Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Game I Was Playing Was Reality (2)
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Celia stared at the spot where her master had vanished.
"As expected of Master..."
The first time she had faced her master, Celia had been astonished.
"Even without fully recovering his power yet..."
Her master's current strength was still in an incomplete state.
He must have expended even more power pulling her from that seal.
And yet, his presence had been extraordinary.
"Truly a great being!"
And at the end, her master had commanded her to offer everything as tribute.
"He's about to start moving in earnest now."
A great being.
A supreme being.
A being beyond mortal reach.
Her master, who bore all these titles, was finally making his move.
It was at that moment.
Rumble...
Groan...
The entire dungeon trembled.
To Celia, it was a familiar sight.
Her master must be expanding the dungeon using his own abilities.
"I can't just sit idle while Master is on the move."
What she needed to do now was prepare the path for her master's advance.
She couldn't afford to stagnate in her current position.
"First, I need to deal with this."
Celia pulled out the inventory artifact she had received as a reward for helping the Incubus Dungeon.
It looked like a small bundle from the outside, but it could hold countless items within.
And the same held true now.
A variety of equipment poured out from the small bundle.
"The quality really is on another level."
The Incubus Dungeon had been located in another dimension.
She had heard from Azmo, the dungeon's master, about a dimension called Earth and the stories of its hunters.
"Hunters are like adventurers here."
Earth's hunters were just more specialized versions.
To Celia, who had only known the Eldorado Continent, it was all fresh information.
And this equipment had been used by those Earth hunters.
Not just swords, bows, and spears, but also armor and other protective gear.
She pondered how to make use of them.
After a moment of thought...
"Hunter gear..."
She decided to distribute it to the goblins.
"Denver, could you gather the goblins from Sector 2?"
At Celia's command, Denver departed immediately.
The goblins' current combat prowess was at a low level.
Even if they got weapons from the merchant guild, it wouldn't make a huge difference.
But hunter gear would be different.
The quality was clearly superior.
Celia found herself wanting to visit Earth more often.
"What's this one?"
Among them, there were items Celia had never seen before.
It resembled a long stick, with a handle-like protrusion hanging down from the middle.
"Not quite a spear, but it feels similar to the goblins' poison blowpipes..."
The goblins' common weapon was a simple poison blowpipe.
It was a cylindrical tube made of wood. Load it with a poison dart, blow through it with your mouth, and the dart flies out.
Easy to make and fire, it was a reasonably efficient ranged weapon.
And this stick-shaped gear looked similar.
The difference was that the long barrel was made of metal, making it look far sturdier.
Celia peered into the hole at the end of the stick.
"Hm..."
Nothing inside...
This time, she examined the handle area.
She touched the circular loop in front of the handle.
There was a slight protrusion there, which Celia pressed with her finger.
Bang!
A deafening noise erupted from the end of the stick-shaped gear, accompanied by a burst of flame.
Startled by the sudden blast, Celia quickly regained her composure.
"...So that's how it works."
She turned her head toward the direction it had fired.
There, the goblins Denver had brought were lined up.
In their midst, one goblin lay collapsed, spewing blood.
A hole was pierced through its chest area, likely caught in the aftermath.
The remaining goblins trembled in fear.
"Oh dear... I hope you find happiness in your next life, Mr. Goblin."
Leaving the fallen goblin behind, Celia examined the gear again.
It was no ordinary weapon.
Its power surpassed even a bow.
To gauge its strength, Celia pressed her palm against the end of the barrel and fired.
Bang!
"Hm."
The power was decent.
She didn't know the principle behind it, but it even carried mana in the attack.
A weapon that fired rapidly with tremendous power.
But it had clear limitations as well.
It could deal effective damage to a 1-star goblin, but it wouldn't even scratch her.
"How effective will it be in the end?"
She pondered briefly what to do with this long stick.
"Still, better than nothing."
After some thought, she decided to give it to the Goblin Lord.
It wouldn't do for the goblins to arm themselves with hunter gear while their lord had nothing.
It looked quite sophisticated, like a staff carried by mages, making it perfect for the Goblin Lord, the mid-boss of Sector 2.
And so, Celia handed the gun to the Goblin Lord.
When you wake from sleep, your head is usually foggy.
At first, the dream's contents are vivid in your memory.
Then, after a few seconds, they blur, and soon no matter how hard you try, all that's left is the question, 'What dream did I have?'
"......"
And right now, I had dreamed something too, but the memory was fading.
