Kai was in a conundrum.

On one hand, he desired the replicas worth 25000 Mission Credits as much as he had desired power itself. There was not an ounce of doubt in his mind that these Items were the keys to becoming even more powerful in the Random Worlds for him.

On the other hand, he already feared losing them.

Kai had 14600 Mission Credits on him. Even if he invested the entire amount in trading the sabers, he would still need to pay 10400 Mission Credits more. Moreover, other than the Book and the Sling Ring, he didn’t have anything on him that could meet the price.

The Book was out of the question. So, only the Sling Ring remained.

However, Kai remembered what Simon had done to it, rubbing off its restriction to be used by Sparrow between his fingers. Even if he had been an utter fool, he would have realized that there were some complex processes involved in obtaining the Sling Rings, especially when only one Contestant could use them.

I can’t trade Sling Ring, either, Kai reflected, frowning. It’s gonna come in handy in future missions. Tch!

Then there was one more thing.

If he didn’t pay all the Mission Credits in one go, then the other party would get too suspicious. What kind of 4th-Set Contestant traded cheap Items to meet the price tag of two Low-level Uncommon Items?

No. This was just too risky. Contestants, by nature, always remained suspicious of each other.

I must complete the trade in one go, Kai nodded to himself, thinking of a solution. Let’s… not shift away from the material wealth then.

-I will buy both,- he hissed, gambling on his next words. -For price, I will trade info. If the information is worth more than the price of the Items, then you can think about covering the gap.-

[Info? Hmm… Information is always welcomed. What’s it about? You must know that even if it has a higher price than the Items, if I already know it, then it wouldn’t be of any value to me.]

Kai wasn’t stupid.

He had already thought of something which no other Contestant would know. At least not so easily, as, to know what info, one must have a very high Worth.

-I heard the next Tournament of Worth is coming up,- Kai hissed. -Would you like to know more about Glitches?-

[WHAT?! I mean, yes. Yes. Of course. Sorry, my lord. I lost my composure.]

Kai’s lips twitched again. The sudden outburst did surprise him. But he refrained from asking the cause behind it.

He muted the conversation and uploaded the info.

What he shared wasn’t exactly what Chaos had told him. It was just a line. Even if someone knew it, they couldn’t make head or tail of it without accessing the full picture. Still, this line was something that his Privilege had offered him, having a foundation of 100 Worth Points.

It should be enough, Kai thought, seeing the line. It should be more than enough.

That line was -

The Individualities when manifested are called Glitches.

…

[

Analyzing Info…

Analyzation complete.

…

Value: 50000 Mission Credits

]

…

Whoa! Kai’s jaw dropped.

The first thing that rushed into his mind was to exploit this info, gaining as many Mission Credits as possible. However, the moment this thought appeared, Kai crushed it.

A serpent needed to be patient, always hiding to ambush its prey. Unnecessary greed, when it could be avoided, was the bane of all plans, powers, and ambitions.

Kai had learned this lesson the hard way in his previous life, when he had gotten caught once, resulting in getting tortured for weeks.

Trading it one time is already good enough, Kai reflected, nodding to himself. I don’t need Mission Credits anyway. With my Side Missions of killing higher-floor Contestants, I will have ample Mission Credits eventually. Let’s hold onto it until I have no other choice.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

With a thought, he let the other party see the value.

[7 words for 50000 Mission Credits…]

Kai almost advised the other party that he/she should gamble on it, as there was no way to confirm having the Info before buying it. Before he could do so, though, the person on the other side completed the sentence.

[… Deal!]

Instantly, 25000 Mission Credits got added to his stash in the Stats and the two sabers appeared in his Inventory, already belonging to him now.

The notification window disappeared as well.

Kai immediately took out the sabers and felt them in his hands as the wind scattered his black robes. As he marveled at the blades, he could feel a rejection from the Items.

It was good that I held from assigning my Attribute Points, Kai thought, assigning his 2 leftover points to his Strength and Stamina. Now I have an Item and Skill that consumes my HP. I can’t have my Stamina left behind by my other Attributes.

The feeling of rejection vanished and all the reptilian eyes lined on the flat side of the blades came alive, blinking at him.

Kai felt a surge of acceptance and he let out a rattling breath.

