DBOFS 33

Chapter 33

The skill descriptions were also incomplete—each one missing a letter or two. And the skill levels? Not even visible.

“You… you petty, sneaky, underhanded piece of crap system!”

Jade fumed with frustration.

“Are you seriously doing this to me?!”

Still, clinging to a sliver of hope, she moved to check the other rewards.

“Jade-nim?”

“Ah, Anella.”

Jade quickly closed the status window and turned toward the voice.

They say people bond in adversity and grow closer in the face of hardship.

“Dolores, Pedro, Perez, Nate.”

They were the group who had stood beside Jade against the terrifying man-eating monster.

“Is everyone okay? No major injuries? Everyone made it out safe?”

They hadn’t even properly introduced themselves yet, but the harrowing near-death experience had forged a strong camaraderie.

“No, I’m not okay at all…”

“Just ignore him. He’s the one who’s the least hurt.”

“I-I leveled up!”

“Me too. Was it from completing the quest?”

Dolores whined, Perez remained calm, Pedro was youthful, and Nate was composed.

“We’re all safe,” Anella, the leader, confirmed as she handed a potion to Jade.

“And you, Jade-nim…?”

“I’m fine. Thanks, though.”

Jade winked, slipped the potion into her cloak, and stood up to survey the area.

Only Awakened or Guides could detect quests and level up.

‘So what exactly is our group composition here?’

It was information that should’ve been shared before entering the dungeon, but since Anella’s group had been dragged in, they had been on high alert, and Jade had been tied up with Harris.

“I’m a mage,” Dolores said, as if reading Jade’s mind while sipping on a potion.

“That Pedro over there is a tank. Used to be a knight, but got fired~!”

“The youngest is an Awakened,” Perez added, ignoring Dolores’ mocking.

“Oh, that’s why you were so fast.”

“Y-Yeah! I awakened my ability…”

“…!”

Jade’s eyes widened at their candid chatter.

Even though people had grown more accepting of Awakened individuals, it was still better not to openly disclose it—especially not their abilities.

But here they were, laying it all out in the open.

‘Well… Jade did save us.’

They didn’t know the full quest objective was to eliminate all the man-eating monsters while keeping them alive. That part was only visible to Jade.

‘It would’ve been easier to survive alone…’

But she had run herself ragged protecting them, slaying monster after monster.

Well, to be fair, she was the one who brought them here, so it was kind of like giving them poison and then the antidote…

‘No, it’s that damned Prince Godwin’s fault!’

Her resentment naturally shifted toward the absent Harris.

It was obvious—who would you trust more: the cotton candy-colored, fairy-like girl or the cold, intimidatingly beautiful young man who never gave them the time of day?

“…I’m a warehouse keeper.”

It was Anella’s turn to confess, following Dolores, Perez, and Pedro.

“My ability is useful for storing and transporting goods. There’s the inventory system, but still…”

“Yeah, that’s an essential ability for a merchant. No wonder you had endless magic scrolls.”

“She’s my personal priest, sniff…”

Everyone’s attention turned to Nate, the last one.

The blond boy wiped his glasses and replied.

“I-I’m an apothecary.”

Jade already knew.

‘Because Nate is an important character.’

Nate Finn, the genius healer of Heavenly Thousand Ghosts.

Right now, he was just a fuzzy potion maker who had barely awakened his abilities, but one day, he’d become a peerless medical expert.

‘In the first timeline, he lost his family and was used like a slave, turning into a mad scientist obsessed with poison…’

Thankfully, in the second timeline, Adrian saved him from that fate.

Instead, Nate would dedicate himself to curing Adrian’s terminal illness and rise to surpass even the temples as a healing prodigy.

‘Ahh, I can’t believe I’m meeting the great Nate like this…’

Jade’s eyes glistened with emotion.

As skilled as Nate would become, he was also infamous among the fandom of Heavenly Thousand Ghosts for other reasons.

‘Especially among twisted fans like me, hehe…’

Thank you for the fanservice. Hehehe…

Recalling some of the… spicier fanfics, Jade broke into the kind of serene smile only morally questionable people wear.

“…?”

Clueless, Anella continued introducing her nephew.

“The potion I gave you just now was made by Nate.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

Given how indebted she was to him in many ways (?), Jade instinctively became more respectful.

