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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 3: Let’s Go Die (3)
The shopkeeper came out with three Water Runes. My gaze didn’t waver from the item in the display case.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a pocket watch.”
Seriously, who would ask about something they didn’t already know? I could tell it was a pocket watch. I’d been to this shop more times than I could count. If anyone knew the layout of this store better than the shopkeeper, it was me.
Did I miss it? Miss it? I could confidently say that was impossible. I remembered everything—the items in the store, their locations, and even the customers who came in.
“How long has that been here?”
“About a month, I think? A guy dropped it off and never came back for it. I’ve just left it here since it’s not selling.”
Many item trading posts also served as pawn shops. I wondered if the owner had been scammed; he mentioned he’d even gone to an appraiser to evaluate it.
It was an item, albeit one with no functions. Yet, it wasn’t quite an antique, so it was ambiguous.
“A month ago, huh?”
That didn’t make sense. If that were the case, I would have seen it at least once during my two days of regression.
“How much is it?”
“Are you thinking of buying it? Just a heads up, it’s an Unknown grade and doesn’t have any special effects.”
“Haha, isn’t Unknown supposed to mean it could turn out to be a good item later?”
That was literally the case. All items have a grade, and those whose grades are unknown are referred to as Unknown.
There are two types of Unknown items: junk or sealed goods. As expected, the former is overwhelmingly more common.
Still, there are rare treasure hunters who seek out Unknown items for a big score—so-called oddballs aiming for the jackpot.
“You’re quite unusual yourself. It’s 500 gold.”
“Cough, for a dilapidated watch, why is it so expensive?”
What a scam! Do you take me for a fool?
“I’m buying three Level 4 Runes, so can you give me a discount? How about 300 gold?”
“Oh, but an item is still an item. Where do you think you’re trying to get a freebie? It cost me 300 gold just for the appraisal. 400.”
“320.”
“350. No lower.”
The shopkeeper, who would reset in a day or two, was quite picky, but this wasn’t a bad deal.
“Alright. Let’s settle on 350 gold. How much in total?”
“The Level 4 Water Runes are 1,000 each, and 350 makes it 3,350 gold.”
In the world of the Otherworld, items are exchanged not with ordinary currency but with gold. One gold roughly equates to 1,000 won, so just adding three zeros gives a good estimate of the price.
I paid about 3.4 million won for the old pocket watch and the Water Runes.
“Here you go.”
The shopkeeper handed me the runestones and the old pocket watch.
“Come again next time.”
“Sure.”
If there is a next time. Once outside, I examined the Level 4 runestone. The Water Rune was a stone slightly larger than my palm, a somewhat cloudy translucent color due to impurities.
Runestones are one-time consumables that allow the casting of specific attribute-enhancing spells even without a wizard.
Monsters have elemental weaknesses, and they cannot easily disregard these. Runestones range from Level 1 to Level 10.
You can use up to Level 4 runes without a level restriction. Thus, the best rune I could currently use was the Level 4.
‘Team Leader Choi mentioned that the main attribute of the 6-star Otherworld gate would be fire.’
The monsters that would appear from the rear where Kim Do-jin would be stationed were Drake of around Level 20. Level 20 Drakes are fire-type, and a Level 4 Water Rune should be enough to handle one.
‘This should be sufficient.’
I couldn’t help but think I was being overly dramatic about dying. But there was no other option.
After entering the Otherworld Gate, I could intentionally let a monster kill me or die along the way. But what happens after that?
If, after my early death, Kim Do-jin managed to take down Nyarlathotep, then my death would be nothing short of a waste.
If I got recognized as a workplace accident and received insurance money, I’d be lucky. Otherwise, what a terrible situation it would be, and how would I verify that after I died?
So I had to stay alive until everyone was definitely dead and failure was guaranteed. Until I was certain that the money would go to Min-Ah.
I took the subway to the Cheong-Yeong Guild. On the way, I inspected the old pocket watch.
“Seriously, it’s really worn out.”
No one these days would use something like this. It looked like an old item, but if considered an antique, how many years would it be? A hundred years? Two hundred? Or maybe even older than that?
I wondered if it worked, so I fiddled with it, but as expected, it didn’t budge.
‘Did I get scammed?’
What the hell is this? What is it?
The more I examined it, the more confused I became. But seriously, I’d visited that shop multiple times, and I had never seen this pocket watch.
Before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the Cheong-Yeong Guild. Putting the watch in my pocket, I headed for the front gate, where I encountered Team Leader Choi, who was smoking a cigarette.
Team Leader Choi introduced me to those smoking with him.
“This is the guy I mentioned before. Looks like he came right on time. You must’ve been bored?”
“Haha. I’m Lee Su-Hyuk.”
I bowed my head in greeting. Team Leader Choi finished his cigarette first and said he’d go ahead and took me into the lobby.
No matter how many times I entered, the Cheong-Yeong Guild lobby was truly impressive. It was even nicer than the lobby of an average five-star hotel. I could hardly get used to it.
‘I’m so envious.’
Unlike me, who was a regional awaken who belonged to a specific area after awakening, Team Leader Choi was an official awakener of the Cheong-Yeong Guild.
