Chapter 53

Bailey asked Jae as they walked along the city’s canal.

“―Essence...? Is it like mana?”

“Who knows. Well, that’s what we’re going to try and find out today.”, he replied straightforwardly.

At least, Aphy never mentioned anything like essence, so I guess it could be anything.

The three of them―Jae, Bailey, and Nazar―had decided to stay in Fansch for a couple more days before continuing the journey. While there was time, Jae decided to test out the new and improved「Gluttony」. Because Gluttony itself didn’t reveal anything, however, Jae had no choice but to figure it out for himself, or well, with Bailey’s help too.

Glancing beside him, Jae gazed into the clear waters of the city’s primary canal. As a waterway that carried the water of the great river, Vein of the Mountain God, its value as both an irrigation system and tourist attraction was enormous. Jae thought it was similar to the renowned Earthen city of Venice, although slightly different due to the widespread use of magic.

Dodging the countless others that roamed the streets, the two made their way through the picturesque, truly affluent city. They were heading down to the illustrious and gigantic, general maritime and fish market; the myriad of various marine substances and materials that could be purchased were all brought in from the Quenched Ocean that rested just a 50-minute walk away from the city centre.

Why were they heading to such a place? Partly because the potential of finding secretly valuable items was high, but the original reason was that it is the prime location for anyone looking to buy aquatic monster materials. Sticking within the bounds of Asphal, that is.

The marketplace. Arriving here, Jae and Bailey were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people taking part; purchasing fish, butchering monster remains, hosting seafood takeout stalls, or otherwise.

What Jae had come here for was the remains of various aquatic monsters. More specifically, he wanted the meat. Prior to this, Nazar had given the two of them quite the substantial ‘allowance’ to spend, so thankfully, it’s not like they had any monetary worries.

Fish, fish... Hm. There were Oceanic Zones in the Pride Dungeon, right? I never really visited those, huh. Only going as far as the edge of the coast...

That’s right. Because of this, the only skills Jae had acquired from any monsters that usually lived in water were basic ones like「Drown Resistance」. He was beginning to get excited walking around the marketplace and looking for what seemed like high-level monsters or monsters with good skills.

Which ones should I get? That one seems alright. No, maybe that one? Wait, what about that? Ugh, there’s too much choice.

It had been what felt like forever since the last time he acquired a whole bunch of skills from simply eating, and Jae wondered if he was acting like a kid in a sweet or toy store.

Not only this, there genuinely was an unimaginable amount of commodities and goods all over the place. With so many distinct species of monsters, Jae didn’t know what ones to go for.

He could ask an expert for his opinion, and that would probably be the smarter choice. But, in the end, Jae just decided to wing it. He purchased three types of meat, with all of them being fairly steep in price.

“―Oh, a Gutfish, huh? Yer made a fantastic choice, good sir!”

“I did?”

“Indeed! Yer must ‘ave a good eye, for this one’s the best one I got all week! Would yer like to buy a jar o’ Nam with it?”

The first meat came from what was called a ‘Gutfish’. It was supposedly a species known for its deliciousness when paired with a special type of dip called ‘Nam Sauce’, making it common to sell the two together. Jae acquired both the fish and the condiment.

“―A Water Drake! T’was a right pain in the arse ta catch, so ya better put it ta good use, ya hear me!?”

The second was, surprisingly, something Jae knew of. A type of Drake. He didn’t expect even this to be sold in a public market, but it wasn’t that surprising if he thought about how much money the other parts of the body such as the scales could go for.

“―Lahar Eel? Didn’t take ya for that type’a guy...”

“...What?”

“Huh? Oh, ya got a kid. My bad. The wife must’ve forced ya to go an’ buy it, right?”

“...”

“Poor lad.”

The final item... Well, though it was dead, it wasn’t butchered like the others, and was, on the contrary, well maintained; something called a Lahar Eel. From what Jae gathered during his quick exchange with the vendor, it was something most commonly used for self-pleasure due to the ‘rubbery texture’ and ‘lubricated skin’ characteristics of the creature.

