Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: The Price of Luck
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Upon arriving at the shop on the second floor of Testament, Lee Si-woo first set down Ha-yun, whom he had been carrying in his arms, onto a sofa.
If it were for his own convenience, he would have left her with Luchtator, but he didn't.
It was so he would never be separated from her again.
*Yoon. I will never let you go again.*
Lee Si-woo looked down at her, a strange heat shimmering in his eyes.
It was closer to obsession than love, more possession than affection, but it didn't matter.
Regardless of what he felt for her, she would never be able to escape him.
Yes, never again.
*It doesn't matter if I'm not Lee Si-woo but the Ancestor Demon. No, it doesn't even matter if I'm neither of them. You are mine, and I'm not sending you anywhere.*
According to the research journal, he was a fusion of Lee Si-woo and the Ancestor Demon.
So, strictly speaking, he was something of a proper mix of the two.
He could be considered neither one nor the other.
However, none of that mattered now.
What was important was that Ha-yun had returned to him, and now she would never escape his grasp.
*Rustle.*
As Lee Si-woo was tidying Ha-yun's messy hair, Kinis teleported behind him and greeted him warmly.
“Excellent work. Thanks to you, Si-woo, the error has been corrected, making system management much easier.”
“Does that mean the time limit is gone now?”
“No. It remains the same. If you fail to clear the chapter within the next 20 days, this world will be deleted.”
“Why? Didn't you say the error was fixed?”
“Just because the error is fixed doesn't mean the already broken system is restored. I specialize in maintaining the existing system, not repairing and restoring one that is completely broken.”
Lee Si-woo was disappointed by Kinis's firm statement, but that was all.
He was heading to Chapter 7 to end everything anyway, and while the time limit was a burden, he judged it a penalty he could overcome.
Besides, based on his experience clearing chapters so far, it was all over if he couldn't clear it in 20 days, time limit or not.
“How many Kill Points have I accumulated?”
“Excluding the points you've spent, you have accumulated 155 million points.”
155 million?
Lee Si-woo let out a dry laugh at the exorbitant amount of points.
“…Seeing how excessively the points have piled up, it seems the point calculation varies wildly from person to person.”
“Of course. The value of an individual is not equal. That's why it's a shame we missed Rios, the master of the Dawn club. His value is close to 50 million points.”
Rios alone was worth fifty million points?
Even if individual values weren't equal, that was an enormous amount.
Considering Lee Si-woo had only 7,000 Kill Points when he first came to the shop, it was safe to say that this world's system valued Rios more than a hundred thousand ordinary people.
*Well, is that assessment even wrong? His talent and skill as a Solo Number are probably one in a hundred thousand, maybe even one in a million.*
“If you had, you could have acquired at least one more item with a value in the hundreds of millions. A Royal-grade item. Then your chances of clearing would have risen exponentially. It is regrettable in many ways.”
A Royal-grade item.
This was the most crucial reason Lee Si-woo had tried to obtain Kill Points, even by releasing a virus in the base city.
“So, I can only buy one Royal-grade item right now?”
“Yes. Shall I bring up the list?”
“Please.”
Suit: Dragon
Rank: 7
Description: A limited item available only in the Shop. Not registered in the codex. When equipped, physical abilities increase sevenfold and grant the user the ‘Dragon Form’ Talent.
Main Weapon: Spīnus’s Spear
Description: A limited item available only in the Shop. Not registered in the codex. Thorns sprout from the wounds of any enemy grazed by the spearhead. These thorns grow by feeding on the enemy's health and mana and will not disappear until the target dies or the owner retracts them.
Side Weapon: Fortúna’s Dagger
Description: A limited item available only in the Shop. Not registered in the codex. A dagger that toys with fortune. Depending on the severity of the self-inflicted wound, your luck will improve. A minor wound will grant Small Luck, a serious wound will grant Medium Luck, and a fatal wound will grant Great Luck.
Lee Si-woo licked his lips as he looked at the three Royal-grade items.
