Chapter 12: Go, Allen Beast
Running along the street, Su Xiao grew closer to the giant transformed by Allen.
A dark figure suddenly appeared ahead. Su Xiao halted, staring at the figure wearing a black hood.
"Brother, want to buy some fine goods?"
The hooded man's voice carried a sleazy tone, giving Su Xiao the feeling of, "Brother, want to buy some discs?"
"No, don't block the way."
The other party's origins were unclear, so Su Xiao prepared to move forward.
"Don't be nervous, I'm from the Black Sail Merchant Guild. I wonder if you've heard of us, brother."
Su Xiao paused. He had indeed heard of the Black Sail Merchant Guild—a group of reckless workers who specialized in doing business within derivative worlds.
Su Xiao stepped forward with his blade and slashed at the hooded man, who neither dodged nor avoided.
"Clang."
A crisp sound rang out.
[You are attacking a neutral worker. The target has lost 1 point of Absolute Armor. Absolute Armor remaining: 5 points.]
Sure enough, this guy was indeed a worker from the Black Sail Merchant Guild. It was said these merchants had spent heavily to develop an energy armor with a total of 6 points of Absolute Armor. However, once wearing this armor, they couldn't attack enemies and could only passively take hits.
The reason the Black Sail Merchant Guild was called a group of reckless workers was that these merchants often appeared in derivative worlds, selling items or supplies to contractors at high prices.
Contractors called them "Black Merchants," but any contractor with a sound mind wouldn't kill them.
The Black Sail Merchant Guild had a rule: any contractor who killed one of their members would, once discovered, be permanently barred from trading with the guild.
That wasn't even the most important part. These merchants would issue a bounty within Reincarnation Paradise, publicly announcing the contractor's ID. It was said they once put a bounty on a Lv.9 contractor, offering 180,000 Paradise Coins!
The fate of that contractor was predictable.
Having been slashed by Su Xiao, this Black Merchant showed no anger—this was their way of proving their identity.
"Customer, are you looking to buy equipment, items, or supplies?"
The Black Merchant's attitude warmed up.
Su Xiao pondered for a few seconds. The giant transformed by Allen probably wouldn't die anytime soon, and he wanted to see if the Black Merchant had a certain item.
"Do you have a skill scroll for 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear'? The higher the level, the better."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Black Merchant's eyes lit up.
"Customer, entering the Giant World naturally requires carrying that item. In Paradise, skill scrolls for 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear' aren't worth much, but they're rare. Now that we're in the Giant World, the price doubles."
The Black Merchant rummaged through his storage space for a moment and pulled out a white-quality scroll.
[Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear Proficiency (Temporary Skill, disappears upon leaving this world)]
Quality: White
Type: Skill Scroll (Temporary)
Rating: 10
Description: After using this scroll, you can proficiently master the 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.' As this is a temporary skill scroll, this skill will disappear upon leaving this world.
...
This was a "Proficiency"-level scroll. Technical abilities were divided into: Basic, Proficiency, Specialization, Master, and other levels.
'Proficiency' was far better than 'Basic,' and even after using the scroll, the skill mastered was considerable. Even so, this scroll was only white quality with a rating of 10. The temporary attribute drastically reduced its value.
It could only be used for one world. If it were in Reincarnation Paradise, this scroll's value wouldn't exceed 500 Paradise Coins. But in the Giant World, its price was hard to estimate.
Before knowing he would enter the Giant World, Su Xiao had searched the Trade Market. This item was too rare, and he couldn't find it.
"What's the price?"
"10,000 Paradise Coins."
As expected of a Black Merchant—a twenty-fold markup in one go.
Su Xiao didn't have 10,000 Paradise Coins, but this scroll was highly valuable in the Giant World.
If he could proficiently use the 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear,' his combat effectiveness against giants would increase by at least thirty percent, maybe more.
"I guess you don't have that many Paradise Coins, customer. That's normal in a derivative world. We also accept barter."
The Black Merchant fell silent, waiting for Su Xiao to make a decision.
