Chapter 76: Dear Boss

Otherworldly Treasures were exceptionally rare tools or weapons intrinsically associated with Patron Spirits.

They were not manufactured objects saturated with spiritual energy like spiritech equipment nor were they mundane objects.

Their existence was tied directly to the spirituality from which they originated, sometimes appearing alongside Patron Spirits or becoming accessible through their development.

They were separated into three categories: primal, heroic and divine. Their forms and capabilities varied greatly, but the prominent ones had become inseparable from the figures associated with them.

Ripley’s Saucy Jacky was an example of a heroic Otherworldly Treasure. Seeing it again almost made his chest hurt from memory alone.

The twin blades looked deceptively simple compared to the damage he’d felt inflicted on him. Right now, their wielder rotated one of them between her fingers.

“I already have Saucy Jacky. That’s one out of the three. The reward for completing this contract is another Otherworldly Treasure belonging to my Patron Spirit”

Her tone dropped when she said:

“Dear Boss”

“That’s what this Baal guy’s offering you?”

“Mhm. If I can get my hands on Dear Boss, I’ll have access to something I’ve been missing for a very long time. Saucy Jacky already makes me dangerous, but with both…”

Her smile widened.

“I’ll become much stronger!”

Normally, Otherworldly Treasures slumbered within a person’s soul, or Inner World, till they became active. But there were rare instances where they could be found outside of it.

The knives dissolved into blue particles

“Of course, that’s not the only reason I’m going”

Her fingers touched the scars across her lips.

“The other reason… is personal”

There was a strange tone in the way she said that. Whatever it meant, her expression told him not to ask.

If she wanted him to know, she would tell him. If she didn’t, then it was none of his business.

Besides, Rhos wasn’t convinced by her reasoning about the Otherworldly Treasure.

He never believed that simply possessing a better weapon automatically made someone stronger.

Give an inexperienced person the finest sword humanity could produce and put them against someone who spent 20 years learning to wield a shovel as a weapon; Rhos would put his money on the person with the shovel.

A weapon was a powerful extension of whoever wielded it.

Power needed competence.

Power without the skill, discipline and judgment necessary to wield it properly was not strength.

In incompetent hands, it would lead to nothing but ruin.

This was why, Rhos believed with absolute conviction that one’s mind and body were the greatest weapons they could possess.

But that was his perspective.

Ripley had spent years fighting differently, and clearly, she knew how to use what she had.

Rhos wasn’t arrogant enough to insist everyone needed to adopt his beliefs.

Frankly speaking, he never understood people who needed everyone around them to share their values before they could tolerate them.

His amber eyes inspected her slim body.

Bandages disappeared beneath her clothes in several places. The most obvious covered the left side of her face, concealing one eye and several injuries she suffered during the conflict in the underground facility.

Red Deer Rhos was a Beast-type.

Accelerated regeneration was an inherent trait shared by Beast-types, although its effectiveness differed depending on the Patron Spirit.

Predators healed better than Prey, while particular species could possess regeneration far beyond either.

His red deer possessed relatively mild regeneration, but it still gave him an advantage over normal humans.

Descendent-types like Ripley didn’t have the same natural regenerative trait, at least not during their initial evolution. Their wounds healed much closer to the rate expected from a mundane human unless their Patron Spirit granted something capable of altering it.

Rhos didn’t know whether that remained true at higher evolutions, but judging by the amount of bandaging covering Ripley, she certainly wasn’t regenerating the way he did.

She looked terrible.

Not that he’d really tell her that. She would probably interpret his concern differently.

Still, the thought of her crossing into the most hostile territories in that condition irritated him. But not enough to involve himself.

“Like hell I’m going to Glacial”

Whatever this job was, it had nothing to do with him.

He was dealing with a lot already. There was Morri to care for, and those government agents who were suspicious of him restricted him. If he made any sudden movements, that would invite more complications.

Rhos knew this and understood it perfectly.

Which was why what coming out of his mouth next left him completely speechless.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Why the fuck did he say that?!

Ripley turned to him with equal surprise.

For approximately 6 seconds, the two of them stared at each other in silence. Once realization hit, her lips formed a small circle.

“Ohhhh, wait. You still owe me that favor!”

Rhos facepalmed himself, regretting involuntarily reminding her of that. She leaned closer, delighted.

“I’d almost forgotten about that. You promised me something extra special for helping you find that little girl, remember? I haven’t collected yet”

As a man of his word, he wasn’t going to go back on the promise he made. He sighed.

“So do you want help or not?”

“Nope. I’m good”

That surprised him. He didn’t expect rejection so quickly.

Ripley looked back toward the lights of the city.

“This one I want to do myself. Wasting my favor on something like escort is boring. I already know what I want from you and that’s–”

The fluttering sound of wings interrupted them. Something descended from the darkness and landed several meters away.

“A crow?”

The bird stood quietly on the edge, tilting its head once as its dark eyes settled upon Ripley.

She stared back at the crow before letting out a sigh.

“Would you look at that? I guess that’s the vixen’s way of telling me my time is up”

“Vixen?”

She pushed herself onto her feet and stretched, raising both arms above her head.

“I should get going before someone decides to come and collect me personally. I’ve already overstayed”

Rhos stood up as soon as she hopped down from the ledge onto the rooftop. For a moment, he watched her back drawing further away from him.

‘Is she not going to say anything?’

She was usually talkative. Maybe he should say something instead.

The issue was, he wasn’t good at goodbyes….

“Rip”

No, this wasn’t goodbye. He shoved his hands into his pockets and said:

“Come back alive”

Ripley leapt above the structure above the rooftop door. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“I mean it. I don’t care how valuable the Otherworldly Treasure is or whatever personal reason you have for going. If things go wrong, abandon the job. Got it?”

Her expression softened, almost vulnerable. But she ruined it with that sickly sweet grin of hers. She clasped her hands behind herself with renewed energy.

“Well, now that you’ve reminded me about the favor, there’s absolutely no chance I’m dying. You’re not escaping that easily. It would be tragic”

He smiled, watching Jack Ripley disappear into the darkness of the night.

The crow stared at Rhos, its glossy black eyes shimmered with magenta before spreading its wings and disappearing into the night as well.

Cold winds passed over the rooftop as his gaze returned toward Yggdrasil.

“See you later, Ripley”

For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this.