Chapter 56: Demon Spider Silk Gloves

[Doppelganger Has been Slayed] The notification of the demon king’s double’s death arrived, and only then could I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Seeing the notification, I could finally breathe easy, knowing that everything was over, at least for the moment. I turned and saw the three of them, still kneeling, and I asked them: "What the hell do you think you’re doing? There’s no danger anymore. Give me an explanation for why you knelt before that scum." Manaia got up, still trembling, and gave me an explanation. "He... he is the demon king’s emissary. When we saw him, we always had to kneel or we would be killed without exception. Many of our villagers were killed for not knowing this. After many deaths, we were all instructed that upon seeing him, we should kneel." "It won’t be necessary ever again," I said, and my voice sounded more authoritative than I intended. "I’ll take care of that demon king." I looked at the fruits on the hill. I was intrigued. "How long until they’re ready to harvest, or what’s the process? That thing seemed very anxious for them." Manaia smiled at me. "They are ready now. That’s why the emissary had come, since they only stay fresh for an hour before rotting and disappearing forever." I asked them to show me the process. Zyra ran off to call all the other villagers. After a few minutes, they all arrived, each bringing gloves that seemed to be made of white silk and baskets that seemed to be made of green jade. They all began to carefully pick the fruits. I was impressed. "Why are you wearing those gloves?" I asked. Manaia explained to me that those fruits could not be touched with bare hands or touch the ground, and that’s why they used those gloves that they inherited from their ancestors. My eyes widened in surprise. I scanned them quickly. [Demon Spider Silk Gloves (A)] The gloves were a Grade A item. That grade of item was something unimaginable for me right now. The armor I used and my weapon to fight the demon king were Rank B, and only a life-saving necklace they had given me was Rank A. "How many of those gloves do you have?" I asked, my voice choked with shock. "Thousands. In a warehouse. No one uses them for anything other than picking these fruits," Manaia replied with complete casualness. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I asked them to let me check that warehouse. If this was "garbage" to them, there must be incredible things stored there. I began to think that this white-tailed deer clan was not as simple as I had initially believed. They all finished picking the fruits. I counted 54. Manaia explained that this year had been good and that it was much more than last year, when they could only harvest 36. I asked them to take them to the altar’s obelisk. There I would decide what to do with them. I helped carry the fruits on the way, still shocked by the revelation. Upon reaching the obelisk, I grabbed one and began to examine it. As I scanned it more closely, I couldn’t find a way to use it. My panel only said that it was high-density concentrated mana and that it could help increase my capacity to hold mana. I decided to eat one to test its effects. At that moment, a notification appeared in front of me, glowing with an intensity I had never seen. [High-density element detected. Opening store] For the first time since I came to this world, I had unlocked the system store. My curiosity was immense, so I opened it immediately to see what items it offered. The list was endless: armor, weapons, necklaces, and consumables from Rank F to Rank S. A Rank F leather armor kit was worth 10 high-concentration mana stones, and the full kit, which included boots, gloves, pants, and torso, was much cheaper than buying the individual pieces. I held one of the fruits in my hand, and another message appeared. [Do you want to sell [High-density mana fruit] for 1 mana stone?] I pressed "yes" and, as if something was sucking it out of my hand, the fruit rose and disappeared. Before selling them all, I decided to test its effect. I ate one. I felt a slight improvement in my body, but when I checked my stats, the mana increase was almost imperceptible. The fruit was powerful, but my hero body didn’t benefit from it as much as the women of the clan would. And there was the problem: according to Manaia, they were toxic and could even kill them. I didn’t try to get them to eat them and sold them to the system, one by one. I also discovered that I could sell the other items I had acquired. Now I knew how to get resources without having to massacre other beings. It was a relief. I told Manaia to take me to that warehouse; I was curious to see what was there. Manaia saw nothing strange in my request, so she nodded and we started walking. "Where is Lira?" I asked, feeling a pang of concern. "She’s in her hut. Leila and Zela are watching her closely, in case anything happens. Don’t worry." "Watch her closely," I insisted with a more serious tone, which caused Manaia to become alert as she looked at me with a mix of curiosity and fear. "She suffered a lot in that place." "Why? What did they do to her?" "It’s not my place to talk about that. When she’s ready, she’ll tell you what happened. It’s her decision," I said, making it clear that the topic was closed. We walked to the side of the village. The place was a simple wooden structure, but the inside was completely cluttered and there were many items thrown everywhere. Manaia explained that this place stored everything the village didn’t use, but that, for some reason, for generations they had been instructed not to throw anything away and to preserve everything at all costs. I looked at the mountain of broken and forgotten objects, and a smile spread across my face. If demon spider silk gloves were considered garbage, this place could be the gold mine I needed to become stronger.