What Is With This Woman?
"What is with this woman?"
"So they've blocked it off, huh."
This was not the normal route. Judging by Drak's reaction, once I finished my business down there I was supposed to be returned straight to the original continent—no chance to scout around underneath.
But I had refused that tidy little homecoming and attempted the dive anyway. There had to be things down there no user had ever laid eyes on.
And the attempt actually paid off. I saw it—the diluted Colossus, that enormous living entity...
You are being expelled.
Expelled. All because I didn't have Ertern's Talisman.
"Doesn't look like we can go there for now. From what I can see, the Talisman probably won't even be obtainable until after the Great Cataclysm."
Without the Talisman, entry was impossible. Of course, in my 4th-advancement state I could probably work out the structure somehow and force my way in—but I'd have no way to actually fight the Colossus.
At the very least, I'd need a complete 4th advancement.
In my current 4th-advancement state, I could slip free of the Colossus's crushing pressure, but I couldn't land a hit on it. Conversely, in my 3rd-advancement state I might actually have a chance of striking it—but my movements would be restricted.
More than anything, rather than dealing with a Colossus I couldn't even tell was a boss monster or an ally, my attention needed to be on the Kraken that would come after the Great Cataclysm. Unlike the sleeping Colossus, the Kraken would rise for one purpose alone: to annihilate the continent.
"Let's go do some enhancing, then."
Kiki Island.
This was the place I'd visited for the vacation of my editor and manager—my streaming staff, the so-called Rildongbu—where we were ambushed by Creer, the island's master. My staff were kidnapped, and I was dragged into the Great Altar to be killed.
He ended up taking the tourism backwards and dying instead.
In any case, as compensation from that whole affair, Kiki had come along with me, and I'd received blessings and experience from the Agent. On top of that, the 'Queen' of Kiki Island had helped me, and I'd granted her wish—let me return to the past where her family was still alive...
"Wow, it's completely changed."
The island that had once been a colossal resort packed with amenities was now a haven of untouched nature. Natives lived scattered across it, and succulent fruit hung heavy from every branch.
Convenience-wise, the old version was probably better for tourism—but Kiki Island no longer accepted tourists. This was no longer Creer's island. It belonged to its residents now.
"Oh, this is amazing. So cool."
"I'm the one who's amazed, actually."
I was touring the island when I looked over at Yena, stuck to my side like glue. From the moment I'd arrived on Kiki Island, she'd greeted me as if she were one of the locals.
There were no more boats running here. How on earth had she gotten to the island so fast?
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
"A runaway ninja?"
"Not wrong. No, wait, that's not the point. It's me, Yena! Yena can do anything."
"Do you still use that boat?"
"Now and then? I'm planning to use it during the Great Cataclysm too. The more boats, the easier the raid, after all."
"They're all going to get smashed to pieces."
It wasn't for nothing that the Kraken was called the Nightmare of Ships. No matter how sturdy a vessel was, in front of the Kraken it might as well be a paper boat.
Granted, users who could fight at sea with their bare bodies were few and far between, so boarding ships was an unavoidable necessity—but they'd better brace themselves for catastrophic losses.
"Still, every little bit helps, right? Just like... the way you lent me a Masterpiece free of charge, Miss Lily?"
"It wasn't free of charge."
"Pardon?"
"I've been keeping count. The original rental fee, plus the late charges from when you went full runaway ninja on me—so with all that factored in, roughly this much?"
I showed Yena a number I'd tapped out on my calculator. The sparkle in her eyes—brimming with pure happiness mere seconds ago—turned stormy.
"...That's way too expensive!"
"It is a very expensive weapon."
One of only eight Mythic-grade Masterpieces in the entire world. And not just any Masterpiece, but the exceptionally rare dagger—so rare you'd struggle to find a single other owner.
"...What happens if I borrow even more?"
"And how long a term would you be looking at, dear customer?"
"Six months... no, three months or so...?"
"Three months, you say."
