NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Promotional Event
༺ Promotional Event ༻
Karlstein was browsing the community looking for candidates for the Promotional Event.
“Hmm. This one has too little Karma.”
“Mm? Ah, this guy’s Dimensional Store hasn’t opened yet.”
“Hmm. This one is from too far a dimension. Even though there is a VAT, it would be a loss for me, so it’s not really worth it….”
Kim Youngsik’s dimension had a large relay installed and Virdel’s dimension had a small relay installed, but it was still far from enough. That was why he named it the Open Beta Service.
“Well, we can just expand the relay slowly.”
There was no rush.
Research on dimensions was currently being conducted in a very active manner. It was hard to predict how long it would take as it wasn’t as safe as the Dimensional Store, but the Interdimensional Material Transfer System was being developed quickly.
And plans to gradually solve issues with stock and diverse item types while expanding were in place.
“Let’s see, let’s see.”
Then, a suitable candidate caught his eye.
The total amount of points was in the hundreds of millions, and it seemed like he visited the community often. However, his VIP-Grade was 0, indicating he wasn’t much interested in the Dimensional Store.
“Hmm.”
-Writer: Mount Song Tiger Batter Up
-Title: my,, esteemed,, members,, today’s,, dish is,, good for your body hehe and,, tasty stir-fried bok choy~^^
A user who posted daily cooking recipes without fail.
-Title: Kaaaaaaak~~~ptui! Instead of,,, those poor chickens,, how about,, some healthy,, fried tofu? hehe [34]
-Title: Handmade,, by me, lotus hehe root!!^^ Tastily,, braised? [4]
-Title: Dear members,, the weather is,, so nice,, kyaaa~!! hehe,, today I’m stir-frying eggplants,, I grew myself,,, whhheeeeewhoooo~^^ keke [2]
-Title: Received from a donator,,, to the temple hehe,, so thankful,, for the bean stalks^^,, a meal hehe filled with happiness,,! [0]
-Title: Hey~~~ you rascals~~~~ keke, you dog-like,, things!! chicken,, is also,, a living being,, just like,, you bunch~!! [47]
If a rather special part about him had to be picked out, it was that he was a vegetarian who often commented aggressively in an indiscernible, unacceptably terrible way?
It seemed the opinions and reactions on him were split.
ㄴBig Brother~!!,, thanks,, for the great hehe info today~!!^^
ㄴthis lad seems to cook pretty well
ㄴHuman. It seems you know what is up. Eating meat is truly barbaric.
ㄴThat’s right! Humans bad!
ㄴveggy vegetable masterchef
ㄴmy oh my hehe,, fokin hell,, that rhyme tho,, speak yo shit-!!
ㄴisn’t he the shaolin temple gramps?
ㄴyepyep part of an arhat hall or something
A user casually posting cooking content and interacting with others. There were quite a few members of the elf species in the community, making him a somewhat famous Named Eser.
However, as strong as his individuality(?) was, there were also many users who disliked him.
ㄴdo all vegetarians talk like that? disgusting af.
ㄴthose pointy ear mfers,, should just,, have their head,, chopped off!!
ㄴIf you’re vegan, you should just chew on some cow fodder.
ㄴhey gramps, how did that you get those gains without meat?
ㄴi bet even vegans can’t resist fried chicken, u know?
ㄴffs fix your way of talking!
Karlstein didn’t care whether the person in question was vegan or not. If he wasn’t trying to particularly force others, it was his personal freedom, wasn’t it?
When looking into the background of the unidentifiable martial artist known as ‘Mount Song Tiger Batter Up’, he seemed to maintain a balance rather than causing disputes.
However, since the Dimensional Store opened and posts about fried chicken mushroomed, it seemed he was ticked off. It wasn’t clear whether it was because his cooking posts were buried under the mass influx of posts or because only praises for ‘chicken’ were being posted. Regardless, he was now bickering quite often with other users.
Hmm….
His record suggested he was an elder managing the Arhat Monks of Shaolin Temple.
Moreover, what intrigued him was that ‘Mount Song Tiger Batter Up’ was not a strict ‘vegan’ who exclusively avoided meat, seafood, and fruits.
He was rather a moderate ‘vegetarian’.
Among the pictures he posted, there was one where he shared roasted wild boar meat that had died in a forest fire with Shaolin child monks.
In other words, he avoided meat as much as possible, but it wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it.
Hmm… Is that so?
Karlstein quietly sent a gift to his first target for promotion.
***
The North Star of Mount Tai, the leader of the Nine Sects One Union.
This was a term that perfectly described ‘Shaolin Temple’, known as a major sect in the Orthodox Faction that protected the peace of Jianghu. In fact, no martial artist denied it.
And among them, an elite group of martial monks existed, so they, who were famously known for their 108 Arhat Formation, were referred to as ‘Arhats’.
And within the Arhat Hall, where the Arhats belonged, there was an elderly monk who had refined the 72 Arts of Shaolin to the extreme, teaching 108 Arhats.
He, who was particularly skilled in Bo Staff Techniques among the 72 Arts of Shaolin, was an Elder known for his strictness in teaching,
Although he was a master of Bo Staff Techniques, as an Elder of Shaolin Temple, he could not only care about his martial arts and take Sādhanā, an intense spiritual practice, lightly. As such, he was meditating in the training hall.
“Nothing originally belongs to me, so let go of all attachments and…”
While he was muttering and chanting the Buddhist scriptures, a message appeared before his eyes.
[The Administrator’s gift has arrived.]
