Chapter 42
A truly massive amount of sponsorship poured in from the single short Voice Post I left in the Community.
[One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… Is this real…?]
Even looking at the number ten million stamped in the Owned Gold Window, it didn’t feel real.
No matter how high the anticipation for my first post might have been, ten million gold for a single sentence with no particular content was absurd.
It seemed to play a big part that the timing was right after I broke through Chapter 1 of the Nightmare 5th Floor with a ridiculous score, when people’s interest was at its peak.
But there was one thing I found questionable.
[No. I spoke in a dismissive and condescending tone, so why do they like it?]
Honestly, I thought the sponsorships would be low because arrogant words had come out due to Exalted Dignity.
Yet there were actually people who liked that.
I stared at a few of the sponsorship messages with cold eyes.
To think that the so-called top S-ranks from all over the World were panting in the chat and begging me to step on them with my bare feet.
I am deeply worried about the future of Earth.
Anyway.
[Hmm. If sponsorships explode this well, should I try doing Community Activity a bit more actively?]
I felt the temptation of Capitalism for a moment.
But I soon shook my head.
[No. If I act up too much, the sense of Mystery might actually drop.]
One reason is that I am considered a highly rare existence.
Isn’t it because I am an Unknown Being who only reveals herself once in a while?
If I were to log into the Community every day to write posts and communicate, I might make money right now, but eventually the name value of “True Ancestor” would inevitably fall.
If so, the stance I needed to take was simple.
[It would be perfect to just drop by once in a while to collect money when there’s some kind of achievement like today.]
I avoid excessive communication and appear only once in a while when I need to imprint my presence.
That is much more beneficial in the long run.
I was coming to that conclusion and scanning through the Sponsorship List again.
My gaze stopped at one nickname.
[Artist has sponsored 200,000 Gold!: .]
Artist.
He was one Registered User who had been placed on the Person of Interest list in Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s Guide Post.
The other registered users all left messages that reflected their respective personalities, but this person sponsored a whopping 200,000 gold and just sent a single dot.
[…That gives me the creeps a bit.]
I didn’t know what meaning it held, but it didn’t seem like anything good would come from getting involved.
[Still, Thanks for giving me gold?]
Whether he was a Psychopath Villain or whatever, the sponsorship money was sweet.
But thinking about it, no matter what, it didn’t seem morally right to just wipe my mouth and move on after receiving such a massive sponsorship.
And wouldn’t the people sponsoring feel more inclined to shoot more if there were some level of reaction?
Of course, I couldn’t politely say “Wow! Thank you all so much!”.
Should I just leave one more Voice Comment?
I opened my mouth, roughly conveying 'Thanks'.
“Hmph. Well, it is not bad. Continue to offer more tribute in the future.”
Ah.
Rather than a thank you, it turned into a Collection Reminder Message.
I wondered if it was too shameless.
[Pant pant please take my gold!]
[Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou]
[No. Why are they sponsoring again?]
I ended up receiving an additional 100,000 gold or so.
This is even creepier than Artist’s sponsorship, really.
Whatever the case, it was a good thing since I earned more money.
I closed the Community Window.
Now then, the Funding Issue has been perfectly resolved.
It is time to achieve my original goal.
[Would you like to purchase the Special Training Ground?]
[Cost: 3,000,000 Gold]
[Purchase.]
Just a moment ago, it was a huge sum that felt like a wall, but now I have ten million gold, you know?
An immediate One-time Payment.
[Purchase complete.]
At that moment, a wavering dark red portal was generated in the Home Base.
“Oho.”
I brought my Retainers along and immediately stepped into the portal.
The space beyond the portal was a pure white place with no end in sight.
The floor, the ceiling - everywhere was empty white like a Void Space.
And a System Window popped up before my eyes.
[Would you like to load a target?]
[Target?]
[Special Training Ground]
- You can Manifest a target observed by the user or Retainers as a Training Opponent.
- However, you can only Manifest targets you have seen in person.
Checking the help text, I let out a small exclamation of awe.
[Wow, this is a completely Overpowered Feature.]
Fitting the name of Special Training Ground, this was a Simulation Space where I could Manifest any opponent I wanted at will.
There was one condition.
It had to be a target I had seen in person or through the eyes of my Retainers.
It meant that seeing them through media like YouTube or photos wouldn’t work, and I could only Summon enemies I had actually faced.
Also, the opponent’s combat power and patterns would probably Manifest only exactly up to the level I had observed.
