Chapter 97 – 097. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
097. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated into the Baek Family
I sat on the sofa, looking at my smartphone.
[Sung Yu-jin
Level: 34
Strength: 21 Stamina: 21 Agility: 22 Intelligence: 12 Vitality: 30]
[Available Points: 173]
I had accumulated quite a few points. Today, I planned to use these saved-up points.
‘First, the Yeongcheon Style.’
[Use 120 points to increase the level of Yeongcheon Style (影天流) Lv.6?]
A whopping 120 points. I hesitated a bit.
If I hadn’t known the advanced techniques of the Yeongcheon Style, Lightning Flash and Shadow Veil, I might not have bothered to raise its level.
‘Yuria is reaching the Aura Expert level and continuing to grow… I’m the only one standing still.’
I had absolutely no talent for mana. In the ‘Baekhwan’ world, I was what they called mana-blind. No matter how much I practiced mana breathing techniques, I couldn’t accumulate mana within my body. A mana awakening potion was desperately needed.
‘I’m still far short of the money needed to buy a mana awakening potion.’
The mana awakening potion sold at the Magic Tower cost about 40 billion Ner. It was an amount that even most nobles couldn’t easily consider.
‘Borrowing money from the Prucus family isn’t impossible either.’
40 billion Ner wasn’t a sum the Prucus family could easily handle. They could use it if they wanted to, but the problem was my talent. I didn’t have the kind of swordsmanship talent that would make the Prucus family consider investing in me.
I was currently known as an invention genius within the mansion, but the Prucus family was ultimately a martial family. Their foundation lay in swordsmanship.
‘But I can’t reveal my skills.’
The Yeongcheon Style was an assassination sword technique. The Prucus family wouldn’t like it. Moreover, I couldn’t even accumulate mana, let alone use it, so revealing my skills would be pointless.
If I revealed my skills, they would also realize that my body was normal.
‘And I can’t give up the title of a sickly noble either.’
Having a heart condition came with various perks. For example, I could easily skip official events like social parties under the pretext of not feeling well.
‘Hah. It would have been nice if I had talent for magic, at least.’
Leaving aside mana, I had absolutely no talent for magic. I tried to learn from Hasent and Yuria, but I couldn’t even understand what they were talking about. It was too far removed from the modern common sense I had learned so far, a completely different concept. Modern science felt easier than magic.
‘I shouldn’t be too hung up on mana. After all, the foundation of my abilities is the Leisure Life App, not mana.’
I raised the level of the Yeongcheon Style.
The moment the Yeongcheon Style reached level 7, a piece of knowledge I had never known before was engraved in my mind. I closed my eyes, absorbing the knowledge as much as possible.
Yeongcheon Qi Gong (影天氣功).
It was a method of handling mana suitable for the Yeongcheon Style.
It was similar to the mana breathing techniques used in the ‘Baekhwan’ world. It was also possible to accumulate mana through breathing.
I gave a wry smile.
‘…What’s the point of having the knowledge? The prerequisite is still being able to feel mana. Just like Seyoung noona said, it’s useless if I can’t feel mana.’
I had expected it to some extent, so it wasn’t a big shock. However, I was a little annoyed.
[Sung Yu-jin
Level: 34
Strength: 21 Stamina: 21 Agility: 22 Intelligence: 12 Vitality: 30]
[Available Points: 53]
I had 53 points left. After some thought, I decided to raise my stats a bit.
[Sung Yu-jin
Level: 34
Strength: 23 Stamina: 23 Agility: 22 Intelligence: 20 Vitality: 30]
[Available Points: 17]
The rest was for random draws.
“Life is a gamble.”
Life was indeed a gamble.
My life had changed completely after awakening the Leisure Life App. If I hadn’t had the Leisure Life App, I would likely still be at home, jerking off.
‘There’s a chance a mana awakening potion might come out in the random draw.’
