Chapter 17

Ch.17 The Regression Of Calamity-Level Monster Tamer

Before taking action in earnest, there was one last thing I had to do.

‘Buying time with money.’

Because one of the most important things to me right now is time.

Money is just a consumable, after all.

Whether I can change my predetermined fate depends on how efficiently I move within the time given to me, just as it was before my regression.

‘That’s not all…’

The flow surrounding me has been accelerating lately.

You can tell just by looking at Seonyang Guild, who moved a step faster than expected.

That’s why I need to pick up my pace too.

‘Let’s hurry.’

I moved from the ‘Antique Market’ to ‘Golden Street.’

Thud— Thud—

“Should we go to ‘Bluestone’ today and check out the new artifacts?”

“I heard a new Magic Beast arrived at the pet cafe I frequent, let’s go see it!”

“My friend said there’s a hidden restaurant over there…”

Loud music blaring from fancy shopping districts.

Mixed with the noise of countless crowds, it was nothing but chaotic.

‘I always feel this way, but I really hate coming here.’

This place has too many elements that scatter my focus.

Since so many people gather here, the risk of my identity being exposed was high too.

Nevertheless, this is the most convenient place to buy things through legitimate means, so I have no choice but to come here.

‘Let’s get this done quickly and get out.’

I skillfully cut through the crowd and arrived in front of a massive building.

[Bottari Bookstore]

A sign as grand as the building’s size.

This is Korea’s finest and largest bookstore.

I followed the crowd into the building.

“Welcome to ‘Bottari Bookstore.’“

“If you’re looking for a specific book, please let us know.”

The employees shouted greetings courteously, as if boasting of their reputation.

But even while smiling, their hands were busily moving.

An employee checking inventory.

An employee sorting books by section.

An employee handling transactions at the counter, and so on.

I approached one of the employees carrying an armful of books.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, how can I help… you?”

“I’m looking to buy a Skill Book, is there a mana—”

The employee, who had been responding kindly, looked me up and down.

Then, with a frown, they cut off my words.

“Tsk, if you go to corner E-8, they sell ‘low-grade’ ones, so head over there.”

“…”

‘Defective Skill Books.’

Skill Books that can only be learned through probability, half-baked products.

Among them, ‘low-grade’ ones are trash among trash, showing success rates of only 0.1% to about 2%.

Still, they’re cheap, so Players who’ve hit rock bottom occasionally buy them with a gambling mentality.

‘Of course, it’s like throwing money on the ground…’

Nevertheless, I know how to extract value from those defective Skill Books.

But to do that, I need preparation, so for now I need a ‘quality Skill Book’ with 100% probability.

“No, I’m looking for qual—”

Just as I was continuing my sentence, a female Player decked out in expensive items squeezed between us.

“Where are the high-grade Wizard Skill Books here?”

“Yes, ma’am! If you go straight in that direction, there will be a manager. If you ask them, they’ll guide you kindly!”

The employee bowing and groveling.

Completely different from how they treated me.

‘…Am I dressed too shabby?’

I looked down at my appearance.

A sparse outfit with no particular armor, just two daggers.

For me, Magic Beasts tank, deal damage, and even serve as transportation during combat.

So I didn’t pay attention to visible items, but I guess it looks different to other people.

‘I should pay more attention.’

In the past, I never received this kind of treatment even when I went around like this, so it was an unfamiliar experience.

Anyway, that’s a problem to deal with later, and right now I need to buy Skill Books.

“So all your questions are answered, right? Geez, every Tom, Dick, and Harry asking for Skill Books…”

Grab—

I caught the shoulder of the grumbling employee as they turned away.

Then they shouted in an annoyed tone.

“…Hey! We don’t discount low-grade ones, so if you want something cheaper, go to a used bookstore—”

“While I’m being nice, call a manager.”

“…What?”

“Is what I’m saying difficult?”

‘Quality Skill Books’ are precious enough that only qualified managers can sell them. But this employee seemed to have taken my words differently.

Of course, I was also planning to call out that bastard’s rudeness.

“Ha, just because you’re a Player doesn’t mean you can act all high and mighty… Really, all these pieces of trash think everything will work out if they just ask for a manager…”

The employee treating me like a difficult customer.

They threw the books they were holding on the floor. Then they started pouring out words.

“Working here, you think I only see one or two people like you?! If I bring you there, you’ll act like you’re going to buy, then say there’s nothing you like and eventually ask to see defective ones. And even then, you’ll throw a tantrum asking the manager for a discount…”

“…”

Ha.

How annoying.

Too annoying to explain the situation, and even more annoying to correct the misunderstanding.

Whether they’ll even believe my words is uncertain too.

