The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 20

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Episode 20
“It’s luminous.”
The most expensive and precious mineral of this era lay before my eyes.
[Etherium] is a crystallized form of ether—a pure crystalline manifestation of energy itself.
Its applications are remarkably diverse.
Depending on how it’s processed, it can serve as a gemstone or function as a battery substitute.
In high-tier dungeons, processed etherium batteries are commonly used to prevent electronic devices and conventional batteries from becoming completely inoperable.
And such equipment commands astronomical prices.
Consider motorcycles or drones equipped with etherium batteries, for instance.
A drone powered by an etherium battery delivers tremendous output, operates for an extended duration, and can even be fitted with detonation devices to function as an explosive.
Furthermore, when refined and converted into liquid form, it becomes an exceptional potion in its own right.
When an awakener consumes etherium liquid, it elevates their ether’s ability stats and increases their total ether reserves.
The effects vary dramatically depending on type and grade, making the applications virtually limitless.
In essence, etherium is the most valuable resource of this era.
Even the lowest-grade etherium costs twice as much as gold of equal weight.
“It’s red.”
Choi Yu-ra observed the etherium I held in my hand and spoke.
“Yeah, it’s red.”
“That’s expensive stuff.”
“Even a newbie knows that much.”
[Red Etherium] enhances an awakener’s attack power and vitality.
Physical damage dealers—warriors and assassins alike—any awaker with such a role covets this mineral.
“How did you know?”
“There’s a method everyone knows.”
I waved the [Search] card to demonstrate.
A lie.
I’ve never actually attempted to use the [Search] card to locate hidden items within objects.
My discovery of the Red Etherium was purely the product of experience.
If you examine the urns inside the Cursed Fortress carefully, you’ll notice that each one bears a different pattern.
Through these patterns, you can discern which urns are traps and which conceal hidden items.
“What about the other urns? How about this one?”
Choi Yu-ra pointed to an urn positioned directly across from us.
“Didn’t you say not to touch it? Called me crazy?”
“W-well, I didn’t know there was etherium inside it.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke in a somewhat sheepish tone.
“Hmm.”
Even Lim Captain’s subordinates, who had cursed me earlier, seemed embarrassed and looked away.
“Don’t touch that one. It’s a trap.”
“Okay.”
Choi Yu-ra smacked her lips with a hint of disappointment.
After catching sight of the Red Etherium, I found myself wanting to smash open every single jar in sight.
“Not that one.”
I kicked over a jar several meters away and shattered it.
Crash!
From the fragments of the broken jar emerged a blue Etherium this time.
“T-that’s impossible!”
“Blue?”
Everyone gasped in shock.
To be honest, I was a bit surprised myself.
“Wow, a blue one actually came out.”
[Blue Etherium] enhances the spellcasting power of mages.
Since mages are rare, Blue Etherium is equally precious.
In terms of value, you’d need about five Red Etherium to obtain a Blue Etherium of equivalent grade.
In other words, it’s worth roughly five times as much.
“Hmm.”
I slipped the Blue Etherium into my pocket and tossed the Red Etherium to Choi Yu-ra.
“You’re giving this to me?”
“You’ve worked hard. And you’ll keep working hard.”
“…Thank you.”
Choi Yu-ra expressed her gratitude, then promptly consumed the Red Etherium.
Whoosh!
A soft crimson aether enveloped Choi Yu-ra.
Yes, that’s the right call.
A sound judgment.
Given the crisis we’re facing, if there’s any means available to strengthen oneself—like Etherium—it’s best to use it.
“Wow.”
“Distributing Red Etherium for free, are we?”
Lim Captain’s subordinates gazed at Choi Yu-ra with unmistakable envy.
* * *
We passed through Basement Level 2, where the drainage system of the [Cursed Fortress] was located, and headed toward Basement Level 1.
“Don’t touch anything carelessly.”
“I know that already!”
At my warning, Choi Yu-ra bristled.
“You seem itching to crack open more jars?”
“N-no, I’m not!”
“Sure you aren’t.”
It wasn’t just Choi Yu-ra.
Lim Captain’s group also couldn’t simply pass by the jars without stopping.
The value of Etherium was that high.
Even knowing the likelihood of a trap, the temptation was irresistible.
“Mm.”
It was far too quiet.
The Cursed Fortress’s Basement Level 2 held no monsters.
But starting from Basement Level 1, monsters began to appear.
Yet this silence… it felt wrong.
Thud-thud, thud-thud!
The sound of multiple footsteps echoed from the distance.
“Halt! Halt!”
Lim Captain shouted, his rifle trained forward.
“Ah, much obliged for your hard work.”
A figure emerged from the darkness, both hands raised.
He wore a snapback, an Under Armour short-sleeve shirt, tactical pants, a plate carrier, and a thick gold chain around his neck—a portly middle-aged man, the very epitome of what one might call a “tattooed thug.”
The stereotype incarnate, one could say.
“Military personnel, I see. And Hunter Choi Yu-ra as well. Pleased to meet you. I’m Min Yong-nam.”
Min Yong-nam had seven hunters behind him, and at a glance, their quality seemed… questionable.
“Hey, Jong-seok, what are you doing? Offer our nation’s servants some drinks.”
