Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Greed Part 2
Translator: – – Editor: – –
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
[Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points]
I stared at my Luck Boost effect. It was the effect I received from the Fastest to Become a Deva Event. It made me the luckiest person on Earth. The problem here is that it’s only supposed to refer to people on Earth. Would it affect the skill?
The Selfish p.r.i.c.k skill description was really impressive. A skill created from the will of a man’s desire. That itself was really unique.
Even if my Luck Boost didn’t affect the third option, and hypothetically I only received 26 points in 100 days, it was still a gain… except that it fell far, far behind than the first option. I could get 100 points in 100 days. I would basically lose out on three-quarters of the points if I picked the third option. It wouldn’t just be for the 100 days; I’ll lose out constantly, every day of my life. It would just acc.u.mulate and acc.u.mulate, until I’ll just end up regretting it all.
Do I risk it, or go the safe way? The more time pa.s.sed, the bigger the difference in the effects of these options. It definitely wasn’t an easy choice.
I won’t risk it. I won’t lose much from just getting a Stat point a day. It’s a good enough skill. It’s going to get harder to level up, and I’ll have to start focusing on buying items, which will get more and more expensive. It’s definitely not bad that I can get a Stat point a day without having to do much. I wasn’t about to make the mistake of eating my only golden goose. I could safely have my goose lay golden eggs consistently.
I looked over to the first option, but my finger drifted towards the third option.
[Are you sure you want to choose the third option of the Selfish p.r.i.c.k skill, the Stupid Selfish p.r.i.c.k?
Yes/No]
I closed my eyes shut as my finger drifted over the Yes b.u.t.ton. If I didn’t have my Luck Boost effect, the smart thing to do was to choose the first option. But it was like my finger didn’t want to waste my ace in the hole.
I had to see if my Luck effect would work here. I did get a lot from the effect already. My life right now was so much better than it was back then. I might know more things now, but everything was just going so well now.
I woke up from my four-year sleep with 4,488 Stat points! I didn’t have to train to level or anything; I just got 4,488 Stat points! Even my Orb collected twice the points it was supposed to!
I couldn’t attest that everything was due to my luck, but I knew that luck had to have something to do with it.
I wasn’t a gambling man, but I wanted to risk it now. Maybe I could hit the Lotto. I also didn’t want to leave my curiosity go unsatisfied about this.
I decided to eat my golden goose rather than stay forever curious. I could deal with my regret later but there was nothing I could do about an unsatisfied curiosity. My past experiences attested to it.
I selected Yes.
[You have chosen the third option of the Selfish p.r.i.c.k skill, the Stupid Selfish p.r.i.c.k.]
[Day one. Shaman Ko’s Stupid Selfish p.r.i.c.k Roulette Wheel will now appear.]
As soon as I made my selection, a roulette wheel with five numbers appeared before me. No one else could see it; it was only visible to me.
“It’s so small.” The wheel was divided into a hundred sections. Only one of them had the number 3 on it. It was there, surrounded by -1 sections. I had to look carefully just to find it, it was so d.a.m.n small.
I lifted my shaking hand and placed it over the wheel.
[Shaman Ko’s Stupid Selfish p.r.i.c.k Roulette wheel will now turn.]
The wheel began turning on its own. It spun so fast that the numbers were all a blur. After spinning for about thirty seconds, the wheel began to slow down. My luck effect could make the wheel stop on the 3. It was a 1% chance, but I really hoped it would. It would take another day to see if it really was the effect of my Luck Boost, but I really wanted it to stop on the 3.
The wheel lost most of its speed and slowly spun around. The 3 was now five sections away. I became more and more anxious. The wheel seemed like it was just about to stop now. The -1’s continued to pa.s.s by until…
The wheel came to a stop as if it just lost all of its will to turn. A message appeared before me.
[Day One. You will receive Shaman Ko’s Roulette gift.
You have received three Stat points.
Total points: 3
The next roulette wheel will appear in 24 hours.]
“Yes!” The wheel stopped right on the 3. I couldn’t help but shout with joy when the message came up. I had no idea if it was because of my luck boost, or if it was just dumb luck that the wheel stopped on the one section, but I didn’t care. I was just happy that today was turning out so great.
If I got the 3 again tomorrow and the day after, I’d chalk it up to the luck boost. If that really was the case, I just got something as strong as the Unrivaled skill.
As I trembled in excitement, I suddenly heard Anton’s voice. It had been a while since I heard it.
