Chapter 18. Vending Machine
While exploring Cave No. 7, I found a vending machine.
【Pururu】─A vending machine out of nowhere?
【003】─A vending machine in a cave…?
【Pururu】─Could it be a monster? There’s that monster called a Mimic that takes the form of a treasure chest. Maybe this is one of those types.
【003】─That could be the case. Be careful, Geon.
It didn’t seem like a monster disguised as a vending machine.
There was no sense of danger at all.
I cautiously moved toward the vending machine.
【Pururu】─Phew. It’s not a monster.
【003】─That’s a relief.
【003】─But it’s completely empty inside.
【Pururu】─Looks like it’s been abandoned.
“Huh? Can’t you see the tickets it’s selling?”
【003】─What tickets?
【Pururu】─I don’t see anything.
It appeared that only an empty vending machine was visible to the assistants.
Like letters floating in the air, it seemed the contents of the vending machine were visible only to me.
“Since it’s a vending machine exclusive to my trait, I guess the items for sale can only be seen by me.”
【003】─Ahh, like that status window thing?
【Pururu】─So what’s for sale? Anything useful?
“Hold on. I’m checking now.”
I peered closely at the vending machine.
It was selling eight types of tickets.
★━━━ 【Vending Machine for The Assisted One】 ━━━★
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 『Ticket Purchase』 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
➤ Evolution Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 1,500 coins
◇ Available tickets: 1
※ Evolves a tamed monster into a higher-tier entity.
➤ Dispatch Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 100 coins
◇ Available tickets: 3
※ Dispatches one tamed monster to another dimension for 24 hours. The dimension is random.
➤ Designated Dispatch Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 300 coins
◇ Available tickets: 1
※ Dispatches one tamed monster to another dimension for 24 hours. You can designate a dimension linked to the explorer.
➤ Suicide Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 1 coin
◇ Available tickets: ∞
※ Painless death.
➤ Return Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 100,000,000,000,000 coins
◇ Available tickets: 1
※ Returns you to the world you lived in. You will lose your qualification as an explorer.
➤ Transferable Return Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 10 coins
◇ Available tickets: 4
※ A return ticket that can be transferred to drifters.
➤ Escape Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 500 coins
◇ Available tickets: 1
※ Escapes to a random dimension. You will lose your qualification as an explorer upon escape.
➤ Reverse Support Ticket ▼
◇ 1 ticket: 20 coins
◇ Available tickets: 5
※ Allows you to send an item you own to an assistant. Only GOLD-ranked or higher assistants can receive reverse support.
║ ⚠ Please check your coin balance before purchase ⚠ ║
⏳ Time remaining until vending machine disappears: 00:33:05
❗ The items vary by vending machine.
❗ Prices may differ across vending machines.
❗ Non-ticket items can be purchased from the wandering merchant. The wandering merchant is a neutral monster that contributes to the development of the labyrinth and never harms explorers. Additionally, all wandering merchants are crocodiles. No non-crocodile wandering merchants exist. Beware of impostors.
I checked all the items for sale.
There were some strange tickets, but a few looked quite useful.
“So, this is where I use coins.”
【Pururu】─Ah, so that’s where you use the coins?
【003】─Can you only use coins there?
“No. It says you can also use coins to buy things from a wandering merchant, which is a crocodile.”
【Pururu】─What’s this wandering merchant now, lol?
【Pururu】─Anyway, what’s for sale in the vending machine? I’m curious, so hurry up and tell us.
【003】─I’m curious too!
I decided to explain the contents of the vending machine in detail to the assistants.
The types of tickets, prices, quantities, and their functions.
I also read aloud all the warnings and instructions written at the bottom of the vending machine.
“By the way, there’s no invitation ticket. I guess this vending machine doesn’t sell them.”
【Pururu】─The invitation ticket isn’t the issue right now.
【003】─Yeah, there are more interesting things here than the invitation ticket!
【Pururu】─You need to buy the Evolution Ticket right now!
【003】─Buy the Evolution Ticket immediately!
Both messages came up at the same time.
It seemed like they were in sync.
Of course, I was thinking the same thing.
If the tamed monsters got stronger, my chances of survival would greatly increase as well.
‘The problem is, it’s way too expensive.’
The price of the Evolution Ticket was 1,500 coins.
1,500 coins were equivalent to 15 million won.
It was quite a hefty price.
‘But since my life is on the line, isn’t it worth investing in?’
After a brief moment of hesitation, I made my decision.
I decided to invest boldly.
What’s the point of saving money?
You have to spend it when necessary.
It’s not like you can take it with you when you die anyway.
【Pururu】─I really want to see a monster evolve! Hurry!
【003】─Me too! Actually, I’m a big fan of Pokémon!