The last part stuck with me the most...
"Ah."
Embarrassing.
What gave me the confidence to demand offerings of everything?
Using a speech pattern I never employ made it even more cringeworthy.
"But was it really just a dream?"
I vaguely remembered.
'Is this game I'm playing really reality?'
Dream or reality?
Déjà vu.
Maybe I already knew the answer. I just wanted solid proof.
"Shall I check?"
All I had left were my abilities and the game on my smartphone.
I gripped my smartphone and launched the game.
Yes, it all started when I began playing this game.
I trusted my instincts.
"How much money do I have left now?"
The money I'd earned grinding as a porter before acquiring the 'Mana Resonance' trait.
I'd saved it originally for skill books, but skill books weren't important now.
This might be even more crucial.
I didn't know why, but my gut was telling me so.
One thing was clear: I needed to act on this instinct.
As soon as the game loaded, I headed straight to the shop.
My goal was singular.
I bought gems.
I bought more.
I kept buying gems.
After purchasing gems worth 1.1 million won...
Risk of causality distortion exists.
Unable to purchase additional gems at this time.
"Huh?"
What the hell was this causality thing blocking gem purchases for?
This wasn't how the game usually worked.
It was a game that always pulled every trick to squeeze cash from players, yet now it was stopping me?
A game preventing players from spending money?
Ha...
I've seen it all.
But like this, it was pointless, wasn't it?
I'd just spent a bit more than usual, but if the game blocked me, it was no different from normal.
My original plan was to buy as many gems as possible and dump them all into the dungeon.
"Guess this is as far as we go for now."
My current gems slightly exceeded 100,000.
I'd planned to go all the way.
This game clearly wasn't ordinary, no matter how you looked at it.
If my suspicions were correct, this was a golden opportunity for me.
"Well, I didn't notice anything strange when I got the status window or traits."
It had only brought benefits, no losses.
Still, a few questions lingered.
First, its utility.
I knew one thing at least.
Offering tributes in the game made me stronger.
It was a strong hunch, but not yet certain.
It was just shy of conviction, so I wanted to verify once more.
No harm in being cautious.
If I could grow stronger through tributes?
Was tribute the only use?
Second, why me of all people?
I had no status window, just a half-baked hunter label.
And I was human to begin with.
The beings I managed were monsters in the end—why this opportunity for a human like me?
Ultimately, what did it want from me?
These questions swirled in my mind.
But I soon shook my head.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it."
For someone in my position, having a way to grow stronger was a boon.
It was an overabundance of worry for a powerless nobody like me.
I'd even fantasized about contracting a demon for power once.
"Compared to that, this is nothing."
There were hunters who contracted demon-type monsters occasionally.
The process was rough, but they gained power instantly.
I'd worried at first that I was in the same boat.
But now?
I was perfectly fine.
Nothing disadvantageous had happened so far. Except for my bank account.
"If anything, it's my moral compass."
Looking at the situation, the source of my power was tributes.
And such tributes were fulfilled by sacrificing someone.
My status window and traits were probably the result.
But that was in the past.
Even if this hunch solidified into certainty, I could just adjust my thinking slightly.
Exclude good people and offer criminals as tributes, that sort of thing.
Abandoning this prime opportunity to cling to moral ideals would be foolish.
Until then, no holds barred.
"......"
I briefly reflected on the past.
A world of the strong devouring the weak.
Yes, if I didn't grow stronger, I'd be the one eaten in this world.
I had zero intention of naively doing nothing and remaining weak.
"Alright, time to get started?"
Even if I couldn't buy more gems, I still had over 100,000.
Now was the time to reinforce the dungeon.
Rain began to pour from the sky.
The already gloomy mountain atmosphere grew even colder and darker.
Raindrops soaked the trees and earth, soon forming a thick mist.
"Achoo!"
And the one taking it full force was none other than the vampire Aren.
"Hng..."
Aren was depressed.
She'd thought crossing one mountain would lead straight to the Demon Realm, but another mountain awaited.
She'd been wandering for days.
And now rain too.
"Ugh... cold..."
Her body began to shiver.
The weather had been fine until now, but this rain showed no signs of stopping soon.
"Let's find shelter from the rain quick. You go on ahead safely, bunny friend."
Aren decided to seek cover first.
She set down the rabbit she'd been carrying in one hand.
Pushing through the trees, she spotted something.
"Oh! There it is!"
A cave nestled between the dense trees.