Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Romantic Guy (4)
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"I'm going to make it so no shadows form at all."
My words finally clicked for them, and the two let out gasps of admiration.
"Indeed... that would..."
I cut off the female mage's awestruck words and continued.
"But even with this method, shadows might still appear. If someone's shadow forms despite this, use three light sources to shine from multiple directions and follow that person. Then no shadows will form."
It was a viable method because light magic consumed so little mana.
Kim Myung-jun and the female mage both had much higher mana stats than me, so they could pull it off easily.
The two nodded and began continuously casting light magic.
At first, everyone in the midst of battle eyed us suspiciously, wondering what we were doing. But it didn't take long for their reactions to turn to amazement.
"This is..."
"The shadows are gone...!"
"How...?"
Even Seo Yu-ju, the regressor, stared at us in wide-eyed shock.
With the shadows gone, the boss monster shrieked and revealed itself.
- Kyyaaaooooh!
"Attack it, now!"
At my shout, everyone snapped out of it and began assaulting the boss monster.
- Kyaaak! It hurts! It hurts!
The monster took several arrows from Kang I-seo and screamed in agony.
Without the ability to hide in shadows, the battle became incredibly easy. It wasn't strong enough to fend off everyone's coordinated attacks.
Kim Myung-jun and the female mage looked dazed by the results they'd produced.
Since light magic was a convenience spell rather than an attack spell, they never imagined using it to conquer the boss like this.
'They never dreamed it could be cleared this easily.'
Truth be told, I hadn't been entirely sure it would work either. With the mages out of options anyway, it was just a gamble worth taking.
A gamble with nothing to lose if it failed.
And the result was a resounding success.
I could see Seo Yu-ju swinging her spear, driving the monster back.
After several exchanges, the boss blocked one of Seo Yu-ju's attacks and swung its scythe, but...
- Hi?
Seo Yu-ju had already vanished from the spot. In the brief moment the boss lost track of her presence, she reappeared behind it and thrust her spear.
Puuk—
- Hiiiik... Lord Jephar... please...
Impaled by the spear, the boss monster uttered its death rattle before turning to ash and fading away.
"Hoo..."
Seo Yu-ju, having felled the boss, stood there panting for a while.
Everyone was lost in awe at her overwhelming display.
Park Da-rim was the first to speak.
"Truly... incredible. How is this possible for a fresh graduate from the training facility?"
Seo Yu-ju's performance when going all out was off the charts. While others couldn't fully utilize their stats, she was the opposite.
Her experience outpaced her stats, which couldn't keep up.
"No. It was only possible thanks to everyone's help. I didn't do much."
As Seo Yu-ju gave her false humility, Park Da-rim continued in an amazed tone.
"...No. You did put on an amazing show, Miss Seo Yu-ju, but... I meant your entire party. Especially..."
Park Da-rim shifted her gaze from Seo Yu-ju to me and kept going.
"...how did you come up with that idea, Mr. Lee Yun-seong?"
The others had been focused on fighting and missed the details, but Park Da-rim had observed the whole situation. She knew I'd come up with the idea to eliminate the shadows.
"...It just popped into my head. Nothing special."
At my response, everyone seemed to realize I'd thought up the shadow-removal method.
"Nothing special? The fact that you could think of it is what's impressive. Players here are so used to brute force—everything revolves around power, so they default to solving problems with strength."
'I get what she means.'
In this world, players prized raw power above all, so they instinctively turned to force whenever issues arose.
'In a way, overwhelming power holds players back.'
Being too strong made them fixate on force, blinding them to simpler solutions.
"Hm... I think I could come up with it because I'm weak. Being weak forces you to think more."
"...An idea born from weakness..."
Park Da-rim mulled over my answer, lost in thought.
Yi Jae-hyo spoke up to the group.
"...Everyone did great. Let's clean up now. We need to grab the rewards and head back."
At his words, everyone began tidying the site. Boss rooms always had rewards, so they started searching.
I wasn't concerned with rewards and grabbed Lee Yu-rim, who was rummaging around, to talk to her.
"Yu-rim."
"Yes...?"
"You okay? Not hurt?"
"Ah... yeah, I'm fine, oppa."
"........."
'Bullshit.'
The others might not have noticed, but I'd seen something during the fight.
"...Roll up your left pant leg."
"O-oppa..."
