Chapter 66 - 65: Sampo realizes Life is Tough

Sampo, an 'ordinary guy' who came to this world in search of fun: but what did fun mean to him? To him, indulgence in wealth and pleasure wasn't fun at all. The real joy came from those moments that reflected human dignity. That was the true amusement. At least, that's what he used to believe, until he met Pei Guang. Pei Guang had a level of skill and trickery beyond anyone Sampo had ever encountered: he still couldn't figure out how Pei Guang managed to do the things he did! Sneaking into Belobog by just singing a song, firmly believing that trash cans would yield treasures—and, most shockingly, the fact that they actually did. But, unfortunately for Sampo, though he had gotten things from trash cans before, both times they were just goofy-looking objects. He had even used one as a mask, and when he saw the second one, he finally understood its meaning. The round, bean-shaped face with a slightly roguish grin seemed amusing at first glance. But when Sampo looked closely, he noticed the disdain and mockery in its eyes. A moment ago, he didn't understand why he pulled that out. But now... now he got it. Because now, he was the joke! Sampo had an epiphany after reflecting on the situation. He quickly raised the goofy-faced item, bowed, and presented it to Stelle: "Beautiful lady! Hero! You're a true hero in my eyes. I didn't understand the rules here, but I accidentally stumbled upon your treasure. Now, I, Sampo, humbly offer it to you." Hearing footsteps approach and then stop beside him, Sampo breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Stelle and Seele were still open to communication. As long as they could talk... But when he lifted his head, Stelle was smiling brightly. She held out a bottle of coffee to Sampo: "Since you're so cooperative, I won't be mad. You're quite the smooth talker, so here—drink this coffee, and I'll forgive you." "..." Sampo stared at the large bottle of coffee in Stelle's left hand, then at the glowing bat in her right hand. His expression froze. But as he looked into Stelle's eyes, filled with excitement and anticipation, he didn't see any indication that the coffee was spiked. He let out a sigh of relief. As someone who knows how to find fun in every situation, he could usually tell if something had been tampered with. However, Stelle had already seen through his thoughts. Smiling, Stelle took out two cups, poured half a cup of coffee into each, and handed one to Seele. Then she drank hers in one gulp: "See? There's nothing added to my coffee. Now drink it, and I'll let you off the hook." Without hesitation, Seele downed her coffee too, confident that half a cup wouldn't knock her out. Stelle did the same, leaving nothing behind. Sampo relaxed even further, surprised at how reasonable Stelle was being. He took the bottle of coffee she handed him, laughing: "Haha! You're truly a reasonable hero! Since that's the case, I, Sampo, will gladly acknowledge you as a friend. I'll drink this coffee!" He took the bottle from Stelle, raised it to his lips, and drank. But as soon as it hit his tongue, something felt off. He remembered: Stelle was right beside Pei Guang earlier, and Pei Guang's sincere demeanor was an act. But as Sampo pieced it together, it was already too late. In one swift motion, Stelle grabbed Sampo's head with one hand and squeezed the bottle with the other. Seele quickly moved to hold Sampo's jaw in place. With a firm squeeze, half the bottle of coffee poured into Sampo's mouth. Another squeeze, and the rest followed, all going down into his stomach. At that moment, his vision went dark, and he struggled to understand: "Why... why..." Stelle, mimicking Pei Guang's words, said: "Forgiving you is the job of the Aeon of Destruction. My job is to send you to meet them." Upon hearing that, Sampo passed out completely. Looking at the now unconscious Sampo, Seele curiously asked, "What should we do with him? He's not the best guy around, but thanks to him, we've been able to deal with a lot of problems." Stelle smiled: "No big deal. Now that we've caught him, it'd be a waste not to loot his stuff, right?" Seele leaned in: "Should I do it?" Stelle nodded: "Go ahead! We're all in this together now." Being a person of action, Seele didn't hesitate. She reached into Sampo's pockets and, after a moment of searching, actually found something. Surprised, Seele exclaimed: "Huh? I got something!" She pulled out a fist-sized blue butterfly, and Stelle's eyes widened at the sight. Stelle gasped: "What did you get?" Just as she was processing the discovery, Pei Guang, March 7th, and Bronya ran over: "What happened? Who stole from our stash?" Stelle tapped Sampo's rear with her bat, fireworks bursting forth, and explained: "It was him! He stole our treasure. But after we took him down, Seele managed to loot something. Take a look at this." Seele handed the blue butterfly she found to Pei Guang. Pei Guang looked at it: "Ah, this? It's an attack effect. When you attack, blue butterflies appear as an effect. It suits you pretty well. Here, take out your weapon and I'll apply it." Hearing that she'd unlocked a weapon