There is Something Wrong with This Game

B014 – Before Arriving

The journey continues without any problem.

There were many weird voices from the guards saying something like 'The Goddess has descended' and 'praises to the Goddess'. Many of them even went out and chose to walk. Some even try to collect rainwater by carrying wooden barrels on their heads. They did not care even though they were drenched in the rain.

Hecate ignored them all and just silently meditated in the carriage while keeping her expression calm.

She did realize that what had happened was most likely the result of her previous kill-steals. Though, she didn't expect that they would interpret the result that way.

'What a bunch of morons...'

Heroes and powerful individuals could buff their allies in the field simply by showing themselves. Even Leon, the leader of Genesis Guild could raise the morale of the knights as well as the stats of the guild members up to 20% just by being there.

Similarly, bosses and powerful monsters capable of debuffing everyone just by their presence. Hecate's level 132 wasn't just for show and she had met many such monsters until now.

If their Goddess really descended, there was no way the system notification would be silent. At least, everyone present would receive some sort of buff or debuff, depending on their alignment. Since nothing happened, then such scenario didn't happen. But of course, Hecate wasn't interested to point that analysis to them.

'What they do is none of my business.'

Rather than that, it would be more productive to create Mana Stones.

Mana stones are useful items that can be used to craft crystal-type items such as Return Crystals, Corridor Crystals, and many others. Not only that, it can be used as a kind of energy storage, both in-game and in real life.

In game, Hecate could replenish her MP as if she drank MP Potions from these stones by using Mana Drain skill. They could also substitute some of the spell catalysts. And in real life, they were basically batteries, although they can only be used for artifacts taken from the game.

Hecate activated her Mana Stone Creation skill, which used up all of her MP to form a single Mana Stone. Then, she replenished her MP back with Meditation. Rinse and repeat.

Each stone that she created was different in shape, as she used her Precision Mana Control skill to alter their shape.

But this time, she did not use the system assist to automatically shape the stone with 3D models. Instead, she used her mental strength to mold it manually like shaping clay by hand. She did this to raise her skill proficiency as much as possible.

It was killing two birds with one stone!

Hecate continued to create Mana Stones, but not for long. She looked at her inventory weight and saw the number already reached 263/310 kg which almost 85% of the total weight.

After her inventory weight reached 70%, Hecate received a total of 30% stat penalty debuff. Although it was a troublesome debuff, but it was still manageable. However, once the number reached 90%, she won't be able to use skills, and this would be fatal.

With that, Hecate stopped what she was doing.

'Oh well. I guess that's it then.'

But, since she couldn't make Mana Stones anymore, she had nothing left to do.

Then, she suddenly remembered something. She opened her inventory and took out some Soul Essences that she hadn't decided on where to use them.

• • Soul Essence: Death Mage (6)¹ [Slot: Weapon (Wand, Rod, or Staff type):

       Grants Firebolt (Lv10) by (10UpgLv) per day.

        Grants Fire Ball (Lv5) by (5UpgLv) per day.

        Grants Fire Lance (Lv5) by (5UpgLv) per day.

        Grants Flame Arrow (Lv5) by (5UpgLv) per day.

        Grants Flare Arrow (Lv3) by (3UpgLv) per day.

        Grants Napalm Bolt (Lv3) by (3UpgLv) per day.] 2

  • Soul Essence: Orc Pirate General (8)² [Slot: Head - Any:

        All Stats +5, Max HP -5%, Max MP -5%]

    Slot: Weapon (Scimitar, Hammer or Axe):

        Grants Skill Arts, Vorpal Strike, (3UpgLv) per day.

        Increase melee attack damage & speed by 10%

       Drains 4444 HP every 10 minutes.

    Slot: Armor - Any:

        Max HP +100%, DEF -50%, MDEF -50%

  • Soul Essence: Larva Spider (5)³ [Slot: Armor - Arms:

        Can use Sticky Web (10UpgLv) times per day.

    Slot: Armor - Shoes:

        Movement Speed +2%

        Grants the user the wall standing ability.

         (Gravity still applied)

       If UpgLv +9: Movement Speed +(UpgLv)%]

Hecate postponed to use these Soul Essences before because she was still hesitant which one and where to enchant. But now, she had decided where to enchant those three.

