Chapter 159: Another Classic Masterpiece?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: Another Classic Masterpiece?
"On a day like this, nothing beats coffee and ice..."
It was a peaceful morning.
Chubby Ahn woke up at a leisurely hour and began checking off his to-do list for the day.
Normally, the first thing on that list would be answering Kim Min-su’s questions on the forums.
"I'm sure he's doing fine."
Since Min-su had entered a Gate, his schedule was relatively open.
In fact, the only thing left on his agenda was managing Min-su’s achievements.
The hardships a protagonist must endure and the rewards they ought to receive.
He wanted to make sure Min-su got back everything that had been ruined by that damn Baek Tae-yang as soon as possible.
[Kim Min-su has achieved 'First Kiss'. Additionally...]
The moment the achievement message popped up, Chubby Ahn jumped out of his seat in shock.
The message mentioned something additional, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
"Huh?"
He had only just entered the Gate, and it had already happened?
Clap.
Chubby Ahn gave a standing ovation and pumped his fist.
The suspension bridge effect must have worked perfectly.
And for good reason—an S-Class Gate wasn't just a fancy name.
The environment, the monsters—everything was so dangerous that one couldn't afford a single moment of carelessness.
In that setting, he had separated Baek Tae-yang and Baelson from the group to create the dream team of one guy and two girls.
After that?
Well, it was only natural for love to blossom on its own.
"Now then... let's see who he kissed."
Since he’d only just met the Saintess, it was probably Melanie.
Reaching that conclusion, Chubby Ahn clicked the 'View Details' button on Min-su’s achievement tab.
"I wonder what the 'additional' part is."
It was quite surprising that he’d achieved something else alongside the first kiss.
I guess since he’s based on me, his performance is guaranteed, he thought.
==================================
Achievement 「First Kiss」 unlocked.
By achieving your first kiss, you copy the power of the person you kissed.
Your overall physical abilities increase significantly, and Troll blood begins to flow through your body.
As long as your head and heart are not destroyed, you will not die easily.
Achievement 「This is No Count!」 unlocked.
By kissing an undesirable target, your resistance to mental attacks increases.
Due to the effect of 'No Count!', the 'First Kiss' achievement is nullified.
However, the rewards will not disappear.
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"...What is this? A Troll? An undesirable target?"
What on earth did this mean?
So, was he saying Kim Min-su just kissed a Troll?
"Why was there even a Troll there in the first place?"
What was going on?
Chubby Ahn hurriedly sat at his computer and began pounding on the keyboard.
He repeated hundreds of times that there was no way he had designed the Gate like this.
Finally, he found the cause of the entire incident.
"...I didn't apply it."
Creating a Gate consumed a vast amount of divine power.
If it were like the old days when he could lead the story on his own, it wouldn't have mattered.
But now, he had to distribute his power very carefully to support Min-su until the ending.
Therefore, Chubby Ahn had devised a method of overwriting an existing Gate with his own.
As long as he knew which Gate Kim Min-su was entering, it was actually a highly efficient method.
Min-su could claim the rewards of the original Gate as well as the rewards from the Gate Ahn created.
It was essentially a 'Double Rewards' event.
The problem was that this was Chubby Ahn’s first time trying it.
"I can just apply it now..."
He tried to comfort himself, muttering that nothing too special had happened yet.
With that, Chubby Ahn applied the Gate he had created.
"But how did he end up kissing the Troll King?"
The biggest mystery, one that couldn't be solved from his room, remained.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Troll King 'Who's Amanda'.
She realized the truth the moment the Gate opened.
I'm going to die.
If they were just some random nobodies, she would have waited comfortably in her seat.
But even from the faint energy she could sense, she knew how strong they were.
Especially one among them who stood out.
No, two. No, three.
Four... Yes, exactly four of them.
The last one had a pathetic aura.
His potential could be rated highly, but everything else was disastrous.
Who's Amanda could already see her kingdom burning before her eyes.
Imagining my own death is terrible.
She rose from her throne and ordered her shamans to buff her.
"Which spells should we cast, Your Majesty?"
"Cast everything. It's the last time anyway, y'know."
Farewell, my kingdom.
It was fun, my people.
She wanted to call out each of their names, share memories, hug her successors, and visit the tombs of her ancestors.
Only I need to die.
It was a good thing she had already chosen a successor, or a bloodbath might have ensued.