Selene came rushing out and circled the blades in her mist form. -What’s this, master?- she hissed. -I feel… good around them.-

Kai felt elated. He could already feel the power coursing through the blades. Once he made a pact with her, what kind of powers it would imbue into the sabers?

The sheer thought made him lick his lips.

But he didn’t know how to go about making this pact. So he asked the one being who knew all the answers.

-Chaos,- Kai hissed. -My Ghost Serpent is already an E+ grade Magical Creature. How to make a pact with her to imbue the Makens with her properties?-

…

[

Contestant Kai Stormborn, you have already made a pact with your Magical Creature.

To imbue the Makens with her properties, let her use any of her Skills or Abilities on the sabers.

]

…

Oh! Kai remembered the odd, but good, feeling he had after conversing with Selene for the first time. So that was making a pact… Interesting.

But he struggled for a moment to decide which of Selene’s powers he wanted the sabers to possess.

Earth Vibration Sense didn’t make any sense to him in this case.

Ghost Neurotoxin was potent enough to cause mortal damage, but he preferred coating the blades with poison, instead of combining it with Magic and then worrying about not having enough poison because of the lack of MP.

Then there was Soul Chill.

Kai almost worshiped this Ability. It had helped him survive the Dementors, let him kill Heavy Block, and now it helped him reign his Emotions.

However, like Ghost Neurotoxin, there was an inherent flaw in it. Its potency would most probably also depend upon Mana supplied, Kai guessed. Below 70-80%, it would restrict targets’ movements, making them incapable of using some Breath-based Skills in the best-case scenario.

So, after weighing his options, Kai ultimately rejected the Soul Chill and went with the only, but the most suited, option left to him.

-Selene,- Kai hissed, his heart beating a bit faster in anticipation. -Pass through the sabers in your Intangible form.-

The Ghost Serpent cocked her head between Kai and the Items, tasting the steel with her forked tongue. Her blind, muddy-yellow and wormy-black, reptilian eyes blinked several times, the draconic, white scales on her body pulsating with alternate yellow and black-colored rings.

With a whoosh, she puffed out, becoming silver, white mist.

Then, under the smiling gaze of Dementor-Kai, the Ghost Serpent passed through the Fangs.

And the Sabers came alive.

Kai could feel it. The reptilian eyes on the blades at first had only given the hint of sentience. But now he could feel them observing him, marveling at his existence as he marveled at them back.

The thin layers of clouds were already getting frozen near him under the effect of Dementor’s Blood Essence. Now, a burst of cold exploded out of the two sabers, freezing the clouds in a 10-meter radius around Kai.

The sky, once filled with soft, billowing clouds, now resembled a delicate latticework of ice, catching the sunlight and refracting it into a dazzling array of colors.

The dull-gray notification appeared then.

…

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn

Your Items’ Skills have gained your Magical Creature’s property

The New Stats are -

…

Item: Fang

Grade: Uncommon

Specification: A transformed fang from Hachirotaro Okami, the sealed Hydra. It has strengthened by the many years of cold air into an Iceblade

Requirement:

1. Correspondence >10

2. Perception >13

3. Strength >13

4. A Serpent-related Ability

Attributes:

1. Can make a pact with a Demon or Magical Creature

2. Demon or Magical Creature’s Grade must be at least E+ or higher

3. A successful pact will imbue the Item and Skill with similar property

4. Current Status: Ghost Serpent

5. Base Damage: 80 Points

Skill: White Serpent

Skill Effect:

1. HP Consumption: 50-100

2. MP Consumption: 100-200

3. Lengthens the blade by 5 to 10 times, depending upon HP supplied

4. MP Consumption is in correspondence with HP Consumption

5. Shoots out Mana Serpents that wraps around the target, binding them from head to toe

6. The Mana Serpents are Intangible and can bypass any physical barrier

Warning:

1. Once the original Demon or Magical Creature dies, the pact will stand invalid

2. Magical Creature is limited to Serpent-like Creatures only

Quality: 77%

]

…

Ignoring the one point of rise in Perception’s Requirement, Kai stared at the 6th point of Skill’s Effects and burst out in a feat of rattling laughter.

Yes, Kai nodded to himself, grinning ear to ear. Now he was ready to take on this Mission and… go beyond.