Chapter 129

Chapter 129

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 129: Jackpot

While sniffing around, Kim Minwoo’s eyes sparkled.

‘One is different.’

Among the three, there was one scent that felt particularly strong.

‘Is there a difference?’

There should be three chests with the “Very Good” rating.

Then the scent should be the same. But there’s a difference, which means...

‘There might be hidden elements.’

Anyway,

He didn’t know how long this ability would last, so he had to move quickly.

“Let’s go that way.”

Kim Minwoo ran straight ahead.

The guild members followed him.

Soon, he stopped in front of a chest and looked at Park Siwoo.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes.”

“Choose that one.”

“That one?”

“Yeah. That’s the jackpot.”

After tilting his head for a moment,

Park Siwoo picked up the chest.

“Let’s go to the next place.”

Kim Minwoo arrived in front of the second chest and looked at Seo Yerim.

“Yerim, you choose that one.”

She nodded and picked up the chest. If he was speaking with such conviction, he must have figured something out.

‘...Is this also the ability of the store he mentioned before?’

He said that items could be exchanged for special currency instead of money. Maybe he was using that to find good chests.

After giving the chests to the guild members, it was Kim Minwoo’s turn.

The strongest scent brushed the tip of his nose.

He had arrived at his destination.

“Huh?”

A strong scent was clearly wafting in front of him, but...

‘I can’t see it?’

There was nothing but an empty floor, as if there was nothing there at all.

Kim Minwoo’s eyes sparkled.

‘Could it be camouflage?’

It was the moment he reached out his hand.

Tuk!

Something was caught in his hand.

He felt it slightly, and it was a square chest.

‘This is mine.’

If he had found the “Very Good” chests for them, it was practically like he had done everything.

As the guild leader, he couldn’t give up the most special reward.

“Let’s go.”

“...?”

Seo Yerim tilted her head as she saw his empty hand.

But only for a moment.

“Are you holding a chest in your hand right now?”

“Yes. It seems to be a transparent chest.”

The three of them approached Popo, each holding a chest.

“All three have chosen.”

-...Huh? One person doesn’t have a chest... Wait a minute. Why does it say everyone has chosen?

After a moment of confusion,

Popo cleared his throat and asked calmly,

-...Are you sure you want those?

It seemed like he was trying to express his personal feelings as little as possible since he didn’t know which one was good.

“Yeah. I’ll take these.”

-Very well. Then...

Popo clapped his hands.

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[Chest selected!]

[Chest rank revealed!]

Flash!

A colorful, rainbow-colored light burst from the chest in his hand.

[Amazing!]

[You have obtained the ‘Very Very Good Chest, Hidden and Camouflaged’, the only one in the Treasure Mountain!]

[You have obtained the title ‘Huh? How did you find this?!’]

Light also burst from Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo’s chests.

The only difference was that while his chest emitted a rainbow-colored light, the other one emitted a pure white light.

“Huh?”

Park Siwoo tilted his head, looking back and forth between his chest and Kim Minwoo’s.

“Hyung, aren’t there supposed to be three ‘Very Good’ chests? But why are the colors...?”

“I heard this is a hidden special chest.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there’s only one.”

“Wow, that’s awesome... How did you find something like that?”

“Something I got a while back came in handy. It’s a one-time use, but... well, this is the time to use it.”

“You’re the best, hyung. No, I respect you.”

Park Siwoo gave him a thumbs-up.

What if Kim Minwoo wasn’t here? He would have been clueless, frozen in place, and praying after choosing a random chest. Most likely, he would have ended up with a crude or poor chest.

But what about now? He had chosen the best chest out of tens of thousands. Of course, Kim Minwoo’s chest was technically the best, so his was the second-best, but...

‘I wouldn’t have known anyway.’

So, in reality, it was like winning the first prize.

Seo Yerim was just as surprised. She had a feeling something was up when he stepped forward confidently.

‘He really did it...’

Thanks to him, they were in a good position.

“Thank you, Minwoo.”

“I had to use the ability anyway. I just took care of both of you while I was at it.”

Whether he had two guild members or not, he had to use the ability to get the best reward. In doing so, he had also strengthened the guild’s power.

For him, it was a win-win situation, not a losing deal.

Just then, a small exclamation came from the side.

―Wow... what is that chest?

“You don’t know either?”

―I don’t know. The seniors who were in charge here never told me about anything like that...

“Look at this.”

He held out the chest towards Popo.

[A Very Very Good Chest disguised and hidden in plain sight.]

[Rank: Special]

[A cunning chest that has been hiding in the Treasure Mountain for tens of thousands of years, camouflaged. It was confident it would never be caught, but today it was finally discovered.]

―”I’m curious what it will give since it’s a step above... I heard that ‘Very Good’ usually gives a trait...”

