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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Bless
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Sizzle-
Having lunch at a steakhouse, Min Ju-ri felt like she was in a dream.
'To think I'm eating and talking with the person I like. I can't believe a day like this has come for me...'
It was a moment she had only ever imagined, so it didn't feel real.
Just like when she was first dragged into the other world.
"You like steak, right?"
"Y-yes, I, I do."
"Eat up."
"Okay..."
Min Ju-ri shyly picked up her knife.
For a while, the only sound between them was the cutting of meat.
'I should say something...'
It was just a simple meal, but it felt like a date, and the words wouldn't come out.
'This won't do. What am I doing, staying quiet when I'm the one who invited him! It's just making the atmosphere awkward. Be brave!'
Breaking the awkward silence, Min Ju-ri was the first to start a conversation.
"How did you, uh, win the lottery? I heard you won five times in a row?"
"Oh, that? A dream told me the numbers. I was lucky."
"Wow... Then you must have made a ton of money?"
"Enough to never have to worry about money again? Well, now I have to worry about my life first."
"Ah! Right. I was curious about that. How was the first round? Wasn't it hard fighting the goblins? I had a pretty tough time."
It had been hard to start talking, but once she mustered the courage, the conversation flowed smoothly.
Moreover, with the common ground of being Players, they lost track of time as the conversation continued.
"What's your sector?"
"ESKS45-5."
"Ah, I'm in ESKS122-7... That's a shame. We won't be able to meet in the other world."
Seeing Min Ju-ri's disappointed expression, Ryu Min smiled to himself.
'No need to be disappointed, my friend. We're destined to meet anyway.'
As the number of survivors dwindles, the sectors naturally merge.
Being in different sectors didn't mean they would never meet.
"What's your level?"
Ryu Min hesitated for a moment at Min Ju-ri's question.
'I'll have to reveal that I'm the Black Scythe eventually...'
But I can't tell her the truth just yet.
She hadn't been confirmed as an ally.
"Me? 10."
"Huh? I'm level 10 too. Did you get a class?"
"Not yet. You?"
"I was lucky enough to get a class change item. It's a class called Buffer..."
Hearing the word Buffer, Ryu Min felt relieved.
Thankfully, things were proceeding according to the future he knew.
"Buffer? Sounds like a class that hands things out. Does it cast buffs like in a game?"
He knew the Buffer's skills inside and out, but he deliberately feigned ignorance.
That way, he could get a buff from Min Ju-ri.
"Ah, want to try it? It's a buff called Bless, and it has the effect of raising your stats."
"Oh, really? I'll take it."
Just as he'd expected, Min Ju-ri offered to cast the buff.
It was exactly what Ryu Min had hoped for.
Fwaaa-
A halo of light rose from Min Ju-ri's hand and entered Ryu Min's head.
Then, a message appeared.
[The effect of the skill Bless has increased all stats by 50%.]
[Duration: 02:59:59]
Bless, the signature skill of a Buffer.
It was an overpowered buff that increased stats by a whopping 50% for three hours.
'As expected of a unique class, the skill effects are amazing.'
Ryu Min marveled as he looked at his status window.
His stats had increased across the board.
'It's good now, but it gets even better later.'
When a Player's grade increases, the efficacy of their previously learned skills also increases by one level.
His own skill, Death's Seal, was the same.
'At max level, the skill's efficacy will probably double.'
In other words, the 50% stat increase would rise to 100%.
This also meant that Min Ju-ri's growth would benefit Ryu Min as well.
Since he could receive her buffs.
'Though that's only if Min Ju-ri reaches max level.'
It wasn't difficult.
He just had to keep Min Ju-ri alive, receive her buffs, and grow alongside her; they would naturally reach the max level.
'For now, it'll be hard to get buffs since our sectors are different.'
Even if he received a buff right before going to the other world, it wouldn't be maintained.
It was the same principle as how injuries from the other world didn't apply to one's body in reality.
In other words, the trick of getting buffed in advance wouldn't work.
'Still, I'm glad. I got the buff I wanted.'
The reason Ryu Min had approached Min Ju-ri in the first place was to receive Bless in the real world.
'That's the only way to increase the odds for the Random Gold Pouch.'
The Random Gold Pouch, obtained as a reward for the first class change, was an item that, true to its name, gave gold.
Since it gave a random amount, it was affected by the Luck stat.
The higher the Luck, the more gold would come out.
'If I use the pouch after maxing out my Luck with the effect of the Slaughter Rune...?'
He might be able to get more gold than he thought.
"This is great. Thanks for the buff, Ju-ri."
"Hehe, just let me know whenever you want a buff. It's no trouble at all to cast it."
"Got it. But there's one thing I'm curious about..."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Why did you want to see me? Didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
"Ah..."
She'd been so caught up in the conversation that she'd forgotten to say the important thing.
Min Ju-ri's face flushed with embarrassment.
* * *
"Lunch was great. See you next time."
"Okay, good luck in the next round!"
"Heh heh, right. Let's meet again alive."
Waving to Min Ju-ri, Ryu Min turned away with a smile.
Him, the one who survived as the last man standing, getting eliminated in a mere third round?
It was unimaginable.
The person who really needed to worry was Min Ju-ri, not him.
'Well, if things go according to the future, she'll manage to hold on until the fourth round on her own.'
He would meet Min Ju-ri starting from the fifth round.
Before that, their sectors were different, so there was no way for him to intervene.
'She'll most likely survive. Min Ju-ri's rune is that good.'