【Pururu】─? That’s so basic. Digimon is way better than Pokémon.
【003】─Huh? Isn’t Pokémon the real deal?
【Pururu】─What are you talking about? Digimon is way cooler. 😒
【003】─Pokémon is cooler and cuter! Don’t say weird stuff.
“Hey, stop arguing over nonsense… Pururu, just send me the coins already. We only have 30 minutes before the vending machine disappears.”
【Pururu】─Okay, okay. How many coins do you need?
“Just send me 3,000 coins for now.”
I asked confidently.
After all, it was my money.
But as soon as I said that, I got two hooks.
【003】─?
【Pururu】─?
“What?”
【Pururu】─Why do you need so many coins?
“I want to buy other tickets, not just the Evolution Ticket. Who knows when I’ll find another vending machine?”
【Pururu】─Wait. How much is the Evolution Ticket that you need 3,000 coins?
“Didn’t you hear me earlier? The Evolution Ticket is 1,500 coins.”
【Pururu】─What??
【003】─1,500 coins? Why is it so expensive?
It seemed neither of them was paying attention when I explained earlier.
No wonder they suggested buying the Evolution Ticket so easily.
【003】─By the way, Geon, how much money have you entrusted to Pururu?
“I entrusted everything. 80 million won.”
【003】─Eighty million??? I thought you entrusted a small amount since you did it so casually, but that’s a huge sum! What made you trust her with 80 million won…?
【Pururu】─What’s wrong with me? Jeez.
【003】─If it was that much, you should’ve asked me to help.
【Pururu】─Shut up. Geon just trusts me more than you.
【003】─You seem like the type to run away with the money.
【Pururu】─I won’t run. 😒
“Pururu, stop chatting. We don’t have much time, so just send the coins already.”
【Pururu】─Are you really going to buy the Evolution Ticket? Isn’t it too expensive? Maybe you should think it over a bit more.
“I already thought it through.”
【003】─Pururu, don’t tell me you didn’t top up?
【Pururu】─I did. What do you take me for?
【Pururu】─Fine, since you’re asking, I’ll send it. After all, the coins I topped up are all your money anyway.
『RED-ranked assistant “Pururu” has supported you with 3,000 coins!』
【003】─So you did top up.
The coin support from Pururu arrived.
At the same time, two notifications popped up in front of me.
『Notification』
◇ Assistant Rank Up ◇
● Target: Pururu (001)
● Change: RED → BLACK
『Notification』
◇ Assistant Rank Up ◇
● Target: Pururu (001)
● Change: BLACK → GOLD
【Pururu】─Oh, what’s this? A message popped up congratulating me on a rank-up.
【Pururu】─Whoa, I ranked up twice. They’re expecting great things from me.
【003】─So you can rank up just by sending money?
【Pururu】─No idea.
I wasn’t concerned with the assistant’s rank right now.
First, I checked my coin balance.
『Coins: 3,006』
The coins were properly deposited.
Now it was time to make the purchase.
‘But how do I make the purchase?’
Do I need to materialize the coins and put them into the slot?
As I pondered this, I tried poking at the floating text in front of me with my finger.
‘······.’
【Pururu】─What are you doing?
Nothing happened.
It didn’t seem like I needed to materialize the coins to buy anything.
Upon further inspection, the vending machine didn’t even have a coin slot.
‘Maybe if I just press the purchase button, the coins will be deducted automatically?’
I lightly clicked the button next to the Evolution Ticket.
In that moment.
『Coins: 1,506』
The coins were deducted,
『You have purchased 1 Evolution Ticket.』
And the Evolution Ticket was bought.
***
After purchasing the tickets from the vending machine, I returned to the hideout.
I had purchased five types of tickets.
1 Evolution Ticket.
3 Dispatch Tickets.
1 Designated Dispatch Ticket.
4 Transferable Return Tickets.
5 Reverse Support Tickets.
I bought as many as I could.
The remaining three types of tickets didn’t even warrant a second thought.
I would never need a Suicide Ticket, the Return Ticket was far too expensive, and the Escape Ticket seemed just as useless as the Dark Portal.
【Pururu】─By the way, why hasn’t Mysti said anything for a while?
【Mysticism】─🙄
【003】─Oh? You were here? I thought you were away.
【Pururu】─Haha, speak of the devil and they appear.
【Mysticism】─😊
I plopped down on the floor.
Then, I gazed at the monsters rolling around on the mattress one by one.
【003】─The mattress doesn’t burn, huh?
【Pururu】─I’ve told you several times, that parsley isn’t ordinary fire.
Dog Spider.
Jellyfish.
Fire Slime.
Which one should I evolve?