Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Forced Window Shopping
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"What the hell is this...? What country's village-level economy is this?"
These were numbers I'd only ever seen in idle mobile games that just kept running endlessly in the background.
I scrolled down the sales list in disbelief, but it never ended.
⚙ SHOP LIST ⚙ [Items] [Skills] ─ [Descending] [Search] [Remaining Funds: 6.65 Million Won] "Soul Revival Incense? Why summon the dead? Magic Money Pot—is that a money-duplicating item? And what's Sky Whale's Inner Core?"
Even if I sold Earth itself, the prices were all in some otherworldly currency.
"Huh?"
As I mindlessly kept scrolling down the shop, I spotted an item I hadn't noticed before.
⚙ SHOP LIST ⚙ [Items] [Skills] ─ [Descending] [Search] [Remaining Funds: 6.65 Million Won] At the very top of the window, written small, were "Skills" and "Descending." There was also a search function and my current funds.
It must've been stuck on descending order, causing all this chaos.
Wanting to see the cheap stuff first, I held down the descending button, and the text flipped instantly, bringing up a new list.
⚙ SHOP LIST ⚙ [Items] [Skills] ─ [Ascending] [Search] [Remaining Funds: 6.65 Million Won] ★Exhausted Fallen Fruit Piece: A malnourished piece of fallen fruit that the divine spirit Par sucked dry of energy and was about to discard, but decided to leave for her contractor instead.
[Price: 0 Won] [First-time purchase only]
[Delicious Water 500ml]: The kind of water where you gain weight just from drinking it. Infused with a single drop of holy water.
[Price: 5 Million Won]
[Mistletoe Branch]: A branch that once glanced at Mistilteinn, the mistletoe that killed a god. Burns well even in pouring rain.
[Price: 12 Million Won]
[Hermes' Sneakers]: Sneakers molded from mud that Hermes once stepped in. Grants nimble running ability.
[Price: 35 Million Won]
...
[Other Instrument]: A guitar that luckily absorbed a drop of wine spat out when Dionysus choked while drinking.
Produces a beautiful sound that can turn the mood around when played after the fun dies down.
[Price: 450 Million Won]
...
Even after switching to ascending order, the prices still made me chuckle dryly.
"I can barely afford one bottle of water. What do you expect from someone who grinded once and got 100,000 Won?"
There were even more expensive things than the sneakers and guitar on the list, so maybe these weren't so bad.
Just in case, I scrolled all the way down and saw all sorts of bizarre items.
[One Lick Voucher for Great Replenishing Pill]: A one-time lick voucher for the Shaolin Temple's legendary elixir, Great Replenishing Pill. Greatly improves health.
[Price: 125 Billion Won]
Spotting the Great Replenishing Pill midway made my scrolling finger stop automatically.
How many vouchers would it take to lick it until it was gone?
No point scrolling further. I went back up, and the top item—with its star marking like it was important—caught my eye again.
★Exhausted Fallen Fruit Piece: A malnourished piece of fallen fruit that the divine spirit Par sucked dry of energy and was about to discard, but decided to leave for her contractor instead.
"The description rubs me the wrong way..."
This tiny bit of kindness from Par must refer to that.
But no matter what, the description made it sound like she'd put it in her mouth and spat it out. My hand just wouldn't move.
Total disaster.
"Fine, I give up. I'll buy it."
As I touched the fallen fruit item, a system chime rang out.
Ding! [Purchase cannot be undone] A warning popped up with Purchase and Cancel buttons.
Since I'd made up my mind, I set aside any hesitation and hit Purchase quickly.
─Whoosh!!
A bright light appeared before my eyes, gathering in one spot.
As the light converged, something began to form.
As the light faded, a peach-like fruit slice materialized.
I slid my hand underneath, and it dropped neatly into my palm with a plop.
"Hmm, looks just like a regular peach on the outside?"
Even if it looked like a peach, the item description nagged at me.
A peach slice that went into Par's mouth and came out. I couldn't muster the courage to pop it in.
As I eyed the peach warily after much deliberation, a faint fragrance began wafting from it.
The scent thickened to the point where it seemed visible to the naked eye.
Suddenly, an intoxicating peach aroma burst forth, filling the entire studio apartment.
The intense fragrance wasn't overpowering; instead, just inhaling it felt like my body was melting in blissful, sweet ecstasy.
"Whoa... Is this telling me to shove it in my mouth already?"
Continuing to breathe it in made saliva drool uncontrollably from my mouth without realizing.
I couldn't hold back anymore and popped the whole thing in.
The peach melted in my mouth without chewing, turning into fragrance that permeated my entire body like it was stirring me up inside.
The fruit's aroma was sweeter and more ecstatic than anything, making me feel floaty and happy just from smelling it.
Once the sensation of the fragrance drifting through my body ended, the room-filling scent and lingering sweetness in my mouth vanished like magic.
All strength drained from my body.
Slumping in the computer chair, letting my melted body go limp, the lingering fragrance and taste kept replaying in my mind.
"Haa─"
A sigh of regret escaped automatically.
"Huh?"
A peach scent lingered in my mouth from earlier.
"Hoo─ Hoo─ What?"
Unless my nose was bent from the overwhelming peach smell, it really seemed to be coming from my mouth.
