Level 1 Player (MT Novel) - Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – The Gluttonous Hippo

“Wow, how much I spent,” I was surprised to see the number of my points.

It turned out that I had to spend a total of twenty billion points on the survival instinct skill. But despite that, I still had ten billion left. And all thanks to the sales of high-capacity batteries and high-powered electrical goods, for which, in fact, these batteries were bought. It is because of this sales scheme that I can get and use a large number of points. But I’ve been desperately trying to accumulate them until now.

“For starters, we need to replenish the range of items we sell.”

About a hundred cells were filled, and about fifty were still waiting for their cherished hour.

“Hmm, laptops are popular. Oh, cosmetics and perfumes are also selling well. Surprisingly, watches also started to be bought…”

Sales of the items that somehow could be attributed to “luxury” or luxury goods were very good. In particular, cosmetics, perfumes and watches were well received, but they were not the cheapest items. Despite the fact that I took them from a department store, they were still items from popular brands. So it wasn’t that bad. The female half bought cosmetics, the male half bought watches. As for perfumes, both bought them.

I refilled the empty cells with the items I had put in subspace beforehand, then I changed my clothes and went to the electronics store. The shelves of the store were stocked with high-capacity buffer batteries.

After paying for the electronics, I added everything I had bought to the sales window. None of the employees lifted a finger when they saw the items begin to vaporize into thin air one by one. Apparently, they saw it all the time.

– Have a nice day. Oh, next time could you prepare the same amount of merchandise?

– Yes, of course. You can count on us,” the store employees replied.

You could say I’m their resident, who can make a hundred million purchases at a time. In addition, in addition to the discounts, they gave me first-class service. In part, this was done to keep me from leaving for the competition.

The players are very generous, but they saw a customer like me, who periodically purchased goods in large quantities, and who paid in cash, for the first time.

Now that I had replenished my stock, I could dive headlong into the sales window. Which I did, in fact, upon my arrival back at the motel.

“Well, now we can start shopping.”

I had to abandon my original plan to accumulate points, since I had absolutely no idea what awaited me in the dungeons and what might come in handy there. What if I met Jang Woo-hyun again and he was even stronger than when we first met? What if his goal wasn’t to hurt me, but to kill me?

Besides, I’m not an ordinary person anymore. And I could die just by opening the sales window and not having time to buy the right book of skills.

“On the other hand, the privilege of the strong is freedom.

Except I don’t have a lot of that freedom, and I don’t have a lot of power. That’s because I’ve been through two crisis moments in my life, the battle with the three-headed leopard and the meeting with Jang Woo-hyun. Besides, I still don’t know how to avoid subsequent encounters with a similar fate.

“Looks like I’ll have to spend every penny…”

I planned to keep my appearance young and put away three billion points in a piggy bank for emergencies, and spend the rest on various skill books and potions.

“And what can I spend my points on? Perhaps I should start with potions.”

[Strength Increasing Potion (Rare)

Strength Increase by 1.

Invalid for players whose attribute is 200].

Method of Use: Drink [Vendor: ReCommerce] [Price: 9, 999, 999 points]

This weak potion costs 4,999,999 points, but a potion of a higher level costs 9,999,999 points. That is, the cost is doubled.

“To increase each characteristic to two hundred, I need 4,999,999,500 points…”

It takes almost five billion points. At least that would take half of the amount I have available.

“But at least I’ll be sure to survive.”

Increasing characteristics benefits the effectiveness of every skill, even when using the most common skill.

“Resolved!”

If you decide to spend all the points, you’d better spend it with gusto.

“Besides, the Survival Instinct skill should be greatly increased by this.”

[Do you want to buy a Strength Increasing Potion (Rare)?

You can always exchange your purchased item or make a refund.

[Yes] [No]

“Yes!”

[You bought a Strength Boosting Potion (Rare)

I experienced the same sensations I had after the weak potion. I continued my purchases. Each time I clicked “Yes,” a small mound of bubbles and cones appeared in the room. As I finished buying up the potions, I began pouring them into myself, starting with the stamina potion.

“Wow!”

It didn’t take long for the effects of the potion to wear off.

“I still have five billion. What should I spend it on?”

* * *

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Three billion should have been left in reserve, because if I spent more, I would cry my age all over again. Therefore, out of the available points, only two billion remains. But two billion is not that much money… At least not enough for a heroic level book. It should be enough money for me to buy a few rare level books.

“Well, let’s see what we can ‘feed’ the Immortality skill…”

The only thing I can really pump is a uniquely rare level skill. I might even be able to pump it to heroic level. So I set about finding rare skill books that could heal wounds. After a while I stumbled upon two books: a rare and an ordinary one lying in front of me.

“I wonder how much they will pump up the skill?”

I set about studying them. As soon as I studied a skill, it was immediately consumed by Immortality. This “gobbler” absorbed everything I had learned! However, after taking a batch of books, the passive skill level did not become heroic. Despite this, though, there was still a change.

[Immortality (uniquely rare)

Passive ability: ability not to die while head on shoulders; instant recovery of all wounds; a skill that can be improved.

“Did it really work?” – I thought, and made a small wound on my arm.

Before I knew it, the wound was gone.

“Wow…!”

The recovery rate was much different than what I got with learning the Immortality skill.

“After the auction is over, I’ll experiment again.”

If I could get my hands on all the books from the auction, I could pump up this skill again.

