CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14: PREPARATION [1]

"Kael!"

Not giving him a chance to react, Hans, despite still being in pain, ran straight towards him, and gave him a tight hug.

Filled with comradeship.

"I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I should have protected you! Please forgive me!"

Kael could feel it, his body was trembling.

It was all because of an emotion named guilt.

But, there was one thing that the protagonist had gotten wrong.

"This isn’t your fault, Hans Varun. No one, not even you, could have foreseen this happening."

In response to that hug, and also to stabilize his mood, Kael slowly wrapped his arms around Hans’ back, patting him a few times, before completely pushing him away.

"W-Why did you do that?"

The protagonist was stunned, not expecting that he had just been pushed away without mercy from the person he considered friend.

"...Sorry, I just felt so fucking disgusted. Two guys hugging each other all of a sudden, it sounded like something gay."

Kael decided to tell the truth. There was no reason for him to lie.

Hearing that, Hans Varun pouted, looking sulky.

Honestly, that scene looked quite cute.

’Fuck you cunt! What the hell were you thinking!??!?! I’m not gay! I’m straight!’

Slap! Slap! Slap!

He voluntarily slapped himself three times loudly.

"Hey Kael, what are you doing? Are you crazy? Did Shadow Slayer just make your head go haywire?"

...Kael knew that the protagonist had no bad intentions, but his words were no different from slandering him.

A few veins clearly stood out on his temples.

It took a lot of effort for him not to explode with madness right now.

"By the way, what exactly happened to you just now? I thought you were dead?" Hans asked.

At the same time, a perfect idea for revenge suddenly appeared in his genius brain.

"Oh, I just became a spirit, and was allowed to choose 1 Ability. That’s why I was able to defeat Shadow Slayer. You saw that scene too, right?"

He nodded.

"Then how do I get an Ability?"

Just waiting for the protagonist to ask that question, a smile that would make anyone’s skin crawl appeared on the corner of Kael’s lips.

"It’s simple, you just need to die."

From his waist, he took out a dagger.

"Huh? Can you say that again?" Hans was a little bewildered.

"Like I said, if you die, you will receive that Ability."

Kael took a step forward.

And Hans took a step back.

"Don’t worry, my friend. It’s just like a mosquito bite, it doesn’t hurt at all. Besides, you’ll be revived anyway."

A typical lie that parents tell when they take their children for vaccinations.

...

In the end, Hans died, but not because he was killed by Kael, but because he committed suicide.

And just like the plot, he chose [Authority of Envy.]

***

Floor 4, Estar City, a medieval-style city.

Kael, with the confidence of having obtained [Authority of Gluttony], brazenly opened the door to the most threatening bar in this city - where the majority of the customers were thugs, people who loved fighting more than anything else.

This time, he came here alone, because Hans had to visit his mother and sister.

But that was not a big deal.

If it was in the past, even if he was threatened, he would never enter this place.

But now, things were different.

If someone intended to attack him, Kael would just use his Ability, swallow that person and everyone else would be obedient.

His goal when coming to this bar was only 1:

Find a special merchant - someone who specializes in selling extremely rare Artifacts.

In order to successfully clear the 20th floor, which would open in 2 days, Kael needed to obtain a crucial Artifact from that particular merchant.

And based on what he remembered from his time as a gamer, that merchant always appeared in this bar, as if this was his home.

When it was not.

Taking a deep breath, Kael entered, ready to face anything.

The moment he appeared, all the noisy chatter suddenly paused, and with that, all eyes turned towards him.

There was no doubt that they were evaluating Kael.

Exactly 2 seconds later, the entire space exploded with mocking laughter.

"Hahaha, you bastard, if you want to pick up girls, this is not the place for you!"

"Are you a man? Or are you gay?"

"Hey kid, this place is for the strong! I can tell at a glance that instead of spending time training, you spent time taking care of your face, right?"

"Hey asshole, where did you get plastic surgery? Can you tell me the address?"

"Hahaha!"

He was being humiliated terribly.

But Kael didn’t care about their insults.

Someone who would do great things in the future shouldn’t be arguing with losers, right?

Ignoring the continued taunts, he looked around the entire bar, trying to find the person he wanted to see.

In the game Tower of Glory, although the merchant was just an NPC, because he played a very important role, the developers took extra care of him.

By giving him a rather unique personality.

And in the end, they turned him into an introvert who didn’t want to communicate with anyone.

An introvert appeared in a bar reserved for bad people?

That was truly insane, and it didn’t make any sense at all.

To find someone, the best way was to play the role of that person, trying to understand his thoughts and intentions.

’Let’s see, if I were an introvert, where would I sit in a place full of trash?’

Someone like that would usually want to attract as little attention as possible, so he would definitely have to sit in a place that was deserted, unobtrusive, and extremely dark.

’Hmm, where could that be?’

Suddenly, a flash of light flashed across Kael’s eyes.

Of course, why couldn’t he have recognized it sooner.

The merchant was definitely in the restroom!

***

It was dark, smelly, eerily quiet, and most importantly, no one was in it.

A perfect place for introverts when going to bars like this.

And in that restroom, Kael could see a locked stall.

There was no doubt that the merchant was inside.

Slowly, not to scare him, he approached the stall, knocking a few times on the door, hoping to get a response from inside.

The first knock.

Nothing.

The second.

Same.

...

It wasn’t until the tenth time, not knowing whether he was moved by Kael’s stubbornness or not, that a man’s voice rang out from within:

"Who is it?"

Seizing this opportunity, he replied right away:

"My name is Kael Draven. And I would like to buy an Artifact from you, is that okay?"

"What do you want to buy?"

Seeing that the fish had slipped through the net, he couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

But, he quickly calmed down his emotions.

"I would like to buy [Letter to the Past]. Do you sell that Artifact?"