Yeah. I understand.

Because that’s what humans are like.

But I can’t help being irritated.

Because I’m human too.

‘I didn’t want to go this far…’

I ignored the chattering employee and took out my phone.

Then I clicked on the hottest number among those lined up in my contacts.

[Gold come out, alakazam~♪ Silver come out, alakazam~♬]

A tacky ringtone played.

“Hello?”

“How many times have I already told someone like you… What, what! Ignoring people when they’re talking? This is why uneducated people are no good.”

I ignored the noisy employee and continued my conversation with the person on the other end.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d be calling you first either. Uh… yeah. No, it’s not that, I came to your bookstore headquarters… Huh? Oh, it’s not about that, I just came to buy a few Skill Books. Yeah, yeah. But I had a small misunderstanding with your employee… Oh come on, why are you apologizing.”

“What on earth…”

“Haha, sorry for bothering a busy person over something trivial… No, I’ll buy you a meal later. Yeah, yeah. Alright, thanks.”

Click.

Silence fell when I hung up.

“…”

“…”

The employee wasn’t completely oblivious either, as they seemed to sense something went wrong.

About one minute later.

With loud commotion, a fat middle-aged man came running frantically.

His already sparse hair looked even thinner.

“Huff, huff… Are you by any chance Mr. Kang Si-woo?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Hello.”

“Oh my, please speak comfortably. I heard from the Yaksha Clan Lord.”

Just as the middle-aged man was catching his breath, the stunned employee barely managed to utter a word while looking at him.

“…Store… manager?”

“So you’re ‘that employee.’ You can leave right now. And you don’t need to come in starting tomorrow.”

“…Pardon?”

“Hey, what are you doing? Do I have to say this myself?!”

“I’m sorry!”

“We’ll discuss this separately.”

At the store manager’s single word, the managers lined up behind began dragging out the problematic employee.

“…Man, manager! Whatever it is, I was hasty! Manager, please forgive me just this once!”

The employee shouted in a last-ditch struggle, but the managers mercilessly dragged them away.

The store manager ignored that commotion and bowed his head to me in apology.

“As the store manager, I apologize for my employee’s rudeness.”

“These things happen.”

“From now on, I’ll personally attend to you, let’s go.”

Actually, ‘Bottari Bookstore’ is one of the major businesses run by Dokkaebi Guild.

Since it’s a lucrative business selling Skill Books, it’s natural in a way that one of the two major guilds runs it.

“This way.”

The store manager and I entered a quiet room along a long corridor.

Antique furniture and interior.

Before entering, the door had ‘VIP’ written on it.

“Please sit here.”

“I don’t have time, so I’d like to see Skill Books right away. ‘Quality’ ones, of course.”

As I sat on the plush leather sofa, I got straight to the point.

“Of course. The Clan Lord said you’d be looking for Tamer Skill Books… is that correct?”

“Do you happen to be out of stock?”

“Haha, hardly. This is Bottari Bookstore. Everything in this catalog is available for sale.”

As expected.

After I made a name for myself before my regression, Tamer Skill Books were completely sold out.

But now that I’ve returned to the past, they’re treated as nothing more than ramen pot holders in reality.

So I thought there would be plenty left over, and sure enough, my prediction was correct.

‘Lucky for me.’

Because some Tamer skills require activities other than combat to level up.

Meditation, repetitive simple labor, filling certain periods, etc., ‘manual labor’ tasks that only require pouring in time.

Doing something else during that time would be much more beneficial for me.

‘Since each book raises me by 1 level…’

I alternated between checking my Status Window and available funds as I ordered Skill Books.

“This one, this one, and could you also show me this?”

“Yes, I’ll bring them right away. Manager!”

Ten F-rank Nest Skill Books.

Ten E-rank Nest Skill Books.

Six F-rank Taming Skill Books.

All items I selected.

After waiting about 5 minutes, an employee brought a cart stacked full of Skill Books.

“200 thousand won per F-grade book, 600 thousand won per E-grade book, totaling 92 million won.”

“Haha…”

I’m not surprised because it’s expensive.

It’s cheap!

Way too cheap.

Considering that a Wizard quality Skill Book, F-grade Fireball, costs about 20 million won, this is practically a bargain.

‘Though it means Tamer’s status has hit rock bottom… anyway, it’s good for me.’

If I didn’t have enough money, I was going to buy only Nest Skill Books, but it seems I can buy everything.

“Please process everything as a lump sum payment.”

“Thank you!”

When I finished the payment, the manager standing next to the store manager bowed at 90 degrees.

Rather than trying to score points with the store manager by impressing me, they were probably relieved to have cleared out bad inventory thanks to me.