***

A message appeared before my eyes.

“Hmm, what is this?”

I poked at the pop-up. It turned out to be an email about an auction. I had won every auction I had participated in. But the value of the books was much higher than the original price…

“Then we should hurry up and pack.”

I changed my clothes and headed to the mall. I wanted to buy back the skill books and pump up Immortality as soon as possible.

Suddenly an icon appeared in front of me again. Only this time it was not a message, it was a phone call.

– Hello.

– Hello, Hyun Seong. It’s Shin Young Ah.

– Yes, I’m here. Did something happen?

– I found out some information about the Sow Guild.

– Have you completed your investigation?

– Yes, I was able to confirm some information with which we were able to press charges. All of the guild representatives were arrested today.

– That’s good news! Minus one headache in the form of the Sow Guild.

– Even though they’re trying to deny everything, they won’t succeed. This time they’ll definitely cooperate with the investigation.

– Because of the conflict with the factions?

– Yes, Sow guild leader Ma Ji Hoon didn’t obstruct the investigation and even shared all the information after he was detained.

– What about Jung Sung Woo?

Deputy Guild Leader Seow Jung Sung Woo was the one who tried to harm me and even used a cold weapon to do so.

– We haven’t gotten an arrest warrant yet. But it won’t be long now. After Jang Woo-hyun was arrested, we were able to confirm the guild’s involvement in the murders and robberies. Moreover, the person who ordered the hit was Jeong Sung Woo’s close associate. His cronies aren’t talking right now, but we’ll catch him as soon as they do.

– Won’t he be able to avoid imprisonment?

If he does, it might be difficult.

– Do you have access to a television set?

– Yes, of course.

– Then turn on the news channel.

I turned on the TV. Even though the name of the guild wasn’t disclosed, names like Jeong Seong Woo and Jang Woo Hyun flashed on the screen.

– I don’t think he can avoid being arrested. Anyone who had a friendly relationship with him can turn him in.

– It’s quite possible…

Jung Sung Woo won’t be able to get away with it since the incident is already public knowledge.

– The head of the guild, Ma Ji Hoon, has made his own decision and contacted the media. Jung Sung Woo has been demoted from his position as the deputy of the guild. It’s likely that he was even fired.

– Thank you very much for the information.

– It’s nothing. I’m sorry I couldn’t have handled the case sooner.

– Anyway, thank you. I’ll be sure to give you a thank-you gift when I see you.

– You’re not just saying that, are you?

– Of course not.

– Okay, I’ll see you then.

– See you later,” I said and hung up.

There was no limit to my happiness.

“Well, I appreciate it!”

Jang Seong-woo, who had used Jang Woo-hyun, was defeated. He lost all his support, for which he was expelled from the guild.

Looking through the news on the Internet, I came across articles calling Jang Seong-woo a murderer. The public criticized him, even though they had no idea or relation to those incidents.

“How neatly they resolved everything. It must be convenient, watching everything from the sidelines…”

What would happen if I had to get to the truth on my own? Would Jeong Sung Woo have received a fair punishment? I may never know. The Players’ Association has been hugely successful in this case, using its power and strength. Certainly, thanks in large part to the Seow Guild itself, the job has become easier.

“They are finished. Now it’s safe to go get the books,” I thought and walked out of the motel.

After picking up the books I’d won at the auction, I went back to my room.

“Well, let’s get down to exploring this couple as well…”

Slowly, one by one, I began to study the books, starting with the regular ones. I decided to spend the entire advance, since I wanted to buy as many as possible. But my registered skills didn’t turn out to be much, and the passive recovery skills were to blame.

“I wonder when you’ll noticeably change?”

I was beginning to get nervous as Immortality continued to devour one book after another. I was beginning to think that with all the money I’d spent, points in conjunction with cash, I could have easily purchased a heroic level book. Despite the fact that I had poured such huge sums into improving it, Immortality was not responding to my attempts to improve it.

“This is the last book…”

[Restoration of Nature (rare)] (verbatim of nature)

Passive ability: an ability that allows you to heal wounds.

I lost count and couldn’t remember how many books I fed to Immortality. That’s how many there were.

“If you’ve devoured that many, you just have to move!”

I clutched my eyes and reached out for the last book of skills.

[You can’t read the rare Restoration of Nature book.]

[The uniquely rare Immortality book absorbed the rare Natural Restoration book].

[You have modified the uniquely rare passive skill Immortality to heroic level].

– HOORAY-AAH!!! – burst out from me.

I finally managed to pump it up! I clicked on “Immortality” to see the new characteristics of the improved passive skill.

[Immortality (Heroic)

Passive ability: ability not to die as long as head or heart intact; instant recovery of all wounds; a skill that can be improved.

Now, the passive skill Immortality is flawless.

“Oh, there are even fewer blind spots and disadvantages with the pumping…”

Previously, the one big disadvantage and blind spot of this skill was the head. But now, there is an additional “second life” – the heart.

“Hmm, despite its development, there’s still room to pump more.”

The improvement line didn’t go anywhere, which means I can continue to feed the skill with new books. If so, can it increase to a legendary level? I can’t imagine such a thing.

Unfortunately, the fleeting elation quickly evaporated when I thought about the amount of money I would need to spend again to improve the skill to legendary level. I guess that would take a fabulous amount of money. I didn’t know whether to upgrade this passive skill to heroic level at all. No, though, I definitely knew the answer.