Chapter 10
My friend Carbon was such a feminine, wonderful friend...
She started taking caffeine candy because I introduced her to it.
Since she was always busy with work and had dark circles under her eyes, I understood that part.
And so, a day passed...
When I saw Carbon again, I was shocked.
"Hah... hah..."
There was no longer any trace of the Carbon I knew.
Completely addicted to caffeine candy, all that remained was a yapping bitch.
So bad, hard, sad story...
Waaah...
...that's the template.
"Candy... I need candy..."
"......"
How had things ended up like this?
Was the problem that I'd casually given her caffeine candy at the Association yesterday?
Or was it because I couldn't be bothered to reply to her messages?
"More candy... More caffeine... More firepower...!!"
"......"
I looked at Hong Yeon-hwa, now a full-blown caffeine addict, with a complicated expression.
'They say friends start to resemble each other...'
Maybe it was because I'd just come back from meeting a druggie elf in the Tower, but Hong Yeon-hwa had become a druggie too.
Had some kind of Bluetooth resonance kicked in between friends of friends...?
No, on second thought, they'd never even met...
Hong Yeon-hwa's antics continued.
"Only firepower!! Nothing but firepower!! Even more firepower!!!!"
"...No."
What a humiliating sight to show people.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended not to see.
After Hong Yeon-hwa spent a while yelling "firepower" and carrying on with her inexplicable antics, she seemed to come to her senses and spoke to me with a perfectly normal expression.
"By the way. Why do you look like that?"
"Oh... This? A little something in the Tower."
I briefly explained how I'd climbed inside a Ferum Flower's mouth and performed a reverse C-section.
After hearing my story, Hong Yeon-hwa asked me in shock:
"What? Ferum Flower sap?"
"Yes."
"...Isn't that paralyzing poison?"
"Right?"
She stepped back.
"......"
"What? Why?"
At the words "paralyzing poison," Hong Yeon-hwa immediately began backing away and putting distance between us.
No... You can't react like that.
You're a caffeine addict yourself, and now you're treating me like this just because I got covered in paralyzing poison (drugs).
This is the pot calling the kettle black...
Then Hong Yeon-hwa gave me a cautious look and asked:
"No... Um... are you okay...?"
"As you can see."
"...Then that's good."
Maybe it was because I seemed far too calm despite being covered head to toe in paralyzing poison (drugs)?
She gave up trying to understand and returned to the main subject.
"So, um... about that caffeine candy..."
Caffeine candy.
The reason she'd sent me dozens of messages and come all the way to the Tower entrance to find me.
I had no idea what had happened to make her so obsessed with the candy, but Hong Yeon-hwa looked desperate as she carefully asked me:
"Could you sell me some...?"
"Sell it?"
"Yeah. I need it to clear Floor 20."
"...Clear Floor 20?"
Why was clearing Floor 20 suddenly coming up here?
What did candy have to do with climbing the Tower...?
But as Hong Yeon-hwa continued, I naturally understood why she was so obsessed with caffeine candy.
"That candy's definitely an item, right? The kind that gives you a buff for a certain amount of time when you eat it."
"......?"
That was the first I'd heard of it.
Caffeine candy was a buff item...?
'It's just a ball of energy drinks...?'
Sure, it was ten cans' worth condensed into the size of a piece of candy...
But the ingredients were just caffeine, something you could get anywhere.
But Hong Yeon-hwa didn't know that, and excitedly continued:
"And it even buffs your skills' firepower? That's an effect that's never been found in the Tower before!! With this, I can clear Floor 20 too!!"
"......???"
No... Is that how it works...?
Did my candy really have some insanely powerful buff effect...?
Had I invented a national-power-level doping agent without even realizing it...?
I immediately took out a caffeine candy from my Inventory and checked its status window.
[ Caffeine Candy ]
- Rank: C
- Details: A candy containing the caffeine from ten cans of commercial energy drinks (about 1,000 mg) compressed into a single piece. It stimulates the central nervous system, temporarily inducing an alert state.
But contrary to Hong Yeon-hwa's fuss, the candy was only Rank C.
