Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Unexpected Loot
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...Well, whatever.
In the original story, this dungeon's reward belonged to Choi Seo-yoon anyway.
[You have achieved the 'Field Dungeon Conquest' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 5,000 points as a reward.]
[You have defeated a boss monster with a nature attribute.]
[The proficiency of Blessing of the Great Nature has increased by 10%.]
[The Fog of Nightmares has dissipated.]
"Phew. It's finally over."
It had been seven hours since we entered the fog dungeon.
We had successfully conquered it.
For a dungeon conquest, it was a pretty short time, but the fog had restricted our visibility, making the perceived difficulty much higher.
"Senior, you worked hard!"
Choi Seo-yoon said to me in an excited voice.
According to her, this was her first time actually conquering a dungeon.
For a wizard, one's first dungeon conquest was a memorable event, so it made sense that she was so happy.
"Yeah, you worked hard too."
"Hehe."
Choi Seo-yoon had shown more activity than I expected today.
She had handled almost all the monsters up until the boss fight by herself.
Of course, I had conserved my mana in anticipation of the final boss battle, but conquering the dungeon in just seven hours was proof of how outstanding her abilities were.
"But Senior, I was really startled when you took down the last boss."
Choi Seo-yoon recounted the battle with the dungeon's boss, the 'Bewitching Crystal Golem.'
It must have been surprising from her perspective.
I had activated Heart of the Great Nature and Battle Lust at the same time, displaying combat power several times my normal strength.
"You're this strong, so why is your ranking like that?"
"You don't know? My ranking has gone up quite a bit since the finals."
"Oh, right. That makes sense. So what's your current final ranking, Senior?"
"28th."
At my answer, Choi Seo-yoon's mouth fell open.
"Wow. Weren't you 60th, Senior?"
"Yeah."
"You climbed a ton during the first semester. I heard you started at 150th."
150th...
I had those days too.
Thinking back, it was only six months ago, but it felt like ancient history.
I indulged in sentiment for a moment before gathering my thoughts. I needed to focus on the current situation.
I organized my mind and walked toward the dungeon reward.
In the process, I saw the corpse of the boss monster I had just defeated, the Bewitching Crystal Golem.
That was when it happened.
The Outsider's Boon suddenly activated, and an information window appeared before my eyes.
[Crystal Golem's Core (C)]
Classification: Material
Description: A part of the body of the dungeon boss, Bewitching Crystal Golem. Carrying it increases dexterity.
What?
Is this an item?
I had discovered a reward I didn't know about.
A very small crystal fragment that had fallen from the boss monster's corpse.
There was no mention of it in the original story, so I hadn't even imagined something like this existed. It was completely unexpected loot.
Dexterity increase. It wasn't something I particularly needed, but it could be useful as a gift, so I should take it.
I stored the 'Crystal Golem's Core' in my sub-space. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, I walked forward and said to Choi Seo-yoon,
"Let's check the reward."
"Okay."
When I opened the reward altar, there was a round lump of ice frozen solid. I carefully picked it up.
[Heart of the Ice Spirit (A)]
Classification: Spiritual Medicine
Description: Upon consumption, the proficiency of Ice Attribute Control increases. The amount of increase varies depending on the ice attribute rank.
It was the same reward as in the original story.
Heart of the Ice Spirit.
It was a type of spiritual medicine beneficial to ice-attribute wizards.
"It seems like an item related to ice attributes?"
True to form as someone who handled ice attributes, Choi Seo-yoon examined the item with an interested face.
I looked at it and then said to her,
"Take this."
At my words, Choi Seo-yoon looked surprised.
"What? Do you know what the effect is?"
"It's good for ice-attribute wizards. It'll be useful for you, so I'm giving it to you."
For reference, in the original story, Lee Seo-jun had also yielded this item to Choi Seo-yoon.
Since I couldn't handle ice attributes at all either, handing it over to her was the right choice.
However, Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head and expressed doubt.
"Good for ice-attribute wizards? How do you know that?"
"You can tell just by looking."
"Huh?"
"Look. It's a lump of ice. What else could it be if not an ice-attribute item?"
"No, even so..."
Ignoring her words, I held the Heart of the Ice Spirit and brought it to her mouth.
"Come on, open your mouth."
At my words, Choi Seo-yoon narrowed her eyes.
"...Why my mouth?"
"Obviously to feed it to you."
"What are you talking about? Do you even know what it is?"
"Hey now. Don't you trust me?"
"It's not about trust... Ack!"
While Choi Seo-yoon opened her mouth to speak, I put the Heart of the Ice Spirit into her mouth.
Choi Seo-yoon struggled to pull away from me, but I had an overwhelming advantage in strength.
"There, there. Swallow it slowly."
"Ugh... Cough! Cough! What is this!"
Choi Seo-yoon yelled loudly.
"How does it taste?"
"It has no taste! No, more importantly, how could you just shove a precious dungeon reward into someone's mouth!"
"What else? It's meant to be eaten, so I put it in your mouth. It's spiritual medicine."
"...Spiritual medicine?"
Choi Seo-yoon made a baffled expression.
"Is there any reaction?"
"I don't know. Is this really spiritual medicine?"
"Yeah, when have I ever been wrong?"
"...You haven't."
"So, any changes?"
"No, none."
"Hmm."
In the original story, it took about a day for the effects to become noticeably apparent, so no need to worry.
Thanks to the Fog of Nightmares dissipating from the dungeon conquest, we were able to quickly return to the villa.
The atmosphere at the villa was more normal than expected.
Excluding me and Choi Seo-yoon, everyone had returned safely without any missing persons.
Later, I heard that all the students had been worried about us.
