Chapter 56
The types of items that could be created with Riri’s Mystery, [Blood Blacksmith], were endless.
Not only could she craft clothes and Accessories like the [Blood Silk Garment] or the [Ink Shadow Parasol], but she could also make weapons for direct combat.
However, among the countless Crafting options, there was one particular item that caught my eye.
It was none other than
[Leave it to the Retainer!]
- The outcome is unknown!
‘…It’s a random gacha pull, isn’t it?’
A Riri-style omakase!
I could have played it safe by directly specifying the desired options and form.
But that line about the outcome being unknown made my gamer blood boil.
'Ah. I can’t resist a gacha.'
However, running a random Crafting session entirely entrusted to a retainer required rather strict conditions.
It demanded massive amounts of Low-grade Blood and even Mid-grade Blood as materials.
So, to meet these conditions, I was continuously dispatching my Retainers to Lower-tier Gates.
[Your retainer has hunted an “Orc Warrior”.]
[Retainer’s Experience increases.]
[Your retainer has hunted a “Dire Wolf”.]
[Retainer’s Experience increases.]
…
The Low-grade Blood that the Retainers collected while raiding gates went straight into the newly installed [Oak Blood Barrel].
[The blood is aging.]
[Time Required: 24 Hours]
The time it took for the Low-grade Blood to age inside the barrel was exactly one day.
But the interesting part was that even during the aging of the same Low-grade Blood, the resulting effects varied every time.
Ding!
[Aging is complete.]
[You have acquired Aged Low-grade Blood (Combat Power).]
Effect: Upon consumption, Strength Stat increases by 3 for 1 hour.
[You have acquired Aged Low-grade Blood (Growth).]
Effect: Upon consumption, Experience gained within 1 hour increases by 10%.
Some temporarily boosted strength. Others came with a buff that slightly increased the amount of experience gained.
“Aha. So this is how it gets enhanced?”
It wasn’t some Overpowered enhancement that instantly evolved Low-grade Blood into Mid-grade Blood.
Still, it was quite a useful feature.
I filtered out the Aged Blood with useful options and let the girls drink it.
“Gulp, gulp. Wow! This is super delicious, Master!”
“Liege is an excellent delicacy.”
“It is very sweet.”
“I-It’s delicious, Master…”
They all seemed to love it.
“Really? Is it that good?”
Seeing them enjoy it so much piqued my curiosity, so when no one was looking, I sneakily took a small sip.
“Ugh…”
And immediately scrunched up my face.
It’s incredibly bitter!
It didn’t taste like the disgusting sewer water of the Low-grade Blood I’d had before.
But it had a bitter, astringent taste that left my mouth feeling dry.
Ugh. What part of this is supposed to be delicious?
As expected, things like juice or jelly flavors suit my palate much better than this.
Anyway, I was doing this small-scale farming for a few days.
I finally succeeded in reserving a decent B-rank Gate!
Thanks to the Unofficial S-rank Hunter treatment received from the Association, it was very easy to get top-priority assignments whenever a High-rank Gate opened.
“A B-rank Boss Monster should definitely allow us to farm the Mid-grade Blood needed for Weapon Crafting.”
This particular gate allowed up to five people to enter.
So I decided to send the four of them - Katarina, Si-Yeon, Riri, and Sera.
Me?
Naturally, I’d be lying on my soft bed, safely in Spectator Mode.
Ahead of this dispatch, I purchased a fairly decent steel sword from the System Shop and handed it to Sera.
“Wow… It’s a magnificent sword, thank you…!”
Sera was deeply moved despite receiving nothing more than a mass-produced iron sword.
However, I felt quite uncomfortable handing such meager equipment to a retainer with S-rank Potential.
It was only a temporary item, after all.
“Ahem. It is nothing. I shall bestow a better weapon upon you soon.”
This time, Exalted Dignity and my inner thoughts were almost perfectly aligned.
“I-I’m perfectly fine with just this, though…”
Sera didn’t know what to do with herself, but my mind was firmly made up.
‘Sera. I’ll give you something way better than that soon.’
I would definitely put a weapon in her hands that couldn’t even be compared to that iron sword.
It all depended on how Riri’s gacha pull turned out, but I believed in her golden hands.
“Now then, you may depart.”
As soon as I gave the order, the four of them immediately began the B-rank Gate Raid.
The core objective of this hunt was clear.
Katarina and Si-Yeon were to step back as much as possible and only handle overall control, letting Riri and Sera take the lead in hunting.
Katarina was already at an anomalous level, so killing mob monsters wouldn’t yield any meaningful experience.
Si-Yeon was lower than Katarina, but the same applied to her.
On the other hand, for the relatively lower-leveled Riri and Sera, it was an excellent Hunting Ground where they could achieve explosive growth.
The environment of the B-rank Gate was a rugged rocky mountain area.
As they sliced through the monsters they encountered while passing through the canyons, I carefully observed Sera’s Combat Style.
‘Oh. It’s incredibly clean.’
Katarina with her overwhelming martial prowess.
Si-Yeon with her stealthy and agile Assassin style.
Riri with her beast-like movements relying heavily on instinct.
Unlike those three, Sera’s Swordsmanship was very orthodox.
“Haaah!”
Horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, thrusts.
Her strikes were disciplined and flawless, textbook moves that clearly showed she had been well-trained in a Knight Order.
Add the superior physical abilities of a Vampire to that, and the synergy is immense.
She was literally cutting them in two with a single strike.