Since it was a rune related to survival, there was no need to worry.
'By the way, I never thought Min Ju-ri would have that.'
Ryu Min recalled his conversation with Min Ju-ri during their meal.
-Thanks for the ten million won. My dad wanted me to thank you too.
-Was that what you wanted to talk about?
-And... I'll pay back the ten million won somehow.
-I told you, you don't have to pay it back. It was a gift.
-No. Even if you're okay with it, I'm not. I'll pay you back no matter what. If you don't want money, then something else... Ah! Take this.
-What's this?
-It's something I got while hunting in the other world. If you don't want money, I'll give you this instead. I don't know what it is, but it's an item, so it must be useful for something. Ah! This is a token of my sincerity, so don't even think about refusing!
It was as he'd expected.
Knowing Min Ju-ri hated being indebted, he had figured she would try to repay him somehow.
'But I never imagined she would give me this.'
Ryu Min took out the item he received from Min Ju-ri from his inventory.
[Lowest-grade Purple Magic Stone]
-Category: Possessions
-Description: A beautiful purple stone. A faint magical energy can be felt from it.
When you kill a monster, there's a low chance of a Magic Stone dropping.
They come in all the colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—and among them, purple is the most difficult to obtain.
'Because of the vague description, no one knows its effects yet, but they'll find out when they hit level 20. Just how precious Magic Stones are.'
At level 20, the [Combine] function is unlocked.
When that time comes, people will try combining various items to find recipes.
'And then they'll discover it. The fact that you can add extra options to equipment by combining it with Magic Stones.'
Red increases damage, orange increases strength, and yellow increases luck.
'Green increases agility, and blue increases intelligence.'
Ryu Min also had one Magic Stone that he'd gotten from hunting.
It was a lowest-grade indigo Magic Stone that reduced incoming damage.
'They're all good, but the purple Magic Stone is the rarest of them all. It has a low drop rate and it raises all stats.'
It was also the most necessary Magic Stone for Ryu Min, who wanted to raise his stats evenly.
'To receive something like that for free. I'm lucky.'
His Luck stat was indeed high.
Thanks to Bless, his stats were increased by 50%.
'I'll save the Magic Stone for level 20... For now, since I got the buff as planned, shall I open the Gold Pouch?'
Of course, before that, he had to inflate his stats with the Slaughter Rune.
How could he raise his stats in reality, where there were no monsters?
'There's a way.'
Ryu Min took a sealed plastic bag out of his pocket.
Inside the bag were 100 small, 1cm-sized mealworms.
'The Slaughter Rune increases stats by 1% for every target killed. That applies to insects, too.'
There's no rule saying it only goes up from killing monsters.
As long as it's a living target, anything counts.
This was a fact he had already verified through testing in a previous regression.
'In the other world, there are no insects, so I have no choice but to kill monsters, but that's not the case in reality.'
In fact, it's easier to build stacks in reality, which is teeming with insects.
With money, he could order thousands of mealworms.
Ryu Min placed the bag on the floor.
He stomped on it with his foot, crushing the mealworms to death.
Squish-! Squish-!
[Current Kills: 67/100]
[The effect of the Slaughter Rune has increased all stats by 67%.]
[Current Kills: 100/100]
[The effect of the Slaughter Rune has increased all stats by 100%.]
He only stomped twice, but he filled it up to 100% in an instant.
'Status Window.'
-Name: Ryu Min
-Nickname: Black Scythe
-Grade: Apprentice
-Title: The Last Time Regressor (Hidden), The First Angel Slayer (Hidden)
-Level: 16
-Class: Grim Reaper
-Strength: 9, Intelligence: 9
-Agility: 69, Luck: 45
-Common Skill: Tracking
-Exclusive Skill: Death's Seal
-Rune: Slaughter Rune, Grim Reaper's Rune
-Gold: 6,250
-Remaining Stat Points: 0
[Shop: You can purchase items.]
[???: Unlocked at Lv20]
[???: Unlocked at Lv40]
[???: Unlocked at Lv60]
[???: Unlocked at Lv99]
His Luck, which had been 15, was now up to 45.
It had tripled due to the Slaughter Rune and the Bless buff.
'With this much, I can look forward to the results.'
It wasn't exceptionally high, but it was the best he could do at this point, after the end of the second round.
[Random Gold Pouch]
-Category: Consumable
-Grade: Rare
-Effect: Randomly acquire 1~9,999 Gold.
-Usage Restriction: Until the next round, Beginner grade or higher.
-Description: A limited-time item given to the first person to change classes. The item will automatically disappear when the next round begins. Affected by the Luck stat.
Ryu Min stared intently at the Gold Pouch he had taken out from his inventory.
'Right now, with the buff, is when my luck is at its highest.'
It was a limited-time item, so he couldn't wait until the next round.
Having made up his mind, he uttered the activation word.
'Use.'
As light burst from the pouch, Ryu Min thought.
'How much will I get? Even with the same stats, I always got a different amount.'
From the beginning until now, Ryu Min had never missed being the first to change classes.
Naturally, he always received and used the Gold Pouch as a reward before heading into the third round.
'The lowest was 3,000 Gold, and the highest was up to 6,000 Gold.'
But back then, his Luck stat was 30.
Unlike now, that was when he didn't have Min Ju-ri's buff.
That's why he couldn't help but have high hopes.
He was attempting this with a higher Luck stat than ever before.
Just then, a message indicating the result appeared.
At the same time.
'Huh?'
A look of bewilderment washed over Ryu Min's face.