Chapter 85: Two Demon Merchants?

The enormous volume of jelly compressed and transformed into a Fleshlight.

[Dungeon Clear]

[MVP: 44% Ren Asahi]

[Others: Aria Nakamori, Ren Asahi’s Fleshlight (Nami), Elle Isis]

I did it.

Crafting these two Fleshlights had been pure satisfaction. Both were clearly masterpieces.

Aria sheathed her sword and rushed to my side as I still lay on the ground.

"Ren! Ren! Wake up! Are you okay?!"

"Master!"

"I’m fine."

From today onward, my new dream is to die surrounded by beautiful women.

The view of their breasts while lying down is genuinely mesmerizing.

"Here... I brought the Fleshlight you just made."

Aria placed a Shark Giant Fleshlight on my chest.

...

"This... you can give it to me later."

Holding a Fleshlight while lying under my two girlfriends felt strangely awkward.

If I died, they wouldn’t bury me with this thing, right?

[Shark Giant Fleshlight (Masterpiece)]

[The ever-changing tightness, reminiscent of turbulent waves, is exceptional.]

As expected—two masterpieces.

Yuna, Cleo.

I’m rich now.

While I hugged the new Fleshlight with a happy smile, Aria and Elle shook me from both sides.

"Ren! Are you dizzy? Don’t fall asleep!"

"Ren, you can’t die... you mustn’t die!"

At that moment the enormous coral in the center of the Star Coral Cave cracked with a loud snap.

It began scattering magical rivers above our heads like a celestial shower of stars.

Incredible reward time!!

Everyone’s mouths fell open as they watched the countless magical rivers raining down.

You have defeated the Shark Giants.

[The Sea God bestows upon you the Magical River — Moonlight]

What is this "Moonlight"?

Supported by my girlfriends, I stood up and walked to the place where the Star Coral had shattered.

A unique magical river lay in the center.

[Crimson Eye activated]

[Magic River (Moonlight)]

[Rarity: A+]

[A special magical river infused with the essence of moonlight]

"It’s a gift from an external deity. Even I am seeing it for the first time."

"..."

Who should take it?

Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Aria reached out first and took it.

"For Ren."

She placed it in my arms.

"Aria was in the most dangerous position the whole time. You’re giving it to me just because I’m your boyfriend?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. I want it so badly I could drool over it. But... you were the one who created the strategy, and you were the one who fixed everything when it started going wrong."

"It was also Ren who protected me when we fell."

"..."

Is it really okay for me to take this?

I stored the Moonlight in my inventory.

"Huh? Don’t I get a say?"

"You’re my possession, after all."

"Of course I assumed it belonged to Master. I was ready to defend it if anyone tried to take it."

"No one here would do that."

The remaining magical essences were all high-purity B-rank magic stones.

The three of us (excluding Nami) divided them equally. I gave a little extra to both Elle and Aria.

The Moonlight alone was more than enough for me.

[Veyron Academy Student ID: Ren Asahi]

[Remaining coins: 2,511]

The distribution came to roughly two thousand coins.

I had earned more than during my best days in the Golden Dungeon.

"I distributed them according to contribution."

"This is my first time being MVP."

The Star Coral Drop strategy had worked extremely well.

All thanks to the thoughtful design of the Sea God.

In the corner of the cave a gravitational wave appeared, reflecting the distant beach.

It seemed we had to return to the starting point.

When we arrived back on the beach, a strange fish-man crawling on all fours was waiting for us.

[Fish-Man]

[A demonic merchant with the head of a fish, the lower body of a human, and skin covered in scales.]

Cursed for eternity for attempting to overthrow the sea god.

[His strength rivals that of an SS-class Hunter.]

"What is that? It looks really unsettling."

Putting aside the fish head,

why was it crawling on all fours like a lizard?

The fish-man kept its body low to the ground and watched us with vivid, unblinking fish eyes.

’Demon merchants are never ordinary...’

Just then

"Ren!"

A familiar goblin appeared on the horizon.

Watching a goblin glide across the surface of the sea was already hilarious.

By the time I noticed him he was already close.

"I came to buy a special Fleshlight today. Hehehe."

Apparently the previous batch had been very satisfactory there was already a big smile on his face.

...So he bought them at that price and still made a profit?

My Fleshlights really are impressive, aren’t they?

"..."

Nami suddenly hid behind my back.

She looked ready to cry.

I wasn’t going to sell her. The moment a demon merchant appeared with the clear intention of buying Fleshlights, she became genuinely terrified.

"However, Mr. Goblin."

"Yes?"

"This fish... wasn’t someone already here first?"

"..."

"..."

A peculiar tension flowed between the two demonic merchants.