Trying not to think about how Jae accidentally convinced a stranger that his wife was unsatisfied with him, he and Bailey walked down to the beach, where it was relatively free compared to the streets. They were all stored in the Inventory, both for convenience and to avoid embarrassment.

Upon finding a good enough spot to settle for a bit, Jae took various things out from the Inventory, including the materials he had just purchased, a mana-powered grill, and some cooking utensils which he had previously taken from the castle’s kitchen area. Using those, he grilled a plentiful meal―it was for just the two of them, as Nazar seemed to have gone off somewhere.

First of all, Jae swiftly yet cleanly descaled, gutted and sliced the fresh Gutfish and laid it on the magic grill. His hands moved almost mechanically as his「Cooking」skill took over the process, and it created a spectacle that amazed Bailey as he observed.

After a short while, the alluring scent of cooked fish―not a noxious, fishy smell, mind you, but a desirable fragrance that whets one’s appetite―dispersed throughout the beach, tickling the noses of those in the surrounding area.

Then, he took out the jar of Nam Sauce and a pair of white ceramic plates (also taken from the castle) and, when they finished grilling, placed the pieces of Gutfish on them. Since it was a decently large creature, there was quite a lot of food on the two’s plates.

After first dipping the smoking hot piece of fish into the azure, blue-ish sauce before bringing it to his lips, a wondrous sensation spread throughout Jae’s mouth.

Was it because he had never really eaten foods from other cultures during his time back on Earth? Probably. But, Jae had never tasted something like this in his life.

The Gutfish, by itself, was certainly something worthy of praise. And the Nam Sauce would almost certainly fit well together with any food it’s paired with. However, the way in that they both complement each other, are complemented by the other, and elevate the meal as a whole to an entirely new level, is something truly magical.

They only took one bite, but both Jae and Bailey’s minds went blank for a moment. The next thing they knew, their plates were empty, utterly cleansed of any fish and sauce that used to be there (aside from the occasional smudges of sauce).

Surprised, Jae raised his eyebrows. Then, he noticed the System notifications which had appeared.

Skill「Gluttony」has activated Skill「Gutted [Lv.1]」has been acquired

Originally, that would have been all. However, perhaps because of the Level-Up Process, there was an additional series of notifications that popped up.

Target’s highest essence value: Endurance Devouring essence Endurance increased by 1

“...”

Staring at the screen in front of him with great intrigue, Jae muttered under his breath.

“...Essence, huh... I see.”

After cooking and eating every one of the three food items, Jae managed to acquire a skill.

He thought at first that he was simply lucky, as the chances for gaining skills this way was originally quite low, but then he realised that the Level-Up to [Lv.5] most likely increased those odds quite drastically, which was good.

Then, there was now an increase in status values thanks to the「Essence Devourer」System; also a huge boon.

For the Water Drake, the meat was quite definitely the toughest and gamiest out of the three fish (it was more like a strange sort of venison or bear meat than fish), but since Jae had plenty of experience cooking with Drake meat, it turned out well.

Skill「Marine Domination [Lv.1]」has been acquired Strength increased by 2

Finally, there was... the Lahar Eel. This rubbery, slimy thing was surprisingly delicious, contrary to its exterior appearance. It was unexpectedly sweet, and, although a bit sinewy, was nothing compared to the firm meat of the Water Drake.

Skill「Slippery Escape [Lv.1]」has been acquired Agility increased by 2 Skill「Gluttony」rare activation Doubling effects Skill「Lubrication [Lv.1]」has been acquired Dexterity increased by 2

“Double effects? This has never happened before...?”

[Ohh, you got it on the second try? Nicee~]

Witnessing a new event for the first time, Jae was welcoming of the fact that it meant he would receive extra bonuses, however, he wasn’t very happy about the name of the last skill.

“「Lubrication」... Whatever.”

Thinking about what to do next, Jae decided to go through his Status for the first time since he reunited with Rena at the ravaged Bahgwud Village. Well, honestly, even at that time he just lazily put points into Endurance and called it a day.