Since he had been so deeply focused, he was startled by the sudden smell of food.
“What is this…”
In front of him was a square box of fried chicken from an unknown source.
His eyes widened.
“…Hoho.”
As he had recently reduced his food intake due to intense Sādhanā, he was severely taken aback by the overwhelming smell of food that quickly filled the training hall.
How to put it? Wasn’t it a bit of an unexpected gift for him, who only solved his hunger with small and vegetarian meals?
[(VIP5) Golden Ratio Fried Chicken has been transferred.]
The smell was so enticing that it made him salivate involuntarily.
According to Buddhist doctrine, killing was prohibited, but not eating meat. As long as one did not kill intentionally, some level of meat consumption was permissible.
And it was all the more so for a martial sect.
However, he still shook his head.
He had recently been practicing restraint from the 5 Desires – Desire for Food, Desire for Sex, Desire for Wealth, Desire for Fame, and Desire for Sleep – to gain enlightenment.
Moreover, for some strange reason, he didn’t like this ‘chicken’.
Why was such a dish causing such a fuss in the community? Tsk tsk.
Because of it, his diligently written posts were barely glanced at.
“Ahem!”
-Writer: Mount Song Tiger Batter Up
-Title: Mister Administrator.
My oh my,, the gift,,, was sent,, to the wrong,, person hehe^^ I don’t,, need it,, so take it,, back~~
(Roughly A Photo Of VIP5 Golden Ratio Fried Chicken.jpg)
However, the awaited Administrator did not respond and useless comments just kept pouring in.
ㄴvip5? fuck me sideways what did I just see.
ㄴis it a chicken you can only buy once you hit vip5? the modifier itself is different, yeah?
ㄴVIP1 starts at 10,000 points and it increases tenfold with each level… that means, at least 100 million points…?
ㄴare you kidding me LMAOOOOO you’re telling me I need to gather 100 million to eat chicken?
ㄴis the chicken sprinkled with gold dust or something LOLLLLL
ㄴGolden Ratio LMAO is it saying the chicken has a stunning rear or shit lololol
ㄴim sure it’s just the vip level that’s like that. the chicken is probably not that expensive
ㄴwas it given by the admin?
ㄴwhy does he talk like that? is he disabled or some shit
ㄴgramps, what does the chicken taste like? is something different about it?
ㄴdo u have connections with the Oradge?
ㄴwhat the?
ㄴhello? gramps? what does it taste like?
His eyes blinked in confusion due to the intense reaction that was different from usual.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The rascals who normally never cared all that much even if they commented were now bombarding him with endless interest and questions.
Inside Shaolin, his grumpy nature meant not many approached him. As he aged, this tendency only intensified and even his Senior and Junior Brothers started avoiding him.
So much so that perhaps this was why he felt so lonely, thus sharing trivial daily life and communicating in the community.
So, he was pleased with this attention but…
“….”
Still, it was a gift he received so unexpectedly. Naturally, he wouldn’t know anything about it. If there was anything among the many questions he could answer…
“Hmm. What does it taste like?”
He hesitated as he looked down at the food that emitted an indescribable smell, then picked up a piece.
“Ahem. Well, since I cannot just throw it away…”
Actually, because of the uproar in the community, he had tried fried chicken before. Of course, it was a memorable, splendid taste, but for someone who enjoyed monk cuisine and was fairly old, ‘Ordinary K-Fried Chicken’ was a bit too greasy and rich for him. It was also hard on his stomach after eating.
As such, he may eat it once in a blue moon, but he wouldn’t particularly seek it out.
He thought his own cooking, which was subtle and savory, was far superior.
Well, since it has come to this, let’s taste it and clearly state my opinion. At the very least, for such an old man, his own cooking, meticulously prepared with herbs from the mountains, was far superior.
He would share the leftovers with the child monks.
He crunched into the drumstick.
“…!”
A universe unfolded in his mind.
As he opened his mouth in ecstasy, something else crossed dimensions behind him.
[(VIP5) ‘1+++ Aged Korean Beef Assorted Roast Course’ has been transferred.]
***
-Writer: Mount Song Tiger Batter Up
-Title: my oh my~~~^^ dear members,, about today’s menu,, you see hehe~~
It,, melts,, in your mouth^^,, a cost-effective,, superb,, god-like,, beef rib,, that can be,, bought,, in VIP,, Grade 3,, will soon,, be introduced~~
-Writer: Mount Song Tiger Batter Up
-Title: ,,you have all,, eaten something,, like this before,, right?^^
Like this hehe~ Absolutely banger hehe,, for body nourishment,, silkie~~!,, young chicken,, known to be better than ginseng,, stewed down to the bones,, and intensely boiled,, A VIP,, Grade 4^^ whole chicken soup,, how about you try it? hehe
A High-Grade VIP with a unique style of communication newly appeared in the community.
Despite his odd way of speaking, people sought out his reviews to satisfy their curiosity.
What in the world was the Store selling to the upper ranks?
Was it because of the promotional posts by him, who had completely turned into a meat-lover, or was it perhaps because of the newly added product list?
Karlstein’s Karma began to accumulate faster than expected. Since the release of cola, the Oradge’s standing in the community had reached untouchable heights.
And as a result, there was a woman who disliked the atmosphere of such a community more than anyone else.
“Hmph. To be so engrossed in mere food. What a pathetic atmosphere.”
The woman with a scowling expression observing the community was Keisha Winsler, the continent’s foremost authority on Magitek.
***
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken