Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster - Chapter 449: Prep Work

Chapter 449: Prep Work

“Prepare ourselves?” Melina mumbled, puzzled. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

Rael turned toward her with a raised brow and swiftly explained everything that Ignatiel had told him beforehand.

Yet with each word he spoke, he grew more and more confused, to the point he was convinced her mind had been tampered with.

Therefore, he made sure to remind her of the many things they had done together since they met, and everything that she had told him.

It took a few minutes, but he soon finished. The moment he did, he was met with Melina’s look of understanding.

“I was just messing with you. I remember everything.”

“…”

Just where is Burger when you need him—

[You called?] Burger chimed in out of nowhere, surprising Rael.

You cowardly cocksucker, where were you? Rael asked in a furious tone. You know, had you been here earlier, your help would’ve been greatly appreciated.

[Hmm? Well, you can always call me,] Burger replied. [You just need to think about me and say my name. I got pulled out of the Spirit World just now while I was trying to charm someone, so this better be important.]

Rael clicked his tongue. There’s a guy somewhere here controlling thoughts. He can literally change your perception of any memory however much he wants. So, if anything, I want you to be like a gatekeeper. Make sure to spot when something in my mind gets changed. You can do that much, can’t you?

A moment of silence ensued, but it was soon broken by Burger’s annoying groan.

[Fine… though you better finish up with things on your end here, because as it stands, my power is directly linked to yours. If you remain weak, then I will too,] Burger stated. [If you ascend to Grade 2, I might be able to manifest myself in my dragon form. But if you learn how to be a better dragon, I might be able to do it sooner. So chop chop, get to work.]

Rael’s brows twitched, but he didn’t retaliate. After all, having a being like Burger inside his mind, monitoring his thoughts, was extremely helpful. He even knew how to deal with soul-related stuff, and that was something Rael barely had control over.

I can get souls by killing monsters, but either my luck is too shit, or the Depths just doesn’t have… Rael trailed off, a frown appearing on his face. Could the monsters of the Depths have no souls? But even those in the dungeon… How strange.

Despite that, he put those thoughts behind him and waited for something to happen. However, even after several minutes had passed, no monsters from the Depths came.

“Maybe they’re not home?” Melina mused.

He rolled his eyes. “Really? That’s the best thing you could’ve come up with?”

Hearing that, Melina shrugged. “I mean, look at it this way. If they are so powerful, they should be able to arrive here no matter where they are. Even we can travel across this continent within 10 seconds. Now imagine what they can do.”

“Fair. Then do you want to get on with the important stuff before they arrive?” Rael asked, and Melina nodded.

“Aurenthia is very straightforward to rule, but the Hollow Kingdom isn’t. They have weird puppets whose power stems from god knows where, so for starters… We should announce that we took over,” she said.

“That’s a recipe for disaster…” Rael sighed and raised his hands dramatically.

“People of the Hollow Kingdom, we have slain your ruler, and we have now usurped the throne!”

He turned toward Melina and raised his brow.

“But don’t worry, because we don’t have any bad intentions. We just want all your money.”

Rael fell silent, giving Melina a moment to process what he had just said.

However…

“But that’s how I did it with the other countries.” Melina tilted her head. “People like it when I don’t lie to them. It builds trust.”

It seemed like the pirate was dead set on doing it this way, which made Rael only more speechless.

Yet no matter how many smarter or better solutions he could think of, he was genuinely curious how Melina’s scenario would play out.

So with that in mind, he nodded at her. “You know… I kind of want to see that happen. But you’re going to be the one who speaks. I’m a little shy.”

“Pfft… You’re shy?” Melina repeated, holding back a laugh. “That’s the biggest lie you’ve told me.”

“…”

It’s not a lie though?

“Anyways, the palace is pretty empty, so let’s incinerate his body and—”

Before Melina could finish her words, Rael suddenly leaned down and stashed Ignatiel’s body inside his inventory, alongside his two greatswords, then stood up without saying anything.

“…That works too,” Melina remarked, not questioning him. “Want to go make the announcement now?”

“Yep, you lead the way,” Rael replied with a smile.

All the while, he ticked one thing off his list, or rather, several things.

Puppet Master (Special): Craft puppets from any valid material: metals, corpses, emotions, or memories.

—Each base material gives the puppet unique properties:

Metal: High durability, special effects depending on metal used.

Flesh: Retain the stats and abilities of the body used.

Emotion: Gains passive aura effects that influence others nearby (Fear, Wrath, Envy).

Memory: Grants 1–3 abilities based on the person the memory was taken from.

—Max Puppets: 15

Wait… I can pretty much make it now if I wanted to? Rael thought, but then shook his head.

No… I want this to be perfect. I’m not going to waste a Grade 5 body. I need to wait until the Plasma Core creation comes off cooldown, and that’s going to be in around a month…

I can be patient… I can definitely be patient…

“Are you coming?” Melina asked, standing by the door already. “Even if you’re not going to be here all the time, you should at least show your face to the people.”

Before he could speak, Melina spoke up instead, a cheeky smile on her face.

“But of course, you can buy out of this meeting by giving me 51% of the income, while you take 49%.”

Rael’s brows twitched, and without thinking about it further, he approached Melina, and they finally made their way through the palace.

Yet right as they were about to leave, they were stopped by a soldier.