Even so, at this level, it was a feature that made 3 million gold not feel like a waste at all.
Seeing is believing.
I should try using it right away.
Should I make the strongest one out of the guys I’ve seen so far?
[Target: Manifesting “Pure-blood Vampire Lachesis”.]
Katarina had overwhelmingly sliced him up in the Seollim-dong Gate last time, but he was still a powerful opponent that even the S-rank Ice Empress had struggled against.
Vwoom - !
Red particles gathered in the middle of the white space, and a male Vampire with an arrogant face appeared.
“That person is…?!”
“An enemy attack!”
“Uwah?”
At the sudden appearance of the Vampire, Katarina and Si-Yeon reflexively took a Combat Stance, and Riri was startled.
“Calm down. It is an Illusion for training.”
When I raised my hand and stopped them with a calm voice, the Retainers finally relaxed their tension.
In fact, since I didn’t give any orders, the summoned Lachesis just stood still.
Katarina carefully examined the Illusion of Lachesis standing before her eyes and marveled.
“He is the one I faced personally, but his aura is so identical it gives me goosebumps. Just where is the end of my Liege Lord’s power, to create such a lifelike Illusion…”
“Yes. Even if it is not exactly the same, it will not be lacking in training.”
Now it was time to put them through their paces in earnest.
Just because you train doesn’t mean you gain experience or Level Up like when you hunt monsters.
However, it was good for developing Combat Sense and increasing Skill Application Ability, so actual hunters were said to train hard when they weren’t climbing a gate or the tower.
I summoned opponents tailored to the respective levels of my Retainers.
It was Riri, a Monster Group of goblins, giant wolves, and the like, that we saw in the C-rank Gate.
For Si-Yeon, the Sorcerer’s Parasitic Demonic Beast that we faced last time, “Dark Oculus”, now numbered two.
And for Katarina, I attached the Lachesis I had just manifested.
“Now. Everyone, test your respective limits.”
“Your command!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Okay, Master!!”
As soon as the order fell, fierce battles began to unfold simultaneously in three places.
Bang! Kabaaang!
The Training Ground was where roaring sounds ran rampant.
I quietly watched my Retainers fighting hard.
[…I’m bored.]
Naturally, I didn’t really have anything to do.
Setting up the Training Ground was the end of my role.
Honestly, out of all the targets I’ve seen in my life so far, is there anything the current me could actually beat?
A bug, at best?
…Hmm. Even that wouldn’t be easy.
Anyway, since I was bored, I opened my Inventory.
[??? (S)]
The Unidentified S-rank Item I obtained on the 5th Floor is here.
A red bead appeared on my palm.
[This… Is it okay to eat it?]
Actually, that thought has been lingering in my head for a while now.
The soft, squishy texture and the subtle sweet scent brushed the tip of my nose.
It was like the jelly or candy a child secretly hid in their pocket.
This guy sitting in my Inventory kept bothering me.
[My Vampire Instinct has never been wrong about eating things so far.]
It came from a very old tombstone, but anyway, blood is blood, isn’t it?
Starting from blood sausage to Monster Blood.
The things my body felt drawn to were always things that helped me.
If so - .
Ah, whatever.
Let’s trust my instincts.
“Aah.”
I opened my mouth wide and tossed the whole bead in.
The moment I bit into it.
[Uwah…!]
My eyes shot wide open.
This was exactly that.
The Eyeball Jelly that used to be popular!
The outside was soft and chewy, while sweet and thick syrup-like stuff burst from the inside.
It was the perfect taste of Junk Food with a refreshing fruity scent.
[This is incredibly delicious…!]
After awakening, I had tried Korean Beef Blood Sausage, Human Blood, and all sorts of blood, but this was by far the best.
Munch munch.
I chewed it thoroughly and gulped it down my throat.
A Notification Window popped up before my eyes.
[You have consumed Top-grade Blood!]
[What? Top-grade Blood?]
When I drank the blood of the Pure-blood Vampire Lachesis before, what popped up was “High-grade Blood”.
But this bead I found on the 5th Floor is a higher grade than the blood of an S-rank Monster.
However, the surprises didn’t end there.
[Special Condition has been met.]
[A portion of the Lord of Blood’s Divine Artifact is liberated.]
[You have acquired the Divine Artifact: Death Scythe!]
[?!]
It seems I’ve acquired a freaking awesome weapon.