A few days later.
Dungeon Zone 8, the Grand Theater.
I, sitting across the Legion Commander White Night – referred to as 'Black Night' in the Monstrous Front – met with this ghoulish Lich and immediately made a demand.
"I was thinking, the goodwill you've shown seems a bit insufficient."
"...What?"
Black Night uttered in disbelief. But I calmly cleaned my ear with my pinky finger.
"No, I mean, on our end, to catch the other you holed up in that Magic Tower, we'd almost have to risk our entire army's life, and you just slice up one Monster Legion and strut away. Huh? Doesn't really add up for us either..."
"Not adding up? I told you, if you eliminate the other me, my subordinates and I will then become your allies..."
"Hey, look here! Great Sorceress!"
Bang!
As I slammed the table with my hand, Black Night flinched and cowered.
I must be the first to treat one of the mightiest sorcerers among the Demon King's monsters, the world-renowned Great Sorceress, so casually. No wonder she's not used to it.
I scowled and wagged my finger as I rasped my voice.
"Let's be blunt, we're not close enough to trust each other with future matters, right? Frankly, there's no such trust between us yet. Right? Eh?"
"Then, what do you want? What are you asking for?"
"Show a little more goodwill."
I smiled broadly, spreading my hands in front of me.
"So that we can trust you more, and risk our lives for you."
"..."
"We're going to be allies later, right? No, not just allies, war allies! No, no! Not just war allies. Blood allies who'd risk their lives for each other! Isn't that what we're going to be?"
I casually moved to the seat next to Black Night and put my arm around her shoulder.
Caught off guard by my sudden change in demeanor, Black Night was unable to compose herself. I kept pressing.
"We're going to be like blood relatives, so let's just go through a few more verification steps before that."
"...Stop beating around the bush and tell me. What exactly do you want?"
"You know the Hornet Legion nestled between Zones 7 and 8?"
One of the monster legions yet to invade the Monstrous Front, but troublesome to deal with later.
I mentioned them and smirked.
"Get rid of them too."
"What? Look, I've done enough to stand out just by eliminating the Bird Monster Legion. If I move any more, the Demon King might start paying attention to me..."
"Oh, well, that's your problem~"
As if I had never put my arm around her, I withdrew it and nonchalantly cleaned my ear again.
"After all that talk about defying the Demon King, you're worried about catching his eye for something like this? Monsters are always killing each other anyway, right?"
"I'm ranked third! My actions are bound to attract attention! The Demon King has been focused on his own affairs lately, not paying much attention outside, but if I keep moving like this..."
"Ah~ Okay, okay. You can't do it, right?"
I cut off Black Night's words and waved my hand dismissively.
"Then, no choice. Forget it. Let's pretend it never happened."
"Pretend it never happened... You mean, our deal?"
"No, when did I ever say that? Just pretend my recent proposal never happened. Though I might have to reconsider our deal as well..."
Trailing off, I stood up.
Suddenly!
Black Night urgently grabbed my sleeve.
"Wait!"
"Ah, let go. I'm a busy person. If you have no more goodwill to show, just let me go. I have a lot to think about."
Grinding her teeth, Black Night reluctantly spat out her words.
"...Fine. I'll do it. Eliminating the Hornet Legion, right?"
"At last, we're getting somewhere."
I grinned broadly. Black Night's face was hidden by a talisman over her nose, but she seemed quite irritated.
But what can she do about it?
Would she not listen to me? Huh?
‘After the Bird Monster salvation, now insect control. Black Night sure is being put to good use.’
As I silently rejoiced, Black Night slowly spat out her words.
"Killing the other me, make sure you do it properly... If you fail, I’ll make you pay a more terrible price for using me like this."
"Ah, come on. Don't you trust me? Who am I?! I'm the one who wiped out the tenth to fourth commanders of your Nightmare Legion. Just trust me. I'll take full responsibility! I'll crush the other you!"
I exaggeratedly waved my arms and thumped my chest. Black Night watched me with a sour expression.
***
Next, I visited the Magic Tower in Dungeon Zone 8.
Meeting with the Magic Tower Lord White Night – referred to as 'Soya' in the Monstrous Front – who transferred her consciousness to a mechanical device, I made the same additional demand as I did to Black Night.
"You want me to clean up the dungeons in Zone 8...? What are you talking about?"
The skull inside the magic panel monitor seemed baffled. Its shiny round head somewhat resembled a well-cooked sausage. (TL Note: I have no idea how a skull can resemble a well-cooked sausage...)
I gestured with my chin.
"I know you've taken control of all the dungeons around here. You've infiltrated this Magic Tower's control system, haven't you?"
"How did you know... No, even if you do know, that's an unreasonable demand."
Soya shook her head slightly from within the screen.
"To prepare for the other me attacking, the full power of this Magic Tower is being used for its defense. If I extend my influence to other areas, the defense of this Magic Tower will weaken."
"So, you can't do it?"
"It's not that I can't, but after eliminating the other me, I won't need to focus on defending the Magic Tower, and can naturally extend my influence..."
"I need your influence now... Oh well. Got it."
I waved my hand and stood up.
"Then, no choice. Forget it. Let's pretend it never happened."
"Pretend it never happened... You mean, our deal?"
"No, when did I ever say that? Just pretend my recent proposal never happened. Though I might have to reconsider our deal as well..."
I repeated the exact same words I had said to Black Night, and Soya showed the same reaction.
"Wait! ...Fine. I'll do as you say. I'll clean up three dungeons around here and hand them over to you."
"Now we're talking."
I rejoiced openly, and the skull in the monitor stared at me intently.
"But don't forget to kill the other me. I've already cooperated with you enough. Don't forget that fact either."
"Of course, of course. How could I forget? We're already blood allies, blood allies!"
