Chapter 86
by lion“Hmm…”
Perhaps it was due to pushing his body to its limits too often. Even after his overloaded body returned to normal, the weariness showed no signs of abating. He slowly stood up. The sounds of battle had diminished significantly, but it seemed it would still take some time to clear out the remaining enemies hidden throughout the city. Indeed, finding enemies hidden in a labyrinthine urban area was never a simple task.
Jun-sang pondered what to do, then called Heness again. Heness reappeared, looked around briefly, then approached Jun-sang, who was sitting on the castle wall, and squatted beside him.
“The battle…”
“My part is done.”
“Ah…”
“It just seems to be taking some time to clear out the remaining enemies.”
“I see.”
Only then did Heness sit comfortably and demurely beside Jun-sang. She then slightly frowned at Jun-sang’s blood-stained appearance.
“You need a wash.”
“It’s fine.”
“But…”
“I might be summoned again right away, so let’s just wait and see for now.”
“…”
Jun-sang looked at Heness’s dress, stained with dust and blood, and thought that if he had time when they returned, he should take her to the city and buy her some clothes. He didn’t mind living in a sleeping bag in the mountains, exposed to the wind, but he couldn’t force such a harsh life on her, who had been raised so delicately. It would probably be good to make separate arrangements for their lodging and meals.
“By the way, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Please speak.”
“How far is this place from your hometown?”
Heness immediately understood why Jun-sang was asking such a thing. “You want me to send a letter from here too?”
“I don’t know if there’ll be enough time, but it’s probably worth trying if possible.”
However, Heness struggled to recall where this unfamiliar place name was located.
“Harlagan… hmm… I don’t know. A city of this size should definitely be famous.”
“It has the nickname ‘Fortress City’.”
“That, too… I don’t remember.”
“Is that so.”
In this situation, several possibilities existed. The first was that it was simply too far from the continent she lived on for her to know. The second was that it was an entirely different planet from the one she lived on. In truth, no matter which it was, their goal of sending a letter home would be equally difficult to achieve.
Heness gazed at the burning city, then quietly rested her head on Jun-sang’s shoulder. The strong smell of blood immediately assaulted her senses, and the still-sticky bodily fluids stained her hair, but she didn’t mind.
Jun-sang, sitting on the castle wall with her, began to process the deferred messages one by one. The first thing he dealt with were the six additional reward boxes from the cooperation quests he had obtained in the previous quest.
Card Information
Name: Weapon Charge
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Uncommon
Category: Skill
Growth: Normal (Medium)
Attribute: None
Effect: Charges at an enemy with a weapon in hand, dealing 170% of current attack power. (Cooldown: 4 seconds)
Cost: 15
Seed: 3 slots
Since acquiring powerful weapons, he had less need to fight bare-handed, but considering that Shoulder Charge was his only charge-type skill, creating an imbalance, this was not a bad reward. It still had the drawback of being difficult to aim for a dedicated combo effect like Shoulder Charge, but it wouldn’t be a big problem if used in conjunction with the Blood Lord combo‘s damage amplification effect.
Card Information
Name: North Wind
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Rare
Category: Summon
Growth: Normal (Large)
Attribute: Wind, Ice
Effect: Summons one spirit of the cold winter wind.
Cost: 20
Seed: 4 slots
A new spirit emerged from the second box. He had obtained several spirits before, but this one was unusual because it was Rare grade and had two attributes. Considering that the number of summonable entities was limited by the number of card slots, it might be natural for higher-grade cards to have composite attributes in this way. The only question was how resistance enhancement through combo effects would work in such cases, but since the card he had drawn wasn’t going to disappear, he could figure that out later.
Card Information
Name: Scolding
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Rare
Category: Skill
Growth: Normal (Large)
Attribute: None
Effect: Insults and reprimands enemies, causing complex status ailments.
Cost: 20
Seed: 3 slots
The third box contained a Rare-grade Scolding card. The only difference from the Uncommon-grade he had been using was the addition of the word “complex” to the effect. The exact success rate or types of status ailments weren’t specified, but judging by Heness’s use of Foul-mouthed Granny in practice, it wasn’t something to ignore. Jun-sang removed the Scolding card from Heness’s card slot and equipped the newly obtained Rare-grade Scolding card, then opened the fourth box.
Congratulations!
You have acquired the special card ‘Messenger’.
: Acquiring special cards allows you to unlock sealed special functions.
– Special function ‘Messenger’ is unlocked.
– The Messenger function allows real-time text and voice communication with players at a distance.
– To register a player on Messenger, a registration request must be made within 10 meters, and registration is not possible if the other party refuses.
