HTACS 78

Chapter 78

D/Z SAGA fan cafe.

A game cafe, honestly, isn’t that impressive of a community.

In reality, South Korea’s game strategy sites can be said to be divided into several factions, and depending on the game, which community is most active differs.

Galleries. Web forums. Live. Channels. Plus cafes and open chats—there were countless strategy sites, but I can confidently say: for D/Z SAGA, the cafe I ran was the biggest.

Being the first and lifelong operator, I had a lot to do.

Kicking out trolls, noting down the likable ones, and countless other tasks.

Especially when the novel board manager and the fanart board manager hooked up, started dating, and solidified their friendship line, splitting the cafe into two—I thought I was going to die.

I told them to have a good, loving relationship and cleanly cut off the friendship faction. The members’ evaluation afterward was: “Now we begin the praise of ‘Super Youngjin.'” Thankfully. It ended well.

Anyway, this is a story from when I lived as the likable cafe master ‘Super Youngjin.’

—

-EveCorpsTotalAssembly: What does Youngjin-ssi do on holidays?

-SuperYoungjin: Playing games.

-EveCorpsTotalAssembly: Huh. Don’t you do anything else? Got anything else? Like what? How? Haven’t you even survived Rudika in Act 1???

-SuperYoungjin: I’m doing a true ending run raising Eve as physical DPS. I’m up to Act 7. I give up and restart right before the characters die—it’s really not easy.

-EveCorpsTotalAssembly: What the hell; why would you do that??

-CallHerSierra-sama: What, is Youngjin-ssi doing friendly chit-chat with them? Ugh, EveCorps being likable again;

-EveCorpsTotalAssembly: I asked because they seem to be in the cafe 24/7; check the chat log; Youngjin is doing some weird shit lol

-CallHerSierra-sama: Holy shit; You’re raising Eve as a physical DPS?? And all-party survival?? Why?? would you?? do that?? Why?? Potato???

-SuperYoungjin: Because I want to.

-EveCorpsTotalAssembly: Oh; that’s awesome;;;

-CallHerSierra-sama: So cool;;;;;;;;; wow;;;;;;;;

From then on, my famous quote became “Because I want to.” Anyway, those are old memories.

So why did I end up living like this?

Why did I sink so many hours into this damned game?

‘…Kelterus, I wish I could have laughed with you a little more…’

That was because of the first heroine I ever let die.

That girl left a thorn in my chest and disappeared.

Anyway, what I want to say is this—even when I was so deeply devoted that I raised Eve as a physical DPS to see the ending, I had one rule I strictly followed.

If a character who once joined my party seems like they’re about to die, I turn off the game and restart from the beginning.

That was the playstyle of the veteran Lee Young-jin, and because I was so completely immersed in the characters, I even dug into the setting details—the fate of a true game addict.

I have a few other rules, but well, anyway.

And when this Zefflin and D/Z SAGA unfolded before my eyes as reality, I briefly tried to set that thought aside.

Reality has always been harsh to me, so even if a game became reality, I thought I should live for myself.

But now that Ayla has entered my party, the Lee Young-jin alive inside me said this: “If a crisis comes to Ayla, what will you do?”

No one would remember him—a 29-year-old young man killed by a convenience store delivery truck.

I tried to accept myself as Wolfram and live as Wolfram, but when the little Super Youngjin inside me asked that question, I couldn’t shake my head.

“Hmm.”

It’s not some grand resolution, but now that it’s come to this…

I suppose I can’t bear to see Ayla exit in Act 3.

“I’ll just have to do what I can do.”

—

The next day.

Oddly enough, Ayla and Rudika came together.

To be precise, they didn’t arrive together—they just happened to meet on the way.

“Wolfram, I’m here.”

“Wolfram! Rudika has come!”

Rudika and Ayla had grown somewhat closer since the field trip.

“It’s starting to get warm. It’s already late May—if it’s like this now, I’m worried about June.”

“Hmm? Is that so? It’s the season for warming up. Rudika doesn’t really know about that.”

“Is that so? So you’re not bothered by the heat?”

