Chapter 80
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Scissors of Space
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The marchioness gave him the money.
After Chris left, the sound of all sorts of furniture being smashed to pieces could be heard, but that was none of his concern.
‘With a temper like that, no wonder her son turned out the way he did. She should spend less time trying to harm others and more time raising her son properly.’
Chris clicked his tongue.
In any case, he took the money and went to the gambling house run by Ruina of the Rudolph Merchant Guild.
‘I could just extort the money from Ruina, but I'd feel bad if I just ripped her off every time. This time, let's pay her properly.’
I'm so nice.
With that thought, Chris focused on gambling.
This time, he was serious.
He needed to make money.
So, he went all out and cleaned the place out.
“Five evens in a row!!”
“No way, a hand like that again?! The probability is 0.000078%!”
“Unbelievable! How many wins is that in a row?!”
“Isn't that cheating?!”
“Cheating?! Do you know who that is?! Is he not the new star of the Dark Magic House, Young Lord Christian?!”
The people at the gambling house cried out in astonishment.
A mountain of money piled up in front of Chris.
Chris whistled.
‘It is cheating, though. It's impossible to clean house like this in gambling without cheating.’
But as long as he wasn't caught, it was all good.
The pale-faced managers of the gambling house tried desperately to figure out Chris's methods, but it was impossible to see through the cheating techniques of someone who had once cleaned out even the gambling king of the Alliance.
How long had he been at it?
A familiar voice was heard.
“…Please stop.”
A voice tinged with exasperation.
The owner of this gambling house, Ruina, had appeared.
***
Ruina took Chris up to a hotel room attached to the gambling house.
As soon as they were in the room, Ruina dropped her male disguise and spoke in a voice simmering with rage.
“…What in the world are you doing?”
“What do you mean? I was gambling.”
“You call this gambling? You extorted 3 million Rupee! Even the gambling king would have the decency not to pull a stunt like this!”
“I needed money. I felt bad for always being indebted to you, so this time I intended to pay you with money I earned fair and square.”
“…What kind of crazy… How can you say you're going to pay me after cleaning out my own gambling house?!”
Ruina shrieked.
Her tone had grown considerably rougher compared to when they first met.
It was because of all the money Chris had extorted from her.
‘It wasn't that long ago that he took elixirs worth 5 million Rupee, claiming they were for the Old Lord!’
Ruina seethed.
But this was no time to be angry.
“Wait, so you came to extort from me again?”
“It's not extortion. I told you, I'll pay you properly this time. Here's 3 million Rupee. Can you get me a few things I need?”
“Gahhh! Isn't that the money you just took from my gambling house?! You wicked Young Lord!”
In the end, it meant he was going to take Ruina's treasures again without spending a single penny of his own.
“Forget it! I'm not doing it!! I don't care if a war breaks out between the Magitech Empire and the Alliance!”
Ruina declared defiantly.
When they first met, she was a woman of calm demeanor, boasting a rather stunning beauty. To see her so broken in such a short time, it seemed the losses she'd suffered had truly been unjust.
‘Well, I have cleaned her out quite a bit in a short time. Still, it's nothing compared to what I suffered at her hands in my past life.’
Despite appearances, Ruina was by no means an honest merchant.
An honest merchant wouldn't be running an auction house in the first place.
If she saw an easy target, Ruina was a fine, unscrupulous merchant who would swindle them blind. Chris himself had been a victim several times in his past life.
Of course, the money Chris lost back then was a pittance compared to what Ruina was losing now, but at the time, it had been his entire fortune. Therefore, Chris confidently believed that the damage he had suffered was far greater.
‘In any case, Ruina is a money grubber who values money more than her own life.’
Because she was a money grubber.
She was always destined to be his sucker.
Chris dangled another piece of bait she couldn't resist.
“The place I'm going is the Underground Garden, you see.”
“!!”
Ruina froze in her tracks.
Suddenly, her tone of voice changed.
It became sweet, polite, and friendly.
“What did you just say, Young Lord?”
“Well, I'm a 'wicked Young Lord,' so I don't feel like answering.”
“Oh ho ho. You jest. Who would dare utter such nonsense to our great, majestic, handsome, cool, and wonderful Young Lord Christian, who is so handsome it's blinding? What a wretched mouth. Tsk.”
Ruina lightly slapped her own lips with her hand.
Chris chuckled.
“I said I'm going to the Underground Garden. I thought it would be a profitable deal for your guild as well, but if you're not interested, then so be it. I'll just find someone else.”
“No, no! Wait, stop! Please wait!”
The Underground Garden was known by several different names.
Among practitioners, it was called the Garden of Training, and among explorers, it was known as the ‘Treasure Garden.’
It was a place where countless treasures, relics, and artifacts lay dormant.
‘Most of it has already been excavated, but new treasures, artifacts, and relics still appear from time to time. Every single one is an item of immense collectible value. The problem is, for outsiders, they're something you can see but can't touch.’
Everything that came out of the Underground Garden was owned by the Destruction House.
Even if visitors happened to discover and obtain a treasure, they were required to hand it all over to the Destruction House.
Smuggling anything out was impossible, as they didn't just search your clothes; they stripped you completely naked and used high-level black magic to search even inside your body.
