Chapter 112

Morning broke, and a little more time passed.

Then, the moment he had been longing for finally arrived and greeted Taewoon warmly.

【You possess 1 Basic-grade Ticket.】

【Would you like to consume the Basic-grade Ticket to enter the Theater?】

‘…Good, it’s time.’

With the threat of the Gwangseong Church closing in by the second, the hardships and rewards of the Theater were naturally the fastest way for Taewoon to grow.

There was no reason to hesitate in using the Basic-grade Ticket, which had a cooldown.

‘But, before that……’

【The Theater of All Things evolves!】

• Access to the Ticket Office is now available!

• The Spoiler function has been added!

【The Theater of All Things evolves!】

• Access to the All-Things Market is now available!

• The Recollection function has been added!

• Once per day, you may enter the Theater’s Waiting Room without consuming a ticket!

‘…As expected, it changed.’

As Taewoon grew, his Trait, the Theater of All Things, also underwent changes.

And this time, it seemed a large number of particularly interesting functions had been added.

‘Ticket Office? Spoiler…… and what is the All-Things Market?’

Rather than pondering in silence, it would be simpler to check them one by one with his own eyes.

Especially since he could now enter the Theater’s Waiting Room without using a ticket, he would be able to experience most of the functions immediately.

‘Enter Waiting Room!’

Following Taewoon’s will, the image reflected in the mirror fluctuated wildly and swallowed him whole. When he opened his eyes again, a familiar space welcomed him.

‘First…… the Ticket Office!’

As soon as he thought it, a new room appeared in the Theater’s Waiting Room. Inside, there was an unmanned ticket machine, the kind one might see at a cinema.

【Would you like to purchase a ticket?】

• Rare-grade Ticket (3 Coins)

• Epic-grade Ticket (5 Coins)

• Mythic-grade Ticket (10 Coins)

• Transcendent-grade Ticket (?)

【The currency required to purchase tickets is ‘Cinema Coins.’】

【It is possible to exchange 1 Basic-grade Ticket for 2 Cinema Coins.】

‘I see…… so that’s how it works.’

Taewoon had been wondering if the use of the periodically provided Basic-grade Tickets was becoming ambiguous.

And as he had felt last time, it seemed safe to assume that the difficulty of the Theater that could appear was limited by the grade of the ticket.

‘Ultimately, it means that as my level rises, I’ll need more expensive tickets for further growth.’

He was slightly bothered that the price for the Transcendent-grade Ticket wasn’t listed, but since the Theater had been like this from the start, he decided not to dwell on it, figuring it would be resolved on its own when the time came.

The next thing to check was none other than the ‘All-Things Market.’

The moment Taewoon thought of it, another room manifested in the Waiting Room, revealing a small sales counter inside.

As he approached and expressed his intent to trade, a familiar message window popped up as always, filling Taewoon’s vision.

【This week’s All-Things Market is open!】

【Remaining Time: 6 days 23 hours 47 minutes】

• Artifact: Polar Star Katana (8 Coins)

• Artifact: Fragment of Nemea (5 Coins)

• Cinema Skill (Locked): Poem of Hundred-Percent Accuracy (7 Coins)

“What, I can just buy these?”

A shop where one could purchase Artifacts and skills—which normally required immense hardship and building bonds to obtain as rewards—using Cinema Coins.

It was an astonishing revelation, but considering the nature of the Theater he had experienced so far, it was hard to believe things would be that simple.

‘What does that “Locked” mean?’

The only thing he could think of was a matter of experience.

Perhaps even if he purchased an item here, a certain procedure was required to utilize it properly?

Considering the somewhat expensive prices, it wasn’t a particularly attractive option for Taewoon.

‘If I were pursuing safety, it would be a different story, but since I’ve decided to risk it for growth, conquering the Theater properly is much cheaper.’

However, even the All-Things Market had its own strategic sales tactic.

It was the ‘Discount Item,’ of which only one was listed per week.

【Special Discount Item】

• 1 Epic-grade Ticket (3 Coins)

‘This is worth buying……’

It was indeed a great deal. Since the selling price of a Basic-grade Ticket was 2 coins, if he could exchange it for an Epic-grade Ticket by adding just 1 more coin, it was practically a steal.

‘With an exchange rate like this, there’s no reason to refuse.’

Currently, Taewoon had 1 Cinema Coin left over from strengthening the Remegethon, so he could cover the cost simply by selling today’s Basic-grade Ticket.

【1 Basic-grade Ticket has been sold!】

【Acquired 2 Cinema Coins!】

【Purchased 1 Epic-grade Ticket!】

Without a moment’s hesitation, Taewoon sold the ticket and exchanged it for a higher-grade one, then turned his head again to check the final function of the All-Things Market.

