I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

Chapter 309: The Disease That Grows Feathers on the Philtrum 4

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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In the dim underground city, there were roughly twenty abandoned stone dwarves.

They were sitting defeated in the ruins, dying with no tools or strength to mine edible stones.

Han Se-ah hurriedly distributed stones from her inventory among them.

Grandpa Gigi, who had asked who was there upon hearing our footsteps, was in relatively good shape.

Most of the stone dwarves were so old and starving that they couldn't even react as we approached, only gasping for breath.

"Well, I thought there might be other cities."

"That's a vacuum stone, isn't it? And finely crafted at that."

Convincing the stone dwarves who had regained some strength was easy.

Han Se-ah wanted to start talking about the Demon King and the tower as if she was possessed, but there was no need.

All we had to do was show them the modified vacuum stones.

The vacuum stones, which decomposed dirt and rock and left behind only rare minerals, were part of the stone dwarves' identity.

The moment they saw the flashlight-shaped magical tool, the stone dwarves believed in us.

They whispered to each other in their old, hoarse voices, thanked us, and then disappeared into the distance.

Even though they were hungry and exhausted, they must have still been stone dwarves because, after filling their bellies, they walked away slowly but steadily.

"Is it okay to just let them go?"

"They probably know their own condition. Besides, there weren't any monsters in the passage we came through."

Kind-hearted Irene voiced her concern about sending the elderly dwarves off alone, but it seemed there was no need to worry.

Humans might die from stomach shock after eating on an empty stomach, but the stone dwarves, being made of stone rather than flesh, looked much sturdier.

With the stone dwarves gone, only our party members remained.

According to Grandpa Gigi, there was a city above us, so we could either go up the stairs and cause a ruckus or quietly return and prepare further.

"So, what now? Do we head up and take a look at the city?"

"That depends on what you decide, Hanna. What's your plan for the harpies?"

In this situation, the most important opinion was that of Han Se-ah, the player and hero. It was time to call "go" or "stop," and she naturally called "go."

We had entered the underground city expecting a fight but found no resistance. We could use this place as a forward base, but that wouldn't make for good streaming content.

Whatever direction the plan changed, causing a ruckus in the Harpy Empire's city had to come first.

Turning back now would definitely incite the viewers' wrath.

-That's right, lol. What's there to fear? We have Roland on our side.

-It's so dark, it reminds me of the old caves.

-Night vision mode or not, maybe Han Se-ah was right to want to turn the lights on.

-But if there are no monsters or harpies, can't we just turn on the lights? Why are we fumbling around in the dark?

-Are you children of darkness? Turn on the lights!

"...It doesn't seem like there are any enemies, so I'll use a light spell."

"Yeah, go ahead."

A ball of light bloomed from the tip of Han Se-ah's staff and floated gently into the air, casting a soft glow.

Her mana control was so exceptional that she could brag about it.

Instead of a blinding light, she created a dim, mood-lighting glow.

Thanks to her considerate light spell, we could finally see each other's faces in the abandoned stone dwarves' city.

There was quite a bit of dust from the lack of maintenance, so their pretty faces were smudged with dirt.

I wasn't an exception either, and they laughed at me as they looked at my dusty face.

The atmosphere wasn't bad since we hadn't seen anything gruesome yet.

"First of all, I think... there's no reason for us to show mercy when trying to capture the harpies. We're five, and they're an empire, so there will be a ton of them, right? As the party leader, I want to prioritize our safety."

"I agree. As Hanna said, it makes no sense for us to risk our safety to consider the other races inside the tower."

"Same here. But there's more to discuss."

"What is it?"

"We heard there's a harpy city above us. Should we disguise ourselves as adventurers and sneak in, or attack immediately?"

Grace and Katie offered various opinions after Han Se-ah spoke.

Irene, who quietly approached my side, silently watched the conversation between the three.

Should we subdue or kill the harpies?

Should we attack or infiltrate the city?

Should we destroy and occupy the city or assassinate high-ranking harpies?

Although there was a lot to discuss, in game terms, it was simple: decide whether to go for a stealth action or a hack-and-slash game.

