I explained how to use the tablet.
At first, they fumbled with it, but soon enough, they got the hang of it.

Dragging across the screen was simple enough for anyone.

At least they didn’t have one arm like Eun Seoryeong.

I scanned through the list of items.

[SKILLS]
[F-Rank Skill Random Box] [100 items]
[10 BG]
[E-Rank Skill Random Box] [10 items]
[50 BG]
[D-Rank Skill Random Box] [10 items]
[200 BG]
[C-Rank Skill Random Box] [2 items]
[1,000 BG]

Seeing the prices instantly dampened my enthusiasm.

"...This is more expensive than I thought. Most people wouldn't even consider it."

Baeksong sighed.
It seemed we weren’t the only ones reacting this way, as Blinky’s voice echoed.

「Several lounges have expressed complaints about the high prices.」

Even before hearing the whole sentence, I had a feeling about what would come next.

「That’s not fair! I created the mini-games to give you all a chance, thinking of the players! But calling me a thief? That’s too much!」

I wasn’t surprised by Blinky’s reaction.
We’d studied the Tower of Struggle over the past week, piecing together what we could from bits and pieces of information.

No matter how powerful an administrator is, they can’t just hand out rewards on a whim.
To reward players, they have to show achievement.

The Ticket Battle and the 3v3 team battles were all in line with that concept.
Even Jo Seohui’s tournament had been the same.

During each trial, the number of players decreased, which allowed administrators to allocate more rewards.

The high prices were likely an attempt to maintain a semblance of balance.

Kim Min-seong summarized this theory in a single word.

Causality? Coherence?

It was hard for me to grasp the meaning, given my unique Skill Tooltip, but I understood the general idea.

「If you can't receive my gifts, that’s solely because of your own inadequacies! Not my fault! You should’ve performed better if you wanted it!」

An administrator isn’t obligated to help players.
When you accept that, the high prices make sense.

"...You're lucky, Oh Daehyup. You’ve got a lot of gold."

Eun Seoryeong sidled over.
Despite not having enough to buy anything, she still seemed eager to browse.

I counted all the gold coins I had.
There were so many that counting them in stacks of ten felt oddly satisfying.

"Need some help?"
"Don’t touch it."
"We’re teammates, right?"
"Hands off."

I smacked her hand as it reached for the pile of coins.
Ignoring her disappointed look, I double-checked the stack.
Just over 2,000 coins.

"Hmm. This is barely enough."

"...You’re calling that barely enough? Some people don’t have even one."

A big win in the Earthling battles and minor losses in other faction fights had led to this total.

Even with this much, it barely covers two C-Rank skills.

Considering the value of Hatchling Breath, “barely” didn’t feel entirely justified.

Hatchling Breath had been invaluable.
With another skill like that, my chances of survival would improve greatly.

But still, there was a sense of longing.
Humans are strange creatures, often fixated on what they don’t have.

Who celebrates winning third in the lottery?
If you’re only one number away from first place, it’s natural to feel disappointed.
Even a Buddha would probably sigh if they hit third.

So, my feelings weren’t out of the ordinary.

I swiped across the tablet screen, moving to the equipment list.

[EQUIPMENT]
[Purple Armor Random Box] [10 items]
[100 BG]
[Navy Armor Random Box] [5 items]
[500 BG]
[Blue Armor Random Box] [2 items]
[1,000 BG]

The equipment prices were even worse.
I wondered if these were even intended for purchase.

The weapons are similar...

If only I knew the standard of Blue Armor, I’d waste less time debating.

"Administrator."

I called out, hoping for an answer, and the administrator appeared promptly.

「Error Player, do you have a question?!」
"...I’m curious about the Blue Armor Random Box. What kind of equipment comes from it?"
「Ah, let me show you!」

A piece of equipment appeared in the administrator’s hands.

[Black Dragon Scale Chestplate (Blue)][S]
Category: Upper Body Armor
Attributes ▼
【Durability: ＋71】
【Resistance: ＋73】
【Integrity: 70/70】
Options ▼
【Elemental Resistance Lv.3】
【Restoration Lv.3】
【Magic Resistance Lv.3】

After reviewing the details, I was left speechless.

"...So, this is what you can get from a Blue Armor Random Box?"
「It’s an S-Rank, so it’s hard to obtain, though!」

Seeing it up close made the decision tougher.
It certainly seemed worth the 1,000 gold price tag.