Something had changed in my body.
Just in case, I went to the bathroom mirror and saw subtle shifts all over.
My hair, which had been so dull I hated looking at it, hadn't changed drastically, but the murky parts lightened a bit, and the pink highlights brightened.
The frizzy texture had smoothed out somewhat.
I'd looked like a guy with long hair before, but now my eyes, nose, and mouth had rounded out softly overall.
My cloudy eye color brightened slightly, and my rough, dark skin felt a bit more even and calm.
Just like Par said, something was changing.
Maybe because my previous impression was so harsh, the subtle changes didn't make me look that much more attractive yet.
Still, it was progress.
After scrutinizing the changes, I returned to my room and flopped into the computer chair.
Time to check the skill window I missed earlier.
"Fuck, status window!"
Ding! "That damn ding every time I call it is annoying as hell."
I tapped the Skills tab, and the menu switched from Items to Skills.
⚙ SHOP LIST ⚙ [Skills] [Items] ─ [Ascending] [Search] [Remaining Funds: 6.65 Million Won] [Eyes]
[Nose]
[Lips]
[Facial Contour]
[Hair]
[Voice]
[Breasts]
[Body Adjustment]
...
[Heavy Strike]
[Low Kick]
...
[Massage]
[Bread Baking]
[Tai Chi]
[Flexible Body]
...
[Random Dildo Summon]
...
[Steel Camouflage]
[Beast's Heart]
The list of skills made my head spin.
Remembering the Great Replenishing Pill lick voucher, I curiously scrolled midway, and sure enough...
...
[Indestructible Diamond Body]
[Asura Heaven-Destroying Dance]
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art]
[Summon Kinto'un]
Better stop looking.
Just seeing prices that would bankrupt the universe made me dizzy.
At least from the skills tab, I could tell that with these Gangnam plastic surgeon-level skills, I could fix this awful appearance.
And the appearance-altering ones were at the top, so probably the cheapest options.
Among the countless skills, the lower-priced ones were mostly skewed toward appearance and physical abilities.
Par probably wanted me to use those to build fame and get some help in return.
All I had left now was 6 million Won from selling my belongings and trading memories for cash.
Decision time.
"Hmm..."
First things first: saintly path or villainous path?
Not much point dwelling on it.
In a rule-of-law country like ours, going villainous came with way too many constraints.
Unless it was a big score and run, not a great choice.
Naturally, next up: making money and fame using appearance or physical skills.
Looking at the skills, physical ability ones seemed pricier than appearance ones.
"So, that leaves leveraging my looks, huh..."
Model? Celebrity? No way 6 million Won cut it.
What among these could maximize efficiency by going all-in?
I already had one route in mind, but couldn't commit.
As I pondered deeply, the urge to smoke naturally rose.
I grabbed the cigarettes and lighter from the desk and headed outside.
─Click, click.
"Hoo─"
Looking around, no one seemed nearby.
"Stat...!"
Checked again. Still clear.
"Status window!"
Ding! "Goddamn ding."
A few swipes, and the skills appeared.
⚔ SKILL ⚔ Voice Transforms your voice to be even more beautiful. Purchases stack to increase skill level. [Price: 200,000 Won] No matter how I thought about it, this seemed like the best choice.
"Purchasing."
Ding! [Purchase cannot be undone] "I know, so stop with the ding already, before I smash this thing."
Cigarette smoke billowed up, covering the skill window.
Having my body change on its own was scarier than I thought.
"Hoo─"
Ding! ⚔ SKILL ⚔ Voice Lv.1 Your voice becomes even more beautiful. Purchases stack to increase skill level. [Price: 400,000 Won] [Remaining Funds: 6.45 Million Won]
"Ah, ah... Huh?"
It had definitely changed.
I figured a mid-tier skill like this would need heavy investment for noticeable effects, but it was already clearly working.
No turning back now.
My fingers moved fast.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Three chimes, and my funds dropped fast.
⚔ SKILL ⚔ Voice Lv.4 Your voice becomes exceedingly beautiful. [Price: 3.2 Million Won] [Remaining Funds: 3.65 Million Won]
A few finger taps, and 3 million Won vanished in an instant.
"What the—huh?!"
I was about to scoff at the vanishing money when the voice from my own throat sent chills down my spine.
It was that smooth streamer voice they flaunted on internet broadcasts.
A beautiful voice that could pass for a noona's.
Or maybe even better.
3 million Won? No way it was a waste for such an extreme improvement.
"But why does the price jump like this? 200k to 400k... Shit, it doubles each time."
The skill started at 200,000 Won and was now 3.2 million.
The effect was so good, money didn't feel wasted.
If anything, my own voice tickled my ears so much it was distracting.
"Hoo─ Ah, ah."
An addictive voice that never got old.
What would happen if I leveled it more?
Seeing the 3.2 million Won price, I knew I shouldn't, but my hand moved to Purchase on its own.
This was like drugs. Improving this much in real time?
Ding! "Come on, ding!"
The ding felt welcoming now.
Unable to resist, I hit the button, and a strange change began.
Ding! ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ A peach fragrance begins to infuse your voice. Your voice becomes even sweeter. Your voice begins to approach Heavenly Peach.