After concluding our discussion, we headed up the stairs toward the entrance of the harpy city.

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Raei Translations

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Surprisingly, Han Se-ah chose stealth instead of hack-and-slash.

She seemed to remember when the quest trigger was skipped, and she had to contact Kim Seok-hyun.

As the gap had widened, she was now in a situation where she couldn't even ask him.

Before, they were in the same cave level, but now the gap between them was the marsh versus the highland.

Pulling out a drab gray robe from her inventory that covered her face entirely, her thorough preparation impressed the party members, who looked at her with surprised eyes and complimented her.

"Hanna, did you prepare this just in case?"

"You're thorough, leader."

"I always thought Hanna was amazing."

-Fact: She bought it reluctantly after getting bullied by donations.

-Didn't she grumble a lot when buying it last time, saying she'd never need it?

-She was annoyed about buying the robe instead of bombs, but now she's using the robe before the bombs and getting praised for it?

-Ah, lol, I should be the one getting praised by mommy, not you.

-But why does this city feel so familiar? Is it just the stone dwarves' city brought above ground?

"Well, it's my own money, so the compliments are mine. If you're jealous, log into Heroes Chronicle, recruit a 5★ Saintess candidate, and start playing."

[Gold Thief Han Se-ah donated 10,000 won!]

Does that mean you're starting a fundraising session with that sarcastic remark? (I genuinely don't know)

[Senior Citizen Organ Thief Han Se-ah donated 5,000 won!]

Ah, the return of sarcastic Han Se-ah.

With just one word from Han Se-ah, the viewers quickly became rowdy.

I moved the chaotic hologram window to the corner of my vision, pulled the robe down low over my face, and advanced forward.

Even though we were disguised as adventurers who had been recruited, if things went wrong, we'd certainly be attacked or arrested, so I took the lead.

It seemed like a high-quality robe, as it covered my shield and mace without feeling uncomfortable.

Come to think of it, we probably shopped at the market street on the 43rd floor, so could this robe have been made by the stone dwarves too?

"...Wow, it's bigger than I thought."

"It does look like a city built by stone dwarves."

As soon as we stepped out of the cave, we could see a tall stone building towering high.

The rectangular buildings we saw in the underground city were carved into the mountainside, which was impressive.

True to their harpy nature, with wings instead of hands, they left all construction to the stone dwarves.

Even as slaves, the stone dwarves hadn't abandoned their craftsmanship, and beautifully constructed buildings stood above, while harpies busily flew overhead.

None of the harpies were naked upon closer inspection.

The soldier harpies wore armor, and the non-soldiers wore sweater-like garments covering their upper bodies.

They appeared far more civilized than the harpies of the Kingdom.

Of course, looking at the ground told a different story.

"...Are those shackles?"

"I'd heard about it, but seeing it like this feels really awful."

"Move fasterrr—quicklyyy—move ittt!"

Below the soldier harpy threateningly clicking his bladed talons together, stone dwarves chained up in shackles were being herded in a line.

Whether grouped by age or ability, they were bound together like dried fish and transported somewhere.

While all the harpies flying in the sky, from the black named-grade eagle harpies to those in armor, looked neat and clean, the stone dwarves on the ground were visibly dragging their worn-out shackles around their necks and ankles.

The only silver lining was that there were other adventurers like us, quietly wandering around the corners of the streets in their robes.

Whether recruited as combat personnel or seduced by the harpies' charms, they were still second-class citizens below the harpies and were careful not to offend them by hiding quietly.

As a result, the harpies who saw us discreetly moving around the city merely glanced at us like street bugs and then flapped their wings and flew away.

"Over there, I think we should head toward the most extravagant building."

"It certainly stands out. Even if they are civilized, they can't help liking shiny things."

"Well, humans also like shiny gold and jewels. Even nobles build their mansions extravagantly."

"...Not in the North."

At least there weren't any stone dwarves being brutally executed in the streets or kidnapped humans being tortured and eaten.

If this were more like the Aztec Empire than the Nazi Empire, would Han Se-ah's stream have blown up?

With those thoughts in mind, we walked toward the luxurious building towering in the distance like a skyscraper.