This time, he would do everything he needed to. And sorting out his Status is a necessary step to gain the kind of strength he desires.

Open Status.

〔Status〕

Jae Kang

Level 200 [MAX]

Class : *Classes available

Health Points (HP) : 34,643 / 34,643

Mana Points (MP) : 733,343 / 733,343

Title :「Apostle of Sin」

Strength : 623

Endurance : 563

Race : Undead

Dexterity : 718

Agility : 633

Age : 22

Magic : 801

Wisdom : 667

Trait :「Steadfast Mind」

Luck : —

Distributable Points : 50

The immediate things to do were to assign points, and then there was a whole Class system that Jae had completely forgotten about too.

First thing's first... What should I put the fifty points in? Well, what am I lacking?

Jae thought immensely about it. Strength? Jae wasn't lacking it, as his primary method of attack was with magic, and if he needed to, he could always use the Death God's scythe or Greed.

Then, was it Endurance? Maybe. Although the stat was the lowest of the bunch, Jae's defensive capabilities were decent thanks to his skills, but he mostly relied on magic to reinforce and shield himself in the first place.

Dexterity, perhaps? He had enough of it to allow perfect control of his own body, and it's not like he needed to enhance his Production Skills any further than they currently are.

Maybe Agility? There was no need to put more points into this as Jae's main methods of moving around were Sloth when alone, and now Greed when with others, so the Agility stat is pretty much rendered obsolete.

Wisdom wasn't at all needed as his Mana Points were already extraordinarily high.

Finally, Magic. Jae's 'Dragon Magic' was already powerful enough to kill things such as the Sloth Mimic, which had a tremendous Defence, and it was versatile enough that putting more points into it probably wouldn't do much.

So, what was the answer? Jae thought about it for a while, but there was one word that didn't leave his mind throughout the entire thing.

Luck : ―

―And that was the Luck stat.

It was a mysterious thing for Jae, who had never even had a single point in this stat, and he never had the opportunity to put points into it, either.

However, it's not like he doesn't know what the use of it is. Jae knows that, normally, when someone kills a monster, it drops a mana stone. And that the quality of that mana stone will vary depending on the value of the Luck stat.

But for Jae, who had never received such a mana stone reward...

Luck : ―

There was no value. There never has been, and there likely never will. Of course, he has never heard the reason behind this, but an educated guess could easily be made.

「Apostle of Sin」. It's not something a lucky man would be called. Is it that sinful men are not lucky, or that those who are not lucky are sinful?

Luck : ―

It had always been there, yet never had a purpose.

"..."

Jae eventually decided to simply save his 50 points, as there was no urgent need to put them in anything right now, and he could gain additional stats through「Gluttony」now anyway. He then asked the boy next to him a question.

"Bailey, you're a Magic Swordsman, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is it working out good for you?"

"? Yeah, it's good because I can use magic and a sword at the same time."

"Right.", Jae nodded, "Do you know what a Class does, exactly?"

Bailey replied with a complicated expression, "Um... I think it gives you more skills and points when you level up."

Jae's face stiffened after hearing the reply.

"...It does?"

"Mm.", Bailey nodded.

"Ah... I see."

Fuck.

Internally, Jae felt very stupid.

I wasted all those levels?

Exhaling deeply, he tried to reassure himself.

...No, it's alright. If I clear all seven Dungeons, then I'll get 50 additional levels for each one. Since there're 5 dungeons left, there's still 250 levels worth of points I can get. It'll get me to Level 450, at least.

In any case, all Jae needed to do right now was make sure he had a good Class for the future. It would help to increase his strength by a lot. Or, at the very least, he hoped.

Currently Available Classes 1. Standard Fighter - [Basic]

2. Standard Thief - [Basic]

3. Standard Swordsman - [Basic]

4. Standard Shieldman - [Basic...

.......

The list was long. Terribly so.

Wow...

[Hey.]

