Yujun, With No Other Choice...

Yujun had no choice but to force an awkward smile and nod.

"You're right. The advice was a great help."

"You see! Does the man himself not say so!"

"Anyone could tell he was being strong-armed..."

That was when Manuela poked him in the back.

"What?"

"...Reban. We have to find him."

"Right."

They needed to reach Reban before the moderates and the hardliners truly came to blows. He was a mercenary too, and there was no telling when he might be swept into the fighting and killed.

"I nearly forgot. Thanks for the reminder."

"Mm."

Yujun had been ranging actively across the Heavenly Realm. Reban hadn't been taken prisoner, so he would be with the hardliners — or else he was already dead.

"You go to seek Reban?"

When Dokgo Minsu asked, Yujun nodded.

"He is strong."

"And why does that matter?"

"Because his pride in that strength is immense. He will not readily surrender the Synchronization Marble. He is consumed with the desire to put the thing to use. Threaten his life, and I still judge the odds of prying it from him to be poor."

"So, in short, he's stubborn as a mule."

"Near enough."

"How should I approach him, then?"

"It may be an unkind thing to do to that fellow Reban... but deceit is like to be the most efficient path."

"Deceit?"

"Reban is steadfast, pure of heart, and a mighty warrior. His wits, however, sit a touch below those of an ordinary player. So — tell him you will teach him how the Synchronization Marble is used, and take it in the bargain. The Reban I know would swallow such a tale readily enough."

"Weren't you friends with him?"

"Pleasant company, when we kept together. But to me, you are the dearer comrade."

"How touching."

"Yujun. Don't fall for it. That's all an act. He's only wearing a mask to look good, because you're strong."

Kim Yohan murmured it at his side.

"What was that?"

Dokgo Minsu's hearing was keen. The moment he glared, Kim Yohan flinched — and still leaned in to whisper one more line.

"Classic kiss-up, kick-down. For anyone stronger than him, he'll hand over everything he's got... and with someone frail like me, it's nonstop cursing, talking down, a complete circus."

"Do not paint me as some peculiar man. How long do you mean to keep up this jest?"

The two seemed to bicker constantly, half in earnest and half in play. Or perhaps with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little more earnestness than play.

A faint smile crossed Yujun's face.

"There's no telling when the war will start, so I'll go find Reban now."

"Very well. We shall wait here."

"Come back safe."

Yujun made ready to leave and cast Fly — and someone rose into the air beside him. Manuela.

"Why are you coming?"

"I'm going with you."

"...Well, I don't mind. Let's go."

There was no downside to her coming along. She had the skill for it, and more importantly, he needed to use a Long-Aged Elixir — and she carried a buff that raised luck.

"Yeah!"

Permission was all it took to brighten her.

Since she was coming anyway, Yujun decided to take the elixir while they searched for Reban.

"Put the buff on me."

"Why? You fighting someone?"

"I picked up a reward."

"Luck again, huh? Same as always?"

"Yeah."

"Tch. You answered way too easily. So there was a reason."

"It's not like that. I'm not treating you like a tool."

"R-really? Then it's fine."

Manuela caught his hand. She had insisted the blessing required contact to take hold — so why was she pinching his cheek hard enough to hurt? A hand laid lightly against him would have done the job. It was odd, but he let it pass, telling himself she only wanted the blessing to land for certain.

The effect, at least, was undeniable. No — it was absurd. He had always skimmed past it, chasing only the luck, but a buff that raised every stat by forty percent and attack and defense by thirty existed nowhere else. With this alone, Manuela would be able to make her presence impossible to ignore from here on.

Yujun drew the Long-Aged Elixir from his inventory.

These are genuinely hard to come by.

And yet he had the feeling he was obtaining them more often than he should. That was probably because he kept accomplishing feats that ought to have been impossible.

Come to think of it, I hardly have any use for Rainbow Stickers these days.

Well, of course. His level was already climbing past seven hundred. Once the Primordial Player privilege was factored in, an item had to be level 850 before a Rainbow Sticker was even worth using.

There probably won't be much reason to use them from now on, either.

He couldn't have been more relieved that a Long-Aged Elixir had come out in place of a Legendary Item Selection Box. However you looked at it, a single trait was still far more efficient than a Rainbow Sticker.

His luck had climbed as high as it could go. Without further delay, he placed the elixir in his mouth, rolled it around, and swallowed.

A duplicate, it said.

What kind of windfall is this?

He hadn't gained a new trait, and yet Yujun was grinning from ear to ear. Raising the rank of Swordsmanship — the very foundation of who he was — was far more profitable than adding one more high-grade trait. And it hadn't risen by a single step. It had jumped two. He was that much closer to GX, and aiming for GX-rank Swordsmanship was no longer a dream.