If I hadn’t been trapped in this endless regression, I probably would have aimed to join the Cheong-Yeong Guild by now.
In fact, I had discussed this with Team Leader Choi while drinking before.
“Remember the big guy from earlier? He said their team’s dealer couldn’t come due to family issues.”
I know. His name was Woo Cheon-jae, right? He was my age but had a 3-star rating. The average level of my incoming team was just above 3 stars, with levels stuck in the twenties.
My level was 19. Do you have any idea how unfair it felt being trapped in this endless regression?
Damn it, if I could just level up one more time, I would reach 3 stars. Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to join a 3-star party, but thanks to Team Leader Choi thinking highly of me, I could join as a sub-dealer.
As we rode the elevator, Team Leader Choi shared more.
“He’s a bit picky, but he’s not a bad guy. I told him to be considerate. If he gives you a hard time, let me know.”
The party leader was Park Dong-Hyun, a 27-level awakener and the only tank in the team. He originally formed a team with Team Leader Choi but then left to create his own.
Essentially, it was a team under Team Leader Choi. This was a common arrangement among awakener parties in the 3-4 star range.
I felt a bit guilty for saying this, but I wasn’t particularly interested in them. After all, they were a failing party, and unfortunately, they would likely die instantly as soon as Nyarlathotep awakened.
I once tried to save them, but what could I do against beings over level 80 in the Celestial Realm? No matter how many times I regressed, there was no solution.
If only I could level up a bit.
Unfortunately, the experience points I earned in the Otherworld Gate couldn’t exceed 99.999%, no matter how hard I tried. At this point, I wondered if I was under the curse of 2 stars rather than the curse of endless regression.
“It’s fine. Just having the opportunity is a blessing. I can’t afford to be choosy right now.”
“Kid, this is why I like you. Hurry up and hit 3 stars. I’ll even try to set up an intern interview for you. Oh, but really, you don’t need to worry too much. Most of the damage will be dealt by Team Leader Park.”
Generally, a party consists of five members. Sometimes it can go up to seven, but that’s only in really special situations.
One might think it's as simple as replacing one person with another, but the reality is far from a game.
Party members need to work well together, know each other’s skill levels, and deal with various frustrating issues.
Ding! The elevator doors opened, revealing a bright white corridor.
“I’ll do my best!”
“Alright. Hurry up.”
I hurriedly followed Team Leader Choi into the conference room.
* * *
For a full five hours, there was a briefing about the 6-star Otherworld Gate. Since the raid was organized on short notice, unverified information was being exchanged in real-time.
We stayed up all night, and by the time we boarded the bus, the morning sun was rising.
The 6-star Otherworld Gate was located in Incheon, at Wolmido. Our departure was in two hours. Sure enough, Park Dong-hyun came to find me.
“It’s Park Dong-hyun. I was too distracted during the briefing to greet you properly.”
“It’s nothing. I’m Lee Su-hyuk.”
“What’s your level?”
“19. I’ll hit level 20 soon.”
“That’s cutting it close. I heard you’re a dealer; don’t push it.”
Park Dong-hyun’s party originally had a composition of one melee dealer, one ranged dealer, a healer, and two tanks. With the melee dealer Woo Cheon-jae absent, Park Dong-hyun was filling in as both a tank and melee dealer, while I was the supplementary melee dealer.
He probably wasn’t pleased about it. I could sense that.
“That won’t happen.”
With a confident expression, Park Dong-hyun narrowed his brows slightly.
“I don’t believe you’ve participated in a 6-star raid before.”
I might have more experience than you. Though I died, does that count as practice?
“You’re neither a front-liner nor a back-liner. I didn’t come here just to hitch a ride. I have to pull my weight.”
“Show me your sword.”
That meant he wanted to test my skills. If I couldn't demonstrate satisfactory ability, I was being told not to overstep my bounds and to follow orders.
Initially, I struggled a few times and lost. I even received some glaring looks. But that was not the case now.
“Alright.”
Park Dong-hyun clenched his fist. I mirrored him and took my stance, showing off my skills confidently.
I succeeded in knocking down Park Dong-hyun, who was at least twice my size. In fact, it had only been relatively recently that I had developed the ability to do this.
“I’m sorry. Team Leader, I made a mistake.”
I remembered to bow my head in respect. Ah, this is how to conduct oneself in society.
“Ahem, I let my guard down, so that’s on me. With skills like that, you should have hit 3 Star by now. Why are you still at 2 stars?”
“I have about 10% experience left.”
I won’t ever level up in my lifetime, though. Spit, spit.
“Once you gain your powers, you’ll get stronger. Oh, and call me big brother.”
Park Dong-hyun was a genuine tank, and as if to prove he was a tank, his personality was refreshingly straightforward.
“Yes, big brother.”
And I felt pretty straightforward too.
“…….”
“I told you to call me big brother, didn’t I?”
Park Dong-hyun nodded awkwardly. Finally, the assembly whistle sounded.
* * *
[The field is being activated.]
[Entering the “Forest of the Abyss that Charms the Dead.”]
[“■■■” awakens from a deep slumber.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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