Skills or equipment?

Blinky asked.

「Not interested in artifacts?」
"..."

Artifacts weren’t worth considering.
The Book of Illusions would just consume whatever I obtained.

...Wait a minute.

The artifact’s quality didn’t matter to the Book.
Whether I fed it garbage or gold, the resulting boost was the same.

Is this an opportunity?

I reviewed the artifact section.

The cheapest option was the F-Rank Artifact Random Box, priced at 100 gold.
If I invested all my coins, I could secure 20 sacrificial artifacts.

That would translate to a 260-point increase in intelligence and wisdom.

My eyes widened.

「There’s a limited quantity, so you might miss out if you delay.」
"..."

Indeed, some items were already marked as sold out, mostly F-Rank artifacts.
It seemed others had quickly used their coins to grab them before they disappeared.

Only those with money have the luxury of choosing what to buy. Nobody without funds would waste time deciding.

I kept an eye on the F-Rank artifacts, which were depleting in real time.

In a split second, I managed to secure two.
As soon as I finalized the purchase, the sign flipped to “Sold Out.”

I’d acted just in time.
Any delay, and I’d have missed them.

「Quite a sense of focus you have.」
"...?"

Blinky’s cryptic remark came with a smile as she vanished.
I chose to ignore it, given her eccentricity.

I opened the Artifact Random Box and absorbed it.

"Oh... Is that some kind of dragon skill?"
"Yes."

Since Eun Seoryeong and Baeksong didn’t know anything about it, a simple affirmative was enough to convince them.

The Book of Illusions now held five stacks, raising both my intelligence and wisdom by 61 points each.

[The Book of Illusions has leveled up.]
[‘Predation Lv.1’ has advanced to ‘Predation Lv.2.’]
"Oh!"

I immediately checked the Book’s information to see the changes.

【Predation Lv.2】
Each time an artifact is absorbed, intelligence and wisdom grow by 『25』 points.

The growth rate had doubled, from 12 to 25.
This would accelerate my progress from now on.

This is it.

I was satisfied with the result.
I would’ve bought more F-Rank Artifact Random Boxes if they had been available.

"Baeksong, what did you choose?"
"I..."

I wasn’t the only one using gold.
Baeksong was shopping nearby, too.

"I bought this."

She had selected a skill.
She spent all her gold on a single D-Rank Skill Random Box.

"Open it up. I’m curious to see what you’ll get."

Eun Seoryeong watched eagerly, her interest in the gamble apparent.

"Alright, here goes."

Baeksong opened the random box, and the skill information appeared as a holographic text.

"Blood Pact?"
"It consumes a portion of life to boost stats. Seems pretty decent."

Although she didn’t know the exact effects, Baeksong seemed relatively pleased.

Now, it was just me.
How could I best spend my 2,000 gold so it was worth talking about?

...Let’s buy equipment.

The Black Dragon Scale Chestplate I saw earlier lingered in my mind.
I felt like I’d regret not buying it, so I spent the 1,000 gold.

It seemed there were no other buyers since the available quantity didn’t decrease from two.

"...As expected, Oh Daehyup, you’re something else. Spending 1,000 gold as if you’re buying dumplings at a tavern..."

Eun Seoryeong murmured in awe beside me.
In front of her, I opened the Equipment Random Box.

Inside, a lone helmet sat.
It looked hefty, but I couldn’t feel its weight.

It seemed configured so that its actual weight wouldn’t be felt until I picked it up.
Even its size appeared smaller than the actual item.

As I reached in and lifted it, the helmet expanded.

Big enough to fit a human head.

[Secutor Gladiator Helmet (Blue)][D]
Category: Head Armor
Attributes ▼
【Durability: ＋32】
【Integrity: 30/30】
Options ▼
【Blunt Resistance Lv.2】
【Adaptation Lv.2】
【Evasion Lv.2】

It had a full-cover design with narrow eye slits, giving it an odd, almost grotesque look.

The options are pathetic.

Compared to the Black Dragon Scale Chestplate, it was practically trash.

"What is this?"
「Oh no! Unlucky! Of all things, a D-Rank...」
"..."

Blinky’s cheerful tone as she reappeared only made it more frustrating.
I was left speechless.

「Don’t be too disappointed! You still have 1,000 Blinky Gold left!」
"..."