Chapter 72
To get a nickname in the Climber Community, one had to achieve outstanding results on the 1st to 4th Floors of the Nightmare Difficulty.
In other words, Registered Users were big shots on a whole different level, even in this place where experts gathered.
Let me put it another way.
I just unintentionally scammed such a big shot!
[Why on Earth…?!]
Could it be because of the [Exalted Dignity] effect?
Something like, “a Noble Being is not bound by the contracts of Mortals”?
It was a plausible Scenario.
But if that were the case, the Passive didn’t stop me from agreeing to the contract.
And if that were it, the contract shouldn’t have been established in the first place. Since the items arrived normally, that didn’t seem to be it.
Anyway.
Whatever the reason, the items and Gold still hadn’t been deducted.
[Ugh…]
I became anxious for no reason.
Of course, in terms of pure combat power, I might be stronger.
Since I had super strong Retainers.
But the World didn’t run on combat power alone, did it?
What if I get treated as a scammer and my reputation gets destroyed!
I should ask what happened even now.
If it’s my fault, I should apologize and find a solution.
I wanted to take such common-sense actions.
But naturally, I couldn’t.
[True Ancestor: Ah. The items did not arrive? Why is that the True Ancestor’s fault? This body clearly told you to take them, but is it not your own lack of ability that prevented you from doing so?]
It was obvious that this kind of chat would be typed out.
So I just quietly maintained my silence and watched the situation.
There’s a saying that staying still gets you at least halfway there.
Then
Ring!
A message arrived.
[24-Hour Inquiries Welcome: True Ancestor-nim~✿ Were you surprised~?]
[24-Hour Inquiries Welcome: Actually, it was a surprise gift prepared to commemorate my first transaction with True Ancestor-nim! ^^]
[Huh?]
I blinked after reading the message.
A gift?
Aha. I see. It wasn’t a system error; she just gave it to me for free from the start!
Phew. I was scared for nothing.
[Wow… But a World-class Merchant really is different, giving away a 5 billion won item as a gift just to commemorate a first transaction.]
The scale was on a completely different level.
But for me, I got a Rune for free and saved my money and items, so it was actually great.
The thought of becoming a regular customer naturally came to mind.
I tapped the keyboard with a satisfied heart.
[True Ancestor: You are a mortal who knows quite a bit of etiquette. I shall accept it. It would not be bad to use you as this body’s Exclusive Merchant from now on.]
[24-Hour Inquiries Welcome: Oh my~ It’s an honor~✿ Just call me anytime~!]
Like that, the transaction was successfully completed.
[Vam-haha~]
I hummed a tune and prepared for Skill Enhancement.
* * *
“Haa…”
Midas’s office in New York, America.
Eliana drank her coffee that had completely cooled and let out a sigh.
It was definitely delicious coffee just a moment ago, but now it just tastes bitter.
[Surprise gift, my foot… I just blew millions of dollars into thin air.]
No matter how much money she had, 4 million dollars was naturally a large sum for her too.
She hadn’t prepared a gift for the True Ancestor from the beginning.
Flustered by the unexpected situation, she had simply improvised in a hurry.
Like a true merchant, she had momentarily turned a crisis into an opportunity.
So it was true that things worked out somehow, but…
The question was why only the Rune disappeared and the money didn’t come in.
She needed to find out the reason properly.
“Care to explain what happened, Sebastian?”
Eliana asked into the empty air.
Then.
Poof!
A man wearing a butler’s suit with small horns on his head appeared.
A Summon bound to her Unique Skill, [Devil’s Contract].
Sebastian was the 'Enforcer' who compelled the contract’s perfect execution.
However
“…I am also extremely bewildered, Contractor-nim.”
Cold sweat was forming even on the forehead of the always sly and relaxed Sebastian.
“Clause 1 provided the [Rune of Skill Enhancement] to the True Ancestor. This clause was executed normally, but… Clause 2, the Collection of Assets from the True Ancestor, was processed as unfulfilled.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Well… Due to the nature of the 'space' where the contract subject resides, it is impossible to take the items.”
