Ch.2626. Season

# Vending Machine

Or simply, vending machine.

A vending machine was a revolutionary object that spits out corresponding items when you pay a certain price.

Usually, drink vending machines let you select your desired beverage after paying money, but what if what’s inside the vending machine isn’t drinks?

-KWANG!

A heavy sound echoed through the white space.

“So what kind of relationship did you have with the lady?”

“P-please spare me-“

“Tsk.”

-KANG!

“Engagement! We were engaged! B-but, the original owner of this body liked someone else… and the lady never intended to marry in the first place.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Smash, stomping, or bashing the head with a shield, and so on.

I paid the ‘price’ to the information vending machine, and it spat out information.

“Then, your memories must have returned about a year ago. I heard things started getting weird around that time.”

The guy nodded at my words.

“Speak with your mouth.”

“Y-yes! That’s r-right.”

From what I gathered, it seems his family had forced the engagement.

At first, they were both refusing, and just when talks of breaking off the engagement were about to naturally arise, this guy happened to possess the body.

He said he was approaching the lady to use her as summoning material this time.

Anyway.

‘I think I’ve extracted all the information.’

I asked what he’d been doing since being possessed, and extracted some basic personal information.

…Ah, I just realized I didn’t ask something important.

“By the way, why were you farming Stealth Scrolls? Those get blocked in the upper layers. They can’t even be synthesized with Sources.”

“…?”

The guy looked at me as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.

“…Have you lost your mind? Speak.”

When I made a gesture of raising my fist, he immediately bowed his head. Though he couldn’t move his arms and legs anyway, so his head was already half-buried.

Hmm yes, this sense of omnipotence. I quite like it.

“If you get a Stealth Scroll…”

The guy started explaining his build.

Where to get what, and how to do something based on Sources and whatnot.

A build centered around the type 2 Hidden Dungeon on the 4th floor.

It was roughly similar to my newbie days when I had 4,000 hours of playtime.

“…But, did you actually clear it with that?”

“Y-yes. So you, I mean, Lord Adel, used a different method…?”

“Did I give you permission to ask me questions?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

It was shocking.

That build couldn’t even break through the 9th floor, let alone the 10th.

“How did you clear it? Especially the 11th floor, which requires a tank.”

“…11th floor? What are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

I thought he was talking nonsense because he’d lost his mind, but looking at his pupils, that wasn’t it.

Could it be,

“You, how many floors have you cleared in the actual game?”

I grabbed him by the collar and asked.

“O-of course, the 9th floor. NPCs don’t know, but in the actual game, you go up to the surface instead of the 10th floor. And then strange text appeared and I was sucked in here…?”

“…Insane.”

The game content was different.

“What year did you come from?”

“2-2023.”

“Tsk.”

I came in 2021, and this guy who came 2 years later than me is from 2023.

The flow of time itself seemed to match reality.

“When, when did you start playing the game?”

“A-around 2017, I think. After all, that’s when the game was officially released…”

I started playing the game in 2011.

I don’t remember what format it was, but somehow I came across that game.

It was strange, but I couldn’t remember anyway.

‘The community emerged around 2018.’

Since I didn’t pay attention to the game’s release date or such things, I didn’t find it odd.

Until the community was formed, I was the only one enjoying this game. I wasn’t particularly interested in sharing information, so I rarely accessed the community.

Someone like me couldn’t determine if what he said was true.

“…I understand for now.”

Looking at the clock, about 20 minutes had passed.

It was almost time for the boss entrance to begin.

“-!”

-SQUISH.

After finishing cleanly, I was transported to the boss room.

***

Defeating the Guardian of the Wilderness is simple.

In terms of difficulty, it’s about the level of a 3-4th floor field boss. With my current abilities, I could handle it easily.

The reason I hadn’t wanted to defeat it before was because the summoning itself is difficult.

‘The drop rate for glass bottles is low to begin with.’

You need to get a glass bottle, kill 7 people, and even farm Golden Sources depending on the type of guardian you want.

The deaths of 7 people were truly unfortunate, but looking at the present situation, it was beneficial.

“Phew.”

In a space where sand was blowing, the rock golem version of the guardian collapsed.

Except for one mistake that crushed my right arm, it was a perfect battle.

[Battle Time: 10 minutes 12 seconds]

[Clear Contribution Rank 1: ***(Adel).]

Blue messages appeared one after another before my eyes.

[‘***(Adel)’ automatically absorbs the Source (Grade 4) of the Guardian of the Wilderness (Rock Golem).]

Golden energy appeared in the air and seeped into the area around my heart.

I felt my entire body heat up and my muscles becoming more solid.

‘It was exactly the version I needed.’

What I had originally intended to combine with the slime was a Lizardman.

Combining those two would give me the ability “Body Hardening,” which helps a lot with defense or striking techniques.

But the Source I just obtained was exactly its superior version.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

Hardens part of your equipment or body for 2 seconds. Cooldown 8 seconds.

