Chapter 95
“Distinguished One. To make someone so stubborn submit in an instant… You truly are magnificent!”
The lord exclaimed in admiration.
It seemed like a tremendous miracle to him that the fanatic had suddenly knelt down and begun praising me as his true master.
But in truth, I was a little bewildered too.
‘Huh? Why is the effect so strong?’
I knew that Aunt Suyeon’s painting contained the power of enchantment.
After all, it possessed the Level 3 Blessing [Vampirism].
Still, this was practically mental corruption on the level of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Of course, the people on the Hunter Gallery had experienced similar symptoms after looking at the painting, but it hadn’t been this severe.
They had merely flooded the gallery with endless worship posts.
It hadn’t felt like their very sense of self was collapsing like this.
‘Wait. Worship?’
That was when the keyword ‘worship’ caught my attention.
Julius. This guy was a fanatic.
So perhaps his standards for worship were different from those of ordinary people?
To the people on the Hunter Gallery, worship meant memes or over-the-top adoration directed at celebrities like S-Rank hunters.
But to this guy, worship meant serving a real god.
‘Oh. That makes sense.’
Just as I was nodding at my own fairly reasonable deduction,
the lord muttered in a voice brimming with emotion.
“As the Distinguished One raised the shining tablet and converted a heretic… This too must be recorded as a chapter of miracles in the family history!”
‘……I think we can stop adding things to the history book.’
I had shown him a painting on my smartphone like a hypnosis app and brainwashed him.
It didn’t seem like something worth bragging about to my descendants.
Anyway, just when I thought the matter had been settled,
“G, guh…? W, what have I done……?”
Julius’s pupils, which had been staring blankly while he knelt on the floor, suddenly contracted sharply.
He shook his head violently and looked up at me with an indignant expression.
‘Oh no. Did the brainwashing wear off?’
He gripped the bars.
His rough movements were the complete opposite of the attitude he had shown moments ago when he called me his master.
And then he shouted.
“What exactly did you do to me, True Ancestor-nim!”
‘……Huh?’
I was slightly bewildered by his shout.
‘…True Ancestor-nim?’
His eyes were full of hostility, yet the title coming out of his mouth was still honorific.
Even Julius himself was clearly flustered by the words he had just spoken.
“Get away from me, you monster! No, how dare I say such blasphemous things to the True Ancestor-nim! Guh, my mouth is moving on its own…!”
He continued spewing out confused words that mixed honorific speech with hostility.
It seemed the brainwashing had worn off, but only halfway.
“I will not fall for such vile trickery! O light, save me from the temptation of that noble True Ancestor-nim!”
“……”
I silently watched his ridiculous performance for a while, then quietly stepped away.
There didn’t seem to be any point in continuing to argue with him in that state.
‘At this rate, should I just keep showing him the painting over and over?’
If I exposed him to it little by little, like clothes slowly getting soaked in drizzle, I should eventually be able to win him over completely.
Next time I came, I should ask Aunt Suyeon to paint one specifically for Julius.
“Pitiful mortal. Keep struggling all you like. In the end, light is destined to be devoured by darkness.”
After tossing out a suitably grand-sounding line, I turned around without hesitation and left the underground prison.
“Why, why…!”
Julius’s confused muttering gradually faded behind me.
***
After returning to the surface, I decided to drink blood for the remainder of my stay.
The blood left behind by the tiger monster in the forest.
And the three bottles of monster blood offered by the dark mage Yair.
Fortunately, all of it was rated as Intermediate Blood.
‘It would be even better if I aged it before drinking it.’
Aging it in the estate’s oak blood barrels was efficient, since it raised its level by two and provided additional stats.
Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t take this blood out into the real world.
Unlike equipment items that had been marked as obtainable only on Infinite difficulty, consumables had to be used up inside the Tower before leaving.
‘Phew. Even drinking blood is a chore.’
I began gulping down the blood.
The taste was neither particularly delicious nor particularly bad.
Like blandly sweet water?
It felt like drinking warm honey water.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have reached Level 45.]
After slowly finishing all the blood, my level rose by four.
And along with it, the notification I had been waiting for rang out.
[A new skill has been unlocked!]
[You acquired the skill, ‘The Lord’s Great Feat.’]
‘A new skill!’
Excited, I immediately opened my status window and checked the skill’s detailed information.
