Episode 77: The Black Chest of the Ark
I had to tilt my head for a moment even after Dang Gyu-yeong disappeared from sight.
What happened on Monday?
The first thing that comes to mind is… … .
‘Mentoring?’
… … is nonsense.
The leader of the thieves’ club is mentoring?
That annoying thing?
It was a story as unrealistic as the idea of Kwak Seung-jae and Song Cheon-hye joining hands to rob a bank.
But other than mentoring, nothing really came to mind.
After much thought, I decided.
‘Let’s just leave it.’
Let’s just give it to one person on Monday.
Since Dang Gyu-yeong isn’t setting a trap for me with malicious intent, there won’t be a big problem.
* * *
Weekend afternoon.
He called out Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in.
[Go Hyun-woo: I’ll go soon.]
Go Hyun-woo had just finished receiving treatment at the infirmary, so he decided to come here right away.
The calligrapher sent several messages before receiving a reply.
[Kim Ho: Knock knock knock]
[Kim Ho: (cat emoticon knocking on door)]
[Kim Ho: (cat emoticon knocking on door)]
[Kim Ho: Are you awake?]
[Calligrapher: … … .]
[Calligrapher: (rolling puppy emoticon)]
[Calligrapher: (shy puppy emoticon)]
[Calligrapher: (rolling puppy emoticon)]
Judging by the state of the emoticon, it looks like he just woke up.
At this time when the sun is high in the sky.
I decided to help the calligrapher come to his senses more quickly.
[Kim Ho: (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)]
What photos did I attach?
These are various snacks such as sweet and spicy beef jerky bought at Heuksabang Market, along with candy and dried fruit.
[Kim Ho: Are you coming?]
[Calligrapher: I’ll go.]
Lure them with something delicious. Success.
But it will still be a long time before it actually arrives.
“Brother Kim.”
On the other hand, Go Hyun-woo arrived really quickly.
Let’s bring up the main topic after all three of us are gathered together.
While waiting, I had something to talk about with Go Hyun-woo separately.
The topic of conversation was, of course, the Black Death Room.
Especially regarding the three-shot match with Baek Sa.
Go Hyun-woo let out a sigh.
“He was truly a fearsome master. He barely managed to survive even after exchanging only three moves.”
The first challenge was overwhelming purely due to the gap in ignorance.
He had already made a preemptive strike and even used the rapids that could be considered Go Hyun-woo’s special skill, but he was destroyed in an instant by the poisonous snake. There was no room for excuses.
The second vegetarian exchange ended with very minor damage, thanks to Go Hyun-woo’s best skill, Cheongryu, and a lucky passing epiphany.
It was a ridiculous statement from the listener’s perspective.
“Did you get a chance there?”
It was a Dharma statue that I had lent to you so that you could see it and get something out of it, but that was after you cleared the dungeon.
I thought I would use what I saw briefly before entering the Black Room.
Go Hyun-woo also burst into laughter, as if he was dumbfounded.
“I didn’t expect it at all. When I had to compete with Senior Baek Sa, I thought I was unlucky, but in the end, I got a stroke of luck, so I guess it wasn’t so bad after all.”
“If it works out well, that’s fine. Just keep spending more time studying the Dharma statue.”
“I intend to do that.”
“So, what’s the last one?”
The most important one is the last, third herbivore exchange.
That was also the part I was most curious about.
“I think Baek Sa would have used something stronger than the two previous ones.”
“Yes. I recognized the Doksa-su-dong and Doksa-chul-dong at a glance, but the last one was very unfamiliar.”
When I heard Go Hyun-woo’s expressions that followed, I immediately got a sense of what kind of herbivore he was.
“I guess it’s the white snail climbing the sky.”
“A hundred li ascent to the heavens… … Indeed, it was like seeing a giant white snake.”
It was one of the top three techniques used by Baek Sa.
Baek Sa is someone who doesn’t take it out unless he really wants to, but I guess he used it in the three-shot match.
Perhaps he was stimulated by the move that Go Hyun-woo showed in the second attack.
“So, how did you stop it? I don’t think you’d use Cheongryu again.”
“Umm… … .”
Go Hyun-woo fell silent for a moment.
He seemed to be contemplating whether he should reveal this.
But soon he sighed and opened his mouth.
“Honestly, it’s embarrassing to say. But Brother Kim deserves to hear the whole story.”