As he scrolled through the list, a deep voice entered Jae's ears, but it went completely ignored as he was too absorbed in the Class selection to notice.

19. Resurrectionist - [Uncommon]

[Whelp. Listen.]

32. Wyvern Hunter - [Rare]

[Cease your actions.]

44. Magical Specimen - [Unique]

[I said. Stop what you are doing!]

47. Death Master - [Unique]

[This childish idiot! Listen to the words of this great one!]

50. Dragon's Beloved - [Mythical]

[Jae!!]

"―Huh?"

Reaching the end of the list, Jae finally snapped out of it with a vicious roar from Pride.

Oh, s-sorry, were you saying something?

[Who the hell do you think you are!? Ignore me, will you?!]

No, I didn't mean to, I was just reading through the list...

He felt a little bad for ignoring Pride, but at the same time, he thought it was only for a minute or so while he concentrated on seeing what kinds of Classes he had available.

Anyway, what is it?

[Don't you dare select a Class. Understand?]

What? Why the hell not? Do you think I'll gain a better Class or something?

To Jae, the demand made no sense. Unless he was sure that there would be an opportunity for a new, even better Class than what was already available, why would Pride not want Jae to select a Class? And he was so adamant about it too. Did he know something Jae didn't?

Jae wasn't so naive as to recklessly dismiss him, as he must have a reason for saying it, but he wasn't going to blindly follow his words either.

[It's my instinct. Don't do it.]

But his preconception of Pride's reasoning was shattered by that one word. Instinct.

Instinct... That's not very credible, though, is it? Or, do you mean like the skill「Instinct」?

If that was the case, then Jae thought it might be worth considering. Since he knew just how strong even a low-level「Instinct」can be, there was most likely something to it.

[I have a feeling it will be greatly beneficial in the future if you have patience now.]

...Well. It's not like we're in a rush. I guess I can wait until I clear the Wrath Dungeon and raise the Level Limit again. 「Instinct」is a Unique Skill for a reason, after all, and there's no harm in waiting until then. And, you know what they say...

"Patience is a virtue, right?"

In the Kalype Empire, there was a saying:

「To live, be weak. To survive, be servile. To thrive, believe.」

If one were to break it down, they would find that it is in fact advice on how to thrive in this world. Yes, that's right. Thrive.

Not only living, as that just means to not be dead. Not only surviving, as that means to struggle. To thrive means to live one's best life. That is what the Empire says.

And so, in the Kalype Empire, there was such a saying.

"To live, be weak. To survive, be servile. To thrive, believe."

A voice resounded in a well-decorated room. The one who spoke―a young man with good features, soft, golden blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes, like dazzling sapphires―donned a clean, white robe, with golden emblems embroidered beautifully all over it.

He quoted the saying of the Empire while gazing down upon a tremendously large city, completely unlike that of Seronia's capital, and sipping on a glass of exquisite wine―a drink unobtainable for anyone lesser than a king.

"...Dearest Sister, answer me this."

"Yes, Brother."

The Emperor, Felix Silvius Octavious Liviar, spoke to his younger sister, Priscilla, as he continued to look over his city, which was dyed white, covered with snow.

"That country we had been at odds with for some time, Seronia. Would you say they were weak?"

Priscilla, who was dressed in a similar style of clothing to that of the Emperor―a black robe with golden embroidery, instead of a white one―replied.

"Of course not, Brother. For if they were weak, we would have already conquered them."

"Hmm. I shall give you a pass."

"?", Priscilla tilted her head in confusion. Wasn't she correct?

"Do you not recall the saying of our country? If they were weak, they would have lived. However, they were destroyed."

Widening her eyes in enlightenment, Priscilla praised her older brother.

"I see...! Brother, tell me more."

"Hah~ Very well."

The Emperor was amused. Sipping his drink, he indulged his sister, who looked at him with gleaming eyes.

"Until recently, that country was thriving. It was because they believed. But then, they were ruthlessly destroyed."

"Why was that, Brother?"