I vigorously performed 17 consecutive random draws.
And then, an unprecedented jackpot hit.
[Elixir
Restores all injuries and recovers from all status ailments. It also restores congenital disabilities and diseases.
Price: 15,000 points
※Caution
The elixir in the bottle is the correct amount. You must take the full amount at once for it to work properly.]
[Fountain of Youth
Drinking it makes you 5 years younger.
Price: 1,000 points
※Caution
It has no effect on children under 8 years old.]
[Affinity Level Up Ticket
Can forcibly raise the affinity level of one character. However, it must be below affinity level 10.
Price: 1,000 points]
“Yippeeeee!”
I let out a joyful shout and jumped up and down from my seat. The rest were all failures, but the Fountain of Youth was the real jackpot. Given enough time, gathering 1,000 points wouldn’t be difficult.
Drinking it makes you 5 years younger. Moreover, the price of the Fountain of Youth was a very reasonable 1,000 points.
In other words, it meant that the concept of lifespan had disappeared for me. Assuming I stayed safe at home, I could live for a thousand or ten thousand years.
“I can maintain my youth forever! Damn! I am the elf Sung Yu-jin! Hahaha!”
If I gave it to my parents, it would be the best filial gift. If I sold this to people, becoming a billionaire would be a piece of cake. Of course, these were just thoughts for now. For now, I planned to keep it in a safe place deep inside the house.
“The elixir is amazing too.”
Contrary to my words, my face was indifferent.
The elixir was also an amazing item. It could restore congenital diseases or disabilities.
But I had a full recovery skill. I could only use it on myself, but I could use it continuously every 12 hours.
“Well, the elixir has its own advantages. I can use it on others.”
I didn’t know if the time would come when I would use it.
Next was the Affinity Level Up Ticket.
To be honest, this was a bit ambiguous. I was still unsure what role the affinity level played.
‘What’s certain is that the higher the affinity level, the more meaningful the other person thinks of me.’
It was similar to favorability, but different.
Let’s take Yuria and Hasent as examples.
Hasent’s affinity level was 5.
The day Hasent swore his loyalty to me, his affinity level jumped from 1 to 5 at once.
I thought the affinity level would increase slowly, step by step, but that wasn’t the case. It seemed that the affinity level could jump up at once if certain conditions were met.
Currently, Yuria and my affinity level was 8. I had reached affinity level 8 after having sex with Yuria recently.
‘What’s amazing is that it was level 6 before we had sex.’
In Yuria’s case, her affinity level was 2 when we first met. This meant that the deal I had offered her was meaningful. After that, it became level 6 as I trained her. This part wasn’t particularly unusual. I had put more effort into Yuria than Choi Sun-mi.
‘The fact that it went straight from affinity level 6 to 8 means that sex was very special for Yuria that day.’
Then, my body trembled. An epiphany came.
Perhaps it was because I had trained Yuria. I had trained Yuria all this time, but I hadn’t done penetration.
‘Could it be…! Can the affinity level be rapidly increased through training!’
Anyway, the Affinity Level Up Ticket was also on hold. If I could only use it when the affinity level was below 10, it would be most efficient to use it when the affinity level was 9.
‘But having a high affinity level is a good thing, right?’
Apart from giving points when the affinity level increased, there were no tangible benefits, so I couldn’t be sure.
•••
Hasent arrived at a rural village far from the Pters territory, the center of the Prucus territory. The round moon was already in the sky, replacing the sun.
Hasent quietly observed the village from a tree. It was quiet. As the sun had set, most of the villagers had gone home to sleep. Unlike the city, there were not many shops that stayed open late.
‘Young Master Yu-jin said he was the only butcher in the village.’
Hasent moved. A dark shadow wriggled beneath his boots. It was a magic that erased footsteps. Even if he stepped on fallen leaves on the ground, no sound was made.
Hasent moved around the village, hiding his presence as much as possible.