At my words, Lee Yu-rim's eyes began to waver.
'Just as I thought. Not my imagination.'
I'd glimpsed her getting stabbed in the calf by a wraith. I'd been unsure since it was brief, but her reaction confirmed the injury.
Sure enough, blood was flowing from her left leg. Quite a lot.
"You...!"
"........."
"Hoo... Never mind. Go to Yu-hyeon right now and get healed. Okay?"
I understood her reluctance—she didn't want to worry her little brother or show him her injury mid-battle.
"...Got it."
I sent her to Lee Yu-hyeon, who began treating her while teary-eyed over his sister's wound.
'...This world's too harsh for kids like them.'
Pushing thoughts aside, I approached the boss's remains. I'd seen it drop something as it vanished.
There, amid the ashes, was a small black cube the size of a knuckle.
'What's this?'
I picked it up for a closer look, but it was just a plain black cube. Nothing stood out.
'Looks like a material or catalyst.'
As I rolled it around in my hand, Kang I-seo approached.
"Ooh~ Lee Yun-seong. How'd you think of that earlier?"
"Just... came to me suddenly."
"No, when you guys suddenly started spamming light magic, I was like 'what the hell,' but seeing the shadows vanish? Blew my mind."
'Yeah, everyone stared like we were idiots at first...'
"What's this? Looks like a cube."
"Ah... Boss drop. Probably a catalyst or material."
"Looks kinda worthless."
"Well, it'll be useful somewhere."
Mid-conversation with Kang I-seo, someone from Incarnation Clan shouted upon finding something.
"Here! There's a safe!"
Everyone gathered where the woman pointed, revealing gold and gear inside.
They pulled out the appraisal artifact magnifier to inspect the equipment. I did the same.
Ornamental Sword of the Fallen Omorig Viscount (Rare Grade)
A sword displayed in the mansion by the fallen Omorig Viscount.
Strength +3 when equipped.
Marybeth Kelly's Necklace (Rare Grade)
A necklace kept by Marybeth Kelly in memory of her late husband.
Mana +3 when equipped.
Worn Dagger (Common Grade)
A worn dagger.
The gear matched a rare-grade dungeon: fitting rewards. Ignoring them, I checked the info on the black cube in my hand.
Shadow Cube (Heroic Grade)
Cube left behind as the evil ghost maid Marybeth Kelly faded away.
Usable as material or catalyst. High chance to grant shadow-related abilities.
'This... I have to have it.'
I'd yield the other items, but not this. I was certain it'd help with my experiments.
Sure enough, loot distribution talks began soon after.
Our party could use the necklace, maybe.
Ha-eun or I could wear it, but with our heroic-grade weapons and armor, the rest would likely be sold by the clan.
Comparing contributions, our clan outshone Incarnation Clan this dungeon run.
They did well, but Seo Yu-ju's prowess and my idea had massive impact.
I raised my hand cautiously.
"May I make a suggestion?"
"...Yes. Go ahead."
As Kim Myung-jun replied, I staked my claim.
"Could our clan take the wraith by-products and the boss's drop, the Shadow Cube?"
They expected gear demands; my request for by-products surprised them.
My party members were shocked too—this was the first time I'd claimed anything.
To be fair, I'd yielded all prior rewards, so their reaction was natural.
"...The Shadow Cube?"
"Yes. Honestly, I don't think my contribution was zero. So, the Shadow Cube is what I want."
Wraith bits were worthless, so no issue. But the cube would tempt them.
'Of course—the description says it grants shadow abilities.'
The Shadow Cube was valuable to anyone. Embed in gear, craft potions—plenty of uses.
"Hm..."
Kim Myung-jun and Incarnation Clan discussed, then he responded.
"Then, in exchange, our clan takes the sword and necklace. Deal?"
'Ugh... the dagger's trash, and losing the necklace stings...'
Dagger was useless—wouldn't fetch even a few gold. But I really wanted the necklace for Song Ha-eun.
Greedy? Sure, but in this world, good gear meant survival.
Seo Yu-ju, who'd overheard beside me, spoke up—clearly on the same page.
"How about this, Myung-jun? I contributed too, so we take the necklace and cube. In return, Incarnation Clan gets all other gear and 70% of the gold?"
'Nice! Seo Yu-ju!'
Gold was nice, but the necklace tempted me more. I wanted to applaud her perfect assist.