Chapter 16: Incredible Loot
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"Riven, we got so much treasure!"
If there was one thing that truly cheered up the little Pierrot, it was the loot they had acquired. Thanks to her presence, the item drop rates had been greatly increased.
In this skirmish against the monsters, they had obtained some amazing items. Riven had carefully gathered them and placed the collection in front of him while reviewing the notifications corresponding to each one.
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[Dropped Item [Crystal Mantis Blade (D Grade)] has been multiplied by x10,000!]
[You have obtained the item [Diamond Mantis Spirit Sword (SS Grade)]]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[Dropped Item [Cave Panther Helmet (E+ Grade)] has been multiplied by x10,000!]
[You have obtained the item [Abyssal Panther Helmet (SS- Grade)]]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[Dropped Item [Poison Bat Fang Knife (D Grade)] has been multiplied by x10,000!]
[You have obtained the item [Venomous Fang of Camazotz (SS+ Grade)]]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[Dropped Item [Assassin Panther Blade (D++ Grade)] has been multiplied by x10,000!]
[You have obtained the item [Vampiric Assassination Sword (SS+ Grade)]]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]
[...]
Some of the items appeared as duplicates. He had obtained around three Vampiric Swords, four Fangs of Camazotz, and many more.
Riven planned to keep a portion for himself and sell the rest. However, his Skill possessed a dangerous power. If he sold these items worldwide, would the sudden availability of such deadly weapons make things harder for him later?
Beyond simple paranoia, it could become detrimental to his own growth if he were suddenly backstabbed by one of the amazing weapons he himself had sold across the world.
At the same time, that risk would not matter if he grew strong enough, fast enough. Beyond that, he would be able to accumulate an incredible amount of capital—enough to create his own enterprise and eventually start a business that could one day rival Claymore Enterprises.
If he continued selling these ridiculously high-quality pieces of equipment worldwide, he would flood the market and force Claymore to lower their own prices, lessening the incredible pressure they held over the population.
He knew that one day he would have to fight them personally, but why not begin the fight where it would hurt them the most—through money?
The massive monopoly his family held over the world... he would tear it apart and give back to humanity what they had taken.
After all, Daniela’s current situation as a literal child soldier, everything she had gone through, and her mother’s death from overwork... all of it eventually led back to what his family had done to this world.
"W-We have so many SS Rank items! Riven! Riven, what are we going to do now? We’re rich!" she giggled with pure excitement.
"Rich? Hardly. This is cheap change," Riven replied. "We’ll have to gather hundreds, even thousands of times these items before we can even begin to rival the great conglomerates."
"R-Rivals?" She tilted her head in confusion. She had no idea of his long-term plans.
But he knew the truth. He could not accomplish any of this without her help. Her Class was simply too incredible.
"Daniela, once this is done, I have a proposal for you," Riven said as he stood up, having decided what to do next. "For now, stay behind me."
"Huh?" Daniela tilted her head again, confused about whatever he meant. "W-Wha...?"
Her eyes widened as she suddenly felt several presences approaching.
Those same presences were ones Riven had already sensed from a mile away. He quickly stored the items they had been checking and then turned to face... only a single person among the many he could feel.
"Ah, hello sir! It is nice... uhh, to meet you again— What is going on in here?"
It was the guard from the dungeon entrance, the muscular old man with the thick mustache who had changed his attitude the moment he confirmed Riven’s ID was authentic.
But... why was he even here now?
Riven narrowed his eyes and remained fully vigilant.
"Is there a problem?" he asked calmly. "We’re resting after hunting, as you can see... there’s quite a mess." He smiled while glancing at the blood-soaked surroundings.
"I-I can tell, but... why would you— Ah, no, this isn’t why I came here," the guard cleared his throat. "I am here patrolling the dungeon due to some disappearances that were just registered. A group of hunters has gone missing and..."
Blah, blah, blah.
He was clearly bullshitting and talking nonsense. Riven could tell immediately.
They were trying to make him lower his guard and distract him.
Footsteps could already be heard hundreds of meters away. Someone suddenly melted into the darkness and began moving.
Straight toward Daniela!
"They want to take her hostage?" Riven thought.
A second later, he acted.
Silver bony armor grew rapidly over his right hand, and then—
BANG!
"Gaaahaaa?!"
He punched the guard squarely in the face, grabbed him, covered the man in a thin layer of ice, and launched him like a projectile toward the assassin sneaking up behind Daniela with perfect accuracy.
Holding that heavy old man somehow triggered his Heavy Weapon Master Skill!
CRAAASH!
"Uuuggh?!"
"W-What the...?!"
Both men panicked as they slammed into each other. The assassin’s bones broke as the heavy frozen body of the old man crushed him flat against the ground.
"G-Get off me! Agh, my right arm! You broke it, you fucking fat ass!"
"Cough, cough... uuggh, there’s... ice in my lungs...! Wha... What happened... how...?!"
As both struggled to understand what had just occurred, Daniela turned to stare at Riven in complete disbelief.
"E-Eh?! What’s...! What did you...?!"
"Stay silent," Riven ordered while covering her mouth with one hand. "We’re surrounded."
"?!"
Suddenly, the sound of slow, deliberate clapping echoed through the dark corridors.
Amidst the darkness, five tall figures emerged. All of them were clad in black robes marked with a red insignia showing a ferocious, barking wolf.
"Amazing. That was incredible. I guess we really got caught off-guard, huh?" the leader of the group said as he finished clapping and stepped forward to face Riven. He pulled back his hood to reveal his face.
He was a handsome young man with pale skin, long red hair, and sharp blue eyes. His right eye, however, was gray, and a large scar covered half of his face.
"That was most incredible, Riven Claymore!" He clapped once more. "Nothing else to expect from the young master of the most prestigious family in the world, isn’t it?"
"Huh?! Guuh?" Daniela panicked and began hyperventilating, her small breaths growing faster and faster.
Looking at their insignias and the weapons they carried, Riven immediately knew who they were.
In the future he had once lived, he had occasionally encountered people like this, sometimes by pure accident.
And the only thing he could ever do was run as quickly as possible and never look back.
"The Cult of Fenrir."
The young man looked surprised, his eyes widening. "Oh? So you even know us...? Now this is shocking. Well, this will make introductions faster. Nice throw back there, young master. But well, you know you’ll lose right now, right? We have you surrounded, so please surrender."
Riven ignored the cultist and looked behind him instead, sensing more footsteps approaching.
These footsteps were much heavier, almost creating small earthquakes with every step.
The Cultists, too focused on their chosen target, remained completely unaware that they would soon become the prey.
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