Chapter 47

by lion

The “Card Combination” feature had two main categories. One was to combine two useless cards, similar to Random Seed, to obtain a new card. The other was to combine lower-tier cards of the same type with a higher-tier card to increase the higher-tier card’s experience.

“Hmm…”

In fact, besides Bloodbath, there were only one or two duplicate cards. The problem was whether there might be additional bonuses when collecting cards of the same type across different grades, as happened this time. So far, Jun-sang had acquired cards of four different grades. However, since the game was still in its early stages, it was highly likely that there were still unrevealed grades. If he received a title for collecting four grades, it was possible he would get another for collecting five or more grades. Moreover, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of other combos, like Berserker or Mad Dog, that required duplicate card combinations.

This led to the conclusion that the only cards currently usable for card combination were the spare Bloodbath cards. Although many Bloodbath cards had appeared, they were spread across various grades, leaving only three common-grade cards actually usable for combination. Since obtaining a new skill card was more advantageous than simply converting them into experience, Jun-sang decided to try the feature of using two cards to draw a new one.

Starting Card Combination.

Synthesizing ‘Bloodbath’ and ‘Bloodbath’ to create a new random card.
Are you sure you want to start synthesizing? (Y/n) _

“Whew…”

Jun-sang took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and pressed ‘Y’. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes to check the message.

Congratulations!

You have obtained a new card, ‘Bloodbath’, by synthesizing ‘Bloodbath’ and ‘Bloodbath’.
[Click here if you wish to see detailed card information.]
Continue synthesizing? (Y/n) _

“…”

Jun-sang was speechless for a moment. It was as if he was possessed by a ghost who couldn’t get enough of Bloodbath! How could synthesizing Bloodbath with Bloodbath result in Bloodbath again?! Jun-sang barely managed to suppress the urge to throw his phone. Just as he was about to stop synthesizing in his rising frustration… he realized that since Bloodbath appeared again, it was possible to synthesize it with the one remaining Bloodbath card.

“Hmm…”

Should he risk it, or not? After a brief moment of deliberation, Jun-sang pressed ‘Y’ to try synthesizing again, thinking it was the last chance anyway.

Starting Card Combination.

Synthesizing ‘Bloodbath’ and ‘Bloodbath’ to create a new random card.
Are you sure you want to start synthesizing? (Y/n) _

He suddenly thought he hadn’t even been this nervous when fighting the boss and chuckled to himself.

“Whew…”

Jun-sang took a long deep breath, glared at his phone, and pressed ‘Y’. The two Bloodbath cards spun around, slowly merged into one, and the result was displayed as a message.

Congratulations!

You have obtained a new card, ‘Stone Throw’, by synthesizing ‘Bloodbath’ and ‘Bloodbath’.
[Click here if you wish to see detailed card information.]
Continue synthesizing? (Y/n) _

“Stone Throw?”

Jun-sang quickly checked the information.

Card Information

Name: Stone Throw
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Common
Category: Skill
Growth: Normal (Small)
Attribute: None
Effect: Throws a stone with 105% of basic attack power to suppress distant enemies.
Cost: 10
Seed: 1 slot

“Good.”

Jun-sang nodded in satisfaction, as he had needed a skill to deal with ranged attacks anyway. In essence, he had consumed three Bloodbath cards to gain a new skill card, so it wasn’t very efficient. However, gaining a new skill that he didn’t have before clearly increased his overall power.

Jun-sang organized his newly acquired cards, made some minor adjustments to his hotkeys, and then checked the Seeds he had obtained from the boss.

Item Information

Name: Shell Seed
Level Restriction: None
Type: Seed
Grade: Common
Effect: Physical Resistance 7%
Description: A Seed that reduces physical damage. It can be equipped on items or cards with Seed slots to enhance their abilities. To remove an equipped Seed, the special function ‘Dismantle’ is required.
[Click here to equip this Seed to an item or card.]

He had obtained a physical resistance Seed before, but this time, the effect was a remarkable 7%. After checking the Seed, Jun-sang finally got up. Although the sky was full of stars, the night in the forest was so dark it was hard to see anything. Jun-sang summoned his Will-o’-the-Wisp to guide him, found a small, dimly lit hermitage nearby, and spent the night. Early the next morning, he set off, looking towards the East Sea. Crossing the mountain pass was quite arduous, but since it also served as training, it wasn’t too much of a burden. After walking the mountain paths for several more days, Jun-sang finally arrived at a small coastal village with a view of the sea.

“Whew…”

It had been a forced march over mountains and water, so even Jun-sang couldn’t help but feel the accumulated fatigue. Perhaps because the summer season had passed, Jun-sang easily found a guesthouse and decided to stay there for a while to rest. The guesthouse owner glanced at Jun-sang with an expression that seemed to ask what kind of gloomy person he was. He hadn’t come by car, and seeing him trudge along on foot, she seemed to wonder if he was there to commit suicide. But Jun-sang ignored her, quickly washed himself, went into the room he was assigned, and lay down on the warm floor.

He turned on the TV, and the news came on.

