Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Shop Window
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[You have been confirmed as the first player to change classes.]
[As a reward for being the first, you have acquired a 'Random Gold Pouch'.]
[As a reward for being the first, you have learned the common skill 'Track'!]
As a reward for being the first to change classes, he received a gold pouch and a skill.
The common skill, in particular, made Ryu Min smile.
'It's a skill that's impossible to get this early on.'
There were two types of skills.
Class-exclusive skills and common skills.
Class-exclusive skills, as the name implied, could only be used by those who had the corresponding class.
The Reaper-exclusive skill 'Mark of Death,' which Ryu Min had just learned, was one such skill.
On the other hand, common skills could be learned by anyone.
They could be purchased at any time from the shop function that unlocked at level 10.
'Except, they cost quite a bit of gold.'
Ryu Min went ahead and used the newly acquired function.
'Shop Window.'
A translucent window soon opened, displaying a myriad of items.
Weapons, helmets, armor, gloves, shoes, necklaces, rings, skills, and so on.
They were organized by type, with seemingly nothing missing.
'Though they're all Normal grade.'
As long as you had the gold, you could buy any item from the shop.
It was convenient for acquiring items, but the problem was that the shop only sold items of Normal grade.
'Of course, they do sell Rare or Epic items.'
However, they weren't sold in the general section.
They were sold randomly every day in a corner called 'Today's Item.'
Ryu Min's gaze shifted to the top right of the Shop Window.
★Today's Item★
[Veteran Hunter's Leather Armor]
-Type: Armor
-Grade: Rare
-Defense: 22
-Effect: Agility +2
-Durability: 225/225
-Usage Requirement: Apprentice Grade or higher
-Description: Armor favored by a veteran hunter.
<Price: 2,000 Gold>
The sale lasts for 24 hours, resetting at midnight.
Because of this, you could also figure out the current time by calculating backward.
'Tomorrow, the item will change again.'
Since it was randomized daily, it was difficult to buy the specific item you wanted.
'Still, being able to buy something better than Normal grade from the shop is a big deal.'
The price for a Normal grade armor that Ryu Min could currently wear was 1,000 gold.
Being able to buy a Rare armor with 50% better performance for 2,000 gold was a reasonably fair price.
'It's not just Rare items. I can buy Epics too.'
Usually, Rare items appeared, but occasionally, Epic items were sold.
They appeared about once a week, so getting the one you wanted wasn't easy, but that didn't apply to Ryu Min.
Thanks to his past experiences, he knew when the Epic item he needed would appear.
'Two weeks after this round ends, the Epic item I need will show up. I can use the 50% discount coupon then.'
Of course, as the rounds progressed, more expensive items would appear in the 'Today's Item' corner.
'So it would be more profitable to wait as long as possible and use the coupon on a more expensive item, but...'
Unfortunately, the 50% discount coupon stated that it would expire when the next round began.
That meant he had to use it within a month.
'The Random Gold Pouch is the same. It has an expiration date, so I have to use it before the next round.'
The gold pouch he received as a reward was a consumable item that gave a random amount of gold upon use.
Since it required luck, he decided to use it after increasing his Luck stat before heading to the 3rd round.
Ryu Min's gaze moved to the skill list at the top.
Erase Traces, Scan Surroundings, Detect Presence, First Aid, and more.
The shop sold a variety of common skills.
Ryu Min looked at the skill he had received as a reward.
[Common Skill – Track]
-Effect: Allows you to track the location of a desired target.
<Price: 20,000 Gold>
It was a skill worth a whopping 20,000 gold.
A price that most players couldn't even dream of affording.
Other common skills were similarly priced.
There was a reason he said it was impossible to get them early on.
'Though most people will learn them by the mid-game.'
They were called common skills because anyone could buy them from the shop.
After looking around the Shop Window, Ryu Min closed it.
'There's nothing really worth buying.'
He had 3,000 gold, but there was nothing he needed to buy right now.
He also needed to save money to buy the Epic item in two weeks.