“…Hmm. Well, I’m not bothered at all. I don’t really feel cold or heat.”

Ayla fanned herself with her hand, and Rudika tilted her head. Setting Ayla aside, Rudika’s immunity to heat was likely due to special training.

I made the two of them some drinks. Rudika feels neither cold nor heat, so I prepared something new.

“Wolfram, what’s this?”

“A drink made with ground cinnamon beans.”

“What effect does it have?”

“…Behind the sweetness, there’s a spicy kick.”

“……! Wolfram is truly Rudika’s best comrade!”

After that, Rudika gulped down the drink and began muttering, “I like the tanginess. Hmm. This deserves a perfect score.” “I want to invite Wolfram to the Shadow family someday. The family cooks should learn this too!”

After finishing, Rudika smiled broadly and nodded.

“Thank you, Wolfram! Rudika is satisfied!”

“……Hmm.”

If she can use words like “tanginess” or “invite” or “cooks,” I wish I could do something about that peculiar speech pattern.

Now, what should I say? I want her to fix that tone…

“Come to think of it, Rudika-san, you came to the Magic Department to learn how to deal with magic, right? Have you been learning anything?”

“Hmm. I think I can now handle up to 6-tier magic. No, I have.”

“I see. So you took down a training dummy with a 6-tier defense spell on it?”

“………Hmm. Well, something like that. It was like a dummy… yes. There was no feeling in the hands.”

……

Rudika’s language knowledge is just skewed.

Wolfram is a good kid with only one life.

“Ah, Senior! I’m here! It’s a bit hot! Do you have anything cold?”

“Ah, hello. Senior Wolfram…”

After that, Nephti and Mille-feuille arrived, and the four regulars took a table and started chattering away.

And so today too, the regulars ordered just one drink and one meal each, stayed at the convenience store for four hours, and then prepared to head home.

One by one they left, and just before Ayla was the last to go, something occurred to me.

“Ayla.”

“Yes, Wolfram.”

“How’s your equipment situation right now?”

“…Pardon? Equipment?”

“Ah, I misspoke. When you enter battle—how are your weapons, armor, and accessories? Could you tell me?”

“Hmm…? I’m not sure why you’re curious, but I don’t use weapons when using magic.”

“Wouldn’t using one be more efficient?”

“Ah… Good items like staves or magic bangles are rare. There are a lot of fakes too… I’m fighting with just myself.”

“…I see.”

“And my civilian clothes—you know, the white blouse and black skirt? Those have some enchantment on them, so they have a purification effect.”

“……And accessories?”

“I don’t really have any accessories with enchantments. But why do you ask?”

“No, it’s nothing. I asked a strange question.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Wolfram.”

“Hmm. Go back safely. Patrasche’s last regular service of the day is running—just ask him to take you to Glastheim Dormitory.”

“…Oh my, I’ll gladly accept.”

Ayla smiled brightly and left the convenience store.

After confirming there was no one around, I let out a deep sigh.

“Equipment, are you serious?”

I was so shocked that I nearly broke the 1-tier Imperial Bloodline’s restraint just to curse.

If anyone told me to clear Act 3 with that equipment, I’d confidently grab a keyboard and whack them over the head.

—

A few days later.

Deliverymen from Maestro and Trista arrived.

“Total payment is 8 million lin.”

“Your payment is 13 million lin.”

“Hmm. Let me confirm the amounts.”

A spending spree totaling over 20 million lin.

Even considering the money I have on hand, it’s a pretty large expense.

But timing-wise, it’s an expense that absolutely had to be made.

Moreover, considering the world’s prices, this is incredibly cheap, really.

Looking at the roughly processed semi-precious stones and the metal frames churned out like factory goods piled before me, I nodded.

In the game, even the lowest-grade gems weren’t this expensive, but given the risk of monsters appearing in mines, the price was fairly high.

And unlike the game’s craft materials—which were mass-produced with identical specifications and effects—here everything is made by hand, so considering labor costs, these frames are reasonably priced.

Anyway, looking at the mountain of gems and metal frames, what I intended to do was very simple.

