Division of Spoils
High-level dungeons built around a specific theme—especially those that had to be unlocked through arduous chain quests—almost always yielded rewards tailored to that very motif.
The Permanent Flesh I held in my hands was precisely that kind of treasure.
Rather than a relic or artifact, it was a consumable enhancement item. Ingesting it granted a massive increase to all attributes alongside the passive skill Ultra Regeneration. The setting compendium had even noted that consuming it halted physical aging entirely, ensuring eternal youth while bestowing an absurdly prolonged lifespan. While that piece of lore had never been mechanically implemented back in the game, now that this world had become my reality, the lore undoubtedly held true.
Better yet, it carried zero side effects or lasting penalties.
Hegellina Krenkel had invented the concoction only after transforming into a lich, realizing far too late that it held no sway over an already deceased vessel—a tragic irony over which the monster had reportedly pounded the ground in weeping regret. Left with no other choice, he had merely draped the fleshy mass over his skeletal frame as a second-rate substitute.
"...Damn, that's a lot."
Looking down at the crate overflowing with chunks of Permanent Flesh, I let out a dry chuckle.
Anyone who had spent their fair share of hours gaming would recognize its value at a glance: this consumable was harder to acquire than most Legendary Grade artifacts. Back when I experienced this world through a monitor, clearing the dungeon over and over without seeing a single drop had turned this item into the ultimate symbol of pure RNG garbage. Seeing a whole chest packed full of it now stirred a bizarre sense of nostalgia.
"Um... Lord Alzen? What is that?"
"Oh, right. Everyone, take one. And eat it."
"...Eat it? That thing? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Weller was the only one vocalizing her disgust, but the expressions plastered across the others' faces were virtually identical.
"Ugh, gross...!"
"Eek?!"
"P-Please don't hand that to me!"
Raised delicately as they were, Arpe, Vivian, and Cecilia couldn't stomach the sight, refusing to touch the stuff outright.
"Don't judge it by how it looks; just eat up. It's better for you than almost any high-grade elixir out there. It ramps up your physical parameters, jacks up your mana reserves, spell output, and mana sensitivity, and on top of all that, you get ultra regeneration."
"...Sounds suspicious."
"Agreed. Isn't that a little too convenient?"
"Hey, Alzen. Are you sure there isn't some nasty catch to this?"
"I swear on my life, there's none. It's an elixir that brings nothing but benefits. Sure, it looks revolting, and it'll probably taste like absolute shit, but if you want to get stronger, you have to choke it down."
"Then you eat one first."
"Fine by me."
It worked out in my favor anyway. Opportunities to bolster this body's pitiful baseline stats were few and far between, and I had been itching to dig in from the moment we popped the lid.
Hoisting a fist-sized lump of Permanent Flesh, I sank my teeth into it right before everyone's eyes.
Squirt!
"Mmph...!"
Blood—not juices, but thick, raw blood—splattered outward.
...Naturally, the taste was atrocious.
Actually, scratch that—the taste, the texture, and the smell were all abysmal. To make matters worse, the clump squirmed inside my mouth with alarming resilience, fighting back against my molars until my jaw began to ache.
"Blegh...!"
"It's actual meat... Does that repulsive thing truly have the effects he described?"
Locking eyes with the girls as they muttered in horror, I forced myself to grind the vile mass to pulp and swallow. Fortunately, after a few determined chews, the clump slid down my throat on its own.
"Guh, gulp...! Phew...!"
Crunch!
I never wanted to put such a thing near my mouth again, but I pried my jaw open once more and forced down the remaining hunk in one go.
"Mmph, urgh... *Gulp!*"
"...Are you all right, Lord Alzen?"
"Pffft. Yeah. Perfectly fine."
Chugging distilled liquor straight from the bottle to wash away the lingering stench, I clenched and unclenched my fists to gauge my condition.
"Well? Feel any different?"
"...Yeah."
Flashing Weller a smug, confident grin, I took aim at the entrance of the treasury. It was a thick blast door disguised as plain stonework, reinforced with heavy iron throughout. Previously, throwing a punch at it would have done nothing except shatter my own knuckles... but right now, I felt an unshakeable certainty that things would be different.