Ryu Min opened his inventory and examined the weapon he received for his class change.
[Reaper's Scythe]
-Type: Weapon
-Grade: Rare
-Attack Power: 25
-Effect: Each time you swing it at an enemy, gain +1 additional attack power (stacks up to 5 times).
-Durability: 225/225
-Usage Requirement: Apprentice Grade or higher
-Description: A giant scythe said to have been used by a reaper. Difficult for beginners to handle.
Ryu Min took the scythe out of his inventory.
A massive scythe, taller than himself, was now in his hands.
*Swish— Swish—!*
Ryu Min swung it a few times, as if recalling the sensation, and smiled.
'Not bad.'
It was Rare grade, and its option was excellent for the early game.
'I won't need to change my weapon until level 20.'
Ryu Min checked the rune he'd received for his class change.
[Reaper's Rune]
-Effect: When using a scythe, weapon attack power is doubled. At night, attack speed is additionally increased by 50%.
If you stay still at night, the probability of enemies detecting you is greatly reduced.
'A base 2x attack power, plus an additional 1.5x attack speed at night. And on top of that, reduced detection probability.'
It was a rune practically made for using a scythe.
'This is why Reapers are strong at night.'
Although it was daytime now, the doubled attack power was more than enough to make him strong.
Finally, he opened the skill window and found one more skill besides Track.
[Exclusive Skill – Mark of Death]
-Effect: Places a mark on a target, visible only to the caster.
The marked target's remaining health becomes visible, and the caster's attacks deal an additional 100% damage.
Can only be cast on one target at a time.
It was a debuff-type skill that could double his damage.
'An enemy marked by this is as good as dead.'
It didn't consume mana like in a game, so it was always better to fight after placing the mark.
Its only drawback was that it could only be used on a single target.
'The rewards are all here, just as I expected.'
There were 2 hours and 20 minutes left until the vote.
All that was left was to hunt and level up until then.
'Before that, should I check Hwang Yong-min's location? Might as well test out this 20,000-gold skill.'
After obtaining the Track skill, Ryu Min always made it a habit to find Hwang Yong-min's location.
'Track.'
[Please recall the target's face and state their nickname.]
Following the message, Ryu Min pictured the target.
'Hwang Yong-min.'
[Face and nickname match. Tracking the target's location.]
You couldn't track a location just by knowing the nickname.
You had to know their customized face as well.
'That's why someone who doesn't know my face can't track me with just my nickname.'
A moment later, the result appeared.
[Player 'Hwang Yong-min's' location has been found.]
[Currently 190m away.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow ahead.]
'Did he come into the forest too? He's closer than I thought.'
In his previous regressions, Hwang Yong-min had been at least 2,000m away.
But now, he was quite close.
'Should I go take a look?'
Scythe in hand, Ryu Min quickly cut through the forest.
* * *
"Gasp, gasp, gasp."
"Pant, pant."
The sound of heavy breathing echoed between a man and a woman.
But it was short-lived.
"Pant, pant, I can't run anymore. My legs hurt too much."
Seo Ah-rin, completely out of breath, collapsed to the ground.
Ahn Sang-chul, who was next to her, was just as winded, but there was no time to rest.
"Ah-rin, we have to keep moving. If we don't..."
Ahn Sang-chul couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
If they rested here, there was no telling what the guys who ambushed them would do.
"It's tough, but please get up."
"My foot hurts so much..."
Seo Ah-rin had been shot in the calf with an arrow.
He himself had a knife wound on his thigh.
Still, now was the time to move.
It was better than being caught and killed by their pursuers.
"This is just my guess, but even if we get hurt in this other world, our bodies in reality will be fine. As long as we survive, we can go back home."
"R-Right? Okay. I'll try to bear the pain."
Seo Ah-rin gritted her teeth and stood up.
It was then.
"Where do you think you're going in that state?"
The pursuers who had ambushed them appeared from behind.
Their break of less than 30 seconds had allowed them to close the distance.
'Damn it. That damn woman...!'
