Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 299
Chapter Title: Secret Discount Shop
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Chapter 299
8 PM.
After several incidents involving Kim Jinwoo, Elin walked toward the funeral hall, harboring various doubts.
"...What the hell."
The way Kim Jinwoo had dispelled the barrier.
She had seen it before, but she never imagined he could unravel even her own barrier so effortlessly.
Though it was a spell pre-prepared through a tattoo magic circle, that incantation contained the essence of the Rune Clan.
Unless one was of the Rune Clan themselves, dispelling that incantation so quickly was nearly impossible.
"Kim Jinwoo...
What is your true identity?
How does he possess such spell-dispelling prowess?"
Her questions unresolved, Elin returned to the funeral hall.
It had been crowded with mourners during the day, but now that night had fallen, it was quiet.
As she entered the funeral hall to find Han Sejin, a familiar voice came from somewhere.
'Han Sejin?'
Elin slowly walked toward the source of the voice.
Not far away, Han Sejin was conversing with a man.
That man was a demon she had seen before at Han Sejin's villa.
—When are you going to arrange the position? The Association's investigation net is closing in, so time is short. Recently, even Kim Deokhyeon came looking.
—...You mean the Special Task Force? Hmm. Looks like the Association has caught on to something. Understood. Once this matter is resolved, I'll prepare the position right away. And to prepare for any contingencies, I'll assign my bodyguard to you as well.
—Hold on, someone's watching.
...Did he notice?
With no choice, Elin revealed herself.
Spotting her, Han Sejin smiled as if to reassure the man.
"It's fine. This is the bodyguard I mentioned earlier."
The demon stared intently at Elin. She met his gaze impassively.
"Your bodyguard has some skill. I can feel a calm yet powerful aura."
"Elin, this is Mr. Shin Hyeonkyo."
"I know."
She had seen the man before on the news a few times.
He held the position of chairman at AY Life.
"Is that so? That makes explaining easier."
Han Sejin addressed the two of them.
"As I mentioned last time, I'll arrange the position for you. Then, the two of you can join forces to take down Kim Jinwoo."
"..."
"Hah."
I sat on the sofa, letting out a hollow laugh as I browsed the secret discount shop.
[Special Items on Sale for One Week!]
[Current Purchasable Items - 50]
[30% Comprehensive Discount Coupon (???) - 100,000 points]
[Top-Tier Unlimited Subspace Pocket (???) - 50,000 points]
[Supreme Proficiency Potion (???) - 100,000 points]
The secret discount shop sold things unavailable in the regular point shop.
There were an enormous variety.
Fifty items in total.
And everything here was (???) grade—special benefits obtainable only by outsiders.
"What should I check first?"
I scrolled through and first selected the eye-catching '30% Comprehensive Discount Coupon (???)'.
[30% Comprehensive Discount Coupon (???)]
Category: Special (One-Time Consumable Item)
Description: Allows purchase of one item from the point shop at a 30% discounted price.
*Valid for use after purchase: 7 days
*Purchase Limit: 1
Price: 100,000 (50% discount)
50,000 points at 50% off.
That meant the regular price was 200,000 points.
I chuckled in disbelief for a moment.
"They never even sold it at full price, and now a discount...
Their sales tactics are ruthless.
Still, a 30% discount has real merit.
If I bought a 1 million point trait, I'd save 200,000 points including the purchase price.
For a 400,000-point SS-grade trait, I'd save 120,000, netting a 20,000-point profit.
"...But 20,000 feels a bit underwhelming."
Plus, with a 7-day validity, it was hard to score a big win right now. I didn't have enough points for that.
If there were no expiration, I'd have bought it for long-term use.
"Tch."
Pass for now.
I checked the next item.
"Unlimited Subspace Pocket...
Honestly, it's tempting.
With my subspace capacity starting to run low, 'unlimited' storage would be a huge convenience for future plans.
And 50,000 points is a steal.
Regular price is probably around 150,000 points.
"What to do?"
Tap, tap. I drummed my fingers on the sofa armrest.
"...Yeah, it's not urgent right now."
Pass on this too.
I scanned the list again.
Proficiency Potion... Mirror of Appraisal... Affection-Boosting Potion... Simple Plastic Surgery Spell... Ring of Affection...
There were more weird items than expected.
"Nothing useful for combat?"
As I browsed, I spotted an ability with an unusual name.
[Third Eye (???)]
Description: Move a third eye invisible to others to view the desired location up to a maximum of 700m away.
Price: 35,000 points (70% discount)
"...Huh, this seems pretty good."
View any desired location.
It could be quite useful strategically.
I'd need to scout enemy info often when dealing with Jaun and demons.
Plus, more guys were targeting me lately.
"Yeah, I'll take it."
35,000 points isn't too bad.
After some deliberation, I made the purchase.
[Purchased Third Eye (???).]
[Achievement 'Secret Discount Shop Shopping' unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
Wuuung.
A pure white light appeared before me.
It seeped into my body. At the same time, the usage method for the Third Eye imprinted in my mind.
I immediately activated it.
[Activating Third Eye.]
A spherical orb of light formed in the sky.
Information from the light orb flowed naturally into my head, as if it were part of my body.
It was like looking down at the ground from a CCTV camera angle.
"Amazing."
This time, I moved the Third Eye. The airborne eye shifted, and the view in my mind followed suit.
Dizziness hit me instantly.
"...Ugh, gonna puke."
I stopped the eye for a moment. Probably because it was an unfamiliar sensation I wasn't adapted to.