Just simple labor—in game terms, a grind.

**【Accessory Crafting】**

**【Crafting an accessory.】**

**【What would you like to make?】**

Equipable accessories—enchantable items that go into equipment slots.

In-game, these are abbreviated as “enchant accessories” to distinguish them from regular accessories.

Anyway, enchant accessories are for decoration or aesthetic purposes, and they’re fundamentally different from something like the knockoff graduation ring used to send Zolf to the afterlife.

**【Brooch selected.】**

**【If you infuse a special recipe, the brooch may gain mysterious power!】**

For enchantment, two materials are absolutely required.

One is a mineral that can be classified as a ‘gem.’ The other is a ‘metal frame’ that surrounds it.

So when making a ring, even if the center is junk, it needs to have a gem set in it, and the gem must be surrounded by metal.

In other words, Accessory Crafting becomes a monster that devours money when you focus on equipable enchant accessories for skill leveling. It’s truly a crazy skill.

But it must be done.

I activated the skill, placed a gem before me, and clicked it into the frame.

After repeating that three times quickly, a message appeared.

**【Brooch crafting successful.】**

**【Brooch crafting successful.】**

**【Mysterious brooch crafting successful.**】

“**【Item Appraisal】**”

**【Lowest-grade Brooch with Faint Light Magic Blessing】**

**【9T】**

**【A brooch that slightly increases the user’s light magic output. Other than that, nothing special.**】

…Hmm.

Truly a subtle performance, but the fact that an enchanted accessory appeared at all is encouraging.

After making three like that and keeping the enchanted one,

I touched the remaining two and then—*pop*—pulled out the center gem.

The gem popped out, and the brooch was split back into frame and gem.

“Hmm. So extract runs work after all.”

Yes. This is the grind called ‘extract run’—extracting crafted accessories back into their original materials.

Make them, extract the un-enchanted ones, and enchant them again.

You might ask, “So can’t you just keep doing that?”

**【Item disassembly failed!】**

**【Item destroyed!】**

*Crunch*—the metal frame tore, and the gem shattered.

It wasn’t because of my strength. The failure penalty triggered automatically.

Truly unfair.

“Hoo.”

My head is spinning. Accessory Crafting consumes 0.5 MP per skill use, and Item Appraisal consumes the same amount. Even after drinking the mana potions Ayla bought me before, I’ve already burned through 3 MP—I only have 1 left from my recent recovery.

Since Accessory Crafting is undeniably a magic skill, continued use is a burden.

“But I have to do it.”

Piles of metal frames and gems stacked in burlap sacks in the corner.

If I turn all of these into brooches, at least some decent items should come out.

“It’s fine to do this for Ayla’s sake, but… this is going to take forever.”

Just as I grumbled and started crafting again, a fanfare erupted in my mind.

**【Accessory Crafting: Great Success!】**

**【Congratulations! An item beyond your current level has appeared!】**

**【You have successfully crafted a brooch with subtle power!】**

…Huh?

Why did this appear?

“Wasn’t the great success rate at skill level 1 around 0.00075%?”

You’re telling me I hit that odds? No. There must have been some additional bonus.

That’s not a probability you break through that easily.

“Ah. Ah, right. Because I’m in a party with Ayla…!”

That’s right.

Ayla and I are in a party.

And the party option is exactly—

**【The party member’s talent is truly excellent—all magical actions receive an additional +5% bonus!】**

**【The party member’s talent is truly excellent—all magical actions have a +5% chance of great success!】**

In other words, I succeeded in a great success on Accessory Crafting because I formed a party with Ayla.

‘Ahem! I’ll never hold Wolfram back. We’re partners in rebellion, after all!’

In my mind, Ayla’s image appeared—both hands clenched into fists at her waist, letting out a proud *hmph* through her nose, wearing a stylish smile.

“…Yeah. Maybe that’s it.”

Muttering to no one, I stared at the brooch and cast Item Appraisal.

“I wonder what it’ll be. ‘Subtle’ means at least a 7-tier crafting message, but…”

I hope it’s an accessory befitting its future owner.