Chapter 71: Project: Making a Pet
Chapter 71: Project: Making a Pet
“Be quiet.”
The moment I spoke, Vivian snapped her mouth shut. However, her eyes, filled with yearning, remained fixed on me, as if she hadn't given up hope. For a moment, the memory of twisting Jung Jiyeon’s neck in the clearing came to mind. She, too, had wanted something from me. Save me. Kill me. Only she knew what she truly meant. But Vivian was different. She clearly wanted to live.
I needed more detailed information to be certain, but her Rare Class and Stats were quite good. Her Magic Power was 92—a value that would remain useful even in the later stages. Her other Stats were also respectable for a Mage. She would still fall short against the Ten Strong or the upper ranks of the highest-level Users, but her Class compensated for part of that gap.
The problem was that it would cost me one Elixir. I couldn't just save up GP to buy another one; I had already paid 77,777 GP to purchase the hidden items. If there were no other way to get more, I would never use it, but that wasn't the case.
I knew how to obtain two more Elixirs in the future. I couldn't go to that place right now, but I remembered the method clearly. I had been saving those two for Yoohyun and Han Soyoung, but they were meant for a worst-case scenario. If I could avoid such a situation in the first place, I wouldn't need to use them at all.
After her recovery, Vivian’s Stats would be [Strength 48] [Durability 50] [Agility 56] [Stamina 45] [Magic Power 92] [Luck 74]. She had already approached her limits, though with luck she might still raise Magic Power by another point or two. Someone of her caliber joining us this early would obviously be a great help. Most importantly, she could fill the Mage position we currently lacked.
The greatest advantage was that we could obtain two Users with the same Rare Class. If another User learned the Class from the book Vivian had given me, we would have two people in that profession. Having already mastered it to a considerable degree, Vivian could also serve as an excellent mentor to that future recruit.
I felt my decision tipping in one direction. Since Vivian was a Resident, I felt less burdened by the possibility of her death—by my standards, at least—and would have fewer reservations about using a wish on her later. After considering the matter from every angle and finishing my calculations, I turned back to Vivian with a gentle smile.
“Vivian.”
“Yes.”
I steadied her face as she nodded frantically, meeting her gaze. Seeing her naked now, I had to admit she was beautiful. Long, jet-black hair and silver eyes. Flawless white skin (ignoring the cracked parts) and a graceful face. As my eyes drifted down to her lean, well-proportioned body, I felt her flinch. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed; she seemed incredibly nervous.
“As an alchemist, you must know the term ‘equivalent exchange.’”
“O-Of course. It means to exchange things of equal value…”
“Right. You offered what you had, and I decided to spare you. That can be considered an equivalent exchange. So, on the other hand, if I were to save you again, what could you offer me?”
“B-But…”
“I’m sorry this happened to you too. But I can heal you completely. I may even be able to restore the power you lost. This is your only chance to avoid reverting to a spider and return permanently to human form.”
“H-How?”
Vivian’s eyes trembled at my words. Seeing her reaction, I thought she might have secretly regretted becoming a spider monster. The first step had gone well, so I whispered into her ear in an even more suggestive tone. With one hand, I stroked her hair, and with the other, I caressed her back. With each touch, Vivian’s body trembled more violently.
“You’ll see. Now, if I save your life, restore your lost power, and give you back your lost humanity, shouldn’t you pay a price of equal value?”
“…What do you want? As you can see, I have nothing to give right now…”
“No. You have one thing left. And that is…”
I poked the back I had been stroking. Her skin cracked a little, but I didn't care. An Elixir would fix it all anyway. Vivian winced in pain, but then her expression hardened as she seemed to understand my meaning. Now, it was time for her to choose.
A brief silence hung between us. But, as I had seen from the beginning, Vivian had a fanatical obsession with life. Soon, I saw her give a faint nod, and a satisfied smile spread across my face.
“You have to listen to me from now on, okay?”
“…Alright.”
Vivian replied in a dejected voice, sensing a strange danger in my words.
*
Carrying the items Vivian had given me and the two User cocoons, I returned to the clearing. Four cocoons lay scattered there. I quickly cut through the threads around them and freed the kids. Each time I released one, they checked my face and lit up with joy.
After a brief reunion, their attention naturally shifted to the mysterious woman and the two new cocoons. Vivian’s situation was the priority. We had rehearsed our story before coming here, but I was still a little worried. Vivian, however, was doing better than I could have imagined.
“So, you’re saying a long time ago, a bad wizard turned you into a spider?”
“Yes, that’s right. But this man here was able to extract the core that made up the spider’s main body, allowing me to regain my sense of self.”
“But… even if you were a spider, you still have your memories, right? Of killing Users and creating the dungeon.”
“After I was turned into a spider, I couldn't go outside. I would have been hunted down immediately. And after my body was infected by the spider, the core’s influence caused my intelligence to regress to that of a monster. I certainly have memories, but it’s hard to say they were my own intentions. If I were human, I would never have done those things.”