“I-It’s not that impressive! I-It’s just a C-grade healing potion…”

Perhaps from the praise or Jade’s sparkling eyes, Nate flailed bashfully.

“You made a C-grade potion at your age? That’s incredible!”

That’s why you’ll be able to make those other kinds of potions in the second timeline… I’m rooting for your future. Please continue to bless us, hohoho!

Jade’s blush deepened, matching her increasing excitement over her indecent thoughts.

‘He… he thinks so highly of me…!’

For some reason, Nate’s heart pounded at Jade’s unshakable trust.

‘I can’t let her down.’

Aunt Anella always said guys who do their jobs well are the coolest! Nate adjusted his glasses and said,

“T-Then if everyone’s rested, let’s move on to gathering materials.”

“Whaaat~?”

“I was really hoping you’d forget about that.”

“Nate, you’re way too diligent…”

Everyone grumbled as they stood up. But truthfully, collecting dungeon byproducts was the real reason Anella’s party had come.

Dungeon harvesting time!

‘Finally, the main event.’

Things had gone a bit off track, but this was the original plan.

“Look for moss that’s lavender, pink, or sky blue. You’ll know it when you see it. Like this one!”

Jade pointed to some pale pink moss on the dungeon floor.

“Whoa, didn’t know that was there.”

“Same here.”

Even the dungeon veterans were surprised.

‘Yeah… you can’t see it unless you’re looking for it.’

A dungeon was essentially a foreign dimension bleeding into this world.

It was like ripping a piece of paper and gluing in something completely different.

‘And this moss plays the role of glue.’

The oddly colored moss filled the rift and prevented the alien space from collapsing into this world. It brought harmony to dissonance.

Once it used up its energy, it would turn back into the usual dark, ominous moss.

“Or something like this works too.”

Pop. Jade plucked a glowing neon fruit near the moss.

It looked like something no sane person would eat.

‘Who would guess this is a key ingredient in tranquilizers?’

Adrian, the protagonist of Heavenly Thousand Ghosts, would. And he made a fortune from it.

‘Sorry, Adrian. I’ll be taking that fortune.’

But it’s for your own good, I swear. Not like I’ll pocket it all… right?

Of course Jade would. Under a fake name.

‘You never know—options are always good.’

For Plan B, if nothing else.

Plan A: Raise Harris into a Duke and steal the Emperor’s Haiju Stone.

Plan B: Fake identity and run away if things go south.

‘And if I want to disappear without getting caught, I need my own stash.’

She thought of all the tragic female leads who got caught quickly because they were broke. Her eyes filled with tears again.

‘I absolutely cannot suffer like that.’

The underground prison was already traumatic enough… Ideally, Plan A would work and she wouldn’t need to run.

Thanks to the dungeon’s system, Jade was almost certain she was a Guide.

But if she wasn’t…

‘Harris would abandon me.’

Just like he said he would.

And he wouldn’t just walk away. He’d probably go berserk, screaming that she’d deceived him.

‘Just like in Heavenly Thousand Ghosts, when Adrian blackened after betrayal.’

Jade trembled. No matter how much she loved Harris, she never wanted to see that side of him—

[Sudden Quest Triggered!
<Calm the Rampaging S-Class Awakened: Harris Godwin!>]

—What?

The quest requirements were a joke.

‘High difficulty, time limit, and penalty… total party death?!’

Are you insane, system?

Jade clutched the pendant hanging from her neck—Adrian’s stone.

Thump, thump—her heart pounded from the shock.

And this awful quest didn’t even show the rewards!

‘You’ll “analyze my actions and reward me appropriately”? What kind of vague nonsense is that?! Is this a joke?!’

But joke or not, she couldn’t refuse.

‘B-Because I’m Harris’s Guide… for now.’

This was bad. Very bad. She wasn’t even sure if she was his Guide—and now he was rampaging?

‘…Could it be Rage Syndrome?’

Jade turned pale.

If that were the case, this was really bad.

His previous berserk episode was caused by losing control of his overflowing mana while trying to suppress his power.

‘But Rage Syndrome…’

Jade bit her lip.

That was on a completely different level.

‘Is that why it’s marked as high difficulty? But if that’s true, it should’ve been top difficulty…’

Her delusions of hope spun faster.

Yeah, it’s not top difficulty, right? So it’s probably not Rage Syndrome.

‘It’s not. It can’t be!’