My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness

Episode 231 Aftermath (3)

The Karma Shop was an essential system for awakened individuals who were transported to another world alone. No matter how outstanding their unique skill or how fast their growth was guaranteed, in a strange world teeming with dangers, strength was always in short supply.

<In the early stages, prioritize safety and accumulate Karma to strengthen your main stats.> This was now common knowledge on Earth, practically an established formula.

‘Of course, there are those who die before they can even accumulate enough Karma. Like Hans, who became an undead in just two days.’

But that crucial Karma Shop… which, despite its name, only had ‘Return’, ‘Unique Skill Enhancement’, and ‘Status Enhancement’…

‘…Required ten million Karma points to unlock the next stage?’

This was information he hadn’t encountered until now, even though he had established a decent information network on Earth. It made sense. It wasn’t easy to accumulate that much Karma, and even if you did, who would just hoard it instead of using it right away?

‘This time was a special case, even for me.’

It was completely unexpected, but it was still a significant gain. He examined the upgraded Karma Shop… ‘Karma Shop Ver.2’, with a satisfied smile.

『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,200,000)』

『Other Skill Enhancement – View Details』

『Status Enhancement – View Details』

『Item Purchase – View Details』

『VIP Market – View Details』

『Dimensional Barrier Weakening (5,000,000)』

Unlike the previous barebones version, it was now filled with new options.

First, ‘Other Skill Enhancement’. Now he could enhance not just his unique skill, but other skills as well.

‘…But only the ones Han Seong-hyeon possesses?’

The detailed list was limited to skills he, Han Seong-hyeon, had acquired. From “Mind Hub”, derived from “Avatar”, to “Super Regeneration” and “Clear Mind”, obtained through status enhancement.

‘It would have been better if I could also enhance the avatars’ skills. Oh well.’

He put aside his slight disappointment and moved on to the next item, ‘Item Purchase’, which allowed him to buy actual items.

‘Isn’t this exactly what Hesperon claimed his ability was?’

The fake unique skill he had used to explain Hesperon’s item summoning through “Avatar Cloud”: ‘Summoning specific items by paying a price’. He now actually possessed that ability.

‘Let’s see… I can only buy things from Auterica right now?’

From equipment like weapons, armor, and magic tools, to materials like food and minerals… Almost everything obtainable in Auterica was listed.

‘…It seems like the price changes based on how difficult it is for me to acquire the item.’

He examined the list more closely and figured out the pricing criteria.

The fact that low-quality iron ore, far inferior to the Aonia-produced ore Howard was currently using, was priced more than double simply because it was difficult to obtain due to its distant origin, spoke volumes about the system. Ṛ𝙖ΝՕβΕ𝐬

Causality was the fruit of Karma.

Simply put, it was like bypassing the process and obtaining the result by paying Karma.

‘Still, not bad. Actually, it’s quite useful.’

The ability to obtain anything as long as there was even a sliver of a chance, by paying a hefty price, was a significant advantage.

For example, items like these, currently listed in the shop:

『…』

『Horn containing the essence of the 14th Demon King, Lreier (5,150,000)』

『Dragon Heart of the White Dragon, Shiraionir (1,830,000)』

『Fragment of the XXed XXX’s XX (30,000,000)』

『…』

“Wow, those prices are insane.”

The price-to-performance ratio was abysmal. The unidentified fragment, in particular, was a whopping thirty million points.

‘It’s probably not something I can just forcibly take from its owner…’

He didn’t know yet whether those items actually existed somewhere in Auterica or whether they were just information about lost artifacts, and how the price was determined in that case… but he decided to put aside those thoughts for now.

‘…I still have plenty of points. Let’s take a closer look and prioritize efficiency.’

He suppressed his urge to splurge and scrolled down, examining the next item.

『VIP Market – View Details』

‘VIP, huh? I like the sound of that.’

He nodded in satisfaction. It was a fitting title for a customer with ten million Karma points.

However, upon seeing the detailed list, he realized that to this system, VIP was synonymous with ‘sucker’.

『Growth Elixir (7 days) (200,000)』

『Random Other Skill Acquisition (500,000)』

『Interdimensional Transfer Formation Summon (1 time) (Auterica) (1,000,000)』

『…』

‘Is the Growth Elixir like an experience booster? Two hundred thousand for a week… that’s almost thirty thousand per day.’

A miraculous elixir that allowed an ordinary awakened individual to burn through a million Karma points, which would normally take ten years to accumulate, in just over a month.

Still, this item was relatively reasonable.

It was expensive, but the guaranteed effect made it worth considering. After all, he had earned ten million Karma in less than a month.

The problem was the following items.

“Random… skill gacha?”

Random Other Skill Acquisition.

It meant he could end up with a useless skill like “Sturdiness”, which the original Heinz possessed. And for five hundred thousand points.

‘It cost me 310,000 to get “Super Regeneration”. And that was a bonus from raising my stats.’

And the next item, “Interdimensional Transfer Formation Summon”, was the same one he had been using as a perk.

