[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 253

Whether they were trying to feed me a huge piece of taffy or not, the difficulty indicator only popped up after I pushed my unit into the second stage.

Dokgo Beom-bu had invested eight long years into the Refolder Gate, pouring every penny he had into it.

Thanks to that, the community jokingly called him the “Sleeping Dragon of Refolder Gate,” a nickname that wasn’t even funny.

This was the result of Dokgo Beom-bu’s cautious yet calculating personality.

Since he loved Refolder Gate more than anyone else, he had dug into every little detail, making him more confident than any other player.

The current probability increase event was actually a poison for him, given his rear guard’s low stamina in the early stages.

Thinking that, Dokgo Beom-bu waited patiently, chewing on his endurance. But his careful and calculating nature ended up backfiring.

He never dreamed the second stage’s difficulty would be this brutal.

If he had known, he would’ve summoned a new face through the Fate Summon earlier.

Ugh.

“No. This is the game designer’s fault for setting it up to screw me over. It’s definitely not my fault.”

He meticulously arranged his formation and combat strategy, pushing his unit into the gate. Once that was done, there was nothing more Dokgo Beom-bu could do in his current state.

All he could do was watch.

The only variable in this situation was a single line of chat from the Five-Colored Garlic Sprout.

【Malcolm (Archer) deployed in Labyrinth Stage 2 has fallen below 30% HP】

There was no more time to hesitate. Realizing this, Dokgo Beom-bu frantically started moving his fingers.

The only thing he could bring with him when he fell into Refolder Gate was the clothes on his back and his mobile phone.

“Manipulating this affects reality.”

Having already summoned starting members during the tutorial, he quickly navigated to the Fate Summon tab.

【Normal-tier units have been excluded】

【The probability of high-tier units appearing has slightly increased】

【100 Hollow Gemstones have been consumed for an 11x summon】

【A strong bond connected to the Commander begins to coil】

And then, he was enveloped in a pink light.

***

【Malcolm (Archer) deployed in Labyrinth Stage 2 has died】

The pink-haired girl leisurely examined the Limit Break Stone and Attribute Enhancement Stone in her hand.

“My comrades are dying left and right, and you’re just…?”

Dokgo Beom-bu, who had been screaming at her relaxed demeanor, looked up and locked eyes with the pink-haired girl.

Her gaze was filled with annoyance, as if this had nothing to do with her.

“So?”

“W-what…?”

Units summoned through Fate Summon each have their own personalities.

They might be naggy or stubborn.

They might eat more than other units or eat very little.

The personality could be as cold as ice or as fiery as fire.

To be precise, it was set up that way.

However, the absolute principle was unconditional obedience to the commander’s orders.

As proof of that, the starting members also stepped through the gate toward Stage 1 without a word.

The personalities of the units were unique.

At least, until now.

But it didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

“This isn’t a ball, but do you like it?”

A beautiful voice flowed into Dokgo Beom-bu’s ears as he stared at the dirt ground in despair.

When he lifted his head, he saw a girl who seemed to be chatting with a small rabbit.

The rabbit on the girl’s shoulder was tapping on an Attribute Enhancement Stone as if explaining something.

[Unit Han Ga-eul (Supporter)’s favorability has increased.]

“·····?”

“Hey.”

“Huh? Why····.”

Dokgo Beom-bu reflexively responded informally, but he felt a twinge of guilt.

However, the girl didn’t seem to mind.

“Give me more of this.”

On the girl’s outstretched palm was an Attribute Enhancement Stone she received as a tutorial clear reward.

“Attribute Enhancement Stones are hard to get in large quantities early on. They give you one as a tutorial reward to show you what kind of items exist.”

“Doesn’t that mean you can shorten the time if you smash through the early stages quickly?”

“Well···· isn’t that right?”

The Refolder Gate, known as the time crusher, couldn’t possibly be that simple.

But Dokgo Beom-bu had no choice but to nod at the girl’s confident logic.

“Give it to me.”

“What, what? I really don’t have any more!”

“Give me a weapon. You said you’d help me find a friend.”

“Really?”

Dokgo Beom-bu quickly fiddled with his phone, just in case the girl changed her mind.

Then, an old sword fell out of thin air.

Ding!

[Old and Crude Iron Sword]

When Dokgo Beom-bu carefully handed the sword to the girl, she made a face that clearly showed she wasn’t impressed.