It was nothing more than ordinary caffeine candy, without any particular effects.
Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa spotted the caffeine candy and said with a dazed expression:
"So please, just sell me a few... "
She looked just like Pavlov's dog hearing a bell.
For some reason, she reminded me of the Elf Princess I'd seen in the Tower, and I made a complicated expression.
"...How much are you offering?"
"Whatever it costs. You know how potion prices are whatever the seller says these days."
"Ah, right."
Even before the recent price hikes, items used by Awakened had always been famous for being expensive.
They couldn't be made without crafting skills, and the materials had to be brought back from the Tower.
On top of that, prices had been rising even more lately due to monopolies by the major guilds.
"Did you forget? I'm an A-rank Awakened, you know?"
Of course, that didn't apply to her.
Hong Yeon-hwa was an A-rank Awakened.
For reference, the average income of a C-rank Awakened was about that of a new hire at a major corporation.
For B-rank, it was around the level of a department head at a major corporation, while A-rank and above earned more than ordinary office workers could hope to.
So it wasn't strange that Hong Yeon-hwa was so confident.
"I've got plenty of money, so don't worry. If it comes to it, I'll borrow some from the Association."
"...No. Maybe don't use Association money."
Isn't that abuse of authority in the first place?
The Association isn't a bank...
"......"
What should I do?
Should I take the money and sell it to her here?
It was true that I was living rather frugally at the moment.
Ever since I blew all my money at the convenience store buying caffeine drinks, I had practically no income coming in.
But...
'I can always make money, can't I?'
Who am I?
I'm Geum A-yeon, an Awakened.
Holder of an EX-rank trait, climber of Lunatic difficulty.
The income of S-rank Awakened was on the level of the market cap of a decent-sized company.
And the projected earnings of a (soon-to-be) EX-rank Awakened like me were on a national-power level.
I might be languishing at rock bottom for now, but once I skyrocketed, I'd obviously make a lot more money than Hong Yeon-hwa.
"You can keep the money."
"What?? Really??"
So taking money from her here would be the inferior move.
Then what would be the superior move?
"But I want you to do me a favor."
The answer was to have her run an errand for me.
Something I couldn't do myself, but Hong Yeon-hwa could.
"...What kind of favor?"
Hong Yeon-hwa's expression darkened in an instant.
But at my shameless answer, her face could only twist in disbelief.
"Please buy me some alcohol."
"......"
The convenience store clerk wouldn't sell it to me.
So I'd have to get someone to buy it for me.
"Oh, and cigarettes too, if you can."
"......"
Hong Yeon-hwa was speechless.
*
*
*
To sum it up, I couldn't get any cigarettes.
She wouldn't buy them for me, saying girls shouldn't smoke that stuff.
The consolation, if you could call it one, was that I managed to get a few bottles of alcohol.
"Even Awakened can get drunk if they drink too much, so be careful. Stop right away if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous."
"I know. Do you think I've never drunk before?"
"...You shameless little brat."
"I'm not underage."
Of course, I had to listen to all kinds of lectures from Hong Yeon-hwa just to get those few bottles.
She only bought them after I said they were related to my trait.
No, I'm really not underage...
I don't know why everyone treats me like a kid, from the convenience store clerk onward.
Anyway.
After finishing my deal with Hong Yeon-hwa and returning home, I quickly showered and laid out the alcohol she'd gotten me.
"Let's see... no soju or beer. It's mostly liquor, huh?"
Whiskey, brandy, vodka...
Most of them were hard liquor with an ABV over 40%.
Well, what good would soju or beer be to an Awakened?
Especially with my resistance trait, even a whole crate of soju probably wouldn't make a dent.
I picked up the least intimidating bottle among the liquors I'd laid out: vodka.
"...I feel like I'm doing something illegal."
Maybe it was because everyone around me kept treating me like a kid?
Even though I was an adult, trying to drink alcohol made me feel like I was doing something wrong.
"......"
After staring suspiciously at the vodka bottle for a while, I started swigging straight from it.
"Glug, glug..."
The sharp sensation of alcohol sliding down my throat with each gulp.
