The Grim Reaper’s workshop was infused with the owner’s taste right from the entrance.
━━━
[Gate of Life Thievery]
Those who cannot open the door shall become the guests of the restless dead.
━━━
If the entrance of the workshop tests qualifications with relic-grade artifacts, the Grim Reaper’s workshop only grants the status of guest to those who can surpass the Gate of Life Thievery. It is a prideful test that cannot simply be acknowledged based on the standards of the workshop’s street!
“Which way are you going to enter, senior? If you put your palm in the hole in the door, you can absorb a large amount of life force swiftly, but you’ll definitely get in. If you grab the doorknob, you’ll have to overcome the magic of adhesion before you can let go!”
The Plant Club Senior made a face and pretended to kick at it in frustration. As expected of a third-year senior, their rebellious nature shone through as they disliked taking the prescribed path. And yet, their clumsiness, which led them to step on a mine, revealed why they weren’t a fourth-year student!
“If you kick it, the door will charge at you faster than that. Can you handle it?”
What kind of door attacks a person?
With a bewildered stare, I picked up a nearby stone and threw it at the door.
BANG!!
The part of the door hit by the stone shot out like a rocket, smashing into the space where the stone had been thrown. Even though I knew this would happen and unleashed Quick Activation as soon as I threw the stone, the speed was so shocking it sent chills down my spine!
“It’s not that the method is wrong, you know. To pass, you’ll need to hit it really hard. And if the hit area increases, the door’s counterattack will get stronger, so do you think you can dodge or break through in that split second?”
The senior shook their pale face vigorously. Ultimately, they obediently inserted their palm into the hole, rapidly absorbing life force, causing their face to turn pale. Perhaps due to their usual diet of good food, they ended up draining the large amount of life force demanded by the Gate of Life Thievery in one go.
The senior trudged through the open door.
Now’s the time!
Quick Movement
Front Leap
Stealth
Boldness
As the senior passed through, just before the Gate of Life Thievery shut by itself, I dashed forward like a bullet!
Back in the days of All-In Power Build Marine I had forced a party member into the hole, tossed them in, and rushed in together into that corridor! But now, with my smaller stature, I could slip right between the senior and the door without needing to body-slam them.
“Successful free ride!”
The senior, trembling with fear, began throwing punches. As I lightly dodged, laughter erupted from inside.
“This guest has a sense of humor. That viciousness of screwing over comrades is quite delightful.”
[Grim Reaper’s Favorability Increases by 5.]
The hammering sounds of weapon crafting came to a stop in the workshop. The Grim Reaper Senior, standing with arms crossed and deep in thought over a half-made scythe, welcomed us.
“Are you struggling with crafting materials?”
“I’ve almost gathered them all, but I’m a bit short.”
“What are you missing?”
“Winterroot flowers. Sun gems, and honey watermelon seeds.”
“Wow, you’ve almost gathered everything!”
“15-level Farmer’s Scythe. Mouse’s Sigh. Crescent Moon’s Membrane. Nasher’s Claw. Giant Golem’s Blade. Eternal Snow’s Essence. Fallen Angel’s Feather. High Blue Metal. World Tree’s Branch. Kraken’s Tentacle.”
“…Wow, you’re really missing a lot!”
What on earth is this senior doing here, instead of gathering materials outside? It seems they’re caught up in an event where NPC growth is stalled, rather than progressing the game along its regular storyline!
“Assassination. Bloodshed. Crafting. What mission do you wish to undertake?”
“I came to sell crafting materials worth money!”
“What materials?”
“Thick Stalk and Spiderwort! I have over twenty stems!”
“You managed to grow that much?”
The Thick Stalk and Spiderwort grow individually and typically wither before being able to sprout due to the instinctual awareness of every other nearby plant that recognizes their mortal enemies. They steal nutrients, block water, and deny sunlight.
That’s why they’re classified as ultra-rare plant mobs!
“What’s the distance?”
“I brought them to sell to the Academy!”
“Show me the goods.”
“Hey, senior, you’re a fourth-year, so how could I just show it to you right away? Instead, I brought a few stems to break off.”
I showed the stem I had broken right after planting the seeds. The Grim Reaper Senior nodded after confirming the items were genuine.
“Thick Stalk and Spiderwort are excellent crafting materials for a few other ingredients. What’s the price?”
“1,000 points per stem for forty stems!”
“I’ll pay only a tenth as an advance. Lead the way. If the information proves true, I’ll pay the remainder.”
Though the senior only paid 4,000 points out of the 40,000 points, neither I nor the Grim Reaper Senior were in a position to cheat for such an amount.
Since there were no attempts to haggle on any shortcomings, the deal went smoothly faster than expected.
“But, senior, why are you still here in the workshop with so many missing materials?”
“My subordinates I sent to collect World Tree branches have gone radio silent.”
“Oh dear!”
“The ones sent for Kraken tentacles have gone dark too. I don’t know why, but the whole world seems to be messing with me, making it impossible to gather materials.”