*Tsk, I should have killed Rios somehow…*
Not one of the three Royal-grade items was worth discarding.
The Dragon Suit, which increased physical abilities sevenfold and even added a Talent, was a given, and Spīnus’s Spear, which was as good as killing the target just by wounding them, was also tempting.
But the last one, Fortúna’s Dagger.
For some reason, this item felt both profound and vaguely ambiguous.
*My luck improves depending on the level of self-harm? Huh, is this a good thing? I mean, it says Small Luck and Medium Luck, but there's no way to know what level that is… Wait, what if I use this and then use Card Draw? Could I possibly draw the ones I want?*
Once his thoughts reached that point, the dagger seemed better than the suit and the spear.
If he could just summon a high-tier being from his signature move, Card Draw, he judged that he could extract as much, if not more, efficiency and power than from the suit or the spear.
As Lee Si-woo was assessing the value of each item, the silent Kinis spoke up.
“I recommend the dagger.”
“Hmm? The dagger, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Kinis closed her mouth.
Her reaction, as if this was the limit of the advice she could offer, convinced Lee Si-woo that he was missing something.
*There must be a reason Kinis said that. What is it? What am I missing?*
Suddenly, a fact flashed through Lee Si-woo's mind.
His eyes glinting, Lee Si-woo asked Kinis.
“Are there any survivors left in the city?”
A corner of Kinis's mouth curled up as she answered.
“There are.”
“Has the old man left the city?”
“No. He is still there. He's gathering the survivors.”
Lee Si-woo stared intently at the catalog and said.
“I'll buy Fortúna’s Dagger.”
“Payment for Fortúna’s Dagger complete. 100 million points have been deducted. Is there anything else you need?”
“Which is the most expensive potion?”
“A top-grade potion. Ten million points.”
“Can it restore severed body parts?”
“As long as it's not an instant death, it can immediately heal any wound. However, please remember that the price doubles with each purchase.”
“I’ll buy one potion.”
“Ten million points have been deducted. Is there anything else you need?”
“I remember there was a MAP Upgrade Pill and a Kinis Communication Pill… what were the prices?”
“The upgrade pill is 50,000 points, and the communication pill is 20,000 points.”
Lee Si-woo nodded in satisfaction at the ridiculously low prices compared to the potion and the Royal-grade item.
“Give me those as well.”
“Payment complete.”
“Good. That’s all I’ll buy for now. Please get everything ready for me.”
After receiving a top-grade potion, a white pill, and the dagger from Kinis, Lee Si-woo used his teleportation ring and vanished.
A moment later, Kinis’s solitary voice echoed on the second floor of Testament where Lee Si-woo had disappeared.
“Dev. That man shows not a hint of hesitation. It seems… he is closer to you, Dev, than to Lee Si-woo. I'm certain of it.”
Dev.
The creator of this world and Kinis.
And another name for the Ancestor Demon.
***
Just as Luchtator was about to leave the city in an armored bus, Lee Si-woo appeared beside him.
“Huh? What’s this? I thought you told me to go on ahead?”
“Sir. Please take this for a moment.”
When Lee Si-woo handed him the MAP Upgrade Pill, Luchtator gave him a bewildered look.
“You want me to eat this? So suddenly? Out of the blue?”
“Yes. There’s no time, so please hurry.”
Though Luchtator tilted his head, he swallowed the pill from Lee Si-woo without any particular suspicion.
He wasn't so small-minded as to doubt Lee Si-woo at this point, so he did it without a moment's hesitation.
“Hmm?”
Luchtator grunted as he felt a strange sensation in his senses, and Lee Si-woo immediately said.
“The special perk you got last time. Try opening the map.”
“Hold on… Oh, a pretty useful function has been added. The locations of the remaining survivors in the city have appeared on the map.”
After saying that, Luchtator gave Lee Si-woo a look as if he were proud of him and continued.
“Oho, I see what you're thinking. You plan to use this to rescue everyone who's left, don't you?”
