Chapter 197 - 197 Exchange

Words : 1754 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

197: Exchange 197: Exchange The Protagonist revealed himself, but something was strange about the way he appeared. He walked out from behind a pile of rubble, but when I was searching for the exact location of his presence before, I was certain that I couldn’t sense anything there. That’s why I thought he must have been hiding inside one of the nearby buildings... ‘Hm... If he’s an alchemist, then... Something like an invisibility potion?’ Now that I thought about it, the last Contract with Aradine was heavily revolving around alchemy too, with the Protagonist itself being a product of the practice. Of course, even if he was claimed to be a master, a large part of me doubted that he was any match for the White Witch Queen that proved her prowess to me in more than just that. He also bore a smile that was obviously fake... although, maybe I could only tell that thanks to Heightened Senses too. Either way, before he came close enough to see my face, I quickly reached up and summoned the Villain’s Vizard beneath my hood. “Ahh, just in case you were thinking of it, don’t bother trying to backstab me. Even if you kill me, I won’t die.” Suddenly, as he approached he said that, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “...Should you really be giving that sort of information out for free?” “Why, do you believe me?” “...” ‘I don’t think he’s just bluffing. The Contract is 3-star Difficulty, so it would be safe to assume that he has some kind of magical... or in this case, alchemical protection.’ Most likely, it was something more akin to the Amulet of the Holy Sun... Though before I did something rash, I should probably wait to figure out what exactly he was so confident in. “I have no intention of making enemies with people who don’t come at me first.” Following my words, I noticed his smile grow a little wider. “Good, good. It’s the same with me. Well, you look pretty strong, so I can’t imagine you having many enemies, right?” “I’m not sure about that...” Thinking back momentarily to all the worlds I’d been to, my actions have probably turned almost every single one of them entirely against me... Except one or two, perhaps. So, I’m not so sure I would say I have ‘no’ enemies, even if I didn’t really view them the same way. “Anyway, it’s good to meet ya. Call me Seong-ho.” Stretching his mouth into a toothy grin, he reached his hand out. Glancing at it and feeling nothing off, I grabbed and shook it. “Enki.” Immediately after curtly introducing myself like so, I noticed his brows furrow, and with the help of Heightened Senses, was able to easily pick up his almost imperceptible mutter. “‘Enki’...?” Realising he found something off about my name, I let go of his hand and asked. “Is something the matter?” “Oh, not at all... Say, do you mind sharing where you’re from?” Shooting a glance at his eyes, which seemed to possess a desire to figure something out, I turned away from him to look back at the dead alien and the raw desolation that surrounded us. “Does it matter? When the world is in a state like this, what’s the difference between here or there?” Giving a vague answer I felt suited the sort of strong, mysterious-type character I was playing, I hoped it would be enough to dissuade him from pushing any further. Better, the eerie modulation of my voice thanks to the Villain’s Vizard only made me sound even more fitting for the role. After that, there was a short while of silence. I couldn’t see his expression because I was still facing another direction, but for some reason, his voice when he broke that silence seemed to be more excited than before. “Oh, no, I see exactly what you mean. Nevermind then. Would you like to come with me back to my base camp? We have a few people with us living there and helping out, and I can guarantee that it’s the safest place for miles around.” Turning my head to face him halfway, I simply asked. “You trust me to let me into your home?” I did think he was acting strangely, inviting me to his safe haven and potentially even endangering the other survivors that lived there all on his own, but perhaps there was something I didn’t know. Surprisingly, he responded without hesitation, and with the same grin as before. “Sure, you look suspicious, but what do appearances matter? If you were a bad guy, you wouldn’t have given me so much time as a warning when I was hiding, right? Anyway, we’re both human, so what need is there to be hostile? We can work together for mutual benefit. You killed this thing just now, didn’t you? I would like to hire you to protect our base camp from similar external threats.” Putting forth such an offer, I stared for a moment at the Protagonist’s face, which clearly belied his high expectations. I