effect, Seele was delighted. After adding the effect to Seele's weapon, Pei Guang asked, intrigued: "What does it look like? Try hitting something." Seele swung her scythe around, and depending on the force, varying numbers and sizes of blue butterflies appeared. They fluttered around the weapon and the target, lingering for a few seconds before fading away. "It's beautiful..." Bronya gazed at Seele's weapon effect with envy. The blue butterflies were stunning, and they perfectly complemented Seele's combat style, giving her an almost ethereal grace in battle. Seele, finding the ground unsatisfying for testing her new effect, turned her gaze to Sampo. "Sampo! Don't worry, I'll be very gentle~" Taking a deep breath, Seele raised her scythe, aiming the flat side at Sampo's rear. As a skilled fighter, she could control her strength well, and aiming for the part of the body with the most muscle, she wouldn't hurt him too much. With a gentle thud, blue butterflies surrounded the scythe and Sampo's body. Seele finally understood why Stelle was always itching to hit something—it was truly addictive, and absolutely gorgeous. Strength didn't matter: the beauty of it did. Watching this, Pei Guang started thinking: "Seele, Stelle, give me your weapons for a second. I want to try something." Seele and Stelle didn't hesitate. They handed their weapons over to Pei Guang, who then removed the effect from Seele's scythe and applied it to Stelle's bat. He then handed the bat back to Stelle: "Now give it another swing and see what happens!" Stelle picked up her bat and tapped Sampo a few more times. At that moment, an even more dazzling effect appeared. Several blue butterfly illusions emerged along with fireworks, the two forming a mesmerizing display that was impossible to look away from. At that moment, everyone present had an epiphany. It turns out that weapon effects aren't limited to just one—you can stack multiple effects! Different effects can be combined to make your attacks look even more spectacular. Of course, aside from being more visually appealing, the practical improvement was zero. Pei Guang said, "Give me the weapon back for a moment!" Pei Guang adjusted the position of the weapon effects and handed the weapon back. Upon hitting again, the effect changed: instead of butterflies appearing alongside the fireworks, they would now vanish before being replaced by fireworks. Seeing this, Stelle couldn't hold back anymore. "Hurry up and give it back! I want to play with it!" Pei Guang dismantled the butterfly effect and reattached it to Seele's weapon. "What play? That effect belongs to Seele now, so stop hogging it. If you want one, we can go loot more enemies. Judging by how things are going, the drop rate for these effects should be pretty high. But I have to say, based on my experience, Seele's butterfly effect is probably one of the rarer ones." March 7th curiously asked, "How can you tell?" Pei Guang explained, "From the form of the effect and who dropped it. Fireworks are pretty simple—no matter how big, they're just fireworks. But the butterfly effect is different; it changes depending on how hard you hit or how it's combined with other effects. In my years of gaming experience, the flashier an effect, the rarer it is. This guy was probably an elite mob, maybe even a mini-boss, and when you guys captured him, he dropped some top-tier loot." Seele immediately denied it. "Him? An elite or a boss? No way. I know him." Pei Guang replied, "Eh, you never know. Sometimes in games, monsters like this spawn when players are asleep. It might have been a hidden boss. Otherwise, how else could he drop something so pretty? Anyway, no big deal. Since we're all awake now, how about we clear all the lootable chests in the area?" As soon as he said this, everyone perked up with excitement. Especially Bronya, who was already rubbing her hands together, ready for action. She couldn't believe it—if she was going all in this time, how could she still not get any drops? But then, Seele's next words crushed Bronya's hopes like a cold splash of water. "I'm sorry... I kind of opened all the trash cans and dumpsters while you guys were sleeping," Seele apologized. She sheepishly brought over a pile of materials she'd collected. Her face was full of guilt, but she couldn't help it. Ever since she opened the first trash can, she'd been addicted—whether there was loot or not, she just had to check inside. So now, except for the few trash cans Pei Guang's group had already opened, she'd looted every container in town, whether they were accessible or not. The pile of materials and items in front of her was the result. Seeing this, Stelle only felt pain. And if she had to describe this pain in two words, it would be "too painful!" Clutching her chest, Stelle wanted to say something, but nothing came out. No wonder they couldn't find any loot—it was because Seele had already raided everything. Evil! Too evil! Seele had done all this while they were asleep! This must be the work of the Stellaron and Cocolia! If she hadn't dreamed of them, she wouldn't have dreamt of unopened chests, and she wouldn't be suffering this heartache now.