Chapter 033 – Black Market Fourth Shopping (2)

Sungjin raised his hands towards the sky . The book basked the room in blinding light and gently settled on top of his hands as it dimmed . The Goat Merchant Gourmet let out a tsk with his tongue and commented

“Chapter 4 just finished… and you have already completed the ancient omnibus… What on Earth…”

Sungjin read the front cover . Without a doubt, it was ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ . He turned to Gourmet and thanked him from the bottom of his heart .

“Thank you for the trade . I will head out now . ”

“Ok, See you around . If you ever need to see me again that is . ”

Sungjin thanked him once more and then left the shop . As he strolled through the market, he flipped through the pages of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ . Last time, this book was in another hunter’s possession .

‘Ancient Omnibus’ was a unique item which only one hunter could own at a time, so he could only watch as others used them in his previous life .

Romance of the Three Kingdoms – Ancient stories of the East
Ancient Legendary book

Active Skill
Declamation (V)
Read the Novel . Reading different parts of the Novel causes different effects .
1 use per day .

A tale among tales, a classic among classics; An Omnibus which systematically deconstructs the ups and downs of human and national relationships for the reader .

‘I can’t believe I’m reading this now…’

It was a whole new level of satisfaction . The effects were considerably advantageous even in the later chapters, but obtaining it since the very beginning was nothing short of over-powered .

‘I’ll have to test it as soon as possible . ’

Sungjin carefully placed the book into his vest and left for ‘Ninety Nine Nights’ where Dalupin and Cain were waiting .

*

Once he returned to the ‘Ninety Nine Nights’,

“Woof Woof!”

Cain greeted him first as usual . Sungjin checked his neck . There was not a single mark on him; his injuries were healed, and not a single scratch remained .

Any wounds and injuries sustained during the raids were reverted once the raid was over with the Hunters being returned to the Black Market . Sungjin brought his face close to Cain’s ears and whispered

“You worked hard Cain . Thank you . ”

“Wooo~”

Cain affirmed with a cry .

“Okay, okay,”

Sungjin briefly bent down and hugged Cain by his neck . However, he felt that something was odd .

His arms felt a little short . Sungjin stopped for a moment and stared at Cain .

‘Did he… get fat? Taller?’

“Cain, did you get bigger?”

“Woo…”

Cain let out a short sound . Sungjin could not discern the intention .

“Well… ok . Anyways, good work, let’s go eat . ”

“Woof!”

This was easily understood . Once inside, Dalupin greeted Sungjin as usual .

“Welcome back, esteemed Hunter . ”

“Prepare a meal for us please . ”

“What would you like to order?”

“Hmm…”

Sungjin thought for a moment . The first item that came to his mind was

“Pizza . ”

“Traditional Italian style? Or American Franchise style?”

“Eh… Korean Franchise style? Modified American style? Either way, with tons of cheese . ”

“Understood . Any requests for toppings?”

“Bacon, Pepperoni, Black Olives, Bell Pepper, and Garlic, please . Also, lamb meat for Cain . ”

“Understood . Please wait for a moment, I will go prepare your food . ”

Dalupin bowed deeply and returned to the kitchen . While Dalupin was gone, Sungjin recalled the Spellbook he had obtained in the last Raid and decided to take it out .

‘I should Memorize it quickly before the Pizza is done . ’

“Operator, give me the Spellbook please . ”

The cube wordlessly obeyed, spitting out the Spellbook . Sungjin opened the crimson Spellbook .

Spellbook – Fireball
Class 4 Offensive Magic

Launch a large fireball . The fireball explodes on contact and the flames spread out dealing collateral damage in the vicinity of the blast .

This was a standard fire type magic . Most mages will have used this spell at one point or another . Sungjin did not hesitate .

“Memorize . ”

The red cover of the Spellbook lit up, illuminating the Inn .

[Magic – Fireball was memorized . ]
[Incantation for the spell is ‘Incinerate everything in your path! Fireball!’ . ]

Once he was done memorizing the spell, Dalupin returned with the Pizza . Of course, along with a sizable Lamb meat .

“Eat lots, Cain . ”

Sungjin patted Cain in the head before taking the first slice to eat . The cheese stretched into long strands as he took the slice .

Sungjin cut the cheese with his fingers before stuffing the slice into his mouth .

“Mmmm”

 

The thick flavor of the cheese cooked on top of soft bread, with pepperoni and bacon mixed in; it was an overwhelming and succulent first bite . Perfectly cooked bell pepper and garlic also gave a refreshing aftertaste, as well as controlling the greasiness . The pizza highlighted the skill of a master .

Sungjin stared at Dalupin .

“Anything you need?”

Dalupin tilted his head at Sungjin’s stare . As if proving his half-owl status, his head tilted more than 60 degrees . Sungjin wordlessly gave him thumbs up .

On understanding what he wanted to convey, Dalupin lowered his head and answered .

