Chapter 183 - Jinx (3)

The Manticore. A rank-five monster with the unsettling appearance of a lion's body and a human face. Its Essence is quite unusual.

[Manticore]

Discernment +40, Appetite +30, Leaping Power +30.

In practical terms, Leaping Power +30 is all you get from its stats. In a way, that's worse than a rank-nine monster, but its passive has to do with stats.

(P) Heredity — Consuming magic crystals permanently increases your stats.

[Heredity]. A skill that raises your stats when you eat magic crystals. The description alone makes it sound like a cheat, but there's a crucial restriction.

'The total stats you can absorb were capped at 200, I think.'

The total stats obtainable through the skill cap out at 200. That's why my first reaction was to wonder how an Essence could be such trash. Plenty of rank-five Essences give you over 300 in total. Yet this one makes you use its passive just to get the basic stats it ought to provide by default?

Its active skill wasn't even particularly good. It might have been another story if it gave you the Manticore's signature ability, Random Skill Barrage, but that was an innate ability of the creature itself and couldn't be acquired through its Essence. However...

"Nobody move!"

Everyone's eyes changed the moment the Essence appeared. Right, so you know its true worth too.

"Raven, hurry up and get the die out!"

As I shouted, the dwarf growled, "I think you ought to step back first, barbarian."

What, did he think I'd just gobble it up if I lost the roll? Ridiculous, but stirring up trouble now wouldn't do me any good.

"... Let's all step back at the same time."

"Fine."

"Y-yes! That sounds like a good idea."

Starting with me, everyone backed away together. Then we sorted things out at lightning speed. Essences only lasted thirty minutes on average, after all. First, the question I hadn't gotten around to asking earlier.

"Does any team want to sit this one out?"

I'd asked just in case, but both Hans G and the dwarf shook their heads and answered.

"W-we'll participate. It's an Essence a-anyone except a mage or priest can use, isn't it?"

This is why I can't stand these Player bastards. The Manticore Essence's true value comes after you have it removed at a temple. Even after removal, twenty percent of the additional stats remain. It's effectively an elixir that gives you a whopping forty bonus stat points.

"As if we'd pass up an Essence this expensive."

"... Expensive? Don't tell me you intend to sell it."

"We don't have any free Essence slots."

Well, that was possible... but another possibility suddenly occurred to me.

'Right, these bastards are from the underground city, aren't they?'

For Noark explorers, having an Essence removed at a temple was a complicated process. All the more so with the city sealed off. Holding on to it and selling it secretly after the blockade ended would be the sensible choice. But the biggest question remained.

"... You don't have a mage, do you?"

The dwarf's team had no mage. Their spellcaster, who'd gone all-in on offensive Essences, served a similar role in terms of firepower, but couldn't replace a mage's utility. The dwarf answered as though it were nothing.

"You have one. I'll cover the test tube and pay a generous fee for the trouble."

Trying to get a free ride, are you?

"What if both our teams refuse?"

The dwarf smirked at my suggestion that he stop being greedy.

"We'll still roll. And if we win, we'll watch until the Essence disappears."

Translation: if they couldn't have it, they'd at least get in everyone else's way. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Underground or aboveground, explorers really were explorers. In this respect, they were astonishingly alike.

'Should I just ambush them here and kill them?'

That extreme option crossed my mind, but I forced myself to calm down. Raven helped a lot.

"Mr. Jandel, there's nothing we can do."

Right, we hadn't even rolled yet. It wasn't a core Essence like [Gigantification], either. I'd have to remove it once I could acquire rank-three Essences anyway. It wasn't as if there were no better alternatives.

"How long are you going to stand around?"

The dwarf's prodding brought me back to my senses.

"Let's have one representative from each team come forward."

Once the team leaders had gathered, I briefly explained the rules.

"We each roll once, and whoever gets the highest number takes the loot. If there's a tie, only those two roll again to decide the winner."

