Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Securing the Necronomicon Copy
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Just hold on a little longer—a tiny bit longer—and the Necronomicon copy would be in his hands.
Unlike other rankers scrambling in panic over promotion items, he’d be able to enjoy Arc just as leisurely as before, with a completely relaxed mind.
All while savoring the downfall of those former rankers whose growth had stalled at the level cap, unlike him pushing ever forward.
And his efforts were rewarded.
-Success.
Such a short message on the note. But Halloween Pumpkin thrust both arms skyward at the meaning behind those words.
At last, the Necronomicon copy he’d dreamed of was his.
And that meant he no longer needed to blockade the gorge.
He left the gorge immediately. Just in case Beauty Art caught wind that he’d obtained the Necronomicon copy and came chasing after him, he left behind a large force of skeletons.
They would naturally be destroyed by Beauty Art’s hand. Considering the resources and effort poured into creating them, it wasn’t something he could call anything but a waste.
But one mustn’t fear the costs of gaining great profit.
Compared to the Necronomicon copy, his skeletons were worth less than roadside pebbles.
And so Halloween Pumpkin successfully escaped the gorge. There was no sign of Beauty Art pursuing him. Now all that remained was to rendezvous at the promised location with Method and hand over the Necronomicon copy.
Of course, if she caught on to the truth, Beauty Art would hunt him down like a madwoman, but what could she do? He’d already used the Necronomicon copy by then.
‘If I’m feeling generous, I might even let her kill me a few times.’
Even so, it was an overwhelming gain.
Halloween Pumpkin was in such high spirits that he was even entertaining thoughts he’d never normally consider.
Imagining himself returning to the guild in triumph after promotion and breaking through the level cap, he briskly crossed the wasteland.
* * *
Having finished all her ad shoots, West Flower was heading back to Sillaremite.
Her mind wasn’t at ease. Things related to the Necronomicon copy weren’t progressing smoothly.
Beauty Art was still trapped in Moros Gorge, and Meteor continued to face provocations from others.
‘I need to come up with something.’
And as quickly as possible. She couldn’t stay in Sillaremite forever.
‘Delivering the Necronomicon copy to Beauty Art myself would be the easiest option.’
But she didn’t want to bear the burden of transporting such a precious item herself.
‘Then should I go to Moros Gorge with Meteor?’
It seemed like there was no better alternative.
Just as she resolved to propose it to Meteor the moment she reached Sillaremite, a message came in.
-West Flower!-
It was from Cooking Day.
-Meteor got the Necronomicon copy stolen from him-
Terribly bad news.
* * *
Method kept racing across Blandel Wasteland. To rendezvous with Halloween Pumpkin.
There was a small forest that grew naturally in one corner of Blandel Wasteland—that was the spot they’d agreed to meet.
She glanced back casually.
‘Persistent, huh.’
Far in the distance, faint shapes were visible. The white skeleton pursuing her to capture her, along with his mercenary band.
Hours had already passed, yet they hadn’t given up the chase.
‘Guess he’s that desperate.’
More precisely, just the white skeleton. The mercenaries were probably only doing as much as they were paid for.
But that wouldn’t last much longer.
No matter that her Mimic skill required spreading out her stat points across all abilities, her main focus was still agility.
She wasn’t about to get caught by a necromancer who wasn’t even a ranker, and mercenaries inferior to him.
‘Still, that’s annoying.’
Method looked up at the sky. A bird was circling above her. She knew it well. It was the same type of bird her ally Halloween Pumpkin favored.
‘A necromancer’s zombie bird.’
The go-to undead for necromancers on recon—hard to intercept because it could fly so high.
Of course, to scout a target in detail, it had to descend, creating an opening for interception, but that wasn’t an option right now.
‘No need to descend.’
In the open wasteland, just tracking the lone dot of her running across was all it needed surveillance for. No reason to lower altitude when it could simply follow from on high.
‘Whatever, it’s just annoying. Doesn’t matter.’
No matter how much that bird surveilled her, the white skeleton capable of actually attacking her with force was still far off. It would take him hours to reach her position.
‘In that much time, I can do anything.’
And it seemed she wouldn’t even have to endure that annoyance much longer.
Something flew at the zombie bird surveilling Method.
Another zombie bird.
‘Halloween Pumpkin’s zombie bird.’
They clashed. Even identical in type, Halloween Pumpkin outleveled and outskilled the white skeleton as a necromancer.
In the end, the white skeleton’s zombie bird was torn to shreds by Halloween Pumpkin’s and began plummeting.
The presence of Halloween Pumpkin’s zombie bird meant Halloween Pumpkin himself was nearby.
‘He’s already here, huh.’
The rendezvous point was closer to Moros Gorge, after all.
