NOVEL NEXT chapter 27
27 – 2nd Floor, Gladiators of the Colosseum.
I taught them how to use the tablet.
At first, they seemed to struggle, but they quickly got the hang of it.
Dragging the screen was something anyone could do.
‘It’s not like I have one arm missing like Eun Seoryeong.’
I scanned through the list of items.
[Skills]
[F-rank Skill Random Box] [100 pieces]
[10 BG]
[E-rank Skill Random Box] [10 pieces]
[50 BG]
[D-rank Skill Random Box] [10 pieces]
[200 BG]
[C-rank Skill Random Box] [2 pieces]
[1,000 BG]
As soon as I saw the price range, my enthusiasm plummeted.
“…It’s more expensive than I thought. Most people wouldn’t even dare to try.”
Baek Songyi sighed.
It seemed we weren’t the only ones reacting this way, as Blinky’s voice echoed.
「There are complaints from some waiting rooms that it’s too expensive.」
I didn’t even listen to the end, but I had a feeling about what would come next.
「It’s unfair. I created mini-games to give you all a chance! Calling me a robber is too much!」
Knowing Blinky well, I didn’t expect such a reaction.
‘I’ve been studying the Tower of Struggle for a week.’
Though it was just information I picked up by eavesdropping.
Even as an administrator, it’s impossible to distribute rewards arbitrarily.
If you want to give something to the players, they have to show corresponding results.
The voucher scramble, the 3v3 team battle, all were conducted in a similar context.
‘Even the tournament hosted by Joo Sohee.’
No matter the process, as the test progresses, the number of players decreases.
The administrator can distribute rewards accordingly.
‘The high prices are probably a result of trying to maintain balance.’
Kim Minseong summarized this inference in one word.
‘Causality? Plausibility?’
It was hard for me to understand, given my unique skill tooltip, but I roughly accepted it.
“It’s purely the players’ fault for not receiving my gift! It’s not my fault! If you wanted it, you should have hit the mark!”
The administrator has no obligation to take care of the players.
Acknowledging that and looking at the list, the excessive prices start to make sense.
“…Oh, you’re lucky. You have a lot of money.”
Eun Seoryeong approached stealthily.
Even though she had no money to buy anything, she seemed to want to look at the shop again.
I counted all the gold coins I had.
Maybe because there were so many.
It was fun to count them in bundles of ten.
“Need help?”
“Don’t touch.”
“We’re comrades, aren’t we?”
“Hands off.”
I slapped the hand reaching for the gold coins.
Ignoring Eun Seoryeong’s sulky look, I recounted the pile of gold coins.
Just over 2,000.
“Hmm. This is all I have.”
“…Can you really call that ‘just’? Some people don’t have any.”
I won big in the Earthling battles and lost little in the other races’ battles.
As a result of repeating that, I was able to secure this much gold.
‘Even with this much, I can barely get two C-rank skills.’
Considering the value of Hatchling Breath.
It wasn’t disappointing enough to call it ‘just.’
How much had I benefited from Hatchling Breath?
Having even one more skill like this would be a huge help in terms of survival rate.
But what’s disappointing is still disappointing.
Humans are creatures that cling to what they don’t have rather than what they do.
‘How many people would be happy with a third-place lottery win?’
If they had matched just one more number, they would have won first place, and everyone would be disappointed.
Even Buddha would sigh if he won third place.
Therefore, the feeling I had was not particularly strange.
I touched the tablet screen and swiped the list to the side.
There was an equipment list instead of a skill list.
[Equipment]
[Purple Color Armor Random Box] [10]
[100 BG]
[Navy Color Armor Random Box] [5]
[500 BG]
[Blue Color Armor Random Box] [2]
[1,000 BG]
The equipment was even more ridiculous.
I genuinely wondered if they left this here for us to buy.
‘The weapons are the same…’
If I only knew the level of the blue color armor, I could reduce my decision time significantly.
“Administrator.”
I called out just in case.
Then the administrator promptly appeared.
“Error player. Do you have any questions?!”
“…I’m curious about the Blue Color Armor Random Box. What kind of equipment comes out of it?”
“Ah, I’ll show you!”
A piece of equipment suddenly appeared in the administrator’s hand.
[Black Dragon Scale Breastplate (Blue)][S]
Category: Upper Body Armor
Stats▼
【Durability: ＋71】
【Resistance: ＋73】
【Durability: 70/70】
Options ▼
【Elemental Resistance Lv.3】
“`
【Restoration Lv.3】
【Anti-Magic Lv.3】
I checked the information.
I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“…Are you saying this is equipment you can get from a blue color equipment random box?”
