novelraw Chapter 68 : Chapter 68
Chapter 68 : Chapter 68
Chapter 68: Return (3)
No significant events occurred after that.
Everyone nodded at Kim Su-hyeok’s words, and even Ryu Jin-oh, who I expected to be the most difficult, gave a positive response, saying he would think about it.
After the meal concluded, we spent the remainder of those five days pouring all our effort into training.
Rather than focus on training to increase individual combat power, the exercises centered around coordinating our teamwork.
"It was not bad. In fact, it was quite good."
As it was a short period anyway, we followed Cha Yu-na’s guidance that it would be more helpful to oversee everyone’s training at once rather than evaluating each individual’s level.
At first, I wondered if increasing individual combat power would be more helpful at our current level, but once we started, it was actually quite effective.
Cha Yu-na did not treat us like immature cadets; instead, she pushed us strictly as if we were actual players, allowing us to make a great deal of progress.
In any case, the main point I want to make is that those five days of living drenched in training, which felt like a war, have finally come to an end.
Yes, tomorrow was finally the day to return to Glory, as the school closure was ending.
While spending the final night of a holiday that did not feel like a holiday in my dormitory room, I could not help but fall into deep thought.
This was because several problems had piled up that I could not simply overlook.
"First, there is the issue of my ability."
The third ability of 'Embodiment of Admiration' that I obtained through this first mission of villain hunting. The issue regarding the Admiration Shop.
To be honest, since the items were priced at ridiculous levels, the reality was that I could hardly purchase anything that seemed useful.
However, even in such a situation, there were bound to be hidden gems where I could extract high efficiency for a low price.
I focused on that aspect and checked the items in the Admiration Shop. As a result, the talent that felt most useful was currently sparkling before my eyes as if begging me to buy it.
[Talent - Mana Absorption (D), 110,000P]
"Looking at it again, this is really something. Is the price not a bit much?"
Mana Absorption, one of Im Seong-cheol’s talents.
Of course, if it was a talent of a hero I admired, it was an amazing and wonderful talent whose value I could not dare to measure, regardless of what it was.
However, once the moment came where I could actually purchase the talent of an admired hero, those thoughts had vanished long ago.
To be humanly fair, 110,000 points for a D-Rank talent felt like a total rip-off no matter how I looked at it.
"It is not like 110,000 points just grow on trees..."
Of course, it was possible to continuously supply points through intervening in major incidents that heavily influenced the novel and through the small influence created by my existence interacting with major characters.
But even so, 110,000 points was a figure that could not be used recklessly without a firm resolution.
Since Influence Points are not cash, I cannot grow them through stocks, nor can I haggle over the price, can I?
That was why I had no choice but to deliberate until the very last moment.
"But I cannot just keep worrying forever."
It is said that it is better to regret doing something than to regret not doing it.
Eventually, with a trembling hand, I slowly moved my finger toward the purchase button.
[Talent - Mana Absorption (D) has been purchased.]
[110,000 points will be consumed.]
With that sound, I instantly consumed 110,000 points.
From long ago, has there not been a saying that one should earn like a dog and spend like a nobleman?
I suddenly felt as if the memories of earning points like a dog during the past days were flashing before my eyes to the point that the saying came to mind.
"Sigh... Since I cannot turn back now, I guess I should move on to the next step."
After the memory of earning points like a dog passed, should I not leave a trace of having spent them like a nobleman?
Therefore, I began to examine 'Mana Absorption' in detail, which used to be Im Seong-cheol’s talent but had now become mine as well.
[Mana Absorption]
You can absorb scattered mana and convert a portion of it into your own mana.
Unfortunately, unlike my intention to examine it in detail, the description was as simple as it could be.
"Still, this is a sufficient explanation."
I could confidently say that what I lacked most at the moment was mana.
While my other physical abilities showed a definite increase, even if the rate was small over time, my mana capacity had somehow barely increased at all.
And this was one of the things I could not simply laugh off.
"Mana is one of the absolutely necessary abilities."
Mana is an essential stat, to the point that it can be called one of the simplest metrics that separates a player from an ordinary person.
Fundamentally, one can strengthen their own body with it, and with the exception of a few special talents, almost everything can be manifested by using mana.
Even Do Gang-ho, who had the least mana among the heroes I admired, possessed B-Rank mana by the end, so that should be explanation enough.
"Therefore, I must grab whatever is related to mana whenever I can."
Although I had the special talent called Embodiment of Admiration, I did not live my life using it at all times.
In a world where one never knows what will happen when or where, my inherent abilities could only be seen as important.
That was the reason I chose this talent, Mana Absorption, even if it meant spending 110,000 points.
"The disappointing part is that this is a D-Rank talent, though..."
Literally a D-Rank talent.
It was correct to see the efficiency of absorbing mana itself as almost negligible.
