༺ Pluto’s Black Star (4) ༻
“H-Hmm, Hassan of Samaria, you seem to have the habit of desiring to release the excitement of battle by venting your sexual urges, yes? But I am not a priestess of Venus, though. If it’s sexual desires, just let them deal with it, please. Don’t be like this…”
“It was an act of rescue, I was actually trying to ease your breathing difficulty…”
“Hoou, good, then. I’ll let it slide this time too since you’ve done a really good job here, but there will be no next time, okay?”
Hippolyte, after regaining consciousness, doubted me by herself and then proceeded to forgive me of her own accord too.
I gave up on explaining what CPR was since it would probably be considered illegal in this world. This woman won’t care about anything I would say anyway. That’s the kind of person Hippolyte was.
Well, if a woman were to tear off my pants and said she was trying to rescue me by pressing on my schlong, I wouldn’t believe her either. So, I can get where she’s coming from.
“You’re even better than I thought, Samaritan. The moment I think I’ve fathomed your limits, you go and surprise me again with your ludicrous stunts and actions. Even though your movements are savage and barbarous, you were able to miss their vital points perfectly. They were injured but with no harm to their lives. This way we’ll be able to capture and interrogate them later. A pretty good job you did there if I say so myself.”
Hippolyte then praised my swordsmanship to change the awkward mood between us. I was wielding my swords with the intention to kill them, so I wasn’t sure whether saying that I perfectly missed their vital points was a compliment or a curse.
To be frank, I think my crude swordsmanship was good enough as is.
“Necromancer Koma. I, Hippolyte, priestess of Mars, will restrain you today, by the authority of lord Mars.”
Hippolyte spoke in a dignified tone to the necromancer who was rolling on the ground with her arms severed. The necromancer then laughed hysterically while vomiting mouthfuls of blood.
“Death… can never be restrained… I told you… We’re all equal before death…”
Disintegrate-
As she uttered those last words in that eerie voice of hers, the body of the necromancer began crumbling down, like ashes they scattered in all directions as though influenced by an unknown current of wind. Damn, what the hell is going on?
It wasn’t just her body, even the bodies of the other fallen cultists also scattered as if they had been turned into fine powder.
“…Did they use poison? To think they’d take their own lives. Aren’t they afraid of receiving divine punishment in the halls of Tartarus?”
“I’ve already… accomplished my goals… Beginning of the Heavens… The seeds have been planted in the body of its legitimate successors… Chaos…wants a new beginning…and…he shall have what he desires…”
The necromancer’s body finally turned completely into a mix of dust and ash, scattering like the rest at the end of her words. All that was left on the ground were her bloody and dirty black rags and the weird mace-shaped necklace she was wearing.
Hippolyte then picked up her necklace and spoke in a tone of surprise.
“This is an epic-grade relic. The Black Star. I heard it was lost in a temple in the Acheron region a decade ago. So this is where it was, huh…”
Swish-
She then moved it toward me. Having already experienced the terror and terrifying imposingness of the relic, my voice shook a little in panic.
“W-What is it?”
“You’re the one that killed her so the spoils should be yours too. This Black Star belongs to you.”
“R-Really?”
An epic relic? Damn, this is so cool!!!
I can’t believe I just got an epic-grade relic, just like that. Aren’t these things worth quite a lot? Ten gold coins at least or something!
“Holy shit, thank you, Miss Hippolyte!”
“This is just what you rightfully deserve. Don’t raise your hopes up though, Hassan of Samaria. The Black Star of the Acheron spews out wild mana that can sever the spirit of its users too if not subdued first. Its power is something that is hard to bear with or suppress for most…”
Hippolyte was apparently talking about something serious but my mind wasn’t registering anything she was saying. The only things on my mind right now were images of the shiny gold coins that would land in my pockets soon. There’s so much I could do with those gold coins.
Should I buy a house? A personal carriage? My dull brain was having a lot of trouble deciding on what to do with such a large sum of money.
“Just take it. This thing gives me the creeps, I don’t have good compatibility with it. I don’t want to keep it, so it’s yours.”
“Compatibility? Does such a thing matter with relics?
“Yes, epic-grade artifacts are left by the glorious heroes who left their names in the historical epics. They are products created by their deeply-ingrained karma. So, unless it’s someone with matching karma as theirs, trying to use an epic artifact would be fruitless. Some people even went crazy because of them sometimes.”