First, Hecate enchanted Larva Spider's Soul Essence into her +7 Shadow Walker. 

'For Shadow Walker, this essence is the best. Their main function is to increase my speed.'

The orb turned into lights and absorbed by the shoes. In that instant, her +7 Shadow Walker upgraded, from increasing her movement speed by 24% to 26%. Not only that, now she gains the ability to stand on a wall as if it was the ground.

It was a pity that the upgrade level of the shoes did not reach +9, or else it's full potential can be unlocked.

'No rush... It's only 2 levels left. I might be able to reach it later.'

Next, she enchanted Orc Pirate General's Soul Essence into her White Silk Panties or rather, her underwear.

Normally, this panties was just an ordinary piece of cloth with no other effect other than being soft and comfortable, but Hecate had turned it into a slotable equipment by enchanted it with a Slot Enchant Core.

Orc Pirate General's Soul Essence has an effect that can increase the wearer's Max HP by 100% when inserted into "Armor". And even though the panties were listed as Underwear, but it also treated as Armor as well.

As for why Hecate chose to put it in her panties, it was because out of all her equipment, only her panties were permanent and be worn at all times. The blouse and skirt was switchable when she want to change elements. While the garment and shoes also switchable when she want to become Black Phantom.

Hecate had thought of changing into better panties. But after deep thought, she decided to discard that thought.

For panties, comfortability was more important rather than effect. Hecate's playstyle required her to move a lot. If she wears uncomfortable panties, her movements may not be smooth anymore, and that would be a problem.

And after comparing several panties in the past, Hecate found that no other material better than plain white silk when it comes to comfort. Increasing the upgrade level was also not good, because it will make the silk stiffer. The plain white silk panties that she wear was so soft and light, it was as if she was wearing nothing underneath.

Naturally if she searched further, maybe she could get better panties with the same feel and some decent stats. But, as she was already satisfied with her current panties, she didn't continue.

'My panties is already good as it is. But perhaps, I should add runes into it later.'

Now, her Max HP which was around 7.3k rose to 14,200.

This amount was still far from the standard maximum HP of a level 100+ player, but at the very least, it would give her some layer of meat.

Hecate could only sigh.

'If this essence was used by Leon or Astrid, the effect might be tremendous. Their HP will definitely reach 6 digits. Too bad it wasted on my hands. Not that I will give it to them though.'

Lastly, she enchanted Death Mage's Soul Essence into her +8 Lunar Wand.

There were two essences, but she only used one and saved the other for another time.

At first she planned to look for a better wand to place the essence. For example, the +9 Staff of Destruction that she saw at the Auction Hall some time ago. 

'The Staff of Destruction has the effect of amplifying explosive-type spells. It was a good choice for me, except that staff can't be taken with a buyout and must wait until its Auction time is over.'

In the end, she decided that it was not worth the trouble.

'Besides, I'm not a fan of using staffs. They increased the spell, but also increased the cast time.'

So just put it on and be done with it.

But that was not the end.

As soon as Hecate finished with enchanting the wand, a system notification appeared in front of her. It had been a long time since she had received this kind of notification.

Hecate just stared at the screen expressionlessly.

'Oh, a new spell model?'

This situation is common with Mage and its later advancement classes.

If Mages discover a Spell Model they can learn from, whether it's from a scroll, a tome, or whatever, they can choose to engrave the Spell Model into their Skill Tree. But, that doesn't mean they can immediately use the Spell Model for free. They still had to use their Skill Points to learn the spell, like any other skill.

In fact, on the first day a Novice became a Mage, they had to engrave Basic Elemental Spell Models such as Firebolt, Waterbolt and more onto their Skill Tree first.

'I guess I haven't got this spell... Then, yes. Just do it!'

With a simple swipe, Hecate selected the Yes button.

Up until now, Hecate had obtained many Spell Models from Scrolls, Equipment, or Soul Essences. But, although she did engrave them into her Skill Tree, she didn't bother spending her Skill Points to learn them at all.

The reason was that simply she didn't feel the need for it.

If she had the item that could give her free spells for use, was there any need to waste valuable Skill Points?

Floire observed what Hecate did with a bored expression.