Unlike the carbonation of an energy drink, it burned like fire all the way down my esophagus.
"Ugh... It's bitter...."
Of course, it tasted absolutely disgusting.
Why do people drink something that's only bitter and tastes bad?
I noticed earlier that it was ridiculously expensive, too. For what this costs, I could buy dozens of energy drinks...
[ You have consumed a new drug! ]
[ Vodka ]
- Rank: C
- Details: A high-proof distilled liquor refined to be colorless and odorless. Its alcohol temporarily suppresses the central nervous system, impairing judgment and dulling pain.
[ Addiction rate has increased by 5%. ]
"Ooh."
So that's why people drink it.
My addiction rate went up.
By a whole 5% after just a few sips.
On top of that, its rank was higher than energy drinks, at C-rank.
"Not bad...?"
No, not just not bad—good.
Purely in terms of efficiency, it easily beat energy drinks.
But...
"Ugh..."
The downside was that it was a bit hard to drink because of the taste.
Maybe because it had been a while since I last drank, but the nasty taste of the alcohol seemed stronger than usual.
"I can't down this in one shot."
So, with the vodka bottle at my lips, I sipped slowly and opened my status window to claim the Floor 2 clear rewards I'd put off.
[ You have obtained a Floor 3 Entry Ticket. ]
[ You have obtained Random Skill Box x1. ]
"Claim."
Flash─!
With a sparkling effect, a box appeared in midair.
Without wasting any time, I immediately opened the box I'd claimed and used it.
[ Random Skill Box has been used! ]
Whirrr!
[ ... ]
[ Electrocution (B) ]
[ Pigeon, let's eat (E) ] ◀
[ Human Transmutation (S) ]
[ ... ]
As before, countless skills passed before my eyes with the effect of a roulette spinning.
[ ... ]
[ Pigeon, let's eat (E) ]
[ Human Transmutation (S) ] ◀
[ Swordsmanship (C) ]
[ ... ]
By the way, that Human Transmutation skill keeps showing up, just like last time.
Honestly, I was curious. If I learned that, could I become a State Alchemist or something?
[ ... ]
[ Human Transmutation (S) ]
[ Swordsmanship (C) ] ◀
[ Quicksand (A) ]
[ ... ]
But unfortunately, the roulette barely passed "Human Transmutation" and stopped on the very next one, "Swordsmanship."
[ You have obtained the skill Swordsmanship (C). ]
"Nooo!! An off-banner hit!!"
What kind of bullshit bad luck is this!!
Why did it have to stop there of all places!!
The S-rank and A-rank skills were right next to it!!
"My State Alchemist qualification..."
My world fell apart today.
I rolled on the skill gacha and got an off-banner.
I'm in so much pain. You can take my life.
Please give me my S-rank skill back...
"...Sigh."
But the milk had already been spilled.
There was no way to undo opening the Random Box, so I reluctantly brought up the description of the "Swordsmanship" skill I'd just drawn.
Flash─!!
[ Swordsmanship ]
- Rank: C
- Ability: Allows you to handle sword-shaped weapons more skillfully.
"...Well, it's not bad."
It wasn't good, either.
Rank C...
If only it had been B or A.
Still, since I used a sword as my main weapon, it wasn't a bad skill to have.
"Ugh. I'll just browse the Gallery."
But the S-rank skill kept haunting me, so I opened the Awakened Community to try to shake off my disappointment.
I spent a while browsing the top posts, drinking vodka straight from the bottle with a heavy heart.
Then I noticed a topic that was blowing up in real time, and couldn't hide my confusion.
[ I believe you, 39.7. You have what it takes to be the Gallery's king ]
[ Long post) Speculation on 39.7's identity ]
[ Huh? Could this be that thing from before? ]
[ So 39.7 is a test subject raised by a guild? ]
[ It's those bastards again, as always ]
[ ???: The truth is... I've never been to school either... ]
[ Go die, JOAT ]
"W-what..."
The titles were anything but ordinary, and posts were pouring in at an alarming rate.
And at the center of it all was none other than me.
Is this for real??