#should i translate jellyfish's name as Mist Sea King to be more concise?

[lalune9x]

SCTIR Translation - Chapter 473: Inside the Drawer

"A-are you some kind of management system for this place? More importantly, why do you look like that?!" "The default appearance is set to what Master likes most."

Chapter translation under the cut.

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Chapter 473: Inside the Drawer

"Yoo…"

No, there was no way my younger brother would be here. But the figure that appeared beyond the mansion's gate looked exactly like Yoohyun. Even dressed just as he had been at yesterday's banquet.

"Hello, Master."

"W-What are you saying?!"

Looking like that! The voice was completely identical, too! The thing that looked like my little brother smiled faintly.

"I am Number 71."

"A-are you some kind of management system for this place? More importantly, why do you look like that?!"

"The default appearance is set to what Master likes most."

Of course, I liked my little brother—but, wait a minute.

'It's the current Yoohyun, huh?'

What I liked the most. Not how he was as a child or when he had been older. It made sense. My current little brother had changed a lot. Now he smiled more, sometimes acted a bit spoiled, and no longer seemed as anxious. Above all, he’d said he had grown to like himself.

Han Yoohyun was different from ordinary people. Even though I accepted and acknowledged that, I still couldn't help worrying whether it was truly okay. After all, the place where my brother lived and would have to continue living was human society.

But forcing him to live while suppressing his true self, pretending not to know and covering it up, would have been clearly wrong. Wouldn't it? As long as he wasn't hurting anyone, why should he have to conform? Above all, if you lived together, both sides should make compromises, not just one.

So, I definitely preferred the current Yoohyun. He'd likely only get better with time. Occasionally, he might take a few steps backwards or stray off course, but as long as he returned, that was fine. And that outfit suited him well, too.

Anyway…

"Change your appearance to something else. Like…."

Yerim was obviously out of the question, and Myungwoo or Noah-ssi would be weird too. Hyuna-ssi being that polite to me would also feel really awkward. Director Song was always respectful, but calling me 'Master' would be a bit much... Maybe that guy Hamin would work without it feeling burdensome.

"Can you turn into Sung Hyunje?"

After hearing him call me 'master' just yesterday, I wanted to try bossing around the Sesung Guildmaster for a bit.

Number 71 looked troubled at my suggestion. "With your current abilities, Master, changing settings is not possible."

"…What? You call me Master, but I can't even do that much?"

It was hard to speak harshly to something that looked like my little brother.

"It is because your understanding and control of this space are extremely low, Master."

"How low are we talking?"

"Less than 0.01%."

…And you call me Master. Even living in a monthly rental would give me more control than that. It was basically like living in someone else's house.

I cautiously stepped through the gate, glancing around. The fairly spacious garden was full of unfamiliar flowering trees. However, while there were plants, there were no signs of animals like birds, bees, or butterflies. Number 71 in front of me didn't seem to be a living being either.

"Then can you at least change how you address me? Just call me by my name."

Even 'Hyung' would be a bit much.

"Master's understanding of this space—"

"Yes, I get it. It's not possible."

Should I cover his face or something? Maybe put a mask on him?

"What exactly are you?" I asked.

"I am the management doll for the 71st Drawer."

"And you're not alive?"

"I am based on an artificial elemental, but it is difficult to consider me a living being."

An artificial elemental? Now what was that?

"Could there be anything dangerous in here? From an F-ranker’s perspective?"

"It is safe, as long as you don't touch anything first."

That Jellyfish did a good job managing this drawer. I felt a little guilty for doubting its safety. Yeah, looking back, Jellyfish wasn't so bad. Compared to that lizard brat, it was quite decent. The real problem was Chatterbox.

I wondered if about 10 minutes had passed by now. It should be fine if I was a little late. I didn't want to stay too long, so maybe about 30 minutes of looking around would be enough.

"Let me know when 30 minutes have passed since I came in. Can you do that?"

"Yes, that's possible."

"Ah, and time in here flows the same as it does outside, right?"

"Yes. To change the flow of time, Master's spatial control must exceed 80%."

So that would be possible too, if I got good enough at this. I remembered how the Newbie could manipulate time flow within the dungeon.

Walking across the yard with wet socks was unpleasant. Ugh, the squishy feeling was the worst. Number 71 quietly followed me, then went up the stairs ahead of me to open the mansion's front door. Without thinking, I almost said, "Thanks, Yoohyun," because it was so much like my brother. The mannerisms and speech were different, though.

Inside, opening the door on the right side of the long hallway revealed a spacious living room. The garden outside was clearly visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The floor gleamed like polished marble, and various orbs of light floated around the high ceiling in place of regular lighting.

"There don't seem to be any items here," I said.