"Are we using that mage's die?"

"It's an authentic Explorer Guild die. I don't mind if we don't use mine. Though of course, I'll have to inspect whatever we use first."

"Really? Then that's fine."

The dwarf nodded readily. The mage from Hans G's team stepped forward to inspect Raven's die, completing the preparations.

"Hans, as agreed, we'll subtract two from your roll. If you have any objections, speak now."

"... W-we're happy just to have a chance."

"Good, then. Who's going first?"

First or last? It hardly mattered, really, but everyone swallowed nervously and eyed one another. Surprisingly, Hans G stepped forward first.

"I-I'll go first."

Hans G picked up the die. Despite his minus-two handicap, his teammates offered encouragement with hopeful eyes.

"Good luck, Mr. Krissen...!"

"Hans, you'd better be ready for a spanking if you botch this roll!"

"It's all right if you lose, young Krissen. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

The newly recruited Guide, the human warrior, and the middle-aged mage. Hans G looked at each of them in turn before meeting the elf archer's eyes. She nodded without a word. Anyone could see that those two had something special.

'What is this, a shonen manga?'

I couldn't help letting out a disbelieving chuckle. The newly recruited female Guide was biting her lip in frustration as she watched them.

"Then... here goes!"

Hans G rolled the die with gusto. It tumbled across the dry earth, flashing the larger and smaller numbers on its faces in succession.

TAP.

The die stopped amid the silence.

[10]

A full ten. The highest possible roll.

"Aaaaaah!"

"That's insane! Insane!!"

"The standard market price! Mr. Hwang, what's the standard market price listed by the Guild?"

His teammates burst into cheers, while we were struck dumb. The dwarf stepped forward, looking irritated by their celebration.

"You talk as if it's already yours. You haven't forgotten you need to subtract two, have you?"

"Ah, yes... We know."

The excitement cooled considerably, but Hans G's team was still in a festive mood. Fair enough. Eight was plenty high.

"I'll go next."

The dwarf approached Hans G and snatched the die away. He hesitated briefly, then scowled and tossed it carelessly onto the ground.

It tumbled only a few times before stopping.

[9]

... Seriously?

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

"Fuuuuuck!!"

"I knew you could do it, you son of a bitch!!"

Beastlike howls erupted from the dwarf's team. Meanwhile, everyone on Hans G's team wore frozen expressions, completely unable to hide their feelings.

The dwarf snickered, then glanced at Hans G and me with a nasty smile. He even uttered what had to be the phrase I'd said least often in my entire life.

"Lucky me."

What the hell was wrong with this bastard's personality? Overwhelming despair engulfed me. But I couldn't crumble here. I had too much holding me up.

"Jandel! What's the matter? It's just a roll. This isn't like you."

"I believe in you, Bjorn!! You can do it!!"

"That's right, Bjorn! You can do anything, nyah!"

"I won't talk about probabilities. Those don't mean anything to you anyway, do they, Mr. Jandel?"

My teammates still believed in me. And I hadn't given up on myself. So... I gripped the die tightly.

The dwarf sneered arrogantly at me. This situation felt quite familiar.

Hans had eight. The dwarf had nine. All I had to do was roll ten.

Probability was just probability. Meaningless. Didn't dramatic twists like this happen all the time in movies and comics? Right, narratively, this had to work...! No, the whole setup guaranteed it.

"... The look in Bjorn's eyes has changed, nyah."

That strange certainty settled into my hand. It felt as though some unseen presence were wrapping me in a warm embrace. Before the sensation could leave me, I threw the die.

"Go! Great warriooooor!!!"

The die rolled amid Aynar's shout. Astonishingly, as I watched, my mind was calmer than it had ever been.

My heart gave a quiet thump. The air against my skin was pleasantly cool, and every second etched itself vividly into my mind, as though time were flowing slowly.

And amid that pleasant sensation...

TAP.

The die stopped.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

"..."

