When I emerged from the space, thankfully, a lot of time hadn’t passed. Rather, Yeon-hee was really happy, saying she came out the moment I called her.
Relieved, I checked my physical condition again.
“My body was fine right from when I regained my senses. So then, the breathlessness I felt earlier wasn’t physical…”
Well, it truly felt like a part of my mind had been completely cleared. If that intense immersion was an unintentional result of mental discipline, then feeling breathless made some sense.
In conclusion, I gained a new trait today and got my hands on two artifacts.
Getting artifacts keeps feeling like picking up another family heirloom you find around the house, but in reality, low-rank hunters struggle to see even one in their lifetime.
*Thunk—*
I presented the precious item to Yeon-hee as if I had just picked it up.
“Huh? Is this what you brought with you when you fought the champion? It looks just like… a jug?”
*Nod—*
Yeon-hee sparkled her eyes, turning the jug in her hands for a few minutes, exclaiming how pretty it was.
“But why can’t the water inside come out?”
The jug remained in a transparent state since I initially activated it. The water inside was clearly visible. However, despite Yeon-hee’s attempts to pour it, the water seemed stuck at the entrance and did not flow out at all.
“Ugh! Why won’t it come out? Even with mana infusion, it doesn’t work—”
*Ugh— Ugh— Ah! No!*
“Even Yeon-hee, who’s talented with mana, can’t make it work.”
I received the jug back from Yeon-hee, who glared at it as if she’d break it, and poured the water into a cup.
*Splish-splash—*
“Wow… how did you do that?”
*Clap, Clap, Clap!*
Feeling like I was the one who opened a lid that a woman couldn’t, my shoulders involuntarily shook with pride.
*Sniff-sniff—*
Yeon-hee sniffed the water in the cup and poked it with her hand. But in conclusion…
“So, um… it’s just water?”
*Nod—*
As the supposedly magical artifact turned out to only produce plain water, she looked a bit flustered.
“It’d be better to let Helen or Jin-kyeong try it. I’m so curious!”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I decided to test it out on my summoned creatures first.
*Clap, Clap, Clap!* (Hey! Wang-wang!)
*Woof?!*
(Do you want to have a sip of water, Wang-wang?)
*Woof! Woof?!*
“Alright, you go first.”
I filled Wang-wang’s food bowl with the precious lake water from this world and placed it in front of him.
Wang-wang showed some wariness about the water I poured, but when Yeon-hee poked his belly a few times, he must have forgotten that it was my water, happily gulping it down.
*Slurp— Slurp—*
I closely watched the water, making a splash inside Wang-wang’s snow-white fluffy mouth.
After a good while of drinking, Wang-wang approached Yeon-hee again, wagging his thick tail like a fox. There was no noticeable change in behavior.
“Is there really nothing special? Just drinking water?”
“Does it not boost stamina or anything like the miraculous substances from martial arts novels? No way!!”
*Woof!! Woof!!*
Having regained health from the water, Wang-wang was now just running around Yeon-hee like a mad dog, showing no special signs.
“Hmm— It seems like there’s no effect, right, Il-wol?”
*Nod…*
I weakly nodded.
“But isn’t this something I could sell for a high price? Hmm… or maybe I should drink it myself?”
*Clap, Clap!!*
“Alright, I won’t drink it. There’s no need to be so surprised, heh.”
“I’ll fill a small bottle and have Jin-kyeong give it a try tomorrow.”
I filled one empty bottle with the water and stored it in my inventory. Then I showcased the second item to Yeon-hee.
*Flap— Flap—*
“Huh? What’s that? A magic carpet?”
*Something like that.*
I draped the cloak around my neck and jumped slightly in the room, assuming a cross-legged position.
“AAAH! Wow!…”
*Heheheh, the feedback is great; I feel like showing off!*
Yeon-hee kept snapping pictures of me as I slowly descended in mid-air while sitting cross-legged.
*Hahaha— Hic— Haha!*
“Huh?”
“Hahaha! Il-wol is too funny, seriously!”
*What’s so funny? Why?*
Even Wang-wang and Ddung-i looked like they were laughing at me.
A skeleton sitting cross-legged in mid-air with a cloak is… a pretty weird image.
*Hic-hic—*
“The Kobold is laughing at me! Now I’m even more annoyed.”
Taking advantage of Yeon-hee’s laughter, I hit Wang-wang and Ddung-i on their heads.
*Thump—*
*Grrr—*
(I’ll accept challenges any time.)
With the barking dog being the only one who couldn’t bite, Wang-wang would never lay a finger on me.
Having been unable to retaliate even once, Wang-wang looked disheartened and kept drinking the water from the bowl.
“Oh, isn’t our Wang-wang eating too much? Is he going to get a tummy-ache?”
Yeon-hee, having stopped laughing at some point, worriedly looked at Wang-wang while brushing his tail.
*Chomp, chomp, chomp—*
“Ah, if someone saw this, they’d think I starved him.”
“Anyway, with that cloak, you can fly? No, I guess not flying. We should say floating?”
