Ch.4848. Good for the Body and Tasty Too

“I was worried it might not be working properly, but that concern disappeared as soon as the light of the original disc faded.

[You have acquired a new trait.]

“Did it appear?!”

The system window popping up clearly confirmed it had been used.

I wondered what I got. Though curious about the result, I decided to check the location of the mark first.

‘It would be troublesome if it’s engraved somewhere visible.’

Since the mark’s position is random… with really bad luck, it could end up on your nose.

Of course, in the game, wherever the mark was engraved only messed up character customization without causing major issues, but in reality, the position of the mark was extremely important.

With that worry, I anxiously examined my body, but fortunately, the engraved location was successful. Just below my left collarbone.

Unless I took off my clothes, it wouldn’t be noticeable to others.

But that’s not what matters right now. I needed to check what kind of mark was engraved.

Let’s see… this shape… this color…

[Good for Your Body and Tasty Too]

[Do You Eat Snakes Because There’s Nothing Else to Eat?]

[Snake’s Stealth is Applied.]

A snake, huh.

Oh my god, this is ridiculous.

I’d rather have a mark on my nose if it were something else… No, maybe not.

Having a wolf or butterfly engraved on my nose that I can’t remove would be problematic in its own way.

But not this!

“A snake. Me, a snake!”

This ability had exactly one function.

From the moment you learn it, some of your character’s sound effects are deleted.

Walking. Running. You know, those kinds of sounds?

They disappear.

That’s it. They must know this ability is ridiculous since they put jokes in everything from the trait name to the description.

I lightly rolled my foot, and indeed, it made no sound.

You might think that’s good, but this only removes sound, not presence. It’s not a stealth ability that erases your aura.

Since your presence isn’t hidden, people will notice you when you approach, making it a practically useless ability.

…Lamenting alone won’t change anything.

“Sigh. Well, what can I do about something that’s already happened.”

In the end, I had no choice but to accept the situation.

Who knows. In the game, it only removed sound effects, but here in reality, it might be more helpful.

Since stressing over a gacha pull that was already done would only cause more stress, I decided to move on.

I should continue exploring the interior.

Having finished my thoughts, I started rummaging through the piled treasures again.

Even though I couldn’t take them outside, using them in here wouldn’t be a problem.

It’s like trying out a demo version.

If only I had an inventory, I could try everything by category, but since I have to carry them myself, I can only experience one or two. Really unfortunate.

One is definitely confirmed. There’s something I can use efficiently here.

For the rest… I was thinking of choosing a sword, but suddenly remembered my injured arm.

Just in case, I should go with a shield type.

I considered taking more, but stopped to avoid further injury from trying too many things.

Using my injured arm felt uncomfortable anyway.

After roughly selecting items to try out, I turned my gaze away from the piled treasures.

Originally, looting treasure was the priority, and stopping the apocalypse was just something to do while I was here… but now that this had become reality, treasure had to be classified as secondary.

Beyond the treasures, three doors were prominently positioned, ordinary ones that opened by turning the handle.

But two of them were traps, and only one was correct.

It’s wickedly random, so even I don’t know which is correct.

However, I did know a gimmick that could help make a choice closer to the correct one.

‘What was it called again? The Monty Hall paradox?’

Let’s say there are three doors with one winning door.

Behind the winning door is a car, and behind the other doors are goats.

When a participant chooses any door, the host opens one of the unchosen doors that has a goat behind it.

With two doors remaining, should the participant change their choice?

In this situation, changing your choice gives you a higher probability of winning—that’s the Monty Hall paradox.

You could say that applies here.

So, if I approach any door and knock…

Click.

One of the unopened doors that’s a trap gets locked.

From here, it’s simply luck.

I just need to open one of the two remaining doors and enter.

Statistically, following the paradox would give me better odds.

So changing my choice would be the rational decision.

But I just pulled a snake with a 1/3 probability.

Wouldn’t the probability be higher that I got it right this time?

With that thought, I opened the door without changing my selection. Simultaneously, I heard the other door lock.

Now there’s no turning back. All that remains is taking responsibility for my choice.

And the result was…

“KAOOOOOO!”

“Ha, shit.”

Complete disaster.

Facing a group of undead gargoyles, I was reminded that probability events are independent.

My luck is absolutely terrible today.

I had hoped, but Snake’s Stealth was indeed of no help whatsoever.

What good is making no sound when we made eye contact the moment they spotted me?

But I don’t need to worry since I brought an item for situations like this.