What is she even talking about? Was this similar to a class-specific item?
So this Black Star would be a necromancer-only item, right? That made it no different than an expensive piece of junk for people who didn’t have a matching class.
Rustle-
That being said, I still received the relic from Hippolyte’s hands.
At that moment, I felt electricity run throughout my whole body starting from the fingertips coming in direct contact with the object and soon after that, somehow familiar letters appeared in my vision.
You’ve acquired Pluto’s Black Star.
You can consume 100 task points to strengthen this piece of equipment.
Will you use your task points to strengthen Pluto’s Black Star to Pluto’s Eye?
『Yes.』
『No.』
Something strange has yet again appeared in front of my eyes. Strengthening equipment by consuming task points? Did it have such a function too?
This is actually not my first time touching an epic-grade artifact.
Because just before getting freed from my slavery I could hear “You are the first to acquire the Epic-Grade Relic Asclepius’ Staff” after touching the Asclepius’ Staff on the labyrinth raid with Elfriede’s gang and even got this strange <Imperfect Dexterity> ability from that encounter.
I didn’t understand back then but now I could conscientiously assume that all epic-grade artifacts had stranged and unexplainable powers after getting this necklace.
Fuck, things that need task points keep popping up left and right. They’re really precious, huh… Well, it wasn’t that great of a deal since I knew of a few ways to collect them very swiftly.
“Is there a problem? What’s wrong with you? You didn’t lose your mind, right?”
Hippolyte drew her sword and positioned herself in a sword stance as if ready to cut my throat at any given moment. Seeing that horrific scene, I hurriedly spoke to avoid any kind of unfortunate accident from transpiring this time.
“There’s no problem, p-put your sword away, please!”
“Then let’s go back. Well, Hassan of Samaria, again, you’ve done a great job today. You’ll hear good news you can look forward to from the guild soon, I can assure you of that.”
**********
When we returned to the place where we had fought with the skeletons, I was greeted with the sight of priestess Cassandra performing medical treatment for the injured.
I could see bandaged people groan in pain all around me, struggling in the dry ground. And just as I arrived, the big-nosed Marco excitedly greeted us with hasty steps.
“You made it back, brother!”
“Fucking hell, how are you still alive after these skeletons attacked?”
“I was comforting the dead with a requiem so that they can peacefully reach Charon.”
“I’m the one who protected Marco-kun!”
Lord Destroyer appeared and cast a shadow over us with his towering body. His whole upper area was covered in a plethora of bandages. He alternatively looked between Hippolyte and the relic hanging around my neck then asked with a voice filled with intrigue.
“Miss Hippolyte, Koma is…?”
“All the cultists from the Acheron died.”
“I guessed that much but… this necklace did Samaritan-kun…?”
Nod-
Hippolyte silently nodded her head, understanding the silent question that Destroyer wanted to ask.
“The more I look at you, the more interesting you seem, Samaritan-kun. You’ve gained a few points in my heart with that act, keep it up!”
Holy motherf… When it came to men, this guy was a lot more dangerous than a few cultists. No matter how many times I simulated a battle with him in my head, I lost 9 times out of 10. I don’t think I could remain standing for more than 5 seconds if I clashed head-on with this beast.
That would have been fine if it just ended in me getting beaten, but I knew that clearly wasn’t all, god-fucking-shit.
“That aside, there seems to be an entry to Pluto’s ruins here, Lord Destroyer.”
“Pluto’s ruins?”
“Yeah, it’s probably the cause of the cultist’s presence here and that weird fog. The entrance has been blocked for now but we’ll have to appropriately deal with this eventually, lest another catastrophe descends on us.”
“Well, this is something we’ll have to discuss with the other silver-tier adventurers. It seems we’re done here so let’s go back. I’m glad we dealt with it sooner than our previous estimation. It would have taken a lot more effort and sacrifices had we kept walking through the mud and the fog.”
The journey lasted less than two days, it shouldn’t go past three days even after counting the way back.
Fatigue was piling up quickly on my body even on the way back, but I finally could feel every speck of energy leaving my body after finally sighting the tall walls of Sodomora.
I’m finally back, damn it. It feels like it has been years since I left.
“Then I’ll go report the completion of the quest as the representative. You should visit your dedicated receptionist tomorrow for your share. With that, everyone is dismissed!”
We disbanded after reaching the outskirts of the city, it was time for everyone to do their own things and live out their own lives.
