Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Let's Make Some Armor
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After finishing my farming runs on the 11th floor,
I headed straight up to the 12th.
'Mob setup: three lizardmen.'
Not even worth scouting.
The moment I entered, I threw out my clones first.
"Go! Fake Jeong-uk! Go!"
"Heh! Reptiles go up in smoke!"
"Does this mean we're finally upgrading our gear too?"
"Fuck, the original always hogs the good stuff."
That's because you're my penal battalion, duh?
Why give good gear to cannon fodder heading to their deaths?
It'd just explode and leave drops behind all lonely.
"You know, thinking about it, aren't we basically mobs ourselves?"
"We drop loot when we die and all."
"Is that something to say when you have your own doppelgangers?"
"No wonder he doesn't value his own life."
I ignored them and opened my [Inventory].
I had my own tasks to handle.
[Orc No. 3]
[Orc No. 4]
[Pickpocket's Wallet]
[Drake Tongue Leather]
·
·
·
[Silver Skill Card]
There it is.
I pulled the card pack out from amid the junk.
"Time to smash some skills."
It was the skill card pack I'd earned pushing the 11th floor yesterday.
Just one day delayed, but it felt like it'd been rotting in my inventory for weeks.
The moment I saw the backs, my gut screamed.
'Duplicates again.'
As I'd confirmed on the 10th floor, picking duplicates meant 1+1.
In other words, a bust... but a win.
I picked the ones my intuition pointed to without hesitation.
"Huh?"
Riding a hot streak, then bam–an unknown skill.
"[Low-Grade Pharmacology]?"
The only one without a duplicate.
Felt like I'd hit the jackpot but got shafted instead.
What the hell? Was my intuition busted?
Ah.
So that's why I picked it, my gut.
'Didn't expect the skill card itself to upgrade.'
Not just any combo would work, obviously.
Each has its affinities.
The amazing part? Spotting those affinities at a glance.
Even I was stunned, and I did it.
"Guess I really do have some divine gift."
"Good intuition" doesn't cut it.
I could feel out duplicates, sure,
but sniffing hidden synergies between skills I didn't even know?
'No way that's just luck or gut feel.'
To put it bluntly... shamanic talent?
Noble Body, Baseborn Role's unexpected MVP performance!
But this fucking thing?
"Why give it to me if I can't learn it?"
I tore the card, but it reverted good as new.
Failed acquisition means no card consumption, huh.
You've got some conscience after all, my [Deficiency].
Ah, whatever.
I wasn't into pharmacology anyway.
As I scowled, a message popped up.
"Ah, all cleared?"
"Yessir! Casualty report from the maknae!"
"Dead clones?"
"Zero casualties! Fake Jeong-uk total victory!"
Those my clones?
Definitely a downgraded version of low-grade clone arts.
I sighed and claimed my rewards.
"What a shitty drop table."
The Tower's a real cheapskate.
Giving herbs when I couldn't get [Pharmacology]? Infuriating.
'Byproducts worthless too. Just harvest mana?'
Couldn't be bothered dismantling lizardmen.
Just bipedal lizards. Funny how moods work.
[Elixir] needs 10 [Traces of Mana].
Six left now.
Which means?
Finish parking for six more.
Total ten [Traces of Mana].
"Now I can make the [Elixir] too. Heading back."
The lab's ready.
Market owner lent it to me.
Shopkeeper senior! Wait up!
"Hello. We're from city hall."
Always wanted to say that.
Feels all intellectual, like a civil servant.
The guards at the back-alley shop lit up.
"Climber! Good to see you again."
"Pardon? Oh, the officer who blocked the escape route back then?"
"Yes! Honored you remember!"
I'm the honored one.
Makes business smoother.
"Keep guarding the outside, please. Reagents are hazardous–don't come in."
"Of course. Who would I suspect?"
Right?
Knowing folks makes it easy.
I entered the shop and set up housekeeping.
"Come out again, clones."
"What do we do?"
"I'll explain later. Sort this stuff first."
I tossed leathers and teeth from my inventory.
Those are for gear crafting practice.
Priority: this.
What're you waiting for?
Craft it now.
"?"
I'd expected no instant craft.
But 72 hours?
Three days?
Whoa.
Crafting time slashed to a third.
SR-grade pulling its weight.
"A day's wait is reasonable."
Makes sense for a pill.
Especially mana-made, no labor.
Just activate skill and let it run.
'Blacksmithing required hands-on forging and inscription.'
–Clang!
Pulled out the [Shaman Lord Totem] from inventory too.
Orc chieftain's proficiency buff item.
Placed sorted materials to its left.
Then fired up the gallery.
✪ [Guidelines for Newbie Craftsmen]
✪ [1st Floor Herb Farming–You Can Do It Too!]
✪ [Elemental Magic SR or Below Q&A]
✪ [Gear Repair Guide for Newbies]
✪ [Beginner Tips: Leather Armor DIY & Repair]
✪ [How to Enchant Robes with Defensive Charms]
I clicked the last two and watched the videos.
The vids featured two guys: a ripped tanned hunk and a blue-skinned shaman.
Huh.
Familiar nicks.
Tower Noob Raid Leader and Tribe Chief.
"Everyone's hustling. Even making videos."
20-minute and 10-minute vids respectively.
I used to hate screenshots for game guides back in the day.
Tower strats must hit different.
– Basics only, skim and learn.
– Get hooked? Hit 2nd floors.
– Newbies learn shamanism. Good stuff. Enchantable.
– Gather animal teeth or bones first.
Watched at 2x speed, pondered.
Informative.
Very informative... but.
'Crafting's gonna take time.'
Gallery posts certify fine.