Su Xiao didn't want to be hunted and wanted by a bounty just yet. Besides, even if he killed the Black Merchant, he wouldn't obtain a Scarlet Card. The Paradise had previously indicated that in this world, contractors wouldn't drop Scarlet Cards upon death.
Thinking of Scarlet Cards, a flash of inspiration struck Su Xiao. He happened to have a Scarlet Card in his storage space. It was just that the infuriating randomness of opening Scarlet Cards had kept him from doing so.
Pulling out the Scarlet Card, Su Xiao gestured to exchange it for the item.
"A Scarlet Card? Customer, that puts me in a difficult position. The value of a Scarlet Card is too random..."
"This is a Mage's Scarlet Card."
The Black Merchant's eyes gleamed.
"Customer, may I appraise it? No need to transfer item ownership."
Su Xiao tossed the Scarlet Card over. The Black Merchant took out a device resembling a card reader and swiped the Scarlet Card through it.
"Indeed, it's a Mage's Scarlet Card, and a rare Ice Mage at that. Add another 1,000 Paradise Coins."
Su Xiao immediately put away the Scarlet Card and stopped looking at the Black Merchant.
"Customer, wait! I was just joking. Barter it is, deal."
The Black Merchant's sudden change in attitude was exasperating. Su Xiao didn't waste words and directly completed the trade, then immediately used the 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear Proficiency' scroll.
[You have mastered 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear Proficiency.' This skill will be forgotten upon leaving this world.]
[After obtaining 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear,' this passive skill can be used.]
A flood of memories poured into Su Xiao's mind—the structure, usage, and maintenance of the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.
The sudden influx of memories caused Su Xiao discomfort for two seconds, but he quickly recovered. He now vaguely felt that once he obtained the 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear,' he could use it proficiently.
Temporary skills and permanent skills were different. Permanent skills allowed gradual mastery and were permanently etched into the mind, becoming instinct.
Temporary skills, on the other hand, involved a rush of memories flooding the brain, causing some dizziness.
"Customer, would you like to purchase a set of 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear'? Only 300 Paradise Coins."
Su Xiao shook his head. Only a fool would buy one. The 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear' in the Giant World was easy to obtain. Once the giants fully invaded the city, he could simply take a set from a dead soldier.
Su Xiao looked toward the giants invading the city through the hole in the distance. It wouldn't be long before the native inhabitants of the walls mobilized to confront these giants. This chaos was perfect for fishing in troubled waters. As a lone operative, the more disorder within the walls, the better. Order was what those adventure groups sought.
No one defending the front line was expected. Even if Su Xiao held the line, Blood Rose and Dust would find ways to prevent the hole from being sealed.
Rather than being a laborer, it was better to find another way.
If it weren't for wanting to grasp the general situation of each war zone, Su Xiao wouldn't have held the line for even a day.
Weaving through the buildings, Su Xiao soon arrived near the giant transformed by Allen.
"Roar!"
'Allen Beast' let out a mighty roar, sending a shockwave of air spreading outward.
The giant transformed by Allen stood about fifteen meters tall, with bulging muscles, no lips, a mouth stretching to its ears revealing two rows of flat teeth, and pointed ears like an elf's.
Some called it an Elf Giant, but that wasn't the case. This giant was called the Attack Titan, one of the Nine Titans with well-rounded abilities.
It lacked the Female Titan's agility, the Armored Titan's defense, and the Colossal Titan's strength.
But this type of giant carried a conviction—to keep running for freedom, to fight for freedom. It was the type that wasn't exceptional at anything but excelled in adaptability.
"Roar!"
Another roar. Allen's first transformation into a giant clearly lacked rationality, and Mikasa was gliding in front of Allen using her 'Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.'
Judging by her hateful expression, this girl was definitely about to slice the nape of Allen's neck, then cut open the giant's stomach to rescue the 'Allen' inside.
If that actually happened, Mikasa would absolutely break down upon learning the truth, because she would have killed Allen herself.
Su Xiao was counting on 'Allen Beast' to help move stones. It didn't matter if Allen died afterward. He had a mission called 'Sky-Sweeping Storm,' and only by hunting the protagonist could he increase the mission's completion rate.