Chapter 303: Getting stronger with strings

『Devil Merchant』

Like a mirage that appears to a person wandering in the desert, the Demon Merchant sneaks up when the hunter is having the most trouble.

They are beings that disappear after selling the things the hunter needs most at a higher price than anything else.

I couldn’t even squeeze them for being nasty.

[Goblin King] [Demon Merchant]

The one who leads the Beast’s family is the goblin. The strength that once stood against the gods is comparable to that of an SS-class hunter.

Because it’s fucking strong.

My hair was thick enough to guess what it was like to face an SS-class hunter, I thought.

’I’m glad I didn’t think of stealing from him.’

I had expected it to some extent through the explanation I had seen, but...

With such a transcendent existence, there was originally no way to establish a conversation, let alone an equal transaction.

If this was the sphere of the universe, the demon merchant was a black hole that sucked in even light. It was rather scary to see him laugh so sadly.

However, we had united alone in the realm of space!!

It was a crab, a black hole.

It was the same hole, but the feeling was completely different.

"Sweet!! Strength, magic, or agility! I’ll sell anything for our Fleshlight Collector, Ren! Tell me what you want!"

There was a mysterious power in the word 『Fleshlight』. When it was attached to a fearful being, it had the effect of making everything easy at once.

"The goblin king who blasphemes even God" became "the goblin uncle who likes Fleshlights."

"I’ll start by using his mana."

I brought Elle and put her in front of me.

The stats sold by the goblin man were delicious!

"How much would you like to buy?"

"200!!"

"Hooohhhh! So many!"

"Hey hey... Sa, Ren... I... even if I take out a loan, I can’t buy them all."

"Hee hee, don’t worry."

The goblin king got excited and started grooving.

"If you’re as physically strong as you are, there’s no shortage of means to repay you."

"Mister, if you don’t speak politely to my friends, I won’t sell you any more Fleshlights."

"Oops!! I’m sorry!"

"Physical...?"

Elle realized her uncle’s sex drip and covered her breasts with her arm.

"Sss! No way. Only Ren can do that."

I hugged the brittle Elle.

"I don’t owe anything. I’m buying it. Do you know the fastest way to get stronger?"

"What...?"

"Cash shop."

A fact that did not change before or after possession.

It was true that money was the best.

"Magic power... Kyaa...!!"

"Stay still!"

Elle’s magical power rose dramatically. It was to the point where she felt that the amount of mana that flowed subconsciously and calmly through her body had changed drastically.

"How is it?"

"355..."

Was that enough to surpass Cleo?

"Okay. Good job."

"I only accepted it... but... it’s like cheating. I’m stung by my conscience."

"Show me your favorite face."

"I love it! Ren!"

Elle was brought to me.

Where could anyone find a boyfriend like this?

Yuna was also looking at me with anticipation, pretending not to have any expectations.

"Shall I buy your stats now?"

"Hmm! Hmm!"

Yuna cleared her throat.

"Me?"

"Yuna is already strong. Elle needs the help more, but..."

"Ah, that’s right."

Yuna, as she had expected, smiled forlornly, as if she were ashamed of herself.

"I’m sorry! Without any shame..."

When I saw that, my heart ached. I immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her close.

"It’s a joke. Of course I’m buying for you."

"Ah... ah...!"

"Why did you understand and just accept it?! Do we look like people who would openly discriminate?"

"Ah... just what I’ve bought so far... is enough... it’s not even a penny or two."

Holy shit.

Was she going to give up without buying?

I hugged Yuna tightly and stroked her hair.

"I put the plate on just to get you angry, so it’s cute!"

"Ah... ahhh. How can I get angry? Without a conscience..."

I decided to buy it.

"I’ll make you an S-rank, Yuna."

"Ah...!! Ah... hehe... I really met a good man."

Yuna held me in her arms and looked up at me.

"Make me an S-rank girlfriend!"

Yuna, who modified my words, was dangerous; I couldn’t look directly at her.

Let’s power up here and go.

I raised Yuna’s overall stats by 100 and faked her weight class.

Strength 100, quickness 100, stamina 100, finesse 100.

I upgraded all four basic stats.

Yuna’s eyes widened when she saw the numbers climbing.

"Wait. What are you doing? I have different base stats than Elle. If I buy it like this..."

"That’s right. You can’t buy that many stats with the coins you currently have."

I glanced back at the goblin king.