I went over to Soya's mechanical device and patted it with my hand. Soya seemed startled, but I didn't pay much attention.
As I left the Magic Tower, my party members were waiting for me at the entrance.
As I walked out with a beaming smile and a swagger, Evangeline covered her mouth and asked,
"So, how did it go?"
"A success, of course!"
As I shrugged my shoulders in response, the other party members opened their mouths in amazement.
"Wow, extorting monsters..."
"Which one's the real monster here..."
"Hey, hey. It's not extortion. Call it the art of the deal!"
Whether it's Black Night or Soya, they need me to kill each other.
The deadline is about a month away, before Stage 25, the next defensive battle, starts.
Up until now, the choice was either to attack Soya's Magic Tower or to eliminate Black Night on the day of the defensive battle. One of the two had to be decided.
In other words, until then, both had to grovel before me.
The first principle of negotiation.
The more desperate side has to bow down. The more frightened side has to back off. That's why I decided to go all out, laying everything on the table.
It's kind of a 'Madman Theory', acting like a lunatic and going berserk.
"Today's just the beginning."
I smirked evilly, curling my lips as I eyed the dungeon sections occupied by the two Liches.
"Just watch how I milk these two dry from now on."
***
Since they've shown enough goodwill, it's time to repay them with more chaos.
And that chaos is – demanding even more goodwill!
Taking one and asking for another!
It's a method of voice phishing that was also prevalent in 21st century South Korea.
- Yes, customer. You're inquiring about the product on our page, right? Yes, it's a product worth 1 million won, but we're selling it for 800,000 won because we need to clear our warehouse.
- Currently, there are only 2 of these products left in our headquarters' warehouse. If you deposit 100,000 won as a reservation fee to this account, we can confirm your reservation.
- Yes, customer, your reservation fee has been confirmed, and the product is reserved. Could you please deposit the remaining 700,000 won? Yes, of course. Once the deposit is confirmed, we will ship it the next day.
- Oh, I'm really sorry, customer. It turns out that the product we thought was in stock is already sold out. We'll refund you immediately.
- Customer, we’re trying to refund you, but due to our company's system, we need to process an automatic transfer refund for a total of 1.5 million won. If you make an additional deposit, we can refund you tonight...
- I'm really sorry, customer. There's an error with the bank, and now we need a total of 3 million won for the automatic transfer refund...
- Raising it to 500...
- Did you receive an apology call from our president? I'm really sorry. If you deposit another 10 million won...
- ...
- Thank you for the meal, dear customer!
...Well, roughly this is the process of voice phishing.
Do people actually fall for this?
Surprisingly, yes! Just like these Great Sorcerers right in front of me!
If you step back and look, it's easy to notice that you're being scammed, but in reality, people often don't.
Above all, the complacent thought 'I can't be getting scammed, can I?' prevents one from realizing they're being scammed.
'Me, a Great Sorceress, being played by this human? Impossible.'
This unconscious thought slows down the realization of reality. That they are, in fact, walking deeper and deeper into the mire of a scam...!
"What? I've already eliminated the Hornet Legion as you asked. And now this?"
"Now you're asking me to take down the Immortal Boar Legion too?! Hey, Player! I've already taken out four legions as you requested! And now you're making this demand?!
"Enough is enough! At this rate, I’ll end up making enemies of all the monster legions and be at odds with them before I even defy the Demon King! What are you thinking... No, wait! Sit down! I didn't say I wouldn't do it! Don't go!"
Using Black Night to intercept troublesome monster legions in advance,
"I did as you asked and cleaned up ten dungeons in the area. You just have to go there, tidy up, and collect your rewards... What? The other equipment remaining in the Magic Tower? Uh... just a moment. Let me check."
"More items? I've already taken all the equipment items stored in this Magic Tower. There's nothing left to give... What? Consumable items stored in the warehouse? Even those?"
"Magic research scrolls? There are some left, but what are you going to do with them...?"
"Wait, wait! Taking those would be problematic! It would hamper the operation of the Magic Tower itself, you know? Okay, I'll give them to you! But let's talk first...!"
Using Soya to clear dungeons for free. Plus, scraping up all the equipment, items, and various scrolls.
Do it. Give more. Give everything.
Just ‘give’!
"I can't take it anymore, Player!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Black Night summoned her giant floating eye in the air,
"How far are you going to toy with me...! If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to break our agreement!"
Soya activated the Magic Tower's defense mechanisms aiming at me, but.
"Don't like it? Then don't~"
I calmly cleaned my ear.
"What are you waiting for? Kill me now. In a few days, I'll be killing the other you, so if you kill me first? Then all the work you've done till now goes to waste, you know?"
"Ugh...!"
"Go on~ Kill me~ Your wishes go down the drain, and I'm gone too~"
Faced with this, both Black Night and Soya had no choice but to back down.
All the work they had done, the investments they had made, were too precious to lose. Now they had no choice but to be led by me.
‘Thrown into chaos by Earth-style gaslighting scams, right? Huh?’
I patted my belly, which felt full even without eating, looking at the systematically organized monster legions. The cleared dungeons of Zone 8 and the amassed items. Gulp.
"But my Lord,"
Lucas, checking the spoils accumulated effortlessly over several weeks, sharply pointed out.
"This method is certainly useful, but... whether it's Black Night or Soya, it doesn't lead to the elimination of either, does it?"
"That's right."
It's like extreme farming. Just using these two to their limits. Wearing them down in the process.
Ultimately, it doesn't solve the essential problem of the current situation - how to eliminate these powerful Lich grand sorcerers.
That’s why, while having fun playing with these two, I had prepared something else.
"Summon the Gambler's Club."
Calling for the gamblers' party after a long time, I smirked.
"It's time to play the Joker card."
--TL Notes--
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