I was holding the goblin fangs and the crocodile skins I worked hard for in my hands while excitedly thinking about all the money I was going to get for it. My steps were very light as if hovering in the air, I was on cloud nine with the excitement I felt.
Where should I sell them? Should I go to the general store from before? What was its name again? Ruth’s General Store or something like that, I think… I felt someone tap on my back as I was sinking into deep thoughts.
“What is it, Luna?”
“Hassan.”
“Hmm? What do you want to say? Wanna have a drink with me today?”
“Mmhmm, we worked hard! We need to have an after-party for such an occasion! Do you have anything to do?”
I just returned and had yet to plan on doing anything.
Visiting a bathhouse to clean my body and deliberating how to best use my newly-earned money aside I had nothing holding me back.
“I’m as free as one can be.”
“Well, then let’s meet at Nymph’s Wings at dinner time, like the other day!”
And before I could even answer her, Luna ran away and disappeared from my field of vision.
Maybe she left to sell the swamp mushrooms and other materials she harvested during the quest?
Now that I think about it, Luna, who I had thought would be a burden, ended up being of great help in this quest. We might’ve been completely wiped out by the crocodiles if not for her unusual methods that were effective against them.
I had promised Luna to party with her until she reached the bronze tier. Maybe, it wasn’t a bad idea to keep partying with her even after that?
Anyway, the sun was currently high in the sky and I had a lot of time until the after-party. So I went to a bathhouse, thoroughly washed my body, and began scouring the streets for a decent clothing shop.
Although one of my crocodile skins was used as a tribute or a sacrifice for whatever happened back then, I still have one more crocodile skin of great quality left that I could use.
Which one of them should I go to?
After thinking about it and agonizing over and over about which one to visit, I finally settled on a clothing shop with a large sign saying, “Clothing Shop Blessed By Lord Minerva,” etched on it.
Even clothing stores can be blessed? What was this even supposed to mean? Was it like winning a sewing contest and then getting a blessing as the first prize? It was probably something along those lines.
**********
Diriring-
As I opened the wooden door, I could see the typical sight of a clothing store with bright wallpaper and fabrics hung all around.
I could smell a rather distinct aroma after coming in. It smelled great and refreshing. Maybe lavender? Or jasmine? Anyway, it smelled good and that’s all that mattered. No need to think deeply about that.
“Oh my, it’s a young Samaritan. Welcome!”
A woman with long dark navy hair greeted me after my entry.
She was wearing a purple shoulderless dress that looked to be made of silk. It left a clear view of her dazzling white thighs, calves, shoulders, and neck.
The dress was actually very weird since both of the sides were only connected together with a very thin knot in the front, exposing a lot of her upper torso… As expected of a worker in the fashion industry, I guess.
Although she was a beauty, her face had a glint of sharpness and fierceness embedded within, giving her an overall spooky aura. She looked to be in her mid-thirties? I wasn’t really sure.
Well, you couldn’t accurately judge someone’s age just by looking at their faces in this world. It was a world of magic after all. Just as I was sinking deep in my thoughts, the female shopkeeper spoke out in a calm tone.
“What brings you here, young Samaritan? That’s a nice necklace you’ve got there. You’ve got a great sense of fashion. It looks pretty expensive too, I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere before though.”
The woman’s attention was caught by the relic hanging around my neck. Maybe she was knowledgeable in accessories since she knew a lot about fashion.
“Umm, well, I came to sell some leather.”
“Leather? Is it from a rabbit, a squirrel, or a deer?”
“Crocodile.”
“What? C-Crocodile leather…? Wow, interesting. I never expected something like this out of the blue. Take it out, then.”
So I took the crocodile skin out of my backpack. I could see the blue eyes of the shopkeeper flicker slightly as she keenly watched the long and rigid skin I took out from my bag.
“The quality is pretty good, excellent even. Swamp crocodile’s skin can spoil pretty easily but yours, dear customer, seems to be well maintained. The drying process was a little lacking in comparison but this is more than enough. I’ll give you 7 silvers for this.”
“Oh.”
7 silvers? That’s more than I expected.
“Or, you could give me three silvers, and I’d make clothes out of these for you. A jacket, a pair of pants, and some leftovers that you can use or sell if you like.”
The middle-aged shopkeeper spoke as such while glancing up and down, scanning my body. Was my appearance that bad?
Anyway, I was happy she offered me this service since that’s what I was thinking of doing all along.
