An Unexpected Harvest

“An unexpected harvest,” I muttered.

It was a debuff that activated in an instant form. I had to stare at the target for a full second, but the range was decent enough that it wasn’t much of a penalty.

-It will be difficult to use against distant opponents.

“Right now I don’t have any proper long-range suppression skills anyway.”

I shrugged.

Energy Bolt only showed decent destructive power when overcharged. Shadow Dominion had limited range. Once my achievements increased, the distance, area of effect, and the total power of Polar Night I could deploy at once would grow too—but that was a matter for later.

“I got a useful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill.”

A curse specialized for fighting strong enemies rather than hordes. The activation condition wasn’t too demanding, so it would probably see occasional use.

I glanced at the goblin corpses strewn across the village. The poison sacs on their necks were worth about a hundred thousand won each.

-Why are you looking at the corpses with such regretful eyes?

“Because a goblin poison sac costs as much as a hundred cotton candies.”

An explanation tailored to Nyx’s level of understanding.

A sharp gasp came from beside me.

-I cannot believe it!

“What can I do? There’s no time to harvest them.”

I shook my head.

The byproduct collection kit contained several spare butchering knives. The problem was that I didn’t have the leisure to carefully cut out the poison sacs attached to the goblins’ necks.

“Remember those people from earlier?”

-You mean your teammates?

“Yeah. By now they should be circling around the back of the mountain and attempting a rock climb.”

Plan B.

It was a strategy that involved releasing the old troll—the red goblins’ secret weapon—and using it against them to collapse the village. The troll’s prison wasn’t far from the summit, so climbing the steep mountain path would take several hours. I had also wasted time wiping out the blue goblin village.

-Hehe.

“Goddess, even if you laugh and ask nicely, the answer is still no.”

-You do not understand why Yeo is laughing.

Huh? What was this goddess talking about?

-Did Yeo not say that she had gained the power to help you?

“You did.”

-Then Yeo shall now show you that power.

Shhhshhhshh!

Nyx’s spiritual body seeped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into my shadow. The Polar Night wriggled.

-Release your power. And entrust the control of Polar Night to Yeo.

I obediently relaxed the tension in my shoulders. Darkness flowed from the tips of my toes. It was the power of Polar Night manifested through Shadow Dominion.

But something felt different.

It was slightly different from when I first synchronized with the sensation of Polar Night. It felt like my hands and feet were moving on their own. The way I handled it was… different.

The darkness spread across the ground like dry ice. Yet I could feel the texture and scent of every object it touched. It was as if my palm had grown five hundred times larger and was sweeping across the earth.

-Watch carefully. This is the true power of Polar Night!

At Nyx’s shout, the darkness covering the ground coalesced into dozens of strands.

My Polar Night stat was still only 5. The total amount of power I could manifest at once remained the same.

“What the…?”

Fifty tentacles in total. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Each strand contained only 0.1 of Polar Night. But though they were thin, they were densely condensed. Could I believe that each one carried energy equal to a tentacle I created with a full 1 point of power?

My jaw dropped.

“Insane.”

-Hehe. Can you feel the difference in power?

“Goddess.”

I looked at the shadow with serious eyes.

-W-what is it, contractor?

“You’re seriously the best!”

Hahahaha!

Laughter burst out of me uncontrollably.

When Nyx synchronized with Polar Night, I had tasted a fragment of divinity. It was the path I needed to walk. Just experiencing that sensation once had taught me how to climb even higher.

And that wasn’t all.

If Nyx controlled Polar Night and supported me, my combat ability would more than double.

-Do not rejoice too much. Synchronization is a technique that burdens Yeo as well.

“Why?”

-This Polar Night is not Yeo’s, but yours. The essence is the same, so Yeo can handle it… but at most for ten minutes.

The duration was ten minutes. She said it would take ten days to deploy it again. Any longer would be too taxing even for Nyx.

“Wait, then why did you use a technique like that?”

-How could Yeo possibly give up cotton candy!

The bundle of dark tentacles wrapped around the poison sacs on the goblins’ necks.

Thud. Thud, thud.

Dozens of tentacles placed the harvested sacs in front of me.

-What are you doing? Hurry and collect them!

“……”

This goddess was truly serious about cotton candy. After the mission, I might have to install a cotton candy machine at home.

-Partner, move a little lower.

“Why?”

-Even when Yeo controls Polar Night, the maximum range is only thirty meters.

I moved according to Nyx’s instructions and continued harvesting the poison sacs.

If I hadn’t had the Pocket of Desire, I would have been in serious trouble.

By the time I had collected every poison sac from the goblin corpses—

-Ugh.

Nyx was flung out of my shadow. Her skin, which had originally been pale, was now blue as ice.

“Are you okay?!”

-Hoo, hoo. Yeo is fine.

“So synchronization really puts that much strain on you.”

-For the sake of my contractor, this level of pain is nothing.

This time it felt more like it was for the cotton candy’s sake, not mine…

I swallowed the words that rose in my mind.

Nyx steadied her ragged breathing. Meanwhile, I repeatedly recalled the sensation I had felt while she controlled Polar Night. The feeling of being able to read everything the darkness touched. The omnipotence of touching the laws of the world.

I still had a long way to go.

I smiled.

The fact that the road ahead was long meant that a reward of equal value awaited me at the end.