Ahn Sang-chul cursed Seo Ah-rin inwardly and immediately raised his sword.
It had come to this; he had no choice but to fight.
Though he had no confidence he could win in his injured state.
"Ooh, Mr. Ahn Sang-chul. You planning to fight us?"
The large man among the pursuers approached with a smirk.
He didn't know if it was his real name, but the nickname Hwang Yong-min floated above his head.
"If you have eyes, take a look. See how many of us there are."
Hwang Yong-min and three others were sneering at them, weapons in hand.
One of them was holding a bow, giving their side a clear advantage.
'Can I win if I fight?'
There were more of them, and his side was injured and exhausted from running.
It seemed best to avoid a direct confrontation.
"What is the meaning of this? What did we ever do to you?"
"Hm? You didn't do anything wrong, of course."
"Then why did you just attack us out of..."
"Hand her over."
"Excuse me? What..."
Hwang Yong-min grinned.
"The woman next to you."
"..."
"We're not interested in a guy like you. We're interested in Seo Ah-rin over there."
"Ah..."
Seo Ah-rin let out a soft gasp.
She realized this whole mess was because of her.
"But is she really Seo Ah-rin? The actress Seo Ah-rin?"
"Can't you tell just by looking? Her nickname and face are both Seo Ah-rin."
"Someone else might be imitating her because they want to look like Seo Ah-rin."
"Who cares? As long as she's hot, that's all that matters."
"Ah, you're right. Heheheheheh."
"Hey, Mr. Ahn Sang-chul. If you just leave Seo Ah-rin, we'll let you go, old man. How about it?"
At Hwang Yong-min's proposal, Ahn Sang-chul ground his teeth.
It was painfully obvious what their intentions were.
'So their target was Seo Ah-rin from the start? If that was the case, they should have just said so.'
He'd gotten caught up in this and been harmed for nothing.
If they had told him to leave Seo Ah-rin from the beginning, he would have done so without a second thought.
'I have no intention of dying because of this bitch.'
He was assigned as her manager and bodyguard under Representative Ma Kyung-rok's orders, but in reality, he was just a watchdog.
He didn't have the slightest desire to die for Seo Ah-rin.
There was just one thing that bothered him...
'If I fail to protect Seo Ah-rin, I'll be letting down Representative Ma Kyung-rok.'
Ahn Sang-chul tightened his grip on his sword.
Right now, he had to survive with Seo Ah-rin, no matter what.
"Oh, the old man's got a mean look in his eyes."
"Looks like he wants to fight."
"You people. Do you realize this is a crime?"
"A crime? Heheh, this guy is hilarious."
Hwang Yong-min laughed, his shoulders shaking.
"This is another world, isn't it? Where are the laws? Where are the police?"
"Even so, this isn't a game. This is reality. You've committed the crime of assaulting another person."
"Oh, is that so? So what are you going to do about it? Report us when you get back to reality? That a man named Hwang Yong-min attacked Seo Ah-rin and Ahn Sang-chul?"
"Yes."
"Heheheh."
Hwang Yong-min and his friends smirked.
"Got any proof? There are no CCTVs here."
"..."
"And how do you know this is my real face? How are you going to prove whether I used my real name for my nickname or not?"
"..."
Everything he said was right.
There was no proof. No proof at all.
He couldn't take a picture, and he couldn't give testimony.
In the first place, their appearances here were avatars, different from their real selves.
Ahn Sang-chul knew this.
He was just clinging to a sliver of possibility.
'Damn it, persuasion isn't working at all.'
Looking at their bloodshot eyes, it was clear they wouldn't listen to reason.
Come to think of it, if they were the type to listen to reason, they wouldn't have shot an arrow at them in the first place.
*Throb—*
Pain flared from his wounded thigh, but he had no choice.
He had to fight, even with his injured body.
'For Representative Ma...!'
Just as Ahn Sang-chul was about to move.
*Rustle—*
Someone appeared from behind a tree.
It was a player holding a long scythe.