A cold silence descended. Instead of the die, I looked at the people around me.

"Holy shit..."

The dwarf who'd been smiling arrogantly. My teammates, who'd watched with faith in me. Even Hans G, whose defeat was already certain, stood openmouthed in undisguised shock.

'Did it actually work...?'

I checked the die.

[1]

... I should've had Misha roll.

* * *

The loser says nothing. Anything would only be an excuse. All you can do is endure in silence. Exactly as I was doing now.

"Pahahahaha! A one, after that look on his face! Did you see that? Did you? I was genuinely scared! His eyes looked so sure!"

Biting mockery erupted from the dwarf's team. Humiliation washed over me from head to toe.

"I'd love to ask him how he managed to look that confident! Hahahahaha!"

"Stop making fun of Bjorn!!"

"Goooo! Great warrioooor! Pff, pfft! Pahahahaha!"

"... I'll kill you!!!"

I caught Aynar as she tried to charge forward.

"Enough."

"But! Unless I smash their heads...!!"

Right, they wouldn't shut their mouths otherwise. I understood that feeling better than anyone. But it wasn't time yet. And the other side knew that perfectly well too.

"That's enough from you lot too."

Under my silent stare, the dwarf reined in his teammates and stopped their taunting. The winner had been decided anyway. I let go of my lingering regrets and got down to business.

"How much will you pay?"

"Fifteen million Stones for the test tube."

Exactly the standard price.

"And the service fee?"

"Five million Stones."

Five million for casting a single spell was pure profit. However...

"Seven million."

"Greedy, aren't you?"

The dwarf glanced at Hans G's mage. There were two mages here, meaning he could ask the other one instead.

"W-we don't have a test tube."

What? I'd only asked for more on the pretext that we'd split the service fee with them... But that changed things.

"I'll pay seven million."

At Hans G's words, the dwarf accepted my offer without a moment's hesitation. But that train had already left the station.

"Too late."

"...?"

"It just went up to fifteen million."

The service fee was now equal to the price of the test tube.

"Don't be unreasonable, barbarian," the dwarf muttered incredulously.

I could understand. Being so short, he must have trouble getting a broad view of the world. Naturally, he wouldn't understand the basic market principles of supply and demand.

"Unreasonable? I think it's a fair price. Especially since you aren't going to turn it down."

"... Ten million Stones."

"No haggling. Take it or leave it."

"Think rationally, barbarian. You're going to throw that money away?"

"Your choice. Either throw away the Essence, or pay us to bottle it so you can sell it."

I held firm with my brazen pricing. This was why monopolies and oligopolies could be so vicious in a capitalist market. Even doing business like this, they still got customers.

"... Damn it."

The dwarf trembled before speaking.

"I'll pay fifteen million Stones."

"Good, that's a wise—"

"Not to you. To them."

The dwarf looked at Hans G as he spoke.

"What? W-what do you mean...?"

"If you pay that amount, I'll transfer ownership of this Essence to you."

An on-the-spot sale... So that was how he wanted to play it. An emotional choice that abandoned reason. For a moment, I thought I'd made a mistake, but on reflection, it didn't seem like much of a problem.

"W-we don't have that much money on us."

"You can pay in goods instead of cash."

"Let us discuss it for a moment..."

Hans G took some time to consult his teammates. Their lips moved without a sound, so they must have activated team voice magic. Of course, it didn't take long. Their conclusion wasn't far from what I'd expected, either.

"W-we really can't part with our equipment..."

With the quality of their gear, at least three members of Hans G's team would have to surrender their main equipment to make up that amount. Trading away equipment inside a rupture for an Essence they couldn't even use right away? Ridiculous.

"S-so, could we perhaps p-pay you back in the city?"

"... That's not an option."

Being from the underground city, there was no way these bastards could extend Hans G credit. Cornered, the dwarf let out a deep breath. Then he looked at me and spoke with obvious reluctance.