"Can I, Mister?"

"Hmm?"

"It looks like you’ll make quite a bit of money here. Can I sell it all to another merchant?"

"...Ha ha. Because this side can’t sell stats for free either."

"Half price."

"..."

"..."

The price dropped cleanly.

I knew I couldn’t get them for free, but it wasn’t hard to find another merchant who would sell them to me for half price.

The king’s expression then became a little complicated.

"Hmph. Let me ask you something, Ren."

"What?"

"Since you already have the power to navigate this realm, why are you so intent on raising them?"

It seemed visible in the eyes of the goblin king.

Yes, I had the power to turn even the most difficult areas upside down.

There was the game-ending Collector, if you wanted to call it that, because the condition was a fatal wound.

There was Lucky Pervert, who could manipulate reality to turn any enemy into a victim of kinky sex.

The problem was that the processing method was not so neat.

"If you use it enough, you have to be prepared to throw away a lot."

The perverted goddess had designed it that way.

If you called Mira, it became a sexual-harassment machine that consistently indulged in wet pussies.

I would have to soothe a beautiful girl with huge breasts and high legs in real time.

Lucky Pervert was omitted below.

"My girlfriends will do better if I drag them along. I want to go to places I should have gone to in a shorter time."

It was the same as being smart with game characters.

Ultimately it was about shortening what could originally be done.

That was the point.

"Now that I’m a bit faster, I’ve gotten stronger. Let’s keep pace and walk together."

"Huhhh... in a nutshell."

The goblin king chuckled.

"You’re a romantic, Ren."

"..."

...It was the first time I had heard such a thing.

Romanticist? Was I?

"You’re saying the right thing... that, Demon Merchant."

Yuna smiled shyly.

Elle laughed as well.

Why was I a romantic?

"Why me?"

"It’s not romantic if you put it in your mouth."

Why was it romantic?

Why did only they know and I didn’t?

Why did I strengthen my girlfriends?

"?"

"I believe in the romanticist Ren, and I will take some losses. I will do it for half the price."

"Sheesh..."

"So you only have to pay 8.6 million coins."

"I’ll only buy about 50 points."

"1.2 million coins."

Purchase complete.

[Coins held: 1,865,955]

Like the ebb and flow.

All that money was sucked out, but it was worth it.

"See you again, Ren-nim! Until then, you must be safe."

"See you again, mister."

Strength 『214』 (Picture Book Bonus +58)

Quickness 『182』 (Picture Book Bonus +58)

Stamina 『131』 (Picture Book Bonus +85)

Technique 『195』 (Encyclopedia Bonus +100)

(Hidden) Magic 『10』 (Encyclopedia Bonus +6)

(Hidden) Charm 『999』

(Hidden) ?? 『0』

I checked the status window.

Even with the encyclopedia bonus, I had made up for the relatively lacking agility.

I couldn’t feel it right now.

"Your body is light."

"Your magic has increased a lot."

The two of them seemed surprised and felt the change.

Because I had spent a lot of money...

Let’s see what happens now.

"Perception/Red"

Activate...!!

When I was looking for a miner, we ran toward it.

Galactic Miner discovery.

"Kyaaaaagh! Help me!"

There were even civilians who couldn’t evacuate!

"Fleshlight Enhancement"!!

"Yuna!"

"Huh!"

Yuna ran fast and kicked the Galaxy Miner.

The body was light, but the impact was real.

I was amazed to see her almost fly and crush it with her feet. The shock caused by Yuna’s kick made the windows of the building tremble.

In the gap where the miner fell...

"Come this way!"

I rescued a female citizen.

"You haven’t run away yet; what have you been doing?"

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry...! If you hold on you’ll be able to return to normal, but the monster with the spear..."

"Take it easy."

A female citizen put her arm on me and hung on.

I thought this was a bit selfish.

"Help me! Hug me!"

"Ah... yes. Don’t worry. I’ll finish it soon."

I patted her back while rubbing it gently.

Meanwhile Yuna was confronting the miner that had risen again.

As she dodged or deflected the mining beams back and forth, she bought time smoothly.

It was much more relaxed than the first time.

"Elle! I’ll avoid it on my own. You can shoot!"

"Are you okay?"

"There’s room! Shoot!"

It was a call that showed Yuna’s confidence.

It doesn’t matter if you get caught in the attack range, so shoot!

Elle, who used her magic, also believed in Yuna, so she was able to act immediately.

