Chapter 35
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Switch with Me!
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What is this?
It's the heart of a monster called Raistal. Think of it as jelly and chew it up.
The trade has been completed.
I checked the "Raistal's Heart" that had entered my gallery inventory.
The heart looked like a translucent ore, so I wondered if my teeth could even bite into it.
Can I really chew and eat this? It looks super hard.
It chews soft like jelly, so don't worry.
Since he said so, at least eating it shouldn't be a problem.
But what happens if I chew and eat this?
Your body gets tougher. In simple terms, it's like turning an ordinary person into having the physical abilities of an E-rank hunter.
E-rank?
He mentioned E-rank, but I had no sense of whether that was high or low.
Since my telekinesis was barely scraping by as D-rank, I figured E-rank was pretty decent too.
Plus, your skin gets tougher too. It used to trade for 80 to 90 billion among the chaebols.
80 to 90 billion?
Isn't this super valuable then?
I got no use for it anyway. And even if I ate it, it'd do nothing for me.
I wondered why it was useless for him.
But before I could ask, another reply popped up.
It's originally an item that gives hunters the [Steel Skin] ability, but when it was discovered to work on ordinary people too, the price skyrocketed.
The effects differ between ordinary people and hunters, huh.
Yeah. Also, the heart has stacking effects—the more you eat, the better it gets. 3 or 4 should get you to C-rank hunter physical abilities.
Hearing the price and effects, it seemed like something even hard to obtain.
I figured even if I actively hunted for it, I probably couldn't find one.
Raistal. Sounds like a rare monster, right?
Pretty rare. Less than 10 hit the market a year.
As expected.
But you can find them if you try now, so don't sweat it. I'll grab a few more later.
You sure that's okay?
What's not okay about it? Just use your Modern Item Purchase to hook me up with some food.
For food, I can just give you points. My item purchases use points.
Since Raistal was rare, hunting it would be tough.
I didn't want to make the 7ch guy go through the hassle, so I offered points instead.
But then.
Points? Oh yeah, there are points, but how do you earn them?
Huh? There's a [Point Acquisition] button in the bottom right.
I know that. But when I pressed it, the screen just went black.
Surprisingly, the 7ch guy didn't know how to earn points.
Figuring no one had told him, I explained point acquisition first.
Just put anything into the black screen. In 2ch, we kill labyrinth monsters and toss the corpses in for points.
Oh, really? So I need these points to use your item purchases?
Yes.
Guess I'll catch one and see.
Huh?
Right now?
I replied quickly, but there was no response—probably already moving.
After waiting about 3 or 4 minutes, a new reply appeared.
Caught one and tossed it in—got about 4,000 points. Can I buy a cup ramen with this?
'What the heck did he catch?'
I recalled hearing that surface monsters gave 1,000 points.
Simple math: the monster he caught was 4 times stronger than a surface one.
Uh... a bowl of pork soup rice is 10 points.
Only 10 points? Well, it was a pretty strong monster.
The 7ch guy who took down a "pretty strong" monster in 3-4 minutes felt impressive.
Anyway, considering points from one monster, food worries seemed off the table.
But if you die, my food deliveries stop too, right?
Probably.
And no one to chat with like this?
The one I chat with, I Wanna Regress...
I paused mid-sentence, thinking of 3ch.
3ch was Korean too, and so was this 7ch guy I was talking to now.
Have you checked out 3ch by any chance? It's Korean too.
3ch? Oh, the zombie place? I went, but couldn't read the posts.
It's in Korean too, but you couldn't read it?
To me, it looked like weird characters, not Korean.
I thought about his answer for a moment.
I remembered the 2ch Mage Tower folks were working on deciphering text but had no luck.
'And 4ch's Quick Fix Doctor☆ asked me to translate for them too.'
With 4ch's tech level, decoding text shouldn't be hard.
Yet they couldn't, so it wasn't just a language difference—something else was at play.
And what's with calling me I Wanna Regress-nim? Just call me Hyun-min hyung casually.
Hyun-min hyung?
My name's Yoo Hyun-min. Oh, are you a girl? Then call me oppa.
I unintentionally learned the 7ch guy's real name.
I'm Kim Min-ho. I'll call you hyung.
