Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 004
Chapter Title: Harvesting Genius #4
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A severed head clutched in the grip of a headless body.
That gruesome face opened its mouth.
【Offer Ether to me. In return, I shall bestow my blessing upon you.】
Even in a world where I'd done all sorts of things, this was my first time getting a transaction offer from a dead guy.
Naturally, suspicion hit me first.
Especially when it was demanding Ether I'd earned through literal blood, sweat, and tears?
"What makes you think I'd hand over my Ether to you?"
I was eyeing a chance to lunge at the thing when the severed-head monster clicked its tongue.
【Such a suspicious one, eh? Kehehe, fine. The overly suspicious don't last long. I don't want my chosen one dropping dead early either.】
The monster smacked the staff it held in its other hand against the ground.
Words floated up before my eyes.
「Star Key Lv.1」
「If there's a keyhole for it, unlocks locks with low probability.」
「Black Foot Lv.1」
「Silences footsteps completely for a set duration.」
「Schemer's Blade Lv.1」
「Increases chance of critical hits when attacking enemies from behind.」
【Offer me 100,000 Ether. And pledge one percent of all Ether you earn from now on. In exchange, I'll grant you one of these blessings!】
100,000 Ether.
And one percent of all Ether I'd earn going forward.
In other words, the monster in front of me was after a long-term deal.
If I raked in tons of Ether using these bizarre powers, this headless freak would get his cut from that one percent stake.
The profit structure was crystal clear.
"Is that all?"
For some reason, polite speech slipped out.
When I asked if there weren't any hidden aces up its sleeve, the headless monster clicked its tongue again.
【That's plenty already! Sure, some blessings need more Ether to show their true worth, but!】
Seemed like no secrets.
Anyway.
They all felt useful in various ways, so I hesitated.
First up, 'Star Key'.
「Star Key Lv.1」
「If there's a keyhole for it, unlocks locks with low probability.」
Hammer had said he expected me to play the 'Thief' role, right?
Picking locks, disarming traps—that kind of thing.
I'd told him I lacked experience.
But he'd brushed it off like it was no issue.
He hadn't explained further, but maybe he'd anticipated a deal like this?
Didn't know the mechanics, but damn, it was handy.
Next, 'Black Foot'?
Silences footsteps completely for a set duration.
If I'd had this earlier, I could've shaved off a few of those prior offenses.
Last was 'Schemer's Blade'.
Increases chance of critical damage when attacking from behind.
Like landing a critical hit in a game?
Probably useless for now.
"'Star Key,' please."
【Kehaha! Excellent choice! Night Land is full of locked doors, vaults, and secrets! Whoever cracks them first owns them!】
"Ooh!"
It'd been ages since anyone praised my pick.
I'd pegged it as a shady monster, but maybe it was decent after all.
【I am the Black Star Ashibar. My blessed one! Survive long and bring me heaps of Ether! Seek me in Night Land whenever you need a deal!】
Ashibar?
The name sounded weirdly like a curse.
Soon it approached and thwacked my forehead with its staff.
Not painful, just startling—stars burst in my vision for a second—.
Shooooosh—.
Black mists enveloped me, just like when I'd entered.
When I came to, I was back in the room with the wooden table etched with a map.
"Hey, newbie! You're alive! What the hell happened?"
The armored freak Hammer rushed over and shook my shoulders wildly.
Couldn't see his face through the armor, but he clearly wanted answers, so I gave him the full rundown.
"That's how it went."
"280,000 Ether? You earned 280,000 Ether in 27 hours? And you gave 100,000 of it to some monster named 'Ashibar' for a blessing?"
Clank.Rattle rattle.
Hammer's armor trembled.
"Hermit, ever heard the name? Black Star Ashibar. Sounds like swearing."
"Ashibar... First time for me too. Doesn't ring a bell as a famous idol. Probably some thief-line idol that fell during the Night Wars. Handing out blessings for just 100,000 Ether? Not that impressive."
From the looks of it, weird entities popping up to offer blessings wasn't all that rare.
They called them idols, huh.
And the 100,000 Ether deal price Ashibar quoted seemed pretty measly.
"Hammer, how much do blessings usually go for?"
"Depends on the idol, can't say for sure, but a few million Ether is standard minimum. Better blessings cost more. Cheaper ones tend to have meh effects."
My Star Key had only cost 100,000 Ether.
Sure, it wanted one percent of my future earnings too.
Still, compared to millions, it felt small-time.
This Ashibar guy.
Arrogant tone had me thinking he was a big shot.
Guess not?
Everyone puffs up their wares when selling.
"Yor! Might be a dud blessing, but don't get down! Far as I know, you're the first to bag 280,000 Ether from Nightlings alone on your debut run and score a blessing! You're nuts!"
"Agreed."
Hermit shook her head.
Then pinched her nose.