Elixir waits anyway.
"But what about the market's reagent inspection?"
Mistook me for a [Mystic Scholar] or whatever.
Job's the pretext for borrowing the shop.
Slacking pricks my conscience.
"No choice. Get those guys on it."
What?
Clones can't learn [Pharmacology] either?
Not them.
"World Tree, you're up!"
Deployed detection.
Hooked an invisible World Tree root.
Lessons from William senior and Sword Fairy.
'Can't do it? Make someone else!'
Hey, World Tree.
Stuffing it in.
I shoved the skill card into the World Tree.
"?"
What.
Why won't it go in?
Now it's resisting too.
I cracked open my squinted eyes, twitching.
My glare sharpened instinctively.
"Hey. You messing with me right now?"
The World Tree's root flinched.
Probably imagination.
Inanimate object playing human.
"World Tree my ass. You're not even alive."
What's a mana blob better than clones?
Hate it?
Finally got through.
"That's more like it."
Rob one shop and now train plants too?
Not a machine you beat into submission.
No way to smack it anyway.
"Alright, Fake Jeong-uks. Gallery added Gallery Master exclusive–loot shop goods and sort by use."
"Shiver."
"Shake."
Why they quaking?
Aha.
Scared of dying to bad reagents?
"Relax. If you can't tell, mix aggressively. Death means poison."
"?"
No need clones for 13th push.
Call it a 24-hour vacay!
Anyway.
Shing–!
Time to craft.
Armor.
Tanned per the vids, swiped some shop reagents.
Prototype success.
"Done! Drake leather apron!"
"Ehh."
"Fuck, another apron."
What else?
Apron first, obviously.
"Blood'll splatter on clothes now. Gotta wear good stuff."
Magnolia's old apron was plain cloth.
Rips and wears easy.
Hence apron priority.
'Make multiples, master sewing, then full sets.'
Anyway.
First craft complete!
"Still silver."
Not item-certified yet.
Makes sense.
No blacksmith skills.
But silver lining.
While disciplining the dim World Tree, I realized something.
No need for gallery's [Equipment Transcendence].
"World Tree. Finish the rest."
Just use the pro directly.
Gallery function's the World Tree anyway.
The World Tree's root glowed weakly.
Fwoosh–!
Ooh, fancy name.
But wait.
○○'s Tears usually recovery item, right?
"Nah. Beaten out of World Tree? Sap or glue. Adhesive substitute."
"Shiver."
"Shake."
Name aside.
Bigger issue.
Fancy name, but R-grade?
"This insults our World Tree."
One step left in crafting.
Post-processing.
Tribe Chief's technique here.
Having skills means nothing without use.
Knowledge from gallery.
'Drake tooth-ground dye.'
Etch and dye the apron's inside.
Hmm.
Huh.
"...Irezumi what?"
Not multicolored, but tattoo vibe.
Pattern-like designs helped.
"Feels like becoming a tattoo artist~."
Drawing flowed weirdly well.
Talent explosion in this field.
Fwoosh–!
That explained it.
The bullshit transcendence success.
Let's check stats.
––
■ Equipment:
[Apron of the Slaughterhouse Infused with Deceptive Aura (SR)]
■ Effects:
HP Recovery Speed +10%
MP Recovery Speed +10%
Skill Acquired: [Refined Exploitation], [Cold-Blooded Intimidation].
––
"What skills?"
Upgraded [Crude Exploitation] or [Bluster Intimidation]?
How'd these stick?
Did I exploit or intimidate anyone?
"Ah! Tailor Yaun showdown."
Threatened her with soul-stealing talisman duel.
[Alchemy Mystery] influence?
Transferred talisman effect maybe.
"No one else I've menaced."
"Hmmph... "
"Hmmph... "
Lemme see.
Gear takes accessory slot.
Ah, belt category.
'Can ditch Goblin Lord's necklace for good.'
New upgraded skills.
Frostbringer and parts overlapping anyway.
Back pattern?
Hide it.
Lining, invisible when worn.
"Pattern looks shamanic enough?"
Tribe Chief smeared stuff on himself too.
Celtic or Germanic naked warrior vibe.
Something like that.
"Still, can't do that to people. Scraping skin, pouring dye–hurts."
"Did it to World Tree though."
"Tormented tattoo slave treegirl... "
What? You vegans?
Plant lovers in this hellhole Tower.
Or eco-warriors? Fair enough.
'Lives on line though. Gotta cut slack.'
Even if World Tree were human, it'd approve.
[Gift Shop] and [Auction House] saved lives.
All to help climbers.
Not tattoo. "Education."
Just taught technique.
Like skill inscription on gear.
'You get me, right?'
I affectionately stroked a World Tree root.
Not literally touching, mind.
Detection rub-rub.
"Let's push a bit more, tree buddy."
Fill your body with [Shaman Inscription]...
No.
Skills to help people!
"Sadistic kindness."
"Torment then pamper."
"Brooding plantgirl fully trained."
Anyway.
Pretty good for a test craft.
'Craft and sell like this, stack cash before 15th opens.'
Entry tickets: four enough maybe,
but extra coin never hurts.
'Surplus? Buy up Tower currency!'
But.
One thing missing for that.
Key procedure.
[SR Gear Dropped–Is This Good?]
Gear drops? Brag on gallery.
Common sense for Tower noobs, right?
"Heh heh."
Missed this with [Frost Chaser Hunter]. Felt robbed.
(Slaughterhouse apron photo, options only)
Had time during climb break, made it lol
Craft fun af, recruiting magic senior for more
Mid-floor+, first come first served!
And thx Tribe Chief, Raid Leader–great lectures!