A million points for a single use, for emergencies when the perk was on cooldown. He checked if there were any transfer formations to other dimensions besides Auterica, but unfortunately, that was the only one available.

He did learn that a single use of “Extra Life” cost ten million.

‘…Okay, let’s keep these in mind. Now, the last one. Dimensional Barrier Weakening… five million points?’

Unlike ‘Other Skill Enhancement’ and ‘Item Purchase’, which were self-explanatory, the effect of ‘Dimensional Barrier Weakening’ wasn’t immediately clear.

And it was five million points, without even a proper description.

‘Dimensional barrier… the wall separating dimensions. So it weakens that? But I can already freely travel between dimensions…’

He stared at the description, pondering its meaning, and then realized its significance.

‘The restrictions on holy power and the abyss… they’ll be weakened.’

And the penalty on summoning would probably be reduced as well.

Considering the price, there were bound to be other hidden effects.

‘This is a chance to remove the restrictions on Hans, Heinrich… and Harris.’

He felt a strange pull, a strong urge to buy it.

‘…Yes, let’s do it.’

Five million was a hefty price, but it was a system update, a new feature added to the Karma Shop after reaching VIP status.

And it wasn’t even part of the ‘VIP Market’, it was a separate, special item.

‘There must be a reason why it’s so expensive.’

Surely, the system wouldn’t scam its users, would it?

Driven by that strange conviction, he decisively spent the points.

And the result of that impulse purchase—.

“Oh?”

He felt something strange around him, as if the world itself was shifting.

But it was fleeting. The sensation vanished in an instant.

‘Something definitely changed…’

And that was it.

He hadn’t expected anything dramatic, but it was still a bit anticlimactic considering he had just spent five million Karma.

‘I’ll have to use “Individual Projection” to properly check the effects. Now, the remaining Karma…’

About 5.3 million, including the bonus from the achievement.

It was time to carefully consider his next purchase.

__________________________

Beorsen, the desert city in the south, had suffered immense damage from the Immortal King’s rampage.

Countless lives had been lost in the chaos, but the number of survivors wasn’t insignificant either. It was because Hans, while taking a keen interest in the Berserkers, hadn’t actively targeted the city’s residents, dismissing them as insignificant.

Of course, if they had arrived even a little later, the death energy permeating the city would have drastically reduced the number of survivors.

Fortunately, the timely arrival of the hero party had prevented the worst-case scenario.

“Yo! Old man! You’re alive!”

“Kekeke— You arrived just in time. A little later, and I would have been picking up corpses.”

“Grandmother! Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Oh, Misty. I’m safe thanks to you. You’ve worked hard.”

High Shaman Morna, the representative of the Calcos Tribal Federation, who had taken as many residents as possible and hidden within a barrier as soon as the incident occurred.

Putting aside the joy of reunion, she immediately began working to resolve the situation.

With the help of the warriors who had rushed to the city, Beorsen slowly began to recover, and the remaining rebels were being hunted down one by one through cooperation with other regions.

“High Shaman! The Berserkers are regaining their sanity!”

“Kekeke, that’s good news.”

“However, many of them are still suffering from side effects due to the madness. Especially those who were brainwashed for a longer time.”

“Gather those warriors separately. It’ll be difficult to solve with shamanistic magic alone, but with Harley’s help, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

There were still many issues to resolve, but they were all within their capabilities. The situation in the south was practically resolved.

And in the midst of that…

As the chaos subsided, a strange change began to spread through Beorsen.

“Did you see that?”

“Of course! How could I miss such a spectacle?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me neither! I thought warriors like that only existed in legends!”

The residents who had been deceived by Baltheon and supported him felt betrayed. Naturally, they began to revere Harley, who had defeated him and liberated them.

It wasn’t strange. After all, worshipping great warriors was a long-standing tradition in the south.

“Is that why you’re dressed like that? Trying to imitate the great warrior Harley? I thought it was strange seeing you in rags.”

“Ahem, rags?! This is the traditional attire of a true Southern Warrior, a symbol of our proud heritage!”

“If you had the physique to match, I wouldn’t say anything. But you’re just an old man with a beer belly, have some self-awareness.”

“…Come on, let’s fight! I’m stronger than you!”

“Oh yeah? You think wearing that makes you Harley? Bring it on!”

However, no one could have predicted the revival of the ‘Barbarian Warrior Look’, a fashion trend that had declined since the previous generation and was now only seen during traditional festivals.

With the arrival of the superstar Harley, a retro craze swept through Beorsen.

It was currently limited to the city, but it was only a matter of time before it spread throughout the south.

“I’ve heard so much about him, I want to see him in person. He’s so big that Baltheon looks like a child, they say.”

“The great warrior Harley, who fought in Beorsen…”

“Harley…”

Rumors about him spread like wildfire…

《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The skill “Calcos-style Combat Tattoos” evolves into the special skill “Tattoo of the Fighting King”.》

…And Harley became Calcos’s new Fighting King, a title that hadn’t been held for hundreds of years.

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