“Yes, hyung. Ah, much obliged for your hard work.”
The smallest of the hunters rummaged through his backpack and handed us canned beverages.
‘That’s…’
Something glinted inside the bag as the cans came out.
Swiftly, Lim Captain lowered his rifle.
“I’m Lim Mu-sung, Captain of the Defense Strategy Department. Please, just call me Lim Captain.”
“Yes, yes, I’m Min Yong-nam.”
The tattooed thug flashed an easy grin.
“Meeting folks serving the nation down here is quite reassuring. Haha.”
“What brings you to this place?”
“We were hunting on Level 1 when a sudden eruption broke out, so we fled underground.”
“I see.”
“And you military personnel?”
“We are…”
A whooshing sound—a disc sliced through the tattooed thug’s neck and passed beyond.
Thud, roll-roll…
The tattooed thug’s head fell to the floor.
Splash!
Wet thud!
The tattooed thug’s body collapsed, blood fountaining from the severed neck.
“…!”
Everyone froze in shock.
“What in blazes is this!”
Lim Captain roared at me in fury.
“If you kill someone out of the blue like that…”
I answered with bullets.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The Bren2’s muzzle flashed with fire.
“Damn it!”
“Argh!”
The tattooed pig and his gang screamed at the sudden barrage of gunfire.
“Cha Eun-sung, you crazy bastard!”
Even as Choi Yu-ra cursed, she swung her chain whip, attacking the tattooed pig and his gang.
Barely ten seconds.
That was all the time Choi Yu-ra and I needed to annihilate the tattooed pig and his gang.
“What in the hell are you doing!”
Lim Captain grabbed me by the collar.
“Let go.”
“Why did you kill them! Why!”
“Let me go.”
When our eyes met, Lim Captain flinched and trembled.
“Check that bastard’s backpack over there.”
“Which…?”
“The one who was handing out drinks to us.”
“Check it.”
Lim Captain’s subordinate searched through the backpack.
“Sir, Captain.”
Several Pierrot masks emerged from inside the backpack.
“…Recka members.”
Lim Captain quietly released his grip on my collar.
If they were carrying masks in their backpacks, they were unmistakably Recka.
“How did you know?”
“I caught a glimpse of them inside the bag.”
“Ah, I see.”
“You’d recognize it immediately. These bastards are Recka.”
“…”
Lim Captain didn’t respond.
He probably already knew these weren’t good people.
He’d simply acted cautiously because his military status prevented him from attacking them outright.
“I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding. And… if something like this happens again, please tell me in advance.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then…”
“Let’s loot and move on.”
Either way, we’d defeated the enemies, so we might as well take what we could.
* * *
Looting is an almost essential act that occurs after Awakeners clash with one another.
It’s natural to loot the various equipment and belongings carried by fallen enemies.
“There’s quite a bit here, isn’t there?”
Choi Yu-ra flipped the bags of the dead Recka members inside out, spilling items onto the ground.
Given how long they’d been hunting, various material items cascaded from the Recka members’ bags.
When monsters die, they scatter as Etherium, but occasionally they drop material items like leather or bone.
These material items are extremely valuable in their own right.
Monster remains often contain mystical properties, and when processed, they prove useful in numerous ways.
Lootable items aren’t limited to materials alone.
Above the corpse of the Tattooed Pig, a translucent sphere hovered gently.
A translucent sphere appearing above an Awakener’s corpse is almost certainly a Rune.
A Rune is a mystical stone that contains techniques—skills or stat bonuses.
Runes are dropped by monsters at extremely low rates, and they’re typically related to the monster in question.
Awakeners grow stronger by absorbing Runes, thereby obtaining the techniques or stat bonuses contained within.
“So there was something like this.”
The Rune dropped by the Tattooed Pig appeared to be quite valuable.
Though I can’t claim to know all Runes.
[Fortune]
Rune
★★★
Item acquisition probability +15% upon monster defeat
Passive effect
While it wouldn’t aid in direct combat, it seemed quite useful for farming.
A 15% increase wasn’t a probability to dismiss.
I reached for the [Fortune] Rune.
With a soft rustle, a card slipped from my deck and absorbed the [Fortune] Rune.
“What… what is this?”
I examined the card in startled surprise.
[Fortune]
Magic Card
★★★
Luck +25% (Passive effect)
Luck +20~120% (Upon card activation)
The card bore the image of a goddess with her eyes bound by bandages, rolling dice.
Previously it absorbed the Recka members’ spirit blades, and now it could absorb Rune items as well.
“Um, Eun-sung. What you just did…”
“One moment.”
Ignoring Lim Captain’s question, I channeled Ether into the card.
The card vanished, and the goddess with bandaged eyes materialized before me.
In truth, it wasn’t just her eyes—she wore nothing but bandages covering the essential areas, yet there was nothing remotely indecent about her appearance. If anything, she looked sacred and ethereal.
– To you….
The goddess’s voice resonated through my mind.
– May fortune favor you.
Click, click.
The goddess rolled the dice in her palm, then pressed two dice into my hand.
I carefully opened my palm to see.
The result: 6, 6.
A total of 12.
Your luck increases by 120% for 5 minutes!
The goddess smiled softly, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and vanished without a trace.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————