A surging vitality had been coursing through every fiber of my being for moments now. On top of that, an exponentially expanded reservoir of mana was thrashing through my circuits like a raging torrent.
"Hup!"
BOOOOOM!
The outcome far exceeded my expectations. The door—thicker than my thigh—was blasted clean through, tearing right out of the frame in a single shattering impact.
"Heave... ho...!"
Lifting the slab, which must have weighed several hundred kilograms, I dislodged my embedded fist and hurled the hunk of stone and iron across the room.
CRASH!
"...Damn, that's absurd."
Watching the door hurtle through the air with terrifying momentum before embedding itself deeply into the far wall, I chuckled in satisfaction and dusted off my hands.
A blue haze shimmered faintly around my limbs—the residual mana used to reinforce my body. I had tried to rein it in, but handling such raw volume wasn't easy, leaving excess energy spilling into the air. Then again, expecting refined finesse out of Stanasila Alzen's baseline talent was asking for far too much.
"So? Believe me now?"
I glanced over my shoulder. The entire party was staring back in stunned silence, their expressions frozen in varied shades of shock.
"...Lord Alzen. That flesh... does it really have no side effects? I'm not doubting you, but having benefits this absurd without a catch defies common sense."
"I told you, didn't I? This was the magnum opus of Hegellina Krenkel's life's work. It didn't work on reanimated corpses, which is why the bastard wept bitter tears after creating it."
"...To think such a miraculous thing existed."
"And for the record, it halts aging completely. Keep it down, and you stay in your prime for the rest of your life. Not to mention an insane boost to your lifespan."
"...!!"
"H-Hey, are you serious?"
"Why the hell would I lie about that?"
The atmosphere shifted in an instant. The eyes of every woman in the room lit up with terrifying intensity. Granted, everyone here except me was a woman.
They hadn't batted an eye when I pitched physical power, but the moment eternal youth entered the conversation, they pounced like starved beasts. Even Cecilia, Vivian, and Arpe looked ready to dive into the chest.
"...Looks like everyone's suddenly motivated. Oh, but listen up: only take one. If you get greedy and eat two, the flesh will hijack your body and take over."
"There is a side effect, you idiot?! Are you sure this is safe?!"
Weller, who had just parted her lips to bite into her chunk, recoiled in sheer panic and barked back at me.
"I said it's totally safe as long as you only eat one. Come on, quit whining and dig in."
"...Good grief. You're impossible..."
Crunch! Squish!
All around the chamber, sickening chewing sounds echoed alongside squirts of dark blood. Watching them all chow down at once made for quite a grotesque spectacle.
"U-Um..."
"Hm?"
Yet, one person had not touched hers.
"Pashtra. What are you doing? Eat up."
"Ah, well... you see... I was just wondering if someone like me is really allowed to eat something this incredible..."
"Why are you worrying about that? You're coming with me anyway, right? Then eat it. If you want to survive the battles ahead, you'll need all the strength you can get."
"Uh... is there a battle planned?"
"Yeah. We're slated to fight a High Demon... but I'll explain that later. Just eat what's in your hand."
"...T-Thank you! Down the hatch!"
Crunch!
The visceral sound of teeth tearing into raw flesh made me wince slightly. Catching my grimace, Pashtra's face flushed crimson, and she spun around in a hurry to gnaw through her portion in private.
Having downed the flesh, everyone bustled about testing their newly acquired physical bounds, running light sparring matches or performing stretches.
"...This is truly incredible. My mana reserves feel as though they've nearly doubled."
"Remarkable. The physical boost is so dramatic that adjusting to it will take some time."
"Looks like we've got some intense special training ahead of us."
They were practically floating on cloud nine. Seeing their flushed, beaming faces brought an amused smirk to my lips.
"All right, all right. I know you're thrilled, but loot distribution isn't over yet. Consumables and raw materials aside, we need to sort out the equipment first."
Ushering them back inside the treasury, I turned my attention to the three Legendary Grade artifacts resting on the pedestal.
"Hmm. First off, this one. Big Sister Weller, take the Stubbornness of the Foolish."
"Huh? Me?"
As if caught completely off guard, Weller blinked and pointed at herself.