If the scattered mana was one hundred, the mana absorbed felt like it was only one.
Even Im Seong-cheol did not engage in battle while relying on this talent; he used it with the feeling that 'it is better than nothing.'
"But I cannot settle for that."
I did not pour 110,000 of my precious points into this just to get an efficiency that was 'better than nothing.'
I purchased this talent to gain efficiency worth more than 110,000 points, or at the very least, a value equal to the points I used.
Therefore, with the mindset that I would definitely extract that value, I pulled out the remaining Blue Nightmare from my spatial storage bracelet that I had used last time.
"The problem is that I do not know if this will work or not..."
The reason I pulled out the Blue Nightmare at this timing was simple.
It was because I felt that I could use the Blue Nightmare not as a poison, but as something like an elixir.
Since the Blue Nightmare was also ultimately made by using the mana scattered inside a gate, it was theoretically a target for 'Mana Absorption.'
Furthermore, because the Blue Nightmare was created as a high concentrate, I could obtain a significant amount of mana through Mana Absorption.
'And for me, it is also an item that is easy to supply.'
I have a good financial sponsor who is a crazy woman but can provide anything as long as the conditions are met, do I not?
Therefore, if the theory I thought of in my head was applied, there was actually no need to obsess over my lacking mana.
So what if my total mana capacity is insufficient? It would not matter as long as I had a means to continuously replenish it during battle.
"However, if this does not work, the situation will become complicated."
If Mana Absorption cannot be applied to the Blue Nightmare, then it is the same as having wasted 110,000 points.
Moreover, if it is not applied, it is obvious that I will be poisoned by the Blue Nightmare, which was also a big problem.
I could somehow obtain an antidote through the Puppeteer, but it was certain that it would take quite some time to recover.
To make matters worse, what if a permanent sequela remained?
"...Thinking that far makes me suddenly nervous."
Thinking that I might have wasted as many as 110,000 points and that a sequela might even occur, a bit of fear began to wash over me.
If I ended up in such a worst-case scenario, my plan to change the fate of the world together with the heroes would essentially be ruined.
However, the ship had already left the port and slipped from my hands.
In any case, all that was left for me was to check whether the place the ship had departed for was a beautiful lake at a resort or the river of death.
In such a situation, my hand was already opening the lid of the Blue Nightmare I had taken out from the spatial storage bracelet, even before I could order it to do so.
"Phew! Well then, shall I give it a try!"
Having made my final resolution, I immediately consumed the Blue Nightmare.
It is another story that I screamed in joy as soon as I realized that I had successfully won the gamble in which I had wagered so much.
***
It was early morning and still a bit chilly, even though warm spring had arrived.
Waking up while rubbing my bleary eyes, I immediately checked the time.
The time was 6:00 AM. I felt like I had woken up a bit early, but it was not bad.
Since becoming a player, all my fatigue was fully relieved even if I did not sleep for a long time.
Therefore, rather than trying to get more sleep, I decided to finish my preparations to go out in advance and began to move.
"It has only been a week, but it feels like it has been a very long time."
After finishing my grooming through a shower, I looked at the school uniform I had not worn for a week and felt like it had been a very long time.
Since every single incident after coming here was impactful enough to remain in my memory, I guess a mere week feels like a year.
Of course, even so, wearing the uniform did not make me feel particularly happy.
"The truth is that even if I like meeting the kids, I honestly hate going to school..."
Since I was a university student before coming here, I already had the experience of graduating from high school once.
Back then, I thought it would be fun if I ever got to attend high school again, but now that I was actually attending again like this, not a single thought like that remained.
School is ultimately school no matter what you do. I think I have realized once again that it is a place that is only beautiful when viewed from a distance.
"...What will change if I think like this? It is not like I can just not attend."
I had no intention of quitting because I wanted to continue directly observing the heroes with my own eyes as much as possible.
Actually, besides that, there was the point that I had to keep attending if I considered my social status later, but my most important concern was the heroes I admired.
Therefore, I first set a plan for today, which seemed like it would be busy in many ways.
"First, I have to go get more Blue Nightmare... and then there is the club issue."
Since the gamble regarding the Blue Nightmare I performed last night ended successfully, I needed to get more Blue Nightmare from that crazy woman.
If I considered the events that would occur in the future or the plot development that had changed because of my intervention, I needed to always be prepared.
Therefore, I had already told the crazy woman, but since the item was what it was, did I not have to go in person?
"And next would be the club-related issue."
I do not think much will change even if I worry about this now.
In the end, since a club is not something one does alone, is it not an issue where I need to talk more with Kim Su-hyeok?
Therefore, I decided to think about club-related matters after going to school and slowly began to walk.
"Then, shall I head out?"
Although several things happened during the past week, my status was still that of a cadet at Glory.
It was now time to return to that Glory.