Every time Sera’s sword flashed, a monster was cleaved in half.
Climbing the rocky mountain with such unstoppable momentum, the Retainers finally reached the very peak of the gate.
“Kieeeeeeek - !”
The Boss Monster revealed itself with a bizarre screech.
Three eagle heads and massive wings.
And a beast with the body of a lion made its appearance.
[Triple Head Gryphon]
It was a B-rank Monster, the Triple Head Gryphon.
The problem was that the creature was flying, circling around in the air.
“Eek! It’s flying!”
“Ugh…”
As melee fighters, Riri and Sera lacked the means to attack an airborne enemy and had to wait for an opening from the ground.
At that moment, Si-Yeon, who had been watching from the back, stepped forward.
Si-Yeon raised her hand and aimed at the empty air.
Red blood seemed to condense at her fingertips.
Then it fired at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
It was a familiar Skill by then. [Blood Bullet].
However
Bang - ! Bang - !
“Huh? Two shots in a row?”
My eyes widened.
She used to be able to fire only one Blood Bullet at a time.
But this time, two shots were fired in succession!
The two Blood Bullets shot out like a surprise attack and lodged perfectly into the Base of the Gryphon’s wings.
‘Si-Yeon. You’ve gained a new technique!’
It seemed Si-Yeon’s proficiency had also grown through her steady combat experience.
“Kieeeeeeek - !”
The three-headed Gryphon let out an agonizing shriek as its wings were pierced, losing its trajectory and faltering.
There was no way Katarina would miss that split-second opening.
Katarina reached out her hand, and blood-red ropes shot into the air, binding the Gryphon’s torso.
Then, as she snapped her wrist downward, the massive body of the Gryphon plummeted to the ground.
Crash - !
“Fourth, now!”
“Yes…!”
The moment Katarina shouted, Sera, who had been waiting, kicked off the ground and lunged forward.
Now was the time.
The time for me to finally do something had come!
“[Book of the Dead], activate!”
I immediately used the S-rank Item.
Hwaaah!
In an instant, a dark red aura enveloped Sera’s entire body, granting her a 50% Stat Buff.
As the empowered Sera swung her sword, a flash of light burst forth.
Chwaaaak - !
Sera’s steel sword decapitated the Gryphon’s three heads in a single stroke.
Tap.
Landing lightly on the ground, Sera wore a dazed expression as she looked back and forth between the sword in her hand and the headless corpse of the Gryphon.
“D-Did I… Cut Down this massive monster in one strike…?”
She muttered in bewilderment, as if she couldn’t believe it herself.
It was certainly understandable for her to be that shocked, considering a former Apprentice Knight who had just become a Vampire had sliced a B-rank Boss in half with a single blow.
Just then, Riri, who had been watching from behind, trotted over and threw her arms around Sera.
“Hic?!”
“Wow! Sera is super strong!”
“A-Ahaha… Thank you, Senior Riri. But how did I manage to produce such power…”
“Indeed. You’ve awakened.”
Katarina, who had approached at some point, nodded and chimed in with a deliberately solemn voice.
“Sera. It is true that your Swordsmanship was quite impressive, but that destructive power was just now Thanks to the blessing our Liege personally bestowed upon you. Even while residing in the Territory, our Liege always watches over us and grants us power.”
“Ah…!”
Sera’s eyes widened at Katarina’s words.
Then, placing her sword against her chest, she politely bowed her head toward the empty air.
“Thank you so much, Master…”
“Ahem.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Even I had to admit I timed that perfectly.
Right then, a series of cheerful system messages popped up.
[Your retainer has hunted the “Triple Head Gryphon”.]
[Retainer’s Experience increases significantly.]
[Retainer’s Level has increased!]
[Retainer’s Level has increased!]
“Ooh, two levels at once!”
It was a level-up triggered by monopolizing the Last Hit Experience of a B-rank Boss Monster, combined with the accumulated experience from all the monsters they had hunted so far.
Gaining two levels in such a short period within Sera’s level bracket was nothing short of a miracle for ordinary hunters.
In any case, with this, the farming for Mid-grade Blood - the core material for Weapon Crafting - was perfectly completed.
Welcoming the Retainers who safely returned home, I gathered the materials and called for Riri.
“Mmm? This time Riri gets to make it however she wants, Master?!”
“Yes. It is a sword for the Fourth to use, so do your best to forge it to perfectly suit Sera’s movements and strength.”
“Got it! I’ll make something super cool that fits Sera perfectly!”
Riri immediately grabbed an armful of Low-grade Blood and Mid-grade Blood and popped right into her room, which served as her Blacksmith’s forge.
Clang, clang.
The work took longer than expected.
When she made my clothes or parasol before, it was finished quickly because I specified what to make, but this time she had to create it entirely from Scratch using only her intuition.
“I hope a good item comes out…”
After a grueling 24 Hours of work.
Bang - !
“Master! Riri finally finished! I think it turned out super well!”
Smiling brightly, Riri ran out of the room.
Her face was smeared with blood instead of soot.
In her two hands, she held a beautiful crimson longsword.
“Oh? The exterior looks pretty cool.”
Filled with anticipation, I used [Appraisal Eye] on the sword.
But what in the World!
“…Huh?”
The result was vastly different from my expectations.
“Riri, just what on Earth did you do…!”
Riri had finally gone and caused an accident.
In other words.
[Demonic Sword Bloodbringer (S)]
“An S-rank Item dropped?!”
I hit the jackpot.