After resting about a minute, I moved it again.
Better than before.
"Wonder if it passes through walls."
I sent the eye outside the wall.
It phased through, revealing the student in the next room lounging on their sofa watching TV.
They were so excited, scratching their belly and laughing nonstop.
It's an eye, but it has ears too? I can hear sound.
"......Hmph."
I recalled the Third Eye.
I half-expected another weird achievement and poop joke, but nothing happened—relieving yet disappointing.
"Not bad."
Pretty reasonable purchase.
The slight motion sickness is an issue, but I'll adapt with use eventually.
Someday, it'll be useful even in combat.
Satisfied, I resumed window shopping.
Then.
"Huh?"
A name caught my eye completely.
[Random Gacha Box (???) - 10,000]
An incredibly tempting name.
I checked it immediately.
[Random Gacha Box (???)]
Description: Randomly acquire an item sold in the point shop. Low chance to obtain high-grade [Special] items.
Probabilities as follows:
SS~SSS Grade (100,000+ points) - 2%
A-Grade (50,000+ points) - 5%
B-Grade (10,000+ points) - 30%
C-Grade (<10,000 points) - 63%
Price: 10,000
"...Huh, probabilities aren't bad?"
Compared to some real-world gacha games, this is pretty decent.
They even disclose the rates transparently.
Best of all, break-even chance is a whopping 37%.
Sure, 63% chance to lose, but...
"How can I resist this."
37% break-even?
No way I can pass.
I bought one right away.
[Purchased Random Gacha Box.]
[Achievement 'Impulsive Gambling' unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
Impulsive gambling my ass...
It was a rational choice based on the probabilities.
"Let's open it."
I opened the box immediately.
[Opening Random Gacha Box!]
[Acquired 'Special Diet Cola (F)'!]
Plop plop plop.
A black cola can dropped in front of me and rolled on the floor.
"Nya!"
Gretel, munching pizza in the corner, spotted it and toddled over, snatching it up.
She started trying to open the lid. I hurriedly stopped her.
"Gretel, that's not cola to drink with pizza."
"Nya?"
"Come on, give it here."
Gretel handed it over with a reluctant expression.
Regular cola would be fine, but this special diet cola drastically reduces body weight.
Not healthy, so I couldn't let her drink it.
I tossed the cola roughly into my subspace.
"Argh, wasted money."
I never expected profit from one box anyway.
My luck isn't that good.
Just for fun...
"Wait."
Come to think of it, the point shop sells 'that'.
I closed the secret shop window and entered the point shop.
I searched for 'luck'.
[Temporary Luck Enhancement Potion (B)]
"Found it."
[Temporary Luck Enhancement Potion (B)]
Description: Increases luck for 3 minutes.
Price: 10,000 points
"...Hmm."
Luck boost.
Short 3 minutes, but enough time to open a bought box.
I hesitated.
Was 10,000 points worth it?
And worry that I was doing something stupid.
"Yeah, let's do it. No harm in trying."
[Purchased Temporary Luck Enhancement Potion (B).]
A white flash, and the potion dropped to the floor.
"Nya!"
Gretel, who had been eating pizza, picked it up. She tried to open the lid again.
"Gretel, that's not soda. Give it here."
"......Nyaa."
Gretel handed over the potion with a sulky face.
I patted her back lightly and gulped down the potion.
[Effect of 'Temporary Luck Enhancement Potion (B)': Luck increased.]
[Adaptive trait 'Potion Amplification' effect: Potion efficacy and duration increased by 20%.]
"Good."
Even potion amplification triggered.
Luck stat boosted further, improving probabilities.
"No more, no less—just 10 boxes."
Buying more would be idiotic.
Or maybe I'm already being idiotic.
I re-entered the secret discount shop and bought them.
[Purchased 10 Random Gacha Boxes.]
"Phew... Alright, here goes."
I wiped the sweat from my palms and opened them all.
[Opening Random Gacha Boxes at once!]
[Acquired 'Q Corp 100th Anniversary Cola (F)'!]
[Acquired 'Stamina 1'!]
[Acquired 'Low-Grade Proficiency Potion (???)'!]
[Acquired 'Low-Grade Mana Amplification Potion (C)'!]
[Acquired 'Mana 4'!]
[Acquired 'Lapis Lazuli Hairpin (B)'!]
[Acquired 'Ancient Tree of the Underworld (C)'!]
[Acquired 'Blessing of Burden (B)'!]
[Acquired 'BAH Half Seasoned Half Fried Chicken (FF)'!]
[Acquired 'Lava Lizard Half Gauntlet (B)'!]
Bang!
I slammed the sofa table.
Opened 10, not a single A-grade.
The (???) special that dropped was 'low-grade', not valuable.
"Nya!"
Then Gretel happily picked up the fallen chicken box.
She eyed the 100th anniversary cola beside it.
Glancing between me and the cola in conflict, she offered it to me.
"...You can drink that one."
"Nya!"
Gretel cheered and drank the cola.
Watching her back, I sighed softly.
"Haa."
This is why you shouldn't gamble.
That's when it happened.
[Achievement 'Gambling Addiction' unlocked.]
[Reward: Acquired 'Random Gacha Box (???)'.]
Unlocked an achievement and got another box.
...What does this imply?
Gulp.
I swallowed and opened it immediately.
[Opening Random Gacha Box!]
Wuuung....
[Acquired 'SS-Grade or Below 45% Comprehensive Discount Coupon'!]
"Jackpot!"