A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 141 - End of "Dream Forest" Arc

Chapter 141

 

The next day, as if perfectly timed, I got a message from Doul.

Since I was already out, he said he’d just bring them over, so I went down and received them.

About half of them were things that could be used for crafting… enhancement materials, crafting materials, things like that.

Among them, I filtered out the ones I didn’t need.

Things that require specific traits, especially those with troublesome conditions.

For example, something like this:

 

—

[Fragment of the Venom Fang of the Great World Serpent]

A fragment of the fang of a serpent that eternally circulates.

Is it real?

Well… who knows.

You could say it’s a material that gives a feeling very similar to the real thing.

Anyway, there’s no better material when it comes to imbuing poison!

That is… if you’re extremely proficient with poison.

Ah! The one crafting it matters too. If you’re not careful, it’ll oxidize and disappear.

※ Grants the ‘Poison’ attribute to an item.

※ Crafting material.

—

 

A white fragment, about the size of a finger joint, was contained in a stoppered flask.

It looked quite useful, but any item coated with it would gain strong toxicity… meaning you’d need a high level of poison resistance.

The same applied to the crafter.

It was difficult to handle, and at our world’s current level, there was no one capable of processing it.

In the end, you’d have to go to another world or meet agents.

‘And they charge high prices.’

Saying it like this makes me sound like a bad person, but compared to the craftsmen in our world, those from other worlds or agents are survivors.

They know their abilities well and are seasoned in business.

But the craftsmen here?

They don’t know much.

Which makes them easy to exploit.

Anyway, for something like this, it’d be easier and faster to obtain lower-tier materials or related skills later.

Too many difficult conditions were attached.

‘Besides, my subspace inventory is starting to fill up.’

I had cleared out all the gallstones from Doul, so there was some space left… but I had stuffed it full of unidentified items again.

Subspace storage wasn’t that large.

Better to keep it clear.

 

—

[Ash Powder of a Burned Witch’s Tongue]

Ashes of a witch’s tongue that possessed foresight!

Since none of the original form remains, it’s not grotesque at all… but before being burned, it supposedly writhed as if it were still alive!

Was it her will to prophesy?

A will that persists even after death… how fascinating!

Haha! Though ironically, despite her terrifyingly accurate predictions, no one believed her while she was alive!

※ Upon consumption, grants traits: ‘Foresight’, ‘Distrust.’

—

 

Foresight was a good trait.

It was essentially an evolved version of Lee Hoin’s “Intuition.”

But that “Distrust” was the problem.

It didn’t mean I’d distrust my own foresight…

‘It’s overall.’

It meant my words would lose credibility.

Then what’s the point of foresight?

‘If I were alone, it wouldn’t matter.’

But I travel with Lee Hoin.

So it’s even more unnecessary.

And this one was from that place… the Clown Event.

That long gemstone that looked like a finger.

 

—

[Condensed Core of a Runaway Engine]

A material item inspired by the tragic story of a demigod who died recklessly driving the chariot of the sun.

Try shaking it next to your ear.

You’ll hear screams, the smell of burning, and the frantic heartbeat of a runaway engine.

Among enthusiasts, it’s sometimes used as a music box rather than a material.

Of course, if someone catches you with it, you won’t even be able to recover your bones.

But if you don’t get caught, it’s fine.

※ When refining an item, grants the skill ‘Output.’

※ May incur someone’s hatred

—

 

This one.

The fact that it grants the “Output” skill… it could be decent.

But that second warning bothered me, and also…

‘Output isn’t actually that great of a skill.’

Once you exceed a certain speed, you can’t stop.

It literally boosts output until you crash into something.

Of course, if controlled properly, it’s usable… but generally, it’s difficult to handle.

Better not to use it.

Among the usable equipment… there was this:

 

—

[Blue-White Scarab]

A brooch shaped like a blue-white scarab.

Since ancient times, scarabs symbolize the sun, rebirth, and immortality!

Maybe that’s why… this scarab grants you something!

Of course, it has a long cooldown and can’t be leveled up, but still.

It gives you this much, after all.

─ Skill: Nullification

※ Grade: B

※ Cooldown: 5 days

 

[Blue-White Scarab ─ Skill ‘Nullification’]

Nullifies mental status abnormalities of the wearer!

※ Cooldown: 5 days

—

 

This one.

The scarab brooch from the Clown Event.

Better than expected.

Nullifies mental status effects.

You might think… since I have “Resonance” and can treat those, this is unnecessary.

But what this item does is fundamentally different.

This is nullification.

I treat problems after they occur.

This removes them altogether.

Whether temporary or long-term.

It probably wouldn’t work on traits that have already taken root, but even nullifying temporary mental debuffs… that’s huge.

For example, fear.

There have been times I barely survived because of fear-related status effects.

If I could nullify those instantly, that’s essentially gaining another survival tool.

“Just take a few useful ones. Like this… this ring that boosts strength. Read the conditions properly. Don’t equip too many.”

Items could cancel each other out.

Wearing a lot wasn’t always good.

Some had weight limits.

Like the metal gauntlets Lee Hoin was holding.

They increased strength, but reduced agility.

Unless you could compensate for that loss, you’d just end up heavier for no reason.

I helped him pick things out.

The gauntlets were fine, so we kept them.

Then I added a few items to reinforce his build.

“Is this weight okay?”

Agility couldn’t be helped.

Nothing here could offset the loss from the gauntlets.

Better to focus on heavier, stronger movements than awkwardly trying to balance agility.

It turned him into a defense and single-strike focused type, but he seemed satisfied.

So I left it.

Kim Taekjin didn’t interfere.

 

—

[You seem to follow proper conduct very well!]

—

 

If he had asked for something at a moment like this, it probably would’ve left a bad impression.

He hadn’t really contributed anything.

Instead, Kim Taekjin picked up a few items and began arranging combinations.

They were actually pretty decent setups.

Anyway, I checked Lee Hoin’s movements and prepared to move out.

Now I had to either go to an event or find a Story Merchant to sell off all this stuff.

‘Which event would have a Story Merchant…’

As I was packing my things, someone knocked on the door.

Lee Hoin opened it… then called me.

“Nam Muyeong.”

At his call, I turned my head.

“…Hello.”

Standing at the doorway was Kim Hyeyeon, bowing slightly.

Whenever she came out into the hallway before, she was always with someone… but now, she stood there alone, still trembling a little.

She let out a long breath, resting her hand against the doorframe.

“I heard… that you’re leaving…”

“Ah.”

Lee Hoin silently stepped aside to make space.

She entered and sat down.

He left quietly.

Kim Taekjin shrugged and followed him out.

Now it was just the two of us.

An awkward silence filled the room.

“Well…”

She swallowed, then took a deep breath… and began breathing deliberately, as if showing me.

It was the breathing technique I had taught her.

Along with that, she used other grounding methods.

Like a student faithfully following instructions.

Then she looked at me… and smiled.

At some point, her bangs had been neatly arranged.

Under the sunlight streaming in, her face still looked exhausted… but there was life in it.

Her dark circles were still there, but no longer sunken and lifeless.

There was a faint redness in her cheeks, her ears, and her lips.

Her once pale skin now held a slight warmth.

She looked at me… smiling.

Bathed in sunlight.

“……”

I stared at her face for a moment.

A face that had regained life.

“Muyeong.”

The wind from the open window swept through, briefly carrying away the warmth in the room.

And yet…

“Every time you smile, this teacher feels relieved.”

I slowly returned a smile.

Through my slightly narrowed vision, I saw Kim Hyeyeon.