Riding on the Centauress, we arrived at the location of Team 2.
Bee! Bee!
Doo Doom Bar! I’m right here! Hurry up!
Welcoming us was a Jellyfish and a Hedgehog Summoner.
Behind those guys, a dazzling vending machine caught my eye.
I threw a quick compliment at Team 2.
Then I hurried to check the expiration time and the items for sale at the vending machine.
For now, there was still plenty of time left.
★━━━ 【Assistant Exclusive Vending Machine】 ━━━★
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:
:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧
➤ Evolution Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 7,500 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 2
※ Evolves a tamed monster into a higher entity.
➤ Lustrous Evolution Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 3,759,900 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 1
※ Evolves a tamed monster into a higher entity.
➤ Designated Dispatch Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 500 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 10
※ Sends one tamed monster to another dimension for 24 hours. You can specify a dimension linked to an Explorer.
➤ Transferable Return Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 50 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 10
※ A return ticket that can be transferred to a Drifter.
➤ Reverse Support Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 30 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 20
※ Sends items owned by an Explorer to an Assistant. Reverse support only possible for assistants of GOLD rank or higher.
➤ Return Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: Explorer’s mortality
◇ Number of tickets available: 1
※ Sends your corpse back to the world you lived in. heh
➤ Wandering Merchant Tracking Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 4,000 coins
◇ Number of tickets available: 1
※ Can track the location of a wandering merchant wandering through the labyrinth.
║ ⚠ Please check your coins before purchasing ⚠ ║
⏳ Remaining time until the vending machine disappears: 02:55:31
What’s this Return Ticket?
Is this guy messing with me right now?
Let’s ignore the Return Ticket, anyway.
“Why is the price of the Evolution Ticket so inflated…”
The ticket prices have overall skyrocketed.
“And there’s a Wandering Merchant Tracking Ticket too.”
New tickets that I hadn’t seen before caught my eye.
Boglebogle— What’s a wandering merchant?
Pururu— It’s an alligator.
Boglebogle— ?
Yumi— There’s an alligator called the Wandering Merchant, and you can use coins to buy various items from it. I heard that last time.
“And then there’s this Lustrous Evolution Ticket.”
Mysticism— 🤔
Yumi— The Lustrous Evolution Ticket?
Pururu— Is there such a thing?
The Lustrous Evolution Ticket.
I had no clue what made it different from the regular Evolution Ticket.
Does it evolve faster?
Or could it possibly increase the danger level by 2?
As I was making all sorts of guesses…
Rize Nova— Could it be a ticket that evolves SS-Class monsters?
Rize dropped a speculative message.
That seemed fairly plausible.
Mysticism— Can’t use a regular Evolution Ticket on SS-Class monsters, right?
“I’ve never tried on SS-Class monsters, so I don’t know. I’ve only gotten one Evolution Ticket so far, and I used it to evolve a Fire Slime into a Black Magma Slime.”
At that time, there were no SS-Class monsters among the tamed ones.
So I naturally selected one of the S-Class monsters to use the Evolution Ticket on.
“If regular Evolution Tickets can’t be used on SS-Class monsters, then Rize’s guess is right— the Lustrous Evolution Ticket might be for SS-Class monsters only.”
This could soon be confirmed.
If I bought a regular Evolution Ticket today and tried using it on an SS-Class monster later, I’d know for sure.
Boglebogle— I think Rize’s guess is correct too.
Boglebogle— It doesn’t make sense that what works on S-Class would also work on SS-Class. There’s bound to be a separate Evolution Ticket just for SS-Class.
Mysticism— 🧐
Pururu— Then would there be a separate one for SSS-Class too? Like a really Lustrous Evolution Ticket.
Yumi— You think there is?
Boglebogle— Let’s hope there isn’t. If there is, that means monsters even stronger than SSS-Class exist.
Boglebogle— More than that, I just want to see the evolution happening quickly. I’m excited.
Pururu— I want to see an SS-Class evolve too. Come on, buy it quickly!
“Sadly, I can’t buy the Lustrous Evolution Ticket.”
Pururu— ?? Why?
Boglebogle— Why?
“Because the price is insane. This is not a price I can afford.”
1 coin equals 10,000 won in South Korea.
The Lustrous Evolution Ticket is 3,759,900 coins.
In other words, it’s about 37.5 billion won.
“Rize has been consistently providing generous coin support, so I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about coins when using the vending machine in the future… but I never imagined there would be a 375 million coin ticket.”
Pururu— ??? 375 million coins?
Mysticism— 😱
Yumi— So that’s 37.5 billion right? With that price, doesn’t it feel like they’re saying don’t buy it?
Boglebogle— If it’s 375 million coins, then um…
Rize Nova— Huh…
“Rize, is 3.7 million coins… not possible to support?”
I knew it wouldn’t be possible.
But I asked just in case.
Rize Nova— If I opened the treasury, I could support you enough, but unfortunately, that’s currently impossible.
As expected.
Using the treasury would be burdensome.
The government was just recently established, after all.
All the energy sent until now was all energy that Rize personally owned.
Rize Nova— I’m sorry.
Pururu— If you’re sorry, then pay up?