「It’s not easy to obtain since it’s S-rank!」
Seeing it in person made me hesitate.
It seemed to be worth the 1,000 gold.
‘Skill or equipment.’
Blinkie asked.
「Aren’t you thinking of buying an artifact?」
“……”
Artifacts are meaningless.
Even if I draw one, the illusory tome devours it.
‘…Wait a minute.’
The quality of the artifacts fed to the illusory tome doesn’t matter.
Whether you feed it dung or urine, the tome provides the same stats.
‘Is this an opportunity?’
I looked through the artifact section.
The cheapest F-rank artifact random box was 100 gold.
If I poured all my gold into it, I could secure as many as 20 sacrificial artifacts.
‘In terms of stats, intelligence and wisdom would increase by 260.’
My eyes widened.
「By the way, the quantity is limited. If you’re late, you might not be able to buy it.」
“……”
In reality, some items were already marked as sold out.
Most of them were F-rank.
It seemed like people had emptied their gold before they were sold out.
‘Well, only those with money would worry about what to buy. There’s no fool who worries without money.’
I checked the F-rank artifacts.
“`
It was decreasing in real-time.
I managed to purchase two in a hurry.
As soon as I made the decision, a very exquisite “sold out” sign was put up.
It was a fleeting moment.
If I had been even a little late, I would have missed the F-rank artifact.
「The immersion is quite something.」
“……?”
Blinky showed a meaningless smile and disappeared.
Since she wasn’t an ordinary crazy woman, I gave up trying to understand and just let it go.
I opened and absorbed the artifact random box.
“Oh…. Is that also a dragon’s skill?”
“Yes.”
Since Eun Seoryeong and Baek Song knew nothing, I could deceive them with a vague affirmation.
The phantom book had a whopping 5 stacks.
With just one artifact, intelligence and wisdom stats increased by 61 each.
[The phantom book is growing.]
[‘Predation Lv.1’ has risen to ‘Predation Lv.2’.]
“Oh!”
I immediately checked the information on the phantom book.
What had changed?
【Predation Lv.2】
Each time an artifact is absorbed, intelligence and wisdom stats grow by 『25』 each.
The growth rate had changed.
From 12 to 25.
From now on, the growth speed would accelerate.
‘This is it.’
It was a satisfying result.
It would have been nice if there were more F-rank artifact random boxes left.
“What did Baek Song choose?”
“I….”
I am not the only one spending gold.
Baeksong was also shopping beside me.
“I bought this.”
What she chose was a skill.
She spent all her gold coins to buy a D-rank skill random box.
“Hurry up and open it. I’m curious to see what comes out.”
Eun Seoryeong waited with a face full of interest.
Just like the lively expression she had when betting.
Contrary to her appearance, she seemed to enjoy gambling.
“Then I’ll open it.”
Baeksong opened the random box.
The skill information appeared as holographic text.
“Blood Pact?”
“It’s a skill that consumes a portion of your life force to increase your stats. It doesn’t seem bad.”
Although the detailed effects were unknown, Baeksong seemed fairly satisfied.
Now, only I was left.
How should I spend 2,000 gold to make it well-spent?
‘…Let’s buy equipment.’
The black dragon scale breastplate I saw earlier lingered in my mind.
I felt like I would regret it if I didn’t buy it now, so I spent 1,000 gold.
It seemed like I was the only buyer, as the remaining quantity didn’t decrease from 2.
“…Wow, as expected of Oh Daehyeop. You spend big. Buying something worth 1,000 nyang as easily as buying dumplings at an inn…”
Eun Seoryeong exclaimed in admiration beside me.
I opened the equipment random box in front of her.
Inside the box, there was a single helmet lying there.
It looked quite heavy, but I couldn’t feel the weight.
It seemed to be set so that I couldn’t feel the weight until I took it out myself.
It also looked smaller than its actual size.
I reached in and took out the helmet.
Then it expanded in size.
The helmet was big enough to fit a human head.
[Gladiator Secutor Helmet (Blue)][D]
Category: Head Armor
Stats▼
【Durability: ＋32】
【Durability: 30/30】
Options ▼
【Blunt Resistance Lv.2】
【Adaptation Lv.2】
【Evasion Lv.2】
The design was bizarre, with only small eye holes punctured in the structure that covered the entire head.
It was so strange that I wondered how to use it.
‘The options are trash too.’
Compared to the Black Dragon Scale Breastplate I saw earlier, it was ridiculously garbage.
“What is this?”
「Oh no. What a pity! Unlucky that it’s D-rank.」
“…….”
Blinky appeared just in time, speaking in a voice full of laughter.
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak.
「Don’t be too disappointed! You still have 1,000 Blinky Gold left!」
“…….”