Chapter 37
Chapter 37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Dimensional Shop
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jia seemed to have nearly awakened.
The flow and distribution of her mana were almost identical to that of the flame Elemental Awakener whose head I had crushed.
"Hmm..."
As I gazed at Jia, looking like I was pondering something, she—who was lying beside me, stroking my chest—asked,
"Why, why?"
"No particular sensations?"
"Huh? Ah, no. Nothing yet."
A faint blush colored Jia's cheeks.
She seemed to be misunderstanding something.
Her misconception made me scratch my cheek without thinking.
'Should I tell her, or not?'
It felt like an Elemental Awakening, but I didn't know exactly how abilities first manifested.
Even after awakening, some realized it naturally, but plenty didn't notice.
Body Enhancers showed clear physical signs, but Elementals just felt better overall—hard to pinpoint as an awakening.
That was one reason the government ran free nationwide mana tests.
'One more thing to look into back in the original world.'
In a middle school that had been the territory of the mid-tier cat Corrupted Beings, I found something similar to what Suni described.
It was a middle school surrounded by apartment complexes.
I figured I'd spotted it faster than expected.
As mid-tier monster turf, there were no zombies either—perfect setup for the kids.
"Is this what you were looking for? What's it supposed to be?"
Jia eyed the pump well I'd found and asked curiously.
"Looks like a pump well?"
Just as Suni said, it resembled a concrete well.
"Why'd you go searching for this?"
"Figured it might give us water."
"Wa-water? Oh! Does that mean we can shower?"
Jia's face lit up with delight.
"If it works, yeah."
"But doesn't it need electricity?"
I could tell from the wires and switches that Chaewon pointed out—it definitely required power.
Maybe snag a mana generator from the original world and hook it up?
Mana generators produced electricity from Mana Stones.
Mana Stones were easy enough—just smash some Corrupted Beings.
Power wouldn't be an issue.
The real question was whether it'd function properly even with electricity.
"We'll figure that out going forward."
"Huh? Figure it out?"
The kids tilted their heads, faces full of confusion at my words.
Installing a Save Point took 24 hours.
No telling how things might play out, but even in the worst case, we'd be stuck here through tomorrow, maybe the day after.
We needed a spot to kill time.
Cleared out one second-floor classroom for sleeping quarters. No zombies thanks to the cat Corrupted Beings, but I threw up barricades in the halls just in case.
The school rooftop was surprisingly well-kept, like a pretty garden.
'Do schools these days put gardens on rooftops?'
Nothing like the off-limits ones from my school days.
The fenced-in green space looked nice.
'Pretty sure there was a pool, too.'
New building—facilities were top-notch.
"Yeah. Install it."
-Vrrr.
Mana from the surroundings got sucked in, forming the now-familiar faint rectangular door.
"Hmm..."
I'd considered putting it somewhere else after the cat Corrupted Being incident.
But a distant spot felt off.
If that was an issue, the reverse could happen too.
Like some insanely powerful enemy suddenly raiding the place...
In that case, I couldn't ditch the kids to hunt for a Save Point.
Ended up installing it where it suited me best.
'Upgrade Login one more time?'
I had a Skill Point from the mid-tier catch.
That'd add another Save Point slot.
But no guarantee it'd lift the Logout penalty.
What if the Logout cooldown wasn't tied to this Save Point?
Still, the perk of fast long-range travel in a pinch wasn't nothing.
Regrettable all the same.
'Each Skill Point's precious—hence the agonizing.'
Hunting Corrupted Beings for more Skill Points was the way.
The next day, once the Save Point finished, I brought Jia up to the rooftop to test something.
"Wh-what's this about?"
Jia spoke shyly, like she was anticipating something.
Her vibe got to me a bit, but now wasn't the time.
"See anything?"
"Hmm... A rooftop garden... it's pretty. But it needs some TLC. Looks like it's been neglected awhile."
She couldn't see the Save Point.
I took her hand.
"Oh? Huh? Wh-what?"
Jia blushed but still looked puzzled by my move.
Pulled her hand right to the Save Point.
"..........Huh?"
From her perspective, my odd behavior must've seemed bizarre.
".........."
No reaction.
Looked like only I could see it—and use it.
Time to head back to the original world.
Logged out. The familiar living room came into view.
"I'm back."
Even knowing it was my place, the comfort really drove home that I was home.
Spent ages over there, but no time had passed here.
Outside the window, the cityscape glowed red.
Took a refreshing shower for the first time in forever, then sprawled on the sofa.
Built-up fatigue melted away in a pleasant haze.
Lazed around blankly for a while until the new skill crossed my mind.
"Open shop."
Unlocked upon hitting level 5.
I'd peeked at it briefly in the zombie world.
Honestly, kinda meh in my current situation.
No skill level shown either—probably no room for growth.
Stock ran the gamut of zombie Earth stuff: cars down to cheap pens—even nukes.
Shop coins convertible from EXP or Mana Stones.
'Converting EXP to coins—would that drop my level?'
No plans to, but it'd probably eat into my level-up buffer, right?
Biggest issue: prices were absurd.
10 coins ≈ value of one F-Rank Mana Stone.
Case in point: a bowl of jjajangmyeon for 1 coin.
F-Rank Mana Stones fluctuated around 1 million won.
That made it like a 100,000-won bowl of noodles.
Didn't test the quality to confirm.
Mana Stones were precious to me too.
Couldn't torch coins just to sample noodles.
1 coin being the minimum probably factored in.
Most zombie Earth items were buyable with cash here anyway.
Cheaper straight-up buying them normally than via Dimensional Shop.
"Should've hit Pantera first."
Might've had decent stuff.
One worthwhile item, though:
Nearly every Earth language available.
Mind-boggling number of ones I'd never seen or heard.
500 coins per language.
Seemed pretty useful.
Figured 5 D-Rank Mana Stones would net about 500 coins.
Had a good haul from the cat Corrupted Beings.
The five D-Rank Mana Stones got absorbed and converted.
Decent quality—more than anticipated.
For kicks, grabbed the most versatile: English.
A card with mysterious runes popped out.
"Use it."
The card dissolved into light particles that seeped into my body.
Flipped on the TV's movie channel.
"This... is impressive."
Language mastery from one card shard.
Wonder if I could give them to others?
If so, business opportunity.
But the price felt iffy for real profit.
'Wealthy types might bite...'
Still, better spent hunting one more Corrupted Being?
Such a novelty item would draw eyes, naturally.
Weighing the hassle against the cash...
Tough call.
Wasn't hurting for money anyway.
Best to use sparingly for now, when needed.
Other stuff? No way I could afford it.
Just buy with cash if I wanted—smarter move.
Stuff impossible to get otherwise.
Nukes, civilian-no-go items—pour Mana Stones and snag 'em. Merit, sorta.
But those Mana Stones? Better for leveling up, no?