White Night Island in the West Sea.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead after finishing the last swing of the axe.
A pile of dry firewood stacked up to one side.
We'd be using it for tonight's campfire.
"This is something I should be doing."
Vayla looked back and forth between the firewood and me.
"No, you just got new clothes today. Wouldn't want to get them dirty."
Her outfit was still a maid uniform, but it looked somehow cutting-edge now.
I'd picked it up from Rudolf—no, from Grandfather Ruwolf at the Aeropolis Magitech Research Institute a couple of hours ago.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Lord Ruwolf seemed extremely happy today. I'm curious as to why."
"Well, you brought him a ton of that delicious food you made, didn't you?"
"So humans feel happiness from that?"
"Of course. Grandfather Ruwolf thinks of you like a daughter. How could he not be happy when his daughter cooked for him?"
"Lord Ruwolf disassembles and analyzes the weapons you bring him. We provide food in return. Wasn't it just a barter exchange?"
"No, no. Even without the food, Grandfather would have granted our request."
Vayla tilted her head.
"I saw on the internet. Taking things without paying anything in return is called being a gangster. Master, are you a gangster?"
A cold sweat trickled down my side.
I was about to tell her that was wrong information, but hearing it put that way... she wasn't wrong.
Maybe I'd been acting a little too shamelessly all this time.
'They say the darkest place is under the lamp. Turns out I was the gangster.'
Finishing my unexpected moment of self-reflection, I checked my phone.
A lengthy message of praise had arrived from the Player Hunter Bureau.
All thanks to the weapons I'd stolen from Karen Whittaker and the ultra-precise analysis data Grandfather Ruwolf had put together in no time.
'He really is a genius engineer of the century.'
Not just magitech, but even otherworldly technology—he handled it all effortlessly.
It was truly an insane ability.
I gathered up the firewood and stood up.
"Let's go, Vayla. If Momo gets here first, she'll complain that we didn't start the fire."
Currently, the Monica Trio was out at sea collecting fresh seafood.
Nia had tagged along dangling from someone, so I wasn't sure if that really counted as going together, but anyway.
I needed to do my part before the Great Empress arrived and started yelling, "Look at this lazy owner who couldn't even light a campfire while Momo was out catching tons of fresh, lively seafood!!"
Walking side by side with Vayla, I spoke up.
"To continue what I was saying earlier, the reason Grandfather was happy is because you, whom he treasures like a daughter, prepared something for him. You cooked for him because you wanted to, right?"
"That's correct. Lord Ruwolf is someone precious to me. So I wanted to make him something delicious."
I was startled and looked at Vayla.
I'd been planning to teach her the concept of "precious," but she already understood it.
Staring straight at me, Vayla continued.
"Master always asks me if there's anything I want or anything I want to do, and tries to do things for me. Is that because I'm precious to you?"
"That's exactly it."
"Now I understand. Master said earlier that when someone precious does something for you, it makes you happy. Master is precious to me and always tries to do things for me, so I am happy too."
Vayla used both index fingers to gently lift the corners of her mouth into a smile.
I smiled back.
For some reason, my chest felt warm.
After that, we chatted about this and that as we arrived at the front yard.
Fortunately, the Great Empress wasn't here yet.
I quickly stacked the firewood and was about to go get a torch from the house when—
*Whoosh!*
Flames burst out from between Vayla's clothes.
A campfire was completed in an instant.
Putting a function like that into clothes meant for his daughter—truly, Grandfather Rudolf was a genuine magitech engineer.
"Let's just sit and warm ourselves by the fire until the others come. Seira said she'd bring the salt and seasonings."
"Understood."
After setting up the chairs, I sat down.
And in the meantime, I pulled up my status window.
Somewhere between the 92nd and 100th floors of the Tower of Despair, the grave of the corrupted World Tree, Nemesis.
Right after clearing it, I'd rushed off to catch Nekiel, so I hadn't even properly checked the reward messages.
[Yoo Jinhyuk]
# Class: Collector
# Level: 155
Even after reinforcing and merging floors, only 5 levels up.
The fact that my current level was higher than the floor's recommended level probably played a part, but I could definitely feel the growth slowing down the higher I went.
I checked the levels of my companions listed below.
[Black Knight Commander Seira Kincaiton / Grade: Legendary / Level: 204 / EXP: 30%]
[Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho / Grade: Epic / Level: 151 / EXP: 0%]
[Undying Dark Castro / Grade: Epic / Level: 155 / EXP: 0%]
[Master Collector Momo / Grade: Epic / Level: 152 / EXP: 0%]
[Star Sage Elia Posen / Grade: Epic / Level: 152 / EXP: 0%]
[Sky Reader Camilla Sirin / Grade: Epic / Level: 152 / EXP: 0%]
[Steel Goblin Tempered in Darkness Renya / Grade: Epic / Level: 155 / EXP: 0%]
[Gluttony and Sloth, the Great Sin Born from Darkness Nia / Grade: Epic / Level: 147 / EXP: 0%]
Except for Seira, whose EXP had only gone up, everyone else had gained three or four levels evenly.
As for unique traits or skills, none were newly acquired—just one or two of the existing ones had leveled up.
If that was all, I might have been like, "Eh!?" But then—
The achievement gauge filled up twice, opening two reward boxes, and from them came rewards that made my eyes light up.