I pulled out one of the pendants I had grabbed earlier.

[Talisman Emitting Holy Light]

[The resurrection of the dead is a sin.]

[Activates Supreme Purification on 1 undead in front (Cooldown 30 seconds)]

If the system displayed item descriptions, something like this would have appeared.

Yes, this is the Talisman Emitting Holy Light, or Holy Light Talisman for short—an overpowered item specifically against undead, which I brought knowing all the monsters here are undead types.

Without any conditions or consumption, it can unleash Supreme Purification whenever the cooldown resets, making it incredibly effective against undead opponents.

You might wonder how such an overpowered item exists, but don’t forget this is a playground for veteran players.

It’s just a toy given to players who’ve finished the game and have nothing else to do, so many items ignore balance.

But while they threw balance out the window, they also threw out utility.

There aren’t many undead mobs in the story to begin with, and when they do appear, they’re usually hordes of low-level ones.

Purification that targets a single enemy is practically unusable.

In my opinion, the developers were too lazy to make it properly.

From my perspective now using it, I’m just grateful they made it at all.

“KAOOO!”

“KAOOOOOO!”

“KAO! KAOOO!”

Unfortunately, they’re in a group rather than individual entities, so taking them down one by one will take some time… but it’s not really a problem.

Flash-!

“KIAAAAAAAA!!!”

If I just keep killing them, eventually I’ll get them all. Isn’t grinding a gamer’s basic skill?

I dodge the gargoyles’ attacks while waiting for the Holy Light Talisman’s cooldown to reset, then take them out one by one.

When used, the light dims, and after 30 seconds when it becomes usable again, it emits light once more, so I didn’t need to time it myself.

During this, I checked if the “Reclusive Witch’s Revenge”—that name is too long. I’ll just call it “Savings Account.”

I checked if the grudge stacks in my Savings Account were accumulating properly, and I could see something faintly building up inside when I avoided attacks by phasing through them, confirming they counted as “withstanding attacks.”

But it was accumulating at such a subtle rate… the thought of how much time it would take to fill it completely was daunting.

It doesn’t seem practical for regular use.

Well… I brought it as insurance for unexpected situations from the beginning, so there’s no reason to be disappointed.

After this repetitive task continued for quite some time, no undead remained in this place.

I never even had to use the shield I brought. I had brought it just in case, and since it was a one-time use item, that was actually better.

Quite some time has passed now. Should I head back for today?

The night is long, but I can’t stay here until morning.

I should go back and sleep now.

With that thought, I retraced my steps, tossed the Holy Light Talisman and shield back onto the treasure pile, and left the space.

And then I encountered her.

“Where did you just come from?”

Celia, sitting squarely in the center of the guest room.

She looked like she had many questions.

I hadn’t expected to run into her like this, so I was awkwardly standing there when suddenly Celia’s gaze fixed on my left arm.

I tried to hide it with an “oops” feeling, but that only made me look more suspicious.

“…What happened to your arm?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Let me see.”

It was too late to hide it, and I didn’t know what would happen if I refused now, so I obediently offered my arm.

Celia carefully unwrapped the piece of cloth I had tied, and the wound was exposed with a sudden stinging sensation.

The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but the tear remained as it was, so it wasn’t in a particularly good state.

Celia’s expression immediately turned serious.

“…How did this happen?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Let me rephrase the question. Where did you just go?”

Seeing her firm attitude, it seemed impossible to brush it off.

Still, I tried to deflect.

“But why are you here?”

Honestly, I was genuinely curious about that.

Didn’t she leave after lending me the book?

I thought she would have gone back to sleep since it was late, so why was she waiting for me to appear?

That was the question I asked out of curiosity, but she boldly said something incredible.

“Well, the tracking spell I placed on Ludion suddenly disappeared. I was concerned, so I came to check.”

“…What?”

“…Ah!”

Tracking… what? It seems I heard something I shouldn’t have.

“P-pretend you didn’t hear that!”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Eek! Don’t lie!”

What am I supposed to do?

I’m not sure what tune I’m supposed to dance to, but one thing was clear.

“Celia… you’ve finally turned to crime. Your family will be disappointed.”

“No… it’s not like that…”

The fact that she had become a stalking criminal.

Are you watching, Imperial family?

The Celia you all adored so much has become a terrifying stalker.

“It’s not like that, I said!”

Thump! Thump!

She even started resorting to violence… but thanks to her meager strength, it didn’t hurt much.