“Impossible?”
Eliana tilted her head.
Even if the power of the [Devil’s Contract] was absolute, it couldn’t Force something that was fundamentally impossible in probability.
Practically impossible things like plucking a star from the night sky or bringing the dead back to life exist, for example.
Only things that the contracting parties could realistically fulfill were possible.
But there was no way that merely bringing items and Gold was not possible.
“Your ability can bring items from the vaults of foreign central banks or the Subspace Inventory of Rankers without any problem.”
“That is correct. But this time, the Grade of Space was so noble that I dared not reach it.”
A hint of awe was even evident in Sebastian’s voice.
“Are you serious? The grade is that high?”
Eliana looked at Sebastian with blank eyes.
Just what kind of space was the True Ancestor in?
To block her Skill, which could pierce the World’s highest level of security and work even on S-rank Awakeners.
She stared at the True Ancestor’s Message Window.
Her thoughts changed.
[…True Ancestor. Just how incredible of a being are you?]
To buy the favor of a being of this level for 4 million dollars, she felt like she got off cheap.
* * *
I ordered Katarina to organize the items again and returned to My Room.
And.
[Skill, Sight Sharing Enhancement!]
I tightly gripped the [Rune of Skill Enhancement] in my hand and thought in my head.
Then.
Srrk!
The Rune turned into a mysterious light and seeped into my body.
[The Unique Skill, “Sight Sharing”, is enhanced.]
[Sight Sharing (Unique)]
Regardless of distance, you can share the sight and senses of your Retainers.
You can converse with your Retainers through thought. (New!)
It has a function to Summon a Scout Retainer. (New!)
- Cooldown: None
- Consumption: None
[Oho.]
I nodded as I read the description of the enhanced new effects.
First, the new effect is the Thought Communication Function.
Isn’t this Telepathy?
It might seem like poor cost-effectiveness to burn a 5 billion won item just to say a word, but in reality, it was very useful.
Until now, I had to call them directly when giving orders to my Retainers.
However, radio waves didn’t reach inside a gate or the Tower, making communication impossible.
Moreover, making a phone call to give orders every time during a battle or an urgent situation had many practical constraints.
So in those times, I had no choice but to just leave it to the Retainers and watch helplessly, but now I can easily give orders in my head anytime, anywhere.
[Nice.]
I was quite satisfied.
And it wasn’t just this; there was also a second new effect.
[I can Summon a Scout Retainer?]
When I pressed it once, a detailed description popped up.
[Summon Scout Retainer]
- Summons a small, swift, and flight-capable Scout-specialized Retainer.
- Blood Power Consumption: 5
-
Can Summon up to 10 units
[The Blood Power Consumption is only 5 too.]
It felt like I got an additional Skill that I could use without any burden.
But what could a small, flight-capable Retainer be?
After pondering for a moment, I soon slapped my knee.
[Ah. That’s it!]
There was exactly one thing that came to mind when thinking of a Vampire.
A bat!
A terrifying bat with a black body and red eyes was easily drawn in my mind.
Ooh. Just imagining it fills me with Vampire pride.
I activated the Skill with anticipation.
[[Summon Scout Retainer]!]
Fsssh.
A small puff of blood-red smoke rose in the air.
Something gently landed on my palm.
“…Eh?”
What was sitting on my palm.
Was a very familiar insect.
A very small creature with wings that sucked Human Blood.
Mosquito in English.
[It’s a mosquito…!]
So trivial!
It’s too trivial!
It was completely devoid of any coolness.
Bzzzt -
The mosquito flew off my palm and buzzed as it circled around me.
[…]
I stared at the mosquito with dejected eyes, then turned on [Sight Sharing] just to check its performance.
Paaht.
My vision shifted, and the scenery inside the room began to be seen from multiple angles.
My vision was like the compound vision unique to mosquitoes, but Thanks to the system’s correction, I could observe the surroundings very clearly.
[Well… It is a Small Scout Drone in its own way.]
Its appearance was trivial, but its performance was quite good.
