Ch.135135. Unscratched Lottery Tickets

There are so many unscratched lottery tickets in this world.

From undisciplined pigs to men with glasses.

And ordinary people who haven’t awakened.

Everyone wants to scratch those unscratched tickets, praying that the winning lottery ticket will come their way.

This was no different.

“They’re called Unidentified Items. Items containing unknown energy. They’ve been around for ten years, but they’re still antiques whose mysteries haven’t been unveiled. At first, people said scratching these would be a jackpot. There was talk that anyone who knew how to purify them would become the world’s richest person, but that only lasted a year or two. Now, ten years later, not a single person has purified an Unidentified Item. Still, a lottery is a lottery, and they trade at decent prices, relatively speaking.”

Searching through Hunters, these “Unidentified Items” with unknown energy seemed to have quite a few documented cases.

These items appear in various dungeons—not with the lowest probability, but slightly more common than truly rare resources. They seemed quite popular because everyone thought they must contain something special.

Now their value had dropped to antique levels, with only collectors buying them on the off chance they might be valuable.

Still, they traded well enough that if you obtained one in a dungeon, you could sell it for enough to treat yourself to a decent meal.

“This is chaos energy, right, oppa?”

Late in the evening, Su-jeong Kim, who had gone out to trade with someone who posted on the Hunter Association’s trading board, held out a Chaos Mirror.

While it was labeled as containing “unknown energy,” whether I identified it as chaos energy or not wouldn’t change anything. But considering the item’s name and the instructions to purify it…

It seemed worth testing.

If it were true.

“If this Purification Jar thing works, wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“Dad!”

I asked my father.

“Can you buy all these Unidentified Items regardless of grade?”

“All of them? I can.”

“Buy them all at above market price.”

“…That could suddenly drive prices up.”

“I don’t care. No matter the cost, just buy them all. Except from those trying to rip us off.”

“I understand.”

Of course, the tricky thing about lottery tickets is that just because no one has scratched a winning ticket in ten years doesn’t guarantee I’ll hit the jackpot.

Why is a lottery called a lottery?

One ticket among many.

It’s a lottery because there’s a low probability of winning big.

It’s just that until now, no one has even been able to verify the chance of winning.

That’s why I’m buying in bulk.

If I scratch enough tickets, I’m bound to find a winner or two.

And I’m using the excess cash in my account to buy them.

If I find an item I can use, that’s a win.

If I find something useful, I can enhance it and sell it like before.

For now, I decided to gather as many Unidentified Items as possible before logging in, starting with the Chaos Mirror.

Even if the higher-grade ones turn out to be duds, they could at least be used to raise my purification energy level.

My shopping list for this login just grew by one more item.

—————————-

Ji-hyun Lee looked bright, as if she’d enjoyed her trip.

“I’m back!”

“Unni! You looked like you were having fun. Did you have a good time?”

“Yes, it was super fun. Ah, it feels so good.”

“Now it’s back to hell, right?”

“Hehe, hell? Actually, I prefer going to the farm.”

“Ugh, you’re really suited for Farming Company.”

“We’re going together this time, right?”

“Yes. Let’s have a really good time. I bought tons of food for this trip.”

“Great!”

Ji-hyun and Su-jeong seemed to get along really well.

Well, it was more comfortable for me not having to worry about being awkward with Ji-hyun in the cabin, since Su-jeong would keep her entertained while doing her work.

“…Why do your suitcases seem to multiply every time?”

This time, there were ten large suitcases filling the living room—five for each person.

Even though our house wasn’t small, the living room was so packed with suitcases that even mom complained.

“Clean this up quickly.”

“…”

The suitcases alone took up 10 slots on my belt, and with all the other luggage, my 35-slot belt was completely full for the first time since I made it.

Ji-hyun had packed heavily, saying she’d be making mud potions or something and probably wouldn’t be able to log out next time. She brought clothes and necessities, determined to set up a proper living space in the cabin.