“Who was it? Who just got me that many points?” I heard that before, back when I was the first to find a dungeon and shopped at the Store. I left the skill shop and looked up at the fifth floor where Anton’s office was located. I met Anton’s eyes and noticed that Marie was standing behind him, as well.
I used to feel intimidated whenever Marie looked at me. It was almost automatic. However, I didn’t feel that daunting feeling this time when I saw her.
I smiled when I saw Anton and Marie.
“You… Lee Jiwon!”
“Nice to see you again, Anton.” I had a s.h.i.t-eating grin as I looked over at Anton.
I went up to meet him in his office. I sat down in front of him, with cups of tea between us.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“Sleeping.”
“What?”
“Really. I was asleep for four years,” I nonchalantly replied. Anton was obviously not satisfied with my answer and frowned, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t my problem if he believed me or not.
“Fine. If you’ve been sleeping all this time, how’d I get all those points at once?”
“What points?”
“You just bought a skill at my Store, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, just one skill.” I replied as if it wasn’t a big deal, but even I noticed that my voice slightly trembled. I said it was just one skill, but it was a d.a.m.n Random Skill. Besides, I know it wasn’t actually confirmed yet, but I might be gaining three Stat points a day!
I really wanted it to be tomorrow, so that I could see if the wheel would land on a 3 again…
“You were sleeping for four years, and yet you brought me this many points?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know you’re telling the truth. Marie told me that you’re only level 60. The last time you were here, you were only level 32. There’s no way you could only gain 28 levels in four years. If you think about it… actually, that’s quite a feat to gain so few levels.”
“Huh?” My eyes shot open in surprise.
Stats were absolutely private information. They could be revealed to other devas, but only with permission. No one was allowed to see my information, just like the way no one could access my inventory. Not even the Secret Hunter was able to access such information!
“Don’t worry. Marie can only check levels. It’s an ability that only she has. Anyway, let’s say that you did sleep for four years. Do you have any idea how many points you just gave my Store? You got me more points than when you beat that boss monster before anyone else. Did you seriously just sleep for four years?”
I looked at Marie instead of answering. We locked eyes for an instant, but it was long enough for me to feel it. That intimidating feeling was no longer there. I wasn’t sure if Marie no longer made me feel that way, or if I was just strong enough to no longer feel it, but I really liked being able to look at her without feeling uncomfortable.
Marie was over level 2000. I was kind of proud of myself that I could hold the gaze of someone as strong as her.
“Master Lee Jiwon, as Master Anton said, I can only see the levels of others.”
“I’m honestly a little envious. I could at least somewhat gauge my opponents’ power with that ability.” Knowing was half the battle. If I knew how strong my opponents were, I could at least avoid losing.
“Do you know what I’ve learned from being able to see others’ levels?”
“What is that?”
“There’s only so much I can find out just from levels. The world is large. Levels are only a fraction of someone’s Stat Menu. Levels don’t mean everything, just like in your case, Master Lee Jiwon.”
“…” I didn’t say anything.
“I believe you, Master Lee Jiwon. It seems that the four years you spent sleeping were to help prepare you to soar even higher. You’ve finally come out of your coc.o.o.n. Congratulations. The sky is your limit now. And thank you, you’ve proved to me that I was right about you.”
“No, you don’t have to…” I was a little embarra.s.sed from all of her compliments.
“Marie, do you truly believe so?” Anton asked Marie, as if surprised at her words.
“I’ve seen countless people. There once was a time when I was confident that I was stronger than whoever I fought against, just because I could see their levels. That changed when I met someone. He was like you, Master Lee Jiwon. His power was so great that his level seemed about as useful as an empty sh.e.l.l. That man was very much like you now, Master Lee Jiwon.”
“Wow. Are you talking about the guy you lost to?”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying that Lee Jiwon is on par with that guy?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Whoa…” Anton looked at me doe-eyed.
“You’re… probably more awesome than I think you are.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“That’s fine. I know who he is. Anyway, you bought a Random Skill, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Let me see…huh? The Selfish p.r.i.c.k?”
“Mhm!” I nodded. Anton knew I learned the Unrivaled skill without asking, and knew what skill I learned today, as well. He obviously knew what I bought from the Store, so there was no point in trying to hide it.
“Was there a Random Skill like this? Marie, do you know?”
“I’ve never heard of that skill, either.”