The moment Baek Sa’s Baek Li Deung Cheon flew towards him, Go Hyun Woo had a feeling.
That no matter what you do, you can never stop it with your own strength.
The choice was one of two.
Either use the clear stream and die, or borrow other powers.
And he chose the latter.
“First, I used the herb called Sunryu (順流).”
Flow.
It is said that among the martial arts that Go Hyun-woo has mastered, this is the most defensive one, focusing only on repelling the enemy’s attacks.
The proficiency of this technique is still several levels lower than that of Cheongryu, so it would be better to use Cheongryu for defense.
The reason I insisted on following the flow is.
“Because then I have some spare time.”
Despite its seemingly smooth movements, Cheongryu requires almost all of one’s mind to focus solely on the operation of the primary movement.
On the other hand, since the development of the pure flow itself is relatively easy, there is a little leeway during the development.
You can afford to borrow other powers.
Hearing this, something came to mind.
“I guess you used the sacred water of the four gates.”
“……exactly.”
He defended with a pure current, and by strengthening that defense with a long sword called the divine water of the four gates, he was able to block the hundred-mile ascent to heaven.
I’ve never seen it in person because it’s always been sealed in multiple layers, but I can guess what the level is like.
The martial arts that Go Hyun-woo has learned are incredibly powerful, but if it is a divine substance passed down in that sect,
‘Even if you can’t do it, it’s S-class, but if you do it well, it’ll be higher.’
If it’s a weapon of S-class or higher, you can just set it up like a shield and it should be able to deal a fair amount of damage to a B-class hidden boss.
Of course, there was a price to pay for using that divine substance.
I think I understand why Go Hyun-woo hesitated to talk about the last battle.
Although he has inherited the sacred waters of the four gates, he is not yet qualified to wield them.
It must have been a huge blow to his pride as a civilian to have taken out something like that simply to avoid a crisis.
“You’ve worked hard. It must not have been easy to put it down.”
“I don’t regret it. It was not only my life but also that of Shin Hyung who was by my side. And I can’t just rely on my pride when Kim Hyung trusts me and waits for me. It’s just… … .”
“only?”
Go Hyun-woo smiled bitterly.
“However, I survived with the help of the divine being despite my lack of qualifications, so I feel ashamed to face my master.”
However, Go Hyun-woo’s discouragement only lasted for a moment.
He quickly regains his composure and makes a strong resolution.
“I must work even harder in the future. Only then can I quickly become qualified and establish the prestige of the Buddhist order.”
“You can definitely do it.”
Next came the story of me and the black snake playing tag.
Of course, the story that I just ran away from place to place is not very nutritious, so I will focus on the vegetarian food that the Black Snake was trying to catch me with.
While Go Hyun-woo was listening with a very interested expression.
“I’m here.”
The calligrapher has arrived.
Carrying three glasses of iced tea.
He asks as he takes the seat next to me.
“Did you go to the dungeon yesterday?”
“Oh. I bought all of this there.”
The calligrapher began to taste each type of candy, pancake, and dried fruit that were lined up on the table.
I just put the sweet and spicy beef jerky far away.
Thinking back to the last time I got really sick from the red spicy rice ball, it wasn’t good to be close.
Everyone was eating various things and having light conversations.
As the atmosphere became more cheerful, I finally got to the main point.
“Okay, today we’re going to try box packing.”
He took out a rectangular box painted black from his inventory.
[Black Chest of the Ark]
“I was secretly looking forward to it whenever you took it out.”
As the person who infiltrated the ark and brought the chest, he must have been very curious about its contents.
Even more so because we went through a lot of hardships in the process.
I said, holding the cover.
“I’ll open it right away, so don’t be nervous just yet.”
Because the items that come out of the ‘chest’ are certain.
I opened it without hesitation and there were two small boxes that fit perfectly into the chest.
[Ark Ingot Box (B)]
[Black Sand Room Random Box (B)]
One random box each.
This is the end since I only took notes.
However, it is bound to be relatively shabby compared to the main rewards obtained by defeating the Black Ark and clearing the dungeon.
But where are the two B-rank random boxes in the first semester of the first year?
In particular, [Ark’s Ingot Box] has the characteristic that the type of items that appear is always fixed as ‘Ingot’.
With a very high probability, [Hancheol Ingot] or [Hyeoncheol Ingot].
No matter which method you use to craft your weapon, you can expect high-grade results.
