Chapter 195 - Loot!
That said, just because she would be seen as perfectly normal on earth, didn’t mean the pixies saw her as a basic human. The pixie spirits obviously had no idea regarding the specifics of human cuisine. They just heard "hearts" and assumed she meant ripping the hearts out of her enemies and eating them raw.
Whether Lena had intended to trick them in such a way or not was entirely unknown. But even she knew an opportunity when she saw one. She would let them think that.
The spirits pulled back again, conferring one more time.
"Should we continue the trials?"
"I don’t know. What if she fails one?"
"Then we’d have to fail her."
"But we don’t want to do that."
"Exactly."
"So maybe we shouldn’t risk more trials?"
"But we can’t just let her into the vault without properly testing her."
"Why not?"
"Because... that’s like the point? We set up this whole thing, wasn’t it to perform tests?"
There was an audible choking sound. It was incredible, really. They were spirits with no body to be choking. So to still choke up gave strong implications about how they felt.
"Y-You... you always were a fool."
"How dare you!"
"This was to choose a successor! Not about some tests!? Are tests more important than securing the future of our race?"
There was silence for a moment. Then...
"No. No, it’s not."
"Then we’re agreed?"
"So we just... let her into the vault?"
"Yes."
"Right now?"
"Right now."
The ancestral spirits made their decision unanimously.
They didn’t want to risk losing this candidate. She was too valuable and too perfect. She represented the future of pixiekind, making her too valuable to gamble on arbitrary tests that none of them could even remember properly.
Maent’s voice spoke up, addressing Lena directly. "You have impressed us greatly, young Lena. Your understanding of what our race must become, your ruthless ambition, your successful acquisition of a powerful mate... these things prove your worth beyond any doubt."
"Lena." Maent said formally, "We, the ancestral spirits of the pixie race, grant you access to our vault. Take what you need. Use it to strengthen yourself and further the evolution of our kind."
The massive steel vault door behind Lena began to move.
Ancient mechanisms activated with a deep grinding sound. With loud snapping sounds, locks disengaged and seals shattered. Magic that had held the door closed for centuries began to be released all at once.
Slowly, the door swung open.
Beyond it, Lena could see shelves upon shelves of items glowing with magical power. Weapons, armor, scrolls, artifacts, treasures collected over generations of pixie history.
The vault’s contents were laid bare before her.
"Go," one of the spirits urged. "Take what you deserve."
Lena stared at the open vault, her eyes wide.
She’d actually done it. She’d convinced ancient pixie spirits that she was the evolutionary future of their entire race.
Through a combination of being unhinged, lying confidently, and accidentally telling truths that sounded way more impressive than they actually were.
She caught herself. She wasn’t supposed to be surprised. She was supposed to...
A massive grin spread across her face. "Loot!" She threw her arms up in the air excitedly and stated er intentions blatantly. "I’m going to use this to become super duper strong!"
She turned to the spirits. "Thank you, ancestors! I won’t disappoint you!"
She flew forward into the vault, her wings carrying her past the threshold and into the treasure chamber beyond. The ancestral spirits watched her go with satisfaction radiating from their presences.
"We chose well."
"Indeed. The future of our race is secure."
"Do you think she’ll actually have children with that Fourth Rank human?"
"Hm? Are you questioning my spell? If that human was presented as her mate then it shall be him."
"Truly, evolution has blessed our kind."
Behind them, Lena was already rifling through the vault’s contents, grabbing anything that looked valuable and stuffing it into her inventory. She stuffed gold and gems in, before her head gently shook as she suddenly noticed a partial piece of a skeleton in the corner.
A human skeleton?
What was that, a victim of ages past?
Regardless of what it was, Lena felt strangely enticed to check it out. At worst it was a corpse, at best... maybe it was treasure? She got closer and stared at it.
She blinked.
She certainly didn’t feel anything. Maybe she could try scanning it with the system? It wa- "That’s a girl!" Lena suddenly burst out.
"It’s like it makes sense!" She crouched next to the pelvis. "Look at the bone structure!"
