▶ Chapter 17. People I Miss (4)
[Crafter-Exclusive Buff Bracelet (SS-Rank):
(1) Increases the success rate by 7%.
(2) Can only be used by crafters of S-Rank or higher.
(3) It becomes bound to the first crafter who injects mana into it, and its size will automatically adjust.]
I thought Han Dong-ju would immediately pour mana into the bracelet.
It was an incredible buff item that raised his success rate by a whole 7 percent, so naturally, I assumed he'd want it for himself right away.
But I was wrong.
Han Dong-ju tightly gripped the bracelet with trembling hands.
His eyes were squeezed shut, and his face was twisted as much as humanly possible.
Yet in an instant, he shook off that burning temptation.
As if he believed he'd suffer a permanent burn if he kept holding it any longer, he hurriedly pushed the bracelet back into my hand.
As long as I had it, no one could take it away from me.
He knew that.
And that very action made me place the bracelet right back into Han Dong-ju's hand.
Thanks to my previous life, I knew all too well.
Just how rare—and valuable—a person capable of overcoming intense greed truly was.
Besides, it's crafter-exclusive, so I can't even use it.
There was a chance I'd ask him to open boxes for me again in the future, so giving him this and strengthening our relationship wasn't a bad idea.
And more importantly, he's one of my disciple candidates!
If I followed my heart, I wanted to shout right now,
"I'll give you this and even feed you experience points, so become my disciple!"
But...
One of my disciples in my previous life was also someone who worked with the Monarchs to lure me into a trap.
Of course, that bastard wasn't someone I'd genuinely wanted as a disciple.
I'd had a bad feeling about him from the beginning, but I'd accepted him because I had no choice if I wanted to receive more support from a Monarch.
These three brothers feel pretty decent, though.
Still, I planned to take more time and see whether Han Dong-ju and the other two were really good people.
Besides, my level was still too low to apply the [Increase Additional EXP Targets] skill to them.
I should give everything that's come out so far to these three brothers.
After all, every one of them was a candidate to become my disciple.
They might even be the people who helped me enjoy my rich and luxurious retirement!
I grinned and poked the back of Han Dong-ju's hand.
He'd been frozen stiff ever since I'd put the bracelet back in his hand.
"......!"
Han Dong-ju, who looked as though his soul had temporarily left his body, finally snapped back to reality.
His eyes grew moist as he stared passionately at me like he'd just discovered his savior.
...That's creepy.
Without even realizing it, I pressed my palm against Han Dong-ju's cheek and pushed his face away.
Han Dong-ju looked confused for a moment, but then he still broke into an enormous grin as if he couldn't be happier.
Ugh. I hate this.
The sudden urge to punch him surged up inside me, but I held myself back.
Instead, I waved my hand at him, telling him to hurry up and put mana into the bracelet so it would become bound to him.
Han Dong-ju nodded and did exactly that.
The thin golden ring, which had been slightly too large, immediately shrank until it fit perfectly around Han Dong-ju's left wrist.
"......"
Perhaps overwhelmed with emotion, Han Dong-ju raised his trembling left arm toward the sky.
He stared silently at the bracelet for a moment.
Then he lowered his arm and firmly pressed his lips against the bracelet, as if he'd received the most precious gift in the entire world.
Ugh!
I seriously felt like throwing up.
I clenched my fist and lightly punched Han Dong-ju's forearm.
I hadn't used any skills, and my Constitution was only 13 while my Strength was only 11.
Han Dong-ju, whose two physical stats were both at least over 60, didn't feel a thing.
Still, he seemed to understand that I was telling him to stop messing around and open the boxes already, because he nodded.
He immediately opened the next box.
Nothing came out.
An empty box?!
I'd heard that something like this could happen if you were really unlucky, but it still felt like someone had dumped a bucket of freezing water over my entire body.
Han Dong-ju seemed to feel the same.
His face, which had been glowing with joy and excitement, instantly stiffened and darkened.
Well, we can't keep getting good stuff every single time.
That was what I told myself.
The next one will be good, right?
No.
I was wrong.
The sixth, seventh, and eighth boxes were completely empty, just like the fifth.
What the hell is going on?!
It wasn't because Han Dong-ju was pulling some kind of trick.
They were literally just empty boxes.
Seriously...?
Han Dong-ju looked badly shocked too.
His pupils were practically shaking with an earthquake.
I turned my head and saw that Han Yong-hwan and Han Jung-geun were also visibly flustered.
