Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Deal (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Diana first took note of Lussera.
"An SR-grade Valkyrie, huh. She looks confident enough, but nothing all that surprising about it."
There was some truth to that. SR-grade Valkyries weren't exactly common, but they weren't incredibly rare either.
But then her gaze shifted to Lije. Her expression changed from surprise to bewilderment.
It was a type of Valkyrie she'd never seen before.
Her face resembled Karuos's and Jenellu's.
She had zero information on Lije.
"What is that Valkyrie??"
She stared at Lije with intense curiosity. She seemed genuinely amazed that there was a Valkyrie even she didn't recognize.
"Her name's Lije. She's a Demon Witch, and a tank."
"What grade...?"
"SSR."
My curt reply turned her bewildered look into one of sheer shock.
"N-No way... You suddenly have an SSR? How many pulls did you do?"
In reality, I'd done a hundred pulls, but I couldn't exactly say that.
"Just the one time, with the diamonds they give you when you first get the Status."
Now Diana's eyes were fixed on me like she'd seen a ghost. Her face screamed that it was impossible.
Well, it was impossible, after all.
Who pulls an SSR and an SR in a single draw? No way that happened. This wasn't some gacha game.
"Does this qualify as a secret worth keeping?"
I spoke to Diana with a confident tone.
Diana, who had been staring at me blankly, nodded. It felt great seeing that haughty expression crumble.
"It's more than enough... In the world... How is that even possible? Are you blessed by the Valkyries?"
From the info I'd gathered since arriving here, having Pilot aptitude meant you could sync with the Status, pull Valkyries, and summon them afterward.
Not just anyone could sync with a Status.
And what people here called "talent" in pulls—what we'd call luck back home—was pulling good Valkyries.
It wasn't entirely wrong. Luck was a kind of talent. And naturally, better Valkyries made you stronger.
This world wasn't like reality, where you could just whale endlessly and get strong no matter what.
Luck. That was talent.
By that metric, I was talentless. Even after a hundred brute-force pulls, I'd only gotten a handful of SRs and A-grades.
I was hopelessly untalented.
If I didn't have my cash-shop powers, I might not have pulled a single SR even after a year.
But...? With my ridiculous diamond stockpile, I could surpass talent altogether.
Diana rose from her seat and approached me.
"You... You're one hell of a guy."
Looking back at Diana as she appraised me again, I couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
"And that's not all. I just came back from the Mining Guild. Guess what I did there?"
"What...? No way..."
This time, I planned to reveal that I had one more SR-grade.
There was no impulse behind it. Sure, seeing Diana's shocked face lit a fire in my chest, but the real reason was different.
To make money, I needed Valkyries other than Lije.
More than another tank like Lije, I needed dealers like Heiji or Elastra.
For fast hunting.
If it was going to come out anyway, better to reveal it now.
"Right now, an SR-grade and an A-grade are mining at the quarry."
Thud...
Diana's legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees in front of me.
Watching this haughty beauty kneel before me was a massive dopamine hit.
"How... How could you..."
"Back to business—how about giving me two months? Still need that advance payment?"
"Huh? Oh... No. How could I ask for an advance now? But you are taking the knight exam, right?"
Diana's tone had softened considerably.
She seemed worried I might skip Hainel's knight exam.
She couldn't afford to mistreat a Pilot with an SSR.
If I changed my mind and went to another country, it'd be a national loss.
And if I debuted elsewhere and badmouthed how Diana from the Hainelrune Knights had snubbed me, she'd be blacklisted in Hainel for good.
"Of course. That's the plan."
"Phew... Good..."
Diana let her true feelings slip without realizing it, her chest visibly relaxing. She didn't even notice she'd said it.
"Then I should go make some money. To keep my promise."
"Got it."
As I left the parlor, I said to Diana,
"Oh! Any spare rooms in this mansion, by chance?"
"Rooms? Plenty, but..."
"I'm staying at an inn right now. Wondered if I could crash here for the two months."
"O-Of course. You're welcome anytime. You'll be my junior soon enough."
Her view of me had shifted from rookie to junior.
"And could I summon three Valkyries here?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah. Of course. I'll unsummon my three, so you can register. Oh! Follow me. I'll show you."
Even my bold requests had Diana bending over backward.
Her evaluation of the guy who'd pulled two SSR/SR and an A in one go had skyrocketed.
In their eyes, it was a once-in-a-millennium talent.
"I'll hunt first and handle it when I get back."
"Sure. I'll be waiting. Decided where you're hunting?"
"Golden Reed Forest."
Diana's eyes lit up even more at my answer. She nodded and saw me off warmly.
It made sense. The rookie she'd pegged as a newbie turned out to have insane talent, plus knowledge beyond his years.
In this world, hunting grounds each had unique traits.
First: Great for leveling.
Second: Great for gold.
Third: Great for gear drops.
That's how they were usually divided, scaled by Valkyrie levels. The 'Golden Reed Forest' I'd named was the best for newbie hunters to farm cash.
Lucky for me, Astera had a solid money-making spot nearby.
Leveling might suck, but for two months of grinding cash, it was perfect.
Leaving Diana's parlor, I spotted Serena with anxious eyes. But seeing Diana escort me out warmly, she relaxed.
"Serena. See you in two months."
"Ah! Yes, Kai. Take care."
Serena, who'd nearly been marked for doom, felt the good vibes and waved happily as we parted.
Now it was time for me to grind money hard.
The next three months would be packed.
I needed to rank up ASAP.
That way, I could summon six Valkyries, and hunting would speed up.
For that, I needed five Colosseum wins.
Right now, 1v1 or 3v3. I planned to aim for 3v3.
1v1 was just about good Valkyries and gear, but 3v3 required strategy.
Positioning, matchups—all that jazz.
As a fresh Pilot, 3v3 played to my strengths.
My plan: Level a bit in a week, rank up, summon six Valkyries, rake in cash.
Then focus on leveling.
"Alright. Let's do this!"
My steps headed not to the outskirts, but the town center.
I needed a carriage.
'Orc Forest' was walkable, but 'Golden Reed Forest' was too far.
They had a carriage system here—fast travel.
Soon, the carriage stand came into view.
Several carriages idled as passengers queued.
Like a real-world taxi stand.
Only three ahead of me.
But after I joined, a line formed behind—carriages were popular.
Three boarded, my turn.
"Where to?"
"Golden Reed Forest?"
"You got it. Hop on."
The driver spoke cheerfully.
"How much to get there?"
"Meter'll tell, but around 12,000 gold?"
Meter...? Just like a taxi.
"And for the return?"
"You're a Pilot, right?"
"Yeah."
"There's a Valkyrie Carriage app for that. Call one, and it'll grab you quick."
Oh... Like Uber.
"Thanks."
"Sure. Here we go."
The carriage sped off—pretty fast. I'd unsummoned Lije and Lussera ages ago; Sua rode beside me.
Breeze in our faces, we enjoyed the view with Sua.
Leaving town, the scenery was stunning.
Untouched nature, vibrant green, crisp air.
Naturally, I took Sua's hand beside me.
She startled, then laced her fingers with mine and leaned on my shoulder.
I wished this could last forever, but the carriage arrived too soon.
Regretfully, I paid via Status and got off.
"Alright... Let's go!"
Entering Golden Reed Forest, I summoned Lije and Lussera.