“I’ll give you three silvers.”
“Unlike how you may look, you must be earning quite a lot. Well, let me take measurements of your body.
The navy-haired woman came closer to me and measured my waist, arms, and other parts of my body with a belt-like measuring tape.
Squish-
Her large and soft breasts were repeatedly touching my arms and back, and I felt blood rushing down to my little brother at breakneck speed. Is she unaware of the way she’s touching me or is she doing it on purpose? I didn’t know…
Although it was probably just an urban legend among adventurers, I heard that some shopkeepers used their bodies to get regular customers. Was this woman the same?
“Please sit there and wait for about 30 minutes.”
“30 minutes? Wow, that’s way faster than I expected.”
“I was blessed by Minerva, the goddess of talents, I’m on a completely different level from the competition, I can guarantee you that.”
The shopkeeper confidently snorted as though she believed her craft to be the greatest. In the next moment, she fetched scissors, needles, and a wool of thread. She began cutting the skin back and forth while adding fabric to it in between, to make a set of clothes for me.
Cut- Cut- Sew-
She looked dazzling and full of skill, like a veteran spider building a large web while treading around with its numerous legs.
“I think there will be some fabric left, more than I initially thought there would. Do you have anything you want to make currently?”
“C-Can you really make something with what’s left?”
“Aha… it’s not that difficult for me. But I’ll have to charge you two more silvers for that. This takes a lot of work, after all, you see…”
“Hmm…”
I ended up getting a fairly sturdy weight-jacket-esque coat along with comfortable leather pants.
I even got another piece made from the remaining leather. The product was made-well and came unexpectedly good. As expected, people with blessings were just of a different breed.
“Please come again, young Samaritan!”
The female shopkeeper waved her hands as she sent me off with a dazzling smile hanging on her lips, I waved back to show my goodwill as I started walking on the street; my feet carrying me to my destination.
The sky grew dimmer before I even realized and I headed to the Nymph’s Wings Inn. I got there rather quickly after growing familiar with the geography of the surrounding area. When I arrived there, I could see a pink-haired girl, fashioning her usual twin-tail hairstyle, holding a table in a corner of the first floor of the tavern.
“Hassan! I’m here!”
“Did Marco not arrive yet?”
“Huh? I didn’t call big-nose though. I heard he had an appointment with Lord Destroyer. More importantly, you got new clothes! Oh my Gods, they look great. You look like a competent bandit now!”
Luna often compared me to murderers and the sorts. A bandit, huh… Do I really look like a bandit now?
Maybe it was a compliment in some way? She said ‘competent’ this time, so this must be some big praise in her dictionary, perhaps… Fucking shit, what the hell was I supposed to make out from that? Let’s just stop thinking and consider it a compliment. It’s better that way.
Luna was snooping around and looking at me in agitation as though she was excited about something. There was also a faint trace of gloominess in her eyes that I didn’t know the origin of.
“Wow, crocodile skin looks so good. It’s considered the best in Ideope. Very few could get to wear one.”
“Really?”
“I’m so jealous! I wish I was strong enough to catch one!!”
Come to think of it, crocodile skin was expensive in my world too. There was a lot of discourse about how collecting it was animal abuse and killing or harming them was even labeled illegal in some places too.
Anyways, I might have understood where the gloominess I felt from her was coming from… Well, it was great that I had just the item to surprise and dispel that sadness with in my hands…
Luna’s eyes suddenly lit up, while she was sniffing my new clothes, as she saw that I was hiding something behind my back. Her eyes were twinkling in interest. Damn, I was caught…
“That aside, what are you hiding behind your back?”
“Ah, this? Here, take it. It’s yours. I had it made for you.”
I would have preferred to give it to her later, but I was caught already so I might as well give it to her now. It was for the better in my opinion.
“F-For me? Really!? Seriously!?”
“Yeah. It cost me two silvers.”
Although it was an astounding 30% of the crocodile skin’s price, I wouldn’t have been able to catch them without her help. In a way, this was her fair share of the loot.
So I handed her a small pair of leather sandals made of crocodile skin.
They were strap and leather sandals, typical of ancient European culture.
Luna’s emerald eyes widened a lot like saucers when she received them in her hands, and drops of liquid began forming at the rims of her sparkling eyes.
Drop-
Her eyes widened further and further, and soon after that tears began falling drop by drop from her dazzling eyes making my heart almost freak out from fright.
What the hell????
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