I could see him myself. They say he's so huge Valteon looks like a kid?"
"That commando unit's great warrior Harley was in Beorsen this time..."
"Lately, Harley..."
Even now, rumors about him spread like wildfire, tail to tail...
⚡ SKILL EVOLVED ⚡ Entity has met conditions and gained enlightenment. Kalkos-Style Combat Imprint has evolved into special skill Imprint of the Fighting King.
After all, that very Harley was Kalkos's first new Fighting King in nearly three hundred years.