Chapter 28 – 28. The Way to Become Stronger

‘I’m going crazy..’

I felt like my hair was going to fall out from the extreme agony.

‘I shouldn’t be too stressed… ‘

If I were to lose my hair, it would be over. I had to protect my hair as much as possible.

This isn’t just a cosmetic issue. It is not a childish stubbornness to not want to go bald. This is a matter of survival.

And I was already prepared to go bald.

‘I’m actually not afraid of going bald. The only thing I’m truly afraid of is a situation where I can’t use skill theft.’

Above all, I told Saeyeon in advance that my hair would inevitably fall out, and I asked Ayun for her understanding. Hyuna laughed a little, but she spoke seriously, so she listened. Even my women convinced me that I would eventually lose all my hair.

[Choose slowly. Whatever you choose is fine. No matter which option you choose, it won’t be bad.]

The store manager smiles and smokes a cigarette while I am in trouble. He seemed to be unaffected by time. He just smiles as if this moment with me is fun.

“Haa..”

Actually, I’m in serious trouble right now because I don’t know which to choose between the two items.

‘Skill enhancement cards and rejuvenation cream..’

A card that can enhance one of the skills I currently have. What would happen if we strengthened the already S-level skill theft with this? Maybe the penalty itself will disappear. You can only take away skills without your hair falling out.

‘But… If that’s not the case, the skill effect may just be strengthened… ‘

For example, it may be strengthened by giving you a choice whether to take away a skill or not, or it may be strengthened by allowing you to synthesize the acquired skill.

The concern here is that the penalty, which can be said to be a fundamental limitation, is further strengthened.

‘If the skill is strengthened and the penalty increases… It’s a mess…’

On the other hand, rejuvenation cream is a product whose effectiveness is clearly guaranteed. It can be said to be a kind of penalty remover. That’s right, if you apply it on your face, your body will definitely be rejuvenated to what it was a year ago.

‘If you use it once a year, you can keep your hair silky smooth… And all the wounds will heal.’

First of all, apply the cream today to make your hair grow, and then apply the cream on the same day next year and you will have full hair again. Then, you can eat the penalty and continue to accumulate skills. Until the cream is used up.

Here I have a few questions.

“Hey… Are you going to sell these items the same way next time?”

[Huh? Hmm.. No. Next time I will sell completely different items. Because that’s the rule.]

“So… If I don’t buy it today, I’ll never be able to get it?”

[That’s not right. This is… A kind of random element. It’s different every time I visit. You might be able to get it again. Maybe not.]

“Aha… But maybe. “If I go through the entrance, will the gate remain open?”

[No, the moment you have already entered, the ‘entrance’ disappears and only the ‘exit’ remains. You can say that if you leave, you won’t be able to come back until you find the ‘entrance’ next time. Especially… This store is close to a singularity. There may not be a next opportunity.]

“Crazy..”

As Volv said earlier, this is a store that not everyone can come to. Even if the purple gate opens, there is no guarantee that you will be able to return here.

“Whoa… Um… I have an ability called skill theft… Can you tell what will happen if this is strengthened?”

Hehe. You must be quite worried. Think carefully. In the end, your concern is… Isn’t it the hair that has fallen out sparsely? There are ways to make it grow new.]

“Yes..?”

[Rejuvenation cream means a return to a kind of save point. It can be said to be the only solution when the body is completely contaminated or mutated to the point where it can no longer be used. It is not a product for regenerating hair. There are more things to grow your hair than you think. So, there is no need to buy a rejuvenation cream to make your hair grow. What is it like? My advice is.]

“Wow.. This is awesome. “It was great advice.”

Haha! Thank you for the compliment.. I wrote it. Phew.]

I was very shocked by the manager’s advice on how to smoke cigarettes in style.

‘No one on Earth has been able to grow new hair… At best, they can plant it…’

After all, the world is wide. It seems that there are people somewhere who have achieved something that Earthlings have not dared to do. And it looks like the benefits of the civilization they created can be saved through the gate.

‘In that case, the problem with the hair can be solved by finding the related item, so it’s best to purchase a skill enhancement card now.. Your body won’t be contaminated or mutated right now..’

I’m sure I’ll be able to find the answer if I go through the labyrinth beyond the gate.