Felix briefly glanced at his sister before returning to look outside the window. He stared all the way into the distance, through the chilling air and constant falling snow that was representative of the North.

"...Why they were destroyed, you ask."

He mulled over the right words to use for a moment, before opening his mouth with a smirk.

"I'd say, it was because they stopped believing."

"Stopped believing? But, Brother, you said they thrived by believing until now, so why would they suddenly stop?"

"Ah, there would be two reasons. Firstly, they didn't share our values, so always believing was a foreign concept."

He spoke about Seronia in the past tense, as if to imply that it was already a fallen country, and one that no longer had its place in the world.

"The second reason is as simple as the fact that humans are complacent creatures."

"I see..."

"Indeed. You offer them a period of respite following a long, hard struggle, and they will soon forget why they struggled in the first place. That is because 'struggling' is something only known to a survivor, not someone that thrives."

"Brother, you are so insightful."

"Hm. I wouldn't call it insight, per se. I am simply in a position where I can see the world for what it is... And that is why I know."

"? Know what?"

"That we have limited time. The one who smote down that country; they will strike again, sooner or later. I can tell that much even without a prophecy."

"M-My deepest apologies, Brother. I was wrong yet again."

Swerving his neck around in a single, fluid motion, the Emperor's piercing eyes turned to his sister. He spoke comforting words that clashed with that very appearance.

"Hm, it's alright. You will become more accurate of a teller with age."

"Th-thank you, Brother. I promise to grow up quickly and become of use."

"Hmm... Priscilla."

"Yes, Brother."

"When is your birthday?"

"In 78 days, Brother."

"I see. It is your fifteenth in less than three months, then."

"Yes, Brother."

About a minute of silence went by before another word was spoken by the Emperor.

"...I hear that we have a man claiming to be a "Hero" in one of our refugee camps. Would he be a suitable gift?"

"Excuse me. But I would much prefer to have a day with you than some estranged man, Brother."

"Hm. However, I have heard that he is authentic. Summoned by the fallen from another world, along with a few dozen others."

"Be that as it may, Brother--"

"--I am thinking of having them undergo citizenship tests. The one you call an 'estranged man'; I was thinking of enlisting him as a private bodyguard after rigorous training. There was also another option I considered."

"..."

"How do you think about marriage--?"

"--No!", Priscilla screamed before the Emperor could even finish his sentence. His lips curled downwards. Seeing this, Priscilla began to leak cold sweat as her eyes shook.

"Did you just interrupt me?"

"..."

She tried to say 'I'm sorry', but her mouth only silently opened and closed repeatedly, unable to utter a sound. Frowning at her, who was only a 14-year-old girl, the Emperor spoke with a disturbingly cold, frightening tone in his voice.

"Not only that, but you screamed at me?"

"..."

She didn't even imagine bringing up the fact that he had interrupted her speech earlier, because it was not within her authority to do so, and it was much too scary to imagine the consequences.

"You, a child, raising your voice against me, the Emperor? While interrupting my speech?"

The pressure emanating from him was too severe for a person like Priscilla to handle. As her face paled with tears forming in her eyes, Felix suddenly released his sister from the pressure.

"...Erase yourself from my presence. You will at least have a conversation with that Hero before deciding on marriage or a bodyguard."

Quivering, Priscilla silently exited the room with a single nod and downcast face. Felix's sharp eyes returned to watching over the city when the door closed behind her.

The Emperor sighed, breathing out a puff of white air into the gently falling snow. With his elbow placed on the windowsill, his slightly tilted chin rested on his hand, giving him the impression of being bored.

He muttered, "Hmm. Dragon God... Shall I keep believing? Or will you eradicate me?"

"...Hah. Ridiculous."

In the Kalype Empire, there was a saying:

「So long as the Gods breathe, the Empire will thrive―」

"Defeat doesn't exist for the Empire. We are an inherently thriving nation. And, if anything gets in the way of that, be it a God or otherwise..."

「―and so long as the Empire thrives, the Gods will breathe.」

"――Then we exterminate it without mercy."