If any attempt to smuggle out treasure was discovered, it resulted in immediate execution, but Chris's case was different.
‘But I can smuggle out as many treasures as I want. They wouldn't dare strip naked the Young Lord of the Dark Magic House to check.’
That's why Ruina was so desperate.
The chance to obtain a treasure from the Underground Garden was a collector's dream.
“Oh ho ho. What items do you require? Just say the word. I will procure them, even if I have to search both the Rudolph and Deer Merchant Guilds.”
“I don't intend to take them for free. I'll pay.”
“The 3 million Rupee? It's fine. It's more than enough if you just share the treasures from the Underground Garden with me.”
“No, you should probably take it. The item I need this time is a bit expensive.”
“……”
The smile vanished from Ruina's face.
Never before had Chris said anything like this while extorting from her.
‘What on earth is he planning to take this time?’
She forced a smile.
“I-If you need something like armor or a magic sword, perhaps you could just rent it?”
“It's not that kind of item.”
“…What in the world do you need?”
Chris said one thing.
“The Scissors of Space.”
“…What?”
“Ah, you might not know it by that name. Archmage Lenin's Scissors.”
“……”
Ruina's mouth snapped shut.
She knew.
She knew what Chris was talking about.
But.
“…Isn't that item worth over ten million Rupee?!”
Ruina shrieked again.
That's right. Chris was now demanding one of the highest-tier artifacts ever created by humans, an item with power comparable to a relic.
***
The difference between an artifact and a relic was simple.
If a human made it, it was an artifact.
If a Celestial or a demon made it, it was a relic.
Naturally, the difference in performance was also clear.
Even the lowest-grade relic possessed power that overwhelmed the highest-grade artifact.
There was a good reason why wars broke out between factions whenever a relic appeared.
However, on rare occasions, there were artifacts made by humans that possessed abilities comparable to relics.
One of them was ‘Lenin's Scissors.’
‘It's a famous item. It has incredible power… and is famously useless.’
It was a surprising statement.
But it was the literal truth.
Lenin's Scissors could actually cut through space.
To be precise, one could cut space to travel through it.
It could be used just like a ‘Gate.’
An incredible ability, fitting for an item created by a legendary archmage who had reached the upper levels of 9-Star.
But in practice, it wasn't very useful.
This was due to the difficulty of calculating spatial coordinates.
‘Calculating spatial coordinates for long-distance travel isn't something a human mind can do.’
It wasn't a matter of achievement. It was a limitation of being human.
Long-distance spatial travel passes through subspace, where countless unpredictable variables appear and disappear, making it impossible for a human mind—be it an archmage or anyone else—to calculate.
‘There are a very small number of archmages who can travel long distances on their own, but even they need tools to assist with coordinate calculations.’
Lenin's Scissors had no such calculation assistance feature.
It simply had the function of cutting space, and nothing more.
The user had to personally calculate the infinite variables to travel to their desired location, which was virtually impossible for anyone other than an archmage who specialized in spatial studies.
And an archmage of the spatial school would have no need for such an item.
Thus, despite its incredible power, it was a useless item.
“Don't be so upset. It's not like anyone's lining up to buy it, right? You should be grateful someone's even willing to take it off your hands for a pittance. Be grateful I'm willing to use it. In return, I'll bring you back a good treasure from the Underground Garden.”
Ruina's mouth opened and closed like a fish.
Her face was a picture of frustration.
But Chris wasn't entirely wrong.
After all, it was just an item that would rot in a warehouse, so using it to trade with Chris like this was more profitable.
But the persistent feeling that she was getting the short end of the stick—was it because she was a money grubber, or simply because Christian was so detestable?
‘Gahhh. How much did I pay for that! My ten million Rupee!’
Ruina swallowed her tears and said.
“…At least give me the 3 million Rupee.”
Even though that 3 million Rupee was also from her own gambling house, she felt she had to receive at least this much to feel less wronged.
Still, strictly speaking, it wasn't a losing deal for Ruina.
The opportunity to obtain a treasure from the Underground Garden was not one that came easily.
If not now, she might never get another chance.
Moreover, the treasures of the Underground Garden were of enormous value, so with a bit of luck, she could hit a massive jackpot, far exceeding her investment.
Afterward, while Ruina prepared the necessary items, Chris spent his time lazing about.
‘I've been working too hard lately. A man needs to rest when he can! But when can I finally have a drink! I hate ginger!’
Chris scowled, looking at the ginger ale in his hand.
Even after becoming a Young Lord, his ginger ale fate remained unchanged.
Before long, the preparations were complete.
“…You must bring back a treasure. Not just any treasure, a good treasure. No, an expensive treasure! If you fail to bring one back, I will sue you for damages! I don't care about the Dark Magic House or anything else!”
Watching the constantly grumbling Ruina, Chris smirked.
“Alright, just wait. Ah, there's one more thing. You do business with the Gold Cross, right?”
“…That's a matter of course, but?”
Of Ruina's two guilds, the Deer Merchant Guild operated with the Alliance as its backdrop.
“Then keep a close eye on the Gold Cross's movements from now on. Especially on the Theocracy's side.”
“…The Theocracy? The place that was in an uproar recently over the death of the 'Cursed Prince'? Don't tell me, you mean…?”