This alone was enough to make it worth going into the Heuksabang.
And this is exactly why I called out the calligrapher.
He asked, gently pushing the [Ark’s Ingot Box].
“Want to open it?”
“huh.”
Although it was only the last time, the calligrapher performed a miracle by pulling out a B-grade cushion from a D-grade random box.
At that time, I made a small hypothesis: what if the calligrapher had a lucky trait?
Isn’t it something you don’t know about?
Even from this ingot box, you will get more items than you expected.
“… … .”
The calligrapher had an indifferent attitude toward the B-grade random box in front of her, as if she was dealing with a box rolling around like any other box.
Rather, Go Hyun-woo and I, who were watching, were even more nervous.
He looked down at the box of ingots expressionlessly for a moment, then slowly opened it.
At this point, I already had both my eyes covered to protect them.
If my guess is correct, another flashbang will go off, and eyesight is precious.
As expected,
– Kwaaaa—aaaaah—!
A colorful light burst out from the ingot box, instantly engulfing the entire room.
“Oh.”
In the midst of the surroundings being completely white and not being able to see anything, Go Hyun-woo’s exclamation is heard.
I too was secretly surprised, although I didn’t express it in words.
‘This is real.’
Even though I was mentally prepared, it was still surprising.
This lends some weight to the hypothesis that calligraphers possess lucky traits.
After covering my eyes for a while, the light gradually faded.
And a large lump of metal that boasts a presence inside the ingot box.
[Eternal Iron Ingot (A)]
‘This is awesome.’
Even though the original goal was iron, which was a very good metal, something even better has come out.
“Young Lady Seo, you are incredibly lucky. It is rare to witness such a case, but I never thought it would happen twice.”
“Yeah, how come I’m so lucky?”
Although Go Hyun-woo and I both praised her, Seo Ye-in didn’t seem particularly surprised or happy.
Instead, he asked me back.
“Did it help?”
“Oh. That’s a lot.”
“Okay then.”
My attitude was that whether it helped me or not was more important.
Well then, let’s take advantage of this momentum and deal with the rest quickly.
He asked while casually handing over the [Black Sand Room Random Box (B)].
“Want to open this too?”
“huh.”
The calligrapher received a B-grade random box as if he were receiving something trivial like a pencil or eraser, and then opened it without warning.
– Flash—!!
Although it emitted a golden glow, it was somewhat inferior to the flash grenade.
In proportion to that, the rank of the dropped item was also somewhat low.
[100 Years of Hasuo (C)] *4
If it’s a hundred-year-old water dropwort, it’s a pretty good elixir.
That’s your root.
It is considered a medium-sized drop for items dropped from B-grade random boxes.
“Since you have four roots, let’s share this. Take one each.”
Anyway, at the point where I got the Eternal Iron, I had already achieved my goal by a long way.
There is also the point that the effect of the same type of elixir is halved when taken repeatedly.
Growing together is more beneficial to everyone in the long run.
For a number of complex reasons, I decided it would be better to share it rather than keep it to myself.
“I will not decline. I will gratefully accept it.”
Go Hyun-woo, who was always hungry for elixir, quickly received a root of the Chinese juniper and kept it in his bosom, and Seo Ye-in also received a root and put it in her inventory one by one.
And even after taking my share, there is one left, which I can pass on to someone else, or if I can’t find the right owner, I can eat it even if the effect is halved.
The calligrapher stared at me blankly as if asking if there were any more random boxes to open, and I shook my head slightly from side to side to indicate that there were none left.
Then, Seo Ye-in also nodded weakly and went back to looking for snacks with Go Hyeon-woo.
I sat there for a moment, lost in thought, watching the calligrapher stretch his hands here and there.
‘It seems to have some kind of characteristic… … .’
When opening a chest of ingots, you hit the jackpot, and when opening a random box, you hit the jackpot.
In such cases, rather than simply assuming that there are no characteristics, it is more appropriate to consider the possibility that some triggering conditions or restrictions exist.
For example, there may be a cooldown time for activating a trait, or there may be a limit to the ‘total amount’ of luck.
‘There’s no need to think hastily.’
You can try ordering it again later when you get the chance.
“… … ! … … !”
“I left it out on purpose, so why are you looking for it and eating it again? You can’t even eat spicy food.”
“… … !”
It was a calligrapher who had touched sweet and spicy beef jerky while I was looking away for a moment.