"This is a place for rest. The sofas and chairs have stamina recovery functions, and the lights provide a calming effect. The food on the table will stay fresh and maintain its temperature for three days."

That was pretty nice. I almost sat down on the sofa but stopped since I was too wet. Even though the stamina recovery function sounded useful, it would be a waste to take it out of here.

"Is it true that I can only remove three items from this place?"

"Yes, that is how it is currently set up."

"And if I improve that spatial control thing?"

"If you become the complete master of the 71st Drawer, all restrictions will be lifted."

All restrictions gone! Did that mean I'd be able to take anything out? My heart raced at the thought, but…

"How do I become the complete master?"

"You must fully understand the space and be able to freely modify, dismantle, and create within it."

In other words, I'd need to reach the level of a Transcendent. How was I supposed to do that? Myungwoo said he could see the structure of mana within the Newbie's dungeon, but to me, it just looked like trees, the sky, and the ground. Maybe I should ask Myungwoo for help.

I left the living room and entered another room. The second room was a study filled with books. After confirming it was safe with Number 71, I pulled out a book and opened it.

"Hmm… must be good content,” I said. What language was this, anyway?

"This study has features that enhance focus. When reading at that desk, the contents will be easier to remember."

I should bring Yerim here! If I took this entire study out, students would line up for a chance to use it.

"There's a three-item limit on what I can take out, but is there any restriction on using the items here?"

"No. However, any items absorbed or consumed by the body count toward the three-item limit."

"…I drank some water earlier."

"The lake water is not considered an item."

So I could bring the kids here, then. But the Newbie said that without replenishing its mana, I could only use the drawer about 30 times. And that was per person. If I brought Yoohyun and Yerim, we'd only get about 10 uses.

What a waste. A real shame. I thought I'd just take the items and use this place as an emergency hideout thirty times, but this place was better than I expected!

"How can I replenish the mana of this space?"

"It can be replenished by the master. However, the connection is currently severed."

"…And to reconnect it, I need to increase that spatial control thing?"

"Yes. Basic mana replenishment requires at least 5% control. Each recharge also consumes the equivalent of ten SSS-rank mana stones."

That was a huge amount. Thankfully, I had the Mana Spring. Otherwise, I'd be sucked dry like a mummy without even filling up 1/100th of it.

This time, I walked down the hallway to the door at the very end. As it opened, a refreshing vista of bright blue water unfolded before me. The entire front wall, about three stories high, was completely transparent without any frame or seams. Beyond it, there was also a terrace built over the lake.

"It really feels like a resort."

"The 71st Drawer is designed as a place for rest. It was also recently remodeled according to the standards of Master's world," Number 71 answered.

I had suspected as much, but it really was a resting area. Had it been remodeled before being handed over to me? How considerate. No wonder the structure felt familiar. Considering the lower half of the King of the Mist Sea’s body, normal chairs wouldn't suit her. A concave design resembling a wine glass would have been more comfortable. And I guessed the interior would have been more tentacle-friendly, though I didn’t know what that would look like.

"That is why the rank of the stored items and the drawer itself are also relatively low," Number 71 added.

They did say it would be about SSS-rank. To me, it felt more like L-rank quality. It was easily worth trading for one of my L-rank skills… except I didn't have any worth trading. At first, I had grumbled about how my resistance skills were like pearls cast before swine, but they had proven incredibly useful. Not just curse and poison resistance, but fear resistance had been useful in many ways too. Not to mention my Caregiver skills. Well, except for Final Thanks…

‘That one, maybe I don't need.'

Honestly, I wanted to act like it didn't exist at all. To get revenge, though… that was a different story. I'd already used it once and gained a lot from it, but… I hoped there would never be another reason for me to use that skill again.

"…If the items here are meant for vacation, they probably won't be very useful."

They probably wouldn't be weapons or armor, but rather things with weird stats and passives. With forms like picnic baskets, beach robes, sunglasses, or floaties.

"Does the space get bigger if its rank increases?"

"Yes. The space expands, and the rank of the items that can be stored also increases. It also becomes harder to detect, track, or destroy."

"Wait, it can be found and destroyed?"

"If an SSS-rank entity has the ability to detect it, yes."

So it probably wouldn't be usable as a hideout against Transcendents. Too bad. Still, there weren't any SS-rank beings in our world. The only exceptions were the occasional SS-rank monsters. I wondered how the level of Myungwoo's smithy compared. Since the Newbie said this place was relatively unsophisticated compared to the smithy, the smithy was probably at least L-rank, maybe even Mythic.

If you compared them, the Golden Smithy was a specialized facility, while this place was more like a vacation home or storage space.

"What else is on the first floor?"

"There is a dining room, a café, and a bathroom."

"And the second floor?"

"A living room, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms."

"What about the third floor?"