Using the newly added Telepathy function, I could freely control the mosquito according to my will, and it perfectly understood whatever I ordered it to do.
If I told it to fly up, it flew up; if I told it to stop, it stopped perfectly in midair.
If I told it to hide, it hid well between the furniture like a proper mosquito.
It could also reach speeds incomparably faster than a normal mosquito.
- Bzz bzz.
Of course, the little guy couldn’t speak, though.
It was right then.
[Wait a minute.]
A flashing thought crossed my mind.
[Weren’t all my Skills dependent on sight?]
I thought about it carefully.
My Ultimate Skill, [Life Harvest], is a Skill that can be used through a Retainer’s sight.
And the newly unlocked [Gate of Darkness] can also open a portal “where my gaze reaches”.
What if I sent this mosquito flying into the middle of a distant Battlefield, and I shared the mosquito’s sight from my Home Base?
[That means I can suddenly attack from where the mosquito is looking, or deploy my Retainers there, right?]
I shouldn’t ignore it just because its appearance was trivial.
It was a super cost-effective unit that massively boosted my utility!
[Hehe. This is a jackpot.]
I lay down comfortably on my bed.
Now that the transaction went well and I did the Skill Enhancement, I plan to browse the Community for a bit.
[Should I check Heon-gael first, or the Climber Community first?]
This time, I decided to check the Climber Community.
However, as soon as I opened the Community, a post like this was at the very top.
[Title: Plz save me]
Poster: Anonymous
(A blurry, dark photo taken inside a gate)
I entered a B-rank Gate My Party member was a Vampire The Party member killed everyone else and is looking for me
I’m hiding right now
Please save me
- Is this real?
- Aren’t you faking this to get a trending post?
ㄴ It feels too real though, damn!
- The Poster’s nationality is Korean. I’m in America, so I’m too far to help ㅠㅠ
- Any Korean Hunters here? Report it to the Association.
[Huh?]
Based on the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like a fake post just to grab attention.
Korea? Then I think I can help.
And if it’s a Vampire, isn’t this a perfect angle for Blood Farming?
I needed to feed blood to the egg anyway, and I was in a bind because I only had one Mid-grade Blood left. To think! Information about such a Prime Hunting Ground would come to me.
[I can’t hold back on this.]
I smiled, ehehe.
- True Ancestor: Mortal. Give me the exact location.
But I immediately left a comment.
ㄴ Oh, it’s True Ancestor-nim!
ㄴ Is she trying to save them?
ㄴ Isn’t she just going out for a meal?
ㄴ Crazy lmaooo
[Argh, not you guys!]
Even after waiting a bit, the Poster didn’t reply.
Only other Community users were leaving useless comments.
So I activated my information-gathering skills from my Dark Gamer days and scoured the Community.
[Title: Heading to a Seoul B-rank Gate Raid hehe]
Poster: Anonymous
Tonight is a light B-rank Gate Raid!
Everyone has a good night!!
I was able to find a post from a few hours ago about going to raid a B-rank Gate in Seoul.
[I think it’s this person.]
There seemed to be a high probability that this was the person from earlier.
However
[It’s hard to pinpoint it with just this.]
It was still lacking.
Because Seoul is incredibly vast, there aren’t just one or two open B-rank Gates.
I hurriedly checked the Smartphone map and found a whopping 10.
Moreover, because the gates were far apart from each other, I would have to sweep through Seoul in a short amount of time.
[Hmm. No matter how fast Katarina or Si-Yeon is, it would take time to check all these places.]
While I was pondering,
A brilliant idea came to mind.
[Ah, right! If I use that…!]
I immediately summoned nine more Scout Retainers.
- Bzz bzz bzz!
A total of ten mosquitoes were ready.
This was my exact plan.
I’ll scout all the B-rank Gates in Seoul with the mosquitoes!
“Retainers. Go forth!”
I pointed my finger out sharply, like a charismatic commander.
Out the window, my new Retainer Legion began its sortie in perfect order.
Bzzzzzt - !