Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

Side Story Chapter 87: Eve (2)

"Can’t I use those?"

The golden scale necklaces Oh Kang-Woo ripped off the pastors contained enough power to decimate the entire slums. Since Kang-Woo’s hands burned like a vampire exposed to sunlight if he touched them, he had asked the Players in Guardians to collect them.

Whoooom, whoooom.

A faint golden light was emitting from the golden scale necklace despite the death of their wearers, meaning Akart’s powers were still infused in them.

Riiing!

[Oh! I think we can gather energy from those necklaces!]

The blue message window shone. Kang-Woo smirked.

"Alright. Let’s use those necklaces."

’Thank goodness I collected them.’

Kang-Woo couldn’t absorb the Light of Akart using the Authority of Predation because it was like a deadly poison to him. Eve had warned him not to do so a while ago when he was about to.

[Leave it to me!]

[(?•??•?)??]

Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence.

[First, could you gather those necklaces in one area?]

Kang-Woo grabbed the necklaces messily sprawled on the corner of his room.

Sizzle.

"Ouch! Fuck."

His hand was burning, black smoke rising from it.

"Looks like the energy seeped out a little."

The light emitted from Salvatore’s necklace was so powerful that it practically melted Kang-Woo’s hand off when it was on Salvatore but it was nowhere near as bad now.

[It seems some of the energy seeped out because it has been taken off of the wearer.]

"Dammit."

’I would’ve severed their limbs and kept them alive if I knew that beforehand.’

Kang-Woo was swept with regret but shook his head. No one could have known this would happen; he would just take as much of the Titan’s energy as he could from Akart’s subordinates that would come.

"Alright, here they are."

Kang-Woo placed seven necklaces on the desk. Although the light was not as powerful as before, the necklaces still contained the Light of Akart; Kang-Woo’s hand was heavily disfigured and was not regenerating.

"Hurts like a bitch."

Kang-Woo frowned as he looked down at his hand. He had gotten so used to all of his injuries healing in seconds that it had become uncomfortable being wounded and in pain for long periods.

’Nothing I can’t handle, though.’

Pain of this level was laughable compared to the pain of molting.

[Well then, please wait a moment.]

The blue message window in front of Kang-Woo floated toward the desk and turned into the shape of a funnel. Kang-Woo’s eyes widened in shock.

’Fuck, was that a mouth this whole time? Can a System window even be a mouth? Wasn’t it just a message window?’

"What the f—"

[Shh. Please be quiet. I need to focus.]

The transformed blue message window made contact with the golden necklaces.

[Fwoooooooooooooooo!!!]

[? (?¯?¯)?]

’Is there a need to add SFX?’

[Aah, you were at my side, all along.]

’???’

[My true mentor… My guiding moonlight.][1]

"What the fuck are you going on about?"

[Hihi. It’s just a meme.]

’How do you expect me to react to a meme I don’t know?’

[Anyway, I’ve absorbed a portion of the power of a Titan!]

[Yes! But there wasn’t much energy remaining in the necklaces, so… there’s at least enough to awaken one new Trait.]

Kang-Woo couldn’t believe seven necklaces only amounted to one Trait, albeit a large amount of power had already left them.

[It is because the Law of Titans is damaged.]

"Makes sense."

It was only natural that the efficiency of its energy-absorbing function was low. A junk car’s fuel efficiency did not change just from getting topped up with fuel.

"Then I guess it comes down to whom I should give a new Trait to."

In terms of efficiency, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, or Han Seol-Ah would be the safest choices. Considering how powerful Kang-Woo already was, he couldn’t hope for a massive power-up with one or two new Traits.

’I already have so many Authorities left unused.’

It was similar to gear in RPGs; beginner gear was left unused once the player progressed further into the game. Kang-Woo barely used any offensive Authorities other than the highly efficient ones and those he was well accustomed to using.

’It’s way better to use the Flames of Voracity instead.’

He had recently been using mainly the princes’ Authorities and the Authority of Blades which he had used the longest. He would likely not use an S-rank or SS-rank Trait even if he got them.

’But it’s not like there are only offensive-type Traits.’

There were highly useful Traits such as Ruler of Demonic Energy which concealed his demonic energy, and Mana-Hungry Demon which converted mana into demonic energy. Considering he had useful Traits like those two, it wouldn’t be bad to get some more Traits for himself.

"Alright." Kang-Woo’s eyes gleamed after much thought and he nodded. "I’ll use the first one on myself."

He thought he wouldn’t have anything to do with Traits since he had reached the max level but was surging with excitement after finding out that was not the case.

"How does it work?"

[Leave it to me!]

The message window next to the necklaces flew Kang-Woo’s way and covered him like a tent.

[( ??>?<?)? Yaaaap!]

Swirl—!

A roulette appeared on the message window and rapidly spun.

[Quick Steps (Rank: F)]

[Merciless Slaughterer (Rank: B)] ?

[Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]

[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]

[Merciless Slaughterer (Rank: B)]

[Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]

[[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)] ?

[Astral Projection (Rank: A)]

"What the fuck is Tentacle Expansion?"