Tap-tap-tap! Taptap.
"Something around this should cover it."
"Why did it just triple?!"
"Your credit rating took quite a hit after the Runaway Ninja Incident. Nothing we can do about that, I'm afraid. We appreciate your understanding."
"Ehh."
Th-then...
"...Could you give me a little discount?"
"Nope."
A debt is a debt. Of course, I had no intention of actually collecting an absurd sum like that—but to prevent a Second Runaway Ninja Incident, I did plan to charge a reasonable price.
Yena wrapped her arms around her head and groaned in thought, then clapped her hands as if a brilliant idea had struck her.
"Oh! Miss Lily, be honest—you don't really need money, do you?"
"Doesn't mean I don't want it."
It was true that I wasn't short on money, and true that I had no great greed for it—but money was money, and more was always better.
The more, the merrier.
Yena shook her head.
"What if you could get something money can't buy?"
"? Like what?"
"Hehehe. Something you can't obtain, Miss Lily—and yet at the same time, the very thing you need most right now."
And that is—
Flutter!
"Enhancement Probability Scrolls!"
Type ⊙ Enhancement Scroll
Restrictions ⊙ —
Stats ⊙ —
Magic ⊙ Enhancement | Bonus
Notes ⊙ Raises enhancement probability by 1%. Only one scroll may be used per enhancement attempt, per grade.
"...Probability scrolls?"
Enhancement Probability Scrolls. Consumables that raised the success rate of enhancement, produced by 'Master Blacksmiths' or high-level 'Guild Forges'. They came in five grades—Common, Rare, Special, Legendary, and Mythic—and the higher the grade, the greater the probability boost.
Certainly the most useful thing I could want right now, but...
"Can't you just buy those with money?"
"Pfft! They're so hard to get that there's no stock on the market, none at all. Tons of sellers gouging prices too."
"Hmm..."
"And if it were just Rare or Special grade, I wouldn't have brought it up. We've got a full Legendary enhancement scroll on hand."
"Legendary?"
Wouldn't a Legendary scroll be worth quite a fortune? Yena's head bobbed rapidly.
"That's right! Common is 1%, Rare 2%, Special 4%—and then the grand finale, a Legendary at a full 10%! That's a total bonus of 17%!"
Forty percent, huh. That was genuinely not bad—good enough odds that even the unluckiest person alive could take the attempt with real hope.
"Do you have all of them on you right now?"
"I brought up to Special just in case, but the Legendary one's stored at the guild. I can grab it right away, though."
"How long will that take?"
"Exactly twenty minutes. No, just give me fifteen!"
"Deal. If this works out, I'll consider waiving the rental fees going forward."
"Okay!"
Yena vanished in an instant, tearing up a pricey teleportation scroll to do it. She really was in that much of a hurry, huh.
If she left like that, she'd have to burn a coordinate-return scroll coming back too.
While waiting for Yena, I wandered down toward the beach. A familiar stretch of coastline came into view—the beach where I'd played with the Rildongbu crew.
"We grilled meat here and ate it with crab dishes too. You remember, right?"
"I'll need to hire more managers before long."
I was thinking of bringing on another one or two. The criteria, as always: frequent viewers of my stream with plenty of free time. With so much on my plate right now, this wasn't the easiest timing, but I figured I'd get around to it before the Great Cataclysm hit.
I'd been walking the beach for a while when—
"...Darling?"
"It's been a while."
I met the Queen.
Alice, dressed in completely ordinary clothes unlike back then, picking bananas alongside her younger sibling. Plop. She dropped her banana, and her feet carried her toward me on pure instinct.
Just two more steps and we'd be within reach.
"MISS LILYYYYYYYY!!"
"?!"
KWAAAAAAM!
Yena erupted from the beach sand without warning, planting herself squarely between the two of us. Alice's expression went ice-cold.
"Got 'em! Probability scrolls! Is this enough to be safe?!"
"What the hell."
What is with this woman?