# Blank Card - True: 1
# Weapon Awakening Ticket: 1
I already had a place in mind for the Blank Card, so I used it immediately.
[You inscribe the unique trait 'Cold Resonance LV1' of the Undying Dark Castro onto the Blank Card - True!]
[From now on, you can summon ice without Dark Castro's holy relic, 'Everfrost Iron'!]
A grin spread across my face.
I'd been eyeing the way Dark could summon ice without any preparation, and now I finally had it.
As soon as I learned it, I summoned ice with one hand.
*Crackle.*
My palm instantly froze, radiating bitter cold.
Now I could cool down Kancho, who was always hot because of his fluffy fur.
Of course, I'd have to be careful not to freeze him solid.
"The fire is getting weak."
"Oh, sorry."
I dismissed the ice and took out the Weapon Awakening Ticket from my inventory.
# Weapon Awakening Ticket
## Awakens a weapon.
The description was so simple it made me wonder if there was some kind of bug.
"This is amazing!" Momo had shouted the moment she saw it.
Since the Great Empress had verified it, I hoped it was the kind of incredible item that could awaken any weapon.
Filled with high expectations, I took out the best weapon I had—the Soul Reaper.
There was no telling when I'd get a weapon better than this, so I decided to use it without hesitation.
[You use the 'Weapon Awakening Ticket' on the Transcendent-grade weapon 'Soul Reaper'!]
*Beep!*
An ominous sound rang out.
[This is a growth-type weapon imbued with the power of the Reaper Catiel!]
[To awaken this weapon, an enormous amount of souls is required!]
[The souls needed for the next awakening are woefully insufficient, and Catiel refuses to use the Weapon Awakening Ticket!]
'Who are you to refuse!'
I shouted inwardly, my eyes wide.
The Soul Reaper, a weapon that grew stronger the more souls it consumed.
It was a fantastic weapon whose attack power increased and new skills unlocked as the unique trait Soul Harvest leveled up, but it had one fatal flaw.
The Reaper Catiel, the entity that consumed the souls, had an incredibly picky palate.
And this only got worse as Soul Harvest's level increased.
After barely reaching level 30 by killing Azriel, Catiel now wouldn't even touch most monster souls.
As a result, the supply couldn't keep up with the consumption from Resonance - Divine Extremity, and my soul reserves were nearly depleted.
Thankfully, the last one I caught, Nekiel, was apparently palatable enough to replenish a decent amount, saving me from immediate inability to use the skill, but it was only a matter of time before I couldn't use Resonance - Divine Extremity anymore.
That's why I'd pinned my hopes on the Weapon Awakening Ticket, and now it was refusing?
If it had a physical form, I'd want to beat it senseless.
*Swoosh...!*
As if hearing my inner thoughts, the form of the Reaper Catiel, which always lingered behind me, slowly moved into my view.
"It's a ghost."
Thank goodness Vayla was beside me.
If she weren't, I might have collapsed from fear.
Catiel extended a finger that was nothing but bone and began writing something in the air.
It was a language I'd never seen before, but the meaning was clear.
It said that normally this would be absolutely impossible, but since it also wanted me to grow, it would tell me a way.
First it refuses, and now it's offering a method? Talk about giving with one hand and taking with the other.
'Oh?'
My eyes widened at the additional words it wrote.
It said that if such a powerful external force intervened without sufficient souls backing it up, the weapon's balance would collapse.
In other words, if I'd just used it recklessly, the Transcendent weapon might have been destroyed.
Cancel the "giving with one hand and taking with the other."
Kind Reaper Catiel only came to give.
After writing one more line, Catiel returned to its original position.
At the same time, a message appeared.
[The Reaper Catiel has shown player Yoo Jinhyuk the way!]
[Due to the Weapon Awakening Ticket, the amount of souls originally required has been significantly reduced!]
[However, for the weapon to withstand the awakening, 1 'Soul of a Sublime Hero' is needed!]
[The Weapon Awakening Ticket is now linked to the Transcendent-grade weapon Soul Reaper!]
[Upon acquiring 1 Soul of a Sublime Hero, the awakening will proceed!]
The Weapon Awakening Ticket burned away.
The option to use it on another weapon was cleanly gone.
I was rubbing my chin, wondering where on earth I was supposed to find something like that, when—
*Dudududududududu!!*
The sound of rough marching approached.
It was the Kancho-Momo duo, carrying a large bundle.
"Look at this still-flopping giant octopus!! Momo speared it in one shot with a harpoon!!"
"The octopus is huge! Three Kancho-meters long!"
Kancho, the Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain, came running excitedly, then met my eyes.
*Squeak!* He slammed on the brakes, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Then he spun around and ran back toward the sea.
For some reason, his bamboo fishing rod looked empty.
He must have left our sleeping beauty Nia behind again.
"We gotta grill it while it's still fresh!"
"Everything's ready."
"We need dipping sauce too!"
"I've made a sweet and sour recipe."
"Sweet and sour is toootally the best!"
I smiled as I watched my friends busily preparing the meal.
They'd caught a good haul, so first, let's eat until we're stuffed—
*Boom!*
Huh? Suddenly a boom?
I turned my head toward the forest.
That's where Elia was.
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T/N:
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