During this time, damage to the hardened area is reduced by 80 percent, and the damage I deal to opponents increases by 5 times.

It was on a completely different level compared to mixing with a Lizardman.

‘If I evolve a baby basilisk’s Source through a different route…’

I could maximize the performance of hardening.

Moreover, the Guardian of the Wilderness and the slime didn’t require any special materials or conditions for Source synthesis, so I could combine them right now.

‘Insane growth.’

-Thump. Thump.

Sure enough, my heart began to beat rapidly.

My entire body twisted and I gradually felt strength welling up.

‘The space in my heart has emptied.’

The three energies that had filled my heart were reduced to two.

However, the total amount of power seemed to have increased instead.

-Rustle.

As I was realizing how much stronger I’d become alone, the surrounding space gradually turned into white powder and disappeared.

‘I guess it’s time to leave.’

I closed my eyes, thinking about what excuse I would make outside.

…

I was standing in the center of a pit.

Next to me was the baron’s corpse, and all around were many people gathered.

Everyone seemed surprised by my sudden appearance, but anyway, I returned to the base camp and went through the procedures.

Detention, interrogation, the lady’s appearance.

Given the circumstances, it was proven that the baron had committed murder, and I was released after going through the proper procedures.

-The baron told me everything, anyway, he’s the weird one.

I mixed such fabrication into my testimony, but there was no one who could prove that I had lied.

Because the baron was dead.

Given the circumstances, there was no reason to suspect me, so I was found not guilty.

Anyway.

“Shiro, I’m back.”

“…Adel.”

On a night when stars filled the sky.

I was able to return to Shiro’s warm side.

To be precise, Shiro’s side is cold, but I should say the area in front of the bonfire is warm.

Last time when we touched shoulders without armor, it was really cold.

“The lady went to the guild branch to handle the case. She said I saved her life.”

On a night sitting in front of the bonfire, staring blankly at the flames.

Our conversation started with a quiet remark I made.

“Really?”

“Yes. Although it was a brief conversation, she thanked me for saving her and said she would handle the complicated matters.”

If I hadn’t been there, the lady would have been dragged away by the baron without much resistance and killed.

Using the soul of someone with high quality magic power or soul grade as summoning material increases the chance of additional rewards.

“Every time something big happens, it seems there’s someone who handles things instead of me. Sister Airi and Reneva, and this time it’s the lady.”

“…That’s true.”

A quiet wind passed by.

On the outskirts of the base camp.

Spending time with Shiro in this cozy space that was less crowded than other places, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘How does this person think of me?’

As you get closer to someone, you tend to sense how that person thinks of you or others in terms of relationships.

Sherry, the receptionist at the association, is just a friend; Rio, the winery owner, is like a younger sibling I know.

How much distance to maintain, how much I can say to this person, and so on.

That ‘relationship’ influenced where to draw invisible lines in living one’s life.

‘…Work colleague?’

I think that’s about my position to Shiro.

Someone who’s okay for business meetings, but not someone you’d want to meet personally.

‘I don’t know.’

She’s a person who hides so much that it’s hard to tell.

Regardless of the official release date the baron mentioned or my relationship with Shiro, I just need to get stronger and reach the 12th floor.

There might be other possessed people in this world, but I’ll think about that later.

“Shiro. Shall we go to bed now?”

As the night deepened, we needed to sleep soon or tomorrow’s activities would be delayed.

Whatever incident had occurred, we are explorers, so we need to hunt.

“…Um, Adel.”

“Yes?”

Shiro gently grabbed my arm as I was about to get up.

“Today, I feel like sitting a bit longer.”

A cool breeze blew as if welcoming the approaching summer.

“Since the night sky is beautiful today, may I stay with you for a while?”

I sat down beside Shiro and said with a smile in my voice.

“Yes.”

Shiro nodded, meeting my eyes.

Since my sitting height was taller than Shiro’s, she was slightly lifting her head.

Like that, sitting side by side looking at the bonfire,

“I think seasons have scents.”

She uttered a sentence.

“Scents, you say?”

“Yes.”

Brushing back her hair that was fluttering in the blowing wind, she continued that thought.

“I think the emotions I felt at that moment, or during that period, remain as scents… and when the season comes again and I smell the same scent, those emotions come back to me.”

She turned her head toward me and hugged her knees. She rested her head on her hugged knees.

“Is that so.”

“Is it strange?”

The scent of seasons.

It was quite interesting and not a bad expression.

“It’s not strange. Rather, I’m curious what emotions come to mind now.”

To that, Shiro was silent for a moment, then,

“…Today, I feel something different.”

“Is that so?”

“And the seasons that always felt the same… somehow, this spring I spent with you felt new every time.”

She showed a very faint smile.

Unlike the usual something that only I could feel, this time it was really, very, very slightly visible on the surface.

“Thank you.”

“…”

-Saaaa.

The wind blew tonight.

That lukewarm wind, neither hot nor cold, felt somewhat peculiar.

It was a strange night.