Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 317

“I’ll be back.”

A faint voice echoed in my dream.

As I moved my stiff body, I barely managed to lift my head and caught a glimpse of Sohee’s back as she exited the room.

“Take care…”

I managed to croak out a greeting with a voice that cracked.

Sohee, who had been walking away, hesitated for a moment and turned to look at me.

Her eyes were filled with longing.

The desire that had burned hot throughout the early morning still seemed unquenched.

But time was on my side.

Sohee had no choice but to leave the house behind, holding onto her regret.

“Ah…”

I let out a sigh of relief as I got off the bed.

At this point, I was more accustomed to greeting the morning in my birthday suit than getting dressed for it.

I quickly showered and slipped into fresh clothes, all set to start the day.

If Sohee hadn’t gone to school, I would have been dragged into the bathroom for another chaotic scene.

Today’s breakfast was the Pork Cutlet Lunch Box I had ordered yesterday and then forgot about.

I took it out from the fridge, popped it in the microwave, and began my meal.

The crispy coating was gone, replaced by a slightly soggy texture, but hey, as long as it tasted good, who cares?

With a sharp knife gripped in my hand, I glared at the pork cutlet.

The large kitchen knife was too heavy to handle properly, but this light knife would obey my will.

“Ha!”

With a mighty shout, I swung the knife down mercilessly onto the pork cutlet.

Behold the art of Pork Cutlet Swordsmanship—

My clean and fluid cuts transformed the pork cutlet into a flawless masterpiece.

“Hmm…”

As expected.

My skills were still top-notch.

With a satisfied smile, I speared a piece of pork cutlet with my fork.

Having breakfast meant I was ready to log into Deron.

I dashed to the designated capsule room and stopped in front of the capsule.

Swallow—

I nervously gulped.

I had seen Sohee leave for school, but lingering memories held me back from reaching out.

What if Sohee was secretly sneaking into this capsule, hiding away?

I sighed and shook my head.

No matter how much Sohee had turned into a living embodiment of desire, she wouldn’t reach out for me at the expense of her studies.

At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

Beep—

Pressing the capsule button, the lid lifted upwards.

I keenly scanned the inside of the capsule, ready to back out at any moment.

“Ah…”

After my inspection, I found no sign of Sohee.

Only then could I relax and board the capsule.

I had been dragged into my bedroom after dinner, preventing me from logging into Deron yesterday.

Today, with one day lost, I planned to burn through a session of Deron.

The moment I made that small vow, my vision flashed, and my body began to soar.

To be more precise, my consciousness was taking flight.

Passing through the familiar character selection screen, I arrived in the heart of a colossal Capital City.

“Hehe!”

With my hands on my hips, I laughed heartily.

The moment I logged into the game, all the muscle aches that had weighed me down vanished instantly.

I headed straight for the mailbox.

Having been a daily log-in player, I found an overflowing pile of worried messages from acquaintances, which seemed quite odd for having been absent just one day.

No problem at all.

It was just a slight situation I couldn’t mention.

While drafting replies, I checked the Guild Chat.

It was a weekday morning, so not many were online, but some still held their ground.

Snow Mage—[Blood Demon King!!!! Is something wrong??? You’re not off on another month-long journey, are you?]

As expected.

The one who reacted most vigorously was the Snow Mage.

Instead of explaining the messy situation in the Guild Chat, I wrote a brief response.

Yeo—[Just had some stuff to deal with. I’m okay now.]

Snow Mage—[You’re really okay, right?]

Yeo—[Yes~]

That should suffice.

I closed the chat window and moved to a spot with an event vending machine.

[Gold Point Vending Machine]

It wasn’t just me approaching the vending machine with its red exterior.

“Please! Please! This time, please!”

Some users were shouting in front of the machine, while others stood quietly, praying to the heavens.

In that line, I spotted a familiar name.

A Thief donned in a Black Mask.

It was Melvin.

“Ha…”

The person at the front sighed in despair and stepped aside from the vending machine.

It seemed they hadn’t received the item they wanted.

Next up was Melvin’s turn.

He approached the machine, swallowing nervously.

“What are you gonna pull?”

“Uh, uh!”

Noticing a familiar face, I approached to say hi, but Melvin jumped and nearly fell over.

Guess I startled him a bit.

I awkwardly waved as I chuckled.

“Hey?”

“Ah, ha… it’s you?”

“Why are you so startled? Got a loan shark after you or something?”