Honestly, judging by the Raistal and the points from 3-4 minutes, he felt like a hyung.
Anyway, if 3ch is Korean too, seems like the gallery itself is blocking it.
Why would that be?
No idea. But one thing's sure—it's not with good intentions.
I didn't know the reason, just like he said, and had no way to find out right now.
Whatever. I'll hook you up with Raistal and other good stuff for your body.
Isn't that a hassle?
Hassle? Monsters swarm constantly anyway—I gotta kill 'em.
Hm.
His mention of "good stuff for the body" made me think of the Hero Party.
Wouldn't their strength go up if they ate something like Raistal?
'They're the ones doing the main fighting.'
Oh, right. Eating Raistal gives you a high fever for half a day, so watch out.
Half a day?
You think you get strong instantly? Gotta give your body time to change.
Made sense when he put it that way.
But a half-day fever meant I couldn't eat it right away.
Hyung, if it's okay, could you get some for the Hero Party too?
Hero Party?
They're the ones actually fighting, not me.
Hm. True, if the Hero Party gets stronger, they'll protect you better.
"Castaway, how about lunch now?"
Right on time, Elisicia brought up lunch.
Since I was in the middle of chatting, we decided on something simple.
"Hamburgers okay?"
"Anything's fine."
I bought 30 burgers of various types from the Modern Item list and handed them out to everyone.
I'm kinda curious about the Hero Party personally. Can you send a photo?
A photo?
I deserve at least that. They're gonna eat what I send and get stronger.
A photo seemed a fair trade for something like Raistal.
After some thought, I realized the Hero Party needed Yoo Hyun-min's help to get stronger.
"If everyone's okay, mind if I take a photo?"
"A photo?"
Elisicia tilted her head curiously.
Rubyel looked puzzled too.
"Photo? What's with the sudden photo request?"
"7ch guy asked. In exchange for something like an elixir."
"Elixir? Let me see."
I pulled Raistal's Heart from my inventory and showed Rubyel.
"This is 7ch's elixir? Definitely feels like it has some energy."
"Supposed to make your body tougher. Skin too."
"He wants a photo for this elixir? Weird guy."
If I left it like that, Yoo Hyun-min would seem like a real creep, so I defended him a bit.
"Only one person left in 7ch. Probably lonely."
"One person?"
The whole Hero Party looked shocked.
Made sense—they were the sole survivor amid total death.
"Hard to believe only one's left. Wants photos 'cause he's lonely?"
Rubyel muttered puzzledly, but no answer came.
Elisicia stared at the Raistal's Heart in my hand, then nodded.
"Looks valuable at a glance. A photo's a small price for something like this. Happy to oblige."
"Really?"
"Yes. He's doing something we and our group can't."
Seemed no elixirs like this in the Great Labyrinth.
Elisicia readily agreed to the photo as thanks to the 7ch guy.
"Then keep eating, everyone."
"Eating?"
"Want a natural shot."
They looked puzzled but resumed munching burgers.
I snapped a photo of the Hero Party eating via the gallery and sent it to Yoo Hyun-min.
Photo sent to nickname 'I Wanna Regress☆'.
...
...?
No reply.
Hyung?
Damn! Tricked!! Aaaargh!!! Me, tricked!!!!
Then came Yoo Hyun-min's anguished scream about being tricked.
Huh? Tricked how?
A weakling with no skills joins the Hero Party! Boldly asks me to buff the Hero Party!
I thought you got blackmailed or gaslit by the hero or something, but no!
Ah... was it?
Now I see—you joined 'cause you're bewitched by girls! And such beauties!
I corrected Yoo Hyun-min.
Bewitched? I joined thinking saving this world might send me home. Figured I could help a bit too.
Help? With that telekinesis?
I have 4ch weapons too.
Weapons are weapons. Argh! Can't stand it, too unfair! Switch with me! I'll kill that Evil God or whatever!
'Switch, huh.'
He seemed to be losing his mind, so I tried calming him first.
I just joined. What am I supposed to do here?
...Really? Well, with guys and girls together, no accidental nudity, shared tents, or naughty stuff happens, right.
...
Thinking again, he had a strangely sharp insight.
'Better not say anything.'
For Yoo Hyun-min's sake, I decided to hide the truth.