“Well, my business is done, so I’ll get going now.”

“Ah! Mr. Kang Si-woo, just take a look at this.”

I was in a hurry and tried to get up quickly, but the store manager stopped me.

Then he took something out of his pocket and pressed it into my hand.

“It’s really nothing much but… as a token of apology, please accept it without refusing.”

The store manager seemed genuinely modest, as if it was nothing. But when I saw that item, I had to struggle to hide my surprised expression.

‘This is…’

[Ancient Magic Beast’s Molar]

—Rank: Legendary 

—Information: The molar of an ancient Magic Beast whose name has been forgotten. To some, it’s nothing but junk, but to others, it can be a treasure.

It’s not a weapon, armor, or consumable, and at a glance, it looks completely useless.

But I knew the true value of this item.

‘A key to a Hidden Gate.’

This is an item scattered throughout the Tower, and its true value won’t be revealed until several years later.

“Since it’s related to Magic Beasts, I thought Mr. Kang Si-woo, as a Tamer, might need it.”

“I’ll accept it gratefully.”

I obtained something good.

By the way, the ancient Magic Beast mentioned in the item name refers to a ‘Dragon.’

In the end.

‘This is a key that allows entry to a Dragon’s Lair.’

I left the bookstore receiving enthusiastic farewells from the store manager and his subordinate employees.

Then I immediately went into a secluded alley and used the Skill Books.

[Nest Lv.1(F) rises to Lv.2.] 

[Nest…]

[Nest Lv.10(F) rises to Lv.1(E).] 

[Nest Lv.1(E) rises to Lv.2.]

After learning all the Skill Books, I checked my Status Window and the leveled-up Skill Window for the first time in a while.

[Status Window] 

Name: Kang Si-woo 

Species: Human Level: 29 Class: Tamer Talent: Empathy(C), Beast’s □□(?), Malsajiche(S), Seal Release(S) Skill: Taming Lv.1(E), Blue Wolf’s Step Lv.5(C), Nest Lv.1(D), Hundred Beasts Sword Art Lv.2(A+) Stats: —Strength: 29 (+3) —Agility: 61 (+6) —Stamina: 29 (+13) —Magic Power: 30 (+3)

[Taming] 

—Rank: E 

—Level: 1 

—Information: Power used to tame Magic Beasts. The higher the rank and level, the higher the Taming probability.

[Nest] 

—Rank: D 

—Level: 1 

—Information: A dedicated subspace where the Player’s Magic Beasts can rest and heal.

1. [Geri & Freki]
2. [—Empty—]
3. [—Empty—]

With this, I can now recruit two more besides Geri and Freki.

The only disappointing thing here is.

‘Stats raised by titles can’t affect each other.’

It means the Stamina stat +10 from the ‘First PvP Victory’ title can’t receive the application of the ‘A Real One’ title’s permanent 10% increase to all stats.

Because stat increases from items are considered primary, but titles are treated as supplementary.

“What can I do when the System itself is like that? If I get greedy, I’ll get indigestion.”

I put aside my regrets and pressed the call button on my smartphone.

After a short connection tone, a customer service representative spoke kindly.

— This is Lightning Quick Service. What would you like us to deliver?

“The delivery item is a Relic. Can you come to Magok Seoul Botanic Park in four hours?”

— Of course. However, Relics incur additional charges depending on their rank, is that okay?

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll send the recipient and delivery address by text.”

— Yes, thank you for choosing us. This was Lightning Quick Service.

The item to send by quick delivery is the ‘Necklace of Good Fortune,’ and the recipient is naturally my mother, Ms. Park Mi-kyung.

But the reason I set the sending time to four hours later is because it’s time to execute the plan I had when I purchased it.

Anyway, except for those Follower bastards, there’s no significant force hostile toward me. So I still have some leeway.

‘Besides, those Follower bastards will obviously be busy from the damage they suffered last time…’

Now all my business is done.

Finally, it’s time to get into the real work.

For the next step, I hailed a passing taxi.

“Where to?”

“To Magok-dong Seoul Botanic Park as fast as possible.”

“Sir, it’s rush hour right now so it might be a bit—”

“I’ll give you triple the fare.”

Vroom—

“Fasten your seatbelt tight!”

At my words, the taxi driver hit the accelerator.

***

The power of money is great.

Screeech—

“Phew… We’ve arrived.”

“Thank you for your work.”

Because we arrived half the estimated time earlier.

The place we arrived at.

In that place full of lush plants, a massive Gate was emitting brilliant light.

I looked at that Gate and steadied my mind.

‘From here, it’s the real beginning.’

The public called that dimensional door the ‘White Gate.’