"Anyway... when's the last time you bathed?"
Uh...
Suddenly embarrassed.
I hemmed and hawed.
She grabbed my wrist.
"Come on. I'll show you the baths."
The bathhouse was exactly that—a bathhouse.
Reminded me of the public ones I'd hit a few times in my past life.
Honestly, that alone made it impressive in this world.
"Huh."
But as I stripped, I noticed something odd.
A key-shaped tattoo on the back of my left hand.
「Star Key Lv.1」
「If there's a keyhole for it, unlocks locks with low probability.」
"Ooh! Ooooh!"
So the Ashibar thing wasn't a dream.
This was the 'blessing,' huh.
Like I'd gained a superpower.
How did it work?
Wanted to test it ASAP.
"Yor! You little punk, now you look human after scrubbing up. Was gonna offer to scrub your back!"
I was changing in the bathhouse changing room when Hammer came over and slapped my back.
His tone sounded way cheerier than our first meet.
"Thought you'd be another slippery slacker like the last guys, but you've got real grit! I despise punks and thugs, but you're alright—I take it back!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! 27 hours of that grind? No average grit pulls that off. Normies usually scrape 5,000 Ether after three hours and bail."
Mind-blowing.
Three hours for 5,000 Ether?
How lazy were people in this world?
In my past life, that'd rack up more in electric bills than profit.
As I puzzled over it, Hammer slung an arm around my shoulders.
"Hermit won't say it, but she likes you too! That lazy bum personally showing you the baths? Dead giveaway."
"Ooooh!"
Hermit—the girl with the conical hat from earlier—popped into my head.
Seemed about my age.
Face hidden by the hat, but her voice was kinda cute.
She liked me?
Maybe I could turn this into a girlfriend thing.
First time hearing a girl thought well of me—heart pounding.
Hammer lowered his voice in warning.
"But don't get too chummy. Hermit hates thieves for... reasons. Every unit's the same, but ours especially. Anyway!"
He led me somewhere.
"Time to settle your Ether. You netted 180,000 total, so half—90,000—goes to His Majesty. Load it into this cart!"
Gong—!
Felt like a metal bat to the skull.
"...Pardon? Offer it up?"
Offer my Ether to who?
Mouth agape, Hammer clapped my shoulder.
"You really know nothing?"
"Yessir!"
"Know how the Great Wall stays up? Thanks to His Majesty's power, earned beating back the Night demons. But that power ain't free. It needs Ether."
Made sense how this massive wall held without repairs.
Must be blessings or magic fueled by Ether.
"His Majesty has sat the throne for centuries, pouring everything into holding back Night's forces. Helping him is every Imperial citizen's duty. And Ether's the core of that duty."
Didn't get it all.
But I got that this Emperor guy had been glued to his throne for centuries, saving the world.
Could a human even live centuries?
Was he human?
Gotta give half my hard-earned Ether to some guy I'd never met.
Felt like national pension and taxes.
Clink, thud—!
Half my hard-earned Ether bundle loaded into the cart.
Memories of the grind to earn it flashed by, but rules were rules.
"Yor, no need to mope! Once your offerings to His Majesty hit a threshold, your rank in the Empire skyrockets! You could even become nobility!"
"I could become a noble?"
"Yeah. All by His Majesty's grace. Trace any Imperial noble's roots—they all started as blessed ones. No reason you can't."
Me, a noble!
Mood lifted instantly.
Nobles I knew wielded crazy power.
Lock up the aggrieved, beat 'em to death—no biggie.
Yeah, thinking about it, I'd been one slip from dying in a cell myself.
Now here I was, Harvesting Ether toward nobility?
"—Long live His Majesty."
"You get it! The last thief was trash, but we'll get along fine!"
From now on, His Majesty and I were one.
Never met him, but respect welled up.
My respect for His Majesty: second place.
First: Ezekiel.
Second: His Majesty.
Order subject to occasional patch notes.
"Alright, offerings done. The remaining 90,000 Ether is all yours."
"Ooh! Mine! So what can I do with Ether? Pay taxes, buy blessings—is that it?"
"Haha! If that was all, why would we risk our necks in Night Land grinding Ether?"
"There's more!"
"Let's go! I'll show you how to spend it! Gotta do your intake too. You need to know your teammates."
Teammates? Never partied up before.
Hammer chuckled and slapped my shoulder.
"Oh, and don't ask about your predecessor 'Thief.'"
"Why?"
"We killed him. Top cause of death for blessed thief partiers: execution by teammates."
...Shouldn't have asked.
Spine chilled for no reason.
"But I hope you stick around. 'Star Key' is a fresh blessing! Don't worry—they're good folks. They'll welcome you. Probably—."
—Probably?
Bad aftertaste, but fine.
I had a trump card for instant bonding with anyone.
You can't even scam someone you hate.
Conversation fails first!