The forest—her destination—came into view. This should be far enough. She turned on her stream.
[Oh, Method!]
<Hey>
[She turned on the stream]
“Hello, everyone!”
Still running briskly, she greeted her viewers loudly. Then she dove straight into the main topic.
“You might’ve heard the rumors, but I just pulled off something huge and super fun. Any guesses?”
<lolololol>
[Meteor’s Necronomicon copy, you stole it right?]
[While impersonating West Flower too]
[Our Method is the real deal]
“Huh? You guys know way too much already?”
She’d figured the word might spread, given the Necronomicon copy was at the center of all the Arc buzz right now.
But she hadn’t expected the details to be this widespread. At this level, it was like the parties involved had spilled the whole story themselves.
Her guess was spot on.
“So Meteor turned on a stream?”
<Yep>
“And spilled all the details of how he lost the Necronomicon copy while lamenting?”
<Uh-huh>
“And said he’s heading down the mountain to track me for now?”
<Yup>
“Pfft—hahahahaha!”
Method clutched her stomach laughing. The laughter wouldn’t stop. She nearly tripped from it. Her chat flooded with lololols in response.
“Ahh, hilarious. Oh no, poor Meteor, whatever shall we do.”
Her words said one thing, but her voice held no sympathy—only vicious mockery and scorn.
And that was Method’s identity.
Her viewers, who tuned in regularly, weren’t much different.
Viewers match their streamer’s level. Naltorri’s advice to Meteor rang true once more.
“I should meet up with him later and offer some comfort.”
[Yeah right, that’ll comfort him lolol]
[She’ll probably start with a barrage of curses lolol]
[I bet she grabs him by the collar and slams him down]
[Obviously, that’s what she’s there for lolol]
[Fr lolol]
[Such a villain lolol]
“Oh? You caught me?”
She mockingly cupped her cheeks with her hands and shook her head lightly.
“You all know me too well. Guess I’ll have to do something about you sometime.”
[lolol if you don’t catch that you’re not a Method viewer]
[Hand foot whatever just spill how you did it]
[How’d you screw him over?]
“OK! Then for my precious viewers, I’ll explain exactly how it all went down.”
She’d tricked and mocked someone, then on stream, she’d recount in detail just how that idiot got duped—rubbing it in all over again.
It had driven more than a few people to quit Arc. There were even creepy rumors of some committing suicide in real life, but she had no intention of stopping.
And even if those suicide rumors turned out true, she’d keep at it.
“It started when Halloween Pumpkin approached me. He wanted the Necronomicon copy, so he asked for my help. Looked fun, and he promised solid rewards, so I agreed.”
[Lol Owned]
[Now that I think about it Method doesn’t even need the Necronomicon copy]
“Right. Here’s the plan in simple terms: Halloween Pumpkin blocks Beauty Art from reaching Sillaremite, keeping the copy out of her hands. Meanwhile, I disguise as West Flower and snag it from Meteor. That’s the gist.”
[On the surface sounds full of holes?]
“Told you, simple explanation. These things live or die by the details.”
She raised her index finger like a stern teacher.
Her viewers responded with fervent mockery, of course.
“West Flower was shooting ads near Edwin by Sillaremite anyway. Obvious she’d head out to help them, right? Surprisingly loyal to her allies for someone with that money-grubbing image.”
[Oh, West Flower’s like that?]
[Should I become a fan?]
[lolol a Method viewer stanning West Flower? No way, too boring didn’t watch]
“You dare try to stan West Flower while I’m explaining? You messing with me right now?”
[lolol sorry must’ve lost my mind for a sec. I’ll only stan you from now on]
“Good, quick on the uptake. I’ll let it slide this time.”
[Lolol What A Show]
[That’s Method for ya lolol]
“Anyway. But West Flower had one more ad shoot. She had to head back to Edwin briefly for it. That’s when I approached Meteor pretending to be her.”
[Wow Meteor’s so pitiful]
<Tears>
“I used the excuse that as a ranker I couldn’t wait any longer and needed to meet Beauty Art myself, so let’s go to Moros Gorge. He followed right along. There’s a mountain in Blandel Wasteland, right? We climbed it, and oh my god—White Skeleton and his crew were lying in ambush!”
Like a teacher telling kids a fairy tale, she dramatically flung her arms up.
Her viewers burst out laughing again.
“White Skeleton had this massive scheme. While he held West Flower, his buddies would kill Meteor. All because of that slim hope Meteor might drop the Necronomicon copy. Killing over an item—what a horrific crime, right?”
[Hypocrisy at Picasso levels?]
[Yo switch back to normal speech? Ruining my meal]
[Let her keep going see how far she takes it]