“What kind of Random Skill is called this anyway? If you managed to learn a Random Skill, then you obviously have done enough to be recognized by the Otadolon stage. If I don’t know about it, I don’t think it’s that great a Random Skill.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I guess. I suppose it’s good enough that you learned a Random Skill. What’s next for you?”
“My body’s a bit stiff for sleeping for so long. I was also attacked by some unknown guys. I need to quickly get stronger.”
“I see. You should run around some, I suppose. We’re still friends, right?”
“We’re still friends.”
“And you’ll continue to shop at my Store? Even if there are closer Stores?” Anton asked as if he wanted me to promise him. It was kind of cute, to be honest.
“I will.”
“Good. Then I wish you the best in your future efforts, my friend!”
“I wish you the same, Master Lee Jiwon.”
“Thank you.” I left the office after saying my farewells.
Anton knew who bought what at his Store. All Store Managers had that ability. The ability was mostly meant to monitor devas that had VIP cards, so that they couldn’t abuse the discount. However, the ability only allowed Managers to know what was bought, nothing more.
The Unrivaled skill was famous enough that Anton knew that it existed, but he never heard about the Selfish p.r.i.c.k skill. The skill’s name seemed insignificant enough that he decided to brush it off to the side. Lee Jiwon hadn’t mentioned that the name Xia Manko came up in the skill’s description, and Anton and Marie decided that the skill must have not been that important.
As I left the manager’s office on the fifth floor, every single deva in the Store turned to look at me and whispered to one another.
“Who is that?”
“I heard the manager personally called for him.”
“That lazy-a.s.s manager?”
“Yeah! They seemed pretty friendly with each other.”
“Is he a VIP?”
“He must be. If he’s a VIP of this Store, then he must be someone pretty famous, but I’ve never seen him before.”
“That’s what I was thinking. I thought the only VIP’s of this Store were part of the Sunbin Guild.”
I weaved in between the whispering devas and headed to the general store. The Store had strong guards to prevent devas from causing too much of a ruckus, and I had no issues getting to the shop.
“Welcome again, Master Lee Jiwon,” Sing greeted me as I approached him.
“Hey there. I’d like to see your inventory boxes.”
“Right away.”
[Inventory (no rank)
A virtual backpack used to carry golden rings and items. Limited to three per person.
Items such as food, potions, and monster loot can be stacked up to 100 in one slot. Weapons, armor, and other equipment do not stack.
10 slot inventory: 100,000 golden rings
20 slot inventory: 1,000,000 golden rings
30 slot inventory: 10,000,000 golden rings
50 slot inventory: 200,000,000 golden rings
100 slot inventory: 1,000,000,000 golden rings]
I wanted to buy the 20-slot if I could, but the d.a.m.n thing cost a whole million golden rings. I decided to go with two 10-slots.
“Two 10-slot inventories cost a total of 200,000 golden rings. With your 20% discount, your total comes out to 160,000 golden rings.”
I paid Sing the 160,000 golden rings. I felt a little easier now that I had 30 slots of inventory. I exited the inventories menu and searched for food items. I didn’t decide on how long exactly I was going to stay at the Seorak dungeon, but I didn’t want to leave before at least killing the dungeon boss. I wasn’t going to leave the dungeon at all before I did, and it was a good idea to make sure I had enough provisions to last me.
“I’ll take 50 bread, 50 beverages, fifteen high-grade Health Potions, and three Shining Health Potions.”
“Of course. Everything together costs a total of 24,250 golden rings. With your 20% discount, your total comes out to 19,400 golden rings.”
“I’ll sell these as well.” I took out 200 spider legs. I had collected a total of 300 by taking out my greatsword, but when I had to put my sword back in, I had to throw away 100 spider legs.
“I see they’re normal giant spider legs. They sell at 11 golden rings each. Will you sell at a total of 2200 golden rings?”
“I will.”
“Then you’re new total comes out to 17,200 golden rings.” I took out the amount and paid Sing once more. I quickly left the general store and walked past the still whispering crowd of devas towards the auction house on the first floor. When I got there, I looked up the item I wanted to buy.
“It’s not here, as I thought. I suppose I have to go out and find it.” I thought for a moment. No. It’s going to take too long at my power. Besides, it’ll be another two or three years before it should appear. I should get to Seorak dungeon and power level first before making that decision. By then, I should be strong enough to go find it if I have to!
I quickly left the auction and made a beeline towards my new destination. It was finally time to power level at Seorak Mountain!