Masterpiece
"I used it."
I told the truth.
Because I can't lie and say I didn't use something I used.
Then Hudson's two eyes began to shake like aspen leaves.
"Ah..."
A deep sigh leaked from Hudson's mouth.
His hope crumbled to pieces.
No wonder, because a talisman was essential to reach level 10.
Especially a talisman like Fairy Queen's Tears that drastically lowers equipment requirements, a treasure among treasures you couldn't get even if you wanted to.
The so-called dream of 'item power' floated away into thin air.
Still, he couldn't snap at me with "why did you use it?"
From the start, Fairy Queen's Tears belonged to the Star Bearer.
The Star Bearer said he'd show the way, not that he'd give Fairy Queen's Tears, so he never promised it.
"Level 10, entering the path of the Sacred Blood Bearer doesn't require a talisman, I warned you in advance not to cling to pointless hope."
Of course, I couldn't say it was needed to raid Chid Mamba even if I died.
It wasn't exactly wrong either.
Even if Hudson removed the wearing requirement of one piece of equipment with Fairy Queen's Tears, his problems wouldn't be solved. There were far too many piled-up issues for that.
I stared hard at Hudson's face.
Or rather, at a single parchment floating in front of his face.
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Class : [Great Merchant]
Level : [9]
Strength : [61]
Stamina : [71]
Agility : [54]
Intelligence : [71]
Mana : [55]
[Intelligence][Senses][Meticulousness][Boldness]
[Leadership][Golden Hands][Commerce][Water]
[Arts][Acadmics][Observation][Cooking]
Observer's Hand (Lv 8)
Cash Hammer (Lv 5)
Mercenary Arts (Lv 8)
Water's Protection (Lv 6)
Hermit's Shop Summon (Lv 6)
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…Hudson's status window is visible.
From the moment I heard his entire life story, his status window had been brazenly appearing right before my eyes.
His real-world true name, Oliver, his gender, age, even his alignment.
'…Pathetic.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Hudson's state was so miserable you'd doubt he was really level 9.
Especially the stat section was dark enough to make your head spin.
Looking at the talents stamped in, it seemed he'd still poured in about 10,000SP though.
'His Intelligence should be at least 80.'
Honestly, I felt like even if I raised him with my toes, I'd do better than this.
Intelligence in particular affects the growth engine of skills. It's a stat that makes you learn faster and master things quicker.
Besides that, there were quite a few observation-related skills that required high Intelligence.
With the Great Merchant class and those talents, his Intelligence should have been at least 80. The skill levels should each have been one higher too.
'He never fought personally at all, did he?'
His Mercenary Arts was a whopping level 8.
Merchant-type classes do lay a basic foundation of Mercenary Arts, but this was too much even for that.
The only combat-related skill he had was Cash Hammer (Lv 5).
At this point, wouldn't it have been better to be a commander or a priest instead?
Now I understood why he couldn't hunt because his stats were low.
He was probably similar to Jeong Jinwoo.
Unlike a game, being summoned and having to fight in person might have frightened him.
'…The ability to see other people's status windows didn't exist in the original game.'
Still, it was a strange thing.
There are observation skills that roughly identify a target and show a few bits of information, but a function that lets you read everything in this much detail didn't exist in the game.
Was it because Hudson opened up everything to me?
It didn't feel like that alone.
There was something that made knowledge more concrete.
'One of my hidden traits…is this a function of the Great Sage?'
Showing levels, grasping what's hidden, even letting me read another person's status window this thoroughly—there was no explanation besides a hidden trait.
If it's related to knowledge, it must be connected to 'Great Sage.'
As I gained deep knowledge about Hudson, this phenomenon appeared thanks to Great Sage.
But there was still a question.
'Then why can't I see Isabella's status window?'
Isabella is the character I know best.
She was my character that I made and raised.
I should obviously be able to see it, but I can't.
That means another condition is needed to see someone's status window.
'Their lived background, more detailed memories, information tied to them…thinking about it, I don't really know anything about Isabella.'
I know Isabella, but I don't.
I didn't even know why she suddenly came to be called the snake princess.
Only then did I realize that, aside from her longing for the outside of the desert and wanting to find her roots, I knew nothing about her.
Meanwhile, hadn't Hudson spilled even things I didn't need to know?
"Star Bearer. Then are you saying another path exists for me?"
"It exists."
I was confident.
There are countless roads that lead to level 10.
Even without leaning on a talisman because his stats are low, there were methods that could still get him to 10.
In this Pangaenia, I'm probably the person who's hit level 10 the most times, so he could trust me. Though it wasn't something I could just tell Hudson outright.
Hudson bowed his head with a more desperate look.
"Please show me the way."
"Start by shutting down the casino."
"…Pardon?"
The desperate look was instantly filled with confusion.
Telling him to shut down a casino that was running perfectly fine.
Unless I was insane, why would I say that?
"To climb the path of the Sacred Blood Bearer, even focusing all your attention won't be enough. If you run a business this big, you'll inevitably be distracted, so I'm telling you to clear it out."
"Th, that's a problem I can solve by putting a proxy in charge."
"Do you think the council will leave the casino alone when the owner's gone?"
"..."
Hudson pressed his lips shut.
One of Arcana's three great casinos. Plenty of people have their eyes on it. If Hudson leaves his seat, the council won't sit still either.
People crazed by gold and greed.
But how on earth is the Star Bearer piercing through facts like that?
Facts he himself only realized after living in Arcana for over a year and running his business.
'Does a star really tell him everything?'
Listening to the Star Bearer gave him chills.
He really knew everything. When he brought up Serengeti and their secret engagement, it felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.
It was his first time seeing a Star Bearer, and the rumors about Star Bearers were all different, so he couldn't be sure of anything, but this one knew everything.