【It is possible to sell possessed Artifacts and Cinema Skills!】

【Would you like to sell items?】

• Artifact: Red Wax Mask (3 Coins)

• Artifact: Divine Spear Barata (2 Coins)

• Artifact: Magic Tome Remegethon (3 Coins)

• Artifact: AI Aquila (A71-001) (4 Coins)

• Cinema Skill: The Red Man (3 Coins)

• Cinema Skill: Final Rampart (2 Coins)

• Cinema Skill: Soul Chasing Path Destruction (3 Coins)

【Special Purchase Item】

• Artifact: Fenrir’s Claw (4 Coins)

‘Damn, what’s with these prices?’

But thinking about it inversely, it seemed natural.

If the selling prices were higher, one could repeatedly exchange them for tickets, inducing a sort of hoarding effect.

Furthermore, the ‘Special Purchase Item’ once again offered a tempting proposal that unsettled Taewoon’s mind.

‘Fenrir’s Claw for 4 coins? Honestly, that’s not bad……’

Fenrir’s Claw would have originally been priced at 2 or 3 coins.

But now, he could sell it at a price equal to Aquila’s.

In terms of amount alone, it was a proposal with sufficient merit.

‘4 coins…… that’s enough to secure at least one Rare-grade Ticket.’

Moreover, to be honest, Fenrir’s Claw was the item with the most ambiguous utility among the Artifacts Taewoon currently possessed.

▶【Fenrir’s Claw】

• While possessed: Agility Enhancement Effect equivalent to Level 3.

• While possessed: Mobility Enhancement Effect equivalent to Level 3.

• While possessed: Ability to use Blue Flame equivalent to Level 3.

The Level 3 Agility and Mobility enhancements were helpful enough. And the Blue Flame also had the special effect of burning only the targets Taewoon desired.

However, losing the enhancement effects wasn’t fatal, and what the Blue Flame could do could honestly be covered by Taewoon’s own capabilities.

Including the magical abilities of the awakened Magic Spirit, Reje, it seemed there would be no particular regret or problem if Fenrir’s Claw were gone.

‘…Alright, let’s sell this.’

【Artifact: Fenrir’s Claw has been sold!】

【Acquired 4 Cinema Coins!】

After completing a reasonably satisfying trade, Taewoon left the All-Things Market to check the one remaining function.

【Welcome to the Recollection Room!】

【Currently, recollections for a total of 6 Theaters are available!】

• The Red Man (★☆)

• The Mirror (★★☆)

• Final Rampart (★★☆)

• Who Opened It? (★★★)

• Taming Fenrir (★★★)

• Heavenly Secret Manual (★★★★☆)

“…….”

He had felt the difficulty was high, and as Taewoon expected, the Heavenly Secret Manual was a Theater with a staggering grade of four and a half stars.

At any rate, it seemed there would be no problem in inferring the difficulty of the next Theater he chose.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Taewoon began to check the functions of the Recollection Room one by one.

‘I see, so that’s how it is.’

Uniquely, in this Recollection Room, he could check not only the process by which he cleared the Theater but also various pieces of information he had missed and clues leading toward different branches of endings.

While that was very interesting, he didn’t have a clear sense of how it could practically help him.

Was he supposed to objectively review his own solving process and provide feedback?

Regardless, it didn’t seem like something to be immersed in right now, so Taewoon checked several more times to see if there were any other functions before leaving the Recollection Room.

‘Alright, I’ve got the gist of it.’

His impression after checking the new changes to the Theater was very satisfying.

Although he hadn’t experienced the Spoiler function yet, as it seemed only available when actually using a ticket, it was still a sufficiently satisfying result.

‘That aside…… the problem is another part……’

【Would you like to select a companion? (1/2)】

▶【Cha Yerin】

▶【Vacant】

He had wondered, and as Taewoon’s power rose significantly, a change had come to the companion entry function.

He could now select one more companion.

‘What should I do about this?’

No matter how much he pondered, it was difficult to come up with a clear answer. Moreover, this was something he had to discuss with his companion, Yerin, so Taewoon immediately called her to consult.

“Can’t you just pick one more person and bring them along? It seems like a bigger loss to not use a given function because of this and that.”

“…….”

It was, in fact, the correct logic. However, unlike before, it was also true that there were now many things to be concerned about.

“I’ve already drawn a lot of attention; if something goes wrong, wouldn’t it cause unnecessary commotion?”

“You should be cautious in selecting the target. But honestly, we’re not exactly in a situation where we have plenty of leeway. When a Hunter like Kyurihi is clinging to us, is it meaningful to worry about problems smaller than that?”

“That’s persuasive.”

Indeed, even if more problems arose here, it didn’t seem like they would feel more pressing than the pressure from the Gwangseong Church.

In truth, Taewoon’s inner thoughts weren’t much different. Perhaps he just needed someone to give him a push because he had become too prone to overthinking.

‘In that case……’

Now it became a matter of ‘who’ to select.

As Taewoon made his decision, the faces of the many people he had encountered so far flashed through his mind.