She had no knowledge of the skill, nor had she seen anyone making Mana Stones before, so she didn't think much of it. But if anyone in the know saw what Hecate was doing, they might notice from the skill that Hecate's class wasn't just a mere Witch, but Archwitch.

Then, Hecate suddenly stopped what she was doing, and took something round from her inventory. Looking at the shape, Floire could recognize what the item was. It seems Hecate was enchanting her equipment with Soul Essences.

Starting from her shoes, then... her panties? and the last was her wand.

Floire's heart couldn't help but ache.

'Soul Essences are very rare and can be sold for a high price, but to enchant it onto panties?'

Their party, Sharp Edge, could be considered a rising star. They diligently hunted day after day, doing quests, collecting copper coins, and many more. They made every effort they could to quickly catch up with the other players. This was why they quickly reached their current level in just a few months.

Up until now, their party rarely encountered Soul Essences. But when they do, they usually just sold it for 

Gold coins. As for using it for themselves, they don't dare. Even the scummest Soul Essence that only raise 1 stat was worth at least 

10,000.

With that much of a money, they could buy a lot of potions or upgrade their gear. A low grade of Red Potion costs

15, while a Rye bread costs

10. Even repairing their equipment did not cost more than

1.

It will take a long time for them to spend all of 

10,000.

But now, there was a prodigal loli in front of her.

'If it was her shoes or wand, I can understand. But panties...?'

Floire couldn't bear to see how Hecate wasted those Soul Essences so she turned her gaze to the window. Even though she doesn't know what was inside them, but each one was money.

What she saw on the other side of the window was a group of Players and Native guards dancing merrily in the rain. 

"You didn't join them, Hecate-chan?" (Floire)

Now only two of them remained inside the carriage.

The other three, Touya, Minami, even Kaire has joined the guards along with some other players. They rushed to help them collect the rainwater, thinking it was a quest event. As for Floire, she chose to accompany Hecate in the carriage, saying that she didn't like to be wet.

Sometimes monsters also attacked the convoy, but there were no major problems.

"Not interested." (Hecate)

"Oh, okay." (Floire)

With Hecate's nonchalant answer, the atmosphere turned awkward again.

Floire wasn't very good at making conversation while Hecate was taciturn. Besides, what happened the night before had left Floire with no idea how to face Hecate. For an instant, she regretted not joined the others and had to endure this uncomfortable situation.

But luckily, Hecate was the first to break the tension by starting a conversation, but via private messages.

-- Hecate: "By the way Floire, can you tell me about yourself? For example, about you and Kaire."

-- Floire: "Huh? About our relationship?"

Floire quickly replied to the message by typing on the virtual keyboard. She immediately understood.

Private Message allows people to talk to each other without worrying about confidentiality. By chatting via PM, no one other than them will know the contents of their conversation.

Floire was happy to talk about her incestuous relationship with her brother. It was true that Floire's relationship with her brother was not something the public should know about. But, since Hecate already knew about it, there was no need to keep it a secret from her anymore.

Moreover, Hecate did not condemn Floire or Kaire about their immorality.

On the contrary, she supported them wholeheartedly.

-- Hecate: "I see, so that's the reason you chose your IGN."

-- Floire: "Yeah, neat isn't it? In contrast, it was Kaire who was very uncreative."

What Floire didn't realize was that Hecate was using this opportunity to gather her personal information.

In this conversation, Hecate managed to get Floire and Kaire's first name, as well as the name of their high school. It would be very easy to check their high school list for two students of different genders with specific first names and the same surname. From there, more personal information can be obtained with ease, including their photos and address.

As for what this information would be used for, Hecate had no plans whatsoever.

And thus, a strange silence ensued inside the carriage where two people were conversed using their keyboards.

The rain stopped somewhere during the journey.

Everyone who was collecting rainwater had stopped their activities and returned to their respective carriages.

Hecate logged out to relieve her needs, as well as replenishing her login limit. But this time, she chose to do a quasi-logout. Her in-game avatar closed her eyes as if she was asleep. Now that Floire and Kaire have become her 'friends', she could rest assured and somewhat entrust them to safeguard her avatar.

By the time she opened her eyes, it was already evening and the convoy had arrived at the destination.