“No, you don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who feels sorry for making such an unreasonable request.”
Pururu— If you’re sorry, then pay up?
Yumi— Could you please be quiet, Pururu?
I wouldn’t even bother asking Hwang Mir, the third-generation chaebol friend of Pururu.
Even though he’s a third-generation chaebol, he wouldn’t casually spend 37.5 billion won.
Plus, I have no acquaintance with him at all.
Pururu— Hmm. Should I try asking Hwang Mir?
Yumi— Think that’ll work?
Pururu— Who knows? I’ll just call and ask.
Boglebogle— Looks like they parted ways after the gathering.
Pururu— I just called. Haha.
Pururu— She cursed at me asking if I was crazy. Hehe.
Pururu— Said the amount is just too much.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do.
I had to pass on the Lustrous Evolution Ticket.
I don’t have a place to get 3.7 million coins right now.
I shook off my regrets.
And proceeded to buy up all the tickets I could.
Two Evolution Tickets.
15,000 coins.
Ten Designated Dispatch Tickets.
5,000 coins.
Ten Transferable Return Tickets.
500 coins.
Twenty Reverse Support Tickets.
600 coins.
One Wandering Merchant Tracking Ticket.
4,000 coins.
In total, I spent 25,100 coins.
“But how much was the Evolution Ticket last time?”
Pururu— As far as I remember, it was 1,500 coins.
Yumi— I wouldn’t trust Pururu’s memory though.
Pururu— Shut up.
“Oh, it was 1,500 coins.”
My memory jogged by the chat from Pururu.
“So the price has increased five times.”
Pururu— Five times?
Pururu— The Evolution Ticket you just bought was 7,500 coins?
“Yeah. This vending machine’s prices are all inflated. The Evolution Ticket, in particular, is super high.”
Yumi— 7,500 coins… Even the regular Evolution Ticket prices are just insane.
Mysticism— 😠
Mysticism— Too expensive!
Pururu— So when I bought it for the first time, that was the low point. Was it beginner’s luck or something?
Rize Nova— That there’s a place that’s ridiculously expensive like that means there’s bound to be a place that’s cheap, almost to the point of being free, right?
Yumi— That could be the case.
Rize Nova— It’s always good to think positively.
Boglebogle— Hmm. I think that place seems really cheap too. It’s a chance to become an SS-Class, for that price, it feels like a steal. There are people who would give up the world just to become an SS-Class.
Pururu— Thinking about it, that does sound right. To become a god-like being for 7,500 million won? That’s pretty darn cheap.
Boglebogle— I wonder if there’s a ticket that evolves assistants.
Pururu— Is there?
Pururu— Anyway, if it wasn’t for Rize, I wouldn’t have made it. I’m glad to have a well-off provider.
Indeed.
Without Rize, I couldn’t have dreamed of getting regular Evolution Tickets.
I decided to forever hold gratitude towards Rize.
I don’t think it’s obvious that just because I’ve helped others, they’ll give me unconditional help in return.
Even if I get used to receiving help, I’ll work hard to ensure my grateful feelings don’t dull.
Pururu— I need to make Hwang Mir an Assistant soon. That way, I’ll have a little more leeway, and if I find a scummy vending machine like this, I can buy tickets without worrying about coins.
Rize Nova— I’ll consider sending the energy from the treasury in the future. A discreet amount.
Boglebogle— I also need to gather treasures diligently. Need to get a gauntlet support really going.
Yumi— I’ll support you as much as I can too.
Mysticism— I’m not rich, so I’ll support beneficial items over coins!
Mysticism— 😀
Even if it’s not as much as Rize, I carry the same grateful feelings towards the assistants that are supporting me.
*
Returned to the hideout.
I then tried using an Evolution Ticket on Aracne.
The result was as expected.
The regular Evolution Ticket couldn’t be used on SS-Class monsters.
Just as Rize had speculated.
The regular Evolution Ticket is for S-Class only, and to evolve an SS-Class, it looks like the Lustrous Evolution Ticket is required.
Of course, it stands to reason that it wouldn’t work on SSS-Class either.
Still, who knows? If the opportunity arises later on, I plan to try using the Lustrous Evolution Ticket on SSS-Class monsters as well. I need to check if it works firsthand.
Of course, when that opportunity will arise is anyone’s guess.
‘Now I need to pick which monsters to evolve…’
I have two Evolution Tickets in hand.
The targets are S-Class monsters.
‘Since not everyone has returned yet, let’s slowly think about it while working on the monster catalog.’
I was waiting for the exploration team to return, flipping open my notebook and holding a pen, peering into the screen of the first team through Iris.
The Psycho Clown and Medical Mushroom.
The two were currently engaged in fierce combat against one monster they happened to encounter on their way back.
—Yohoho! To bounce back my ultimate curse is no ordinary feat!
—Bee?
—Kirik. Mushroom, you just bounced that guy’s curse. Thanks.
—Bee?
—Then, how about you try blocking this curse too! Yohoho!
Pururu— Yohoho! What the hell.
Yumi— That’s a unique sound of laughter.
Mysticism— 🤭
Actual danger level S-Class.
Nerfed danger level B-rank.
It was a devil-type monster that handled curses.
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