episode_0022

*****

Not only because of my physical condition, but also because my favorite equipment had turned into a cursed tentacle suit. It was impossible to clear the dungeon even if I just hung around like this, so I immediately returned to Turkan.

Fortunately, it was a system where levels and stats were not completely proportional due to reality correction. If my stats were level 1 in the game, I would have had to worry about whether I could return to Turkan.

There are two main things Trukan needs to do to resolve the current situation. The goal is to lift the curse on the equipment and restore its level at least a little. Both were essential tasks that had to be accomplished in order to retry the dungeon and get the level back.

However, for some reason, the preparation process for that started to be creaky from the first step.

“… yes? Now, what did you say?”

The tone of voice that answered the guild receptionist was naturally lowered. I didn’t really mean to overwhelm you, but I couldn’t help it. That’s because what the receptionist said was shocking.

The receptionist’s expression was stern as the atmosphere had been calm all along, but it can be seen as an excellent professional spirit to continue to say what she had to say with confidence.

“Well, if this continues, TS will be temporarily demoted to block rank. TS’s current condition is judged to be good. If you give up on conquering the dungeon here, it will be judged as a request abandonment rather than a failure, and a block rank penalty of approximately 3 weeks will be incurred.”

Remove curse and restore level. Either way, there is no telling how long it will take. After realizing that I would not be able to complete the request within the deadline, I relayed the dungeon information and the failure of the request to the guild.

However, the guild decided that it wasn’t that I couldn’t conquer the dungeon, but that I could conquer it but didn’t. Therefore, it is said that the request is treated as being abandoned midway and a penalty is given.

The more annoying problem is that the reason for this is me, not the guild.

“Why!? I tried the dungeon properly and failed. It’s not that I don’t do strategy, it’s that I can’t even if I want to!”

“However, based on the report, TS did not find any notable reasons for failure. It is only vaguely recorded that he was attacked by a succubus… . Of course, you cannot determine authenticity with this.”

“Qu… .”

The adventurer’s report is recorded and can be viewed by the next challenger. If I wrote about being violated by tentacles several times or that my equipment was cursed with a tentacle suit, the rumors would spread throughout the guild from that day on.

Schweitzer is especially problematic. If he finds out about this, he will definitely do something. Now that the level drain and equipment curse had overlapped, I might not have been able to deal with it.

The reason you can’t conquer the dungeon is because of weakening, but from the guild’s perspective, that part is missing entirely. Moreover, since he looks fine on the outside, he has nothing to say even if he is suspected of losing.

I also have no idea how I got out of there.

“Moreover, this matter is also specified in the contract when the request was made. I’m sorry, but I can’t pretend I didn’t see this, even if it’s TS.”

“… all right. But there’s still room, right? I’ll think about it a little more and then tell you.”

“Yes, I understand. However, please note that if you do not tell us whether it will continue after 3 days, the block rank period will increase accordingly.”

If you come up with proper rules and opinions that are not far-fetched, there will be nothing to say. In the end, I got only a little reprieve and trudged out in front of the receptionist.

Originally, I was planning on canceling the Succubus Dungeon request and accepting another request. Because guild requests are a good way to balance leveling and living. I had no idea that the request itself would be blocked.

Of course, it’s not like I don’t have the money I saved up over the past two months. You can just level up if you want to. Since I don’t know how long it will take to level, it’s not a method I really want to take. Should I rather deal with Haeju first and then think about it?

While I was thinking about the future, I noticed Schweitzer in a corner of the guild. Not bad timing. Since it’s already like this, I need to get rid of that guy and relieve the stress.

“Hey, you idiot. What are you doing here alone? Huh?”

“… Oh, is that you?”

“… ? what. Did I eat something wrong? Why are you splitting the thread?”

But normally, as soon as he sees me, he frowns. For some reason, the corners of Schweitzer’s mouth turned up to the point where he felt relaxed today.

Have you even heard of the failure of my request? However, the difference in position between this guy and me cannot be narrowed down to this level. There was something strange about liking something so much after only one failure.

“Something good happened. It’s a very good thing.”

“Oh, is that so? Surely this is a good thing? When you see that stupid face hanging down.”

“Speak as you please. I’ll listen to you as much as I want for today.”

This is not the usual ‘say whatever you want’ with your fists clenched and shaking. He really seemed like he didn’t care what I said, or rather, he was even happy about it.

What kind of trick are they planning again? If not, have I finally achieved liberation after constantly yearning for it?

Either way, today’s Schweitzer wasn’t very fun to play with. Then I thought it would just be a waste of time to talk about it, so I was just going to ignore it. For some reason, this time the other side spoke first.

“Those clothes. It’s quite different from the clothes I usually wear.”

“… So what? There’s no reason for me to interfere with the clothes you wear, right?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just worried.”

A somewhat unexpected topic. But for me, it was really awkward to ignore.

Clearly, I am now wearing women’s leather armor rather than the usual robe. This is because when you pour out mana to summon spirit, the tentacles inside the robe start running wild.

Of course, I never told anyone about the curse of the ritualist. There’s no way Schweitzer knows something that the guild doesn’t know… . Timing is timing, so I worry unnecessarily.

Anyway, if I deal with it now, I’ll just be confused. Ignoring the smirking Schweitzer, I went out of the guild to curse the priest.