“Hmm…”
Yoojung stared at her with suspicion before turning her gaze to me. I immediately spoke up to supplement her explanation.
“What she’s saying seems to be true. If it weren’t for Vivian, I probably would have died. If she hadn’t helped me by restricting the spider’s movements from the inside at the right moment, we would all be dead right now.”
At my words, Yoojung and Ahn Sol looked conflicted. I smiled, seeing how well Vivian was acting. Using the art of mixing lies with the truth, I was deceiving them. To get Vivian accepted into the party, I needed to mitigate the things she had done.
“Still, that doesn’t change what you did.”
“Of course. I have no intention of avoiding responsibility.”
“But what’s wrong with your body? Your shoulder and back look like they’re cracked…”
Ahn Hyun cut off Yoojung’s questioning at an opportune moment and asked Vivian about her body. Vivian glanced at me once before answering.
“Actually, my body is in a very dangerous state right now. Extracting the core allowed me to return to this form, but it has put a tremendous strain on my body.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to die soon?”
“Probably.”
“Huh…”
As expected, their expressions darkened when Vivian said she might die. Their thoughts must have been in turmoil. Watching for another opening to intervene, I stepped forward. It was time to be direct.
“For now, we’re going to travel with Vivian.”
The moment I spoke, all eyes snapped to me. Ahn Hyun looked surprised, while Yoojung and Ahn Sol scowled, clearly displeased. However, they had never once gone against my decisions since we entered the Hall Plain, and I had no intention of backing down on this matter.
Recruiting promising talent was useful, but we needed to advance our plans quickly. That made it more sensible to recruit a User or Resident who could contribute immediately than someone who would require a long period of growth. If Vivian joined us now, the time required to carry out my plans would fall by at least thirty percent.
“Vivian herself seems to be very conflicted about what she’s been through. She said that if she could live, she wanted to live a life of atonement. Of course, what she did was wrong, but there are extenuating circumstances. She also seems genuinely remorseful. So let’s take her to the city for now. We’ll look for a cure after we get there. If it works, she’ll join us. If not… well, there’s nothing we can do. That much is possible, right?”
Ahn Hyun was lenient in these matters. I was more worried about Yoojung and Sol, who still looked unhappy. But they were good-natured at heart, and my words about her saving me seemed to have swayed them. When I added, “She might die soon, anyway…” they finally seemed to understand and nodded their heads.
Having resolved a major issue in a flash, I let out a sigh of relief. Although they hadn't completely erased their suspicions, I had succeeded in getting her into the party. Now, it was just a matter of time.
I exchanged glances with the others before turning my attention to where the Users were lying. I felt their gazes follow mine. There, on top of two opened cocoons, lay a male and a female User, perfectly still. They were the two who had entered before us and been captured by Vivian.
To be honest, I had been having so much fun teasing Vivian that I had forgotten they even existed. If Vivian hadn't called out to me as I was about to leave the passage, I might have left them there.
Judging by their soft breathing, they seemed to be alive, but their faces were quite pale. Since they were both wearing mage robes, their Stamina stats were probably not very high. Yoojung, who had been staring at them, finally spoke in a worried tone.
“Oppa. Are these people going to die?”
“They won’t. But we should get to the city as quickly as possible.”
“I know a shortcut.”
Vivian quickly raised her hand and stepped forward, causing Yoojung to shoot her a glare and snap.
“Hmph. You have a lot of nerve. Whose fault is it that they ended up like this in the first place?”
“……”
A flash of anger appeared on Vivian’s face, but she bit her lip and held it back. I was a little relieved to see that she was faithfully following my instruction to restrain herself at first. Still, she couldn't hide her frustration, as she was huffing indignantly.
I chuckled at their little clash and turned back to the Users. I intended to check their Player Status. Just as I tried to activate Third Eye, my head began to swim. My vision blurred; after shaking my head, I managed to focus again. Yet the surroundings still seemed to tilt.
“Oppa. What’s wrong…?”
Sol must have been watching me closely, because she hurried over and supported me. Why… is this happening?
Realizing something was wrong, Hyun, Yoojung, and Vivian approached me. I was about to tell them I was fine and force Third Eye to activate again when—
“Uh…”
“Hyung!”
“Oppa!”
My vision spun, and strength drained from my entire body. This feeling… is this exhaustion? No way. At that moment, something Seraph had told me before flashed through my mind.
〈User Kim Soohyun. Eternal Flame’s power is not something a human can take lightly. Its raw power is beyond reproach, but controlling and mastering that power is an entirely different matter. To use it properly, your Stamina must exceed 101 points. No—at the very least, it must exceed 90 before you can even…〉
I didn’t even use it at full power. And this is what it did to me… With that final thought, darkness closed over my surroundings. My eyes were falling shut on their own.
『Latent Ability, Unyielding (Rank: A Plus), activates.』
As a message appeared in the air, a single thread of will rose within me, forcing my collapsing body to stay upright.