Otherworld Constellation Gallery Chapter 26

Otherworld Constellation Gallery

Chapter 26

[‘Kang Ha-rin’ has accepted the party invitation.]

I nodded with satisfaction.

“Tulip, explain the basic things to her.” 

“Yes!”

After hearing her answer, I turned my head towards Kang Ha-rin.

“Once you’ve heard the explanation, check your skills first and let me know.”

Kang Ha-rin nodded and looked at Tulip.

“Now, this is the status window!”

That’s right, that’s right. Tulip enthusiastically stretched out her hand and began her intense attribute tutoring. A moment later, Kang Ha-rin reached out toward the empty space.

“So my skills are… Blessing of Flames, Smith’s Touch, Iron Endurance, Thermoforming. These four in total.” 

“Wow! You have four skills from the beginning, Miss?”

Tulip’s eyes widened. I was just as surprised. It wasn’t just the number that was impressive. Unlike Tulip’s simple and straightforward skill names, these had more meaningful titles.

“Explain what each one does.”

Kang Ha-rin nodded and began reading the explanations.

[Blessing of Flames] Increases resistance to heat and fire, and allows you to withstand the heat of a furnace for a long time. 

Effect: Fire attribute resistance increased by 70%. Vitality reduction rate decreased by 70% in high-temperature environments. Type: Passive

[Smith’s Touch] Able to repair and craft anything desired, with stability and efficiency maximized especially when handling metals. 

Effect: Equipment repair speed increased by 500%, metal-related equipment durability preservation effect increased. Type: Passive

[Iron Endurance] Iron-like stamina. Physical fatigue accumulates slowly, and you don’t easily tire even when doing heavy work. 

Effect: Vitality consumption reduced by 30%, health recovery speed increased. Type: Passive

[Thermoforming] Able to heat metal and transform it into a desired shape. 

Effect: Metal materials can be transformed into desired shapes when held and concentrated on. Type: Active

“That’s all!”

Both Tulip and I were momentarily speechless.

“…Multiple passives and even an active skill.” 

“What’s an active skill?” 

“I’m not entirely sure, but it seems passives can be used freely, while actives probably require mana.” 

“Mana?” 

“Think of it as the energy magicians need to cast spells in games or creative works.”

More importantly, this could be quite useful, right? Being able to handle metals without hammers or blacksmith tools means she can create or repair weapons on the spot according to the situation.

“You chose well.” 

“Is it good?”

[Title: Unnecessary Formality] What unnecessarily elaborate skill names. Especially classifying something like ‘Blessing of Flames’ as a skill and adding explanations? Utterly pathetic. And just 70% fire resistance? I didn’t even bother listing my passives. There’s naturally no need to explain them. Fire is not something to resist, but a power to embrace and utilize. My incarnation surpasses 100% fire resistance and regains vitality in flames. It’s lamentable that my incarnation feels envious of such trivial matters.

ㄴ LOLOLOLOLOL This lunatic is at it again.

ㄴ Every time it’s ‘my incarnation this, my incarnation that’ LOLOLOLOL. 

ㄴ Go write a three-line summary.

ㄴ So what? Your incarnation might have overflowing vitality during the day, but at night it’s dying LOL.

ㄴ For real LOL Being Lu Bu during the day means nothing if you’re gasping for energy like a common person at night LOLOLOLOL .

ㄴ Day strong, night weak LOL .

ㄴAll of you shut up.

I stopped looking at the gallery and turned to Tulip. Come to think of it, I remember how she was refreshed by the nice weather despite the situation. I thought it was just because she was bright and innocent.

‘More importantly… according to the comments, nights are dangerous, right?’

I don’t know how significant the difference is, but Tulip’s absence would now be quite fatal for me. It would be different if she hadn’t been here from the beginning.

But there is a solution. Though I’m not entirely certain yet, if the information is true… Tulip likely has the ability to recover her body in fire. Of course, it won’t be a simple matter, but I’m certain that this is the key for me.

“Everyone go take a shower.” 

“Sh…shower?” 

“This will probably be your last shower. So enjoy it thoroughly.”

Tulip and Kang Ha-rin were silent. 

Are they briefly picturing a gloomy future? But now, there’s not much time to indulge in thoughts.

“Drinking recovery potions makes your body feel fresh, but they’re expensive. So any foolish person who indulges in such luxury just because they feel a bit clammy will be immediately expelled from the party.”

I cast my gaze toward the closet.

“Pick any clothes from mine to change into and take them with you. We’ll eat after everyone has showered and come out clean.”

Kang Ha-rin smiled awkwardly and spoke.

“I already came in wearing shoes….” 

“Shut up. Who’s going to shower first?”

Tulip raised her hand.

“I’ll go first.”

She rummaged through my pile of clothes.

“Is this Dongmyo Market? Stop searching for pretty things and just grab something and go in.”

“Yes.”

Tulip acknowledged but continued to rummage a bit more before selecting a few items and entering the bathroom. Only then did Kang Ha-rin cautiously begin to speak.

“Yu Ju-han… that’s your name, right? Ju-han, you seem cool.” 

“Don’t flatter me. In situations like this, sycophants are the most dangerous, and you’ll only earn my suspicion.” 

“But I’m being sincere.”

I silently looked at her. Kang Ha-rin lowered her eyes and quietly added.

“Actually, you could have left me behind, but you accepted me one way or another.” 

“…Because you sincerely tried to do something.”

Kang Ha-rin looked at me silently. I didn’t avoid her gaze.

“And I’m sorry for speaking informally. I was too sensitive earlier.” 