Su-jeong was similar.

“When I go in this time, I’m planning to plant healing herb seeds and work with Ji-hyun unni on breeding and cultivating what we need. I probably won’t be coming out for a while either, so you can log out whenever it’s convenient for you. Oh! Just let me know in advance if you need me for an auction, and I’ll prepare to come out.”

With all the money we’d made, I honestly didn’t see a need to log out for a while either.

The reason for logging out is usually to replenish supplies that are hard to get in the cabin and to sell items for money, but I already had enough money in my account to live comfortably for a lifetime.

I didn’t plan to hoard it, so I’d spend it eventually, but I was thinking of focusing on the main quest until enough items were prepared for the next auction.

That’s why we had so much luggage.

“Shall we go?”

I logged in with my companion login skill, now expanded to two people.

“Wow, the cabin has changed a lot! There’s a storage room now. This is Ji-hyun unni’s room. Oh, so this is the jar.”

As soon as we arrived, Su-jeong started exploring every corner like someone returning home after months away.

“Oh! Su-jeong!”

“Oh! Lulu! Have you been well?”

“Wow, it’s been so long, Su-jeong!”

“I know, I missed you. Ah, I was wondering why it’s so cool in here—you installed air conditioning?”

“Yes! It’s really hot outside since it’s summer.”

“Yes, I heard. I brought lots of good sunscreen, so Lulu, you should try some later.”

“Hehe.”

The cabin became lively with three women.

Unpacking luggage, listening to Lulu’s updates about what had happened…

Even though we logged in in the morning, the day passed quickly just doing these things.

Nothing special had happened, according to Lulu.

“The Black Monkeys ran out of meat, but they managed to find food on their own.”

“They’re from level 2 biomes. Leave them be. Just bring them meat occasionally when you have some.”

“The Goblings are the problem. There aren’t many of them, and they’re too busy working to hunt.”

“Show them the ranch during their free time and tell them to hunt there.”

“Yes, sir.”

The food issue is critical.

Slaves and NPCs lose loyalty if they don’t eat.

So the first thing to do after acquiring slaves is to secure food for them.

This is actually the first priority when farming in this world, not just for slaves.

But there’s no need to stress about providing food for too many slaves.

Monsters like the Black Monkeys, who have decent numbers and maintain their own village, will take care of themselves if you’re not raising them on a farm.

Besides, Black Monkeys aren’t really slaves but more like a faction under my command.

Only some Black Monkeys work on the farm; the rest live their own lives, so there’s no need to take care of all of them.

It’s good to check on them occasionally.

The Goblings are nearly extinct, so they need a bit more attention, but I’ve released livestock from level 0 biomes into the ranch, so they should be able to manage.

“Have any Vanps come from the south?”

“Vanps? Ah! No, I’ve been watching carefully as you instructed, but no beastmen have come.”

I was curious if Chun-sik and Chun-bong might have come to check the forest and made it up to the cabin, but it seems they didn’t come this far.

Or maybe Lulu didn’t notice them.

“Mmm, delicious.”

“Oppa, you said Ji-hyun unni’s cooking is so good. Mine’s not bad either, right?”

With Su-jeong’s return, she took over cooking duties again.

Ji-hyun’s schedule was irregular, and she had the important task of making potions.

Still, Su-jeong’s cooking seemed to be improving.

“Next time you get an ability selection, can you upgrade my cooking? I want to be really good at farming and cooking.”

“Think you can handle it?”

“I have to cook all the time anyway. Might as well do it properly, right?”

“That’s true. Cooking and farming do go well together.”

After completing the main quest, I’d get an SS-grade ability selection and an SS-grade life skill selection, so it didn’t seem like a bad idea.

I could even put Su-jeong in charge of the empty cooking shop in the village if possible.

“Let me think about it for now.”

I thought I should weigh my options once those selections became available.