Hong Yeon-hwa stood in front of a line of random boxes.
Her party watched her with eyes full of anticipation.
“Heh.”
She might have been expected to be a little nervous, but instead, Hong Yeon-hwa smiled leisurely and lightly brushed her fingers across the boxes.
Then, placing her hand on the first box, she opened it wide.
Flaaash—!
A rainbow-colored explosion burst forth.
Just from the effect alone, it was clear it was a high-ranking item, and the party simultaneously let out exclamations.
“Oh.”
“Whoa.”
But it didn’t stop there. Hong Yeon-hwa continued opening the random boxes one after another.
And each time, the rainbow light continued to erupt.
Flaaaaaash—!
Flaaaaaaaaash—!
Before long, rare items were lined up in front of her instead of boxes.
Go Hyeon-woo and Kim Ho praised her enthusiastically.
“As expected, it was a good choice to entrust them to Miss Hong.”
“She never misses.”
Even Seo Ye-in was staring at her intently.
“……I’m jealous.”
Suppressing the twitch at the corner of her lips, Hong Yeon-hwa waved her hands modestly.
“Ah, no, I just got lucky this time.”
“You don’t have to be that humble.”
Kim Ho stepped closer, looking her straight in the eyes as he continued.
“You’re more than capable. If you’re up for it, let’s keep traveling together.”
“Really…? Is that okay…?”
“Of course. From now on, you’re number one.”
“Number one…!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression brightened like the sun.
She couldn’t stop the joy from bubbling up, and a smile kept tugging at her lips.
“Hehe, I’m number one. Hehe.”
Rumbleeeeeeee!
But just then, the ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.
Kim Ho, who had been smiling gently, suddenly turned serious and spoke.
“Hong Yeon-hwa.”
“U-Uuh…?”
“It’s time to wake up.”
“Wake… up…?”
Ruuuuumbleee!
As the ground shook even more violently, Kim Ho spoke again.
“It’s morning.”
“M… Morning…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked in confusion.
What she saw next was the ceiling of the tent.
Beside her were Kim Ho, looking down at her, and Seo Ye-in, who was gently shaking her sleeping bag.
As their eyes met, Kim Ho said,
“You’re awake. Sleep well?”
“U-Uh… m-mhmm…”
Maybe it was because she’d slept using that infamous Kim Ho pillow…
She’d gotten several times better sleep than usual. It was a deep, restful sleep.
So restful, in fact, that she’d even woken up later than Seo Ye-in.
Ah… so that was a dream…
Now that she thought about it, the whole thing was strange from the start.
With her luck, there was no way rainbow lights would burst out one after another.
Her shoulders drooped in disappointment.
But then a chilling realization made her hair stand on end.
…Wait a second.
Did I talk in my sleep?
She was pretty sure she’d said some ridiculous stuff in that dream…
Nervously, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced around for reactions.
But Kim Ho, after waking her up, had already started tidying up the camp.
He didn’t seem to be paying her any particular attention, so it didn’t look like he’d heard anything.
A quiet sigh of relief escaped her lips.
…Thank goodness.
Just then, Seo Ye-in lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
“You can’t be number one.”
…I did talk in my sleep.
Hong Yeon-hwa buried her face in both hands.
***
After a quick breakfast, Kim Ho’s party resumed their journey.
Now and then, they came across scorched forests and fallen orcs—
They were likely remnants of battles from the day before.
Similar traces must have been left all over this land.
So then… where had the survivors of day two gone?
Just as that question arose in everyone’s minds, Seo Ye-in suddenly fixed her gaze straight ahead.
“……”
Sensing something as well, Kim Ho came to a stop.
Moments later, several orcs emerged from the trees and brush on the opposite side.
Unlike the ones from the first day who often flinched in surprise, these were the exact opposite.
“Chiik! So you were here, humans!”
“Did you come looking for us?”
“I heard there were humans going around taking down tribes.”
“Guess the rumors are starting to spread.”
On the first day, Kim Ho’s party had crushed orc tribes left and right—
Deliberately letting a few stragglers escape instead of chasing them down.
They figured that if rumors spread, the orcs would start coming to them,
saving them the trouble of hunting each one down.
And it seemed that the plan had worked at least to some extent.
Kim Ho spoke.
“They’re probably here to challenge our champion, huh?”
“Chiik, that’s right! And the numbers are perfect!”
Four in Kim Ho’s party, four orcs facing them.
Those orcs had likely started the first day as part of much larger tribes.
But after multiple battles, only the strongest had survived.
Which meant: don’t let your guard down.
With a mock-ceremonial tone, Kim Ho turned to Seo Ye-in and asked,
“Oh great Champion, these savage orcs seek enlightenment. How shall we respond?”
“Proper education.”
The two played off each other perfectly.
Though their words were deeply anti-orc, the tension in the air escalated quickly.
Before long, the lead orc warrior roared and the others charged in unison.
“Krraaaaaaah—!”
Go Hyeon-woo stepped forward at once.
A gentle wind wrapped around his blade as he met the flying axe head-on.
Baaang—!
“……”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The force in his grip was noticeably stronger than it had been the day before.
That much of a difference in just one day?
It wasn’t impossible.
Even if it was just one day, they had likely fought for their lives countless times.
Which meant—
Tomorrow, they’ll be even stronger.
And the Champion?
That would be a whole different level altogether.
He might not be strong enough to face it… yet.
With that in mind, Go Hyeon-woo refocused on the opponent before him.
