Blood Money

'So it was automatically deposited into Storage... I see. That's good to know. Wow, I really thought it was just gone forever...'

Additionally, what I had thought was lost at the very beginning of the ordeal―the clothes that had abandoned me at the start―were also in the Storage, right alongside that basic steel sword I carried.

"Hehe! I'm glad you seem pleased, Enki!"

Facing the Librarian, whose round face showed me a perpetual gleam, I nodded, barely containing a grin of my own that burst at the seams of my mouth. Deciding to check it out properly later, I moved on, chuffed at the unexpected gain.

"Terrific! Then, would you like to explore the Shop next?"

"Yes, hold on."

Saying that, I returned to the previous menu and tapped on 'Shop'; as I did, the screen expanded.

Currently Available World Stability : 1,000 Units

Items - Tools | Armour | Consumables | Miscellaneous

Skills - Active | Passive

Traits

??? (Locked)

Nodding my head, I let out a low mutter upon scanning the screen.

"I understand now. So this is where I can get Skills and stuff..." 

My gaze lingered on the triple question mark option for a few moments, but since that also seemed useless until a higher level of Authority was achieved, I decided to push it aside for now.

"Certainly! As I mentioned before, the Library receives a portion of the World Stability syphoned by the eliminated Protagonist as a reward for completing the Contract, which you can then borrow a subdivision of to prepare a variety of strategies and methods to help you take down even more Protagonists!"

I see now. In other words, it was your standard line of progression. 

Kill Protagonists. 

↓

Earn World Stability. 

↓

Use World Stability to grow stronger.

↓

Kill more Protagonists.

A typical cycle of continuous growth, that is, if you were to compare it to something like an RPG―Substituting experience points and gold with World Stability.

Upon understanding that, something like a shudder ran through me.

To grow stronger using this anomalous system.

To leave behind the pathetic life I previously surrendered myself to.

Maybe one day, if I continued to grow, I could even reach a point where challenging the Tower wasn't a mere fantasy...

Glancing down, my gaze fell to the luminous tattoo of an eye encased within a diamond that appeared on the centre of my right hand. It was a simple pattern, yet one that stirred an inexplicable sense of something mysterious within me.

Just looking at it made me unreasonably nervous, but the last thought on my mind was figuring out where that feeling originated from.

It was safe to say I could never return to having an ordinary life even if I tried.

Hadn't I already done enough to render that impossible?

Above all, the fact remained that this was an opportunity given to me by that rare magical critter―If it weren't for that fortuitous encounter, something like using magic or challenging the Tower wouldn't have even been a considerable possibility in my mind.

But, as things stood right now, maybe I really could...

"...Is it really that easy?"

"Certainly! If you require any supplementary information, absolutely, feel free to let your queries known!"

Glancing again at the Librarian, I turned my attention back to the screen. There was only one thing for me to do, and that was to check out each section in turn.

'I guess, I might as well see what's available.'

If I was really going to accept a job like this, I suppose it'd be the most important to get familiar with the system that would become my bread and butter in the future, so I decided to take my time.

A while passed as I scrolled through the various options.

Even if I didn't have enough World Stability to buy almost any of it, I nevertheless found myself absorbed by all the mouthwatering possibilities.

There were a few Skills and Traits that caught my attention to start with, such as Sneak, for when I might need to infiltrate a place the Protagonist was hiding; Gifted Trainee, to increase my Physical Ability quicker; and Charismatic, to more easily build rapport with the Protagonist.

After all, even though I never expected it, the latter was a strategy I found to be quite effective in lowering the guard of the Hero last time.

Other than that, I looked through some of the available products in the Items menu, where I found various articles of clothing and even full sets of outfits under the Armour section.

Under Consumables, potions and food items that seemed to provide an assortment of buffs were present, and under Miscellaneous, I only really found a bunch of random items that didn't seem to have much of a use, like a 'Leaf of the World Tree' or various medicinal herbs with foreign names.

Of course, I'm sure they all had their niche uses, and I might find myself in a situation where I'll be making use of some of these items in the future... but, I'm not in that kind of situation right now, so there wasn't much point in going through it.

All in all, there was so much choice that if it weren't for my severe lack of funds, I'd be overwhelmed. I thought 1,000 would be a lot, but I swiftly realised that wasn't the case at all.

Despite that, I didn't get disillusioned. Before I even began my search, my intention hadn't drifted an inch from pursuing one thing in particular, found under the very first Tools subsection.

That is, of course, a weapon.

Last time, that Hero... even after being stabbed through the back of the neck to the hilt of that dagger, he didn't die. Just like a zombie coming back from the dead, he raised himself back up again and pinned me down.

As a result, I almost died.

Flinching at even a brief recall of that moment, I belatedly realised my hand had floated unconsciously to my still-sore neck.

That wasn't a human level of fortitude. No matter who it is, if you get stabbed in the neck, you should just die, plain and simple. And yet, that son of a bitch――Was that also due to his divine power?

Anyway, because of that experience, I don't want any damn repeats. 

'Besides, if I'm going to end up killing someone anyway... ha, it sounds fucked up, but I'd rather not drag it out unnecessarily.'

When I look down at my hands, I don't see blood.

However, it is common knowledge that blood isn't something easily erased. Even if a surface is washed clean, even if it appears spotless when looking with your eyes...

Purity stained by that kind of indelible filth will never be forgotten.