NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18 - How to Manage Connection (8)
An innocent government-supported awakened one who knows nothing.
So, I’m the one who doesn’t even realize how much of a ‘jackpot’ my current stats and skills are; I just have a vague understanding that it’s something good.
Right now, the stats visible to the con artist would look something like this:
[Status]
Name: Kang Na-hyun
Occupation: Sniper
Level: 15
Strength: F+
Agility: C-
Endurance: D+
Magic Power: C-
Magic Attribute: None
[Skills]
Passive: Inventory Lv. 2
Passive: Clairvoyance Lv. 2
Passive: Perfect Accuracy Lv. 2
Active: Magic Bullet Lv. 5
For reference, the average standard for a combat-type hunter is around C-level stats.
In other words, I suddenly possess agility and magical power equivalent to a hunter-level right out of a chick.
Even if I’m a late bloomer, it’s not awkward to experience explosive growth occasionally.
Especially since the stats that the con artist wants from me are perfectly aligned, he must feel like he’s hit the lottery. Or maybe it feels like the maturity date of a 10-year deposit has suddenly been moved up to one hour from now?
However, I won’t have the chance to level up until midterms. I’ll diligently accumulate meta points and then pour them out during the midterms to show my growth.
It’s a perfect plan.
“Yuhan?”
The con artist seemed extremely shocked at my stats, frozen in place. I pretended not to notice and lightly tapped his shoulder, feigning confusion.
“Uh, um?”
“Are you okay?”
Noticing the con artist’s condition, Choi Soo-jung tilted her head and looked at him.
“Why are you acting like that all of a sudden? Are you sick?”
“Shall we wrap it up here for today?”
My suggestion to wrap things up, pretending to be concerned, jolted the con artist back to his senses.
“No! I’m fine! Let’s clean up the monster corpses and go explore the dungeon inside the gate right away.”
Of course. Your real purpose is inside there. The rest is just additional gains.
Although it seems a bit disproportionate for mere additional gains, that’s how it is.
“Into the dungeon? Is that alright…?”
Pretending to be clueless, I asked them anxiously.
“Of course~ It’s okay~ Na-hyun handled everything.”
“Yeah, that’s all the monsters that rushed in earlier. Don’t worry.”
Don’t pet me, you bastard. I might just bite you.
I was already exhausted, and while the con artist was trying to calm me down, he kept petting my head. I had to put on a show of agreeing despite the stress.
Maybe it was because I had killed so many monsters, but the pile of corpses around us was no joke.
“Na-hyun~ You got the inventory skill, right?”
“Oh, yeah! How did you know?”
“The truth is, I can see stats.”
“Really?”
That’s a lie.
“No. All awakened individuals get the inventory skill when they reach level 2.”
“That’s nonsense.”
With a quick remark, the con artist silently started putting the monster corpses into his inventory.
“I see… So how big is your inventory?”
“It’s not about size. When the skill first activates, you can put in 10 types of items, 100 each.”
“Wow…”
“By the way, my inventory level is 10, so I can store 100 types of items, 1,000 each.”
I already knew that.
An extra with garbage stats who only upgraded the inventory skill without raising anything else until level 10, that’s Na Yu-han.
I think I read a description like this in a novel. It left quite an impression.
“The monster corpses piled next to us can be put into the inventory all at once, and later we can go to the exchange and sell them.”
“Okay. Everything we get from the raid belongs to Yuhan, so can you collect it for now?”
“I’d appreciate it if you did.”
I worked hard to move the monster corpses. Choi Soo-jung cleared away the amount I moved in one gust of wind. The wind skill is definitely overpowered.
Even though the scene was filled with corpses, thankfully, it wasn’t grotesque. The monsters, with only their cores broken, were stacked neatly, preserved in perfect condition.
I placed my palm on the last monster’s body.
“It really is dead. It looks like it’s still alive…”
“It’s dead.”
The con artist calmly tossed the last corpse into his inventory. Noticing my expression, he attempted to offer advice.
“Na-hyun, monsters are just monsters.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you making that face?”
“I know, I just…”
I acted as the heroine who was troubled for the first time by killing a monster, a life.
Looking down at my hand, I silently clenched my fist, as if to realize that I had extinguished a life with this hand.
Seeing the pile of dead monsters actually triggered some old memories, so it was convenient to act that way.
The con artist silently stood next to me and, with a simple “let’s go,” headed toward the temple in the center of the dungeon.
Choi Soo-jung, who had been floating silently in the air, ruffled my hair as she passed. Why are you doing that again?
I quietly followed the two of them.
It felt rewarding to have wiped out the monsters; the empty plains were so quiet that only the sound of our footsteps could be heard.
It didn’t take long to reach the temple in the center of the dungeon.
The stone temple displayed its grandeur, but the stone door blocking the entrance, as if the monsters had broken out, was already in ruins.
“We’ve handled everything, but just in case, let’s have Soo-jung take the lead on the exploration from now on.”
“Okay~.”
And the moment we moved our feet into the temple, it began to tremble.
Boom—.
The pillars shook and moved erratically, and the walls widened at will. The floor split open, revealing a new floor beneath.
I struggled to maintain my balance but ultimately slipped. Just before I fell to the ground, Choi Soo-jung lifted me with her wind skill. The con artist was also in the air, lifted by Soo-jung.
For a while, we floated in midair, watching the temple move wildly and change its appearance.
After some time, the temple presented us with a floor and pillars intertwined with various and strange patterns.
And I was taken aback.
What? This wasn’t in the original!
Originally, we were just supposed to walk in and take something from the center!
I turned to the con artist, bewildered.
He was smiling, as if he had anticipated this ‘event.’
…Hey, you gambling addict and game junkie!
I swallowed the scream that was about to erupt and readjusted my grip on my gun.
Soo-jung gently landed us back on the ground.
Seeing the con artist grinning like that, it was clear that this was an event triggered by a specific action in the original, the ‘game.’
The only altered elements compared to the original novel are my and Soo-jung’s presence.
In other words, the con artist used us as triggers to activate the events from the original ‘game’ he was familiar with.
Think about it. If there were a limit to the number of people, we would have been stuck at the entrance of the gate.
So it’s about the trigger being specific to individuals.
The only trigger I could have would be my sudden spike in stats.
The con artist probably didn’t expect my stat increase, and it wouldn’t be easy to devise a strategy in such a short time.
Apart from that, it’s hard to guess any triggers related to me and Soo-jung, who don’t even exist in the game.
At best, it could be that I’m a soul from another world, but that wouldn’t trigger anything in the game.
So that means…
I glanced at Soo-jung, who was surveying the surroundings with a serious expression.
The trigger for this event must be Soo-jung.
As the ground trembled, the con artist struggled to maintain his balance and stumbled.
“Are you okay?”
I quickly grabbed the con artist to steady him. What a pathetic spec.
As the tremors subsided, a grand voice echoed through the air.
Oh boy, that’s Soo-jung’s anger button.
I didn’t even have the time to hide my discomfort as I stole a glance at Soo-jung, who wore a twisted expression.
See? What kind of guts does this con artist have to trigger such an event?
“I want to go back outside the gate.”
It seemed like Soo-jung wouldn’t forgive any objections as she turned her expressionless face toward us.
“Yeah. Something feels off.”