Chapter 26
Chapter 26The sourcπ² of this content no/v(πl)bi((n))
Jeezβ¦Is he the type of person thatβll persistently hound for an answer until the bitter end?
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Choi Lee-kyung: 2 million.
Seo Dawon: Youβre kidding?
Choi Lee-kyung: kek
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βSeriously?β
What would he say if I told him the amount was twice that?
Once again, I was determined to ignore his questions until we escaped the Dungeon. Seo Dawon simply murmured, βThatβs cheap,β and grew silent.
Thatβs cheapβ¦.? Umβ¦.. Is that soβ¦..
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Choi Lee-kyung: Actually, it was 4 mil~<3 1
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Seo Dawon showed little response to my honest reveal.
Was that really the only question he had? However, within the minute, a new message arrived. [For that price, though, wouldnβt it be better to get carried through a more useful Dungeon, to get power leveled?]
As expected, he must be bored. But I also found the long, silent walk down the hallway uninteresting, and, at a quick glance, no one seemed to have noticed my strange behavior. So, as if my thighs were a keyboard, I began typing.
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Choi Lee-kyung: I needed to strengthen Lackey.
Seo Dawon: Lackey? Whatβs that?
Choi Lee-kyung: My first servant.
Seo Dawon: First??? You have another servant besides me?
Choi Lee-kyung: Mhmm. Youβre the second.
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Before I could explain that Lackey was the default servant provided when Necromancers chose their profession, Seo Dawon said, βWhatβ¦I wasnβt your first?β in a strange tone.
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Choi Lee-Kyung: What are you talking about ^^;
Seo Dawon: Iβm hurt?
Seo Dawon: TT_TT
Choi Lee-kyung: GG. 2
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I was annoyedβhe was obviously making fun of me.
However, Seo Dawon quickly changed the topic. [So, the material needed to strengthen your servant only drops from this Dungeon?]
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Choi Lee-kyung: Mhmm. I just needed one ingredient before I could proceed.
Seo Dawon:
A boss drop?Choi Lee-kyung: Nah, from a normal mob⦠3
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βYou paid 2 million just to reap the rewards from an ordinary monster?β
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Choi Lee-kyung: If you arenβt going to say anything useful, then shhh
Seo Dawon: Okie 4
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In this way, the conversation continued.
While we walked for 30 minutes, we continued to exchange banter. Unexpectedly, Seo Dawon was not a bad person to talk to. Though I had the constant feeling that he was amused with my general situation, he didnβt seem overly patronizingβjust teasing? His words were surprisingly funny as well; I was in danger of bursting into laughter twice.
Perhaps Seo Dawon was curious about the man who revived him, he had asked countless questions about my life. I was reluctant to answer many of themβ¦Family ties, where I lived before I entered the Hubβ¦
Whether or not I had a girlfriendβ¦quite personal questions. I lied, [I had one, but got dumped]. Though Seo Dawon had a good sense of humor and was easy to talk to, he was not the type to be considerate of social conventions. He didnβt seem to notice my reluctance to answer some of his questions. If something tickled his curiosity, he dug for answers until the bitter end.
In fact, Iβve never had a girlfriend before. Sure, I wasnβt the most popular person around, but I was also uninterested in women in the first placeβ¦.But I kept that information hidden. I felt if I had revealed my disinterest in women, Seo Dawon would just dig more into my personal business.
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Seo Dawon: Why were you dumped lololol
Choi Lee-kyung: Because I started living in the Hubs.
Choi Lee-kyung: We couldnβt meet often.
Seo Dawon: (*whistle noise*) She wasnβt a User?
Choi Lee-kyung: Mhmm. We got together before I became a User. When I came here, she left me.
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At this point, I slowly became curious about Seo Dawonβs past.
Now that I think about it, this jerk dug so far into my past without revealing anything about himself! I didnβt ask before since I didnβt want to make him wistful or uncomfortable about his deathβ¦but it seems I was considerate for nothing! He just casually asked me whatever suited his fancy, without avoiding any topic.
Seo Dawonβs personality didnβt seem to be one to be stuck on the pastβ¦.So, during a pause in our conversation, I lobbed a question at him instead.
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Choi Lee-kyung: And you?
Seo Dawon: ?
Choi Lee-kyung: Did you have a girlfriend?
