Kekere Needs to Starve from Now On

Anna finished treating the wounded. I suppose it was time to head back. "Go home!" At my command, the American mercenaries cheered and scrambled to their feet. Some even clattered their weapons together in joy. They all looked relieved at the thought of returning home.

"Anna, you worked hard."

"Not at all. Master, you worked much harder."

"Hehe..." I pulled Anna and Merhere close against my sides and climbed onto the large wooden board. We just had to ride the parasitic tree litter back to the school, just as we had arrived.

"Ahem. Anna, your chest."

"Yes... here..." Anna pulled out her breasts, blushing. I kneaded them. God, breasts are great. I never get tired of them. Merhere and Anna’s breasts, in particular, fit perfectly in my hands.

‘On the way back...’ I decided to check my achievement rewards. The achievements I had just unlocked were [Gate Conquest] and [Stat Centurion]. First, I checked the rewards for [Gate Conquest].

‘This is...’ The rewards for an achievement that only those who contributed most to conquering a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gate could receive were quite impressive. They felt like items designed to support the achiever, as if urging them to ascend to the next level.

It gives me a weapon I can summon and dismiss freely. Just reading the description, it sounds like it would be the perfect weapon for me... 'Hmm...' I already have the [Ghost-Slaying Blade]. It’s an Ego Sword that I’ve even arranged with Chaos Factors and equipped with AI. Do I really need anything better than that? Plus, I’m not even a melee specialist, and I’m already overflowing with weapons. 'I’ve even received exclusive accessories from Aila... really...'

I checked the other items.

The exclusive stigma looked similar to the marks I received when I encountered Evil Gods. Since it allows communication with a god, it seems to be a feature that lets you talk to the founder of your class. 'Most classes have a progenitor god...' In my case, since my class was created by scraping together everything from the Manma-jeon, I’m connected to all the Evil Gods, but there are classes like Meiling’s that are tied to a single deity. 'Moreover, this reward is for those who haven't even met a god yet...'

But I’m already deeply entangled with the gods. There’s no need for me to choose this now. It seems like a reward for those who aren't in a special profession like mine.

The last item, the [Tome of Class Advancement]. It says it allows you to advance to a higher class... but it can't be used if you're already at the highest tier. 'I can't use it...' I know that Cultist is already a top-tier class. Druid is the same, and Nick’s Savior is a top-tier class that can’t go any higher. No, it’s a unique class that transcends the top tier. Therefore, this item is useless to me. 'But it’s the only one that can be transferred...' Giving this away could make my subordinates stronger. But... 'Hmm... most of my women are probably already top-tier...' Even Areum, the Sword Dancer, has now advanced to Sword Master. There are no classes left to upgrade with this tome. And it wouldn't feel right to give it to Ella or Bella, as their current classes fit them perfectly... It’s a waste to give a reward like this to some worthless slave. I’d rather just pick the exclusive weapon.

‘This is ambiguous...’ The rewards feel like they’re a bit late to the party. It’s not that the rewards are bad. It’s just that I took such a long, winding road to get here. Yeah, I’ve already obtained all the power these rewards could offer. 'Hmm... I grew unusually fast thanks to my luck, so I suppose that’s that... but this means there are at least six other people who have achieved this.' Thinking that there are six other bastards who have become stronger with exclusive weapons, stigmas, and advancement tomes makes me think deeply. Surely, no one conquered it alone... they likely lead large groups of Awakened. I don’t know how large their influence is, but... are there people like that in Korea, too?

A sudden thought led me to check the auction house. I wondered if anyone had placed a bid.

"What the..." I definitely registered that item for 1 coin an hour ago... why is the price so high? It had jumped to 70 coins. Just then, the price changed again.

It went up by 50 coins in the meantime. No, the fact that they’re willing to pay 120 coins for a single handwritten note that cost 1 coin means... there’s definitely a bidding war. The note I posted on a whim had somehow become a rare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠treasure worth fighting over. Of course, 120 coins might not seem like much yet, but... would anyone buy this unless they were Korean? 'Is it the Pantheon faction?' They know I’m in Korea, so maybe they’re trying to extract information about me through this. I didn’t write anything specific, so it wouldn’t matter if they read it, but... 'Should I assume the faction in Korea and the Pantheon faction are competing? Or could it be that there are two or more teams in Korea that have conquered a gate...?'

If there are two or more gate-conquering teams in Korea... this Hell-Fire Peninsula might be no different from a snake pit. Just imagine, people who conquered gates with such high difficulty—only seven have been conquered so far—are swarming this tiny piece of land. The thought alone gave me goosebumps. If this phenomenon is caused by competition between Koreans... it means there are at least three teams, including mine... which is practically half of all the gate conquests.

‘I took Seoul, but if there are several groups that conquered gates in other regions, they must all be formidable bastards... Hehe...’ If there are many people on this land with the potential to conquer gates, that’s actually good. It means there are plenty of people worth turning into slaves. I’m already excited at the thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of catching them all, sending them to the Abyss, offering them as sacrifices, and using them here and there. And above all, Korean mercenaries who can communicate are much more useful than American mercenaries who can’t understand a word I say.

‘I’m looking forward to seeing how much this sells for in 11 hours... Go ahead, spend more money, you assholes.’ I transferred points to an idle American slave and ordered them to bid 500 coins on the auction item that had risen to 120 coins. Yeah, it’s a shill bid. Since the price has been pumped, those who really need my letter will bid even higher.

The price went up again. 501 coins. I only raised it by 1 coin, but it means there are people willing to pay this much for the letter. "Raise it to 510 coins. Hehehehe... let’s see how far this goes." I wonder how high the price will climb. It probably won’t go over 1,000 coins. For now, I should finish picking my remaining achievement rewards and get some rest.

The reward I’m going to pick now is for the [Stat Centurion] achievement, which I unlocked after hitting 100 in all stats.

‘Hmm...’ This was a unique reward. It allows me to earn points just by eating—or not eating. It seems [Sovereign’s Meal], which requires high food consumption, gives the most bonus stats and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠points, while [Slave’s Ration], which requires giving up meals entirely, has the lowest bonus stats but provides a significant amount of points. I guess you could say it’s cost-effective since it gives points just for starving. [Priest’s Communion] is in the middle, so it’s a bit ambiguous.

‘This... is perfect for sending to the Abyss...’ Time flows fast in the Abyss, so if I feed this to someone working there, I can get points every 24 minutes. ‘The most efficient one... is [Slave’s Ration]. I don’t even need to waste food; I can just keep them starving while keeping them alive... This is perfect for Kekere...’ Kekere is sturdier than I imagined, so he could go a week without eating. Since this bastard doesn't even have a set lifespan, if I feed him [Slave’s Ration] and throw him into the Abyss, I can keep earning massive amounts of points. ‘I’m going to be rich...’

I’ll go to the base later and feed Kekere the [Slave’s Ration]. I’m already excited. I’ll starve him to the limit and then feed him just enough parasitic human flesh to keep him alive. As long as he doesn't die, it’s fine. I wonder how much I’ll be able to earn in a single day.

"Master, why are you laughing like that?"

"Hm? Haha... because I’m happy. Both of you... before we go back, shall we play a little?"

"Good, Master."

"Hm? Play?"

"Yes. Anna, do you dislike it?"

When I made a hole with my left hand and gestured by poking it with my right index and middle fingers, Anna finally understood what I meant. Her cheeks turned red. How cute.

"I... I like it too."

"Hehe... good."

I tapped the board and ordered the parasitic tree hosts to turn around. I’m going to find an empty house nearby and pour all my lust into Anna and Merhere.