Lee Si-woo shook his head firmly.
“No. The opposite.”
Lee Si-woo took Fortúna’s Dagger from his inventory.
Then, he mercilessly cut off his own left wrist with it.
*Thud.*
His left hand fell to the floor.
The severed end gushed blood like a burst dam.
The survivors in the armored vehicle screamed at Lee Si-woo's bizarre act of suddenly cutting off his own wrist.
Luchtator, too, was quite shocked, his expression hardening as he asked in a grave tone.
“You. What in the world are you doing? Have you suddenly gone mad?”
“There’s no need to be alarmed. I’m just testing the ability of some new equipment I acquired.”
Lee Si-woo spoke in a calm tone, as if he felt no pain, and checked the system message that appeared before him.
[You have toyed with fortune using Fortúna’s Dagger.]
*Ting!*
[You have sustained a serious injury. Medium Luck is granted.]
Lee Si-woo frowned.
He hadn't expected that having his wrist cut off would be judged a serious injury rather than a fatal one.
“…Tsk, can't be helped.”
Lee Si-woo, clicking his tongue lightly, now plunged the blade into his own abdomen.
Seeing Lee Si-woo's act of self-harm, even twisting the handle to stir his own innards, Luchtator forcefully grabbed his shoulder.
“Stop it. You’ll die at this rate.”
Lee Si-woo began to injure himself not only in the abdomen but also on his thighs and legs.
Eventually, after inflicting wounds until there was no part of his body left uncut, Lee Si-woo said in an indifferent voice.
“It’s fine. I have a potion that can heal all injuries.”
At Lee Si-woo’s short reply, Luchtator finally stepped back with a look of understanding.
As expected, he wasn't the type to do something like this without a plan.
“Hmm… so? What was the purpose of the self-harm?”
[You have sustained a fatal injury. Great Luck is granted.]
Having obtained Great Luck, Lee Si-woo spoke.
“Using this dagger improves my luck. And when one's luck improves… it usually means financial luck follows.”
“Financial luck? Ha, where are you going to spend money you earn here?”
Lee Si-woo took the top-grade potion from his inventory and poured it over his wrist, abdomen, and all his other wounds.
Amazingly, new flesh began to grow on the wounds, and vitality started to return to Lee Si-woo's pale face.
It was as if a dying man had been given a new life.
“You just confirmed the survivors’ locations. How many are there?”
“Not many. A few hundred, maybe?”
“Let’s go. We need to take care of them.”
“…Take care of them? Not rescue them?”
“To have survived this long in a city that’s become a living hell must mean they’re that much more competent. We might even find some Knight-level individuals. And…”
Given Kinis’s subtle advice, Lee Si-woo was certain.
With Great Luck, the points he could gain from killing them now would be beyond imagination.
“I need points right now. A great deal of them.”
Lee Si-woo could only hope.
That they would be valuable enough to make up the remaining points he needed.
Yes, desperately.
Suddenly, Lee Si-woo’s gaze fell upon the survivors huddled and trembling in the armored bus.
Did they understand the meaning of his gaze?
Luchtator stepped in front of Lee Si-woo and said.
“Don’t cross the line. You are the one who saved them. It would be different if you hadn't saved them in the first place, but that's not the case. Do you understand?”
It was a truly fortunate thing.
To have someone nearby who would step on the brakes for him.
Lee Si-woo said with a blank expression.
“I know. I won't touch them. I have my own lines to draw.”
“…Let's go. Whatever you're planning, I'll help you take care of it as quickly as possible.”
Following behind Luchtator, who took the lead, Lee Si-woo glanced back.
A little boy, whose eyes met his, was startled by the gaze and hid below the window.
The child clamped his hands over his mouth and trembled.
For a brief moment, he had felt like a mouse before a snake.
Lee Si-woo, after a single glance at the child who was frightened of him, licked his lips.
Like a predator, passing by its prey with a hint of regret.