‘…Found it. I can smell a strong scent of blood here.’
It was an old shack located on the outskirts of the village. Hasent looked around the house and then entered through a window.
Hasent soon frowned.
Not only the smell of blood, but also a strong smell of decay permeated the air. The house was a mess. Old, dirty clothes and cloths were hung haphazardly on the walls, and blood-soaked butchering tools were on the table.
‘Filthy bastard. He’s acting true to his identity!’
Even if he did the butchering himself, he wouldn’t want to entrust the work to such a butcher.
Hasent reached out his hand towards the shadow on the floor. The shadow rippled, and a longsword slid upwards.
Hasent moved towards the direction where he could hear even breathing.
A man was fast asleep on the bed. The blanket was disheveled, and his arms and legs were sticking out of the bed.
It was a strange sight.
It was the beginning of winter now. It was not enough to heat the room by burning wood in the stove, but the man showed no signs of being cold even while sleeping under a thin blanket. Rather, he was sleeping in a position that suggested the blanket was cumbersome.
‘That filthy demon!’
The sword was swung without any sound. A dark aura was formed on the blade.
The man on the bed suddenly rolled to the side, dodging the sword, and stood up on the floor.
“An assassin? Who sent you?”
The man’s body rippled and began to change. The whites of his eyes turned black, and his pupils turned a blood-red color. His skin turned gray, and two horns sprouted on his forehead.
“Demon. You’ve been hiding well.”
“You’re not even surprised to see me?”
The man’s voice cracked. It was a bizarre voice that couldn’t be considered human.
“You came knowing I was a demon! How did you know?! Did the cult send you?!”
“You don’t need to know. Accept your death quietly. You unclean thing!”
“You insignificant being.”
The demon charged. His fingernails had grown about 20cm long.
The demon rushed towards Hasent. The bed in the way was smashed as it collided with his body. It was a reckless yet fast charge.
‘Even if I don’t know anything else, those nails. There’s a possibility they’re poisonous.’
He was a low-level demon. He had the skills of a mid-level Aura Expert or higher. He was not an opponent to be careless with.
“Huuup!”
Hasent took a deep breath and swung his sword. He cut the demon’s shoulder. However, the demon’s charge did not stop.
“I’ll cut off your arms and legs and then slowly find out!”
The moment the demon came close to his face, the shadow on the floor rose like a wall and knocked the demon away. The demon flew backward, smashing through the wooden wall and rolling several times on the dirty dirt floor. The demon jumped up from his spot. Red blood was dripping from his mouth.
“Y-you’re not an ordinary guy!”
The demon rolled his eyes around, stepping backward. He was looking for a way to escape.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
Thwack! A sword flew and pierced the demon’s calf, sticking into the floor.
“Aaaah! You human bastard!”
The demon screamed and hurriedly pulled out the sword. Hasent was already right in front of the demon. The demon’s mouth stretched wide.
“Hehehe. You fool. The moment you came close, you were dead!”
The demon’s mouth opened wide, and a greenish-black smoke billowed out. It was poisonous smoke. Hasent swung his hand without hesitation. The shadow blade formed on his hand cut off the demon’s neck.
The demon’s body collapsed on the floor. However, the poisonous smoke did not stop and was coming out of the severed neck along with blood.
“Hehehe. 20 years of effort has gone to waste like this… but I’m satisfied that I was able to kill a strong human like you!”
Even though his neck was cut off, his mouth moved and his voice came out.
Hasent crossed his arms. He didn’t run away and looked down at the demon with cold eyes.
“W-what is it? Why are you okay?!”
“Poison of this level is common in this world.”
Hasent had mastered magic and swordsmanship, but his main job was still an assassin. It was natural for him to use poison and build up resistance to it.
“Eeeek!”
The demon gritted his teeth and made a resentful expression, then stopped moving as if he were completely dead.
“Hmm. You said to make sure to bring back the demon’s corpse.”