Another axe came flying. He guided it aside with the flow of wind again.
Bang!
Then, without hesitation, he shifted to offense, his sword whipping out like a storm.
The orc warrior’s eyes went wide.
“Chiik, chiik!”
The orc barely managed to block a few blows.
But damage accumulated quickly, and he soon collapsed to the ground.
In his place, two small boxes appeared.
[Land of the Warriors Random Box (C)] x2
On day two, the drop rate was 150% thanks to buffs:
One box guaranteed, with a 50% chance of a second.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa began slowly backing away, as if she were facing a bomb about to go off.
It was because of the vow she’d made after spectacularly messing up the day before.
I’m not even going to touch the random box. No…. won’t even go near it.
What if she jinxed it again?
This time around, she was planning to quietly stick to throwing fireballs.
Kim Ho seemed to understand her mindset, and though he noticed her subtle retreat, he didn’t say anything.
No point calling her over. It’d only add pressure.
Soon, he turned to Seo Ye-in and spoke.
“There are two boxes here.”
“I saw them.”
“Shall we open them?”
“No.”
“Later, then?”
– shake shake,
Seo Ye-in shook her head.
She picked up the random boxes herself and fed them to the Glutton Box, then shut the lid.
She did the same with the second one.
[Glutton Box]
▷ Glutton Points: 2,800 → 3,800
Kim Ho didn’t stop her. He just watched quietly.
“If you’re not feeling it, feeding them is fine.”
“You’ll still rack up points without relying on luck.”
Go Hyeon-woo nodded..
From Hong Yeon-hwa’s perspective, feeding the boxes was much easier on the heart.
If she had to watch someone doing that hidden method, she’d be haunted all over again by yesterday’s 100 and 200-point pulls.
As they continued moving, they encountered orc warriors. Some they found, others found them.
Every random box they earned along the way was, just like Seo Ye-in insisted, fed into the Glutton Box without using any hidden method.
[Glutton Box]
▷ Glutton Points: 3,800 → 5,300
Then came another random box drop.
The group assumed it would be fed to the box like the rest, watching on with half-hearted interest. But for some reason, Seo Ye-in didn’t close the lid right away. Instead, she brought it over to Hong Yeon-hwa.
“……”
“M-Me?”
“Mhmm.”
“You want me to open it?”
– nod,
Caught off guard, Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes went wide.
After steadily feeding the box the proper way, and now suddenly switching to a proxy pull?
I mean, sure, switching it up is one thing… but why me, of all people?
They’d all seen her completely mess up yesterday, hadn’t they?
Kim Ho seemed to be thinking the same thing. He glanced at Seo Ye-in and asked quietly.
“You’re not trying to mess with her, right? If you are, that’s not okay.”
– shake shake,
“So a sacrifice, then? Offering up Hong Yeon-hwa to summon a B-rank?”
– shake shake,
“Wait….are you saying no? Or that you don’t know?”
“I don’t know.”
“……”
After a moment of thought, Kim Ho seemed to decide the most important thing was what the person in question wanted. He turned to Hong Yeon-hwa.
“I know you’ve been really careful about this since yesterday, and seriously, it’s fine with us. But if you really don’t want to, no pressure.”
“I-I think… I’d rather not…”
Hong Yeon-hwa trailed off, slowly backing away again.
Twice was enough. She didn’t want to be a burden three times.
If she ended up pulling another 100 or 200 points here, it might leave a real trauma.
She might never be able to open another box again….even in other dungeons.
But just then, Seo Ye-in suddenly stepped in again and pushed the Glutton Box toward her.
Since entering this dungeon, she’d been oddly proactive.
“Got a good feeling.”
“……!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s pupils trembled violently.
Somehow, Seo Ye-in had picked up on it or maybe it was just a coincidence, but she was echoing the same words from yesterday: “a good feeling.”
No, this isn’t good…
Box in hand, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced around at her party members.
They’d all been kind to her, sure….but they were still human. If their hard-earned loot didn’t live up to expectations, disappointment would be inevitable.
And she already had a track record of two failed pulls.
There was a very real chance this could become the third.
She thought they’d at least show a hint of concern on their faces.
“……”
“……”
But unexpectedly, there wasn’t a trace of it.
From the eyes fixed on her, she could feel trust.
As if they were silently cheering her on and telling her it was okay, that she could do it.
Somehow, Hong Yeon-hwa felt a sense of ease wash over her.
…Alright, just one more time.
If this one failed too, she’d find a way to pay them back somehow. Even if it meant leaving the party.
With that thought, Hong Yeon-hwa reached into the Glutton Box and grabbed the random box inside.
Then, squeezing her eyes shut, she lifted the lid.
Flaaaaaash—!
…Huh?
At the explosive sound, her tightly shut eyes cracked open… then widened into big, round bunny eyes.
A dazzling rainbow light just like in her dream was flooding her vision.
Her party members were just as stunned.
Kim Ho had been halfway through closing the Glutton Box but opened it again.
“Wait a second, converting this to points would be a waste.”
That meant the item’s value was higher than the quest progress itself.
And then, another thought flashed through Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind.
Come to think of it… yesterday didn’t have any rainbow light, did it?
The B-rank effect Seo Ye-in had pulled yesterday had been much less flashy than this.
Which meant… could the item in front of her be a tier above that?
As if he’d read her mind, Kim Ho nodded and added,
“At least an A-rank.”
Leave a Reply