"A swimming pool, a lounge, and entertainment facilities. There is also an attic and a basement."

The first to third floors sounded pretty standard. The attic probably wasn't special, so the real treasure would probably be in the basement.

"Take me to the basement."

I would have to figure out how to raise my spatial control to at least 5%, even if I had to learn from Myungwoo. This place was too good to only use a few times and be done with it. It was like a portable vacation home! Wouldn't it be great if I could make it so other people could use it too? It'd be perfect for the kids to rest in when they go on dungeon raids. Transcendents just whipped these things up like it was nothing; lucky them.

Ah, except for the Elder. The Mermaid Queen also didn't strike me as the researcher type like the Newbie or the Jellyfish. Same for the Deer and the Wolf. The Tree seemed a bit more inclined towards this kind of thing, though.

'The Newbie seems to be taking my side a lot lately. I wonder about the other Irreverents.'

The more people we had on our side, the better. Maybe next time I saw the Newbie, I should ask about the Mermaid Queen. She was the one we'd dealt with the most so far. She had even given Yerim a skill, and the Newbie referred to Yerim as 'little droplet', too.

We couldn't reach the basement via the stairs. More precisely, there were decorative stairs in the building, but they didn't seem to lead anywhere. Instead, there was a portal.

"As your spatial control increases, you will be able to move freely to any location," Number 71 said.

There it was again, that spatial control thing. We descended to the basement through the portal. Contrary to the typical underground lab vibe, the basement was brightly lit and welcoming. Inside the rows of display cases were cubical objects on display.

"Those are all items, right? Are they?"

Though they all looked identical on the outside, each cube had to contain a different item. I tried to suppress my rising excitement as I asked.

Number 71 nodded. He looked even cuter because he resembled Yoohyun! Ugh, why could I only take three items? But still, it was great.

"Is there a catalog or something? It could be dangerous to just open them blindly."

"They are safe in cube form."

"Really?"

I quickly opened the nearest display case. There was something like a name tag attached to the shelf where the cube was placed, but I couldn't read it. As soon as I picked up a cube, information about the item inside flowed into my mind.

'A-rank, Seven-Colored Turtle Shell.'

A crafting material item. Were there a lot of materials here? Maybe I could bring Myungwoo to practice with them. As long as we didn't take out the finished products, it should be fine. I picked up the cube next to it. S-rank Phillol Tree Fruit. Was this display case all crafting materials? I opened a display case on the other side and checked the cube inside.

"SS-rank shoes!"

Equipment! It didn't give detailed info on the effects, though. Maybe I'd need to take it out and wear it to find out. I put it down for now and grabbed the next one.

"This one's SS-rank too! But… a spoon?"

What was this? It couldn't be a weapon, right? Maybe food tasted better when you ate it with this? There was a mix of gear and various strange items. It really seemed like an unimportant storage space filled with random stuff. I even found a bag. The one I'd bought in Sollemnis had been pretty useful.

I moved on to check another display case.

"It's a skill!"

The shelf was filled with skill cubes ranging from A-rank to SS-rank. Ah, what a waste! Skills! And this shelf—stats? They increased your base stats? Was this even allowed? Probably because they were permanent, even a single-digit increase was S-rank, but still!

"Why only three?! Jellyfish! King of the Mist Sea! This is too unfair!"

It was like staring at a cake I couldn't eat! I stomped my feet in frustration. At the same time, a sudden sense of urgency hit me. If not just the King of the Mist Sea, but other Transcendents could create spaces like this...

'…If Chatterbox used items like this to help Awakened grow stronger.'

It could make them catch up to our level in no time. Of course, there had to be some limits, but it seemed dangerous to get complacent.

But seriously, how was I supposed to choose from all this? There was so much here.

"Do you have any recommendations? Or maybe I should bring the kids along... By the way, has it not been 30 minutes yet?"

I had been rummaging around absentmindedly for what felt like ages, but Number 71 had remained silent. When I glanced back at him, he shook his head.

"There are still 27 minutes and 45 seconds remaining."

"…What? Hold on a second!"

There was no way only 2 minutes and 15 seconds had passed! Just falling into the water and crawling out must have taken nearly 10 minutes!

"Didn't you say the time flow here is the same as outside? Has it really been only 2 minutes?"

"It has been exactly 2 minutes and 16 seconds."

"…Didn't at least 10 seconds pass while we were talking? Has it really only been 2 minutes and 16 seconds? I mean in the world I came from!"

Number 71 was silent for a moment before answering.

"2 minutes and 16 seconds is in the King of the Mist Sea's time units. In your world's time units, 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 19 seconds have passed."

So it had been quite a while after all! The time units of the King of the Mist Sea's home world were different from ours. Still, it had only been about an hour and a half, so it should be fine. Reluctantly, I put the cube down and hurried outside.