Melvin turned his face away, avoiding my question.

Looks like he really did have debts following him.

“What are you gonna pull?”

“Hmm… Cloak of Pitch Darkness…”

Ah…

I nodded at Melvin’s answer.

The Cloak of Pitch Darkness was a costume item that could only be obtained from this vending machine.

With a special effect where black aura flares up behind the wearer, it was in high demand among players.

Once he stood up, Melvin took out a golden card and inserted it into the machine.

Of course, what Melvin bought was the [Random Costume Box].

Clunk-clunk-clunk—

Three boxes dropped from inside the vending machine.

Melvin, standing before the boxes, swallowed hard in anticipation.

I watched him with a pitying expression.

The Cloak of Pitch Darkness had a unique grade, with a mere 0.1% chance of appearing from a box.

To think he was trying to pull this with just three boxes was absolutely impossible.

“Haah!”

With a loud shout, Melvin opened a box and slumped down with a face full of despair.

[Melvin has obtained ‘Chick Headband’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[Melvin has obtained ‘Guard’s Gauntlets’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[Melvin has obtained ‘Stylish Adventurer’s Cloak’ from the Random Costume Box!]

I nodded as I checked the system message.

Just three boxes. It was the expected outcome.

I walked past the despairing Melvin and approached the vending machine.

Now it was my turn.

Just like Melvin had done, I took out my card and inserted it.

Then I started spamming the [Random Costume Box] button.

Clunk—! Clunk—! Clunk—! Clunk—!

As I hammered the button, boxes poured down like a waterfall.

Melvin nearby stared at me, mouth agape.

I enjoyed the moment, shrugging my shoulders.

For an average player, buying a box once in a while was the norm.

But not for me.

This time I bought a total of 20 boxes.

So that meant I blew 20,000 Gold on these boxes.

Melvin, eyeing my mountain of boxes, stammered, “Y-you… spent that much gold on costumes?”

I didn’t respond to his comment.

How could I brag about having spent all my pocket money from Sohee on costume boxes?

Clearing my throat, I moved to a secluded corner.

A place with few other users.

Finding the least suspicious spot, I placed the boxes down.

But I couldn’t open them just yet.

I turned around and glared at Melvin.

He had followed me from near the vending machine.

Looks like he was eager to see what would come out of my boxes, but no way that was happening.

Opening random boxes with a Thief nearby?

That would be pure madness.

Thieves are all about stealing something.

Which means my luck could get nicked too.

Yeah, it was just a baseless superstition, but I believed in it.

“Hmm…”

As I silently glared for a while, Melvin sighed and moved away, resigned.

Now was my moment.

The biggest threat had just left, making this the perfect timing.

As the invisible flow brushed by, I began to open the boxes.

“Haah!”

[You’ve obtained ‘Bunny Headband’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[You’ve obtained ‘Puppy Necklace’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[You’ve obtained ‘Stylish Sunglasses’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[You’ve obtained ‘Villager’s Boots’ from the Random Costume Box!]


…


…


…


[You’ve obtained ‘Crow’s Helm’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[You’ve obtained ‘Cloak of Pitch Darkness’ from the Random Costume Box!]


[You’ve obtained ‘Cat Pants’ from the Random Costume Box!]

“It’s here!”

A unique costume popped up from my haul of 20 boxes.

Though it wasn’t the costume I specifically wanted, getting a unique grade was definitely not a loss.

[Cloak of Pitch Darkness]

Unique/Non-tradable

A cloak said to be worn by the ancient ruler of darkness.

Grants the wearer an effect of ‘Dark Aura.’

While it doesn’t boost stats, the special effect of Dark Aura alone gives it immense value.

I opened my costume window and equipped both costumes.

I donned the Cloak of Pitch Darkness and the Cat Pants.

Swish—!

The black cloak gracefully flowed down behind me.

Right after, a black aura subtly began to rise over my body.

“Hehe…”

A smile naturally emerged.

The users standing by the vending machine eyed me with envy.

Their gazes were filled with jealousy, awe, and desire.

I intentionally struck a cool pose, relishing their attention.

Even though I’d blown all my pocket money from Sohee, I knew she wouldn’t mind if I showed her this cloak.

With a satisfied grin, I strolled leisurely through the Capital City, savoring the moment.

Behold.

This cloak.

A magnificent item of rare value, not everyone can obtain.

The users’ gazes were exhilarating.

I flaunted my cloak as I hopped between channels.