Their goal was obvious.
My head.
If she gave them that, the kingdom wouldn't be destroyed.
A kingdom soaked in grief was much better than a kingdom consumed by flames.
Who's Amanda was a Troll who knew how to think very rationally.
Rather than desperately trying to stop them from coming and looking for a way to survive...
It was better to go to them first, offer her head, and send them out of the Gate.
"My King, are you going to hunt the ancient demonic beast? If you receive all these buffs, you might die..."
"It's fine. Just do it quickly. I have a plan, y'know."
The shaman stopped arguing with the wise King.
Every shaman in the kingdom gathered to cast a blessing for a single person.
A buff so powerful that even a sick person would be healed just by being near her settled into her body.
"I'm off, y'know."
After confirming that all the blessings had taken hold, she immediately leaped toward the giant catapult on the castle wall.
Whirrrrrr—Thump!
The moment her body landed on the catapult, the counterweight shifted, and the lever swung violently.
Creeeeak, creeeeak, creeeeak.
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
The trembling catapult somehow endured her weight and spat her out with a loud groan.
Fwoooooosh!
The target was outside the castle gates.
The wicked group scouting their kingdom.
[Gigantification activated! Incarnation activated! Troll Avatar activated! Excessive buff skills act as a deadly poison and harm the body! Please be careful!]
A desperate struggle for a single moment.
Who's Amanda’s plan was as follows:
First, confront the wicked group while fully buffed, then declare surrender once the buffs wore off.
The exhausted enemies would think, 'If the King is this strong, the kingdom must be high-level,' and wouldn't enter the kingdom.
Then, the grand plan to save the kingdom through the sacrifice of one person would succeed.
"Oh my, you're not my type, y'know!"
Thwack!
She was glad she could attack the strongest-looking one while she was at her peak.
The human male who flew in afterward was promptly retired.
The subsequent blessings and fire support didn't mean much to her.
She was already as blessed as could be, and Troll skin was naturally resistant to long-range weapons.
Thump! Boom!
The battle didn't last very long.
"Mwah! Slurp!"
Of course, there was one massive crisis in the middle.
When the white-haired human unleashed demonic energy.
At that moment, she really thought she was a goner.
But I did everything I needed to do, y'know.
She left an impression as the Troll King and, using her right as the 'stronger' party, even managed to successfully kiss the weakest-looking one as a hostage.
It would be too unfair to die without ever having been kissed.
This was like a right she was owed in exchange for her life.
This much is fine, right?
Since the buff duration was almost over, it was time to explain the situation in earnest.
"Humans, actually, the reason I came here i—is...?"
Huh?
The resolve she had when she opened her mouth, prepared for death, vanished instantly.
"Where did everyone go, y'know?"
She wondered if they had hidden their presence and invaded the kingdom, but that wasn't it.
She couldn't sense anything at all, as if they had literally ascended to heaven or vanished into the earth.
They had disappeared in an instant, as if that had been the plan all along.
"I... I lived, y'know...?"
Who's Amanda slumped onto the ground and licked her lips.
"Kissing is better than I thought, y'know!"
Thinking about the sensation of the kiss and the fact that she was alive, she sprawled out on the ground.
As expected, quick decision-making was the shortcut to saving a kingdom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"What is this?"
They had entered the Gate, and the Troll King had appeared.
The incredibly powerful boss monster had instantly wrecked their formation, snatched Min-su up, and proceeded to make intense advances.
Seeing Kim Min-su get teased had put him in a good mood, so he was going to watch for a bit.
But suddenly, his vision blurred, and he was forcibly teleported elsewhere.
"This is seriously ridiculous."
What did that guy do to make them move from one Gate to another?
It was hard to tell if Chubby Ahn was competent or incompetent.
Looking at how he could pull this off, he seemed smart.
But looking at his usual behavior, he was nothing short of an idiot.
Anyway.
"Another Classic Masterpiece?"
How long was he going to keep forcing Kim Min-su into the role of a protagonist and making him date?
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Welcome to the S-Class Gate, Classic Masterpiece 「The Frog Princess」!
Except for designated roles, the remaining individuals will be assigned roles after their tendencies are analyzed.
Please wait a moment!
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This naive idea that everything would work out if Kim Min-su was the protagonist.
"Do you really think that'll work while I'm here?"
Wake up, Chubby Ahn.