Just as I was reflecting on the sensation from when Polar Night had reached its peak—

-Contractor.

Nyx called me in a subdued voice.

“Is your body alright?”

-It has stabilized now.

“All that for some damn cotton candy.”

I stroked Nyx’s head.

-H-how rude! To stroke Yeo’s head!

“Don’t push yourself like that again.”

It was something my provocation had caused. Thanks to Nyx handling the power of Polar Night, I had discovered a new possibility for advancement. Still, I didn’t want to see her suffer.

-Understood. However, if you are in danger, Yeo will not hesitate to step forward.

“If that kind of situation comes up, I’ll be counting on you.”

Nyx gave a soft laugh and settled onto my shoulder.

* * *

While Jinho was busy clearing out the blue goblin village, Harry Diaz and the other three were climbing the steep mountain path.

Clack. Clatter.

Pebbles kicked by their feet rolled downward. The dislodged stones quickly vanished and fell dozens of meters below.

“Gulp.”

Someone swallowed hard.

The realization that a single misstep would lead to the same fate as those stones had sunk in.

“Don’t worry. This is the safest route.”

Harry encouraged his fearful teammates.

He was right. It was the optimal strategy route secured by countless senior players.

Plan B.

This path was the safest way to release the old troll.

“What kind of suffering is this because of that crazy guy?”

“Ugh, if I see him again I’m punching him once.”

“Just hang in there a little longer.”

The teammates grumbled about Jinho, who had dashed toward the blue goblins the moment the mission started.

Their fighting spirit burned hot.

They passed through the danger zone and infiltrated the red goblin territory.

“According to the strategy, there should be sentries ahead.”

“Leave the enemy detection to me.”

May Chang took the lead.

Her ability was Sensory Enhancement. It amplified one of the five senses of her choice. While the ability itself was ordinary, its versatility came from being able to strengthen whichever sense the situation demanded.

“I’ll enhance my vision.”

A blue glow hovered around May Chang’s eyes. Sensory Enhancement had activated.

The team slowly climbed the mountain ridge behind her.

Swish—

May, who had been walking ahead, raised her hand.

“One hundred meters ahead. There are five goblins.”

“We can’t let even one escape.”

“Bro, I’ve got a stealth skill. Leave it to me.”

Peter leaned against a tree. His figure blurred, blending into the surrounding landscape. Unless someone looked closely, they wouldn’t feel any sense of dissonance.

Peter’s unique ability, Assimilation, enhanced the stealth skill’s effect.

A moment later, Peter approached the goblin group and swung his dagger.

Splat! Green blood spurted from a neck.

“Now! Charge!”

The three teammates led by Harry attacked.

“Kiiik!”

The panicked goblins looked back and forth between Harry and Peter.

The battle continued. One teammate was hit by a poison needle and slowed down, but they eliminated the goblins without taking serious damage.

“We actually work pretty well together, don’t we?”

“Hoo, yeah.”

Peter puffed out his chest. May nodded in agreement.

“If we keep going like this, clearing the mission shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Harry spoke with a voice full of determination.

He was angry at Jinho for ruining the mission’s flow, but the teamwork among the four of them was perfect.

‘The vibe is good.’

Harry and his teammates looked at one another with eyes full of trust.

* * *

After turning the eastern part of the mountain into scorched earth, I turned my steps toward the center.

-You’re in quite a hurry.

“They should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be near the troll prison by now.”

The old troll. Just as the name suggested, it was old. It was much weaker than the real ‘trolls’ that appeared in the middle layers of the Tower of Babel, and its regeneration ability was nothing special.

Even so, its innate racial value was different. If I released it and guided it properly, it was entirely possible to turn the red goblin village into a wasteland.

My body shot forward. Now was not the time to conserve internal energy.

“Kiiit! Intruder!”

This time, goblins wearing red bands on their foreheads blocked my path.

Red goblins. Just like the blue ones, they had built outposts all over the mountain ridge.

-Will you not go above the ridge like those others?

“If I go back now, I’ll be late.”

I raised darkness. It wasn’t as refined as Nyx’s technique, but it was more than enough.

“Kiiiit!”

“Kiit!”

The charging red goblins were sent flying in every direction.

I glanced at their corpses with regret.

“I’ll devour them later.”

-Have you not already taken the goblins’ essence?

“Ah, apparently different colors count as different species.”

Was this a loophole in the Tower of Babel system? They were fundamentally the same species, yet the color of the band alone made the essences they dropped different.

“For now, I’m only looking forward.”

Using Agile Hind Legs, I leaped over the goblin outpost. I only took down the minimum number of enemies blocking my path and headed straight for the place where the old troll was imprisoned.

After dashing up the ridge in one go, my destination quickly came into view.

“Huh? That guy is the Korean from earlier!”

“Wait, why is that troll bastard popping out here?”

“Peter, the troll is over there.”

“Agh, that’s not what I meant…”

The team stared at me with bewildered expressions. Their leader, Harry, had been about to open the cave door that held the old troll.

If I had been even a little later, things would have gone badly.

I kicked off the ground once more and let out a roar.

“Haaaaah—!!”

The team flinched for a brief moment. That tiny gap was enough.

I shoved Harry aside and stood in front of the cave.

“What the hell is this…!”

“Don’t touch my prey.”

Dark blades surged from behind me and shattered the wooden cave entrance into pieces.