“Not this flimsy thing, give me something heavy.”

“Flimsy?”

Dokgo Beom-bu could feel the weight of the sword in his hand.

It was heavy enough to tire even an adult man.

“But you’re a Supporter, right?”

“A Supporter? Can you see my info?”

Hearing that, Dokgo Beom-bu felt a chill run down his spine. Goosebumps even appeared on his arms.

Asking if she could see his info—was that really something a unit should say?

“I’m an all-rounder. So hurry up and give me a weapon.”

“Du, dual!”

“Suddenly, what dual? Are we playing cards? Like a shadow duel or something?”

Dokgo Beom-bu looked at the girl. No—

The voice of the unit Han Ga-eul couldn’t be heard.

Her words were that shocking.

When you think about it, it was simple, but Dokgo Beom-bu, who was in a state of extreme panic, couldn’t help but notice it late.

The scattered information about Han Ga-eul in Dokgo Beom-bu’s mind started to come together.

‘Type: Supporter. Position: Vanguard. Job: Saint. Combat style: Close-range martial arts and weapon skills.’

Once he quickly pieced together the scattered puzzle, he reached one conclusion.

‘Dual…?’

Raising an SSR unit early on is a taboo among taboos.

Dokgo Beom-bu himself had repeatedly warned beginner players about this.

SSRs are resource-devouring monsters.

The amount of resources they consume is completely different compared to SSR units raised step-by-step from Normal or Rare.

Even with the same amount of resources invested, upgraded SSRs gain stats proportionally, while natural SSRs barely improve.

On the flip side, this is why people raise upgraded SSRs—they deliver decent performance with minimal investment.

Upgraded SSRs are like cost-efficient compact cars, while natural SSRs are sports cars designed solely for speed and looks.

The efficiency gap is that extreme, and adding the “dual” variable turns it into a disaster.

Dual units, showcasing two styles or positions, have their growth efficiency halved.

They’re versatile but consume double the resources.

Dual units have an extremely low floor but a ceiling incomparable to regular units.

On top of that, SSR units have an extremely low floor and a sky-high ceiling.

But the girl in front of Dokgo Beom-bu is a Normal unit. A Normal unit carrying SSR-exclusive equipment like clusters of grapes.

Even her job is Saint, a rare class only found among SSR healers.

‘It said “sealed,” but should I treat her as an SSR? Or is it a labeling error? SSR units can only have up to two exclusive equipment pieces, right?’

As Dokgo Beom-bu pieced together the information, the worst-case scenarios merged in his mind.

“This game is insane…”

The girl in front of him started to look less like a sports car and more like a black hole.

If raising a single natural SSR unit is already suffocating, does a natural dual SSR unit—a terrifying hybrid—even exist in the Refolder Gate?

In all his time playing the game, Dokgo Beom-bu had never seen or heard of such a catastrophic unit.

“Are you going to eat again? Does our Pposiraegi have a black hole in its stomach?”

‘Is that rabbit a black hole too…? And what’s with the pink thread? SSR units are supposed to have golden threads at most…’

As he sifted through his tangled thoughts and vague memories, Dokgo Beom-bu suddenly recalled one piece of information.

In the past, there was a certain…

A community user proudly posted about dissecting the client.

There, it was written that it was still unimplemented, and even after several years, it remained unupdated, becoming a forgotten piece of information in the users’ memories.

“After SSR… No way, right?”

Shaking his head, Dokgo Beom-bu tried to shake off the terrifying thought and, following Han Ga-eul’s instructions, pulled out a heavy weapon.

[Old and Crude Metal Pipe]

One of the free starting weapons given early on, this thick metal pipe has high striking power due to its weight, but its balance is so terrible that it’s hard to even call it a weapon.

Han Ga-eul, holding the metal pipe, tilted her head and moved her hand.

Whoosh—!

She spun the metal pipe spectacularly with one hand.

Dokgo Beom-bu, standing across from her, was so mesmerized by the flashy staff technique that he might have been drooling without realizing it.

“Where are the friends?”

“Huh? Over there! They’re fighting monsters inside the gate!”

“Let’s smash their heads and break the door.”

Unable to delay any longer, Dokgo Beom-bu pressed the item he received as a special reward with his finger.

[Using Gate Break-in Ticket. Break-in Stage: 2]

***

[Hollow Gemstone]