"Something good come out?"

"Yeah. Swordsmanship."

"Didn't you already have that?"

"It called it a duplicate and raised the rank."

"That's great! Swordsmanship hardly ever drops, and you got it twice!"

"Looks like the luck stat really does make a huge difference. Thanks to you."

"Th-then pay me back later."

"Pay you back?"

"Like... coming with me somewhere I want to go. How about it?"

"Sure. That's nothing hard. Just say the word, whenever."

"Yeah! Got it!"

He never would have drawn the Swordsmanship trait this time without Manuela's blessing. The butterfly effect — a difference so small it could still overturn everything. She had raised his luck by a tremendous margin, and that luck must have weighed enormously on the trait he received.

I want to try the sword right now.

Swordsmanship was bound to Sword Unity. The power of Sword Unity must have multiplied several times over as well. And as the trait's rank climbed, countless ways of fighting were surfacing in his mind. What would happen if he carried them into a real fight? His body itched to move.

Reban first.

The reach of his senses had widened beyond any comparison to before, thanks to the sharp rise in his magic after he had offered gold as a sacrifice.

This won't take long.

He set aside every heavenly being among the presences he felt and searched the places where other races had gathered in numbers.

Found him.

Yujun's eyes lit, and he picked up speed.

A ruined planet, in a distant dimension. There, the No-Pay Casual Gamer — busy gathering a particular material — felt his brow twitch.

"...Again?"

These items are mine. And yet...

With that message, the things he had painstakingly gathered or made were vanishing. Just in case, he had tried taking items out of his inventory. It did nothing. They were sucked straight back in and sent off with the rest. He had tried several other methods after that, and not a single trick had worked. The furrow between his brows only deepened.

Whoever it is... I want them dead. That message is saying someone else owns my inventory, isn't it.

It was enough to drain the strength out of him. Even now he was struggling to gather materials for the strongest item he could forge, and someone was snatching them away. From where he stood, it was nothing short of absurd. He might not be using those items at the moment, but his attachment to them was fierce. Every time one disappeared, it felt like a great nail driven through his heart.

Haa...

Having finally found the material he wanted, the No-Pay Casual Gamer drew a sword that blazed with dazzling light and drove it into the ground with all his strength.

The earth shuddered — not around him, but across the entire planet. And then, in a single instant, a thin, piercing whine rose with it, a ringing all too familiar to him, and the planet vanished without a trace.

Even a ruined world with no god to protect it should have been nearly impossible for a single player to erase. The No-Pay Casual Gamer's face showed hardly any reaction at all.

"Not much to this planet."

Drifting through the empty cosmos, he moved on to another dimension.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Once Yujun found Reban, the Synchronization Marble was his almost at once — possible only because the man was even more simple-hearted than expected.

"Thanks. I'll put it to good use."

"Hn? Did you not say you would teach me the method?"

"That was a lie."

"Then give it back."

"No."

"...Do you wish to die?"

"You threatening me?"

"I told you to return my marble."

"Sorry, but this is my item. An item meant for me alone, at that."

"Wrong. It is mine. I picked it up. I will use it."

"Reban. Thanks, and take care."

"You bastard!"

Yujun kicked off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ground and shot skyward — and Reban leapt with him, swinging a greatsword at his head. Monstrous strength. The blade came tearing the air apart. Yujun caught it on the gauntlet strapped to his arm. He had no intention of fighting, so he never even drew his sword. Taking the Synchronization Marble was already apology enough; he couldn't take the man's life on top of it.

"What..."

Reban's eyes wavered, as if he had never imagined the blow would be stopped. Yujun had taken no damage at all. Not a scratch marked the gauntlet.

"Knock it off."

"You wretch! Hand over the Synchronization Marble!"

"I'm telling you, it's useless even if you keep it."

"I said it was mine! To think you deceived me!"

"It's something I lost. All I did was take it back. So the Synchronization Marble was never yours to begin with."

"Sophistry!"

"Fine. I'll pay you. Reban. How about it?"

"...Money? You mean points?"

"Yeah. Points. That works, right?"

"But... the Synchronization Marble is a new grade. A Relic..."

"So what if it's a new grade? You could hold it for a hundred years, a thousand, and it still wouldn't do a thing. It's tied to an ability I was born with."

"Humans have no innate abilities."

Huh. What? He actually knew that?

Yujun was briefly thrown, but he didn't let it show. To hide the surprise, he pushed harder — and seized Reban by the throat.

"Ghk..."

Reban kicked and thrashed, feet scrambling at the air.

"How much? How much do you want?"

"Fi..."

"Five?"

"Five hundred million!"

"Okay."

Yujun agreed at once and handed over five hundred million points.