“Ah, thank you . ”

Title: Master Hunter
HP:  17100   MP:  3990
Strength:         2486    1912   (+574)
Dexterity:        2721     2093  (+628)
Endurance:      1710     1315    (+395)
Magic Power:   395      304      (+91)
Mind Power:    399      307      (+92)

Unallocated Points:  3820

“Hmm…”

Sitting in the warm bath, Sungjin furrowed his brows as he pondered over his stats .

‘I should continue to invest into strength, dexterity and endurance…right?”

Even if Sungjin was going to experiment with becoming a magic swordsman, the basis of his power was still that of a swordsman; Even though he began investing into Magic Power and Mind Power, he couldn’t afford to forget this important fact .

‘Continue to maintain overwhelming physical superiority, and raise Magic Power enough to be helpful . ’

Sungjin reserved 1000 points for Strength, Dexterity and Endurance .

‘And then 820 points remain…’

He didn’t get much of an opportunity to utilize his magic in the previous raid . .

‘Ah… I had even filled up my mana right before the fight with ‘Pach and Cho’Roch’, and totally forgot to try using spells on them . ’

He was still not acquainted with using Magic . When in danger, he fell back to swordsmanship . Anyone would have probably acted the same .

It was human nature to fall back to familiar things unless there was a certain margin of safety and time to explore new things . On top of that, his spells were too weak compared to his swordplay .

‘If I’m not going to be using it often… I’ll try making Magic Power stronger to make it worth the while . ’

Sungjin concluded his thoughts . ‘Even considering the class 4 magic Fire Ball, there shouldn’t be a pressing need to increase the mana pool too much . ’

Thus Sungjin planned out his stat points as follows

‘With 3 to 1 ratio for Magic to Mind Power, raising 615 points to 205 points respectively should do it…’

Sungjin tried to calculate the points out .

‘304 plus 615 is 919, taking into consideration Master Hunter’s effects…’

Annoyed already at the calculations, Sungjin called for the Operator’s help .

“Operator, what would be the total points if I were to increase Magic Power by 615?”

[1195]

“And if I raise Mind Power by 205?”

[666]

The MP would become 6660 . Using 4th class magic with 1195 Magic Power would allow him to fire the spell at least once .

‘If I ever need mana, I could always use ‘Lich’s Finger’, and ‘Moon Specter’s’ passive to recover them…’

Sungjin decided to try to min/max the magic; he wanted to see what it was like .

“Operator, raise Strength by 1000, Dexterity by 1000, and Endurance by 1000 . Add 615 to Magic Power and 205 to Mind Power”

[Applied . ]

Once the distribution was complete, Sungjin dipped himself deeper into the tub . Chapter 4 was eventful .

Trying magic for the first time, meeting Serin Han, fighting a building-sized Cyclops, killing two PK Trolls, running into the Wandering Merchant Ruff Han . And completing an Ancient Omnibus .

So many things in just a few hours .

“Sigh…”

Sungjin closed his eyes and let the thoughts wash over him as he pondered over them .

‘At this point… I’ve pretty much cleared every Raid perfectly… . ’

Sungjin tried to think back to his previous life .

[‘Spell Master’ has succeeded in completing the legendary ancient omnibus ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’]

‘Let’s see… what chapter was that again?’

Even a vague and generous estimate puts it at about seven or eight chapters from now . Sungjin was able to complete ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ in four chapters, so he felt that he was off to a great start .

Compared to blindly trying to complete the raids like last time, he was already several times stronger . Now, Sungjin was confident that he would have no trouble with the raids for a long while .

Of course with the exception of excruciating circumstances . That reminded Sungjin of the past .

‘Why did you do that?!’

Excruciating Circumstances . Sungjin couldn’t help but mutter a name that resurfaced from the past .

“Spell Master Ed…”

He still had no clear answer for what had happened back then, but it was all in the past .

‘No need to complicate myself . ’

Sungjin got up from the bath .

‘Even if trolls get in my way, even if there is not one dependable ally, even if I have to go on alone, I will see it to the end . ’

In the middle of the living room was ‘Moon Specter’ and ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ resting on top of a table . With these two items, Sungjin was more than ready to handle everything and anything for at least some time .

Once he completes the next raid and gets his hands on the ‘Blood Vengeance’… Sungjin wiped down the moisture and dressed himself .

‘Knock Knock’

Sungjin heard knocks on the door . There was only one possible person who could knock on the door this late at night .

“Please come in . ”

As expected, it was Dalupin .

“Dear Hunter, here is the information page for the next raid . ”

Sungjin accepted the sheet . Dalupin bowed and

“Then I bid you goodnight . ”

He excused himself and left the room . Once Dalupin closed the door . Sungjin checked the top of the information sheet and only read the title .

‘Information concerning Kutan Desert’

Still the same order . Sungjin discarded the paper and threw himself on the bed . It was a long day . Soon after closing his eyes, he was fast asleep .