On top of that, when the island's fog suddenly lifted, they worried we might have gotten caught up in something.
Choi Seo-yoon explained to everyone what she had gone through.
The fog, the dungeon conquest, and the vanishing fog. Once she laid out the whole story, everyone reacted with shock.
And so, two days passed, and the short but intense typhoon came to an end.
The clear, transparent sky infused the students with positive energy, and with four hours of free time before leaving the island, they all splashed around in the sea, enjoying their youth and romance.
Of course, I no longer had any of that youthful energy to frolic there, so I just spectated from the shade on the third floor of the villa, sipping a cool iced coffee.
I could see everyone at a glance.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo playing in the water, splashing each other.
Shin Young-jun and Jeon Min-gi enjoying swimming alone.
And far off in the corner, Choi Seo-yoon training her magic while enjoying the effects of the Heart of the Ice Spirit.
I watched them and smiled to myself.
Unlike me, a total homebody, their energy overflowed. It was enviable, fascinating, a mix of emotions.
Then, suddenly, I grew curious about external information I hadn't checked in four days.
Being on a deserted island meant no internet access, but I had the Outsider's Boon, so it was possible.
First things first, stocks.
The underground auction would start soon. And the power of the underground auction was money.
To not fall behind in power, I needed to gather as much money as possible.
"Oh."
When I checked the stocks, I let out an exclamation right away.
The value of my stocks had exceeded 14 billion in total.
With this much money, I could buy what I wanted at the underground auction.
Man, as the money grows, there are more things to manage. I need to check profits steadily, but I don't have the time.
Maybe I should consider creating a system to manage my money instead.
Time was more precious to me than anything.
Next, I checked messages and call logs.
There weren't many people who would contact me, but I should check just in case.
[Mr. Kim Jin-woo, can you pick up?]
A message from four days ago. Sender: Han Se-yeon.
[Mr. Kim Jin-woo?]
[What are you doing, Jin-woo?]
This from two days ago. And two missed call logs.
[Call me.]
And this from this morning.
What could it be?
I glanced around and used the Outsider's Boon's call function.
Ring ring.
Thanks to the Outsider's Boon, even without a speaker, the ringtone sounded right by my ear.
Before I could marvel at it, Han Se-yeon picked up.
—Yes, hello? Mr. Kim Jin-woo?
"Sorry for the late reply. I've been so busy lately that I couldn't check."
—...You must have been really busy?
"Yeah, too many things going on recently."
—I was worried you were trying to cut ties with me or something...
What does she take me for?
"Sorry for not replying. I'll check more often next time. So, what did you need?"
—Oh, nothing big. I have a gift for you before the Pioneers' Night event, but I couldn't reach you...
"A gift?"
—Yes. Ah! It's not anything that amazing. I just prepared it thinking you might need it.
"Got it. Let's meet next week. I have a reason to see you too."
I said this while fiddling with the 'Crystal Golem's Core' on my hand.
Ding.
The apartment elevator opened, and I walked to the door.
Seeing the front door after four days moved me, but then I noticed a note stuck to it.
[Mr. Kim Jin-woo, call me when you see this. -Han Se-yeon]
Han Se-yeon's neatly written handwriting.
She must have come all the way to my house because she couldn't reach me. What was so urgent?
Beep beep.
Click.
I opened the door and returned home. With a fluid motion, I threw myself onto the sofa. Entering my space made my body feel like it was melting automatically.
"Ah, it's hot."
I sluggishly found the remote nearby and turned on the AC.
Beep.
"Ah, cool."
Home is the best. Outdoor activities drain too much energy even for small actions.
Of course, it might just be my homebody personality.
Thinking ahead to what I need to protect in this world, I might have to fix that personality.
With those thoughts, I turned on the TV. Switching to the news channel, I caught up on the world situation I had missed for four days.
「Recent reports indicate that Hanseong Group's Chairman Han Dae-hyun's health has worsened compared to before. In response, Vice Chairman Han Se-jin...」
I was watching the news absentmindedly when my smartphone buzzed.
[Wednesday evening at 7. Is that okay?]
It was a message from Han Se-yeon. About our meeting.
[Yes, that's fine.]
After replying, an alarm rang from my student handbook this time.
[Senior, the spiritual medicine I ate this time has an amazing effect?? (Flaming emoji)]
It was Choi Seo-yoon. She said something was happening since this morning, and now the effects seemed to have fully kicked in.
[Good? Glad to hear it. Train hard.]
I replied sincerely. The stronger key characters like Choi Seo-yoon became, the more advantages it would bring to future developments.
[Yep! But we conquered the dungeon together, and I feel bad taking the reward alone. What should I do? Is there anything you want???]
"What do I want?"
There's only one thing I want from Choi Seo-yoon.
[I'm satisfied if you grow well and thrive.]
I sent the message without much thought, then froze mid-motion.
"Ah, was that too straightforward?"
We're not that close, so that kind of blind cheerleading might come off as burdensome.
"Hmm. Whatever."
Just then, a reply came from Choi Seo-yoon.
[What is this lol. Are you my dad?]
Fortunately, she seemed to think I sent it as a joke.
I chuckled and set down the student handbook.
Now, time to claim the rewards from three days of hard work.
I opened the point shop.
I went to the cart and immediately purchased what I had in mind.
[Rune's Binding (S)]
Classification: Barrier
Description: Binds the opponent using mana.
[Continuous Effect]
►Binding
Consumes mana to confine the opponent.
♦Cooldown: 3 days
Price: 100,000
[You have purchased 'Rune's Binding (S)'.]
A bright mass of light appeared before me and was absorbed into my body.