Ugh...!!

Her magic power concentrated at one point.

[Void: Shotan] was made through the exact same process, but the atmosphere was different.

Elle’s bullets didn’t just tear through the shield; they blew half of the miner’s torso off, killing it and leaving a hollow in the floor.

Yuna kept her place until the end, and when the miner felt like it couldn’t avoid the attack, she broke away. The two of them struck accurately with perfect timing.

Huh?

There was nothing left to excrete.

"Ah..."

Elle sighed.

"I can’t make it cute like this... but I need to control my strength. I need to control my strength."

Making it cute meant turning it into a Fleshlight, right?

It was something that sounded terrifying when said out loud.

Returning, Yuna laughed as she put her sword away.

"Hehe. As expected, the S-rank is superhuman. You say invisible things are just starting to be seen? If you get a buff it feels like you’re flying around."

"That’s right. Don’t worry. We’ll take you safely to our destination."

"Go, thank you. Strong Hunters...!"

We returned to base camp while protecting the citizens.

I witnessed the scene where the Angel One Squad, led by Vice-Chairman Evangeline, was rescuing injured citizens.

There were more people who couldn’t evacuate than I had thought.

It was right to avoid danger quickly, but it was difficult for anyone to throw away everything in the place where they lived and run away.

Evangeline seemed very busy.

"We rescued one refugee, Senior."

"Ah, Ren-kun! Well done."

When I sneaked out of the makeshift container, Yuna was shocked.

"Hehe. There are three times as many people as when we came."

"It’s real."

Eirin-noona was also busy with receptionist work.

A few more broadcasting vehicles had also come in.

When I went to check on "Deep Investigation," I saw Lim So-hyun’s quirky personality again.

"Are you here right away?"

"Ah. It’s a bit difficult to penetrate deep places."

"So-hyun, do you know someone?"

"Huh? Ah... just a C-class hero."

Are you in class B?

It seemed I was the only one who knew that, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

The one next to Lim So-hyun was a big cameraman with a ferocious impression.

"Why are the academy students here?"

"Ah. He’s a hero."

"Hmm... it’s a C-class."

"Still, I’ll use some force."

When I said so, the staff who were moving the equipment for broadcasting began to laugh.

"Haha!"

"You’re a fun person."

"Yeah, it’s not just that he’s handsome; he’s good at jokes."

Isn’t that a joke!?

Being treated like a child was enough when you were breastfeeding your goddaughter.

Lim So-hyun smiled softly.

"Fleshlight Man. Work hard. But don’t go to places that are too dangerous."

"..."

Yuna had her eyes shining brightly.

"The Meteorological Agency is cool."

"...I don’t understand the situation where the Meteorological Agency is boasting."

"Huh?! How fierce is the competition for weathercasters?"

"Really...?"

Lim So-hyun was a strong and pretty hunter. Originally...

I admitted that I deserved to be treated like a child.

No — in the eyes of the people on the front lines, we would only look like children.

Especially if we were on a quest to pick up leftovers from the outskirts.

"We’ve become stronger. Let’s go deep."

"Is that so?!"

Yuna didn’t say that it was particularly dangerous.

"Do you want to test the overflowing power? You guys too."

"Huh!"

Even Elle agreed.

"Good."

Let’s aim to win an interview with Lim So-hyun’s quirky character!

We went to Eirin-noona, returned the existing kill quest, and accepted the [Deep Investigation] mission.

"Hunter-sama, this mission is currently in a state where the danger rank has risen a lot. There are also reports that a new entity has been found inside."

"That’s why I’m going. Please, Receptionist-noona."

"Hmm... in the quest to kill the miners, no one was hurt, and the citizens were also rescued. I see."

In fact, we who had received the government’s request did not have the Hunter Association’s official quest arrangements.

It didn’t matter if we went deep into it.

Deeper than deep.

Even if we went to the place where Liliana was.

But.

’Let’s go step by step.’

Liliana, honestly...

The fact that I had crushed her and had sex with her was enough to remain one of the few legends of Lustbound.

If you looked at the level of actual strength, the difference was still too big.

It would be better to close the gap, even a little, and then meet her proudly.

"It’s starting to get dark, Ren."

"Hmm."

I could see the hunters who had gone outside coming back.

"Perception/Red"

In the darkness, only my crimson eyes shone.

"Let’s go."

"Let’s go."