“... A trait?”

“Let’s open the chest while we’re at it.”

The chest in Legendary where ancient-rank equipment appears.

The three opened the chest.

[Opening a random item chest!]

[Acquired Uldraf’s Horned Flute (Legendary)]

[Acquired Ghost Steps (Legendary)]

[Acquired Plague Monarch’s Gloves (Ancient)]

They checked the details.

The hornpipe was an item that gave a powerful buff to allies when it was played.

‘The shoes are also pretty good.’

It was a Necromancer-only equipment that allowed them to use special skills when worn.

Lastly, the Plague Monarch’s gloves were...

[Plague Monarch’s Gloves]

[Rank: Ancient]

[Restriction: Level 251 or higher, Necromancer]

[Gloves made from the skin of the Plague Monarch.]

[Effect 1. Curses are contagious to enemies. If there are nearby enemies, curses will also proliferate indefinitely.]

Is this the power of ancient rank?

Kim Minwoo blinked his eyes.

There was only one effect.

But that effect was too good.

‘Spread curses?’

And infinitely if there are nearby enemies?

This is a crazy item.

The only weakness was that it wasn’t very effective in small fights.

‘But even considering that, isn’t it crazy?’

Until now, he had been fighting by casting curses on each enemy one by one when there were many enemies.

He didn’t need to do that anymore.

The curses would spread in all directions on their own as soon as they were cast.

With this and Elu’s Tears, he had already obtained two ancient-rank items.

‘My inventory is going to explode, for real.’

Reviewing everything he had gotten so far...

– A highest rank potion recipe.

– Recovery of a Pure-blooded vampire (baron level).

– One potion.

– A nuclear bomb.

– Item rank-up ticket and trait.

– Two Ancient and Legendary-rank items.

‘Oh, and there was the worn key too.’

If he held onto it, he would be able to use it someday.

Was that all?

The guild members’ power had also increased significantly.

Not only did they each acquire a trait, albeit an intermediate one, but they also obtained equipment through opening chests.

Seo Yerim obtained two Legendary-rank equipment and one Ancient-rank equipment.

Park Siwoo also hit the jackpot.

He got an Ancient-rank equipment from the only chest available.

‘The cost of equipment will be reduced for each slot.’

All of that would become his investment.

‘Thank you for the meal.’

It was a truly fruitful competition.

* * *

When he returned, a familiar scene came into view.

It was the waiting room where they had moved to participate in the preliminary round. As he stepped outside, he saw a massive crowd.

Hundreds of reporters.

He wasn’t particularly surprised.

‘The Awakened who left earlier must have spread the news.’

Korea was a weak country in terms of Awakening.

Even just passing the preliminaries in international competitions would lead to a rush on chicken restaurants across the country.

But this time, they had taken 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place?

There was no way national pride wouldn’t surge.

He was clearing his throat to prepare for an interview when...

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! China is restricting exports of key resources! What are your thoughts on this situation...?”

...Huh?

Why was China suddenly brought up?

The question was quickly answered.

‘Ah.’

Kim Minwoo chuckled.

He didn’t even need to see it to know what was happening.

“How cute.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Among the Awakened powerhouses, they were the only ones whose participants were all wiped out, right?”

“Uh... that’s true, but... you sacrificed them yourself...”

“Do you not know why I sacrificed them?”

“Um... I think they probably know...”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Since it’s come to this, I’ll also impose a restriction.”

“...A restriction?”

The reporters tilted their heads.

Surely he wasn’t talking about restricting Ilsung products, was he?

With Kim Minwoo’s influence, it would certainly be possible.

But even so, it wouldn’t even scratch the surface for China...

Then, Kim Minwoo grinned and said,

“I got something really good from the preliminary round. A highest rank potion recipe. France even made a secret pact with the US to get this, right?”

Gulp.

The reporters swallowed their saliva.

A highest rank potion.

An potion that could only be produced in the US, it was an item that couldn’t even be leaked out, except to France and a few other allies.

The very potion that allowed the US to dominate the gate competition, where enormous profits were at stake.

And China, which was being checked by the US?

It was an item that they could never get their hands on, no matter what they did...

“Maybe it’s because it uses a lot of rare ingredients. The cost seems to be about 8 billion won each. Since the gate competition is just around the corner, let’s add a premium. For China, it’s 10 times the price from now on.”

Ten times?

Did he mean he would charge ten times the original cost?

‘...So, 80 billion won per potion?’

It was practically telling them not to buy it.

“...Guild leader. Are you perhaps thinking of selling the potion to other countries?”

“Well, depending on the situation?”

A meaningful answer.

The reporters had a hunch.

The game had gotten much bigger.

‘This is going to be...’

The US and its allies would be in an uproar, wouldn’t they?

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]