*Nod, nod—*
“How about we go glide together outside and enjoy the night view, Yeon-hee? But with stealth added.”
“Hehe, Il-wol is becoming harder to understand. You’re flying in the sky now, and soon you’ll really turn into a person, right?”
*Tilt—*
As I tilted my head at a 45-degree angle, Yeon-hee chuckled again, thinking I looked cute.
Honestly, there were times I wondered if there was a way to return to being human at first. But now, having lived as a skeleton for almost a month, my score for being a skeleton is…
“9 out of 10! Being a skeleton is awesome!”
At least, it doesn’t hurt when injured, I can’t feel hot or cold, and I’m not worried about starving to death. Well, I guess that’s to be expected since I’m dead.
Also, the Undead’s racial trait means there’s no stamina limit. Appearance-wise, I can make my opponents underestimate me.
There’s no worry about choosing clothes, and since I’m bald, I don’t even have to wash my hair. There are indeed many advantages.
Though the downside is I can’t talk. I look way too scary.
“The downsides are pretty big. Damn it. But everything else is satisfying enough, so I deducted just one point.”
Even if I could talk from now, I was worried I might not be able to speak properly. And my face is so dark that even I sigh when I see it.
Yeon-hee blushing when she looks at me might be her holding back tears from fear, right before she cries.
Nonetheless, I’m just thankful that Yeon-hee treats me like the other summoned creatures.
After all, this world has turned into one where impossible possibilities exist, so if I persist and strive, there might eventually be a chance to obtain what I desire.
However, right now, there is no reason for me to seek a way to become human.
Who wants to be a weak human? Pfft—
*Flap— Whoosh—*
“Waaaah— This is so much fun!”
Yeon-hee, having wrapped my cloak around herself, was floating up to the ceiling.
“Wow— it really seems I made the right choice becoming a hunter!”
Of course, being a hunter is more about talent than choice, but if Yeon-hee feels that way, then that’s all that matters.
*Woof! Wang!*
“Haha, Wang-wang, look at me~ Whee, doing freestyle in the air!”
*Yip— Ugh—*
Wang-wang, who was staring enviously at Yeon-hee floating in the air, suddenly yelped like a puppy that needed to poop. It looked like it was time for mana stone production.
Earlier, I forcibly snagged three low-rank mana stones from Ddung-i. What about Wang-wang?
*Yip-yip—*
Wang-wang’s tail started quivering laboriously, larger than ever.
*Rumble—*
“Huh? Is it bigger than usual?”
I examined the mana stones that popped out from Wang-wang’s tail.
“Huh… These are intermediate?!”
Until now, Wang-wang had been producing low and low-rank mana stones but hadn’t expected him to suddenly spit out an intermediate one.
*Rumble— Rumble—*
Seeing Wang-wang continue producing mana stones, I thought it might be the last spark before dying.
Otherwise…
“It must be because he drank a lot of that lake water from the jug.”
*Wang-wang, drink while you go!*
I filled Wang-wang’s bowl with the lake water again.
*Yip—*
But even Wang-wang seemed to have caught on, refusing to drink when I presented the water to him.
*Drink! Gulp it down! And spit it out! This is the only chance to prove your worth!*
Seeing Yeon-hee enjoy floating around while she watched me trying to squeeze something out of Wang-wang’s tail, she asked,
“Il-wol, why are you getting so touchy-feely now?”
Of course, squeezing the tail was just for testing, maybe there was something left in that plump tail.
*Rumble—*
Finishing her flying around, wrapped in my cloak, Yeon-hee began looking closely at the mana stones Wang-wang had produced.
*Rumble—*
“Wow— Another one? Wang-wang, you don’t have to strain yourself too much, okay?”
*Woof…*
In the end, it seemed Wang-wang got tired and lay flat on the floor like a pancake.
Today, he produced a total of five mana stones. Recently, he’d been improving, managing to spit out 2-3 low-rank ones, but he’d never produced this many before.
Plus, all five were intermediate.
Wang-wang’s low-rank mana stones were worth around 30,000 won each, while the intermediate ones would fetch over 70,000 won each.
If Wang-wang produced mana stones like this every day, I’d be making 350,000 won daily without lifting a finger. Although looking at his current state, it seems he might produce less starting tomorrow.
*Isn’t this true infinite power?*
If I can keep getting bones, I’ll have turned into a super puppy that creates something from nothing!
“Wooah— It’s that water from the jug that’s doing this, right?”
*Nod—*
The description of the jug said it contained the cleanest, clearest water.
Imagine a typical fantasy world. This place didn’t suddenly become this way like ours; mana has been seeping into the world since the beginning.
The cleanest, clearest water likely has the highest density of mana, and… that would explain why Wang-wang has suddenly gotten special, huh? The anticipated effects are happening!
*This… could it be used as a mana potion?*
High-rank alchemists find it very challenging to create high-priced mana potions!
If this water carries such effects…
*Wouldn’t just going down the path to wealth be fine?*
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