Since the man who knew everything said "there is a path," all that remained was Hudson's faith.
'Fine. The casino isn't important.'
Hudson bit his lip.
He'd run the casino only to enter the council.
Becoming a council member, then proposing to the marquis family—that was what mattered most.
But the council gave no opportunities to Hudson, who hadn't reached level 10.
Instead they mocked him, tried to use him, and then swallow him whole.
"…Even if I move as fast as possible, it will take three days to wrap things up."
"I'll give you two. After that, we depart."
"Where to?"
"Masterpiece."
"Master…piece?"
I smiled faintly.
Masterpiece, the starting point of Main Quest 3 and the place that would solve all problems at once.
And to get there, I needed Hudson.
'Hudson is a walking potion shop.'
Water's Protection and even Hermit's Shop Summon!
His direct combat power was low, but Hudson was the best supporter who could perform the roles of merchant and priest at the same time.
I couldn't let a talent like this rot away.
I clearly spoke the destination we had to head for.
"We're going to the Spirit Tower."
"…? The Spirit Tower, does that really exist?"
Hudson cocked his head.
Rumors about the Spirit Tower were endless, but no one had ever actually gone in.
But it existed.
'I've been there.'
I went in.
Spirits. The most mysterious beings in this world.
But climbing the Spirit Tower is only possible for the chosen.
Only those chosen by spirits.
It was an extremely rare case.
You had to have related talents, complete countless quests, and even be lucky to get a chance.
Among gamers, those who entered the Spirit Tower were so few you could count them on one hand.
In other words, people who were "selected" by miracle-level odds.
And to enter the Spirit Tower, you had to break through a miracle-level probability again.
But there was no need to worry.
Because I don't need to be chosen by spirits in the first place.
'Druid's Nature Affinity.'
Since I possessed the druid's hidden trait that commands spirits, it would be me choosing spirits, not spirits choosing me.
***
There wasn't even a moment to waste.
When you have time, doing waypoint work in advance is wise in every way.
Even so, exploring all of Arcana would be insanity.
"You want me to open the sewer?"
Hudson asked, horrified.
Arcana's lowest floor. He didn't seem thrilled about the request to head for the dungeon located in the sewer.
"The number of monster rats is no joke. If we go in without preparation, even you, Star Bearer..."
"I know."
"Even the city council gave up on the sewer dungeon. Are you really sure?"
Even the high-and-mighty council members gave up on purifying the sewer.
Ordinary monster rats were level 5. But there were so many, and the underground waterways were like a maze, so wiping them out in one sweep was impossible.
On top of that, the sewer dungeon boss was a level 8 monster.
A dungeon raid boss you could only clear if you had at least six level-8s.
"We'll be fine."
"…Then I'll go with you."
Hudson said with a worried face.
Opening a dungeon was within his authority, but if something happened to the Star Bearer, it meant the dream and hope he'd barely grasped would vanish.
"Do as you like."
I shrugged.
Why refuse a healer offering help for free?
***
Thud!
A gigantic sewer monster rat was laid out on the floor.
The ringleader that had tormented the citizens of Arcana, the chief of the monster rats that had run through the underground waterways and never been caught, was finally slain.
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With that, I obtained the waypoints for the desert city Faisalmer and the golden city Arcana.
The locations were a bit…yeah.
"Y, you killed the Mutant Monster Rat alone…?"
Hudson looked past me, at Isabella, with eyes that couldn't believe it.
Isabella quietly slid her dagger back into her bosom and stepped to my side like it was nothing.
A mutated monster rat is quick and good at running away, but it was a bad matchup against Isabella, who had an assassin class.
'Yeah, there's no comparison.'
And even if I'd made her half as a challenge, Isabella was still a character I'd raised with real effort.
I only gave up because I couldn't find any way to break the Queen's Curse.
There was no comparison with Hudson, who'd been raised purely through being carried.
Hudson muttered in disbelief.
"Amazing. Not just the fighting, but your judgment in blocking the retreat routes ahead of time was outstanding. You even calculated every single timing for water to flow in..."
As Hudson said, I blocked every retreat route the Mutant Monster Rat could flee through beforehand.
Of course, blocking every passage of the tangled sewers is common-sense impossible.
But each waterway had a different time when water flowed in, and thanks to moving precisely after calculating all of those timings, I could herd the rat in and hunt it easily.
"Even a powerful monster can be caught easily if you use your head."
"This is beyond just 'using your head,' though..."
He calculated all of that in his head?
Hudson couldn't believe it. Arcana's underground waterways were tangled by the hundreds, the thousands. The flood timings differed for each channel—how could anyone calculate all of that?
If the water-flow calculation had been off by even a single second, the Mutant Monster Rat would have noticed instantly and escaped.
Something that wouldn't be easy even with a high-performance computer.
Gulp!
'A monster.'
That woman who hunted the Mutant Monster Rat alone was a monster, but the real monster was that Star Bearer.
There were lots of people who fought well. Lots of people with high levels.
But I'd bet anything there was no one who fought like the Star Bearer.
Also, because he was a Great Merchant, Hudson had a knack for meeting many people and reading their traits.
And the Star Bearer was the kind of person you must never make your enemy.
'Oh?'
While ignoring Hudson's gaze, I looked at the messages floating up.
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<<'Constellation of Adventure' is impressed by your ingenuity and slaps its forehead, the rewards are upgraded.>>
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Lucky Dice. It was the item I got after killing Chid Mamba.
Something I'd never seen even once while playing Pangaenia.
I thought it was one-use, but was it actually a possession effect?
And the Constellation of Adventure slapped its forehead. Combined, that meant rewards two tiers higher.
After slowly checking the reward lists, I nodded with a satisfied face.
'Lucky break.'