Players normally had a higher chance of acquiring high-ranking Traits the higher their level was. However, their ranks and types were completely random as the System mentioned.

Swirl—!

The roulette rapidly spun.

’Is this how it feels to spend millions of won on a mobile gacha game[2]?’

Kang-Woo anxiously clenched his fists, staring fixedly at the spinning roulette.

"Abyss Watcher!!! Abyss Watcher, let’s go!!!"

He had no idea what kind of effects it would have or whether it was an offensive-type or utility-type Trait, but the fact that it was SSS-rank got him laser-focused on it.

"SSS-rank! AHHHHH!!! I WANT AN SSS-RANK TOO!!!"

Not only that but he felt like it had to do with the Demonic Sea from its name.

"SSS-CLASS REVIVAL HUNTER!! SSS-CLASS ASSASSIN PLAYER!!"

’And the other thirty-five search results from the keywords SSS-Class!’

"ME TOO!! I WANNA BE SSS-CLASS TOO!!![3]"

Kang-Woo stared at the roulette with bloodshot eyes. Sharp anxiety traveled down from his neck to back and throughout his body. He could more or less understand why people wasted tens of millions of won on gacha, which was no different from gambling.

’This… stimulates human instinct!!’

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

The roulette slowed down more and more.

Tick… tick.

[Merciless Slaughterer (Rank: B)]

[Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)] ?

[[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]

[Astral Projection (Rank: A)]

"MOTHERFUCKING TENTACLE EXPANSION!!! NOT THAT!!! ANYTHING BUT THAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

’Just let me be free from tentacles already!!’

Kang-Woo desperately stared at the roulette but it wasn’t spinning as energetically as before.

"WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

’Tentacles again?!! Why is it always tentacles?!!’

"FUCK MY LIFE!! I LOST Abyss Watcher BY ONE SLOT?! I CAN’T BE SSS-CLASS?! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

Kang-Woo burst into tears of despair. This was likely how it felt to get only a one-star unit in a mobile game that one poured millions of won into or a gambler who lost after betting their entire life savings.

’I should’ve just given a Trait to Si-Hun or Yeon-Joo.’

[Wait! It’s not over yet, Sir Guardian Deity!]

"Huh?"

The weeping and hair-pulling Kang-Woo turned back to the roulette.

Tick… tick… tick…

Although extremely slow, the roulette arrow was still moving.

"Huh? C-Could it be?"

Kang-Woo stared at the roulette, his eyes filled with hope. The arrow was about to move past the Tentacle Expansion slot.

"Th-That’s it!!!" He clenched his fists and stared at the roulette anxiously. "Please!!! Please!!! Abyss Watcher!!!"

’It looks strong as fuck just from the name!!! I feel like I’d start swinging a badass fiery sword from my second phase[4]!!!’

Tick, tick… tick.

"Let’s go!!! Let’s go!!! LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

’If I get this, I’m fucking changing the title of this novel to The Return of the SSS-Class Player After Ten Millennia in Hell!!!’

[Merciless Slaughterer (Rank: B)]

[Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]

[[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)] ?

[Astral Projection (Rank: A)]

"THERE IT ISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" Kang-Woo raised his arms high and cheered.

However…

Tick!

[[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]

[Astral Projection (Rank: A)] ?

"There it… huh?"

The roulette arrow stopped completely. Kang-Woo, who had been cheering, froze after seeing the arrow pointed at the slot directly below the Abyss Watcher Trait.

"What? What the fuck? Astral Projection?"

Kang-Woo glared at the A-rank Trait called Astral Projection irritatedly. A-rank was fairly high; although Kang-Woo couldn’t relate since his list of Traits was full of S-rank and above, it was certainly not a low rank.

"..."

Kang-Woo stared at the message window in disappointment.

"I mean… Dammit, am I supposed to be happy or mad?"

The A-rank Trait looked like garbage compared to the SSS-rank one directly above it— no, an A-rank Trait was literal garbage by Kang-Woo’s standards.

"SSS-rank…"

Kang-Woo sorrowfully reached for the roulette that had yet to disappear and burst into tears as he stared at the shining SSS-rank Trait.

"Fuck… my SSS-rank Trait…"

’Just one slot away… this fucking luck of mine…’

Riiing!

[Pfft! Luck? More like a skill issue!]

’The fuck you say?’

[~(???~)(~???)~ LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL~]

1. This is a cursed Korean meme from the game Bloodborne. This line is from the boss Ludwig, the Accursed when he enters his second phase. At the end of the cutscene where he brings the sword to his face, the lower half of his elongated face isn’t on the screen, and someone posted that it looks like how a woman’s mouth is elongated when they give a BJ in hentai… ?

2. Keep in mind a million KRW is roughly $1,000. ?

3. A lot of Korean manhwas & novels interchange class and rank so it might be confusing to some people. Just know it means the same thing. I just used class since SSS-Class Revival Hunter is the official title of the novel that will be coming to ! ?

4. This is a reference to the boss Abyss Watchers in Dark Souls III, whose sword ignites in its second phase. ?