“Next up. Practical negotiations for the special law to address the aftermath of the large-scale disappearance incident are approaching in two days. Led by National Assembly member Kim Jong-kyung of the XXX Party, in these practical negotiations…”

Jun-sang frowned and turned off the TV. That face was annoying him even on TV now. The talk of special laws and such was the same. Although the pretext was for the victims and returnees of the disappearance incident, it was ultimately just preliminary work for creating guilds.

“Ah, this is good…”

Feeling his body, stiff from the harsh sea wind, slowly relax, Jun-sang involuntarily began to doze off. But that was only for a moment. After tossing and turning for a while, Jun-sang suddenly took out the Seeds he had collected from his inventory and began to sort and check them one by one. Although his Seed acquisition rate had greatly increased due to the title effect, perhaps because the monsters he faced were still low-level, there were few Seeds with effects exceeding 5%, and most were below that. Jun-sang separated the special Seeds that caused status effects, then filtered out those with effects below 5% from that group. This was to try out the random Seed feature he hadn’t used yet.

“Let’s see…”

Counting them, even after a considerable amount of filtering, 16 remained. To an uninitiated person, they might look like slightly large sunflower seeds, but to someone like Jun-sang, they were valuable items for enhancing abilities. However, filling limited Seed slots with only 1-2% ones was practically a waste.

Jun-sang picked up two Seeds and initiated the random Seed process.

Initiating Random Seed.

Synthesizing ‘Anti-Fire (1%)’ and ‘Anti-Frozen (2%)’ to create a new random Seed.
Are you sure you want to initiate Random Seed? (Y/n) _

Jun-sang hesitated for a moment. Unlike cards, Seeds could be exchanged with other players. He was overflowing with Seeds due to his title effect, but would other people be as fortunate? What if he sold these Seeds to other players instead? But Jun-sang immediately shook his head. No matter how valuable Seeds were, he doubted anyone would buy 1-2% ones, and even if they did, the price probably wouldn’t be very high. Of course, there was also the option of selling them for research purposes to scientists who might be curious about such unidentified objects, but that would first require him to explain what was happening to him. In that case, scientists would likely be more interested in Jun-sang’s own body than the Seeds.

Jun-sang shook his head to clear away distracting thoughts and immediately initiated the random Seed process. The two Seeds placed on his phone began to emit a bright light, then instantly merged into one new Seed. Jun-sang immediately checked it.

“Oh!”

The newly created one was a 3% Stun Seed. While it didn’t seem significant numerically, unlike attribute resistances, which were hard to gauge for effect, it was advantageous to have as many Seeds that caused status effects as possible, even if it was just 1%. Even the swamp boss he had recently defeated wouldn’t have given him time to prepare his Crushing Blow if it weren’t for the 2% Stun Seed taking effect.

Jun-sang continued to initiate random Seeds, and as a result, he obtained two Stun Seeds, one physical resistance Seed, one 7% flame resistance Seed, one movement speed Seed, and one attack speed Seed. This was quite an excellent result for synthesizing 16 Seeds. He also began the process of separating all previously equipped Seeds and re-equipping them according to the nature of the cards. This task was more time-consuming than expected, and by the time he finished, it was almost evening.

After eating outside, he quietly walked along the coast. However, even though winter hadn’t arrived yet, the sea wind was quite biting, so he had to return to the guesthouse before he could enjoy the romance or atmosphere. He hadn’t been out for long, but his clothes and skin were already sticky with salt. He washed himself again, changed his clothes, and lay down on the warm floor. Feeling full and warm, he slowly began to feel sleepy.

But just then, he heard a sound indicating a new message had arrived on his phone.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and opened his phone. Sure enough, it was a message announcing a new quest. Jun-sang slowly got up and put on his military boots, which he had taken off outside. Though he had only taken them off a short while ago, the boots were already chillingly cold. The good news, perhaps, was that he didn’t have to rush to put them on as before, thanks to the waiting time reward. Five minutes wasn’t exactly generous, but compared to 10 seconds, it was a world of difference.

Jun-sang quickly put on his military boots with practiced movements and went to a secluded alley behind the house.

“Hmm…”

He checked his phone and saw that even with his relaxed pace, he still had 15 seconds remaining. This would have been unthinkable before. Jun-sang waited for the transfer, looking at the darkening sky. Finally, the countdown ended, and Jun-sang’s presence could no longer be found in the small coastal village.

“…”

As the light enveloping his body disappeared, Jun-sang looked around and flinched in surprise. And for good reason… A very familiar person appeared a short distance away. A woman with long, flowing black hair, wearing a white dress reminiscent of a funeral shroud. Her name was Seo Yu-mi.

As soon as Jun-sang recognized her, he immediately dashed into the cave that lay before them. However, it was already too late.

“Ah! Ju… Jun-sang-ssi! Let’s go together!”

In that short moment, Seo Yu-mi recognized Jun-sang and began to pursue him. And only after the two vanished into the cave did two other men finally appear there with a flash of light. The two men checked their quests, waited for a moment, and then sighed inwardly when no more people appeared. They thought it would have been better if the two-person quest had included a beautiful lady. But they didn’t know. The beautiful lady they wished for had already drawn a kitchen knife in the cave before them and begun a fierce chase.

= Author’s Note =

I got new internet installed.