It wasn’t immediately useful, but it was an incredibly convenient function for those who primarily played in parties. This wasn’t limited to just questing. Considering that he could be tracked at any time, in any way, even on Earth, having such an untraceable means of communication couldn’t hurt. The only slight inconvenience was that requests and acceptances had to be made within 10 meters, but this also meant that no one could randomly register, which Jun-sang found to be an advantage.
Card Information
Name: Weapon Defense
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Uncommon
Category: Skill
Growth: Normal (Medium)
Attribute: None
Effect: Blocks enemy attacks with a weapon held in hand.
Cost: 15
Seed: 3 slots
A new skill card also appeared from the fifth box. So far, Jun-sang’s attack power had been so overwhelmingly superior that there had been almost no situations requiring such defensive skills, but he didn’t know what the future held, so having this couldn’t hurt either.
An item appeared from the sixth box.
Item Information
Name: Antidote Potion
Level Requirement: 10
Type: Potion
Grade: Uncommon
Effect: Detoxifies poisons of intermediate grade or lower.
Duration: Instant
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Remaining Uses: 10 times
Description: This versatile antidote quickly detoxifies poisons of intermediate grade or lower.
He didn’t know what “intermediate grade” meant, but an antidote was another item that couldn’t hurt to have. With this, all the reward boxes were opened, but there were still two random cards remaining from the level-up reward.
Card Information
Name: Telekinesis
Level: 1Lv
Experience: 0
Grade: Rare
Category: Skill
Growth: Normal (Medium)
Attribute: None
Effect: Moves one object of suitable weight within line of sight.
Cost: 20
Seed: 3 slots
The first random card was a Rare-grade Telekinesis card. The 10-meter range limit that existed in the Uncommon grade was gone, replaced by “within line of sight,” and the weight limit, which had been in the form of “light,” was also removed. However, adjectives like “light” or “suitable” were not like specifying how many kilograms were possible, and in practice, there were many ambiguous points.
Jun-sang drew the last random card.
Congratulations!
You have acquired the special card ‘Item Enhancement’.
: Acquiring special cards allows you to unlock sealed special functions.
– Special function ‘Item Enhancement’ is unlocked.
– Three seeds are consumed for item enhancement.
– Higher grade seeds increase the success rate of enhancement.
Item enhancement… Should he say it was a good thing, since he had too many seeds and didn’t know what to do with them? Furthermore, if other players acquired this function, it was easy to guess that there would be a much higher demand for seeds than now. Jun-sang tried to enhance Dian’s Short and Sharp Sword, which he had acquired previously, as a test. The first time he attempted to enhance, this warning message appeared.
Starting enhancement.
– Three seeds will be consumed for enhancement.
– Higher grade seeds increase the success rate of enhancement.
: If enhancement succeeds, one of the following three effects may be granted:
1. Add 1 new option.
2. Increase attack or defense.
3. Increase item durability.
(Caution) If enhancement fails, various bad things will happen to your item.
“…”
“Various bad things” was more unsettling than directly telling him what would happen. As Jun-sang suddenly drew his sword and stared at it silently, Heness, who had been resting her head on his shoulder, asked with an anxious expression, “Why?”
Jun-sang chuckled and put Dian’s sword back in the cabinet. “Nothing.”
Indeed, why invite danger when it wasn’t immediately necessary? Moreover, the items Jun-sang currently possessed were already powerful enough without enhancement, so there was no need to push his luck.
As Jun-sang put the cabinet back into his inventory, the quest completion message finally appeared in his vision.
“Heness.”
“Yes.”
“It seems it’s time to go back.”
“…”
Heness quietly lifted her head from Jun-sang’s shoulder and said, “Call me right away.”
“Understood.”
Jun-sang reverse-summoned Heness, then spoke to the squirrel. “Alright, let it out.”
The squirrel tilted its head once, then poured out the items contained in its pouch with a clatter.
“…”
This time, it included not only seeds but also weapons and armor used by the black knights. In particular, the saddle, which seemed to belong to Armored Captain Hatum, had elaborate patterns inlaid, giving it a very luxurious feel at first glance. Jun-sang first put the seeds and gold coins into his pouch, then took out a separate sack for the weapons and armor and swept them inside.
After organizing the spoils, Jun-sang gave the squirrel a handful of roasted peanuts, then waited for the waiting time to pass. It was only after a short while that Jun-sang was finally able to return to Earth.
Appearing again in the alley behind the inn with a flash of light, Jun-sang immediately activated Invisibility to conceal himself and waited for a moment. This was because a new quest might appear immediately. If that happened, not washing off the blood and bodily fluids he was currently covered in would actually be advantageous for battle.
However, ten minutes passed, then twenty minutes, but no new quest message arrived.
“Is this the end?”
After thirty minutes had passed, Jun-sang finally entered a secluded windbreak, changed his clothes, quickly washed himself, and then got an inn room again.