"Barbarian, at the price you quoted—"

"Twenty million Stones. It just went up again."

"You fucking..."

"Or we could pay fifteen million Stones and buy the Essence ourselves. Would you prefer that?"

"... I'll pay twenty million Stones."

The dwarf spat curses, but that didn't change the outcome. Even paying that much for the Essence would still leave them a profit. About seventeen million Stones.

'No, wait. Doesn't that mean we came out ahead?'

So this was the sweet taste of monopoly?

We'd rolled the lowest number, one, yet ended up with the biggest share. What an irony.

* * *

Once negotiations were over, things proceeded smoothly. First, we received twenty million Stones' worth of goods from the dwarf. Obviously, they wouldn't have that much cash on hand.

For the record, they tried to pay with equipment, but I refused. They'd pulled piles of unused equipment from their backpacks as though they'd been waiting for the opportunity. Just how much looting had they done?

"Pay in potions. They're easier to turn into cash."

"... We can't cover that much in potions."

"Then we'll take equipment for the difference."

I even supplied a reason as I demanded as many potions as possible. We might end up fighting these bastards, so I needed to weaken them as much as I could beforehand. Tch. If I'd gotten the equipment they were actually wearing, they'd have been much easier to deal with.

"Seven Top-tier potions and eleven high-grade ones. Add in the rest of the equipment... and that more or less covers it."

With help from Raven, who held a general appraiser's license, the payment in goods was completed without any real disputes. Afterward, we made camp in a suitable spot. Oh, and each watch had three people, one from each team, with everyone taking turns. Hans G, the dwarf, and Mister Bear took first watch. I was next.

"Jandel, it's your turn."

"Anything happen? Those two having any suspicious conversations, for instance?"

"That Hans fellow mostly talked by himself. I think standing watch alone would be more comfortable and enjoyable."

"Right. Good work. Go get some rest."

My watch partners were the elf archer named Meirin and the White Wolf Therianthrope warrior from the dwarf's team... It was uncomfortable in more ways than one.

'Now I see why he said being alone would be more comfortable.'

The White Wolf warrior said nothing. And throughout the watch, the elf archer kept shooting me resentful looks.

"Something you want to say?"

"Everyone's sleeping. Could you try being a little quieter?"

This is why I can't stand pointy-ears. Why did they hate kind barbarians like us? There had to be something wrong with their personalities. Except Erwin, of course.

'Whatever. Just keep watch.'

I kept a closer eye out for betrayal from these bastards than for a monster ambush. The odds of them stabbing us in the back had risen considerably. I wasn't sure about Hans G, but the dwarf was almost certainly nursing murderous intentions.

'That's probably why he handed over the goods so readily.'

Even allowing for our monopoly, twenty million Stones was bordering on extortion. Yet he'd paid relatively calmly. Almost as if he had a way to get it back.

'... Well, I suppose the same goes for me.'

I hadn't given up on the Essence in that test tube yet. I was simply waiting for the moment to come.

"Misha, wake up. Time to switch."

Once my watch, which 'uncomfortable' didn't begin to describe, was over, I handed over to Misha and went to sleep. The following morning, we resumed exploring.

We spent every moment except mealtimes on the move, searching the forest, and managed to find and defeat the two remaining minibosses.

「You have defeated a Two-Horned Beast. EXP +5」

「You have defeated a Culbes. EXP +5」

Unfortunately, neither dropped an Essence, but...

"Huh? Isn't that it, nyah? The thing you were talking about!"

We successfully found the third chapter, which I'd expected to take another day.

「Your character has entered the Shadow Altar.」

The moment we found the altar, black shadows surrounded us. An enormous barrier had formed around us before we knew it. What I had to do was as clear as this chapter's premise.

「The sealed Usurper has possessed the body of one expedition member.」

All right, then. Time to start playing politics.

"Dwarf, there's something odd about your expression. Has something gone wrong with your head?"

Starting with this bastard.