She examined the remains more closely. The skeleton was incomplete, missing most of the ribs and one arm entirely. What remained was positioned awkwardly against the wall. She wasn’t sure if it was just thrown against the wall, or placed there as decoration.
"..."
Lena stared at it for a while. She took a deep breath, then sighed. "I hope it really hurt a lot before you died." She gently closed her eyes to hide how she felt saying such a thing. For one of the first times, saying sadistic words made her feel wrong.
That comment, however, made a few of the spirits grin.
Then she noticed something glinting near the skull. "Oh! Shiny!"
She reached out and grabbed a delicate silver necklace that had somehow survived without tarnishing. The moment she touched it, the system interface activated.
[Necklace of Whispered Secrets]
[Required Level: 35]
[Int: +12]
[Magic Attack: +18]
[Special Effect: Allows the wearer to hear conversations within 50 meters as if standing next to the speakers,]
[Remaining upgrade slots: 3/7]
"I’m going to spy on royalty!" Lena shouted out as she grinned. "Or at least, military commanders. I love it!"
She immediately equipped it, feeling the metal settle against her neck. It still felt cool to the touch. She moved on, leaving the skeleton behind without a second thought.
The next shelf held what looked like a collection of weapons. Lena grabbed a wicked-looking dagger with a curved blade.
[Pixie’s Fang]
[Required Level: 30]
[Required Class: Thief, Assassin]
[Attack: +45]
[Dexterity: +8]
[Special Effect: 15% chance to inflict bind on hit]
[Remaining upgrade slots: 0/7]
"Not my class but whatever, taking it!" She stuffed it into her inventory. Anyways, she was probably expected to take everything here. Leaving something was more suspicious than taking it all.
And anyways, if the dagger was really useless, it could still be sold. She grabbed two more daggers from the same rack without even checking their stats. Further down, she found a large wooden chest. She threw it open excitedly.
"MONEY!"
Inside was a massive pile of Ems, the coins glinting in the vault’s magical lighting. Lena scooped up handfuls and shoved them into her inventory.
"Holy crap I can use this for devious things! Oh my gosh, can I buy at human shops? I mean, sure I can! They have weird rules about not attacking first. If I act like one of them, I can buy bombs! Bombs I’ll kill them with!"
The system helpfully provided a count as she looted.
[Ems acquired: 3,472,382]
Lena grinned. "That’s like... I don’t even know what I can buy with that! Everything! I can buy everything! Five hundred bombs!"
She moved to the next section and found a bookshelf. Her expression shifted from manic excitement to genuine curiosity.
Books couldn’t be scanned by the system the same way equipment could. You had to actually read them to know what they contained.
She pulled out a thick tome bound in what looked like what Lena would imagine dried pixie wing membrane would look like. The title was written rather haphazardly across the cover.
"Advanced Curse Methodology: A Comprehensive Guide to Inflicting Suffering."
Lena flipped through a few pages. The content was dense and technical, describing various curse formulas and their applications. Diagrams showed mana flow for the required effects. Notes in the margins provided tips for maximizing pain duration.
"Oh my gosh... I want to try this!" Lena said cheerfully. "I’m keeping it!"
She grabbed the entire shelf of books without checking the rest. If one was useful, they all might be. Into the inventory they went.
Next to the bookshelf was a small pedestal holding a single ring. The craftsmanship was exquisite, far beyond anything else she’d seen so far.
She picked it up carefully.
[Ring of Fraud]
[Required Level: None]
[Int: +22]
[Magic Attack: +31]
[Max MP: +500]
[Special Effect: One will naturally seem more convincing and trustworthy.]
[Remaining upgrade slots: 0/7]
"Huehuehue..." Lena chuckled darkly. "I will deceive them. I will deceive them all! I will trick them so thoroughly that they will be counting the money for me as I sell them off!"
"Nghh..." She groaned lightly as she thought deeply about it. It was awful. It was horrific. It was so much like a pixie. "You know what it’s like? It’s like power is good... I want power. More power!"