It seemed this was the first time even those two had ever seen such a disastrous streak.
I heard all kinds of stories about opening boxes back at the company, but I've never heard of anything like this...
I felt like grabbing the back of my neck and collapsing.
N-No! Pull yourself together! We still have more boxes!
Surely...
Surely the remaining two couldn't both be empty as well.
And yet, the ninth box Han Dong-ju opened was also empty.
AAARGH!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! HOW?!
I secretly spammed my detection skill and checked Han Dong-ju, Han Yong-hwan, and Han Jung-geun over and over again.
But there was absolutely no sign that any of the three brothers had secretly taken anything.
That meant five empty boxes in a row was genuinely reality.
AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
I finally grabbed my hair with both hands and started pulling at it.
I knew I was reacting like a gambling addict who was one loss away from ruining his entire family.
But I couldn't help it.
How could this happen?!
I wanted to escape reality.
Should I just open the last one myself?! Wouldn't that actually be better?!
I was seriously thinking about it.
Fortunately, a little bit of reason returned before I could actually act on that thought.
Because I checked my stats again.
[Mana 100+ / Divine Power 100+ / Mental Strength 100+ / Constitution 13 / Strength 11 / Agility 17 / Luck 11]
If Luck 87 was enough to produce five empty boxes...
Then Luck 11...
I'd heard a story before.
There had once been a hunter with Luck 3 who tried opening a Grade 5 box.
Didn't they say rotten food waste kept coming out for an entire week?
It was obvious the same kind of thing would happen to me.
Goosebumps spread across my entire body.
Right. Let's leave it to Han Dong-ju. If another empty box comes out... then... that is simply... my fate. My destiny...
At last, I accepted the bitter reality and gestured for Han Dong-ju to open the final box.
Just as I'd wandered through an endless sea of anguish before finally escaping it...
Han Dong-ju's expression had also gone through countless strange changes, but it seemed he'd finally整理ed his emotions as well.
His gaze had regained the serene calm unique to those who had emptied themselves of all thoughts and achieved enlightenment.
He pulled the tenth and final box from his inventory.
If this one's empty too... No. That's possible. Mountains are mountains, and water is water... Amen... Avalokiteshvara... Kkungttari Shabara... Bba-bba-bba... No, I don't think that's right. Was it abracadabra? Whatever. Yeah. It's fine. Everything's fine...
At last, I pushed away all worldly desires.
With an utterly peaceful heart, I poured my sacred Divine Power into the box.
Han Dong-ju, who had reached the same peaceful state as me, slowly—but not too slowly—opened the tenth and final box.
Fortunately, it wasn't empty.
Something actually came out.
It's a piece of paper about the size of a banknote.
I quickly picked it up and read it silently.
On the front, it said:
[Random New Skill Acquisition Ticket]
On the back was the following explanation.
[(1) It becomes bound to the first person who injects mana or Divine Power into it.
(2) The owner will randomly acquire one new skill.]
My eyes widened before I even realized it.
Jackpot. No, this is a super-super-super jackpot... No. Not yet.
The skill I received might turn out to be completely useless to me.
Don't let your guard down! Stay calm until the very end!
I showed the explanation on the back to Han Dong-ju, who was still keeping silent.
His eyes widened just as much as mine.
Then he hurriedly pointed at the ancestral ritual table.
He was telling me to bow like he had and receive the blessing of my ancestors.
I don't even know who my ancestors are.
Still, I did it sincerely.
Twice.
Ancestor spirits, please help me!!!
I screamed inwardly as I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing.
Only after some time passed was I finally able to return to a state of inner peace.
I slowly opened my eyes and gently poured mana into the acquisition ticket in my hand, matching the calm state of my mind.
Just like the pet exchange ticket had before, the acquisition ticket began to glow.
Then words appeared in front of my eyes.
[Notification: You have acquired the new skill 'Grade-7 Emergency Gate Alarm' through the 'Random New Skill Acquisition Ticket (Bound).'
(1) 'Grade-7 Emergency Gate Alarm' is an abbreviation for 'an alarm that immediately provides the exact location whenever a high-level emergency gate of Grade 7 or higher appears.'
(2) Its range is limited to the territory of the Republic of Korea.
(3) This notification cannot be turned off.
(4) It can be transferred to a hunter who is S-Rank or higher and Level 50 or above. However, their consent is required.]
This was...
You're basically telling me to wipe out every high-level emergency gate of Grade 7 or higher that appears in Korea, aren't you?!