I tilted my head, wondering what had her so confused, but handed the elongated staff over to her regardless.
"Yeah. It's exclusively tailored for mages. Accelerated casting speed, increased spell power, expanded mana pool, up to ten spell memorization slots, and... three times a day, you can unleash an integrated 1st Class spell."
"......"
Weller stood with her mouth agape, staring blankly at the staff.
"You're... really giving this to me...?"
"What's with you today? Who else in this party could even swing a staff like that?"
"No... I mean... sigh. Let me just be blunt. Aren't you misunderstanding something here?"
"Misunderstanding what?"
"I am not on your side."
Recognizing the deeper weight behind those words, I fixed my gaze upon her. She wasn't speaking to 'Stanasila Alzen' right now. She was addressing Kang Han-gil.
"If things truly go south one day... I might use this very staff to attack you. And you're still handing it over?"
"Quit overthinking pointless shit. If you were going to bring that up, you should've said it before choking down the flesh. You gobble that up without a second thought, but suddenly get cold feet over a stick?"
"......"
Watching her avert her gaze in guilt was downright entertaining.
"Heh. Guess eternal youth was too sweet to pass up, huh? Greed got the better of you."
"S-Shut up! Look, my point is—"
"I don't care."
"What?"
"I said I don't care. Wasting energy worrying about that kind of thing is exhausting. Does stressing over something that hasn't even happened solve anything? Just take it."
"...Hmph. Fine. I'll take it. Don't come crying to me if you regret it later."
With a haughty sniff, she accepted the staff, her slender fingers gently caressing its polished surface.
"Next up... Holy Divinity of Early Dawn. This one is exclusively for Cecilia."
"H-Huh? Me?!"
Cecilia, who had been stiffening with tension from the somber mood, jumped like a startled rabbit.
"It massively bolsters the efficiency and output of holy arts, and once every ten days, it grants access to a God's Miracle."
"...A God's Miracle...?"
"Divine authority."
"...?!"
Cecilia froze solid, rigid as a plank of wood.
"H-Hold on! You're saying it allows the wielder to manifest the Goddess's own authority?! The divine authority of Creation, Genesis, and Radiance?! An artifact like that truly exists?! How on earth?!"
"Search me. Beats me how it works. Here, just take it."
As I offered the necklace, Cecilia's hands trembled violently as she barely managed to grasp it.
"And lastly... Nemeth. This one's yours."
"...For me?"
When I held out the sword, she blinked in mild surprise, clearly not expecting it.
"...If it is a blade, there are others here far more deserving. Why bestow it upon me?"
Her gaze flicked pointedly toward Muriel and Rebecca.
"Ah, that's the Blue Forest Fairy. When wielded by an elf, its attack power surges drastically and corrects your physical parameters. On top of that, it amplifies spirit affinity as well as the efficiency and potency of spirit arts."
"...I see."
Nodding in understanding, she accepted the weapon with immense care. A wry smile touched her lips.
"Lord Alzen, you truly possess no greed. Normally, one would never hand such a treasure to someone who has not even formally pledged allegiance to them."
"It's about the right tool for the right person. Better to give it to someone who can maximize its potential, wouldn't you say?"
Then a thought crossed my mind.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you use spirit arts... Don't tell me you can't cast them?"
"No, I can. However, as long as I have my blade, I simply never felt the need."
"Aha. Makes sense. Spirit arts would be far too loud and flashy for a Master Rank assassin."
"Precisely. I am not as proficient with them as I am with a blade."
"Well, handle it however you see fit."
I waved a hand dismissively and turned back to the shelves laden with artifacts.
"From here on out, it's Unique Grade gear. Let's breeze through these."
While they fell a tier short of Legendary Grade, Unique Grade gear still boasted absurd performance. I handed armor to Rebecca, swords to Lira and Wendy, dark-attribute earrings to Muriel, stealth boots to Arpe, and a massive battle axe to Lampon Pashtra.
"Phew. That covers the main spread. We can divvy up the remaining Rare Grade artifacts later... Muriel, sweep everything else in this vault into the Subspace Pouch."
"Understood, My Lord."
Donning her new dark earrings, Muriel gave them a proud little jingle before setting to work, sweeping every last treasure in the room into the pouch.