novelSometimes, the Stupid Method is the Best. (3)
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'There is an effect as I expected. '
But the pain is reduced by 32%?
That seems like a total lie. It is still so painful.
The pain of burning to death!
This is not something humans could withstand.
Sometimes in history books, it says that 'the monk burned his body and sacrificed himself' or something of the sort, but I think those are all lies as well. It would mean that they were able to overcome this type of pain.
What I can confirm is that something like that is impossible. The pain is this bad even with a 32% reduction. How could anybody stand something like this?
I quickly put another potion in my mouth. It was the strongest pain relief potion [1]
Once I drank the pain relief potion, I had the feeling of 'I can live a bit now. '
But it did not mean that all of the pain disappeared. It just lessened the pain. Of course it still felt like I was going to die.
I can't relax because the pain reduced a bit. Although it reduces the pain, it has no healing properties.
In fact, I have to be more careful. I could end up dead before I know it, due to things like inhaling too much smoke.
I continued to pay attention to my HP bar that I still had open.
The HP bar was continuously moving up and down. The weak HP potion was healing me, but since it was not of a higher quality, the healing wasn't at a consistent rate.
But this heat is really scary.
I have 16 endurance, 7 toughness, fire affinity 10%, and I was receiving healing from the weak HP potion, but my HP was still draining very quickly.
It was being reduced at an average of 12 per second.
It wasn't just my HP. My flesh was getting damaged quickly and the pain was intense. It almost made me question whether I should take another pain relief potion.
'Clench......'
I clenched my teeth and held on as I continued to stare at my HP bar.
My HP was already reduced by close to 85%. My HP, which started at 278, was already down to 40. My heart was beating fast. Since I was losing 12 HP per second, I will be dead within 3 seconds.
I can already feel my conscience faltering.
I quickly got ready to run out of the charcoal burner. If I put my mind to it, I can rush out within 1 second.
But I held on to the last possible moment.
And then the message I had been waiting for finally showed up.
'Success! Mana suction!'
It is one of the abilities of endurance. If your HP falls below a certain level, it absorbs mana to heal your HP.
That certain level depends on how much endurance you have.
Since my endurance is currently 16, once my life falls under 16%, it will use 16 mana to exchange it for HP using the mana suction.
Thanks to the mana suction, my HP does not decrease anymore. The amount reduce by the heat was not as fast as the amount recovered through mana suction.
Although my HP, which had fallen to 44, looked like it would continue to fall, it continued to maintain at that level.
I did not have to worry about my mana either. Since I took the XL weak mana potion, I will be recovering 28 mana per second for the next 30 minutes.
The only problem was my mental fortitude!
Unlike in the game, HP was not just a number. As your HP went down, your strength and mental fortitude took a large hit.
My mind kept becoming hazy.
With the pain relief potion making me lightheaded as well, my eyes kept wanting to shut.
It will be the end if I fall asleep like this. Although I will survive for 30 minutes due to the effect of the potion, once the effects of the potion stop, I will be dead.
'If I fall asleep, I will die. I must persevere. '
I opened my eyes wide as I stared at the HP bar.
'Persevere! Persevere!'
"Hey! Did you die?"
It was the dwarf's voice. He thought that I was dead because I had not come out for over five minutes.
It was normal. It is close to impossible for humans to survive this long.
I didn't respond back. The bright entrance then slightly turned darker. The dwarf must have entered to check my situation.
My body was extremely curled in. I was ready to dart out within a second if a dangerous situation occurred.
The dwarf was extremely surprised at my position.
"Wha, what the? You are still alive? Does this make any sense?"
But the shock only lasted a moment. They were discussing amongst themselves and coming up with explanations before coming to a conclusion.
"We saw him take a HP potion earlier. If he used a strong one, it is possible."
"He must have also used a pain relief potion. That is how he can survive. But he won't last long. There is no way he has prepared thousands of potions either."
"Even if he did, the results will be the same. It is impossible without the endurance stat. Humans do not have the endurance stat."
"Keke. Should not be longer than an hour now."
I pretended not to listen. Nor was I in a state to respond back.
I just needed to show them with my actions anyways.
The dwarves disappeared to the outside once again.
I just continued to persevere.
This was the recipe for success that I found for the Blacksmith quest.
Just using your body to persevere! If you continue to persist for a long time, your endurance will go up, your toughness will go up, and your fire affinity will also go up.
Especially when you push your body to the limit where mana suction happens. Once that happens, all of those increase even faster.
After a while like that, you'll be able to work naturally even in this heat.
It is the stupidest method ever. But it is the only method for a human to successfully complete the blacksmith quest.
'I just need to get past this hardship! Then I can walk on a path of roses! Hold on, Hwi-Ram! Win!'
I just thought about positive things as I persevered and persevered some more.
* * *
"What kind of magic is that crazy fool using?"
"Why is he still not dead? Does this make any sense?"
The dwarves were peeking at Kang Hwi Ram who was inside the burner pit and tilting their heads in confusion.
I can't think of how this is possible. A human can last this long?
They then recalled something.
"How long has it been since he used a potion?"
"A bit over 20 minutes."
"Didn't he use a potion after about 30 minutes last time too?"
