Grey raised an eyebrow at the notification. He had just been fucking around when he said they should send him stuff, but they actually had.
After all the yapping in his chat, it was about damn time.
As for that Margot Robbie comment, he sincerely hoped that skin walkers were just shapeshifters and not people who stole skin to copy the forms of others. Otherwise, he was adding FinchTheDiddler to his kill list.
Fucking with his life was one thing, but this was a bridge too damn far.
A swirling portal popped into existence before Grey and then a box slowly fell into his palm.
It was probably double the length of his hands and about as tall as the width of one. It felt substantial, but was still light enough that Grey didn’t feel much holding it up with a single arm like this.
Grey clicked the box open.
What was inside made his lip twitch.
’Is this a fucking crack pipe?’
Laying on a plush cushion was what Grey could have only described as such, right down to the smoke and soot residue caking the inside of the glass shaft and bowl.
The only difference was that it was larger than it probably should be. It was around double the length and width of a usual crack pipe. As for how Grey knew, that wasn’t because he was a junkie—his drug of choice was weed. He didn’t even touch alcohol.
But he had seen enough movies and been down enough wild internet forums to know his stuff.
"Even if you wanted to send me a fucking crack pipe, why is it used?"
Grey was truly speechless.
—
Name: Ascent of the Fluttering Weeds
—
’Another overblown name. Coincidence?’
Grey couldn’t help but wonder if this really was a coincidence. Could the same person that had sponsored Joaquin have sent this to fuck with him in revenge?
Although a non-Restricted Sponsored item could be taken, the one thing that would be protected unless the sponsor chose to allow otherwise was the identity.
Of course, the problem with this was that if the original receiver of the item was to make the sponsorship worthwhile, they would have to broadcast the identity of the sponsor. Unless it was an item sent by a private party.
So, usually, this protection was worthless.
But Joaquin had had the item for a small enough period of time that he had never announced who his sponsor was in the first place.
So, Grey had no reference point.
What made him the most wary, though, was the fact that this sponsor didn’t reveal their identity to him either.
—
Name: Ascent of the Fluttering Weeds
Rarity: Legendary
Accepted Type: Resonant
Rejected Type: Linear
Description: The fetters of enlightenment are contradictorily heavy and binding. Free yourself of this weight and expand your horizons, sense the touching currents of the flowing winds and consider yourself transcendent. Take distinguished herbs and burn them, smoking them to achieve enlightenment.
Abilities: Distill the enlightenment of Class Herbs into a smoke that can either be used for an immediate buff or debuff, or aid in reaching True Enlightenment
—
’...’
Grey slowly closed the lid and set the box aside to stop himself from hurling it into the abyss below.
These fuckers really sent him a crack pipe to get high with. Unbelievable.
Grey pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, took a breath, and then exhaled.
Honestly, this was better than nothing. He had half expected to get a flaming pile of dogshit. He didn’t exactly treat his viewers well.
Even if they weren’t allowed to send crap items, considering stuff like the Frilly Pair existed in this twisted game, they could have messed with him worse than this if they wanted to.
Maybe this thing could actually be very useful. But what good was it to him here? There weren’t even any—.
Grey frowned, pulling out the flashlight again and shining it onto the cliff face. Right there, a swathe of black weeds swayed wildly in the winds before they calmed.
’Another coincidence?’
When Grey asked for a sponsored item, he was obviously asking for something that could help him in his present situation. A pair of wings, or even a magical rope would be great.
He actually did have a rope in his own inventory, the Automatic Rope. But it was just a Common item and it wasn’t long enough to bridge this distance.
If it was a troll item, Grey could have easily dismissed it. But why send him a powerful item that was useless in the current situation?
’Hm...’
Grey turned to the large box again. This time, when he opened it, he pulled the crack pipe out.
Before he could do anything with it, though, it magically shrank in his fingers until it became the size of what Grey would have probably expected from the usual crack pipe.
’Did a giant send me this thing or something?’
He shook his head, focusing his attention on the problem at hand. The black weeds weren’t far, but they weren’t close either. He would need to climb down four feet to reach them.
Normally, that was child’s play, barely over a meter.
But when it was on a sheer cliff to inevitable doom, and there were practically hurricane force winds blowing from down there, it wasn’t something Grey could take for granted.
He pulled out the Automatic Rope.
’You better fucking hold up.’
He was a bit worried because the rope could only hold with a STR up to 50. If there was a particularly strong wind and he ended up needing its support, there were good odds it would snap.
’Just for insurance...’
Grey took a breath. ’Alright, come on. Don’t be a pussy.’
After finding a decent holding spot, Grey pulled out the Spear of Purpose and drove it in. Then, he tied a few good knots around it and began to climb down.
Luckily, after living his life on a farm, he was quite good with tying various knots. But while he had been rock climbing a few times, he was much less assured in that skill.
Still, things seemed to go off without a hitch and Grey made it to the black herbs.
Pulling them up by their roots, he stocked them away in his inventory before slowly beginning his way back up. The distance wasn’t far, only two hand grips away from paydirt.
But Grey had learned long ago he could never have anything nice.
His finger slipped and a raging wind swept by.
He lost his footholds entirely and he plummeted down toward the abyss.