[The Lord’s Great Feat (Unique)]
- Its progress increases every time you accomplish a great feat.
- Once it reaches 100%, you can unlock a new divine artifact.
Current progress: 0%
‘Oh?’
This was an entirely different concept from the skills I had obtained so far.
My existing skills were things that helped with combat or utility.
But this was a goal-based passive skill.
At the bottom of the skill description window, I noticed empty blood-drop-shaped slots.
It seemed that filling them all would earn me a reward.
However, that reward was anything but ordinary.
‘A divine artifact?’
It was offering me an actual divine artifact!
The only divine artifact I currently possessed was the Death Scythe.
It was an EX-grade cheat item that let even someone with my pathetic stats unleash devastating attacks.
Wasn’t it saying it would give me another item of that caliber?
‘Wow, this is seriously amazing.’
It was the kind of reward that made my heart swell with grandeur.
Still, how was I supposed to fill up the feat progress?
Just as I was wondering about that,
small letters appeared at the bottom of the system window, helpfully providing an answer.
[TIP: Hunting powerful monsters or influencing the strong increases progress.]
‘Oh-ho.’
I had a rough idea now.
It was like achievement hunting in a game, wasn’t it?
It seemed that ordinary actions wouldn’t do anything, and that the progress would rise only after accomplishing something remarkable.
‘But still.’
Hunting powerful monsters was one thing….
But wasn’t influencing the strong far too easy?
After mulling it over for a moment, I decided to put it into practice immediately.
“Si-yeon.”
Swish.
The moment I called her, a figure rose from the shadow on the floor.
It was Si-yeon, appearing through [Shadow Step].
“Did you call, Master?”
She neatly knelt on one knee.
‘Si-yeon worked hard today.’
It must have been exhausting for her to carry the guide girl around all day.
I stood up and approached her.
Pat pat.
Then I gently stroked Si-yeon’s head.
“You worked hard today.”
“Thank you.”
Si-yeon closed both eyes and quietly enjoyed my touch.
“Mmm… Ah. Master….”
She looked exactly like a cat receiving praise from its owner.
The little moan she let out even sounded like a purr.
‘Hehe. She’s cute.’
Pat pat, stroke stroke, tap tap.
I spent quite a while petting Si-yeon in all sorts of ways.
Well, this should count as influencing her, right?
I had exerted a major psychological influence on someone as powerful as Si-yeon, so surely the progress would have increased.
I gazed at the system window floating in the air with hopeful eyes.
[Influencing your retainers does not count toward progress.]
‘……Tch.’
My attempt to exploit the system had failed.
Well, it would have been too easy otherwise.
If I could use my retainers as an infinite power source, I could earn the reward in a single day.
Still, I had accomplished a lot today.
I had raised my level by four, signed an exclusive contract with a dark mage, obtained an A+-grade item, brainwashed a spy from the Holy See, and petted Si-yeon.
‘This is more than enough to be satisfied!’
After finishing everything, I called for the lord.
"I shall return to this domain in one week. By then, find some amusements for this body."
"Yes! I shall carry out the Distinguished One’s command!"
With the lord seeing us off,
I returned to the corner-of-the-room domain with my retainers.
***
At the same time.
A post went up on the Hunter Gallery.
[Title: What is this, newbie hunter? I’ve never seen an item like this before.]
[Author: Anonymous]
(A picture of a girl drawn on parchment)
I picked it up on the 15th floor on Normal difficulty.
It’s called a Copy of the Holy Relic of the School of Painting?
It has a picture of a silver-haired girl in a black dress, but her face has been erased.
The name is ridiculously grand and it’s even A-Rank, so I got really excited, but it doesn’t have any effect at all;;;
What is this? Is it any good?
- LOL, you got a dud item
ㄴ Author) ???? What’s that?
ㄴ They show up sometimes. Items whose rank and actual value don’t match at all.
ㄴ Author) So it’s a dud?
ㄴ Yeah LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Author) Ah, fuck
ㄴ You got all excited thinking it was a genuine A-Rank item. That’s freaking adorable LOL
ㄴ Apparently they do have some demand, though LOL. Try putting it up on the auction house.
Since countless posts were uploaded to the Hunter Gallery every day,
the post was buried after receiving only a few comments and upvotes.