"He did. Huk! Then......!"
The dwarves' brains were spinning quickly. They were calculating the relationship between potions and HP.
The amount of HP restored through an XL potion was 50, 000.
Using it every 30 minutes meant it was a weak potion. That meant he was recovering 28 HP per second.
Humans lose close to 100 HP per second in the burner bit. Even if he managed to gain some fire affinity thanks to Bogochan's Necklace, it would still be about 90 HP per second.
Which means that he wouldn't be able to survive using normal methods.
Then there was just one reason that explains how he can survive like this.
It was something all dwarves hoping to become blacksmiths went through, almost like a custom.
"Is mana suction happening?"
"There's no way! That is only possible with the endurance stat. How would a human have the endurance stat?"
"But there is no other explanation."
"You still have to come up with a reasonable explanation."
"Why the hell are you getting angry at me? Did I give him the endurance stat?"
"It's because you keep spouting nonsense."
The dwarves were staring each other down. It looked like they might even start throwing punches.
Dwarves were usually extremely individualistic by nature, so it was normal for them to get into fights. In fact, there were times they would instigate something just to let out some stress.
But today was not such a day.
"Congregation member-nims. Why are you fighting again?"
It was the voice of the priest.
The dwarves were about to throw a punch at each other, but seeing the priest, they slowly backed away.
"What brings the priest over here today?"
* * *
How much time must have passed?
I was feeling lightheaded because of the pain relief potion.
Even with that, it was still so painful that I felt like I was going to go crazy. It made me question whether I even took a pain relief potion.
It was so painful that I debated about 'why did I start this?' to 'should I just give up and pay it off with money?'
In the middle of my thoughts, I heard the voice of the dwarves behind me.
"Human! Can't you hear me? The priest-nim is calling for you."
He must have been calling me for a while. I turned my head and looked toward the dwarves with hazy eyes.
"You idiot, you've been in here for more than 5 hours."
"Hey, do you ...... have the endurance stat?"
They must have finally realized it.
They had to. It is impossible to stand the heat of the burner pit without the endurance stat.
I did not respond to him. I just showed a painful smile before reminding them of the bet.
"How is the preparation for the pickaxes going?"
Shouldn't this type of response be enough?
"He does. He really does have the endurance stat."
"You scammer. You tricked us."
Who tricked who? They just made assumptions on their own.
"If you think it is unfair, go report it to the temple."
Nothing will happen even if they reported it 100 times. I never mentioned anything about the endurance stat.
The dwarves just started to frown.
"Hurry up and come out. Did you not hear that the priest-nim is calling for you?"
Why is the priest calling me?
Well, I felt like I was going in and out of consciousness anyways. If I end up blacking out, that would be instant death.
I did need to take a break at least to recover some mental fortitude.
I exited the burner pit with slow steps. My mind was still hazy because of the pain relief potion.
"What...... is going on?"
I'm even slurring my words. I need to come back to my senses.
"There is someone looking for Kang Hwi Ram-nim. Please head outside."
Someone looking for me? Who could it be?
Maybe it is because I am feeling lightheaded, but I can't seem to think of anybo......!
'Ah, there is one!'
It felt like my mind cleared up at once.
'Kaicher, the Warrior of Light!"
The Infamy Hunter from the Ares Temple.
An extremely handsome NPC who monopolized the love of all female users in the game.
Of course the reason I kept Kaicher on my mind had nothing to do with his appearance. It was because of the bad relationship we had with each other in the game.
I did not want to repeat that bad relationship here.
"He has already been waiting for over 30 minutes. But are you okay? Why are you moving so slowly? Should I help you?"
"No. I am okay."
I headed toward the main gate where Kaicher was waiting.
But I did not rush. I can't show such weak side to Kaicher.
I want to only show an unfaltering strong image.
I took enough time for my mind to return to normal. I then combed my hair and fixed up my clothes before I headed outside the temple.
The moment I stepped outside the main gate, I heard a trustworthy voice.
"Kang Hwi Ram!"
I followed the voice and turned my head.
At the same time, I had an 'I knew it!' type of feeling.
The being that created this world must have been a woman. That goddess must have used Kaicher to show her ideal man. If not, there was no way he could have such perfect appearance.
Sculpture like face with smooth yet firm body.
Ah! I shouldn't look at his body. People might get the wrong idea.
I lifted my eyes back up to look at his eyes. He had a strong gaze fitting his chiseled face.
But how did he know my name?
Ah, since he already met the priest of the Volcanus Temple, he must have heard from him. He would have also known I was Kang Hwi Ram by the aura of infamy coming off of me.
"Are you the Warrior of Light, Kaicher?"
"You hid at an unexpected spot."
"I am not hiding. I just came here to erase my infamy."
"I heard from the priest-nim. Take your pick. Will you peacefully come with me? Or will you try your luck and end up being dragged by me?"
Yes. This was the beginning of the terrible relationship with Kaicher!
I will change it. I will turn it from terrible to it becoming a destined meeting. Then one day, I will turn him into my most trustworthy ally.
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[1] What I had as paralyze heals were cleared up to be pain relief potions. I went and changed chapter 31 as well, when he bought the potions.
Last Chapter for the week.
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Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Miraclerifle
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