“I will buy a skill enhancement card.”

Haha! Good.]

The store manager randomly put the coins he received from me into the drawer and ‘deleted’ all the remaining items, leaving only the card on the counter.

In the first place, I think this old coin was a worthless item to the store manager.

The focus is simply on the fact that ‘selling products for a fair price’ is the only thing that is focused on. And the fair price is set at this coin.

“Then..”

I used the skill enhancement card right away. As I tore the plain gray card in half, a window I had never seen appeared before my eyes.

[Select a skill to strengthen.]

[One. [Skill Robbery]

[2. Steam engine]

[3. Detection of reason]

[4. Bioelectricity]

[5. Crushing slam]

[6. Insight into ability]

[7. Bullet weaving]

There is nothing to worry about. Of course, there is only one option for me to choose.

‘Strengthens skill theft.’

Soon a new strength came into my body.

[‘Skill Steal (S)’ is strengthened.]

[Skill Stealing (S+)]

[Effect: You can kill an awakened person and take away one of the awakened person’s skills. You can transfer stolen skills. If you transfer the skill, you can absorb a small amount of the opponent’s hair.]

[Handicap: Skills can be transferred to awakened people.]

[Penalty: Each time a skill is taken away, 30 strands of hair fall out. If there are no more hairs to fall out, you can no longer use Skill Steal.]

“Wow…”

Crazy.

It is quite different from the existing explanation. The existing explanation had a definitive tone, ‘It can be taken away’, but the description of the enhanced skill was changed to ‘It can be taken away’.

Doesn’t this mean that it can be taken away or not taken away depending on my choice?

‘I don’t think that’s the only reason the explanation changed like this..’

This alone was huge enough, but it didn’t end there.

‘Skill transfer…’

I can also give the skills I have to the awakened person. It’s even more amazing that when you give a skill, you can even take some of the opponent’s hair and recover.

‘Plus the penalty was reduced… ‘

The existing handful was reduced to 30 strands. The amount of a handful was more than I imagined, but since only 30 strands were lost, the hair loss rate due to skill acquisition decreased significantly.

‘It has been lowered to the level that a typical hair loss person would lose hair when taking a shower.. Good..’

If I had been able to get this sooner, my forehead would have been fine. It’s a bit disappointing, but it’s still somewhere.

‘And maybe… If you strengthen it once more, the penalty itself will be deleted… And you may be able to give skills to non-awakened people to turn them into awakened people… ‘

Will I be able to get another skill enhancement card next time? If that’s possible… I might be able to create an awakened person to my taste.

‘I think it would be quite nice to kill the shitty guys and share the stolen skills with normal people..’

For example, if we could catch and kill all the bastards at Dongyeong High School and give their skills to normal people, we could easily form a group of survivors made up of awakened people.

I think this was a much better choice than the rejuvenation cream.

“Thank you!! I’ll come again next time!”

[Hehe. You look satisfied. Yes, I’ll be waiting forever. Come again. Let’s live and see.]

All fear of the store manager’s appearance disappeared. He was just a damn good person. He told us so many things … And even he sold Giyeon at a whopping 90% discount … Wasn’t he actually an angel?

‘If there wasn’t a discount, I would have had to purchase it with 120 coins without any benefit..’

Then I would have had to go home empty-handed, without being able to buy anything.

‘With this.. I have become stronger.. I can kill an awakened person and a nabal without hesitation..’

I pushed through the exit of the store and went out. Then my body was engulfed in a bright light and metastasized.

I soon lost consciousness.

******

-Wow…

“Wow..”

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the master bedroom of room 1003.

In the main room, the trapped man in room 1003 and my companions were waiting.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes. Haha.. I’m fine.”

Saeyeon quickly hugged me and asked. He seemed very worried. I patted her back and calmed her down. I was surprised as it was my first time seeing the scene of going through the gate.

“It arrived sooner than expected?”

“Uh. But how long did it take?”

“Approximately 30 minutes?”

As I was holding Saeyeon, Ah Yoon looked at her watch and said that. Fortunately, time inside and outside seems to flow similarly.

“What did you get? “I’m curious.”

Hyuna asked, looking at the empty bag. There’s a lot to explain about this…

I knocked out the struggling man in room 1003 and then explained to the group what I had experienced inside the purple gate.