Seo Dawon: keke
Seo Dawon: Look at my face.
Seo Dawon: Do you really think they would have left me alone?
Choi Lee-kyung: lol
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The answer was hard to refute; I turned my head, unwilling to compare myself to Dawon. Instead the ghostly man just met my eyes and smiled. He looked me up and down before saying, in a meaningful tone, βI was popular with men too.β
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Choi Lee-kyung: I doubt that, heh.
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My sarcastic retorts did their best to hide my flushed cheeks and agitation, but I couldnβt help but think that my thoughts were somehow transparentβthat made it hard to speak to Dawon afterwards.
Seo Dawon didnβt make efforts to continue heckling at me either, andβthankfullyβthe conversation soon dissipated.
Kim Sangyoon shouted βHalt!β His large voice drew all attention. The heavy set warrior lowered his greatsword onto the floor with a metallic thud and looked at me. βChoi Lee-kyung. Whatβs the name of the material you need?β
βAh, thatβsβ¦.βContaminated Dark Liquid.β It drops when you kill a Mourning Slimeβ¦.β
βAnd those appear in the trap rooms, correct?β
His latter question was not directed at me but at the Treasure Hunter leading the party. He replied, βYes, hyung! Weβre entering the room right now!β
A new system message popped up simultaneously with his response.
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Youβve entered a Normal Mode trap room!
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After that message popped up, a transparent yellow liquid flowed out of the cracks in the walls, blocking the passageway.
Though the new monster provoked my sense of danger, I wasnβt nervous at all. Nothing could compare to the horrifying beings Iβd encountered in the hard route or in Dawonβs foggy memoriesβ¦However, the liquidβs stench was a problem.
Though we were 100 meters away, the sour, damp, and nasty smell still poked at our nostrils. As the smell stagnated and concentrated, I felt like vomiting.
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New monster information has been updated!
[Tower of Command β Mourning Slime.]
The Mourning Slime is an acid monster that only appears in the normal routeβs trap room. This slime, which used to live in the underground waterways of the tower, usually gorges itself upon the dead bodies clogging the sewers. Upon realizing how delicious living beings are, the slime has left its territory to directly hunt for prey!
It has strong acid and poison attacks and is resistant to physical skills; please be careful!
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After reading the message, all the party members took out and wore the masks that they had prepared in advance. Kim Sangyoon, in the lead, had also followed along, but he hesitated when he noticed my uncovered nose.
βHey, you donβt have a mask?β He asked.
βHuh? Yeahβ¦.β
I was at a lossβthis situation was so far out of my wheelhouse. I didnβt know that the Mourning Slimeβs stench would taint the air.
Kim Sangyoon looked at me in surprise and cursed, βAre you out of your mind?β Indeed, I felt like I would go crazy if I took my nose out of the crook of my elbow. He threw something, a small black cloth, through the gap between my arm and face. βQuickly use that, you fool.β
[Refresh Air β Mask]
Type: Mask
Durability: 140/140
Level Restriction: N/A
Special Skill: Increased resistance to odors and poisonous vapors while worn.
Description:
Made by Ha Jieun of βJeolla Workshop.β
Odor Resistance +100
Poisonous Vapor Resistance +100
Berserker had unexpectedly given me a new mask, fresh from his inventory; I was so startled by his thoughtfulness, that I stared at the cloth, dumbfounded.
Then, he approached my side, βWhy arenβt you putting it on?β He clapped my back with a heavy thud. I quickly scrambled to protect my face from the devastating odor.
Why is he being so nice all of a sudden�
βHey, stay back, okay?! Even if the material spawns, donβt approach until I give you the βall clear!'β Sangyoon shouted. βIf you get poisoned, youβll die a dogβs death.β
ββ¦Ah! Yes!β
Following his instructions, I ran to the very back of the party. The rest of the members began to fall into formation and deal with the slow but tricky looking βMourning Slime.β
At first, the slime didnβt look like a monster and resembled, instead, yellow and oily wastewater that leaked into a river. But, as it attacked another party member, its mouth became well defined. Frankly, the image of it gaping its maw and trying to swallow a human was shocking.
βThatβs going to drop the material you need?β Seo Dawon, who had been standing quietly, suddenly spoke.
βYeahβ¦β I said, in a quiet voice, staring resolutely ahead.