“…You’re still speaking informally.” 

“It would be more awkward to suddenly speak formally now. Wouldn’t it be strange if I suddenly added ‘yo’ to everything?”

Kang Ha-rin stared at me for a while, then finally smiled and said.

“I don’t mind.” 

“Do you want me to speak formally to you?” 

“…Just speak informally.”

After that, Kang Ha-rin picked out some clothes and went to shower. Tulip, who had finished showering, shook her hair and asked.

“What are you doing?” 

“Oh, an enchantment scroll. It dropped from killing ghouls, and I’m thinking of using it.”

Tulip blinked and tilted her head. I explained, tapping the paper in my hand.

“Since scrolls are extremely hard to come by, unlike games, there don’t seem to be any enhancement limit restrictions.”

Even though that might apply to the frying pan, Manyō’s Tomb didn’t show any such aspects either.

“It probably means each scroll is incredibly valuable, but it would be silly to just keep it stored preciously.”

Tulip still had a face that showed she didn’t understand. I picked up the frying pan.

“Just watch.”

I spread the scroll open with both hands. The paper was covered with unidentifiable characters, and in the center was a faint golden magic circle engraved.

The magic circle seemed to writhe with thin lines of light as if it were alive. I brought the scroll over the frying pan. At the same time, I strongly commanded in my mind.

‘Apply.’

Instantly, the scroll shook slightly, then the entire paper was engulfed in blue flames.

“KYAAK!”

Tulip was startled beside me, but I remained calm. The flames weren’t hot. Rather, a warm and gentle heat wrapped around my fingertips.

The flames immediately transferred to the frying pan. The paper dispersed lightly and turned into light, and new patterns were engraved on the surface of the frying pan. Thin golden lines intertwined, forming a mysterious inscription. And all of it momentarily flashed once, then disappeared as if it had been absorbed.

[Enhancement successful!]

Tulip’s eyes grew round.

“Wow! What, how did that happen?” 

“Ha… I was hoping it would explode, but they say the enhancement was successful…” 

“Huh? Why did you want it to explode?” 

“I was curious about what happens when it fails.”

I picked up the frying pan and swung it slightly. The feeling in my hand was distinctly different.

‘It’s noticeable just from holding it, as if my strength has increased…’

I looked down at the frying pan. What would have happened if it had failed? Would it be destroyed? Or would it simply not be enhanced? Beside me, Tulip exclaimed with admiration.

“This is amazing! If you keep enhancing it, won’t it get even stronger?” 

“That might be the case. The problem is that scrolls are hard to obtain, and we still don’t know what happens if it fails.”

[Title: Wow LOL First Hunter is so bold LOL] He just uses it so freely like that LOL And of all things, it’s a F-R-Y-I-N-G P-A-N LOL.

ㄴ LOLOLOLOLOLOL Enhanced frying pan LOL .

ㄴ This guy’s luck is too good, even if his Intelligence was 60 .

ㄴ First Hunter is a god, a god who does everything except become an incarnation.

ㄴ So does it explode if that fails? 

ㄴ Absolutely don’t tell him.

ㄴ Why not reveal something that’s not a big deal? 

ㄴ Just to piss you off LOL.

When I finished showering and came out while browsing the gallery, dinner was ready. The menu was ramen. It was a luxurious feast to enjoy for the last time before the gas and water supply would be cut off.

The familiar instant aroma stung my nose, and the noodles softly unraveled in the boiling water. A meal that I would have considered ordinary under normal circumstances felt like a celebration, even though it was just the first day of the apocalypse.

‘That means the reality we’re facing is that terrible.’

More importantly, just changing clothes led to sponsorships continuing in 100 gold units. I swallowed a sip of hot broth containing an inexplicable bitterness. After finishing the meal, we immediately assigned night watch duties.

“What’s night watch?” 

“As the name suggests, it’s like standing guard without sleeping.”

In a world where anything could happen during the night, at least one person needed to stay awake.

“Since waking up in the middle of sleep and then going back to sleep is the most painful, I’ll take the middle shift.”

I pointed at the party members as I continued speaking.

“Tulip takes the first two hours, Ha-rin the last hour. And I’ll stand for the middle five hours.” 

“You’re going to stand alone for five hours? You need to sleep too, mister! You need to recover your stamina!” 

“That’s right, Ju-han. How can you handle five hours alone? You said we need to move tomorrow too.”

They weren’t wrong. But realistically speaking, it made sense for me to take the night watch. I had raised my stamina stat, and I had enough mental strength to stay up all night. Above all, I needed to utilize the night.

“Even if Tulip has increased her stamina, she’ll be mentally exhausted. Night watch is more about enduring boredom than physical stamina. Ha-rin lacks both, so I’m assigning her the last hour.”

It would be a boring night for everyone, but I planned to gather information by spying on the gallery. So this wasn’t so much a sacrifice as a strategy.

“The rest of you should sleep as much as possible for tomorrow.” 

“But still…” 

“The longer we argue, the less time we have to sleep. Sleep quickly.”

At my firm voice, neither of them could object further. Tulip took the first night watch, and Kang Ha-rin and I sighed and lay down. Looking up at the ceiling, I exhaled slowly.

‘How long will such a quiet night last?.’

I fell asleep earlier than expected. How much time had passed since I closed my eyes?

BANG!

A sudden impact sound shattered the silence of the night. My body, which had been trying to sleep, reflexively rose.

“KYAAK! Mister!”

Tulip’s short scream was heard. Disaster arrived much sooner than expected.