The moment had finally arrived for Ren Asahi, the Fleshlight Collector, to sell his creations to transcendent beings known as Devil Merchants in order to grow stronger.

In the blue corner stood the Fish-Man. He didn’t look like any ordinary aquatic creature, yet his strength was said to rival that of an SS-class Hunter.

In the red corner stood the Goblin King. The original trader, an elderly goblin, glared at the Fish-Man as if the newcomer were nothing more than an annoying pest.

What now? Were they about to fight to the death?

"Nothing to worry about, Ren. This one didn’t come to buy a Fleshlight," the goblin king said.

"Fleshlight. I came to buy one," the Fish-Man answered in his strange, clipped speech.

"How did you even know I was selling Fleshlights?" I asked.

"Because of the goblin. The underworld is in chaos," the Fish-Man explained.

"Well, that’s only natural when such a sensational item hits the market. Of course it would cause a stir," the goblin king added with a chuckle.

Sensational... and clearly demonic. The old goblin’s eyes gleamed as he looked Nami up and down.

"Oh? Have you already tasted this one, Ren?"

"It was a regrettable accident. Playing with her like that isn’t really my preference."

"Is that so?"

"For the record, this one is not for sale."

I tightly gripped Nami’s hand.

"I’m the owner... and I love her."

"I don’t need human livestock that looks like a pig either."

"Like a pig?! My waist is twenty-three inches!"

Even the most terrifying demon merchant couldn’t accept being compared to a pig and immediately pushed back.

"First, let me show you the merchandise. Elle, lay out a platform for us."

"Sure!"

We didn’t want sand getting on the products.

An ethereal platform spread across the beach, and the Fleshlights were carefully arranged on it.

Starting with the ordinary ones...

Fifty-two in total.

Goblin Fleshlights, Orc Fleshlights, Fishman Fleshlights, every variety.

"Wow! All of them are completely undamaged and in pristine condition."

"Pristine" was the perfect word.

They had been stored untouched, preserving 100% authenticity.

The Fish-Man’s scales gleamed with a mysterious light as he stared.

"Next, the masterpieces."

Today there were only eight of them.

"Incredible... to encounter work of this quality once more."

Well the final masterpiece, the exquisite Fleshlight obtained from the Shark Giant emerged from the inventory, both merchants fell silent. They simply swallowed hard.

"Everything is ready. What will you do?"

"Without a doubt, I’ll buy them all!"

"I’ll purchase every single one!"

Aria watched the two eager demon merchants hanging off the ethereal platform and muttered,

"...It’s only the second time, but I still can’t get used to it. They really lust after Ren’s Fleshlights that much."

"Then let’s start with the cheapest batch. Bundle them all together."

"800,000!"

"I’ll take them for 900,000!"

"One million!"

"1.1 million!"

In the end the ordinary Fleshlights and lower masterpieces sold for 1,426,538 coins.

The goblin uncle claimed them.

Nami was completely stunned by the amount.

"Unbelievable... Master, were you actually a world-famous Fleshlight artisan?"

"I’m the only one in the world."

...After all, I was the sole protagonist of Lustbound.

"May I touch this masterpiece, Sir Ren?"

"Just a little. Don’t put anything inside the hole."

"Beautiful!"

The Fish-Man was just as excited.

"This one is mine. Two million."

"No... 2.1 million."

"At least leave one at a reasonable price, you greedy trash goblin."

"Heh. Isn’t greed a compliment for a merchant?"

"Don’t fight. There are two of them. Each of you take one. Mr. Fish came a long way."

*Swoosh.*

When I held out one of the masterpiece Fleshlights, the Fish-Man’s eyes lit up.

"Th-Thank you."

"Heh. Ren’s generosity is as vast as the ocean showing kindness even to a pitiful fish-head."

"Stop haggling and just take them. Two million each."

After selling every last Fleshlight, roughly 5.4 million coins had been gathered.

Now it was time to convert that money into power.

I’d like to buy some stats, gentlemen."

"Heh. Of course. I’ll offer them at a fair price."

So much money.

It wasn’t enough to buy a house, but the weight of it still felt heavy in my hands.

Investing the majority into stats so I could grow stronger would let me earn even more coins later.

There had also been a collection bonus for the masterpiece Fleshlights at the end.

[Strength +6]

[Stamina +6]

[Agility +6]

[Finesse +6]

It was all recorded in the log.

If I combined every gain from this run...

[Collection Effect Check]

[Collection Effect: Strength +16, Agility +15, Stamina +15, Finesse +9, Magic +3]

I had also gained a large number of additional stats from the bestiary in this dungeon.

And I had leveled up significantly.