Whoever it is, they must be a really bad person. How could they bring such disappointment to a brave and patient senior who attends Professor Sadako’s lectures!
The Plant Club Senior, now capable of speaking again after stepping outside the workshop area, cautiously asked.
“If I compromise on the materials, it may hinder the Grim Reaper’s achievements, but I suppose it’s time to compromise with reality as well…”
“Excuse me, but why do you want to slay the Grim Reaper? Isn’t that death’s envoy, led by the God of Death, one of the twelve evil gods?”
“If by death’s envoy you mean those fools who hoard lifespan to offer it to their master, then yes, we are indeed discussing the same existence.”
The Grim Reaper Senior was a highly ambitious fourth-year student.
“Life, in its essence, follows the cycle of the food chain and ecology. The heavenly frog eats the heavenly snake, and the deadly bug eats the heavenly frog. But if the deadly bug doesn’t die and survives indefinitely, that accumulated poison will become a disaster that devours the whole world.”
Such poison can transform the living soil into a land of death just by breathing.
Someone had to kill the deadly bug before nature became sick and collapsed.
“The death gods do away with entities that pose a threat to nature like deadly bugs. Unfortunately, this includes humans who aspire for transcendence.”
“If humans achieve transcendence, then they become gods. Shouldn’t that be good since it adds one less principle to the world?”
“The God of Death views the birth of such transcendent beings as a calamity that sickens the world, and I hold a similar thought.”
Moderate madness leads to being treated like a crazy person, while extreme madness evokes awe.
“If the birth of transcendental beings and divine classes is a calamity akin to deadly bugs, then the God of Death is the greatest calamity of all. The 24 constellations are the oldest transcendental beings, so someone must kill him, right?”
“Oh my God. Are you trying to become a God Slayer?”
“That is indeed my ultimate goal. I’ve made my graduation project the crafting of a reaper’s scythe as my first step into God-slaying, and after graduation, I planned to tackle the God of Death before challenging the Grim Reaper.”
But it was no wonder that he had fallen into despair at such an early step due to inexplicable obstacles.
“Have you not thought about asking Professor Sadako for help? If you offer the corpse of a slain Grim Reaper, she would surely be thrilled!”
“What are you talking about?”
The Grim Reaper Senior looked down at me with a serious face, the dark circles under their eyes deepened.
“Professor Sadako is more dangerous than the Grim Reaper’s envoy. That woman is an achievement-holder for defeating a Grim Reaper that was trying to guide her to the Netherworld.”
“Isn’t that exactly why it could be helpful?”
“You dare want to ask for help from a professor who wants a graduate student she can use for life?”
Ahh. That’s a bit…
The Grim Reaper Senior’s fear seemed to have infected me.
“You must never attend Professor Sadako’s lectures. Her affinity for dark mana seems considerable; you might be just her type.”
“I’m already attending! I took the class last semester and I’m taking it again this semester!”
A sense of sympathy arose in me, looking at the senior, whose face resembled that of a tragic protagonist who had chosen a foolish fate.
“Just make sure you don’t become her assistant. The way you’re going, if you become her assistant once, you’ll be destined to follow her for life. Why did you take that class in the first place?”
“Because Professor Sadako has long hair, right?”
“True.”
“If a woman with long hair that hides her face ends up being a stunning beauty when she brushes her hair away, wouldn’t that be an exhilarating situation?”
“…”
“So I attended!”
The Grim Reaper Senior looked at me like I was insane. The Plant Club Senior also distanced themselves from me, eyes mixed with shock and horror.
What’s up with them?
“Hurry up with your business.”
She hurried her steps, wanting nothing to do with me, and we quickly reached the open ground.
“Is that the Thick Stalk and Spiderwort you’re selling me?”
“Yep!”
“You want me to buy that?”
The Grim Reaper Senior pointed to an area where people shouldn’t be seen. Apparently out of nowhere, a warrior was stuck in one corner of the open space, and a familiar technique unfolded around a rare plant habitat.
[Holy Mirror]
[The Eightfold Defensive Rune]
The ability of Warrior Ishtar to absorb power from mirrors and send it to another mirror to ambush the enemy was being used by the rare plant habitat, relentlessly pushing Saintess Yufi and Archer Skola to their limits, almost making them retire.
A senior from the Plant Club, holding a “No Entry” sign, suddenly popped out from the nearby bushes.
“I tried to warn you?”
“You should’ve warned harder!”
“But I thought it would work. How could I have known they’d struggle against a living warrior?”
The malevolent rare plant habitat had learned the warrior’s magic.
“Would you like a half-price discount?”
“Not buying.”
“Ten percent discount!”
“Still not buying.”
“Puhh-lease!”
The Grim Reaper Senior glared at me with cold, fishy eyes, as if I were an expired fish.
“That thing is a problem to the point where I’d want to refuse even if I were to take on a subjugation quest.”
“Aw.”
“There’s one condition. If you fulfill this condition, I might offer my assistance for free, especially for you.”
“What’s the condition?”
“Withdraw from Professor Sadako’s lectures.”