***

In fact, the curse of not being able to disarm equipment is not a very fatal curse in-game. Most players tend to go around with the strongest specs possible, and even if the equipment is fixed in that state, the ability to respond to situations is only slightly reduced.

However, due to the lack of urgency in resolving the issue, the means to resolve it were extremely limited. There are two ways to lift this curse in the game. An alchemist of tier 4 or higher uses [Tool Analysis] or uses the tier 3 faith skill [Purification].

Since the alchemist itself is very rare, most players rely on the latter. Since it is a skill whose use is difficult to use on your own, you can ask an NPC at a church to do it for you by paying money.

I, too, lost all of my skill points after being sucked through levels by a succubus, so it is impossible for me to learn purification on my own. That’s why I went to church first. Even in these places, the aftereffects of realization were felt.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t be of much help to you… .”

“No, I’m just grateful you let me know. Don’t worry too much.”

As mentioned before, Turkan is a defense city to defend the territory from monsters. Additionally, it was an area where the church had a weak presence from the beginning.

The nun explained that because priests who had learned auxiliary and recovery skills that were helpful in battle were prioritized, there was not a single priest who had learned the purification skill.

The older man felt so sorry. On the contrary, I felt sorry, so I nodded and said goodbye.

Fortunately, there was no harvest at all. If there is no one who can do it, it becomes difficult. The nun told me the residence of the alchemist in charge of that work.

Thanks to that, I was able to find Hae Joo’s clue as soon as I returned to the city. This time a different problem was holding me back.

“… Please say it again. So, how much money is needed to do it?”

“Has the young woman’s ears already gone out? I said 30 gold, 30 gold.”

Unidentifiable flasks and a faint smell of medicine coming from the liquid they contained. When you think of an alchemist, the person in the middle of the workshop that usually comes to mind was an old man with a bald head.

As soon as I saw it, I thought, ‘Can’t I make a hair loss treatment using alchemy?’ I got scolded for holding back what I wanted to ask. First of all, there were tokens attached to the wall of the workshop showing his ability and the support of nobles.

But even taking that into account, 30 gold doesn’t make sense. In other games, it might be a small amount of money, but in this world, there are silver and copper beneath gold. The multiplier is about 1 gold = 100 silver.

It is not possible to compare 1:1 because the prices are different, but in a realistic sense, the value of 1 silver is about 10,000 won. In other words, this alchemist is asking you to pay 30 million won in Korean Won. Just do it at once.

For reference, in the game, the amount required to receive a favor from a priest is 50 silver. Even if you spit out two curses as soon as you hear the price, wouldn’t you be guilty?

“Why is it so expensive for me!? I came in after seeing all the signs outside, right? It says 70 silver there!”

“Uh-huh, wife. You must read the text clearly. It’s not 70 silver, it’s ‘from’ 70 silver. Depending on my circumstances, receiving money can change as much as I want.”

“You still don’t know what the curse is, so what… !”

“If you don’t like it, quit. If you’re going to interfere with business, get out.”

It wasn’t just words, the alchemist really pushed my back. I was so dumbfounded that I wondered what on earth he could believe in and was doing this. I was kicked out of the workshop without even being able to resist.

At first, I thought, don’t be funny, this kind of store is a disgrace from my side. However, no matter how many times I went around Turkan or even inquired at the guild until the next day, I only realized that the old man was the only alchemist who could do it.

At the same time, I also learned that other people’s payment amounts were no more than 70 silver, or at most 1 gold. I gave up on this part because no matter how much I questioned the old man, he wouldn’t give me an answer.

“Oh, really… !”

After receiving the seventh ban and being kicked out, I sat in the fountain near the workshop and held my head. There is a way to solve the problem right in front of you. I was frustrated with the current situation, which was blocked due to nonsensical reasons.

If it were an impossible amount, I would have given up. The price of 30 gold was a very close limit to what was possible. That’s exactly the amount of money I saved while solving difficult problems over the past two months.

Of course, it is only ‘possible’. If I spend all that money on Haeju, I will really only have pennies left in my hands. So much so that I was kicked out of my accommodation a few days later.

However, as time passed, the thought grew inside me, ‘Wouldn’t it be better to spend all that money and do something for them?’

The biggest reason is that this curse is growing. At first, the tentacles were only attached to the part between the legs, but as time passed, the area of the tentacles began to gradually expand.

Even if you do not summon spirit, these tentacles respond to mana. I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if I used body enhancement when the inside of my clothes was completely covered in tentacles.

So it would be best to do something before then. [Purification] is a tier 3 skill, so the level limit and required SP are unnecessarily high compared to the effect. It would be correct to say that it would be impossible for me to learn Jeonghwa on my own any time soon.

Similarly, going directly to a place where Haejusa Temple is likely to be located is too time consuming. In the meantime, if the stage 1 boss appears, it can be a disaster.

In the end, I had only one choice from the beginning.

“… Young man.”

“Stop asking questions. There is only one answer I can give you anyway. It’s just a matter of trying to make money. Why are there so many complaints when I say I will seize the opportunity to make money?”

“I didn’t mean to ask that. … 30 gold, I’ll pay. You can pay it.”

“Is that so? Heh heh. I said something for no reason. Come on in.”

To the subject who had a frowning expression just a moment ago. When I said I would do it, the old alchemist opened the door inside the workshop with a smile on his face.

… I’m not paying 30 gold. I’m leaving it to you for a while. Convincing myself like that, I followed the old man’s guidance and entered the inner room.

*****