put some consideration into it for a moment, but in the end, it really would only be beneficial for me to accept. Not only would I get to remain close to the Protagonist, allowing me a greater possibility of identifying his vulnerabilities and confirming what exactly he can do, but I might also be able to use the others who live there to figure some things out. Meanwhile, if I turned him down, my goal would remain the same, just harder. “What do I get in return?” However, in the Protagonist’s eyes, this would not be a favourable deal for me. Since he himself was admitting that I was strong enough to protect their entire camp, he would naturally think that I have no problems surviving on my own. Other than merely the offer of living in a place where I could interact with others, he wasn’t seriously thinking he could recruit me with just that, right? “Of course. Wait just a moment.” Walking forward, the Protagonist stopped just beside me, facing the gigantic corpse of the alien monster I had slain with the White Death. Raising a hand towards the abominable mass, he uttered a single word. “Extract.” In the following moments, a magical blue light engulfed the alien’s body, not leaving a single inch of its surface untouched and letting off a bizarre, light blue steam. The steam drifted to gather in the Protagonist’s raised hand, condensing to grow denser and darker. When about thirty seconds passed, the blue light gradually faded, and in the Protagonist’s grasp, something had materialised that was somehow familiar to me. Turning to me, he held out his hand and smiled once again. “―If you work for me, you’ll receive these as compensation.” What he showed was none other than a mana crystal. ❖─────★★★☆☆─────❖ It only looked like a dull amethyst on the outside, but I had not a sliver of doubt within me. What the Protagonist was offering me was effectively a steady supply of mana crystals, and not only that, but if they were all this size, just a bit bigger than a baseball, then their value might be more than expected. “Take this as advance payment.” Saying that as he held it out to me, I hesitated only momentarily before accepting it, noticing his grin grow a little as the implicit confirmation of our deal. Dismissing whatever success he was probably feeling at getting me on his side, I looked down at the mana crystal, examining it with what little knowledge I had. I couldn’t tell if the quality was Average or Flawless, or perhaps somewhere in between, but it definitely wasn’t cheap. Unfortunately, I couldn’t open the Shop in the middle of a Contract to compare it to the mana crystals listed for sale there, but through the Inventory, I could still compare it with the large Flawless crystal I obtained from the dragon den a while ago. Before long, I came to a conclusion, the corner of my lip lifting behind my mask. ‘...It’s smaller in size, but it looks the same quality.’ Glancing up at the Protagonist, I had just one thing to ask. “I presume the rest will follow this example?” “Of course, don’t you worry about that. Actually, I tell you what. If you work with me, I’ll guarantee you a portion of all the crystals obtained from monsters that attack the base. Think about it this way―the better you protect us, the better the compensation.” As if waiting for it, he made that offer without hesitation, following it up by gesturing to himself before I could respond. “Naturally, with my ability, everything obtained will be of corresponding value to whatever you kill. How’s that sound?” “...” Keeping my eyes on him quietly for a few seconds, I glanced back down to the mana crystal briefly, hiding it within my cloak to dismiss it to Storage. If I wanted to take full advantage of this situation, I should do my best to act as a strong mysterious figure, even more than I have done so far. Not so that he doesn’t underestimate me, but so that he misunderstands. I’ve had to act in a variety of different ways since starting this job; it wasn’t hard to control the way people saw me, and if I successfully controlled that, I could then control what they thought about me. Even if he looked just a few years older than me, and felt physically weak enough to be considered an ordinary human, I couldn’t allow myself to forget that he was tagged specifically as a #CunningProtagonist. He was doing all this to try and use me, and I recognised that employing me to ‘defend his base’ probably wasn’t all he was going to try and get me to do. ‘Well, it’s not like that changes anything.’ After all, as much as he was going to use me, I was going to use him ten times more. “You offer a lot.” “I know how it is. If you want to guarantee safety, you have to invest. So, what do you say?” And in the end... “Lead the way.” ...He would be the only one to lose.

Chapter 197 - 197 Exchange

Comments (0)